When poor, farmers, women, empowered, country will become powerful: PM Modi

New Delhi: Asserting that the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has not only become the journey of a government but of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said when the poor, farmers, women and youth are empowered, the nation will become powerful.

Addressing the Yatra in various parts of the country via video conferencing, the prime minister said that under earlier governments, the scope of discussions on agricultural policy was only limited to production and sale, neglecting the various issues faced by farmers daily. "Our government has made all-out efforts to ease every difficulty of the farmers," Modi said.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Modi also talked about the transfer of at least Rs 30,000 to every farmer through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, promotion of cooperation in agriculture with organisations like PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Society) and Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO), increase in storage facilities and the "boost" to food processing industry. The prime minister said that Toor or Arhar dal farmers can now sell their produce directly to the government online, ensuring purchase at MSP and better prices in the market. The scope of this scheme will be extended to other pulses also, he added.

"Our effort is that the money we send abroad to buy pulses should be available to the farmers of the country," he said. He reiterated that the main goal of the Yatra is to ensure that no deserving beneficiary of the government schemes is left out. Referring to the buzz about the 'Modi ki guarantee', the prime minister dwelled on the rationale of covering beneficiaries in a mission mode and also underlined the link between the resolution of 'Viksit Bharat' (developed Bharat) and the saturation of schemes coverage.

Earlier, Modi also interacted with beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra via video conferencing as they hailed the government initiatives. Thousands of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra beneficiaries from across the country along with Union ministers, MPs, MLAs and local-level representatives joined the event. Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi noted that the Yatra completed 50 days recently and has connected with about 11 crore people.

"Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra has become not only the journey of the government but also the journey of the country," he said. "'Modi ki guarantee wali gaadi' is reaching every nook and corner of the country. The poor people who spent their lives waiting to get the benefits of government schemes are seeing a meaningful change today. "The government is reaching the doorsteps of the beneficiaries and proactively providing the benefits," the prime minister said.