PM says don't let tech to narrow you and your thought process

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned children not to allow technology to narrow them and their thought process.

Replying to a parent Madhumita Sengupta's query on gaming addiction and dependence on technology at the Pariksha Pe Charcha, the PM urged the youngsters gathered in Talkatora Stadium to realise that technology was a double-edged weapon.

Acknowledging that this was an enormous problem for harried parents, Mr Modi said, "This is a problem and a challenge. We want our children to stay away from technology but it would mean going backwards.

He suggested that parents should encourage their children towards technology and discuss about tech advancements but not allow ''Playstation to gain at the expense of playgrounds''.

The PM was replying to a host of questions from children and parents from all over the country.

He told the delighted children that often parents put pressure on their offsprings to fulfill their own thwarted ambitions through them and warned the latter not to ''make their report cards into their visiting cards.''

On his own preparations for his 'examination' in 2019, he said, ''Results and marks are by-products of exams, one must concentrate on giving their best. I follow a similar approach in politics, I only look at giving everything I have to my fellow Indians. If you think too much about results, it comes in the way of achieving other things. Elections come and go, they are like by-products. I wish you all the best for your board exams, for my board exams I have the wishes of 125 crore Indians with me," he told the enrapt audience.

He prefaced his comments by saying he was not here to give ''any lecture to anyone... I am here to live the moment like you all do.''

Mr Modi held the interactive session with nearly 3, 000 students last year. This is the first time, students from all over India and abroad are attending the programme.

Earlier, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said Mr Modi was among the very few PMs to address the issue of exam stress.