Imphal, April 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the 100th episode of his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address on Sunday by reconnecting with Tongbram Bijiyashanti, a young entrepreneur from Manipur who has established a business weaving fabric from lotus stem yarns.
During the conversation, PM Modi congratulated Bijiyashanti on increasing her workforce to 30 and commended her for her ambition to employ 100 women.
The innovative entrepreneur expressed her gratitude towards the Prime Minister for highlighting her business on the Mann Ki Baat program, stating that her lotus stems fiber initiative had garnered interest from buyers in the US who want to purchase her products in bulk.
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Bijiyashanti’s company, ‘Sanajing Sana Thambal’, was established in 2018 and has provided employment opportunities for local women in the Bishenpur district.
The company has seen steady growth, with finished products such as scarves, mufflers, and neckties made from silk-like yarn in high demand in various metropolitan cities, including Mumbai and Kolkata.
The young entrepreneur plans to engage more locals in her start-up in the coming days. She has already taught some local women the technique involved in extracting the fiber and spinning the thread, providing them with work that they undertake from their homes. Bijiyashanti’s initiative has brought new avenues in the field of textiles and created job opportunities for rural women in the region.
This is not the first time that Bijiyashanti has been featured on the Mann Ki Baat program. In 2020, Prime Minister Modi appreciated her innovative efforts on the show.
Speaking about her venture, PM Modi had said, “The Lotus plant is a symbol of many things, but the work that Bijiyashanti is doing has added one more meaning to it. Through her efforts, the Lotus plant has also become a symbol of women’s empowerment.”
The Prime Minister’s radio address has been a significant platform for Bijiyashanti and her business. Mann Ki Baat is a monthly radio program hosted by PM Modi, which was first aired on October 3, 2014. The program is aired on the last Sunday of every month and has garnered a massive following across the world.
The 100th episode of the popular show marked a significant milestone, with people from various parts of the globe tuning in to listen to this special episode. The program is broadcast on All India Radio and Doordarshan’s entire network and is available for streaming on the AIR News website and the Newsonair mobile app. Following the Hindi broadcast, the program is also streamed in various regional languages through AIR.
