My brothers and sisters of Chitrakoot, who have gathered here on this holy land in large numbers!

This has been the abode of Lord Rama, his brother Laxman and Sita Ji. I welcome you all at the place of penance of Lord Rama.

Many great souls have taken birth in this place and made it their work-place. I pay my obeisant to them too.

Brothers and sisters,
First of all, I apologize because from the helicopter I could see that there were more people outside than inside and that they were trying to get in but were not able to. I apologize for this inconvenience. But your presence here in such a large number means how deeply you have faith in the development plans. Goswami Tulsidas had said –

चित्रकूट के घाट पर भई संतन की भीर।

Today, seeing all of you, your servant is also experiencing something similar. Chitrakoot is not just a place, but is a place that depicts life of the ancient society of India. This place has instilled new values among Indians. The society of India has got new ideals from here. There are countless stories of how Lord Sri Rama was influenced by the tribals, the people living in the forested state, and how he was influenced by the companions engaged in other occupation.

Friends,

Experiments to keep India's ancient traditions alive with the needs of the changing times, to keep them alive, have also taken place from this place. Bharat Ratna, Rashtriya Rishi Nana Ji Deshmukh started a massive effort to take India on the path of independence. The country has commemorated Nana Ji on his death anniversary 2 days ago.

Brothers & Sisters,

It is a privilege for all of us that the foundation stone for projects worth thousands of crores of rupees are being laid today in the holy land of Chitrakoot to fulfil the dreams of Nana ji who had lived his life for his philosophy of 'Gramoday to Rashtrodaya'.

The Bundelkhand Expressway, carrying Bundelkhand on the expressway of development, will prove to be life-changing for the entire region. This expressway, to be built at a cost of about Rs. 15 thousand crores, will generate thousands of employment opportunities here and will connect the common man with the big cities. A short while ago a scheme has been launched here for creating 10 thousand Farmer Producer Organisations to raise the income of the farmers of the country and for their empowerment. That is, the farmer was till now a producer, now he will also do business through Farmer Producer Organisations - FPOs. Now the farmer will sow the crop and will get the right price for his produce also by bargaining like a skilled trader. I urge you not to leave immediately after this programme. There is an exhibition of successful FPOs across the country here. I saw that exhibition and was proud of it. I urge you to definitely visit it and try to understand it. They are doing a wonderful job in their respective states through the FPOs. About 5 thousand crore rupees will be spent on this entire campaign in the coming 5 years. Congratulations to my farmer brothers and sisters of Bundelkhand, to the citizens of Bundelkhand for all these development schemes and for Bundelkhand's participation in this race for development.

Friends,

The policies related to farmers in our country have been continuously given a new direction by our government. It has been linked to the income of farmers. It is being ensured by the government that the expenditure of the farmer is reduced, productivity is increased and the price for the produce is reasonable. Many decisions have been taken in the last five years from seed to market for the same. Whether it is the decision of MSP or Soil Health Card, 100% neem coating of urea; or the completion of the irrigation projects that had been in a limbo for decades, the government has worked at every level. It is an important step for the crucial journey of increasing the income of farmers. Today we are also celebrating the first anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi here. I remember when the scheme was launched a year ago, what sort of apprehensions were raised! But in such a short time, more than 50 thousand crore rupees have been deposited directly in the bank accounts of about 8.5 crore farmer families of the country. Nearly 12 thousand crore rupees have been deposited in the accounts of more than 2 crore farmer families of entire UP including Chitrakoot. Can you imagine, more than 50 thousand crores rupees, in just one year, that too directly in the bank account? Without middlemen, without recommendation and without any discrimination!

Friends,

You have also seen the days in the past decades when packages worth thousands of crores of rupees were announced for the farmers, for Bundelkhand, but the farmers did not get the benefit. Now the country has left those days behind. Now every penny announced from Delhi is reaching its deserving beneficiary. In such a scenario, the scope of Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme has been extended further. Now the beneficiaries of this scheme also get easy loans from banks. All the farmers are being connected with the facility of credit cards for the same. Our poor farmers, small farmers do not have to depend on the moneylenders. Kisan Credit Card is going to do such a great task. Due to the availability of cheap and easy loan from the bank, now you will not have to go here and there looking for loan.

Brothers and Sisters,

We are trying to ensure that all those who are beneficiaries of PM Kisan Yojana should also be linked to the Kisan Credit Card. Right now, about 1.75 crore beneficiaries are deprived of it. To fill this gap, a special 15-day campaign was also launched this month, which has linked more than 40 lakh farmers to KCC. Some of these friends were also given cards here a short while back.

Brothers and Sisters,

Those who are beneficiaries of fellow PM Kisan Yojana are also being linked to PM Jeevan Jyoti Insurance and PM Jeevan Suraksha Insurance Scheme. This will ensure the insurance amount of up to Rs 2 lakh to the farmers in difficult times.

Friends,

Recently, the government has taken another major decision related to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Now joining this scheme has been made voluntary. Earlier, the farmers who took loans from the bank had to join it, but now it will depend on the wishes of the farmer. Now, if they want to join, then they can join; if they do not want to join then they can keep themselves out of it. This decision has also been taken because now the number of farmers joining this scheme by themselves is continuously increasing.

Linking to this scheme is also beneficial because against a premium of Rs 13 thousand crore, the farmers have been given a claim amount of Rs 56 thousand crore in three years. That is, in times of crisis this scheme is a boon to the farmers.

Friends,

Many important decisions have also been taken in this year's budget, which will benefit the farmers. A 16 point programme has been prepared to increase farmer's income.

A comprehensive plan has been chalked out to build modern silos for storage in the villages, cold storages at the panchayat level and to ensure sufficient fodder for animals.

Apart from this, facilities like Kisan Rail have also been announced for safely transporting perishable goods like fruits and vegetables, milk, fish from farmers and animal-herders to the markets.

Brothers and Sisters,

In our country it is also necessary to connect rural markets or local village mandis to wholesale markets and global markets. For this, the government is working on the expansion of rural retail agriculture market. Necessary infrastructure is being developed in 22 thousand rural haats in the country. The government is trying to ensure that the farmer should get such a system within a few kilometers of his field, which will connect him to any market in the country. In the coming times, these rural haats will become new centers of agricultural economy. This is the reason why rural mandis are being connected to big mandis i.e. APMC and then the market around the world. The idea is that our farmers do not have to go very far to sell their produce. The result of this effort is that thousands of rural haats across the country, including UP, are being linked with APMC and e-NAM.

This e-NAM platform, i.e. Rashtriya Mandi, wherein farmers are able to sell their produce from anywhere in the country through mobile phones or computers, is becoming increasingly popular. In UP too, more than 100 mandis have been added to this platform. So far, about one lakh crore rupees have been traded in the entire country in this national market. Farmers have conducted business of one lakh crore rupees with the help of technology.

Friends,

Unity is strength. And with this collective power, the farmers will also progress towards prosperity. The collective strength of the farmers will now be used to get fair prices to the farmers. Today the same idea runs behind the new FPOs i.e. Farmer Producer Organizations started in Chitrakoot. These are especially in the interest of small and marginal farmers whose number is the largest in the country. When instead of just one farmer family, many farmers in the village will join together for seed to market arrangements then their capacity will definitely be more.

Now, imagine how much money will be saved when a large group of farmers of the village will gather and buy fertilizer and transport it. Similarly, discounts are also available for bulk purchases. At the time when the harvest is ready, and it has to be taken to the market, even then your collectivity will be more useful. You will be able to interact with the trader in the market more effectively and negotiate better.

Brothers and Sisters,

In the last few years, there has been an expansion of these FPOs because of their successes. Comprehensive infrastructure is also being prepared for the export of agricultural products through these groups of farmers and producers. Now there are potatoes or other forest products here, which cost less. But if these potatoes are processed into chips and brought in the markets with good packaging, then that will get more price. Similar industries are being set up through these FPOs. And the Government of India has made a provision of providing assistance of up to Rs. 15 lakh to each FPO. Just as Yogi Ji's government has launched One-district-one-product scheme, these organizations are also being associated with it. The government has also decided to promote more FPOs in tribal areas and more than 100 Aspirational Districts of the country like Chitrakoot; at least one FPO must be set up in every block. This will boost the value addition in the forest produce of tribal areas. Efforts are being made so that more and more sisters join these organizations.

Friends,

Another campaign which is going to benefit the whole of India, including Bundelkhand extensively is the Jal Jeevan Mission. Now every person of the country is moving forward with a resolve to make India free from water-logging and droughts. Work has begun to provide pure drinking water to about 15 crore families of the country in the coming 5 years. Here too, priority is being given to the aspirational districts. This scheme is such that all of you have to participate, every village has to do it. Government will give money to you; it will give you funds, but you have to do the work. All the people of the villages have to decide where the pipes have to be laid, where the water will be collected and how they will be maintained. Our sisters will play a major role in it. This is self-reliance, this is the spirit of empowerment of the village, this is the vision of Gandhiji's Gram Swaraj; and for this purpose Nana ji had dedicated his life.

Friends,

The development of the UP farmers and the rapid growth of traders and entrepreneurs are also dependent on the connectivity here. For this, Yogi ji and his government are working at an ‘express’ speed. Be it the Bundelkhand Expressway, the Purvanchal Expressway or the proposed Ganga Expressway, they will not only increase connectivity in UP, but are also going to create many employment opportunities. Earlier, expressways used to be seen only in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, but now the people of Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya will also walk on modern expressways. When this modern road of about 300 kilometers is ready, then you will be able to reach Lucknow and Delhi directly in a very short time.

Brothers and Sisters,

These modern infrastructures will create new industries and new enterprises here. It is a coincidence that in February last year, I had come to Jhansi for laying the foundation stone of the UP Defence Corridor and this year the foundation stone of the Bundelkhand Expressway is being laid. A provision of Rs 3700 crore has been made for the UP Defence Corridor in this year's budget. These two schemes are closely related. The UP Defence Corridor is also going to gain momentum from the Bundelkhand Expressway.

Friends,

Once upon a time, this region was producing revolutionaries during India's independence. And in the future, it will also be known as the place that makes India self-sufficient in the defence equipment. This region of Bundelkhand is going to become a huge hub of Make in India. Goods manufactured here will also be exported all over the world. When the big factories start setting up here, then the micro and small scale industries will also benefit extensively. The farmers here will also benefit. In this way unprecedented employment opportunities will be created here and every family's income will increase.

Brothers and Sisters,

Modern infrastructure will be of particular beneficial to the tourism industry here. There is also natural beauty in Chitrakoot and it is an abode of deep spirituality. Wherever Lord Ram had placed his feet, those places are now being connected and developed into a Ramayana circuit. Chitrakoot is an important stop. A special train named Ramayana Express is also being run to enable devotees of the country and the world to see the Ramayana circuit. In the coming days, as the infrastructure here will develop further and the movement of devotees will also be more, there will be new employment opportunities available for the youth here.

I am confident that from Chitrakoot, from Bundelkhand, the aspirations of the entire UP and the whole country will get an express momentum. May this auspicious land of penance and glory become an important center of the dreams of a new India! With this wish, I congratulate all the people of the region, and all of you for the development schemes. I offer many good wishes to my farmer brothers and sisters. And Bundelkhand is getting ready to change not only its fate but also India's fate!

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Jai jawan jai kisan!

Jai jawan jai kisan!

Defence Corridor - Jai  Jawan!

Starting FPOs - Jai  Kisan!

Let Bundelkhand move ahead with the Mantra of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. With best wishes to you all - thanks a lot.

*****

VRRK/KP/IG/MG/AK