Visibly pleased with Indian women breaking the glass ceiling in all spheres, the Prime Minister applauded their contributions in his Mann Ki Baat address today.

Recalling that this month on March 8 the International Women’s Day was observed, women have excelled themselves in the field of sports securing medals and breaking records.

The PM drew attention of his listeners to the new record set by renowned Indian woman cricketer Mithali Raj. She became the first Indian woman cricket player to make 10,000 runs in international cricket across all formats. Raj, the 38-year-old right-handed batsman, has scored 7,098 runs in ODIs while in the T20Is, she has 2,364 runs to her name and 663 runs from 10 Test matches. This month, she also achieved another landmark of being the only international woman player to score 7,000 runs in one day internationals.

Mithali Raj (Pic: Courtesy Twitter / @DrTamilisaiGuv)

“Her contribution in the field of women’s cricket is fabulous. Mitali Raj Ji has inspired millions during her more than two decades long career. The story of her perseverance and success is an inspiration not just for women cricketers but for men cricketers too,” observed the PM.

Continuing in the same he talked about the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup at New Delhi.  “India bagged the top position during the ISSF World Cup and also topped the gold medals tally. This was possible because of the fabulous display by Indian women and men shooters,” he said. On Saturday, India’s tally was 13 golds, eight silver and six bronze, with the US in distant second with three golds and silver and one bronze.

The Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju presenting medals to Chinki Yadav (gold), Rahi Sarnobat (silver) and Manu Bhaker (bronze) winners of 25m Pistol final at the ISSF Shooting World Cup (Pic: Courtesy PIB)
Mentioning about ace badminton player P.V. Sindhu winning the silver medal in the BWF Swiss Open Super 300 Tournament, the PM remarked, ”Today, from education to entrepreneurship, armed forces to science and technology, the country’s daughters are making a distinct mark everywhere.” Stressing on their contribution in sports, he added, “they are making a new place for themselves in sports. Sports is coming up as a preferred choice in professional choices.”

Moving from sports to environment, the PM made reference to the World Sparrow Day celebrated on March 20. He said while everyone talks about when they cited the last sparrow what is required is to make efforts to save them. Drawing attention to individual efforts of people to provide nests for the birds, he said “this has led to creating a wonderful natural environment in the houses. I would like that for nature, environment, animals, birds or for whomsoever, small or big efforts should be made by us.” He also delved on individual efforts of many in raising mangrove forests and micro-forests. Calling for collective action, he said, “In endeavours of these kinds, if we involve the society, great results accrue.”

Also read: World Sparrow Day 2021: Who will love a little sparrow?

Talking about saving the ecology, the PM also expressed his joy at the efforts being made to convert waste into value! Citing how college students are converting old clothes, discarded wooden pieces, bags and boxes to make reusable toys, which are safe and child friendly, he said, “such ingenious experiments mean a lot”.

While on the issue of the environment, the PM also talked about modernisation, especially in agriculture. “Adopting new alternatives, new innovations, along with traditional farming, are equally important to create new opportunities for employment in the agriculture sector; to increase the income of farmers.” Referring to the white revolution, the said bee farming can be a similar alternative.

Bee farming (Pic: Courtesy IANS)

While highlighting the importance of beekeeping, the PM said, “Bee farming does not lead to income solely from honey, but bee wax is also a very big source of income. There is demand for bee wax in pharmaceutical, food, textile and cosmetic industries. The country currently imports bee wax, but, our farmers are now rapidly transforming this situation, contributing in the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign.”