Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked Indians to be self-reliant as he cited the example of an Assamese entrepreneur who dreams highly of developing his business of bamboo products.
“Sudeep from Assam has written to me that he trades in local bamboo products crafted by women,” the Prime Minister said in his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat.
“He has decided that in the next two years, he will transform his bamboo products into a global brand,” the Prime Minister added.
PM Modi also urged people to buy local products and expressed his hope that the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign will take the country to greater heights.
“Had our villages, towns, districts and states been self-reliant, problems facing us would not have been of such a magnitude as is evident today. But moving from darkness toward light is a human trait,” Modi said.
“Amidst multiple challenges, it gives me the joy to see extensive deliberation in the country on Aatmnirbhar Bharat, a self-reliant India,” he added.
He also urged the people to become ‘serious’ in the fight against coronavirus.
“We must not let this fight weaken. Becoming careless or lackadaisical cannot be an option. The fight against Corona is still equally serious!” he added.
Modi also claimed that India had been able to control coronavirus to a large extent as compared to other countries.
“Our population itself is many times that of most countries,” he said.
The challenges facing the country too are of a different kind, yet Corona did not spread as fast as it did in other countries of the world. The mortality rate of the corona is a lot less in our country,” he added.
He also said that the spirit of service is the biggest strength of the Indians.
“In fact, during this pandemic, we, the people of India have visibly proved that the notion of service and sacrifice is not just our ideal, it is a way of life in India,” he added.
He also said that all classes of people have suffered during the pandemic but it is the poor and the migrant labourers who have suffered the worst.
“Considering the migrant labourers, the need of the hour is devising a new solution – paradigm….we are ceaselessly taking steps in that direction. For example, at places skill mapping of labourers is being carried out, at other places startups are engaged in doing the same…the establishment of a migration commission is being deliberated upon,” he added.