New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘SUBHADRA’, the flagship Scheme of Government of Odisha, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Tuesday. It is the largest, single women-centric scheme and is expected to cover more than 1 crore women.
The Prime minister also initiated the fund transfer into the bank accounts of more than 10 lakh women. Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation Railway Projects worth more than Rs 2800 crore, and laid the foundation stone for National Highway Projects worth more than Rs 1000 crore. Modi released the 1st installment of assistance to nearly 10 lakh beneficiaries under PMAY-G of around 14 states, took part in Grih Pravesh celebrations for 26 lakh beneficiaries of PMAY (Gramin and Urban) from across the country and handed over house keys to PMAY (Gramin and Urban) beneficiaries.
Modi also launched Awaas+ 2024 App, for survey of additional households for PMAY-G, and the Operational Guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude for becoming a part of today’s event and said that an opportunity to serve the people and Lord Jagannath arises when the Lord’s blessings are showered upon.
The Prime Minister noted the prevailing festive period of Ganesh Utsav and today’s auspicious occasion of Anant Chaturdashi and Vishwakarma Puja. He said that India is the only country in the world where skill and labour are worshipped in the form of Lord Vishwakarma. He conveyed his best wishes on the occasion. Prime Minister said on such a pious occasion he got the opportunity to launch SUBHADRA scheme for mothers and sisters of Orissa.
The Prime Minister mentioned handing over pucca houses to more than 30 lakh families across the country from the land of Lord Jagannath today and informed that 26 lakh houses have been handed over in rural and 4 lakh houses in the urban regions. Modi touched upon laying the foundation stone and inauguration of multiple development projects worth more than thousands of crores in Odisha today. PM Modi congratulated the people of Odisha and the country for the same.
The Prime Minister recalled that this was his first visit to Odisha after the new BJP Government had come to power, in whose oath-taking ceremony he had participated. He reminded the people that during the election campaign he had said that if a “double-engine” Government came into force, then Odisha will propel towards progress & prosperity. Modi expressed confidence that the dreams of various sections of the society ranging from villagers, downtrodden, Dalits, adivasis, women, youth, middle-class families would now be fulfilled. He was happy that the promises made were being fulfilled at a fast pace. Listing the promises fulfilled so far, he said all the four doorways of the Sri Jagannatha Puri temple were thrown open to the public, the Ratna Bhandar of the temple was also opened. Modi added that the BJP Government was striving for the service of the people of Odisha and expressed happiness that the Government itself was going to the people to ensure their issues are resolved. Modi congratulated and praised the entire Odisha Government for this.
The Prime Minister said, “Today is special as the present government is completing 100 days today.” During this time, the Prime Minister said, major decisions have been taken for the welfare of the poor, farmers, youth and women of India. Listing the achievements of the past 100 days, the Prime Minister highlighted the decision to build 3 crore pucca houses for the poor, the announcement of a PM package worth Rs 2 lakh crore for the youth—where the government would cover the first salary of their first job in private companies, the addition of 75,000 new seats in medical colleges and the approval to connect 25,000 villages with pucca roads.
Modi further informed that the budget allocation for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has almost been doubled, a special project for the development of around 60,000 tribal villages announced, a new pension scheme for government employees introduced and income tax for professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs reduced..
In the last 100 days, the Prime Minister informed that the nation has witnessed the creation of more than 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis, major decisions have been taken for oilseed and onion farmers, import duty on oils produced abroad has been increased to encourage Indian farmers, export duty on Basmati rice has been reduced to encourage exports, MSP has been increased on crops thereby benefiting crores of farmers by about Rs 2 lakh crore. “Numerous significant steps have been taken for everyone’s benefit in the last 100 days”, PM Modi exclaimed.
Pointing out that any nation moves faster only when participation of half of its population that is the women power’s is equal, Modi said the advancement of women and their empowerment will be the key to Odisha’s development. Taking a leaf out of the folklore of Odisha, Modi said that the presence of Goddess Subhadra along with Lord Jagannath here tells us about women empowerment. “ I bow down to all the mothers, sisters and daughters in the form of Goddess Subhadra”, exclaimed Modi.
The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the new BJP government has given the gift of Subhadra Yojana to the mothers and sisters of Odisha as part of their initial decisions. He added that more than 1 crore women of Odisha will benefit from this. Further explaining, Modi said that under the scheme, women will be given a total amount of Rs 50,000 which would be directly credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. He added that the scheme was also linked to the pilot project of RBI’s digital currency. Modi congratulated the women of Odisha for joining this first of its kind digital currency scheme in the country.
The Prime Minister spoke about the organization of many yatras across the state so that SUBHADRA Yojana reaches every mother, sister and daughter of Odisha. He said that women are being made aware of all the information related to the scheme. He highlighted that many workers from the present dispensation in the state are also engaging in this service with full vigour and congratulated the government, the administration as well as MLAs, MPs and party workers for this public awareness.
“Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a reflection of women empowerment in India”, PM Modi remarked, noting that the property is now being registered in the name of women. He highlighted that almost 30 lakh families from across the country have performed Griha Pravesh today while 15 lakh new beneficiaries have been given approval letters today and funds have been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 10 lakh beneficiaries in a short time of 100 days. “We have done this auspicious work from the holy land of Odisha and a large number of poor families of Odisha are also included in this”, PM Modi added. He said that a new beginning of life is taking place for lakhs of families who got permanent houses today.
Sharing his experience of participating in the Grih Pravesh of a tribal family earlier in the day, the Prime Minister said that he can never forget their happiness and the satisfaction on their faces. “This experience, this feeling is worth the treasures of my entire life. This happiness as a result of change coming in the lives of the poor, dalit, deprived and tribal society gives me the energy to work harder”, Prime Minister Modi affirmed.
Remarking that Odisha has everything that is required for a developed state, Modi said that the talent of its youth, the strength of women, natural resources, opportunities for industries, immense possibilities of tourism were all present. He added that in the last 10 years, while being in the Centre, the Government had always looked at Odisha as a major priority.
The Prime Minister added that Odisha was today getting thrice the funds from the center as compared to 10 years ago. He also expressed happiness on the implementation of schemes which earlier never saw the light of the day. Speaking of the Ayushman Yojana, the Prime Minister underlined that the people of Odisha will also be benefited by free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh while senior citizens above 70 years of age would be treated for free up to Rs 5 lakh, irrespective of income levels. He added that “A promise was made by Modi during the Lok Sabha elections and Modi has fulfilled his guarantee”.
The Prime Minister underlined that dalits, deprived and tribal communities living in Odisha are the biggest beneficiaries of the campaign against poverty. Be it creating a separate ministry for the welfare of the tribal community, giving the tribal community rights over their roots, forests and land, giving education and employment opportunities to tribal youth or making a tribal woman from Odisha the honorable President of the country, the Prime Minister emphasized that the government has carried out such tasks for the first time.
PM Modi pointed out that there were many tribal areas and groups in Odisha that were deprived of development for many generations. He spoke about the PM Janman Yojana to support the most backward among tribes and informed that 13 such tribes have been identified in Odisha. Under the Janman Yojana, Prime Minister Modi explained, the government is providing the benefits of development schemes to all these communities. “A campaign is also being run to free the tribal areas from sickle cell anemia. In the last 3 months, more than 13 lakh people have been screened under this campaign,” he added.
SUBHADRA Scheme
Under the SUBHADRA scheme, all eligible beneficiaries between the age of 21-60 years would receive Rs. 50,000/- over a period of 5 years between 2024-25 to 2028-29. An amount of Rs 10,000/- per annum in two equal installments will be credited directly to the beneficiary’s Aadhaar-enabled and DBT-enabled bank account. On this historic occasion, the Prime Minister initiated the fund transfer into the bank accounts of more than 10 lakh women.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation Railway Projects worth more than Rs. 2800 crores in Bhubaneswar. These Railway projects will enhance Railway infrastructure in Odisha and improve regional growth and connectivity. He also laid the foundation stone of National Highway Projects worth more than Rs 1000 crore.
The Prime Minister released the 1st installment of assistance to nearly 10 lakh beneficiaries under PMAY-G of around 14 states. The Griha Pravesh celebrations for 26 lakh beneficiaries of PMAY (Gramin and Urban) from across the country were also held during the program. The Prime Minister handed over the keys to their house to PMAY (Gramin and Urban) beneficiaries and also launched Awaas+ 2024 App, for survey of additional households for PMAY-G. Further, he launched the Operational Guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0.