Vice-President Address at the 25th Convocation of IIT Guwahati

Friends, it is an absolute delight for me. I will ever cherish this moment. I can tell you that I am energized, inspired and motivated, and I am sure that we are in Amrit kaal and would not be there when India reach centenary of its independence in 2047. But I have in this room Warriors of Bharat@2047 and I am extremely optimistic that from Amrit Kaal to 2047, Bharat will be at the peak of the world.

IIT Guwahati, the first IIT in the North East - has been continually on growth trajectory in its three decades journey. It has earned laurels and recognition nationally and globally.

I have interacted on the dice with the Chairman, Board of Governors, Shri Rajiv Modi and the Director, and have their consent to announce that Indian Council of World Affairs will have an MoU with IIT Guwahati and that MoU will give you a window to the world of different nature. This MoU will be fructified in the next one month at Guwahati with the visit of Director, Indian Council of World Affairs.

I am extremely delighted to be in the land of Assam, the land of majestic and mighty Brahmaputra. The Asthlaxmis of the North East are blessed with this wholesome and sublime confluence of nature and culture.

I had the opportunity to know more of this region when I was the Governor of the State of West Bengal and was Chairman of Eastern Zone Cultural Centre.

Blessed by Maa Kamakhya and the saintly spirituality of Srimanta Sankardeva, Assam is known for the rich history of great Ahom rulers and their legendary Lachit Borphukan. Let me remind you with great pride when we look back into our historical perspective, the battle of Saraighat in 1671 and the mughals were trounced.

The vision of the Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi in initiating the ‘Look East - Act East’ policy is bearing rich dividends. IIT Guwahati is an epicentre because those who get out of this university as graduates are impacting life nationally and globally.

The North East recently and because of the visionary initiative of Hon’ble Prime Minister has been given its rightful place in the national and historical narrative.

Friends, Convocation is indeed a momentous occasion, it is a reward of your painstaking work. It is at this juncture you come to love your teachers who had been very harsh. It is at this juncture you learn the sacrifice of your parents and this is something has resulted in this day which you will ever remember in your life. Congratulations to all the degree holders for well earned and well deserved recognition. Wherever you will go in the world the tag “IIT Guwahati” will make a difference as in the world now the Indian passport is making impactful difference. The recent visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister to United States, the impactful results it had, I’m sure we never dreamt of it. Artificial Intelligence has become America-India, both are equally impactful.

My young friends, the nation has great expectation from you and rightly so because you will take, mark, and control in upsurge of Bharat at 2047.India’s phenomenal unprecedented growth and rise is a defining moment not only for the nation but for the entire world.

India at the moment is the Chairman of G-20. You would have seen activities all over the country, including your Institute. And the message that we are giving to the world that is the essence of our civilisational ethos ‘One earth, one family’.

Beyond doubt technology will ensure surge towards Bharat being at top in 2047. Contemporaneous global and national scenario indicates that this century will witness emergence of Bharat as a global economic leader.

Series of affirmative steps at State and Central level has been taken and they have ensured exponential growth of this country, in a manner in which we could have never imagined. And I say so because; I got in Parliament for the first time more than 30 years ago in 1989. I know the scenario then and I know the situation now.

India today is a global destination of investment and opportunity. I had an occasion to meet IMF President twice, she calls India a “bright star in the economic world”. The rise is reflected in the country becoming the 5th largest global economy in 2022. In the process we surpassed our erstwhile colonial rulers. Just a decade ago, it was the 10th largest economy. And I have no doubt and those who know, economists are sure about it that India will be the 3rd largest economy by the turn of the decade. The rise of India is unstoppable.

There has been transformational and impactful adoption of technology by India in recent years. We could never imagine in a country of more than 1.3 billion people, how swiftly they have adopted technology.

In 2022, $1.5 Trillion transactions were digital, India accounted to for more than 46% of that. If I put it to you, Digital Transaction in 2022, after combined digital transactions of the US, UK, Germany and France, multiply it by four, we are still ahead of them. Could you ever imagine? And mind you digital transformation is not just technology alone, the Human resource have to accept it. This has happened in village with farmers, with workers and that’s an achievement, an accomplishment. The world is looking at us. Let me tell you something which I shared with the world leaders, that India is the only country in this world that has made available to its citizens Co-Vaxine certification digitally. It could not even happen in the west. That is where we are at the moment.