New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the schemes of the Union Government were reaching the masses without discrimination and in a balanced way.
Elaborating on the Union Government’s guiding principle of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas,’ the Prime Minister said, “All villages of the country are now electrified, and under Saubhagya Yojana four crore houses are now being provided with electricity connections. Rural sanitation coverage has increased from less than 40 percent to about 85 percent in four years.”
After the implementation of the ‘Jan Dhan Yojana,’ Prime Minister Modi said the entire population of the country would be connected to the banking system.
“Similarly, the ‘Ujjwala Yojana’ is providing access to cooking gas, and ‘Mission Indradhanush’ is working towards universal immunisation. The Union Government is working towards providing housing for all by 2022,” he added.
The Prime Minister called upon all chief ministers to contribute their efforts towards this objective of 100 percent implementation of schemes for the welfare of the poor.
Prime Minister Modi said the implementation of these welfare schemes was also bringing about a behavioural change in the lives of people.
He stated that the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ was being discussed around the world, adding that in the last four years, 7.70 crore toilets were constructed. He also called upon all chief ministers to work towards 100 percent sanitation coverage by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Prime Minister called for efforts towards water conservation and water management on a war footing.
Further, he said since corporate investment in the agriculture sector is very low in India, states needed to formulate policies that promote the same in areas such as warehousing, transportation, value addition, food processing and so on.
Prime Minister Modi noted that mining blocks that were successfully auctioned needed to start production at the earliest and urged all states to take steps in this regard.
He also said that the District Mineral Foundations would help the poor and the tribals in a big way.
In addition, the Prime Minister called for widespread debate and consultations on simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, keeping in view various aspects such as the resulting financial savings and consequent better utilisation of resources.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister thanked the chief ministers for their suggestions. (ANI)