PM bats for swadeshi, asks people to take nine pledges

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called upon people to take nine pledges to ensure the development and advancement of the country. The PM unveiled a 77-foot-tall bronze statue of Lord Ram in Goa where he addressed the 550th-year celebration of Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math.

He said the first resolution should be to conserve water, save water and protect rivers, the second to plant trees, the third should be the mission of cleanliness, ensuring that every street, neighborhood and city remained clean.

“The fourth resolution should be to adopt Swadeshi. India is moving forward with the mantra of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Swadeshi and the country is saying ‘Vocal for Local’. This is a resolve we must carry forward. The fifth resolution should be ‘desh darshan’, encouraging everyone to make efforts to know and understand different parts of the country,” the PM said.

He highlighted that the sixth resolution should be to make natural farming a part of life, the seventh to adopt a healthy lifestyle, embrace millets and reduce oil consumption in food by 10 per cent, the eighth to adopt yoga and sports, and the ninth to assist the poor in some form.

The Prime Minister noted that the Math could transform these resolutions into collective public commitments. Highlighting that the spiritual glory of Goa was now as distinctive as its modern development, the PM said Goa was among the states with the highest per capita income and contributed significantly to tourism, pharma and the services sector.