Meenakshi Lekhi
Indian Member of Parliament
In 2018, children born at the dawn of this century will come of age and will be the ones responsible for shaping a new India. This will be an India fueled by the aspirations of a generation of motivated, passionate and energetic individuals. Keeping in mind the untapped potential of the youth of our country, the Narendra Modi government has been working ceaselessly to implement policies that will catalyze the efforts of the youth to create an India free from corruption, unemployment and discrimination. The motto of “Sankalp se Siddhi” enshrines the motive of the government to realize the promise of ushering in an era of a modern digitized India as soon as possible.
The Narendra Modi government has envisioned the following goals for the India of the 21stcentury: free from poverty, discrimination, injustices, squalor, corruption, unemployment, atrocities against women and despondency. Staying true to the stated goals, the government has introduced numerous schemes to promote the welfare of the oppressed sections of the society and self-reliance among the citizens. The Make in India campaign, with its emphasis on domestic productions has stimulated the flow of technology and capital into domestic manufacturing and has resulted in the creation of jobs. Startup India , which seeks to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of the youth ,encourages them to devise new technologies and generate employment for their peers as well thereby reducing dependency on foreign companies for jobs. The Investor Facilitation cell in Invest India has already received more than 12000 queries on its portal since the Make in India campaign began.
Utilizing modern technology has always been a priority of the Narendra Modi government to be at par with the global trends and it is evident from the rate at which the government services are being digitized. Not only does digitization eliminate the problem of corruption but it also accelerates the rate of providing services and making the entire procedure time efficient. Digitization has made it possible for the government to realize their dream of direct benefit transfers under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojna which is the biggest financial inclusion program in the world. The introduction of online payment apps like BHIM has propelled India on its way to become a cashless economy with an increasing number of citizens adopting cashless transactions.
The government has also emphasized on the importance of empowering women to act in an individual and independent capacity so that their potential is not wasted. BBBP is one of the flagship programmes of the Government to arrest the widening gap in the sex ratio of the country. This programme was launched in 100 critical districts with the lowest child sex ratio on 22nd January, 2015 at Panipat by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The scheme has established the improvement in Child Sex Ratio as a National Agenda. In order to economically empower women, the Mahila e-Haat program was launched to provide fecund grounds for female entrepreneurs to access the market through online platforms by establishing a direct link between the buyer and the vendor. To promote maternal health and curb infant mortality, Mission Indradhanush was launched which has been a particularly successful scheme of the Narendra Modi Government. During all the three phases, (as on 1st August 2016), 2.08 crore children have been vaccinated of which 54.5 lakh children have been fully immunized. In addition, 55.4 lakh pregnant women were vaccinated against tetanus toxoid. According to Integrated Child Health and Immunization Survey 2016, full immunization coverage has increased by about 5-7% after the launch of mission Indradhanush.
The pan-India implementation of Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan has brought about a behavioral shift in the attitudes of the people with respect to open defecation. Five states namely Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Haryana have already declared themselves open defecation free. Generating awareness by enlisting the help of well known public figures and conducting extensive campaigns on the benefits of using toilets has resulted in an increasing number of people in rural areas building toilets inside their homes. Nationally, the sanitation coverage has increased from 42% to over 64% in just two and a half years since the launch of SBM. According to a World Bank report published in 2008, the total impact of inadequate sanitation in our country amounted to 53.8billion dollars a year. Thus by investing heavily in sanitation programs, the Government is trying to prevent such losses so that this money can be utilized to fund other public welfare schemes.
Many people make promises but only a select few take on the onus to bring about a change through effective policy implementation. The Narendra Modi government has successfully implemented various schemes to combat the myriad social evils that plague our country. The clarion call of Sankalp se Siddhi is the first step towards achieving our goal of an India governed by the principles of justice, equality and harmony.
