Youth urged to drive rural development at SVU convocation

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

A.P. Governor and Sri Venkateswara University Chancellor S. Abdul Nazeer presenting honorary doctorates to Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India, Ajay Kumar Sood, Indian National Science Academy President Shekhar C. Mande, Bharat Biotech International Limited Executive Chairman Krishna M. Ella at a convocation in Tirupati on Wednesday. Vice-Chancellor Tata Narasinga Rao is also seen. | Photo Credit: K.V. POORNACHANDRA KUMAR

Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India, Ajay Kumar Sood, called upon the educated youth to use their knowledge to ensure meaningful social development by reaching out to rural and underserved communities.

In his address delivered at the 63rd, 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th and 68th annual convocations conducted simultaneously at Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) in Tirupati on Wednesday, Prof. Sood referred to the issues not merely as policy concerns but ‘real world challenges’ that graduates could help solve.

Laying emphasis on rural development, he explained how Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) had brought the 62 field-tested technologies developed by the seven IITs to the attention of 752 NGOs, while the ongoing second phase focussed on commercialisation.

“One of the products, Sabjikothi, is a portable solar-powered storage unit that extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables from three days to 30 days without chemicals, preservatives or refrigerants. With 1,000 units already deployed across Bihar, Odisha, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, this technology reduces post-harvest losses by nearly 40%, directly benefitting small farmers and vendors,” Prof. Sood said.

He also advised the youth to take a plunge in IoT-enabled agricultural tools, digital platforms for financial inclusion, robotics, smart manufacturing, logistics by focusing on interdisciplinary collaboration.

Meanwhile, Governor and SVU Chancellor S. Abdul Nazeer, expressed delight on noting that SVU established many centres of excellence in frontier and emerging ar