Mumbai: Bollywood star Akshay Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a media summit in the national capital on Saturday.

Taking to Instagram, the ‘Airlift’ star shared a candid picture of his brief meeting with the Prime Minister. In the picture, Akshay and PM Modi can be seen having a warm conversation.

Akshay wrote in the caption of the post, “At the HT Leadership Summit, we got the opportunity to hear an inspiring talk from our PM Narendra Modi ji about the development story of New India.”

A video posted on the official Instagram handle of HT City also gave a glimpse of the brief meeting of PM Modi and Akshay Kumar. In the video, PM Modi is seen asking about Akshay’s well-being in a respectful but loving manner. “How are you brother…” he asked.

On Saturday morning, PM Modi participated in the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) to mark 100 years of the publication.

Addressing the audience, PM Modi said that he hopes that this century will be India’s.

“India has traveled a remarkable journey from the struggle for independence, riding the waves of aspiration and development. This journey, unique in itself, reflects the indomitable spirit of the nation. Ten years ago, such changes would have seemed unimaginable. Today, there is hope that this century will be India’s.”

He also pointed out that to realize this dream, investments must be made in all areas with the mindset that nothing less than the best is acceptable.

“Processes should be streamlined to ensure world-class recognition of India’s standards. In education, efforts are underway to establish India as a global leader in quality education,” he said.

The Prime Minister praised the citizens of the country and said that they stood up at a time when the country needed them the most.

“Before and after independence, the force that has guided India has been the resilience of the common citizen. When the British left, many people doubted India’s future. During the Emergency, people feared that democracy would will end forever. While some institutions and individuals surrendered the regime, citizens stood firm and democracy was swiftly restored, similarly, India’s citizens showed extraordinary resolve in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. “Demonstrated,” the PM said.

Terming vote bank politics as politics that creates inequality and distrust among citizens, PM Modi today said that his government’s vision extends far beyond this.

“A popular saying once echoed in policymaking circles: ‘Good economics is bad politics.’ This perception allowed previous governments to hide incompetence under the guise of populism, leading to inequality and distrust among citizens, today the approach of government goes beyond vote-bank politics. Instead it is for the people, by the people and for the people. Focusing on the progress of: The goal is clear: to make India a developed nation.”

PM Modi also emphasized that when citizens trust their government, it has a deep impact on the development of the country. Now, India’s youth are fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem, with over 1.25 lakh registered startups shaping the economy. Today, around 10 crore women entrepreneurs, fondly called “Lakhpati Didis”, are running businesses in villages across the country. When the middle class and the underprivileged start taking risks, transformational change starts to appear, as is happening now,” he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the government’s vision is to spend big for the people and save big for the people.

“In 2014, the Union Budget was Rs 16 lakh crore; today, it has increased to Rs 48 lakh crore. Capital expenditure, which was about Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2013-14, has now crossed Rs 11 lakh crore, Financing of roads, railways, research facilities and other public infrastructure,” he said.