Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented the first National Creators Awards at Bharat Mandapam and told content creators he would meet them at the next year’s awards ceremony also. “This is not Modi’s guarantee, but the guarantee of 140 crore citizens of India,” he said, confident of his government’s third term in office.

Addressing a gathering, Mr Modi asked the content creators to create awareness among the youth and first-time voters in the country, instilling in them a feeling that voting is not done to declare winners and losers in an election, but to become a part of the decision-making process that crafts the future of such a massive country.

The Prime Minister said that even though many nations became prosperous in different ways, they eventually opted for democracy. “India has taken the resolve to become a developed nation by taking pride in its hundred per cent democracy,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi said engagement grows with the combination of content with creativity, the combination of content with digital brings transformation, and the combination of content with purpose brings impact.

He urged the content creators to inspire people through their content and suggested a subject that he raised from the Red Fort on disrespecting women every now and then. The content creators can also influence parents to show a spirit of equality while raising boys and girls.

The Prime Minister said the content creators can showcase the capabilities of Nari Shakti of India and suggested ideas of a mother conducting her daily tasks and women from rural and tribal areas engaging in economic activity. “Content creation can help in rectifying incorrect perceptions,” the Prime Minister said.

He said he could foresee the National Creators Awards to become a source of inspiration for content creators and bring recognition to their work in future. He congratulated the award winners and said they had actively participated in the contests on a short notice. “The association of more than two lakh creative minds for the event shows the nation’s identity itself,” he said.

Underlining that the Swachh Bharat campaign is a never-ending endeavour, the Prime Minister mentioned a recent video of a tiger picking up a plastic bottle and urged the content creators to continue their work.

He suggested creating more awareness on serious issues of mental health and stress among children and focusing on content creation in local languages. The Prime Minister praised a short movie on the issue that he watched around 15 years ago.

The Prime Minister touched upon the Pariksha Pe Charcha programme where he gets a chance to connect with children to hear them out before examinations. Mr Modi recommended creating content that highlights the negative effects of drugs on the youth and said, “We must say — Drugs are not cool,” he added.

Throwing light on India’s growing influence in the world, the Prime Minister spoke about the power of the Tricolour that was witnessed during the evacuation of students from Ukraine. Even though the atmosphere and feeling of the world towards India has changed, the Prime Minister stressed giving more emphasis on transforming the country’s image.

He recalled his interaction with a computer engineer working as an interpreter for the government of the invitee nation during one of his foreign visits who asked him about India being the land of snake charmers and witchcraft.

The Prime Minister exhorted, “Come, let us start a Create on India Movement. Let us share India’s stories, culture, heritage and traditions with the whole world. Let us Create on India and Create for the World.”

He urged the creativity award winners to engage the global audience to create content that not only makes for maximum likes for the creator but also the country. There is curiosity in the world about India, the Prime Minister said and urged content creators to develop work in UN languages such as German, French, Spanish etc to amplify their reach.