General Upendra Dwivedi urged students to reduce digital overload during The Convocation Dialogue 2026. He warned that this generation is wired, but tired. He advised them to set clear goals and practice digital discipline. He also said, “The task can be done by computer, but judgment remains yours.”
Discipline, General Upendra Dwivedi said, is tested not in ordinary times but when decisions must be taken under pressure. Recalling Operation Sindoor, the former Chief of the Army Staff said disciplined decision-making had helped ensure that choices made under stress remained rational.
“We were under maximum stress. But since we were disciplined to take decisions during the stress, all the decisions which we took were rational ones,” he said.
For students, he said, such discipline begins with small habits. He advised them to practise what he called digital discipline by putting their phones aside for ten minutes each morning, expressing gratitude and thinking about the day ahead.
WIRED, BUT TIRED
General Dwivedi also warned students against the pressure created by the constant flow of information. “This generation is wired, but tired,” he said.
He advised them to set three short-term, three mid-term and three long-term goals instead of attempting to learn everything at once. He said students should develop critical, creative, systems and imaginative thinking to deal with different kinds of problems.
Where resources are available, he said, the task is to manage them. Where resources are lacking, people must be prepared to take risks and find new ways of meeting the same goal.
He also urged students to reduce their digital engagement at intervals and make time for themselves.
HUMAN JUDGEMENT IN THE AGE OF AI
On artificial intelligence, General Dwivedi said technology could assist in carrying out tasks, but decisions with serious consequences must remain under human judgement.
“The task can be done by computer, by the artificial intelligence. Judgment remains yours,” he said.
He stressed the importance of keeping a human in or on the loop for major decisions. “We will not allow artificial intelligence to ride us,” he said.
Speaking about failure, General Dwivedi advised students to ask why something had failed and to prepare more thoroughly for the next attempt. “Start with why,” he said.
He also distinguished between technical skill and character. Skills, he said, could be acquired through learning, unlearning and relearning, while character developed over time.
He told students that national service could take many forms. Those who did not join the Army could still contribute through fields such as communications, financial systems, railways, aviation, medical services and other critical infrastructure.
The remarks were made during a Fireside Chat titled “The Convocation Dialogue 2026: Duty, Discipline & Destiny”, held as part of the 7th Convocation of VIT Bhopal University. General Dwivedi joined Ms. Kadhambari S. Viswanathan, Assistant Vice President, VIT, for the interaction.
Concluding his advice to the students, he said, “Gen Z is ten times more capable than our generation,” and urged them to question established practices, work hard and take responsibility for the country’s progress.