Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said the next ten years would be the decade of the youth in India. He gave an extramural lecture in the IIT, Madras on the topic, ‘India 2020 to 2030: GenY’s Vision for the Decade,’ this evening.

In his address, he said, India’s population is among the youngest in an ageing world. He said the strategy and vision for the education of the youth will decide how successful India will be in converting the country’s demographic advantage into a rich dividend.

The Vice President said a resurgent India is being witnessed today, driven by the dreams and aspirations of the youth. He expressed confidence that through their collective efforts, the dream of an India that is prosperous, inclusive, peaceful and harmonious can be realised.

He said India’s greatest asset is its tremendous diversity, adding, the time-tested bonds of unity are deeply rooted in it. He observed that there is a growing tendency to use technology irresponsibly to spread fake information or hate messages.

The Vice President stressed that the nation’s timeless values of empathy with the people, harmony with nature, tolerance, non-violence and peaceful co-existence must be promoted. He highlighted that the pursuit of excellence and utmost dedication and devotion to one’s duties and responsibilities are the highest forms of patriotism.

Mr Venkaiah Naidu said, disruptive but affordable solutions using technologies like Artificial Intelligence are needed for agriculture and healthcare, disaster management, water conservation and recycling technologies. He said newer technologies must emerge from institutions like the IITs and asked them to work with the farmers to improve the yield and make the profession viable. He said Indian universities need to focus on constantly enriching the research culture and come out with more innovations.

Mr Naidu lamented that the cities are slowly becoming unliveable due to congestion and pollution. He called for adopting technologies to ensure a clean India.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu later in his interaction with the students of the IIT, Madras said all should study the Citizenship Amendment Act properly. To a question on the CAA, he said it was brought to give citizenship to the persecuted minorities of the three neighbouring countries. He recalled that in a democracy, all have the right to protest but it should be within the legal framework.

To another question on representation of women in the state Assemblies and Parliament, he said a certain percentage of reservation for women may be helpful but political parties should give them the chances to contest the elections on their own. He said once women are given the opportunities, they will excel in any field including politics. He also asked political parties not to give party tickets to criminals involved in serious offences to contest elections.

Tamil Nadu Governor Bunwarilal Purohit, IIT Director Bhaskar Ramamurthy and hundreds of students participated in the programme.