Talented youth from 20 states are being trained to steer the present and future of railway. This will help in modernizing railway through innovation and research : Shri Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagged off eight trains connecting different regions of the country to Kevadiya  in Gujarat today, via video conferencing. These trains will facilitate seamless connectivity to the Statue of Unity. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Dabhoi – Chandod Gauge converted Broad Gauge railway line, Chandod – Kevadiya new Broad Gauge railway line, newly electrified Pratapnagar – Kevadiya section and the new station buildings of Dabhoi, Chandod and Kevadiya. Chief Minister of Gujarat and Union Railways Minister were present on the occasion.

India is expressing its gratitude to frontline Corona warriors by giving them priority in vaccination: PM Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi praised the selfless strong spirit of the country which has been on full display during the fight against Corona. Speaking after launching the pan-India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive via video conferencing today, Shri Modi said, in the year gone by, Indians learnt and endured a great deal as individuals, family and as a nation. Quoting the great Telugu poet, Gurajada Venkata Apparao, Shri Modi said we should always work selflessly for others. A nation is not just soil, water and stones, but a nation stands for ‘We the People.’ Corona has been fought with this spirit in India, said the Prime Minister.

India is working for a startup ecosystem ‘Of the Youth, By the Youth, For the Youth’ : PM Shri Narendra Modi

 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacted with startups and addressed ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ today via video conferencing. Ministers from BIMSTEC countries and Union Ministers Shri Prakash Javadekar, Shri Piyush Goyal and Shri Som Parkash were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the start-ups are changing the demographic characteristics of today’s business. He pointed out that 44 per cent recognized startups have women directors and number of women working in these start up is very high. Similarly, 45 per cent startups are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, working as the brand ambassadors of the local products. Every state is supporting and incubating startups as per local possibilities and 80 percent of districts of the country are now part of the Startup India mission. Youth from all types of background are able to realize their potential in this ecosystem. Result, the Prime Minister said, is before us as attitude has changed from ‘Why don’t you do a job? Why a start-up?’ to ‘Job is alright, but why not create your own start-up!’. In 2014 only 4 Indian startups were in the ‘unicorn club’ now, more than 30 startups have crossed the 1 billon mark, Shri Modi added.

Noting the fact that 11 startups entered the ‘unicorn club’ in 2020 during the Corona time, the Prime Minister underlined their contribution in the Aatmnirbharta during the crisis. Startups played a major role in ensuring availability of sanitizers, PPE kits and related supply chains. They played a sterling role in meeting local needs like grocery, medicine delivery at doorstep, transportation of frontline workers and online study material. The Prime Minister appreciated the startup spirit of finding opportunity in adversity.

Shri Modi pointed out many ‘Prarambh’ i.e. starts today. Today, the first startup conclave of BIMSTEC nation was organized. Startup India Movement completed its successful five years today and India embarked upon the largest vaccination drive today.  He said that this day is a witness to the capabilities of our youth, scientists and entrepreneurs and hard work and dedication of our doctors, nurses and health sector personnel.

The Prime Minister, noted the vibrant energy in the startup space in BIMSTEC counties like Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. The Prime Minister noted that this century is a century of  digital revolution and new age innovations. This is also the century of Asia. Therefore, it is the demand of our time that future technology and entrepreneurs should come from the region. For this, the Prime Minister stressed, that Asian counties who have will for collaboration should take responsibility and come together. This responsibility, naturally falls on BIMSTECF countries as we work for one fifth of humanity, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also launched a booklet titled ‘Evolution of Startup India’ detailing the experiences of India’s 5 year journey in startup space. He recalled the initial challenges which were overcome to create one of the world’s biggest startup ecosystem with more than 41 thousand startups. Out of these startups 5700 are in IT sector, 3600 in health sectors and about 1700 are active in agriculture sector. The Prime Minister pointed out new possibilities in food and agriculture area as people are becoming more aware about their diet. India has paid special attention to the growth of these sectors as an Agri Infra Fund has been created with a capital base of one Lakh crore. With these new avenues, startup are collaborating with farmers and playing a significant role in taking products from farm to table with better ease and quality.

The Prime Minister said that the biggest USP of the startup world is its disruption and diversification capacity. Disruption, as they are giving rise to new approaches, new technology and new ways; diversification because they are coming up with diverse ideas bringing revolution is diverse sectors with unprecedented scale and substance. The greatest feature of this ecosystem is that it is guided more by passion than pragmatism. This ‘can-do’ spirit is evident in the way India is working today, said shri Modi.

The Prime Minister gave example of BHIM UPI which has revolutionized the payment system as only in December 2020, 4 lakh crore worth of transections took place through UPI in India. Similarly India is leading in solar and AI sector. Shri Modi also mentioned direct benefit transfer system which providing assistance to poor, farmers and student directly in their accounts, relieving them of their difficulties and plugging the leakage worth 1.75 lakh crore.

The Prime Minister said that through the government procurement portal GeM, startups are getting new opportunities as 8 thousand startups are registered on GeM portal and they have done the business of 2300 crore through GeM. He said that in coming time startup presence on GeM will only increase. This will lead to promotion of local manufacturing, local employment and better investment in startup research and innovation.

The Prime Minister also announced launching of Startup India seed fund with one thousand crore rupees so that there is no shortage of seed money for startups. This will help in starting and growing new startups. Fund of funds scheme is already helping startups raising  equity capital. The Government will also help the startups in raising capital through guarantees. India is working for a startup ecosystem based on the mantra ‘Of the Youth, By the Youth, For the Youth’, We have to fix our goals for the next five years and these goals should be that our startups, our unicorns should emerge as global giants and lead in the futuristic technologies. Shri Modi concluded.

Our Diaspora is our face to the world and champions India’s cause on the global stage: President RAM NATH KOVIND

Our Diaspora is our face to the world, and champions India’s cause on the global stage. It has always come to India’s aid, whether it is for advocacy regarding international issues of concern to India, or contributing to the Indian economy by way of investments and remittances, said the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind while addressing the valedictory session of the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention today (January 9, 2021) via video conferencing.

The Government therefore had realised that pro farmer’s reforms were essential to uplift the sector i.e. polices to see that the sector goes from strength to strength.

 Despite economic liberalisation at the beginning of the nineties, agriculture sector was left out. The Government therefore had realised that pro farmer’s reforms were essential to uplift the sector i.e. polices to see that the sector goes from strength to strength.

The major highlights of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare during the year 2020 are as follows:

Unprecedented Enhancement in Budget Allocation

In the year 2020-21, the Budget allocation has been increased by more than 6 times to Rs. 1,34,399.77 crore. The Budget allocation for Department of Agriculture in the year 2013-14 was only Rs. 21933.50 crore.

The National Education Policy, the Prime Minister said, emphasizes on broad-based, multi-disciplinary and holistic approach to remove silos in the professional education that have emerged over a period of time

 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the permanent campus of IIM Sambalpur today via video conferencing. Governor and Chief Minister of Odisha, along with Union Ministers Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi were also present on the occasion.