Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, interacted with the participants from Kerala of Yuva Sangam Phase 3, currently touring Odisha, in Bhubaneswar today. Minister of State for External Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan; Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sambalpur, Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal and other dignitaries were also present at the event. The team has been hosted by IIM Sambalpur in Odisha. NIT Calicut is the nodal agency in Kerala.

Shri Pradhan interacted with the team, comprising 42 participants, to learn about their experience of witnessing Odisha’s rich culture, cuisine and artistic heritage. He said that he was happy to note that these young participants were proud of their vibrant culture and knowledge traditions and are eager to rediscover the common threads that bind us together.

Shri Pradhan expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for envisioning Yuva Sangam, which is strengthening the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

As part of the ongoing phase of Yuva Sangam, exposure tours are being conducted throughout November and December 2023 wherein youth comprising mainly of students studying in Higher Educational institutions (HEIs) and also off-campus youngsters in the age group 18-30 years from across the nation will be travelling to their paired states. During their visits, delegates will receive multi-dimensional exposure to five broad areas: Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development), Prodyogik (Technology) and Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect) in the host states.

Yuva Sangam Phase-III will have participation from 22 States and UTs with the following Higher Education Institutions paired to conduct the exposure tours: Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh-IIT Delhi; IIT Dharwad-IIT Ropar; SPPU Pune-IIT Guwahati; IIT Hyderabad-BHU Varanasi; IIM Trichy-IIIT Kota; IIM Sambalpur-NIT Calicut; IIITDM Jabalpur-IIT Kharagpur; IIIT Ranchi-NIT Kurukshetra; NIT Goa-IIT Bhilai; and IIM Bodhgaya-IIIT Surat.

Given the overwhelming response received in the first two phases of Yuva Sangam, which saw more than 2000 youth participating, Phase 3 is also expected to witness immense vigour and enthusiasm. This phase will take forth the idea behind this unique initiative under the aegis of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat by the Government of India which intends to not just expand the intellectual horizons of young agents of change but to also sensitise them to diversity across India so as to channelize their knowledge for a more connected, empathetic and technologically robust India of the future.

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SS/AK