Modi stresses turning e-waste into gold, focusing on a millet-rich diet.

Modi stresses turning e-waste into gold, focusing on a millet-rich diet.

Citing a report of the United Nations organization, PM said that 50 million tonnes of e-waste is being thrown away every year.  He said that 50 million tonnes of e-waste could not even be equal to the cumulative weight of all the commercial planes built in the history of mankind. 

“Every household has electronic devices. Today’s device is tomorrow’s e-waste. Therefore, proper disposal of electronic devices is a must,” said the PM.

“Each second, 800 laptops are being scrapped. You will be amazed to know that about 17 types of precious metals can be extracted from this e-waste through different processes. This includes gold, silver, copper and nickel. So, utilizing e-waste is no less than making ‘Kachre Ko Kanchan’”, PM  Narendra Modi said.

Use of technologies and start-ups have made India a “global recycling hub”, Modi said, adding there is no dearth of start-ups that are doing innovative work in this direction.Only 15-17 percent of e-waste is being recycled every year.

On growing use of millets in foods, the PM spoke about the Millet’s Cafe opened at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh and noted how the number of ‘Milletpreneurs’ are increasing.

Throwing light on India’s progress in science technology and innovation, he said that  India has obtained 7th rank in patent filing and 5th in trademark registering, an increase of 50 per cent in five years.

“In the Global Innovation Index too, India’s ranking has improved tremendously and now it has reached 40th position, while in 2015, India was behind even the 80th position in the Global Innovation Index”, he said. PM Narendra Modi concluded ‘Mann Ki Baat’ saying efforts to strengthen the Republic should go on relentlessly by public participation, by everyone’s effort.