When 85 per cent of the medal winners at a convocation are women, and one student — Pujal Mhapari — walks away with 21 gold medals and 5 additional prizes, setting a new record, the numbers tell their own story. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attended the 17th Convocation 2026 of the Adani Institute of Higher Education and Research (Deemed University) in Wardha on Saturday, 17 October 2026, and turned the graduation ceremony into a pointed address on technology, empathy, and social responsibility.

Pujal Mhapari's record and what 85% women medalists mean for Vidarbha

Fadnavis opened with the number that stopped the hall: approximately 2,000 students received degrees, and 85 per cent of the medal winners were women. He singled out Pujal Mhapari for special congratulations, calling her achievement — 21 gold medals plus five further prizes — a new institutional record. 'This is the real strength of a new India,' he said, adding that placing women at the centre of the development mainstream is essential for realising Viksit Bharat (a Developed India).

The figure lands with particular weight in Vidarbha, a region historically underserved by Maharashtra's higher-education infrastructure, which has long been concentrated around Mumbai and Pune. The institute in Wardha represents exactly the kind of inland expansion that successive state governments have pushed — and the women's medal sweep suggests that access, when delivered, translates quickly into achievement.

The Datta Meghe legacy and Adani Foundation's stake in Wardha

Fadnavis paid tribute to the late Datta Meghe — senior leader, former minister, and the man credited with building quality educational institutions across Nagpur and Wardha. His successors Sagar Meghe and Sameer Meghe have carried that legacy forward. Now, through the Adani Foundation, Dr Priti Adani — Chancellor of the institute — is strengthening the institution further. Fadnavis expressed confidence that the university will earn recognition not just among India's leading institutions, but on a global stage.

Also present were State Minister Dr Pankaj Bhoyar, Vice-Chancellor Dr Lalitbhushan Waghmare, and Dr Abhijat Sheth, Chairperson of the National Medical Commission.

AI, semiconductors, and the 'Learn, Unlearn, Relearn' mandate

AI, semiconductors, and quantum computing will transform every sphere of human life, Fadnavis told graduates — and that means the old model of a fixed degree preparing you for a fixed career is obsolete. His prescription: adopt the formula 'Learn, Unlearn and Relearn' and keep acquiring new knowledge and skills continuously. In medicine specifically, he pointed to AI's growing role in early diagnosis, precision treatment, and accelerating drug discovery.

Universities, he argued, must stop being mere degree-dispensing machines. They must become centres of innovation — incubating new medicines, medical technologies, and research breakthroughs. Research and health technology must reach the last person in society, he said, particularly to address stubborn challenges like malnutrition, child stunting, maternal health, and non-communicable diseases.

Empathy over algorithms: Fadnavis's closing charge to graduates

The sharpest moment of the address may have been the quietest. Even as he championed AI and robotics, Fadnavis drew a clear line: 'what separates humans from AI and robots is human sensitivity.' Technology and empathy must coexist in healthcare — compassion matters as much as code. Then came the parting challenge to graduates: true success is not measured by how much money you earn, but by how much you contribute to society. Those who have been educated with society's support must repay that debt by using their knowledge for public good.

A convocation speech that began with a medal tally ended as a quiet manifesto for what an educated generation owes the country. The bar, Fadnavis made clear, is higher than a gold medal.