Inaugurating the Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation in Anna University, Chennai, which has been set up at ₹10 crore, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday said the need for drones were on the rise. He also virtually inaugurated the 1 MW capacity solar power plant established at ₹7.25 crore in the Madurai Kamaraj University campus.
Mr. Stalin said the corporation manufactured drones with financial support from the Tamil Nadu Government. “Initially, they were used by the Police Department. Later, they were used for aerial photography and disaster management and for measuring mines. The need for these drones is on the rise every other day,” he said.
Virtually inaugurating the solar power plant in the MKU campus, developed with financial assistance from the Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, the Chief Minister said: “Electricity requirement is increasing day by day. We should use solar energy to meet the need. All universities should follow the example set by the Madurai Kamaraj University. I request all universities to continue initiating pioneering efforts like these.”
All universities should not merely remain certificate granting institutions but should become research institutions, Mr. Stalin said and added: “We should introduce similar courses and degrees being offered in foreign universities. We should introduce these programmes in colleges and universities of Tamil Nadu.”
Academic programmes relating to artificial intelligence are said be important, Mr. Stalin said and added that data science, cyber security, customer success analysis, social engineering, digital marketing, behaviour economics, game theory, history of economics and study of the universe are among the fields that were emerging.
The Chief Minister handed over appointment orders to 21 and 15 persons, who have been granted jobs on compassionate grounds, who were legal heirs of employees of the Directorate of Technical Education and the Directorate of Collegiate Education, and who died while in service respectively. “Though jobs have been given to you on compassionate grounds, they have been given based on your educational qualifications. You should work in such a manner that no one else could do this job better than you,” he added.
Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudi, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, Higher Education Secretary D. Karthikeyan, Director of Technical Education G. Laxmi Priya, Anna University Vice-Chancellor R. Velraj, Thiruvalluvar University Vice-Chancellor Thamarai Selvi Somasundaram, Director of Collegiate Education C. Poornachandran, former Indian Space Research Organisation scientist Mylswamy Annadurai, senior officials and teaching staffs were present.
