Wider engagement with universities and youth can bring new, unconventional ideas: PM Modi after high-level meeting

Wider engagement with universities and youth can bring new, unconventional ideas: PM Modi after high-level session During the gathering with secretaries, PM Modi highlighted the importance of collective effort, drawing on experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis when departments collaborated effectively.

Key points

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (August 20, 2026) pressed greater engagement between administration departments, universities, and the youth to integrate fresh perspectives into policymaking.
• The reframing of the political narrative by Gen Z at Jantar Mantar.
• According to The Prime Minister, secretaries, along with thinking concerning immediate problems and statistics, should additionally think with a long-term perspective on shaping the country's future.
• "The Prime Minister called for greater engagement between government departments, universities and young people to bring fresh perspectives in policymaking, " a statement from his office remarked.
• The Prime Minister himself reached out to the students through social media on multiple occasions after the protests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments came against the backdrop of student protests over the NEET paper leak at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and in other parts of the country last month. File. Photo Credit: ANI.

As part of his ongoing outreach to younger generations, PM Modi remarked that such a wider engagement can birth new and unconventional ideas.

When office-holders throughout departments worked together, chairing the third high-level session with secretaries, PM Modi emphasised the importance of collective effort and cited the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis.

Notably, the Prime Minister himself reached out to the students through social media on multiple occasions after the protests. It led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister.

Meanwhile, the reframing of the political narrative by Gen Z at Jantar Mantar.

After 12 years at the helm, the BJP finds limited legroom for its political calculations.

PM Modi additionally stated on X that in his session with the secretaries, he discussed with them the future action agenda of ministries and departments pertaining to infrastructure and connectivity, security and external affairs.

"Emphasised the need for effective use of data and AI, wider engagement with universities, as well as greater focus on research and innovation across sectors, " he remarked.

Silos are not merely an organisational difficulty but additionally a difficulty of mindset, he asserted, and exhorted office-holders to take ownership of their responsibilities.

As he termed data a national asset and a resource for the future, the Prime Minister pressed effective apply of Artificial Intelligence while ensuring human intervention and judgement.

PM Modi additionally pointed to differences in the manner in which data is collected and managed for various purposes, and called on finding solutions that allow greater interoperability.

He additionally called on greater focus on research and innovation, especially in the defence sector, to create it more competitive at the global level.

In practice, the Prime Minister additionally discussed the need for a comprehensive approach to strengthening India's maritime sector.

As he called on assessing whether the intended objectives are being achieved, he observed that shipbuilding was accorded infrastructure status.

PM Modi reiterated the need for India to move from port development to port-led development.

Notably, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for better connectivity between manufacturing units and export-oriented units to fully leverage the nation's maritime infrastructure.

He encouraged senior officers to develop greater personal and informal engagement with junior colleagues and to build stronger networks throughout cadres and departments.

In practice, the secretaries shared their experiences on sectoral priorities, emerging challenges and implementation problems.

For now, wider engagement with universities and youth can bring new, unconventional ideas: PM remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.