World has great hopes in India and its youth: PM Narendra Modi at National Youth Festival

HUBBALLI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the next 25 years are crucial for India, as there is a great optimism in the world towards India and its youth.
"We must make the 21st century India's century, and to do so, we must think ten steps ahead of the present. There are global surveys that show big investors want to invest in India, and these investors want to invest in you (youth)," said Modi after inaugurating the 26th edition of the National Youth Festival here to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Noting that India is the world's fifth-largest economy, with a goal of making it to the top three, Modi stated that the country's economic growth will provide ample opportunities for the youth. This is a historic time when optimism and opportunity are coming together, the PM stated. Invoking Swami Vivekananda's famous slogan: 'Arise, awake and stop not until the goal is reached', Modi called upon the youths to make the 21st century as "the century of India".
‘IoT, AI, machine learning are key’
In the last eight to nine years, Modi said, a solid foundation has been laid in every domain. “The runway is ready for you to take off, whether it is for economy or education, sports or entrepreneurship, skill development or digitisation. You (the youth) now have a mission to make a global impact for India,” he added. Modi said he strongly believes that by the end of this decade, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things will have evolved significantly, and data science and cyber security will have become much deeper parts of our lives. So our youth should be prepared with future skills, he said.
Modi advised the youth to take lessons from Swami Vivekananda to forge ahead in life, with the key being the advice that there were three phases for any new idea: ridicule, opposition, and acceptance. Projects initiated by the Union government, such as digital payments, Swachch Bharath Abhiyaan, indigenous Covid vaccines are examples, he said. “So if you have a new idea, you may be the butt of jokes, but if you have trust in your idea, stick to it. Positive disruption is essential to move ahead of developed nations,” Prime Minister Modi said repeatedly, invoking Swami Vivekananda. The Prime Minister praised the country’s woman power, saying that the daughters are “scaling heights in every field.” The youth festival, in which more than 7,500 youth delegates from different parts of the country are taking part, will conclude on January 26.