Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, (MoYA&S) inaugurated the first-ever Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Youth Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- The three-day event, held from February 7 to 11, 2025, brings together young leaders from across the region to discuss key challenges and opportunities.
- The summit is jointly organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), with New Delhi (Delhi) based-Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Young Indians (YI) as the knowledge partner.
Key People: The event was attended by Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat, Bhupendrabhai Patel, Minister of State (MoS), MoYA&S ,Raksha Khadse and Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) MEA.
Theme: The theme of summit ‘Youth as a Bridge for Intra-BIMSTEC Exchange’, highlighting the critical role of youth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.
Note: More than seventy young delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka (SL), and Thailand attended the summit.
Key Sessions:
i.As part of the summit, a special session titled “Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue X BIMSTEC” was held, providing a platform for young leaders from BIMSTEC nations to showcase important youth development initiatives from their respective countries.
ii.Another key session focused on Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat), an initiative introduced by the Prime Minister (PM) of India.
- The objective of MY Bharat was to ensure equal access to opportunities for youth, enabling them to achieve their aspirations and contribute to the vision of Amrit Bharat 2047.
India’s Proposal for BIMSTEC as a “Youth Bridge”
India put forward a proposal for BIMSTEC to function as a “Youth Bridge”, a multi-dimensional initiative aimed at empowering young leaders.
- This platform would facilitate knowledge-sharing, leadership training, and regional networking, integrating sectors such as entrepreneurship, sports, education, and technology to create meaningful opportunities for youth across member nations.
Points to Note:
i.Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted India’s strong commitment to youth empowerment by citing major initiatives like the Skill India Mission, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS), which have collectively trained over 15 million young individuals in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and digital technologies.
ii.He also emphasized the country’s thriving startup ecosystem, which has grown to become the third-largest in the world, with over 157,000 startups, nearly half of these startups are led by women.
iii.Mandaviya emphasized India’s role in the BIMSTEC region, highlighting skill-building initiatives that improved youth employability from 33.95% in 2013 to 54.81% in 2024
iv.BIMSTEC region is home to about 1.8 billion people, accounting for about 22 per cent of the global population with a combined GDP of USD 4.5 trillion.
About Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, (MoYA&S):
Union Minister– Mansukh Mandaviya (Constituency-Porbandar, Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS)– Raksha Khadse (Constituency- Raver, Maharashtra)
