Ananya Singh first ‘Youth Prime Minister of Odisha’

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Jan 4:

Ananya Singh, a 14-year old 10th standard student in DAV School, Chandrasekharpur here, was adjudged the first ‘Youth Prime Minister of Odisha’ by the jury from among five students in the grand finale round held at Idcol Auditorium here on Saturday.

The jury members Dr. Ashok Panda, Journalist, Sanjay Kumar Satpathy, Dean of Ravenshaw College, Ashok Mohapatra, Journalist and B Pattnaik, former principal of BJB College, selected Ananya for her mesmerising speech.

Ananya received a certificate, a trophy and cash prize of Rs 15,000 from the Chief Guest on the occasion Baijayant Jay Panda, MP, Loksabha.

For the last three months, a total of 30,000 students from 150 different schools of the state addressed the nation on different crucial issues at the ‘Talent Olympiad’ in the race to become ‘The First Youth Prime Minister of Odisha’. The event was organised by Heritage Vision Social Foundation (HVSF), the social wing of Heritage Vision Education Trust.

Out of 30,000 participants, 25 qualified for the zonal level competition from which five participants entered the grand finale round today. Students posing as Prime Minister deliberated on various issues such as economical development, poverty eradication, unemployment, sports, foreign policy and good governance.

Kanwaldeep Singh of DAV school, Talcher (1st runners-up) and Alokika of Chilika Rani EM School, Balugaon (2nd runners-up) were awarded Rs 7000 and Rs 5000 respectively along with a trophy.

Congratulating the participants, Panda said the initiative by HVSF can help underline the importance of parliament and its true stature as an institution of debate and legislation. Further it can give students a greater respect for the parliamentary system and develop strong leadership for tomorrow, he added.

A beaming Ananya, on cloud nine after her success, credited her family and teachers for their support and encouragement which she said had helped her achieve what she has.