India has become the centre of hope for the entire world and it is made possible because the government is functioning in tune with the aspiration and needs of the country’s citizens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, where he dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs. 10,500 crores.
“Every policy and decision is for making the life of the common citizen better. The world has acknowledged this as experts are praising India’s achievements,” the Prime Minister said, addressing a huge gathering of people.
Stating that development of advanced infrastructure was key to inclusive growth, Modi said the isolated approach to infrastructure development by the previous governments resulted in higher logistics expenses and created a dent in the supply chain.
“Our government has adopted a new approach to infrastructure development as supply chain and logistics depend on multi-modal connectivity while focussing on an integrated view of development,” he said.
Giving an example of the integrated view of development, the Prime Minister listed out the 6-lane roads in the proposed economic corridor project in Visakhapatnam, a separate road for port connectivity, the beautification of Visakhapatnam railway station and the construction of the state-of-the-art fishing harbour under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
He said it had not only accelerated the pace of infrastructure construction but has also reduced the cost of projects. “Multi-modal transport system is the future of every city and Visakhapatnam has taken a step in this direction,” he added.
At the same time, Modi said schemes for the welfare of the poor were being expanded. “In this journey of development, the areas that were earlier marginalised have also been included. Even in the most backward districts, development schemes are being run through the Aspirational Districts Program”, he said.
The Prime Minister said Visakhapatnam is a very special city with an extremely rich tradition of trade and business. He pointed out that Visakhapatnam being an important port in ancient India was part of the trade route to West Asia and Rome thousands of years ago, and it still remains the central point of India’s trade in today’s day and age.
He was also all praises for the immense talent pool among the people of Andhra Pradesh and said they had made a prominent name for themselves in every field. He said that Andhra Pradesh and its coastal regions would move ahead in this race of development with new momentum and energy.
The Prime Minister highlighted that for centuries, the sea has been a source of prosperity for India and our seashores have acted as a gateway to this prosperity. He emphasised that the projects worth thousands of crores which are going on for port development in the country will get a further expansion.
Some of the projects for which the Prime Minister laid foundation stone include modernisation of Visakhapatnam railway station at a cost of ₹450 crore, upgradation of Visakhapatnam fishing harbour with ₹150 crore, six-lane greenfield Raipur-Visakhapatnam economic corridor at a cost of ₹3,750 crore, dedicated port road, Narsannapet-Pathapatnam road expansion at ₹200 crore, U-field Onshore Deepwater block project of ONGC in Andhra Pradesh developed at a cost of more than ₹2,900 crore and Srikakulam Angul Natural Gas Pipeline Project of GAIL at a cost of ₹2,650 crore.
In his inaugural speech, chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy requested the Prime Minister to liberally release funds to the state to overcome the difficulties of state bifurcation.
Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, Union minister for railways Ashvini Vaishnav, MPs, MLAs and MLCs of the YSR Congress party were present on the occasion.