The youngest National level participant of the year
The national youth parliament initiative intends to strengthen the roots of democracy among India’s youth population. Sikindhar Jaladi, a first-year BTech Computer Science student at SRM University-AP, won district and state level elocution competitions and participated in the National Youth Parliament Festival 2022 conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
Mr Sikindhar bagged first place in the district level elocution competition in the District Youth Parliament in Krishna District on February 19, 2022, wherein he talked on the topic of Digital India. The top 2 participants from all districts of Andhra Pradesh competed at the state level, and Mr Sikindhar proved his mettle again, securing first place in elocution on the topic Startup India, Standup India.
Across India, approximately 2,40,000 ( two lac forty thousand) people have competed on all levels. In that, only 87 (3 from each state, 29*3=87) of them were shortlisted to attend the national level. Out of which only 29 (1st place winners from each state) of them availed a chance to speak at the Parliament. Being the 1st place winner from Andhra Pradesh, Mr Sikindhar represented the state and delivered his speech in the Parliament House (Sansad Bhavan) in front of the Honourable Speaker, Cabinet Ministers of the central Government, Entrepreneurs and other Dignitaries.
National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) is a national level competition organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in partnership with the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan since 2019. (NYKS).
Read this exclusive interview with Mr Sikindhar on his journey to Indian Parliament House
“I am delighted to have got the opportunity to speak at Parliament, which is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy”, says Mr Sikindhar. “Also, I was the youngest youth parliamentarian aged 18 among all the participants”, he added joyfully.
Preparation for the State Level Elocution Competition
The topics were released one day before the state-level competition. Having a dream to become an entrepreneur, I chose Start-up India-Stand-up India among the given topics. I know how the start-up ecosystem has been growing in India and the sectors in which the Indian start-ups are emerging. On an important note, I would like to thank SRM University-AP for providing an entrepreneurship cell( Ecell) that solely focuses on starting up and inculcates leadership and entrepreneurial qualities in young minds. I would also thank our director of entrepreneurship cell Udayan Bakshi sir. I’m a member of the SRM Ecell at the Industree Owl, which helped me get acquainted with some startup and business terminologies.
Experience at SRM AP
Being a fresher, I like the experience here at SRM AP. I have good friends from all over the country. Those from the North Indian states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar help me gradually learn Hindi. And that knowledge of Hindi helped me highlight some points of my speech in Hindi, which made my address more attractive. Suman Kumar from Bihar, my classmate and CSE project partner at SRM AP, helped in preparing my speech. Hopefully, I will enjoy and experience the fullest from the university once the university reopens for onsite classes.
About the National Level Elocution competition in Delhi
The experience at the national level competition was truly unique. Best speakers from all the states were competing there. Though I was a bit anxious, I’m happy that I learned many things. Among all the speakers and participants, I was the youngest one. I loved the whole trip and made a lot of connections and friends. I met Shri Om Birla– Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur– Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Nisith Pramanik– Hon’ble Minister of State, Youth Affairs & Sports. We had a beautiful conversation with the honourable union ministers Anurag Singh Thakur and Nisith Pramanik about the problems faced by the people of India, responsibilities and fundamental duties of the youth and the people of India in policymaking. I would also like to share that I had a chance to have dinner with the honourable Union Minister Shri Nisith Pramanik on March 10th evening. We also experienced a beautiful cultural event with the union ministers and members of Parliament (MPs).
Support received from SRM AP
Definitely, SRM AP played a crucial role in the journey. When the state level results were announced, our beloved Vice Chancellor sir, Pro-Vice-chancellor sir, Dean SEAS Prof B V Babu sir, Student Affairs Assistant-Director Revathi ma’am, ITKM Associate Director Arundhati ma’am, ITKM department, management, faculty members, and friends encouraged and motivated me. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to thank SRM University for providing an entrepreneurship cell (Ecell) that solely focuses on starting up and teaches leadership and entrepreneurial qualities in young minds. I’m a member of the SRM Ecell at the Industree Owl department, which helped me get acquainted with some startup and business terminologies.
