Man Ki Baat: PM Modi talks about e-waste, patents, democracy in India.

Drawing attention to the problem of mounting e-waste and the consequences it can have on biodiversity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there is a need to create awareness about the safe disposal of gadgets.

Addressing the 97th edition of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, his monthly radio programme, the PM said people have to be made aware of safe and useful methods of disposal of e-waste as it is estimated that only 15% to 17% of e-waste is recycled every year.

“Today’s latest devices are also e-waste of the future. When somebody buys a new device or changes an old device, it is important to know whether it is discarded in the right way,” he said in his monthly radio broadcast.

The PM said carefully discarding the e-waste can “not only save the environment but can also give a flip to the economy of recycling and reuse.”

He said that according to a United Nations (UN) report, nearly 50,000,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated every year. “Every second 800 laptops are thrown away. You will be surprised to know that almost 17 types of precious metals can be extracted from waste using different processes, including gold, silver, copper, and nickel,” the PM said.

“Therefore, recycling waste is no less than making gold from waste,” he said, adding there is no dearth of start-ups doing work in this direction.

The PM also drew attention to the need to conserve wetlands and said India has done commendable work in increasing the number of wetlands in the past eight years. He said India today has 75 wetlands up from 26 in 2014.

The PM praised the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, for filing numerous patents in its name in 2022. “This institution has 145 patents, which means every five days two patents are filed. This in itself is a wonderful record,” he said.

Speaking on Global Innovation Index and patents filing, the prime minister said, “For the first time in the last 11 years in India, the number of Domestic Patent Filing has been seen more than Foreign Filing. This also shows the growing scientific potential of India.”

The PM went on to say that India ranks seventh in patent filing and the last five years there has been an increase of nearly 50% in the global innovation index.

Speaking about the recently conferred civilian awards, the Padma awards, PM Modi said there has been great appreciation from across the country over the selection of candidates for the People’s Padma.

A sizeable number of Padma awardees this year were from tribal communities and people associated with tribal society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

“Tribal life is different from city life and has its own challenges. Despite all this, tribals are always eager to preserve their tradition,” he said.

He said people who have contributed towards bringing youth from Naxalism to the mainstream and enriched the world of music have also been felicitated.

The Prime Minister also referred to a book titled India- The Mother of Democracy, which illustrates how democratic principles were prevalent in ancient India. The book he said has many interesting essays.

“Democracy is in our veins, it is in our culture – it has been an integral part of our work for centuries. By nature, we are a ‘Democratic Society,” he said.

“As the Mother of Democracy, we should constantly think deeply about this topic, discuss it and also inform the world. This will further strengthen the spirit of democracy in the country,” the PM said.

The book was published by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and was released on 24 November 2022 by union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In this book, the democratic public conduct of India from ancient times to the present has been explained.

The PM further spoke about the focus on millets and their benefits. He said both the international day of yoga and the international year of millets were decided by the UN only after resolutions were initiated by India.

“Both yoga and millets are associated with good health and third and most importantly is that in both cases, people’s participation has brought in a new Revolution,” he said.

He also mentioned about purple fest that was held in Goa from January 6-8 and referred to it as a unique effort towards the welfare of differently-abled people.

“I believe such campaigns will help a lot in helping achieve a vision of accessible India,” he said.

Source- Hindustan Times.

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