In his video address on the celebration of International Yoga Day, Indian PM Narendra Modi said that India needs to present the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ (One India, Best India) as an example to the world.
Modi emphasised that Indians should eliminate their contradictions, blockages and resistances through yoga.
Sharing my message on International Day of Yoga. https://t.co/4tGLQ7Jolo
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2023
Modi to Lead Global Yoga Day Celebration at UN
While the Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, led the national celebration from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, the Indian PM will lead the global celebration of the 9th International Day of Yoga at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday evening.
In his address, Modi recalled that, in 2014, when the UN General Assembly proposed Yoga Day, a record number of countries supported it. The PM remarked, “The coming together of more than 180 countries on India’s call is historic and unprecedented.”
Modi said that the ‘Ocean Ring of Yoga’ made this year’s Yoga Day events even more special as it is based on the mutual relation between the idea of yoga and the expanse of the ocean. Under this initiative, yoga will be performed at Indian naval bases, ports and marine vessels in 34 countries.
The PM also appreciated the army’s Yoga Bharatmala (Necklace of India) and Yoga Sagarmala (Necklace of the Sea) initiatives. “The fact that millions of people from all over the world have joined this unique celebration of yoga in such a spontaneous manner highlights the importance of the spread and fame of yoga,” he asserted.
PM Modi also underscored that researchers at India’s research stations in the Arctic and Antarctica were participating in the celebrations this year.
Great conversation with @NarendraModi https://t.co/UYpRvNywHb
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
Modi Receives Rousing Welcome, Meets CEOs, Intellectuals
The Indian PM is in the US as part of his two-nation tour to the US and Egypt. He was received by hundreds of people upon his arrival in New York.
On the first day of his US visit, the Indian PM met renowned business tycoon and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and invited him to explore opportunities in India in electric mobility and commercial space. “It was excellent and a very good conversation. I am planning to visit India next year,” Elon Musk told PTI after meeting PM Modi. Musk also mentioned plans to bring Tesla to India soon.
Modi also met American investor Ray Dalio and invited him to further invest in India, and economist and Nobel laureate Prof Paul Romer, with whom he discussed the use of Aadhar, Digilocker, and several Indian initiatives for urban development.
Further, the PM talked about various developmental and geopolitical issues with several think tank leaders. He also met leading US health experts and discussed the use of technology for better healthcare.
While interacting with eminent US academics, Modi discussed the possibilities of enhancing research collaborations and two-way academic exchanges under India’s New Education Policy.
Additionally, Modi met with celebrated US astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, distinguished mathematical statistician Prof. Nicholas Taleb, and Indian-American singer Falguni Shah on the first leg of his tour.