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Youth have more insight into Rural Innovation

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DQW Bureau
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Youth have more insight into Rural Innovation

Authored By: Dr. W R Reddy, IAS, Director General, National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, (NIRD&PR)

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“The best brains of the nation may be found on the last benches of the classroom” said former President of India, the late Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. And this couldn’t be more true in today’s India.

It has never been a doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed youth can change the word and today’s youth have a keen sense that seems to be missing in most adults today with regards to the social development of the country. The youth see the world with an open bent of mind and a freshness that has not yet been drained out by the troubles of the world at large. The youth are the catalyst for social change today and believe in the values of Action, Success and Glory, while still allowing emotions to guide them. They are not content with sitting back and waiting for opportunities to fall on their lap and have the desire to knock on the doors of opportunity.

These qualities enable the youth to break free from the bounds of social pressures and concentrate on the actual requirements of the country or the end users of the innovations.

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Youth led innovations are critical to ensure sustainable development,but there is a need to address the institutional frameworks which bridge the gap between having ideas and getting these ideas to the market or the end user.

The Govt of India, with their many initiatives, Like the Young India platforms, National Innovation Foundation(NIF) and the activities by the NITI Ayog are trying to do just that. The aim is to embrace the youth to shape the discourse on social and rural innovation and create an environment for result driven workflows. Many private organizations and institutions are also working in the same direction.

But is all of this enough? Will we be able to open our minds to these ideas and help the youth take these ideas forward?

I’d say that the new Social Generation has created a better system of trust and an open mind to innovation from any sector and will not be a barrier to Social and Rural Innovations, All we need to do is show them our support and we will begin to see a drastic growth in Rural and Social Innovation

A quick look at the IGNITE awards of 2016 will give you a good idea of the brilliant innovations targeted at the rural population, from the youth of our nation. And we hope that the Rural Innovators Startup Conclave (RISC2017), thought in its inaugural year, will provide a platform for more Social and Rural innovations and Startups that will fuel the cause of Rural Development in India.

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