S Abdul Nazeer, Andhra Pradesh Governor and Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Kakinada, presided over the ninth convocation of the university held at the University Auditorium here on Wednesday.
Delivering the convocation address, Governor Abdul Nazeer said that the country was marching ahead on the path of technological development on par with other advanced countries in the world. India ranks third in terms of number of PhDs awarded in Science and Engineering, which is nearly 25,000, after the USA and China. He said that the country also ranked third globally in terms of number of startups, which were 77,000 and 107 Unicorns. He further said that India was the most attractive investment destination for technology transactions in the world and the Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) has increased by more than three times in the past 10 years. The country is ranked ninth in terms of resident patents filed.
The Governor said that JNTU Kakinada was well-established as one of the best universities in the country, and the students graduating from the university could look forward to their future with abundant pride and confidence.
Abdul Nazeer said that he was happy to learn that JNTU Kakinada had been accredited with an A+ grade recently by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) and congratulated the Vice-Chancellor and the university team behind the achievement for their sincere efforts and dedication. He also congratulated the winners of gold medals, merit certificates and all the graduates who received their degrees in the convocation ceremony.
Botcha Satyanarayana, Minister for Education, was the guest of honour, while Dr KI Varaprasad Reddy, Chairman of Shanta Biotech, was the chief guest at the convocation and Anil Chalamalasetti was awarded Honoris Causa by the university.
Earlier, Prof GVR Prasada Raju, Vice-Chancellor of JNTU Kakinada, read out the annual report of the university and felicitated Governor Abdul Nazeer with a memento on behalf of the university.
