Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on September 2 called for casting aside the concepts followed in a highly regulated economy and to assimilate new concepts such as competition, innovation and changes for overall development of the country.

"This is a major challenge and institutions such as the Bharathidasan Institute of Management have to be in the vanguard of the movement towards re-orienting the entire economy, in the wake of these new challenges'', she said delivering the 20th convocation address at the Bharathidasan University in Tiruchirappalli on September 2.

The University conferred the degree of ''Doctor of Letters'' (honoris causa) on her for her ''contributions to public service'' in the state.

Liberalisation of the Indian economy, followed by the accelerating trend towards globalisation, had ushered in a new era, she said.

Explaining the steps taken for the development of education in the state, she said that her government, with a view to giving education for all, had allotted Rs 1,649 crore in the Tenth Plan for universalisation of elementary education. An amount of Rs 225 crore had been spent on opening new schools, teacher recruitment and new school buildings, Jayalalithaa said.

PTI