24.03.2026 Address by Governor of Maharashtra at India Today Group – Mahindra ‘Drivers of Change’ Awards 2026

Address by Shri Jishnu Dev Varma, Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra at the India Today Group – Mahindra ‘Drivers of Change’ Awards 2026 (Felicitation of 15 young startup leaders below 40 years of age) at Fairmont, Mumbai at 7 PM on March 24, 2026

Shri Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director, India Today Group;

Distinguished members of the India Today Group and Mahindra & Mahindra leadership;

Members of the esteemed jury;

Our young awardees and their families;

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good evening to all of you.

At the outset I thank the India Today Group for this gracious invitation to me to be part of an evening that celebrates the spirit of enterprise, the courage of our new generation of entrepreneurs, and the power of ideas to reshape societies.

I must confess that when I was invited to deliver this address, I felt an immediate connection with the theme of this year’s ‘Drivers of Change’ campaign, which is “Power of X”

I am truly delighted that tonight we honour 15 remarkable young founders—each under the age of 40—who have transformed their ideas into extraordinary enterprises.

History reminds us that extraordinary achievements are often born in youth. The land of Bharat has produced countless men and women of character who rose to eminence at a young age. Sant Jnaneshwar composed the timeless Jnaneshwari between the ages of 16 and 21. Adi Sankara expounded the profound philosophy of Advaita within a brief life span of just 32 years. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fought many of his iconic battles in his youth. Swami Vivekananda carried the message of Indian culture to the world at the age of 30. Ustad Zakir Hussain began captivating audiences at a very young age, and R. D. Burman displayed his musical genius even before his teenage years. He was my uncle.

These examples remind us of a powerful truth: youth is not a limitation—it is a force. It is the age of courage, creativity, and conviction. And that is precisely the spirit we celebrate tonight.

Friends, we are living in a defining moment in India’s journey. From a nation once striving to find its footing, we are now a country shaping global conversations — on technology, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and inclusive growth. Our aspirations are no longer incremental; they are transformational.

Even as the world is passing through its toughest phase due to the war in the Middle East, India has managed to take care of the best interests of its 1.4 billion people.

The idea of Viksit Bharat is no longer a distant dream — it is a collective mission. It is people — individuals who dare to think differently, act courageously, and persist despite the odds.

That is precisely what this platform celebrates — Drivers of Change.

I took charge as the Governor of Maharashtra barely two weeks ago. I can already feel the pulse of this great state, a state that has always been at the vanguard of India’s economic, cultural, and intellectual life.

Maharashtra is home to Mumbai, the financial capital that powers the nation’s aspirations. The State has many industrial hubs like Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and dozens of other cities where enterprise and innovation are a way of life.

It is fitting that we gather here, in this city, to celebrate India’s startup revolution.

In my capacity as Chancellor of 29 universities where more than 3 million youths are pursuing higher education, I am advancing the idea of ‘School Connect’. I have asked my vice chancellors to reach out to schools in rural, urban and especially in tribal areas and encourage school students to join the stream of higher education. It will help us increase our university enrolment up to 50 years. We can have such Drivers of Change only when we can educate, skill and empower our young generation to dream, think and act.

Friends, we are living through a remarkable era in India’s economic history. Our country today hosts the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. We have crossed the milestone of over two lakh DPIIT-recognised startups.

More than one hundred Indian companies have achieved unicorn status.

In 2025 alone, over 44,000 new startups were registered, the highest single-year addition since the Startup India programme was launched a decade ago.

These ventures have generated over twenty-one lakh direct jobs across the country.

What was once an ecosystem confined to a handful of metropolitan cities has now spread to over 650 districts.

Nearly half of all recognised startups now originate from Tier-II and Tier-III towns.

This is not merely an economic phenomenon; it is a social revolution, a democratisation of ambition itself.

The fifteen start up founders we honour tonight are examples of this revolution.

I was amazed to read the stories of Navya Naveli Nanda, Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, Pranav Vempati, Avarna Jain, Sarah Sham, Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan, Agnishwar Jayprakash, Radhika Gupta, Madhav Krishna, Sitar player Mehtab Ali Niazi, Mona Singh and Genelia Deshmukh (Daughter in law of late Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh).
It is even more heartening to note that women have come up in a most impressive way.

These women are not exceptions; they are the face of a new India where talent knows no barriers of gender.

Tonight’s awardee Mehtab Ali Niazi embodies the same spirit, carrying forward a musical tradition while making it resonate with a new generation of listeners.

Likewise Avarna Jain, at Saregama, has demonstrated that India’s vast musical heritage can be made accessible to millions through modern technology.

To each of the 15 awardees: you carry that flame tonight. Guard it well. Let it be a beacon for the millions of young Indians, many of whom do not know how to translate their ideas into successful start ups.

Under the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi Ji, India’s best days are ahead of us. They will be written by you.

With these words, I congratulate each one of the Drivers of Change who were honoured today and even those who are working in different parts of the country for striving to realize the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

I also congratulate the India Today Group and Mahindra for instituting the ‘Drivers of Change’ Awards 2026 and for their top class selection of awardees.

Dhanyavad
Jai Hind ! Jai Maharashtra !