Chancellor T.K.Shanmuganantham    The present era has witnessed giant strides in the direction of scientific and technological development. At the same time, the society as a whole is threatened on the grounds of harmony and peace stemming from modern man 's hardcore materialistic outlook and the neglect of the more refined and ethical aspects of life Intolerance, violence, hatred, quarrels and destruction of public property and life for trifle territorial, linguistic and religious issues have become today 's trend.It is only education rooted in the values, philosophy and culture of our country that can remove the ignorance from the minds of men. It is imperative that today 's youth cultivate a sublime vision, a noble ambition because as our President A.P.J Abdul Kalam observes, ' Vision Ignites the Minds '. India needs visionaries of the stature of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, J.R.D Tata, Vikram sarabhai and Dr.Verghese Kurien, to name a few, who can involve an entire generation in mission driven programmes which benefit the country as a whole’ The country is in dire need of educated and service-minded and inspired youth who are ready to put the needs of the nation above everything else. ' Knowledge is power '  - but mere acquisition of bookish knowledge devoid of application oriented skills will serve no purpose. Further, a developing nation like ours cannot afford depletion of the abundant national resources and human resources. The future of the country lies in the hands of the students. The exhaustive energy of the youth both men and women physical, mental and intellectual has to be channelised towards nation-building activities. Women should be encouraged to participate more actively in all phases of development activity, because the key to sustainable development lies in the empowerment of women, If women continue to be sidelined, then the nation would be deprived of the services of one half of the country’s human resources. Let us get together, to chart our own path towards progress, based on our inherent strengths, drawing upon our heritage and culture to enrich our lives.