New Delhi: Modi reflects on India’s 2023 achievements, emphasizing successes across various domains and calling for a developed and self-reliant India in 2024.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the multitude of special achievements in 2023, acknowledging successes across diverse fields, from scientists to athletes and artists. He characterized these accomplishments as a testament to the strength of India’s 140 crore citizens during the final episode of the Mann ki Baat radio show for the year.
In the 32-minute broadcast, Modi addressed mental health, featuring insights from cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur, chess icon Vishwanathan Anand, actor Akshay Kumar, and spiritual leader Sadhguru. He underscored the importance of carrying the “spirit of a developed India” and the ethos of self-reliance into the year 2024.
In his closing remarks, Prime Minister Modi urged every Indian to prioritize the nation’s interests in all endeavors, emphasizing the mantra “Rashtra Pratham – Nation First.” He expressed the belief that by adhering to this mantra, Indians would contribute to making the country developed and self-reliant. As he concluded the show, he extended his wishes for success to the people in the upcoming year, 2024.
“May you all reach new heights of success in 2024, may you all stay healthy, stay fit, stay immensely happy – this is my prayer. In 2024, we will once again discuss the new achievements of the people of the country,” expressed Prime Minister Modi.
During the show, he also touched upon various highlights, including the progress of the Ram temple construction, the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act’ (women’s reservation law), India becoming the world’s fifth-largest economy, success at the G20 Summit, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s historic landing near the south pole of the Moon, Oscars honors for Natu-Natu and The Elephant Whisperers, and impressive medal hauls in the Asian Games (107) and Asian Para Games (117) as notable achievements for the country in the past year.
Prime Minister Modi emphasized the need to maintain the spirit of ‘vocal for local’ in 2024, citing the record business on Diwali as evidence of the importance every Indian is giving to this mantra. While discussing various topics during the show, he devoted a significant portion to the theme of fitness, particularly mental health.
Emphasizing the importance of fitness, Modi stated, “When India turns developed, the youth will benefit the most. But the youth will benefit more when they are fit.” After hearing insights from various guests, he concluded by highlighting the universal resolve shared by all – “Stay Healthy, Stay Fit” – as a significant commitment for the beginning of 2024.
Rishabh runs a very interesting StartUp Tagda Raho, which celebrates traditional forms of exercising. He talked about his views on how to remain fit. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/x7FS9u6Ejo
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 31, 2023
During the Mann ki Baat radio show, Prime Minister Modi discussed the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, highlighting an instance in Varanasi where the indigenous Bhashini AI tool facilitated real-time translation of his speech into Tamil for the audience. He encouraged the young generation to further explore AI tools, particularly those related to real-time translation, and make them 100% foolproof.
Additionally, Modi pointed out India’s advancements in various global indicators, illustrating the country’s potential to become a developed nation. He cited improvements in the Global Innovation Index ranking from 81st in 2015 to 40th, a high number of patents filed in India with about 60% from domestic funds, and the inclusion of the highest number of Indian universities in the QS Asia University Rankings. Modi urged citizens to draw inspiration from these achievements, take pride in them, and make new resolves for the future.
Among his appeals to listeners, in addition to those on fitness and working for the greater benefit of the country, Modi appealed to people to create a common hashtag to showcase art and music pertaining to the Ram Temple. “I request you to share your creations on social media with the hashtag Shri Ram Bhajan (#shriRamBhajan). This compilation will turn into a flow of emotions and devotion in which everyone will be immersively imbued with the ethos of Ram,” he said.