More than 50,000 students, academia, and industry leaders took part in Aaruush, a techno-management fest hosted by SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST).Among the events conducted were hackathons and technical challenges, entrepreneurship boot camps and start-up showcases, policy dialogues and expert lectures, sustainability drive, and cultural evenings and leadership talks. At the inaugural, Sridhar Vembu, Founder and Chief Scientist, Zoho Corporation, said that India should invest in building technologies such as semiconductors, permanent magnets, and medical devices indigenously, but warned that research and development, though not expensive, was time-intensive and required patience and perseverance.T.R. Paarivendhar, Founder-Chancellor, SRM Group, and Nitin M. Nagarkar, Pro Vice-Chancellor (MHS), SRMIST, spoke.Published - September 12, 2025 01:03 am IST