Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation

PM’s address at the launch of infrastructure projects in Bihar

  • Today is another important day in the development journey of Bihar. A short while ago, the foundation stones of nine projects have been laid to increase connectivity in Bihar.
  • These projects include the construction of 4 lanes and 6 lanes of the highway as well as 3 mega bridges over the rivers. Heartiest congratulations to the people of Bihar for these projects.
  • Friends, This day is important not only for Bihar, but also for the whole country. It is also a big day for young India. Today, India is taking major strides to make its villages the mainstay of Atmanirbhar Bharat. And I am glad that even though the programme is for the entire country but is starting today from Bihar.
  • Under this scheme, 6 lakh villages of the country will be connected with optical fibre in 1000 days. I am confident that under Nitishji’s good governance, moving ahead with firm determination, this scheme will also be expedited in Bihar.
  • Friends, Till a few years back, it was difficult to imagine that the number of people using Internet in the villages of India will be more than that of the urban people.
  • Many even doubted that the women in the villages, farmers and the youth of the villages would also be able to use the internet so easily. But now all these scenarios have changed.
  • Today, India is among the world’s leading countries in terms of digital transactions. If you look at the figures of August, about 3 lakh crore rupees have been transacted during this period through mobile phones and UPI. During the Corona pandemic, the Digital India campaign has helped common people of the country a lot.
  • Friends, With the increase of internet usage, now it is indispensable for the villages of the country to have good quality, high speed internet. Due to the efforts of the government, optical fibre has already reached nearly 1.5 lakh panchayats in the country.
  • Moreover, over 3 lakh common service centres have also been added online in the last 6 years. Now the country is moving forward with the goal of extending this connectivity to every village in the country.
  • When fast internet will reach every village, it will be easy for the students in the villages to study. The children of the villages, our rural youth will also be able to easily access the world’s books and technology just by clicking a mouse.
  • Furthermore, through tele-medicine it will now be possible to provide affordable and effective treatment to the poor even in the remotest villages.
  • You are well aware that earlier if we had to make railway reservations, we had to go to cities from the villages, stand in long queues and then get our tickets booked.
  • Today, you can get the railway reservation done in your own villages just by going to the common service centres. If you want to go somewhere, then you can get that reservation done easily because there is internet facility.
  • Our farmers will benefit greatly from the same. With this, farmers will be able to get information about every modern technology related to farming – new crops, new seeds, new methods and changing weather in real time.
  • Moreover, they will also be able to sell their produce anywhere in the country and the world. In a way, the necessary infrastructure is being developed to ensure that the people of the village now get all the facilities sitting at home just like the cities.
  • Friends, History is witness to the fact that those countries which have invested seriously on the infrastructure have made the fastest progress worldwide.
  • But for decades, such projects that could bring about major changes in infrastructure were not given enough attention in India. Bihar has been the greatest sufferer.
  • Friends, it was Atal ji’s government that had first made infrastructure the mainstay of politics and development plans. Nitish ji was then the railway minister in his government.
  • He has much more experience of the same. He has seen that change in governance more closely. Friends, The scale and speed at which the infrastructure work is now being done is unprecedented.