NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has asked the youth to seize the immense opportunities offered by globalisation that can benefit all nations.
"You must be ready to work together with different cultures, come to understand their methods and values and be prepared to learn something new. Through being open to the global economy, all nations stand to benefit," Paul, who is British Ambassador for Overseas Business, said addressing the Commonwealth Youth Conference in London.
Speaking on the theme 'Investing in Youth: Unleashing the Potential of Young Entrepreneurs', Paul, founder Chairman of the Caparo Group, said, "Yours is a fortunate generation, since globalisation has made the movement of people all over the world a necessity."
"This means more opportunities for those who want to succeed. I urge you to seize those opportunities and make the world a better place."
Paul, 76, praised the launch of the Commonwealth Plan of Actions for Youth Empowerment - an eight-year programme of investment in young people.
He said " (for) people of my generation, coming from India, Commonwealth has a very special meaning. India had just won freedom and Commonwealth was thought of. There was a great deal of heart-search among Indians, whether India should join Commonwealth".
"Thanks to the foresight of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru the decision was made to join and then other nations also decided to join. We are all gainer from the association and we are grateful for that," Paul said.
Referring to the successful growth of his company that was started in 1968 with a borrowed capital of 5,000 pounds
and three workers, he said the group has sales of 750 million pounds and employs more than 6,000 people in five different countries.
The success was mainly because of the group's "five articles of faith -- focus on core business, involve all people in the organization in the search for improvement and problem solving, use the best equipment and facilities, make workforce as flexible as possible and keep overheads in constant check."
"In my experience, anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur must: be motivated beyond monetary reward, be
able to do work that they don't like as effectively as that which they do, need little sleep and few holidays, not worry
about a pension and not be afraid to adapt their standard of living," he said.
"Most of all, your generation has to embrace globalisation," he said.
