Sachin Tendulkar, sports icon and member of parliament, has decided to adopt a village and work on developing its infrastructure, a goal the Prime Minister asked all law-makers to embrace in his speech on Independence Day.
Mr Tendulkar, 41, shared this decision at a meeting today with the PM, who later tweeted, "I am delighted to know that the sporting legend will adopt a village under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana."
The PM had picked Mr Tendulkar, widely acknowledged as one of the world's greatest cricketers, as one of nine nominees to help propagate the Clean India campaign which was launched on October 2. Mr Modi had tagged nine people to lead by example in removing litter from public places.
Mr Tendulkar then swept a part of Mumbai with his friends last week and posted the video on twitter. Mr Modi complimented him tweeting, "Great work @sachin_rt! Your dedicated efforts are a very strong source of support & encouragement for Swachh Bharat Mission."
The PM has said that all lawmakers should adopt one village each by 2016, and another two by 2019, focusing on providing modern and better services and infrastructure. "We are nearly 800 MPs. If before 2019 we develop three villages each, we reach nearly 2,500 villages. If in the light of this scheme, the states also create a similar scheme for MLAs, then 6,000-7,000 more villages can be added," Mr Modi has said.
Mr Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 by the previous government; he was criticized earlier this year for his poor attendance. He has come to Parliament only for three days.
He was seen recently in uniform at the Indian Air Force day parade. In 2010, he was made an honorary Group Captain in the Air Force in recognition of his cricketing achievements.