Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the UN "Champions of the Earth Award'
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the "Champions of the Earth Award' by the United Nations, he has written a blog in several newspapers. "It is recognition of the Indian culture and values, which have always placed emphasis on living in harmony with Mother Nature," wrote PM Modi.
Calling it a "proud moment" for every Indian as the country plays an active role in taking steps on climate change, PM Modi said, "Today, human society stands at an important crossroads. The path that we take hereon will not only determine our well-being but also that of the generations who will inhabit our planet after us. The imbalances between our greed and necessities have led to grave ecological imbalances. We can either accept this, go ahead with things as if it is business as usual, or we can take corrective actions."
In his blog, PM Modi says, there is harmony in nature when "the Panch Tatvas - Prithvi (Earth), Vayu (Air), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire), Akash (Sky)" and our daily lives are in sync.
Bringing a positive change in our environment depends on three things - the first is "internal consciousness. For that, there is no better place to look than our glorious past," says PM Modi. The second is public awareness. "We need to talk, write, debate, discuss and deliberate as much as possible on questions relating to the environment." And the third is "call for climate justice", which has also reverberated from India."
The Prime Minister spoke about the high profile central government schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission or the massive cleanliness drive, clean energy mission or the Ujjwala Yojana, Namami Gange Mission or cleaning the Ganga River, Smart Cities Mission and Green Skill Development Programme aimed at "skilling about seven million youth in environment, forestry, wildlife and climate change sectors by 2021."
PM Modi signed off his blog saying, "I would like to compliment all those individuals and organisations who are working assiduously in this direction... Together, we will create a clean environment that will be the cornerstone of human empowerment!"