Today, India is being identified as a startup hub capital, and Bengaluru has played a major role in cultivating this image, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi, who inaugurated the 108-ft tall bronze statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda (architect of Bengaluru) at the Bengaluru international airport complex on Friday, said startup is not just about building a company, but an emotion to do something new, and come up with out-of-the-box ideas.
It is the confidence to find a solution to every challenge faced by the country, he said, adding that Bengaluru represents this startup spirit that has positioned India in a distinct league globally.
“The statue of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda will inspire us to dedicate ourselves to work for the betterment of Karnataka and Bengaluru. Our effort is to develop Bengaluru the way it was envisioned by Nadaprabhu Kempegowda. His nuanced planning of this settlement (city) is both wonderful and unparalleled. Centuries back, Kempegowda had planned for commerce, culture and convenience of Bengalureans. The city is benefiting from his farsightedness. Today, the trade and business might have changed its form, but the ‘pete’ (old markets) continues to be the commercial lifeline of the city,” the PM said.
Modi recalled his August 15 speech on the need to take pride in the country’s legacy and said the Indian legacy was both cultural and spiritual.
“Kempegowda contributed to keeping Bengaluru’s cultural consciousness awake through Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple and the temples in Basavanagudi. The people of Bengaluru will remain indebted to Kempegowda for building the marvelous city. Bengaluru is a global city and we need to preserve our legacy even as we upgrade it with modern infrastructure, and it is possible only with each one of our efforts,” said Modi, who also flagged off South India’s first Vande Bharat train and inaugurated a garden-themed world-class new terminal (T2) at the internal airport.
“Today, our Gaurav Rail connects places which are symbolic of our faith and spirituality and this also strengthens the sentiment of ‘Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat’ (United India, Best India). The nine yatra trains connect different parts of the country to Shirdi Mandir, and Ramayana circuit among others,” he said.
Elaborating on the transformation of India, Modi said the world was surprised to hear about India’s digital payment happening through the BHIM-UPI platform.
“Could we have imagined Make in India or 5G technology eight years ago? The youth and professionals of Bengaluru have contributed in a big way for this transformation. Prior to 2014, the governments considered speed as a luxury and scale as a risk. But we (BJP government) changed that perception as we believe that speed is the aspiration of new India and scale is India’s strength. India is operating on a different level, be it governance, physical or digital infrastructure development,” said Modi.
Drawing attention to the investments flowing into Karnataka, the prime minister said the state was benefiting from the increased investor confidence in India.
“During the last three years, when the world was impacted by Covid, Karnataka was attracting investments worth Rs 4 lakh crore and was first in attracting FDI. These investments were not limited to IT sector, but also BT, and defence manufacturing among others. Karnataka holds 25 per cent of shares in aircraft and spacecraft manufacturing in the country and is leading in electric vehicle manufacturing too,” said Modi, adding that Karnataka’s strides in development was because it was being governed by a “double-engine” government.
The prime minister, who had earlier paid floral tributes to the statues of saint Kanaka Dasa and sage Valmiki in the state secretariat complex, on the occasion of Kanaka Dasa Jayanti, said, “We can draw inspiration to unite the society through devotion and social power from saint Kanakadasa. The saint who chose the path of ‘Krishna Bhakti’ (devotion to Lord Krishna) also gave a message against caste-based discrimination through his composition - “Kula, kula, kulavendu, hodedaada bedi....(don’t fight over one’s caste). Today, millets are being discussed. But Saint Kanakadasa had highlighted the importance of millets by calling it “Ram dhaanya charite” and one of his compositions was based on 'Ragi' a popular millet in Karnataka, to give the message of social equality.”
Adichunchungiri Mutt pontiff Dr Nirmalananda Natha Swamiji said both Kempegowda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had understood the importance of human resources for the development of a country.
“Like Kempegowda, our PM realised the importance of skill development, reskilling and upskilling were crucial to prosper as a country. As Plato stated that philosopher kings should be rulers, both Kempegowda and Modi understood that along with ‘gyan’ (knowledge) one had to have ‘karma gyan’ (skills) for any country to develop,” said the Vokkaliga seer, expressing gratitude to Modi on behalf of the people of Karnataka and the community.
