Modi urged graduates to question accepted ideas and find solutions.
He highlighted AI, semiconductors, space and quantum computing as opportunities.
He told students not to compare salaries, placements or startups.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged graduating students at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi to keep learning, question ideas that are accepted without thought and have the courage to find solutions to problems.
Addressing the institute's 57th convocation, PM Modi told students that the challenges they would encounter after leaving campus would differ from the structured problems they had faced in their academic careers.
"Life's most critical challenges" would be "out of syllabus", he said, urging the graduates to identify problems that society had stopped questioning rather than simply solving problems already defined for them.
The Prime Minister said the ability to continuously learn would be crucial as rapid technological advances reshape the global landscape.
"Keep your curiosity alive in life, keep your learning instinct," he said, according to the speech released by the Press Information Bureau.
Modi also said an IIT degree should be viewed as more than a high academic score or a lucrative placement, describing it as evidence of an ability to solve difficult problems.
The remarks come as Modi steps up his outreach to India's Gen Z, days after a youth-led agitation by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) over alleged examination irregularities culminated in the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protests, which drew thousands of young people to Delhi's Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas, were seen by participants as a rare show of sustained youth pressure on the government.
From Campus To National Needs
Modi urged the graduates to connect their careers with India's development goals over the next three decades, saying national needs should inform their decisions.
He said India's pursuit of self-reliance in economic, technological and industrial sectors would form a foundation for "Viksit Bharat", or developed India.
"The more empowered the youth of the country are, the more empowered the entire country will be," he said.
The Prime Minister pointed to the space sector, semiconductor manufacturing, drones, startups, digital payments and financial technology as areas where young Indians were already creating new opportunities.
He said reforms had opened sectors that were previously restricted, allowing young innovators to participate in areas including space technology.
Modi also highlighted emerging fields including artificial intelligence, data centres, critical minerals, deep-sea exploration, quantum computing and energy security, saying they were waiting for young talent and innovation.
Research Push
The Prime Minister also called on graduates to contribute to India's research ambitions.
He highlighted the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, which he said had a funding target of up to Rs 1 lakh crore.
"Today the country desperately needs new research," Modi said, adding that the government's focus was firmly on research.
He also cited the One Nation One Subscription programme, under which research journals are intended to become accessible without additional costs, including to students and researchers in smaller cities.
Modi said the country's research ambitions would ultimately depend on the commitment of young people.
‘Your Race Is With Yourself’
The Prime Minister ended his message to the graduates with a warning about comparisons driven by social media.
He urged students not to measure themselves against peers on the basis of salaries, placements or startup milestones, saying such comparisons could distract them from their own development.
"Life is absolutely not a leader-board; your real race is not with anyone else, it is with yourself," he said.
Modi also encouraged the graduates to protect their mental and physical well-being as they entered a period of greater professional responsibility.
The address repeatedly framed the transition from IIT Delhi as the beginning of a longer challenge: using the problem-solving skills developed at the institute to tackle problems outside the classroom.
He told the graduating students that those willing to find new solutions to difficult challenges could turn those challenges into opportunities.
