Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur today said, India is now the hub of ‘Start-up’ ecosystem in the world, ranking third with 90,000 ‘Start-Ups’, 107 unicorn companies worth 30 billion dollars which has been possible only by the contribution of India’s youth. The Union Minister said this while attending as Chief Guest, the valedictory function of 36^th Inter-University North Zone Youth Festival (Antarnaad) under the aegis of Association of Indian Universities (AIU) at Zorawar Singh Auditorium, Jammu University.

During his address, Sh. Thakur said, the world is looking towards New India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India is now the biggest exporter of vaccines, biggest exporter of mobile phones and defence equipments which can be judged from the fact that India now exports mobile phones worth one lakh crore, defence equipments worth 16 lakh crores this year. This is the picture of New India leading everywhere in every field from last eight years, Sh. Thakur added.

Sh. Thakur stressed, during this Amrit Kal, besides on other important things, the stress would be laid on the forgotten heroes who sacrificed their life for the country which has been done recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi naming 21 Islands of Andaman after Param Vir Chakra recipients four of which belong to Himachal Pradesh. The recent Padma Awards ‘People’s Padma’ shows the best of India, the most deserving people with the best contribution in their field across India, Sh. Thakur added.

Saying that the growth has to be sustainable, Sh. Thakur said, for sustainable growth, the sustainable investment is required for the development of green economy leading to green jobs. For that, India is moving towards becoming the global hub for green hydrogen producing five million metric ton, ten percent of the world in the next five years with eight lakh crore investment that will generate thousands of green jobs for the youth of this country.

Praising the various performances of the youth during the festival, Sh. Thakur said that India has a great history with rich culture, art and tradition and the youth of this country have a great responsibility to preserve this culture, art and tradition which is not seen anywhere in the world.

Stressing on the five resolves put forward by PM Narendra Modi, Sh. Thakur said, in the recently announced Amrit Kaal Budget by the Union Finance Minister, the budget has the best provisions for the youth of this country as 47 lakh youth will be provided with the stipend, 30 Skill India International Centres will be established, 3 centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be established training youth in 3D printing, AI, Internet of Things etc. making them skilled and future ready in diverse modern fields.

Praising Jammu University for its overall contribution in research & development and having A+ NAAC accreditation, Sh. Thakur said, Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India is ready to help Jammu University in the development of lab, in research and development in the course of Journalism.

During the valedictory function, the Minister also felicitated the Padma Shree Awardees of Jammu Sh. Jitender Udhampuri, Sh. Rajinder Tikoo, Sh. S P Verma, Sh. Mohan Singh and Sh. Balwant Thakur.

Besides other dignitaries, the valedictory function was attended by Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, Prof. Bechan Lal, VC Cluster University, Jammu, Prof. Umesh Rai, Dr. Baljeet Singh, Joint Secretary, AIU, Professor Naresh Padha, Dean Academic Affairs, Professor Vishwa Raksha, Chairperson Campus Cultural Committee, Professor Prakash Antahal, DSW, Sh. Balwant Thakur, Padma Shree, Sh. S D Jamwal, ADGP Security, Jammu, Sh. Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu and Sh. Ravinder Raina, President BJP J&K.

Pertinent to mention that 1000 participants from 18 universities across the country participated in the festival and among the competing teams were University of Jammu, Dev Sanskriti Vishavidhalya Haridwar Uttarakhand, GADVASU-Ludhiana, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-J), Doon University Uttarakhand, University of Kashmir, Cluster University of Jammu, Punjabi University Patiala, CT University Ludhiana, IK Gujral Punjab Technical University Kapurthala, Himachal Pradesh University Shimla, GNDU Amritsar, Lovely Professional University, Chandigarh University, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University Bathinda and DAV Jalandhar.

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AP/MA/PIB Jammu

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