National News
President lauds Govt’s welfare schemes, vaccination drive
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday lauded the government’s performance in the last three years, specially during the corona pandemic.
Addressing the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, the President said: “We are in the third year of the pandemic caused by coronavirus. In these years, the people have displayed profound faith in the democratic values, discipline and sense of responsibility.”
Hailing the government’s efforts during the pandemic, he said that the example of India’s capability in the fight against Covid-19 is evident in the ongoing Covid vaccination programme. India has surpassed the record of administering more than 150 crore vaccine doses in less than a year.
While more than 90 per cent adult citizens of the country have received the first dose of the vaccine, more than 70 per cent have been administered both the doses, President Kovind said. The government is also reaching out to the rest of the population through the “Har Ghar Dastak” campaign. Adolescents in the age group of 15 to 18 years have also been included in the vaccination programme from this month.
Highlighting the government’s efforts for the poor during the pandemic, President Kovind said that the government is providing free ration to every poor household every month under the “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.” This is the world’s largest food distribution programme with an outlay of Rs two lakh sixty thousand crore reaching out to 80 crore beneficiaries for 19 months and now this scheme has been extended till March 2022.
More than two crore pucca houses have been provided to the poor under the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana” as a result of the efforts made in the last few years. Under the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin,” 1 crore 17 lakh houses have been approved at a cost of about Rupees one and a half lakh crore in the last three years.
Launched with the aim of “Har Ghar Jal”, the Jal Jeevan Mission has brought about a huge difference in the lives of the people and nearly six crore rural households have been provided tap water connections despite the constraints imposed by the pandemic, he said on empowering the poor and enhancing their dignity.
To empower the farmers and the rural economy of the country, despite the pandemic, the government made record procurement to match the record production. The farmers produced more than 30 crore tonnes of foodgrains and 33 crore tonnes of horticulture produce in 2020-21.
It procured 433 lakh metric tonnes of wheat during the Rabi season benefitting about 50 lakh farmers. A record quantity of about 900 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured during the Kharif season, benefiting 1 crore 30 lakh farmers.
The government has endeavoured to open new avenues of prosperity for the farmers by launching “Kisan Rail Seva,” the President said. During the Corona period, Indian Railways operated over 1,900 Kisan Rails on more than 150 routes to transport perishable food items like vegetables, fruits and milk, thereby transporting about 6 lakh metric tonnes of agricultural produce. Under the “PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi,” Rupees 1 lakh 80 thousand crore have been provided to more than 11 crore farmer families.
Giving an impetus to the rural economy, the banks have extended financial help to the tune of Rs 65,000 crore to more than 28 lakh Self-Help Groups in 2021-22. This is four times the amount extended in 2014-15. The government has also provided training to thousands of members of the women self-help groups and made them partners as “Banking Sakhi”.
“A provision has also been made for the Gender Inclusion Fund in the National Education Policy to promote learning capability among our daughters. It is a matter of happiness that all the existing 33 Sainik Schools have started admitting girl students,” Kovind said, adding that the government has also approved the admission of women cadets in the National Defence Academy.
The first batch of women cadets will enter the NDA in June 2022. With the policy decisions and encouragement of my government, the number of women personnel in various police forces has more than doubled as compared to 2014.
On implementation of a new National Education Policy across the country, Kovind said it was part of the government’ endeavour to give shape to the resolve and potential of “Atmanirbhar Bharat.” Local languages are also being promoted through the National Education Policy.
Emphasis is being laid on conducting important entrance examinations for undergraduate courses in Indian languages as well. This year, 19 engineering colleges in 10 states will start teaching in six Indian languages, he added.
“We saw the capability of India’s youth power in the Tokyo Olympics. Giving its best-ever performance, India won seven medals. In Tokyo Paralympics too, India won 19 medals and set a record.”
With a firm belief in global brotherhood, India extended a helping hand when people in neighbouring Afghanistan were in distress due to political instability and launched ‘Operation Devi Shakti’ to airlift the Indian citizens in Afghanistan and minorities there in danger, including Afghan Hindus, Sikhs and others.
Even in such situations, “our government respected the religious emotions of our Sikh community” and successfully brought back the two copies of holy Guru Granth Sahib. Now India has been supplying corona vaccines, life saving drugs and grains to Afghanistan on a humanitarian basis, the President stated.
Noting that India has again emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, he said that the GST collection has consistently remained above Rupees one lakh crore during the last several months. Inflow of 48 billion dollars in the first seven months of the current financial year is a testimony to the belief the global investor community has in India’s growth story. India’s foreign exchange reserves today exceed 630 billion dollars. During April to December 2021, goods exports stood at 300 billion dollars or more than Rupees 22 lakh crore, which is one-and-a-half times more than the corresponding period of 2020.
In order to protect MSMEs from crisis and ensure adequate availability of credit during the Corona period, the government started a scheme for guaranteed Collateral Free Loans of Rupees 3 lakh crore. It is evident from the recent studies that this scheme has given a fresh lease of life to 13 lakh 50 thousand MSME units and also secured 1 crore 50 lakh jobs.
In June 2021, the government enhanced credit guarantee from Rs 3 lakh crore to Rs 4.5 lakh crore, Kovind stated.
As against 90,000 kilometres of national highways in March 2014, today India have more than 1 lakh 40 thousand kilometres of national highways. Under the Bharatmala Project, construction of more than 20,000 kilometres of highways is in progress with an outlay of about Rs 6 lakh crore, including 23 green expressways and green-field corridors.
The government is committed to sustainable development of all the states of the North East – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. In these states, basic amenities and economic opportunities are being developed at every level. Rail and air connectivity are no longer a dream for the people of the North East, they are now able to experience them in reality.
A new airport is being set up at Hollongi, Itanagar. A modern new terminal has recently been opened at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Tripura. This development of North East will prove to be a golden chapter in India’s growth story. Efforts of the government to establish peace in the North East have attained historic success. Just a few months ago, a settlement was reached between the Central Government, the state government of Assam and the Karbi groups to end the decades-old conflict in Karbi Anglong.
Nice/New Delhi, June 14: India has transformed from being a consumer of global solutions to a contributor of solutions for the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
Speaking after inaugurating the ‘Bharat Innovates 2026’ event in Nice, France, PM Modi said India’s innovation ecosystem is rapidly expanding and increasingly playing a role in addressing global challenges through technology and entrepreneurship.
“India now acts as a solution contributor rather than a solution consumer,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister further stated that India is innovating at both speed and scale, with a focus on creating sustainable solutions that benefit not only its own citizens but also the global community.
“Bharat innovates with speed and scale. Bharat innovates for a sustainable future. Bharat innovates for the whole world,” PM Modi said while addressing the innovation-focused event, jointly inaugurated with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Emphasising India’s approach towards technological development, the Prime Minister said the country’s priority is “technology for humanity” and human-centric innovation.
He added that innovation is deeply embedded in India’s culture and way of thinking. “Innovation is in India’s DNA,” Prime Minister Modi explained.
The Prime Minister also praised the growing partnership between India and France, describing it as a relationship rooted in shared values, mutual trust and common interests.
He noted that cooperation between the two countries spans a wide range of sectors, from security and strategic affairs to sustainability and innovation.
“India-France partnership covers security to sustainability,” PM Modi said.
Macron, who shared the stage with PM Modi at the event, described the Prime Minister’s presence at ‘Bharat Innovates’ as a matter of great honour for France.
He also congratulated PM Modi on completing 12 years as India’s leader and praised his role in strengthening ties between the two countries.
The ‘Bharat Innovates’ event has brought together leading startups, venture capital funds, innovators and technology leaders from India, France and several other countries.
Bengaluru, June 14: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was repeatedly criticising the country’s economic performance, “on the contrary, quarter after quarter, year after year India has been the fastest growing economy”.
Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ‘Viksit Bharat’ event here, Union Minister Sitharaman noted that it is not the Central government, which is claiming that India is the fastest-growing economy, but the GDP numbers were indicative of this.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also said India was the world’s fastest growing major economy, she said.
She also added that the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi keeps saying that there is a big disaster awaiting, but there is none awaiting India.
The Union Minister said that repeated criticism by the Congress leader could create a false perception among citizens about the country’s economic condition.
“The Leader of the Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) and his party try to make people believe that India is in trouble. Yet even amidst crises in West Asia and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, India continues to move forward,” Union Minister Sitharaman remarked.
Commenting on the impact of geopolitical tensions on fuel supplies and global trade, she said the challenges extended beyond fluctuations in crude oil and LPG prices.
“These challenges affect not only crude oil prices and LPG prices but global shipping as well. Shipping companies hesitate to send vessels through conflict zones. Insurance premiums increase because ships risk being attacked. Whether a vessel is empty or carrying crude oil, insurance costs rise significantly, and those costs ultimately have to be paid to ensure supplies reach the country,” she noted.
“Despite these global headwinds, the Narendra Modi government has ensured uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products,” she said.
Union Minister Sitharaman said the BJP’s 12-year journey under Prime Minister Modi was marked by both development and welfare.
She highlighted the reduction in multidimensional poverty, expansion of tap water connections, sanitation coverage, free LPG connections and food security programmes as the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led Union government.
“Twenty-five crore Indians have come out of multidimensional poverty. Extreme poverty has declined from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to about 11.28 per cent. Twelve crore household toilets have been built under rural sanitation programmes, achieving near-universal coverage,” the Union Finance Minister said.
She added that the government benefits were directly reaching the poor through the digital public infrastructure ecosystem built around the JAM trinity — Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity.
Union Minister Sitharaman said that India now has 58 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 144 crore Aadhaar identities and 125 crore mobile connections while UPI had become a global model for digital transactions.
She also rejected the Congress’ claims that the Centre had neglected Karnataka and cited tax devolution, grants and infrastructure investments to back her argument.
Union Minister Sitharaman said, “The Karnataka government frequently claims that the Centre is not giving the state its due share. Let us look at the facts. Tax devolution to Karnataka between 2014 and 2026 amounted to about Rs four lakh crore — five times more than the Rs 82,000 crore received in the comparable pre-2014 period.”
“Grants-in-aid to Karnataka between 2014 and 2026 stood at about Rs 2.71 lakh crore and that the state had also received more than Rs 18,000 crore under the Centre’s 50-year interest-free loan scheme,” the Union Finance Minister added.
Nice/New Delhi, June 14: Ahead of the inauguration of the Bharat Innovates Summit in Nice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted with select investors and venture capital leaders from India, France and several other countries.
The innovation-focused summit is set to be jointly launched by Prime Minister Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The event will bring together leading startups, investors, entrepreneurs and technology stakeholders to explore opportunities for collaboration, investment and innovation-driven partnerships between India, France and the wider global ecosystem.
The interaction with investors comes as India and France seek to deepen cooperation in emerging technologies, innovation and entrepreneurship under their Special Global Strategic Partnership.
The Bharat Innovates Summit is expected to serve as a key platform for fostering cross-border investment and strengthening ties between startup ecosystems in the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi and President Macron are also expected to hold bilateral talks in Nice, where they will review the entire spectrum of India-France relations.
Discussions are likely to focus on innovation, technology, trade, defence cooperation and broader strategic issues, reflecting the expanding scope of engagement between the two nations.
PM Modi’s visit to France, which runs from June 13 to June 18, will cover three key cities — Nice, Evian and Paris.
Meanwhile, shortly after arriving in France, PM Modi shared glimpses of his interaction with members of the Indian community in Nice.
“A memorable welcome from the Indian community of Nice. Although they are several kilometers from their country, the bond of our diaspora with India remains stronger than ever,” Prime Minister Modi wrote on social media platform X.
Prior to that, upon arriving in Nice, the Prime Minister had shared details of his France visit in a post on X, saying that his engagements would span Nice, Evian and Paris.
“I have just landed in Nice. Beyond Nice, this visit to France includes programs in Evian and Paris,” PM Modi stated.
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