The PM also urged people to endorse the government's Vocal for Local campaign in the 86th episode of his monthly radio show, Mann ki Baat.
PM said, “Today, in our country, from Parliament to panchayat, women are reaching new heights in different fields. In the army, daughters are now playing responsibilities in new and bigger roles… The country has lifted the restrictions on the admission of daughters in Sainik schools. Look at the start-up world. In recent years, thousands of new start-ups began in the country. About half of these start-ups have women as director.”
He further said, “The country is trying to give equal rights to men and women, the PM said as he listed the decisions taken by the Centre. “In the recent past, decisions like increasing maternity leave for women have been taken… fixing a common age for marriage. Due to this, the participation of women is increasing in every field.”
According to Modi, the number of occurrences of triple talaq has decreased by 80% in the country. In 2019, the Parliament passed a bill making the Muslim practise of triple talaq a crime.
The PM also lauded the government's flagship Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative for the improvement in the country's sex ratio. According to the fifth phase of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), issued on November 24 last year by the health ministry, India currently has 1,020 women for every 1,000 males. For the first time in either the NFHS or the Census, the gender ratio is skewed toward women.
The Prime Minister invited people to embrace the Vocal for Local campaign ahead of the forthcoming festivities of Shivratri and Holi. He said, “You should buy local products on festivals so lives of the people around you also become colourful and vibrant. The success with which our country is fighting the battle against Corona is imparting enthusiasm to the festival manifold..we have to celebrate our festivals, and at the same time, we have to maintain our caution.”
He added, “During his 32-minute-long address, the PM also lauded the country’s scientific community for its role during the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to their hard work, it was possible to manufacture the Made-in-India vaccines. This is the gift of science to humanity.”
The Prime Minister also discussed reframing “Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Great India)" to promote local languages, and invited people to post recordings of lip-syncing in indigenous Indian languages, using Tanzanians Kili Paul and Nima as examples.
The couple, who lip sync to Indian tunes, has a large social media following. He said, “These days, two Tanzanian siblings, Kili Paul and his sister Nima, are in the news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. They have a passion, a craze for Indian music. A video of him singing our National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, on Republic Day went viral. A few days ago, they also paid a soulful tribute to Lata didi… I urge the youth of the country to make videos of the popular songs of Indian languages… and the diversity of the country will be introduced to the new generation.”
The PM also brought up the problem of smuggled Indian artefacts. He stated, “Till 2013, nearly 13 idols had been brought back to India. But, in the last seven years, India has brought back more than 200 precious idols.”
