New Delhi: A Rising India is not just about the economy or the GDP, it’s about the self-respect of 125 crore Indians, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday at the News18 Rising India Summit. He said the collective willpower of the people is shaping a New India.
At the summit, the Prime Minister highlighted the achievements of his government, adding that unlike in other countries, citizens are leading the government in India. The PM cited key projects like the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Ujjwala Gas Scheme, the drive to weed out black money as examples.
“For me, rising India means the rise of 1.25 billion Indians. “If the self-confidence of 125 crore people rises, then even the impossible becomes possible,” he said.Look East Policy
PM Modi said unprecedented efforts and energy is being put to bring India's East and Northeast regions on a par with the pace of progress in the rest of the country. “India has brought the Northeast from isolation to integration. People used to say Dilli Dur Ast [Delhi is far away] but I have brought Delhi to the doorsteps of the North East," the PM said.
Through "Act East, Act Fast" policy, Modi said his government was focusing attention of the state machinery to reducing social imbalance in the region.
"But there are those who think that I'm working in Northeast for some political gains only. Let me tell them, they have lost touch with the realities on ground," he said.
Healthcare
The PM said healthcare has been a primary focus of the government. “Our effort has been no silos, only solutions. It needs to be preventive, but it also needs to be affordable”.
Preventive healthcare, said Modi, is the best and the most affordable healthcare for people. He added that to make healthcare affordable there are now over 3,000 Jan Aushadhi centres, where cheaper versions of over 800 medicines are available. The slash in stent prices and knee implants, that took place in 2017, were also brought up as an achievement of his government.
“The Ayush Ministry is responsible for making Yoga a mass movement. The global awareness about Yoga is also part of Rising India,” said the Prime Minister, adding, “It will lead us to ‘Ayushman Vishva’, not just ‘Ayushman Bharat’. Energy
From importing to having excess coal, from gasping for natural gas to striding towards construction of gas grids and strengthening the renewable energy sector in the country, PM Narendra Modi set India an ambitious target of becoming an energy surplus state by 2022.
"Today, we are moving towards an energy surplus status. We are also moving towards our dream of One Nation, One Grid. By 2022 we will have excess energy in the country," said Modi.
“There was a time when the power ministry, renewable energy ministry and the coal ministry did not know what the other was doing. Now they are working as one unit. We have electrified over 16,000 of the 18,000 villages in the country that did not have electricity since 1947,” he added.Ujjwala scheme
Highlighting the achievements of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Modi said, "Ujjwala is not just changing kitchens but also the situation of crores of families."
“We have undertaken many initiatives to improve the availability of nutritious food to women and children in India. Only if they eat well will they be healthy,” he added.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the Union Budget had raised the target of beneficiaries under the Ujjwala scheme to 8 crore.Swachh Bharat
PM Modi stressed that a healthy life cannot be led without cleanliness and said the Swachh Bharat Mission has become a mass movement in a short time.
“In the last four years, we have doubled the number of public toilets.
By the year 2014, 6.5 crore households had toilets all over India but now 13 million houses have toilets. Today, sanitation coverage has increased from 38 percent to 80 percent in the country,” he added.
Modi said the message has also reached households that dirt brings diseases along with it, while the cleanliness drives away from the diseases.On Economy
Modi talked about how the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has eased the tax burden on the public and said that on the economic front, in the last three to four years, India has lent strength to global economic growth as well.
“India is now contributing nearly 7 times the amount it contributed earlier to the world economy. People now really believe that in the 21st century, India will be able to break loose of its shackles and baggage and move forward. In 2014, our tax system was viewed as unfriendly but now that is changing. GST has now eased the tax burden for a lot of people,” he added.On Global Outreach
Compared to 2014, almost double the number of heads of state and senior foreign dignitaries now visit India, PM Modi said.
“India is now a part of various global defence alliances and has now started repeatedly raising the subject of terrorism, black money and corruption at international forums,” he added.
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