Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the main reason behind the administrative action on red beacons was to remove the VIP culture from the minds of certain people and replace it with the concept of “Every Person is Important” (EPI).
In his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on Sunday, the PM also pushed for more digital transactions, informed about the launch of South Asia Satellite on May 5 and spoke about some other issues.
Modi said that getting rid of red beacon was an administrative decision but efforts have to be made to remove the VIP culture from the mindset also.
“If we all make concerted efforts jointly, this also can go (from the mindset),” he added. He said his government’s concept of ‘New India’ is that instead of ‘VIP’, more importance should be given to the ‘EPI’ culture.
The Pm said that every person is Important in this country. “Every person has value and importance. If we recognise the importance of 123 crore citizens of the country, imagine the big strength that the country will have in fulfilling the grand dreams. We all have to do it together,” he said.
Modi was referring to the Union Cabinet decision of April 19 to ban the use of beacons from May 1. The ban will apply to all government vehicles, including those used by the Prime Minister, the Chief Ministers, central and state ministers and judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
“It (use of red beacon) had become sort of a symbol of VIP culture. Experience shows that though the red beacon would be used atop a vehicle, gradually the VIP culture would go to the head of those using it and it would lead to a mindset of VIP culture,” Modi added.
The PM also announced that the South Asia Satellite will be launched on May 5. He said that it is India's pricelss gift to its neighbours as part of the ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’ concept.
Seven out of eight SAARC countries are a part of the project which Pakistan refused to join as it did not want the gift from India.
“We have always attempted to move ahead with the concept of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas (cooperation of all, development for all). The concept of 'sabka sath, sabka vikas' is not confined to India but is relevant globally too, especially in the context of the neighbourhood. There should be cooperation of our neighbours and there should be development of our neighbours too,” the PM added.
Describing it as a "priceless gift" from India, Modi said the project is a significant step towards promoting cooperation with the entire South Asia. “This is an appropriate example of our commitment towards South Asia...The satellite of South Asia will help in the overall development of the entire region," he added.
Soon after taking over as the Prime Minister in 2014, Modi had made a unilateral proposal of India launching the satellite whose data would be shared with the eight SAARC countries for their development.
As part of his push for digital payments, Modi asked the youth to capitalise on a scheme that entails cash rewards for those encouraging others to use the government’s Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) App for transactions.