India-Singapore Education Collaboration: Pradhan to Explore AI, Biotech

Singapore, Oct 20 (PTI) Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said he will explore enhanced cooperation and mutual interests in the education sector with Singaporean ministers during his upcoming meetings here.

Pradhan is in the city-state on the first leg of his seven-day two-nation visit to Singapore and Australia from Oct 20 to 26 to foster collaboration, participation, and synergy in areas of mutual interest in education.

“I am here to explore more possibilities of mutual interest in the area of education, such as PhD programmes among others and futuristic areas like Artificial Intelligence and biotechnology,” he told PTI after addressing some 500 members of the Indian diaspora over lunch.

Singapore is a natural correlation with the Indian market, and “we will engage with the city state in a big way in the future”, the minister said.

During his two-day Singapore visit, Pradhan will meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

He will also visit the prestigious National University of Singapore as well as a local secondary school to discuss the scope of syllabus integration, keeping AI in focus.

The minister will meet academicians, eminent representatives from alumni of IITs and IIMs and engage in discussions related to the education ecosystem of both countries.

During his meeting with the Indian diaspora, Pradhan said, “India is going to lead the global economy in the next two decades, because it is a knowledge society.”

He pointed out that the global finance, business and economy will move around knowledge for which India is a natural point.

Citing an example of progress being made in India, Pradhan said the country is going to produce millions of tonnes of hydrogen as an alternate energy source for the global energy markets.

“India will be a substantial exporter of hydrogen to the global energy markets,” he said.

Pradhan also highlighted India's prowess as a leading digital economy, driven by its advanced digital payment systems.

There is a decisive and stable government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with policy certainties that assures the global investors community, he said.