Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India has moved from Trust Deficit to Trust Surplus and it was reflected in the citizens’ labour and the transformation they had brought in the country in the last nine years.

Speaking after being conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award in Pune, Maharashtra, Modi said Tilak taught Indians to have trust in their capabilities and how to develop self-confidence.

He further said that the great freedom fighter had inspired his countrymen to come out of their inferiority complex and the feeling that India could never become free again. Self-confidence regained by Indians had done wonders in course of time, he said.

India has become the fifth largest economy in the world today, the Prime Minister said. During Corona, India believed in its scientists and the anti-Covid vaccine was made in India. Today India talks of being Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in every respect, he said.

The prime minister said collateral-free loans were given under Mudra Yojana as a token of trust in the hard work and integrity of Indians. Similarly, most of the services are available on mobile now and people can self-attest their documents.

Due to this trust surplus, the Swachchta and Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaigns had become people’s movements, he said. All this is creating a positive atmosphere in the country, he added.

Lakhs of people had given up the gas subsidy when the Prime Minister gave a call to those who can give it up during his address from the Red Fort, he said. The prime minister said a survey was conducted in many countries which revealed Indians have the most faith in their government. Increasing public trust is becoming a medium of progress for the people of India, he said.

The Lokmanya Tilak National Award received by the Prime Minister in Pune was constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983 to honour the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak. The Prime Minister donated the cash prize to the Namami Gange Project.

The prime minister paid floral tributes at the statue of Lokmanya Tilak after arriving at the venue. He said that the contribution of Lokmanya Tilak to the Independence of India cannot be expressed in a few words or events as his influence was evident on all the leaders and events of the freedom struggle.

“Even Britishers had to call him ‘Father of the Indian unrest” the Prime Minister pointed out.  Mr Modi pointed out that Lokmanya Tilak changed the direction of the freedom struggle with his ‘Swarajya is my birthright’ claim. Tilak also proved British labelling of Indian traditions as backwards wrong. Mahatma Gandhi himself called him the architect of modern India, the Prime Minister recalled.

The prime minister paid tribute to the institution-building capabilities of Lokmanya Tilak. His collaboration with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal is a golden chapter of India’s freedom struggle. The Prime Minister also remembered Tilak’s use of newspapers and Journalism. Kesari is still published and read in Maharashtra. “All this bears testimony to strong institution building by Lokmanya Tilak,” the prime Minister added.

Governor of Maharashtra Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, President of Tilak Smarak Trust Deepak Tilak; Vice President of the Trust Dr Rohit Tilak; and Trustee of the Tilak Smarak Trust Sushilkumar Shinde were present on the occasion.