Piyush Goyal Presents Five Point Action Plan At IIT Kanpur Policy Conclave

In all your ventures, make scale, quality and job creation the focal point. Provide innovative solutions for farmers, artisans and weavers, small retailers, etc. and help realise the goals of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Make in India for the world, said Union Minister Piyush Goyal at IIT Kanpur Policy Conclave 2022 while giving a five-point action plan for IIT students to unleash India’s golden era.

Goyal urged students to study digital platforms (e.g. single window, PM GatiShakti, ONDC) and give ideas to enhance facilities. Help set the agenda or themes for India’s G20 presidency starting December 22. Make Seva & Samarpan your guiding philosophy and give back to the nation.

The policy conclave is an annual flagship event organised by the Public Policy and Opinion Cell of IIT Kanpur with the aim to make students more interested in policymaking. Currently, in its fourth edition, the event was organised from February 11-13  with a line-up of distinguished personalities across sectors. 

In a more than an hour-long interactive session, Piyush Goyal talked largely about the various policies implemented by the government for the benefit of the people and the role IITs and IITians can play in transforming a vision into reality for the greater good. He emphasised the influential role technology plays in taking prosperity to the remotest corners of India. Drawing reference to initiatives in healthcare through Telemedicine, education through EdTech, and so on, he talked about how technology can help us democratise basic amenities.

Meanwhile, Ira Singhal, AIR 1, UPSC 2014 advised the students to be patient and value experiences earned over a period of time. She shared anecdotes of how she challenged the discrimination and inequality faced by transgender people in the first district she was posted in, by appointing two transgender persons at the receptionist desk. She highlighted it as one of her biggest accomplishments.

The three-day event hosted a good number of speakers from various sectors to speak on diverse issues in policy-making. It also hosted various workshops and competitions to encourage the participation of the students in policy making for the future.