Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been providing national recognition to small but meaningful initiatives emerging from villages and local communities, thereby encouraging citizens, particularly young people, to contribute to nation-building.
Maurya listened to the 137th episode of Prime Minister Modi’s monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat at his camp office in Lucknow along with Union Minister of State B.L. Verma.
During the programme, the Prime Minister highlighted several issues related to public participation in nation-building, the positive role of youth, the ‘BharatRajya’ website and the campaign for a drug-free India.
Maurya particularly referred to the example of Akash and Rohan from Patwai village in Rampur district, who took the initiative to clean areas around them after noticing the spread of garbage. Their efforts led to the launch of the ‘Clean-Up Patwai’ campaign, which gradually attracted a growing number of young volunteers.
As part of the campaign, young participants cleaned four Ganga ghats and removed more than one tonne of plastic waste, creating an example of community participation and grassroots cleanliness efforts.
The Deputy Chief Minister also highlighted the achievements discussed by the Prime Minister in the area of women’s empowerment. He said around 46 per cent of beneficiaries associated with the PM SVANidhi scheme are women, with nearly 3.5 million women using the initiative to expand their businesses. He described the development as an important step towards women’s empowerment and the vision of a self-reliant India.
Maurya said the Prime Minister had emphasised the importance of providing a national platform to people from ordinary backgrounds who undertake extraordinary work for society. Recognition of such efforts, he said, encourages others, particularly young people, to draw inspiration from them and contribute to nation-building.
The Deputy Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for highlighting the commendable efforts of young people from Rampur on a national platform such as Mann Ki Baat. He said the Prime Minister was encouraging talent by recognising positive, constructive and inspirational initiatives taking place across different parts of the country.
Maurya also referred to the ‘Mission Shakti’ initiative, saying that 12,000 girls from 108 countries were getting opportunities to learn and advance in satellite technology and innovation. He described the initiative as an example of India’s growing technological capabilities as well as the global empowerment of women and girls.
He said Prime Minister Modi was a leader whose attention remained focused on positive developments taking place even in India’s villages. According to Maurya, it was impossible for a public welfare initiative, however small, undertaken by an individual in any district, tehsil or village of Uttar Pradesh to remain unnoticed.
He said the country needed leadership with a global outlook while retaining a sensitive focus on grassroots efforts involving villages, the poor, youth, women and the most marginalised sections of society.
Maurya described Mann Ki Baat as more than a communication programme, saying it had evolved into an effective platform for connecting, recognising and amplifying positive initiatives from across the country and transforming them into broader public movements.
He said that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, citizens across the country were being encouraged to participate actively in the building of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ or developed India.
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