Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid stress on the need for weeding out the VIP culture that was deep imbedded in people's minds and called for giving importance to all Indians.

In his monthly radio address "Mann Ki Baat", Modi said it was time for VIP (very important person) to be replaced with EPI (every person important).

"There is sort of hatred for VIP culture in our country but I realised the hatred was so deep only when the government decided to do away with red beacons on cars of the officials no matter how important he is."

"The red beacon had become a symbol of VIP culture which has penetrated deeply into our minds. Removing the red beacon is just part of the system but we need to make conscious efforts to weed out this culture from our minds," Modi said.

"The concept behind the 'New India' is that EPI should replace VIP. EPI means every person is important. We should accept the importance of 125 crore Indians. Then we will have the collective power to fulfil our dreams and aspirations," the Prime Minister said.