“You are a living example of when a woman gets self-reliant, society is greatly benefitted” is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Kalyani Rajbongshi, the Assam Gaurav winner, while interacting and addressing beneficiaries under the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra (VBSY) via video conference on December 16. This was his third such interaction during the Yatra thereby driving home its importance.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister informed his audience that in its one-month journey, VBSY has reached thousands of villages as well as 1,500 cities which include smaller cities and towns led by chief ministers, and senior ministers across the country.
Connecting with the journey of VBSY, the Prime Minister interacted with people from rural areas where he spoke about PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, natural farming, aspects of rural economy, and developing India’s villages.
Kalyani, a beneficiary from Noonmati, Guwahati, shared her experience with the Prime Minister. She informed the Prime Minister how Government schemes like DAY-NULM, PMFME have transformed her life from a homemaker to a self-reliant woman. She informed Mr Modi that she availed the benefits from both the State and Central Governments during her progress. She first started with a mushroom unit with a revolving fund of ₹10,000, after which she opened a food processing unit. After this, she formed an Area Level Federation with 200 women. She spoke about how she motivated other women in her locality to join SHGs and to get bank loans under various Government schemes.
Kalyani also got assistance under PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprise Scheme). She was awarded “Assam Gaurav’ for educating one thousand vendors about PM SVANidhi.
She led the women of the area in welcoming the VBSY vehicle ‘Modi ki Guarantee ki Gadi’. While explaining them about the schemes, she encouraged the women to avail benefits to which they were entitled. The Prime Minister appreciated her efforts towards the society, while encouraging her to maintain the spirit of enterprise and social service. “You are a living example of when a woman gets self-reliant, society is greatly benefitted”, the Prime Minister said.
When PM Modi asked her experience about the VBSY IEC Van, she replied that people of her area enthusiastically welcomed the van and are benefiting from it.
In Assam, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma was at the forefront of the Yatra. The Yatra, a nationwide outreach initiative aimed at informing and empowering citizens about the Central Government’s flagship schemes, evoked a massive response across the State.
Dr. Sarma graced a programme at Habrubari in Kokrajhar town on December 20 while engaging with beneficiaries and urging the public to actively enrol themselves under various developmental schemes.
Addressing the people, the Chief Minister stated that the aim of this rally, flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November, is to attain saturation point in the enrolment of beneficiaries under flagship schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala Yojana, Suraksha Bima Yojana, Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana, among others.
Dr. Sarma appealed to the eligible beneficiaries to make best use of the on-spot registration process for inclusion under the schemes so that they don’t remain deprived of the social sector schemes meant for them.
The VBSY events witnessed active engagement from a diverse group of participants, reflecting the inclusive spirit of VBSY.
Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH was there to witness the live screening of the PM’s programme in Dibrugarh district. Sonowal, in his speech, said that the aim of VBSY is to reach eligible beneficiaries to ensure the success of the schemes.
His Cabinet colleague Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences, joined the live screening of PM’s interaction from Golaghat.
