Dr Subhash Bhamre speaks at The Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw Memorial Lecture

“Youth are the leaders of tomorrow and the strength of the country is dependent on the nation’s youth,” said Dr Subhash Bhamre, Hon’ble Union Minister of State, MOD, Government of India, at the Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw Memorial Lecture held at the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), Pune, today. The lecture is conducted every year in honor of the legend and aims to provide leadership perspective to students and other members of the public. The theme of the lecture was ‘Role of Youth in Nation Building’.

He stated that today’s youth had a better sense of mission and vision, and therefore, the current dispensation was very proactive in providing the youth highly efficient and economic avenues such as START-UP INDIA and STAND-UP INDIA as platforms to express their innovation and self-reliance. He insisted, “Youth today is standing at the tip of India’s new journey and must give their best in their profession”. Stressing upon the fact that skill development doesn’t happen overnight, he highlighted how government initiatives like the Atal Tinkering Lab and Government e-markets have been instrumental in the skilling of India’s youth. He spoke of how the youth should be active drivers and not passive recipients of change in the society, and emphasised upon the Prime Minister’s vision of them being job creators and not job seekers.

The minister concluded his speech by stating that imagination, hard work and creativity of the youth alone could rid the country of evils like corruption, terrorism and black money.

The session was also addressed by Dr S.B Mujumdar, Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), who spoke about the evolution of SIMS from a humble classroom establishment to a residential management institute hosting over 600 students, both national and international. He elaborated, “The college was established in 1993 as an institute catering to defence personnel and their dependents, and today enjoys the distinction of having notable personages such as the COAS on its advisory board, making it the only institution of its kind in the country”. He also requested the Minister to allocate 2 acres of land for hostel facilities.

The vote of thanks for the event was proposed by Brig (Dr) Rajiv Divekar, Director, SIMS. Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro Chancellor, SIU; Dr Rajani Gupte, Vice Chancellor, SIU; and distinguished army personnel were amongst the other invitees at the lecture.

Previous speakers for the lecture series have been Mr K. Subramanian, India’s leading Defence Analyst; Dr K. Kasturirangan, former Chairman, ISRO; Dr Ganesh Natarajan, former Chairman, NASSCOM; Dr R.A. Mashelkar, FRS and Bhatnagar Fellow; and Mr Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group, amongst others.