Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met with Kannada actors Yash and Rishab Shetty, and former cricketers Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, along with some other noted personalities from various fields, including start-ups, here.

According to sources, the meeting took place over dinner hosted at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday after Modi arrived in the evening to participate in the inauguration of 14th edition of Aero India.

They said Modi told the actors that the film industries of the southern states have given a great boost to India's culture and identity through their work. He particularly appreciated how they have encouraged the participation of women.

The prime minister stressed the need to leverage the ITIs to provide courses related to films especially in areas needing technical expertise and also remembered late actor Puneeth Rajkumar during the interaction, the sources said.

He informed the sportspersons about the measures being taken by the central government to encourage sporting talents, including through the National Education Policy.

The discussion with the start-up world focused on how to further support it and nurture an innovation ecosystem in India, the sources said.

The Karnataka BJP has tweeted a picture of Modi along with Yash, Shetty, late actor Puneeth Rajkumar's wife Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, and comedian Shraddha, popularly known as "Aiyyo Shraddha", among others.

Karnataka is headed for assembly elections in April-May, with the BJP going all out to retain power in the state.

"Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi met Karnataka film stalwarts in Bengaluru. He discussed with them about culture, and the contributions they can make towards new India and the progress of Karnataka," Karnataka BJP tweeted along with the picture.

Cricketers Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey, and businessmen Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Ather Energy, and Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, among others also attended the event.

According to the sources, topics such as the Kannada language, culture, cinema, theatre, film industry, sports, sporting infrastructure, youth empowerment, talent and business opportunities among others came up for discussion.

"It was an honour to meet our Hon. Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji yesterday at Rajbhavan, Bengaluru along with my cricketing colleagues. Will cherish our interaction. Thank you @PMOIndia," Kumble tweeted.

Venkatesh Prasad tweeted, "Was a pleasure meeting our Hon'ble PM @narendramodi ji yesterday with my cricketing colleagues at Raj Bhavan, Bengaluru. He discussed a variety of issues including sports infrastructure, Olympics and sporting culture in India." "Namashkar, yes, I met the Honorable Prime Minister of our country. His first word to me was 'Aiyyo!'. I am not blinking, that’s my 'O My Jod, he really said that, this is really happening!!!!’ look. Thank you @PMOIndia," Shraddha said in a tweet.

Terming his meeting with the prime minister "amazing", Mehta tweeted, "He had deep insights into battery mfg, evolving energy supply chains & of course, EVs for India. No wonder India is leading the world in electrification of 2W and 3W. The focus does start from the top!"

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