Kurukshetra: President Pratibha Patil Wednesday urged students to be more disciplined and devote time for social work.

She made the remark while addressing students and faculty at the 29th convocation of the Kurukshetra University here.

She presented 11 girl students with gold medals. Degrees were awarded to 181 PhD scholars and others on the occasion.

Patil asked students to help uplift the disadvantaged sections of the society and to become messengers of change.

"Discipline is an essential attribute of any successful organization or an accomplished individual. Discipline also helps in better time management," she said.

She asked the students to spend some time doing social work.

"It is in this context that I often emphasize the need for educational institutions to have outreach programmes through which students interact with local communities and understand their issues."

"Those who are educated must contribute to efforts for the uplift of the disadvantaged sections of society. This way you can become messengers of change."

The president also stressed the need to channelize the energies and enthusiasm of students into constructive and productive work.

Also on the occasion, honorary degrees of Doctor of Law were conferred upon Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The president inaugurated an audio-visual gallery on Mahabharata and Bhagwat Gita here.

She described the museum as a store of valuable information concerning the Mahabharata.

The multimedia Mahabharata and Gita gallery has been set up over an area of 4.5 acres at a cost of Rs 4.65 crore. IANS