Combine Laxmi with Saraswati: PM Narendra Modi to bankers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took to mythology to underscore a need for building adequate knowledge capacities in the banking space, saying that Laxmi - goddess of wealth - would stay longer when combined with Saraswati, who is worshipped for knowledge.

"Prime Minister said it is not important to worship only Laxmi, because Laxmiji is 'chanchal'," Financial Services Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told reporters here, quoting from Modi's address to bankers at the two-day Gyan Sangam here. "If you combine Saraswati and Laxmi, then Laxmi stays for a longer time," Adhia said, drawing references from the Goddesses of Knowledge and Wealth, respectively.

The Prime Minister stretched the same eulogy to cement the need to have such a two-day conclave which had the entire spectrum of stakeholders from the banking and financial world, including bankers, financial sector regulators and external experts. "This (Laxmi and Saraswati) is the confluence at Gyan Sangam, in which there is a 'milan' of Saraswati and Laxmi," Adhia said, quoting the Prime Minister.