New Delhi, Feb 8 (Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday listed out his government’s achievements in the Covid-19 period and claimed that it has set an example before the world. Responding to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha, he said, “More than 80 crore Indians have been provided free ration during the Covid-19 period. We have set an example before the world.” The PM also criticised the Opposition for not playing a constructive role in efforts on the national level against Novel Coronavirus and also nailed it for having boycotted the all-party meeting. “Some people need to introspect. In all party meeting, an effort was made to convince others not to join the meeting on such an important issue of national importance,” he said. The PM said the Centre has conducted 23 meetings with Chief Ministers of various states on Covid-19. “Such an effort to take everyone onboard is an example in itself,” he added. He said the human race has not seen such challenging times in the past 100 years. Talking about the vaccination drive, the PM said that people have taken the vaccine and they have done this not merely to protect themselves, but also to protect others.
“Such conduct, in the midst of so many global anti-vaccine movements, is admirable,” he added. The Prime Minister also targeted the Congress for not giving the government its due credit on the pan India vaccination drive. “One member said vaccination is not a big deal. I am surprised to see India’s vaccination achievement doesn’t even seem an achievement to some people,” he said. “I want to assure everyone that till the time the pandemic exists, we will protect the poor,” he added. The Prime Minister also patted the back of his government, saying that India has performed well in various sectors, even during the testing times of Covid-19. He said the youth of India have placed the country among the top five countries in the field of start-ups, more than five crore gramin families were reached with the Har Ghar Nal se Jal scheme to break another record. India has become a leading mobile manufacturer in the world, he added. MSME was one of the foremost sectors that benefited from the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package that has shown great results, noted the Prime Minister.
He said, “India’s hiring trend has improved as compared to the first Covid-19 wave. We have generated over 27 lakh jobs in IT sector according to the Nasscom report,” the PM said. The Prime Minister said that in 2021, around 1.2 crore new people joined the EPFO payroll, showing growth in formal sector employment. “Total 80,000 wellness centres are operating under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. We are making efforts to increase the number of centres,” he said. He further said that India’s coal mining reforms have led to a significant increase in profits from Rs 14000 crore to Rs 35000 crore. “This is an example of cooperative federalism, here the Centre and States worked together for common good,” he added. The PM said that India’s is the only economy in the world that is witnessing high growth and medium inflation. Eradication of triple talaq benefited the entire society and not just the women, he claimed. The Prime Minister also touched upon the issue of Article 370. He said the government repealed the Article in Jammu and Kashmir and women in the state got empowered.