Dr. Kumar Ashutosh , University of Delhi
Viksit Bharat is the vision of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi that by 2047, India will be a developed nation and to make this vision a reality, it is hoped that every institution and every individual should move with a firm resolution, both in action and effort in this direction. This vision will be a guiding principle for India during its golden period, with rapid developments being witnessed in every sphere—in the field of education, economics, spirituality, travel and tourism, trade etc. Now is our chance to contribute at the individual and institutional levels to the fulfillment of this noble aspiration and vision.
Delhi University has not been far behind in its efforts towards Viksit Bharat@2047. The position of the University of Delhi in the latest edition of the QS World University Ranking has seen a jump of 79 ranks from 407 last year to 328 in 2024. This jump in World Ranking is a significant marker of the role that Delhi University will come to exhibit in the near future and in moving closer towards the dream of Viksit Bharat, where every individual’s participation will be considered essential in fulfilling this vision. According to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the main objective of Viksit Bharat is to ensure that every citizen is a stakeholder in the economy. He has an economy in mind that must be inclusive, strong and that must create job and entrepreneurial roles which would boost investment, accelerate economic growth and lead to innovation across various industrial sectors.
To meet this goal the successful and smooth implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) must be given due credit. In accordance with the goals of Viksit Bharat, the NEP aims to create jobs, foster innovation and critical inquiry, make education more experiential, holistic and flexible, discovery-oriented, learner-centered, discussion-based and an enjoyable process.
Besides this, after a long gap Delhi University saw a successful process of permanent appointments to bring about stability in the system and to give security to those who had been working against adhoc vacancies. However, about 1000-1500 vacancies are still left and it is hoped that they will be filled in the near future, wherein about 10-15 colleges or maybe more are still to conduct interviews in the coming years. It is noteworthy that about 10,000 promotions have successfully taken place at the Colleges. These are steps in a positive direction, as Delhi University is seen as a premier University that provides excellence in education to many students from diverse regional and linguistic backgrounds; its stability is a sign of it being able to provide the best in academics to its students.
Prime Minister Modi hopes to uplift many millions of Indians out of poverty, to lead the nation to its full economic potential, for which he believes digitization, startup communities and homegrown manufacturing can be beneficial. Keeping his goals as an absolute imperative, one must underscore here the infrastructure development that Delhi University has witnessed over the past few years, which would inch us closer to his dream of making Viksit Bharat by 2047 for India, where India would be a developed nation in reality.
His lofty ideals and noble vision are a source of inspiration for many Indians, who can contribute to making this vision a reality through their individual efforts in the right direction. The visionary zeal of the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Prof. Yogesh Singh is unparalleled in meeting the objectives of Viksit Bharat. He is known for academic excellence and profound knowledge on a vast variety of subjects. Besides this, he is known for his transparent attitude and interactive nature. He is a beacon of light and a source of inspiration for many individuals and Delhi University is fortunate to have his able guidance, academic excellence and his command to reach the targets of Viksit Bharat that have been set out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
To meet the objectives of Viksit Bharat, Delhi University has also begun several job-oriented courses such as B. Tech, Masters in Operational Research and Masters Course offered by Department of Hindu Studies; it is also likely to offer Masters in Tourism Management very soon. This is clearly a step in the right direction in keeping with the vision of both NEP and Viksit Bharat, where more job opportunities are created and every individual prospers. PM Modi aspires for an inclusive and equal society where every individual prospers; this can be made possible by laying larger emphasis on social welfare. The goal of Viksit Bharat is to prioritise inclusivity and social welfare, the model of such a society is envisioned where every individual reaps benefits from economic progress. While many efforts have been made by the administration in this direction to empower marginalized communities and to support disadvantaged populations, the focus will also be education, health care and social security.
In order to ensure inclusivity, Delhi University has taken a step in the right direction by introducing NEP, to ensure that job-opportunities are created for all, with more skill-based courses being given priority and several exit points being created for students, based on their preference and the pool of courses that they wish to opt for.
Delhi University has also been giving a lot of boost to Indian Knowledge Systems through several panel discussions being held by renowned academicians at colleges and at the University level. The Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) has been established to promote interdisciplinary research on all aspects of IKS. It aims to foster the rich heritage of our country and traditional knowledge in Arts and Literature, Architecture, Economics, Basic Sciences, Engineering & Technology etc.
Besides this, efforts have been made in Delhi University to conduct research for resurgence. In other words, Delhi University is focusing on Indianisation of research and education. This would ensure that the best publications by scholars are not published by Routledge, or Francis & Taylor i.e., by foreign journals and more citations of good quality work are published in India. By giving a boost to research and by publishing more research work in India, it is hoped that good quality of research work is retained in India and is not published in the foreign market. It is DU’s endeavour that best publications should be published in India itself.
With the dream of Viksit Bharat we get to create the future and it is Young India’s creativity and potential with the support of government policies like Digital India and Startup India that we are enabling the youth to become self-sufficient and job creators. Hence, it is all the more essential to channelise the ideas of youth into nation-building through their innovative ideas in aspiring to achieve the dream of Viksit Bharat. The benefits of this outreach initiative would help millions of people across India and in this Delhi University is not far behind by contributing in every possible way to make this vision achievable with the goal post and challenges in mind. To conclude, these inspiring words by Swami Vivekananda come to my mind:
“Arise! Awake! And stop not until the goal is reached.”
“Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your
whole Soul into it to the exclusion of all else.”
Swami Vivekananda.