New Delhi: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah Thursday stated that the changes taking place in Kashmir post Article 370 abrogation were important not only for the children there but also for the entire youth of the country.
He reiterated that after the removal of Article 370 and 35A from Kashmir, for the first time democracy reached the grassroots level there. He said that due to the changes brought under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the youth of Kashmir, with books and laptops in their hands, had a new thinking for Start-Ups and potential to challenge the youth of the world.
The Union Home Minister was addressing the Kashmir Mahotsav, organized by the Indian Institute of Sustainability Gujarat University, through video conferencing.
He said that the entire nation was happy with these changes brought by the Prime Minister in the last 9 years. Several dignitaries including Union Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh were also present on the occasion.
In his address, the Union Home Minister also called upon the youth to take forward the start-up movement in Kashmir as well.
He said, “Kashmir is the melting-pot of many cultures and a jewel in the crown of Mother India. The changes taking place in Kashmir are important not only for the children of Kashmir, but also for the entire youth of the country. Last year around 1.80 crore tourists visited Kashmir; they got to know Kashmiriyat and Kashmir culture and went back with a good message.”
The Union Home Minister stated that there was a time when bomb blasts, strike and stone pelting used to happen in Kashmir.
“But today due to the changes brought under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the youth of Kashmir have books and laptops in their hands, they also have a new thinking for start-ups and potential to challenge the youth of the world. After the removal of Article 370 and 35A from Kashmir, for the first time, democracy has reached the grassroots level. Today more than 30,000 elected representatives of the people are working in the Panchayat system of Kashmir. The entire nation is happy with these changes brought by Prime Minister Modi in the last nine years,” he said.
The Union Home Minister said that India had been moving forward through coexistence for centuries and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the basic Mantra of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' along with several initiatives to strengthen coexistence in a country full of diversities.
He said, “The diverse cultures, languages, cuisines and attire are our strengths. The Prime Minister has called upon the countrymen, especially the youth, to imbibe the concept of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” as the mantra of life.”
HM Shah said that by forming the Ministry of Cooperation, the Prime Minister was trying to connect every single village with the development system and the poorest of the poor Indian with the economy.
He said, “Gujarat University is the university of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr Vikram Sarabhai and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many great personalities have been produced by this university who have made significant contributions for nation building. The country's first innovation park was established in Gujarat University and currently it is supporting more than 300 start-ups.”
He said that Amul Cooperative Society in Gujarat was smoothly functioning with the hard work of over 28 lakh women and its annual turnover was Rs. 60,000 Cr. He said that recently the union cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that in the next three years, Multidimensional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) would be constituted in two lakh panchayats of the country, which would give new dimensions of rural development to the Panchayats. The Union Home Minister said that the Ministry of Cooperation was working with the state governments to strengthen these multi-purpose PACS at the grassroots level.
HM Shah said that the Prime Minister provided many platforms for the youth across the country. He said that ‘Skill India’ was one such platform which provided a global platform to the power and talent inside the youth. He said, “4000 seats have been created in many new ITIs, more than 20 lakh youth have been trained in 126 streams in 15,000 ITIs. ‘Start-up India’ is one such initiative under which more than 70,000 start-ups are strengthening their ecosystem, whereas in 2016 their number was only 724.”
He said that after the launch of ‘Start-up India’ scheme by the Prime Minister, more than 70,000 start-ups were formed and 44 percent of these start-ups were being run by girls and women. “Apart from this, more than 100 start-ups have joined the unicorn club and 45 percent of the start-ups are in tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” he said.
The Union Home Minister said that Prime Minister Modi launched the ‘Make in India’ scheme in 2015 and as a result India's merchandise exports crossed $400 Cr in the financial year 2022. He said that under the PLI scheme, new investment worth Rs 3 lakh crore came in 12 sectors. HM Shah said that many facilities were also provided for ‘Patent Registration’ for the youth of India. He said, “In 2013-14 only 3000 applications came from India. However, today 24000 applications come from India annually. The Prime Minister has launched many schemes for the youth of the country like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Digital India Mission, Fit India, Khelo India.”
He said, “This is the year of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and the Prime Minister has described 25 years from 2022 to 2047 as ‘Amrit Kaal’. In this ‘Amrit Kaal’, we have to take a pledge that at the time of the centenary of independence, India will be first in every field in the world.”
The Union Home Minister said that when the youth of the country would shape their intellectual ability, energy and enthusiasm in sync with schemes like Skill India, Startup India and PM Mudra Yojana, then no one would be able to stop India from reaching to the top of the world.
