The fourth National Summit of Young Indians was held in Chennai on the 15th & 16th February '08. Milagrow was one of the Sponsors at this summit. The theme of the summit was “Wake up India” .
The theme came from one of the key report “India at Risk” that was prepared jointly by CII and World Economic Forum. While we are euphoric about all the growth, is it truly inclusive? The report identified 6 key risks.
1) Can India’s demographic dividend turn India into a demographic liability?
2) What point price level would risk derail India’s growth story?
3) Can India cope with globalization backlash?
4) Is India in position to balance the trade off between Environment and Growth?
5) Will loss of fresh water hamper growth?
6) What if India fails to combat HIV and TB?
However, Yi chose one area out of this risk report.. the one on fresh water loss and climate change… The Yi net students really brought out some of the startling points of how climate change has already affected many of our parts of the country. Infact the video by one of the students in Chennai showing the difference between the drinking water from the pump viz the bottled water really got the eyes of all the delegates. Infact Mr Kamath went to the extent of noting in his speech, if this is the case with Chennai a metro - what would be the status of rural areas..This was definitely a wake up call for all the delegates.
The key note was by Mr K V Kamath who really brought several points that need to be addressed. The most important being “right skilling” rather than pure skill building. He also brought up how much of skill building is required to address the needs of the country. Was truly a thought provoking speech.
The special address by Mr.Pachauri was scintillating. Since he couldn’t make it in person he made a video conference. He was very powerful too.
The other sessions were on the various risks faced by the country. The session on Rural risk was really good to know. While we think that the rural areas and villages are peaceful and green places, the session was an eye opener to all the issues faced by the rural areas. Also it was nice to see how much of work is being done by some of the institutes on microfinance. The fact that the availability of even Rs 5000 as a loan is a huge thing for the rural areas. We really need to do so much in the rural areas.
The panel discussion that followed was one of the highlights. It was a powerpacked panel discussion with the topic on “inclusiveness of youth in nation building”. So were the panelists. With people like Piyush Pandey, Meher Padumjee, Narain Karthikeyan, Mr J Radhakrishnan, Kezivino Aram and Shiraz Gidwani - the panel discussion was truly some fireworks. The session was moderated by CNBC TV 18 and was also telecast as a special program separately.
The closing sessions were even better. Sir Mark Tully was at his best giving his perspective on the challenges India face and what the youth must do. So was Mr C R Kesavan.
Source: Jillendroru blog
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