Graduates stepped into a new chapter of their lives on Thursday, 22 October 2026, as Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended the 24th convocation ceremony of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) at its campus in Bidholi, Dehradun — and used the occasion to lay out his government's ambitions for the state's youth with rare specificity.

Dhami personally honoured six students with the Silver Plate Award, and then mingled with graduates and their families in the audience — a gesture the assembled crowd received with visible warmth. The Chief Minister's Office described students and parents as 'enthusiastic' at finding the CM among them.

A new chapter, and a national deadline

Dhami framed the moment squarely inside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision — the national pledge to transform India into a fully developed nation within the next two decades. 'Today a new chapter of your life begins,' he told graduates, adding that success demands 'mehnat, lagan aur nirantar seekhne ki bhavna' [hard work, dedication, and a spirit of continuous learning].

He told the audience that young people carry the most critical responsibility in making the Viksit Bharat pledge a reality — and expressed confidence they would carry the name of Uttarakhand, and of India, with distinction wherever in the world they went.

Dehradun's Science City and the AI-era curriculum

Dhami used the convocation stage to enumerate concrete infrastructure moves. A Science City is being constructed in Dehradun to nurture scientific temper and innovation among students. The state has operationalised incubation centres to push graduates toward entrepreneurship — not just job-seeking, but job-creation. Startups and new-age ventures are being actively incentivised.

He named the sectors he sees as defining the coming decade: Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Green Energy, and Digital Technology. 'The current era belongs to these fields,' he said, signalling that Uttarakhand intends to be a leading state in education, science, technology, and research — not a bystander.

NEP-2020, Hindu Studies Centre, and the anti-cheating law

The National Education Policy 2020 — approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2020 to drive multidisciplinary learning and skill development — has been rolled out across Uttarakhand universities, Dhami noted. In a pointed cultural addition to that policy architecture, a 'Centre for Hindu Studies' has been established at Doon University to integrate modern education with cultural heritage and core values.

On governance, he highlighted what he called the country's strictest anti-copying law, designed to guarantee transparency in recruitment. Through transparent hiring processes over the past five years, he said, the state government has provided government jobs to more than 35,000 young people in Uttarakhand — though this figure comes from the Chief Minister's own address and has not been independently corroborated.

Essay competition signals an aware generation

Dhami also pointed to a recent state-level essay competition in which he said more than 2.5 lakh students participated, presenting ideas and suggestions across diverse subjects. He read the participation as evidence of an aware, intellectually engaged generation — one already thinking about society and the nation, not just careers. 'Aware and talented youth,' he said, 'are the foundation of any state's bright future.'

Present at the ceremony were UCOST Director-General Prof. Durgesh Pant, UPES Chairman Dr. Ram K. Sharma, Vice Chancellor Dr. Sunil Rai, and Pro-Vice Chancellor Manish Madan, along with faculty, officials, and students from across the country.

The Science City timeline and the pace of incubation centre expansion will be the real test of whether these convocation-stage pledges translate into bricks, bandwidth, and opportunity for the next graduating class.