Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the nation has to move forward with the mantra of Vocal for Local, path of Atmanirbhar Bharat and goal of Developed India.
Sharing his thought in the Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani today, Mr Modi said, during the festive season the countrymen should never forget about Swadeshi.
He said, gifts should be those made in India, attire should be that woven in India, decor should be that made from materials made in India, everything in every need of life should be Swadeshi.
He said, amidst all this joy, people should keep emphasizing on cleanliness, because where there is cleanliness, the joy of festivals rises even more.
The Prime Minister said, the spirit of Ek Bharat-Shrestha Bharat, the unity of the country is very important for the development of the nation and sports play a big role in it. Mr Modi said, the one who plays, blooms. He mentioned about first Khelo India Water Sports Festival which was held at Dal Lake in Srinagar where 800 athletes from all over the country participated.
During the programme, the Prime Minister interacted with two players Rashmita Sahu from Odisha and Mohsin Ali from Srinagar who participted and won Gold medals in the event.
He said, a record number of people gathered in a stadium in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir during its first-ever day-night cricket match during the Royal Premier League. Mr Modi said, thousands of enthusiasts, especially youth, enjoying cricket at night in Pulwama which was truly a sight to behold.
The Prime Minister said, in this monsoon season, natural disasters are testing the country. He said, during the last few weeks, the country has witnessed grave devastation caused by floods and landslides. Mr Modi said, These incidents have saddened every countryman and the pain of the families who lost their loved ones is our shared pain. He said, wherever the crisis struck, the NDRF-SDRF personnel, other security forces and everyone toiled day and night to save the people there.
The Prime Minister said, the soldiers have also availed of the aid of technology. He said, with the help of myriad modern resources such as thermal cameras, life detectors, sniffer dogs and drone surveillance, a lot of efforts were undertaken to lend speed to the relief work.
In the moment of disaster, the army came forward to help. Mr Modi said, local people, social workers, doctors, the administration and everyone made every possible effort in this hour of crisis. He expressed gratitude to every citizen who has kept humanity above everything else during this testing time.
The Prime Minister mentioned about digital platform Pratibha Setu, which stores the data of those candidates who cleared all the stages of various exams of UPSC, but whose names did not appear in the final merit list. He said that, through this portal, private companies can obtain information on these promising students and employ them.
Mr Modi said, the results of this effort have also started coming in as hundreds of candidates have got jobs immediately with the help of this portal and those youth who had got stuck by a small margin are now moving ahead with new confidence.
Mentioning his podcast with Lex Fridman, the Prime Minister said, German football player and coach Dietmar Beiersdorfer listened to that podcast and was impressed and inspired by life journey of young football players of Shahdol.
He said, Now this German coach has offered to train some players of Shahdol in an academy in Germany. Mr Modi expressed happiness that the popularity of football is constantly on the rise in India. He urge football lovers to visit Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh whenever they get time and witness the sporting revolution happening there closely.
The Prime Minister spoke about Jitendra Singh Rathore of Surat who work as a security guard but has a passion of collecting information about all those soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in defending Mother India.
Saying that solar power is also transforming the lives of farmers, Mr Modi mentioned about Devki of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, who changed the fate of her village with a solar pump. He said, earlier, only a few acres of land were irrigated, but now water is reaching more than 40 acres of land.
The Prime Minister said, the love for Ramayana and Indian culture is now reaching every corner of the world. He spoke about Vladivostok in Russia where a unique exhibition was held.
Mr Modi said, paintings made by Russian children on different themes of Ramayana were showcased there and a competition was also organised. He said, it is heartening to see the growing awareness of Indian culture in different parts of the world.
The Prime Minister said, the influence of Indian culture is not limited just to the big cities of the world but it can also be seen in small cities. He spoke about the unveiling of statues of Maharishi Valmiki in Camporotondo, Italy and Lord Shri Ram in Mississauga, Canada
Sharing an audio recording of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the events of Hyderabad in 1947, Mr Modi said, next month, the nation will celebrate Hyderabad Liberation Day and will remember the courage of all those heroes who took part in Operation Polo. He said, when India got independence in August 1947, Hyderabad was in a different situation.
The Prime Minister said, the atrocities of Nizam and Razakars were increasing day by day and people were slaughtered even for hoisting the tricolor or chanting Vande Mataram. He said, Sardar Patel took the matter in his own hands, convinced the government to launch Operation Polo and the Armed forces liberated Hyderabad from the dictatorship of Nizam and made it a part of India.
Mr Modi said, 15th September is the birthday of India’s great engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya which is celebrated as Engineers’ Day. He said, Engineers do not just create machines; they are karmayogis who turn dreams into reality. The Prime Minister appreciated every engineer of India.
He said, Vishwakarma Jayanti is on the 17th of September. Mr Modi said, this day is also dedicated to the Vishwakarmas of the country, who are continuously passing on the traditional crafts, skills and knowledge-science from one generation to the other. He said, carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, sculptors, have always been the foundation of India’s prosperity. The Prime Minister said, to help these Vishwakarma brothers, the government has also launched the Vishwakarma Yojana.
