Niti Aayog Launches Youth Colab Programme in India

The NITI Aayog is the Government of India’s apex public policy think tank and the nodal agency tasked with catalysing economic development and fostering cooperative federalism through the bottom-up involvement of State Governments in the economic policy-making process.

Niti Aayog

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice, NITI Aayog has launched a new initiative called NITI Lectures: Transforming India. This initiative aims to bring internationally renowned policymakers, experts, and administrators to India to share their knowledge, expertise, and experience in policymaking and good governance with their Indian counterparts. This initiative will consist of a series of lectures, the first of which will be delivered by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. He gave a lecture at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on the topic “India and the Global Economy.” The Prime Minister discussed the motivation behind the lecture series, stating that his vision for India is rapid transformation rather than gradual evolution.

In India, the UNDP launched Youth CoLab in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission and NITI Aayog in 2019. Since then, three editions of Youth CoLab have been jointly implemented, including youth social innovation challenges, supporting enterprises, and youth-focused dialogues.

The NITI Aayog has developed a vision for the industrial development of the Great Nicobar Islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that is worth Rs 75,000 crore. The plan, which includes the construction of a transshipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, townships, and solar and gas-based power plants, has sparked widespread opposition from indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities who are concerned about displacement. The proposed plan is expected to put a significant environmental strain on the island, its wildlife, and its environs.

Social innovation challenges

1. Waterfall that is compelled. Many institutional donors demand a detailed design upfront, followed by execution that follows the plan exactly. Of course, this is the polar opposite of the lean principles of early testing and rapid iteration. We all know that finding the best solution on the first try is unlikely.

2. Mindset of Constraint. Nonprofits, unlike Silicon Valley, tend to plan within the constraints of available funds or the parameters of a grant proposal. As a result, the approach is low-risk and conservative, resulting in slow, linear growth at best.

3. The waterfall that is compelled. Many institutional donors demand a detailed design upfront, followed by execution that follows the plan exactly. Of course, this is the polar opposite of the lean principles of early testing and rapid iteration. We all know that finding the best solution on the first try is unlikely.

4. The mindset of Constraint. Nonprofits, unlike Silicon Valley, tend to plan within the constraints of available funds or the parameters of a grant proposal. As a result, the approach is low-risk and conservative, resulting in slow, linear growth at best.

Market and policy failures are number nine. When both markets and governments have failed, social change is most needed. This may necessitate some effort.

5. There’s a lot of space above you. Low “overhead” costs are often associated with effectiveness by both individual donors and foundations. While we all want to save money, focusing too much on non-programming costs can blind us to opportunities for long-term growth, such as research and development, staff training, and productivity-enhancing tools.

Despite these obstacles, an increasing number of nonprofits, social enterprises, triple-bottom-line companies, foundations, government donors, and impact investors are adopting Lean Startup principles for the purpose of achieving their goals rather than for profit. They’re seeing results, too.

Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the environment, and ensure that by 2030, everyone lives in peace and prosperity.

• The first goal is to eradicate poverty in all of its forms.
• Zero Hunger is the second goal.
• Health is the third goal.
• Education is the fourth goal.
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment are the fifth and final goals.
• Water and sanitation are the sixth and final goals.

Countries have agreed to prioritise progress for those who are the most disadvantaged. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eradicate poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women and girls.

To achieve the SDGs in any context, all of society’s creativity, know-how, technology, and financial resources are required.

Fostering youth inclusion

In order to understand and effectively foster youth social inclusion, it is approached from the perspective of goal-directed action. Contextual action theory was used to develop this concept.

Advocating for youth, providing instrumental knowledge, and encouraging community involvement and civic engagement are all part of these joint actions and projects. In addition, CAT is used to conceptualise and conduct research on youth social inclusion. Because these projects involved the youth’s social inclusion, the action project method was used to describe the joint projects of both youth with disabilities and immigrant youth.

Conclusion

Actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programs and initiatives, including the identification of required resources, in order to increase the likelihood of success and delivery scope. Focus on technology upgrades and capacity building for program and initiative implementation.