New Delhi: Accusing the opposition for unfair criticism of the national budget unveiled a day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the announcements made were aimed at strengthening all sectors of the Indian economy, from the poor to the middle class and from farming to industry. Blasting the previous governments for exploiting the issue of poverty, during his detailed presentation to BJP leaders and workers, Modi said his government had charted a new course and brought about numerous policies to benefit all sections of the society. “Atmanirbhar Bharat will lay the foundation for modern India,” the Prime Minister said. Comparing decisions taken by earlier governments and since he took office seven years ago, Modi said the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ (Water in Every House) programme helps the farming community directly as the women don’t have to go long distances to get water and will be able to invest more time in farming. At the same time, the Ken-Betwa link project will bring a transformation in farming as well as in the life of farmers, he added. He said the government had provided 5 crore rural households tap water connection in the last two years. In 2013-14, India’s GDP was Rs 1.10 lakh crore and today it was nearly Rs 2.3 lakh crore, he said, adding that exports totalled Rs 2,85,000 crore in 2013-14 and now they were worth Rs 4,70,000 core, the Prime Minister said, pointing to the country’s growing economy. “A new holistic approach is needed for the development of border villages,” he said. He said the government has taken steps to make a Natural Farming Corridor, which will be 2,500 km long and nearly 10 km wide. In the first phase, it will be implemented in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal around the river Ganga. He reiterated that BJP government is for the youth of the country. Youth innovation and research is a key aspect of this Budget, he said, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) understood the importance of a youth population. “To help digitalise the future of youth, the use of technology has been improved, which culminated in the first digital university to serve poor children.” Talking about services, he said those who have invested in Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Public Provident Fund (PPF) do not have to go to post offices and everything will provided at the touch of a botten. In a new impetus, animation and gaming will have special task force, the Prime Minister said. The optical fiber launch and 5G service will further cement India’s position among the top five nations in mobile connectivity, he said. A global digital payment system will become more accessible to Indians with digital currency policy, which will be inter-linked with physical currency, the Prime Minister said. Small investors, he said, were the backbone of the Indian economy and MSMEs provided livelihood to crores of families. “Every initiative taken by this government has been to ensure better living quality of every citizen. You should look at policies taken up by the BJP government in the last seven years.” “Our fundamentals are correct and in the right direction accelerate India’s speed,” he added. The country’s aspirational districts campaign will undo years of mismanagement brought upon the citizens by earlier governments, the Prime Minister said. In the last budget, the government ensured the facility of Kisan Rail and Kisan Udan. “Now Kisan Drone is going to be the new friend for farmers.” In this year’s budget, Rs 68,000 crore has been allocated under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi. It will benefit over 11 crore farmers, he said. Four multi model logistics parks and 100 Gati Shakti cargo terminals in the next three years will take India’s connectivity to the next level, he added. “In the last seven years, decisions taken are continuously enlarging the Indian economy… This budget has brought a new confidence of development… (and) will create many new opportunities for the common man,” he said. In 2013-14, public investment was just Rs 1.87 lakh crore. In this budget, it has been pegged at Rs 7.5 lakh crore. Compared to UPA, this is a four-time rise. This will promote FDI and create modern infrastructure in the country, Modi said. The Prime Minister said this year’s budget had a provision for 80 lakh pucca houses for the poor and Rs 48,000 crore has been allotted for this. In 2014, India had 90,000 km of national highways — built over 70 years. In the last seven years, 50,000 km of national highways had been built. The Prime Minister said misinformation was spread about the MSP. “But our government has made record purchases on MSP in the past year and farmers are expected to get more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore as MSP this season.” He said today India is importing edible oils in massive quantities. To become self-reliant in edible oil, a national mission has been started to reduce dependence on imports. UNI TEAM MR ING
