The Prime Minister underlined the link between the progress of youth and the nation

Describing the youth as "leaders of tomorrow", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said they were India's growth engines. The whole world was looking at India's youth with hope, he maintained.

Prime Minister Modi was addressing the 42nd Convocation of Anna University. Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, Chief Minister MK Stalin, and Union Minister L Murugan were among those present at the event.

Congratulating the new graduates. He remarked, "Congratulations to all those who are graduating today in Anna University’s 42nd convocation. You would have already built a future for yourselves in your minds. Therefore, today is not only a day of achievements but also of aspirations."

The Prime Minister referred to the graduates as "leaders of tomorrow," and he thanked parents for their support, as well as the university's faculty and non-teaching personnel.

He said, "The whole world is looking at India’s youth with hope. Because you are the growth engines of the country and India is the world’s growth engine."

The Prime Minister underlined the link between the progress of youth and the nation. He said, “Your growth is India’s growth. Your learnings are India’s learnings. Your victory is India’s victory.”

The Prime Minister called the Covid-19 outbreak "unprecedented" and a "once in a century crisis" for which there was no "user manual." He, however, claimed that because of its experts and ordinary civilians, India comfortably handled the pandemic.

Prime Minister Modi said there are three important factors in India’s favour in this era of tech-led disruptions.

"The first factor is there is a taste for technology. There is a growing sense of comfort with the use of technology. Even the poorest of the poor are adapting to it," he explained.

"The second factor is there is trust in risk-takers. Earlier at social occasions it was difficult for a youngster to say he or she was an entrepreneur. People used to tell them to ‘get settled’, meaning, get a salaried job. Now the situation is the opposite. The third factor is: there is temperament for reform," he said.

He also enumerated a number of improvements, including those pertaining to infrastructure, geospatial technology, and drones. He praised the elimination of retroactive taxes and several sectoral changes for helping the nation in a number of areas.

Prime Minister Modi, who is in Chennai for two days, also distributed prizes, medals, and certificates to 69 gold medalists while attending the event at Anna University.

On Thursday, he had inaugurated the 44th Chess Olympiad at the city's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.