London: PM Modi arrived in the UK today. His official engagements began
with a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street.
The two leaders discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest,
including cross-border terrorism, visas and immigration.
PM Modi has started speaking with host Prasoon Joshi at '
Bharat Ki Baat Sabke Saath', a diaspora event in London. The event is currently being broadcast live.
The two leaders said trade between the UK and India had grown strongly over the last year and agreed to build on the recommendations of the UK-India joint trade review to reduce barriers to trade, to make it easier to do business in both countries and enable a stronger bilateral trade relationship for the future.
Both prime ministers discussed a new UK-India Tech Partnership, which will create thousands of jobs and generate significant investment in both our economies.
Here are the highlights of PM Modi's speech at the 'Bharat Ki Baat Sabke Saath' event:
Apr 19, 2018 00:15 (IST)
The diaspora event, 'Bharaat Ki Baat Sabke Saath' has now ended.
Apr 19, 2018 00:15 (IST)
"I always welcome criticism. People sometimes ask me why don't I speak up against them. But my job is not to shut the mouth of people who are criticising me, it's my job to think where I am going wrong," says PM Modi.
Apr 19, 2018 00:14 (IST)
"Modi was not born to get his name included in the pages of history. I just want to do my job and nothing more than that. I do not want to be immortalized in the pages of history," said PM Modi.
Apr 18, 2018 23:35 (IST)
"I believe some things are inbuilt and I am not saying this to praise myself. But when I was in Gujarat as a Chief Minister, people used to buy me luxurious things. I started auctioning those gifts and the money earned from that used to be donated for education of the girl child. More than Rs 100 crore was donated for the cause doing this," said PM Modi.
Apr 18, 2018 23:26 (IST)
Do you think people realise the amount of change that's taking place?
"If you remember what condition the country was in earlier, you'll be able to make the difference. When I had become the CM, I had to learn a lot. People used to tell me that the one thing they wanted was electricity while having their meals. Gujarat became the first state to have 24x7 electricity. This was then. If you look at what we were and where we are, I think people will realise that we have left no stone unturned in bettering the condition of the country," says PM Modi.
Apr 18, 2018 23:14 (IST)
PM Modi on rape
"Rape is rape ... How can we accept this?" PM Modi said, adding that people needed to ask more questions of the perpetrators, reported news agency Reuters.
"This is a matter of great concern for the country and these sinners are somebody's sons... The rape of a (daughter) is a matter of worry, a shame for the country," he added.
Apr 18, 2018 23:12 (IST)
How is the Modi model of governance different, an audience member asked PM
"When someone comes to power in government, they want to do something. But the governments in our country have made the people dependent on them. I think that concept works against us. Instead, empower the poor. Create an ecosystem where people are not scared to do something. If they fall somewhere, the government can help them get up," said PM Modi.
Apr 18, 2018 23:05 (IST)
Santosh Patil from Karnataka asked PM Modi on how Basaveshwara influenced him
One of the things I wanted to do in London was to pay homage to Bhagwan Basaveshwara: PM Modi.
"It is an unfortunate thing that after independence, there has been an effort to put an end to our culture and tradition. We do not know about our greatness. We talk about democratic values to people. Basaveshwara had called for this place where everyone used to come to discuss issues and come up with solutions. There was no question of caste or gender. Everyone was equal. He taught us what democracy is or what equality is. He had also said where there is stagnancy, there is an end. Where there is speed, there is growth," said PM Modi.
Apr 18, 2018 23:02 (IST)
"If people call it Modicare, so be it": PM Narendra Modi
"We are working with a holistic approach for the health sector at the same time we're working towards more cleanliness. Now if people call it Modicare so be it," he said.
Apr 18, 2018 22:57 (IST)
"There have been talks of Modicare in India. Will this lead to a major change?" Prasoon Joshi asks PM Modi
"There are three things I want: education for students, employment for youth and medicines for the aged," said PM Modi.
"If one person in a family falls ill, everyone suffers. So we have taken a holistic approach for medical care. It has 2 components. First, we want to create more than 2 lakh wellness centres in the country and second, to strengthen preventive health. We are also working on women and child healthcare. We have extended maternity leaves to 26 weeks," he added.
"The medicines that used to be available for Rs 100 earlier are now available for Rs 15," PM Modi added.
Apr 18, 2018 22:53 (IST)
"I believed that they (the people of India) were ready to make a small sacrifice for honesty, transparency," PM Modi on notes ban
"I had met the PM of Argentina who told me that when note bandi happened, me and my wife thought you were gone. The government was attacked on TV channels everywhere but I had faith in the people. I believed that they were ready to make a small sacrifice for honesty, transparency," said PM Modi.
Apr 18, 2018 22:51 (IST)
"I have turned co-operative federalism to competitive co-operative federalism": PM Modi
I have tried to turn cooperative federalism to competitive cooperative federalism for India: PM Modi
Apr 18, 2018 22:48 (IST)
"If there are a million problems, there are a billion solutions too": PM Modi
"I had never thought that i could change the country alone. But I believe that if there are million problems then there are billion solutions too," said PM Modi, referring to the Indian population.
Apr 18, 2018 22:44 (IST)
"I do not have an influential grandfather or grandmother, I come from nowhere," says PM
"There is no doubt in the country that I work hard. I do not have an influential grandfather or a grandmother. I come from nowhere and that is what i want to tell the people of the country. Even I am a simple man with the same kind of flaws that you have. I am just like you. I have a student inside me who tries to learn," PM Modi said.
Apr 18, 2018 22:41 (IST)
"There is a reason that I understand these issues and want to bring a change to uplift people. It's because I did not have to read a book to understand what poverty is. I have faced it myself," said the PM.
"A poor woman has to wait till the sun sets to go to the bathroom. Imagine the kind of pain she goes through. I had decided to change this and that has resulted in open-defecation free places," he said.
"Even today, 4 crore families in our country are living without electricity. I have made a decision to change this. I want to empower the poor for them to fight for the poor in order to destroy poverty," he added.
