The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the iconic week celebrations of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs here today. This week is being celebrated by Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ (AKAM) from 6^th to 12^th June 2022. Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri Rao Inderjit Sigh, Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad also attended the inaugural programme.

The Prime Minister launched the National Portal for Credit Linked Government schemes - Jan Samarth Portal.

 The Prime Minister also inaugurated a Digital Exhibition which traces the journey of the two Ministries over the past eight years.

The Prime Minister released a special series of ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10 and ₹20 coins. These special series of coins will have the theme of the logo of AKAM and will also be easily identifiable to visually impaired persons.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said whoever took part in the long struggle for independence, added a different dimension to this movement, and augmented its energy. Some adopted the path of satyagraha, some chose the path of weapons, some faith and spirituality, and some intellectually helped to keep the flame of freedom burning bright, today is the day when we acknowledge all of them.

Today when we are celebrating 75 years of independence, the Prime Minister stressed, it is the duty of every countryman to make a special contribution to the development of the nation at their own level. This is a moment to infuse the dreams of our freedom fighters with new energy and dedicate ourselves to new pledges, he said.

The Prime Minister noted that India has also worked on different dimensions in the last eight years. The public participation that increased in the country during this period has given impetus to the development of the country and empowered the poorest of the country's citizens. The Prime Minister remarked that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan gave an opportunity to the poor to live with dignity. Facilities like pucca houses, electricity, gas, water and free treatment increased the dignity of the poor and improved facilities. The scheme of free rations during the Corona period freed more than 80 crore countrymen from the fear of hunger. “We are witnessing a new confidence among the citizens to come out of the mentality of deprivation and dream big”, he said.

The Prime Minister said the country has borne the brunt of government-centric governance in the past. But today 21^st century India is moving ahead with the approach of people-centric governance. He said earlier it was the responsibility of the people to go to the government for availing benefit of the schemes. Now emphasis is on taking governance to people and free them from the rigamarole of doing rounds of different ministries and websites. Launch of National Portal for Credit Linked Government schemes - Jan Samarth Portal is a major step in this direction. This portal will improve the lives of students, farmers, businessmen, MSME entrepreneurs and will help them in realizing their dreams, he added.

The Prime Minister said that any reform, if its objectives and goals are clear and there is seriousness in its implementation then good results are assured. The Prime Minister emphasized that the youth of our country have been kept at the heart of the reforms the country has undertaken in the last eight years. This will help them to show their potential. “Our youth can easily open the company they want, they can start their enterprises easily, and they can run them easily. Therefore by reducing more than 30 thousand compliances, abolishing more than 1500 laws, and decriminalizing several provisions of the Companies Act, we have ensured that Indian companies not only move ahead but also achieve new heights”, he added.

The Prime Minister said that the in reforms Government is focused on simplification. GST has now replaced the web of many taxes at the centre and the state. The country is also seeing the result of this simplification. Now it has become normal for GST collection to cross one lakh crore rupees every month, he said. He said that the GeM portal has brought in new ease for procurement in government and made selling to the government very easy. Purchase figure for the portal has crossed 1 lakh crore, the Prime Minister informed. He also talked of portals that are bringing ease of doing business. He talked about Invest India Portal for information regarding investment opportunities, Single window clearance portal for business formalities. ‘In this series this Jan Samarth Portal is going to help the nation's youth and startup ecosystem’ the Prime Minister pointed out.

“Today when we move with the power of reform, simplification and ease, we attain a new level of convenience … We have shown in the last 8 years that if India collectively decides to do something then India becomes a new hope for the world. Today the world is looking at us not just as a big consumer market but looking at us with hope and confidence as a capable, game changing, creative, innovative ecosystem” , the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said a large part of the world expects India to solve problems. This is possible because in the last 8 years we have trusted the wisdom of the common Indian. “We encouraged the public as intelligent participants in Growth. We have always found that whatever technology is deployed for good governance is not only adopted by people but also appreciated by them”, the Prime Minister said referring to the achievement of UPI.

Addressing the gathering, Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman thanked the Prime Minister for inaugurating the iconic week celebrations. During this week, we shall be recalling how each department in the Finance ministry and also in the Corporate Affairs Ministry has served the nation. The progress in India’s economy since 1947 is being captured through various different activities.

Smt. Sitharaman said, “The emphasis is to have people-to-people contact, build awareness on what the Ministry of Finance & Corporate Affairs have done in these 75 years and not particularly what they have done in last 8 year under the leadership of our Prime Minister… The story of the Financial Inclusion has been captured in this video (Rupaya ka Rochak Safar) which is being shown to us. The impact of such Financial Inclusion has only resulted in greater coverage of credit for common citizens.”

Smt. Sitharaman stated, “There have been several well-designed pro common people programme which the Prime Minister has himself supervised in the last 8 years. Jan Samarth is part of the Prime Minister’s Seva of the common people for enabling and facilitating the common citizen.”

The Finance Minister underlined that such very targeted approach in the last two years has given us good results. Common citizens have been attended to in every in every such way whether it is requirement for food security, and requirement for some money to be able to face the extraordinary circumstances which the Indian economy had to face.

In his welcome address earlier, Finance Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan thanks the Prime Minister for motivating and guiding the Ministry in evolving the fiscal policies over the last 8 years. He outlined that in the upcoming iconic week, the Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Corporate Affairs will not only attempt to showcase strengths and achievements, but also to solicit suggestions and ideas.  Our aim is to fulfil the dream of good governance through new ideas for the India of 2047, he underlined.

ABOUT JAN SAMARTH PORTAL

“Jan Samarth” provides single window facility for 13 Government Schemes application submission and 125+ MLIs (including all Public Sector Banks) to choose from. Real time checks with CBDT, GST, UDYAM, NeSL, UIDAI, CIBIL etc ensures faster loan processing. “Jan Samarth” portal will facilitate credit under Government Schemes under Agriculture, Livelihood, and Education categories. 13 Government schemes are already on Jan Samarth portal and more will be onboarded. “Jan Samarth” portal will check eligibility, give in principle sanction and send the application to the selected Bank. It will also keep the beneficiaries updated at each stage of the journey. Multiple visit to Bank branches not required.

Rupaya ka Rochak Safar:

Jan Samarth Portal:

Digital Exhibition of Ministry of Finance & Corporate Affairs:

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RM/MV/KMN