Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley today expressed confidence that the message of cleanliness delivered as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign would leave a lasting impression on the minds of children and become a part of their lifestyle.
The Minister, who also holds charge of the Union Finance Ministry, was speaking at the inauguration of a three-day National Children's Film Festival at Siri Fort auditorium here.
He said that apart from the film festival, a big campaign to spread awareness about cleanliness among children in schools was being initiated.
"Though keeping clean and maintaining hygiene should be a part of lifestyle and a campaign should not be needed for this... On the birthday of Pandit (Jawaharlal) Nehru, there will be a special campaign on clean lifestyle in all schools," Jaitley said.
Hoping that the message of the cleanliness campaign would leave a lasting imprint on the minds of children, Jaitley said that childhood was a time when there is no stress and what is learnt as a child stays with a person for life.
Addressing the star-studded event where tennis player Sania Mirza, Bollywood actress Dia Mirza and filmmaker Shyam Benegal were present, the Union minister said that celluloid was a very powerful medium and also a source of knowledge.
"Celluloid medium is very powerful and the movies that we watch some times enhance our knowledge even at this age," he said.
Referring to Benegal, Jaitley said he had recently shot a series on the making of India's Constitution, which could impart more information than many books.
Stating that children today live in an age of "information explosion", Jaitley remarked that during his student days, there was no History or National Geographic channel or even the internet.
Speaking at the event, I&B secretary Bimal Julka said that the Ministry was carrying forward the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi vis-a-vis the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign and hence the Children's Film Festival was organised on the theme of 'Swachhta'.
Being held by the Children's Film Society of India (CSFI) as part of Children's Day celebrations, the three-day festival would provide an opportunity for children to appreciate high-quality film content, said a release here.
CSFI's latest production, 'Pappu Ki Pugdandi' was the inaugural film at the festival.
