When poor, farmers, women, youth are empowered, country will become powerful: PM Modi

Asserting that the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has not only become the journey of a government but of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said when the poor, farmers, women and youth are empowered, the nation will become powerful.

Addressing the Yatra in various parts of the country via video conferencing, the prime minister said that under earlier governments, the scope of discussions on agricultural policy was only limited to production and sale, neglecting the various issues faced by farmers daily.

''Our government has made all-out efforts to ease every difficulty of the farmers,'' Modi said.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Modi also talked about the transfer of at least Rs 30,000 to every farmer through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, promotion of cooperation in agriculture with organisations like PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society) and Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO), increase in storage facilities and the ''boost'' to food processing industry.

The prime minister said that Toor or Arhar dal farmers can now sell their produce directly to the government online, ensuring purchase at MSP and better prices in the market.

The scope of this scheme will be extended to other pulses also, he added.

''Our effort is that the money we send abroad to buy pulses should be available to the farmers of the country,'' he said.

He reiterated that the main goal of the Yatra is to ensure that no deserving beneficiary of the government schemes is left out.

Referring to the buzz about the 'Modi ki guarantee', the prime minister dwelled on the rationale of covering beneficiaries in a mission mode and also underlined the link between the resolution of 'Viksit Bharat' (developed Bharat) and the saturation of schemes coverage.

Earlier, Modi also interacted with beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra via video conferencing as they hailed the government initiatives.

Thousands of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra beneficiaries from across the country along with Union ministers, MPs, MLAs and local-level representatives joined the event.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi noted that the Yatra completed 50 days recently and has connected with about 11 crore people.

''Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra has become not only the journey of the government but also the journey of the country,'' he said.

'''Modi ki guarantee wali gaadi' is reaching every nook and corner of the country. The poor people who spent their lives waiting to get the benefits of government schemes are seeing a meaningful change today.

''The government is reaching the doorsteps of the beneficiaries and proactively providing the benefits,'' the prime minister said.

Along with the vehicle of 'Modi ki guarantee', government officers and people’s representatives are reaching the people, he added.

PM Modi highlighted the struggle of the poor, youth, women and farmers over many generations.

''Our government wants the present and future generations to not have to live the life that the earlier generation lived. We want to get a large population of the country out of the struggle for small daily needs,'' Modi said.

''Therefore, we are focusing on the future of the poor, farmers, women and youth. For us, these are the four biggest castes of the country. When the poor, farmers, women and youth are empowered, the country will become powerful,'' he said.

Since the Yatra began, 12 lakh new applications for Ujjwala connections were received along with lakhs of applications for Suraksha Bima Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, PM SVANidhi, Modi said.

Underlining the impact of the Yatra, the prime minister said health checkups for more than two crore people have been carried out so far including one crore TB checkups and 22 lakh sickle cell checkups.

The doctors are reaching the doorsteps of the poor, Dalits, deprived and the tribals which was considered a challenge by the previous governments, Modi said.

He also highlighted Ayushman Yojna which provides health insurance worth Rs 5 lakhs, free dialysis for the poor and low-cost medicines at Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

''Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs built across the country have become huge health centres for villages and the poor,'' he added.

Modi also highlighted the government’s impact on women empowerment in the country and mentioned the availability of loans through the Mudra Yojna, women playing the roles of Bank Mitras, Pashu Sakhis and Asha workers.

He pointed out that 10 crore women have joined women self-help groups in the last 10 years, where more than Rs 7.5 lakh crore have been provided to them.

Due to this, Modi said, many sisters have become 'Lakhpati Didi' over the years.

Touching upon its success, the prime minister talked about the government’s campaign to further increase the number of 'Lakhpati Didis' by two crore.

''We must perform our duties to make India a developed country,'' Modi asserted.