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December 4, 2019

A Phenomenal Six Months: Guided by the spirit of ‘India First’, our Government under the able leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji has hit the ground running as it starts its second term, writes Minister Prakash Javdekar ji


Last Saturday, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government completed six months in office in its second term. Within this six months several historic and transformative decisions have been taken by Modi 2.0 touching positively, in particular, the lives of poor, downtrodden, farmers, women, youth, middle class, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes

The overarching principle and spirit of all decisions by the Modi government has been “India First”. In line with the mandate and faith re-imposed emphatically by the people of India, the government under Modi’s dynamic leadership has engaged in realising and fulfilling the promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto.

With the larger vision of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”, Modi 2.0 is steadfastly working and seeking “Sabka Vishwas”.

Several core promises of the BJP have already been fulfilled. One Nation, One Flag, One Constitution became a reality under the Modi government.

It was a historic moment when the bill to abrogate Article 370, piloted by BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah, was passed by Parliament. The passage of the triple talaq bill has delivered gender justice to Muslim women.

The six months’ tenure of Modi 2.0 in the country also saw the historic verdict of the Supreme Court on Ayodhya, paving the way for the construction of a magnificent Ram temple on “Ram Janmabhoomi”.

Significantly, some of the key political opponents did everything to delay the judgement on Ayodhya. However, as mentioned by Modi in his “Mann Ki Baat” programme, the spirit of peace and harmony that prevailed post-Ayodhya verdict was a testimony to the strength of Indian democracy.

India is on the right path to become a 5 trillion dollar economy soon. With major decisions like strategic disinvestment of PSUs and reforms like tax, labour and banking, the Indian economy is strengthening.

Corporate tax rates have been slashed to 22% for existing and 15% for new domestic manufacturing companies. India now has one of the lowest tax rates, making it one of the most competitive global economies.

Today, the world looks up to India for providing solutions to global issues like climate change and sustainable development and we are no more back benchers.

During the recent Climate Action Summit in New York, the world was taken by surprise when Modi announced that India is going to increase energy produced from non-fossil fuels to 175 GW by 2022, and will further take it to 450 GW. At the same summit the PM also launched a Global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

On the domestic front we have transferred Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds to the tune of Rs 47,436 crore, to 26 states and Union territories for afforestation. We have ensured that tribal rights are protected fully and tribals continue to be  important stakeholders in forest development.

Government is taking all efforts for the mitigation of air pollution in the country. The central government has launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy with targets to achieve 20% to 30% reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024.

The Modi government is determined to take all steps to fight the menace of air pollution and I can assure you that New Delhi will take less time than Beijing to improve its air quality.

Flying clean and high, the Modi government has brought Rafale to India. With this, the litany of false allegations against the government has fallen apart.

Strengthening its outreach to the far-flung areas, the Union government is in the process of setting up of 118 more community radio stations. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication has been tasked with training and capacity building for the same.

In order to enhance the accessibility of television programmes for the hearing impaired, we have asked for the implementation of Accessibility Standard for TV programmes.

Countering fake news has been high on the government’s agenda. We are setting up a fact checking unit in order to identify and effectively counter fake news narratives related to government and its policies.

Modi believes in public participation by which behaviour can be changed. He had proved this through Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and building toilets.

Now he has given a clarion call for “Say No to Single Use Plastic”. During just 15 days’ campaign, 13,000 tonnes of plastic waste were collected.

He has also appealed to people to do “plogging”, that is, while jogging or walking, picking and properly disposing of polythene littered on the streets or pathways.

Though six months are a very short period, when we look back, a phenomenal achievement has been made by Modi government 2.0.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/a-phenomenal-six-months-modi-government-has-hit-the-ground-running-as-it-starts-its-second-term/

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