Union minister Giriraj Singh today credited Singapore's attractiveness for foreign investment to their focus on cleanliness and called for similar efforts in India to earn the world's respect.
The MSME minister also said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call for Swachh Bharat mission in 2014, "people made fun".
The prime minister emphasised on cleanliness and had said "'pehle shauchalaya, phir devalaya' (toilet first, temple later)", the minister said at the 1st edition of Swachhata Awards 2017 held here.
The prime minister started it alone and later the whole country joined him, making the mission a nation-wide movement and helping many villages becoming free of open defecation, Singh said.
The minister said there is figure which says that between 1977-87, Singapore saw rise in foreign direct investment and it was due to the steps the country was taking towards cleanliness.
The world should also praise India for cleanliness, he said.
The swachhata award ceremony was organised to honour employees of the ministry, its PSUs, and autonomous bodies under it for making efforts to fulfil the prime minister's mission of Swachh Bharat, MSME Secretary Arun Kumar Panda said.
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