President Ram Nath Kovind addressed a joint session to kick-start the Budget Session at the Parliament on January 31. President said that the government's aim has always been to better the living condition of the people and that if everyone works diligently it will be possible easily as he presented a review of the Modi government's achievements since Narendra Modi took over the reins in 2014.
"The government has taken up the initiative to form a new India," President said. "The government feels that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha have the potential to become the new growth engine of India," he added.
The President conveyed his best wishes to the young voters and said that he would want them to cast their vote intelligently and choose the right path for their country. "My government has commenced its journey towards a new India where every person has access to basic amenities, where everyone is secure, healthy and educated, where everyone gets an equal opportunity and where girls feel safe," he added.
President Kovind said that the government has taken up issues of youth development and worked on skill-development of the nations young citizens. He also lauded the government schemes in healthcare, employment and other sectors that he believes has helped India secure a stronger foothold as a nation. "More than 15 crore entrepreneurs have taken benefits of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Women have been a big beneficiary of this scheme, more than 73 per cent beneficiaries are women," he said.
The president also spoke about technological advancements and how it has been made easily accessible to the masses. "In 2014, the cost of 1GB data was Rs 250, it has now fallen down to Rs 10-12. Today India is the biggest nation with mobile phones," he said. "Before 2014, Ony 59 village panchayats had the digital connectivity. Today 16,000 village gram panchayats have optical fibre connectivity and nearly 40,000 panchayats have Wi-Fi hotspots."
He said that the year is important because this year marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi the 70th year of the constitution and the 100th anniversary of the Jalianwallah Bagh massacre and this year will also, hopefully, usher us into a new era of a stronger and more self-reliant India.
