VP stresses on jobs through revival of traditional crafts

Bhubaneswar: Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said it’s time for countrymen to reinvent and re-imagine Brand India and revive dying industries with the help of young entrepreneurs. He was speaking at a summit on ‘Empowering young grampreneurs to create jobs’ organised by NGO Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), here on Monday.
He said the country must encourage young entrepreneurs to start businesses that promote India’s unique traditional art and crafts. They need to be trained in branding their products and marketing them properly. “The growth of 37.1% witnessed by Khadi India shows that proper branding can make Indian products popular,” he added.

He further said, “As the world is becoming more global, let me advise you to be more local. I urge the budding young entrepreneurs present here to source your raw materials locally and recruit talent from your neighbourhood.”

He added that entrepreneurship is valuable only if it has a multiplier effect on the prosperity of local communities, especially in rural areas. He advised the entrepreneurs to provide livelihood opportunities and raise the standard of living of their community.

The VP emphasised on encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs. He added that at present, women constitute around 14%, which is 8.05 million of the total 58.5 million entrepreneurs.

He gave away BYST-JKP Business Idea Contest Award to three youths and BYST-TSL Business Excellence Award to three successful entrepreneurs. He released a booklet on ‘BYST Odisha Grampreneurs Success on Show’ and launched a website of the organization on the occasion.

Among others, Odisha governor Ganeshi Lal, BYST’s founding and managing trustee Lakshmi V Venkatesan, JK Paper president Arun S Mehta, Tata Steel’s CSR chief Sourav Roy, BYST’s board of trustees member Saurabh Srivastava spoke.

Naidu also addressed students, parents and teachers at SAI International School in the city on its celebration commemorating its 10 years journey of excellence.

He expressed concern over the degeneration of ethics in the society over the years. “This undesirable trend has to be stopped completely and schools are best places for bringing about the transformation,” he added.

The VP said India should align its education with the best teaching methods and techniques in the world without losing its ethical moorings.

He advised schools to promote innovative and creative thinking. Schools must also keep themselves abreast with rapid developments in technology and align the skill sets of the students in accordance with the requirements. They must also promote entrepreneurial spirit, nationalism, patriotism and compassion among the students, he added.

“You are the inheritors of the rich and living linguistic heritage of India. You must enrich and respect this tradition. Use your mother tongue to express yourself creatively and enrich its literature,” advised Naidu.

The dignitaries presented awards to four exceptional SAI Achievers for the academic session 2018-19. Among others, Lal and school chairman Bijay Kumar Sahoo also spoke on the occasion.