Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28th May 2023, Sunday highlighted the unique efforts of YuvaSangam in strengthening the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat among the youth. Addressing the nation in his Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani, Mr Modi said the Ministry of Education has taken up this initiative keeping the unity and diversity of the nation in mind.
In earlier episodes of Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister had spoken about Kashi-Tamil Sangamam and Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamam. Mr Modi stressed that the objective of YuvaSangam is to increase People to People Connect as well as to give an opportunity to the youth of the country to mingle with each other. Higher educational institutions in various states have been linked to it.
Prime Minister elaborated that through the ‘Yuva Sangam’ initiative, youth visit cities and villages of other states to get an opportunity to meet different types of people. In the first round of Yuva Sangam, about 1200 youths toured 22 states of the country. Mr Modi also noted that CEOs and Business leaders of many big companies have spent time in India as Back-Packers. He expressed pride that leaders of other countries tell him about visiting India in their youth. He said that there is a lot to know and see in India and hoped that the youth will be inspired to travel to different parts of the country.
Mr Modi also spoke to two youths who participated in Yuva Sangam, Gyamar Nyokum from Arunachal Pradesh and Vishakha Singh from Bihar. Gyamar Nyokum expressed his gratitude for having received the opportunity to visit another part of the country as part of Yuvasangam. He said he learnt much about the culture of Rajasthan and also the people there. Vishakha Singh apprised Mr Modi of her experience participating in Yuvasangam. She expressed gratitude to Mr Modi for Yuvasangam which enables youth to learn and adapt to the culture of different regions of India.
Prime Minister asked the two youths to share their experience on social media about Yuva Sangam, and ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshth Bharat’.
Mr Modi also reiterated the need for water conservation and highlighted people’s efforts in this direction. He pointed out that the development of an individual and the country comes to a standstill without water. He stated that looking at this future challenge, 75 Amrit Sarovars are being constructed in every district of the country today. He said these Amrit Sarovars are special because they are being built in the Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal and the essence of people’s effort has been infused in them. He expressed happiness that till now, more than fifty thousand Amrit Sarovars have been constructed. Prime Minister stated that this is a giant step towards water conservation.
Mr Modi mentioned some start-ups related to water conservation. The Start-Up – Fluxgen, provides water management options through I.O.T enabled technologies. This technology is useful in learning about the patterns of water usage. Prime Minister said it will help in the effective use of water. He also mentioned the start-up LivNSense, which has a platform based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Effective monitoring of water distribution can be done with its help and water wastage can also be ascertained with the help of this.
Prime Minister said ‘KumbhiKagaz’ is another such Start-Up which is working on making paper from water hyacinth. He said that water hyacinth, which was once considered a problem for water sources, is now being used to make paper.
Prime Minister also cited the example set by the youth of Balod district in Chhattisgarh. These youth have started a campaign to save water. They go door-to-door to make people aware of water conservation. Mr Modi said another inspiring effort related to the efficient use of water is also being undertaken in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. People in Khunti have found a way out of the water crisis through check dams. Due to the accumulation of water from the check dams, greens and vegetables have also started growing there. Due to this, the income of the people is also increasing, and the needs of the region are also being fulfilled. Prime Minister said Khunti has become a fascinating example of how public participation brings positive changes. He congratulated the people for their endeavour.
Prime Minister recalled that former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had given the slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan during the 1965 war. Later, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee added Jai Vigyan to it. Mr Modi coined the phrase Jai Anusandhan a couple of years back. He highlighted that Shivaji Shamrao Dole from Maharashtra is a reflection of all these four – Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan. Shivaji Shamrao Dole hails from a small village in Nashik district.
He comes from a tribal farmer family and is also an ex-serviceman. Mr Modi said that after retirement, Mr Dole decided to learn something new and did a Diploma in Agriculture. He formed a small team of 20 people including ex-servicemen. He and his team took over the management of a cooperative organization named Venkateshwara Co-Operative Power and Agro Processing Limited which was lying dormant. Prime Minister was pleased to note that today, Venkateshwara Co-Operative has expanded to districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka and about eighteen thousand people are associated with it. The members of this team are Agro Farming on more than 500 acres of land in Malegaon, Nashik. This team is also engaged in building ponds for water conservation. They have also started Organic Farming and Dairy. Grapes grown on their farm are being exported to Europe as well. Mr Modi hailed them for making maximum use of technology and Modern Agro Practices. They are also focusing on various certifications required for exports. Prime Minister appreciated this team for not only empowering a large number of people but also creating many means of livelihood. He hoped that this effort would inspire every listener of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
Mr Modi recounted his visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum during his recent tour to Japan. He said that it was an emotional experience for him. He said cherishing memories of history helps the coming generations. He also spoke about the International Museum Expo which was organised in India a few days ago. It depicted the specialities of more than 1200 museums of the world. Prime Minister noted that there are different types of museums in India, which display many aspects related to the country’s past.
Gurugram has a unique museum – Museo Camera. It houses a collection of more than eight thousand cameras belonging to the era after 1860. Tamil Nadu’s Museum of Possibilities has been designed keeping in mind the Divyang people. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya is a museum where over 70 thousand items have been preserved.
Mr Modi said that Indian Memory Project, established in 2010, is an online museum engaged in connecting the links of India’s history through pictures and stories sent from all over the world. He said an attempt has been made to bring to the fore the memories related to the horrors of Partition. He added that ten new museums dedicated to the contribution of tribal people in the freedom struggle are being set up. He mentioned the Biplobi Bharat Gallery in Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial, the revival of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, the PM Museum dedicated to all the former Prime Ministers of the country, the National War Memorial and the Police Memorial in Delhi, among others. He said for the first time the necessary information about all the museums in the country has been compiled and collated in an online directory. He urged everyone to visit these museums whenever they get the opportunity. He asked people to share their pictures with the Hashtag, Museum Memories. He said doing so will further strengthen the connection of people with India’s glorious culture.
Prime Minister said, today is the birth anniversary of freedom fighter, Veer Savarkar. He said the stories related to his sacrifice, courage and resolve to inspire everybody even today. He said Veer Savarkar’s contribution towards social equality and social justice will always be remembered.
Mr Modi noted that Sant Kabirdas’ birth anniversary will be observed on the 4th of June. He said the path shown by Kabirdas is equally relevant even today. He added that Sant Kabir opposed evil practices that divided society and tried to awaken people.
Today is the 100th birth anniversary of politician and film personality N.T. Rama Rao. Prime Minister said that he not only became the superstar of Telugu cinema but also won the hearts of crores of people. He acted in more than 300 films. Prime Minister offered his tribute to NTR saying he had carved out his own identity in the cinema world as well as in politics.
Mr Modi said, preparations are going on in the country and abroad to celebrate ‘World Yoga Day’ on 21st June. Prime Minister thanked the people for their intimacy and affection towards the 100th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.