Last Updated on August 18, 2018 by Bharat Saini
“We are future-proofing India in every way, enabling New India to take off,” as India’s 125 crore people have knocked at the world scene and today nation is passing through a period of transformation, asserted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing Y4D New India Conclave at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on July 16, 2018. Gone are the days when India was considered to be among the ‘Fragile Five’, India is today the fastest growing economy in the world as per an international report and poverty is declining in India at a record pace. Powered by the 125 Crore people of India, we will grow even faster. While the Government can only play the role of an enabler, it is the youth, who are not only making use of available opportunities, but also creating new ones themselves. Young India feels, “Anything is possible! Everything is achievable” “This spirit will drive India’s growth.”
New India Conclave is one of the largest nongovernment outreach programme by Y4D Foundation, which is focused on rural India and rural youth. It is a platform for rural youth to share their aspirations, Ideas and experience with National and state leadership, policymakers, thought leaders, corporates, social activist, and philanthropist. Mission statement of Y4D is “Empowering the Underprivileged’’ and the group works with 3E formula: Encourage, Educate and Employ to empower the underprivileged.
Prime Minister addressing the conclave said that the energy and courage of youth had played an important role in the country’s freedom struggle and that the same role would be played by the youth of today’s generation for New India. “New India is that land where you make your name; your name does not make you, where your ideas matter, not your influence.”
- Youth are driving the growth in digital payments.
- India needs a clean economy and increased digital payments and innovations like BHIM App are taking us there.
- New India 2022 is related to hundreds of millions of Indians, but its base is Young India.
- New India is a place where processes drive progress, instead of people influencing processes.
- We bring more FDI; we create more industries in India.
- We create more industries, we create more employment opportunities.
- We create more employment opportunities, we empower the youth to improve their future.
- When future of every citizen improves, the future of India and stature of India in the world improves.
- Skill India is there, as India needs more skilled manpower.
- i-ways are there to connect Indian villages, as we have laid 2.7 lakh km of optical fiber network connecting more than a lakh Gram Panchayats.
- GST is there as India needs a unified and simplified tax structure; a record number of people are coming forward to pay taxes.
- UDAN is to get even the poor to fly as India needs to unlock the power of air travel.
- Bharatmala is building thousands of kilometres of roads as India needs great road infrastructure. 1.75 lakh kilometres of rural roads have been built by young labourers and workers in the last 4 years.
- Sagarmala is helping build infrastructure for port-led development.
- JAM trinity got India to go digital in public service delivery.
- More than 1 crore homes have built for the poor in the last 4 years by young engineers, masons and labourers.
- More than 3 crores children have been vaccinated by young doctors, nurses, support staff and volunteers thus, boosting the health of India’s future.
- India is doing big, transformative things just like the aspirations and power of the youth.
- Hima Das, and other youngsters like her who are bringing home sporting medals, represent New India.
- This is not India but a New India “where the power of hope prevails over mindless hate” and “125 crore Indians write their own destiny”.
Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, while addressing the gathering after inaugurating the New India Conclave on July 16, 2018 said that agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy, and encouraged farmers to take up allied activities like poultry, horticulture to improve income. He stressed on the need to bridge urban-rural divide at the earliest so that India’s progress towards becoming the third largest economy in the world in the next 10-15 years is not hampered. The rural areas have to become thriving hubs of economic activities with the agriculture playing an important role in the overall prosperity of the rural people
The Vice President called on the youth to be in the forefront of freeing India from the clutches of poverty, illiteracy and other social evils like gender and caste discrimination, particularly in the rural areas. Youth of our country need to acquire the right mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes required to overcome the 21st century challenges and reap the demographic dividend for the country’s growth and development.
The Vice President said that he would like the youth to focus on the following areas to realise the dream of New India:
- Education
- Vocation Education/ Skill development
- Research and development
- Technology Usage
- Entrepreneurial spirit
- Promotion of Indigenous crafts
- Fostering Peace
- Social responsibility
- Women empowerment