A AKHTER / NEW DELHI
Sharing success stories of Honey farmers in his latest Mann ki Baat, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said how farmers are performing wonders in the production of honey.
Mr. Modi stressed that honey has been given a lot of importance in Ayurveda. Honey has been described as an elixir. He said there are so many possibilities in honey production today that even the youth pursuing professional studies are making it a source of self-employment.
In Yamunanagar of Harayana, beekeeper Subhash Kamboj is engaged in beekeeping using about two thousand boxes. His honey is supplied across many states. Vinod Kumar from Palli village of Jammu undertook training in rearing the queen bee last year and is presently earning 15 to 20 lakh rupees annually.
Mr. Modi mentioned another farmer from Karnataka, Madhukeshwar Hegde, who availed subsidy from the Government for 50 bee colonies. Today, he possesses over 800 colonies and sells tons of honey.
Prime Minister gave the example of one such youth – Nimit Singh of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Nimit who has a B.Tech started honey production and got his own lab set up in Lucknow for quality checks. Nimit is now earning well from honey and Bee Wax, and is also training farmers. Mr. Modi expressed happiness that the export of honey from India has also increased. He gave credit to campaigns like National Beekeeping and Honey Mission, and the hard work of farmers.
Mr Modi shared the success stories of the Indian Toy industry and gave the credit to the youth, Startups and Entrepreneurs. He said that when it comes to Indian toys, the echo of Vocal for Local is being heard everywhere. He stated that the number of toys coming from abroad in India is continuously decreasing. Earlier, toys worth more than three thousand crore rupees used to come from outside. Now, their import has reduced by 70 percent. Mr. Modi expressed delight India has exported toys worth more than two thousand six hundred crore rupees to foreign countries during this Corona period. Earlier, only toys worth 300 to 400 crore rupees used to go out of India. He lauded India’s toy sector for proving its mettle by transforming itself.
Indian Manufacturers are now making toys based on Indian Mythology, History and Culture. He added that toy clusters and small entrepreneurs are getting a lot of benefit from it. Indian Toy manufacturers are also working closely with the world’s leading Global Toy Brands. Mr Modi gave several examples including a start-up in Bangalore named Shumme Toys that is focusing on eco-friendly toys. In Gujarat, Arkidzoo Company is making AR-based Flash Cards and AR-based Storybooks. The pune-based company, Invention is engaged in kindling the interest of children in Science, Technology and Math through Learning, Toys and Activity Puzzles.