“When I think of a developed India, I think of a healthy India, particularly the good health of the women and children of our nation.”
– Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi address at the
Indian Community Programme in Washington, USA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Milestones and Benchmarking
Three years ago, on May 26, 2014, the BJP government was formed after which Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an oath as the 14th PM of India.
Announcing the National Health Policy with the mission of Comprehensive Healthcare Package Guaranteed with assurance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi aspires to create an ecosystem where quality and accessibility in healthcare could be accomplished with a collective stakeholder approach in a time bound manner. National Health Policy 2017 proposes free drugs, free diagnostics and free emergency and essential health care services in all public hospitals in a bid to provide access and financial protection.
To make healthcare accessible in an “guaranteed manner” to all, the National Health Policy 2017 will aim to address current and emerging challenges arising from the ever-changing socio-economic, technological and epidemiological scenarios. This Policy looks at problems and solutions holistically with private sector as strategic partners. It seeks to promote quality of care, focus is on emerging diseases and investment in promotive and preventive healthcare. The policy is patient centric and quality driven. It addresses health security and make in India for drugs and devices.
Yoga day
The celebrations of the UN International Yoga Day, that is celebrated every year on June 21, was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performed various yoga asanas at Ramabai rally ground in Lucknow.
While addressing a 50,000-strong gathering at Lucknow’s Ramabai Ambedkar grounds before performing yoga with 100 students for about 20 minutes on International Yoga Day Prime Minister Modi said yoga can provide health benefits free of cost, and added that several countries that were unaware of India’s culture are now connected to it because of yoga.
“One does not need to perform yoga for 24 hours. Only 50 or 60 minutes. Yoga has the power to give health assurance at zero cost. When people perform yoga for the first time, they feel that several organs that were lying asleep start waking up,” Modi said on the occasion.
He added that there was once a time when yoga was practised only by sages and monks, but it has now become a part of daily life. “Today, there is no question mark over yoga in any part of the world. Changes occurred with time; different societies in the world made additions to yoga and led to its improvement as per place, time, situation and age,” he explained. “There are many countries which do not know our language, traditions or culture, but the entire world is getting connected with us because of yoga.”
Recalling how the United Nations gave its nod for International Day of Yoga, Modi said there might not be a single country where yoga-related programmes are not held. “Today, in many states of the country, yoga has been adopted as part of their education so that future generations get apprised of this science of ours to help it become a part of their lives,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that in the last three years, new yoga institutes have come up and many youths have started taking up yoga as a profession. He added that there was a demand for yoga instructors, especially from India, around the world.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (English: Clean India Movement) is a campaign by the Government of India to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country’s 4,041 statutory cities and towns. It includes ambassadors and activities such as run, national real-time monitoring or spread of updated NGOs practices.
The campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is India’s largest ever cleanliness drive with 3 million government employees, and especially school and college students from all parts of India, participating in the campaign.
The objectives of Swachh Bharat are to reduce or eliminate open defecation through the construction of individual, cluster and community toilets. The Swachh Bharat mission will also make an initiative of establishing an accountable mechanism of monitoring latrine use. The government is aiming to achieve an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing 12 million toilets in rural India, at a projected cost of ₹1.96 lakh crore (US$30 billion).
It was developed and initiated in March 2014 after a sanitation conference was organised by Unicef India and the Indian Institute of Technology as part of the larger Total Sanitation Campaign, which the Indian government launched in 1999.
Toilets in rural areas
The government is aiming to achieve an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing 12 million toilets in rural India, at a projected cost of ₹1.96 lakh crore (US$30 billion). Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the need for toilets in his 2014 Independence Day speech stating:
Modi also spoke of the need for toilets in schools during the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir state elections campaign stating: When the girl student reaches the age where she realises this lack of female toilets in the school she leaves her education midway. As they leave their education midway they remain uneducated. Our daughters must also get equal chance to quality education. After 60 years of independence there should have been separate toilets for girl students in every school. But for the past 60 years they could not provide separate toilets to girls and as result the female students had to leave their education midway.
— Narendra Modi
Around 14 companies including Tata Consulting Services, Mahindra Group and Rotary International have pledged to construct 3,195 new toilets. As of the same month, 71 public sector undertakings in India supported the construction of 86,781 new toilets.
Most of these toilets are a type of pit latrine, mostly the twin pit pour flush type.
The programme has also received funds and technical support from the World Bank, corporations as part of corporate social responsibility initiatives, and by state governments under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan schemes. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is expected to cost over ₹620 billion (US$9.6 billion). The government provides an incentive of ₹15,000 (US$230) for each toilet constructed by a BPL family. Total fund mobilised under Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) as of 31 January 2016 stood at ₹3.69 billion (US$57 million). An amount of ₹90 billion (US$1.4 billion) was allocated for the mission in the 2016 Union budget of India.
Government and the World Bank signed a US$1.5 billion loan agreement on 30 March 2016 for the Swachh Bharat Mission to support India’s universal sanitation initiative. The World Bank will also provide a parallel $25 million in technical assistance to build the capacity of select states in implementing community-led behavioural change programmes targeting social norms to help ensure widespread usage of toilets by rural households.
Other milestones
Besides this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been successful in changing the scale of the country’s thought. Even in last three years, the Politics of India has changed. Casteism, nepotism and appeasement had been uprooted. Indian Army displayed their valour by surgical strikes, and PM Narendra Modi showed political will. When it comes to defence and national security, Modi government has always put this as a topmost priority. India has been presented as a country now with a strong political will.
While the formation of the government PM Modi said that this government would be for the poor and downtrodden, for farmers and for the Dalits. Before BJP government was in power, Indian scientists used to be satisfied by launching 3 to 4 satellites. But now they have set world records by launching 104 satellites.
The GST (Goods and Services Tax) or One Nation One Tax was a dream for traders and entrepreneurs across India. The Modi government made sure that the crucial bill was passed in the Parliament. The GST Bill is one of the most significant reforms, which makes India as one unified market.
In last three years, the BJP government had repealed 1100 laws that were irrelevant and further simplified law and order. More and more Indians are moving towards digital transactions every day and so the country is undergoing a digital transformation. The Modi government launched the BHIM App, which is today the world’s most popular digital transaction app.
Under Make in India programme, the Modi government has given manufacturing a major boost. The BJP government is also working day and night towards ensuring that electricity reaches the corner of the country. The BJP government has had also taken steps to put an end to VIP culture. Scrapping the red beacons from cars has been a path-breaking step.
The current financial year has been a record year for industry and production. Urea production, Gas connections, Coal production, Urea production, Ethanol, electricity production, sea trade, railway investment, highest length of roads constructed, rural roads, most cars, two wheelers, highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and highest Forex Reserves.
The BJP government had regulated the price of stents, has brought heart treatment to the reach of the poor. PM Modi and the BJP government has laid the foundation for a ‘New India’.
Inflation is under control, we are now the fastest growing economy in the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that India’s GDP will grow at 7.2 per cent. In last 3-years, through his dedication, commitment and hard-work, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as the most popular leader since Independence.
PM Modi Key Achievements
– Jan Dhan Yojana: More than 29 crore bank accounts opened, over 22 crore Rupay debit cards issued, with life cover, pension (Beneficiaries as on 19/07/2017)
– Launch of ‘Make-in-India’, ‘Digital India’ and ‘Skill India’ initiatives with focus on defense and electronics, primarily to create jobs
– Corporate sector adopts prime minister’s ‘Swachch Bharat’ mission with promise of total sanitation by 2019
– Cooking gas now under direct-cash-benefit transfer scheme, with potential saving of $5 billion annually in subsidies, plus Diesel prices de-regulated
– Foreign equity in rail infrastructure allowed, without limit
– Foreign equity cap in defence raised to 49 per cent; 74 per cent in case of technology transfer
– Fast-tracking of defence purchases: 36 Rafale fighters being bought, orders for several long-pending purchases placed
– Foreign equity cap in insurance and pension sectors increased to 49 per cent
– Nod for IPOs/FPOs by banks to raise funds, as long as government equity remains 52 per cent or over
– Nod for real estate and infrastructure investment trusts, with tax benefits
– Cabinet nod for Prime Minister’s 100 Smart Cities Project
– $130 billion proposed spending on railways over five years on schemes including high speed trains
– Definitive steps forward in introducing pan-India goods and services regime
– Successful conclusion of two rounds of coal block auctions, more lined up
– Impasse in mining sector ended with passage of new bill for regulation and development
– Successful conclusion of auctions for telecom spectrum for mobile telephony and broadband
– Mudra bank launched with Rs 20,000 crore corpus to extend loans of between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh to small entrepreneurs
– Commencement of divestment programme in public sector companies
– Disbanding of various ministerial groups for faster decision-making
– Adoption of 14th Finance Commission recommendation on far-reaching changes in sharing of revenues between the Center and the States
– Single-window scheme for various clearances to steel, coal and power projects
– Price stabilisation fund set up for agri-commodities to check inflation
– Warehouse Infrastructure Fund with Rs 5,000 crore corpus to increase shelf-life of farm produce (replace if possible)
– Clarity in tax treatment on income of foreign fund whose fund managers are located in India , as also on transfer pricing for resident and non-resident tax payers
– Panel set up under law commission chairman on issue of minimum alternate tax
