An institution is defined by faculty more than the infrastructure. Infrastructure is need of the society, need of the institution but faculty is its fragrance. I was elected to Parliament, boys and girls, in 1989. I was lucky to be a Union Minister. I saw three things then. और मैने मेरी आंखों से देखा। जिस भारत को सोने की चिड़िया कहते थे उस भारत का सोना हवाई जहाज से physical form में Switzerland के दो बैंकों में गिरवी रखा गया। Why ?To sustain our fiscal credibility. What was the occasion? Our foreign exchange was dwindling around 1 billion US dollars. ये हालात थे। Boys and girls you are lucky. Our foreign exchange reserve today is over 700 billion US dollars.

The second disheartening scenario which I saw, 1989 to 1991, I had the occasion to go to Kashmir because the situation was very turbulent. A cause of deep concern, the Prime Minister was also there. वह दृश्य मैं भूल नहीं पाता। हम रुके डल लेक के पास एक होटल में रुके और हमें लगा हम उजाड़ में आ गए। वीरान में आ गए, हमें दर्जन से ज़्यादा लोग नहीं दिख रहे थे।

Boys and girls, I had the satisfaction, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to hear from the government, replying to a question, कि पिछले साल 2 करोड़ से ज़्यादा टूरिस्ट गए थे। The third thing which i noticed 89-91 there was atmosphere of gloom, hopelessness and we thought we are sinking. As a nation our passport did not carry that kind of a response. What we saw, then transparent and accountable governance हमारे दिमाग में नहीं था। हर संसद सदस्य को mark my words एक अधिकार दिया गया कि आप देश की सबसे बड़ी पंचायत में चुन कर आते हैं आपको हर साल 50 गैस कनेक्शन मिलेंगे मुझे भी मिले और 50 telephone connection और वो हमारी ताकत थी। हमसे याचक बनकर बड़े बड़े लोग आते थे हमें कहते थे गैस कनेक्शन दे दो और आज I don't want to take the number. 170 150 or 130 million connections were given free.

हमने उस समय को देखा है कि भारत के संविधान का मूल सिद्धांत है equality before law. पर तबसे कुछ लोगों का मानना रहा हैं हम कानून से उपर हैं। कानून हम तक नहीं पहुँच पाएगा।

We have some kind of unwritten immunity from law.Corruption was a password. It has been thereafter also, to a job , to a contract, or to an opportunity.

Boys and girls, you are lucky to have an ecosystem where governance is transparent. Governance is accountable. Corruption is a password to appear before a court. Corruption is a password to reside elsewhere other than your house. Privileged pedigree has made exit. Equality before law is a ground reality.

आज के नवयुवकों को नावयुवतियों को चाहिए क्या? They don't want support. उनको ऐसा नहीं लगना चाहिए कि मेरे से बिना मेरिट वाला आगे जा रहा है फर्राटे से जा रहा है। Now, patronage has yielded to meritocracy. यह बहुत बड़ा change है।

And therefore, boys and girls, you are lucky and fortunate to be getting such quality education. You leapfrog into the larger domain where you will find you can exploit your energy,  your potential, realise your dreams and aspirations. यह सब संभावनाएं आपके सामने आज हैं।

आपके माध्यम से मैं आज हमारी उद्योग जगत को एक बात कहना चाहता हूं। कई बार कही है। अभी पूरी तरह से सजग नहीं हुई है। Investment in research and innovation is investment in the present, in the future, investment in your growth, investment in making everyone happy. Innovation and research are driving engines of economy.

Disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence, internet of things, data analytics, machine learning, blockchain, 3D, even 6G. They are game changers. यह तभी आगे बढ़ेंगे जब आप जैसी प्रतिभाएं इनमें ध्यान देंगे. You have to be trained for it. We are at the cusp of another industrial revolution.  It offers both opportunities and challenges. इसमें कोई शक नहीं है ये टेक्नॉलजी हमारे घर में या गई है। हमारे दफ्तर में या गई है, हमारी कार्यशैली में आ गई है। They can demonize us, they can demolish us but if we generalize them, convert opportunity out of them. We can go ahead.

एक समय था, Boys and girls, हमारा समय था जब कोई भारतीय विदेशी संस्था में महत्वपूर्ण पद पर प्राप्त करे यह सपने में भी नहीं सोचते थे। आज के दिन look at the big change there's hardly a global outfit or institution where an Indian genius and mind is not in dominant position. You are future dominant position holders in the nation and outside. You are the most important component of our growth engine because you are the fuel of it. And therefore, आपको बहुत चिंतन मंथन करना पड़ेगा। आपको यह जानना होगा कि आपके लिए क्या संभावनाएं हैं, क्या चुनौतियां हैं। देश की तीव्र प्रगति जिसमें सभी को आनंदित होना चाहिए ,भागीदार होना चाहिए, कुछ लोग क्यों अवरोधक बन रहे हैं?

I have no doubt and I have firm belief. Gen-Z and your generation are the most important. We can only slightly handhold. You are the driving force behind politics and economy, social harmony and growth.

I would therefore urge you to kindly set your targets because you are in a Bharat that is performing admirably in sea, on land, in sky and in space. You have blue economy in sea. It offers you vistas of opportunities, same about space economy. We are amongst few nations to focus on that, but it can fructify only with sharpened skilled human resource.

मैं सदा इस बात की वकालत करता रहा हूं कि जो लोग हमारे trade में हैं business में हैं commerce में हैं industry में हैं they must not feel heat of the system. They must have respect in society. They are wealth creators, they are job creators, they are economy drivers, they contribute to social harmony, they have learnt the art in this country to give back to the society. By and large, they do it. Even our freedom movement is dotted by their contributions.

The National Education Policy evolved after three decades of intense discussions, taking into consideration hundreds, thousands of inputs. What does it provide now? Experiential learning, critical thinking, while enabling industry-academia partnership for research, and the new mechanism which has been evolved for internships for the youth by the government in the last budget is going to be a game-changer. This integration, young boys and girls, of entrepreneurial skills and design thinking across education levels aims to establish entrepreneurship as a viable career path for students.

You can think in one way you will have an option. A fat pay package, a lavish house, a limousine, a comfortable life, you will be contributing there. I have nothing against it. I have been trolled immediately Jagdeep Dhankhar is against this. No i am not against. It is your due. Only people from this category will have it. But that's not the only option. There are many others, where you can go beyond this. So examine that whole. And what you will face in the way? Affirmative governance, extensive technological applications in service delivery. I see it for myself. In this country, more than 100 million farmers, thrice a year, get direct banking transfers. I am not impressed that the government is doing it. What is really heartening for me is की किसान receive करने को तैयार है। किसान has been enabled. And why it happened? Because a visionary Prime Minister brought 500 million people in banking inclusion by opening accounts.

At the end of the day, we are not robots to promote economy. We are human beings. We are part of a nation that is 5,000-year-old civilization.

Tolerance, boys and girls, is a virtue. It is deeply embedded in our civilization ethos. It is premise of harmony and inclusivity in society. It is inalienable facet of सामाजिक समरसता! सामाजिक समरसता के बिना बाकी चीजें irrelevant हो जाती हैं। घर में शांति नहीं हो तो कोई फ़र्क नहीं पड़ता कि घर में कितनी wealth है, मकान कितना बड़ा है। सामाजिक समरसता हमारा आभूषण है। सदियों से इसको देखा है।

I would urge all of you. शुरू में लगता है abstract idea है पर आप देखो आपके माता पिता, आपके अध्यापकगण, आपके बुजुर्ग, आपके पड़ोसी, आपके साथ रहने वाले लोग, जिनसे आप बात करते हो आप tolerant हो, सामाजिक समरसता का ध्यान रखते हो तो बात ही कुछ अजीब है। वह ऐसी बरसात होगी जिसमें हर कोई सुख अनुभव करेगा और किसान प्रफुल्लित होगा। I urge all of you, be receptive, be tolerant, that will be ever rewarding, and हर कार्य करते समय ये देखिए कि सामाजिक समरसता बढ़े।

The urge to steadfastly cling to one's point of view. जब आदमी का खुद का मत होता है ना तो मदहोश हो जाता है कि मेरा मत है। दूसरा मत कैसे हो सकता है। मेरा मत  ही सही है । जो यह कहता है कि मेरा मत ही सही है अक्सर उसका मत गलत होता है। We should ever be prepared to listen to the other point of view. आखिर कहने वाला भी तो अपना मत रखता है। And more often than not, young boys and girls you will find the other point of view, enriching and correct also. यह तो कभी बाध्यता नहीं है कि दूसरा अपनी बात कहेगा और हम उसको मानेंगे नहीं। न, आवश्यक नहीं है। पर उसकी बात न सुनना, उसपर चिंतन नहीं करना , मंथन नही करना। यह हमारी सभ्यता का अंग नहीं है। हम मन भेद में कभी नहीं जाते है। मतांतर रहेगा। मतांतर एक ऐसी energy hai that allows individuals to course correct. और कुछ नहीं तो सिक्के का दूसरा पहलू तो दिखता है। And therefore always I will urge, please lend your ears before your vocal cords become instantly operational.

I would urge you, whatever choice you make, believe in your nation, believe in your nationalism. This is greatly of your concern because our economic nationalism is getting compromised, because some people care more about fiscal gain. No fiscal gain can justify compromise of economic nationalism.

Look at our imports in billions that are avoidable. You are the category, young boys and girls, along with Gen-Z, to find a solution. You can take a resolve, we will cut down avoidable imports because of our entrepreneurship. It will have immediate impact. We will save billions in foreign exchange. Our people will get work here in thousands and lakhs. And entrepreneurship will blow. And I would therefore urge, always stay your mind when you think of economy, think of Swadeshi. स्वदेशी हमारा मूलमंत्र होना चाहिए।

एक बात पर और ध्यान दूंगा। I will leave you with this thought. नागरिक कर्तव्य। हम जो rights हैं उनके लिए बहुत सजग रहते हैं । Every right is qualified by your duty. And according to me, जैसे राष्ट्र हित, राजनीतिक और व्यक्तिगत हित से ऊपर है, उसी तरीके से आपका हर अधिकार, मौलिक अधिकार उसके ऊपर आपका उत्तरदायित्व है। आपकी नागरिक का कर्तव्य है। Duties must ever help precedence over rights.

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JK/RC/SM

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