Contribute to nation-building, minister Piyush Goyal tells students

Union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution and textiles Piyush Goyal discussed with IITians how they can help India set an agenda for nation-building in the online edition of Policy Conclave 2022 by IIT Kanpur.

The minister emphasised Amrit Kaal, a term coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the next 25 years, as the time to transform India into a developed country.

“I am very confident that the distinguished students and alumni of IIT Kanpur will be at the forefront of India’s tryst with destiny as we prepare to become a developed country,” Goyal said.

He suggested 5 points as a call to action for IITians to make India “the centre of innovation, research and entrepreneurship”.

Scale, quality and job creation

Goyal encouraged the students to make quality, scale and job creation the focus of their work, ventures and start-ups.

“We have to move this country to quality consciousness. Every activity that we perform must be of quality that the world should envy. And we should, as a nation, start respecting and demanding quality. ‘Scale’ will help make ourselves competitive. And job creation is the need of the hour so that the less privileged get higher-paying jobs and a better future,” he said.

Innovative solutions

He said that providing innovative solutions – which could be for our farmers, artisans, small weavers or small retailers – should be foremost in our mind. It can help realise the goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). He enforced this idea with the question, “Can we serve from India, the rest of the world?”

ONDC and PM Gati Shakti

The minister asked students to research on PM Gati Shaki, a nation-wide multimodal connectivity plan that aims to bring together 16 ministries for integrated planning and infrastructure connectivity projects.

­Goyal has earlier said that ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) can help the common man access new-age technology at affordable costs.

“The idea is that small retailers should be protected also. We are alright with the large ecommerce companies contributing to the nation’s economy and working their way through. But should the small retailers be allowed to become extinct like in the Western world, where mom and pop stores are almost gone or should we not protect livelihoods,” Goyal asked.

Agenda and Theme for G20

Considering the upcoming presidency of the G20 summit that India will assume in December 2022, he said that IITians could come up with the themes and how the country can help set a global agenda for the future.

Seva and Samarpan

Highlighting his background in accountancy, Giyal asked the students to collectively make seva (service) and samarpan (sacrifice) a guiding philosophy, “so that each one of us can have a ‘ledger’”. He suggested that if the idea is followed and finances are kept track of, one could have a “debit and credit for seva and samarpan in life”.

In a bid to motivate students, he drew a comparison between them and the rocket boys Homi J. Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam “who dared to change the destiny of India by making us part of the few countries that have nuclear science, space technology”.

“India needs young students to lead the future. And in today’s audience, there are many rocket boys in the making,” he said.

He encouraged students to make some difficult choices in life and take risks to make something new and go out of the beaten path and become nation-builders. He gave tips to equal opportunity to less privileged and marginalised sections of the country, so that everyone could be a part of the vision of the future.

The session was followed by a Q&A round.

The Policy Conclave by IIT Kanpur is aimed at engaging students with the challenges of policymaking in contemporary society by fostering, creating, and scrutinising potential policy solutions to a diverse range of issues. The conclave is the first of its kind of summit held among all IITs.