The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express from Amb Andaura, Una to New Delhi, today.

The Prime Minister inspected the train coaches of the Vande Bharat Express and took stock of the onboard facilities. Shri Modi also inspected the control centre of the locomotive engine of Vande Bharat Express. He also inspected Una railway station.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Union Minister of Railways, Shri Ashvini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur when he arrived at Amb Andaura Railway Station in Una district of Himachal Pradesh.

The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and faster mode of travel. The travel time from Una to New Delhi will be reduced by two hours. Running from Amb Andaura to New Delhi, it will be the fourth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speeds in a shorter duration. Vande Bharat 2.0 is equipped with more advancements and improved features such as reaching a speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour. The improved Vande Bharat Express will weigh 392 tons when compared to the previous version of 430 tons. It will also have a Wi-Fi content on-demand facility. Every coach has 32” screens providing passenger information and infotainment compared to 24” in the previous version. Vande Bharat Express will also be environmentally friendly as the ACs will be 15 per cent more energy efficient. With dust-free clean air cooling of the traction motor, travel will become more comfortable. A side recliner seat facility provided only to Executive Class passengers earlier will now be made available for all classes. Executive Coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats

In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, a photo-catalytic ultraviolet air purification system is installed in the Roof-Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification.  As recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed on both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the air free from germs, bacteria, viruses etc. coming through fresh air and return air.

The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers a myriad of superior and aircraft-like travelling experiences. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – KAVACH.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Himachal Pradesh on 13th October. In Una, Prime Minister will flag off Vande Bharat Express from Una Himachal railway station. Thereafter, in a public function, Prime Minister will dedicate IIIT Una to the nation and lay the foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park in Una. After that, in a public function at Chamba, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of two hydropower projects and launch Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III in Himachal Pradesh.

PM in Una

Prime Minister’s clarion call for Aatmanirbhar Bharat has led to the country moving swiftly towards attainment of self-reliance across multiple sectors, through support of various new initiatives of the government. One such key sector is pharmaceuticals, and in order to bring in Aatmanirbharta in this sector, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park at Haroli in Una district, which will be built at a cost of over Rs 1900 crore. The Park will help reduce dependence on API imports. It is expected to attract investment of around Rs. 10,000 crores and provide employment to more than 20,000 people. It will also give a fillip to economic activities in the region.

Prime Minister will dedicate the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Una to the nation. Its foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister in 2017. Currently more than 530 students are pursuing study in this Institute.

Prime Minister will also flag off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express. Running from Amb Andaura to New Delhi, it will be the fourth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speed in shorter duration. It accelerates to 100 Km/h in just 52 seconds. The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and faster mode of travel.

PM in Chamba

Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of two hydropower projects – the 48 MW Chanju-III Hydro-electric Project and the 30 MW Deothal Chanju Hydro-electric Project. Both these projects will generate over 270 million units of electricity annually and Himachal Pradesh is expected to get annual revenue of around Rs. 110 crore from these projects.

Prime Minister will also launch Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III in Himachal Pradesh for upgradation of around 3125 kms of roads in the State. More than Rs. 420 crore has been sanctioned by the Central Government under this phase for the upgradation of 440 kms of roads in 15 border and far flung Blocks of the State.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved a new Scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) for the remaining four years of the 15^th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26.  The new Scheme, PM-DevINE, is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central funding and will be implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).

The PM-DevINE Scheme will have an outlay of Rs.6,600 crore for the four year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26 (remaining years of 15th Finance Commission period).

Efforts will be made to complete the PM-DevINE projects by 2025-26 so that there are no committed liabilities beyond this year. This implies front-loading of the sanctions under the Scheme in 2022-23 and 2023-24 primarily. While expenditure would continue to be incurred during 2024-25 and 2025-26, focused attention will be given to complete the sanctioned PM-DevINE projects.

PM-DevINE will lead to creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation.

PM-DevINE will be implemented by Ministry of DoNER through North Eastern Council or Central Ministries/ agencies. Measures would be taken to ensure adequate operation and maintenance of the projects sanctioned under PM-DevINE so that they are sustainable. To limit construction risks of time and cost overrun, falling on the Government projects would be implemented on Engineering-procurement-Construction (EPC) basis, to the extent possible.

The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:

(a)    Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;

(b)    Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;

(c)    Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;

(d)    Fill the development gaps in various sectors.

There are other MDoNER Schemes for the development of North Eastern Region. The average size of projects under other MDoNER Schemes is about Rs.12 crore only. PM-DevINE will provide support to infrastructure and social development projects which may be larger in size and will also provide an end-to-end development solution instead of isolated projects. It will be ensured that there is no duplication of project support under PM-DevINE with any of the other schemes of MDoNER or those of any other Ministry/Department.

PM-DevINE, was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 to address development gaps in the North Eastern Region (NER). Announcement of PM-DevINE is yet another instance of the importance being attached to the development of NE Region by the Government.

PM-DevINE is an additionality to the quantum of resources available for the development of the NER. It will not be a substitute for existing Central and State Schemes.

While some of the projects to be approved for 2022-23 under PM-DevINE are part of the Budget announcement, projects with substantial socio-economic impact or sustainable livelihood opportunities for the general public (e.g., basic infrastructure in all Primary Health Care Centres, comprehensive facilities in Government Primary and Secondary Schools, etc) may be considered in the future.

The justification for announcement of PM-DevINE is that the parameters of NE States in respect of Basic Minimum Services (BMS) are well below the national average and there are critical development gaps as per the BER District Sustainable Development Goad (SDG) Index 2021-22 prepared by NITI Aayog, UNDP and MDoNER. The new Scheme, PM-DevINE was announced to address these BMS shortfalls and development gaps.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to give one time grant amounting to Rs.22,000 crore to three Public Sector Undertaking Oil Marketing Companies (PSU OMCs). The grant will be distributed among Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

The approval will help the PSU OMCs to continue their commitment to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, ensuring unhindered domestic LPG  supplies and also supporting the procurement of Make in India products.

Domestic LPG Cylinders are supplied at regulated prices to consumers by the public sector Oil Marketing companies namely, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL.

During the period from June 2020 to June 2022, the international prices of LPG increased by around 300%.  However, to insulate consumers from fluctuations in international LPG prices, the cost increase was not fully passed on to consumers of domestic LPG.  Accordingly, domestic LPG prices have raised by only 72% during this period.  This has led to significant losses for these OMCs.

Despite these losses, the three PSU OMCs have ensured continuous supplies of this essential cooking fuel in the country.

Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi said that in next few months India is likely to become Aatmanirbhar in thermal coal production.  Forty million ton of coal stock will be available with thermal power plants by March next year and as on  1^st October, 2022 the stock with thermal plants comes to 24 million ton. The Minister was addressing a function organized by Coal India Ltd., Ministry of Coal here today to sign MoUs with five leading PSUs for Coal gasification projects.

For setting up four large scale coal-to-chemical projects through surface coal gasification route, Coal India Limited (CIL) signed three separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), one each, with three major PSUs of the country Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited. In addition, NLC India Limited (NLCIL) is signing MoU with BHEL.

To come up at an aggregated estimated cost of Rs.35,000 crores the proposed surface coal gasification (SCG) projects are planned to be set up in West Bengal, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

The MoU was inked in the presence of Shri. Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs and Shri. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member(NitiAayog), Dr. Anil Kumar Jain Secretary (Coal), Shri ArunGoyal, Secretary (Heavy Industries), Shri Pankaj Jain, Secretary (MoPNG), Shri. Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, CIL, Shri M. Nagaraju, Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority, CMDs of PSUs, and officials of Ministries of Coal , MoPNG& Heavy Industries & PSUs were also present.

Through SCG route coal is converted into syngas. This can be subsequently processed for downstream production of value added chemicals which are otherwise produced through imported natural gas or crude oil at enormous cost.

As the country’s four major PSUs huddle together, the move is aimed at reduced forex outgo, promoting self-reliance and capitalization of indigenous resources. Another upside will be employment generation with direct employment of around 1200 personnel and indirect employment to the tune of over 20,000 persons.

With renewables and cleaner energy sources steadily gaining ground alternative use of coal, in future, through diversification assumes greater importance. With the country endowed with 344 Billion Tonnes (BT) of coal resources, with 163 BT, proven coal to chemicals through SCG appears a safe bet subject to commercial viability.

The Coal Ministry on a mission mode is fast tracking utilization of coal and has targeted to achieve 100 million ton (MT) coal gasification by 2030. Coal Ministry has also taken initiatives for allocating Rs. 6,000 crores to support CPSEs by incentivizing implementation of five coal gasification plants.

While CIL the country’s largest energy producer has identified SCG as one of its business diversification avenues, IOCL and GAIL bring to the table their decades of experience in taking up large-scale chemical and process plants.

BHEL has conducted pilot studies with their Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion technology and customized it to suit the requirements of high-ash Indian coal. The initiative of CIL and  BHEL will lead to commercialization of home-grown coal gasification technology.

The synergy and partnership of all the four corporate giants will enable a perfect launch of complex SCG projects.

Shri. Debasish Nanda, Director (Business Development) inked the pact on behalf of CIL.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia on her birth anniversary. Shri Modi has said that she was synonymous with courage and foresight.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;

“On her birth anniversary, tributes to Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia Ji. She was synonymous with courage and foresight. She devoted her life to serving others. Sharing what I had said during one of the previous #MannKiBaat programmes about her outstanding personality.”

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi dedicated Phase I of the Mahakal Lok Project to the nation at Shri Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh today.

The Prime Minister was dressed in traditional dhoti when he arrived at Shri Mahakal Lok from the Nandi Dwar. After arriving at the inner sanctum, the Prime Minister performed pooja and darshan and prayed with folded hands before Lord Shri Mahakal in presence of the temple priests. After performing aarti and offering pushpanjali, the Prime Minister sat in the south corner of the inner sanctum and meditated while mantras were chanted. The Prime Minister also sat next to the Nandi statue and prayed with folded hands.

The Prime Minister went on to unveil the plaque to mark the dedication of Shri Mahakal Lok. The Prime Minister also met the temple saints and had a brief conversation with them. The Prime Minister then visited the Mahakal Lok temple complex and took a walk and viewed the Saptrishi Mandal, the Mandapam, Tripurasura Vadh and Navgarh. The Prime Minister also witnessed the murals along the path based on stories about the act of creation, the birth of Ganesha, story of Sati and Daksha among others from Shiva Purana. Shri Modi later watched a cultural programme that was showcased on occasion and witnessed the Malkhamb performance at Mansarovar. This was followed by darshan at the Bharat Mata Mandir.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Mangubhai Patel, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Background

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi dedicated Phase I of the Mahakal Lok Project to the nation at Shri Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Phase I of the Mahakal Lok project will help in enriching the experience of pilgrims visiting the temple by providing them with world-class modern amenities. The project aims to decongest the entire area and also put special emphasis on the conservation and restoration of heritage structures. Under the project, the temple precinct will be expanded nearly seven times. The total cost of the entire project is around Rs 850 crores. The existing footfall of the temple, which is currently around 1.5 crore per annum, is expected to be doubled. The development of the project has been planned under two phases.

The Mahakal Path contains 108 stambhs (pillars) which depict Anand Tandav Swaroop (Dance form) of Lord Shiva. Many religious sculptures depicting the life of Lord Shiva are installed along the Mahakal Path. The mural wall along the path is based on stories about the act of creation, the birth of Ganesha, story of Sati and Daksha among others from Shiva Purana. The area of plaza is spread over 2.5 hectares and is surrounded by a lotus pond which contains the statue of Shiva along with water fountains. The entire premise will be monitored 24×7 by Integrated Command and Control Centre with the help of artificial intelligence and surveillance cameras.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones and dedicated to the nation, various healthcare facilities around Rs. 1275 crore in Civil Hospital Asarwa, Ahmedabad.

After arriving at the venue, the Prime Minister took a walkthrough of the Health Infrastructure Projects. This was followed by the Prime Minister’s arrival on the dais where he was felicitated. The Prime Minister unveiled the plaque and dedicated to the nation: (i) Institute of Kidney Diseases Research Centre (IKDRC) in Manjushree Mill Campus (ii) Hospital Building 1C of Gujarat Cancer Research Institute at Civil Hospital Campus, Asarva (iii) Hostel at UN Mehta Hospital (iv) Expansion of Gujarat Dialysis Programme with One State One Dialysis (v) Chemo Programme for Gujarat State. This was followed by the Prime Minister laying the foundation stone of (i) New Medical College, Godhra (ii) New Super Speciality Hospital of GMERS Medical College, Sola (iii) Medical Girls College at Civil Hospital, Asarwa (iv) Ren basera Civil Hospital, Asarwa (v) 125 bed District Hospital, Bhiloda (vi) 100-bed sub-district hospital, Anjar.

The Prime Minister interacted with patients in CHCs in Morva Hadaf, GMLRS Junagadh and CHC Waghai.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that it is a huge day for health in Gujarat and congratulated everyone associated with these projects for completing them on time. Shri Modi remarked that the most advanced medical technology of the world, improved benefits and medical infrastructure will be made available to the public of Gujarat thereby benefiting the society. With the availability of these medical benefits, the Prime Minister informed that those who cannot afford private hospitals can now head to these government-run hospitals where medical teams will be deployed to serve with urgency. The Prime Minister recalled that approximately three and a half years ago, he got the opportunity to inaugurate a maternal and child health super speciality hospital with a 1200 bed facility.

The Prime Minister noted that the capacity and services of the Institute of Kidney Diseases and U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology are also being expanded. Facilities like upgraded bone marrow transplants are also starting with the new building of Gujarat Cancer Research Institute. “This will be the first government hospital in the country where state-of-the-art technology like Cyber-Knife will be available”, he said. The Prime Minister said that Gujarat is rapidly scaling new heights of development. He pointed out, then the pace of development is like that of Gujarat, the work and achievements are so much that it becomes difficult to even count them at times.

Dwelling upon the ills of the system in Gujarat 20-25 years ago the Prime Minister listed the diseases of backwardness of the health sector, mismanaged education, scarcity of electricity, misadministration and law and order issues. At the top of this was the biggest ill, that is, vote bank politics.   He said today Gujarat is moving ahead, leaving behind all those diseases. Today, when it comes to hi-tech hospitals, Gujarat stands at the top. When it comes to educational institutions, Gujarat has no match today. Gujarat is moving ahead and scaling new trajectories of growth, he added. Similarly, water, electricity and law and order situation in Gujarat has improved tremendously. Shri Modi said, “Today Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas Government is working tirelessly for Gujarat.”

The Prime Minister said that Health Infrastructure Projects that were unveiled today have given a new identity to Gujarat and these projects are the symbols of the capabilities of the people of Gujarat. He also noted that along with good health facilities, the people of Gujarat will also feel a sense of pride that the world’s top medical facilities are now witnessing continuous growth in our own state. This will also contribute to the medical tourism potential of Gujarat.

The Prime Minister stressed that intention and policies both need to align for good health infrastructure. “If the heart and intention of the government are not filled with concern for the people’s problems, then the creation of suitable health infrastructure is not possible”, he said. The Prime Minister pointed out that when efforts are made wholeheartedly with a holistic approach, their results are equally multifaceted. “This is the success mantra of Gujarat”, he said.

Taking the analogy of medical science further, the Prime Minister said that he, as Chief Minister,  applied ‘surgery’ i.e. weeding out old irrelevant systems with intention and force. Second ‘medicine’ i.e. ever-new innovation for strengthening the system, third  ‘Care’ i.e.working with sensitivity for the development of the health system. He informed Gujarat was the first state who took care of animals also. He said given the nature of diseases and pandemics, One Earth One Health Mission needs to be strengthened. The Prime Minister pointed out that the government acted with care. “We went among the people, shared their plight”, he added. Reflecting on the efforts that were made by connecting people together through public participation, the Prime Minister said that when the system became healthy, the health sector of Gujarat also became healthy and Gujarat was being used as an example in the country.

The Prime Minister reiterated that he applied the learnings from Gujarat to the Central Government. He informed that in the last 8 years, the Central Government has presented 22 new AIIMS in different parts of the country and Gujarat has also benefited from this. “Gujarat got its first AIIMS in Rajkot”, Shri Modi added. Reflecting on the work done in the health sector in Gujarat, the Prime Minister pointed out the day will not be far when Gujarat will excel in medical research, biotech research, and pharma research and make a name for itself on the global level.

The Prime Minister noted that when the government is sensitive, then it is the society that reaps the biggest benefit including the weaker sections, as well as mothers and sisters. Recalling the time when infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate were of grave concern to the state and the previous governments had blamed destiny for such unfortunate incidents, the Prime Minister interjected that it was our government that took a stand for our mothers and children. “In the last twenty years”, Shri Modi added, “we drafted the required policies and put them into application that resulted in a drastic decline of the mortality rates.” Throwing light on ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Abhiyan’, the Prime Minister remarked that the number of girls being born has now surpassed the number of newborn boys. The Prime Minister attributed such successes to the policies of the Gujarat government such as ‘Chiranjeevi’ and ‘Khilkhilaahat’. Shri Modi further added that Gujarat’s success and efforts are showing the way to central government missions like ‘Indradhanush’ and ‘Matru Vandana’.

Concluding the address, the Prime Minister pointed out schemes like Ayushman Bharat for the treatment of the poor and needy. Elaborating on the strength of the double-engine government, the Prime Minister said that the combination of Ayushman Bharat and Mukya Mantri AmritamYojna is serving the health needs of the poor in the state of Gujarat. “Health and Education are the only two sectors that decide the direction of the future, not just the present.”  Giving the example of a civil hospital with 1200 bed facility in 2019, the Prime Minister said that the same hospital emerged as the largest health centre and served the people during the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the world a year later. “That single health infrastructure saved the lives of thousands of patients during the pandemic”, he added. The Prime Minister concluded by stressing the need to improve the present conditions as well as work for the future. “I wish that you and your families stay free from any diseases”, Shri Modi said.

Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel, Members of Parliament, Shri C R Patil, Shri Narhari Amin, Shri Kiritbhai Solanki and Shri Hasmukhbhai Patel were those present on occasion among others.

Background

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones and dedicated to the nation, various healthcare facilities around Rs. 1275 crore in Civil Hospital Asarwa, Ahmedabad. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of shelter homes to accommodate families of poor patients. The Prime Minister dedicated new and improved facilities for cardiac care and a new hostel building at U.N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, a new hospital building of the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre, and a new building of Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute.

On the occasion of birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah unveiled his statue and addressed a public meeting at Sitab Diara, at his birthplace in Bihar. Several dignitaries including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwin Choubey and Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai were also present on the occasion.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to install a life-size statue of Shri Jaiprakash Narayan by bringing a proposal in the Cabinet and today that vow has been fulfilled on Shri Jayaprakash’s 121st Birth Anniversary. Shri Shah said that Shri Jayaprakash Narayan’s life was full of many specialties, Shri Jaiprakash not only fought for freedom from the path of movement but he also adopted the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi. After Independence, when the time came to take power, Shri Jayaprakash joined the Sarvodaya Movement like a sanyasi along with Vinoba Bhave. Shri Jayaprakash Narayan devoted his entire life to the landless, poor, downtrodden and backward people. The Union Home Minister said that Shri Jayaprakash gave many new proposals to realize the ideology of socialism, Sarvodaya and the creation of a casteless society. But his biggest contribution to the country was the movement in the 1970s against corruption and the Emergency imposed by corrupt government.

The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that in 1973, the then government in Gujarat publicly gave the Government the task of raising funds, due to which whole scale corruption started. Against this, the students of Gujarat under the leadership of Shri Jayaprakash Narayan made a strong movement and changed the government in Gujarat. After that there was an agitation in Bihar and witnessing the rally at Gandhi Maidan in Bihar, left the then Prime Minister worried. After this, Emergency was declared and along with Shri Jayaprakash Narayan, many Opposition leaders were imprisoned. The then Prime Minister believed that by putting in jail leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, L.K. Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee would be demoralized. When in the Quit India Movement of 1942, jails in Hazaribagh were not able to stop Shri Jaiprakash, the torture of the then Prime Minister also could not even stop him. Shri Shah said that Shri Jayaprakash Narayan formed the first non-Congress government in the country by uniting the entire opposition against the corrupt and unjust government that imposed Emergency. Shri JP set an excellent example of change in front of the country by staying out of power.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing an unprecedented work for welfare of poor by combining the principle of Sarvodaya of Shri Jayaprakash Narayan and Shri Vinoba Bhave with Antyodaya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided health insurance of more than Rs. 5 lakh to 60 crore needy persons, gas and toilets to every poor person’s home, free ration to every poor person for two and a half years, electricity in every house and connected every village by building roads. He said that Shri Jaiprakash Narayan had given the slogan of Total Revolution, but no Opposition party tried to make it successful. By working for improving the standard of living of crores of poor across the country, Shri Modi has worked to fulfill the mantra of complete revolution of Shri Jayaprakash Narayan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a ray of hope to 60 crore people by raising their standard of living, creating employment opportunities for them and giving them LPG connections.

The Union Home Minister said that students of all ideologies had participated in the apolitical movement that Shri Jaiprakash started in Bihar in 1974. People who came into politics by taking the name of Shri JP, have now changed sides and have bypassed the principles of Shri JP, and today they are sitting in the government of the opposition for the pleasure of power. Shri Amit Shah said that the people of Bihar have to decide whether they will support the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is following the path shown by Shri Jayaprakash or the government which deviates from the path of Shri JP and forms alliances for power. Shri Shah said that today a huge memorial has been built for the principles of Shri JP at his birthplace. He said that by taking inspiration from Shri JP’s ideas, the coming generation could give a new impetus to the development of the country, for this purpose, Shri Narendra Modi also decided to build a research centre along with the memorial here. After the formation of R&D centre here, the students will be able to research the principles of Shri JP and his work done for rural development. Shri Amit Shah said that Shri Jaiprakash has made a huge contribution through his work in cooperative, village upliftment and Sarvodaya and today on his birth anniversary the Nation is remembering Shri Jaiprakash Narayan.

The tenth meeting of the UAE-India High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (‘The Joint Task Force’) took place today in Mumbai. It was co-chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, and His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Joint Task Force was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between the UAE and India. This was the first meeting of the Joint Task Force since the signing of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and unveiling of the Joint UAE-India Vision Statement in February 2022 during the virtual summit between Shri. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

The CEPA is a major trade agreement set to transform bilateral economic, trade and investment ties and propel economic growth. Both these historic landmarks provide a clear roadmap for continued strengthening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries at an accelerated pace.

During this tenth meeting of the Joint Task Force, the co-chairs recognized the early trends of positive impact of the historic India-UAE CEPA on bilateral trade between the two countries since it entered into force in May 2022. The co-chairs urged businessmen on both sides to gain optimal benefits from the conducive trade ecosystem created under CEPA. The co-chairs also noted progress on various aspects of the CEPA including establishment of the CEPA Joint Committee and related sub-committees.

The two delegations reviewed the status of the negotiations of the India-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty. Twelve rounds of negotiations have been conducted till date. Both sides noted that much progress could have been achieved since the commencement of the negotiations, and therefore reiterated their commitment to accelerate the process for an early conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial agreement.

Discussions also took place on ways of enhancing bilateral investments in key sectors like food security, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and technology. In this context, it was agreed that the concerned authorities in both countries will explore establishment of efficient and integrated Single Window Solutions and Virtual Trade Corridors to reduce costs and time involved in trade and investment related procedures. From the UAE side, it was agreed that the Department of Economic Development of Abu Dhabi will explore this area of cooperation with the concerned counterparties in India in order to agree a mutually beneficial implementation approach.

As a means of encouraging increased investment flows by UAE sovereign investment entities into India, the two sides reviewed UAE’s request with respect to providing tax incentives to certain UAE sovereign investment entities under existing UAE-India Tax Treaty, and India’s response to provide the same under the existing domestic tax laws of India. It was agreed that bilateral discussions should continue to reach a mutually beneficial outcome which meets the policy objectives of both countries. In this context, the support provided to UAE sovereign entities through the Finance Act 2020 and subsequent issuance of notifications for tax exemption was noted and appreciated.

An important area discussed was the creation of a mechanism for carrying out bilateral trade in national currencies. Referring to the ongoing discussions between Reserve Bank of India and Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as a common digital payments platform, both sides agreed to continue discussions.

In the positive backdrop provided by the extensive and growing trade and investment relationship between India and the UAE, the two sides acknowledged the importance of using the Joint Task Force as a forum to address specific issues and difficulties faced by the companies when investing into each other’s countries. India has set up a UAE Plus Desk in 2018 and established a Fast Track Mechanism in 2019 to identify, resolve and expedite issues faced by the UAE companies and investors in India. The UAE Special Desk in India was commended for its efforts in leading and facilitating UAE investments across sectors. In this regard, it was agreed that the Indian side will provide the necessary support to UAE Fast Track Mechanism in India to ensure speedy resolution of pending issues and difficulties experienced by a number of UAE companies and banks operating in India.

It was also agreed that a similar India Fast Track Mechanism would be set up in the UAE immediately to resolve issues pertaining to the Indian investors in the UAE, and to assist Indian companies in market entry and expansion when investing in the UAE. In this context, issues pertaining to some Indian companies in UAE were noted and it was agreed that the UAE side will provide the necessary support to ensure speedy and mutually satisfactory resolution of these issues.

Speaking at the meeting, Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, Government of India, and Co-Chair of the Joint Task Force, said:  “During the last meeting of the Joint, Task Force we had decided to fast-track the negotiations of CEPA, and we finalized the agreement in unprecedented 88 days. I am sure that the discussions we have had today on mutually beneficial areas like food security and bilateral trade in national currencies, will also see similar thrust from both sides. The India-UAE relations are witnessing unprecedented momentum. We have a large number of opportunities for cooperation and increasing investments especially the key sectors like infrastructure and technology, especially Fintech.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Co-Chair of the Joint Task Force, said:

“Since the last meeting of the Joint Task Force in October 2021, several significant milestones have been reached that serve to cement the close, growing and strategic relationship between India and the UAE.  Within this broader context, the Joint Task Force continues to facilitate positive dialogue between our two countries as we strengthen the economic links that have helped to draw our nations together. The Joint Task Force has proved effective in creating new opportunities and removing barriers, and it will continue to play an important role in promoting bilateral investment in support of our respective countries’ growth ambitions.”

The meeting was attended by H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE State Minister for Foreign Trade, H.E. Dr. Ahmed A.R. Albanna, UAE’s Ambassador to India, H.E. Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and senior officials from relevant government authorities, investment entities and companies from both countries.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the United Nations World Geospatial International Congress, via video message, today.

Welcoming International Delegates, the Prime Minister said, “the people of India are happy to host you on this historic occasion as we build our future together.” Expressing his happiness at the conference happening in Hyderabad, the Prime Minister said that the city is known for its culture and cuisine, its hospitality and hi-tech vision.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the theme of the conference, ‘Geo-enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind’ can be seen in the steps India has taken over the last few years. “We have been working on a vision of Antyodaya which means empowering the last person at the last mile, in a mission mode” he said. 450 million unbanked people, a population greater than that of USA, were brought under banking net and 135 million people, about twice the population of France, were given insurance, the Prime Minister elaborated. Sanitation facilities were taken to 110 million families and tap water connections to over 60 million families, he added, underlining that “India is ensuring no one is left behind.”

Technology and talent are the two pillars that are key to India’s development journey. Technology brings transformation, the Prime Minister said, citing the example of JAM trinity which has delivered welfare benefits to 800 million people seamlessly and of the tech platform that powered the world’s largest vaccination drive. “In India, technology is not an agent of exclusion. It is an agent of inclusion,” Shri Modi said.

The Prime Minister highlighted the role of geospatial technology in driving inclusion and progress. The role of technology in schemes like SVAMITVA and housing, and the outcomes in terms of property ownership and women empowerment, have a direct impact on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on poverty and gender equality, the Prime Minister emphasized. The PM GatiShakti Master Plan is being powered by geo-spatial technology, as is the Digital Ocean platform, he added. India has already set an example in sharing the benefits of geo-spatial technology, the Prime Minister stated, citing the example of the South Asia Satellite for facilitating communication in India’s neighbourhood.

“India is a young nation with great innovative spirit,” the Prime Minister said, highlighting the role of talent as the second pillar in India’s journey. India is one of the top startup hubs in the world, he added, with the number of unicorn startups having almost doubled since 2021- a testimony to India’s young talent.

One of the most important freedoms is the freedom to innovate, the Prime Minister said, and this has been ensured for the geospatial sector. Collection, generation and digitization of geospatial data have now been democratized, he added. Such reforms have been accompanied with a boost to the drone sector and opening up of the space sector for private participation, along with 5G taking off in India.

According to Prime Minister Modi, the COVID-19 pandemic should have been a wake-up call for the call in taking everyone along. There is a need for an institutional approach by the international community to help each other during a crisis, he emphasized. “Global organisations like the United Nations can lead the way in taking resources to the last mile in every region,” he highlighted. Hand-holding and technology transfer are also crucial in fighting climate change, the Prime Minister added, suggesting that best practices may be shared for saving our planet.

The Prime Minister underscored the endless possibilities that geo-spatial technology offers. These include sustainable urban development, managing and mitigating disasters, tracking the impact of climate change, forest management, water management, stopping desertification and food security. He expressed his wish that this conference becomes a platform to discuss developments in such important areas.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister expressed his optimism at the occasion. “With the stakeholders of the global geo-spatial industry coming together, with the policy makers and academic world interacting with each other, I am confident that this conference will help steer the global village into a new future,” he added.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase 1 of Modi Shaikshanik Sankul, an educational complex for needy students in Ahmedabad, Gujarat today. The project will help provide facilities to students for holistic development.

The Prime Minister cut the ribbon to mark the inauguration of the Bhavan. Shri Modi also lit a lamp on the occasion and took a walkthrough of the Bhavan,

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that he was fortunate to perform darshan and pooja before Maa Modheshwari yesterday. The Prime Minister recalled when General Cariappa narrated an interesting story. He said that wherever General Cariappa went, everybody used to salute him out of respect, but he experienced a different kind of joy and gratification when the people of his village felicitated him during a ceremony. Drawing an analogy to this incident, the Prime Minister thanked one and all for the blessing that his Samaj ushered on his return. The Prime Minister congratulated the members of the Samaj for making this occasion a reality and prioritising education. “It is true that the timeline did not match. But you did not give up the goal and everyone gathered and gave priority to this work”, he added.

Remembering the days when people from his Samaj had meagre opportunities to progress, the Prime Minister remarked,  “today we can see people coming forward in their own way in Samaj.” The Prime Minister pointed out that everyone worked together to set up a system of education, and this collective effort is the strength of the Samaj. “The path is right, and in this way, the welfare of the Samaj can be achieved” Shri Modi added, “As a Samaj, it is a matter of great pride that they tackle their problems, overcome humiliation, yet do not come in anyone’s way.” The Prime Minister expressed happiness that everyone in the Samaj is united and thinking about its future in Kali Yuga.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to his Samaj and said that he has to clear a debt of the Samaj. He further added that the son of this Samaj may have been the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a long time, and has now become the Prime Minister of the country for the second time, but even in the midst of the responsibilities of his long rule, not a single person from this Samaj came to him with personal work. Shri Modi pointed out the sanskar of the Samaj and saluted them wholeheartedly with respect.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that more youngsters are focusing on medicine, engineering and other such streams. Laying stress on skill development, the Prime Minister talked about the hardships that may arise during completing the child’s education, and advised the parents to prepare them for skill development. He said that skill development empowers them in such a way that they will never have to look back. “When there is skill development, there is skill, then they will never have to look back. The times are changing friends, the power of those who are more skilled than those holding degrees needs a boost”, Shri Modi added.

Recalling his interaction with the Prime Minister of Singapore during an official visit to the country, the Prime Minister said that he was persuaded to visit an industrial training institute that was set up by the Prime Minister of Singapore himself. Upon visiting, the Prime Minister remembered its modernity and said that after the formation of this institution, the situation is such that rich people stand in line to get admitted. The Prime Minister added that the Samaj has also been explained its greatness, and now our children can take part in it and feel a sense of pride.

Concluding the address, the Prime Minister remarked that labour also has tremendous power, and a large section of our Samaj belongs to the hard-working class. “Be proud of them”, he said. The Prime Minister expressed pride that the members have never allowed the Samaj to suffer nor did anything wrong with any other Samaj. “It will be our endeavour, I am sure that the coming generation will progress with great pride”, Shri Modi concluded.

Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel, Members of Parliament, Shri C R Patil and Shri Narhari Amin, Minister of Gujarat Government, Shri Jitubhai Vaghani, and President of  Shri Modh Vanik Modi Samaj Hitvardhak Trust, Shri Pravinbhai Chimanlal Modi were those present on the occasion among others.