No Elevator to Success, You Have to Take the Stairs, Says PM Modi at Launch of 'Fit India' Movement

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the ‘Fit India Movement’, saying there was no alternative to a healthy lifestyle.

Addressing the gathering, Modi said: “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs." The Prime Minister said India was plagued by lifestyle diseases and ‘Fit India’ should become a mass movement.

Under the ‘Fit India Movement’, people across the country will be encouraged/advised to choose their local icons, someone who is aged but fit and healthy. The Prime Minister will launch a ‘Fitness Logo’ and ‘Fitness Pledge’ that reads, “I promise to myself that I will devote time for physical activity and sports every day and I will encourage my family members and neighbours to be physically fit and make India a fit nation."

Indian classical and folk dances would also be encouraged under the movement. “This will help in sharing our culture. Also, these are good forms of physical activities. There are many forms of dances in our country, including the ones performed during marriages, birthdays and other festivals. We are trying to link these dance forms with the Fit India Movement. There will be a dedicated social media platform where we will put out stories of local icons who are fit and healthy," RS Julaniya, Union Secretary (sports), had said earlier.

A fitness enthusiast, the Prime Minister’s mornings begin with a walk inspired by the five elements of nature — ‘prithvi’, ‘jal’, ‘agni’, ‘vayu’ and ‘aakash’. In 2018, he had participated in the ‘Hum Fit to India Fit’ campaign launched by Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and accepted a fitness challenge from cricketer Virat Kohli.

India has already improved its ranking on a global healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index (based on 32 causes of death which could be prevented through proper medical care) from 153 in 1990 to 145 in 2016. However, it still ranks behind Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Brazil, Russia and South Africa and well below the global average. At a time when the global HAQ index average is 54.4, India’s scored 41.2 (2016). This was 24.7 in 1990. The HAQ index was created on a study titled Global Burden of Disease.