Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a significant address at the India Today Conclave 2024 in New Delhi on Saturday, where he discussed wide-ranging topics including digital revolution, women empowerment, the startup environment, and more.
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He also commented on the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, for which the Election Commission announced the dates earlier the same day.
Check out the top quotes by PM Modi here:
Initiating his keynote address, PM Modi responded to Aroon Purie, Group Editor-in-Chief of India Today who suggested that the Prime Minister was preparing for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Instead, PM Modi humorously countered that he was preparing for the 2047 elections.
“Aroon ji, put your entire team to find out what Modi is. Let them figure it out. You got stuck on 2029, I am preparing for 2047,” the Prime Minister said amid thunderous cheers from the audience.
“Whenever I go to a conclave like this, you expect me to give headlines, but I am a person who works on deadlines, and not headlines,” the Prime Minister said.
Throughout his speech, PM Modi celebrated the notable increase of startup organisations within the country. “Ten years ago, only about 100 startups existed. Now, there are 1.25 lakh registered startups, spread across more than 600 districts, encapsulating 90 per cent of India’s territory,” he emphasized.
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The Prime Minister also highlighted the frequency of his and his ministers’ visits to the northeastern states since 2014. In comparison to his predecessors, PM Modi claimed he had made more official journeys to the northeastern region as Prime Minister for more than 680 times.
“I, as the Prime Minister, have visited the northeastern states more than combined tours done by all other Prime Ministers of the country,” he said.
“Furthermore, PM Modi also highlighted the PM Swanidhi scheme to boost street vendors of the country.
The PM Swanidhi scheme aimed at empowering the country’s street vendors was another key topic of PM Modi’s address. This program, initiated during the Covid pandemic, offers small, affordable loans to street vendors, a group he affirmed as being instrumental during the crisis and key contributors to India’s digital revolution.
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In a significant move towards empowering women, PM Modi mentioned the distribution of agricultural drones to village girls, a move designed to challenge societal prejudices around women operating machineries like tractors. The step, he said, was intended to demonstrate that “daughters can operate drones too”.
