In an exclusive interview hosted by Network18 Managing Editor and Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi along with News18 Lokmat anchor Vilas Bade and News18 Kannada Editor Hariprasad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his entire election campaign revolves around two key objectives.

“I feel that maybe your team has not tracked my entire campaign. There are many good developmental things which may not be fitting in terms of TRP. But you must have seen that my entire election campaign is focused on two things. One, we have done work for the welfare of society. The biggest difference in this government [compared to previous ones] is that last-mile delivery is our specialty. See, no government is formed to do bad, it wants to do good. Some people know how to do good for others, some people wait for good things to happen. I am a person who believes in working hard and getting things done,” said Prime Minister Modi.

Expanding housing and health iunsurance schemes

The prime minister unequivocally expressed his intentions to further assist the country’s impoverished population and extend the reach of existing housing and health insurance schemes. These initiatives are already in place but require significant expansion to better serve those in need.

“Now see, I am continuously saying in the elections that we have built four crore houses for the poor. I tell so many people that when you go for this election campaign, please help me by sending a list of people whose houses have not been built. As soon as my third term starts, I want to take this work forward. I want to build three crore more houses,” he said.

The prime minister also said that the Ayushman Bharat Yojana will grow much bigger in size than what it is at present.

“Now, the Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the world’s largest health insurance and health assurance scheme. This is the assurance of treatment to 55 crore people. It is an assurance that Modi’s government is with you. This time, we have said in the manifesto that no matter which class, society, background a person belongs to, whoever is above 70 years of age — both men and women — will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. This time we have also said in the manifesto that we will give this benefit to ASHA workers. We will give benefits to transgenders, no matter what their age is,” Prime Minister Modi said.

Inclusive banking

Highlighting the banks’ unfriendly attitude towards individuals and their reluctance to open new accounts, Prime Minister Modi remarked that the banking sector was in a “miserable” state before he assumed office as prime minister.

“Now you have seen, in our country, banks have been nationalised, and they are playing these games of confiscation. This has already been done in the past. All the banks were private, they have looted and are taking money in the name of the poor. The condition of banks in our country was miserable. More than half of the population of the country was such that it gave money to open accounts in banks but the banks never opened their accounts,” he said.

The prime minister spoke about the significant transformation witnessed in the banking sector with a considerable number of individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular, gaining access to banking services.

“Then Modi came and opened 52 crore bank accounts, and I took the biggest advantage of it. I took the trinity of Jan Dhan, mobile and Aadhaar and encouraged Direct Benefit Transfer. A sum of Rs 36 lakh crore — the figure is very big — has gone into people’s accounts [via Direct Benefit Transfer]. This huge financial inclusion has happened in our country [due to opening of accounts]. This is more than the number of accounts that would have opened in the world in a year,” Prime Minister Modi said.

Speaking about the Jal Jeevan Mission, he said that “3-4 per cent of the villages would get water from taps in their homes, that too in urban localities”. Tap water has reached 14 crore rural families, the prime minister added.

“Now all this work is what helped 25 crore people come out of poverty. We have empowered them, and my strategy is that we give so much strength to the poor, so much power, that the poor themselves overcome poverty. And when the poor overcome poverty with their hard work, after that they do not want to go back to poverty. It becomes a commitment, and they become the strength of the country. Today, we are benefiting as 25 crore people have come out of poverty. It is a very big achievement, the world is praising it, and this will become a model for the developing countries,” said Prime Minister Modi.

Rapid economic growth

Describing the economic advancements made since assuming office as prime minister in 2014, Modi said that what has been accomplished thus far is merely a glimpse, akin to a “trailer”.

“But in 2014, after the formation of the government, till 2019, you will be happy to know that we took the figure to 37 per cent. And when I reached the year 2024, this figure was 42 per cent. That means our income has grown very fast as compared to other countries of the world. If you look at the inflation rate in the period of 10 years, which is discussed so much, then these 10 years have seen the lowest inflation. What I am saying is on the basis of reality. We have achieved this after a lot of hard work. We have mobilised the entire government, and we have put in our best efforts to achieve the target. Despite that, what does Modi say? Modi says this is just a trailer, I have to go further. I want to move very fast, taking the country along with me,” Prime Minister Modi said.

Undoubtedly, the Modi government ushered in remarkable transformations in the Indian economy through the implementation of carefully crafted reforms including the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017, demonetisation in 2016 and the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Link to article – 

My entire election campaign is focused on two things: PM Modi reveals in a Network18 exclusive