New Delhi, Nov 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded India’s Generation Z for their confidence and capacity building.

Speaking via video conferencing at the inauguration of the Infinity Campus of Indian space startup Skyroot and unveiling its first orbital rocket, Vikram-I, PM Modi praised the country’s Gen Z for their positive mindset and creativity.

“Our youth, our Gen Z, are developing solutions to challenges in every sector. Young innovators around the world can find inspiration from the confidence of India’s Gen Z,” PM Modi said.

“The capacity building, positive mindset, and creativity of India’s Gen Z can set a global benchmark for Gen Z across the world,” he said.

Emphasising that India’s youth always place national interest above all and make the best use of every opportunity, PM Modi remarked that when the government opened the space sector, the country’s youth, especially the Gen-Z generation, came forward to take full advantage of it.

He highlighted that today more than 300 space startups are giving new hope to India’s space future, and noted that most of these startups began with small teams — sometimes two people, sometimes five, sometimes in a small rented room — with limited resources but with determination to reach new heights.

“This spirit has given birth to the private space revolution in India,” said the Prime Minister. He noted that Gen-Z engineers, designers, coders, and scientists are creating new technologies, whether in propulsion systems, composite materials, rocket stages, or satellite platforms.

PM Modi stressed that India’s youth are working in areas that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

He remarked that India’s private space talent is establishing a distinct identity across the world and added that today, for global investors, India’s space sector is becoming an attractive destination.

The Prime Minister remarked that the changes being witnessed in the space sector are part of the broader startup revolution taking place in India.

“Over the past decade, a new wave of startups has emerged across diverse sectors such as fintech, agri tech, health tech, climate tech, edu tech, and defense tech, with India’s youth, particularly the Gen-Z generation, providing innovative solutions in every field,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi emphasised that “India has now become the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem”.

There was a time when startups were confined to a few big cities, but today they are emerging from small towns and villages as well, the Prime Minister said, underlining that the country now has more than 1.5 lakh registered startups, with many of them having achieved unicorn status.

“India is no longer confined to apps and services but is now advancing rapidly towards deep-tech, manufacturing, and hardware innovation,” said the Prime Minister, thanking Gen-Z.

New Delhi, Nov 27: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said India’s diplomacy, economic strength and armed forces collectively present a nation committed to peace while remaining fully prepared to defend its borders and citizens.

Praising the armed forces for their “professionalism and patriotism”, she said the recent success of Operation Sindoor represents a pivotal moment in India’s counter-terrorism and deterrence strategy.

Addressing the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2025 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, the President said, “The Indian armed forces have exemplified professionalism and patriotism in guarding the sovereignty of India. During every security challenge, be it conventional, counter-insurgency or humanitarian, our forces have displayed remarkable adaptivity.”

“The recent success of ‘Operation Sindoor’ marks a defining moment in our counter-terrorism and deterrence strategy. The world took note of not only India’s military capability but of its moral clarity to act firmly yet responsibly in the pursuit of peace,” she added.

The President said that she was pleased that, beyond their operational role, the defence forces continue to serve as a “major pillar of national development”, contributing significantly to infrastructure, education and other initiatives in border regions.

Emphasising fast-changing geopolitical dynamics, President Murmu said, “The international system is being rewritten by contesting power centres, technological disruptions and shifting alliances. New domains of competition, cyberspace information and cognitive warfare are blurring the lines between peace and conflicts.”

Highlighting India’s approach to global affairs, she said, “Guided by our civilised ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, we have shown that strategic autonomy can co-exist with global responsibility. Our diplomacy, economy and armed forces together project an India that seeks peace but is prepared to protect its border and its citizens with strength and conviction.”

The President expressed confidence that the dialogue’s outcome would offer valuable insights for policymakers as they shape the nation’s future course. She concluded by saying she was certain the armed forces would continue to strive for excellence and advance with determination towards achieving the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’.

Mumbai, Nov 27: The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Thursday strongly criticised Union Minister Jitendra Singh for expressing gratitude that “IIT Bombay’s name was not changed to IIT Mumbai,” calling the comment a sign of ‘mental slavery’ and demanding a police case be registered against him for showing disrespect to the city.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, through a hard-hitting editorial in its party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, claimed the statement was yet another attempt by the Centre to sever Mumbai’s connection with Maharashtra, citing the recent attempt to place Chandigarh under central control as a precedent.

“All self-respecting political parties in Maharashtra need to take this matter seriously,” the editorial asserted.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena slammed the ruling ‘MahaYuti’ partners — the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party — for failing to condemn the Union Minister’s preference for ‘Bombay,’ suggesting they had become subservient to Delhi. It urged the Opposition and self-respecting citizens to not only condemn the remark but also launch a “Jodo Maro” (beat him with shoes) protest against the Minister.

“This is the Maharashtra of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray. Therefore, the self-respect is filled in the hearts and minds of the Marathi people who will not tolerate any insult to Mumbai,” the editorial said.

The editorial further said that the Delhi-based BJP leadership has designs on Mumbai, alleging a systematic “looting” has occurred over the last ten years.

Claiming it as a plot, the editorial further said, “Mumbai should not remain Mumbai and must either be drawn into Gujarat’s fold or made dependent on Delhi. Institutions with a Marathi imprint have been pushed towards Gujarat’s influence, and by handing strategic parcels of land to favoured groups, the rights of Marathi people over the city are being steadily weakened.”

It further alleged that the leadership that tried to bring Chandigarh under the Centre’s direct control was now pursuing a similar path for Mumbai.

“The Centre tried to take Chandigarh out of Punjab’s hands and issued a ‘fatwa’ that it would hereafter run the city. This provoked the people of Punjab, and they agitated. Like Mumbai, Chandigarh is a centre of major economic activity. The Centre hatched a plan to ensure that it (especially Gujarat) would have control over those economic turnovers. It is now becoming clear that they may try the same move with Mumbai too,” the editorial alleged.

Stepping up its attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre, the Uddhav Thackeray camp alleged that a deliberate effort was underway to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra and place it under a Gujarat-based administrator, allowing continued misuse of the city’s resources.

The editorial said Mumbai draws its name from the grace of Mumba Ai or Mumbadevi, and noted that repeated attempts had been made to distort this legacy. It recalled that the Portuguese had renamed the city Bom Bahia, which later morphed into Bombay, and argued that this remained the root of present-day disputes.

According to the Shiv Sena-UBT, Jitendra Singh’s preference for the name Bombay reflected a mindset shaped by colonial influence. It remarked that although the Prime Minister had spoken of freeing the country from the mentality of slavery during the Ayodhya Ram Mandir’s flag-hoisting ceremony, his own minister continued to celebrate a colonial-era name.

“What punishment will he get?” it asked.