Let's tell world about Indian culture, heritage

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged content creators on Friday to start a "create on India movement" and share stories on the country's culture, heritage and traditions with the world. "Let us create on India, create for the world," the prime minister said after he presented the first-ever National Creators' Awards at the Bharat Mandapam here.

Among those awarded were Pankhti Pandey, who got the award in the "Green Champion" category, Keerthika Govindasamy in the "Best Storyteller" segment, singer Maithili Thakur got the "Cultural Ambassador of the Year" award, Gaurav Chaudhary bagged the honour in the "Best Creator in Tech" category and Kamiya Jani was felicitated as the "Favourite Travel Creator".

"People ask me, what is the secret of my success? I do not give an answer to everyone.... Will a restaurant owner show you his kitchen? Iswar ki kripa hai, mai samay se pehle samay ko bhanp sakta hoon (By the god's grace, I can sense what is coming). That is why I can say that these awards will have an important place in the future," Modi said.

He hailed the content creators as the country's digital ambassadors and said they are also brand ambassadors of "Vocal for Local".

"Let us together start a create on India movement. Let us share stories related to India, India's culture, India's heritage and traditions with the whole world. Let us tell our stories to everyone. Let us create on India, create for the world," Modi told the gathering after presenting the awards. "Create such content that, along with you, the country gets more likes. We must engage with the global audience for it," he said.

Asserting that the world's curiosity towards India is increasing, the prime minister urged the content creators to develop work in UN languages, such as German, French, Spanish etc., to amplify their reach.

Noting that the Lok Sabha polls are round the corner, he said, “I give you the guarantee that on the next Shivratri, probably it could be on some other date, it will be me who will preside over such a programme.”

With the audience chanting “abki bar 400 paar,” the prime minister said it is not Modi’s guarantee but that of 140 crore Indians. He urged the content creators to create awareness among youngsters and first-time voters that polling is not carried out to declare winners and losers, but for people to become a part of the decision-making process that crafts the future of such a massive country. He noted that even though many countries became prosperous in different ways, they eventually opted for democracy. “India has taken the resolve to become a developed nation by taking pride in 100 per cent democracy,” Modi said.

The prime minister recalled his recent interaction with billionaire-philanthropist Bill Gates about artificial intelligence and informed the gathering about the cabinet’s approval for the India AI Mission.

Lauding youngsters and their talent, he touched upon the Semiconductor Mission and expressed confidence that India will lead the way, similar to the adoption of 5G technology. The prime minister wished women on International Women’s Day and urged the creators to increasingly make “nari shakti” a part of their content.