Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the rally of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) at Cariappa Ground in Delhi. Union Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Staff and the three armed services Chiefs were present on the occasion. The Prime Minister inspected the Guard of Honour, reviewed the March Past by NCC contingents, and witnessed cultural performance during the event.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that nations with a strong presence of discipline in Social life thrive in all fields. He said NCC has a major role to play in instilling this sense of discipline in the social life of India. The Prime Minister said that as the largest uniformed youth organization, NCC is gaining in stature day by day.
The Prime Minister said that it is incumbent on all the citizens to fulfil the duties enshrined in our Constitution. Whenever this is followed by citizens and civil society, many challenges can be met with success.
Modi said that it was this blend of sense of duty among the citizenry and bravery of the security forces that broke the back of naxalism and Maoism which was affecting a large part of our country. Now menace of Naxalism has been shrunk to a very limited area of the country and affected youths have left the path of violence to join the development mainstream.
The Prime Minister said that the Corona period was challenging but it brought the opportunities for extraordinary work for the country, improved the country’s capabilities, making it Aatmnirbhar and to go from ordinary to the best. Youth has a key role in this, said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to Field Marshal Kariappa on his jayanti today and noted that today’s venue is named after him. He said new opportunities for girl cadets are emerging in the armed forces. He noted with satisfaction that in recent times, there has been an increase of 35 percent in the number of girl cadets in NCC.
Talking about the anniversaries, the Prime Minister pointed out that this year India is entering its 75th year of independence, 125th birth anniversary of Netaji, Subhas Chandra Bose. He asked the cadets to seek inspiration from the glorious example of Netaji.
The Prime Minister exhorted the cadets to go vocal-for-local. He mentioned the makeover of Khadi as a trendy brand among youth and emphasis on local fashion, weddings, festivals and other areas. He said self-confident youth is important for self-reliant India. For this the government is working in the field of fitness, education and skill. New momentum can be seen in this regard from Atal Tinkering labs, to modern education institutes to skill India and Mudra schemes.
The Prime Minister said Fitness and sports are being given unprecedented push through Fit-India and Khelo India movements including special programs in NCC. The Prime Minister also informed that the New National Education Policy is making the entire system student-centric by bringing in flexibility to choose subjects as per needs and interest. Country will progress as the youth will take advantage of the opportunities provided by the reforms, said the Prime Minister.
