President Ram Nath Kovind
The small farmers of the country have also benefited from the new changes in the crop insurance scheme. More than Rs one lakh crore have been given as compensation to about eight crore farmers since these changes were introduced
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said the efforts of the country are not limited to addressing the immediate challenges in the fight against Covid pandemic as the government is developing far-reaching solutions which would be effective and useful in future also.
In his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, Kovind said the launch of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission with an outlay of Rs 64,000 crore is a commendable example.
“This will not only help in meeting the current health requirements, but will also prepare the country for any future crises. More than 80,000 health and wellness centres and crores of Ayushman Bharat cards have helped the poor immensely in getting treatment,” h said.
Government has reduced the cost of treatment by providing affordable medicines through more than 8,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras. ‘Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission’ is an important step in providing easy and accessible health services, Kovind said.
Yoga, Ayurveda and traditional medical practices are also becoming increasingly popular due to the efforts of the government. The country used to export AYUSH products worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2014. This export has now increased to more than Rs 11,000 crore,he noted.
India is going to establish the world’s first ‘WHO Global Centre of Traditional Medicine’ he said.
Interests of the small farmers, who constitute 80 percent of the farmer-community, have always been central to the government. Under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, Rupees 1 lakh 80 thousand crore have been provided to more than 11 crore farmer families. With this investment, the agriculture sector is witnessing major transformations today, he said.
The small farmers of the country have also benefited from the new changes in the crop insurance scheme. More than Rs one lakh crore have been given as compensation to about eight crore farmers since these changes were introduced, said Kovind.
Government is also making investments at an unprecedented level for developing infrastructure required near farmlands. Thousands of projects have been approved under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund having a corpus of Rs one lakh crore.
“We can see the impact of Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile or JAM trinity which my government has leveraged for the empowerment of citizens. With more than 44 crore poor people joining the banking system, crores of people benefitted from direct cash transfer during the pandemic,” he said.
Amidst the progress made in respect of Digital India and Digital Economy, transactions worth more than Rs 8 lakh crore have taken place in the country through UPI in December 2021. This is a clear example of how fast our people are adopting technology and rapid change, he said.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana,the world’s largest food distribution program, through which the government is providing free ration to each poor household every month,is reaching out to 80 crore beneficiaries for 19 months with an outlay of Rs two lakh sixty thousand crore. Being fully sensitive to the present circumstances, the government has extended this scheme till March 2022, he said.
Under the PM-Sva-Nidhi scheme, meant for for enhancing the self-esteem of the poor and protection of their livelihood also during the Corona period, more than Rs 2900 crore have been provided to 28 lakh street vendors.
The government is also connecting these street vendors with online food delivery companies. Further, government has started the e-SHRAM portal to protect the interests of labourers and more than 23 crore workers have joined it so far.
Launched with the aim of ‘Har Ghar Jal’, the Jal Jeevan Mission has brought about a huge difference in the lives of the people. Nearly six crore rural households have been provided tap water connection despite the constraints imposed by pandemic. It has been of huge benefit for the women in villages, said Kovind.
The Svamitva scheme, launched to provide property documents to people in rural areas, is also an extraordinary initiative. So far, more than 40 lakh property cards have been issued in 27,000 villages under this scheme. These property cards are not only preventing disputes but are also assisting rural population in accessing banking support, he said.