The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, today said that India is on move and every stakeholder should contribute towards the progress of the nation.

Speaking at the The Hindu BusinessLine Change maker Awards 2020 in New Delhi today, the Vice President said that India is on path to become the world’s third largest economy, but he cautioned, this task should not be left to the governments alone.

“Each one of us should contribute to this”, he said.

Shri Naidu further states that change was happening everywhere, but it should be ensured that the benefits of this change reach the last person and it uplifts the lives of the poor and the downtrodden.

Citing the great changemakers of the history like Chanakya, Buddha, Adi Shankaracharya, Basavewara, Narayana Guru, Swami Vivekananda, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Vice President said that we should draw inspiration from their lives.

He called the government as one of the most impactful Changemakers and said that is has the capacity to bring about change on a mass scale. Elaborating further, Shri Naidu cited the government’s initiatives such as distribution of LPG connections under Ujjwala Yojana and building of toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission that have brought positive changes in the women’s lives.

Expressing happiness over Shri Arunachalam Muruganandam being conferred the Iconic Changemaker Award, the Vice President said his work transformed social attitudes to female hygiene. He lauded Shri Arunachalam for inventing, despite several odds, a simple machine women can use to make cheap sanitary pads.

“His work has saved many a women from the agony of reproductive diseases caused by poor menstrual hygiene”, he added.

Praising Pradeep Mewada one of the winners of ‘The Young Changemaker Award’ the Vice President said that he along with his band of boys has used innovative ways to bring a stop to open defecation in villages.

Shri Naidu also appreciated the Young Changemakers Rashid, Nikhil, Arun and Vimal of Genrobotics for inventing a cheap robot to replace manual scavenging. As young professionals, your commitment to use technology for the social good is worth emulation by others, he said.

Maintaining that digital technologies hold tremendous potential for betterment of the people’s lives, Shri Naidu expressed happiness on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) being awarded under the Digital Transformation category. “GeM has increased ease of doing business and brought transparency to government procurement by eliminating corruption”, he said.

He also complimented India Stack for winning the award in Financial Transformation category for creating the base for transformative ideas like UPI Bhim App and Aadhaar.

Describing the potential of digital technologies for the public welfare, the Vice President called for making the services available online.

Shri Naidu also praised the winner in Social Transformation category, Smt. Shanti Raghavan of Enable India for placing thousands of divyangs in corporate jobs.

Congratulating the iconic woman athlete Ms. Dutee Chand for getting the Changemaker of the Year award, he appealed to all sportspersons to take ‘Fit India’ movement forward and inspire people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Expressing concerns about the increasing number of non-communicable diseases in India, the Vice President stressed the need to make sports and Yoga mandatory in schools. He also emphasised the importance of eating healthy and proteinous food.

“We have achieved food security, now focus should be on protein security”, he insisted.

Praising the second ‘Changemaker of the Year’ ISRO, the Vice President called 2019 as one of the best years for the Indian Space Research Organisation and emphasised the need to leverage the space for the collective benefit of humanity.

Stating that many of our changemakers remain unsung heroes, Shri Naidu expressed happiness that many such unsung heroes have been conferred with Padma Awards in recent years.

He appreciated the jury of The Hindu BusinessLine’s Awards for recognising and celebrating many of these unsung heroes, who, with their vision, initiative and drive, are not only transforming the lives of people, but are also making this world a better place in the process.

Appreciating The Hindu Business Line, Shri Naidu said that it has emerged as a strong and credible voice in the field of economic and business journalism.

On this occasion, the Vice President also released a special issue of the Business Line featuring the stories of all changmakers awarded today. He also released a book which compiles the stories of the changmakers awared during last three years at the BusinessLine’s Awards.

Shri Raghavan Srinivasan, Editor of Business Line, N. Ravi, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu were among the dignitaries who attended the event.