'Atmanirbhar Bharat' pervades every sphere of life, from cricket field to COVID fight: PM

Invoking the young Indian cricketteam's remarkable victory in Australia and the country's fightagainst COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Fridaythe spirit of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' pervades all spheres andhas become a part of everyday lives of people.

Modi said the fight against COVID-19 made the sloganof 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' not only a part of popular vocubularybut also encapsulated the nation's dreams, hopes, itsmotivation and determination to deal with the crisis.

A change of approach and perspective to meet everychallenge differently and with determination became visible,he said.

''This change was also visible on the cricket fieldwhen the Indian team lost disastrously but fought back withconfidence and determination in the next match to beat a muchmore experienced Australian team.

''The players turned adversity into opportunity,creating history with their talent and temperament. Theirperformance is important not only in the history of sports butalso gave us three life lessons. The first being trust andself-confidence, then the need for a positive mindset, andfinally, the will to explore if there is a possibility ofvictory and go for it,'' he said.

The prime minister was addressing the 18th convocationof Tezpur University.

''We should learn to take risks and overcome fear offailure,'' Modi said.

Speaking about India's fight against the pandemic, theprime minister said there was a lot of scepticism about howsuch a large country will tackle it.

''Our COVID-19 management showed where there isresolve and resilience, resources come naturally. And todaythe world's largest vaccination programme is under way inIndia,'' he said.

The prime minister said despite the initialchallenges, the country fought against the coronavirus with'Made in India' solutions. It minimised the impact of thevirus, improved health infrastructure and now two vaccinesmanufactured in the country will provide a shield against thedisease to its people and those across the world, he said.

The development of digital infrastructure madepossible online transfer of relief funds to the poor duringthe lockdown, Modi said.

''Today, India does not hesitate in facing challenges.

We launched the world's biggest schemes for financialinclusion, for building toilets, providing houses to the poor,safe drinking water. Now the world's largest vaccination driveis also taking place in India,'' he asserted.

He urged the student community to innovate and bringabout change as new technology has opened up freshpossibilities in every sector with banks operating withoutbranches, cloud kitchens coming up , and products being soldwithout showrooms.

Modi said the students of Tezpur University must takeadvantage of the numerous opportunities before them as aresult of the government's initiatives for improvingconnectivity, education and health care.

Tezpur University's unique identity is its InnovationCentre, and the grassroots innovations by its researchers arean example of 'vocal for local' because they help resolvelocal problems and open up new areas of development, he said.

The prime minister cited an initiative of theuniversity's Department of Chemical Science which developed alow-cost technology to purify water which was being replicatedin many states.

He also spoke about research for conservation of NorthEast's biodiversity, documenting the rich heritage ofdifferent communities, preservation of the rare wood art atthe birthplace of Vaishnav saint Srimanta Sankardeva atBordowa and digitisation of historical records.

The prime minister recalled the history of Tezpursince the mythological ages to the modern times as thecultural capital of the state where Assam's icons like BhupenHazarika, Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla and Bishnu Prasad Rabha wereborn and spent a considerable part of their lives.

He asked the students to draw inspiration from theirworks to create a self-reliant India and the world where theycan make tangible changes to the lives of the futuregenerations.

''The country is about to enter the 75th year of itsIndependence for which many sacrificed their lives. It's nowyour turn to build the future of those who will be studentslike you in the next 25 years when the nation enters its 100thyear of Independence,'' he said.

It is the duty of today's students to transform andensure that future universities are globally linked, and forthis a new regulatory framework is necessary.

The New Education Policy is a step in that direction,he said, underscoring the need for greater use of technologyand importance of multi-disciplinary education.

''After you complete your formal education, work notonly for your own future but also of the state and thenation,'' he said.