Development of small cities key to developed India resolve: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said hundreds of small cities have a key role in achieving the resolve of a developed India by 2047 and his government was upgrading basic facilities in such urban centres to improve ease of living.

Interacting with the beneficiaries of central schemes during the ongoing Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, the prime minister said his government is committed to saving money for urban families, who have benefited from initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat health insurance and housing for all.

"Our agenda is to assist people in saving money," Modi said, flagging off the Yatra, the government's mega outreach exercise to ensure saturation coverage of central initiatives.

The yatra was launched in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram where it could not be launched last month due to the model code of conduct enforced for assembly elections.

The yatra was launched on November 15 at Khunti in Jharkhand and has reached 2.5 crore people across thousands of villages and 1,500 cities.

"I have to ensure that benefits of government schemes reach every poor person in villages and every slum cluster in cities, and that they get the benefits without any difficulty. This is the reason the van of 'Modi ki Guaranttee' is going around," the prime minister said.

He said cities have a huge role to play in achieving the resolve of a developed India by 2047, when the nation will celebrate the centenary of Independence.

"Whatever development took place for a long time after Independence, its scope was limited to some big cities of the country. But today we are focusing on the development of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities," he said.

"Hundreds of small cities of the country are going to strengthen the grand edifice of developed India," Modi said, adding that initiatives such as AMRUT Mission and Smart City Mission were upgrading basic facilities in the small cities.

"These upgrades are directly impacting ease of living, ease of travel and ease of doing business. Poor, neo-middle class, middle class or rich people, all are getting the benefit of these enhanced facilities," he said.

The prime minister also interacted with the beneficiaries of various government schemes in Mumbai, Lucknow, Rohru near Shimla, Kozhikode and Guwahati.

The prime minister urged the people to enrol in the government's pension schemes and secure themselves and assured support at the outreach vans criss-crossing the country as part of the Yatra.

"Modi's guarantee begins when expectations from others cease," the prime minister said.

He said more than 50 lakh people have availed the bank's assistance under the PM SVANidhi Yojna, with 1.25 lakh people applying for the scheme during the yatra.

Modi said six crore people have subscribed to the Atal Pension Scheme that ensures Rs 5,000 monthly pension after the age of 60.

The prime minister said claims worth Rs 17,000 crore have been settled under the PM Suraksha Bima Yojana and Jeevan Jyoti Yojana and urged those eligible to get registered with these schemes and strengthen their security shield.

"The government is committed to saving money for urban families, be it exemption in income tax or low-cost treatment," he said, adding the inclusion of crores of urban poor in the Ayushman Bharat initiative has helped them save Rs 1 lakh crore on medical expenses.

The prime minister said medicines were made available at an 80 per cent discount at Jan Aushadhi Kendras thereby helping the poor and middle class living in cities save more than Rs 25,000 crores.

Thousands of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra beneficiaries from across the country joined the event through video conferencing. The programme was also joined by a large number of Union Ministers, MPs, MLAs and local representatives.

Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra is being undertaken across the country with the aim to attain saturation of flagship government schemes through ensuring that the benefits of these schemes reach all the targeted beneficiaries in a time-bound manner.