Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan will embark on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand beginning Wednesday, 19 August, during which he will address and interact with both serving bureaucrats and probationary forest service officers at two premier national training institutions. The visit underscores the Vice-President's continuing engagement with civil service capacity-building across the country.

Key Engagements at LBSNAA and IGNFA

On the first day of his state visit, Radhakrishnan will arrive at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) in Dehradun, where he will address and interact with Indian Forest Service (IFS) probationers of the 2025–27 batch, according to an official statement.

On Thursday, 20 August, he will serve as chief guest at the valedictory ceremony of Phase-II of the IAS Professional Course for the 2024 batch at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. During his visit to the academy, he will also pay floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Radhakrishnan's Message to Civil Servants

The Vice-President has consistently used such institutional visits to emphasise the values of lifelong learning and adaptive leadership. Addressing students at the 11th Convocation of Central University of Tamil Nadu in Thiruvarur earlier, he urged graduates to 'become creators rather than consumers of knowledge, innovators rather than imitators, and leaders rather than followers.'

He stressed that knowledge alone is insufficient, and that innovation and adaptability are indispensable qualities for the future — a message particularly relevant for officers entering India's administrative and forest services.

Examination Integrity and Education Reform

Radhakrishnan also referenced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, recently passed by Parliament, calling the prevention of malpractice in public examinations a matter of 'paramount importance' for protecting student interests.

He recalled that during his tenure as Governor of Jharkhand, a similar legislation was passed by the state government, which he signed immediately to enable it to become law. 'Bad elements in society must be punished to protect the interests of good people,' he said, underlining the need for robust safeguards in the examination ecosystem.

At a separate event marking the Ruby and Silver Jubilee valedictory celebrations of SASTRA Deemed University at its campus in Thanjavur, the Vice-President described public examination reform as a reflection of the Union government's commitment to a fair and transparent system for India's youth.

National Education Policy and Higher Education Goals

Radhakrishnan expressed confidence that India would raise its Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education from the current 30 per cent to the targeted 50 per cent by 2035. He described the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 as a 'guiding pillar for educational progress at all levels, from KG to Ph.D.'

He also noted that the Centre is working to build a self-reliant ecosystem capable of developing sovereign technological capabilities while driving socio-economic growth through manufacturing and services. The Uttarakhand visit is expected to reinforce the Vice-President's focus on mentoring the next generation of India's civil service leadership.