New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met a delegation of leading Sikh intellectual voices from across the country at his official residence here.
The meeting witnessed freewheeling interaction by the Prime Minister with the delegation on diverse topics like farmer welfare, youth empowerment, drug free society, National Educational Policy, skilling, employment, technology and Punjab's overall development trajectory.
The Prime Minister, while expressing his happiness at meeting the delegation, said the intellectuals are opinion makers of the society.
Urging the members of the delegation to engage and educate the public and work towards making the citizenry properly informed, he emphasised the importance of the spirit of unity which acts as the central pillar amidst the wide and beautiful diversity of our country.
The Prime Minister talked about the significance of education in mother tongue.
"Efforts are being made to develop professional courses in Indian languages so that higher education in mother tongue becomes reality," the Prime Minister said.
It is learnt that the delegation thanked the Prime Minister for the invitation and said that they had never imagined that the Prime Minister of the country would engage with them in such an informal setting.
They also appreciated the continuous and multiple steps taken by the Prime Minister for the betterment of Sikh community.
Incessant rains last week coupled with huge volumes of water from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) have led to flood-like situation in seven districts of West Bengal, leaving at least 8 dead and displacing over 3 lakh people from their homes in the last four days.
The government is implementing market information system where the prices of vegetables are collected through Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis and disseminated for its use by the farmers through Agmarknet portal, mobile applications etc. for better price realisation, he said.
Seeking to woo voters ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday announced providing free electricity up to 400 units per month to all households and waiting outstanding power dues of residential bills of 'blue' card holders.
Two Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officers lost their lives during rescue and relief operations in Himachal Pradesh, which is witnessing flash floods and landslides due to heavy rainfall.
In recorded telephonic calls to journalists, the caller identified himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and said, We will not allow Jai Ram Thakur to hoist the Indian tricolour. Himachal Pradesh was part of Punjab and we are seeking a referendum in Punjab.
