Moneycontrol | Youth creating, tweaking, remodelling global template for urban space: Hardeep Puri

Mar 13,2023

Stating that the youth have begun to "tweak, remodel and create" a global template for urban space in the country, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on March 13 said he was confident that India would be a world leader in all respects by 2047 "due to the youth dividend".

Puri, who was addressing the National Youth Conclave 2023 in New Delhi, observed that more than half of the country is below 25 years of age, with the average age being 29.

"The youth have begun to tweak, remodel and create a global template of what the urban space in the country can and should look like," he said.

“The Modi government is cognisant of the need to capture the demographic dividend and fully harness the massive potential within. The government is currently investing more than Rs 90,000 crore every year on youth development programmes,” he said.

He also noted that India has 100-plus unicorns and this culture of start-ups is further gaining pace. “The ideas of the youth and enabling environment that fosters these ideas are the true success,” Puri added.

The minister further noted that the full economic benefits of urbanisation can only be reaped by harnessing technology and innovative solutions to address the legacy challenges in cities.

“…the Smart Cities Mission which is utilising people-centric technology to improve city governance and provide equitable access to urban services, particularly for the marginalised sections of society,” he said.

“The role of the youth in the Smart Cities Mission has been pivotal. Through various initiatives, they have been nurtured and encouraged to provide ‘out of the box’ solutions to help promote ease of living for India’s urban population,” he added.

Puri said that he believed that the National Youth Conclave—which is an alliance between the Y20 and U20 of G20— will be beneficial for the youth to stake their claim on matters of global governance in this year of India’s G20 presidency. “I hope that it will provide the space for young people to amplify their concerns on issues such as climate change, future of work, and youth in democracy.”

Urban 20 or U20 is an engagement group under the G20, which brings together mayors from major G20 cities, whereas, Y20 or Young 20 engagement group provides a platform that allows youth to express their vision and ideas on the G20 priorities.

Puri urged young people to take steps towards fostering urban development, saying “we have a situation today where on all fronts, we are at a stage where only the sky can be the limit."

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore, said earlier in the day that India needs “nasha-mukt” (drug abuse-free) youth to become a developed and self-reliant country.

During the inaugural address at the National Youth Conclave, Joint Secretary, SCM, MoHUA, Kunal Kumar said the youth can be the champions of local identity by taking ownership of the city and urged them to take ownership and build future inclusive and sustainable cities.

“The youth are often the most impacted by the change in urban areas. Hence, they need to be involved in the decision-making process,” said Rajeev Jain, Additional Director General, PIB, at a session on the role of the media to engage the youth in urban development.