Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday that Uttar Pradesh witnessed over 31.5 crore tourist arrivals in the last one year, leading to diverse employment opportunities for the people of the state.

“Following the consecration of Shri Ram Lalla on January 22, Ayodhya is set to emerge as a highly developed and prominent tourist destination on the global tourism map. The double-engine government is working actively on the development of religious tourist sites across the state,” the Chief Minister said.

Speaking at an event organised at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Auditorium of Dr A PJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (APJAKTU), the Chief Minister highlighted the transformative changes taking place in the state.

He said, “Previously, even 50 devotees could not assemble in Kashi Vishwanath. With the construction of the corridor, now 50,000 devotees can stand together and participate in religious events at the sacred site.”

On the occasion of ‘National Youth Day’ — the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda — the CM distributed incentive money to startups and incubators under State level Vivekananda Youth Award and Uttar Pradesh Startup Policy, and smartphones and tablets under the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme.

Adityanath also launched cleanliness campaign-related activities through the ‘My Bharat’ portal. Apart from this, he urged the youth and citizens of the state to participate in the special cleanliness campaign starting from January 14.

In his address, the Chief Minister said, “At the age of just 39, Swami Vivekananda showed a new path to the entire world, including India. He gave the message to the youth to ‘Arise! Awake! And stop not until the goal is reached.’ It is crucial for the youth to hold onto Swami Vivekananda ‘s wisdom. Every journey has a destination, and success comes when we carefully choose the right path and persevere toward our goals.”

Highlighting that today Uttar Pradesh is a revenue surplus state, Adityanath asserted, “Now UP has all the resources available to give a new flight to the dreams of the youth.”

He stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the ‘Panch Pran’ to make the country a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. If we follow these resolutions and do our work with complete honesty, no one will be able to stop India from becoming a major power in the world.

‘Panch Pran’, the five resolutions being to move the country ahead as a Developed India, eradicate the mentality of slavery, be proud of India’s heritage and legacy, strength of unity and solidarity and duties of citizens towards the nation.

Criticising the previous governments, the Chief Minister stated, “Before 2017, Uttar Pradesh faced an identity crisis. Those engaged in the ‘politics of familism’ would entice the youth with the ‘jhunjhuna’ of caste. Upon assuming power, their focus would be primarily on the welfare of their own family.”

He said that India has the highest number of youth in the world and Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of youth in India, adding that 56 per cent of the population in the state was working. He underscored the need to generate employment opportunities. To achieve this, he stressed the importance of transcending barriers of caste, creed, religion, and region.

“When the whole of India works together with the spirit of ‘nation first,’ no force will be able to stop our country from moving forward,” the Chief Minister said.

He distributed tablets to 500 students. Additionally, the CM distributed a combined financial aid of Rs 2.75 crore to two individuals in the startup category and five in the incubator section. Apart from this, under the Vivekananda Youth Award, he honoured 10 young men and women in the individual category with citations and an amount of Rs 50,000 each.

Under the Vivekananda Youth Award, Adityanath presented cash awards of Rs one lakh, Rs 50,000, and Rs 25,000, along with citations to the first, second, and third-place winners in Yuvak and Mahila Mangal Dal teams.