Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday exhorted the University of Lucknow to offer courses on the local arts and products and called for research to do value addition to these local products. Addressing the university’s centennial foundation day celebration via video conferencing, the prime minister also called for continued engagement with subjects of arts, culture and spirituality to provide them a global reach.
“Management, branding and strategy to make the products like Lucknow ‘Chikankari’, brass wares of Moradabad, locks of Aligarh, Bhadohi Carpets globally competitive should be the part of courses offered at the university,” Modi said, adding that this will help in realising the concept of ‘one district one product’.
Referring to the need to realise one’s potential, Modi gave the example of Rai Bareli rail coach factory. He said that for a long time, investment in the factory was not utilised beyond minor products and fitting some attachments in the coaches made at Kapurthala.
“The factory was capable of making coaches but never worked to its full potential. This under-utilisation changed in 2014 and full capabilities of the factory were realized and today hundreds of coaches are being produced by the factory,” he said.
Modi said that will-power and intention are equally important as capabilities. “Positivity in thinking and possibilities in approach should always be kept alive,” he added.
Modi narrated his experience of popularising khadi with the help of students in Gujarat through a fashion show at Porbandar on Gandhi Jayanti. “This made Khadi 'fashionable’. Amount of Khadi sold in the last six years is more than what was sold in 20 years before that,” he said.
The prime minister said that the National Education Policy is a tool for students to test themselves. The effort in the new policy is to provide self confidence and flexibility to the students, he said and called upon the students to break the orthodoxies and think beyond the mould and not fear the change. Modi asked the students to discuss the new policy and help in its implementation.
The prime minister unveiled the university’s centennial commemorative coin on the occasion. He also released a special commemorative postal stamp issued by India Post and its special cover during the event. Union Defence Minister and Member of Parliament from Lucknow Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath were present on the occasion.
