<span style="color: #222222;">Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu today advised youth to run the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic into opportunities.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">While addressing the gathering after presentation of Certificates to the Trainees at Swarna Bharat Trust,SBT, Vijayawada, the Vice President underlined that while the pandemic has impacted many sectors, it has also opened avenues in many others.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> Stressing that the GDP growth is not the sole indicator for a country's progress, Mr.Venkaiah Naidu said, people's empowerment is the real progress.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">As more than 65 percent of the population is under the age of 35, the Vice President reiterated that if we can utilize these human resources, youth and women can become key partners in furthering our nation's growth. With these great human resources, we can shape the future world, he added. <br />''<br />''In this regards, he recalled various efforts of the State and Central Governments to up-skill the youth and called for intensification of these  programmes. Emphasizing that skilling must be in tune with the 21 st century needs, the Vice President called for private participation in this field.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">While distributing the Certificates to trainees on completion of their courses, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu appreciated the students for having utilised the online learning tools well during the lock-down period.</span><br />''  <br />