PM Narendra Modi at IIT Bombay. (PTI photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said all the IITs have built brand India globally and their students are at the forefront of some of the best startups in India. “The nation is proud of IITs and what IIT graduates have achieved. The success of IITs led to the creation of engineering colleges around the country,” PM Modi said.
Addressing the 56th annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), Modi said IITs role become significant in the context of new technologies, like artificial intelligence, block chain, machine learning, and others, which would ensure “smart manufacturing” and shape the world of the future.
The Prime Minister praised the IIT students that they are helping in solving national problems. The biggest corporations of today were startups of yesterday, Modi said. “They were inspired by the IITs and this led to India becoming one of the world’s largest pools of technical manpower,” he said.
Innovation and new technology will decide the trajectory of world growth and our IITs are working for new India’s new technology, the prime minister said.
IITs represent the diversity of India where students from different parts of the country and background merge in pursuit of knowledge and learning, the prime minister said.
India is improving its innovation ranking, Modi said, highlighting his government’s initiatives in this regard. “The Atal Innovation Mission and Start-Up India have resulted in India having the second largest ecosystem in the world (for entrepreneurship promotion). India has become a hub for start-ups.
“In the innovation index, we are going up. We must make India an attractive destination for innovation,” he said.
In the beginning of his 35-minute speech, the prime minister paid tributes to freedom fighter Khudiram Bose, who sacrificed his life for the nation 110 years ago when he was just 18.
“We did not have the good fortune to die for our country. But, we can live for independent India and work for creating a new India,” he said.
He urged the graduating students to focus on aspirations and keep their goals high. “If you face self doubts that will restrict your talent.”
Modi suggested the IIT-B, which is celebrating its diamond jubilee, to launch an outreach programme for students around Mumbai, which has around 800 colleges with 9.5 lakh students.
“You are fortunate to have lived in a campus in Mumbai where there is a lake on one side and hills on the other. Sometimes you have the company of crocodiles and leopards.
“It’s still August, but the mood is indigo,” Modi said, referring to IIT-B’s annual college cultural festival “Mood Indigo”, which is generally organised in December.