The youth have an important role in building not only their own future, but also shaping their family, the country and humanity, said T. Ramasami, former secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India at the 14th annual convocation of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai on Sunday.

“Since 2000, Tamil Nadu has emerged as a leader in research and development (R&D), as measured by the number of research papers published in peer-reviewed journals. About 61 per cent of the research papers published in India are from Tamil Nadu, of which 35 per cent are contributed by private universities,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, Ganesanathan Geathiswaran, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka said that India and Sri Lanka were separated by a narrow stretch of water, but connected by thousands of years of history, culture, religion, language, trade, and human relationships.

Speaking at the convocation, VIT founder and Chancellor G. Viswanathan said, “Only around 13 per cent of India’s population had attained graduate-level education and emphasised that graduating students represented the future of the nation. While India was witnessing rapid economic growth, the expansion of higher education had not kept pace with that of developed nations.”

VIT vice-presidents Sankar Viswanathan and G.V. Selvam, vice-chancellor V.S. Kanchana Bhaaskaran, pro-vice chancellor T. Thyagarajan, Director, K. Sathiyanarayanan, Registrar, Jayabarathi .T, and additional registrar P.K. Manoharan, VIT Chennai also took part in the convocation.

As many as 4,518 students in undergraduate, post graduate and Ph.D received their degrees.

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, held its induction programme for students joining law degree programmes at the VIT School of Law.

The chief guest for the event was Justice Devan Ramachandran, Judge of the Kerala High Court. The other guests were Sarah Sunny, advocate, Supreme Court of India, and Maygha Viswanat, senior legal counsel at XFLOW Payments India Private Limited and an alumna of the VIT School of Law.

T. Thyagarajan, Pro Vice- Chancellor of VIT Chennai, delivered the presidential address, C.T. Rabbiraj, Dean of VIT School of Law, proposed a vote of thanks. P.K. Manoharan, Additional Registrar, Nithya Darisini P. S., Dean (Academics); and A. Nayeemulla Khan, Dean (Academic Research), participated.

The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has distributed scholarships to the tune of ₹102 crore for government school students under its flagship programme titled Support the Advancement of Rural Students (STARS) scheme since its inception way back in 2008, said G. Viswanathan, founder and Chancellor, VIT, on Sunday.

In his presidential address at the STARS Day celebration event, which was organised by VIT in its campus here, Mr. Viswanathan said that the scheme aimed to support high-achieving students from rural government schools who secure excellent marks in higher secondary examinations but lack the financial means to pursue further education. “So far, 1,147 students have benefited under the scheme. The VIT has borne the entire cost of their education, accommodation, and food, amounting to ₹102 crore,” he said.

Nordic countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland have achieved remarkable progress through strong education systems and robust social welfare models. A democratic country like India could learn valuable lessons from their development strategies that could help the overall growth of the country, he said.

On the occasion, K.R. Nagarajan, founder and Chairman, Ramraj Group, J. Kavitha, a former STARS scholar and currently serving as Special Deputy Collector of Theni, Sankar Viswanathan and Sekar Viswanathan, vice-presidents, VIT, were present.