Telangana: Speakers at summit pitch for mass volunteerism by youth

Hyderabad: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Telangana in collaboration with the University of Hyderabad and TSWREIS organised India@75 Youth Summit on Thursday. The initiative by the CII is an industry-led movement which brings together different stakeholders to create a morally, economically and technologically-advanced country.

Addressing the summit, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, IT&C said the last two years of Covid times were extremely difficult for all. "Be it during the first wave or the second wave, common people spontaneously came forward to help others, be it by arranging meals or transportation or medical supplies. We all have realised that there is an innate goodness among people, especially youth, who played a key role in all relief activities," he said.

He further added that the youth being action oriented, without any hesitation, played a major role in taking care of the needy. "As we are celebrating India@75 and Mahatma@150, we need to start a strong movement of volunteerism whether there is a pandemic or not. This could help us to tap the innate goodness. Purposefully channelised, it could be led by young people," he said.

Prof B J Rao, vice-chancellor of the university said, "In the process of building innovative minds, we need structured paradigms so universities could develop them. Classroom teaching happens in linear process. However, real learning happens in circular process. Therefore, all universities or institutes of learning should work on developing out-of-box thinking-learning methods among youth. Youth could interact with teachers informally; they can debate and question teachers. We all need to aspire to create such learning system where teachers provide very insightful guidance to students."

Sameer Goel, chairman, CII, Telangana, said that India@75 initiative brings different stakeholder groups together so that they could help India reach the milestones documented in the people's agenda

Purnima Kamble, chairperson, IWN-Telangana & head-Fox Mandal, mentioned the importance of gender equality and why girls should work towards becoming financially independent.

Rakesh Dubbudu, founder, FACTLY said, "The first generation smartphone users need to be taught right usage." He briefed on importance of RTI and why youth should restrain from forwarding false information.

Vamsi, MD of Visaka Industries advised youth not to accept status-quo and challenge it always. "We all need to work towards improving things and do not get carried away by instant gratification. The world needs many more sustainable businesses and we all should work towards developing them," he added.

Harshini, founder, Give RED Foundation, said that non-accessibility of blood during needy times made them start Give RED. Currently, they have 10,000 registered donors. More than 3,000 patients were supported either with blood or plasma donation during Covid times.