G20 presidency is people's presidency, Aug 29 to be celebrated as Telugu Language Day: PM Modi

New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India is fully prepared for the G-20 presidency and "our presidency of the G20 is people's presidency."

He also announced that August 29 will be celebrated as Telugu Language Day, just months ahead of assembly elections in Telangana.

Addressing his 104th episode of the monthly broadcast of 'Mann Ki Baat' and discussing the upcoming event G-20 Summit, Modi said that India is fully prepared for the G-20 Leaders' Summit next month.

The Prime Minister said that heads of 40 countries and many global organisations are coming to the national capital to participate in the event. 

"This will be the biggest participation ever in the history of the G-20 Summit. During its presidency, India has made G-20 a more Inclusive Forum. The African Union also joined the G-20 on the invitation of India and the voice of the people of Africa reached this important platform of the World," Modi said.

Modi said that since India took over the Presidency of the G-20 in Bali last year, so much has happened that fills India with pride.

"Moving away from the tradition of big events in Delhi. We took it to different cities in the country. About 200 meetings related to this were organised in 60 cities of the country," Modi said.

He said, "Wherever the G-20 delegates went, people warmly welcomed them. The delegates were very impressed by seeing the diversity of our country and our vibrant democracy. They also realised that there are so many possibilities in India."

Modi said, "Our Presidency of the G-20 is a People's Presidency. The spirit of public participation is at the forefront."

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The group comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.

The member countries represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

Modi also announced that August 29 will be celebrated as Telugu Language Day.

"Our mother tongue is a very powerful medium to connect with our culture, our tradition. Similarly, India has another mother tongue, the glorious Telugu language. 29 August will be celebrated as Telugu Day. Wish you all a very Happy Telugu Day," he said.

The Prime Minister also congratulated Indian players for winning 26 medals in World University Games.

He said, "Today I want to talk about a tournament where our players have made the country proud. In China we had World University Games where Indian players have won a total of 26 medals.

He also spoke to players, who participated in the games.

He also extended his greetings on the upcoming occasion of Raksha Bandhan to the nation, during his Mann Ki Baat address.

Asserting that Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages of the world, Modi said that it is also called the mother of many modern languages.

"Today, the awareness and sense of pride in Sanskrit has increased among the people. There is also a special contribution of the country in the past years behind this," he said.

Emphasising on dairy, Modi said, "Today there are many people who are diversifying by adopting dairy. You must also know about Amanpreet Singh, who is running a dairy farm in Kota, Rajasthan. Along with dairy, he also focused on Biogas and set up two biogas plants."