MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi used All India Radio (AIR) to release the digital version of Ramcharitmanas and praised the artistes who were behind the creation.

Commenting on AIR as a platform, Modi appreciated the role of the pubcaster. He added that Akashvani was responsible in uniting the people and spreading awareness and information in India.

Recognising AIR’s contribution, Modi added that AIR has approximately nine lakh hours of audio recordings of various artistes from across the country. He said this was a priceless collection, which should be documented in detail for posterity.

The launch was attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Arun Jaitley and Prasar Bharati board chairman Suryaprakash.

He also further praised the efforts of the artists who contributed to ‘Ramcharitmanas’ which is a musical project. Modi added that the artists had performed not just sangeet sadhna, but also sanskriti sadhna and sanskaar sadhna (devotion not just to music, but also to culture and tradition).

Ramcharitmanas is a great epic which contained the essence of India, stressed Modi, during the launch.

Last weekend, Modi had taken to radio for his show ‘Mann Ki Baat’, to discuss health issues such as maternal and child deaths in the country and steps to prevent dengue.

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