उपराज्यपाल, दिल्ली
Managing Director of Times Group, Shri Vineeet Jain ji,
Times Group CEO, Shri N Subramaniam ji,
Group Editor in Chief of Times Group, Ms Navika Kumar ji,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Namaskar
It gives me immense pleasure, to be in the midst of this distinguished gathering, and senior media professionals, at the 4th Edition of Times Now Summit.
Citizens of India, from towns and villages, young and old, the rich and the poor, are gearing up to participate in the most sacred festival of India- General Elections.
Every five years, the common man goes to the polling station, to exercise their democratic right- to give his or her own verdict on the performance of the government of the day.
India’s democratic traditions have been applauded around the world.
The theme of today’s summit- ‘India Unstoppable’, is indeed apt. The last decade has been transformational in the journey of our nation.
India’s robust economic growth has been powered on the strength of strong institutions- an independent financial regulator, independent judiciary and a vocal and independent media.
Honorable Prime Minister, Mr Modi, has already projected that India will emerge as the third largest economy of the world, in the next five years. Let us look at some numbers, which reflect the changing face of aspirational India, which, capture the story of an unstoppable India.
The number of bank accounts opened under PM Jan-Dhan Yojana has crossed 50 crores.
More than 130 crore Indians have Aadhar Card
More than 120 crore Indians have their own Mobile phones
This trinity of Jan-Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile phone has revolutionized the digital economy of India. People from around the world, are stunned to see, how the common street vendor is transacting business, on the streets, with his mobile phone.
Millions of women in India have been empowered in this new age economy and are doing brisk business, sitting at home. Apart from this, a new dynamics of service delivery has been created, and all welfare schemes of Central Government are delivered through direct benefit transfer.
The whole architecture of governance has undergone a sea change. Transparency of service delivery, is the defining mantra.
It was not too far ago, when a sitting Prime Minister confessed candidly, that, of the one rupee sanctioned by central government, only ten paise reach the actual beneficiary. This is a thing of the past.
एक कहावत है:
जब कोई व्यक्ति अंधकार से लड़ने का साहस कर लेता है,
तो मात्र एक जुगनू भी सारे अंधकार को हर लेता है।
प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने इस कहावत को चरितार्थ करके दिखा दिया है।
There is now a new energy in the youth of our country, which is our biggest strength.
Nearly two third of Indians are below the age of 35. There are nearly 450 million millennials in India- which is a force to reckon with.
This will turn out to be the biggest asset for India and the youth of India will fill the skill gap of the world, which is increasingly seeing a graying population.
India has the third largest start up eco-system in the world, growing at nearly 15 percent annually.
Today, one out of every ten unicorns are born in India. Youngsters in the start-up space are no longer coming just from metropolitan cities, but from tier 2 and tier 3 cities also.
This diversification demonstrates the power of aspirational young India.
It also captures the business environment prevailing in the country- where ease of doing business, is a central pillar of economic policy.
The remarkable transformation in infrastructure space, has caught the imagination of the world. Even the remotest corners of India- in the northeast - have functional civilian airports.
There were just 74 airports in 2014- the number has doubled in ten years, and now we have 148 airports.
The phenomenal pace of construction of national highways – more than 28 kilometers a day, is indeed an amazing feat. A vast network of expressways, has added momentum growth trajectory. New age trains – Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat are being appreciated by each citizen of the country. PM Gatishakti will now power the infrastructure journey and unlock the economic potential of the logistics sector.
Innovations in clean transportation is another area where India has made impressive gains in the last five years. It was unthinkable a decade ago, that India will be amongst the world’s top nations manufacturing electric buses, cars and two wheelers.
The FAME scheme has ushered in a revolution in the automobile industry, and Indian companies are emerging, as amongst the top global brands, in this space.
A few months ago, all of us witnessed with pride, India’s leadership role in the G20 summit, which was convened in a difficult geo-political backdrop. The whole world applauded Prime Minister Modi’s role in bringing consensus at the summit. Leaders of the nations, also saw, the transformation of that part of Delhi, which hosted the summit.
For me, it was an occasion to step in, and work along with the team of officers, to ensure that the national capital is spruced up, and prepared to receive dignitaries from around the world. The entire team worked tirelessly to ensure that there were befitting arrangements, for a global event of that scale.
Delhi is a melting pot of India. Apart from being its political capital, it attracts professionals, migrants and youngsters, who move to the city in search of better life prospects. When we view the city from the lens of infrastructure planning, we have to factor in the larger NCR area, with a growing population.
Delhi has a pivotal role to play in achieving the goal of “Viksit Bharat”. Compared to other major Capital cities, Delhi lagged behind with some legacy issues; however, in the last two years, concerted efforts have been made to make Delhi a truly global and inclusive destination.
We're streamlining the business and licensing processes, making it easier than ever to invest and create jobs. Today, the city has two world class conventions centres- Yashobhoomi and Bharat Mandapam. These have emerged as over booked destinations for conventions, meetings, exhibitions and workshops.
During the last one year, we gave permissions to 750 business establishments, to operate on a 24X7 basis. Permission has also been granted to bars and restaurants in five star and four star hotels to run 24x7.
With my interventions, the MCD has now started granting licences for Open Space Dining to existing eateries.
Permission has been granted for creating Special Economic Zones at Delhi Airport that will further boost the economic growth.
A major reform in the old licensing regime has been introduced with a modified Unified Portal for Licensing of Eating & Boarding/Lodging establishments in Delhi.
The licences that were earlier taking 03 years to be issued, can now be obtained in just 49 days.
Delhi metro has changed the face of urban mobility. Delhi also now has more than 1650 electric buses inducted as part of the FAME scheme.
The regional rail project, which will connect Delhi with Meerut will alter the dynamics of urban housing, work opportunities and mobility.
Delhi Development Authority has drawn up an ambitious plan to develop an education city at Narela.
It has also launched an ambitious Dilli Gramoday Abhiyan to develop the villages of Delhi that have so far remained deprived of even basic amenities.
It is also my ambition to develop a gold soukin Delhi, for which we have already initiated a dialogue with the Gems and Jewellery export council of the Ministry of Commerce.
DDA has also entered into a collaborative agreement with Archaeological Survey of India for restoring and preserving heritage monuments.
The Mehrauli Archaeological Park has already been transformed into a recreational space with modern amenities. Works have already begun on restoring the heritage sites and structures at Sanjay Van, Shalimar Bagh and Roshanara Bagh.
DDA is also developing the entire Yamuna river front and creating green open spaces for the citizens of Delhi.
Baansera, which used to be a dump yard of construction waste has already been transformed into a large bamboo grove which is drawing thousands of citizens everyday. Asita is another new destination on the Yamuna floodplains that has been reclaimed from a wasteland.
मैं आप सब से आग्रह करता हूँ कि आप बाँसेरा और असिता जैसे new destinations जरुर देखने आयें।
In the coming months, we shall be intensifying our efforts to transform Delhi into a world class capital city, in line with Prime Minister’s ambition of a Viksit Bharat.
Friends,
All of you have a crucial role to play, in presenting a fair picture of political, social and economic developments, before the people of this country.
Media is a crucial institution which lends strength to our democratic traditions. I am sure that all of you are conscious of the enormous responsibility which you carry on your shoulders.
बचपन से ही हम सब ने एक मुहावरा सुना है, “लोहे के चने चबाना”
लेकिन इसका सही अर्थ मुझे तब पता चला जब मैंने दिल्ली के LG के रूप में काम करना शुरू किया। दिल्ली वैसे तो देश की राजधानी है पर यहाँ एक अच्छे काम को रोकने के लिए न जाने कितनी forces आपके विरोध में आ खड़ी होती हैं।
पर मैं कहना चाहूँगा :
ना मैं गिरा, ना मेरी उम्मीदों के मीनार गिरे,
हाँ, मुझे गिराने में, कई लोग कई बार गिरे।
I wish you all the best.
Jai Hind