Mukesh Ambani shares four ideas on how to pay befitting 'Guru Dakshina' to our professors

Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani. (File pic)

Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Saturday shared four ideas on how "we as a nation can pay a befitting Guru Dakshina" to our professors.

He was delivering an address at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, during the launch of his professor MM Sharma’s biography 'Divine Scientist'.

During the launch, Ambani called his professor a “Guru of Bharat” and one of the quiet architects of India’s economic reforms. He had studied under MM Sharma at the University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT), now known as the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT).

During the address to his fellow alumni and students of ICT, Mukesh Ambani said, "Indian culture places an obligation on every student to repay our debt to the Guru in the form of Guru Dakshina. So how can we as a nation pay a befitting Guru Dakshina to Prof M.M. Sharma and all the professors that we have?"

Ambani then presented four ideas. "First: We must make India a deep-tech nation and a world leader in Advanced Manufacturing using AI and other breakthrough technologies. Our universities, institutions of higher learning and research laboratories should have a strong focus on producing tomorrow’s technologies ─ especially in proteins, enzymes and other areas of chemistry that can cure complex diseases, prolong human life, and create new materials, clean up the environment, and boost productivity exponentially," he said.

He added, "My Second Idea: After the 1990s, the private sector unlocked the potential of India’s economic growth. Now, it should also unlock the potential of India’s educational development. Our businesses should get tightly integrated with academia, especially by bringing a problem-solving approach to learning and research. ICT has shown the way. Now, the government, industry and the best minds in academia should join hands to transform our universities into world-class institutions. Today, when many globally reputed universities are facing a crisis, India has the best opportunity to attract back the most talented students and faculties from around the world."

"My Third Idea: Education is not only about creating material and financial value. As Prof M.M. Sharma’s life teaches us, education is even more about inculcating human values. He has taught us that the power of character is more important than the power of material wealth. Character is that intangible wealth that comes with integrity, honesty, humility, empathy and other values rooted in India’s priceless culture," Mukesh Ambani added.

"My Fourth Idea: Prof Sharma belongs to that rare community of teachers for whom teaching itself is their dharma. Their passion is to make a difference to the life of humanity. The word that best captures Prof Sharma’s personality is that he is an INFLUENCER. The word INFLUENCER has gained currency in recent times in the age of social media. But Prof Sharma has been an INFLUENCER from the 60’s. He is an INFLUENCER WITH A DIFFERENCE. Today India has the world’s largest population of youth. We need tens of thousands of Gurus like him, who can teach our youth to combine Success with Sanskaar. This combination is necessary to realise the dreams of Viksit Bharat," he said at the biography launch event.

Mukesh Ambani also announced an unconditional grant of Rs 151 crore to the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, from where he graduated in the 1970s.

The event was held at ICT’s Pidilite Hall and presided over by senior nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar. Several eminent scientists, including Raghunath Mashelkar, J B Joshi, Aniruddha Pandit, and G D Yadav, paid tribute to Prof Sharma’s legacy in education and science.

Divine Scientist has been written in Marathi by Anita Patil and translated into English by Sonia Khare.