PM’s Speech at the Convocation of IIT Madras

Shri Banwarilal Purohitji, Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri Edappadi K. Palaniswamiji, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, My colleague, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishankji’, Dy CM, O. Panneerselvam ji, Chairman, IIT Madras, Members of the Board of Governors, Director, Faculty of this great Institution, Distinguished guests, and, my young friends who are standing on the threshold of a golden future,It is a great pleasure to be here today. Friends, In front of me is both a mini-India and the spirit of New India. There is energy, vibrancy and positivity. As I was awarding the degrees to you, I could see dreams of the future in your eyes. I could see the destiny of India in your eyes. Friends, I want to congratulate the parents of those graduating. Imagine their pride and joy. They have struggled, they have sacrificed to bring you to this juncture in your lives. They have given you your wings, so that you can take flight. This pride is also reflected in the eyes of your teachers. They have created, through their untiring efforts, not just good engineers but also good citizens. I also want to highlight the role of the support staff. The silent, behind the scenes people who prepared your food, kept the classes clean, kept the hostels clean. In your success, they too have a role to play.Before moving on, I urge my student friends to rise and applaud your teachers, parents and support staff with a standing ovation. Friends, This is a remarkable institution. I am told that here, the mountains move and the rivers are stationary. We are in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has a special distinction. It is home to one of the oldest languages in the world- Tamil. And, it is home to one of the newest languages in India- the IIT-Madras language. There is a lot that you will miss. You will surely miss Saarang and Shaastra. You will miss your wing-mates. And there are something you will not miss. Most notably, you can now buy top quality footwear without any fear. Friends, You are indeed fortunate. You are passing out of such a fantastic college at a time when the world is looking at India as a land of unique opportunities. I have just returned home after a weeklong tour of the United States of America. During this visit, I met many Heads of State, business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors. In our discussions, there was one thread common. It was – optimism about new India. And, confidence in the abilities of the young people of India. Friends, The Indian community has made a mark for itself all over the world. Especially in science, technology and innovation. Who is powering this? Lot of them are your IIT seniors. Thus, you are making Brand India stronger globally. These days, I interact with young officers clearing the UPSC exam. The number of IIT graduates will surprise both you and me! Thus, you are also making India a more developed place. And, go to the corporate world and you will see many many who studied in IIT. Thus, you are also making India more prosperous. Friends, I see the foundations of the 21st century resting on three crucial pillars of innovation, teamwork and technology. Each of these compliment each other. Friends, I just came from the Singapore-India Hackathon. There innovators from India and Singapore working together. They were finding solutions to common challenges. All of them devoted their energies towards one direction. These innovators came from different backgrounds. Their experiences were different. But all of them must create solutions that help not only those in India and Singapore but also to the world. This is the power of innovation, team work and technology. It benefits not a select few but everyone. Today, India is inspiring to become a 5 trillion dollar economy. Your innovation, aspiration and application of technology will fuel this dream. It become bedrock of India’s big leap into the most competitive economy. Friends, IIT Madras is a prime example of how a decades old institution can transform itself to meet the needs and aspirations of the 21st century. A little while ago, I visited the research park established on Campus. This is the first such effort in the country. I saw an extremely vibrant start up ecosystem today. I was told, that so far, about 200 start-ups have been incubated here. It was my good fortune to see some of them. I saw efforts in electric mobility, internet of things, health care, Artificial intelligence and more. All these start-ups should create unique Indian brands which will make their places in the world markets in future. Friends, India’s innovation is a great blend of Economics and Utility. IIT Madras is born in that tradition. Here the students and researchers take up the toughest problems and come up with a solution that is accessible and workable for all. I am told students here intern with start-ups, write codes from their rooms and that too without food or sleep. Except for the hungry and no sleep part, I hope that spirit of innovating and pursuing excellence continues in the times to come. Friends, We have worked to create a robust ecosystem for innovation, for incubation for research and development in our country. Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, State of the art technologies are now all being introduced to students much earlier in schools now. We are working to create Atal Tinkering Labs all over the country. Once the student comes to an institution like yours and wants to work on innovations, there are Atal Incubation Centres being created in many institutions that will support them. The next challenge is to find a market; to develop a start-up. The start-up India Programme is designed to help you meet this challenge. This programme will support innovations to find their way to the market. In addition, in order to promote research and development in the country, we have created the Prime Minister’s Research Fellow Scheme. Friends, It is the result of these untiring efforts that India is today one of the top three start-up friendly ecosystems. You know what is the best part of India’s strides in start-ups? That this rise is powered by people from Tier-2, Tier-3 cities and even rural India. In the world of start-ups, the language you speak matters far less than the language you can code in. The power of your surname does not matter. You have the opportunity to create your own name. What matters is your merit. Friends, Do you remember when you first began to prepare for the IITs? Remember how tough things looked. But, your hard work made the impossible into possible. There are many opportunities awaiting you, not all of them easy. But, what today looks impossible is only waiting for your first step to seem within reach. Do not be bogged down. Break things down in steps. As you move from one step to another, you will see the problem unraveling in front of you bit by bit. The beauty of human endeavor lies in possibilities. So, never stop dreaming and keep challenging yourself. That way you will keep evolving and becoming a better version of oneself. Friends, I know that there are great, attractive opportunities waiting for you when you step out of this Institution. Make use of them. I have, however, a request to make of all of you. No matter where you work, no matter where you live do also keep in mind the needs of your Motherland, India. Think of how your work, innovations and your research could help a fellow Indian. Not only is this your social responsibility, it also makes immense business sense. Can you find most cost-effective and innovative ways to recycle water used in our homes, offices, industry, so that our fresh water extraction and use is reduced? Today, as a society, we want to move beyond single use plastics. What can be an environmentally friendly replacement that offers similar use but not similar disadvantages? This is when we look towards our young innovators like you. Many of the diseases that affect a large section of the population in the near future will not be the traditional contagious diseases. It will be lifestyle diseases such as hyper-tension, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, stress. With the field of data science maturing and with the presence of data around these diseases, technologists can find a way to find patterns in them. When technology comes together with data science, diagnostics, behavioural science and medicine, interesting insights can emerge. Are there things that can be done to reverse their spread? Are there patterns that we need to be wary of? Can technology answer these questions? Will IIT students take this up? I speak about fitness and healthcare, because high achievers like you may run a risk of neglecting your own health because you are so immersed in work. I urge you to be active participants in the Fit India Movement both by focusing on personal fitness and by furthering innovation in health care. Friends, We have seen that there are two types of people, those who live and those who merely exist. It is for you to decide, do you want to exist or do you want to live life to the fullest? Consider a bottle of a medicine well passed its expiry date. Perhaps even a year passed its expiry date. The bottle exists. Perhaps the packaging also looks attractive. The medicine inside also still exists, but what is its use, can life be like this. Life should be lively and purposeful. And the best recipe for living a full life is to know , to learn, to understand and to live for others. As Vivekananda rightly said, “They alone live who live for others” Friends, Your convocation ceremony indicates the conclusion of your current course of study. But it is not the end of your education. Education and learning is a continuous process. As long as we live, we learn. I wish you all, again, a bright future, dedicated to the good of humanity. Thank you. Thank you very much.