Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the techies to start working for the kind of India they would want to see in the next 25 years. Image Source: Twitter
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur conferred digital degrees to a total of 1,723 students through an in-house blockchain-based technology launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 54th convocation ceremony of the institute on December 28.
The blockchain-based technology was developed at the institute as part of the National Blockchain Project. These digital degrees are unforgeable and can be verified globally.
About 80 prizes and medals were also awarded during the convocation, which was held in hybrid mode.
Addressing graduates, Modi asked them to choose challenges over convenience and take over the reins of the country. He urged the techies to start working for the kind of India they would want to see in the next 25 years.
He said that the country is standing on the threshold of “immense opportunities”, asking the fresh graduates to take up the responsibility of making use of them.
The Prime Minister went on to praise the start-up ecosystem in the country and the success of Indian start-ups, claiming that India has emerged as the second largest start-up hub in the world.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath were also present at the IIT Kanpur convocation event as guests of honour.
While speaking on the occasion, Adiyanath congratulated the graduates and lauded the initiatives and programmes launched by IIT Kanpur.
A total of 183 PhD degrees, 11 MTech-PhD joint degrees and 545 postgraduate degrees were handed over at the convocation. As many as 233 minor degrees were also awarded during the ceremony.
By spending one additional year at the Institute, 136 undergraduate students graduated with a Masters degree along with their Bachelor’s degree, while 27 of the undergraduate students graduated with a second major, the institute stated in a press communique.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys; Rohini M Godbole, an Indian physicist and academician, and Ajoy Chakrabarty, Indian classical vocalist of the Patiala-Kasur Gharana style were conferred honourary doctorate degrees during the event.