Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with a team of six students who got the fourth position at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom earlier this month in the 112th episode of his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann ki Baat’ on Sunday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File)
The team won four gold medals, one silver medal and one honourable mention on July 21 and it was the country’s best performance since its debut at IMO in 1989.
Modi, who had congratulated the team last Sunday, spoke to the six students — Aditya Venkat Ganesh (Pune), Siddharth Chopra (Pune), Arjun Gupta (Delhi), Kanav Talwar (Greater Noida), Rushil Mathur (Mumbai) and Anando Bhaduri (Guwahati). “I wish you all the best. You have raised the glory and name of the country,” he told them.
Modi asked them about how they got interested in mathematics and how they prepared for the Olympiad. He also asked them how students can shed their fear of the subject, something he hears often from students.
Mathur said, “I believe that Maths is actually an art of thinking and problem solving. And that is why I feel that if we all add a new question to mathematics, then the question is why are we doing this? Why does this happen like this? So I think this can raise people’s interest in mathematics a lot! Because when we are unable to understand something, we start fearing it.” Both Mathur and Bhaduri stressed on the need to understand the logic behind mathematical formulae rather than memorising them by rote.
At the beginning of the episode, Modi also wished Indian athletes at the Olympics the best.
First site from Northeast included in UNESCO World Heritage List
In the episode, Modi said that Charaideo Maidam of Assam is now being included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the 43rd from India but the first from the Northeast.
“Charaideo means a shining city on the hills. This was the first Capital of the Ahom dynasty. The people of the Ahom dynasty traditionally kept the mortal remains of their ancestors and their valuables in the Maidam. A Maidam is a mound-like structure, covered with soil on top, and has one or more rooms underneath,” he said. The Maidam is “a symbol of reverence for the departed kings and dignitaries of the Ahom Empire”, and is a site of community worshipping.
New government centre to deal with drug abuse
Modi said that to deal with drug abuse, the government has opened a new centre, called Manas, and how the government launched the helpline and portal for it a few days ago. “The government has issued a toll-free number ‘1933’. Anyone can call on this number to get necessary advice or information related to rehabilitation. If anyone has any other information related to drugs, they can also share it with the Narcotics Control Bureau by calling on this number. All information shared with MANAS is kept confidential,” Modi said.
Public Art
Modi also talked about Project PARI — Public Art of India, which is a “medium to bring emerging artists on one platform to popularise public art”. Art by artists associated with the project, he said, is visible in Bharat Mandapam and on underpasses and flyovers in Delhi.
Handlooms
The prime minister said that on August 7, the country would celebrate National Handloom Day. He spoke of 250 women from Rohtak (Haryana) who joined the UNNATI Self Help Group to get training in block printing and dyeing and are now “earning lakhs of rupees” as there is a “great demand” for the bed covers, sarees and dupattas made by them. He mentioned Sambalpuri saree of Odisha, the Maheshwari saree of Madhya Pradesh, the Paithani of Maharashtra, the hand block prints of Vidarbha, the Bhutiko shawls and woollen clothes of Himachal, and the Kani shawls of Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi said that the turnover of Khadi Village Industry has crossed ₹1.5 lakh crore for the first time, and that sale has increased by 400%. However, he did not specify the time period in which this increase occurred.
“Nowadays, the way handloom products have made their place in the hearts of people is really very successful, tremendous. Now many private companies are also promoting handloom products and sustainable fashion through AI,” Modi said. He mentioned start-ups and innovations such as Kosha AI, Handloom India, Novatex Electrical Cylinder, Brahmaputra Fables that are using technologies like digital loom, blockchain, and advanced logistics to increase output of handlooms, guarantee their authenticity, sustainably dispose waste that is generated, and make local products more popular. “You too can upload your local products on social media with the name ‘Hashtag My Product My Pride’,” Modi said.
Local communities are saving tigers’ habitats
Modi talked about how different local communities are preserving the habitat for tigers. For instance, in Ranthambore in Rajasthan, the local communities have vowed to not go into forests and to not cut trees (‘Kulhadi Band Panchayat’). “Due to this one decision, the forests here are becoming green once again, and a better environment is being created for the tigers,” Modi said.
The tribes of Gond and Mana tribes in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra have also reduced their dependence on the forest so that tiger activity can increase there. The Chenchu tribe of the Nallamalai hills in Andhra Pradesh collect information about movement of wild animals in the forest and monitor illegal activities in the area. In Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), locals are trained to work as ‘Tiger Friends’ who ensure that there is no conflict between tigers and humans.
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