New Delhi: The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the National Rozgar Mela via video conferencing today and distributed more than 70,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits in various Government departments and organizations. The new recruits, selected from across the country will be joining the Government in various Ministries and Departments including the Department of Revenue, Financial Services, Posts, School Education, Higher Education, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, Central Public Sector Undertakings, Water Resources, Personnel & Training and Ministry of Home Affairs among others. 44 places across the country were connected with the Mela during the Prime Minister’s address.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that it is not only a memorable day for the young recruits but also a historic day for the nation as today marks the day when the Tiranga was accepted in its current form by the Constituent Assembly for the first time in 1947. The Prime Minister remarked that it is a matter of great inspiration that the new recruits are receiving their appointment letter for government services on this significant day as he encouraged them to take the country’s name forward. He underlined that it is a result of the hard work and determination of the new recruits that they are getting the opportunity to contribute towards the goal of Viksit Bhart at a time when India is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Prime Minister congratulated the recruits and their families on this momentous occasion.

In the Azadi ka Amrit Kaal, the Prime Minister said that every citizen has taken the resolve to make India a ‘Viksit Bharat’. He emphasized that the next 25 years are extremely crucial for the new recruits and the nation as he stressed making the most out of the trust, significance and attraction towards India from the world in recent years. He highlighted the rise of India in the leading economies as it jumped from the 10th to the 5th largest economy of the world. He also reiterated that India is going to become one of the top 3 economies in the world as stated by most economy experts. “Becoming a top 3 economy in the world will be a monumental achievement for India”, the Prime Minister said as he highlighted that it will give rise to employment opportunities in every sector and also boost the income of the common citizens. He remarked that there cannot be a better time than today to be recruited by the government as the new officers have got the golden opportunity to serve the country in its Amrit Kaal. He suggested that their priorities should lie with serving the people of the country and resolving their issues to increase ease of living, while also aligning themselves with the goals of Viksit Bharat. “A small effort from you can create a huge change in someone’s life”, the Prime Minister said as he reiterated that the populace is the form of God and serving them is like serving God itself. He emphasized that the new appointees should work with the belief of serving others to unlock the greatest feeling of satisfaction.

Talking about the banking sector which had a good number of recruits in today’s programme, the Prime Minister underlined the role of the banking sector in the expansion of the economy. “Today, India is among the countries whose banking sector is considered to be the strongest”, said Modi recalling the journey of the last nine years. He dwelled on the ill impact of political selfishness on the sector in the past. He mentioned ‘phone banking’ of the past when loans were disbursed on the phone calls of the powerful. These loans were never repaid, he said.  These scams broke the back of the banking sector of the country, he said. He listed the measures taken after 2014 to retrieve the situation. He mentioned strengthening of management of the government banks, stress on professionalism and consolidation of small banks into large banks.  Modi said that by insuring deposits up to 5 lakhs,  more than 99 percent of deposits became safe leading to a renewed trust in the banking system. By acts like the Bankruptcy Code, banks were protected from losses. Furthermore, by tightening the grip over those who looted the government property by attaching their property, the banks known for losses and NPA are being discussed for their record profit.

The Prime Minister expressed pride in the hard work of the employees of the banking sector. “People of the banking sector never disappointed me or my vision”, he said. The Prime Minister hailed the efforts of the banking sector in making the Jan Dhan Account scheme a huge success by opening 50 crore Jan Dhan Accounts. This was a great help in transferring money into the accounts of crores of women during the pandemic.

Speaking on the efforts for the betterment of the MSME sector, the Prime Minister mentioned Mudra Yojana which provided collateral-free loans to the enterprising youth. He praised the banking sector for making the scheme a success. Similarly, the banking sector rose up to the occasion when the government doubled the loan amount for women Self Help Groups and helped the MSMe sector by providing loans which saved 1.5 crores jobs by protecting small enterprises. He also thanked the bank employees for making PM Kisan Samman Nidhi a grand success. More than 50 lakh Street Vendors were helped in the SVANidhi Scheme. “I am sure, you will take a ‘Sankalp Patra (resolution letter) for making banking a tool of empowerment of the poor along with your ‘Niyukti Patra’ (appointment letter).

The Prime Minister said the recent NITI report has found that 13 crore Indians were brought above the poverty line in the last 5 years.  He acknowledged the hard work of government servants in this and mentioned schemes for pucca houses, toilets and electricity connections. “When these schemes reached the poor, their morale also increased. This success is a symbol of the fact that if together we increase the efforts to remove poverty from India, then poverty can be completely eliminated from India. And certainly, every government employee of the country has a big role in this”, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister highlighted another dimension of decreasing poverty in the country, which is the expansion of the neo-middle class, which is creating new job opportunities. Growing demand and aspirations of the neo-middle class are driving manufacturing. He highlighted that it is the youth of the country who benefit the most from the boosting production in India’s factories and industries. He also mentioned how India is creating new records every day be it mobile phone exports, the number of cars sold in the first 6 months of 2023, and record sales for electric vehicles. “All such activities are boosting employment and employment opportunities in the country”, he added.

“The entire world is keeping an eye on India’s talent”, the Prime Minister said as he noted the issue of a declining working population due to higher average age in many developed economies in the world. Therefore, the Prime Minister said, this is the time for the youth of India to toil and enhance their skills and capabilities. Highlighting the great demand for India’s IT talent, doctors and nurses, the Prime Minister said that the respect for Indian talent is continuously growing in every country and every sector. The Prime Minister highlighted that in the last 9 years, the government has focused on skill development where about 1.5 crore youth have been trained under PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana. He also mentioned setting up 30 Skill India International Centers so the youth can be prepared for global opportunities. The Prime Minister also touched upon building new medical colleges, ITIs, IITs and technical institutes across the country and informed that till 2014, there were only about 380 medical colleges in our country whereas this number has increased to more than 700 in the last 9 years. He also mentioned the significant increase in the number of nursing colleges. “Skills that meet global demand are going to create lakhs of new opportunities for the youth of India”, Modi added.

Concluding the address, the Prime Minister underlined that all appointees are joining government service in a very positive environment and the responsibility of taking forward this positive thinking now rests on their shoulders. The Prime Minister also urged them to continue the process of learning and self-development and take maximum advantage of IGoT Karmayogi, an online learning platform prepared by the government.