New Delhi, December 31: Asserting that India is brimming with self-confidence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country is imbued with the spirit of 'Viksit Bharat' and self-reliance, and urged people to maintain the momentum in 2024 as well. In the 108th episode of Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Prime Minister Modi also emphasised on physical and mental health and highlighted several unique efforts for 'Fit India'.

During the broadcast, Isha Foundation head Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, chess legend Vishwanathan Anand and actor Akshay Kumar shared their fitness tips. Mann Ki Baat: PM Narendra Modi’s Monthly Radio Programme More Popular Than ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’ Soaps of 1980s, Says Tripura CM Manik Saha.

In his remarks, Modi said, "Today, every corner of India is brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of a developed India; the spirit of self-reliance. We have to maintain the same spirit and momentum in 2024 as well." Noting that 2024 was just hours away, Modi said India's achievements are the achievements of every Indian and "we have to continuously work for the development of India keeping in mind the Panch Pran".

"Whatever work we do, whatever decision we make, our first criterion should be what will the country get from it; what benefits it will bring to the country. 'Rashtra Pratham' - Nation First - there is no greater mantra than this," he asserted.

"Adhering to this mantra, we Indians will make our country developed and self-reliant. May you all reach new heights of success in 2024, may you all stay healthy, stay fit, stay immensely happy - this is my prayer. In 2024, we will once again discuss the new achievements of the people of the country," Modi said. During the broadcast, the prime minister listed several achievements and highs the country experienced in various spheres this year. He pointed out that the record business on Diwali proved that every Indian is giving importance to the mantra of 'vocal for local'. Mann Ki Baat: PM Narendra Modi Hails India’s Twin Oscar Wins in 2023 on His Monthly Radio Programme.

"Even today many people are sending me messages pertaining to the success of Chandrayaan-3. I am sure that, like me, you too feel proud of our scientists and especially women scientists," he said. "When 'Natu-Natu' won the Oscar, the whole country rejoiced with fervour. Who would not have been happy to hear about the honour accorded to the 'The Elephant Whisperers'? Through them the world saw the creativity of India and understood our bonding with the environment," Modi said.

He pointed out that this year Indian athletes also performed marvellously in sports with Indian players winning 107 medals in Asian Games and 111 medals in Asian Para Games. "Indian players won everyone's heart with their performance in the Cricket World Cup. The victory of our women's cricket team in the Under-19 T-20 World Cup is very inspiring. The achievements of players in many other sports added to the glory of the country," Modi said.

Now Paris Olympics will be held in 2024, for which the whole country is encouraging its players, he added. "Whenever we made efforts together, it has had a very positive impact on the development journey of our country. "We experienced successful campaigns such as 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' and 'Meri Mati Mera Desh'. We are all witness to the participation of crores of people in them. Construction of 70,000 'Amrit Sarovars' is also our collective achievement," he said.

Modi said he has always believed that the development of a country, which does not give importance to innovation, stops. "India becoming an innovation hub is a symbol of the fact that we are not going to stop. In 2015, we were ranked 81st in the Global Innovation Index, today our rank is 40th," he pointed out.

Modi also underlined that this year, the number of patents filed in India was high, of which about 60 per cent were from domestic funds. This time the highest number of Indian universities had been included in the QS Asia University Rankings, he said.

"If we start making a list of these achievements, it can never be completed. This is just a glimpse of how effective India's potential is, we have to take inspiration from these successes of the country; these achievements of the people of the country; take pride in them, make new resolves," Modi said. He stressed that when India turns developed, the youth will benefit the most.

"But the youth will benefit more when they are fit," he said. "Nowadays we see how much talk there is about lifestyle-related diseases, it is a matter of great concern for all of us, especially the youth. For this 'Mann Ki Baat', I had requested all of you to send inputs related to Fit India. The response you people have given has filled me with enthusiasm," the prime minister said.

A large number of startups have also sent suggestions on NaMo app and have discussed many of their unique efforts, Modi noted. Through India's efforts, 2023 was celebrated as the International Year of Millets, he said, adding that this has given a lot of opportunities to the startups working in this field.

Modi also talked about at length the importance of physical and mental health. "I am very happy to know that Mumbai-based startups like Infi-Heal and YOUR-Dost are working to improve mental health and wellbeing. Not only that, today a technology like Artificial Intelligence is also being used for this," he said. He urged listeners to heed the advice and experiences of well-known people who then talked about physical and mental health during the broadcast.

While Sadhguru stated that working for an internal mental health situation or working for an equanimous chemistry within ourselves, a chemistry of peacefulness, joyfulness, and blissfulness is something that has to be brought into every individual's life and into the cultural life of a society and nations around the world, cricketer Kaur emphasised that regular exercise and full sleep of seven hours is very important for the body and helps in staying fit.

Chess grandmaster Anand said his fitness tip to all 'Mann Ki Baat' listeners would be to keep calm and focus on the task ahead. "The best fitness tip for me, absolutely the most important fitness tip, is to get a good night's sleep. I think seven or eight hours is an absolute minimum so we should try as hard as possible to get a good night's sleep because that is when the next day you are able to get through the day in calm fashion," he said.

Actor Akshay Kumar advised listeners to avoid shortcuts for long-lasting fitness. "You should change your lifestyle on the advice of doctors and not by looking at the body of a film star. Actors are often not what they look like on screen. Many types of filters and special effects are used and after seeing them, we start using wrong shortcuts to change our body. "Nowadays, so many people take steroids and go for this six-pack or eight-pack," he said

With such shortcuts the body swells from the outside but remains hollow from the inside, Kumar asserted. "In this New Year, promise yourself: no chemicals, no shortcut. Exercise, yoga, good food, sleeping on time, some meditation and most importantly, happily accept the way you look. After today, don't live a filter life, live a fitter life," the actor said.

In his remarks, Modi also recalled the contribution of Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar. He hailed Phule's role in the fields of education and social reform and lauded Nachiyar for fighting against foreign rule and taking on the British. During the broadcast, Modi also talked about the efforts of social worker Jagdish Trivedi. He said Trivedi's book "Social Audit of Social Service" is very unique.

"With accounts in it, this book is a kind of balance sheet. The complete account of how much income Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji received from particular programs in the last six years and where it was spent is given in the book," Modi said.