 We're also deeply honored to have the presence of United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, namaskar to you all. And it is indeed a pleasure, delight and an honor to be welcoming all of you in this very special occasion and a special ceremony as we have the 2018 United Nations Environment Champions of the Earth Award ceremony. It is definitely a very proud moment for all of us. Thank you all of you for joining in this moment of fright. And at the outset, may I request respected Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Sri Rishikesh Mishraji, to kindly accord a green welcome to the dignitaries on the days. We welcome the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modiji, by presenting him the green sapling. Our greetings to Mr. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General, to Shri Mati Sushma Swaraj, the Honorable Minister of External Affairs, welcoming Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Honorable Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Our greetings to Mr. Eric Solheim, the Executive Director, United Nations Environment, and to Dr. Mehesh Sharma, the Honorable Minister of State, Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the champions of the Earth Award is a highly prestigious award. This is the United Nations highest environmental honour. In every year, this award confers and recognises outstanding personalities from business, from civil society, from government, recognising their outstanding contributions and people who have had a very transformative impact on the health of our planet. This last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the names of the 2018 Champions of the Earth bodies were announced and applauded in a glittering ceremony. At the outset, we show you the glimpses of the ceremony. The United Nations is all about bringing people together, the challenges which face our planet. It can't be overcome unless we cooperate. It really means so much to me to be here with you in New York to celebrate some of the most remarkable human beings in this world. Every year, the award seeks out and celebrates the world's most exceptional environmental leaders, advocates and innovators. We all owe our duty and responsibility to protect our planet. Human protection is a global challenge that requires attention and action from each individual on this planet. We need to act now. Each of us can take transformational actions. With these awards, we recognise bold moves which have been taken in the promise of more action to come. This is the most urgent problem the world faces today. What protein you're going to place at the centre of your plate. The implications of that decision are vast for the environment. We're pleased to fight climate change and global warming and to make this a better world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Emmanuel Macron of France are recognised. By polluting the oceans, not mitigating CO2 emissions, and destroying our biodiversity, we are killing our planet. There is no planet P. What makes a champion of the earth? There are the leaders and exemplars we need right now. It's a very proud moment for 1.3 billion people and in this gathering we celebrate the exemplary contribution of our Prime Minister in keeping the health of this planet. And now may I request Honourable Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Hashwadan, for his welcome remarks. Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Gutierrez, United Nations Environment Program Executive Director, Mr. Eric Solheim, Honourable PJP President, Shri Amit Shahji, Honourable External Affairs Minister, Shri Mati Sushma Swarajji, Minister of State, Environment, Dr. Mahesh Sharmaji, all my worthy cabinet and party colleagues, distinguished ambassadors, representatives of the diplomatic missions, senior officers of the government, other distinguished guests and friends from the media who have come to grace this prestigious occasion. I feel honoured and delighted to welcome you all to this historic occasion. When the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Gutierrez, confers the United Nations highest environment honour, the Champions of the Earth Award 2018 on our beloved Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiji. It is indeed a proud moment for all Indians. On behalf of my fellow countrymen, I thank the United Nations for honouring our Prime Minister for his outstanding and inspiring leadership and commitment in the arena of environment. I take special pleasure in welcoming the Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. Antonio Gutierrez. Portugal is a country having a nostalgic bond with India and our economic ties continue to follow an upward trajectory. I am also very happy to welcome my dear friend, Mr. Eric Solheim, who is working very closely with us and has literally made India his mission. Friends, today our beloved Prime Minister is to be felicitated for his leadership on environmental issues and sustainable development, with a focus on clean energy, formation of the International Solar Alliance and his very commendable pledge to eliminate single-use plastics by 2022. Our humble Prime Minister, in keeping with the Indian tradition of renunciation, has already announced that he is dedicating this award to the Indian value system. It is indeed a hallmark of his unique personality that he renders selfless service to the nation but never takes any credit for it. The United Nations Environment Program has termed Shri Narendra Modiji as a leader with remarkable vision, innovation, courage, determination and commitment. It is indeed for the whole world to see that India under the able leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji is committed to inclusive development and raising the standard of living of our people in a sustainable and green way. Rightly, the United Nations has recognized our Prime Minister as a statesman with exemplary devotion and commitment to uplift the poor, strengthen public health and protect the environment through numerous initiatives launched in the last four years. After assuming leadership in 2014, Modiji gave a call for Swachh Bharat Mission, a massive clean India drive. He personally took charge of this campaign to rid the country of pervasive insanity conditions all around. More than 8 crore toilets have been constructed in the last four years to make India open defecation free. As many as 25 states have become open defecation free and so have 5 lakh villages. Today our villages are fast becoming cleaner and deaths due to diarrhea are history. That itself speaks volumes for Modiji's vision in nurturing environmental health. Similarly, poor women in rural India were being forced to use biomass as cooking fuel. The resulting household pollution was leading to a great human suffering for 70 long years. Nobody took action. It was Modiji who was moved by the plight of these A plus women and conceptualized the Ujjula Yojana that envisages providing LNG as cooking fuel to 80 million households. Prime Minister personally monitors the program which has relieved the misery of crores of women. When the history of environmental and public health shall be written in this country, the name of our honorable Prime Minister will be embedded there in golden letters. Ladies and gentlemen, our government under the leadership of Modiji has voted to work for reversing climate change, managing hazardous waste, protecting wildlife and so on. Under his astute leadership, the environment ministry is working relentlessly to spread mass awareness on environmental protection through a massive citizens campaign called the Green Good Deeds. The youth have also taken inspiration from Modiji and are leading the change, making responsible choices to ensure that they do all that they can to reverse climate change. A country of a billion plus is looking up to Modiji with hope and expectation. A new India has emerged wedded to the past but imbibing modern ideas. A young nation is now up and running and continues to grow at a pace never imagined by economists. And we all know the man whose vision has made this possible. Yesterday was the 150th birthday anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi, of Mahatma Gandhi, fondly known as Bapu, and revered by the whole world as the messiah of non-violence. Decades ago, Bapu dreamt of his Swachh Bharat. Today, his dream is being brought to reality by a man as humble, as committed and as brave as him. Our beloved Prime Minister, Modiji is inspiring 130 crore Indians to achieve the goal of Swachh Bharat and making remarkable strides in cleanliness and sanitation in environmental protection and upliftment of the poor and the downtrodden. From this prestigious dais, let it be known that a person coming from a humble background is slowly transforming India. Millions of poor who had no hope of coming out of their sub-human existence have a glimmer of hope in their eyes today. Let us all, on this historic day, take a pledge to join our beloved Prime Minister in his pursuit of transforming India. Dear sir, India stands with you. We share your dreams and we believe in you. Once again, I welcome all of you present here today at the celebrations of this historic occasion. Namaskar and Jai Hind. Thank you, Honourable Minister Sir, also for highlighting the transformative impact which the Honourable Prime Minister has been making. And we now request the head of the United Nations Environment, Mr. Eric Solheim, for his opening remarks. Dear Prime Minister Modi, their Secretary General, there are so many dignitaries in this room, I cannot mention you all, but I'm so happy to be with you this great morning in Delhi. My dear Modi Chief, the most important raw material in today's world is not gold or oil or energy or any mineral. The most important missing raw material in today's world is political leadership. That's what's transforming the world. Political vision, political leadership, political dedication, that's what so often is lacking. And that's what I admire so much from you. You are providing that to India and to the much wider world. Some of you are aware, but for many years of my life I came to India maybe every six weeks. I was the Chief Negotiator in the peace process in Sri Lanka. I came here to confer with Indian leadership from BGP and from Congress. It was a very different India, even if it was just 10-15 years back. A much poorer India, the time there was no metro in Delhi, now you are opening a new metro station basically every week. So it was a very different India. And it was also an India with a very different debate. The time the debate was always, do India want to develop or do India want to take care of Mother Earth and the nature? And surprise, surprise, most Indians want to develop. I give you credit one-handedly to transform that debate into a debate not about development or environment, but a debate about environment and development as one track where we can do triple wins, put up policies which are good for the environment, good for jobs and economic growth, and good for the uplifting of the people and the health all at the same time. Well, this is maybe not new in India, because I think environment runs deeper in the veins of Indians than in most people in the world. And that's not least thanks to the natural born environmentalist Mahatma Gandhi. He was an environmentalist at a time when the notion didn't exist. I don't think the name environmentalist didn't exist in the 1920s or 1930s. Still he was probably the greatest environmentalist ever walking this planet. His lifestyle was very modest, that's always helpful. He bonded with nature in a fantastic way. I mean Mahatma Gandhi said that if you want to look into the character of a person, look into how that person is treating animals. He said the way we are treating our forest is a mirror image for ourselves. This is really being an environmentalist at a time when the notion didn't exist. Mahatma Gandhi was also one of the first people I am aware of who pointed to the enormous negative consequences of air pollution. He said, man can subsist for many days without food. We can even go a day without water, but we can only go a few minutes without air. So let's protect the air against the horrendous air pollution and they looked into how the factory workers of the time were polluting bad air. So this is an environmentalist at a time when there were no environmentalism. So inspiring to all of you. And one of the most famous quotes from Gandhi in my view was he said, cleanliness is godliness. And can there be any better way of taking that quote, that inspiration of Gandhi into the 21st century than the Swachh India campaign. Cleanliness is godliness, providing toilet to every single Indian, making sure that everyone in the countryside of India has a family toilet, avoiding the open defecation, making sure that there is much less pollution into the Great Rivers, to the Ganga and to all the other rivers. Can there be any better way of honoring Mahatma Gandhi than Swachh India? And this is the triple win policies we want. Much better for the health of people because there is less bacteria, much better for the environment than the Great Rivers, and providing any number of jobs and economic roles all with the same policies. So Swachh India, triple win, environment, health and jobs. But of course there are other such triple wins policies. Another one is plastics. It must have been the proudest moment in my life in the United Nations when I was in Delhi on the 5th of June when Prime Minister Modi announced that India will wipe out all one used plastic by 2022. That's such a brave statement. You may not be able to do it fully, but even setting the target, setting the direction have such an impact. You see the impact immediately. When that leadership comes from the top, well you see the impact in the state of Uttar Pradesh. You see it in Tamil Nadu, you see it in Maharashtra. We try to buy one used cutlery in the state of Maharashtra. What do people tell us? Well they said, well we have to go somewhere else. We didn't want to use it. We want to make a video to throw away the one used over the plastic cutlery. They said, no, we don't have it there. Go to another state. And of course in Maharashtra, 120 million, U.P. 200 million, Tamil Nadu 80, 90 million, when these entities start moving, it's enormous for the world. And all the big leaders of business in Mumbai again coming together see how can business benefit from this opportunity to move into new and better products and create new business opportunities. Again, good for the environment, good for health and good for business and jobs with just one policy. And please also remind yourself of the international implications of this. India is soon to be the most populous nation in the world. India is probably the most complicated society on the planet in its enormous variety and reach them. If India can fight out one used plastic, there is no way to hide. You cannot stand up in the parliament of my nation Norway or South Africa or Ecuador or Brazil or Cameroon or anywhere else in the world and tell the people only the Indians can do this. We cannot do it. India can do it. Everyone can do it. There is no place to hide. So this is of fantastic importance to the rest of the world. Thank God you are not alone. The European Union has a very ambitious plastic strategy. Parliament of Chile just made a very strong decision for Chile. Many African nations like Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda have strong policies. So a lot is happening, but India is in the lead. That's what we want to honor today. And it's of course not just plastic pollution, it's also air pollution. UN Environment is very, very proud to work with the government of India with the Minister of Petroleum, with some of the Northern Indian states to see how we can transform the agriculture based in the areas around India, in the European Haryana and the other states, how that we can transform inter-economic opportunity for the future if we can make the agriculture waste into a biofuel. Again, good for environment, good for health and good for the economy, all that with the same policies. Dear Prime Minister, when we met you told me a moving story. You said your grandparents were very poor. Your grandfather had told your grandmother that maybe you should go and shop some wood in the forest. But your grandmother said, no, yes, we are poor, but we will not destroy the forest. That's too sacred for us. To me, that's a very moving story about the dedication to nature. And also nature, we now see great progress in India. The amount of forest is increasing after many, many years of decrease. Fantastic. I mean, for sure a lot more need to happen. That is on the positive side. The target population is gradually increasing. Again, great credit to India. If you mind yourself, there is hardly any animal on the planet which is so difficult to conserve as tigers because tigers is one of the very, very few animals to attack Indians to kill us, to eat us. I mean, malaria and mosquitoes are more dangerous to humans than tigers, but they don't try to eat us. So making the target population grow is a great credit to India and it shows the dedication to nature and your leadership. Finally, solar energy. Energy is at the core of everything. And what an achievement to connect 700,000 villages of India to the electrical grid? True, not all households are still connected. That's the next. But to connect every single village, 700,000 is such an achievement. And more and more it's happened with solar, with big solar, with small solar, but transforming the economy from the old coal base into the new solar base. And through that, you also create many more jobs because there are many more jobs in the solar energy. And we had the honor not just to honor you in New York, but also to honor Kortschee International Airport, the first fully solar airport anywhere in the world. And I tell myself, and it's not a small airport. Kortschee is bigger than any airport at the African continent except for South Africa. So it's a big airport from an international perspective. And I tell my Chinese friends, my European friends, my American friends, well, if the Indians can do that in Kortschee, for sure you can do that in Florida or you can do that in the center part of China or Europe. So it's again inspiring the entire world and making international solar alliance a huge positive for the future. I saw Prime Minister said that maybe this is the opaque of the future. Yes, we will see enormous transformation of the global economies into solar in the Earth to come. Last year was the first year in human history where we produced more solar energy than oil and gas, coal and nuclear combined. So the transformation is happening. We just need to speed it up. Finally, even a Prime Minister is not alone. Without a good team, you could not have achieved all this. Let me pay tribute to my very good friend, Dr. Harsh Vardhanthi, the man who wiped out Polo from India and is now transforming India into green. And to Sike Mishra, Chief Secretary of the Ministry and all the other dedicated people because the support team make what the Prime Minister is doing possible. Finally, we need political leadership. We need visionary leadership. We need the dedication and determination which you are providing. This is also in line with Mahatma Gandhi who famously said we need to be the change we want to see in this world. Prime Minister, you are leading us in that area. You make it possible for us to be the change we want to see in this world. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Sondheim, for sharing with us the keen observation, the changes you see in India and that definitely inspires and motivates everyone. Thank you so much. And may I now request Shri Mati Sushma Swaraj, the Honourable Minister for External Affairs for her remarks. I am Shri Mati, I am also the Honourable Minister of Public Affairs for this India-Centure Muslim Party. I am an Honourable Brother & Sister of the Ministry. Today is a great day for India. Today our Prime Minister is being considered as a Champion of Earth in the area of Pariyavan through the Indian National Party. Friends, this achievement is the respect of that extraordinary leader, who is also presenting the world to the Prime Minister Modi along with India. Perhaps some of you will remember that when some developed countries started to come out of the first understanding, and there was a big question on the success of that understanding, at that time the Prime Minister Modi had said, that on the first understanding, we did not do any kind of pressure on the country, but the 5,000-year-old Indian culture, which is an old Indian culture, we did it in the form of a proof of its existence. This achievement is the respect of that extraordinary leader, who was the Prime Minister Modi giving to the world. I would like to tell you about what the Prime Minister Modi had said about the Indian culture, that we do not believe in the earth as a planet, the earth is not a planet for us, the earth is a mother earth for us, and our souls are filled with emotions where the earth has been called mother. There is a book by Atharva Veda, Mata Bhumi, Putra Om Prithivya. Bhumi is my mother, and I am the son of the earth. And that is why I remember that when I was a child, I was taught that wake up in the morning, when your feet are on the ground, then put your hands together and say, padash, parsham, kshamasla, hey dhartima, I am putting my feet on your body, forgive me. And this is the reason, that in the afternoon, when the clouds are formed, then ground-breaking ceremony is held. But when the clouds are formed in India, then the earth worship is held. We worship the earth, we do it by means of means, and we do not just worship, we ask for forgiveness from it. When the first horse runs, then they say, mother is making your heart shudder, forgive us. And we only ask for forgiveness from the earth. We also ask for forgiveness from those thorns, we also ask for forgiveness from those thorns, who have made their homes on that earth. We put our hands together and say, that for our selfishness, for our own home, we are breaking your homes. You will have to go away from here. You will have to make other homes. Forgive us. This is the specialty of Indian culture, that we talk about the peace of the sky, and we talk about the peace of the earth. This is the specialty that the Prime Minister was doing, when he took this idea that we will not let this idea fail. And I say today, that after that idea, he started working very fast in the field of tourism. The ISA, International Solar Alliance, he made it with France, he worked very fast to move forward. Today, I would like to tell you that during the time when the Prime Minister came, the Prime Minister made a meeting that was made to discuss the climate change. I was in that meeting, that is why I am a witness to it. We were having a very open discussion, and the whole meeting was divided into two parts. On the one hand, Pariyawaranwadi, on the other hand, Vikaaswadi. Pariyawaranwadi was saying that what is the benefit of such development that will be destroyed by destroying nature and destroyed. The day nature gets angry, it will destroy the entire development. On the other hand, Vikaaswadi was saying that the developed countries have done everything by themselves. They destroyed nature and destroyed their own countries. Today, when countries like us have come, we are getting engaged. We are talking about the climate change. We are talking about the protection of Pariyawaranwadi. The Prime Minister has been listening very calmly. At the end, while finishing the whole discussion, he said that can't development be the protection of Pariyawaranwadi? I understand that development can be the protection of Pariyawaranwadi. So, some people asked that for the protection of Pariyawaranwadi, we need electricity. We have coal here. Where will electricity come from instead of thermal power? So, he immediately said that electricity can come from solar instead of thermal power. So, the question came that how much electricity can come from solar? And how much will the electricity of solar be expensive? So, he said that solar has a lot of energy. As much as he wants, he can give. So, you have to keep in mind that how much electricity do you want? And the question of the price is that when more electricity comes, then it becomes cheap. And he said that we will develop with the protection of Pariyawaranwadi. Friends, this is the respect of the wish power that he had presented in that sit-up. And that word did not remain a word. He turned those words into Pariyawaranwadi. He was surprised that at the time he had a wonderful vision. 175 gigawatt renewable energy 175 gigawatt renewable energy we will develop. We have never used the word gigawatt. We used to speak in megawatt. But gigawatt is also 175 gigawatt renewable energy. And he said 100 gigawatt only from solar. 60 gigawatt from wind. That is, sun and wind which have a lot of energy. We will do it. We will do it. And today I can say that the Prime Minister who was saying his wish power that day, today he completed it. The 100 gigawatt people were worried to accept it. Today I want to tell you in Guterres and Eirik. 17 rupees 19 money that gigawatt today I get 2 rupees 24. 2 rupees and 44 money also. Then I said that it is the respect of that wish power that he has shown. And even today in the area of Pariyawaran the kind of leadership that the Prime Minister is doing. When the SDGs were made sustainable development goals then it was said that we will only achieve this goal when India but even then the Prime Minister said that at that time he was speaking in the UN in 2015 that India will not complete your expectations. In fact, it will never let you fail by achieving these goals before the time. This is the respect of that trust. I express my condolences to the Secretary General of Guterres Executive Director of UNEP that he has given the leadership of the Prime Minister this responsibility to recognize the leadership of the Prime Minister. Today from Vishwamantya it is said that as the champions of art we are cheering the Prime Minister Modi. We respect you because these are some such institutions if they are all in Vishwamantya then yes, this is happening. I again express my condolences to the Prime Minister that he has accepted the leadership of the Prime Minister and the leadership of the Prime Minister and his support and his leadership and the trust given to Vishwamantya. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Ma'am for sharing with us certain things which again reflected on the very noble vision and mission which our Honorable Prime Minister has towards protecting the Mother Earth and the change which he is leading. Thank you so much, Ma'am. And ladies and gentlemen, we are really delighted and factually honored to have the presence of His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres present with us the United Nations Secretary General. I would now like to request and invite him for his special address. Honorable Prime Minister and his ladies and gentlemen, all protocol observed. I am extremely pleased to join you to present the United Nations Champions on the Earth Award for Policy Leadership for 2018. And today we recognize a statesman who embodies the true meaning of leadership. Prime Minister Modi recognizes that climate change poses a direct existential threat to all. Prime Minister Modi knows that we need to do what we need to do to avert catastrophe. And Prime Minister Modi understands the enormous benefits of climate action. Many other leaders also recognize, also know and also understand the differences that Prime Minister Modi not only recognizes, knows and understands but that he acts with enormous energy to make this change. And these leadership is today more necessary than ever because let us be clear climate change is still running faster than what we are. The Paris Agreement on climate change that we absolutely must implement is not being indeed fully implemented. And many leaders around the world are not doing enough to make sure that it becomes a reality. And we know that the Paris Agreement is not enough. We know that we need more ambition. We know that we need to increase the engagements that were made in Paris when 2020 countries will present their new commitments. But the truth is that this example of leadership that Prime Minister Modi represents is not being followed enough in the world. The truth is that Prime Minister Modi also represents an extraordinary legacy. India has always been a fundamental pillar of civilization, philosophy, culture in our world. And starting by the Vedas and looking at the extraordinary role of Mahatma Gandhi is always a very clear commitment to the harmonious relationship between humankind and nature. And this vision of harmony is the vision that guides what is today the most enlightened policy in relation to the environment and the economy in relation to climate action as an absolute priority in today's world that is assumed by Prime Minister and by the governments of India. And we need also to recognize that this example must fruitify that other leaders must look at what's happening in India and must do the same, of course with different circumstances in different countries to make sure that we are able to win the race against climate change and that we are able to understand that today there is no contradiction between climate action and development. On the contrary the green economy is the good economy technology is on our side those that will bet on the grey economy will have a grey future. And those that like in India are betting in the green economy will have a dominant role in the global economy in the decades to come. And this vision proves that it is absolutely possible at the same time to provide for the people of the country the jobs that are needed the perspectives of development are there necessary the conditions of well-being that are essential and simultaneously guarantee the harmony with nature of climate action as a priority and make the green economy the economy of India. And indeed and the Prime Minister I have 100 million LED light bulbs I learned it yesterday it's a remarkable achievement. Also the 40 million clean burning cook stoves in Indian homes when I was I commissioned for refugees in many refugee camps I saw the drama of women that had to go sometimes miles and miles to search for wood to be able to use their stoves in their small huts or their small houses and then to see the effect of the smoke of those stoves in the health of the children in the health of the parents. Now the truth is that with these clean burning cook stoves India is addressing indoor air pollution with effects women and children so acutely and it's another way to prove that the green economy is the good economy and the well-being economy. And of course let's not forget I was yesterday in the first General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance that was launched in Paris in 2015 during the climate talks by Prime Minister Modi and the President of France. It is a remarkable achievement. A coalition of 121 countries dedicated to harnessing solar energy around the world for the benefit of the people and the planet. That is absolutely clear solar energy became cheaper than the energy produced by coal by gas or by oil which means again that the climate action is the right approach not only from the point of view of the environment but from the point of view of the economy and development. And today indeed thanks to Prime Minister Modi's leadership India became the fourth largest producer and the fifth largest producer of renewable energy in the world and I believe that very soon the ranking will improve thanks to the enormous investments that are being made and the strong determination to mobilize the people of India. I must confess that the impact of Prime Minister Modi's decisions already reached the executive office of the United Nations. As it was mentioned during the World Environment Day celebrations Prime Minister Modi decided that India should get rid of single-use plastic in less than 5 years. Well in the executive office of the United Nations I decided to do it immediately and there is no single-use plastic in the executive office now and we drink water from a bottle of a jar coming from the tub and all those plastic bottles that are such a dramatic such a dramatic impact in pollution were eradicated thanks to the decision to follow the orientation that was given here in India in relation to your program. When I saw it this can be done in India I think it can be done immediately in New York in the executive office of the United Nations and this is the bold environmental leadership that the world needs and so please join me in honouring the 2018 champion of the hers for policy leadership Prime Minister Narendra Modi thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Guterres for your very inspiring words and also appreciating the efforts of our Honourable Prime Minister who is setting benchmarks and examples for the others to follow. Thanks sir. And ladies and gentlemen before we confer the award we would like to highlight here with a short video the inspiring views, the thoughtful approach and the leadership of our Prime Minister. Can we have the video please? Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. When that reflects on the service which our Honourable Prime Minister is doing to the Mother Earth and now the moment we request Mr. Erics Olheim and also Mr. Antonio Guterres to kindly confer the 2018 champions of the Earth award on the behalf of the Prime Minister. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Ladies and gentlemen please join us in extending this honour to our Honourable Prime Minister Shireen Narendra Modi the 2018 champions of the Earth award. May I request the dignitaries also may I request the Honourable Prime Minister and the others for the group photographs sir. If I can request for the group photograph. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Guterres. Thank you Mr. Aunty and I now take the privilege and Honour of requesting and inviting the 2018 champions of Earth award Shireen NarendraModiji to kindly address us all. His Excellency Antonio Guterresi, Sushma Swaraj Ji, Dr. Harshvardhan Ji, Dr. Mahesh Sharma Ji, United Nations Environment Program Executive Director, Eric Sholheim, Desh Swidesh Te Padhare, Atidhikaan, Deviya and Sajanam. I am grateful to the President of the United Nations for his respect. For us, it is a matter of pride that this event is being held on the land of India. And for this, the President of the United Nations himself came here. Eric and his entire team came. And as I have said earlier, this respect is a reward for the protection of the environment. Champions of the Earth Award. India's full-fledged, new-looking and old-fashioned tradition. The one who has seen God in nature. The one who has seen the five elements of the universe – earth, sky, fire, water, air – has been awarded the position of the President of the United Nations. These jungles of India are like those ordinary brothers and sisters who love jungles more than their lives. These jungles of India are like the sea and rivers and take as much as they take for the benefit of the world. These people must not have gone to school or college. But they used to stop the work of fishing. They used to stop their work. These jungles of India are like those millions of farmers whose life is full of life. They love this land more than their lives. These jungles of India are like that great woman whose life is full of reuse and recycle from centuries. She sees the form of God in her feet. She breaks Tulsi's leaves by counting them. She believes it is a good thing to give her a chinti. These jungles of India are like the people who are living their lives for the protection of nature and the environment. They are like the people who are living their lives for the protection of nature and the environment. They work for years in a village, a village, a mountain, a place, and they work for hundreds of people. For the sake of respect, I would like to say once again that I respect all of you. For the sake of respect, I would like to say once again that I respect all of you. Because Kochi Airport has also received an award. With this sustainable energy, it is the symbol of our promise. At this time, I congratulate all of my friends who have received this award in different directions in different countries of the world. I do this for the sake of India because the culture of climate and calamity is directly related to the culture of India. As long as the culture of the climate is not part of the culture, it is difficult to escape the calamity. Today, India is accepting the constitution of the environment. But as I said earlier, this has been a part of our daily life for thousands of years. And now that you have said this, we are a part of that society. First of all, after waking up in the morning, the earth is being forgiven from its mother. Because we are going to keep our feet on it. In one way, we are going to put our burden on the earth. Where have we gone? Samudra Bathane Devi Parvathashtanamandale Vishnu Patti Navasthubhyam Padas Prasamsabhaswame That means, this Samudra Bathane Devi Parvathashtanamandale Vishnu Patti Navasthubhyam Padas Prasamsabhaswame This Bhumi Devi, I greet you. Forgive me, because I am asking you to keep your feet on it. This Sambedra is a part of our daily life. To worship the trees and plants, to celebrate the season of death as a festival and a festival. To talk about the relationship between the people and the people. We have always considered nature as a living being, and not just a living being. We are the people who have considered nature as a living being and also considered life as a living being. Along with nature, along with this emotional relationship, we have always considered the work of the whole universe as a living being. This is the reason why we have gone to this festival. Om Dayo Shanti Ram Mantriksham Shanti Pruthvi Shanti Rapaah Shanti Raushadaya Shanti Manaspataya Shanti Vishvedeva Shanti Brahma Shanti Sarva Shanti Shanti Revah Shanti Sama Shanti Edviti Om Shanti Shanti Shanti In Satya Sanskut, in this world, the prayer of Paramatma is that there should be peace in the air, there should be peace in the air, there should be peace on the earth, there should be peace in the water, there should be peace in the air, there should be peace in the air, there should be peace in the earth, there should be peace in the air, there should be peace in all the celestial realms. It is not possible to get rid of this mantra for the complete universe peace in our whole universe. And the Lord himself, when he had to give his own introduction, to establish his own existence, God says, srotasya asmi jhanvi sarsam asmi saagra i.e. me, me hi jalasai ho, me hi nadi ho, me hi samudra hi ho isliye jo samman aapne diya, wo bharat ki janta, aur uske logon ki is astha ka sanman hain isliye jo, bharat ki aarte babastha aatej gati se aage bad rahi. Har varsh karodo log bishan gari bhi ki stiti se bahara rahe hain dikas ki is raptar ko aur tej karne ke liye hum samarpi tha hain isliye nahi kyunki hame kisi se mukamla karna hain yafir hame sampannata ka lob hain balki isliye kyunki aabadi ke ek hisse ko gari bhi ka dhan sehne ke liye hum aise hi nahi chosate hain unko gari maapuna jivan dena hum sabhi ka dai to hain dunya ke ane ek desho mein sabse gari bhi prakruti ke andha dhund dohan ke dush pranaam ko jail rahi sukhye aur baad ki gambita saal dar saal bad rahi hain aur isme sabse jyada pareshan bahi ho rahe hain jiske paas shimit samsadan hain jyuk gareeb hain liha ja is bahad bari aabadi ko par yawaran par prakruti par ati rikta dabaav daale bina vikaas ke ausaro se jordne ke liye sahare ki awashak pa hain haath thamne ki zarurat hain isliye main paresh mein bhi is baad ki maine vakaalat ki thi aur maine ek shabda dunya ke saham ne prasut kiya tha aur maine vakaalat ki hain climate justice ki climate change ki chunauti se climate justice sunishti ke bina hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain hain ki paresh samjhote mein is baat ko dunya ne maana hain aur climate justice ko lekar commitment bhi dikhaya hain lakin isko jameen par utaarne ke liye hain hain hain hain bahaut kuch karna hain aur teji se karna hain meha upasthit this is excellence engineer Guterres ka vishastar par abhari hu ki uno ne iss samay ki manko samjah hain uno ne kyoto protocol ke second commitment period ki ratification prakriya aur sustainable development gold ke amli karna mein teji laane ke liye bhar sak prayas kiye hain aur isli hum bharat mein sabka saad sabka vikaas ke mantra par haage vadra hain jame sabka vikaas ki baat karta hain to usme prakruti bhi samil hain aur usme sabka saad yani sabas ho karot desh vashon ki sakriya bhaagidara ka bhi bhaagidari ka bhi avaan karta hain satcho amari aarti babastha ke liye gang aur shahar dono mahatapun sthamb hain hamare hain rojgaar ka ek bada hissa gang aur kheti se joda hain to hamare shahar service aur manufacturing yane industry ke hub hain aur isli sarkar holistic approach ke saad kaambar kar rahi hain desh ke vartman aur bhavishya ke liye sarkar ki har policy ka adhaar haraabhara aur saad sutra pariyawaran hain saad yon hamare gaan hain ussa se hi pariyawaran ke pati satchet rahe hain aur prakruti se jude rahe hain bhi te chaar varshom hain hamare hain gaan hain apni is sasva sakti ko aur adhik bistar kiya hain gama main bhi waste to wealth aur waste to energy jese initiative se baho waste ko urja mein badalne ke payas shuru hui hain organic farming se lekar soil health karn aur per drop more crop ko iss se hamari mitti aur jal sroton ko jahri le chemical se mukti mein madad mil rahe hain aur paani ke uchit upyog ki bhavna prable hui hain jahaan industry aur manufacturing ki baat karthe hain to hamara moto hain 0 defect 0 effect jab ham agriculture ki baat karthe hain to hamara moto rahe hain per drop more crop saati yo aach baharad duniya ke un desho mein hain jahaan sapsi tej gati se shahri karan ho rahe hain aise mein apne shahri jeevan ko smaat aur sasva srimal mein hain par bhi hum balde rahe hain aad desh bhar mein jobi next generation insta sakta ki aur wo sasrenable environment and inclusive growth ke lax ke saat banaye jaa rahe hain aaj bharat mein 100 smart city ka kaam tej gati se chal rahe hain sivar se lekar sarvi laans tak smaat bhavastaye tayaar ki jaa rahe hain sthaniya logon ke sujama ke aadhar par cutting edge technology aur renewable energy iss bhavasta ka aadhar hain desh ke national highway expressway ko eco friendly banaye jaa rahe hain unke saat saat green corridor viksit kiya jaa rahe hain naaye high wage ke saat saat viksit ho rahe hain annyas subidhams ki saari urja jarvarte solar power se pura karne ka hain metro jase city transport network ko bhi solar energy se joda jaa rahe hain bahin railway ki fossil fuel paan nirbharta ko hain teji se kaam kar rahe hain saat yon aaj bharat main garo se lekar ke galiyon tak dapparon se lekar ke sadkon tak port se lekar ke aur airport tak water aur energy conservation ki moheem pej gati se chal rahe hain LED bulb se lekar rain water harvesting tak harstar par technology ko promote kiya jaa rahe hain itra hi nahin ghar ke kitchen se lekar transport sector takto clean fuel beige banane ki tarap hain teji se kaam kar rahe hain bite 4 bar soba 10 crore se adhik gharon ko LPG se joda gaya hain jisbe se saare 5 crore se adhik to gharo ke sath saat mobility ko bhi dhuma mukta karne ka bhihaan chal rahe hain air quality ko sudharne ke liye N.C.A.P. i.e. national clean air program par kaam kiya jaa rahe hain bahana ko liye emission standard paik karne ki baat hain toh hain toh hain toh hain BS4 se seede BS6 maanak ko laugo karne ka faisla kiya hain sath yo aaj jaa baharat ka fokus ease of living par hain sabko ghar sabko bhijali sabko bhojan sabko sikshya sabko rojgaar yeh hain mahatukon pahelu hain dekar humari pratibadhat ame bahu-tri hui hain humne kamee nahi hain dee humaar prayaaf hain kia ale two berh sho mein emission intensity burst two thousand 5 ke star ke tulna mein 20 to 25 percent kaam ho humari kosis ishe saal 2030 так that he himself will be free from single-use plastic until 2022. And I am also sure that while wearing the uniform of Mahatma Gandhi, the new India will fulfill its dreams and will become a model for the world. To honor the efforts of India, I once again express my condolences to the President of the United States. By taking all of you out of this precious opportunity, this is my responsibility from the perspective of the person that we should not leave any shortcomings in fulfilling the dreams and that you have come to fulfill our dreams. That is why I would like to express my gratitude to all of you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I am Pratrithi's husband. He will always be our guide and guide. Thank you very much Prime Minister. May I request all the dignitaries to kindly step forward for a group photo. The highest environmental award of the United Nations, the champions of the Earth Award conferred upon the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modiji. A moment of great pride for all Indians. A moment to be savoured. A moment to be photographed and remembered for all times to come. India has taken several radical steps when it comes towards a responsibility towards the environment, one of which of course is what the Honorable Prime Minister was talking about, ensuring that India becomes single use plastic free by the year 2022. The Prime Minister dedicated this award to the Indian value system and indeed in our value there has always been respect for the environment. In our value system, our trees, the environment, the earth are treated like gods. Pratrithi's husband, Mr. Modiji, the Honorable Prime Minister, the Honorable Prime Minister, will be our guide and guide. Thank you very much.