@narendramodi

AMN / WEB DESK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 27th National Youth Festival at Nashik in Maharashtra this afternoon. Addressing the youth of the nation on the occasion of National Youth Day, the Prime Minister invoked Swami Vivekananda and said that Swami ji instilled a new energy in the country during the days of British rule. He also remembered Sri Aurobindo and said that Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo highlighted that future of our country depends upon the youth of the country.

The Prime Minister said, today Bharat has become the fifth largest economy in the world and the third largest start-up ecosystem in the country only due to the youth power of the country. Mr Modi called upon the citizens to clean all religious places in the country before 22 January.

Union Ministers Anurag Singh Thakur, Bharati Pawar, Nisith Pramanik, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were present on the occasion.

Earlier, the Prime minister participated in a road show, and visited the well-known Kala Ram mandir, Ramkund and performed Maha-aarti of Godavari river. A remarkable confluence of tradition and technology was witnessed in Nashik today, when the Prime Minister listened to an epic narrative of the Ramayana, especially the ‘Yudh Kanda’ segment, which depicts Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya. This was presented in Marathi and the PM listened to the Hindi version through AI translation.

Prime Minister’s visit to Nashik just 10 days before the grand ‘Pran-Pratishtha’ ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has great significance because it has great importance in the life of Lord Ram.

Later During his day-long visit to Maharashtra, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over 30,500 crore rupees. The projects include the inauguration of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewari – Nhava Sheva Atal Setu in Mumbai to improve ease of mobility by strengthening urban transport infrastructure. Built at cost of 17,840 crore rupees, Atal Setu is the longest sea bridge in the country.

Mr Modi will also launch several development projects in Navi Mumbai. These include the foundation stone for the underground road tunnel connecting Eastern Freeway’s Orange Gate to Marine Drive, the inauguration of first phase of the Surya regional bulk drinking water project, Phase 2 of Uran-Kharkopar railway line and  a new suburban station ‘Digha Gaon’ on the Trans-harbour line. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate ‘Bharat Ratnam’, a Mega Common Facilitation Centre for Gems and Jewellery sector at the SEEPZ Special Economic Zone at Santacruz. The Prime Minister will launch Namo Mahila Shashaktikaran Abhiyaan, which aims to empower women in the state of Maharashtra by providing skill development training and exposure to entrepreneurship development.