Behtar India Conclave: Highlights From India's Biggest Students' Conclave

The conclave started with Bittu Sahgal, an Environmental Activist addressing the school students gathered and telling them about the importance of environment. According to him, speaking up for the cause of the environment is the first step to making India better. He said that while working to make India better, children should follow Gandhiji's ideology, before you do anything ask yourself if your act will help the poorest or poor. Talking about the role of government, Mr Sahgal said, they should focus on ensuring a healthier environment for children.

In an open house session, Behtar India Campaign Ambassador, Sushant Singh Rajput interacted with students and asked them to follow their heart and do what they really can do well to succeed. He expressed his concern over the growing plastic menace and said technology should be used to tackle plastic waste.

During the session with youth icons to discuss their journey and the the challenges faced, Gymnast Dipa Karmakar said, 'We need to take risks to achieve something. I faced lots of problems while preparing to be a gymnast but my coach and family helped me overcome all the challenges.'

Another panelist of the youth icon session - Malavath Poorna, a mountaineer, is the youngest girl to reach the summit of Mount Everest. According to her, every student should follow this commandment: 'I shall never give up.'

She said, "I have followed this to summit Everest. On summiting Everest, I felt I have done everything and showed that girls can do anything in life."

Students of the Lotus Valley School, Gurugram performed a special skit during the conclave. Titled Swasthya, the skit spread the message of how to make India Dengue free.

Gunmeet Bindra, Principal of Welham Boys' School, Dehradun, in her keynote speech, she said that educationists should imbibe compassion, care and concern for the problems faced by the country, among students.

She concluded that the time is right to do the right things and build a future where India will have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, where dengue will be a thing of the past.

During the session on 'Leading The Way For A Behtar India', panelist Priya Dutt, Former Congress MP expressed the view that leaders have to set an example and a better future cannot be achieved without involvement of the people, irrespective of how many rules are institutionalised.

During the discussion, BJP Leader Shazia Ilmi suggested that politicians should be held accountable. She told the students, "Take pictures wherever you find faults and make leaders, municipal leaders accountable for their work, be it cleanliness, clogging of water or garbage in the city."

In the final session 'Ideas Unplugged', the panel of innovators shared their experiences and stories with the children in the audience. The main thought emerging from the discussion was that the youth should aim to be problem solvers in their quest to create a Behtar India.