Welfare economics, infra push take centerstage in PM Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech

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Unfurling his plans for quicker implementation of the government’s welfare programmes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised in his eighth Independence Day speech on Sunday that all the schemes such as Ujjwala Yojana, delivery of piped water, Ayushman Bharat, Jan-Dhan Yojana, government insurance and pension have to reach their 100% target in a few years.

In the speech designed to mark “Amrut Mahatsav” to celebrate the 75th year of the country’s independence, the prime minister said that the speed of the welfare programmes has to be stepped up to ensure not a single deserving person is left out of the beneficiary net.

Diverse issues

The 88-minute speech of the prime minister touched a diverse range of issues such as welfare programmes, governance, economy, entrepreneurship, energy independence, education, sports, role of the youth, women, farmers, ease of doing business, climate change and various other sectors of statecraft.

Outlining his vision for a welfare republic, Modi made a special mention of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala yojana, creation of bank accounts, government pension and insurance for the poor and said that their benefits have to reach the last person in the country. He said the government has worked to realise 100% implementation of electrification of villages and building toilets in households.

“Street-side vendors and cart pullers are getting the benefits of schemes such as Svanidhi yojana,” mentioned the PM.

Water to 4.5 crore households

He also said that in the past two years, piped water has been delivered to more than 4.5 crore households under the Jal Jivan Mission that plans to provide safe drinking water to all households through taps by 2024.

Since he assumed power in May 2014, Narendra Modi has led a thrust into several large-scale welfare programmes in fields of health insurance, direct cash assistance, financial literacy, free LPG connections, pension.

Entrepreneurship, unicorns

He also mentioned how a start-up culture in spreading across the nation. “Yesterday’s start-ups are turning into unicorns today. They are generating huge wealth,” said the PM. Numerous needless rules have been abolished and more than 15,000 compliances have been done away with, added Modi, reiterating that the undue role of the state has to gone down in the life of the average citizen of the country.

He also said how the benefits of optic fibre network and internet are preparing rural India to produce digital entrepreneurs.

“Ease of living and ease of doing business are both facilitated by these revisions,” said Modi.

He urged all departments and organisations to review rules and to do away with those that cause trouble for the common man.

Gati Shakti

In order to improve infrastructure the government will soon introduce Prime Minister Gati Shakti, the details of which Modi did not share on Sunday. He said an amount of Rs 1 lakh crore will be committed towards these projects to improve efficiency of the economy and competitiveness of the economy.

He said that it would create a lot of employment for the country’s youths.

Focussing on girl welfare, he said that “Girls can now get admission in all sainik schools.”

Fortified rice

As much as 45% of the rice delivered in schemes such as midday meals and other foodgrain delivery programmes should contain fortified rice to better take care of the nutritional needs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Fortifying rice involves a process of smashing broken rice into a powder form, mixing nutrients into it, recreating rice-like kernels and mixing them with usual rice grains in a ratio of 1:100. The result is a rise in the nutrition levels of the mixed rice.

Small farmers

Modi also mentioned that his government is trying to improve the quality of life for small farmers who constitute 80% of all the farmers in the country. “The size of land holding is getting smaller due to property in the families. About 80% of the farmers don’t own even 2 hectare land,” he said, adding block-level warehouses will be set up for the benefit of these sections.

He also mentioned that more than more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore have been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 10 crore small farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana as direct cash assistance so far.

Vaccination

The prime minister lauded the role of the scientists and said that it is due to their efforts that the nation is not dependent on anyone for vaccines.

More than 54 crores have got their jabs turning India’s inoculation programme into the world’s biggest one, he said.

“The CoWin platform and process of digital certificates are attracting the attention of the world,” he added.

Fewer people were infected in India compared to other countries as a share of the population. We have also been able to save the lives of a lot of citizens. But this is not something to be thump our chest about, remarked the PM.

“We have worked at a frenetic pace during the pandemic. India does not have to depend on any other country for vaccines. Just imagine what would have happened if we did not have our vaccines. Our scientists ensured that we did not have to depend on anyone else,” said Modi, adding that the country had to wait for a number of years for polio vaccines.