T.P. Singh, a biotechnology research professor at the Department of Biophysics, AIIMS, New Delhi, emphasised the need to invest more in university education, especially in technical fields. More investment is specifically needed to increase the number of teachers and improve the infrastructure.
In his address at the 105th annual convocation of the University of Mysore at the iconic Crawford Hall here on Saturday, Dr. Singh, also the chief guest, said the University of Mysore, which is one of the oldest universities, needs more funds for the overall improvement.
In recent years, the emergence of new institutions in the public domain as well as in the private sector has helped to increase the output significantly and improve the global rankings in education and research, he said.
Citing the available data, the eminent scientist said 2,77,000 PhDs were awarded degrees across the world in 2024. The U.S. contributed 71,000 PhDs, China 56,000, and India stood at the third position, producing 29,000 PhDs. Similarly, in terms of publications, India is at the number three position with nearly 2,00,000 publications per year whereas China is at the number one spot, publishing more than 7,00,000 papers, while the U.S. produced over 6,00,000 publications, he explained.
Similar numbers are there for the number of engineers. But, as per our population, India has to do better. And for that, we need to invest more in university education, Dr. Singh said.
In software-related services, India stands in fourth position. But, it should have been at the number one position. Although India is known as the pharmacy of the world, the value of our exports in this field is way behind at number nine. More investment is needed here too, he said.
Dr. Singh said biotechnology, in comparison to many technological fields, is progressing rapidly. Thanks, in part, to artificial intelligence (AI). The field’s progress, in many ways, has been massively boosted by machine learning (ML). Machine learning is increasingly being used for protein folding, an important step involved in drug discovery. India is among the top five countries in the world in biotechnology-based products. The success of AI and ML will depend on the data we generate in labs. Therefore, experimental research will always remain the key.
Minister for Higher Education M.C. Sudhakar presided over the convocation.
Honorary doctorate was conferred on Rajya Sabha member and founder of Infosys Foundation Sudha Murty for the year 2020; Dr. A.C. Shanmugham, former MP and founder president, Rajarajeshwari educational institutions, Bengaluru; and Shaheed Majeed, Global CEO and Managing Director, Sami-Sabinsa Group, Bengaluru.
Vice-Chancellor N.K. Lokanath, registrar V.R. Shylaja, and registrar evaluation N. Nagaraja were present.
In total, 31,689 candidates were conferred with degrees at the convocation. Among them, 20,022 (63.18%) are women and 11,667 are men. In all, 304 candidates received PhD degrees in various subjects. Among them, 140 (46.05%) are women and 164 (53.94%) are men.
Published – January 18, 2025 07:09 pm IST
