Purna Chand Benia, a farmer, from Raighar in Odisha, used to worry a lot about his wife and mother. The women would spend hours in the kitchen to prepare food for the entire family on a traditional chulha or traditional cookstoves. Such cookstoves are a big cause of household and indoor air pollution and toiling away in the “smokey” kitchen for hours would adversely affect the health of the Benia family women. Additionally, gathering suitable firewood, crop residue, and cow dung consumed substantial amounts of time and effort for these women.

Purna Chand saw a ray of hope in the Government’s flagship scheme - Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), through which he could get a free LPG Connection at his home.

While interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 30, 2023 via video-conferencing, Purna Chand said that welfare schemes like Ujjwala Yojana have transformed his life. He said that the women in his life are now happy. He told Prime Minister Modi that he and his family have also greatly benefitted from other Government welfare programmes like PM KISAN and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Prime Minister was interacting with the beneficiaries of the Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. VBSY is aimed at achieving 100% saturation of government schemes via video conferencing.

The Prime Minister asked what aspirations Purna Chand has for his children’s future. Purna Chand told the Prime Minister that he has three children. The humble farmer expressed his desire for his children to pursue careers as doctors and engineers as they reached adulthood. On learning this PM Modi asked Purna Chand to talk to the officials who are visiting his village as part of the Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. Further, he suggested Purna Chand ask them about the various welfare schemes they could benefit from.

At the end, PM Modi requested Purna Chand to take a Sankalp to make India a developed nation. Purna Chand pledged to fulfil his duties that would help the country achieve the dream of becoming Vikasit Bharat.

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Nimish Rustagi/ Himanshu Patha

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