PMs new initiative to promote understanding among states

Chennai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday an¬nounced that the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bhara¬ti scheme will soon be launched which will bridge the cultural gap in the country and enhance interaction be¬tween people living in differ¬ent states.
“I have formed a small committee which is prepar¬ing its modalities,” he said addressing a gathering here to mark the National Integra¬tion Day on the birth anniver¬sary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He said the proposed scheme will be implemented in cooperation with states. Modi says peace and harmo¬ny is a must for India’s de¬velopment. The idea is that each year, one state should connect to any one state in India. Suppose Haryana as a state decides to connect with Tamil Nadu for year 2016, then students in Har¬yana schools will be taught at least 100 sen¬tences of Tamil language. They will be taught one song in Tamil. There can be food festival, tours of people of Haryana to Tamil Nadu and vice versa. In year 2017, Haryana would connect to any other state and in 2018 another state. This will bring understanding about India’s unity and diversity, the Prime Minister said.