Modi imparts 'Self-awareness, Self-confidence & Selflessness' mantra at IIT Kharagpur convocation

New Delhi, February 23, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today imparted the mantra of "Self 3" -- self-awareness, self-confidence and selflessness -- to the students at the 66th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.

Delivering the convocation address through video conference, the Prime Minister advised the students to adopt this mantra to overcome self-doubts, challenges and obstacles in the future.

The students should recognize their potential and move forward, move ahead with full confidence and selflessness, he added.

The Prime Minister said this day was not only important for the parents and teachers of the IIT but also for New India as the students represent the entire country. He urged the students passing out, as they embark on a new journey of life, to work towards creating startups and innovating things that could change the lives of crores of people in the country. The degree they earned represents the aspirations of millions of people, which they have to fulfil, he said.

"The need of the day is to work while anticipating the needs of the future, to make innovations for tomorrow. An engineer can see things in more detail and this understanding forms the basis of discoveries and breakthroughs in future," he said, urging the students to find solutions that could improve and save the lives of millions and also the country's resources.

He noted that there was no place for haste in the field of science and technology. “You may not get complete success in the innovation you are working on. But that failure of yours will also be considered a success because you will learn something from that as well," he said.

In the 21st century, the IITs need to be taken to the next level from the Indian Institutes of Technology to the Institutes of Indigenous Technologies to meet the changing demands and aspirations of New India, the Prime Minister said.

"At a time when the world was struggling with the challenges of climate change, India has come up with the idea of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and embodied it. India was one of those countries where the cost of solar power was very low per unit. But there were still many challenges to deliver solar power from door to door. India needed technology that minimizes damage to the environment, durable and user friendly.

"The world has looked up to India for disaster management. During major disasters, along with life, infrastructure was the most affected. Realizing this two years ago, India took the initiative of establishing the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in the United Nations," he said.

Modi emphasized the need for significant innovation for Industry 4.0. He lauded the efforts of IIT Kharagpur to transform academic research related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the industrial level, Internet of Things and modern construction technology. IIT Kharagpur’s software solutions were also useful in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19). He urged the institute to work fast on futuristic solutions in Health Technology.

"A huge market has emerged for personal healthcare equipment. The market for Health and Fitness related equipment is also increasing. Technology has to be developed to provide for Personal Healthcare equipment in India which were affordable and accurate.

"After the COVID pandemic, India has emerged as a major global player in the field of Science, Technology, Research and Innovation. With that inspiration, there has been a major increase in the budget for science and research. A few days ago, the government has freed Map and Geospatial Data from control. This step will give a lot of strength to the Tech Startup Ecosystem, intensify the campaign for self-reliant India and also give new freedom to young start-ups and innovators of the country," he said.

The Prime Minister lauded the efforts of IIT Kharagpur on the implementation of the new National Education Policy. He praised the institute for the way they were exploring knowledge and science as the strength of our future innovation. He urged the institute to compile 75 major innovations made by the institute to coincide with the 75th year of India’s independence and make them reach the country and the world.

NNN