Economic prosperity, a key to connect Indian youth

“Achieving economic prosperity should be the agenda for young Indians, which would bring the disconnected youth together,” said R. Seshasayee, Executive Vice-Chairman, Ashok Leyland Limited.

Speaking at the Young Indians Regional Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai on October 26, he said, “The Young Indians of CII and other youth associations should articulate the voice of youth in India for achieving an inclusive and equitable growth.”

Youth should work with stakeholders concerned to achieve this goal through the key elements of democracy, legal and moral values.

Economic goal would alone meet the aspirations of youth and hence we need a vibrant democratic framework supported by strong economic policies to usher in rapid growth, Mr. Seshasayee added.

Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development Vice-President, C.R. Kesavan, said, “We need to make youth as the centre of development as there is huge potential for them to lead the nation in front. The Government has launched several schemes and initiatives for the youth to participate in the development process.”

B. Santhanam, Deputy Chairman, CII (Southern Region), and Managing Director, Saint Gobain Glass India Limited said, “We are in a stage of next evolution of growth and Young Indians have volunteered their time and entire energy to bring in change."

He called on the Young Indians to adopt five key principles — Involve, Inclusive, Innovate, Integrate and Implement — in their journey towards making India an economic super power.

Harish Hande, Co-Founder and Managing Director, SELCO India, spoke about the role of youth in inclusive growth and sustainable development.

In his address, he urged young Indians to focus on promoting rural growth, as large number of our population live in rural India, who were deprived of economic and social benefits.

Anupama Arya, National Chairperson, Young Indians, and Managing Director, Hatch Fund, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Founder-Director, Sun Online Learning India (P) Ltd, and M. Sivaramakrishnan, Chair, Young Indians (Chennai Chapter), and Managing Director, UCAL Group, also spoke at the summit.