Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that today every corner of the country is brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of a developed India and the spirit of self-reliance.
Addressing the nation on his Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani which is the 108th episode of its journey, the Prime Minister called upon the people to maintain the same spirit and momentum in 2024 as well. He said the record business on Diwali proved that every Indian is giving importance to the mantra of Vocal For Local. Mr Modi said that it is on account of the strength of 140 crore Indians that this year, India has attained many special achievements and in this very year, the Nari Shakti Vandan Act which has been awaited for years, was passed.
Sharing his thoughts about the 108th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Mr Modi said that for us, the importance of the number 108 and its sanctity is a subject of deep study. He mentioned 108 beads in a rosary, chanting 108 times, 108 divine sites, 108 stairs in temples, and 108 bells, this number is associated with immense faith.
On the success of Chandrayaan-3, Prime Minister Modi said that even today many people are sending him messages about its success and the people feel proud of Indian scientists, especially the women scientists. He also mentioned about winning the Oscar award by RRR Song Naatu and Naatu and the honour accorded to the documentary short film The Elephant Whisperers. He said, that through them, the world saw the creativity of India and understood our bonding with the environment.
Sharing his thoughts about the performance of Indian players in different games, the Prime Minister said that this year Indian athletes also performed marvellously in sports as they won 107 medals in the Asian Games and 111 medals in the Asian Para Games. He said, Indian players won everyone’s hearts with their performance in the Cricket World Cup and the victory of the women’s cricket team in the Under-19 T-20 World Cup was very inspiring. Mr Modi said that the Paris Olympics will be held in 2024, for which the whole country is encouraging its players.
Mr Modi said that whenever we made efforts together, it has had a very positive impact on the development journey of our country. He said the country experienced successful campaigns such as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’. Sharing his thoughts about innovation, the Prime Minister said that he has always believed that the development of a country which does not give importance to innovation, stops. He said India which is becoming an Innovation Hub is a symbol of the fact that we are not going to stop. He mentioned that in 2015 the country was ranked 81st in the Global Innovation Index – today our rank is 40th.
Prime Minister Modi said that when India turns developed, the youth will benefit the most, but the youth will benefit more, when they are fit. He added that through India’s efforts, 2023 was celebrated as the International Year of Millets which has given a lot of opportunities to startups working in this field including ‘Keeros Foods’ which started from Lucknow, ‘Grand-Maa Millets’ of Prayagraj and ‘Nutraceutical Rich Organic India’.
In his address, the Prime Minister also mentioned about mental health. He said he is very happy to know that Mumbai-based startups like Infi-Heal and YOUR-Dost are working to improve mental health. He also urged the people to keep writing to him about innovative healthcare startups towards realizing the dream of Fit India. Mr Modi also shared the experiences of well-known people like Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, cricket player Harmanpreet Kaur, Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, Actor Akshay Kumar and young start-up founder Rishabh Malhotra who talk about physical and mental health. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev shared his views regarding Fitness, especially Fitness of the Mind.
Harmanpreet Kaur suggested to people to have regular exercise and full sleep seven hours which are very important for the body and help in staying fit.
Sharing his experience, Vishwanathan Anand said that his fitness tip to all ‘Mann Ki Baat’ listeners would be to keep calm and focus on the task ahead.
Actor Akshay Kumar suggested understanding what is good and what is bad for our fitness.
Rishabh Malhotra shared about his start-up in Bengaluru named ‘Tagda Raho’ which has been created to bring forward the traditional exercises of India.
In his Mann Ki Baat address, the Prime Minister also shared his experience about the recent Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in which thousands of people reached Kashi from Tamil Nadu. He said, that during the event, he publicly used the Artificial Intelligence AI tool Bhashini for the first time to communicate with them. He said, he was addressing from the stage in Hindi but through the AI tool Bhashini, the people of Tamil Nadu present there were listening to his address in Tamil language simultaneously. He mentioned that the day is not far when an address will be delivered in one language and the public will listen to the same speech in their language in real time.
The Prime Minister said that in the changing times, we have to save our languages and also promote them. He mentioned a tribal village in Jharkhand which has taken a unique initiative to provide education to its children in their mother tongue. The Prime Minister said that on account of studies in their language, the pace of children’s learning also increased. He said that in our country, many children used to leave studies midway due to language difficulties and the new National Education Policy is also helping to eliminate such hardships.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned about the two luminaries Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar whose birth anniversaries will be celebrated on the 3rd of January. He said, their personality is like a lighthouse, which will continue to show the way to further woman power in every era. He also mentioned Bhai Jagdish Trivedi who is a famous artist of the Dairo tradition of Gujarat from whom he received a letter and one of his books. Mr Modi said that the name of the book is – Social Audit of Social Service which is a kind of balance sheet.
The Prime Minister also said that there is excitement and enthusiasm in the entire country in connection with the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and people are expressing their feelings in a multitude of ways. He said, that during the last few days, many new songs and new bhajans have been composed on Shri Ram and Ayodhya and he has also shared some songs and bhajans on his social media. Mr Modi urged the people to share their creations on social media with the hashtag Shri Ram Bhajan (#shriRamBhajan).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, that India’s achievements are the achievements of every Indian and we have to continuously work for the development of India keeping in mind the Panch Pran. He emphasised that there is no greater mantra than Nation First and adhering to this mantra, we Indians will make our country developed and self-reliant.
The Prime Minister also extended his greetings to the countrymen for the new year 2024 and wished them to reach new heights of success, stay healthy, stay fit and stay immensely happy.