The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects related to rail, road and irrigation worth more than Rs 4900 crores at Yavatmal in Maharashtra today. He also released benefits under PM KISAN and other schemes during the program. The Prime Minister also initiated the distribution of 1 crore Ayushman cards across Maharashtra and launched the Modi Awaas Gharkul Yojana for OBC category beneficiaries. He also flagged off two train services. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in Yavatmal city. Farmers connected with the event from all over the country in large numbers. 

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister bowed before the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji and also paid tributes to the son of the soil Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The Prime Minister remembered the people’s blessings when he came for ‘Chai par Charcha’ in 2014 and also in 2019. He asked for people’s blessings once again. He expressed gratitude for the blessings of the mothers and sisters. 

Noting the completion of 350 years of  Chhatrapati Shivaji’s rule, The Prime Minister recalled his coronation and said that he gave paramount importance to national consciousness and strength and worked for it till his last breath. Prime Minister Modi emphasized that the present government follows his ideals and is on a mission to transform the lives of the citizens. “Everything done in the last 10 years lays the foundations for the next 25 years”, the Prime Minister said, “I have taken the resolve to develop every corner of India and every moment of my life and every particle in my body is devoted to this resolution.” 

The Prime Minister reiterated the four biggest priorities - poor, youth, women and farmers. “Empowerment of these four will ensure the strength of every family and entire society”, he said. He linked the projects of today’s event with the empowerment of all four.  He mentioned irrigation facilities for farmers, pucca houses for the poor, financial assistance to rural women and the infrastructure for the future of the youth. 

Lamenting the leakage in the financial assistance to farmers, tribals and the needy during the previous governments, the Prime Minister highlighted the contrast during today’s occasion of disbursal of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi worth Rs 21,000 crores with the push of a button and deemed the gesture as Modi ki Guarantee. “The poor are getting their deserved share today”, PM Modi said.

Underlining the double guarantee of the double engine government in Maharashtra, the Prime Minister said that farmers in Maharashtra separately received  Rs 3800 crores benefiting about 88 lakh beneficiary farmers across Maharashtra.

The Prime Minister stated that 11 crore farmers of the country have received Rs 3 lakh crore under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Out of which farmers of Maharashtra have received Rs 30,000 crore and Yavatmal farmers got Rs 900 crore in their accounts. The Prime Minister also informed about the increase in FRP of sugarcane to Rs 340 per quintal. He also mentioned the world’s biggest scheme for constructing food storage, which was launched recently at the Bharat Mandapam. 

“Strengthening of the rural economy is imperative to the creation of Viksit Bharat”, the Prime Minister said, highlighting the government’s impetus to tackle all the issues faced by the families dwelling in villages by providing them with financial support. Be it water for drinking or irrigation, the Prime Minister recalled the drought-like conditions in villages during the previous governments and informed that merely 15 out of 100 families had access to tapped water supply before 2104. “Most of the neglected families belonged to the poor, dalits and tribal communities”, he added. He also recalled the tough conditions that women had to face due to water scarcity and reminded them of Modi’s guarantee of ‘Har Ghar Jal’ which led to 75 out of 100 families getting access to tap water within 4-5 years. He also mentioned Maharashtra’s statistics increasing from less than 50 lakhs to 1.25 crore tap water connections. “Modi’s guarantee means the guarantee of fulfilment of guarantee”, he added. 

Referring to the long pending 100 irrigation projects from the earlier era, the Prime Minister told the farmers that 60 of them have been completed in the last 10 years. 26 such pending irrigation projects were from Maharashtra. “Farmers of Vidarbha deserve to know who was behind the miseries of their families”, the Prime Minister said and informed that 12 out of these 26 projects have been completed by the government and work is going on other projects too. PM gave the example of Nilwande Dam Pariyojana which was completed after 50 years, Krishna Koyna and Tembhu projects and the GosiKhurd project also saw the light of the day after a delay of decades by the current government. Today also 51 projects were dedicated to Vidarbha and Marathwada under PM Krishi Sinchai and Baliraja Sanjivini Scheme. 

Referring to Modi’s guarantee of creating Lakhpati Didis from villages, the Prime Minister informed that the target of 1 crore women has already been achieved and this year’s Budget has plans to grow the number of Lakhpati Didis to 3 crores. He also mentioned more than 10 crore women associating with self-help groups that are provided with Rs 8 lakh crores from the bank and a special fund worth Rs 40,000 crores by the central government, benefitting lakhs of women from Maharashtra. In Yavatmal district, the Prime Minister informed, women were also handed out many e-rickshaws. The Prime Minister congratulated the Maharashtra government for this work. He also mentioned the NaMo Drone Didi scheme where women are being trained as drone pilots by the government and drones will also be provided for agricultural uses. 

The Prime Minister dedicated the statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya today. Taking inspiration from the Antyodaya philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya the Prime Minister gave details of projects dedicated to the poor during the last 10 years such as guarantee of free ration and free medical treatment. Today a campaign to give Ayushman Cards to 1 crore families of Maharashtra was launched. Referring to the pucca houses for the poor, the Prime Minister mentioned a scheme for houses for OBC families under which 10 thousand OBC families will get pucca houses that was launched today. 

“Modi has not only cared for those who were never cared for but also worshipped them”, the Prime Minister remarked, mentioning the Vishwakarma Yojna for artisans and handicrafts men worth Rs 13,000 crores and PM Janman Yojna for tribals worth Rs 23,000 crores. He said that PM Janman Yojna will make life easier for many tribal communities from Maharashtra including Katkari, Kolam and Madiya. Concluding the address, the Prime Minister said that this campaign to empower the poor, farmers, youth and Nari Shakti is going to intensify further and the next 5 years will witness more rapid growth creating a better life for every family in Vidarbha.

Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis and Shri Ajit Pawar were present on the occasion among other Members of Parliament, Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council and Government of Maharashtra. Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Arjun Munda made his presence virtually. 

Background

In a step that will showcase yet another example of the Prime Minister’s commitment towards the welfare of farmers, the 16th instalment amount of more than Rs 21,000 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) was released at the public program in Yavatmal through direct benefits transfer to beneficiaries. With this release, an amount of more than 3 lakh crore, has been transferred to more than 11 crore farmers’ families.

The Prime Minister also disbursed the 2nd and 3rd instalments of ‘Namo Shetkari MahaSanman Nidhi’ worth about Rs 3800 crores, benefiting about 88 lakh beneficiary farmers across Maharashtra. The scheme provides an additional amount of Rs 6000 per year to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana in Maharashtra.

The Prime Minister disbursed Rs 825 crore of Revolving Fund to 5.5 lakh women Self Help Groups (SHGs) across Maharashtra. This amount is additional to the Revolving fund provided by the Government of India under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). Revolving Fund (RF) is given to SHGs to promote the lending of money within SHGs on a rotational basis and increase the annual income of poor households by promoting women-led micro-enterprises at the village level.

The Prime Minister initiated the distribution of one crore Ayushman cards across Maharashtra in yet another step to reach out to beneficiaries of welfare schemes to realize his vision of 100 percent saturation of all government schemes.

The Prime Minister launched the Modi Awaas Gharkul Yojana for OBC category beneficiaries in Maharashtra. The scheme envisages the construction of 10 lakh houses from FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26. The Prime Minister transferred the first installment of Rs 375 Crore to 2.5 lakh beneficiaries of the Yojana.

The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation multiple irrigation projects benefiting the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra. These projects are developed at a cumulative cost of more than Rs 2750 crore under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY) and Baliraja Jal Sanjeevani Yojana (BJSY).

The Prime Minister also inaugurated multiple rail projects worth more than Rs. 1300 crore in Maharashtra. The projects include the Wardha-Kalamb broad gauge line (part of the Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded new broad gauge line project) and the New Ashti - Amalner broad gauge line (part of the Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli new broad gauge line project). The new broad gauge lines will improve connectivity of the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions and boost socio-economic development. The Prime Minister also virtually flagged off two train services during the program. This includes train services connecting Kalamb and Wardha, and train service connecting Amalner and New Ashti. This new train service will help improve rail connectivity and benefit students, traders and daily commuters of the region.

The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation several projects for strengthening the road sector in Maharashtra. The projects include four laning of the Warora-Wani section of NH-930; road upgradation projects for important roads connecting Sakoli-Bhandara and Salaikhurd-Tirora. These projects will improve connectivity, reduce travel time and boost socio-economic development in the region. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in Yavatmal city.

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