By Andalib Akhter
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi today advised the students to keep sensitivity, curiosity, imagination and creativity alive and asked them to be sensitive to the non tech aspects of life.
“When it comes to sharing of joy and kindness, do not keep any password and enjoy the life with an open heart”, said Prime Minister while speaking at the 54th Convocation Ceremony of IIT Kanpur on Tuesday.
Mr Modi appealed to the students and youth of the country to dream, turn the dreams into resolutions and achieve them to make Atmanirbhar Bharat which is a permanent solution to problems our country is facing.
Talking about the phenomenal growth of the country in the field of startups and unicorn companies PM said that many of them are started by students of IITs.
He said that in the last seven years his government took many steps to achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat and students of IIT can play important role in it.
He advised students not to neglect the emotional aspects of their life while they focus on their innovations and technical initiatives.
Remarking on the achievements of Kanpur IIT, the Prime Minister elaborated on the possibilities that the current technology scenario gives to the professionals today. Indicating the scope of the areas like AI, energy,, climate solutions, technology in health solutions and disaster management, Prime Minister said “these are not just your responsibilities but are the dreams of many generations which you have the good fortune to fulfill. This time period is for deciding on ambitious goals and pushing with all your might to achieve them.”
The Prime Minister stressed that the 21st century is completely technology-driven. Even in this decade, technology is going to increase its dominance in different fields. Life without technology would now be incomplete in a way. He wished the students that they would definitely come out ahead in this age of competition of life and technology. The Prime Minister communicated his reading of the national mood to the students.
He said “today, the thinking and attitude of the country is the same as yours. Earlier, if the thinking was that of perfunctory work, then today the thinking is action and result oriented. Earlier, if there was an attempt to get away from the problems, then today resolutions are taken to solve the problems.”
The Prime Minister lamented the lost time that should have been utilised for nation-building since the 25th anniversary of Independence. “When the country’s independence completed 25 years, by then we should have done a lot to stand on our feet. Since then it is too late, the country has lost a lot of time. In between, 2 generations have passed. so we don’t have to lose even 2 moments”, he said.
The Prime Minister said if he is sounding impatient, that is because he wants the passing out students “to become impatient for a self-reliant India in the same way. Self-reliant India is the basic form of complete freedom, where we will not depend on anyone.” Swami Vivekananda had said – Every nation has a message to deliver, a mission to fulfill, a destiny to reach. If we will not be self-reliant, then how will our country fulfill its goals, how will it reach its destination, The Prime Minister quoted.
During the convocation, Prime Minister launched the blockchain-based digital degrees, and all the students were issued digital degrees through an in-house blockchain-driven technology developed at the Institute under the National Blockchain Project. These digital degrees can be verified globally and are unforgeable. On the occasion, a total of 1723 students received their degrees and 80 prizes and medals were given. 21 students were also awarded the Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Award in the second session of the convocation. Moreover, three honorary doctorate degrees were awarded to three eminent personalities – Prof. Rohini M. Godbole, Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, and Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty.