Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 66th Convocation of IIT Kharagpur today through a video conference.

The Prime Minister said this day is 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 a new journey of life, to work towards creating startups and innovating things that can change the lives of crores of people in the country. He said the degree they won today represents the aspiration of millions of people, which they have to fulfil.

The Prime Minister said the need of the day is to work while anticipating the needs of the future, to make innovations for tomorrow. He said an engineer has the capability to see things in more detail and this understanding forms the basis of new discoveries and new breakthroughs in future. He urged the students to find solutions that can improve and save the lives of millions and can save the country’s resources.

PM Narendra Modi asked the students to adopt the mantra of Self 3 to overcome their self-doubts and obstacles in the future. He said Self 3 is Self-awareness, Self-confidence and Selflessness. He advised the students to recognize their potential and move forward, move ahead with full confidence, move ahead with selflessness.

The Prime Minister said that there is no place for hastiness in the field of science and technology. He added 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 Indian Institutes of Technology to Institutes of Indigenous Technologies to meet the changing demands and aspirations of New India.

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

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 75^th year of India’s independence and make them reach the country and the world. He said these inspirations would give a new boost to the country and inspire confidence.