Emphasising the significant role of the youth in shaping a ”Viksit Bharat”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a landmark initiative, the ‘Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue,’ which will take place in New Delhi, on January 11-12.

In his monthly ”Mann Ki Baat” address, he said the grand event, marking the 162nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, will serve as a platform for crores of youth across the country to unite, deliberate, and present ideas for India’s future.

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Thousands of young individuals, meticulously selected from villages, blocks, districts, and states, will gather it.

Speaking about the event, the PM expressed his vision for fostering new leadership and nurturing grassroots political engagement. “From the ramparts of the Red Fort, I have urged the youth with no political lineage to step into politics. ‘Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’ is another step in that direction,” he said.

The dialogue will feature national and international experts, thought leaders, and dignitaries. The PM himself will participate and interact with the youth, encouraging them to present innovative ideas for the nation’s progress. These insights will contribute to creating a comprehensive roadmap for India’s future.

In the 116th episode of the month programme, the PM also his own National Cadet Corps (NCC) experience, saying it instils a spirit of discipline, leadership and service in the youth.

“Today is a very special day. It is NCC Day. As soon as the name of NCC comes up, we remember our school-college days. I myself have been an NCC Cadet, so I can say with full confidence that the experience gained from it is invaluable for me,” he said.

Pointing out that the NCC instills a spirit of discipline, leadership and service in the youth, he said whenever there is a disaster, be it a flood, an earthquake or an accident, the NCC cadets unfailingly make themselves available there to help.

Citing the efforts being undertaken continuously to strengthen NCC in the country under his government, Modi said, “In 2014, about 14 lakh youth were associated with NCC. Now in 2024, more than 20 lakh youth are associated with NCC.”

On the provision for NCC made in 5,000 new schools and colleges, he said the biggest aspect is that earlier the number of girl cadets was just around 25 per cent and at present the number has risen to almost 40 per cent. Stating that the campaign to connect more and more youth residing along the border with NCC is also going on continuously, the PM urged the youth to join NCC in maximum numbers.

“You will notice that no matter what career you choose, NCC will help you a lot in personality development. The role of the youth in building a developed India is very significant. When young minds come together and deliberate upon the country’s future journey, positively, concrete paths emerge,” he said.

Mentioning about the upcoming ‘Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’, the PM said, “Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary is celebrated as ‘Youth Day’ on January 12 every year. Next year is Swami Vivekananda’s 162nd birth anniversary. On this occasion, a Maha Kumbh of young minds is going to be held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on 11-12 January, and the name of this initiative is ‘Vikasit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’.”

He said 2,000 youth selected from villages, blocks, districts, states will gather at Bharat Mandapam for the ‘Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’.

The PM said many special campaigns will be run in the country to connect youths to politics and ‘Vikasit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’ is one such effort.

He also praised many youths from different states for working selflessly and helping the elderly.

Mentioning about Virendra, who lives in UP’s Lucknow, Modi said he helps the elderly in the matter of ‘Digital Life Certificate’, which is required by all pensioners to submit once a year. He said Rajiv from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad warns people about the risk of Digital Arrest.

Noting that the elderly are the most common victims of digital arrest, he said, “In such a situation, it is our responsibility to make them aware and help them stay safe from cyber fraud. We have to explain to people again and again that there is no provision of digital arrest in the government; this is a blatant lie, a conspiracy to trap people.”

Highlighting that many experiments are being conducted for the education of children, he said the effort is to enhance the creativity of the children and their love for books.

Referring to his recent Guyana visit, the PM said, “Thousands of kilometres away from India, a ‘Mini India’ dwells in Guyana too. Around 180 years ago, people from India were taken to Guyana to work in the fields and for other tasks. Today, people of Indian origin in Guyana are leading the country in every field… be it politics, business, education or culture.”

He also informed that numerous Indian families have been living in Oman for many centuries and most of them who have settled there are from Kutch in Gujarat.

“These people had created important trade links. Even today, they have Omani citizenship, but Indianness is ingrained in their personae. With the support of the Indian Embassy in Oman and the National Archives of India, a team has started the work of preserving the history of these families,” Modi said.

The PM also mentioned the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ and said the campaign is now spreading to other countries of the world as well.