Jammu: Union Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh Wednesday said that youth of 2023 would define India in 2047.
He made these remarks while “virtually” addressing the “Youth 20 Consultation on Peace-building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an Era of No War” at the University of Jammu. In fact, Dr Jitendra, who was the chief guest in this event, aired his comments through a pre-recorded video message as he could not attend it (event) in person due to his pressing engagement at New Delhi.
He said that three generations had passed since independence and there was no dearth of talent or capabilities but the favourable milieu was lacking.
“This has now been made available by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So this is a great opportunity but at the same time also a challenge and privilege because the same youth will be deciding the face of India in 2047. Those who are thirty today will be the prime citizens,” he said.
The Minister said that Youth20 was one of the eight official engagement groups under the G20 umbrella. “It is an attempt to create a connecting point between G20 governments and their local youth. The Y20 India Summit in 2023 will exemplify India’s youth-centric efforts and provide an opportunity to showcase its values and policy measures to the youth across the globe,” Dr Jitendra said while emphasising the importance of Y20 Summit and Consultancy.
He hoped that the youth at that time (2047) would be able to describe them as the architect of India@100. “Therefore we (of the earlier generation) have the responsibility to induce that capacity building of the youth of today,” he said.
Dr Jitendra, who is the Union Minister of State (independent charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (independent charge) Earth Sciences besides being MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, noted that 2023 was a very important year for the country as India was holding the G20 presidency. “In this auspicious year, one can reasonably say that Prime Minister Modi has given a model of governance which is sustainable, which defies the principle of diminishing returns and which grows stronger with each new challenge. Therefore the point to ponder in the context of today’s meeting is -what is the inter-relationship between the Modi governance of 2023 and the youth of 2023,” he said.
“Before 2014, the environment in the country was one of desperation and hopelessness. But on the evening of May 26, 2014 when Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister, I said this was the beginning of the journey from pessimism to optimism. So when the Prime Minister said that his government would give high priority to youth, many people treated it with cynicism. But nine years down the line, one can reasonably say with evidence that PM Modi has walked the talk and also led his team to walk the talk,” the Union Minister of State in PMO said.
The Minister recalled that soon after the government came to power in May 2014, within two to three months, the practice of getting certificates attested by gazetted officers was done away with followed by abolition of the interview in job recruitment; introduction of face recognition technology in pension to relieve elderly citizens of the tedious process of getting a life certificate. “Most of the functioning was converted online and in order to bring in transparency, accountability and citizen participation, the human interface was reduced to the bare minimum. This highlights the fact that now there is a government that is ready to trust the youth of this country,” Dr Jitendra said.