116th Mann Ki Baat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged youth from families without political background to join politics. Addressing the nation in his 116th Edition of Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani, Prime Minister declared that in the next few months many special campaigns will be run in the country to connect one lakh such youth to politics.
Mr Modi announced that on the 162nd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda next year, ‘Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue’ will be held in Delhi. The country celebrates Youth Day on 12th January every year to mark Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary.
Prime Minister said crores of youth from all over India will participate in the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue. Two thousand such youth selected from villages, blocks, districts, and states will gather at Bharat Mandapam for the Dialogue. Mr Modi said this will be a great opportunity for those who are going to build the future of India.
Picking up from where he left in the last edition of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Modi called upon the tech-savvy youth to rise and prevent the elderly from falling prey to Digital Arrest and online fraud. Prime Minister cited a couple of youth who are working selflessly for the society. He praised Virendra from Lucknow, who helps the elderly in the matter of submitting Digital Life Certificate (DLC) to avail uninterrupted pension.
Mentioning that till 2014, the elderly had to go to the banks to submit Life Certificate, Mr Modi said DLC has made things simpler for the people. He noted that youths like Virendra have a major role in ensuring that the elderly do not face any problem on account of technology. He added that with such efforts, the number of people receiving Digital Life certificates has crossed the 80 lakh mark. Among these, more than 2 lakh are elderly people who are above 80 years of age.
Prime Minister also spoke highly of Mahesh from Bhopal who has taught many elderly people of his locality to make payments through mobile. These elderly people had smart phones, but there was no one to tell them their correct usage.
Stressing that the elderly are most prone to cyber crimes, Mr Modi spoke about the youth who have come forward to save the elderly from the risk of Digital Arrest. Rajiv from Ahmedabad warns people about the risk of Digital Arrest. He reiterated that there is no provision ofdigital arrest in the government.
On the occasion of NCC Day today, Mr Modi noted with satisfaction that the enrolment of girl cadets in NCC has risen to almost 40 percent from 25 percent. Recounting his days being an NCC Cadet, Mr Modi said the National Cadet Corps instils a spirit of discipline, leadership and service in the youth. Prime Minister said that efforts are being undertaken continuously to strengthen NCC in the country. About 14 lakh youth were associated with NCC in2014. Now, more than 20 lakh youth are associated with NCC in 2024.
Prime Minister informed that provision for NCC has been made in five thousand new schools and colleges. He urged the youth to join NCC, the world’s largest uniformed youth organization, in maximum numbers. Recalling his recent visits abroad, Prime Minister Modi said the Indian Daispora ishelping preserve and promote Indian culture. Stating that a ‘Mini India’ dwells in Guyana, Mr Modi said the People of Indian Origin in Guyana are leading the country in every field today.
Mr Modi said, for the first time, the Upanishads have been translated into the Slovak language. Prime Minister said these efforts also underscore the global influence of Indian culture. Prime Minister shared that with the support of the Indian Embassy in Oman and the National Archives of India, a team has started the work of preserving the history of these families.
Thousands of documents have been collected under this campaign so far. Prime Minister said that the ‘Oral History Project’ is an important basis of this mission. Under this, senior people share their experience and given details about theirlifestyle there. Mr Modi added that a similar ‘Oral History Project’ is being carried out in India as well. Underthis project, history enthusiasts are collating the experiences of the victims during the period of Partition of the country.
Prime Minister said that there are lakhs of Indians in dozens of countries across theworld, whose ancestors have their own stories. He urged people to be on the lookout for such stories of how Indian immigrants made their mark in different countries. He said people can share these stories on the NaMo App or on MyGovwith#IndianDiasporaStories.
Prime Minister noted that a campaign is also going on in the country to preserve evidence related to India’s ancient maritime capability. Under this, a big museum is also being built in Lothal. He told listeners that if they have any manuscript, historical document, or handwritten copy, they can preserve it with the help of National Archives of India.
Mr Modi also touched upon the vanishing sparrows from our cities. Emphasising that sparrows play an important role inmaintaining bio-diversity, he expressed concern that sparrows are hardly visible in cities today due to increasing urbanization. Citing the Chennai based Kudugal Trust for involving school children in its Save Sparrow campaign, Prime Minister gave afew examples of some unique efforts being made to bring back sparrows in the lives of children. Mr Modi also gave the example of an organization in Mysuru, Karnataka which has started a campaig ncalled ‘Early Bird’ for children. This organization takes children from cities to villages and introduces them to birds.
Prime Minister Modi mentioned that the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign has crossed theimportant milestone of planting 100 crore trees in just five months. Prime Minister was happy to note that people from all over the country participated in this campaign.
Touching upon his pet theme of Cleanliness, Mr Modi said that the special Swachhata Abhiyan has brought amazing results in government departments and freed up a lot of space in offices. Prime Minister pointed out that the concept of ‘waste to wealth’ is very old in India.
He cited a few examples of youth who are transforming waste to wealth, and promoting a sustainable lifestyle. Prime Minister Modi hailed the Kanpur Ploggers Group in Uttar Pradesh. The Group picks up plastic and other garbage spread on the banks of River Ganga during morning walks. Mr Modi gave the example of Iitisha from Assam who left the glitz and glamour of the corporate world and isengaged in cleaning the Sangti Valley of Arunachal.
