President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday addressed a joint session of members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha ahead of the Budget Session.
Praising the government’s various initiatives, president Mukherjee said,”My Govt has taken many initiatives to improve quality of life of the poor, committed to provide shelter.”
Speaking about government’s initiative of financial strengthening, he said under Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, over Rs. 16000 crore have been made available to SHGs(Self Help Groups) in the current Financial Year.
Over Rs 2 Lakh Crore has been provided through 5.6 crore loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
“My Govt has taken various steps to transform the lives of our farmers,” President Pranab Mukherjee said.
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“Soaring prices of pulses was matter of great concern around this time last year, my Govt took proactive steps, it’s now under control,” he added.
Nari Shakti
Stressing upon women empowerment, president Mukherjee said that the government is making 'naari shakti' an integral part of our development journey, they deserve equal opportunities.
“PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Deepa illustrate strength of our women. The nation is also proud of its women fighter pilots,” he said.
Focussing on social and economic equality for deprived sections, he said that it is the first promise of our constitution and the government is committed to fulfil it.
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The blue economy with focus on suistainable development will continue to attend our special attention.
Power & infrastructure
President Mukherjee admired the government’s ambitious plan to built 175 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by 2022.
While mentioning that rural development has been one of the top agendas of the government, he said that financial resources of over Rs 2 lakh crore has been given to gram panchayats.
He added that the focus is now on durable infrastructure.
Praising the amount of funding towards urban development, president Mukherjee said that Rs 50,000crore has been sanctioned for 500 cities for development work.
Black money & surgical strikes
“My Govt has taken bold decision in the interest of the poor. To combat black money, corruption,counterfeit currency, govt took the decision of demonetisation,” president Mukherjee said while congratulating the government.
Praising surgical strikes he said,”We are proud of the courage, valour displayed by our defence personnel during the surgical strikes.”
He said India will actively collaborate with other nations to fight against infiltration attempts, terror incidents, loss of lives.
OROP,Jan Dhan,BHIM and Ujwala Scheme
President Mukherjee applauded the government for the four decade one rank one pension has been fulfilled. A total of Rs 11,000 crore has been sanctioned to 19.6 lakh veterans, he said.
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He added, Jan dhan has prevented leakages and the largest cash benefit scheme has saved many.
Talking about the BHIM app, he said,“Bhim attributes to the vision of Dr Ambedkar who served economic empowerment. Within a few days it has become one of the most popular app in the country.”
He also praised the government for rolling out the Ujwala scheme. He said,”37 per cent of 1.5 crore beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG cylinder to the poor, belong to the SC/ST category.”
Stand-Up India initiative
A nationwide network of 50 India International Skill Centres is being established with the objective of providing training of global standards to the youth. The government is committed to social and economic equality for the deprived and disempowered sections as enshrined in the Constitution, said President Mukherjee.
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“Through the Stand-Up India initiative, the govt plans to empower over 2-and-a-half lakh SCs, STs and women entrepreneurs,” said President. All the schemes of my government are for the poor
Repealed laws
Speaking about the repealed laws, president Mukherjee said,"Government has simplified procedures by repealing obsolete laws."
He called for constructive debate on simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and assemblies and funding of elections.
On the situation of North-east, president Mukherjee said that Left-wing extremism has been contained; security situation has also improved significantly.
