New Delhi: Launching more than 2,000 railway infrastructure projects worth over Rs 41,000 crore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India now “dreams big” and “works tirelessly to realise its dreams”. Virtually addressing events held across the country, the Prime Minister said that today’s programme was a symbol of the new work culture of New India. “Whatever India does today, it does it on an unprecedented speed and scale. We dream big and work tirelessly to realise them. This resolve is visible in this Viksit Bharat Viksit Railway programme”, he said.
Pointing out the scale that has gained unprecedented momentum recently, the Prime Minister mentioned his Jammu and Gujarat events of the past few days from where he launched a massive expansion of education and health sector infrastructure and said similarly, today also, 550 stations in 12 states spread over 300 districts are being revamped.
The Prime Minister said that today projects worth Rs 40,000 crore are seeing the light of day and recalled initiating the Amrit Bharat Station project a few months ago, where work to modernise 500 railway stations in the country had begun.
He underlined that Monday’s event takes this resolve even further and provides a glimpse of India’s pace of progress.
Congratulating the “Yuva Shakti” (youth) of the country for the development project as they are the real beneficiaries of “Viksit Bharat”, Prime Minister Modi said the development projects of today will create employment and self-employment opportunities for lakhs of youth, while also benefit those studying in schools.
“Youth have the maximum right to decide how Viksit Bharat will unfold,” Modi said and assured the youth that their dreams and hard work along with the PM’s resolve make the guarantee of Viksit Bharat.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the coming Amrit Bharat Stations would be symbols of both “Vikas” and “Virasat”, and told the gathering that Baleshwar Station in Odisha was designed on the theme of the Jagannath Temple and Sikkim’s Rangpur will carry the imprint of local architecture, Sangner station in Rajasthan displays 16th-century hand-block printing, the station at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu will display the Chola influence and Ahmedabad station was inspired by Modhera Surya Mandir, Dwarka station was inspired by the Dwarkadheesh Temple and IT City Gurgaon station will carry the IT theme.
”Amrit Bharat stations will introduce the specialties of that city to the world,” he said.
In a dig at previous governments, Modi noted that his government had stopped the loot of public money and every penny earned was used in expanding railway services. “Every paisa of taxpayers' money is being used for the welfare of the commuters. Just as interest is earned on money deposited in banks, similarly every penny spent on infrastructure creates new sources of income and new employment,” the Prime Minister emphasised, noting that laying of new rail lines creates multiple employment opportunities, be it a labourer or an engineer.
He further noted that possibilities for new jobs are created in many industries and shops such as cement, steel, and transport. “Lakhs of crores of rupees being invested today is a guarantee of thousands of jobs,” Modi remarked.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the “One Station One Product” programme where products by small farmers, artisans, and Vishwakarma friends are being promoted by the Railway through thousands of stalls set up at the stations.
Underlining the transformation in the Railways in the last 10 years, he observed that in the past decade, facilities that were once far-fetched have now become a reality and gave the example of Modernised Semi High-Speed trains like Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat, NaMo Bharat, the fast pace of electrification of rail lines, and cleanliness inside trains and on the station platforms.
He also mentioned that modern facilities similar to those at airports were now being made available to the poor and middle class at the railway stations.
Further commenting on the transformation of the Railways, the Prime Minister said as the economy jumps to fifth place in global rankings from 11th, there is a massive increase in the railway budget from Rs 45,000 crore 10 years ago to Rs 2.5 lakh crore now.
“Just imagine how much our strength will increase when we become the third largest economic superpower in the world. Therefore, Modi is working hard to make India the third largest economy in the world as soon as possible,” he said.
