Gandhinagar, Oct 14 (IANS) A 40-member student delegation from Chandigarh is visiting Gujarat to study its culture, industrial development and technological initiatives under the Centre’s ‘Yuva Sangam’ programme, with the students meeting Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.
The delegation, accompanied by institutional representatives, is in Gujarat from October 10 to 16 as part of Yuva Sangam, an initiative under the Union Ministry of Education’s Department of Higher Education to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding among young people from different states and Union Territories.
During their meeting with Patel, the students were encouraged to maintain a positive outlook and share their experiences of Gujarat’s development with people in their home state.
The chief minister also highlighted the features of Gujarat’s development model under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The interaction was attended by the chief minister’s Chief Advisor, Hasmukh Adhia, and Secretary Ajay Kumar. Yuva Sangam is part of the Centre’s Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat initiative, which seeks to strengthen national unity and encourage young people to understand the diversity, traditions and development experiences of other parts of the country.
The programme is structured around five themes — tourism, traditions, progress, people-to-people connect and technology.
Through visits to different states, students are given opportunities to learn about local customs, historical heritage, development models, industrial achievements and technological advancements.
Gujarat Central University is hosting the Chandigarh delegation and facilitating its exposure to the state’s historical and tourist destinations, local culture and traditions, industrial development and government initiatives.
The programme also seeks to establish lasting relationships among students from different parts of the country and encourage dialogue on the role of technology and innovation across sectors.
As part of the reciprocal exchange, a 50-member delegation of students from Gujarat will visit Punjab from October 22 to 29. The students were selected through a prescribed process from around 5,000 applications received for the programme.
The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, will serve as the nodal institution for the Gujarat delegation’s visit to Punjab.
–IANS
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