Y20 Consultations: Nation’s future in hands of its youth, says Union Minister

BHUBANESWAR: Calling upon youths to follow the principles of Swami Vivekananda, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey urged them to make India a leading nation in the 21st century.

Inaugurating Y20 Consultations at KIIT on Friday, he said the future of the nation lies in the hands of youths and they have to be responsible towards its growth. “India is changing. In the past, India was looked upon as a country which sought help but today, the world is looking at India with greater hope and expectations. This is the new India,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Home, Sports, and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera highlighted the importance of the theme of Y20 Consultations ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family) and emphasised the need for youths to come together and work towards preserving cultural heritage and promoting national integrity.

Lauding the sporting achievements of Odisha’s youths, he said three out of six students have been selected from the state to participate in the NASA Rover Challenge 2023 in the USA. “Odisha has emerged as a global sporting hub under the vision of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,” he said. The Y20 Consultations is being attended by students, educators, business leaders, and spiritual leaders from India and G20 countries. The forum provides a platform to the youths to deliberate on global issues and the outcome of the deliberations will be presented at the G20 meeting later this year. Founder of KIIT and KISS Achyuta Samanta felicitated the speakers.

Among others, Union Secretary of Youth Affairs and Sports Meeta Rajivlochan, Member of Parliament from the UK Virendra Sharma, former US Congressman Robert Pittenger, Member of Parliament from Switzerland Dr Niklaus Samuel Gugger, three-time Grammy award winner Ricky Kej and KIIT DU VC Prof Sasmita Samanta also spoke.