Chennai: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the 30th convocation of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) on Friday.

On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Convocation ceremony of Manipal Academy of Higher Education said, “When I talk of education, I mean both theoretical and practical. We should not only have knowledge but also wisdom. Illiteracy is a major reason for poverty and unemployment.”


"There was a point when India was number 1 in scientific technology. The concept of zero was given by India to the world. The quadratic equation was also given by India," he said.





"Earlier there was no start-up ecosystem in country, but in last 7-8 years picture has changed. Before 2014, there were hardly a few hundred start-ups but today the number has crossed 70,000. These success stories have been written by youths like you," he said.







 





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The convocation ceremony is scheduled to be held from November 18 to November 20 at Manipal. 


The organizers said that Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister G Satheesh Reddy will be the chief guest on November 19. Axis Bank's Managing Director and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry will be the chief guest for the event on November 20. 


In the convocation, more than 5,000 students are expected to receive the degrees. The convocation of the University is held after a gap of two years due to the pandemic.