New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the country has fascinating achievements to share with the world and urged the media to spotlight on the global stage these successes, terming them as the ‘India Story’.
Addressing a Diwali Milan for journalists at the BJP headquarters here, Modi said in the world of news, one thing is very important: the deadline as the entire life of a journalist revolves around deadlines — whether it is the time a newspaper goes to print or a story is broadcast, every deadline is set.
“Today, our country is also working toward a deadline. That deadline is, the year 2047. The dream of making our country developed has been with us since independence. But now this dream has a set date, 2047. That means we must work together to make India a developed nation before we complete 100 years of independence,” he said.
The prime minister said India possess a young population, talent, technology, and affordable data and most importantly the country has a fascinating achievements to share with the world.
“We have the ‘India Story’. We must consider whether our news truly reflects India, are our achievements, talent, and positive transformations receiving adequate space. There is no shortage of such stories in India,” he said.
Modi said the NDA government has been able to remove poverty from the country and 50 crore people have been elevated from below the poverty line.
“There were slogans of ‘Garibi Hatao’. But poverty has been removed by this government. According to the World Bank, 50 crore people have been elevated from the below poverty line in the last 12 years,” he said.
The prime minister said with the achievements India is making today, achieving the goal of a developed India is not impossible.
“Just think about all that India has accomplished in recent years. Who would have thought that India would make history by landing near the moon’s South Pole? Who would have thought that India would become the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer?
“Who would have thought that the world’s highest railway arch bridge would be built over the Chenab river? In just 12 years, India has increased its solar generation capacity more than 50-fold. In just 12 years, India has built the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem,” he said.
Modi said the 2047 deadline does not mean India has to wait until then like the country has done during freedom movement when it was realised that the goal of complete freedom was not going to be achieved in a day or two.
“Gradually, smaller goals were set and achieved, and people began to believe that freedom would surely come. The entire country stood united in this resolve. It is this same faith across the country that will take us to the goal of a developed India. We will move forward by achieving many goals, big and small, and only then will we reach the goal of a developed India,” he said.
The prime minister said that in his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he constantly strives to give a platform to the country’s achievements and the achievements of the people.
“I would also urge the country’s media to work on stories about India’s successes and help them reach more people. This would be a tremendous service to the nation on your part,” he said.
Talking about his own interactions with the media, Modi said he has had a long relationship with the journalists, right from the days he used to arrange chairs at such events.
“I have interacted with the media and seen it evolve from days of press releases to Instagram reels,” he said.
The prime minister said nothing is considered impossible in the world of news and field reporters reach everywhere even in times of crisis and disasters.
He also requested the media to spread awareness about the fight against drug abuse.
“I would like your support on another issue. Now we must also raise awareness about drug addiction in the same way. We must get our youth out of all this,” he said.
