Combination of wisdom, prosperity key to India's progress: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday emphasized that the combination of wisdom (saraswati) and prosperity (lakshmi) is the key to India's progress.

Speaking after the presentation of the 50th Jnanpeeth Award to Prof. Bhalchandra Nemade, Prime Minister Modi said creative writing has the capacity to touch lives of several generations.

He reiterated that solutions to the problems of global warming and climate change, which the world is debating today, can be found in the vedas.

Praising the writing of Prof. Nemade, the Prime Minister compared his views with those of Shri Aurobindo. He said the works of Prof. Nemade will inspire several generations.

The Prime Minister emphasized that literature is extremely important in the current age of technology.

Prime Minister Modi regretted the declining interest in books and reading. He said the people must ensure a special place for books in their homes.

"I also have a concern. Sometimes books are written, but they are not sold enough. A publisher can think of papers, but an author thinks of an era," he added.

He recalled the "Vaanche Gujarat" (Read Gujarat) initiative that he had launched when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

"As the Chief Minister, I had initiated 'Vaanche Gujarat' to create an environment for people to read and enjoy reading," he said.