Here’s a closer look at the four key messages he shared:
1. Learning for life
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra began by reminding students that while earning a degree from a prestigious institution like IIT is a major milestone, it’s only the starting point. He stressed the importance of remaining a lifelong learner, especially in a world where technology and ideas evolve rapidly. Reflecting on his own career in diverse sectors like energy, finance, and urban development, he credited IIT Kanpur for instilling in him the ability to self-learn and adapt.
2. Question the status quo
During his time at the United Nations, Malhotra worked on improving productivity in India’s hand tools clusters. A key challenge was reducing the die changeover time in forging units, which initially took eight hours. By introducing simple changes, like better scheduling, equipment readiness, and video monitoring, the time was cut to five hours. This sparked further improvements across processes, cutting costs by about 10%. Malhotra urged graduates to never accept things as they are but to always look for better ways to work and innovate.
3. Pursue virtuous karma
The RBI governor recounted his time as Secretary of Personnel in Rajasthan, where he tackled a two-decade-old issue of stalled promotions from the state civil service to the IAS due to legal disputes. Despite carefully resolving seniority and submitting promotion lists, court stays repeatedly blocked progress. Though others later completed the task, Malhotra admitted he hesitated to continue after setbacks. His key lesson: commit to doing the right thing, even when success isn’t immediate or guaranteed.
4. Trust
In a more lighthearted moment, Malhotra reminisced about his student days, when even local shopkeepers in Kanpur offered credit to IIT students, purely out of trust. That trust, he said, is the foundation of any lasting relationship, whether personal or professional. He emphasised that leaders earn trust through integrity, humility, transparency, and consistency, and that once earned, trust must never be taken for granted.
In his closing remarks, the RBI Governor encouraged students to pursue excellence with ethics and conviction.
“Dream big, but more importantly, act on those dreams. Make IIT Kanpur proud. Make your parents proud. Make India proud. But most importantly, make yourselves proud – proud by living lives of character, ethics and humility,” he said.
