Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, interacted with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) awardees at his residence 7 Lok Kalyan Marg today.

The Prime Minister presented souvenirs to all the awardees and discussed their achievements on a one-to-one basis, which was followed by interaction with the entire group.

He engaged in an open-heart interaction in an informal setting. The children asked him various questions about the challenges they face and sought his guidance on a variety of topics. He suggested that the awardees start by solving small problems, gradually build capacity, enhance capability and develop confidence to solve bigger problems as they go ahead in life.

Discussing the issue of mental health and problems faced by children, he talked about tackling stigma around the issue and the important role of family in tackling such issues. Several other topics were also taken up by the prime minister during the interaction, including the benefits of playing Chess, taking up art and culture as a career, research and innovation, spirituality, among others.

The government of India has been conferring the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar to children for their exceptional achievements in six categories namely Innovation, Social Service, Scholastic, Sports, Art & Culture and Bravery.

Each awardee is given a medal, a cash prize of Rs 1 Lakh and certificate. This year, 11 children from across the country, under different categories of Bal Shakti Puraskar, were selected for the PMRBP-2023.

The awardees, belonging to 11 states and Union Territories (UTs) include six boys and five girls, namely: Aadithya Suresh, M. Gauravi Reddy, Shreya Bhattacharjee, Sambhab Mishra, Rohan Ramchandra Bahir, Aditya Pratap Singh Chauhan, Rishi Shiv Prasanna, Anoushka Jolly, Hanaya Nisar, Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi and Shauryajit Ranjitkumar Khaire.

Yesterday, on the Prakaram Diwas, the Prime Minister interacted with youngsters selected under the ‘Know Your Leader’ programme to participate in the ceremony to honour Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the Central Hall of Parliament.This interaction also took place at his residence.

The prime minister engaged in a candid and free-wheeling interaction with the youngsters. He discussed various facets of the life of Netaji and what can be learnt from his life. He suggested that the children should try to read biographies of historic personalities to learn the kind of challenges they faced in their lives and how they were able to overcome these challenges.

The youngsters shared their excitement on getting the unique opportunity to meet the Prime Minister of the country and to sit in the Central Hall of Parliament. They added that the programme has also given them an understanding of what unity in diversity is, by coming across so many individuals from all corners of the country.

In a departure from the past practice wherein only dignitaries were invited to pay floral tributes to national icons in Parliament, the 80 youngsters were selected from across the country to participate in the floral tribute function in Parliament in honour of Netaji.

The children were selected under the ‘Know Your Leader’ programme, which has been launched to use the floral tribute functions taking place in Parliament as an effective medium for spreading more knowledge and awareness about the lives and contributions of the towering national icons among the youth of the country.