Agricultural institutions will provide new opportunities to students, help connect farming with research and advanced technology, says PM
PM calls for ‘Meri Jhansi-Mera Bundelkhand’ to make Atmanirbhar Abhiyan a success
500 Water related Projects worth over Rs 10,000 crores approved for Bundelkhand region; work on Projects worth Rs 3000 crores already commenced

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the College and Administration Buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, UP through video conferencing. He interacted with the students of the University.

PM congratulated everyone and expressed hope that students after graduating from this university will actively contribute in empowering the country’s agriculture sector. He hoped that new facilities provided due to the new building would encourage and motivate students to work harder.

Invoking Rani Lakshmi Bai’s Quote that “I will not give my Jhansi”, the Prime Minister gave a clarion call for ‘Meri Jhansi- Mera Bundelkhand’ and urged the people of Jhansi and Bundelkhand to make Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan a success.

The Prime Minister noted that Agriculture has a major role to contribute in ‘Meri Jhansi- Mera Bundelkhand’ Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. He said self reliance in Agriculture targets at making Farmers both- producer as well as entrepreneur. PM said in line with this spirit, several historic agricultural reforms were taken. Just like other industries, now Farmers can also sell their produce anywhere in the country, wherever they fetch better prices. He said a special dedicated fund of Rs 1 Lakh crore has been set up for providing better facilities and promoting industries in a cluster based approach.

Saying that steady efforts are continuing to connect farming with modern technology, the Prime Minister noted that Research Institutions and Agricultural Universities have a vital role to play. He said now there are three Central Agricultural Universities in the country, compared to just one Central University 6 years ago. Besides this, three more National Institutions viz. IARI Jharkhand, IARI Assam and Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Integrated Farming in Motihari, Bihar are also being established. He remarked that these institutes will not only give new opportunities to the students, but will also help in increasing their capacity, in providing technology benefits to the local farmers.

Talking about the Locust attack in Bundelkhand, the Prime Minister said the Government worked on war footing to control the spread of the attacks and to reduce the damage. He mentioned that dozens of control rooms were set up in several cities, arrangements were made to alert farmers in advance, drones to spray, dozens of modern spray machines used to kill locusts were procured and provided to farmers.

 The PM said that in the last six years, the Government has endeavoured to establish a link between research and farming, and to provide scientific advice to the farmers, at the ground levels in the villages. He sought the cooperation of the universities in developing the ecosystem to streamline the flow of knowledge and expertise from campus to agriculture fields.

Stressing on the need to take knowledge related to agriculture and its practical application to school level, the Prime Minister said efforts are to introduce the Agriculture subject at Middle school level in villages. It will have two benefits- One, it will develop agriculture related understanding in the students and secondly, it will enable the students to give information about agriculture, its modern farming techniques and marketing, to their family members. This will promote Agro-entrepreneurship in the country, he added.

Talking about the steps taken to minimize the problems faced by the people during the coronavirus pandemic, the Prime Minister said free rations are being provided to crores of poor and rural families in Uttar Pradesh. Around 10 lakh poor women in Bundelkhand have been given free gas cylinders during this period. Under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan, over 7 hundred crore rupees have been spent in UP so far, under which employment was provided to lakhs of workers.

The Prime Minister said, as promised earlier, the campaign to provide drinking water to every house is being executed at a rapid pace. Around 500 water related projects worth more than Rs 10,000 crores have been approved for this area. Out of this, work on Projects worth Rs 3000 crores has commenced in the last two months . It will directly benefit lakhs of families in Bundelkhand. He added that work is in progress on Atal Groundwater Scheme to raise the level of groundwater in Bundelkhand. He said work on projects involving more than 700 crore rupees is underway to increase the water level in hundreds of villages of Jhansi, Mahoba, Banda, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot and Lalitpur as well as West UP.

The Prime Minister said in spite of Bundelkhand surrounded by Rivers Betwa, Ken and Yamuna, the entire area does not get the full benefit of the rivers. He said the Government is making steady efforts to change this situation. PM noted that Ken-Betwa River Link Project has the potential to change the fate of the region and said the government is cooperating and working with the state governments in this direction. PM expressed confidence that once Bundelkhand gets enough water, life here will change completely. He said that projects worth thousands of crores like Bundelkhand Express Way, Defence Corridor will create thousands of new employment opportunities here. He said the mantra of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and Jai Vigyan' will be echoed in all four directions in Bundelkhand. The Prime Minister reiterated the commitment of the union government and the government of Uttar Pradesh to enrich the ancient identity of Bundelkhand, the pride of this earth.

 

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PM Modi interacts with Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awardees
December 26, 2024

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacted with the 17 awardees of Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in New Delhi today. The awards are conferred in the fields of bravery, innovation, science and technology, sports and arts.

During the candid interaction, the PM heard the life stories of the children and encouraged them to strive harder in their lives. Interacting with a girl child who had authored books and discussing the response she received for her books, the girl replied that others have started writing their own books. Shri Modi lauded her for inspiring other children.

The Prime Minister then interacted with another awardee who was well versed in singing in multiple languages. Upon enquiring about the boy’s training by Shri Modi, he replied that he had no formal training and he could sing in four languages - Hindi, English, Urdu and Kashmiri. The boy further added that he had his own YouTube channel as well as performed at events. Shri Modi praised the boy for his talent.

Shri Modi interacted with a young chess player and asked him who taught him to play Chess. The young boy replied that he learnt from his father and by watching YouTube videos.

The Prime Minister listened to the achievement of another child who had cycled from Kargil War Memorial, Ladakh to National War Memorial in New Delhi, a distance of 1251 kilometers in 13 days, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Divas. The boy also told that he had previously cycled from INA Memorial, Moirang, Manipur to National War Memorial, New Delhi, a distance of 2612 kilometers in 32 days, to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, two years ago. The boy further informed the PM that he had cycled a maximum of 129.5 kilometers in a day.

Shri Modi interacted with a young girl who told that she had two international records of completing 80 spins of semi-classical dance form in one minute and reciting 13 Sanskrit Shokas in one minute, both of which she had learnt watching YouTube videos.

Interacting with a National level gold medal winner in Judo, the Prime Minister wished the best to the girl child who aspires to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Shri Modi interacted with a girl who had made a self stabilizing spoon for the patients with Parkinson’s disease and also developed a brain age prediction model. The girl informed the PM that she had worked for two years and intends to further research on the topic.

Listening to a girl artiste who has performed around 100 performances of Harikatha recitation with a blend of Carnatic Music and Sanskrit Shlokas, the Prime Minister lauded her.

Talking to a young mountaineer who had scaled 5 tall peaks in 5 different countries in the last 2 years, the Prime Minister asked the girl about her experience as an Indian when she visited other countries. The girl replied that she received a lot of love and warmth from the people. She further informed the Prime Minister that her motive behind mountaineering was to promote girl child empowerment and physical fitness.

Shri Modi listened to the achievements of an artistic roller skating girl child who won an international gold medal at a roller skating event held in New Zealand this year and also 6 national medals. He also heard about the achievement of a para-athlete girl child who had won a gold medal at a competition in Thailand this month. He further heard about the experience of another girl athlete who had won gold medals at weightlifting championships in various categories along with creating a world record.

The Prime Minister lauded another awardee for having shown bravery in saving many lives in an apartment building which had caught fire. He also lauded a young boy who had saved others from drowning during swimming.

Shri Modi congratulated all the youngsters and also wished them the very best for their future endeavours.