Prime Minister Narendra Modi today returned home after his two-day visit to Paris during which he attended the crucial climate change conference and launched the India-mooted International Solar Alliance.
"After historic @COP21 summit, where India shared its strong commitment to mitigate climate change, PM reaches Delhi," the PMO tweeted.
During his visit, the Prime Minister met US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the climate conference and held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe.
Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif also had a "casual meeting" on the sidelines of the climate summit.
The Prime Minister also met his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and a host of other world leaders.
Modi along with French President Francois Hollande had launched the International Solar Alliance and pledged India's assistance of USD 30 million for the initiative that brings together developed and developing countries.
The Prime Minister said that his visit to Ballia to launch
the Ujjwal Yojana had nothing to do with the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh due next year. "We have not come here to sound the poll bugle. That is for the people to do," he said.
Modi said he had visited Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh to announce such schemes where no elections were to be held. "I went to Haryana to launch the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padao' scheme .... As the male-female ratio there had dipped," he said.
"I chose Ballia to launch the Ujjwala Yojana because there were very few people with gas connection here. Eight out of 100 families have gas connection here," he said, adding that the eastern part of India -- from eastern UP and Bihar to Assam, the northeast, West Bengal and Odisha, has to be developed to root out poverty from the country.
Modi said earlier the MPs used to get 25 gas connection coupons to be distributed in their constituencies each year and there were reports that some used to sell these coupons.
"But, now I want to provide gas connections to five crore families by 2019 when we would celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," the Prime Minister said.
Maintaining that 1.10 crore families have given up LPG subsidies, he said in all these years, only 13 crore families across the country had gas connection and added that his government has given three crore connections in one year itself.
Modi said his government has made several changes in the labour laws and labour relations to provide social security to millions of workers across the country.
He said the minimum guaranteed pension now has risen to Rs 1,000 per month, compared to a meagre Rs 15 or Rs 100 earlier. Similarly, positive changes have been made in laws or rules relating to bonus and provident fund, he said.
Labour laws have been rationalised and a Labour Identity Number is now being given to the workers to ensure their social security, besides insurance, healthcare and pension to construction workers, the Prime Minister said.
