PM launches hydrogen mission
Calling for making the next 25 years glorious for India with “new thresholds, aspirations and dreams”, he said, “We should not limit the occasion of 75 years of Indian Independence to just one ceremony. We must lay the groundwork for new resolutions and move forward with new resolutions… Amrit Kaal is 25 years. But we don’t have to wait for long to achieve our goals. We have to start now… Our country also has to change and we as citizens have to change ourselves too… We have started with the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. Today I am requesting from the ramparts of the Red Fort that ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ and now Sabka Prayas are very important for the achievement of our goals.”
The aim of amrit kaal (golden hour), he said, is to build an India where “cities and villages do not have a development divide... an India where the government does not unnecessarily interfere in the lives of its people”.
Launching the National Hydrogen Mission for production of green hydrogen or clean energy, he asserted that the country would launch the National Master Plan of Prime Minister ‘Gati Shakti’ which will be “a huge scheme and fulfil the dreams of crores of countrymen”, adding that “this scheme of more than `100 lakh crore will result in new employment opportunities for lakhs of youth”.
“In this Bharat ki vikas yatra, we have to ensure that we meet our goal of building an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat when we celebrate 100 years of India’s Independence. Just as we have made electricity accessible to 100 per cent households, and have made authentic efforts to construct toilets in 100 per cent households… we have to move even further. 100 per cent villages should have roads, 100 per cent households should have a bank account, 100 per cent beneficiaries should have Ayushman Bharat card, 100 per cent eligible persons should have gas connection under Ujjwala scheme and 100 per cent beneficiaries should have Aawas,” he added.
In the obvious backdrop of the controversy over the farm laws, PM Modi once again backed agricultural reforms saying they had been initiated to benefit the small farmers who constituted 80 per cent of the total farming community. “Chota kisan bane desh ki shaan (the small farmer will be the pride of the nation)”, PM Modi asserted and said rice available through government schemes would be “fortified” (with nutrients) by 2024.
On J&K, PM Modi said, “The delimitation commission has been constituted in Jammu and Kashmir itself and preparations are also going on for the Assembly elections.