Shashi Tharoor at Great Lakes Institute of Management’s 21st Convocation Ceremony
| Photo Credit:
Supplied
India stands at the “very threshold of history” and has the potential to drive innovation, bridge divides and shape the future of global governance, according to Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor, who was addressing the graduating class of 2025 at the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai.
Speaking optimistically, about India’s growth, the four-time Lok Sabha member from Thiruvanathapuram likened India’s economy to a once “slow, lumbering elephant” that, after four decades of economic stagnation, transformed into a “sleek, agile tiger” ready to pounce upon the world, fuelled by the LPG reforms of 1991.
“We’re already the world’s fourth largest economy and are emerging as a global epicentre of entrepreneurship. India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, with over 140,000 startups and more than 160 unicorns, dominating sectors like fintech, e-commerce, and healthcare,” said Tharoor.
He also added that India’s tech landscape is providing remarkable free-of-charge services to the public, and it has now started making those changes globally as well, with facilities like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now being shared with developing countries around the world.
Speaking to the graduating class, Tharoor said that to develop the nation, we must first understand the ground realities surrounding it. “We are living in a world in which societies are increasingly fractured, where questions of identity and ideology appear to be driving us farther away from each other, and wars and conflict are dominating our headlines. Your attempts at building a better future for yourselves will only be successful when we can overcome these problems plaguing us and the world.”
The gathering was also addressed by Debashis Sanyal, Director of the Great Lakes Institute of Management, who urged the students to invest their formative years in building not just careers, but also character and contribution.
Great Lakes Institute of Management held its 21st convocation ceremony on Sunday.
The class of 2025 comprised over 700 students from full-time and executive programs, representing sectors such as technology, consulting, finance, manufacturing, public services, and entrepreneurship. The ceremony also saw gold medals awarded to 16 meritorious graduating students.
Published on August 10, 2025
