In her maiden address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu applauded the Centre's efforts to make India 'self-reliant'. She spoke on various initiatives undertaken by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in the Centre.
"This 25-year period of Amritkal is the golden century of independence and the period of building a developed India. These 25 years are for all of us and for every citizen of the country to show the culmination of our duties," she said.
"In the nearly nine years of my government, the people of India have witnessed many positive changes for the first time. The biggest change has happened that today the confidence of every Indian is on top and the world has changed its view of India," added the President.
Invoking Lord Jagannath during her speech, President Murmu said, "Today, through this session, I express my gratitude to the countrymen that they have elected a stable government for two consecutive terms. My government always kept the country's interest paramount, showed the will to completely change the policy-strategy. My government is of the clear opinion that corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice. That's why a continuous fight against corruption is going on for the past years. We have ensured that honest will be respected in the system."
A few of Centre's initiatives which found a mention in President's address
- Talking about a simplified Income Tax return filing system, she said, "Earlier there was a long wait for a tax refund. Today, refund is received within a few days of filing ITR. Today, along with transparency, the dignity of the taxpayers is also being ensured through GST."
- From removing fake beneficiaries from Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile to One Nation One Ration Card, we have made a huge permanent reform. Over the years, in the form of DBT, in the form of Digital India, the country has prepared a permanent and transparent system.
- Ayushman Bharat Yojana has saved crores of poor people of the country from becoming poorer, they have saved 80 thousand crore rupees from being spent.
- About 11 crore families have been connected with piped water supply in three years under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Poor families are getting maximum benefit from this.
- My government has worked for every class without any discrimination. As a result of the efforts of my government in the last few years, many basic facilities have either reached 100 per cent population or are very close to that target.
- The government has decided to run the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana further as per the new circumstances. This is the hallmark of a sensitive and pro-poor government.
- The priority of my government is the 11 crore small farmers of the country. These small farmers were, for decades, deprived of the priority of the government. Now every kind of effort is being made to make them strong and prosperous.
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My government has awakened the aspirations of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. This is the same class that was most deprived of the benefits of development. Now that basic facilities are reaching this class, then these people are able to dream new dreams. My government has taken unprecedented decisions for tribal pride.
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The North East and our border regions are experiencing a new pace of development. To provide better facilities to the border villages, my government has started work on the Vibrant Villages Programme. From the point of view of national security, unprecedented infrastructure has been created in the border areas in the past years. Moreover, development in these areas is gaining momentum.
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Our heritage connects us to our roots and our development gives us the courage to touch the sky. That is why my government has chosen the path of consolidating heritage and giving priority to development.
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- My government has continuously laid unprecedented emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. Today our youth are showing the power of their innovation to the world.
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With the mantra of One Earth, One Family, One Future, India is trying its best to find collective solutions to the current global challenges together with the G-20 member countries.
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India's knowledge-science and spirituality have been guiding the world for centuries, and will show the way to the world in the coming centuries as well.
