Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar held bilateral meetings with the ministerial delegations and other senior representatives from Bangladesh, South Korea, France and Türkiye at the Fourth Meeting of G20 Digital Economy Working Group.

The Minister met and Interacted with Mr Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for ICT, Bangladesh. The discussion focused on potential collaborations around India Stack, Cyber Security and Skilling. During the meeting Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar noted, “The partnership between India and Bangladesh will rewrite the narratives about South Asia.”

The Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Mr Henri Verdier, Ambassador for the Ministry of Digital Affairs, France. The interaction revolved around how technologies such as AI are transforming the lives of citizens. Minister Chandrasekhar noted that New India heavily invested in AI. He further said, “There’s an opportunity for like-minded partners like India and France to help countries who want to digitize their Government and economy through DPIs such as India Stack.”

During his meeting with Mr Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Minister of Industry and Technology, Türkiye; Minister Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar noted, “The future of technology cannot be shaped by a few countries and companies and needs to be more inclusive.”

Lastly, the Minister held a bilateral meeting with Dr Jin-bae Hong, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, with the discussions revolving around the deep relationship between India and South Korea in the broad technology space especially electronics while. Minister Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar also noted, “The growth of this partnership can have a bigger impact on the world.” The ministers also talked about the need for a Safe and Trusted internet.

The Union Minister for Roads Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin  Gadkari today inaugurated the quadranglement of Nandura to Chikhli section of 45 km length on National Highway 53 worth Rs.800 crore at Malkapur in Buldhana district, Maharashtra.  The Member of Parliament (MP) of Buldhana, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Shri Rakshatai Khadse, MP along with MLAs and officials were also present on the occasion.

The inauguration of 45 km long four-lane project on National Highway 53 will boost the progress and prosperity of the people of Buldhana.

Under the Bharatmala Yojana, Amravati-Chikhali Section Package-4 on National Highway 53 four-lane construction has been completed. This project includes 6 km long Nandura Greenfield Bypass, Malkapur ROB, 4 Major Bridges, 18 Minor Bridges, 11 Culverts, 3 Circular Underpasses, 4 Pedestrian Underpasses, Includes 11.53 km long double-lane service road, 20 bus sheds and 1 truck lay-by.

The project will boost mutual trade between four states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The East-West Corridor will get better connectivity, which will benefit Raipur, Nagpur and Surat.

Religious places like Gajanan Maharaj Temple of Shegaon, Hanuman Temple at Nandura and tourist spots like Lonar Sarovar in Buldhana district will be easily accessible. The travel time from Buldhana district to Nagpur district and Buldhana to Dhule, Surat will be reduced. Transportation of cotton, red chillies, fruits, grains and other agricultural commodities will be faster which will save time and fuel. The bypass at Nandura will help in reducing traffic congestion and noise and air pollution in the city and surrounding areas.

Due to the use of soil obtained from the deepening of lakes in the construction of the said highway under the Amrit Sarovar scheme, the water storage capacity of the lakes in the area has increased. Due to this water conservation, the problem of water scarcity of the citizens of Malkapur will be solved.  Along with this, the proposed works of Rs 866 crore in Buldhana district were announced in today’s program

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief on the passing away of former DRDO Director General Dr. V.S. Arunachalam.

The Prime Minister posted on X;
“Dr. V.S. Arunachalam’s passing away leaves a major void in scientific community and the strategic world. He was greatly admired for his knowledge, passion for research and rich contribution towards strengthening India’s security capabilities. Condolences to his family and well wishers. Om Shanti.”

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said, the exclusive findings and inputs of Chandrayaan-3 will benefit the entire World Community.

Speaking to the media after the Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved another historic feat when the “Vikram” lander module of the spacecraft, carrying the Pragyan rover, successfully detached itself from the propulsion module in its onward lunar journey, Dr Jitendra Singh said, even though the USA and the then USSR had started their Space journey long before us and America also landed a human being on the surface of Moon in 1969, it was nevertheless our Chandrayaan that brought home the pictures of water on the surface of Moon and startled the entire world including the Americans. We always heard imaginary fiction and asked ourselves whether there were any people living on the Moon, but for the first time Chandrayaan’s findings prompted the world community to find scientific answers to these mysteries, he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar South Pole.

Dr Jitendra Singh expressed confidence that the Mission is designed in such a way that there will be a safe landing of Chandrayaan-3 on 23^rd August, 2023 between 5.30 to 6.00 PM. He said, every Indian and the whole world is watching every moment and waiting with bated breath for the final outcome.

Dr Jitendra Singh told the media persons that Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission of Chandrayaan-2 and is aimed to demonstrate India’s capability in soft landing and roving on the surface of the Moon or the Lunar surface. The complex mission profile, he said, required for the Spacecraft to enter the Moon’s orbit has been executed very precisely. After the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the surface of the Moon, the rover, which has six wheels, will come out and is expected to work for 14 days on the Moon. With the support of multiple cameras on the rover, we will be able to receive images, he said.

Giving full credit to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for providing an enabling environment for Space workers and taking path-breaking decisions, like unlocking the Space sector for Public Private Partnership (PPP), Dr Jitendra Singh said, based on the current trajectory of growth, India’s space sector could be a 1 trillion US Dollar economy in the coming years.

Elaborating further, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the primary objectives of Chandrayaan-3 mission are threefold, a) to demonstrate Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface; b) to demonstrate Rover roving on the moon, and c) to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

The Minister recalled that the first in the series of Chandrayaan, namely Chandrayaan-1, is credited for having discovered the presence of water on the surface of the Moon, which was a new revelation for the world and even the most premier Space agencies like the USA’s NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) were fascinated by this discovery and used the inputs for their further experiments. Chandrayaan-3, he said, will be operating at the next level. The Spacecraft will use Launch Vehicle Mark-3 developed by ISRO for its launch, he added.

Earlier, the mission was launched on 14 July 2023 via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota at 2:35 PM and successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 into orbit.

Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched Kuwi and Desia books at Bhubaneswar. The event also witnessed the special cover release on behalf of the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. This marks a collaborative effort with Central University of Odisha, Koraput, Department of Posts, and NCERT.

While addressing the gathering at the launch ceremony, Shri Pradhan mentioned that there are over 62 tribes covering 23% of total population of Odisha, so, it becomes necessary to teach students with help of pictures, stories and songs based on their local nature and culture to improve their speaking skill, learning outcome and cognitive development, he added. In this regard, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), for the first time, in collaboration with Central University of Odisha, has prepared two invaluable books: the “Kuwi Primer” and “Desia Primer”, for those children, who are speaking Kuwi and Desia tribal languages in the undivided Koraput district of Odisha, he informed. He said that these two primers will not only shape a strong educational foundation of those children but also preserve and foster the cultural, linguistic heritage and identity of tribal community of Odisha.

Speaking on the occasion Smt Nirmala Sitharaman said that the National Education Policy 2020 is a very progressive policy. It is a result of different people putting their minds together & extensive consultations. NEP is a flexible policy. It is not something that the Centre decides and imposes on all the states. It is a broad framework and the states are left to adapt it according to their requirements, she explained. Smt Sitharaman further said that when one learns, speaks & thinks in one’s mother tongue, there’s a clarity of thought which can be used later. That’s why learning in the mother tongue is important. The Education Ministry and Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan are making all out efforts  for Education of tribal children, she said.The step to introduce primers in local languages and dialects is a generational one & will also further enrich Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’, she added.

The Ministers attended a series of events today under the nationwide “Meri Maati Mera Desh” campaign, on the call of the Prime Minister of the country, to pay homage to the heroes who sacrificed for the country.

The Ministers visited Sand Art on “Meri Maati Mera Desh” by Padmashri Awardee Sand Artist Shri Sudarshan Patnaik at Puri Beach. Shri Pradhan expressed that the artwork is an unique and admirable way to pay tribute to the “heroes” who sacrificed their life for the country. He thanked all the sculptors involved in this work.

Under the ‘Dedication of Shilaphalakam’ and ‘Vasudha Vandan’ initiative of Meri Maati Mera Desh, both the Ministers along with students installed a ‘Memorial Plaque’ in memory of Martyrs and also participated  in a tree plantation event at Sadashiv Campus of Central Sanskrit University in Puri.

The Ministers administered the Panch Pran pledge to a gathering during a programme at the Central Sanskrit University.

The Ministers also honoured families of martyrs and freedom fighters. They collected soil and rice in ‘amrit kalash’ from house to house from Biraharekrushnapur, village of Puri district, the birthplace of the Martyr Jayee Rajguru to create an ‘Amrit Vatika’ in Delhi. They also garlanded the statue of Martyr Jayee Rajguru.

Speaking on the occasion,  Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that Biraharekrushnapur, the birthplace of Jayee Rajguru, is a testament to Odisha’s rich cultural and historical heritage. The soil of this village has witnessed the heroism and sacrifice of Jayee Rajguru, which gives more relevance to the Meri Maati Mera Desh campaign. Let us visit such historically important places to remember the sacrifices of our brave warriors and honor their sacrifices.

The Ministers interacted with the artisans of Raghurajpur, a heritage crafts village in Puri district, Odisha. During the interaction, the Finance Minister highlighted the benefits of the ‘PM Vishwakarma’ Scheme, which was announced in the Independence Day 2023 speech by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

The Union Health Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya delivered keynote address at One Earth One Health Advantage Healthcare India event in the presence of, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister, Ministry of AYUSH, Dr. Bharti Pravin Pawar, Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Prof. S.P. Singh Bhagel, Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai, Minister of State, Ministry of AYUSH, Dr. V.K Paul, Member, Niti Aayog, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization and Shri Rushikesh Patel, Gujarat Health Minister at Gandhinagar today.

Mr. Shah Mahir, Minister of State, Ministry of Health, Government of Maldives, Ms. Safiyya Mohamed Saeed, Deputy Minister of Health, Government of Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Hassan Mohamaed, Deputy Minister of Health, Government of Somalia, Mr. Mohan Bahadur Basnet, Minister of Health and Population, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and Hon. Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella, Minister of Health, Government of Sri Lanka were present at the event.

Lauding the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of achieving Universal Health Coverage by imbibing the notions of Sarvodaya and Antyodaya, the Health Minister stated that India has made significant contributions to health globally as well as in its own nation in the fields of primary and digital healthcare. The Health Minister launched the ‘The Advantage Health Care India – One Stop Digital Portal For Patient’ and ‘Workforce Mobility’, stating “the launch of these two portals is not just a milestone for India, but a significant step towards fulfilling our global responsibilities. India has always been at the forefront of healthcare innovation.” Dr. Mandaviya further added “Through these portals, we are offering a tangible solution to some of the most, pressing challenges in healthcare today.”

Elaborating on the Indian health system, the Health Minister cited that India today is supported by a workforce of 1.3 Million Allopathic Doctors, 800,000 AYUSH doctors and 3.4 Million Nurses & Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives. Through this highly qualified and skilful workforce, India plans to contribute to an organised system of workforce mobility, wherein India’s healthcare professionals travel to different parts of the world, to serve the global community. Reiterating that health is perceived as a service in India, he highlighted that nation aspires to create a people-centric, value-based system of healthcare. Dr. Mandaviya emphasized that medical value travel will enable greater knowledge-sharing, sustainable partnerships and increased synergies contributing to building a stronger global health architecture. He said “We strive to build a more inclusive and equitable world where healthcare knows no boundaries and where skilled healthcare professionals can make a difference wherever they are. Our collective efforts will be towards creating a healthcare ecosystem that embraces the voice of every nation, every citizen and every being.”

Praising the visionary leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal noted that the theme of India G20 Presidency ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ incorporates medical value travel and health workforce mobility as an important facet in its pursuit to build resilient global healthcare systems. He further added “the preventive and promotive approach of our traditional health care systems has played a significant role in modern age today, particularly when global health was afflicted in recent times.” The Union AYUSH Minister underscored the importance of implementing harmonized and coordinated strategies of traditional medicine through effective governance at international, regional, and national levels. He emphasized that “India being a soft power in the traditional system of medicine can play a pivotal role here in mitigation of these alarming changes in health care scenarios.”

Dr. Bharti Pravin Pawar noted “In present times, the concept of health needs a holistic approach and India has the unique advantage of offering Traditional Healthcare Therapies or AYUSH treatments for the purpose of well-being to Medical Value Travellers from across the globe. She emphasized that “integration of traditional medicine and modern medicine is an essential aspect of achieving affordable and accessible healthcare for all, especially in remote areas.”

Prof S P Singh Baghel underlined that “Universal health coverage is not limited within the territorial borders of the country. India holds the vision of One Earth One Heath we intent to provide health services to other country through Heal by India and to those visiting through Heal in India.” The Minister of State further added “We must create synergies across the stakeholders – hospitals, medical facilitators, insurance companies, healthcare associations and government bodies to facilitate a global healthcare network, with patient well-being at its core.”

Underscoring the importance of Value-Based Health care services supported by the framework of medical value travel, Shri Sudhansh Pant added “we must focus on a patient-centric health system to achieve several of our health priorities. An inclusive health system will be achieved when patients are empowered to choose from a comprehensive range of services, including medical consultation, treatment, post-operative treatment, and follow-up care cutting across geographic limitations.”

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that Medical Value Travel can serve to complement countries in building their national capacities. Leveraging Medical Value Travel, countries can offer specialized resources and services that may not be available, affordable or accessible in other parts of the world. He further added Digital Health is a great asset as it enables patients to access medical healthcare services via telemedicine at platforms such as Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres. Digital Health bridges the gap of affordability rendering medical care to the innermost areas and to those patients who may not be able to afford the services.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya held various bilateral meetings with European Union, Germany and Saudi Arabia today. The bilateral meetings provided an opportunity to reflect on areas of collaborations and shared priorities in pursuit of a healthier tomorrow.

The bilateral meeting with the European Union focused on exploring areas of collaboration in fortifying healthcare systems and enhancing capacities for disease surveillance and capacity building amongst other domains with a particular focus on Ayurveda Telemedicine; clinical trials and research in India for EU-based pharmaceutical companies, Medical Value Travel, and potential joint collaborative ventures in medical education and research. The way forward will focus on discussions on establishing minimum viable product, global initiative for digital health and medical counter measures.

The meeting with Saudi Arabia involved exchanging of experiences and best practices on regulatory requirements, Joint ventures, technology transfer especially in APIs, towards de-risking supply chains and boosting resilience therein. They also expressed interest in cooperation in pharmaceutical sector amongst Drug Regulators and in Pharmacopeia, enhancing Value-based Healthcare through Medical Value Travel, Promotion of Digital Public Goods and Cooperation in Digital Health and cooperation in Traditional Medicine and Yoga. There is an increasing focus on attracting investments, R&D, and collaboration in the form of joint ventures to reap benefits and realize the immense potential of the Indian Medical Devices industry. Futuristic aspirations include signing of Memorandum of Understanding in the field of health sector cooperation, recognition and acceptance of Indian Pharmacopeia (IP) including traditional medicines and proposing Letter of Intent in the field of Medical Value Travel.

Germany and India’s meeting focused on Cooperation in Pharmaceutical sector/amongst Drug Regulators and in Pharmacopeia, ICMR & Federal Ministry of Education and Research, strengthening Value-based Healthcare through Medical Value Travel, cooperation in traditional medicine, promotion of digital public goods and cooperation in digital health. Future orientation will include cooperation under MoU between ICMR, & German Research Foundation, cooperation under Special arrangement between ICMR & Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany Delhi under Indo-German S&T Agreement, revision in Minimum Viable Product, signing of Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between CDSCO and the Federal institute for Drug and Medical devices of the Federal Republic of Germany (BfarM) the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute of the Federal Republic of Germany (Pei) on cooperation in the field of medical products regulation.

Shri G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO FSSAI, Shri Vishal Chauhan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Aradhana Patnaik, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Abhishek Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, government officials, representatives from more than 70 countries, including CIS, ASEAN, SAARC, Africa, and the Middle East regions and industry officials were also present at the event.

A US Congressional delegation of eight members from the House of Representatives called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today.

The delegation included Rep. Ro Khanna, Democratic co-chair of the India Caucus, Rep. Mike Waltz, Republican co-chair of the India Caucus, Rep. Ed Case, Rep. Kat Cammack, Rep. Deborah Ross, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Rich McCormick and Rep. Shri Thanedar.

Welcoming the delegation to India, Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation for the consistent and bipartisan support of the US Congress for India-US relations.

Prime Minister fondly recalled his historic State Visit to the US in June at the invitation of President Biden during which he had an opportunity to address a Joint Session of the US Congress for a second time.

Prime Minister and the US delegation highlighted that the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is based on shared democratic values, respect for rule of law and strong people-to-people ties.

Digital India programme was launched on 1^st July, 2015 to enable digital delivery of services to citizens. It has proved to be a very successful program.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the expansion of the Digital India programme. The total outlay is ₹14,903 crores.

This would enable the following:

• 6.25 lakh IT professionals will be re-skilled and up-skilled under the FutureSkills Prime Programme;
• 2.65 lakh persons will be trained in information security under the Information Security & Education Awareness Phase (ISEA) Programme;
• 540 additional services will be available under the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app/ platform. At present over 1,700 services are already available on UMANG;
• 9 more supercomputers will be added under National Super Computer Mission. This is in addition to 18 supercomputers already deployed;
• Bhashini, the AI-enabled multi-language translation tool (currently available in 10 languages) will be rolled out in all 22 schedule 8 languages;
• Modernisation of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) which connects 1,787 educational institutions;
• Digital document verification facility under DigiLocker will now be available to MSMEs and other organisations;
• 1,200 startups will be supported in Tier 2/3 cities;
• 3 Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence on health, agriculture and sustainable cities will be set up;
• Cyber-awareness courses for 12 crores college students;
• New initiatives in the area of cyber security including development of tools and integration of more than 200 sites with National Cyber Coordination Centre
• Today’s announcement will give a boost to the digital economy of India, drive digital access to services and support India’s IT and electronics ecosystem.

The Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model.  The Scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs.57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.

Reaching the Unreached:

The scheme will cover cities of Three lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the Capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States. Under this scheme priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.

Direct Employment Generation:

The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operation.

The Scheme has two segments:

Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services:(169 cities)

The approved bus scheme will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Associated Infrastructure will provide support for Development/ up-gradation of depot infrastructure; and Creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure (substation, etc.) for e-buses.

Segment B– Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI): (181 cities)

The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc.

Support for Operation: Under the scheme, States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.  The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.

Boost to E-Mobility:

• The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
• Cities will also be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.
• The support to bus priority infrastructure shall not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy efficient electric buses but also foster the innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as development of resilient supply chain for electric vehicles.
• This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
• Adoption to Electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission.
• Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Sports between the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports of the Republic of India and the Department of Health and Aged Care of the Government of Australia.

Bilateral exchange programmes in the field of sports between India and Australia will help in expanding knowledge and expertise in the area of sport sciences, technologies and infrastructure; athlete and coach training and development; sports governance and integrity; grassroots participation in sport; major sporting events; diversity and inclusion in sport which would result in improvement in performance of our sportspersons in international tournaments and strengthening of bilateral relations between India and Australia.

Benefits arising from bilateral cooperation in the field of sports with Australia would be equally applicable to all sportspersons irrespective of their caste, creed, region, religion and gender.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee along with 140 crore people of India.

In a tweet, PM said;

“I join the 140 crore people of India in paying homage to the remarkable Atal Ji on his Punya Tithi. India benefitted greatly from his leadership. He played a pivotal role in boosting our nation’s progress and in taking it to the 21st century in a wide range of sectors.”

1. My dear 140 crore family members, the world’s largest democracy and now many people are of the opinion that we are number one in faith even from the point of view of population. Such a huge country, 140 crore countrymen, my brothers and sisters, my family members are celebrating the festival of Independence today. I extend many best wishes to crores of people of the country and the world who love India, who respect India, who are proud of India, on this great holy festival of Independence.

2. The movement of non-cooperation under the leadership of Pujya Bapu, the movement of Satyagraha and the sacrifice of countless heroes like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, there would be hardly any person in that generation who did not contribute to the freedom of the country. Today, I respectfully bow down to all those who have contributed, sacrificed, performed penance in the country’s freedom struggle, I congratulate them.

3. Today, 15th August, the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, the great revolutionary and pioneer of spiritual life, is being completed. This year is the year of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. This year is a very auspicious occasion of the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati, which the whole country is going to celebrate with great pomp. This year is also the auspicious festival of 525 years of Meerabai, the head of Bhakti Yoga.

4. This time, on 26th January we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of our Republic Day. It will have many opportunities in many ways, many possibilities, every moment new inspiration, moment by moment new consciousness, dreams, resolutions, to be engaged in nation building, perhaps there can be no greater opportunity than this.

5. Last few weeks in North-East, especially in Manipur and also in some other parts of India, but especially in Manipur, many people lost their lives, the honor of mothers and daughters was played with, but in the last few days, there are continuous reports of peace coming in, the country is with the people of Manipur.The country should take forward the festival of peace that the people of Manipur have maintained for the last few days, and the way to a solution will emerge only through peace. And the state and the central government together are trying their best to solve those problems and will continue to do so.

6. This is the first year of Amritkal, what we will do in this period, the steps we will take, the sacrifices we will make, the penance we will do, the golden history of the country for the coming one thousand years is going to sprout from it.

7. Maa Bharti has awakened and I can clearly see friends, this is the period we have experienced in the last 9-10 years, a new attraction, a new faith, a new hope has arisen all over the world towards the consciousness of India, towards the potential of India, and the world is seeing this beam of light that has risen from India as a light for itself.

8. This trinity of demography, democracy and diversity has the potential to make every dream of India come true. It is a period of great pride that today our population under the age of 30 is the highest in the world. In the youth below 30 years of age, my country has millions of arms, millions of brains, millions of dreams, millions of determination, with which my brothers and sisters, my family members can achieve the desired results.

9. Today, my youth have given India a place in the world’s first three start-up Eco-systems. The youth of the world is wondering, seeing this power of India. Today the world is technology driven and the coming era is going to be influenced by technology and then India’s talent in technology is going to play a new role.

10. Recently, I went to Bali for the G-20 Summit and in Bali, the most prosperous countries of the world, their leaders, also the developed countries of the world were eager to know from me about the success of India’s Digital India, its nuances. Everyone used to ask this question and when I used to tell them that the wonders India has done are not limited to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, the wonders India is doing, even the youth of my Tier-2, Tier-3 cities are shaping the fate of my country today.

11. The children who came out of the slums are showing might in the world of sports today. The youth of small villages, small towns, our sons and daughters are showing wonders today. There are 100 schools in my country where children are making satellites and making preparations to release them. Today thousands of Atal tinkering labs are conceiving new scientists, inspiring millions of children to take up the path of science and technology.

12. In the last one year, the way G-20 events have been organized in every corner of India, it has made the world aware of the potential of the common man of the country. The diversity of India has been introduced and showcased to them.

13. Today India’s exports are increasing rapidly and based on different parameters, the experts of the world are saying that now India is not going to stop. Any rating agency of the world would be making India proud.

14. I can clearly see that after Corona, a new world order, a new global order, a new Geo-political equation is progressing very fast. All interpretations of the geopolitical equation are changing, definitions are changing. Today, my 140 crore countrymen, your ability to shape the changing world is visible. You are standing at a turning point. And the way India has taken the country forward during the Corona period, the world has seen our potential.

15. Today India is becoming the voice of the Global South. India’s prosperity and heritage is becoming an opportunity for the world today. Now the ball is in our court, we should not let the opportunity go, we should not miss the opportunity. I congratulate my countrymen in India also because my countrymen have the ability to understand the roots of the problems and therefore in 2014, after 30 years of experience, my countrymen decided to form a strong and stable government.

16. When you formed a government in 2014 and in 2019, Modi got the courage to reform. And when Modi made reforms one after the other, the people of my bureaucracy, my millions of hands and feet, who are working as part of the government in every corner of India, they performed to transform the bureaucracy. And that’s why this period of reform, perform, transform is now shaping the future of India.

17. We have created a separate skill ministry, it will not only fulfill the needs of India, it will also have the ability to fulfill the needs of the world. We created the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which is laying emphasis on ensuring that pure drinking water reaches each and every countrymen of our country, water sensitive systems should be developed to protect the environment. Holistic health care is the need of the hour. We created a separate Ministry of AYUSH and today Yoga and AYUSH have become shining examples in the world.

18. Our crores of fishermen brothers and sisters, their welfare is also in our heart and that is why we have created a separate Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, so that the people of the society who have been left behind get desired support.

19. Cooperative movement is a big part of the economy of the society, to strengthen it, to modernize it and to strengthen one of the biggest units of democracy in every corner of the country, we have created a separate Cooperative Ministry. We have adopted the path of prosperity through cooperation.

20. When we came to power in 2014, we were at number 10 in the global economy and today the efforts of 140 crore countrymen have paid off and we have reached number 5 in the world economy. We stopped leakages, created a strong economy, we tried to spend more and more money for the welfare of the poor.

21. I am giving the account of 10 years to my countrymen from the Red Fort with Tri-colour as a witness.

• 10 years ago, 30 lakh crore rupees used to go to the states from the Government of India. In the last 9 years, this figure has reached 100 lakh crores.
• Earlier, 70 thousand crore rupees were spent from the treasury of the Government of India for the development of local bodies, today it is more than 3 lakh crores.
• Earlier, 90 thousand crore rupees were spent to build the houses of the poor, today it has increased 4 times and more than 4 lakh crores are being spent to build the houses of the poor.
• The bags of urea which were sold for Rs 3,000 in some markets of the world, my farmers got that bag of urea for Rs 300 for which the government of the country is giving subsidy of Rs 10 lakh crore.
• 20 lakh crore rupees have been given to the youth of my country for self-employment, for their business. The 8 crore citizens who have benefited from the Mudra Yojana have got the ability to provide employment to 8-10 crore new people.
• We gave about three and a half lakh crore rupees to MSMEs to strengthen them further.
• One rank, one pension was a matter of respect for the soldiers of my country, 70 thousand crore rupees have reached from India’s coffers today to my retired army heroes and their families.

22. The result of all the efforts we have made is that today, 13.5 crore of my poor brothers and sisters have come out in the form of new middle class by breaking the chains of poverty. There can be no greater satisfaction in life than this.

23. 50 thousand crore rupees have been sent for the street vendors from the PM Swanidhi. In the coming days, we will further implement a program on the coming Vishwakarma Jayanti. On this Vishwakarma Jayanti, we will give about 13-15 thousand crore rupees to the people who live with traditional skills, who work with tools and with their own hands, mostly from the OBC community.

24. We have deposited 2.5 lakh crore rupees from the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi directly into the accounts of the farmers of my country. We have spent two lakh crore rupees under the Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure that pure water reaches every household.

25. We have started the Ayushman Bharat scheme so that the poor can get rid of the troubles they used to go to the hospital due to illness. He should get medicines, he should be treated, the operation should be done in the best hospital, we have spent 70 thousand crore rupees under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

26. The country remembers that if we spent 40 thousand crore rupees on Corona Vaccine, we have spent about 15 thousand crore rupees for vaccination of livestock to save them.

27. We gave the medicines which are available for Rs.100 in the market from Jan Aushadhi Kendra for Rs.10, Rs.15, Rs.20 that saved about 20 crore rupees of people who needed these medicines. Now, from 10,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the country, we are going to work in the coming days to attain a target of 25,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

28. We came up with a scheme in the last few years for my family members who live in cities, but in rented houses, in slums, in chawls, in unauthorized colonies. If my family members want to build their own house, then we have decided to help them with lakhs of rupees, by giving relief in the interest of the loan they will get from the bank.

29. If the income tax limit of my middle class family is increased from two lakh to seven lakh, then the biggest benefit is to the salaried class, to my middle class. Internet data was very expensive before 2014. Now the world’s cheapest internet is saving every family’s money.

30. Today, the country is moving forward with many capabilities, ably working in renewable energy, on green hydrogen, the country’s capacity in space is increasing as well as the country is moving ahead successfully in the Deep Sea Mission. Rail is becoming modern in the country, Vande Bharat, Bullet Train also working in the country today. Today internet is reaching every village, so the country also decides for quantum computer. Nano Urea and Nano DAP are being worked on. On the other hand, we are also emphasizing on organic farming. We want to build semiconductors as well.

31. We had resolved to make 75 thousand Amrit Sarovar in the Amrit Mahotsav of independence. Today, the work of construction of about 75 thousand Amrit Sarovar is going on. This in itself is a huge task. This Janshakti (Human Resources) and Jalshakti (Water Resources) are going to be useful in protecting India’s environment. Providing electricity to 18 thousand villages, opening bank accounts of the masses, building toilets for daughters, all the targets have been accomplished with full force before time.

32. The world was surprised to know that India administered 200 crore vaccination doses during COVID. My country’s Anganwadi workers, our Asha workers, our health workers have made this possible. My country is the fastest in the world to roll out 5-G. We have reached more than 700 districts till date, and now we are preparing for 6-G also.

33. The target we had set for renewable energy by 2030 got completed in 21-22. We had talked about 20 percent blending in ethanol, that too we achieved five years ahead of time. We had talked about exports of 500 billion dollars, that too was achieved before time and it increased to more than 500 billion dollars.

34. We decided, which was being discussed in our country for 25 years, that a new parliament should be in the country, it is Modi who has made the new Parliament ahead of time, my dear brothers and sisters.

35. Today the country is feeling safe. Today there has been a drastic reduction in terrorist attacks in the country. There has been a big change in the naxal affected areas also, an environment of big change has been created.

36. For the coming 25 years, we should follow only one mantra, this should be the pinnacle of our national character- the message of unity. India’s unity gives us strength, be it north, be it south, be it east, be it west, be it village, be it city, be it man, be it woman; We want to have our country as a developed India in 2047 then we have to live the mantra of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, we have to characterize.

37. To move forward in the country, the potential of an additional power is going to take India forward and that is women-led development. I have taken forward the topics of women-led development in G-20, the whole G-20 group is accepting its importance and accepting its importance.

38. Today, India can proudly say that if any one country has the maximum number of women pilots in civil aviation in the world, then my country has them. Today, whether it is the speed of Chandrayaan, whether it is about the moon mission, my women-scientists are leading it.

39. Today 10 crore women are involved in women self-help and if you go to village with women self-help group, you will find didi with bank, you will find didi with anganwadi, you will find didi who gives medicines and now my dream is to make 2 crore Lakhpati Didis (Women earning one lakh per year).

40. Today the country is moving towards modernity. Be it Highway, Railway, Airway, I-Ways (Information Ways), Water Ways, there is no area in which the country is not working towards progress. In the last 9 years, we have given a lot of emphasis on development in the coastal areas, in the tribal areas, in our hilly areas.

41. We have started a program of Vibrant Border Village in the Border Villages of our country and till now Vibrant Border Village was said to be the last village of the country we have changed the whole thinking. It is not the last village of the country, the one visible on the border is the first village of my country.

42. We have to make the country so strong that it can play its role for the welfare of the world. And today after Corona, I am seeing, the way the country helped the world in the time of crisis, the result is that today our country is seen as a friend of the world. As an integral companion of the world. Today, our country has acquired a new identity.

43. The dreams are many, the resolution is clear, the policies are clear. There is no question mark on my Niyat (Intention). But we have to accept some realities and to solve them, my dear family members, today I have come to seek your help from the Red Fort, I have come to seek your blessings from the Red Fort.

44. In the Amritkaal, in 2047, when the country will celebrate 100 years of independence, at that time the tricolor of India in the world should be the tricolor flag of developed India. We should not stop, nor hesitate and transparency and fairness are the first strong requirements for this.

45. If the dreams have to be fulfilled, the resolutions have to be attained, then it is the need of the hour to fight the three evils decisively at all levels. The three evils are Corruption, Parivarvaad (Nepotism) and Appeasement.

46. I have to take forward the fight against corruption. Number of chargesheets being filed in court are much more than before and even getting bails has become difficult, we are moving forward with such a firm system, because we are honestly fighting against corruption.

47. Nepotism is the enemy of talents, it negates abilities and does not accept potential. And therefore, for the strength of the democracy of this country, liberation from nepotism is necessary. It is also important for Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay, for everyone to get their rights and for social justice.

48. Appeasement thinking, appeasement politics, government schemes for appeasement has killed social justice. And that’s why we find appeasement and corruption as the biggest enemies of development. If the country wants development, the country wants to fulfill the dream of being a developed India by 2047, then it is necessary for us to not tolerate corruption in the country under any circumstance.

49. All of us have a duty, every citizen has a duty and this Amritkaal is Kartavyakaal. We cannot back down from our duty, we have to make the India which was the dream of revered Bapu, we have to make the India which was the dream of our freedom fighters, we have to make the India which belonged to our martyrs, who gave their lives for the motherland.

50. This Amrit Kaal is a time of duty for all of us. This Amrit Kaal is the time for all of us to do something for Maa Bharti. The resolution of 140 crore countrymen has to be converted into achievement and when the tricolor is hoisted in 2047, then the world will be praising a developed India. With this belief, with this determination, I wish all of you many, many best wishes. Many many congratulations.