India poorest in education, literacy & knowledge: President

President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday lamented that India, once the cradle of civilisation, is now the poorest in terms of education, literacy and knowledge. Describing lack of literacy as the biggest challenge facing the country, Mukherjee said the largest number of illiterates in the world resided in India.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone of an auditorium at the Sat Paul School Ludhiana. The President, in his interaction with a few students of the school, exhorted them to love the institution and respect the teachers if they wanted to make it big in life.

Listing the hurdles in the way of India's growth, he said the largest numbers of illiterates in the world reside in India. The country, which was once considered the cradle of civilisation, is now the poorest in terms of education, literacy and knowledge, he said.

"We had some of the centres of excellence such as Takshila and Nalanda where people from all over the world came. We have to achieve them again", Mukherjee said.