Narendra
Modi's first Independence Day speech since he became prime minister was
expected to make some big ticket announcements and he didn't disappoint. Here
are the main announcements that he made during this speech:
Planning
Commission to be replaced by new organisation: Speaking about the Planning
Commission, the Prime Minister said that though there may have been a rationale
behind the creation of the institution, he said there was no requirement for
the body any more.
"The
Planning Commission has contributed to the nation's progress. But now nation
has changed and so have its requirements," Modi said.
He
said there was the need for a planning body that thought creatively and
includes the state governments in the planning process.
"In
a very short time, instead of the Planning Commission, there will be a new
institution that will focus on various aspects...With a new body and soul there
will be a new institution and we are working to ensure that this new scheme
replaces the Planning Commission very soon," Modi said.
Some
reports indicated that the new planning body could be called the National
Development and Reforms Commission.
PM's
Jan Dhan financial inclusion scheme: The Prime Minister announced the
creation of a new Prime Minister's Jan Dhan scheme in order to ensure that
every Indian has access to the banking system.
"People
in this nation have mobile phones but they don't have bank accounts," he
said.
The
Prime Minister said that the new scheme would not only bring the un-banked into
the banking system but would also provide them with life insurance cover.
"Under
this scheme people will not only get debit cards but they will also get life
insurance cover," the Prime Minister said.
He
said that an account holder would be eligible for Rs one lakh life insurance
cover.
Improving
the manufacturing sector: The Prime Minister used his Independence Day
speech to make an appeal to the world at large and Indians abroad to invest in
the manufacturing sector in India
"
I want to appeal to the world: Come and 'Make in India
He
said that the country had the capacity to increase manufacturing in any sector
and appealed to the youth of the nation to start small manufacturing units in
order to reduce imports.
"We
should manufacture things that have 'zero defect', that are never returned
because of a problem' and have 'zero effect' on environment," he said.
Increasing
digital connectivity: The Prime Minister has always been an ardent
advocate of the utility of information technology and emphasised the need to
ensure that every village in the country had broadband connectivity.
"We
have to move towards a digital India
He
said that it was earlier said that the nation was linked by railways but he
wanted to make sure that it was connected through information technology which
would help provide better governance.
CSR
for toilets: The Prime Minister said that he wanted to ensure that every school
in the country had toilets for children and separate toilets for girl students
to ensure they didn't drop out.
Modi
appealed to Parliamentarians to use their MPLAD funds and corporates to
allocate funds from their corporate social responsibility programmes to ensure
that every school in the country had a toilet.
//COPY//
SBI
welcomes PM’s ‘Jan-Dhan Yojana’, says it will boost financial inclusion plan
Mumbai: State Bank of India
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden Independence Day speech today said,
"We want to integrate the poorest of the poor with bank accounts with
'Pradhanmantri Jan-Dhan Yojana'."
Under the
scheme, the person who will open bank account will get a debit card and the
family will get Rs 1 lakh insurance cover to tide over any unforeseen
eventuality.
"The
magnitude of challenge under financial inclusion can be gathered from the fact
that only 58.7 per cent of the households in the country have access to banking
services. In this background, the launch of the 'Jan-Dhan' scheme is a welcome
step," SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said. The Prime Minister said
people in the country have mobile phones but do not have bank accounts, and
this scenario needs to be changed.
Bhattacharya
further said with the rapid financial inclusion, the usage of cash will decline
in the country in line with the developed countries such as the United Kingdom (2 per cent), Australia (3 per cent) and Japan
"The
positive spill over from this structural transformation in the long-run will be
enormous. This apart, the move towards digital India
It could be
noted that the Union Cabinet has already cleared the two-phase financial
inclusion scheme under which bank accounts will be opened for 15 crore poor
people with an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000 and accident insurance of Rs 1
lakh.
PTI
