Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday chaired the 56th meeting of the Council of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at IIT Delhi. The Council resolved to advance the Prime Minister's vision of "Atmanirbharta se Samridha Bharat" and strengthen IITs as drivers of self-reliance, innovation, and inclusive growth.
Addressing the meeting, Mr Pradhan said IITs must position themselves as catalysts for an Atmanirbhar and Samriddha Bharat. He stressed that India was not aiming for incremental change but for a "quantum jump" and urged the premier institutes to take the lead. Emphasising inclusive education, he called for the introduction of regional languages in addition to English as mediums of instruction.
He also underlined the need for IITs to focus on producing job creators by solving real-world problems and strengthening translational research in critical national technologies.
Highlighting IITs' role in entrepreneurship and innovation, Mr Pradhan said the institutes had already nurtured over 6,000 start-ups, 56 unicorns, and nearly 5,000 patents.
"Confident that our IITs will translate national aspirations into outcomes, create large-scale employment and economic opportunities, contribute significantly to fulfil the vision of Samridhh and Viksit Bharat by 2047 and also emerge as engines of India's civilisational resurgence and global leadership," he said in a post on X.
Supported by initiatives such as the PM Research Fellowship, Centres of Excellence in AI, and research parks, IITs, he said, were emerging as engines of economic growth in line with the Prime Minister's call to "Reform, Perform, Transform."
Minister of State for Education and DoNER, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, said IITs were not just centres of learning but engines of Innovation, Inclusion, and Transformation driving India's journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. He noted that with 23 IITs, international campuses, and a vibrant startup ecosystem, IITs were producing global leaders and innovators while ensuring India continues to RISE through Research, Innovation, Skills, and Entrepreneurship.
The meeting saw the participation of senior policymakers, industry leaders, technologists, and academicians, including former ISRO Chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu, former UGC Chairman Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, AICTE Chairman Prof. T.G. Sitharam, and chairpersons of several IITs.
Key discussions focused on reforming PhD education, boosting global rankings, strengthening research commercialisation, and adapting curriculum to emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. A Task Force will be constituted to prepare a detailed action plan for higher and school education. The Council also deliberated on mental wellbeing, translational research, industry-academia linkages, and strategies to guide the IITs through the IITs@2047 roadmap.
The importance of promoting regional and Indian languages, leveraging alumni networks for mentorship and industry ties, and supporting international students and faculty was also underlined. The Council resolved to elevate the IIT R&D Fair into a global innovation platform and to frame a policy within a month to accelerate translational research and product development for self-reliance.
