Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advice for PUBG playing students. While interacting with students during Pariksha Par Charcha 2.0 at New Delhi’s Talkatora stadium, the Prime Minister said that we should encourage kids to adopt technology but ensure that they do not get controlled by it.

The Prime Minister’s statement was in reply to a complaint raised by the mother of a class nine student. Madhumita Sen Gupta from Assam, who lives in Delhi, said, “Earlier he (son) was good in studies but now he is too distracted by online games.”

PM Modi was quick to reply “PUBG-wala hai kya? (is he a PUBG gamer?)”. The audience roared with laughter. “I hold technology in very high regard. But everything has two sides,” the PM said, adding, “If technology is narrowing us and our thoughts, it will be a big setback. Technology should expand our horizons. To laugh and play in open grounds is very important.”

He said if parents tried to make these efforts, children would hopefully move from ‘playstation to the playground’. He had advice for the parents too, “parents fail when they impose their own life ambitions on their kids. They should try to identify the talent in their kids. As far as expectations are concerned, we also feel that we need to work hard when there are expectations,” he said. 

PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG), is a popular multiplayer videogame that has children addicted across the world. The game has been a huge point of debate as parents have demanded to ban the game. There is also a proposal to ban the game in Gujarat’s primary school.

Introduced in early 2018, PUBG Mobile has become a pop culture phenomenon. PUBG was banned in China in December 2018. And in India, education institutes have already started to take steps to stop children from playing the game. Vellore Institute of Technology, primary schools in Gujarat are some examples.