Zee Media Bureau/Reema Sharma
New Delhi: The ministers of Narendra Modi government on Friday said that the Indian economy has shown a new promise of turnaround after winning a decisive victory in General Elections last May.
Evaluating government's performance at the Zee Media Conclave Modi @1, the ministers said that Narendra Modi's promise of 'acche din' has been fulfilled, adding that the people should be ready for even better days ahead.
A documentary showing Narendra Modi's journey as a small boy selling tea to becoming the Prime Minister of India was also launched during the conclave. The “Making of Prime Minister” documentary was launched by BJP President Amit Shah.
Also read: PM Narendra Modi's 1 year in office gets thumbs up from India Inc
Delivering his keynote address, Shah said that it is very difficult to evaluate the work done by the government in one year in a short time frame.
“The NDA government has achieved a lot in the last one year. This government is 'visible' on every occasion. The government has scrapped Planning Commission and replaced it with Niti Ayog. This will have great impact on the real planning,” Shah said.
He further said that the NDA government broke the policy paralysis that had gripped the nation and curtailed growth. “In the last one year the government has tried its best to eradicate corruption from the country. We have been fair and transparent in all our dealings which is why in the last one year no one could level any charge of corruption against the NDA government and its ministers,” Shah said.
“The government has also taken adequate steps towards black money. We are sure that the laws framed by the NDA government will be able to tackle the issue of black money,” he noted.
Shah further said that in the sector of power too the government seems to have attained its goal. He said, “We are sure that by 2019 we will fulfil the dream of providing 24X7 power supply to all the households across the nation.”
Government's Make in India will also show results in the next two-three years, Shah said, adding that PM's Mudra Bank will help the youth realise their dreams and help in employment generation. “Further schemes like the PM Jan Dhan Yojna will bring each and every Indian under financial inclusion. The PMJDY has for the first time in 68 years brought more than 14 crore unbanked people under the banking gamut,” he said.
Shah further added that PM's three flagship social security schemes –Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana will help people working in unorganised sector and give them a sense of security.
In an interactive session at the conclave, ministers of the NDA government said that the Prime Minister has fulfilled his promise of “acche din”, adding that the government will achieve further heights in the coming days thereby heralding better growth story for the country.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said, “Complete privatisation of the Railways is not possible, however, the government is working to bring maximum public-private partnership in the sector. We have to increase line capacity in Railways. We have started portal to address the grievances of public. Good days have certainly come for the railway passengers.”
Comparing the condition of Indian Railways with that of a patient in ICU, Prabhu said, “You can't expect a patient who has just come out of an ICU to run the marathon. Everything takes time.”
BJP President Amit Shah further added, “It is a great responsibility to run a party which has come to power with absolute majority. Agriculture and industry have equally contributed to the growth of the country. A balance has to be maintained and we should take the country ahead by laying equal emphasis on both agriculture and industry.”
“We have inherited a lot of fiscal burden from the previous government. To take the economy from this point will be a tough task. We are sure Indian economy will have a great turnaround story,” he added.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Ever since assuming charge as the Telecom Minister, I had to work really hard for fixing the problems in the telecom sector. Free and fair internet is a basic right. We have formed a committee to look into net neutrality. Soon the government will come out with a policy on this. The government has today finalised BPO policy for smaller towns and has approved 48,000 seats for setting up call centres across the country and we would make the north east a hub of IT. 'Acche din' have begun, be prepared for more.”
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said, “ The NDA government in the coming five years will do double the work that the UPA government did in the last 10 years. We have only completed one year in office. In the last 60 years we were not ruling the country. So it will be too much to ask from us in one year. Give us some more time and you will see how much change this government brings.”
In the same vein, Union minister of state Jitendra Singh said, “We are providing leadership in many sectors. The government has strictly followed 'maximum governance minimum government' concept given by the PM. We have made governance easier. We are doing our best to reach out to the people of North-East region. The region has very high potential. The government is also trying to channelise the potential of the youth of North-East.”
About the promises made by the Prime Minister in the run up to polls, Union minister for skill development and training Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “ The people of this country will get everything that the government has promised. We will fulfil our commitment. Make in India requires skilled workforce. In India only 2 percent workforce is skilled, we have to make 100 crore people skilled.”
About the past one year, Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma said, “ India has got more international tourists as compared to last year. More international tourists have visited India this year. Foreign exchange earning has also improved due to tourism. People's faith in Indian tourism has improved. Our ranking index in world tourism has also improved. The E-visa facility has helped Indian tourism. As the tourism minister I have also taken care to ensure that the beauty of monuments is kept intact. We are also trying to improve the aviation sector which in return will improve tourism. Our mantra is to combat terrorism by tourism. We will release the National Tourism Policy in next ten days”
