• NSA Ajit Doval urges IIT Madras graduates to become ‘technology warriors’, citing India’s potential rise to a $32 trillion economy by 2047, powered by tech-led defence and development.
• Reveals success of Operation Sindoor, a 28-minute precision strike on nine Pakistani targets using indigenous technologies like BrahMos and advanced radar systems.
• IIT Madras celebrates major milestones, including a jump to 180th in QS World Rankings 2026, ₹1,200+ crore in research funding, and the launch of the Center for Indian Knowledge Systems Corridor.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval delivered a powerful call to action at the 62nd convocation of IIT Madras, urging graduates to embrace their roles as India’s ‘technology warriors’. As the nation charts its course toward its centenary of independence in 2047, he highlighted the critical importance of leveraging advanced technology in defence, manufacturing, and socio-economic development.

Drawing on the legacy of Alan Turing whose work in breaking codes during World War II turned the tide of the war Doval asked the students to understand their own potential to set the destiny of the country. He estimated that by 2047 India's GDP can grow from $4.1 trillion to $32 trillion, per capita income from $2,500 to $22,000. He stressed that the nation's 1.1 billion working-age population overtaking China's is an enormous 'X factor'  in fast-tracking India's progress.

Doval went so far as to describe this graduating class as 'the most lucky over the past 1,000 years', emphasizing the coincidental overlap of demographic, economic, and strategic benefits India is currently experiencing. He reminded students of the dire situation at independence, a $20-billion GDP and mass starvation, in order to show how much the country has traveled.

One of the strongest highlights was Doval's revelation about Operation Sindoor's achievement: a rapid, pinpoint attack on nine Pakistani targets within 28 minutes, facilitated by home-grown technology like BrahMos missiles, cutting-edge radar systems, and combined air-command systems. He encouraged students to use their technical and engineering skills towards enhancing national security and bringing India's technological advantage to the world arena.

The convocation also witnessed IIT Madras director, V. Kamakoti, marking the institute's leap from 227th to 180th in the QS World University Rankings 2026, and recording a whopping more than Rs 1,200 crore of research funding Rs 317 crore from sponsored projects and Rs 906 crore in industry collaborations, including 70 international collaborations. Kamakoti, together with Pawan Goenka, Chairman of the Board of IIT-M, also opened the new Center for Indian Knowledge Systems Corridor, an interdisciplinary project that cuts across humanities, engineering, and computer science. Its finest students, such as B. S. Anirudh and Anish Anand Pophale, received top academic awards.

Doval's speech, that was full of ambition and pride, attempted to light a fire of purpose among graduates challenging them to become the technological forefront in taking India into its new century.