Awaken the nation, initiate a movement: PM Modi to YouTubers
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged YouTube content creators to spread awareness on cleanliness, digital payment and the 'vocal for local' campaign through their work.
"Awaken the nation, initiate a movement," he said, noting that for 15 years he has been connecting to the country and the world through a YouTube channel.
Addressing the nearly 5,000 content and aspiring content creators, he said their product impacts people and they have an opportunity to make it even more effective.
"Together, we can easily teach and make crores of people understand important matters. Friends, although there are thousands of videos on my channel, the most satisfying for me has been when I talked to lakhs of students in our country through YouTube on subjects like exam stress, expectation management, productivity," he said.
Highlighting some topics, he said cleanliness (Swachh Bharat) became a big campaign in the last nine years with everyone contributing to it and children bringing an emotional power to it.
Celebrities endorsed it and people in all corners of the country turned it into a mission and YouTubers made cleanliness more cool, he told the gathering.
"But we don't have to stop. Till the time cleanliness becomes India's identity, we won't stop. Therefore, cleanliness must be a priority for each one of you," he added.
"The second topic is - digital payments. Due to the success of UPI, India today has 46 percent share in digital payments of the world. You should inspire more and more people of the country to make digital payments, teach them to make digital payments in simple language through your videos," he added.
Another topic, the prime minister said, is 'vocal for local'.
In India, so many products are made at the local level, he said, adding local artisans have amazing skills.
He told content creators that they can promote them also through their work, and help in making India's local turn global.
These topics are connected with mass movement, and the power of the people of the country is the basis for their success, he said.
"And I have one more request. Inspire others also, make an emotional appeal that we will buy the product that has the fragrance of our soil, which has the sweat of a labourer or artisan of our country. Whether it's Khadi, handicrafts, handloom, or anything else. Awaken the nation, initiate a movement," he said.
Along with the identity that they have as a YouTuber, they can add an activity, he suggested.
"Consider putting a question at the end of each episode or provide action points to do something. People can do the activity and share it with you. This way, your popularity will also grow, and people will not just listen but also engage in doing something," he said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
