BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said major decisions have been taken for the welfare of poor, farmers, youths and women of the country in the first 100 days of the third successive BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Addressing a public meeting on the occasion of the launch of Subhadra Yojana here, the prime minister described September 17 as a special day for the NDA government and said a decision has been taken to build three crore additional houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Listing the achievements of the last 100 days, Modi highlighted the announcement of a PM package worth Rs 2 lakh crore for youths in which the government would cover the first salary of their first job in private companies.
Addition of 75,000 new seats in medical colleges, connecting 25,000 villages with pucca roads, introduction of a new pension scheme for government employees and reduction of income tax for professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs are other key decisions taken by the government, he said.
Dwelling extensively on the welfare measures taken by his government, the prime minister said budget allocation for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has almost been doubled and a special project for development of around 60,000 tribal villages have been announced. He said his government is committed to protect the rights of tribals over ‘jal, jungle and jameen’ which are an inalienable part of tribal identity.
Stating that many tribal areas and groups in Odisha were deprived of development for many generations, Modi said 13 most backward tribes of the state have been identified for support under PM Janman Yojana. A campaign is also being run to free the tribal areas from sickle cell anaemia. In the last three months, more than 13 lakh people have been screened under this campaign.
In the last 100 days, the prime minister said, the nation has witnessed creation of more than 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis while major decisions have been taken for oilseed and onion farmers.
Import duty on oils produced abroad has been increased to encourage Indian farmers, export duty on Basmati rice has been reduced to encourage exports and MSP has been increased on crops, thereby benefitting crores of farmers by around Rs 2 lakh crore, he added.