new delhi prime minister narendra modi thursday urged children to stay connected with nature during his interaction with the winners of the pradhan mantri rashtriya bal puraskar 2019he said that these awards offer an opportunity for recognition of talented children and serve as inspiration for others like them a statement from his office saidhe shared some light and informal moments with the children who also requested the pm for autographsthe award winners also shared their inspirational stories with modithe rashtriya bal puraskar awards have been given in two categories bal shakti puraskar to individuals and bal kalyan puraskar to institutionsindividuals working for childrena total of 783 applications were received for the bal shakti puraskar this year the ministry for women and child development selected 26 awardees for bal shakti puraskar under the category of innovation scholastic sports arts and culture social service and braverythe national selection committee also finalised the names of two individuals and three institutions for bal kalyan puraskar the statement saidin another event at his residence here the prime minister interacted with tableaux artists tribal guests ncc cadets and nss volunteerscongratulating the artists for their participation in the republic day parade and related events the prime minister said the entire country takes inspiration from themmodi spoke of the importance of discipline in daily life and added that discipline is an integral part of ncc he said citizens should remain aware of their civic duties at all timeshe also witnessed colourful cultural performances by some of the invitees