Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for changing the mindset of VIP culture in the country and asserted the need to replace it with EPI — Every Person is Important, culture. The Prime Minister said his Government’s concept of ‘New India’ is that instead of ‘VIP’, more importance should be given to the ‘EPI’ culture.
In his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Modi talked about his Government’s decision to end the ‘beacon’ culture from May 1, saying it had become a symbol of VIP culture which had impacted the mindset of those using it. “All the 125 crore people of the country have equal value and importance. Generally, there is an atmosphere of hatred for the VIP culture in the country. How deep it is, I realised only recently when the Government decided that howsoever high-profile a person may be, he cannot move around in a vehicle using the red beacon,” Modi said.
He was referring to the Union Cabinet decision of April 19 to ban the use of beacons from May 1. The ban will apply to all Government vehicles, including those used by the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, Central and State Ministers and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
“It (use of red beacon) had become sort of a symbol of VIP culture. Experience shows that though the red beacon would be used atop a vehicle, gradually the VIP culture would go to the head of those using it and it would lead to a mindset of VIP culture,” the Prime Minister said.
“Although the laal batti is gone now, nobody can claim that because of this, the VIP culture which has gone into the mindset would also be gone,” Modi said.
He said getting rid of red beacon was an administrative decision but efforts have to be made to remove the VIP culture from the mindset also. “If we all make concerted efforts jointly, this also can go (from the mindset),” he added.
“When I say EPI should replace VIP, the meaning is clear that Every Person is Important. Every person has value and importance. If we recognise the importance of 125 crore citizens of the country, imagine the big strength that the country will have in fulfilling the grand dreams. We all have to do it together,” he said.
As part of his push for digital payments, Modi asked the youth to capitalise on a scheme that entails cash rewards for those encouraging others to use the Government’s Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
App for transactions. He said the scheme is valid till October 14 and the youngsters can benefit monetarily from this.
Under the scheme, a person can earn Rs 10 every time he or she introduces BHIM to another person and that person undertakes three digital transactions. “If you make 20 people to do it in a day, you can earn Rs 200 that day,” the Prime Minister said, adding it will contribute to the efforts towards ‘Digital India’.
In his radio programme, Modi also emphasised the relevance of the teachings of lord Buddha in the present day world which is “going through problems like violence, wars, destruction and arms race.”
He spoke about his upcoming visit to Sri lanka to attend the UN-sponsored ‘Vesak Day’, a Buddhist festival, next month.
He also asked the students to utilise the upcoming summer vacations for learning new skills and even go for “out-of- the-box” things like taking lessons in autorickshaw driving, picking up some words from other Indian languages and finding about other places which they may intend to visit.
The Prime Minister, who advocated against wastage of food in his last ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, said he had received a number of ideas on how to save food. He also mentioned about the climate change problem and the increasing duration of summer. Modi spoke about saving the birds and animals from this heat by adopting a humane approach.