Salient points of the press conference of Senior BJP Leader and former Union Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad

Salient points of press conference of Senior BJP Leader & Former Union Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad

 

Boycotting NITI Aayog Governing Council Meetings by some Opposition CMs is equal to boycotting States Development. The boycott of the NITI Aayog meeting by the 8 Chief Ministers of the opposition-ruled states is very unfortunate and irresponsible.

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100+ important issues will be discussed at the Governing Council Meeting (GCM), states not being represented will lose out.

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Opposition parties allege that Bharatiya Janata Party does not respect the institutions but the truth is that insulting the institutions of the country has become a habit of the Opposition.

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The GC Meetings give an opportunity to the Centre and States to identify key developmental issues and resolve them jointly. In the seven governing council meetings held till date, numerous issues were discussed and resolved.

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In the last Governing Council meeting nearly 40 key areas were identified and the same are being jointly implemented by Centre, States and UTs.

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The parties which are not attending this meeting today, many of these parties have earlier also opposed the CAG, Election Commission of India, CEC, and the election process of India. All these parties openly criticize the constitutional institutions of the country.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party wants to ask the opposition parties how far will you go against Modi ji. These people do not come to the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Parliament building. They have also decided not to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building.

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There is still one year left for the Lok Sabha elections, you will fight a political battle during the elections, but it is not right to fight a political battle with NITI Aayog.

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For the 8^th Governing Council Meeting, 100+ issues have been identified for arriving at a broad consensus at the national level. This will be an opportunity for Centre and States to work together as Team India and achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, reaching the last mile.

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The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April, 2023 is ₹ 1,87,035 crore. The revenues for the month of April 2023 are 12% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year

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Roadmap to be laid down on Viksit Bharat@2047, Thrust on MSMEs, Infrastructure and Investments, Minimising Compliances, Women Empowerment, Health and Nutrition, Skill Development and Gati Shakti for area development and social infrastructure.

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People of the states whose CMs boycott the meeting will not be able to reap benefits of discussions and decisions on minimizing compliances, Gatishakti, modern infrastructure, MSMEs, Skill Development.

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There is a rich legacy of action taken and citizen welfare from the roadmap laid down by previous GC meetings. So, the absence of the states in this important meeting will definitely block the pace of development in those states.

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By March 2023, 6.2 lakh km Optical Fibre Cable has been laid, more than 1.96 lakh GPs have been connected by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) and 1.85 lakh GPs are service ready on OFC. Besides, 4702 GPs have been connected over satellite media.

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Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad held an important press conference at the party's central office on Saturday and criticized the Opposition parties for boycotting the 8th NITI Aayog meeting.

 

Shri Prasad said that today the Niti Aayog meeting is taking place. Nearly 8 Chief Ministers are not coming in the NITI Aayog meeting, including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin, Telangana CM KCR, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. It is being said that Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot is not coming due to ill health, but what is the exact truth, we don’t know. How many CMs of Congress ruled states will come to the meeting of NITI Aayog, it will be known after the meeting.

 

The Senior BJP Leader asserted that the NITI Aayog is a very important platform for the development and implementation of plans of the country. This is the 8th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog. Opposition parties allege that Bharatiya Janata Party does not respect the institutions but the truth is that insulting the institutions of the country has become a habit of the Opposition. The parties which are not attending this meeting today, many of these parties have earlier also opposed the CAG, Election Commission of India, CEC, and the election process of India. Rahul Gandhi protested in the Supreme Court, later he had to apologise. All these parties openly criticize the constitutional institutions of the country. If the decision is in their favor then it is okay for the Opposition and if the decision is against them then they will oppose it. This is the thinking of the Opposition parties including the Congress.

 

Shri Prasad said that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to ask the opposition parties how far they will go against Modi ji? These people do not come to the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Parliament building. They have also decided not to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building. They will comment on the immense popularity of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji. During the Corona period, two indigenous vaccines were made in the country, oxygen and other medicines and materials were made available, then the opposition parties ridiculed that too.

 

Former Union Minister said that the GC Meetings give an opportunity to the Centre and States to identify key developmental issues and resolve them jointly. In the seven governing council meetings held till date, numerous issues were discussed and resolved. In the last Governing Council meeting nearly 40 key areas were identified and the same are being jointly implemented by Centre, States and UTs. For the 8^th Governing Council Meeting, 100+ issues have been identified for arriving at a broad consensus at the national level. This will be an opportunity for Centre and States to work together as Team India and achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 – Reaching the last mile.

 

Shri Prasad said that the Governing Council Meetings held in the past have led to substantial outcomes on ground. 2,530 cities have implemented the Online Building Permit System (OBPS) in 30 States/ UTs. An All-India open source software developed under NUDM, enabling 9 services online. MoUs signed with 27 States/Uts; rollout commenced in 5 States. All urban services and all cities to be made online by 2026 City Finance ranking portal made live on 20 March 2023. Data of urban governance programmes integrated with PM Gati Shakti portal. The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April, 2023 is ₹ 1,87,035 crore. The revenues for the month of April 2023 are 12% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.

 

Former Union Minister said that the Deployment of 5G cells, Indian Telegraph Right of Way (RoW) Rules, 2016 amended dated 17th August 2022. “GatiShakti Sanchar Portal” launched in May 2022. BharatNet is being implemented in a phased manner to provide connectivity at all Gram Panchayats (approx. 2,50,000) with broadband in the country and expansion in its scope. By March 2023, 6.2 lakh km Optical Fibre Cable has been laid, more than 1.96 lakh GPs have been connected by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) and 1.85 lakh GPs are service ready on OFC. Besides, 4702 GPs have been connected over satellite media.

 

Shri Prasad said that the NIRF portal opened for registration of HEIs for India Rankings 2023 included registration of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for Agriculture and Allied Sectors in addition to existing categories and subject disciplines. Applications being encouraged through advertisement. 64 out of 67 Agricultural Universities have applied for NIRF ranking. Others are in the process of application. All Agricultural Universities have initiated the process of joining NAAC. Some have already joined. Others are in the various stages of getting NAAC accreditation.

 

The Senior BJP Leader said, to promote exports, in coordination with APEDA, handholding and support for FPOs has been initiated. Export of coloured capsicum, cherry tomatoes and broccoli to Arab countries and green chilli and okra to European countries has been undertaken. The export of value-added products have also increased such as pulses from 359 to 662 USD million (98%), processed vegetables from 412 to 509 USD million (33.25%), processed fruits and juices from 778 to 908 USD Millions (26.08%), groundnuts from 629 to 832 USD million (43.39%).

 

Shri Prasad said that G20 meetings are being held in 59 cities across the length and breadth of India, covering all States and UTs. Jan Bhagidari activities with active coordination with State Governments, like G20 lecture series in 75 Universities across the country, Know Your G20' quiz through MyGov, dissemination of a G20 'School connect’ brochure, setting up of G20 pavilion and exhibition at the New Delhi World Book Fair, G20 co-branding and pavilions at the Manipur Sangai Festival, Kite Festival in Gujarat, Surajkund International Crafts Fair, a G20 themed Food Festival, Flower show etc.

 

The Senior BJP Leader said that the consultation-cum-Review meetings were held with States/UTs (5 meetings from Oct 2022 to March 2023) to discuss the implementation of NEP 2020, Strategy and Roadmap for Action for implementation of NEP 2020. Vidya Pravesh module of NCERT implemented across 33 States/UTs from 2022-23. 1.81 crore students from 8.7 lakh schools participating in the Programme. Multilingual e-contents developed in 29 Indian languages and 7 foreign languages across States/UTs. ABC (Academic Bank of Credit) Portal has been set up - Around 889 Universities onboarded and 81 lakh students registered. National Credit Framework (NCrF) jointly developed. National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) released. Single Unified online platform has been set for internship. 10560 HEIs and 71764 industries registered on the portal offering Internships. 1.72 Crore verified students are registered on the portal. 26.11 lakh internships provided to students. More than 6000 Institutions have signed approximately 23000 MOUs with industries for coordinating. 41 Engineering Courses across 10 States in 8 Indian Languages started. Approx 1553 SWAYAM Courses have been translated into 13 different regional languages.

 

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