My good Malayali friends,

Namaskaram!

Governor of Kerala Shri Arif Mohammad Khan, Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan ji, my colleague in the Union Cabinet Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw ji, Ministers of the Kerala government, local MP Shashi Tharoor ji, other dignitaries present here, and my dear brothers and sisters of Kerala. The Malayalam New Year started a few days ago. You celebrated the Vishu festival with great enthusiasm. I once again convey my best wishes to all of you. I am very happy that I have got the opportunity to join the celebration of Kerala's development in this atmosphere of gaiety. Today Kerala got its first Vande Bharat train. Today Kochi has got a new gift in the form of a water metro along with many projects related to railways. Along with connectivity, today the foundation stone and inauguration of many projects related to the development of Kerala have taken place. Many congratulations to the people of Kerala for all these development projects.

Brothers and sisters,

Kerala is very aware, intelligent and has educated people. The strength, the humility and the hard work of the people here makes them a unique identity. All of you are well versed with the situation in the country and abroad. Therefore, you are also aware of the condition of the countries around the world and what their economy is going through. Even in the midst of these global conditions, the world is considering India as a bright spot of development and recognising the possibilities of India's development.

There are several reasons behind this strong trust of the world in India. Firstly, a decisive government at the Centre, a government that takes major decisions in the interest of India; secondly, unprecedented investment on modern infrastructure by the Central Government; thirdly investment on our demography i.e. youth skills; and lastly the commitment of the Central Government regarding ease of living and ease of doing business. Our government lays emphasis on cooperative federalism and considers the development of the states as the recipe for the development of the country. If Kerala develops, then India's development will be faster. We are working with this spirit. Today, if India's credibility has improved in the world, then the efforts of the Central Government for global outreach have played an important role. And it has greatly benefited those people of Kerala, who live abroad. Whenever I visit any country, I often come across people from Kerala. The Indian diaspora living abroad is also getting huge benefits of India's growing power.

Brothers and sisters,

Connectivity infrastructure has been developed in India at an unprecedented speed and scale in the last nine years. In this year's budget also, we have decided to spend more than Rs 10 lakh crores on infrastructure. Today, we are completely transforming the public transport and logistics sector in the country. We are moving towards the golden age of Indian Railways. There has been a five-fold increase in the average railway budget for Kerala compared to what it used to be before 2014.  Several projects of gauge conversion, doubling and electrification have been completed in Kerala in the last nine years. Modernization of three stations of Kerala, including Thiruvananthapuram, has started today. These will not be just railway stations, but will become multimodal transport hubs. Modern trains like Vande Bharat Express are also the identity of Aspirational India. Today we are able to run these semi-high speed trains because India's rail network is changing rapidly and is gearing up for higher speeds.

Brothers and sisters,

The specialty of all the Vande Bharat Express trains that have been launched so far is that they are also connecting our cultural, spiritual and tourist places. Kerala's first Vande Bharat train will also connect North Kerala to South Kerala. Now it will be easier to commute to pilgrimage centres like Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur. This Vande Bharat train, equipped with modern facilities, will give a great experience of travelling at high speed without harming the environment. Today, work has also started on the project to prepare the Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section for semi-high speed trains. Once completed, we will be able to run semi-high speed trains from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore as well.

Brothers and sisters,

We have also worked in another direction to modernize the country's public transport and urban transport. Our endeavour is to provide ‘Made in India’ solutions suited to local conditions. Semi-high speed trains, regional rapid transport systems, ro-ro ferries and ropeways are being developed according to the requirement. You see, Vande Bharat Express is ‘Made in India’. Today, the Metro which is being expanded in many cities across the country is under ‘Make in India’. Projects like Metro Light and Urban Ropeways are also being built in small towns.

Brothers and sisters,

The Kochi Water Metro project is also ‘Made in India’; it is unique. I also congratulate the Kochi Shipyard for the boats that have been specially made for this project. Water metro will provide affordable and modern transport to the people living in many islands around Kochi. This jetty will also provide intermodal connectivity between the bus terminal and the metro network. This will reduce the traffic problems of Kochi and backwater tourism will also get new attractions. I am sure this experiment being implemented in Kerala will become a model for other states of the country as well.

Friends,

Along with physical connectivity, digital connectivity is also the priority of the country today. I would appreciate a project like Digital Science Park. Such projects will give expansion to Digital India. The digital system that India has built in the last few years is being discussed all over the world. The developed countries of the world are also surprised to see the digital systems that India has developed. India has developed 5G technology on its own and this has opened up new possibilities in this field, paving the way for new digital products.

Brothers and sisters,

Investment made on connectivity not only improves convenience, but it also reduces distances and connects different cultures. Be it road, rail, or rich-poor, caste-creed, it doesn't differentiate. Everyone uses it and this is the right development. This strengthens the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. This is what is happening in India today.

Kerala has a lot to offer to the country and the world. It has culture, cuisine and better climate which is key to prosperity. A few days ago, a meeting related to G-20 was held in Kumarakom. Many more G-20 meetings are being held in Kerala. The idea is to make the world more familiar with Kerala. Apart from Matta Rice and coconuts of Kerala, Shree Anna like Ragi Puttu is also famous. Today we are trying to take India's Shree Anna to the whole world. Whatever products our farmers, our artisans make in Kerala, we have to be vocal for them. When we will be vocal for local, then only the world will be vocal about our products. The path to build a developed India will get a boost when our products reach the world.

You must have seen, I often talk about the products made by the people of Kerala and the self-help groups in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. The endeavour is that we have to be vocal for the local. The 100th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ will be broadcast this Sunday. This century of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is dedicated to the efforts of every countryman in nation-building and it is also dedicated to the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. We all have to unite to build a developed India. Projects like Vande Bharat Express and Kochi Water Metro will help a lot in this regard. I once again congratulate all of you for all the development projects. Thank you very much.

Bharat Mata ki – Jai!

Bharat Mata ki – Jai!

Bharat Mata ki – Jai!

DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.

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DS/VK/AK