N Chandrababu Naidu interacts with young minds of IIT Bombay

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 31 : Former AP Chief Minister and TDP National President N Chandrababu Naidu had an online interaction with the young brains of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Saturday when he gave a clarion call to the younger generation to imagine, visualize, adapt and innovate for bringing qualitative transformation in India in the next 30 years.
Naidu underscored the need for the budding technopreneurs and young managers to develop 'Vision 2050' for their personal growth and, simultaneously, for the future growth of India by giving their individual and collective contributions to the nation.
He delivered his enlightening address as a distinguished speaker at Alankar 2020, IIT Bombay's Global Leadership Summit organised with the theme 'Order in Chaos' by the Shailesh J Mehta School of Management.
Lauding the organisers for selecting a theme relevant for India and the whole world amid the Coronavirus pandemic devastation, Naidu said this enormous crisis could as well be turned into a beautiful opportunity if individuals and families, and states and countries worked with vision and a matriculated execution of that vision.
Asking the young minds to think ahead of their times, he said, "The present generation would have to plan big and develop a 'mega mindset' with a broad world perspective while, at the same time, prioritise tasks along with their local, regional and global importance. It was this inspiration that helped Hyderabad evolve into an international hub and an attractive destination for IT, pharma, and biotech today. This journey began with 'my Vision 2020' document in 1999, whose implementation began with the construction of one single tower that is HiTech City. Later, Microsoft and a whole lot of the US companies arrived and it led to the addition of Cyberabad city to the already existing twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad."
Mr. Naidu told the young minds that to make the IT boom and employment generation possible in Hyderabad, he visited the United Staes and personally met with chairmen of software giants.
"Microsoft founder Bill Gates, at that time, did not want to meet a politician like me. But, after a little persuasion, Gates gave me five minutes which eventually turned into a 45-minute interaction. All this was possible because of the clear vision and meticulous planning that went into the HiTech City and future IT possibilities in Hyderabad. Once Microsoft came to the city, then all major IT giants made a beeline thus making Hyderabad what is today. To make a vision or a dream come true, one should have patience, persuasion, and perseverance," Naidu said.
Stating that he was born in a little village with hardly 20 houses, Naidu told the budding managers that it was constant learning and relearning that inspired him to be an active participant and a leader in today's knowledge economy.
"The country's landscape was constantly changing. Seven decades ago, everybody was thinking of pre-independent and post-independent India. Later, the perception changed to pre-reforms and post-reforms. Now, everybody is looking at things like pre-Covid and post-Covid. In just a few months, the invisible virus changed the lives and lifestyles of everyone forever. In the past, it took centuries and decades to bring such monumental changes. One should carefully watch, understand, and adapt to these changes in order to lessen the damage and optimise the advantage," the former CM said.
He said that the future would belong to those who meticulously follow the three takeaways which are IT literacy, non-conventional energy, and skill upgradation.
"From now on, a person would be seen as an IT literate or IT illiterate. Handling machine tools and artificial intelligence would decide one's success rate. India, having a demographic advantage, should capitalise on its strengths. Indian youth are strong in Maths and English, which should be effectively used for the benefit of the country. It depends on how the super-powerful brains of young ones would be harnessed but not on what grandiose plans are made for making India a superpower," Naidu concluded.
Other elite personalities speaking at this event were famous writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar, BARC Former Director Anil Khakodkar, Father of IT Revolution Sam Pitroda, and First Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya. Earlier, celebrities like Kunal Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, and Brett Lee were invited to be part of the Alankar Global Leadership Summit.