New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan encouraged children to embrace the habit of reading and urged them to share the list of books they are reading.
Launching the 100-day reading campaign ‘Padhe Bharat’ on Saturday, Pradhan shared the names of five books he had picked to begin reading and underlined the importance of reading that children need to develop to “ensure continuous and lifelong learning”.
“The habit of reading, if inculcated at an early age, helps in brain development, enhances imagination and provides a conducive learning environment for children,” the minister said.
“Reading is the foundation of learning, which motivates students to read books independently, develops creativity, critical thinking, vocabulary and the ability to express both verbally and in writing. It helps children to relate to their surroundings and real life situation,” he added.
Reading books is a healthy habit and a wonderful way to develop cognitive, language, and social skills.
Inspired by PM @narendramodi’s call to citizens to read books regularly, I am committed to cultivate a lifetime habit of book reading. #PadheBharat pic.twitter.com/XvwQ0Vsry8
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) January 1, 2022
The reading campaign, which will continue till April 10, is in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises on promotion of joyful reading culture for children by ensuring availability of age-appropriate reading books for children in local/mother tongue/regional/tribal language.