Excerpts from Prime Minister Narendra Modis ongoing address Mann Ki Baat.

The PM paid homage to Indias former hockey captain Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary, and begin the 23rd edition of Mann ki Baat with talks about sports and Indias performance at the recently-concluded Rio Olympics.


--We won Rio Olympics medals, our daughters proved themselves once again, that they are not less than anyone.

-- We have to go a long way when it comes to focusing on Sports. Sports need motivation and public is the best entity to do it.

-- Dipa Karmakar stood at 4th position, she did a wonderful job.

-- It is very good to know that our nation wants us to focus on extracurricular activities.

-- For me, 5th September is not only Teachers Day but a day of learning as well. Teachers are as important as mothers in our lives. They spend their lives caring for their students. Pullela Gopichand is a great teacher and I salute his dedication and hard work towards sports.

Requesting people to prefer clay idols on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi to protect environment, the PM said.

-- Lots of people are writing about Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja vis-a-vis the environment showing their concern over pollution. Why should we not go back to our tradition of using clay for making idols?