Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 25 October 2026, praised the cutting-edge work of young entrepreneurs and researchers at IIT Madras, saying India's youth are delivering breakthrough technological solutions in financial security, healthcare, defence, and transportation. He made the remarks during the 139th episode of his monthly radio programme, 'Mann Ki Baat', drawing on impressions from his recent visit to Chennai.

Deep-Tech at IIT Madras: What Modi Saw

Recalling his visit to IIT Madras and a metro journey through Chennai, Modi said his interaction with young people was 'entirely focused on deep-tech.' The start-ups he encountered are backed by the institute's incubation ecosystem and are tackling problems well beyond conventional software applications.

Among the highlighted ventures: one team is building a flying electric vehicle capable of operating over the sea, while another is developing fast-charging batteries for drones and electric vehicles. A third is applying artificial intelligence (AI) to defence technology — an area that has historically been dominated by state-owned research bodies.

From Gold Fraud to Cancer Screening

Modi also spotlighted start-ups with direct consumer impact. One is developing technology to verify the quality of gold at the point of purchase, aiming to shield buyers from fraud in a country where gold transactions run into several lakh crore rupees annually. Another team is building a platform to accelerate recovery of money lost in bank fraud cases — a concern that has grown alongside India's digital payments boom.

In healthcare, a separate team is exploring the use of AI for cervical cancer screening, a field where early detection remains critically uneven across urban and rural India. 'It was truly heartening to see how our youth are working on innovative solutions to problems,' Modi said.

The Enabling Environment Argument

'Our youth are achieving such extraordinary things today because they are receiving the right environment and support. It is not as if there has ever been a shortage of talent in our country,' the Prime Minister said. The remark is a pointed reference to India's broader start-up policy push — from tax incentives for recognised start-ups to the DPIIT-backed incubation framework that underpins hubs like the one at IIT Madras.

This comes amid India's sustained push to rank among the world's top-three start-up ecosystems. The country has crossed 1.4 lakh DPIIT-recognised start-ups, with deep-tech emerging as the fastest-growing segment in recent years.

Tribute to Narinder Singh Kapany, 'Father of Fibre Optics'

Modi used the broadcast to pay tribute to Narinder Singh Kapany, ahead of his 100th birth anniversary on 31 October. Born in the Moga district of Punjab, Kapany made pioneering contributions to fibre-optics technology and earned global recognition for his research into transmitting light through ultra-thin fibres.

'His advanced research into the technology of transmitting light through thin fibres lent a new direction to the world of communication. It is difficult to even imagine the era of the internet and digital communication that we live in today without fibre optics,' Modi said. He urged the country's youth to study the lives of scientists like Kapany and draw inspiration from them.

What This Signals

The IIT Madras spotlight and the Kapany tribute together frame a consistent narrative from the Prime Minister: India's technological ambition rests on honouring its scientific heritage while channelling present-day innovation through structured institutional support. With deep-tech start-ups now working on everything from flying EVs to AI-driven cancer diagnostics, the next 'Mann Ki Baat' may well have more such stories to tell.