The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Malayala Manorama News Conclave 2019 in Kochi via video conferencing today.
Prime Minister lauded Malaya Manorama for its contribution in making the citizens of Kerala more aware and for its role in supporting India's freedom movement.
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.
Kerala is also special for me, personally.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
I have had numerous opportunities to visit Kerala.
One of the first things I did after the people blessed me yet again with a big responsibility is visiting the Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple: PM
Usually, it is believed that public figures prefer to be on forums whose thought process matches with the person’s own world view. Because there is a lot of comfort in being among such people: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Of course, I also cherish being among such surroundings but at the same time, I believe there must be a constant and continuous dialogue between individuals and organisations irrespective of one’s thought process: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
We need not have to agree on everything but there must be enough civility in public life for differing streams to be able to hear each other’s point of view: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Here I am, at a forum where perhaps I do not have many whose thought process is similar to mine but there are enough thinking people whose constructive criticism is something I greatly look forward to: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
I have always said- we may move or not, we may be open to change or not…India is changing fast and this change is happening for the good.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
At the core of the New India spirit are individual aspirations, collective endeavours and a spirit of ownership for national progress: PM
New India is about participative democracy, a citizen- centric government and pro-active citizenry: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
For many years, a culture was perpetrated in which aspiration became a bad word.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Doors opened depending on your surname or contacts.
Success depended on whether you belonged to an Old Boy’s club.
Big cities, big institutions & big families…this is all that mattered: PM
The economic culture of License Raj and Permit Raj struck at the heart of individual ambitions.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
But, today things are changing for the better.
We see a spirit of New India in the vibrant start-up eco-system: PM
Youngsters are creating fantastic platforms, showcasing their entrepreneurial spirit.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
We also see this spirit on the sports field.
India is now excelling in arenas where we were hardly present earlier.
Be it start-ups or sports, who is powering this vibrancy?: PM
It is youngsters from small towns and villages. They do not belong to established families or have big bank balances.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
What they have is dedication and aspiration. They are converting that aspiration into excellence and making India proud.
This is the New India Spirit: PM
This is an India where the surnames of the youth do not matter. What matters is their ability to make their own name.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
This is an India where corruption is never an option, whoever the person is. Only competence is the norm: PM
You would be seeing changes that were earlier deemed as impossible.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
In a state like Haryana, it was not thinkable that recruitment for government jobs could be done transparently.
But, now people are talking about the transparent manner in which recruitments took place: PM
Now, it is common to see people using Wi-Fi facilities in railway stations. Who would have ever thought this would be a reality.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
The system is the same, the people are the same yet, massive changes have taken place on the ground: PM
How the spirit has changed in India can be summed up using just two words.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
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?: PM
Today people say- we will!
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
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: PM
You all know that our government has created over 1.5 crore homes for the poor at a rapid pace. This is a huge improvement over the previous government.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
A lot of people ask me that schemes and funds did exist previously also, then what did you do differently?: PM
We were conscious of the fact that we were not creating houses, but were building homes. We needed to move away from the concept of merely constructing four walls.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Our approach was deliver more facilities, deliver more value, deliver in less time and deliver at no extra cost: PM
Our vision for New India includes not only caring for those living in the nation but also outside.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Our diaspora is our pride, contributing to India’s economic growth.
Whenever any Indian overseas has faced a problem, we have been at the forefront of solving it: PM
When Indian nurses were captured in different parts of West Asia, no stone was left unturned to bring them back home. The same spirit was seen when Father Tom, another son of Kerala, was captured: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
I have been to several West Asian nations and high on my agenda is spending time with the Indians working there.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
I just came back from a visit to Bahrain. This is a nation that is a valued friend, home to so many Indians, but never has an Indian Prime Minister visited there: PM
One of the highlights was the compassionate decision of the Royal Family to pardon 250 Indians serving sentences there.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Similar pardons have been granted by Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia increased India’s Haj quota: PM
India is perhaps the only country in the world with so many languages. In a way it is a force multiplier. But language has also been exploited by selfish interests to create artificial walls in the country to divide: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Today, I have a humble suggestion. Can we not use the power of language to unite? Can media play the role of a bridge and bring people speaking different languages closer. This is not as difficult as it seems: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
We can simply start with publishing one word in 10-12 different languages spoken across the country. In a year, a person can learn over 300 new words in different languages: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Once a person learns another Indian language, he will come to know the commonality and truly appreciate the oneness in Indian culture. This can also give rise to groups of people interested to learn different languages: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
Imagine a group in Haryana learning Malayalam and a group in Karnataka learning Bengali! All big distances were covered only after taking the first step, can we take the first step?: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 30, 2019
