Tamil a talking point in US after my UN speech, says PM Modi in Chennai for IIT Madras convocation

india

Updated: Sep 30, 2019 11:50 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Chennai this morning to address the 56th annual convocation of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.

Shortly after landing, the PM said this was his first visit to the state after this summer’s win in the general elections and added he was “delighted to be back”.

“Always delighted to be back in Chennai. After 2019 elections, it is my first visit to the state. I am really thankful to all of you for such a warm welcome,” said the PM.

Amid chants of ‘Modi, Modi’, the PM drew the attention of the crowd gathered there to welcome him that he spoke in Tamil in America. “During my USA trip when I said something in Tamil, when I told the world that Tamil is the world’s ancient language, the language became a talking point in America,” said Modi.

During his address to the United Nations General Assembly, PM Modi quoted Sangam-era Tamil philosopher Kaniyan Pungundranar to underline that a fragmented world is in nobody’s interest.

The PM will also participate in the prize distribution ceremony of Singapore-India Hackathon and do a walkthrough of the exhibition on IIT-Madras research park start-ups.

Earlier on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre inaugurated the Hackthon and said this year’s event focused on ‘Good Health and Well Being’, Quality Education’ and Affordable and Clean Energy.

He said, technology is close to the Prime Minister’s heart and he would attend the prize distribution function on Monday.

A team of six student innovators from India and Singapore is working on a system to measure attentiveness of children in a classroom using facial recognition, video and image processing.

On Sunday, the PM tweeted seeking ideas for the speech he will deliver at the convocation ceremony.

Describing the hackathon a great mix of youth power and innovation, he said it brings together the finest young minds finding long lasting solutions to the problems India faces

“Tomorrow I would be in Chennai for the convocation ceremony of IIT Madras. I look forward to being with some of India’s brightest minds. I also call upon all of you, especially IITians and IIT alumni to share their ideas for my speech. Do so on the Open Forum on the NaMo App,” the PM had tweeted.

The purpose of the joint Hackathon is to promote engagement and collaboration of student community in India and the rest of the world so as to develop innovative and out of the box solutions to some of the major challenges that is facing the society at large.