56th Annual Convocation of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Innovation was the buzzword of the 21st century said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing 56th annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay in Mumbai on August 11 2018 and added that IITs have built brand India globally and their success has helped India become one of the world’s largest pools of technical manpower. PM dubbing IITs as India’s Instrument of Transformation appealed the IIT pass outs on to innovate and enrich the start-up potential of India, stressing that Innovation and enterprise are the foundation of making India a developed nation, “If you don’t innovate, you will stagnate. And, this will not happen through Government efforts alone. It will happen through youngsters like you. The best ideas do not come in Government buildings or in fancy offices. They come in campuses like yours, in the minds of youngsters like you.”
The nation is proud of the IITs, and what IIT graduates have achieved. The success of the IITs led to the creation of several engineering colleges around the country. They were inspired by the IITs, and this led to India becoming one of the world’s largest pools of technical manpower.
- IITs have built Brand India globally and they did it over the years.
- IIT graduates went to America and excelled there: first as students in Universities and then as technology experts, entrepreneurs, executives and in academics.
- IT sector in India was built by a large number of IIT students, brick by brick, or I should say, click by click.
- IIT graduates are at the forefront of some of the best start-ups in India.
- These are start-ups that are also at the forefront of solving so many national problems.
- Biggest corporations of today were start-ups of yesterday. They were the result of idealism combined with hard-work and diligence.
- India is emerging as a hub for start-ups shows that the thrust for innovation is very much there.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Dozens of the billion dollar start-ups all over the world have been started by the IIT alumnae.” India has emerged as the second largest ecosystem in the field of start-ups where over 10,000 start-ups were being nurtured, adding that a grand system for funding was in the offing as a part of Atal Innovation Mission and appealed to the IIT pass-outs and many other youngsters like them: “Innovate in India, Innovate for humanity. From mitigating climate change to ensuring better agricultural productivity, From cleaner energy to water conservation, From combating malnutrition to effective waste management. Let us affirm that the best ideas will come from Indian laboratories and from Indian students. On our part, we are doing everything possible to foster a spirit of research and innovation in India.”
“Be it broadband technology, AI, block-chain technology or machine earning, these are techniques that will play an important role in the vision of smart cities.”
Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated the new building of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering and Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay.
IIT, Bombay, which is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year, conferred 2,621 degrees on Saturday. Romesh Wadhwani, CEO of Symphony Technology Group, was conferred the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) for his endeavours in creating a social impact through technology.
IIT, Bombay, director Devang Khakhar proudly declared that the Powai campus continues to attract the top minds of the country. “Among the 23 IITs in the country, IIT, Bombay, has drawn the maximum number of top JEE rankers. Sixty-three among the top 100 rankers have joined us. Of them, 47 figured on the top 50 list.”