Mumbai: Highlighting the giant strides that the country has taken in various fields, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the world is seeing the rise of a ‘vishwa mitra’ (friend of the world) in India.
"This is that period of India's history, which is going to write the future not just of 5-10 years but for the coming centuries,” Modi said addressing the Navy Day 2023 celebrations in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
Modi informed that in the last 10 years, India became 5th largest economy from 10th place and is rapidly moving towards the 3rd spot.
“The World is seeing the rise of a ‘vishwa mitra' (friend of the world) in India”, Modi said, adding that measures like India Middle East European Corridor will recreate the lost Spice Route.
Modi also touched upon the strength of the Made in India initiative and illustrated that with mentions of Tejas, Kisan Drone, UPI system and Chandrayaan-3.
“Self-reliance in defence is also visible by the imminent start of production of transport aircraft, aircraft carrier INS Vikrant,” he said.
Reiterating the government’s approach of treating the coastal and border villages as the first villages instead of the last, the PM said, “Today, it is the priority of the Central Government to improve the life of every family living on the coastal areas.”
He mentioned the creation of the separate fisheries ministry in 2019 and 40 thousand crore rupees investment in the sector. He informed that after 2014 fishery production increased by 8 percent and exports increased by 110 percent. Furthermore, insurance cover for the farmers has been increased from 2 to 5 lakh and they are getting the benefit of the Kisan Credit Card.
Concerning the value chain development in the fisheries sector, the Prime Minister said that the Sagarmala Scheme is strengthening modern connectivity in the coastal areas.
“Lakhs of crore rupees are being spent on this and new business and industry will come to the coastal areas. Seafood processing-related industry and modernization of the fishing boats are also being undertaken,” he said.
“Konkan is a region of unprecedented possibilities”, the Prime Minister said, highlighting the government’s commitment to the development of the region, the Prime Minister mentioned the inauguration of medical colleges in Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Alibaug, Parbhani and Dharashiv, operations of Chipi Airport, and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor connecting till Mangaon. The Prime Minister also mentioned special schemes being drafted for the cashew farmers here. He underlined that the government’s priority is to safeguard residential areas situated on the sea coast. In this effort, he mentioned the emphasis being laid on expanding the scope of mangroves.
Prime Minister Modi informed that the many sites of Maharashtra including Malvan, Achara-Ratnagiri, and Devgad-Vijaydurg have been selected for mangrove management.
“Heritage as well as development, this is our path to a developed India”, the Prime Minister underlined. He said that central and state governments are determined to preserve the forts and forts built during the period of Chhatrapati Veer Shivaji Maharaj where hundreds of crores of rupees are being spent on the conservation of these heritages in the entire Maharashtra including Konkan. The Prime Minister stated that it would also increase tourism in the area and create new employment and self-employment opportunities.
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