Development incomplete unless poor are free from inequality: Narendra Tomar

Development of any country cannot be complete unless poor people are freed from inequality and brought into the mainstream, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said, asserting that the Modi government has been working on this objective in a planned manner.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been striving hard to increase the credibility of the country globally, he said.

Tomar was addressing the 8th General Meeting of MahaFPC, a state-level farmer producer company, in Pune on Thursday as its chief guest.

"The development journey of any nation cannot be complete unless the poor are free from inequality. Similar was the situation in the country as almost half of the population did not have bank accounts, crores of families did not have toilets, electricity, gas cylinders in their kitchen or houses to live in. PM Modi took the initiative to remove these inequalities," a press release quoted Tomar as saying.

Now, houses for the poor are being built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Toilets are being built for every family, Jan Dhan accounts are being created, electricity provided under the Saubhagya scheme, LPG cylinders supplied to every household through the Ujjwala scheme and food grains delivered to all villages, he said.

At the same time, work is being done to eliminate inequality by providing livelihood to lakhs of sisters from poor families through Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Tomar added.

"PM Modi is constantly striving towards increasing the credibility of the country on the global political forum by expanding the 'Make in India' programme, conserving our heritage and taking India to the pinnacle of glory. Under the leadership of the PM, monumental work has been done in a planned manner towards ending inequalities and bringing the poor into the mainstream," the Union minister said.

The government is trying to provide all necessary facilities to farmers, he said, adding that there is a need to ramp up the transportation facility and ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce.

"Work on digital agriculture is going on. When it completes, the imbalance seen in the agriculture sector will end, transparency will follow...It will help give advisories to farmers about new farming and plantation techniques and climate, among other things," Tomar said.