Mann ki Baat address: PM Modi promotes ‘Vocal for Local’, highlights India’s scientific progress

In Mann Ki Baat address, Mr. Modi lauds organic farming, indigenous products, digital healthcare, scientific research, and environmental conservation

Updated - October 25, 2026 05:11 pm IST - New Delhi

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: @NarendraModi/YT via PTI Photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (October 25, 2026) lauded individuals and communities for promoting organic farming, indigenous products, digital healthcare, scientific research, and environmental conservation. Their efforts were creating new opportunities and contributing to the vision of a self-reliant India, Mr. Modi said.

Ahead of the Deepavali and Chhath festivals, in his Mann Ki Baat address, the Prime Minister urged people to prioritise domestic products under the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign. He also highlighted the importance of packaging, noting that Maharashtra’s ‘Shabari Naturals’ had received Japan’s Good Design Award. A Karnataka start-up was developing packaging materials from bamboo and agricultural waste. Khadi’s popularity was also growing continuously, he said.

Recalling his recent visit to Chennai, Mr. Modi highlighted the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, which has developed a brain imaging technology platform and will study 100 human brains. The research uses the Param Shakti supercomputer, and its data will be made available as an open source for research across fields.

At IIT Madras, he also met the young innovators working on gold quality testing, recovery of funds lost to bank fraud, AI-based cervical cancer screening, flying electric vehicles, fast-charging batteries for drones and electric vehicles, and AI applications in defence technology.

On healthcare, about 50 crore tele-consultations had been conducted through the e-Sanjeevani scheme, which had reached remote parts of the country, he said. Nearly 1.9 lakh ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandirs’ were providing healthcare facilities across the country, he also said.

Mr. Modi paid tribute to scientist Narinder Singh Kapany, known as the ‘Father of Fibre Optics’, ahead of his 100th birth anniversary on October 31. Born in Punjab’s Moga district, Kapany’s research on transmitting light through thin fibres helped advance modern communication networks.

The Prime Minister highlighted the efforts of the Kheti Virasat Mission in Punjab’s Malwa region to promote natural cotton cultivation. Organic cotton is grown without chemicals, while naturally coloured cotton eliminates the need for additional chemicals to dye yarn and fabric. The organisation has also set up a weaving school to pass traditional skills on to the next generation and create livelihood opportunities for women.

On traditional crops, the International Year of Millets in 2023 had received a positive response the world over, Mr. Modi said. In Meghalaya’s Khanduli village, two friends developed millet-based cookies, cakes, muffins and baby food, increasing demand and encouraging farmers to resume cultivation. In Sadolpara village, farmer Chekjing Sangma adopted modern cultivation methods to increase his income. In Nagaland’s Kezoma village, millet cultivation resumed in 2024 after more than a decade, and the village celebrated its first millet festival in 2025.

Highlighting environmental conservation, the Prime Minister referred to community efforts to revive the Heval river in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal region. He also underscored the importance of organ donation, citing the family of a victim of a road accident, Shivani from Narmadapuram in Madhya Pradesh, who decided to donate her organs. He described the family’s decision as an inspiration to society.

Mr. Modi called on people to participate in the ‘Run for Unity’ on October 31, marking the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is observed as National Unity Day.

Referring to Maharishi Valmiki’s birth anniversary on October 26, he highlighted the messages of service, compassion and social harmony in the Ramayana. He also paid tribute to Bhai Parmanand, whose 150th birth anniversary falls on November 4. Associated with the Arya Samaj, Parmanand travelled to South Africa for its work, met Mahatma Gandhi, and worked among indentured labourers in Guyana. He was also a prominent figure in the freedom movement and a founding member of the Ghadar Party.

The British sentenced him to transportation to the Andaman Islands, popularly known as Kala Pani, Mr. Modi said, and that he later entered the field of education and also taught Bhagat Singh. Bhai Parmanand was also associated with the Hindu Mahasabha for many years, he said.