New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched India's first air quality index to monitor pollution level at the two-day conference of State Environment and Forest Ministers at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Speaking at the event, Modi said, "We have been brought up in a nation where environment protection is connected with human sentiments, and nature is considered next to god."
Conserving nature is an important aspect of the Indian tradition, said the Prime Minister, adding that we have no right to exploit it.
"We have grown up in those traditions where nature is worshipped and where conserving nature is very important. We have no right to exploit nature. This is not a part of our culture," he said.
The prime minister also said that India was one of the most sensitive countries about nature. "Per person carbon emission in India is very less."
He also said that India has practiced the concepts of recycling and re-using for a long time. "We have not borrowed it from outside."
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that it was essential to maintain environmental balance.
"Our mandate is to save the nature using the best of the technologies," he said.