Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal Saturday said India "converted adversity into opportunity" by developing its own civilian fast-breeder reactors when it was denied nuclear technology post-Pokhran.
Speaking at a function at the Sri Sairam Engineering College in Chennai, the minister exhorted the student community to be "inspired by this" and help make the country the "knowledge superpower" of the 21st century.
He wanted them to utilise the plethora of opportunities in areas like digital networks, miniature devices and newer fields like robotics, telemedicine, precision farming and bioinformatics to this end.
He later presented medals and awards to the students of the college.