Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah addresses a gathering during the inauguration of EARTH - Empowering Agriculture, Rural Tech and Humanity Summit, organized by NABARD, in Gandhinagar.
Credit: PTI
Ahmedabad: Saying that in few years after the independence the government forgot Mahatma Gandhi's vision uplifting Indian villages in order to develop the nation, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, the government has tripled fund for rural development, agriculture and cooperation.
"In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi had said that the idea of development cannot be conceived without considering the villages. Unfortunately, in the few years after independence, we forgot this teaching of Mahatma Gandhi. For rural development, the important elements, agriculture, animal husbandry, and cooperatives, were all neglected," Shah said while inaugurating the 2nd edition of "Earth Summit" held at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar.
However, Shah said that since 2014, "a new era of transformation began in the country when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. Modi took Mahatma Gandhi 's vision forward, bringing it to the forefront and working to revive it."
The union minister said that "to make the ministry of rural development, agriculture, and cooperation more robust and result-oriented, the prime minister Modi has increased their combined budget threefold, from Rs1.02 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs3.15 lakh crore in 2025-26.
Shah announced establishing a cooperative institution for every Panchayat and creation of over 50 crore active cooperative members across the country for the development of the cooperative sector.
In the coming times, cooperative taxi and cooperative insurance services will also be implemented across the country. He said that the government is aiming to triple the contribution of the cooperative sector to the country's GDP in the next few years.
Shah also mentioned implementing the "Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives" model of Banaskantha-Panchmahal across the country after bringing necessary reforms.
The "Earth Summit" was organized jointly by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). IAMAI is a not-for-profit industry body which claims to have more than 700 members, including Indian and multinational corporations.