True democracy is one where every voice is heard and opinion respected. A forward-thinking democracy is where the youth plays a participative role in the process. Future-oriented governments will always listen to the voice of the country. And VJIM, Hyderabad played its part by making the voice heard with its YouthOpinion contest that asked them about 3 measures the government must immediately implement to take care of the pandemic situation.
The contest that ran for 10 days received an overwhelming response from the youth around the country. They had a vision for dealing with the difficult situation caused by the pandemic and they made the most of the platform to have their opinions heard. They had taken the efforts to research and form informed opinions before presenting their findings and strategies. Pushti Sampat (3rd year MCA student), Shraddha Verma (3rd year BSc Student, Delhi University), and Ashutosh Pratap Singh (1st year MBA – IIFT) were the top three winners of the contest.
However, it wasn’t an easy call to make as every response stemmed from participants’ deep passion to make a difference and offer a solution to make things better. “One option is to pursue at the global level what has worked at the national level; subsidizing vaccine producers, input suppliers, and last-mile distribution,” said one of the participants in response. Another highlighted the need for primary health centers and hospitals in remote areas.
There is a general perception that the youth is not interested in politics. However, the contest revealed otherwise as participants called out the handling of the crisis and recommended clearly defined responsibilities at the Centre and State government levels. An IIM Indore student added, “The fiscal spending of the Government needs to be increased and small businesses that were affected due to the pandemic need to be supported.”
It was obvious that the young respondents had looked at the situation from political as well as economic and humanitarian points of view. Some of them even offered nuanced scientific responses that offered much food for thought. One of the participants focused on the use of the Geographical Information System (GIS) to track the availability of beds across India. The measure used only in a few states could be a lifesaver in times of a health crisis that leads to panic.
A strong voice for the robust promotion of vaccination drive and equitable distribution of vaccines emerged during the contest. Respondents recommended scaling up and capitalizing on the manufacturing strength of India’s pharmaceutical industry. “The world is going through a tough phase; we need to stand together and fight against it,” said one of the respondents. Through the contest, it was heartening to see that the youth is involved and together in this fight.