Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', through video conferencing, to boost livelihood opportunities in rural India amid COVID-19 crisis.
"Today is a historic day, a scheme for the welfare and for the livelihood of the poor has been started. It is dedicated to the workers, to the youths and women living in villages. The majority of these include those who have returned to their villages during the lockdown, they want to develop their village through their efforts and skill," Modi said at the launch of the event.
While addressing the nation, PM Modi said country is proud of the sacrifice made by our braves in Ladakh. "Country is proud of the sacrifice made by our braves in Ladakh. Today when I am speaking to people of Bihar, I will say the valour was of Bihar Regiment, every Bihari is proud of it. I pay tributes to the braves who laid down their lives for the nation," he said.
"My labourer friends, the country understands your emotions and your needs. 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan' starting from Khagaria, Bihar is a major tool to fulfil this need and emotion," PM Modi said.
PM Modi on Saturday lauded the efforts of the villages in its attempt to curb the fast-spreading novel coronavirus.
PM Modi said that coronavirus is a huge menace, whether someone acknowledges your work or not, "I hail your contribution in fighting coronavirus." "COVID-19 is a huge menace, the whole world has been shaken by it but you stood tall. The way India's villages have fought corona, it has taught a lesson even to the cities," he said.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said during the launch of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan said that migrant workers who have returned to Bihar are now wiling to stay back in their native places hence, it is important to create employment opportunities for them.
The campaign of 125 days across 116 districts in 6 states aims to work in mission mode to help migrant workers.It will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide jobs and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country with a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore, the PMO office had said.
Around 39 crore people have received financial assistance of Rs 34,800 crore amid the COVID-19 lockdown under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) as on May 5, the government had said in a statement on May 6.These people received the assistance, which was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26 to protect them from the impact of the lockdown due to COVID-19, via digital payment infrastructure.
