BENGALURU: It was a day to recall Swami Vivekananda’s words on the idea of India. Quoting him on his birth anniversary on Sunday, Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan on Sunday said, “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.”
Narayan, who is also higher education minister, went on to state, “Universal brotherhood is as important as protecting oneself. In this light, we must see the country’s developments, be it Citizenship Amendment Act or the abrogation of Article 370. We can get to the crux of the matter by understanding Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.”
He advised students to opt for blue-collar jobs instead of white-collar ones. To make a decision on careers and higher education, we have opened counselling centres or ‘youth clinics’ in every district.
Along with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, he launched the website yuvakarnataka.org.in and distributed 1.09 lakh HP and Acer laptops to government college students — at Rs 42,000 for each laptop, it cost the government Rs 300 crore.
Yediyurappa said, “I used to sell vegetables and lemons as a high schooler, and today I stand before you all as CM. Nothing is impossible. The government is offering bank loans to students which can be repaid after they find employment. Students should stop going abroad and work in India.”
Youngsters Radha Venkatesh, a para-athlete, Pranav Nutalapati, winner of an international skill competition, Veda Krishnamurthy, cricketer, Ashwini Kumar Bhat, documentary filmmaker, Vivekananda, CEO of Bounce, and others who have accomplished much in various fields were recognised by the CM and DyCM.
ICICI Foundation also signed an MoU with the government, wherein 2,500 students would get skill training and placement. Cisco Systems signed an MoU with the state government for the ‘Mentor Together’ programme.
Young achievers
Rahul Balakrishna, coach of para-athlete Radha Venkatesh, told the media that she had won the silver medal in the 1500m race and bronze in 400m race at the Para Asian Games 2018, after which she met PM Narendra Modi. Born blind and brought up in Chitradurga district, Radha joined the Asha Kirana Blind School in Chikkamagaluru, where she began taking an active interest in sports.
“I saw her run in a national competition and decided to coach her in 2015, after which she took part and won in several competitions,” said Balakrishna, coach and guide runner.
Pranav Nutalapati (17) from Bengaluru won the silver medal in Web Technologies. “Of the 56 skills participants tested for in WorldSkills Kazan 2019 in Russia, I won in the web development category. We had to make the best websites using a problem statement given to us, within 4 days,” he said.