Citizens of various sections of society came together at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, at a session titled “Yuva Shakti: Galvanizing India” to deliberate on how government policies and programmes have contributed to youth empowerment during the last nine years. The session was held at the conference “National Conclave: 9 Saal- Seva, Sushasan, Gareeb Kalyan”, organized by Prasar Bharati. The panellists included Yashodhara Bajoria, Director, Espresso Technologies; Ritesh Agarwal, CEO OYO Rooms; Viren Rasquinha, former Indian Hockey Captain; Boxer Akhil Kumar; Musician Amaan Ali Bangash; and Actor Rishab Shetty. The session was moderated by Raunac, Radio Jockey, Red FM.

“Government deserves credit for institutionalizing support for entrepreneurs”

Yashodhara Bajoria, Director, Espresso Technologies said that schemes such as Stand up India and Start up India have played a big role in empowering entrepreneurs. She gave an example of a woman farmer who is now able to market her produce, thanks to Open Network for Digital Commerce of the government. “Farmer Producer Organizations and Self-Help Groups have given ground-level support to farmers and people in remote areas as well. The government deserves huge credit for institutionalizing these types of support to the people, giving a level playing field even to small entrepreneurs.”

“Government policies have led to emergence of various innovations which have become part of our life”

Ritesh Agarwal, CEO OYO Rooms said that various services which have become part of our daily life today did not even exist nine years ago. “India is doing very well, driven by young people who are powering the growth of startups. We have become a shining spot in the world.”

“Government has done a great job in investment in sports infrastructure at the grassroot level”

Viren Rasquinha, former Indian Hockey Captain said that it was a great moment for Indian men’s hockey team at the Tokyo Olympics. “The biggest story for me across sports at Tokyo Olympics was the performance of Indian women’s hockey team, who came fourth and just fell short of a medal. What happened between 2016 and 2021 is that a lot of investment happened at the grassroot level. The number of astro-turf pitches has gone up significantly; the sports infrastructure has improved a lot, though we have a lot more to go. Hockey has become a physical power sport, we could always match the world’s best nations in skill, what we have struggled is in the area of fitness and strength. This is one area where we have made significant progress.” The former captain said that girls from small villages performing at the Olympics gives pride and hope to millions of young girls. He said that the government has done a great job in investment at grassroots level.

He said that the concepts of Fit India and Khelo India have been two transformative initiatives, which address the two Cs of sports culture and sports coaches. “Sport has taught me so much in life, the biggest thing which sports teaches us is to accept defeat and keep learning and improving.” He said that we can really change and transform sport if we can raise the status of the physical education teacher at par with that of the science teacher.

“Future is bright for Indian sportspersons, with schemes such as Khelo India and Fit India”

Boxer Akhil Kumar said that when the Prime Minister meets and interacts with sportspersons before major tournaments, then it provides a lot of internal motivation to the players. He said that to promote sports, it is vital to build a sports culture. He complimented the role of the Fit India Movement in promoting fitness and health. He also underlined the importance of financial assistance to sportspersons, which enables them to pursue sports with worrying about their financial status. He said that the future is bright for Indian sportspersons, with empowering schemes such as Khelo India.

“Government has done great in promoting talent from small villages and towns”

Musician Amaan Ali Bangash said that the government is doing a lot for the young generation. He said it is amazing that the government has encouraged and promoted talented youth from small villages and towns. He added that this is a peak time for India and that awareness about all forms of art and culture has grown up significantly.

“Prime Minister has asked filmmakers to present India’s unique stories to the world”

Actor Rishab Shetty said that film has become a very strong medium for public outreach. “Earlier, many films used to portray our country in a negative light, I think it is important to highlight our country positively. This has been my idea, to bring out the unique stories of our villages, as reflected in the unique beliefs, ways of life, rituals and food. This has been the message of the Prime Minister to the film industry, that our Indian culture and stories need to be taken to the world.”

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Dheep Joy Mampilly