Colleges need to produce people capable of getting into industry: Nirmala Sitharaman

Chennai: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that educational institutes in India need to produce students capable of getting into the industry to serve the country's developmental goals. She added that India needs to understand what the industry requires.

Speaking at the 10th convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, she said India's higher education was no less when compared to global universities and people who have studied in Indian universities were the second largest contingent when it comes to managing the best of companies around the world.

She observed that India can become the land of manufacturing in some critical areas for which we are now completely dependent on other countries. This will also prevent manufacturing from suffering when there are supply chain issues. She added that the focus should be on futuristic industries and industry leaders should be on the board of educational institutes.

"What we need to do now is to make sure we understand what the industry needs and be able to manufacture for ourselves and for the world. That is why industry leaders sitting on the boards of such wonderful educational institutions, which draw talent, which bring in the best of skills and ability, and which have rigorous learning experiences are very important," she added.

Speaking of supporting the market, she said such synergy is now achieved by most of the institutions because the government speaks to them. "They give inputs to the government. As a result, students can get absolutely important institutions."