Nation’s faith in Army remains intact: Pranab Mukherjee

Pune, June 17 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that in the rapidly changing environment, the nation's faith in the armed forces has remained unshaken.

"In the rapidly changing environment, one factor which has not changed is the faith reposed in the armed forces by the entire nation," Mukherjee said while addressing the convocation ceremony of the College of Military Engineering (CME) here.

In all, 71 M.Tech and B.Tech students passed out from the premier technical and tactical training institution of the Indian Army, established in 1943.

Mukherjee said that the Indian Army engineers had traditionally left their mark on prestigious national projects, "be it oil pipeline at Siachen, prestigious naval bases and airfields in the North East or roads cutting through the Himalayan ranges".

He said that young technocrats would have to imbibe the latest developments in the field of technology for defence forces, and being the "technical intellect of armed forces", the nation would look up to them to "define and modify the way defence forces operate by exploiting technological advancement".

"As engineers in uniform, you have to perform the dual role of being good engineers and equally good soldiers. You face the formidable task of providing the Indian armed forces with the technical know-how and skills required by them to fulfil their assigned task of ensuring the security of the nation and millions of our people," he said.

"I am sure that each and everyone of you will follow the footsteps of your illustrious predecessors and shall live up to the high standards expected of you," the President said.