Transparent system key to lifting 25 cr people out of poverty in 9 yrs: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that a transparent system put in by his government, its honest efforts and emphasis on people’s participation have led to nearly 25 crore people being lifted out of poverty in the last nine years.

Nobody could have thought that poverty in India can decline but the poor has shown that it can be if they are given resources, he said in an address during a virtual interaction with beneficiaries of the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’.

Citing a Niti Aayog report, which highlighted the decline in poverty numbers, Modi said India has presented a model to other countries in helping the poor and has drawn global attention. It is a very encouraging report, he said. Modi said the Yatra has met success beyond his imagination and his government is likely to extend its deadline beyond January 26 due to an increasing demand from the masses that the vehicles meant to publicise welfare schemes and enlist more beneficiaries should visit their places too. It has become a mass movement in two months and a study will find it as a great example of the last-mile delivery, the prime minister said.

It has already reached 70-80 per cent of panchayats, he said The ‘Vikas Rath’ has become ‘Vishwas Rath’, infusing trust among people that no deprived person will be left out of its benefits, he said.