Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged IIT Delhi graduates to remain curious, challenge accepted ideas and keep acquiring new skills as they prepare to enter a rapidly changing world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked graduating students of IIT Delhi to treat curiosity and continuous learning as lifelong habits, saying the ability to ask questions and find solutions would remain valuable regardless of how dramatically technology and industries change.

He was addressing the institute's 57th convocation, attended by more than 3,000 graduating students and 587 PhD scholars.

KEEP QUESTIONING, KEEP LEARNING

Modi told the graduates not to accept ideas simply because they had become established or widely accepted. Instead, he encouraged them to examine assumptions, ask difficult questions and develop the confidence to search for answers themselves.

He said the professional world they were entering would look very different over the next two or three decades. Technologies, industries, careers and even global power structures could change in ways that are difficult to predict today.

Against that uncertainty, he identified one ability as particularly important: the willingness to continue learning.

The Prime Minister also encouraged the students to value their years at IIT Delhi and remember the journey that took them from their first days on campus to graduation. As professional and personal responsibilities increase, he said, these experiences would remain an important part of their memories.

MORE WOMEN NEEDED AT THE TOP

Modi also highlighted the need to increase women's representation in academic achievement and excellence.

He said India should see more young women among the top performers and stressed the importance of creating conditions that allow female students to excel in education, research and innovation.

YOUNG INDIA AND THE STARTUP BOOM

The Prime Minister pointed to India's expanding startup ecosystem as an example of what young people can accomplish.

He noted that IIT Delhi itself has produced several entrepreneurs and startup founders, arguing that the achievements of one institution offer a glimpse of the larger potential available across the country.

According to Modi, the contribution of India's younger generation will be central to turning the country's ambitions into reality.

RESEARCH AS A MAJOR FRONTIER

Modi also encouraged graduates to consider research as a career and highlighted government initiatives intended to strengthen India's research ecosystem.

He referred to programmes including the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship, the Research, Development and Innovation Scheme and the National Research Foundation.

The government, he said, is working towards making up to ₹1 lakh crore available for research and innovation.

He also mentioned the One Nation One Subscription initiative, which aims to give researchers across India access to leading international academic journals, including those located outside major metropolitan centres.

FROM SEMICONDUCTORS TO SHIPBUILDING

India's semiconductor ambitions were another example used by Modi to illustrate the importance of taking on seemingly difficult challenges.

He pointed out that India had faced doubts over whether it could establish semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. The country has since begun production at its first semiconductor facility.

Using this as an example of India's expanding manufacturing ambitions, Modi said the country's young engineers and professionals could eventually help build everything from advanced chips to ships domestically.

BREAK BIG PROBLEMS INTO SMALLER ONES

The Prime Minister also offered the graduates a practical approach to dealing with difficult situations: break a seemingly overwhelming problem into manageable pieces.

He said students are already familiar with this approach through simulations, projects and other academic exercises, where complicated challenges are gradually reduced to smaller problems before a solution emerges.

He urged them to apply the same method beyond the classroom rather than being intimidated by the scale of a challenge.

GRADUATES AND THE VISION OF VIKSIT BHARAT

Looking ahead, Modi said the next 30 to 35 years of the graduates' lives would coincide with an important phase in India's development towards Viksit Bharat.

He asked them to consider the wider national impact of their professional decisions, including what problems their work could solve and how their expertise could address India's emerging needs.

His broader message to the graduating students was that India's future would depend not only on technical knowledge, but also on their willingness to remain curious, adapt to change and develop solutions to problems that have yet to be fully defined.