NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul lighting lamps at the Convocation of the Apeejay Stya University. (PTI)
Concerned over the absence of Indian educational institutions in the global top-200 list, leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has emphasised the need for India to have world-class universities if it wants to have a "strong voice" in the world.
Mr Paul, who is also the Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, lamented the "below benchmark" standard of education at many Indian institutions and called on these to aim for a "world class" standing by giving more seriousness to the university ranking process.
Speaking on 'Internationalism in Education' at the first convocation ceremony of the Apeejay Stya University, the Caparo Group chairman also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative.
"To meet this objective, we must all strive to make Indian universities world class. If India wants to have a strong voice in the world, it needs to have strong, world-class universities," Paul said.
He also referred to President Pranab Mukherjee's emphasis on research and development in educational institutions and his call for pursuing greater international links with foreign universities.
"No longer can international educational exchanges be transactional, with one nation providing and the other receiving. For education to be truly global, we must enter into transformational arrangements with academic minds," he said.
Praising PM Modi for raising India's profile to the "highest level" in the world, the industrialist said that the country is being closely watched.
He noted that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and HRD Minister Smriti Irani were very capable when it came to discharging their roles.
"You are fortunate to graduate at this time when new opportunities are available in India. You are almost in a new India created by voters who have shown maturity in ignoring caste and religion and voted for performance," he said.
Mr Paul, who has also been a Chancellor of Westminster University in the past, stressed on the need for giving more seriousness to the university ranking process and to develop a strategy to project the achievements of Indian universities "more effectively".
He underlined the role of education, which he said should be "a fundamental right of any society", and spoke of the need for a skilled workforce to bring about a global economic turnaround after a "difficult" period.
"The fundamental component of long-term economic health is the availability of a skilled workforce ready to meet the challenges ahead," he said.