India must become an AI creator, not just a user: Rekha Gupta

VELLORE: India must move from being a consumer to a creator of artificial intelligence, New Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Saturday (August 22), while VIT University’s 41st convocation.

She urged graduates to use technology to solve social problems and contribute to India’s development.

“Don’t just be users of AI, build India’s own AI,” she added, highlighting Union government investments under the India AI Mission in semiconductors, computing, defence, space, drones, robotics and biotechnology.

“Graduates should work with governments to address challenges such as pollution, traffic and waste management,” Gupta opined, citing Delhi’s collaboration with IIT institutions. “Treat failure as an opportunity to learn. Identify mistakes and work through them rather than give up.”

The convocation had a personal moment for Gupta as her son, Nikunj, was among the graduating students. She watched from below the stage when he received his degree. Earlier, Gupta had inaugurated VIT’s Centre for Advanced Research for Bacteriophage and Infectious Diseases.

VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan said that India’s GER in higher education was around 30% - well below South Korea’s 90%, Japan’s 60%, China’s over 60%, Malaysia’s 40% and Thailand’s 45%. “The National Education Policy aims to raise India’s ratio to 50%,” he said. “There’s a need for greater investment in medical education. Around 22 lakh students appear for NEET for just 1.3 lakh medical seats, forcing nearly 1 lakh Indians to study medicine abroad every year.”

He also urged the Union government to address vacancies in Vice-Chancellor posts caused by differences between governors and State governments, noting that 17 universities in Tamil Nadu and more than 13 in Kerala had vacant posts. He also called for higher production and exports to strengthen India’s economy.

TCS Vice-President and CTO Babu Unnikrishnan also addressed the convocation.

A total of 11,276 students received degrees, including 7,359 undergraduates and 3,917 postgraduates. Among them were 781 PhD graduates and three integrated PhD graduates. Academic distinction certificates were awarded to 248 students and 84 received gold medals.