The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Malayala Manorama News Conclave 2019 in Kochi via video conferencing. He lauded Malaya Manorama for its contribution in making the citizens of Kerala more aware and for its role in supporting India’s freedom movement.
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Collective Aspirations are the Core of New India:
Speaking on the theme of Conclave – “New India”, the Prime Minister said the individual aspirations, collective endeavors and a spirit of ownership for national progress are at the core of New India. He emphasized that New India is about participative democracy, a citizen-centric government and pro-active citizenry. He added that New India is the era of Responsive people and responsive government.
The Prime Minister said, spirit of New India is now visible in various areas, be it sports or start-up eco-system. He noted that courageous youngsters from small towns and villages are converting their aspiration into excellence and making India proud. In this context, Prime Minister said, “This for me is the New India Spirit. This is an India where the surnames of the youth do not matter. What matters is their ability to make their own name. This is an India where corruption is never an option, whoever the person is. Only competence is the norm.” He stressed that New India is about the voice of each and every of the 130 crore Indians, and asserted that it is vital for media platforms to hear this voice of the people.
Speaking about the work done by the Government, he enumerated several efforts undertaken- ‘Ease of Living’, keeping prices under control, building 1.25 crore homes in five years, electrifying all villages, providing water to every household, improving health as well as education infrastructure. He also mentioned that 36 crore bank accounts have been opened, 20 crore loans given to small enterprise, over 8 crore gas connections ensured smoke free kitchens, pace of road construction has doubled.
From “Will We” to “We Will”
The Prime Minister said, “How the spirit has changed in India can be summed up using just two words. Five years ago, people would ask- will we? Will we ever be free from dirt? Will we ever remove policy paralysis? Will we ever eliminate corruption? Today people say- we will! We will be a Swachh Bharat. We will be a nation free from corruption. We will make good governance a mass movement. The word ‘will’, which earlier denoted a pessimistic question now reflects the optimistic spirit of a youthful nation.”
Prime Minister said Government is working holistically to create a New India. In this context, he spoke about Government’s approach in building 1.5 crore homes for the poor. Prime Minister stated that they followed a holistic approach – deliver more facilities, deliver more value, deliver in less time and deliver at no extra cost. He added that needs of the people were heard, local artisans involved, and technology was made an important component of this process.
The Prime Minister said, our vision for New India includes not only caring for those living in the nation but also outside. Our diaspora is our pride, contributing to India’s economic growth.
Speaking about his recent visit to Bahrain, he said that he is honoured to be the first ever-Indian Prime Minister to visit there. He also mentioned that one of the highlights of the visit was the compassionate decision of the Royal Family to pardon 250 Indians serving sentences there. Prime Minister also mentioned about the launch of RuPay card in UAE and said it will benefit the lakhs of people working in the Gulf who also send remittances back home.
Prime Minister Modi highlighted the positive role played by the media in various movements such as Swachh Bharat, eliminating single use plastic, water conservation, Fit India and others.
Language has the Power to Unite:
Highlighting language’s power to unite India, Prime Minister asked media if it could play the role of a bridge to bring people speaking different languages closer. He suggested that Media can publish one word in 10-12 different languages. He said that, in this way, in a year, a person can learn over 300 new words in different languages. Once a person learns another Indian language, he will come to know the common threads and truly appreciate the oneness in Indian culture.
The Prime Minister said, it is our duty to fulfil the dreams of our founding fathers and build the India that would make them proud.
