Bhubaneswar: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday lauded Odisha and its youth who are filled with energy and optimism. “This state (Odisha) offers a tremendous opportunity to experience personally much of what we would be discussing in the course of the PBD. Its cultural festivals and religious and archaeological sites are a reminder of why we in India consider ourselves to be a civilizational society,” said Jaishankar.
Addressing the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention being jointly organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of External Affairs, he said it is equally a living testament to the development and progress in all its dimensions. When it comes to the youth, their optimism and energy is very much on display in Odisha, whether it is in institutions of learning or those we encounter in our daily lives.
According to Jaishankar, the new India with 90,000 plus start-ups and 100 plus unicorns, Atal Tinkering labs, and nano fertilisers is beaming with hope and ambition. An ambitious vision needs strong foundations to be realised. It is critical to invest in youth in order to achieve their full potential. We also regularly welcome the visits of PIO journalists to India. Let me take the opportunity to urge you on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote India as a tourism destination. If young Indian PIOs bring their equally young friends from abroad to explore this uniquely rich and diverse heritage and culture, this will surely become a lifelong habit for them, he said.
“Normally we pick somebody from the political world for that position (guest of honour). On this occasion we have made a departure – I think a very understandable and a very justifiable departure of picking someone from the world of media, from the world of business. Because young Indians today are succeeding in so many domains and it’s important that we recognize that… This state (Odisha) offers a tremendous opportunity to experience personally much of what we would be discussing in the course of the PBD. Its cultural festivals and religious and archaeological sites are a reminder of why we in India consider ourselves to be a civilizational society,” he stated.
EAM S Jaishankar said, “At a time when so many key developments in the world are being shaped by the younger generations – whether we talk of AI or EV, innovation or startups, cricket, chess or any sports –there is more reason to do so. At home we have just started our journey of Viksit Bharat in the Amrit Kaal. This is an endeavour which is very much about the future generation as it is in this period that they will come to the front ranks of the society and lead our nation. A large part of our effort is to give motivation to the youths to accelerate their efforts.”
“While development itself is a very complex task, it becomes easier when we are confident that nothing is beyond us. I still recall some time ago an observation by a famous Indian badminton player PV Sindhu on why PM Modi is a youth icon. She summed it up as his attitude which moved the nation from ‘chalta hai’ to ‘badal sakta hai’ to ‘hoga kaise nahi’. Indeed this is the very spirit which has driven our achievement in the recent years,” he added.