Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the “new India” is moving ahead with new policies and strategies, and his government is working proactively in matters of technology and infrastructure, shunning the “reactive approach” of the past.
In a video address to a ‘Rozgar Mela’, Modi asserted the ‘Mudra’ loan project for small and micro enterprises has created over eight crore new entrepreneurs, and the government’s policies and strategies have opened the doors to new possibilities.
He also took a swipe at those who “consider themselves big economists” and gave “loans on phone” to big businessmen but are “ridiculing” the scheme.
Though he named no one, his swipe was apparently aimed at Congress veteran and former finance minister P Chidambaram who recently questioned the Mudra’ scheme and wondered what kind of businesses can be started with a loan of Rs 50,000. Modi said Rs 23 lakh crore loan has been given under the scheme with 70 per cent of beneficiaries being women. Microfinance does a lot in strengthening grassroots economy but some people who consider themselves big economists never realised this and they don’t understand the capabilities of the common man, he said.
At the programme, appointment letters were given to 71,506 recruits in different ministries and departments. Giving examples of startups and Indian youth’s enthusiasm, the prime minister referred to a report that said that startups have created more than 40 lakh direct or indirect jobs. He also mentioned drones and the sports sector as new avenues of employment. “The thinking and approach of Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan go beyond adopting swadeshi and ‘vocal for local’. Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is an ‘abhiyan’ of creating crores of employment opportunities from villages to cities,” he said and gave examples of indigenously made modern satellites and semi-high-speed trains.
