Renowned personalities from various walks of life addressed at the first day of National Youth Festival 2022 today and offered valuable insights into their areas of expertise.

Asserting that understanding the close link between geography and civilisation, noted economist, author and historian Sanjeev Sanyal today highlighted the critical role River Saraswati played in our civilisational existence. “There is a close link between our geography and our civilization. This helps us to understand the fundamentals of our ancient civilization,” Mr Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India, said speaking at the National Youth Festival 2022 on the topic “Saraswati-The River That Gave Birth to Indian Civilization”.

Talking about the forgotten and lesser known history of River Saraswati and a critical role it played in our civilisational existence, he quashed some of the persistent myths about India. He spoke about the “actual proof of the River Saraswati as referenced across ancient Hindu texts.”  He also showed actual maps and satellite imagery to buttress his viewpoint. He also spoke of the “Sapt Sindhu” and the rise of the Indic civilization.

During another session, captain of the Indian Women’s Hockey team Rani Ramphal had a word of advice for youth of India - strive for fitness as good health is a very important for all, not only sportspersons. “Health is a very important thing for all of us.  Not only for sportspeople, but also for all of us…youth,” the Padma Shri awarded hockey player added. Rani Rampal, who shared the vision of the Indian Women’s Hockey team to push forward in the upcoming Olympic Games  and spoke at length about her own journey as a sportsperson,  thanked the Ministry of Sports for training world class athletes for the country by providing all possible support and better infrastructure. Rani said,  “We are lucky to live in an environment where sporting talent is being nurtured in the country.  All credit goes to our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Sports Ministry for the best performance of Indian Contingent and winning more medals for the country in Olympics.”

Founder and CEO of financial technology company Paytm, Shri Vijay Shekhar Sharma asserted that India can offer to the world about how to make entrepreneurship ventures successful with “optimisation and frugality”. “Indian entrepreneurship can teach a lot to the world about optimisation and frugality as we all operate with limited resources and options…It is a big learning which we (Indian entrepreneurs) can offer to the world,” Shri Vijay Shekhar Sharma said while speaking on the topic “What India Can Teach the World About Global Entrepreneurship” at the National Youth Festival 2022.

Speaking about his own experiences of growing up from humble background, Shri Vijay Shekhar said, “I am fortunate that this festival has given a platform to entrepreneurs like me to speak directly to the youth. I am grateful to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur to bring such an incredible event of such magnitude for the youth.”

The Virtual National Youth Festival 2022 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur in collaboration with the host - Government of Puducherry on 12th January, 2022. Taking into account the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival is a historic event being conducted as a virtual experience for the young audience - logging on from varied remote geographies and locations in India. The two-day festival is being hosted under the vision of the Prime Minister to forge a new India and harness the power of youth. The summit features contemporary themes like Environment and Climate Change Leadership, Tech, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Indigenous and Ancient Wisdom and National Character, Nation Building and Homegrown Intellectuals.

The summit witnessed personalities like Conservationist - Hans Dalal, Randeep Hooda, Historians like Sanjiv Sanyal and Hindol Sengupta who has written a biography on Swami Vivekananda, Manoj kumar - a development economist turned agriculturist teamed up with stalwarts from the entrepreneurial world like Founder and CEO of Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Shri Dushyant Shridhar - who delved into vedic wisdom for the young audience to deliver the doctrines and foundational principles of Brand New India.

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