India’s huge population, which was considered as an burden, is now regarded as an asset, thanks to the rising number of young people, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Delivering the valedictory address at the State-level Yuvajanothsava or State Youth Festival at Adichunchanagiri in Mandya district, Mr. Bommai recalled the days when the country was drawing up several programmes to control the population. However, the gradual increase in the population of young people has helped convert the burden into an asset. Presently, people in the age group of 18 to 40 years comprised 40 per cent of the country’s population. “Youth power is a big asset for the country. Whichever country possesses youth power also has a good future.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has identified the importance of youth power and has conceived of a lot of programmes to use the same for building the country, Mr. Bommai said.
He emphasised the importance of discipline and aim for youth to succeed in life. Life should also have an aim. When there is discipline among the youth, they can easily achieve their goals, the Chief Minister said before adding that the youth can build their character by having an aim and discipline in life.
Mr. Bommai also sought to draw a distinction between politicians and statesmen. “A politician has an eye on the next elections. But, a statesman has an eye on the next generation. What the country needs today is statesmen, who can think about tomorrow’s administration”, he said before claiming that the “short-sightedness” among the politicians was responsible for the confusion in the society.
The country needs farsighted leadership that can guide the youth of the country to realise the dream of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy.
He said the State had already adopted 75 youth for training in sports at the 75th Independence Day celebration on August 15. The youth will be trained for about four years so that they can participate in the next Olympics.He expressed confidence that the youths will come back with medals from the Olympics and become the pride of people of Karnataka.
The Chief Minister, who expressed his commitment to the development of sports in the State, also promised to make a special allocation for sports in the coming Budget.
Mr. Bommai, who had earlier laid the foundation stone for Adichunchanagiri Centre for Science in the premises, assured the Adichunchanagiri Mutt of all the assistance required from the government for setting up an international level centre for robotics, artificial intelligence and other advanced fields of technology.
Seer of Adichunchanagiri Mutt Nirmalanandanath Swamiji, Minister for Home Araga Jnanendra, Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports K.C. Narayana Gowda, Revenue Minister R. Ashok and Additional Chief Secretary of Youth Empowerment and Sports Department Shalini Rajneesh also attended the programme.
