President's Address Modi Sarkar

House, water, toilet for all Indians by 2022, says President Pranab Mukherjee-Hindustan Times

9th June 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said containing food inflation will be the top priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in his joint address to Parliament adding that the emphasis will be on improving supplies and farm pricing.

The President listed the priorities of the NDA government which include ushering the economy on the path of fast and all-round growth besides tackling price rise and inflation.

"My government will function with the mantra of 'minimum government, maximum governance'," the President said in the Central Hall of Parliament.

President Mukherjee also said the greatest challenge before the government is to end the curse of poverty in India.

The President added containing food inflation will be the topmost priority of the government.

"We will not settle for only poverty alleviation, we are aiming for poverty elimination," said Mukherjee.

The government will also clamp down on hoarding and black marketeering and is preparing contingency plans for sub-normal monsoon rains, President Mukherjee said.

"My government is alert about the possibility of an abnormal monsoon," he said.

He added that the new government is committed to improving the quality of life in villages.

"My government will try to end rural-urban divide and is committed to reverse trend of hopelessness among farmers that leads to suicides."

He said the country is passing through an extremely difficult state on the economic front.

"Putting the economy back on track is paramount for the government," said the President.

The new government is committed to making all minorities equal partners in India's progress, he said.

The President said women are part of the growth of the nation.

He said the government would have "zero tolerance" for violence against women and is committed to ensure 33% reservation for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies, referring to the women's reservation bill.

He said the government will launch a "beti bachao, beti padhao" (save girl child, educate girl child) and will launch a mass campaign to save the girl child.

Referring to the incidents of sexual violence against women, the President said: "We will have a policy of zero tolerance of violence against women."

He said the criminal justice system will be revisited to see its effectiveness in curbing crimes against women.

He also said special efforts will be made to ensure that Kashmiri Pandits return to their homeland with dignity.

President Mukherjee ensured that the government will tackle illegal immigration and infiltration in the northeast region.

President Mukherjee said the government will set up IITs and IIMs in every state of the country.

"My government will set up IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) in every state. A national e-library will also be set up."

The President said the youth will be nurtured and that the Modi government will strive to bridge the gap between formal education and skill development.

"Our government is committed to establish virtual classrooms and formulate a national education policy," he said.

The President said the government will work for digitisation of government records and will establish wi-fi zones in critical public areas. "My government will work for the digitisation of government records and is committed to e-governance to bring equity and efficiency," said Mukherjee.

He also said critical public areas will be made wi-fi zones. "We will also establish broadband highway in rural areas," he added.

The President said that by the time the nation completes 75 years of its independence in 2022 every house in India will have pucca (brick and cemented) houses with water connection and toilet facilities.

"By the time the nation completes 75 years of its independence, every family will have a pucca house with water connection, toilet facilities, 24x7 electricity supply and access," Mukherjee said while addressing the joint sitting of both houses of parliament.

He said that soon 50% of our population would be residing in urban areas, so government will build 100 cities with world class amenities.

"My government is conscious of the fact that our urban infrastructure is under severe stress. Soon, 50 per cent of our population would be residing in urban areas. Taking urbanization as an opportunity rather than a challenge, the government will build 100 cities focussed on specialized domains and equipped with world class amenities," he said as he outlined the Narendra Modi government agenda.

He said that the government will roll out integrated infrastructure in model towns with focus on "cleanliness" and "sanitation".

He lauded the efforts of the Election Commission and said it is a matter of great satisfaction that the recently concluded elections were by and large peaceful.

He also congratulated the newly elected members of the 16th Lok Sabha and said they represent people's hopes and aspirations.

"We should never forget we are here because of them, serving them should be our first priority," President Mukherjee told the members of Parliament.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will have separate sittings 30 minutes after the conclusion of the address and the secretaries general of both the Houses will table a copy of the speech.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will hold a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address on Tuesday and Wednesday according to the provisional list of business in the Houses.

On behalf of the ruling party, while BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will initiate the discussion in Rajya Sabha, party general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy will do so in Lok Sabha.

Link hindustan Times