Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 8 August drew laughter and sustained applause from a packed audience at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi convocation ceremony, where he delivered a warm, candid address to more than 3,000 graduating students, including 587 PhD scholars.

The Remark That Lit Up the Hall

Acknowledging the mix of excitement and anxiety that graduation day inevitably stirs, Modi said, 'All of you are gathered here today, but there must be something going on in your hearts. Now, I am not Baba Bageshwar, but there must be something going on. Some must be thinking of their future, some about their salaries, some must be preparing for a new start in a new city, some must be thinking of start-ups... Everyone has a different path and dreams, but one feeling must be mutual — recalling the first day in IIT Delhi and today.'

Baba Bageshwar, widely known as Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, is the head priest of Bageshwar Dham Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district, famous for drawing massive crowds to his spiritual discourses and 'divine courts' (divya darbar). Modi's playful invocation of the religious figure to describe his own inability to read minds struck an immediate chord with the young audience.

A Message Beyond the Degree

The Prime Minister urged graduates to treat the moment as more than a credential milestone. 'You are not just taking a degree, but taking forward the dream of doing something for the country,' he said, adding that the pride their families felt was shared by him personally.

Modi also encouraged students to cherish the bonds forged on campus. 'Whenever life gives you a reason to look back, then this campus life, your friends, teachers and support staff — the ones who have become your families and home — you will remember all this and be thankful for everyone,' he said.

Honours for Meritorious Students

The Prime Minister personally presented IIT Delhi's most prestigious academic awards to top-performing students. Recipients were conferred the President's Gold Medal, the Director's Gold Medal, the Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal, and the Perfect Ten Gold Medal in recognition of exceptional academic performance.

On the gender representation front, Modi made a candid aside: 'If some daughters were meritorious students, then it would have been much better. Sorry, not just some but many' — a remark that drew both laughs and reflection from the gathering.

Param Pragya Supercomputer Inaugurated

Beyond the ceremony, Modi virtually inaugurated 'Param Pragya' — an AI-powered high-performance supercomputing facility at IIT Delhi's Sonipat campus. The facility is expected to significantly bolster the institute's capabilities in Artificial Intelligence, data science, advanced computing, and interdisciplinary research, positioning IIT Delhi at the frontier of next-generation technology development.

The convocation marks a milestone not just for the graduating batch but for the institution, which continues to expand its research infrastructure as India pushes to become a global technology hub.