NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign was not just a government policy but a national spirit, a sentiment flowing in the hearts of the common folks.
In his monthly radio address, Mann ki Baat, the PM lauded the huge contribution of science towards making India self-reliant an achievable dream.
“Today is National Science Day. It is dedicated to the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Dr CV Raman. Our youth should read a lot about Indian scientists and understand the history of Indian science. The contribution of science is huge in Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the PM said and stressed the need to make science more popular.
It cannot be limited to physics-chemistry and labs, he said, and called for expanding science with a mantra of ‘Lab to Land’.
“When every citizen feels proud of indigenous products and connects with the idea of self-reliance, then Atmanirbhar Bharat does not just remain an economic programme but becomes the national spirit,” he said.
Modi expressed happiness that the mantra of self-reliant India is reaching the villages and cited several examples of people from small towns and villages using innovative techniques to emerge as shining examples of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Seeking to woo the electorate in Tamil Nadu, where assembly elections are due in April, the Prime Minister regretted that he could not make much effort to learn Tamil, the world’s oldest language.
He said he had been asked by a listener as to whether there was something he felt he had missed out on during his long years as prime minister and earlier, Gujarat chief minister.
“I pondered this over and told myself…I could not make myself learn Tamil! It is such a beautiful language which is popular all over the world. Many people have told me a lot about the quality of Tamil literature and the depth of the poems written in it. India is a land of many languages, which symbolises our culture and pride,” he said.
Stressing the importance of collective responsibility towards water conservation, Modi said, “In most parts of India, rainfall begins in May-June. Can we right away start a 100-day campaign for cleaning up water sources around us and conserving rainwater? With this very thought in mind, in a few days from now, Catch The Rain is being initiated by the Jal Shakti Ministry,” Prime Minister Modi said.