Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged IITs to help develop infrastructure that can withstand effects of natural disasters.

Addressing the 66th convocation of IIT-Kharagpur through video-conferencing, the Prime Minister said the country had presented to the world its concept of International Solar Alliance for safe, affordable and environment friendly energy.

“Climate change is a major challenge before the world. India drew the attention of the world to the issue of disaster management. You can see what happened in Uttarakhand recently. We should focus on improving disaster-resilient infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters,” he said. The Prime Minister lauded the efforts by the IITs in developing technology to fight Covid-19 and urged them to find futuristic solutions to other healthcare problems.

He was also of the view that IITs need to transform from being just Indian Institutes of Technology to Institutes of Indigenous Technologies.

“India of the 21st century has changed. Now, IIT is not only the Indian Institute of Technology but the Institute of Indigenous Technology. You have to work on Self 3 — self- awareness, self-confidence and selflessness. You should recognise your potential and move forward, move ahead with full confidence, move ahead with selflessness,” he told the students during his virtual address.

“As an engineer, you have the ability to move things from patterns to patents. In this way, you have the vision to see subjects in a more detailed way. There is no scope for hurry in the field of science and technology and innovation. A technological failure always leads to new innovation. Have patience in everything you do and what you want to achieve. There is no place for quick success in your path,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also said there is a huge market for personal healthcare equipment as people have started monitoring their blood pressure, sugar and oxygen levels at home, he said. “We also need to come up with technologies which can offer affordable and accurate solutions,” he said.

A statement from the institute said 2,815 students received degrees online with 75 medalists receiving them in person along with awardees of DSc (Honoris Causa), Life Fellow and Distinguished Alumnus Award.