Jammu (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today said that his goal is to reach out and engage about 80 per cent of the young population within the next 5 years and make them an engine of growth for the overall socio-economic transformation of the UT.
While delivering the keynote address at the Harvard US-India Initiative (HUII) Annual Conference, LG Sinha said, “The world’s biggest power is youth and India with more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 years and more than 65% below the age of 35 years is not only a hope for the world, but also a crucial growth driver in the post-Covid scenario.”
HUII aims to engage students around the world in a dialogue about India’s most pressing political, social, economic, and environmental challenges, providing the youth an opportunity to hear from inspiring leaders and be a part of the discussion with them.
The Lt Governor, while addressing the students and notable speakers from across the world through virtual mode, remarked that youth carrying immense knowledge, wisdom and energy is going to build a new future, brick by brick.
They need not follow conventional wisdom and must realize who they are and what they want, Sinha added.
India is ready to be the fulcrum of a new world order that is more just, humane, industrious, mutually beneficial and empowering, he maintained.
“Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, a great educationist, reformer, politician and founder of the Banaras Hindu University, used to say ‘let righteous and dharma prevail, and all communities and societies progress’. He promoted a harmonious blend of oriental and modern education, which has now been adopted in India’s New National Education Policy,” the Lt Governor said.
Speaking on the new dawn of developmental change the UT is witnessing, the Lt Governor observed that the narrative has changed now. Development has replaced terror that our neighbor has been relentlessly exporting.
“From the very first day in office, I have adopted a targeted approach to address the issues pertaining to poverty, health, nutrition, gender equality, quality education, skill development of youth etc, and have ensured that benefits of government schemes reach the last mile,” he noted.
“For equitable development, I gave the mantra of Jan Bhageedari- People’s Participation,” he said during his address.
Outlining various interventions made by the government towards the holistic development of J&K and empowering the people of the UT, LG Sinha stated that the District Development Council (DDC) elections in J&K have been conducted successfully and peacefully.
“This has strengthened the grass-root democracy, finally establishing the three-tier Panchayati Raj system, which was implemented in other states almost 28 years ago,” he added.
Informing about the new Industrial Scheme, Manoj Sinha said that J&K’s service sector is growing at a historical pace and much ahead of states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
He further added, “We are taking industries to the block level to remove the disparities. The scheme is expected to create 4.5 lakh jobs. With a view to help small and medium IT ventures in Jammu and Kashmir, we are strengthening our infrastructure and setting up new projects.”
Similarly, making J&K power sufficient, we aspire to generate 3500 Megawatt in only four years to make the UT power surplus. It shows that no attempts were made during the last 73 years to generate opportunities for youth, the Lt Governor added.
“In health care, universal health coverage scheme, Ayushman Bharat -SEHAT, was launched to provide free of cost insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per household per year without any socio-economic discrimination, which is the first of its kind anywhere in the country,” he added.
“I would like to see each child of J&K prosper into a mature, successful and good human being. The potential of the youth is harnessed in a way that everyone contributes towards the prosperity of the UT. Together we will achieve the desired goal,” concluded the Lt Governor.
Later, an interactive session was held wherein the Lt Governor answered the queries of the participating students about the present developmental scenario of J&K.
