"Northeastern youth are now part of India's mainstream journey": State Minister Jitendra Singh

Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 2 : State Minister for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, on Saturday, said that Northeastern youth are now a part of India's mainstream journey.

"Youths were confused and disturbed. Now the situation has changed dramatically with the initiative of PM Narendra Modi. Northeastern youth are now part of India's mainstream journey", said Singh.

Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 'Purvoday' conclave showcasing the incredible transformation in the Northeast during the last 9 years of the Modi government. The Minister said in Guwahati that, nine years ago, North East was in the news for the wrong reasons, like insurgency, clashes.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the Northeast around 60 times in 9 years, which could be more than the total number of visits by all his predecessors. The result is a miraculous transformation in the region and Northeast being cited all over as Modi Govt's development model", Singh added.

The Minister further said that PM Modi had visited the North-East more around 60 times in the last 9 years, while his Council of Ministers had also visited the North-East more than 400 times. And if there were no Covid then the Prime Minister might have visited 100 times.

"During the last eight years, from 2014 to 2022, 1,350 projects worth Rs.15,867 crores have been sanctioned under the schemes of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern region and North-Eastern Council in the North-Eastern States", minister Singh stated.

Also, talking about the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA), he said, "The Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA) has been completely removed from Tripura and Meghalaya, and majorly removed from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh barring some areas. The Law & Order situation has been vastly improved as there has been a reduction of 63 per cent in the incidents from 8700 cases during the period 2006-14 under UPA (United Progressive Alliance) to only 3195 cases during the period of 2014-22, during the NDA-led (National Democratic Alliance) Government of India".

Minister Jitendra Singh also threw light on the budget allocation for the state.

"For the Financial Year 2023-24, the total Budget Estimates allocation is Rs 5,892 crore which is 114 per cent higher than the Revised Estimates 2022-23 allocation of Rs 2,755.05 crore and 223 per cent higher than the Revised Estimates 2014-15 allocation of Rs 1,825.5 crore. As per Union Budget 2023-24, the 10 per cent Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) share for the region has been increased to Rs 94,679.53 crore which is 31 per cent higher than the RE 2022-23 allocation of Rs 72,540.28 crore and 246% higher than the RE 2014- 15 allocation of Rs 27,359.17 crore", he said.

Adding, he said, "The Modi government has initiated the PM-DevINE scheme in the budget 2022-23 as a 100 per cent Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs 6,600 crores for the period from 2022-23 to 2025-26 for the holistic development of the north-east region. Construction of Roads in the northeast has more than doubled from a meagre 0.6 km of national highway being laid per day under the UPA government to 1.5 km per day between 2014-19".

Elaborating on the road infrastructure development in the region he said that till 2013-14, the total length of National Highways in the North-east region was 8,480 km, which increased to 15,735 km in 2022-23 under the Modi government, showcasing a growth of 85.55 per cent.

The Minister also said that the North-east region is also benefiting from the schemes such as Swadesh Darshan and Prashad for the promotion of Tourism in the region and Rs. 1502.48 crore have been sanctioned under both schemes for the region.

Swadesh Darshan is a scheme launched by the Central Government of India aiming to develop the potential of tourism in India. Also, Prashad means 'Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive'.

It aims to identify the pilgrimage sites across the country with a view to developing them serving the purpose of better and rich religious tourism.

Jitendra Prasad also said, "Under Ayushman Bharat Mission, more than 5600 Healthcare and Wellness Centres have been opened in the region. Under PM Jan Arogya Yojana, more than 10.7 lakh hospital admissions have been authorized during the period of 2018-19 to 2021-22 in the north-east region playing a crucial role in providing financial support to the people. As of March 28, 2022, more than 27 lakh Health IDs (ABHA numbers) under the Ayushman Bharat-Digital Health Mission have been generated in the North-east region".

"From 2014 till now, the Modi government has spent Rs 14,009 crores to promote higher education in the north-east and 191 new institutes of higher education have been set up", said the minister.

Moreover, he added, "Under the Khelo India scheme, which was launched by the Modi Government in 2018, 62 sports infrastructure projects of various categories were sanctioned in the North East Region in 2021 at a cost of Rs. 423.01 crores".

Speaking on other schemes, Singh stated, "Rs 10,415 crores have been incurred in the region till November 2021 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM-GKY). Rs 64,684 crores have been incurred in the region as subsidies in the region under National Food Security Act (NFSA). Under Jan Dhan Yojana, a total of Rs 2.44 crore accounts have been opened in the region till May 2023".

"Under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), Rs. 36,000 crores have been spent from 2016 to 2023 and 163 crores of Man-days of employment have been generated. A total of 94 lakh houses got Tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission since its launch in 2019 to Feb 2023", Singh informed.