“All of you who are present here are not just beneficiaries of government schemes – you are the future of our country. Your contributions are being recognised.” said Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas. The Minister was interacting with the beneficiaries of various schemes of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) who have been invited to witness the Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path. Shri Kaushal Kishore, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA and Shri Pankaj Jain, Secretary, MoPNG were also present at the event.

Shri Puri said that the welfare schemes of the government are a testament to our commitment to the upliftment and empowerment of all Indians, especially those who belong to the vulnerable and marginalised sections of our society. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and PM SVANidhi Yojana are only three of many government schemes that strive to do this, he added.

The Minister said that India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world. In 2014, India’ s economy was at 10^th position in the world and now it has climbed to 5^th place, and soon it will reach to 4^th place, he said.

He expressed confidence that as a result of fast growing economy and hardwork of the people, the Prime Minister’s vision and resolve of a developed nation will be realised even before 2047.

He motivated the attendees to read the constitution and get inspired from it.

Speaking about the role of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme in providing smoke-free kitchens across the country, the Minister said that the scheme has unshackled women from the horrors of the stove. Till April 2014, almost 10 crore households in India, or about 44% of the country’s households, were deprived of clean LPG fuel, thus relying on traditional sources of fuels that emitted toxic smoke. The Ujjwala scheme has economically and socially empowered women by providing LPG connections to almost 10.35 crore households, he said.

The minister said that there were time when it was very difficult to get a gas connection but now, the process has become hassle free and it is very easy to get a LPG connection. He reiterated the efforts of government to move towards cleaner and greener forms of energy and acknowledged the contribution of Ujjwala scheme in these efforts.

Talking about the tremendous work done by Government as part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Minister said that more than 4 crore houses have been sanctioned under the scheme (includes the houses sanctioned under both, PMAY- Urban and PMAY- Gramin). Over 1 crore 18 lakh houses have been sanctioned under PMAY- Urban and out of these nearly 80 lakh have already been completed and delivered to beneficiaries. Adequate physical and social infrastructure such as water, kitchen and toilet facilities are also provided as part of the housing, he noted.

Women employees from various Nagar Nigams and construction workers who helped build the new Parliament building and Central Vista were also present at the event. Acknowledging their role, the Minister said, “You have contributed immensely to the transformation of Delhi and other urban areas of the country.”

*****

RKJ/M

(Release ID: 1999656) Visitor Counter : 802