CHIEF MINISTER Bhupendra Patel on Friday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the latter had changed the old system in which education, training and work experience take place in sequence, by making training and work experience part of the education. Patel also commended the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, saying it had played a key role in making youths “determined and efficient” and preserving the “original” culture of India. “Earlier, youth used to get education, then go for training and subsequently for getting (work) experience and would ultimately hunt for some job. But Narendrabhai (Modi) changed this entire chain. He developed a system in which youths are getting training and work experience with their studies,” Patel said, while addressing the inaugural session of the 54th executive of Gujarat state unit of the ABVP, in Bhavnagar on Friday. The CM said that under Modi’s leadership, the Central government has launched youth-centric schemes such as Startup India, Skill India, Pradhan Mantri Kaushalya Vikas Yojana, Mudra Yojana, schemes for training in IITs, scholarship for research and higher education in mother tongues. “Thanks to all these initiatives, today, our Prime Minister has made our youths capable of standing before the world with pride,” said Patel. He also said that the PM has made detailed plans to reap demographic dividends. “Today, India’s population is the youngest in the entire world and Narendrabhai has made detailed plans for taking advantage of this demographic dividend,” Patel said and cited Gujarat as an example. “For the past two decades, youth of Gujarat have been benefitting from the farsightedness of Narendrabhai, who is committed to the continuous development of power of youth. Thanks to that, courses of international standards are available to youth of Gujarat within the state… In Gujarat, by encouraging research, we have created an ecosystem that has enabled us to remain the leader in startups. Thanks to all this, our youth have become job-givers instead of job-seekers,” said the chief minister. Saying that it is a matter of pride that ABVP is also entering its 75th year just like India, the CM said the students’ organisation has played a key role in preserving Indian culture. “While educational institutes have contributed to turn into reality Narendrabhai’s farsighted planning for youth, organisations like ABVP have contributed equally by making youths determined and efficient. The world’s largest students’ organisation, ABVP, has done ‘bhagirath karya’ (an important job) of preserving the original Indian culture,” Patel said.
