| Indian economy looking better than pre-Covid days, says PM Modi | | | Agencies
New Delhi, Jan 1: Amid growing concerns over spread of Omicron, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India needs to accelerate pace of development in the new year and will not allow the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to dampen the growth process.
He stressed that the country will continue to fight the pandemic with “full caution and vigilance”, and also take care of the national interest.
Speaking at the release of 10th instalment under the PM-KISAN scheme, PM Modi reeled out the achievements of the country during the pandemic-hit 2021 across sectors, like health, defence, agriculture, start-up ecosystem and infrastructure.
“2021 will be remembered for India’s strong fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as also for reforms undertaken during the year,” PM Modi said, and lauded the achieving of more than 145 crore Covid vaccine doses.
He said in the year gone by, India accelerated the speed of reforms in various sectors, and also created modern infrastructure.
“We have to further accelerate the pace of development. Corona poses challenges, but it cannot stall the growth process,” the Prime Minister added.
India saw a single-day rise of 22,775 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, highest since October 6 last year, while the number of active cases surpassed one lakh and Omicron infection tally reached 1,431.
The Prime Minister said that as India enters the new year, the country needs to embark upon a new journey taking inspiration from the achievements of the past years.
He recalled the nation’s effort in fighting the pandemic, vaccination and making arrangement for the vulnerable sections during the difficult period. The government provided additional food grains for free to nearly 80 crore people during the pandemic, which cost ₹ 2.6 lakh crore.
He said the government is working relentlessly to strengthen the country’s medical infrastructure and listed efforts like new oxygen plants, new medical colleges, wellness centres, Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission and Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission in the direction of revamping medical infrastructure. |
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