Science and technology are indispensable for the growth of countries, says the Chancellor of VIT

Dignitaries with graVitas winners at VIT campus on Sunday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Science and technology are indispensable for the growth of developing countries, where the majority of the population is young people, said G. Viswanathan, Founder and Chancellor, VIT.

In his presidential address on the concluding day of gravitas 26, a three-day festival of techno management organized by VIT at its Vellore campus, Mr. Viswanathan said that countries that excel in science and technology have emerged as leading nations in the world.

“Out of 193 countries, only 75 are classified as developed countries, mainly due to the progress in science and technology in these countries over the past few centuries. This can only be achieved by providing education, especially higher education, to all,” he said.

The chancellor emphasized the need to use the potential of a large number of young populations for the country’s growth. Currently, India has more than 15 million people in the age group of 18-23 years. Despite the huge young population, about 30 percent have access to higher education.

“Access to higher education should reach the poor and middle-class segment, where financial contributions are mostly provided by parents. In other words, about four percent of students could get government scholarships for higher studies,” he said.

In this context, the teacher also pointed out that private companies and institutions should support students in university studies in the form of scholarships and internships.

Gravitas 2026 saw 39,049 registrations to participate in over 227 events held at the VIT campus. The festival was focused on science and technology to help budding engineers improve their skills and technical knowledge, he said.

Later, prizes were distributed to the winners of the various Gravitas competitions. There was also a special session by Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt. Atul Sahgal, senior vice president and global head of talent acquisition at Cognizant, Hemant Sahal, VIT alumnus and founder and CEO of Digii, Sankar Viswanathan and Sekar Viswanathan, vice presidents of VIT were present.

Published – 20 Sep 2026 23:03 IST