"I am truly delighted to be in Goa to inaugurate the campus of the Birla Institute of Science and Technology. A hundred years ago, when Shri Ghanshyam Dasji Birla, started a school at Pilani, he planted a seed that has long bloomed into a tree of knowledge. I pay tribute to his memory and to all those who helped build this great institution.

I am delighted that after establishing your credentials at Pilani and winning laurels in Dubai, you have established a new campus in this beautiful State. Our country is in need of more institutions of learning and excellence and I welcome all initiatives to add to our capacity in the educational system. I complement the Chancellor, Dr. K.K. Birla, who has been the moving force of your Institute. Yours is an outstanding example of private initiative in the promotion of higher education. Seth Ghanshyamdasji Birla wanted to impart education free of dogma; learning that would foster a scientific approach to life, enabling students to remain dedicated to the eternal quest for truth. I am happy that BITS has lived upto this vision in discharging its duties to the people and the nation. You have set a shining example of what the private sector can do in developing technical manpower for our country.

I am happy that the management of BITS has chosen Goa as one of the locations for an institute. This is one of our more developed and better administered States. Goa has enormous potential in its traditional areas of business like tourism and fisheries, and also has potential in knowledge-based industries. This State's impressive record in human development and the genial and friendly attitude of the Goan people, makes this State an ideal base for service-oriented industries. I hope BITS, Goa will focus on some of the areas of particular local interest.

It is well known that the quality of scientific and technical manpower is an important determinant of the progress of a nation. At Independence, the dearth of such manpower was a barrier to rapid progress. The establishment of this institute was part of a national effort to lay the foundation for a new India. Today, BITS can take pride in producing the finest graduates in the field of not only science and technology but also in the field of management. Your innovative educational curricula and your tradition of integrating class room education with practical lessons in factories have enabled BITS to remain up-to-date in the field of technical education. Indeed, the development of an institutionalized linkage between university and industry owes a lot to your efforts.

Today, we live in an era where science and technology have come to increasingly define the pace and quality of development. The emerging knowledge society will require graduates with basic training in mathematics, science and engineering. Therefore it is imperative that the private sector comes forward in a big way to help the nation move ahead in the field of technical education. I do believe that the Government has an obligation and a responsibility to invest in education, especially primary and secondary education. However, keeping in step with the market, which increasingly allocates resources and shapes the course of development, private initiative must also play its due role in the field of education.

We have in our country splendid examples of private initiative in education. Institutions like BITS, Manipal Academy and the Tata Institutes have extended high quality educational facilities to our younger generation. The need of the hour is to build on these bright spots and encourage many more initiatives for the accelerated progress of the country. It requires not only more investment from the private sector but also a bold vision to modernize our society and tradition through quality education. We need significantly greater participation from corporate and industrial houses to realize this vision in practice. The overwhelming initiative of the private sector will act as a propelling force in this direction.

For several years now BITS, Pilani has been a symbol of what the corporate sector has been able to do for higher education in our country. While we are proud of our IITs and other state-funded institutions of excellence, we are equally proud of similar institutions in the private sector. In Manipal, in Vellore, in Bangalore, in Pune and in many other places, our corporate sector has created institutions that have acquired a global standing. I sincerely hope that more and more business groups will come forward to invest in our knowledge economy.

Our Government is committed to sustaining the present rate of growth of close to 8% per annum. Indeed, we aim to do better; we want to raise the rate of growth to reach double digits. However, such a sustained growth process will increase demand for natural and human resources. It will increase demand for trained manpower at all levels of the production chain. I do believe that Government and the private sector must work together to ease this supply gap.

In this context, it is important to take note of the "manpower gap" which is emerging at various levels of the economy. At the very top, this gap has been exacerbated by the migration of talent from India. Graduates from some of our best institutions are increasingly being sought by employers worldwide. This accentuates the supply-demand gap at home. What is worrying is that we have this gap even at the bottom of the pyramid. In part this is also due to the global demand for skilled Indian labour, especially in West and South-east Asia. Apart from the quantitative gaps, qualitative gaps are also emerging. We have to increase the number of seats at all levels of technical education, from ITIs to IITs and also improve the quality of training at all levels.

In this context, our Government has taken up a project to upgrade 500 of our Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). I am pleased that the Confederation of Indian Industries has come forward to help with one hundred of these. However, if required, we should be ready to set up more of such institutions. We should make our educational system more vocationally-oriented to increase employment opportunities by raising technical skills.

Our educational system is in need of both expansion and improvement. I have repeatedly said that our Government is committed to addressing issues pertaining to increasing access to education, at all levels of the knowledge pyramid. Equally we are also committed to promoting excellence and ensuring that our students and teachers compare with the best in the world. There is no contradiction in pursuing these twin objectives. Some countries like China have done this quite successfully. I dream of seeing an India that is fully literate. I want to see every young man and woman adequately trained to find employment or create it for themselves. I also want to see an India where the best and brightest can realize their full potential and have the opportunity to do so.

In concluding, I compliment the management, the faculty and students of BITS for their dedication and commitment to the nation. I wish you well in your future endeavours. May your path be blessed.

Thank you."