PM Modi urges youth: Join as interns to clean India

New Delhi: Speaking to youngsters through his monthly Mann ki Baat” radio address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urg-ed youngsters to join the “Swachchh Bha-rat Summer Internship 2018” launched by his government and announced incentives, including credit point by the UGC, for participants, saying it was an opportunity for those who wanted to make a change in society.

In his 30-minute-plus address, the PM also pitched for water conservation, saying it should be everyone’s responsibility and asserted that his government had spent '32,000 crores annually outside MNREGA’s (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)  budget and 150 lakh acres of land had benefited from it over the past three years.

Mr Modi touched on several topics, including Indian athletes’, specially women’s, achievements in the Commonwealth Games, the people’s response to his call for fitness and also paid tributes to Prophet Mohammad and Lord Buddha ahead of the month of Ramzan and Buddha Purnima respectively.

Noting that India had carried out nuclear tests on Buddha Purnima on May 11 in 1998, when the BJP’s Atal Behari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, Mr Modi said young people needed to imbibe Mr Vajpayee’s mantra of “Jai Vigyan” (hail science) to make India modern and strong.

Giving a call to students to join the “Swachchh Bharat” campaign during their summer vacation, he said three ministries of his government had launched an internship programme and it was an opportunity for those who wanted to work for society, contribute positively and bring about a change.

“The best of the interns who have strived in schools and colleges with excellent work will be rewarded with recognition at the national level. Not just that, those interns who accomplish their tasks well will be awarded two credit points each by UGC”, Mr Modi said. It will also boost the cleanliness campaign, a signature project of his government, and those who participate in it will feel “a sense of fulfilment” when the country celebrates the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, he added.

Turning to water conservation, the PM said India had traditionally done it and cited examples of many temples and other historic places that have done so, noting that some rivers in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh had been revived recently. “(We are) Leaving no stone unturned for water conservation,” he said.

Mr Modi also hailed the performance of the Indian squad in the Commonwealth Games, saying they had made every Indian proud, and specially lauded woman athletes for their show.

He also asked people to think about ways to make Yoga Day on June 21 memorable. The PM drew from the teachings of Prophet Mohammad and said he believed in knowledge and compassion. His life taught people to walk the path of equality and brotherhood, Mr Modi said. “Lord Buddha believed in peace, harmony and brotherhood, and these values are needed the most in the world today,” he added.

India was developing infrastructure to boost Buddhist tourism, he said, and working to connect easily with the Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia. B.R. Ambedkar was also inspired by Buddha in his work for empowering the marginalised sections of society, he said.

Mr Modi also paid rich tribute to poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose birth anniversary falls on May 7, and said he would regularly listen to “Rabindra Sangeet” when he was a child.