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I have been living with a burning desire of contributing my personal time towards development of my country India since last one year & had no direction of taking the first step towards it. The only thing I was clear about was I wanted to invest 2-3 hours per week for fulfilling this desire of mine.
I had been seeking answers to this question of mine and finally found one two days back.
I met a friend of mine, Kartik, on the day of Dhuleti for a morning breakfast & was sharing with him about this question I wanting to find answer for.
Kartik is a past Chair of Young Indians ( Yi ) Vadodara chapter and currently playing a role at national level at Yi.
(About Yi : Young Indians (Yi) is an integral part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a non-government, not-for-profit, industry led and industry managed organisation playing a proactive role in India’s development process. Yi was formed in the year 2002 with an objective of creating a platform for young Indians to realize the dream of a developed nation. Yi has around 2350 direct members in 37 chapters, and engages around 10500 students through chaupals, under the brand ‘Yuva’. The Yi membership includes young progressive Indians between the age group of 21 & 40 and comprises entrepreneurs, professionals and achievers from different walks of life.
“To become the Voice of Young Indians Globally” being the vision of Yi, it provides a platform for young Indians to participate in and contribute by becoming an integral part of the Indian growth story. Yi’s work is divided primarily into three groups; “Youth Leadership”, “Nation Building” and “Thought Leadership”)
Kartik shared with me about a Yi National event which is happening in Delhi the next day called “Take Pride – The 12th Young Indians National Summit” which can give me possible answers to my question.
This excited me & I booked my flight tickets immediately for Delhi after 2 hours of have met him and reached Delhi to attend this summit.
During the two day event, I had the opportunity listening to 30+ visionary influential leaders of India from politics, sports, business.
Below are the leaders who spoke at the summit.
Out of all the speakers, 8 powerful leaders inspired me the most & gave me a direction to work towards.
1) Sadhguru, Founder, Isha Foundation : “educating children with the great history of India creates Pride & confidence amongst them for the nation”
2) Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Indian National Congress : “a combination of soft power ( eg one land embracing many cultures ) and hard power ( eg military and business strength ) will create India as a developed nation”
3) Piyush Goyal, Minister of State ( Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy ), Government of India : “a politician’s love for taking India to new energy levels”
4) Ranganayakulu Bodawala, Founder President, Thrive : “a social entrepreneur bringing solar light to villages of India economically without support of government – don’t just rely on government, a citizen can also create a huge impact”
5) Anil Agarwal, Group Chairman, Vedanta Resources: “created a positive image of India & Indians in the world through business by taking risks”
6) Jonty Rhodes, former South African Cricketer: “practice as if you are playing the real game”
7) Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms: “business is what big problem are you solving for your customers?”
8) Laxmi Alok Dixit, Campaigner against Acid Attacks : “a women standing up & challenging evil in our society”
I heard all the powerful speakers with a heart of a young Indian aspiring to contribute towards development of India & below are my 10 most memorable take aways and learnings :
1) there is far more positive than negative happening in India towards nation building ( media showcasing more negative than positive news )
2) young India is overall more satisfied with the present government than the previous one due to actions being taken.
3) don’t just rely on government, as a citizen without support of government one can also create a huge impact
4) 3 biggest area of emphasis/ focus by all leaders for taking India from developing to developed – education, health & agriculture
5) the one biggest priority area of impact for uplifting the nation is providing the population at the bottom of pyramid with the basic quality of life
6) one of the biggest strength of our nation is the young population of India – 65% population below the age of 35 years
7) every Indian taking pride of being an Indian will impact the pace of development of India ( rather than just complaining )
8) India path to development will be unique & far different from other nations of the world due to the cultural diversity within India
9) India offers exciting business opportunities today and for years to come – to be successful : solve a big problem, do things differently & believe in yourself.
10) Women of India playing and will play a significant role in development of the nation
With the inspiration I have gathered from this powerful event, “my first step” towards my burning desire of contributing towards taking India from a developing to a developed nation are 3 actions starting tomorrow :
1) I am going to get involved towards development of India by investing my 2-3 hours per week
2) pick up “one area” of my interest and align it with my “personal strength” towards my contribution towards nation building
3) become a member of Yi Vadodara chapter
I am personally very excited to live this “new possibility” I have created for myself beyond my commitment towards my other areas of life – health, business and relationships.
Hope you could connect your life while the reading this blog of mine.
Please share your experience of reading it & your thoughts on your journey towards “What is your first step towards your burning desire of contributing for taking India from developing to a developed nation as a young Indian?”
Cheers, Shamik