U.P. setting new benchmarks in development: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a place of hope and aspiration while setting new benchmarks in every field of development while inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of various development projects in Varanasi on March 24.

Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a place of hope and aspiration while setting new benchmarks in every field of development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, while inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of various development projects in Varanasi.

“Uttar Pradesh has come out of its old image of despair and is moving in the direction of aspiration; prosperity is bound to happen,” Mr. Modi said.

Addressing a gathering at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, the PM congratulated Yogi Adityanath for being the State’s longest-serving Chief Minister. “Yogiji, on March 25, would be completing one year of his second term. Two-three days back, he created the record of being the state’s CM for the longest period of time. It is a great achievement,” he added.

Greeted his audience in typical ‘Banarasi’ style, Mr. Modi said that the projects started in the city, which also happens to be his parliamentary constituency, would pave the way for the prosperity of Varanasi. The ropeway whose foundation stone he laid would provide convenience, he said, as the time needed to cover the distance between the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and Banaras Cantnment Railway Station would be reduced to a few minutes. This is India’s first public transport ropeway project.

“These developmental projects cover various sectors including health, education, cleanliness of Ganga and flood control and others. Today at Banaras Hindu University, the foundation stone of the Center of Excellence on Machine Tool Design has also been laid. That implies that the city is getting another world class institute. Everywhere, the development of Kashi is being discussed,” the PM said.

In his roughly six-hour long stay in Varanasi, Mr. Modi also inaugurated the ‘One World TB Summit 2023,’ organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and said that India had taken a pledge to eliminate tuberculosis from the country by 2025, while the global target to end tuberculosis was 2030. “TB will lose and India will win, the world will win,” Mr. Modi said. He also launched the Tuberculosis Free Panchayat Initiative, Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment and India’s Annual Tuberculosis report 2023.

Discussing the benefits of the direct bank transfer (DBT) to TB patients, Mr. Modi said that 75 lakh tuberculosis patients have benefited from the DBT mechanism as more than ₹2,000 crore was sent to their accounts through the Ayushman Bharat scheme. “We have also started three months treatment for TB prevention instead of six months course. We have created the Nikshay portal to track the care needed for each patient,” the PM said.