PM addresses program marking celebrations of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas,

New Delhi, Nov 15, 2023, p

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the program marking the celebrations of Janjatiya
Gaurav Diwas, 2023 in Khunti, Jharkhand. During the programme, the Prime Minister launched
‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ and Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
Development Mission. He also released the 15th installment of PM-KISAN. Shri Modi also laid the
foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects in Jharkhand worth Rs
7200 crores in multiple sectors like rail, road, Education, Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas. He also
took a walkthrough of the exhibition showcased on the occasion.
A video message from the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu was played on the occasion. 
The Prime Minister also led the Viksit Bharat Sankalp pledge on the occasion. 
The Prime Minister began his address by recalling his visit to Ulihatu Village, the birthplace of
Bhagwan Birsa Munda as well as the Birsa Munda Memorial Park cum Freedom Fighter Museum in
Ranchi earlier today. He also mentioned inaugurating the Freedom Fighter Museum two years ago on
this day. Shri Modi congratulated and conveyed his best wishes to every citizen on the occasion of
Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. He also conveyed his greetings on the occasion of the Foundation Day of
Jharkhand and highlighted the contributions of Former PM, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in its
formation. He also congratulated the people of Jharkhand for the development projects of today in
various sectors of rail, road, Education, Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas. He expressed delight that
Jharkhand now has 100 percent electrified rail routes in the state. 
Referring to the inspiring struggle of Bhagwan Birsa Munda for tribal pride, the Prime Minister
mentioned the association of the land of Jharkhand with the innumerable tribal heroes. He mentioned
that many heroes like Tilka Manjhi, Sidhu Kanhu, Chand Bhairav, Phulo Jhano, Nilambar, Pitambar,
Jatra Tana Bhagat and Albert Ekka have made this land proud. The Prime Minister said Adivasi
warriors took part in the freedom struggle in every nook and corner of the country and mentioned

Govind Guru of Mangarh Dham, Tantya Bhil of Madhya Pradesh, Bhima Nayak, Martyr Veer
Narayan Singh of Chhattisgarh, Veer Gundadhur, Rani Gaidinliu of Manipur, Veer Ramji Gond of
Telangana, Alluri Sitaram Raju of Andhra Pradesh, Rani Durgavati of Gond Pradesh. Lamenting the
neglect of such personalities, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction on remembering these heroes
during the Amrit Mahotsava. 
Dwelling on his personal connection  with Jharkhand, the Prime Minister recalled that Ayushman
Yojana was started from Jharkhand. The Prime Minister said that two historic initiatives are being
launched from Jharkhand today. First Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra which will be a medium of
saturation goals of the government and PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan which will protect
the tribes on the verge of extinction and nurture them. 
Shri Modi emphasized the need to focus on the four ‘Amrit Stambhs of Viksit Bharat’ or pillars of a
developed India namely, women power or Nari Shakti, food producers of India, youth of the country
and lastly India’s neo-middle class and the poor. He said that the degree of development in India
depends on our capability to strengthen these pillars of development. PM Modi expressed satisfaction
with the amount of effort and work done to strengthen the four pillars in the last 9 years of the present
government. 
Prime Minister Modi highlighted the government’s momentous achievement in uplifting more than 13
crore people out of poverty. “Our seva kaal began when our government came to power in 2014”, he
said pointing out that a large population of the country was deprived of basic amenities. He said that
the poor had lost all hope due to the careless approach of the then governments. “The present
government began work with a spirit of service”, he remarked as he highlighted that the poor and the
deprived became the top priority of the government by delivering the amenities to their doorstep. He
credited the approach of the government for the transformation. Before 2014, the Prime Minister
informed that the scope of cleanliness in villages was merely 40 percent whereas today, the nation is
aiming for saturation. Throwing light on other achievements post-2014, the Prime Minister informed
about LPG connections rising from 50-55 percent of villages to approximately 100 percent today,
administration of live-saving vaccines to 100 percent of children from 55 percent, tapped water
connections to 70 percent of households from 17 percent in the ten decades after independence.
“Modi has made the deprived his priority”, he remarked. The Prime Minister conveyed his affinity for
the deprived people due to his personal experience with poverty and deprivation and said they have
become the priority for the government. “I have come to this land of Bhagwan Birsa Munda to repay
the debt that I owe to the deprived”, he said. 
Shri Modi said that the government has resisted the temptation of going for the low-hanging fruits and
attended to long pending issues. He gave the example of the electrification of 18,000 villages which
were cursed to live in the dark ages. The electrification was done in a time-bound manner as per the
declaration made from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Key parameters of education, health and ease of
living were raised in 110 districts which were branded as backward. Aspirational District
Programmed brought transformative changes in these districts. These districts had the maximum tribal
population, he informed. “Success of the Aspirational District Programme is being expanded through
the Aspirational Blocks programme”, he said. 
The Prime Minister reiterated, “True secularism comes only when all possibilities of discrimination
against any citizen of the country are eliminated”, adding that social justice is ensured only when the
benefit of all the government schemes reaches everyone in the same measure. This is the spirit behind
‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ which will continue till 26th January next year starting today on the
Jayanti of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. “In this journey, the government will go to every village of the
country in mission mode and will make every poor and deprived person a beneficiary of government
schemes”, the Prime Minister emphasized. 
The Prime Minister recalled organizing the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in 2018 where one thousand
government officers were sent to the villages to create awareness about seven prime government
schemes and expressed confidence that Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra will become equally successful.
“I look forward to the day when every poor will have a ration card for free raion, gas connection from

Ujjwala scheme, electricity supplied to the homes, tapped water connection, Ayushman Card and
pucca house”, he said. PM Modi further elaborated on his vision of every farmer and labourer joining
the pension schemes and the youth availing the Mudra Yojna to realize their dreams. “Viksit Bharat
Sankalp Yatra is Modi’s guarantee for the poor, deprived, women, youth and farmers of India”, he
said. 
The Prime Minister underlined that a major foundation of the resolve for a developed India is PM
JANMAN or PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan. He noted that it was Atal ji's government
which created a separate ministry for the tribal society and allocated a separate budget. He informed
that the budget for tribal welfare has been increased by 6 times as compared to earlier. Under PM
JANMAN, the Prime Minister said that the government will reach out to tribal groups and primitive
tribes most of whom still dwell in the forests. He stated that the government has identified 75 such
tribal communities and primitive tribes with a population of lakhs who reside in more than 22
thousand villages in the country. “Earlier governments did the work of connecting the figures, but I
want to connect the lives, not the figures. With this goal, PM JANMAN has started today”, the Prime
Minister said. He informed that the central government is going to spend Rs 24,000 crores on this
mega campaign.
The Prime Minister expressed gratitude towards President Droupadi Murmu for her steadfast
commitment to the development of the tribal communities. He called her an inspiring symbol of
women-led development. The Prime Minister narrated the measures taken to ensure women-led
development in recent years. “Our government made schemes for women, keeping in mind every
stage of their lives”, he said and informed that initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, separate
toilets for girls in schools, PM Awas Yojana, opening up Sainik School and Defence Academy, 70
percent Mudra beneficiaries are women, record assistance to self-help groups and Narishakti Vandan
Adhiniyam are transforming lives. “Today is the holy festival of Bhai Dooj. This brother guarantees
to all the sisters of the country that our government will continue to remove every obstacle in the
development of our sisters. The Amrit Stambh of women power will play an important role in
building a developed India”, the Prime Minister said. 
Shri Modi said that PM Vishwakarma Yojana indicates that the Central Government is committed to
harnessing the potential of every individual in the journey to a developed India. He said that the
scheme will provide modern training and tools to the Vishwakarma friends. “13 thousand crore rupees
will be spent on the scheme”, he informed.
Speaking about the 15th installment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi which was released today, the Prime
Minister informed that more than Rs 2,75,000 crores have now been transferred to the accounts of
farmers so far. He also mentioned the Kisan Credit Card for cattle farmers and fishermen, the
government expenditure of Rs 15,000 crores on free vaccination of livestock, financial assistance
under Matsya Sampada Yojana to promote fish farming, and the formation of 10 thousand new
Farmer Produce Unions in the country leading to a reduction in costs for farmers by making the
market more accessible. PM Modi also touched upon the year 2023 being celebrated as the
International Millet Year and the efforts of the government to take Shri Anna to foreign markets. 
The Prime Minister credited the overall development of Jharkhand for the reduction in Naxalite
violence in the state. Underling that the state will complete 25 years of formation soon, the Prime
Minister urged to work towards the target of saturation of 25 schemes in Jharkhand. He said that it
will give new impetus to the development of the state and boost ease of living. “Government is
committed to expanding education and providing opportunities to the youth”, Shri Modi said as he
highlighted the modern national education policy which enables the students to study medicine and
engineering in their mother tongue. He informed that in the last 9 years, more than 300 universities
and 5,500 new colleges have been established across the country. He also touched upon the Digital
India campaign and India becoming the third largest ecosystem in the world with more than one lakh
start-ups. PM Modi also mentioned the inauguration of new hostels at the IIM Campus in Ranchi and
IIT-ISM, Dhanbad.