Tune out cynics, nay-sayers: Mukesh Ambani to university students

He urged the students to light up the houses of rural poor by electricity

Tune out cynics as well as nay- sayers, dance to your own music and take some risks in life -- this was the advice Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and India's richest person Mukesh Ambani had for petroleum university students here.

Addressing the 4th convocation of the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Petroleum University, Ambani urged students to light up the houses of rural poor by electricity.

"I consider the energy industry as the fulcrum of the world business order and I believe that a new global order will be built. We are aware of the stark realities in India but, as PDPU students, you are in the best position to solve some of India's most pressing problems," he said.

Stating that energy is a basic human right, he said it marks difference between a poor and good quality life.

"Access to safe and clean cooking fuel can be the difference between life and death for a mother or a family," he said.

Ambani, who is also the President of the University, asked students what they would do to illuminate a poor rural home.

"How will you take modern cooking fuel to the remotest of Indian villages? How will you navigate India from a fossil to renewable energy life?," he said. "It is your innovation and your hard work that will lead the way. India and her people are counting on you."

Stating that India offers unimaginable opportunities, he said to realise these mammoth opportunities, "we need to make the impossible possible."

"The opportunities that you have before you are historic. I wish I was 30 years younger to really take advantage of (today's) opportunities," he said. "Keep your headphones on. Fill your ears and minds with melodies of optimism. Tune out the critics, the cynics and the nay-sayers. Dance to your own music, and take some risks in life."

Ambani said it is often the risk-taker who changes the course of history and contribute to the well-being of millions of lives.

"Put on your running shoes, but remember that personal and professional success is not a sprint but a marathon," he said. "Be compassionate as you go along, and stop to help those who stumble. Be remembered not only for doing good, but also for being good yourself."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, had given a vision to the country. "'Make in India' and 'Skill India' are powerful statements and we in industry are fully committed to converting his vision to reality," he said.

"With 'Start up India' and 'Team India', all of you have the opportunity to invent and discover an India and build your start-up companies," he said.