Modi interacts with youths working for rural development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with over 230 youths who have been working in rural areas under the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows (PMRDF), and said people's participation was a common theme in programmes for change in rural areas.

A PMO release said 11 participants presented brief accounts of their work in remote, rural, tribal and areas affected by Left-wing extremism.

Their accounts focussed on themes such as women empowerment, maternal and infant healthcare, education, nutrition, livelihood, Swachh Bharat, Ek Bharat - Shreshtha Bharat and people's participation in governance.

Mnay participants also shared their thoughts on themes such as development of the northeast, rural education, tribal development, organic farming, and welfare of the disabled.

Modi recalled a letter he had written to all the fellows, seeking their responses on the "Narendra Modi App".

"He appreciated the extensive responses that he had received from the fellows, and especially emphasised that there was not a single complaint among the responses," the PMO release said.

Modi appreciated the participants for working with dedication in rural and backward areas of the country, often withstanding peer and family pressures.

"The prime minister said that people's participation emerges as a common theme among the presentations given today, as well as from the responses which he has received. He stressed that this can be the most important aspect of bringing about change," the release added.