In a message to the nation’s engineers on Thursday in honour of Engineer’s Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the country is fortunate to have a skilled and bright pool of engineers who contribute to nation-building.
PM Modi also reaffirmed that efforts are being made by the government to improve the facilities for students who aspire to pursue engineering.
“Greetings to all engineers on #EngineersDay. Our nation is blessed to have a skilled and talented pool of engineers who are contributing to nation building. Our Government is working to enhance infrastructure for studying engineering including building more engineering colleges,” PM Modi said in a tweet.
The prime minister acknowledged Dr. M. Visvesvaraya, who received the Bharat Ratna honour, in another tweet. He quoted a section of one of his earlier Mann Ki Baat speeches in which he discussed the issue.
“On #EngineersDay, we remember the pathbreaking contribution of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. May he keep inspiring generations of future engineers to distinguish themselves. I am also sharing a snippet from one of the previous #MannKiBaat programmes where I talked about this subject,” he said.
In the given clip, Bhavna Tripathi, an engineering student from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, encouraged PM Modi to speak with engineers and engineering students in order to boost and stimulate their confidence on Engineer’s Day.
In response to her question, PM Modi praised Indian engineers. According to him, India has a history of inventive engineering that has “made the impossibly imaginable” possible.
“Lakhs of people and farmers are being benefitted by the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam, built by Visvesvaraya on the Cauvery River. He is remembered all across the country with deep respect…Our engineers have made their mark following his footsteps,” PM Modi said.
He also brought up the Kutch earthquake of 2001 and emphasised the need to design homes that were previously built with the local environment in mind, which used to keep people safe.
He said, “While we observe Engineer’s Day, we should think of our future and see what needs to be done.”
“Disaster management has become a big challenge today. The world is struggling hard to mitigate natural calamities. In such conditions, structural engineering and its curriculum should be considered, how to make construction work eco-friendly, how to add value to the local materials for improved construction, and how to make zero waste a priority; all this should be pondered over while we celebrate Engineer’s Day,” PM Modi said.