Viksit Bharat not merely economic aspiration but national mission: BJP vice prez Bajpai

New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Viksit Bharat is not merely an economic aspiration but a national mission, BJP vice president and Rajya Sabha MP Laxmikant Bajpai said on Thursday. Bajpai was speaking at the 18th National Education Leadership and Skill Development Summit 2026, organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on the theme 'Education for Viksit Bharat: Bridging Aspirations with Transformation'. "Viksit Bharat is not merely an economic aspiration; it is a national mission built on knowledge, innovation, technology and our civilisational values. Education must teach students not only what to think, but how to think. "It must connect learning with employment, research with societal needs and innovation with entrepreneurship. A developed India can only be built through the collective efforts of government, academia, industry and society," he said. Stressing that education must go beyond imparting degrees to creating innovators, entrepreneurs and responsible citizens, Bajpai said education must connect learning with employment, innovation and nation-building to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. He emphasised that a developed India can only be built through the collective efforts of government, academia, industry and society, with education serving as the foundation for creating future-ready talent. Pankaj Mittal, secretary general, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), highlighted the "transformative" impact of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 and called for stronger collaboration between universities and industry. "NEP 2020 has introduced unprecedented flexibility through multidisciplinary education, multiple entry-exit pathways and the Academic Bank of Credits, enabling students to learn without boundaries. The next priority is to build stronger university-industry linkages. We had envisioned a '100 Universities–100 Industries' initiative to create structured partnerships for skilling and employability, and we look forward to collaborating with ASSOCHAM to make this vision a reality," Mittal said. The summit focused on strengthening industry-academia collaboration, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, leveraging Artificial Intelligence and EdTech, promoting internationalisation of higher education, and equipping students with future-ready skills aligned with the NEP 2020. Col Saurabh Sanyal (Retd), secretary general, ASSOCHAM, said, "The vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 can only be realised through an education ecosystem that is innovative, inclusive and closely aligned with industry needs. As technology reshapes every sector, our institutions must move beyond conventional learning to nurture employability, entrepreneurship and innovation." PTI GJS PRK