New Delhi, November 30 (IANS). Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted live with the citizens in the 128th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday. This time the address was full of inspiration, pride and hope for the future. He mentioned India’s new heights in every field, from agriculture to space, honey to culture and sports to military might. PM Modi proudly informed that India has set a new record of producing 357 million tonnes of food grains in 2024-2025. There was an increase of 100 million tons compared to ten years ago. He said: “It is not just a figure, it is the result of the hard work and policy of the farmers.” He mentioned ISRO’s unique drone competition, in which youths flew drones without GPS in Martian-like conditions. A team from Pune has succeeded after failing several times. The Prime Minister linked it to the journey from the failure of Chandrayaan-2 to the success of Chandrayaan-3. PM narrated unique stories of honey production from different corners of the country – White Sulai Honey from Ramban of Kashmir, which got a GI label. The modern processing unit of the ‘Gramjanya’ organization in Puttur, Karnataka, the Sivaganga Kalanjia of Tumakuru, who provide two bee boxes to each member, and the Khiyamaniangan tribe of Nagaland, who seek ‘permission’ from the bees before extracting honey from the rocks. He said that in 11 years honey production has more than doubled (1.5 lakh metric tonnes) and export has increased three times. The Prime Minister, who went to Kurukshetra on November 25, said he was ecstatic after watching the 3D, light and sound show at the Mahabharata Experience Centre. People from Europe and Central Asia participated in the International Gita Mahotsav at Brahma Sarovar. The Prime Minister also mentioned the presentation of Gita on a public platform for the first time in Saudi Arabia and the grand Gita Mahotsav in Latvia. During World War II, Maharaja Digvijay Singh of Nawanagar, Gujarat gave shelter to thousands of Polish Jewish children. The prime minister said that his statue was recently unveiled in southern Israel and that tributes were paid to him in Warsaw last year. He said: ‘Kindness and compassion are at the heart of Indian culture.’ PM Modi booked the fourth Kashi-Tamil Sangamam from December 2, the theme of which is ‘Learn Tamil – Tamil Karakalam’. He said that the confluence of the world’s oldest language Tamil and the oldest city of Kashi is amazing. He mentioned the induction of indigenously designed INS Mahe into the Navy in Mumbai. His crest was inspired by the traditional Urumi sword of Kerala-Tamil Nadu. On Navy Day on December 4, he appealed to the citizens to visit naval museums (Diu, Goa, Kochi, Port Blair, Karwar, Visakhapatnam). Prime Minister Modi praised the increasing tourism in Auli, Munsiyari, Chopta, Deyara and Adi Kailash in Uttarakhand. Referring to the ultramarathon and winter games above 14,500 feet in Adi Kailash, he said, “The Himalayan valleys in winter gives an experience to be remembered for a lifetime.” He talked about taking Vocal for Local to global platforms like G20 and mentioned giving Indian handicrafts as gifts given to world leaders in G20. He also called for adopting ‘vocal for local’ in Christmas-New Year shopping. PM Modi spoke about India’s superhit month in sports. He mentioned that women’s cricket world cup victory, 20 medals in deaf olympics, women’s kabaddi world cup, blind cricket world cup (without losing a match), 20 medals in world boxing cup. Describing his meeting with the blind women’s team, the PM said: “This victory is not only of the field but of courage.” He also appreciated the increasing participation of the youth in endurance sports like Ironman Triathlon. –IANS sch/vc