Lakhs of students hear PM's Teachers' Day interaction

New Delhi: Lakhs of students on Friday heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-talked about Teachers' Day address and subsequent interaction through TV, radio and the Internet at over 3,000 schools in the national capital.

Students had turned out in large numbers at the government and private schools which had made elaborate arrangements to show the interaction live through TV, projectors and radio.

Minor glitches due to technical problems were reported at some schools.

Special arrangements were made by school authorities which included televisions, set-top box connections, projectors, screens, amplifiers and generator sets or inverters so that students could watch and listen to the Prime Minister without any interruption.

The programme started around 3 PM and Modi addressed the students for 30 minutes followed by a question-answer session.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi government had directed all private as well as government schools to make arrangements for showing the Prime Minister's address live.

After the programme, majority of students coming out of their schools expressed happiness on being able to listen to the Prime Minister. However, many of them rued that they could not ask any questions themselves.

"It was a great experience to be able to listen to the Prime Minister live on Teachers' Day. I wanted to ask a question to him but I could not get a chance to do so," said Akshat Sharma, a class IV student at a government school in Chandni Chowk area.

A number of students from some of the Delhi schools got the opportunity to ask question to the Prime Minister as they were part of the select group of students invited to the event.

The Prime Minister replied to a number of questions asked by students from various states through video conferencing, in the first-ever initiative.

In his address, the Prime Minister stressed on increasing the importance of teaching profession and suggested that all educated, including engineers and doctors, should take classes to make teaching a people's movement necessary for nation-building.

He said the country is facing shortage of teachers and this needs to be changed so that India can "export" teachers.  

PM Modi to review progress of Aadhaar on Saturday

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting tomorrow to take stock of progress in Aadhaar project, which the new government will use as a tool for its various welfare schemes including the Jan Dhan Yojana.

"Prime Minister has called a meeting of top officials to review the Aadhaar project. He wants to have a re-look at the progress of the project, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where other schemes are facing difficulties due to low Aadhaar enrolments," sources said on Friday.

At present, 66.99 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued. In Uttar Pradesh, about 4.62 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued against a population of 19.95 crore.

In Bihar, around 1.41 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued against a population of about 10.38 crore.

The meeting will be attended by Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad among other Cabinet members, they added.

"Prime Minister wants the project to be completed as soon as possible so that it can be used for the various welfare initiatives and programmes of the government including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana," sources said.

Under Aadhar project, UIDAI issues unique identification number to residents and collects their biometric details. These days many service providers like banks are using Aadhar as KYC detail for opening new accounts.

The previous UPA government had entrusted UIDAI, which issues unique identification numbers to residents, to start enrolments in four more states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand -- in February 2014.

There are around 40 crore people in these four states, which were earlier covered under the National Population Register (NPR) project of the Home Ministry.

In the backdrop of slow progress by NPR in these states, the government is pushing for the Aadhaar enrolments in these four states and other parts of the country.

UIDAI was established in 2009 to generate and assign unique identity numbers for residents of India.

No climate change, says PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: There is no climate change but only "our tolerance and habits" have changed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday while advocating that "struggle" with nature should be avoided and asked children to imbibe practices to save energy.

"Climate has not changed. We have changed. Our habits have changed. Our habits have got spoiled. Due to that, we have destroyed our entire environment," he said while addressing students and replying to their questions through video conferencing in the first-ever initiative.

His assertion about no climate change comes despite global concerns over rising temperature, an issue that is being debated at various multilateral fora.

To buttress his argument, Modi said each year, elders complain in winter that the chill is more than the previous year. "Actually the chill is not more. Due to their age, their tolerence has become less. That is why they feel more cold," he said.

Contending that nature has the special feature of restoring the balance, he said, "If we change, it (nature) is already ready to change. Humans should not struggle with environment. Humans should love environment. Be it water, air, plants."

Noting that the entire world is facing energy crisis, Modi said one has to move towards saving power.

"The entire world is facing energy crisis. Coal, gas and petroleum have their limits. So where will one produce electricity from? Sometime or the other, we have to move towards the direction of saving electricity.

"Saving electricity is the best way of providing it to those to whom it has not reached and that too with minimal cost. Power production cost is very high. But saving electricity is very cheap," he said.

Asking children whether they had witnessed sunrise, sunset or full moon night, Modi said, "These habits have gone. We have forgotten to live with the nature. We have to learn to live with it."

The Prime Minister said he was informed by Nagpur Mayor that the electricity cost has come down after they have adopted a process of switching off street lights on full moon nights, which they have done two or three times.

Modi said he had suggested to the Nagpur Mayor to start a competition in each locality during full moon night.

"I suggested a competition of putting thread into a needle during full moon night. Everybody would enjoy and participate. Will you do it? Will you write to me after doing it. Do I trust that the children of the entire country would do this?

"On a full moon night, if street lights are put off for two-three hours, will it not be service to the environment? Won't you enjoy the full moon night? Won't the love for environment grow? Won't you love the nature?. We can do these small things without doing anything very big," he said.

The PM also told children as how they can save electricity by switching off fans and lights by those who comes out last from their classrooms and, switching off appliances when not in their room, when among their friends. They can save water by turning the taps off while brushing.

Modi reminded that the children that in 'Shastras', plants are called 'God' and rivers as 'mothers' and said "the moment one forgot this, the Ganga became polluted."

He also cited an example of families teaching their children to apologise mother Earth for causing her pain before putting their feet on the ground when they wake up in the morning.

Mothers teach children that Moon is ones mother while Sun is ones grandfather, he added.

"We consider the entire universe as our family. We are being taught from childhood. These environmental education were there in our day to day life but suddenly changes came," he said. 

Teaching not a profession, a way of life: Narendra Modi

Ahead of Teachers' Day, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi today said teaching is not a profession but "jeevan dharm" (a way of life) and asked teachers to understand changes happening across the world to prepare the new generation accordingly.
Interacting with the 350 national awardee teachers, who will be felicitated by President Pranab Mukherjee on Teachers' Day tomorrow, Modi said a teacher never retires and always endeavours to teach the new generation, according to an official statement.
"If a society is to progress, teachers must always be two steps ahead of time. They need to understand changes happening across the world and prepare the new generation accordingly by arousing curiosity in them," he told them.
Modi said two of his wishes after he became the Gujarat Chief Minister were to meet his childhood friends and honour his teachers.
"I fulfilled both of them ... The role of a teacher is very important in any student's life," he said.
Speaking in a lighter vein, Modi said he is sure the teachers, who will be honoured by the President, would not be affected by "Delhi's airs".
"I am sure it would not happen," said Modi, who has in past referred to himself as an outsider in the capital.
The teachers also participated in the informal interaction, the statement said, and expressed their views on various aspects of teaching.
Modi will be interacting with students tomorrow afternoon and schools across the country have been asked to "assemble" students to watch the event which will be streamed live. 

Skill development required to make youth employable: PM Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi is speaking in Hindi. PM wants teachers to introspect why meritorious students are not willing to join the profession. Modi says there is acute lack of good teachers in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started his address. Narendra Modi says for many youth teachers are role model and closest confidante. Narendra Modi refers to his 15th August speech. He says that he needs help from every school to ensure there are toilets everywhere. He shares an anecdote to say cleanliness is part of character building in Japan. Modi takes a jibe on media in this context. 

Modi urges Indians to teach atleast a period every week in the schools of their choice.Now, Modi has started to interact with students. He is urging students to read biography of eminent personalities. He is also asking students to take part in physical activity. PM urges students to ask him questions in a freewheeling manner.  Modi says that there has been no major change in his life after becoming Prime Minister. Only now he needs to be more careful while saying anything as he is aware that India's future hinges on it. 

Answering a question, Modi says that he has learnt both from teachers and life experiences. 

Modi asks students to enjoy the process of learning and growing up, rather than focusing on the end results.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he is not strict headmaster. Replying to a question, Modi says that he expects others to work hard so that he can work harder. 

A student from Imphal asks Narendra Modi, how to become Prime Minister? PM breaks out into a feat of laughter and asks him to start preparing for 2024 elections! He mockingly says that PM's post is secured till 2024. 

Students now posting some interesting questions to Narendra Modi. PM is translating the question to Hindi, so that everyone can comprehend it. Narendra Modi says he would never discriminate between students if he was a teacher. A teacher is like a mother according to Narendra Modi.

Modi says he was quite naughty as a kid. He shares an anecdote that they used to gatecrash in wedding ceremonies.  Everybody is laughing. 

From light banter to serious question, Modi now speaking about importance of education for girl child in Naxal affected areas. Modi says that large number of girl children drop out of schools owing to lack of proper amenities. Modi quotes statistics from Board exams to say how girls are faring better than boys when they are getting proper opportunity. 

"Climate is not changing, we are changing and are not paying attention to environment" says Narendra Modi to a question. 

Modi again speaks about cleanliness. He says there are two kind of kids; one who throws there school bags just after going back to home, others keep all things properly. Modi advices kids to conserve energy. 

Modi is totally connecting with the kids now. He asks them to turn off light for few hours every  full moon night. Everybody nods in unison. PM asks them to write letter to him after doing it. 

"Politics should never be made a profession", PM to students. Modi says he never gets tired as he remembers that hope of 125 crore Indians rest on him. PM says that politics should be done with a sense of sacrifice. He shares his secret of working relentlessly. Modi says chatting with kids is the greatest stress buster. 

Modi speaks about the importance of long distance education. He also speaks about the importance of skill specific education. According to Prime Minister, apart from degree importance should be also given on inculcating skill to make youth employable in future. 

Now PM Modi wrapping up his speech. He says that some questions were such that he felt that the inner child is dyeing among the youth. He says one of the reason he planned this programme was to check how many schools in India are technologically equipped. Now the programme is over. 

Select students currently giving short speech throwing light on the life of DR Radhakrishnan.Students from Kashmir to Kerala currently glued to the TV sets.

HRD Minister Smriti Irani currently speaking to the students. She shares an anecdote to harp on the importance of teachers in our lives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to address about 1,000 students at the Manekshaw Auditorium. The programme is slated to start on 3 PM. It will be broadcasted live by all Doordarshan channels and All India Radio. The Prime Minister would also answer questions from some students through video-conferencing.

Following HRD Ministry's direction schools across the country have decided to livestream the event. A controversy has already started regarding if it is compulsory to livestream the event. While the HRD Ministry has clarified that there is no compulsion some states have gone ahead to say that schools are not bound to make arrangement for students to listen to Narendra Modi's address. A Delhi school has gone ahead to give a circular that Modi's speech will be part of exam questions for the students. 

All BJP ruled states have tried to strictly ensure that schools provide students chance to listen to Narendra Modi's speech. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are the two major non BJP ruled states which have made similar elaborate arrangement. Around 18 lakh students are expected to tune in.

Rahul Gandhi's jibe at Narendra Modi: PM 'playing drums' while rising prices hurting people

Amethi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that at a time when people in India are suffering from electricity problems and soaring prices, the PM is beating drums in Japan.

Speaking to media in his parliamentary constituency, Rahul said: “The incumbent government came on a set of promises, but is seems it has forgotten them.”

Rahul further criticised the Modi government over electricity woes and corruption menace saying that the centre has done nothing to address the problems its 100 days of governance.

Meanwhile, reacting to Rahul's jibe at PM Modi, party leader an d Urban development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, “Why should we listen to him (Rahul) when his own party members are not listening to him.”

Another BJP leader and party spokesperson Nalin Kohli said: "The Prime Minister enthrals audiences in Japan but Rahul Gandhi and Congress have lost their rhythm."

"As far as power problem is concerned, you (Rahul) were sleeping in Parliament and the UPA government for 10 years was in self-induced coma. It absolved itself of governance and converted the situation from economic prosperity to economic despondency," he said.

The Congress president acknowledged the increasing divide within the Congress saying that the party will deal with such 'tensions'.

Rahul admitted that there have been rising voices within the Congress. The Congress vice president said: “Congress is an old organistaion and there are multiple voices within it, such voices will bring solutions to the party.”

“There are always tensions, we will deal with it,” Rahul asserted.

Rahul's clarification on reports of growing dissent within the party comes amidst many senior leaders questioned Gandhi scion's style of functioning and his 'young team'.

After humiliating defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has been facing a battle between the old guard and the new generation over the leadership of Rahul.

Some young general secretaries have privately held meetings and discussed the remarks of some senior party leaders, which, they felt, appeared questioning the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, as per reports.

However, the party leadership has feigned ignorance about such meetings.

The signs of the deepening conflict came to the fore when Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi recently said that people in politics should not continue in active posts beyond 70 years of age.

Dwivedi, who will be 69 next month and feels marginalised in the party, told reporters that 65 or 70 should be the age for people to go out of active posts and take up other roles instead.

Teaching not a profession, a way of life: Narendra Modi

Ahead of Teachers' Day, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi today said teaching is not a profession but "jeevan dharm" (a way of life) and asked teachers to understand changes happening across the world to prepare the new generation accordingly.
Interacting with the 350 national awardee teachers, who will be felicitated by President Pranab Mukherjee on Teachers' Day tomorrow, Modi said a teacher never retires and always endeavours to teach the new generation, according to an official statement.
"If a society is to progress, teachers must always be two steps ahead of time. They need to understand changes happening across the world and prepare the new generation accordingly by arousing curiosity in them," he told them.
Modi said two of his wishes after he became the Gujarat chief minister were to meet hischildhood friends and honour his teachers.
"I fulfilled both of them ... The role of a teacher is very important in any student's life," he said.
Speaking in a lighter vein, Modi said he is sure the teachers, who will be honoured by the President, would not be affected by "Delhi's airs".
"I am sure it would not happen," said Modi, who has in past referred to himself as an outsider in the capital.
The teachers also participated in the informal interaction, the statement said, and expressed their views on various aspects of teaching.
Modi will be interacting with students tomorrow afternoon and schools across the country have been asked to "assemble" students to watch the event which will be streamed live