Foreign language should not be unbreachable barrier to learn sciences, medicine and technology: VP Dhankar

New Delhi [India], October 26 : Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar emphasized that foreign language should not be an unbreachable barrier to learning sciences, medicine and technology while addressing the students at the 10th Convocation of IIT Jodhpur on Saturday.
Dhankhar further encouraged students to break non-traditional barriers in education by embracing a harmonious blend of Gyaan and Vigyan.
"Under the NEP, students now have the flexibility to pursue courses in non-traditional combinations--the harmonious blend of Gyaan and Vigyan, technology and knowledge together. Medical students can study economics or music alongside their core subjects, a step towards a holistic and well-rounded education," he stated.
He emphasized that "India's future problem solvers will be those who are empowered to look beyond strict disciplinary boundaries."
VP Dhankar stressed the significance of education in the mother tongue, commending IIT Jodhpur as the first institution nationally to offer engineering and technology courses in the mother tongue.
"There are dozens of countries who excel in engineering but do not teach these subjects in a foreign language. Look at Japan, Germany, China, and many other countries at the forefront of technology--they don't take the recourse of a foreign language. Language the country believes in, the individual believes in. You can adopt German, Japanese, Chinese, or Indian. Our homegrown thinkers - either Baudhayana nor Pythagoras--were thinking in English. Yet they both arrived at this wonderful theorem in their own mother tongue," he said.
Discussing India's economic path, Dhankhar urged collective action to move beyond the middle-income trap and toward becoming a developed nation by 2047.
"We have to grow our per capita income eightfold. We have to become a developed nation by 2047, when we have our centennial celebrations of independence. An eightfold increase is reachable and achievable. We have to create meaningful employment high up in the value chain," he emphasized.
Acknowledging India's trailblazing role in the digital economy, he highlighted that the country has set a template of technological adaptation and transformation that the world now follows.
"This country has set a template of technological adaptation and transformation for others to follow. Every day, 466 million digital transactions happen in India on an average. UPI has revolutionized the way we're transacting in this country. Everyone has come to know about it. How widespread is its impact? More importantly, my young friends, UPI has found acceptance beyond our shores," he noted.
In closing, VP Dhankar appealed to India's youth to embrace their strengths: "The world wants to join Bharat's growth story, with global partners aiming to anchor their supply chains here. Today's world looks to India as a template for technological adaptation, achieving an average of 466 million digital transactions daily. Our youth must reject the 'doom and gloom' mentality of the past, embrace our strengths, and become the driving force of a prosperous, self-reliant India."