New Delhi: Students need to remain curious and keep learning as rapid technological change reshapes the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told graduating students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, on Saturday.
Those who adapt to new challenges will be best placed to succeed, he said.
The PM, while addressing IIT Delhi’s 57th convocation, said it was impossible to predict what the world would look like two or three decades from now, making curiosity and a willingness to learn essential qualities for the future.
“Today, the world is changing rapidly. Nobody can say what will happen 20-30 years from now. Keep your curiosity alive in life… Keep your learning instinct alive. Those who learn, win,” he said, as reported by Indian Express.
People who remain open to new situations and challenges can turn difficulties into opportunities, the Prime Minister said, adding that this was among the lessons students had learned at IIT Delhi.
He also pointed to the changing balance of global power, saying that the speed of technological development was a major force behind it. He also highlighted emerging opportunities for young Indians in areas including space technology, semiconductors, drones, artificial intelligence, data centres, critical minerals, quantum computing, electric mobility and energy storage.
“Today, new sectors are emerging in the country for our youth,” PM Modi said.
India, he said, was working towards becoming self-reliant across sectors. Referring to the semiconductor industry, the PM recalled that some had questioned whether India could establish domestic production when the government began taking steps in the sector.
“But today, production has begun at the first semiconductor unit. I firmly believe that from chips to ships, everything will be made here by your hands,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated Param Pragya, an artificial intelligence-powered high-performance supercomputing facility, at IIT Delhi’s Sonepat campus, during his visit.
Drawing a distinction between academic examinations and the uncertainties graduates would encounter after leaving IIT, he said the students had spent years preparing for tests whose syllabus was known. Life, he suggested, would offer no such certainty.
While examinations at IIT have a defined syllabus, “in the examination of life, everything is out of syllabus”, the PM said, encouraging the graduates to question established ideas, remain curious and have the courage to find new solutions.
The Prime Minister said that research would be another major opportunity for young Indians. He referred to the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship, the Research, Development and Innovation Scheme and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, calling for greater commitment from young researchers to strengthen India’s research ecosystem.
He also asked the graduates to view their careers as part of India’s broader journey towards becoming a developed nation and to keep the national interest in mind while making important decisions.
The Prime Minister cautioned the graduates against measuring their careers against those of their peers, particularly through comparisons on social media, during the end of his address.
“Life is not a leaderboard. Your real race is not with someone else; it is with yourself,” PM Modi said.
The graduates should focus on their own growth instead, continuing to learn and preserve their curiosity as they begin their professional lives, he said.
More than 3,000 students, including 587 PhD scholars, were conferred degrees at the convocation.