In order to raise the importance of fitness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with fitness influencers and citizens during the Fit India Dialogue today. The event will be held online and is being organised to celebrate the first anniversary of the Fit India Movement. Given the ongoing health crisis due to Covid-19, this is intended to be a timely and fruitful conversation on nutrition, wellness and other aspects of fitness.
The online interaction will see participants sharing anecdotes and tips from their own fitness journey while drawing out guidance from PM Modi and receiving his thoughts on fitness and good health. Team India skipper Virat Kohli will be joining in through video conference from the UAE where he is currently leader the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020. Among other athletes would be female footballers Aditi Chauhan and Afshan Ashiq, along with paralympic athlete Devendra Jhajharia. The forum would also include actor Milind Soman besides renowned nutritionist Diwekar Rujuta, while Swami Shivadhyanam Saraswati and Mukul Kanitkar are also expected to join, along with many others. Sports minister Kiren Rijiju is also expected to be a part of it.
Virat Kohli, considered one of the biggest youth icons of India, took to Twitter to share his enthusiasm about the event. “I am honoured to be a part of our Prime Minister’s Fit India Dialogue where you can watch me talk about fitness and more,” he tweeted.
Model-turned-runner Milind Soman, who is one of the most popular fitness influencers and a winner of the Ironman Triathlon, said that he is keen to share his fitness mantra with the whole country through the Fit India Dialogue. “I have been a proponent of doing simple things and therefore, in the presence of our Prime Minister, I will speak on simple ways to be healthy and fit at any age,” said Soman. He also took to Instagram to share the news and asked his followers to submit questions for PM Modi about his experiences with health and fitness.
Devender Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two individual gold medals at the Summer Paralympics and a Sports Authority of India coach in the SAI centre in Gandhinagar, will be a participant at the Fit India Dialogue too. He will be the only differently-abled fitness influencer to be present in the nationwide event. Jhajharia spoke of his enthusiasm on being a part of the programme and said, “I am very happy to have gotten a chance to speak to our beloved Prime Minister. It is very important to remain fit because a fit country is a successful country. I think the Fit India Movement has had a massive impact on people and has reached every household of India. Our Prime Minister’s personal involvement and his clarion call to the youth of India have really made a difference.”
Envisioned by PM Modi as a people’s movement, the Fit India Dialogue is an endeavour to involve the citizens of the country to draw out a plan to make India a fit nation. The Fit India website also informs that the basic tenet on which the Fit India Movement was envisaged, that of involving citizens to imbibe fun, easy and inexpensive ways in which to remain fit and therefore, bring about a behavioural change which makes fitness an imperative part of every Indian’s life, is being strengthened by this dialogue.