The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched the Fit India Movement at a ceremony in New Delhi today on the occasion of National Sports Day. The Prime Minister urged the people of the country to make fitness their life style.

Launching the people’s movement on the birth anniversary of Major Dhyanchand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Major Dhyanchand, India’s sports icon who enthralled the world with his game and techniques. He also congratulated the young sportspersons of the country who are keeping the tricolor afloat on the world stage through their efforts.

“Their medals are a not only the result of their hard work but reflection of a new zeal and new confidence of a New India”, the PM said.

The Prime Minister said that ‘Fit India Movement’ should become a national goal and its aspiration. In an effort to inspire the nation, the Prime Minister said that Fit India Movement may have been started by the government but it is the people who have to lead it and make it a success. Success is related to fitness, success stories of all of our icons from any field of life have a common thread- most of them are fit, have a focus on fitness and are fond of fitness.”

He also added, “Technology has reduced our physical ability and has robbed us of our daily fitness routines and today we are unaware of our traditional practises and lifestyle which could keep us fit. With time, fitness has been relegated a lower priority in our society. Earlier a person used to walk or cycle for kilometers, today mobile apps have to tell us how many steps we walked.”

“Today lifestyle diseases are on a rise in India affecting even the young. Cases of diabetes and hypertension is on the rise and even common among children in India. But small lifestyle changes can prevent these lifestyle diseases. ‘Fit India Movement’ is an effort to bring these small lifestyle changes”, the PM said.

The Prime Minister said that people in any profession can make themselves efficient in their profession if they are mentally and physical fit.

If body is fit, then you would be mentally fit. Sports has a direct relation to fitness but ‘Fit India Movement’ aims to go beyond fitness. Fitness is not just a word but an essential pillar to a healthy and prosperous life. When we prepare our bodies for battle, we make the country strong as iron. Fitness is part of our historic legacy. Games and sports are played in every nook and corner of India. While working on the body they also train the mind, increasing focus and coordination of body parts. A healthy Individual, a healthy family and a healthy society are the essentials to make New India a Fit India.

Industry Reactions:

Lack of physical activity is today a major risk factor for a number of deadly diseases including heart disease, cancer, hypertension, obesity as well as diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in four adults globally is not active enough while more than 80% of the world’s adolescent population in insufficiently active. The role of physical inactivity in India’s growing NCD epidemic cannot be understated. In fact, physical inactivity is being increasing being recognized at the “new smoking” when it comes to increasing risk for diseases. In this light, the Prime Minister’s move to launch a ‘Fit India movement’ is highly welcome and worth appreciating. The movement must focus on creating greater opportunities for all sections of population to adopt physically active lifestyles. An hour of sports and physical activity every day must be made mandatory in schools. At the same time, workplaces must also be encouraged to join the movement by dedicating 30 minutes of their daily space to some sort of physical exercise. It has been observed that lack of safe public spaces such as parks and walking spaces are a significant factor that deter a number of people especially women from venturing out and exercising. It is important for the urban planners to include safe public spaces in all areas while also creating safe roads and infrastructure for cycling. We hope this campaign also helps generate the requisite awareness among people about the need for adopting physical activity.  

Dr Shankar Narang, COO, Paras Healthcare 

Fit India is a pioneering movement by our honourable Prime Minister, a powerful advocate of healthy living himself. This initiative will truly benefit the majority of the Indian population. We, at GOQii, are deeply excited to share the same vision as PM Shri Narendra Modi, and extend our complete support in making 130 crore Indians healthy. Finally, as the focus shifts from curative to preventive healthcare, it will open doors for more research and development, and several new initiatives. In order to make Fit India Movement a success, I urge all players, right from startups to corporates to collaborate and embark on this journey, empower themselves and others to be fit and healthy.

Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii