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

At VIT University's convocation in Vellore, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta urged graduates to help India build its own artificial intelligence and solve public problems through innovation. The event also spotlighted wider concerns over higher education access, medical seat shortages and university governance.

In Short

• Rekha Gupta said government and graduates can jointly solve urban problems effectively
• She cited Delhi's work with IITs on pollution, traffic and waste
• Students were urged to treat failure calmly and persist with hard work

India must shift from being a consumer of artificial intelligence to becoming a creator of AI technologies, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said at the 41st convocation of VIT University, Vellore, held on August 22.

Gupta, who was the chief guest at the ceremony presided over by VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan, conferred degree certificates on graduating students. She said many of society’s pressing challenges could be addressed when governments and graduates work together to develop solutions.

Citing Delhi's own experience, the Chief Minister noted that the city had found solutions to challenges such as pollution, traffic congestion and waste management by partnering with IIT institutions.

She urged graduating students to take up similar roles once they enter the workforce, contributing to solutions for their cities and to innovation for the nation.

FROM AI USERS TO AI CREATORS

"Don't just be users of artificial intelligence, build India's own AI," she said, pointing to the substantial investments made by the Union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the "India AI Mission," spanning semiconductors, computing infrastructure, defence, space, drones, robotics and biotechnology.

The aim, she said, was for India to move beyond consuming AI technology to producing it, a shift she called one of the greatest contributions graduates could make to their state and country.

She also spoke about resilience, telling students not to fear failure or let it cause stress, but instead to identify its causes, understand them, and work through them with determination rather than walking away from the problem. Hard work, she said, remains the most important path for everyone.

While a nation's products and assets drive its growth, she added, its most valuable resource is intellectual capital, embodied by the graduates themselves. She said India's goals should rest on the vision of "Make in India," "Invest in India," "Design in India" and "Brand in India," noting that while the world has recognised the talent of Indian engineers, it must now also witness the strength of Indian technology itself.

INDIA’S HIGHER EDUCATION NEEDS GREATER ACCESS

In his address, VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan said India's Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education stands at around 30 percent, which the Union government's new education policy aims to raise to 50 percent. India must compete with other Asian nations on this front, he said, citing enrolment ratios of 90 percent in South Korea, 60 percent in Japan, over 60 percent in China, 40 percent in Malaysia and 45 percent in Thailand.

He noted that India has around 1,400 universities, 54,000 colleges and 16,000 standalone educational institutions, with about 4.5 crore students currently in higher education. Ensuring access to higher education for students from poor and middle-class backgrounds, he said, is a shared duty of state and central governments.

Highlighting a stark imbalance, Viswanathan said India has over 50 lakh engineering seats but lags far behind in medical education. About 22 lakh students appear for the NEET examination each year, competing for only around 1.3 lakh medical seats nationwide, leaving barely 2,000 to 3,000 seats vacant after allotment.

As a result, nearly 1 lakh Indian students go abroad annually to study medicine, including about 23,000 in China, 18,000 in Russia, 15,000 in the Philippines, 10,000 each in Kyrgyzstan and France, 9,000 in Bangladesh, 7,500 in Georgia, 5,000 each in Italy and Poland, and 3,000 each in Iran and Nepal.

Citing World Health Organization guidelines of one doctor per 1,000 people, Viswanathan said southern states, including Tamil Nadu, meet this standard, while states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh face shortages of one doctor per 2,000 to 2,300 people, underscoring the need for greater investment in medical education.

He noted that India's 840 medical colleges collectively offer only 1.3 lakh seats, with individual colleges typically admitting just 100 to 150 students a year, compared with up to 400 in Britain and 800 to 1,200 in China. Raising intake to 1,000 students per institution, he suggested, could help India reach 8 lakh medical seats, provided adequate faculty and infrastructure are put in place.

MEDICAL EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENTS AMONG CONCERNS

Viswanathan also pointed to ongoing friction between governors and state governments over vice-chancellor appointments, noting that 17 universities in Tamil Nadu and more than 13 in Kerala currently have vacant posts.

He appealed to newly appointed Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi to help coordinate between governors and state governments so that the education sector, and student interests, are not affected.

He further observed that India, once the world's fourth-largest economy, has slipped to sixth position amid a decline in the rupee's value, and called for boosting production and exports through education-led growth.

The ceremony was a personal moment for Rekha Gupta, whose son, Nikunj Gupta, graduated alongside his batchmates. The Chief Minister was seen seated below the stage, watching with visible pride as her son received his degree certificate.

In all, 11,276 undergraduate and postgraduate students received degree certificates – 7,359 at the undergraduate level and 3,917 at the postgraduate level. Among them, 6,046 completed BTech, 1,732 completed MTech, 1,313 completed other undergraduate courses, and 2,185 completed MSc and other postgraduate programmes. Additionally, 781 students received PhD degrees and three received integrated PhD degrees. Certificates of academic distinction went to 248 top-ranking students, while 84 received gold medals.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also inaugurated the Centre for Advanced Research in Bacteriophages and Infectious Diseases at VIT.

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