PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 16 -- Engineers must go beyond building infrastructure and focus on solving societal and national challenges through safe, affordable, sustainable and innovative technology, North Eastern Railway (NER) additional general manager Vinod Kumar Shukla said on Tuesday. Addressing an Engineers' Day programme organised by the Institution of Engineers (India), Prayagraj Local Centre, at MNNIT-Allahabad, Shukla said engineering excellence must be accompanied by integrity, accountability and public safety. He cited the Indian Railways as an example, saying its bridges, tracks, stations, tunnels and other infrastructure directly affect the safety and convenience of millions of passengers. The programme, held to mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, also featured a technical seminar on "Engineering Excellence for a Sustainable and Technologically Sovereign India" in Hindi to commemorate Hindi Diwas. Former Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited chairman and managing director Ramesh Narain Misra, who received the Dr DN Tewari Memorial Distinguished Engineer Honour-2026, called for integrating India's traditional engineering knowledge with modern technology to develop solutions suited to the country's climatic, economic and social conditions. Misra also cautioned about the environmental cost of artificial intelligence, particularly its high consumption of electricity and water. He stressed the need for energy-efficient AI and urged greater investment in indigenous research, manufacturing and skilled manpower to reduce dependence on imported technology and critical components. MNNIT professor Kailash Narayan Pandey said technological sovereignty depended on building domestic capabilities in critical areas such as semiconductors, AI, green energy, aerospace and defence. He said engineers should help transform India from a service-sector implementer into a core innovator and creator of indigenous intellectual property. IEI-Prayagraj chairman Professor Avanish Kumar Dubey stressed the need to address technical brain drain and educational gaps. He called for better R&D facilities, greater support for startups and innovation, stronger industry-academia collaboration and improved technical education to retain engineering talent in India. Three MNNIT students-Dhrity Chawda, Ajay Singh and Ashutosh Satapathy-received prizes of Rs.5,000, Rs.3,000 and Rs.2,000, respectively, for their presentations in the Hindi technical seminar....