By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Pointing out that any nation moves faster only when participation of half of its population that is the women power’s is equal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the advancement of women and their empowerment will be the key to Odisha’s development. Taking a leaf out of the folklore of Odisha, Shri Modi said that the presence of Goddess Subhadra along with Lord Jagannath here tells us about women empowerment. “ I bow down to all the mothers, sisters and daughters in the form of Goddess Subhadra”, exclaimed Shri Modi.
The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the new BJP government has given the gift of Subhadra Yojana to the mothers and sisters of Odisha as part of their initial decisions. He added that more than 1 crore women of Odisha will benefit from this. Further explaining, Shri Modi said that under the scheme, women will be given a total amount of Rs 50,000 which would be directly credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. He added that the scheme was also linked to the pilot project of RBI’s digital currency. Shri Modi congratulated the women of Odisha for joining this first of its kind digital currency scheme in the country.
The Prime Minister spoke about the organization of many yatras across the state so that SUBHADRA Yojana reaches every mother, sister and daughter of Odisha. He said that women are being made aware of all the information related to the scheme. He highlighted that many workers from the present dispensation in the state are also engaging in this service with full vigour and congratulated the government, the administration as well as MLAs, MPs and party workers for this public awareness.
“Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a reflection of women empowerment in India”, PM Modi remarked, noting that the property is now being registered in the name of women. He highlighted that almost 30 lakh families from across the country have performed Griha Pravesh today while 15 lakh new beneficiaries have been given approval letters today and funds have been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 10 lakh beneficiaries in a short time of 100 days. “We have done this auspicious work from the holy land of Odisha and a large number of poor families of Odisha are also included in this”, PM Modi added. He said that a new beginning of life is taking place for lakhs of families who got permanent houses today.
Sharing his experience of participating in the Grih Pravesh of a tribal family earlier in the day, the Prime Minister said that he can never forget their happiness and the satisfaction on their faces. “This experience, this feeling is worth the treasures of my entire life. This happiness as a result of change coming in the lives of the poor, dalit, deprived and tribal society gives me the energy to work harder”, Prime Minister Modi affirmed.
Remarking that Odisha has everything that is required for a developed state, Shri Modi said that the talent of its youth, the strength of women, natural resources, opportunities for industries, immense possibilities of tourism were all present. He added that in the last 10 years, while being in the Centre, the Government had always looked at Odisha as a major priority. The Prime Minister added that Odisha was today getting thrice the funds from the center as compared to 10 years ago. He also expressed happiness on the implementation of schemes which earlier never saw the light of the day. Speaking of the Ayushman Yojana, the Prime Minister underlined that the people of Odisha will also be benefited by free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh while senior citizens above 70 years of age would be treated for free up to Rs 5 lakh, irrespective of income levels. He added that “A promise was made by Modi during the Lok Sabha elections and Modi has fulfilled his guarantee”.
The Prime Minister underlined that dalits, deprived and tribal communities living in Odisha are the biggest beneficiaries of the campaign against poverty. Be it creating a separate ministry for the welfare of the tribal community, giving the tribal community rights over their roots, forests and land, giving education and employment opportunities to tribal youth or making a tribal woman from Odisha the honorable President of the country, the Prime Minister emphasized that the government has carried out such tasks for the first time.
PM Modi pointed out that there were many tribal areas and groups in Odisha that were deprived of development for many generations. He spoke about the PM Janman Yojana to support the most backward among tribes and informed that 13 such tribes have been identified in Odisha. Under the Janman Yojana, Prime Minister Modi explained, the government is providing the benefits of development schemes to all these communities. A campaign is also being run to free the tribal areas from sickle cell anemia. In the last 3 months, more than 13 lakh people have been screened under this campaign, he added.
