PMINDIA
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved change in the basis of classifying Micro, Small and Medium enterprises from ‘investment in plant & machinery/equipment’ to ‘annual turnover’.
This will encourage ease of doing business, make the norms of classification growth oriented and align them to the new tax regime revolving around GST (Goods & Services Tax).
Section 7 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 will accordingly be amended to define units producing goods and rendering services in terms of annual turnover as follows:
• A micro enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover does not exceed five crore rupees;
• A small enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover is more than five crore rupees but does not exceed Rs 75 crore;
• A medium enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover is more than seventy five crore rupees but does not exceed Rs 250 crore.
• Additionally, the Central Government may, by notification, vary turnover limits, which shall not exceed thrice the limits specified in Section 7 of the MSMED Act.
At present the MSMED Act (Section 7) classifies the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on the basis of investment in plant and machinery for manufacturing units, and investment in equipment for service enterprises. The criterion of investment in plant and machinery stipulates self declaration which in turn entails verification if deemed necessary and leads to transaction costs.
Taking turnover as a criterion can be pegged with reliable figures available e.g. in GST Network and other methods of ascertaining which will help in having a non discretionary, transparent and objective criteria and will eliminate the need for inspections, make the classification system progressive and evolutionary, help in overcoming the uncertainties associated with the classification based on investment in plant & machinery/equipment and employment, and improve the ease of doing business. In addition the amendment will provide flexibility to the Government to fine-tune the classification of MSMEs in response to changing economic scenario without resorting to the amendment of MSMED (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development) Act.
The change in the norms of classification will enhance the ease of doing business. The consequent growth and will pave the way for increased direct and indirect employment in the MSME sector of the country.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has expressed happiness as number of beneficiaries of Ujjwala Yojana crossed 2.5 Crore.
“Ujjwala Yojana continues to expand its reach! Extremely delighted that today the number of beneficiaries crossed 2.5 crore.
I thank Rashtrapati Ji for the special gesture of handing over LPG connections to beneficiaries in Jangipur, West Bengal.
I congratulate Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his entire team that has been working round the clock for the success of Ujjwala Yojana”, the Prime Minister said.
देश के इतिहास में पहली बार, देश के कोने कोने से आए हुए आदिवासी भाइयों और बहनों के बीच राजधानी दिल्ली में दीपावली मनाई जाएगी। करीब चार दिन दिल्ली इस बात को अनुभव करेगा कि भारत कितना विशाल है, भारत कितनी विविधताओं से भरा हुआ है और जंगलों में जिंदगी गुजारने वाले हमारे आदिवासी भाई बहनों में कितना सामर्थ्य है कितनी शक्ति है। देश के लिए कुछ न कुछ करने के लिए दूर-सुदूर जंगलों में रहते हुए भी वो कितना बड़ा योगदान दे रहे हैं ये दिल्ली पहली बार अनुभव करेगा।
भारत विविधताओं से भरा हुआ देश है। ‘बीस गांव- बोली बदल जाए’ ये हमारे यहां पुरानी कहावत है लेकिन हमने यहां उसकी झलक देखी। झलक भर ही थी, अगर देश भर से आए सभी आदिवासी कलाकारों को देखना होता तो शायद सुबह से शाम तय ये मेला यहां चलता रहता, तब भी शायद पूरा नहीं होता। कभी कभी शहर में रहने वाले लोगों पर छोटी सी भी मुसीबत आ जाए, उनकी इच्छा के विपरीत कुछ हो जाए, कल्पना के अनुकूल परिणाम न मिले, तो न जाने कितनी बीमारियों के शिकार हो जाते हैं, डिप्रेशन में चले जाते हैं और कुछ लोग तो आत्महत्या करने का रास्ता भी चुन लेते हैं। जरा मेरे इन आदिवासी भाइयों बहनों को देखिए, अगर अभाव की बात करें तो डगर डगर पर अभाव उन इलाकों में होता है, जिंदगी को हर पल जूझना पड़ता है। जिंदगी जीने के अवसर कम और जूझने में समय ज्यादा लगता है। लेकिन उसके बावजूद भी उन्होंने जिंदगी जीने का कैसा तरीका बनाया है – हर पल खुशी, हर पल नाचना-गाना, समूह में जीना, कदम से कदम मिलाकर चलना ये आदिवासी समाज ने अपने जेहन में उतार के रखा हुआ है। वे कठिनाइयों को भी जीना जानते हैं। कठिनाइयों में से भी जिंदगी में जुनून भरने का वो माद्दा रखते हैं।
मेरा ये सौभाग्य रहा कि जवानी के उत्तम वर्ष मुझे आदिवासियों के बीच सामाजिक कार्यों में खपाने का अवसर मिला था। आदिवासी जीवन को बहुत निकटता से देखने का मुझे सौभाग्य मिला है। जब आप बातें करते हो तो घंटे भर में बड़ी मुश्किल से उनके मुंह से कोई शिकायत निकाल पाते हो। वे शिकायत करना जानते ही नहीं हैं। संकटों में जीना, अभाव के बीच आनंद को कैसे उभारना, ये हम शहर में रहने वालों को अगर सीखना है तो मेरे आदिवासी भाइयों से बड़ा कोई गुरु नहीं हो सकता है।
कला और संगीत इनको अद्भुत देन होती है। अपनी बोली, अपनी परंपरा, अपनी वेशभूषा, उसमें भी समय अनुकूल नए रंग भरते जाना लेकिन अपनेपन को खोने नहीं देना ऐसी कला शायद ही कोई बता सकता है। ये सामर्थ्य अपने देश का है। ये सामर्थ्य हमारी जनशक्ति का परिचायक है और इसलिए भारत जैसे विशाल देश में इन विविधताओं को संजोए रखना, इन विविधताओं का आदर करना, इनका समन्वय करना और इन विविधताओं में भारत की एकता को गुलाबी फूल के रूप में अनुभव करना, यही देश की ताकत को बढ़ाता है।
हम लोगों को ज्यादा पता कभी होता नहीं है, जंगल की सामान्य चीजों से, जैसे अगर बांस ही ले लिया जाए, हमारे आदिवासी भाई बांस में से ऐसी ऐसी चीजें बनाते हैं कि फाइव स्टार होटल में उसे जगह मिल जाए तो मेहमान चकित रह जाते हैं कि वाह कैसे बना होगा? किसी मशीन से बना होगा क्या? जंगलों में आदिवासियों के द्वारा जो उत्पादित चीजें होती हैं जो सामान्य जीवन में काम आती हैं लेकिन उसकी जितनी बड़ी मात्रा में मार्केटिंग होनी चाहिए, ब्रांडिंग होनी चाहिए, आर्थिक दृष्टि से नए अवसर को पैदा करने वाला होना चाहिए, उस दिशा में हमें अभी भी बहुत करना बाकी है।
सारे देश से आदिवासी आए हैं। अपने इन उत्पादों को लेकर भी आए हैं। देश के कोने कोने में आदिवासी भाई बहन कैसी-कैसी चीजें उत्पादित करते हैं और हमारे घरों में, व्यापार में, दुकान में, सजावट में कैसे उसका उपयोग हो सकता है, उसके लिए बहुत बड़ा अवसर प्रगति मैदान में उपलब्ध हुआ है। जितनी बड़ी मात्रा में हम खरीद करेंगे वो जंगलों में रहने वाले हमारे आदिवासी भाई बहनों के जीवन में आर्थिक रूप से ताकत देगा। अवसर मात्र ये ही नहीं है कि दिल्ली सिर्फ उनके गीत संगीत को अनुभव करे, बल्कि उनके आर्थिक सामर्थ्य की जो ताकत है, उसको भी हम भली-भांति समझें और उस आर्थिक ताकत को बल दें, उस दिशा में हम प्रयास करें।
मुझे कुछ समय पहले सिक्किम जाने का अवसर मिला। वहां एक युवक युवती से मेरा परिचय हुआ। पहनावे से तो लगता था कि वे किसी बड़े शहर से आए हुए हैं। मैं उनके पास गया। मैंने पूछा तो दोनों कह रहे थे दोनों अलग राज्यों से थे, दोनों अलग-अलग आईआईएम में पढ़े लिखे थे। मैंने कहा, यहां सिक्किम देखने आए हो क्या? उन्होंने कहा, “जी नहीं, हम तो डेढ़ साल से यहां रह रहे हैं। पढ़ाई पूरी करने के बाद हम सिक्किम चले आए और यहां पहाड़ों में रहने वाले जो हमारे गरीब किसान भाई हैं जो चीजें उत्पादित करते हैं उसकी हम पैकेजिंग करते हैं, ब्रांडिंग करते हैं और हम विदेशों में भेजने का काम करते हैं”। आप कल्पना कर सकते हैं? आईआईएम में पढ़े लिखे दो बच्चे उस ताकत को जान गए और उन्होंने अपना एक बहुत बड़ा स्टार्टअप वहां खड़ा कर दिया। दुनिया के बाजारों में वहां से प्रोडक्ट पहुंचाने के लिए काम कर रहे हैं।
अगर कोई जाता वहां तो पता नहीं चलता कि इतना सामर्थ्य पड़ा हुआ है? आज भी दुनिया में धीरे धीरे होलिस्टिक हेल्थकेयर की तरफ लोगों का ध्यान जाने लगा है। पारंपरिक चिकित्सा की तरफ दुनिया आकर्षित होने लगी है। हम आदिवासी भाइयों के बीच जाएं तो जंगलों से जड़ी बूटी लेकर के तुरंत दवाई बनाकर आपको दे देते हैं, “अच्छा भाई बुखार है चिंता मत करो घंटे भर में ठीक हो जाएगा”, और वो जड़ी बूटी से रस निकालकर के पिला देते हैं। ये कौन सी विधा इनके पास है?
ये परंपरागत सामर्थ्य है जिसे हमें पहचानना, आधुनिक स्वरूप में ढालना, दुनिया जिस मेडिकल साइंस को समझती है उसमें उसको प्रतिबिंबित करना है। ये हमारी मेडिसिन जिसके धनी हमारे आदिवासी भाई बहन हैं, उनके माध्यम से हमें इस सारी शक्ति को जानने पहचानने और विश्व के सामने रखने का एक बहुत बड़ा अवसर है। ऐसे लोग भी यहां आए हैं जिन्हें जंगल में पड़ी हुई जड़ी-बूटियों के अंदर की औषधीय ताकत की पहचान है। उन चीजों का क्या उपयोग हो सकता है, उसे वो दिखा सकते हैं।
अभी यहां गुजरात के कलाकार अपनी कला दिखा रहे थे। एक डांग जिला है वहां, छोटा सा, आदिवासी बस्ती है। मैं बहुत वर्षों पहले वहां काम करता था। तब तो मेरा राजनीति से कोई लेना देना भी नहीं था। बीच में जब मुख्यमंत्री के तौर पर मेरा वहां जाना होता था तो मैं हैरान था, वहां एक अन्न पैदा होता है – नागली। ये आयरन रिच होता है। हमारे यहां कुपोषण, खासकर महिलाओं को जो समस्या रहती है, जिनमें आयरन की कमी होती है उसकी पूर्ति के लिए नागली आयरन से भरपूर होता है। लेकिन आज से 30-35 साल पहले जब मैं जाता था तो काले रंग की नागली होती थी और उसकी जो रोटी बनाते थे, वो काली बनती थी। जब मेरा मुख्यमंत्री के तौर पर जाना हुआ तो मैंने स्वाभाविक कहा, हम तो नागली खाएंगे आए हैं तो, लेकिन इस बार वो नागली की रोटी सफेद थी। मुझे जरा आश्चर्य हुआ। दरअसल उन आदिवासियों ने उसमें कोई न कोई रिसर्च करके उसे काली से सफेद नागली के रूप में उत्पादित करने की दिशा में सफलता पाई थी।
यानी जो बड़े बड़े साइंटिस्ट जेनेटिक्स इंजीनियरिंग करते हैं, मेरा आदिवासी भाई जेनेटिक हस्तक्षेप से परिवर्तन ला सकता है। मेरा कहने का तात्पर्य ये है कि कितना सामर्थ्य पड़ा हुआ है। इस सामर्थ्य को हमें पहचानने की आवश्यकता है। हमारे देश में इतनी बड़ी आदिवासी जनसंख्या है लेकिन भारत सरकार में जनजातियों के लिए कोई अलग मंत्रालय नहीं था। मैं आज जब बड़े जनजातीय समुदाय के बीच खड़ा हूं तब बड़े आदरपूर्वक भारत के भूतपूर्व प्रधानमंत्री अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी को नमन करना चाहता हूं, उनका अभिनंदन करना चाहता हूं कि आजादी के पचास साल बाद पहली बार जब अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी की सरकार बनी तब पहली बार जनजाति के लिए देश में अलग मंत्रालय बना और हमारे जुएल जी उसके पहले मंत्री हिंदुस्तान में बने।
तब से लेकर के जनजातीय क्षेत्रों के विकास, जनजातीय समुदायों के विकास, जनजातीय समाज की शक्ति को पहचानना, उसकी सामर्थ्य देने पर अलग अलग प्रकार के प्रकल्प चल रहे हैं। धन खर्च होता है लेकिन परिणाम नजर क्यों नहीं आता है? और उसका मूल कारण यह है कि जब तक हम हमारी योजनाएं, खासकर जनजातीय समुदायों में, दिल्ली के एयर कंडीशन कमरों में बैठकर के या राज्यों की राजधानी के एयर कंडीशन कमरों में बैठकर हम उसके ख़ाके तैयार करेंगे तो जनजातीय समुदायों में हम जो चाहते हैं वो बदलाव नहीं आ सकता है। वो बदलाव तब आता है कि नीचे से ऊपर जनजातीय समुदाय अपने इलाके में क्या चाहता है, उसकी प्राथमिकता क्या है, उसके आधार पर अगर बजट का आवंटन होगा और समय सीमा में उन प्रकल्पों को पूरा करने के लिए, उन जनजातीय समुदायों को हिस्सेदार बनाने दिया जाएगा तो आप देखेंगे कि देखते ही देखते बदलाव आना शुरू हो जाएगा।
हम भारत सरकार की वन बंधु कल्याण योजना लाए हैं। आज जनजातीय समुदाय के बीच करीब सरकार के 28 से ज्यादा विभाग काम का कोई न कोई जिम्मा लेकर बैठे हैं। और होता क्या है? एक विभाग एक गांव में काम करता है, दूसरा विभाग दूसरे गांव में काम करता है, न कोई परिवर्तन दिखता है न कोई प्रभाव नजर आता है। और इसलिए वन बंधु कल्याण योजना के अंतर्गत इन सभी विभागों की योजनाएं.. योजनाएं चलती रहें लेकिन केंद्रित रूप से उन जनजातीय समुदाओं की आवश्यकता को प्राथमिकता देते हुए प्रकल्पों को लागू करे, उस पर एक बड़ा काम चल रहा है, जिसके अच्छे परिणाम नजर आ रहे हैं। अब जनजातीय समुदाय भागीदार हो रहा है। वो निर्णय प्रक्रिया में हिस्सेदार बन रहा है। ये मूलभूत परिवर्तन है और इसके कारण धन का सही-सही उपयोग, उसके विकास के लिए होना है।
हमारे देश में कभी बड़े-बड़े लोगों को लगता है, बड़े-बड़े पर्यावरणविद् मिलते हैं तो कहते हैं जंगलों की रक्षा करनी है, वनों की रक्षा करनी है। मैं अनुभव के साथ कहता हूं अगर वनों को किसी ने बचाया है तो मेरे जनजातीय समुदायों ने बचाया है। वो सब दे देगा लेकिन जंगल को तबाह नहीं होने देगा। ये उसके संस्कार में होता है। अगर हमें जंगलों की रक्षा करनी है तो जनजातीय समुदायों से बड़ा हमारा कोई रक्षक नहीं हो सकता है। इस विचार को प्राथमिकता देना के लिए हमारा प्रयास है।
सालों से, पीढ़ियों से, जंगल को बचाए रखते हुए अपना पेट पालने के लिए छोटे-छोटे टुकड़ों में वो खेती करता है। न उसके पास कोई कागज है, न लिखा-पट्टी है, न किसी का कुछ दिया हुआ है, जो है वो सदियों से अपने पूर्वजों का परिणाम है। लेकिन अब सरकारें बदल रही हैं, संविधान, कानून, नियम और उसके कारण कभी-कभी जंगलों में जिंदगी गुजारने वाले हमारे आदिवासी भाइयों को परेशानी झेलनी पड़ती है। भारत सरकार लगातार राज्यों के सहयोग से आदिवासियों को जमीन के पट्टे देने का बड़ा अभियान चला रही है। और आदिवासियों को उनका हक मिलना चाहिए। ये हमारी प्राथमिकता है। आदिवासियों की जमीन छीनने का इस देश में किसी को अधिकार नहीं होना चाहिए, किसी को अवसर नहीं होना चाहिए, ये हमारी प्रतिबद्धता है। और उस दिशा में सरकार कठोर से कठोर कार्रवाही करने के पक्ष में हैं और उसको हम कर रहे हैं।
उसी प्रकार से आदिवासियों को जमीन का हक भी मिलना चाहिए क्योंकि जमीन ही उसकी जिंदगी है, जंगल ही उसकी जिंदगी है, जंगल ही उसका ईश्वर है, उपासना है, उससे उसको अलग नहीं किया जा सकता। हमारे देश में प्राकृतिक संपदा है चाहे कोयला है, चाहे लौह अयस्क हों और अन्य प्राकृतिक संपदाएं हों, ज्यादातर हमारी प्राकृतिक संपदाएं और जंगल और जनजातीय समुदाय तीनों साथ-साथ हैं। जहां जंगल हैं वहां जनजातीय समुदाय हैं और उन जंगलों में ही प्राकृतिक संपदाएं हैं। अब कोयले के बिना तो चलना नहीं उसे तो निकालना ही पड़ेगा। लौह अयस्क के बिना चलना नहीं, उसे निकालना तो पड़ेगा। देश को आगे बढ़ाना है तो संपदा का वैल्यू एडिशन करना ही पड़ेगा। लेकिन वो जनजातीय समुदाय का शोषण करके नहीं होना चाहिए, उनके हकों को अबाधित रखते हुए होना चाहिए। पहली बार पिछले बजट में भारत सरकार ने एक महत्वपूर्ण निर्णय किया जिसका सीधा-सीधा लाभ जंगलों में जिंदगी गुजारने वाले हमारे जनजातीय समुदाय को मिला। हमने क्या किया? ये जंगलों से जो भी प्राकृतिक संपदा निकलती है, जो खनिज संपदा निकलती हैं उस पर कुछ प्रतिशत टैक्स लगाया, उस टैक्स का एक फाउंडेशन बनाया। हर जिले का अलग फाउंडेशन। उस जिले के सरकारी अधिकारी उसके मुखिया रखे गए। और सरकार ने फैसला किया कि इस फाउंडेशन में जो पैसे आएंगे, वो उसी इलाके के जनजातीय समुदाय के कल्याण के लिए खर्च किए जाएगा। स्कूल भी बनेंगे तो उनके लिए बनेंगे, अस्पताल बनेगा तो उनके लिए बनेगा, रोड बनेगा तो उनके लिए बनेगा, धर्मशाला बनेगी तो उनके लिए बनेगी। उन्हीं समुदायों के लिए।
जब मुझे छत्तीसगढ़ के मुख्यमंत्री मिले डॉ. रमन सिंह, उन्होंने कहा, मोदी जी ऐसा बड़ा निर्णय आपने किया है कि हमारे जो सात जिले हैं, उन सात जिलों में इस टैक्स के कारण इतने पैसे आने वाले हैं कि आज जो आम बजट खर्च करते हैं उससे अनेक गुना ज्यादा वो पैसे होंगे। एक समय ऐसा आएगा कि हमें इन सात जिलों में राज्य की तिजोरी से एक पैसा नहीं देना पड़ेगा। इतने पैसे जनजातीय समुदाय के लिए खर्च होने वाले हैं। हजारों-करोड़ रुपये का लाभ इस फाउंडेशन से मिलेगा। जबकि पहले वहां से कोयला भी चला जाता था, लौह अयस्क भी चला जाता था लेकिन वहां रहने वाले जनजातीय समुदाय को लाभ नहीं मिलता था। अब सीधा लाभ उसको मिलेगा उस दिशा में हम काम कर रहे हैं।
हम एक बात को महत्व दे रहे हैं। हमें हमारे जंगलों को बचाना है, अपने जनजातीय समुदाय की जमीन को बचाना है, उनके जो आर्थिक आय के साधन हैं उनको भी सुरक्षित रखना है इसलिए हम आधुनिक तकनीक के द्वारा अंडरग्रांउड माइनिंग को बल देना चाहते हैं। ताकि ऊपर जंगल वैसा का वैसा रहे, जिंदगी वैसी की वैसी रहे। नीचे जमीन में गहरे जाकर कोयला वगैरह निकाला जाए ताकि वहां के जीवन को कोई तकलीफ न हो। उसी आधुनिक तकनीक की दिशा में भारत सरकार प्रतिबद्ध है।
दूसरा, आधुनिक तकनीक के द्वारा कोल गैसिफिकेशन करना, यानी भूगर्भ में ही कोयले से गैस बनाकर उसे निकाला जाए ताकि वहां के पर्यावरण को भी कोई नुकसान न हो, वहां के हमारे जनजातीय समुदाय को भी कोई नुकसान न हो।
ऐसे अनेक प्रकल्प जिनके द्वारा जनजातीय समुदाय का कल्याण करने का हमारा प्रयास है। सरकार ने एक रर्बन (ग्रामीण-शहरी) मिशन हाथ में लिया है। इस मिशन के द्वारा आदिवासी क्षेत्रों में जहां जनजातीय समुदाय रहते हैं वहां पर नए ग्रोथ सेंटर तैयार किए जा रहे हैं। जहां आर्थिक गतिविधि के केंद्र विकसित हों। आज भी आदिवासियों के अलग-अलग जगह बाजार लगते हैं। वो वहां जाते हैं, अपना माल बेचते हैं और बदले में दूसरा माल लेकर आते हैं। बार्टर सिस्टम आज भी जंगलों में चलता है। लेकिन हम चाहते हैं कि 50-100 आदिवासी गांवों के बीच में एक-एक नया विकास केंद्र विकसित हो। जो आने वाले दिनों में आर्थिक गतिविधि का केंद्र बने। अगल बगल के गांवों के लोग अपने उत्पादों को वहां बेचने के लिए आएं। अच्छी शिक्षा का वो केंद्र बने। अच्छे आरोग्य की सेवाओं का वो केंद्र बने। और अगल बगल के 50-100 जो गांव हैं जो आसानी से उस व्यवस्था का उपयोग करें।
वो स्थान ऐसे हों जहां आधुनिक सुविधाएं उपलब्ध हों। कभी शहर का शिक्षक जाने को तैयार नहीं होता आदिवासी बस्ती में, कभी डॉक्टर जाने को तैयार नहीं होता। ऐसे में इन रर्बन सेंटर पर वो सुविधाएं हों ताकि हमारे शहर के लोगों को वहां सरकारी नौकरी मिलती है तो वहां रहकर काम करना पसंद करें। ऐसे 100 से ज्यादा आदिवासी इलाकों में रर्बन सेंटर खड़े करने का हमारा प्रयास है जो नए आर्थिक ग्रोथ सेंटर के रूप में काम करेंगे। जहां पर वहां के जीवन की आत्मा जनजातीय जीवन की होगी, लेकिन वहां सुविधाएं जो शहर के लोगों को मिलती हैं वो सारी उपलब्ध होंगी। ऐसे ग्रोथ सेंटर का एक जाल बिछाने की दिशा में भारत सरकार काम कर रही है.
आज देश भर से आए हुए मेरे आदिवासी जनजातीय समुदायों के भाइयों बहनों, दिल्ली में आपका ये अनुभव आनंद उमंग से भरा हुआ हो, आप अपनी जो कला, कृतियां और उत्पाद लेकर आए हैं वो दिल्ली वासियों के दिल में जगह बना लें, व्यापारियों के दिल में जगह बना ले, एक नए आर्थिक क्षेत्र के द्वार खुल जाए, ये दीपावली आपकी जिंदगी में और नया प्रकाश लाने वाली बने, विकास का प्रकाश लेकर आए, ऐसी दिवाली के लिए मैं आप सबको शुभकमाएं देता हूं। और आप सब इस पावन त्योहार के निमित्त यहां इतनी बड़ी संख्या में आशीर्वाद देने के लिए आए, मैं सिर झुकाकर, आपको नमन करते हुए, अपनी वाणी को विराम देता हूं।
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the National Tribal Carnival in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion after witnessing an enthralling carnival parade, he said this is the first time that tribal groups from across the country would be in Delhi at the time of the festive occasion of Diwali. He said the tribal carnival would showcase the capabilities of the tribal communities, in the national capital.
The Prime Minister said India is a land of great diversity. He said the carnival parade presented at the function today had offered just a small glimpse of this diversity.
The Prime Minister said the life of the tribal communities was marked by intense struggle. Yet, he added, the tribal communities had imbibed the ideals of community living, and of living cheerfully despite troubles.
Shri Narendra Modi said he was fortunate to have had the occasion for social work among the tribals in his youth. He recalled that it is difficult to hear a complaint escape their lips. In this respect, he added, the people living in urban areas can draw inspiration from them.
He said adivasis had the skills to make innovative products from local materials. These could be in great demand, and create great economic opportunity, if marketed well, he added. The Prime Minister gave several illustrations of innovations that had made a positive difference in the lives of the tribal communities. He recalled that it was former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had created a separate Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the Government of India.
The Prime Minister said change could not come for the tribal communities through a top down approach. He said it was necessary to make the tribal communities real stakeholders in the development process. In this context, he mentioned the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana.
The Prime Minister complimented the tribal communities for their role in the conservation of forests. The Prime Minister said most of our natural resources and forests were found in the same parts of the country, as tribal communities. He said while resources had to be harnessed, exploitation of tribals could not be allowed. The Prime Minister said the District Mineral Foundation, envisaged in the last Union Budget, would help channelize funds for the development of the tribal communities. He said this decision would unlock huge amounts of money for development of the mineral rich districts.
The Prime Minister said the Government was committed to using modern technology such as underground mining and coal gasification, which would minimize disturbance to tribal settlements. He also spoke of the Rurban Mission, which would focus on development of rural growth centres.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the Integrated Terminal Building of Vadodara Airport.
Speaking on the occasion, he highlighted the importance of air connectivity for the economy, and the tourism sector in particular. He said the Union Government had unveiled an aviation policy which envisaged the future direction and growth of this sector.
The Prime Minister said that Vadodara Airport had now become the second eco-friendly airport in the country, after Kochi.
Speaking after distributing aids and assistive devices to Divyang, the Prime Minister said the requirements of the Divyang must always be kept in mind while creating infrastructure. He said the Union Government has accorded the highest priority to ensuring that the benefits of its schemes and initiatives reach the intended beneficiaries. He said initiatives for the Dalits and the marginalized are at the centre-stage in the working of the Union Government.
The Prime Minister said development is the key to solving all problems related to poverty, lack of education and access to healthcare.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with Network 18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi for a comprehensive interview covering a multitude of topics spanning politics, economy, the criticism of his government following recent attacks on Dalits, vote bank politics and casteism and also offered a rare peek into himself, his working style and his closely held beliefs.
Appended below is the edited transcript of the interview translated from Hindi into English
Question: At the outset, thank you for giving this interview to Network 18. Two years ago you were elected with a historic mandate, the most decisive in three decades. How do you view the last two years and what do you think has been your biggest achievement?
PM Modi: After getting the responsibility of becoming the Prime Minister it has been about two years and three months. India is a democratic country and the people evaluate governments regularly. The media also evaluates. And these days, professional survey agencies also do this. And I think this is a good thing and that’s why I leave it to the people to evaluate how my government has performed.
But I will definitely want that whenever my government is evaluated, the situation of the government before we came to power must be kept in mind, what the state of the country was, what the media was discussing. If we keep that in view, those days newspapers were filled with news of corruption, despair… People had lost hope, they thought everything had sunk.
If a patient, however good the doctor, is despondent, medicines will not cure him. But if the patient is hopeful, then even an average doctor can cure him. The reason for that is the patient’s inner belief.
My first priority after forming the government was that the atmosphere of despair should be removed and to create hope and belief in the country. That doesn’t happen with speeches. Concrete steps need to be taken, it has been shown to be done. And today after more than two years, I can say with certainty that there is hope not just in the people of this country, the trust of the entire world in India has grown.
There was a time when we were being seen as a sinking ship. In the BRICS, the ‘I’ (representing India) was seen as wobbly. Today it is said that if there is a bright spot, it is India. I think this in itself is a good way to evaluate.
Question: You came to power on the issue of development, so a question on the economy. After a lot of effort you succeeded in passing the GST Bill. How big a success do you see this. What does it mean for the common man?
PM Modi: This is perhaps the biggest tax reform since the independence of India. This reform will bring a big change in India. Very few people in the country pay taxes. Some people pay taxes because they are patriotic and they want to do something for the country. Some pay taxes because they don’t want to break the law. Some pay to avoid trouble. But most don’t pay because the process is complicated. They think they might get stuck in the process and won’t be able to come out. GST will simplify tax payments so much that anyone who wants to contribute to the country will come forward.
Secondly, today if you go and eat in a hotel, the bill that you get comes with this cess, that cess… People send messages on Whatsapp detailing the bill amount and the cess paid. All this will end. And then we routinely see at octroi and border checkposts, miles of vehicles standing. When vehicles stand, it hurts the country’s economy. Now all of it will become seamless, the movement of goods from one state to another.
Taxation systems will also be simplified and this will not only benefit the common man, the revenues will help develop the nation. Today, there are incidents of mistrust between states. This will end that situation, it will be transparent and strengthen the federal structure.
Question: After coming to power, your biggest challenge was the economy. The task before you was not just to bring it back on track but also increase the pace of growth. Have you managed to achieve this?
PM Modi: You are right that there was a negative atmosphere. The country’s traders and industrialists had started looking out. There was a paralysis in government. On the one hand it was this situation. On the other we had to face two successive droughts. Third, there was a slowdown in the global economy. So there were a series of challenges. It wasn’t only after we took charge. Even after that there were challenges. But our intention was strong and policies were clear. There was decisiveness because there was no vested interest. The result of this was that positivity spread very quickly.
Today, we have the highest amount of foreign direct investment after Independence. The entire world says that at 7% growth, we are the fastest growing economy. Whether it is the World Bank, IMF, credit agencies, even UN agencies… they all say India is growing rapidly.
So those policies which are helping growth have been emphasised. All obstructions are being removed with policies. All this has resulted in speeding up the economy. This time the rains have been good and this helps agriculture, which is driving force for the economy. This has raised hopes that the coming days will be much better.
Usually it is one or two things that are talked about, but today growth has being talked about in all sectors. Electricity production has gone up and so has demand. Infrastructure work is also growing rapidly and that happens when there is demand in the economy. From all this it looks like we have moved ahead to better days.
Question: You are absolutely right that the monsoon is very encouraging and stock markets are also up. Can you please tell us what the next wave of reforms will be?
PM Modi: First of all, in our country, only what is talked about is seen as reform. If it isn’t talked about, it isn’t seen as reform. It shows our ignorance. Actually I am of the view reform to transform. I say in my government — Reform, Perform and Transform. And since I am sitting for an interview, I would say Reform, Perform, Transform and Inform.
Take ease of doing business. Our ranking is improving very quickly. This is not possible without reform. Our systems, processes, forms were so complicated. These have been reformed, so our rankings are going up. A UN agency has said that from 10 in the next two years, we could be at number three. These small things need to be improved. Even today there exists licence raj in some areas. That needs to go. This is an important reform that is happening at every level — administrative, governance, legal.
Like for instance we removed 1,700 laws that were from the 19th and 20th centuries. I have asked states also to do so. These are very big reforms that people, because of lack on information, don’t consider reforms.
Take education, where we have taken an important step that no one gave attention to. We have said that 10 government and 10 private universities will be freed of all University Grants Commission rules. We will give them money and they must move towards becoming world class universities. If rules were holding them up, we will remove the rules. Now do it and show us. This is a major reform, but doesn’t get attention.
Direct benefit transfer is a big reform. Earlier who knew where MNREGA money was going? Now it is sent by DBT. So are gas subsidy payments and student scholarships. For me all these are reforms in governance, transparency. We are getting in more technology. These have to be done at a larger scale. At the Centre of this is the common man. How to make life easier for the common man, how they will get what is their right, we want to stress on these.
Question:While there has been economic growth, private investment in the economy is still tepid. Some sectors like real estate are still in trouble. Venture capital funding of startups has slowed. What message would you like to give to private industry and foreign investors at this juncture?
PM Modi: Today I think, before presenting the first Budget, I should have placed a White Paper in Parliament on the economic situation in the country. This thought had struck me then. I had two paths then. Politics told me that I should put out all the details. But the nation’s interest told me that this information would increase the sense of hopelessness, markets would be badly hit, it would be big blow to the economy and the world’s view of India would get worse. It would have been very difficult to get the economy out of that… I chose to stay silent in the national interest at the risk of political damage. At that time the situation in public sector banks was coming out… I didn’t put these details out in public. It hurt us, we were criticised, it was made to look like it was all my fault. But I took the political damage in the country’s interest.
The impact of all these issues from the past have impacted private investment, like the non-performing assets in banks. I held a session with bankers and told them there will be no call from the government to you. These steps would have tightened the screws.
Despite that, the pace at which roads are being made, how railways is expanding, the six-fold increase in electronic goods manufacturing… these things show we haven’t taken shortcuts. And my motto is, as it says on railway platforms: ‘short cut will cut you short’. We don’t want to take any shortcuts and the results are showing.
Anyway the situation has now improved. We don’t have to worry about these things but in the beginning — in May 2014 — I chose the tough path. When unbiased people analyse the situation, I am confident they will be surprised.
Question: You have adopted a tough line on Black Money. In fact, it is said that because of this crackdown on black money, some businessmen are hiding either in Dubai or London. You haven’t spared political dynasts either. Will this process continue?
PM Modi: Firstly, I have neither looked at this from a political standpoint and nor will I do so in the future. I have been a state CM for 14 years. And history bears witness to the fact that I have never opened any file due to political considerations. I have never been accused of this either. It has been over two years here too. The government has given no instruction to open any file. The law will take its own course. I have no right to indulge in any cover up. You saying that we haven’t spared any dynasty isn’t correct.
“We have made requisite legal changes so that the black money circulating inside the country can also be curbed. There’s a scheme which is running till the 30th of September. For all those who are still willing to come in the mainstream. I have said this in public that 30th of September is your last date. You may have made mistakes with whatever intentions. Whether it has been done willingly or unwillingly, here is your chance. Come into the mainstream. I have this plan for people to sleep peacefully at night. People must accept this. And no one should blame me if I take tough decisions after the 30th. This money belongs to the country’s poor. No one has the right to loot this. This is my commitment. I am working with full force and will continue the effort.
Question: Mr Prime Minister, let us talk about politics. Many states go to polls next year. Social discrimination and fundamentalism is raising its ugly head again. Dalits and members of backward classes have in fact started saying that the BJP and the RSS are anti Dalit. How will you assure the people that your agenda is development and development alone?
PM Modi: The country has full faith that our agenda is only development. There is no confusion in the minds of people. But all those people who never wanted that a government like this to come to power, those who never wanted the previous regime to go… they are the ones who have trouble. So, development is our only issue and it will remain so. And this is not a political issue, this is my conviction. If we want to free this country of poverty then we need development. We will need to empower the poor.
As far as some incidents are concerned, they need to be condemned. It has no place in any civilised society. But we must not forget that law and order is a state subject. Some are selectively picking issues and blaming Modi for it. I don’t know what purpose does it serve for those who are doing this. But this is surely hurting the interest of the country. Such incidents must not happen. From a statistical point of view, whether it is communal violence, atrocities against Dalits or atrocities against tribals, data shows that such incidents have gone down in number compared with what it was under the previous government.
But the issue is not of what happened in their government and our government. The issue is that this is not befitting as per our society. We have a culture dating back thousands of years. We have seen some imbalances in our society and we have to intelligently take our society out of this imbalance. This is a social problem. It is deeply rooted. Politics on social imbalances is a disservice to society. To all those who have faced injustice for generations. If you look at dalit MPs and dalit MLAs, tribal MPs and tribal MLAs, the BJP has a sizable presence.
Ever since I celebrated the 125th anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, when the UNO also celebrated his anniversary and 102 countries observed the 125th anniversary, and parliament discussed the life and works of Babasaheb Ambedkar for two days, many people thought that Modi is a devotee of Ambedkar. They started having problems. All those who were self-appointed guardians of Dalits did not like it that Modi is with the Dalits, that Modi devotes himself to tribals. I am devoted to the development of all the dalits, oppressed, underprivileged, deprived, women. Those who see this as an obstruction to their politics are the ones creating trouble.
And this is why they are levelling baseless allegations. All those who have fed this country the poison of caste divide have destroyed this country. They must stop giving political tones to social problems. We must move forward with a purpose. And I want to ask the society also: are these incidents befitting of a civilised society?
I spoke from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the incidents of rape…I said that parents must ask their sons also – where they are going, what they are doing? We ask our daughters these questions.
And I want to tell this to our politicians also, also my party’s leaders too: reckless statements, saying anything about anyone or any person’s community before the media. The media will come to you. It needs its TRPs. But you are answerable to the nation. And that is why, all those living in public life.. whether political or social workers — even if we are representing a particular community — for the benefit of the country’s unity, society’s unity, for the sake of general bonhomie, we must be extra vigilant.
Whenever we are wounded, even the slightest touch of a paper also causes pain. Thousands of years of injustice have kept these wounds open. The slightest of damage will cause a lot of pain. This is why, it does not matter whether the incident is big or small, what matters is that the incident must not happen in the first place. Which government had more incidents and which didn’t is not the point. We all have to work collectively to give strength to the country’s unity.
Question: How important is social harmony for economic progress?
PM Modi: Economic progress alone is not the solution. Peace, unity and harmony is essential for society. Even in a family, no matter how well-off you may be…even if you are sitting over a heap of money, the family’s unity is important. This is true for the society also. We don’t need unity just to fight poverty alone. We need to be united and harmonious. We need to be committed to social justice. And that is why, unity is not important for economic progress alone. Peace, unity and harmony are useful in family, life, society and for the nation. And to all those who believe in Vasudhaive Kutumbakam, the whole world is one.
Question: All political parties talk about removing poverty. Yet poverty remains an issue of grave concern in our country. Job creation is a major challenge for you and you have kept this in mind too. What will be your strategy on both these counts?
PM Modi: You are right. Poverty alleviation has been a political slogan. A lot of politics has happened on poverty. And a lot of programmes for poverty alleviation have also been started keeping elections in mind. I do not want to get in a controversy on whether it was good or bad. But my path is a little different. We have to empower the poor to end poverty. If the poor are empowered, then they have enough power to alleviate poverty. Politics can be done by keeping the poor poor. But freedom from poverty can only come by empowerment. The biggest tool for empowerment is education. The next point is employment. If we get economic empowerment, then it can serve as a tool to change things on its own.
All the initiatives that we have taken over the past few years, like the Mudra Scheme – at least 3.5 crore people have taken the benefits of the Mudra Scheme and they got about 1.25 lakh crore rupees through this scheme. Many of them are those who have got money from the bank for the first time. These people will do something or the other. They will get sewing machines, stitch clothes… they will do something. It is possible that they might employ a few. This empowerment will give these people a lot of power. To educate their children.
Suppose a person buys a taxi. Then they would feel they must educate their children. They will move forward. One of the things that we have done is called Stand Up India. I have told banks that every branch must give financial aid to a Dalit, a tribal and a woman. They must make them an entrepreneur.
The country has 1.25 Lakh branches of banks. If they empower even 3 people each, they will benefit 4-5 lakh families. People who did not have this sort of financial empowerment will feel empowered. They will be an economic strength. Start Up India… To give employment to the young, I have started this scheme. These are small decisions. I have also sent an advisory to the states. That they must move forward in this direction.
We have big malls in our country. Lakhs and crores of rupees are spent in constructing them. There is no time restriction for them. They can run till 10 pm, 12 pm, 4am,.but there will be a government representative with a stick in his hand and ask a small shopkeeper to shut his shop…Why? We have said that these small traders who have small enterprises, they are free to be open 365 days, 24/7..so that they can go about doing their business and also employ a few. And these are the people who drive the economy in our country. This is where we are working to empower.
We have laid a lot of stress on skill development. Skill development is the need of the hour. We have changed systems. Skilled development is a ministry. It has a different budget. And work is being done on a huge scale. Skill development by government, skill development through public private partnership, skilled development through skill universities collaborating with other countries who have done good work in developing skills. The country has 80 crore youth. They are below 30 years of age. If youth have the skill, they can change the fortunes of this country. And we are laying stress on this. The country’s youth & employment are at the centre of all economic activity. In the agriculture sector also, if you move towards value addition, it will create more opportunities to generate employment. A village youth who has had to go to big towns under pressure, if he is given value addition and agriculture-centric rural development, if we empower him, then employment opportunities shall be created. We are laying stress on this. And we can see some good results.
Question: You are the first prime minister who has had a direct communication with Indians abroad. How has this benefitted the country?
PM Modi: Everything should not be measured on a scale of profit and loss. In any part of the world, anyone who is Indian, at whatever post he may be, has a feeling in his heart that my country must progress. And if they get unfavourable press about their country, they are the most upset. Because they are away, it pricks them even more. We get used to a lot of things. They get affected. They have a lot of affection for India. But they don’t get an opportunity or a channel. We have acknowledged the power of the diaspora in Niti Aayog. This is such a global strength. They have global exposure. They have academic quality and qualifications… a zeal to work for the country. And wherever they are, their love for the country has not diminished. Why should we disassociate with them? We must establish a link with them. And there will come a time, when they will be true ambassadors of India. And I have seen that more than a government’s mission, India’s strength is largely due to the diaspora’s attitude and contacts. Mission plus diaspora, when they get together, our strength grows manifold. So this was my role and we are getting good results.
QuestionPM Modi: Firstly, it’s unfortunate that in our country everything we do is immediately linked to elections. UP elections are still away, still all our decisions are being linked to that. Super political pundits can’t get politics out of their minds. Their minds buzzing with politics run faster in AC rooms. Again, in our country there are frequent elections. Elections here, elections there…elections, elections, elections. Every decision is weighed using the election balance. There will only be adverse impact for our country till we continue to keep linking issues and decisions to elections. It’s high time we delinked the two. Parties will come up with their manifestos after polls are announced. Why link them now?
Leaders of political parties, when they meet me, emphatically tell me let us please keep elections aside. They tell me ‘why don’t we club assembly elections with Lok Sabha polls?’ And why don’t we hold local body elections as well during that time, so that the entire election process gets over in a week to 10 days time and for five years the country runs uninterruptedly? There will be decisions and momentum and the bureaucracy will work effectively. Every party is saying this, but no single party can decide this. All parties will have to unitedly do this. Government alone can’t do this. Election commission has the led this effort and all parties have to agree on this. I can have my own ideas, but I can’t do anything about it. This has to be done democratically. But I do hope some day there will be comprehensive discussion and debate.
There will be elections in five states in coming days and Uttar Pradesh is one of them. As far as the BJP is concerned, we will fight on development issues only. Our focus will be welfare of farmers, villages, jobs for the youth, and we will stay committed to the cause of social justice. Our focus will be to maintain peace, unity and brotherhood in our country. We will take steps in these regards and move forward.
QuestionPM Modi: The poisons of casteism and communal vote banks have caused enough damage in our country. The biggest obstacle to strengthening our democracy is vote bank politics. There was no atmosphere of vote bank politics in last general elections. There was the atmosphere of development politics. After 30 years, all sections of our society unitedly voted for a majority government. An entire section of our society has made a shift. It’s possible that the people of UP will do a similar thing for betterment of UP. They will vote keeping development in their mind.
QuestionPM Modi: Whenever we talk about Jammu & Kashmir, we should take the entire picture of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region into account. The seeds of the problem was sown ever since independence and division of our country. Every government had to battle with this problem. This is not a new problem. It is an old one. I believe the youth of Kashmir will not be distracted. We will proceed together maintaining peace, unity and goodwill so that the heaven called Kashmir will remain a heaven. Problems will also get solved. That’s why I always maintain that people of Kashmir need both development and trust. And 1 billion Indians has always stayed committed to both development and it has never wavered from its commitment of trust. This belief is still there today and it will always be there in future as well. We will march on the path of development and trust. And we will succeed.
Question: It’s widely believed that high level corruption has come down drastically under your rule, but low level corruption is still rampant. How can you fix this?
PM Modi: I’m grateful to you that you have accepted that there is no high-level corruption. If the Ganga is clean at Gaumukh, it will gradually become pure while flowing down. You may have noticed that we have taken many steps which have neutralised chances of any corruption. For instance we have shifted the gas subsidy system into the Direct Benefit Scheme. Ghost clients who used to wrongly enjoy the benefits of gas subsidy are no longer there. Chandigarh was being supplied 30 lakh litres of kerosene. Using technology we stopped providing kerosene to those houses which have gas connection and electricity. And we provided gas connections to those who earlier didn’t have. That’s how we made Chandigarh kerosene free and saved 30 lakh litres of kerosene from being sold in the black market.
The other day Haryana’s chief minister was telling me he is going to make eight districts kerosene free by this November. You would know our farmers used to be desperate for urea and used to buy from black market. Black marketeers ruled. In some states farmers buying urea from the black market were even lathicharged. You must have noticed there is no news of urea shortfall these days. No queuing up of farmers anywhere, no lathicharge anywhere and black marketing has stopped. Why it is not happening anymore? Earlier the urea meant for farmers used to land up in chemical factories on the sly. Chemical factories used to process this as raw material and brought out finished products. They used to get urea cheap. Chemical factories and middlemen enjoyed the cream. We started neem coating of urea. As a result even one gram of urea cannot be used by chemical factories and now entire urea is 100% being used for cultivation only. Additionally, we raised production of urea by 20 lakh tonnes. We are also neem coating imported urea. Not only that, tribals in Gujarat who were engaged to collect neem seeds for this purpose have started extracting neem oil while neem coating, and have earned up to 10 to 12 crore rupees . This is a win-win situation. Corruption and difficulties both gone. Likewise, we can do away with low level corruption through policy decisions and using technology. You will start liking at low level what you liked at top level.
Question: Mr Prime Minister, it’s being said that Lutyens Delhi did not like you, but have you started liking Delhi?
PM Modi: As you know the position of prime minister is such that there’s no question of liking or disliking Lutyens Delhi. But there’s is a need to deliberate on this. In Delhi’s power corridors, there’s an active group of people which is dedicated to only a few. It could be because of their own reasons or personal gains. It’s not a question of Modi. Look back at history. What happened with Sardar Patel. This group presented Sardar Patel as a simple person from a village with a simple intellect. Look at what happened to Morarji Desai. This same group never talked about his abilities, achievements. It always talked about what he drank. What happened with Deve Gowda? A farmer’s son became the PM, yet they said he only sleeps. And what happened with the supremely talented Ambedkar who they are praising today. They made fun of him. What happened with Chaudhury Charan Singh? They again made fun of him. So I’m not surprised when they make fun of him. These custodians who are dedicated to a select few will never accept anyone who is linked to the roots of this country. So I too do not want to waste my time addressing this group. The welfare of the billion people is my biggest task and I will not lose anything if I do not associate myself with Lutyens Delhi. It’s better if I live with the poor people of this country who are like me.
Question: It’s often said in media circles that if TRP rating are down cut to Modi rallies. Still you have a bitter-sweet relationship with media. What do you have to say about the media?
PM Modi: Media has played a major contribution to whatever I’m today. Yes, I don’t give soundbytes here and there. Media may complain that Modiji doesn’t make spicy, controversial remarks. This is a genuine complaint. I’m mostly involved in my work and my work speaks. For a long time I was involved with organisational work. So I have strong friendly association with the media world. There is not a media personality with whom I haven’t had tea and not had fun. I know many of them by their names. So those expectations are natural. Mostly media has seen big personalities becoming PM, not someone like me who has spent time among them as a friend.
Media is doing its job and it should. I believe the media must strongly criticise the government’s work. Otherwise democracy won’t work. But unfortunately, in this TRP rat-race, the media doesn’t have enough time for research. Criticism is not possible without research. For 10 minutes of criticism you need 10 hours of research. Instead of criticism, it gets into levelling allegations. As a result democracy gets weakened. Governments must be afraid of media criticisms, but that’s fast going away. I want media to be very critical based on facts. The country will benefit from this. It’s right that media has its compulsions. It has to win the TRP race. So I’m glad that at least I’m useful to them this way. More than my rallies, to win TRP they get people to abuse me.
Question: Like the media you seem to have a strained relationship with the judiciary. Why?
PM Modi: This is a totally wrong perception. This government goes by rules, the law and the constitution. There is no scope for any confrontation or tension with any constitutional institution. There must be as much warmth with judiciary as needed for constitutional decorum. I try my best to maintain as much decorum as possible.
Question: I would like to ask you few some personal questions. You have this image of a strong leader, but on a few occasions your emotional side came out. People would like to know what kind of human being you are. Viewers would like to know what is the real Narendra Modi like? Or there are many layers to Modi’s character.
PM Modi: A soldier who bravely fights on the border and the same soldier when he plays with his daughter cannot behave in the same manner. Narendra Modi, whatever he is, is after all a human being. Why should I suppress or hide what’s inside me? I’m what I am. Let people see what they see. As far as my duties and responsibilities are concerned, I have to fulfill them to the best of my abilities. If I have to take strong decisions for the country’s sake, then I will have to make those decisions. If I have to work hard for that then I will have to. If I have to bend I’ll bend. If I have to walk fast then I’ll walk fast. But these are nor facets of my character, these are part of my responsibilities. There is nothing like real or fake Modi. Human being is a human being. If you take off your political glasses, then you will see the real Modi. But you will do a mistake if you continue to judge Modi through your perceived notions.
Question: Modiji, I have met you many times in Gandhinagar when you were CM and even in the PMO. I have never seen any file, paper or even phone on your table. No one ever intervened during our meetings. You function like a CEO. Some say you hear more and speak less. What’s your working style?
PM Modi: You have made right observations. I have been painted as one who doesn’t listen and only talks down. I actually hear a lot and observe a lot. That’s how I have evolved as a person. I have benefitted a lot through this. I’m a workaholic, but basically I always like to live in the present. If you have come to meet me then I get immersed in that meeting. I don’t touch the phone or see the paper and I don’t lose focus. When I see files I similarly get immersed and get lost in those files. I live every moment in the present. The person who meets me is always satisfied that I have given him quality time.
Secondly, one must do justice to one’s work, I have always tried that. One must always learn and understand. One must have the courage to leave those ideas that were relevant in the past years back but are no longer now. One must have the courage to change oneself. This is how I developed my style of functioning.
Question: You have punishing schedule of 16 to 18 hours. So how do you relax?
PM Modi: I relax through working only. I never get tired of working. In fact the opposite tires me. If you have to write 10 letters and you may start feeling tired after writing two. But you feel satisfied if you have finished writing all 10 letters and skipped your meal because you feel the work is finished. Actually we get tired by not working and work gives you satisfaction. That satisfaction gives you energy. I have felt this and always tell this to my young friends. Tiredness is more psychological. Everyone has the same capacity needed for the volume of the work. You keep accepting new challenges and your inner self will always back you. This is in-built.
Question: Who have been your key influences in life?
PM Modi: My village belonged to the Gaekwad estate and as a child I gained a lot from that environment. The specialty of Gaekwad king was that he used to build libraries and primary schools in every village. I studied in that school. I developed an interest in reading books. Now there’s not much time to read. Those books made an impact. From 12 years of age I started taking part in oratory competitions. I used to like Vivekananda quotations and his style of delivery a lot. I had taken a liking for the Hindi language. I can say Vivekananda’s thought has made a huge impact on me.
Question: Where does Narendra Modi like to find himself in Indian history?
PM Modi:Why should a person who loves to live in the present worry about history? One must not make that mistake in one’s life. Unfortunately in our country, governments, political parties, leaders have always tried hard to make their own image. What if we had dedicated to build the image of our country rather than our own? The image of this country is the unending legacy of 1.25 billion people. Modi is just one of those 1.25 billion Indians, nothing more. Modi’s identity must get lost among those 1.25 billion people. There will be no greater joy for me than Modi getting lost in the pages of history.
Modiji thank you so much for giving me your time. This is my first TV interview and I feel privileged and honoured to done with no less a person than the Prime Minister.
PM Modi: Your are from the financial world and yet you did a political interview. I liked your confidence. I congratulate you and keep doing the good work.
You please keep giving us interviews…
PM Modi: Why interview politicians only, there are so many others from other walks of life to interview. During election time, reporters start shooting from your bedroom and start asking about breakfast etc. But not many know the sacrifices of our sportsmen. Instead of wasting time on politicians, we should spend more time on our sportsmen — how they control their food, sleep, how they still stay committed even after losing. Our youth must be shown those sacrifices. I would like your channel to choose 30 sportsmen from the Rio contigent and show their life story. That way we can change the way we see our sportsmen. Also, I feel there are so many personalities to interview beyond politics.
My beloved countrymen, on this auspicious occasion of our festival of freedom; I extend lots of greetings to the one hundred and twenty five crores fellow nationals and also to entire Indian diaspora spread all over the world, from this rampart of the Red Fort. This festival of our freedom, this 70 years of our Independence, is the festival for our resolution to take the nation to new heights with a new resolve and a new fervour and new energy. We are able to breathe in a free air as the result of the sacrifices, renunciation and penance of our millions of great forefathers. We are also reminded of the youths who kissed the gallows. We also remember Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Nehru and countless great persons, who fought ceaselessly for the freedom of our nation. It is the result of their struggles that we are now fortunate enough to breathe as a free citizen. India is a very ancient nation. We have a history of thousands of years and our cultural heritage is also millennia old. Right from the Vedas to Vivekananda, from the Upanishads to the satellites, the Sudarshan Chakradhari Mohan to Charkhadhari Mohan, from the Bhim of Mahabharat to the Bhimrao; we have a long historical journey and heritage. Our land has seen many historical ups and downs and our generations have waged many struggles and observed penance to bequeath great values to the humanity. India’s age is not just seventy years. But having won freedom after a period of subjugation; we have made efforts to take the nation forward in this journey of seventy years. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel united the nation. Now, it is the responsibility of all of us to make this nation better. We all have to work ceaselessly for the realization of the dream of ‘ One India, great India’. (Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat).
Brothers and Sisters, We have not attained freedom for free of cost. Innumerable were the atrocities, but undeterred were our resolves also. Every Indian was a soldier in the battle for freedom. Each one of them dreamt of an independent India. May be every one of them was not fortunate enough to sacrifice, may be each of them was not fortunate enough to go to prison; but every Indian had a resolve and the leadership of Mahatma ji and also the inspiration of countless revolutionaries who had sacrificed every thing. All these movements contributed to our attainment of Independence. But, now we have to convert this freedom into ‘the real freedom’. Now, this is the resolve of the one hundred and twenty five crores of Indians. So, just as we did not attain our freedom without sacrifices; we would not be able to attain ‘ the real freedom’ without renunciation, without human endeavour (Purusharth), without bravery, without dedication and discipline. So, in order to take ahead this resolution of one hundred and twenty five crore Indians; all of us will have to move ahead with our specific responsibilities in a most committed manner. Be it a Panchayat or the Parliament, be it a village headman or the Prime minister; every one of us as well as every democratic institution will have to shoulder their responsibilities completely and perfectly. Only then we will be able to realize the dream of our the real freedom as soon as possible.This is correct to say that our nation is beset with many problems now- a- days. But, we should never forget that if we have the problems, then we also have all the capacities to solve them. So, if we move ahead with all our capabilities, we will find the ways and mean to solve all these problems. So, brothers and Sisters, if we have lakhs of problems, then we also have one hundred and twenty five crore brains also which are all capable to solve these problems.
Dear Brothers & Sisters, there was a time when Government used to be surrounded by aspersions. But now time has changed. At present, no aspersions are being leveled on the Government. Rather, people have great expectations from it. When the Government is engulfed in expectations then it signifies hope and trust, which in turn generates those expectations. Expectations give pace towards good governance, invigorates and so the pledges are implemented ad continuum. My Brothers & Sisters, today when I am addressing you from the rampart of the Red Fort, it is, therefore, but natural that we should discuss the journey of good governance, the work done by the Government and work being done and should be done for the country. I can present before you a very detailed account of work done and also multiple issues regarding the performance of the Government. During the tenure of two years, the Government has taken innumerable initiatives and multiple tasks have been done. If I start giving details about them, I am afraid I will have to talk about it for a week from this very rampart of the Red Fort. So instead of that temptation, I would like to draw your attention towards the work culture of the Government. Sometimes, it is easier to present the account of work done. But, it is not easy for a common man to comprehend, understand and identify the work culture without dwelling deep into the work culture. My Brothers & Sisters, My Countrymen, I would not talk solely about the policy, but also the intention and decisions of the Government.
Dear Brothers & Sisters, it is just not an issue of direction and outline, rather it is about holistic approach and a resolve for transformation. It is confluence of trinity of expectation of people, democracy and support of people. It is both wisdom and consent. It is also pace and realisation of progress. Therefore, My Countrymen, when I talk about the Good Governance, it does implies bringing in transformation in the life of common man of my country. Good governance means that the government should be sensitive, responsive and dedicated to the common man. Then only good governance gets the emphasis. Responsibility and accountability should be at the root of it and it should draw its vital energy from there only for the government to be sensitive, dear Brothers and Sisters. We remember the days when there used to be a very long wait to go to any big hospital. People used to come to AIIMS, spend two three days and then only it would be decided what diagnostic tests were to be done. Now we have been able to change this system. Registration is done online and the doctor’s appointment is also given online. The processes start on arrival of the patient at the appointed hour itself. Not only this but all his medical records are also available online. And we wish to develop it as a countywide culture in the field of medical treatment. Today this system has been put in place in 40 big hospitals of the country. Its basic premise is that the government has to be sensitive.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the government should be accountable. If it be not so then the problems of the common man are kept pending for solutions. How does the change come? Now technology is there, but there was a time when the railway ticket in the railways, concerning the common man and the poor was available only two thousand tickets per minute. Those who might have seen it, would know how the buffering used to be there, nobody knew when the website would be operational again, but today I have to say with satisfaction that now it is possible to have fifteen thousand tickets per minute.The government should be accountable, it should take steps according to the necessities and expectations of the people. There is a class across the country, particularly the middle class, higher middle class whom you see troubled more at the hands of the income tax officials rather than the police at times. I have to change the situation and I am trying and I will certainly change it.
There was a time when a common and honest citizen used to give two rupees extra as a measure of caution at the time of paying his income tax. He used to think that he might not be harassed, but once the money was deposited to the government exchequer, he had to run from pillar to post and seek recommendations for getting the refund. It took months together before the rightful money of the citizen was returned to him from the government exchequer. Today, we have made a system of issuing online refund. Today, refunds are given in one, two say or three weeks. Those who are hearing me today on TV, they would also be realising that they had not given any application, yet they had got refund directly into their account. So, this responsibility and accountability are the results of these efforts.
It is equally important to lay emphasis on the transparency for good governance. You know that a global relationship has already started to become a common thing in the society today. A middle class man wants to have his passport- there was a time when about 40 lakh, 50lakh applications were received for getting passport. Today, approximately 2 crore people apply for the passport. Brothers and Sisters, earlier 4-6 months were taken for scrutiny of applications if one did not have recommendations. We changed that situation and today, I can say with pride that passports are issued to the citizens with all genuine details, in about one or two weeks and there is transparency no recommendation is required and there is no dilly-dallying. Today, I can say, we have issued 1.75 crores passports (in 2015-16 itself.)
In Surajya there must be efficiency in governance and therefore, earlier, if a company had to set up a factory or desiring to do business in our country, applications were submitted. There was a task of registration only, one wanted to do something for the country, but almost 6 months passed in normal course. Brothers and Sisters, if efficiency is brought, then the same government, same rules, same officials have got geared up to perform the same task of company registration within 24 hours and they are virtually doing it. In the last July itself, they performed the task of more than 900 such registrations.
Brothers and Sisters, good governance is also necessary for Surajya and the steps we have taken towards this good governance are that, as I had said last year from the Red Fort that we would exempt group ‘C’ and group ‘D’ posts from interviews, they might get job on the basis of merit. We have detected almost 9,000 posts for which thousands and lakhs of people need to be recruited. Now, there would not be any interview process for these 9,000 posts, my young men would not need to spend any money for interviews. Recommendations would not be needed, roads for corruption and agents will be shut and this work has been implemented.
Brothers and Sisters, there was a time when a common man got satisfied if the government announced any plan or merely announced that this would be done, he used to think that something concrete would happen now. Then, a time came when people asked for the plan unless the drawing of the plan came. Then, there was a time when people asked for the budget. Today, the mood of the country has changed in 70 years. It does not get satisfied with the announcement, it is not satisfied by seeing the plan, if a budget provision is made, it is not ready to accept this. It is accepted when things get implemented on ground and we cannot bring things on ground with the old pace. We have to speed up our work, increase the pace further and then we can say that we have done something.
Rural roads are a perpetual issue in our country. Each rural citizen craves for pakka roads. Its a huge task. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji took this task specifically. Even succeding governments continued this and the work continued. We have made efforts to fast track it. Earlier 70-75 Km of rural roads were completed in a day. Now we have increased that pace up to 100KM a day. This pace will fulfil the aspirations of common man in the days to come.
We have aid emphasis on energy, specifically renewable energy in our country. That was a time, when after so many years of independence, we started working on wind energy. Within a period of last one year we have increased it up to 40%. So this is the scale of up acceleration. Whole world is focussing on Solar energy. We have increased it approximately 116%-118%. This is not only a substantial incremental change, it’s a huge leap forward. We intend to enhance the things in quantum way.
In our country, even before forming of our government, we had the power production. But to reach the power, you need transmission lines and the good transmission infrastructure. Two years preceding the formation of our government, 30-35 thousand kilometres of transmission lines were being laid annually. Today I wish to submit this with satisfaction that we have raised this to 50,000 Kilometres. So we have increased the pace here. If we take the commissioning of railway lines in previous 10 years, where commissioning means capacity to ply the trains and to finish all the trials, so earlier it was at the rate of 1500 kilometre in 10 years . But we have made it up to 3500 kilometre in last 2 years. We are to increase this pace even further.
Brothers and Sisters, Now we are connecting government schemes to AAadhaar Card, focussing on stopping the leakages through direct benefit transfer. Previous government had connected four crore people to government schemes via Aadhaar Card. Today I can say this with satisfaction that in place of that work of four crore, we have completed the task of connecting 70 crore people to government schemes via Aadhaar card. The remaining will also be taken into the fold.
Today, for middle class or for common people the ownership of a car is a matter of pride. There was a time when gas stove at home was deemed as a standard and as a symbol of social status. During the last 60 years of independence, 14 crore LPG gas connections were given. Brothers and Sisters, it is a great satisfaction to me that on one side, 14 crore gas connections were given in 60 years, while on the other side, we have given 4 crore gas connections in just 60 weeks. Please compare the two figures – 14 crore in 60 years and 4 crore in 60 weeks. This is the speed, by which a change has become possible in the quality of life of common men. We have also started the task of eradicating obsolete laws. The burden of unnecessary laws has been creating hindrance in the functioning of the government, the judiciary and the public. We have identified 1700 such laws, out of which 1175 laws have already been repealed by the Parliament and several other such laws are in the process of repealing.
Brothers and Sisters, it had become a tendency among the people to say that certain work can be done and certain other work cannot be done, certain work cannot be done now and certain work cannot be done ever. A kind of negativity was prevalent in the minds of people. Now, a clear break through is visible in the mindset, a new synergy is seen in the functioning of the government. When an accomplishment is achieved, it stimulates dynamism, which sharpens our determination and then, the end result is not far away.
Brothers and Sisters, when we had launched “Prime Minister Jan-Dhan Yojana”, it was almost an impossible task. There were banks and the governments, nationalisation had already taken place, but the common man of the country was not able to be a part of the mainstream of national economy.
Brothers and Sisters, we have attained this impossible task through inclusion of 21 crore persons under “Jan-Dhan Yojana”. This is not a matter of taking credit by the Government, it is really an achievement of 125 crore countrymen of the country, for which I salute them. The campaign for women pride in villages of the country is an important issue of today. The practice of open defecation should be stopped; toilets should be built in villages. When I had got the first opportunity to address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I had expressed my feelings about it. Now, I can claim that more than 2 crore toilets have already been built in villages of the country within such a short period. More than 70 thousand villages are now free from the practice of open defecation. We are working towards bringing change in the lives of common man.
I had earlier announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that we would electrify those 18 thousand villages, which are still without electricity.We are going to complete 70 years of independence, but they had not seen electricity. They were forced to live in the 18th century. We undertook this task of making possible the impossible and today I am glad to say that, though we have not been able to complete even half the task within a thousand days, we are still away from the half-mark, out of the 18 thousand, electricity has reached ten thousand villages. I have been told that there are many among those villages who are watching Independence Day celebrations for the first time today on television in their homes. Today, from here I extend special greetings to those villages.
Brothers and Sisters, you will be surprised to know that at merely three hours journey from Delhi, there is a village called Nagla Fatela in Hathras region. It takes only three hours to reach this Nagla Fatela. But it took 70 years for electricity to reach there. 70 years, my brothers and Sisters! And therefore, I am introducing you to the work culture that we are following.
Brothers and Sisters, the LED bulbs were developed by the science and the researchers for welfare of every citizen. But in India it used to cost 350 Rupees. Who would buy it? And even the government would think, “It’s alright. The work is done. Someone must be using it.” But this should not be the attitude. If LED bulbs can bring about a change in the life of a common man, if it can ameliorate the environment, if it can improve India’s economy, then the government must make efforts in this direction. It is the nature of the government that it intervenes where it is not required and shies away from intervening where it is needed. We tried to change this situation, this work culture. And therefore, the bulb which used to be sold at 350 Rupees, it is now being sold at 50 Rupees because of governmental intervention. See the difference! 350 Rupees on one hand and 50 Rupees on the other. I do not want to ask where all this money used to go, however, thirteen crore bulbs have been distributed till date.
The politics of our country has become populist; the economic policies have become populist. If three hundred Rupees subsidy for each bulb had been given from public exchequer, the Prime Minister would have been applauded for doling out five hundred crore to the people. But we have ensured that they save thousands of crores by providing bulbs at only fifty Rupees. We have already distributed thirteen crore bulbs and we have resolved to distribute 77 crores and I would like to appeal to my countrymen to use LED bulbs in their homes and save 200, 300, 500 Rupees in a year and save energy and save our environment. The day we achieve the target of 77 crore bulbs, we would be saving 20 thousand Mega Watt of electricity. When we save 20000 Megawatt electricity, it means we save around 125000 crores rupees. Brothers and Sisters, you can save 125000 crore rupees of the country by using a LED bulb at your home. We can fight against global warming by saving 20000 Megawatt electricity and contribute a lot towards the efforts aimed at the protection of environment and a common man can also contribute to it. So, brothers and Sisters, we have worked in that direction-making the impossible possible.
You know that we depend on other countries of the world for energy and petroleum products and for that we have signed long term agreements with them so that we could get these products at fixed prices for a long period. We have entered into an agreement with Qatar for buying gas till 2024 but the prices are so high that it is costly for our economy. It was a result of our foreign policy relationship that we were able to renegotiate with Qatar, and the agreement which was the right of Qatar, and we were bound to buy gas from it till 2024, we negotiated with them and today, I can say with satisfaction that we made an impossible task possible, they renegotiated their prices and it will save 2000 crore rupees of the exchequer of India. They were entitled to get these 20000 crore rupees but the nature of relationship that we have with them and our policies have made it possible. The negotiations have been going on during the tenure of all the Governments and efforts were also made for Chabahar Port, which is an important link for connecting us with Central Asia, but today I feel satisfied to see an impossible task becoming possible. When Iran, Afghanistan and India collectively march ahead in a planned way for the construction of Chabahar Port, an impossible task becomes possible.
My brothers and Sisters, one thing, I want to talk about and which concerns the common man is inflation. It is true that the inflation rate had crossed 10% mark during the tenure of previous government. Due to our sustained efforts we were able to keep it below 6 percent. Not only this, we have, recently, made an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India that the RBI should take steps to control the inflation at the level of 4 percent with allowance of plus minus 2. We should leave behind the talks of balance between inflation and growth and work for moving ahead. But the country witnessed drought during last two years and the effect of drought are readily seen on the prices of vegetables and the outcomes of sluggishness of market have resulted in some problems. The decline in the production of pulses due to drought during last two years was also a cause of concern. But, Brothers and Sisters, if the inflation would have increased at the same pace as it had previously increased, I don’t know how the poor of my country would have survived? We have tried our best to keep it under check, but still people have lot of expectations from this government and dear countrymen your expectations are natural and I will not leave no stone unturned in achieving them. Whatever best I can do, I shall do that and keep the price of poor man’s meal under check.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, country is going to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji. How can the country forget the saga of sacrifice which has been the tradition of Sikh Gurus? Today, when we are celebrating the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji, I recall one best thought expressed by Guruji. Guru Gobind Singhji use to say, how can I consider those hands pure which have not done any service, hands which have not strengthened by labour and have not developed any blisters by toiling hard? Guru Gobind Singhji use to say this. Today, when we are celebrating the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji I remember our farmers. Whose hands are more pure than theirs? Whose hearts are more pious than their? Whose intentions can be more pure than theirs? I thanks our farmers that despite two years of drought, they consistently endeavored to fill our granaries, I greet them for this. Drought situation has changed and this time we are witnessing good monsoon. Heavy rains have also created problems at some places. Government of India stood with those states and citizen who suffered due to heavy rains. Today, I specially want to thank our farmers, because, when we are facing shortage of pulses and our farmers have shifted to other crops, and rise in demand of pulses by common man, I have to say this with content that this time our farmers have increased the sowing by one and half times. I want to thank our farmers because they have come forward to solve the problem of the crisis of pulses and find its solution. We have decided the MSP for pulses and declared a bonus on it. We have streamlined the process of purchase of pulses and promoting the farmers for cultivation of pulses. This will benefit us in a big way.
Brothers and Sisters, when I was talking about work culture, one thing was clear that I do not look at the issues in isolation but as a whole. Let us see it as integrated and just take agriculture under integrated things, we have developed such work culture with lot of hard work, the complete chain of which can produce a great result. First of all we focussed upon- the wellness of this soil, wellness of this land, soil health card, macro-nutrition, concern for micro-nutrition and made the farmers understand that this is lacuna in your soil, these are the good qualities, your soil is good for this crop, this is not suitable for this crop and gradually the farmers started their planning according to this soil health card. The people, who have planned, tell me, sir our expenditure has been reduced up to 25 percent and 30 percent increase is being visible our production. This number is less at present, but in future as soon as this may pass on, this concept will gain momentum. The farmers have land and if they get water, then the farmer of my country has the power to produce gold out of the soil. The farmer of my country has this power and that is why we have emphasized upon water-management, emphasized upon water-irrigation, emphasized upon water-conservation. We are emphasizing upon how every drop of water may be utilised by the farmer, how to increase the importance of water, and get per drop more crop, micro irrigation. More than 90 percent irrigation projects were lying incomplete and stalled. We have taken up the responsibility to complete those projects first of all and will work in the direction that lakh of hectares of land may get the benefit of irrigation. We have taken a big leap towards solar pump so that the input cost of the farmers may be lessened because nowadays the farmers require electricity also, they require water, they need electricity, and electricity costs dearer. On account of it, the input cost of the farmer is going to be less, the recurring expenditure is going to be less and due to owning solar pump at home will result in owning electricity, owning the sun, owning the field, owing the barn and thus our farmer would be happy. We have succeeded in distributing 77 thousands solar pumps till now.
Brothers and Sisters, I would like to congratulate the scientists of our country. Good quality seeds are also required along with soil, water and solar pumps. The scientists of our country have developed more than 131 new farmable seeds compatible to the climate and nature of India, which have the capacity to enhance our per hectare production. The values they retain are also being increased. I heartly congratulate these scientists also. The farmers require urea as well as fertilisers. There was time when black marketing was in practice to get the fertilisers, there was time when the police had to lathi-charge for fertilisers. There was time when the farmer used to watch his crop being damaged in the absence of fertilisers before his very eyes. Brothers and Sisters, Fertiliser shortages are a thing of the past; they are now history. We have recorded the highest-ever production of fertilisers. This is likely to ensure timely availability of fertilisers to farmers.
Similarly, We conceptualized “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana”. It’s insurance cover includes maximum protection to farmer’s land and his agro-produce at a comparatively much lower premium, and that too with a guaranteed cover. We have constructed new warehouses to preserve 15 lakhs tons of food grains. Our country’s farmers will benefit only when we move towards value addition, and for this We have laid special emphasis on food processing for the first time. We have encouraged cent percent Foreign Direct Investment which would augment agro-based industries, and Consequentially, my brothers and Sisters, I believe it would help me and our farmers realize our dream of doubling latter’s income by 2022. These efforts would make it possible and for realizing the same, We have taken steps one after another.
Brothers and Sisters, Our country has a fancy for a trend. And the Governments, with an aim to leave an impression, have done a lot, and to fill the bill in this country, People go for some populist things and empty the exchequer. Governments have a trend of establishing an identity. Brothers and Sisters, I have tried my best to stay away from this allurement, and While doing so, I have tried to do several things in every range with the mantra of Total transformation, Transformation with transparency, Reform, Perform and Transform.
Brothers and Sisters, We are far more committed to build the image of Hindustan than that of our Government. Regardless of party’s identity, the Country’s identity holds primacy. For, If the Country moves on, it will yield dividends for the coming generations, for centuries, and exactly, for this reason, We have accorded primacy to the country’s identity and not to our party. Now a days, You must have observed the scope of our work in Railways. While we are talking about having Bio-toilets in train, we also cherish the dream of Bullet train. While We talk about “Soil Health Card” for farmers, we also want to march ahead in the direction of satellite and space technology. While talking about “Stand-Up India”, we are also taking steps towards “Start-Up India”. We are laying emphasis on Substance than on Symbolism. We are stressing on integrated development than on isolated development. Leaving aside entitlement, we are focused and emphatic on Empowerment because an empowering country, my brothers and Sisters, provides an identity to the Government through the prism of the newly declared schemes. But sometimes the old schemes just tumble down. Nevertheless, the Govts. is a continuity. If the earlier Govts. have done some work; then it is in the national interest that the next Government rectifies their shortcomings and gives a go ahead to these schemes. The arrogance that this was the work of your Government and this is my Govt; hence we would not do this work; is not in the fitness of the things in a democracy. This is why, with all humility, we have given similar importance to the schemes of the previous governments. This is the hallmark of our work culture as our nation is a continuous and a ceaseless system and we wish to retain that system. This is why, I have a project called PRAGATI. Under this project, every month, I myself sit and review all the on going projects. You would be amazed to know that almost 119 projects worth Rs. seven and a half lakh crores started by various previous Govts. were lying pending. I got all of them going. I said, so much of money have been spent on them, so, all these projects should be completed. Now they are all on the way to completion. We created a project monitoring group. I asked them to look into all such projects and find out as to when were they started. I came to know that some of them were started 20 years ago, the other were started somewhere between twenty five to thirty to fifteen years earlier. The people living in the areas of these projects know all. We identified such two hundred and seventy projects worth Rs. 10 Lakhs crores which were inaugurated by some earlier govts. and some crores of rupees were spent on all of them; but all that money was going down the drain. We started all such stuck up projects once again. Brothers and Sisters, such helding up and delaying of the schemes after having spent crores of rupees on them is a criminal negligence and we have tried to tide over such things.
Brothers and Sisters, earlier railway projects took at least two years in getting sanctions. A train is passing from somewhere, road have also been made on the both side; a rail over bridge is to be constructed. But the approval took two years. We have speeded up the approval process and have been able to shorten the approval time to three or four months, or maximum to six months.
Brothers and Sisters, however fast we may work, whatsoever may be the number of the schemes started by us; the touchstone of good administration of any Government lies in the last man delivery or the benefits accrued to that person. So, this has to be taken care off. Brothers and Sisters, when policies are clear, intentions are clear; then the sentiments behind the decisions are also a class apart and the decisions can be taken unhesitantly. So, due to the correct policies and the correct intentions our Government is taking unhesitant decisions and giving emphasis on the last man delivery.
We have seen and if you also go through the newspapers of Uttar Pradesh, every year there were stories about the outstanding balance of Sugar Cane farmers. Every year, there was news that this is not being done by the sugar mill owners, that was not being done by the state Govt, that sugar cane farmers are in distress. Thousands of crores of the rupees was outstanding. So, we made schemes in this regard and tired to ensure the last man delivery and also ensured that the amount should reach to the farmers. Brothers and Sisters, out of the total old outstanding balance of the thousands of crores of rupees, I would like to inform you with a lot of satisfaction that almost 99.5% has been settled. It has happened for the first time after many years. I can point out in solace that all the sugarcane which was procured and which came for marketing this time for that almost 95 per cent of farmers have got the price of sugarcane produced and I am sure and I believe that the remaining 5 percent of farmers will also be paid in the coming days.
Brothers & Sisters, We have initiated a mission to provide LPG Connections to the poor families. We have launched a dynamic mission under “Ujawala” scheme to get rid of smokes emanating from chulha for my poor mothers. A target has been laid down to provide gas connections to 5 crores poor families within 3 years. Efforts are in progress and we have already provided gas connections to around 50 lakhs and that also have been done merely within the last hundred days – you can imagine – that it may be possible to achieve the said target even before three years. We intend to emphasis upon Last Mile Delivery in this mission.
Post has steadily become irrelevant due to onlining of our Post Offices, Information Technology, Whatsapp, messages, e-mail. Our country is known as the chains of Post Offices and we have revamped these post offices. Post Offices are linked with poor and marginalised people. Postman is the only representative of the Government who is linked with the feelings and affections of the common man. We have never safeguarded the interests of the Post Man who has always got the affections of everyone and the postman always cares for common people. We have taken measures to convert our post office into a Payment Bank. By setting of these Payment Banks, a network of Banks will be set up across the villages in the country. People will get the benefits of Jan-Dhan account. The funds of MGNREGA for the common man is now being transferred into their respective accounts through ‘AADHAAR’, the cases of corruption are decreasing. Everyone will be benefitted through the mission of converting the Post Office into a Payment Bank.
Brothers & Sisters, PSUs in our country are merely set up for loss-making units or for turning into sick units slowly and steadily or for disinvestment. This has been the common practice in the past. We have strived to launch a new work-culture. Today, I can point out in satisfaction that we have succeeded to turn the operation of so called notorious Air India into an operational profit-making undertaking during the last year. It is a fact that which all the Telcom companies of the world are profit-making units, the BSNL was turning into a heavy loss-making undertaking. We have succeeded in bringing BSNL to operational profit for the first time. Nobody believed that the Shipping Corporation of India could also rake in profit, now it is bringing profit. There was a time when it was apprehended that how would a power factory last for a week. Whether we would be able to get coal for them or not. It also used to be reported that power factories have been shut down for want of coal. Now, we have sufficient stock of coal at the threshold of the power factories. It could be used for months by them. Dear Brothers & Sisters, we have achieved it.
Often, you must have seen that there is huge talk of corruption in our country. I have observed it myself that how corruption has looked the poor people from the lowest strata of the society and how huge amount of money is being wasted. We have linked AADHAAR Card and AADHAAR Number with the Government Policies. Dear Brothers & Sisters, earlier there was a system under which funds used to be released from public exchequer for widow pension, scholarship, persons with disabilities and minorities and also we used to receive list of beneficiaries. We looked into it deeply and found that even unborn children are also listed in it and getting benefit out of such schemes. These middlemen used to siphon off billions of rupees from it and nobody even took notice of it. But under the AADHAAR System, we have removed all these middlemen from the list of beneficiaries and directly transferred the amount to the beneficiaries and found that these are millions of such ghost beneficiaries who do not exist at all and used to receive billions of rupees from it. Now that has been checked. We saved lot of amount. We decided to find out the needy persons who were excluded from that list so that the amount of money saved from it should invariably be deposited into the accounts of those persons who want to fight for their rights. We have worked in that direction to deliver it to the last man delivery and we have made it to reach it to them.
All of us are aware of the Coal Scam. Today there is no accusation on the coal auction. No stigma is attached to it. The states which excavate coal in India, will continuously earn millions of rupees in the near future. There was a time when the auction of spectrum was surrounded by allegations. We auctioned it online and that has filled the coffers of the country, bringing about healthy competition and also fetching benefits for the nation.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, today the world is passing through an era of global economy. Every country today is inter-connected and inter-dependent. Economically, the whole world is somehow inter-connected in one way or other. However much we may progress in our country, we’ll have to keep the global economy, global arena in view; come up to the global standards, match it also to stay relevant, and contribute, and also lead the global economy when the time comes. Therefore, we’ll have to be alert all the time. We’ll have to comply with the global standards to make ourselves up to date. Recently, you must have seen how the World Bank, I.M.F., World Economic Forum, credit rating agencies and such other agencies in the world have all appreciated the progress of India. The world is constantly watching these things due to the decisions taken one after another by India in respect of legal reforms, improvement in system and changes in approach. We have very speedily improved our ranking in `ease of doing business’ ratings. In terms of foreign investment, with regard to foreign direct investment our country happens to be the most favourite destination in the world today. We have left behind even the big economies of the world in matters of growth rate and GDP.
Dear brothers and Sisters, do you know what an U.N. institute has estimated about India for the next two years ? They have estimated that in two years India will come up to the third spot in the economic sphere in place of its present level at number ten. Brothers and Sisters, logistic support, infrastructure, all these things are taken into account in global standards, comparisons are made with rich countries of the world. Brothers and Sisters, while making analysis regarding this logistic support and infrastructure of India, the World Economic Forum has said that India has reached above 19 ranks as compared to earlier positions and India is moving up and marching ahead rapidly. Brothers and Sisters, the way we are marching ahead with a dynamic and predictable economy in our country and also in global reference- the recently passed GST law, is also an empowering step towards it and all those parties deserve appreciations for this.
Brothers and Sisters, I had talked about a campaign from the same place- “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao”. We do not do any work in piecemeal. We have an integrated approach and I still need the cooperation of the society in the initiatives which we have taken in “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao”. Every single parent need to be aware. We should honour the daughters, protect them and give them the benefit of government’s schemes. We have covered millions of families under “Sukanya Samridhi Yojna” which guarantees benefits for the daughters when she grows up. We have given greatest importance to the insurance schemes in which women are benefitted. They are going to reap its benefits. We have “Indradhanush Tikakaran Yojna”- because if we ensure two things for our mothers and sisters i.e. economic empowerment and empowerment against health problems and we educate them, you can take it as an assurance that if even a single woman is educated in the family, if she is strong physically and independent economically, she has power to pull the poorest of the poor family out of poverty and therefore we are working with emphasis on empowerment of women, health of women, economic prosperity of women, physical empowerment of women in our fight against poverty.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, “Mudra Yojna”- I am happy that more than three and half crore families reaped the benefits of MudraYojna. In it, most of the people who reached to the door of banks were first timers. Even out of these almost 80 percent people were from SC/ST/OBC. Out of these too, 80 percent are women who took loans from banks, Mudra bank. This is to be considered that how will these womenfolk will contribute in economic development. Brothers and Sisters! last week we decided that our mothers and Sisters who have become the participants in the growth story, need leave after child birth. Earlier that leave was shorter but now we have increased this to 26 weeks, enabling the new mother to take care of her infant. Our weavers and the people working in textile, who make yarn and yarn rolls, used to get Rs.100.We have increased that to Rs.190 so as to strengthen the hands of my yarn producing mothers and Sisters. Our mothers, Sisters and weavers who are engaged in silk production will now receive Rs.50 more per meter of production. This has also been decided that this Rs.50 per meter will not go either to the trader or to the middleman or to the dealer. Instead this Rs.50 per meter will go via Aadhaar directly to the account of the weaver who has produced it. This will empower the weavers. We have started schemes with this intention and effect is now visible.
My dear countrymen! When we visualize railway and post office then we are able to see the unity of India. More we increase the institutions connecting India, our setup will change and that will enforce the unity of the country. So in the same tune we have started a new market scheme for farmers with the name ‘E-NAM”. Today farmers can sell their produce online in any of the markets of the country. Now he is not constrained to compulsively sell his produce in the market which is 10 Kilometers from his field .Neither to sell at low prices which is not remunerative for his hard work. Now a uniform sort of market network is establishing throughout the country with ‘E-NAM’. GST is soon to result in uniform taxation system and a unitary arrangement thus achieved will unite India as well. You will be amazed to know that earlier a zone was to have surplus energy and there were no takers. Another zone used to be in dire need of electricity, had to remain in dark and factories used to be shut. To effect a change in this scenario, we earned a great success with the ‘One nation, One grid, One price’. Earlier it used to be Rs.10 per unit in summers but I went to Telangana few days back to find it to be one rupee ten paise per unit instead of that age old Rs. 10. This is the result of one-price system, which can connect the whole country.
A worker of our county has to change his place of work after every one or two years. But, his amount, deducted under EPF, is not transferred. You will be surprised to know that when I took the charge of the Government, Rs. 27,000 crore were lying under EPF, which belonged to the workers. Workers were not able to claim their amount, as they were ignorant of the relevant process. To solve this problem, we have issued a universal account number to each worker, which would enable easy transfer of fund to his new place of work. Now, the worker would get his amount after retirement and it would no more be lying dormant in a government treasury.
We have strengthened various initiatives such as Bharat-Mala, Setu-Bharatam, and Bharat-Net etc. We are working towards connecting the whole country and towards economic development of the country through all these initiatives.
Brothers and Sisters, this year is important due to various reasons. The country is celebrating 1000th birth anniversary of Saint Sri Ramanuja Acharyaji. The country is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Shrimad Rajchandra Ji, the Guru of Mahatma Gandhi. The country is celebrating 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji. The country is also celebrating centenary birth celebrations of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya ji. While remembering Sri Ramanuja Acharya ji today, I wish to underline his message to the country. He used to say that we should serve all the devotees of the Lord, irrespective of their caste and class. He had said that we should never humiliate anyone and should give respect to all, without any discrimination on the basis of age and caste. The issue that was given importance by Gandhi, Ambedkar, Ramanujacharya, Lord Buddha, our scriptures and by our all spiritual gurus too is the issue of ‘our social unity’.
If the society disintegrates, the empire straggles, gets divided into the highs and the lows, the touchables and the untouchables, then brothers and Sisters, that society cannot sustain. There are social evils, centuries old social evils, but if the social evils have become chronic, they need a bit harsh and yet sensitive treatment. The lackadaisical attitude will not solve the social problems and this is the responsibility of 125 crore citizens. The government and the society together will have to steer through the social conflicts. Brothers and Sisters, all of us will have to fight against the social evils. We all will have to rise above social evils in our own behavior. Each and every citizen will have to rise above them and then only we can build a strong India. Without empowering our society, we cannot make India strong. Mere economic progress does not guarantee a strong India, the guarantee of a strong India lies in a strong society. And a strong society is built at the edifice of social justice. A strong society is built only on the edifice of social justice. Therefore, it is our duty to lay emphasis on social justice. Whether they be Dalits, the downtrodden, the exploited, the deprived, my Adivasi brothers, the rural population, the urban population, the literate or the illiterate, the small or the big- the 125 crore of our fellow countrymen constitute our family. We together have to take forward our country and we all have to work in the same direction.
Brothers and Sisters, today the entire world acknowledges the fact that India is a country of youths. What cannot be achieved by a country through its youth power whose 65 percent population, about 800 Million people, is below the age of 35 years? Therefore, my brothers and Sisters, it is the need of the hour that the youth get opportunity and employment. Today we are heading towards the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya spoke of welfare of the last human being which was even the view of Mahatma Gandhi. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya believed in the philosophy of ‘Antyodaya’. Welfare of the poorest and the weakest was the central theme of the political philosophy of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyayji. He used to say that every youth should get education, every youth should be skilled and every youth should get the opportunity to realise his dreams. We have taken many initiatives to realise those dreams of Pt. Deendayalji and to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of 800 million youths of the country. The way the road network in the country is expanding, the largest number of vehicles are being manufactured in the country, the country is becoming the largest exporter of softwares, more than 50 new mobile factories have been set up in the country, all these things have created opportunities for the youths. If two crore door toilets have been constructed, it has provided employment to someone, cement has been procured from somewhere, iron has been purchased from some other person, and the wooden work has been got done from somewhere else. As the scope of work expands, the possibilities of employment generation also increase. Today, we have stressed in that direction.
Similarly, we are working on ‘skill development’ as a mission so that crores of youth could acquire skills. We have changed a law, though it seems very small, and this law is ‘Model Shop and Establishment Act’. We have sent an advisory to states to give reasons why the big malls are allowed to open 365 days and upto 12 in the night but a small shopkeeper in the village has to shut his shop after sunset. Even a poor should get the opportunity to keep his shop open for 365 days. Why should our Sisters not get the opportunity to work in night? We have made legal provisions so that our Sisters could go to work in night also. There should be arrangements for their safety and other requirements but they must get the opportunity to work. These are the things which increase employment. Brothers and Sisters, we are working in that direction and we are ready to do it.
Brothers and Sisters, this is the government, we are the persons who don’t believe in delaying the things, we know how to fight not how to delay, so unless we deal with the problems head-on, it is not going to happen. Today when we are celebrating our freedom in the country, someone among the army jawans, who live and die for the country, would be ready for taking the bullets on the border, someone will be sitting in bunker and some other one would not be fortunate enough to meet his sister on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. How many jawans are working in armed forces? More than 33000 police personnel have got martyrdom since we got our independence. Why should we forget them and how can we? These are the people due to whom we can live a life of peace and happiness. The issue of “One Rank One Pension” was pending for many years. We do not keep the issues pending but we face them. We have fulfilled our promise of “One Rank One Pension” and have spread happiness in the home of every Indian soldier. We did this work.
It was the feeling of our countrymen that the files pertaining to Netaji Subhash Babu should be declassified. Today, I bow my head and say that without caring for the result we have decided to declassify these files; a task which was impossible and kept pending since long. We invited Netaji’s family members and shown them the files and this process of declassifying will continue. I requested the other countries of the world to declassify the files held by them and hand them over to India because Indians have full right to know about Subhash Babu and history of India. We have worked in that direction.
Bangladesh — When partition of India took place, a boundary dispute existed since then. A boundary dispute prevailed since the formation of Bangladesh. Many decades passed. Brothers and Sisters, all parties have together solved the Indo-Bangladesh border dispute and we have amended the constitution also.
Brothers and Sisters, a middle class person wants to construct his own house, wants to buy a flat. Builders lobby shows him a beautifully printed booklet and the helpless soul falls prey to it. He is not having any technical knowledge, he pays the installments but he is not getting the promised house in time. A middle class makes one house in his whole life and in it he invests all his capital. Brothers and Sisters, we have put a check by passing the “Real Estate Bill”, so that a middle class should not face any problem if he wishes to own a house. We have worked for this.
Brothers and Sisters, I have already said that this year is the 150th anniversary of Shrimad Rajchandra Ji, the guru of Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhiji was staying at South Africa, then also he was having correspondence with Shrimad Rajchandra Ji. In one of his letter Shrimad Rajchandra Ji discussed violence and non-violence. In that letter Rajchandra Ji writes, when violence came in to existence from same time the principle of non-violence also born. The important thing in both is that which we prefer or which is being used in the interest of mankind.
Brothers and Sisters, the discussion of violence and non-violence is very inherent in our country. Humanity is in our blood. We are the people of a great, colossal culture. This country is full of diversity, colours and beauty. This is such a bouquet of mother India wherein all type of fragrances, all type of colours and all type of dreams exist. Brothers and Sisters, the unity of diversity is our biggest strength. The mantra of unity is connected to our roots.
Brothers and Sisters, a country having more than hundred languages, hundreds of dialects, innumerable attires, innumerable life styles, despite that this country remained united- its main reason is our cultural heritage. We know how to respect, we know hospitality, we know how to assimilate, we have carried this great tradition and that is why there is no room for violence and atrocity in our country. If the democracy of India is to be strengthened, the dreams of India are to be fulfilled then the path of violence would never bring success for us. Nowadays a game of killing the innocents is being played on the pretext of Maoism in forests, on the pretext of extremism at border, on the pretext of terrorism at hilly areas by carrying guns on shoulders. Forty years have passed, this mother soil has grown blood stained but the persons on the path of terrorism have not achieved anything. I would like to remind those youth that this country will never tolerate violence nor would it ever put up with terrorism. Nor would it bow down to terrorism. It will never succumb to Maoism. But I exhort them and say that you still have time-return to the mainstream. Just think about your parents’ dream; just reflect on the hopes and expectations of your parents; return back to the mainstream; live a happy and peaceful life, for, the path of violence never fetches benefit to anybody.
Brothers and sister, we talk about foreign policy. I don’t want to go into details. We had invited the leaders of SAARC Countries on the day we took oath at the Centre. Our message was clear that we all, neighbouring countries, have a common problem, and that common challenge is poverty. Let us fight this poverty together, by fighting one-another, we are left shattered but if we fight this poverty, we will walk towards prosperity. So, I exhort all neighbouring countries to join us in this fight against poverty. No freedom can be much bigger than the freedom of our citizens from poverty; freedom of our country’s citizen from poverty. No liberation is more liberating than the freedom from poverty. Whenever a citizen from the neighbouring countries would get freedom from poverty, we will feel elated regardless of the fact whether the poor belongs to us or our neighbouring country.
Brothers and Sisters, what kind of people are those who got drive from humanity and, what is the kind of those who reward terrorism? I want to place two pictures before this world, and I say to the world, I say to those who believe in humanity that just weigh out the attack, when terrorists brutally killed innocent children in a school at Peshawar. The attack take place in Peshawar, and was a terrorist incident. The innocent children became victim of the bloodbath; the temple of learning had blood stream all around; innocent children were slaughtered. Hindustan, the Parliament had tears in it’s eyes; Every Indian school was in tears; every child of India felt the trauma of the deaths of children in Peshawar. His tears had become unstoppable. Every child, who was killed in Peshawar in the terrorist attack, ached our heart too. This is the drive of our nurtured culture of humanity; this is our humanity, but if you look around, you will find a more to glorify terrorists.
Where innocent people are killed in terrorist attack, and they celebrate, what type of terrorism inspired life it is, what type of these creations of the terrorism inspired governments are? The world will understand these two differences properly, this is sufficient for me. Today I want to specially honour and thank to some people from the ramparts of Red Fort. For the past few days the people of Baluchistan, the people of Gilgit, the people of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the way their citizens have heartily thanked me, the way they have acknowledged me, the goodwill they have shown towards me, the people settled far across, the land which I have not seen, the people I have not met ever, but people settled at far across acknowledge the Prime Minister of India, they honour him, so it is an honour of my 125 crores countrymen, it is respect of my 125 crores countrymen and that is why owing to the feeling of this honour, I want to heartily thank the people of Baluchistan, the people of Gilgit, the people of Pakistan occupied Kashmir for having an expression of thankfulness.
Brothers and Sisters, today when we are celebrating the seventy years of Independence, then there is a big contribution of freedom soldiers for the country. When there is a contribution of these freedom soldiers, then the Government is deciding to increase 20 percent in the honouring amount being received, pension being received by the all these honourable freedom soldiers family members. The freedom fighters who earlier used to get 25000 rupees, will now get 30000 rupees. It is my small effort to pay my respects to the sacrifice and oblation of our freedom fighters.
Brothers and Sisters, when we talk about the history of freedom struggle of our country, some persons are talked about a lot, some are excessively mentioned but the contribution made by the people living in jungles, the tribals, in the freedom struggle was unmatched. They used to live in jungles. We hear the name of Birsa Munda but perhaps there would be no tribal dominated district where the tribals would not have fought and given sacrifice since 1857 to the time we got freedom. They proved through their sacrifice what is freedom, what is struggle against servitude. But our forthcoming generations are not much aware of this history. The government desires and plans that in the coming days, in the states where these freedom fighters, who were tribals, who lived in jungles, fought against Britishers, who were not ready to succumb. The Government would work towards building permanent museums in various states dedicated to tribal brave freedom fighters, wherever land would be available for the purpose, where their contributions and memoirs would be displayed, so that coming generations could be able to know about their sacrifices for the country.
Brothers and Sisters, in the midst of the debate on inflation, we are realising one fact that the entire economy of a poor household is affected if somebody falls ill. The wedding of their daughters gets stalled, the education of children gets stalled and sometimes even food is not available in the evening. Healthcare is getting costlier and that is why, I am announcing an important scheme from the ramparts of the Red Fort for the healthcare of BPL families. Under this scheme, in the coming days, if such poor families have to take medical facilities, the government will bear expenditure upto Rs.1 lakh per year, so that my poor brothers are not deprived of healthcare facilities and their dreams are not shattered.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, let us proceed forward with a new determination, new energy, new enthusiasm by getting inspiration from those great persons who scarified their lives for our freedom. We did not get an opportunity to die for the country but we have the opportunity to live for the country. We should dedicate our life to the nation. We should achieve something of substance for the nation. We should fulfill our responsibilities and also inspire others to accomplish their responsibilities. We should stride forward for building of one society, one dream, one resolution, one direction and one destination. With this very pious feeling, I once again bow my head before the great personalities of the country, the soldiers who risk their lives for our security on water, land and air fields and also those 33 thousands martyrs who sacrificed their lives for us. So, I, hereby, dedicate myself to dream about the future of the country and call on all of you from the rampart of the Red Fort to speak with your full might : Bharat Mata Ki Jay! Let the voice reach to every corner of the world.
Bharat Mata Ki Jay! Bharat Mata Ki Jay! Bharat Mata Ki Jay!
Vandematram! Vandematram! Vandematram !
Jay Hind! Jay Hind! Jay Hind!
Thank you.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi on the occasion of 70th Independence Day today. Following are the brief highlights of the speech:
1. Today on this special day, I convey my greetings to 125 crore Indians & the Indian community living overseas. May this energy guide the nation to scale newer heights of progress in the years to come
2. We remember Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Nehru, countless people who sacrificed their lives so that we attained Swarajya.
3. It is true that India faces a lot of problems, but we have the capacity to find solutions.
4. Today, more than Karya, I want to talk about Karya Sanskriti of the Government
5. There was a time when past governments used to be surrounded by accusations, not so anymore. They are now surrounded by aspirations.”
6. It is our responsibility to convert our Swaraj into Suraaj, which can not be done without sacrifice, discipline and staunch resolution 7. Today I will be speaking not just of policy but vision. Not just the speed of work, but actual experience of progress
8. Suraaj means the progress of the common man, a govt that is sensitive to the requirements and aspirations of the common man. Responsibility and accountability are to be the roots of such a Suraaj.”
9. We want to change the situation where people are scared of income tax authorities, particularly among middle class families
10. Two crore people apply for passports in the country. Even poor people get passport in one or two weeks
11. In the past any businessman who wanted to invest in this country had to spend more than six months just registering his business. However, with this government we have simplified the procedure to an extent that in last July itself, 900 such registrations have taken place.
12. Interviews for more than 9,000 posts in Group C and D jobs have been abolished.
13. In the the last 70 years people’s expectations have changed. Announcement of policies and budget doesn’t convince them. We have to show what has been achieved on the ground
14. Earlier, 70-75 km of rural roads used to be laid per day. Now we lay upto 100 km of rural roads a day
15. One nation, one grid and one price- we have worked on this.
16. Renewable energy is a focus area for us.
17. In the field of solar power we have seen a growth of 116 per cent. It is unprecedented.
18. 30,000-35,000 km of transmission lines used to be laid in a year in the past. Now at least 50,000 km per day are being laid.
19. Cooking gas was available to 14 crore people in the last 60 years. In the last sixty weeks alone, four crore people got these connections
20. We must break through our predilection towards pessimism. If we do that, it gives us energy. To get 21 crore people into the network of institutional credit is one such thing that people thought was impossible. But it happened.
21. Out of 18,000 villages, more than 10,000 villages have been electrified and I have been told they are with us, watching this celebration of Independence Day.
22. Just at 3 hour distance from Delhi is a village in Hathras, that took 70 years to get electricity.
23. Govt has made LED bulbs available at Rs. 50 per bulb, says the Prime Minister.
24. When things like the coming together of Iran, Afghanistan and India come together for Chabahar port, then one can see the impossible becoming possible.
25. We haven’t allowed inflation to go beyond 6 per cent. There were two years of successive drought in the country. Production of pulses became a concerns, but despite all that we tried our best to control the situation and compared to previous governments, I and my government did not allow the cost of a poor man’s thaali (plate) to be unaffordable.
26. As we celebrate the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji I remember what he said: “He who hasn’t served others, how can his hands be considered holy?” I say our farmers do such work and have sown 1.5 times the pulses that were sown earlier, despite the discouragement of successive droughts.
27. Our scientists have created 131 types of high yielding variety seeds, so that we maximise output. I congratulate them. The shortage of fertiliser is like something out of a bad dream of the past. That shortage is history.
28. To empty government coffers has been a tradition of past governments, I have tried to keep away from such a temptation. For me more than what the world thinks of the government, what the image of the country is, is important. Substance over symbolism. Empowerment over entitlement. The nation is more important than the party.
29. Government is continuity and if there are good points in the works done by them, we, with bowed heads will continue that work. I take meetings over PRAGATI systems, where we oversee 118 such programmes launched by previous governments but had run aground. 270 projects worth Rs. 10 lakh crore had been stuck. This was criminal negligence and we have tried to move them forward.
30. When there is clarity in policy, clarity in intent, decisions are unhesitating. Every year, when it came to Uttar Pradesh, a common story was the arrears due to sugarcane farmers. Today, I can say 95 per cent of payments have been done. Under Ujjwala Yojana, we have 50 lakh households of smoke-free kitchens.
31. We will remain relevant and be able to lead the global economy only if we come up to global standards. In the last few days you must have seen how rating agencies have appreciated our moves on ease of doing business.
32. Ramanujacharya used to say that we must look at everyone with the same gaze, never humiliate anyone. This was said by Ambedkar, Gandhi too. If society practices this discrimination it will break society. If discrimination is entrenched, our determination to fight it and our sensitivity to fighting it should be that much higher. Just economic progress is not enough, social equity is more important. We have to fight social evils together.
33. GST will give strength to our economy and all parties are to be thanked for its passage.
34. This govt does not believe in postponing things. We have fulfilled our promise of one rank one pension. We have released all files relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. That was another promise we had made.
35. Unity in diversity is our greatest strength. Our cultural tradition of respect for others, and assimilation is the reason why our civilisation has persisted.
36. Violence has no place in our country. This country will not tolerate terrorism and Maoism.
37. I tell those who believe in human values, to weigh in the scale of humanity, when innocent children were massacred in a school in Peshawar. In India, every school was weeping, there were tears in the eyes of every parliamentarian. That was a reflection of our human value, but look at the other side which glorifies terrorists
38. I say to our neighbours, Let’s fight poverty, by fighting our own people we will destroy ourselves, only by fighting poverty together will we prosper
39. In the last few days the way the people of Balochistan, Gilgit, from Pak occupied Kashmir have thanked me, it is the honour of 1.25 billion people of India. I thank those people from Balochistan, Gilgit and Pak occupied Kashmir.
40. We have decided to raise pensions for freedom fighters by 20 per cent.
41. The Government will bear the health-care expenditure upto Rs 1 lakh per annum for the BPL families.
42. When we speak of freedom fighters, a few are mentioned far more than others. Our Adivasi brothers fought valiantly largely unsung, many have heard of Birsa Munda but few others. In the next few days, it is our intention to record the history of such Adivasi freedom fighters in the areas of their origin on a museum.
43. One society, one mission, one goal
44. ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind.’
Shri Narendra Modi paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and countless people, who sacrificed their lives so that Swarajya could be attained.
He said that 125 crore Indians have now resolved to complete the journey from Swarajya to “Suraj.” He said the achievement of Suraj will require sacrifice, hard work, discipline, dedication and courage, and added that every institution from Panchayat to Parliament must work unitedly towards this goal.
The Prime Minister said that there was a time when allegations engulfed the Government. He said that this Government, instead, is surrounded by expectations. He said that when hope gives rise to expectations, it gives us energy to move faster towards Suraj.
The Prime Minister said that he wishes to focus not on the work done by the Government, but on its work-culture.
The Prime Minister defined various attributes of Suraj, such as Sensitivity, Responsibility, Accountability, Transparency, Efficiency and Good Governance. He illustrated each of these attributes through examples of the working of the Union Government, in areas such as online registration in major hospitals, promptness of income tax refunds, speeding up the process of passport delivery, faster company registrations, and ending interviews for Group C and Group D positions in the Government.
The Prime Minister mentioned how the speed of delivery in vital areas of governance had increased. In this context, he gave examples such as rural roads construction, renewable energy generation capacity, laying of transmission lines, and cooking gas connections.
The Prime Minister spoke of the scale on which work had been accomplished in certain areas, such as opening of 21 crore bank accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana, construction of 2 crore toilets in rural areas, and electrification of 10,000 unelectrified villages in a short span of time.
On the subject of LED bulbs, the Prime Minister mentioned that their price had been brought down substantially to make them more accessible to the common man. He said that the widespread use of LED bulbs would result in huge saving of electricity.
The Prime Minister appreciated the farmers for ensuring sufficient foodgrain production despite two successive droughts. He said that the area under pulses cultivation has increased substantially this year. He explained the integrated approach that the Government has taken towards the agriculture sector, which includes focus on soil health cards, irrigation, solar pumps, seeds, fertilizers, and crop insurance.
Shri Narendra Modi said the focus of the Government has been to build a national identity. He said the Government aims to Reform; Perform; Transform. He said the the Government is more attentive to substance, rather than symbolism; integrated development rather than isolated development; and empowerment rather than entitlement.
The Prime Minister explained how his Government has been working to complete stalled or long pending projects, and is shortening the time required for project approvals in important sectors.
Giving illustrations of effective delivery, the Prime Minister mentioned clearance of sugarcane arrears, new LPG connections, and PSUs such as Air India and BSNL reporting operational profits. Mentioning the emphasis on transparency, the Prime Minister said subsidies are being better targeted to those that need them. He said international rating agencies have acknowledged the progress in key areas of governance.
The Prime Minister said the Government has taken a holistic, integrated approach towards welfare of women, which includes elements such as Beti-Bachao, Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, and Ujjwala Yojana, to ensure the physical, educational and financial well-being of women. He mentioned several other Government initiatives in this regard.
In a strong message for social cohesion (Samaajik Ekta), the Prime Minister said every Indian must abide by the message of peace, oneness and brotherhood, given by great saints, philosophers and thinkers, such as Ramanujacharya, Mahatma Gandhi, and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
The Prime Minister said that various initiatives and programmes of the Government are all contributing to employment generation for the youth. He said that the Model Shop and Establishment Act will facilitate opening of shops on all days.
The Prime Minister said the Union Government does not hesitate in taking major decisions. In this context, he mentioned grant of One Rank, One Pension, declassification of files related to Netaji, and the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister strongly condemned those who were attempted to glorify terrorists as martyrs. He said the world will appreciate India’s humanitarian approach, and uniform condemnation of all terrorist activities.
The Prime Minister called upon the people to work with a common resolve to take the nation forward.
The Prime Minister announced some new initiatives. He said the pension for freedom fighters would be enhanced from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 per month. He said the Government would work towards creation of museums and memorials dedicated to the Adivasi freedom fighters across the country. Government would bear expenses upto one lakh rupees for the poor, towards meeting the cost of hospitalization.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for making suitable amendments in the Central List of OBCs by way of inclusion/correction/deletion of castes/communities applicable to the State of Andhra Pradesh and the newly formed State of Telangana as per the advice received from the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
A total of 35 changes recommended by NCBC in respect of Andhra Pradesh and 86 New Entries in respect of Telangana State will be notified. The changes will enable the persons belonging to these castes/ communities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to avail the benefits of reservation in Government services and posts as well as in Central Educational Institutions as per extant policy. They will also become eligible for benefit under the various welfare schemes, scholarships etc. being administered by the Central Government, which are at present available to the persons belonging to the Other Backward Classes.
Background:
On the recommendation of the Commission a total of 2401 Entries for inclusion, including its synonyms, sub-castes, etc. in the Central List of Other Backward Classes have been notified in 24 States and 6 Union Territories. The last such notification was issued on 26.5.2016. Since then, several more recommendations for inclusion of castes/communities and corrections in the existing list of OBCs for the State of Andhra Pradesh and the new State of Telangana have been received from NCBC.
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