Mumbai, Mar 17 (PTI) When Manohar Parrikar addressed the 55th convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2017, he told the graduates to take up jobs in social and development sectors.

An alumnus of the famed institute, Parrikar also asked students to join politics and the Army, said a former IIT-B student who was present at the convocation ceremony.

Over 2,600 students were awarded degrees at the ceremony and Parrikar sat through the event, with little sign of the serious ailment that would claim his life Sunday, he said.

"Why can't IIT graduates, who have had the best engineering education in the country, take up academics and run some of these colleges, and transform their quality?" Parrikar had then said.

The institute, in its condolence message, said: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's demise comes as a shock to all of us at IIT Bombay. He was the institute's distinguished alumnus and keenly involved with many initiatives at IIT Bombay. He was also deeply involved with the launch of IIT Goa.

The Institute had felicitated its distinguished alumnus Manohar Parrikar, former Minister of Defence who graduated in Metallurgical Engineering from the Institute in 1978, "in recognition of his contribution to the development of the country," on the Alumni Day in 2014.

He stayed in hostel during his IIT days.

The 21st edition of Techfest, Asia's largest science and technology festival, was held during December 29 to 31, 2017.

Parrikar inaugurated the international and DRDO exhibitions.

He spoke on 'Make in India' in defence sector and the significance of engineers in establishing smart cities. He attributed his political finesse to the man-handling skills he honed at IIT Bombay.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)