Youth meet: Gujarat Dy CM asks participants to check development data with AI

Dahod, Sep 19 (IANS) Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Saturday asked tribal youth at Bhadbha village in Dahod district to use AI tools on their mobile phones to independently check development figures from before 2014 and compare them with the current situation.

“Who among you uses AI? Just check this… How many universities and seats were there from Independence until Modi Saheb came, and how many are there now?” Sanghavi asked during an interaction with tribal youth organised as part of the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ and the Vadnagar-to-Varanasi bike rally.

The youth used AI tools during the programme to look up figures and shared the information from their seats.

According to the figures presented during the interaction, the number of medical colleges in the country increased from 387 before 2014 to 780, while MBBS seats rose from 51,348 to 1,15,900.

Postgraduate medical seats had increased from 31,885 to 74,306, the youth said, citing information attributed to Rajya Sabha data.

The discussion also covered the expansion of engineering and higher education seats, with Sanghavi and the participants discussing how increased educational opportunities had helped young people from ordinary families in tribal areas to pursue careers such as medicine and engineering.

The youth interaction was held at Bhadbha in Bhuval taluka as part of the bike rally linked to the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’.

Sanghavi said the enthusiasm of young people travelling thousands of kilometres by motorcycle over 22 days to undertake cleanliness and social service activities from village to village was encouraging.

“More than 50 per cent of those participating in the journey came from non-political backgrounds and had joined with a resolve to serve the country,” he noted.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years of public service, from his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister to his tenure as Prime Minister, Sanghavi said PM Modi had worked continuously during this period without taking a single leave for personal work.

He urged young people to draw inspiration from the Prime Minister’s energy and dedication. Sanghavi also interacted with beneficiaries of various government schemes.

A young farmer said he received Rs one lakh directly into his bank account as assistance to purchase a tractor.

A youth said his grandfather had undergone heart surgery free of cost using an Ayushman card. In contrast, an older man said his wife had received free treatment worth Rs 70,000 for a stone-removal operation at a multi-speciality hospital through the scheme.

“Free treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh is now available under the scheme in Gujarat,” he said.

A student said he received Rs 50,000 in education assistance through an E-Nirman card for B.Sc Nursing, while his sister, pursuing BAMS, received the full benefit of a Free Ship Card.

Another youth said his family had received Rs 3.5 lakh in assistance under the PM Awas Yojana to replace their old kutcha house with a pucca home.

Participants also highlighted the annual Rs 6,000 assistance deposited directly into farmers’ accounts under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and emergency animal treatment through the 1962 helpline.

At the end of the interaction, Sanghavi urged the youth to dedicate 25 minutes every day to social service for the next month.

He suggested activities including village cleanliness, teaching children in government schools, blood donation, helping the elderly and assisting needy people in accessing government schemes.

During his Dahod visit, Sanghavi also visited the Sports Complex in Devgadh Baria, where he watched wrestling, karate, archery, tug-of-war and running competitions. He also participated in a running event and interacted with players.

Sanghavi told the players that sport is not only a means of maintaining physical fitness but also helps develop discipline, self-confidence, team spirit and leadership.

“The government is making efforts to provide appropriate opportunities and facilities to sporting talent in rural and tribal areas,” he said.

–IANS

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