PM Modi urges Indian media to aid expansion of nation’s global image

New Delhi, July 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the media had a role in expanding the global image of the country, which in turn impacts its economy.

Speaking at the inauguration of Indian Newspaper Society Towers in Mumbai, Modi urged newspaper houses to launch digital editions in all UN languages to take the Indian growth story worldwide.

Noting that the media had a role in strengthening democracy, the PM urged media managements to explore possible digital editions to disseminate information about India’s journey, its growth across the digital and economic platforms, across the globe.

“The global presence of Indian media is currently limited,” PM said, noting that the media had a role in helping make India a developed nation by 2047 by amplifying government campaigns like “Clean India”, “Start Up India”, “One tree in mother’s name” as public movements and not viewing “government programmes as government work”.

The PM said his government had changed the hackneyed approach of allowing vote bank politics to dictate policy.

Giving the example of predecessor and late Congress leader Indira Gandhi who had nationalised banks, Modi said, “Banks were nationalised decades ago but when I became PM in 2014, half of the country did not have bank accounts. We changed this approach of allowing policy to be influenced by vote banks and launched the Jan Dhan campaign to link 50 crore poor with banks.”