True purpose of education is to give back to people for better society: PM Modi

Tiruchirappalli, Jan 2 (PTI) Indian innovators took the number of patents from around 4,000 in 2014 to almost 50,000 now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Tuesday.

Addressing the convocation ceremony of state-run Bharathidasan University here, the Prime Minister quoted the 'Puthiyathor Ulagam Seivom' Tamil verses of poet Bharathidasan, after whom the university had been named, and said it meant creating a brave new world which is also the university's motto.

Modi said the Indian youth were already creating such a world. The Indian scientists are on the world map through missions like Chandrayaan and 'our innovators took the number of patents from around 4,000 in 2014 to almost 50,000 now.' India's 'humanity scholars are showcasing the India story to the world like never before.' Also, the nation's musicians and artists were continuously bringing international awards for the country, he said.

Giving back to the people for a better society and country is the true purpose of education, he underlined.

Modi is the first prime Minister to address the convocation ceremony of the varsity, established in 1982.

In a very brief interaction with a group of students, he asked if anyone was interested to go to Delhi, to which two women students raised their hands and smiled. The Prime Minister paid floral tributes to a bust of Bharathidasan (1891-1964), hailed as revolutionary Tamil poet, and he posed for a group-photograph with students, Governor R N Ravi and Chief Minister M K Stalin. PTI