Youth can drive India’s development through start-ups, manufacturing: Gujarat BJP chief

Gandhinagar, Aug 30 (IANS) Gujarat BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma on Sunday said that India’s growing start-up ecosystem and expanding manufacturing capabilities are creating greater opportunities for young people, as he watched Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 137th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode with youth in Gandhinagar.

Vishwakarma attended a youth-focused programme at a cafe in Kudasan, where he interacted with young people after the broadcast.

The BJP organised similar programmes across the state, bringing together party leaders and different sections of society to listen to the monthly radio programme.

“Today, young people are successfully establishing innovation-based start-ups in various fields, becoming job givers from job seekers and making a valuable contribution to the development of the country,” Vishwakarma said.

He attributed the emergence of a new start-up ecosystem in the country to what he described as the youth-friendly approach of the Modi-led government and its various schemes.

The state BJP chief said that India’s youth possessed “immense skills”, which he described as the foundation for building a developed India. Vishwakarma also pointed to changes in India’s defence and mobile manufacturing sectors.

“The country, which had once been dependent on imports for defence equipment, is now exporting defence-related equipment worth crores of rupees,” he said.

Similarly, he said mobile manufacturing, which had once been negligible in India, had expanded significantly. “Today, everything from a small pin to an aeroplane is being manufactured in India,” he said.

Referring to Gujarat’s development, Vishwakarma said the state, including Kutch, had recovered from the 2001 earthquake and emerged as a model state following PM Modi’s “visionary and determined leadership”.

The wider BJP programme in Gujarat included community-specific gatherings.

BJP national general secretary Dr Satish Poonia watched the programme with members of the Rajasthani community at Sardar Smarak Bhavan in Ahmedabad, while Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel watched it with party workers at Booth No. 172 of the Ghatlodia Assembly constituency in Thaltej.

Union Minister C. R. Patil attended a programme with chartered accountants and company secretaries in Surat, while BJP national vice-president Varsha Doshi joined young farmers at Dudhai in Muli taluka of Surendranagar district.

Programmes involving women, farmers and livestock rearers, and members of the Scheduled Caste community were also held in Nadiad, Bidada in Kutch and Chandkheda in Ahmedabad respectively.

The BJP said similar programmes were organised at booth level across Gujarat, with party leaders, elected representatives, workers and citizens participating.

The young people attending the Gandhinagar programme described ‘Mann Ki Baat’ as an inspiring and knowledge-enhancing programme and expressed their resolve to listen to it every month.

Prime Minister Modi’s 137th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode, broadcast on Sunday, included discussions on grassroots initiatives, entrepreneurship, social action and youth-related issues, among other subjects.

–IANS

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