India imbued with the spirit of ‘Viksit Bharat’: Prime Minister Modi in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ at the end of the year

Prime Minister Modi said that he has always believed that the development of a country that does not give importance to innovation will stop.

Mann Ki Baat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that India is brimming with self-confidence and said the country is imbued with the spirit of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and self-reliance and urged the people to maintain the momentum in 2024 too.

In the 108th episode of Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Prime Minister Modi also emphasized on physical and mental health and highlighted several unique efforts for ‘Fit India’.

During the telecast, Isha Foundation head Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Indian cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, chess legend Vishwanathan Anand and actor Akshay Kumar shared their fitness tips.

In his remarks, Modi said, “Today, every corner of India is brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of a developed India; the spirit of self-reliance. We must keep the same spirit and momentum in 2024.”

Noting that 2024 is just hours away, Modi said India’s achievements are the achievements of every Indian and “we must continuously work for India’s development keeping in mind the Panch Pran”.

“Whatever work we do, whatever decision we make, our first criterion should be what the country will get from it; what benefits it will bring to the country. ‘Rashtra Pratham’ – Nation first – there is no greater mantra than this,” he asserted.

“If we adhere to this mantra, we Indians will make our country developed and self-reliant. May you all reach new heights of success in 2024, may you all stay healthy, stay fit, stay extremely happy – this is my prayer. In 2024, we will again discuss the new achievements of the country’s people,” Modi said.

During the broadcast, the Prime Minister listed a number of achievements and highlights that the country has experienced in various areas this year.

He pointed out that the record business on Diwali has proven that every Indian gives importance to the mantra of ‘vocal for local’.

“Even today, many people message me about the success of Chandrayaan-3. I am sure that you, like me, are proud of our scientists and especially of women scientists,” he said.

“When ‘Natu-Natu’ won the Oscar, the whole country was excited. Who wouldn’t have been happy with the honor bestowed on ‘The Elephant Whisperers’? Through them, the world saw India’s creativity and understood our bond with the environment,” Modi said.

He pointed out that Indian athletes also performed fantastically in the sport this year, with Indian players winning 107 medals in the Asian Games and 111 medals in the Asian Para Games.

“Indian players won everyone’s hearts with their performances at the Cricket World Cup. Our women’s cricket team’s victory in the Under-19 T-20 World Cup is very inspiring. The achievements of players in many other sports have contributed to the glory of the country,” Modi said.

Now, the Paris Olympics will be held in 2024, for which the entire country is cheering its players, he added.

“Every time we have made joint efforts, it has had a very positive impact on our country’s development journey.

“We have seen successful campaigns like ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’. We are all witnessing the participation of millions of people in these projects. Construction of 70,000 ‘Amrit Sarovars’ is also our collective achievement,” he said.

Modi said he has always believed that the development of a country that does not give importance to innovation will stop.

“India becoming an innovation hub is a symbol of the fact that we will not stop. In 2015 we ranked 81st in the Global Innovation Index, today we rank 40th,” he emphasizes.

Modi also underlined that the number of patents filed in India this year was high, of which about 60 percent came from domestic funds.

This time, the largest number of Indian universities were included in the QS Asia University Rankings, he said.

“If we start making a list of these achievements, it can never be completed. This is just a glimpse of how effective India’s potential is. We must take inspiration from these successes of the country; these achievements of the people of the country; take pride in it, take new decisions,” Modi said.

He emphasized that as India develops, the youth will benefit the most.

“But the youth will benefit more if they are fit,” he said.

“Nowadays we see how much talk there is about lifestyle-related diseases, it is a matter of great concern for all of us, especially the youth. For this ‘Mann Ki Baat’, I had asked all of you to send inputs regarding Fit India. The response you have given has filled me with enthusiasm,” the Prime Minister said.

A large number of startups have also sent suggestions on the NaMo app and discussed many of their unique efforts, Modi noted.

Thanks to India’s efforts, 2023 was celebrated as the International Year of Millets, he said, adding that this has given a lot of opportunities to the startups working in this field.

Modi also spoke at length about the importance of physical and mental health.

“I am very happy to know that Mumbai-based startups like Infi-Heal and YOUR-Dost are working towards improving mental health and well-being. Not only that, nowadays a technology like artificial intelligence is also used for this,” he said.

He urged listeners to heed the advice and experiences of well-known people who then spoke about physical and mental health during the broadcast.

While Sadhguru stated that working on an internal mental health situation or working on an equanimous chemistry within ourselves, a chemistry of peace, joy and bliss is something that must be brought into the life of every individual and into the cultural life of a society and nations. Across the world, cricketer Kaur emphasized that regular exercise and a full seven hours of sleep are very important for the body and help keep fit.

Chess grandmaster Anand said his fitness tip to all ‘Mann Ki Baat’ listeners would be to stay calm and focus on the task at hand.

(Only the headline was reworked by India.com staff. The copy is from an agency feed)