Modi crossing 100 million followers on X proud moment for India: Jitendra Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi crossing 100 million followers on his X handle is a proud moment for the country, and he has emerged as a global statesman, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday

Singh was speaking to reporters after addressing the inaugural session of the orientation programme for a fresh batch of MBA students at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at its Jagti campus in Jammu.

Asked about Modi crossing the 100-million mark on X the previous day, the minister of state in the prime minister's office (PMO) said everyone is proud of the milestone.

"The kind of popularity he (Modi) enjoys across the world as the longest-serving head of state, most of the other heads of state in other parts in fact look up to him for his advice… he has emerged as a global leader, a global statement, a global counsellor to the galaxy of other heads of state across the world," he said.

Earlier addressing the students, Singh called upon them to gear up in order to take the leadership role of India 2047. "Youth will be the architects of a developed India when it completes the centenary of its Independence in 2047," he said, adding the government is making "tireless efforts" to equip its younger generation with new skills and training and world-class education to mould them into architects of a developed India.

"National Education Policy 2020 brought by the prime minister will contribute to this goal," he said.

The Union minister said start-ups require strong industry management linkage for their sustainability and institutions like IIM have an important role to play in it. Singh said most of the successful start-up stories have been possible due to strong industry linkages.

"For example, in Aroma mission, the government became an enabler by ensuring capacity building of those engaged in agri start-ups in lavender and facilitating the market access to spur sale of Himalayan products like lavender-made perfumes and other products," he explained.

The minister said tapping the Himalayan bio-resources and unexplored minerals along coastal areas can make great value addition to India's economy and boost atma-nirbharta (self-dependence). "India's coastal states and Himalayan states and UTs like J&K have a lot to offer to the country's future economy," he said.

Talking about the aspirational generation, the minister said better things are happening under the leadership of Modi. "Start-ups are booming and, as a result, new opportunities are opening. Technology has been a great leveller so that everybody from every region has an opportunity," he said.

The minister said the youth must harness the technology which has created a level-playing field, for societal good while as earlier, the technology was a privilege of a few.

On IIM Jammu's progress, Singh said in just a few years of its establishment, it has risen to become one of the better ones among the new lot of such premiere institutions of higher learning in the country. "Beginning from infancy, when we were finding difficulty even to find faculty, it has come a long way in its small journey," he said.

He said the establishment of IIM Jammu is a significant step towards realising his dream of providing quality education and producing leaders who will drive the nation towards unprecedented growth and development to achieve the target of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047.

Singh advocated for forging collaboration and synergy among institutions for greater benefit to their students. "The age of working in silos is over. The era of collaboration is here," the minister declared, encouraging IIM Jammu, AIIMS Jammu, IIT Jammu and Central University of Jammu to enter into partnership by inking memorandums of understanding on research and development and artificial intelligence.