Prime Minister Narendra Modi requested the graduating students of IIT-Madras to keep in mind the needs of India irrespective of where they lived across the world, and think of how their work, innovation, and research can help other Indians.
“Not only is this your social responsibility, it also makes immense business sense,” the Prime Minister said, delivering the convocation address at the 56th Convocation Ceremony at the IIT-Madras campus here on Monday.
“Today, India is aspiring to become a 5 trillion dollar economy. Your innovation, and application of technology will fuel this dream. It will become the bedrock of India’s big leap to become the most competitive economy,” he said.
Pointing out that the Indian community has made a mark for itself all over the world, especially in science, technology and innovation, the Prime Minister said this was being powered by many of the senior students who had graduated from IIT. “You are making Brand India stronger globally,” he said adding that the number of IIT graduates in the UPSC would surprise everyone.
“India’s innovation is a great blend of economics and utility. IIT-Madras is born in that tradition,” he said, adding that the government has worked to create a robust ecosystem for innovation, incubation and research and development in the country.
“There are Atal Incubation Centres being created in many institutions. The next challenge is to find a market for the start-ups. The Start-Up India programme is designed to help meet this challenge. This will support innovations find their way to the market,” he said.
Mr. Modi said India’s stride in the start-up ecosystem globally, where it is among the top three, was being powered by people from Tier-2, Tier-3 cities and even rural India.
(With Inputs from T.K. Rohit)
