Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood delivered the convocation address at IIIT Hyderabad on 11 July 2026. In his address, Prof. Sood congratulated the graduating students and urged them to become agents of inclusive growth by effectively integrating technology into people's lives. He also highlighted the growing influence of technologies such as artificial intelligence in shaping the nation’s future and strategic autonomy, stressing the importance of responsible innovation, fairness, and accountability. Prof. Sood highlighted the need to democratise innovation through initiatives such as RuTAG and RSVC that has promoted grassroots technology development, commercialization, scaling, and deeper integration of technology into India’s socioeconomic fabric. He underscored that true technological progress must be inclusive, ethical, and nationally transformative. Watch the full address: https://lnkd.in/gg2yFQJS