Government that Cares
That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.
Thomas Jefferson
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came on board with the promise of putting the interests of citizens above all other considerations. Throughout the three years of this government, it has been amply demonstrated that, whether you are on your motherland or on a foreign one, the government is always there to support and protect its citizens. No matter how grave or tough the situation, the government is sensitive to the needs of its citizens and is always there to help them out of such situations. Be it our youth, our farmers, Divyang citizens or the marginalized sections, this government has always been proactive about addressing their concerns and resolving them.
The alacrity that this government has displayed, not only for its citizens within the country but also beyond the borders, is something new to witness. Be it the 1,100 Indians stranded in Ukraine, or 3,750 Indians in Libya or 7,200 Indians in Iraq; the safe return of all was ensured. Similarly, 6,710 individuals out of whom 4,478 were Indians were provided a safe evacuation out of Yemen back home and 156 Indians were brought back from South Sudan.
In the eventful period of the last three years, there have been numerous unfortunate incidents when Indians gone abroad for employment have been caught up in the visiting country’s internal conflicts or other life-threatening situations. At such times, the government did not allow them to lose hope and left no stone unturned in bringing them back home safely. Success of the efforts made by the government ignite a ray of hope in the heart of every Indian and the assurance that they have all the support from their government, no matter where they are.
In manmade as well as natural disasters, we have seen the government standing firm to support its citizens. For instance, in the case of a severe drought that Maharashtra faced recently all possible measures were taken to reach out to the people in adversely affected areas. The Rail Ministry came forward and took charge of supplying water to drought-affected and far flung areas of Maharashtra. Over 150 rail wagons were pressed into service and more than 6 crore litres water was transported.
To ensure that there is no shortage of funds at the time of an emergency arising from any natural calamities or hazards, the government has increased the State Disaster Fund’s allocation by more than 80%.
Farmer welfare is the most integral component of the government’s vision. Keeping this in mind, the government has rationalized and lowered the criteria for providing subsidy to farmers.
The government believes that everyone must have the opportunity to live a respectable life, including our Divyang citizens. Sensitive to their needs, the government has increased reservation in jobs for persons with disabilities from 3% to 4%. Approximately 4,700 differently-abled people have been benefited through the support-camps organized by the government. In addition, the provision for the number of types of disabilities as per the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 have been increased. Speech and Language Disability and Specific Learning Disability have been added for the first time. Acid Attack Victims have also been included in this Act, providing them a strong shoulder to lean upon.
The Central Government has launched several schemes for providing finance to the women, minorities and SC/ST/OBCs. Besides specific schemes, the Government also provides special concessions to them under various other schemes. To ensure safety and honour of the marginalized sections, special courts have been set up for the timely trial of offences against the SC & STs under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015. In line with the government’s principle of according highest priority to social justice, the National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes has been given constitutional status. For decades, tribes and forest dwellers did not get titles of their land that they were dealing with for generations. The Narendra Modi government fast-tracked the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. About 52 lakh individual and community titles have already been distributed in the last three years. It is not only the societal or national issues that the government has shown concern for but also for the daily issues faced by citizens. Centralized Public Grievances Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), where citizens can lodge grievances has been more thoroughly monitored and public grievances have been addressed and resolved with promptness.
Many ministries have been consistently hailed for swiftly redressing public grievances through the use of technology via social media. Today, the citizens feel ministers and the government are dissolving artificially erected barriers and there is an increasing sense of accessibility and ownership they feel towards the government.
