Every campus in India must become incubators for startups: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said every campus must become an incubator for startups and must strive to nurture and develop innovation and entrepreneurship. During a meeting with the heads of all premier educational institutes in India like NIFT, the commerce minister asked the institutions to introspect if their education was tailor-made to cater to the needs of tomorrow.

ALSO READ | Good news for iPhone users: Apple rolls out new update that allows 5G access

He said, "We must aspire to take India`s fashion technology to the developed markets of the world. He also observed that there is a need to expand our faculty base and invest greatly in faculty development" during the meeting with the heads and senior faculty members of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), National Institute of Design (NID), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in New Delhi on Saturday evening.

ALSO READ | Big Discount on iPhone: You can buy iPhone 12 Mini at half price on Flipkart

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asked eminent institutions of design in India to increase their student intake by a minimum of 10X, according to a statement from the commerce ministry. The Minister pointed out that this was the first such interaction of the five eminent institutes that work under the aegis of the ministry of commerce and industry and ministry of textiles.

The Minister called for intensive collaborations between all five institutions so that they may work together and develop synergies to improve and grow. He asked the institutes to consider having common campuses for more effective utilisation of resources and think about merging bodies to bring strength to them. Goyal asked the institutes to focus on creating a robust alumni programme and build an extensive alumni network.

Alumni networks have an immense potential to contribute to growth of the alma mater, he opined during the meet. He also asked corporates to generously support eminent educational institutions.

The Minister referred to the `paanch pran` enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked the institutes to align themselves to these five visionary vows. The Minister said that educational and vocational training institutions must focus on developing human resources throughout the length and breadth of the country and not just in cities. No child must be left behind, he reiterated and asked institutions to also institute scholarship programmes.He also suggested that the institutions work to develop a sustained connect with eastern and the northeastern parts of the nation and bring in much more diversity among both faculty and students.The Minister asked the institutions to strive to remove any traces of colonial mindset in processes, practices, and style of working.

He opined that colonial practices often create exclusionary tendencies which intimidate and alienate the common man. Goyal also spoke of the need for us to go back to our roots and observed that there is a tremendous scope for us to learn from tradition and heritage and offer it to the world.