The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 107

The International News Weekly INDIA
August 16, 2019 | Toronto 10
PM: ‘Population explosion a worry’,
govt schemes needed to control it
Continued from page 01
The PM dwelt at length
on the decision to revoke
J&K’s special status and
bifurcate it, and underlined
that two-thirds support
in both Houses of
Parliament reflected that
the move enjoyed wide
support and was a task
waiting to be done as old
approaches to resolving
issues had failed.
“Today, I can say with
pride that every Indian
can say we are one nation,
one Constitution.
And this one dream of
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
has been realised,” the
PM said.
Taking a swipe at Congress,
he said, “The country
asks them: if Article
370 or 35A were so necessary,
then despite
such a majority, why
didn’t you make it permanent?
Why did you
leave it as temporary?
This means that even you
know what happened was
not right, but you did not
have the courage to rectify
it or the political will,”
Modi said.
“The new system in
place is for direct benefit
of the people on the
ground. Now everyone
living in J&K can directly
question the Centre.”
He said the discriminatory
provisions of Article
35A, which flow from
Article 370, restricted the
rights of women and deprived
Dalits and tribals
of political reservation.
Modi referred to reading
down of Article 370
and passage of the legislation
to ban triple talaq
as reflecting the government’s
resolve neither to
keep problems pending
nor to nurture them.
“India does not want
to wait too long for incremental
progress. A
high jump is needed, our
thought process has to be
expanded,” he said while
speaking of the government’s
plan to invest Rs
100 lakh crore in infrastructure-building.
“People’s
trust in us has given
us new strength. The 2019
mandate shows hopelessness
has given way to
hope,” he said.
PM Links Family Planning To Nation-Building
New Delhi: The mention,
perhaps the first ever,
of “population explosion”
in a prime minister’s Independence
Day speech marks
the return of focus on an issue
which was seen as a big
national priority in the early
1970s before the excesses
committed during the Emergency
discredited what was
known as the “family planning”
programme.
Subsequent governments
diluted the exercise,
and it was rechristened
“family welfare” before it
came to be seen as redundant
because of the “demographic
dividend” narrative that
took hold in the wake of the
reforms of 1990s. The wheel
seemed to have turned full
circle when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi put it on his
agenda on Thursday.
Modi said the issue was
not tackled all these years
because of political considerations.
“Dear countrymen,
our nation has reached
a phase when we should be
transparent about everything.
Time has now come
that we should take challenges
heads on. Sometimes,
decisions are taken keeping
in mind political advantage
but they come at the cost of
growth of our future generation,”
he said.
He suggested that the
problem had been dodged so
far with an eye on political
advantage. “The time has
now come that we should
take (such) challenges head
on,” he said-.Modi was all
praise for citizens who have
chosen to restrict the size of
their families. “In our society,
there is a section which
is very well aware of the consequences
of uncontrolled
population growth. They
deserve our accolades and
respect. This is an expression
of their love for the nation.
Before having a baby,
they take a well-considered
decision whether they will
be able to take care of their
child’s needs,” the PM said.
Further emphasising his
point, he said, “Not only do
they (small households) contribute
to the welfare of their
family but also to the good of
the nation. People who have
played this huge role need
to be honoured, and by setting
them as examples we
need to inspire the segment
of society still not thinking
on these lines. We need to
worry about population explosion.”
The concern over growing
numbers has also been
the trigger for unease over
the “influx” of foreigners
and the demand to document
citizens by drawing an
all-India national register of
citizens.
In 2017, the UN’s World
Population Prospect predicted
that India’s population
was set to surpass China’s
in 2024. The country’s population
is projected to touch
1.5 billion in 2030. India accounts
for 18% of the world’s
total population.
As per census data, the
decadal growth rate has declined
from 21.15% in census
2001 to 17.64% in census
2011, while crude birth rate
has fallen from 23.1 to 19.
The total fertility rate has
reduced from 2.6 to 2.2. The
TFR is higher in some northern
states like Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh. Fertility rate
among Muslims is coming
down, as with other communities,
but remains higher.
Treat wealth creators with respect,
says Modi in outreach to industry
Asks People To
Buy Products
Made In India
New Delhi: While asking
citizens to opt for
Made-in-India products,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday
reached out to businesses
and called for treating
wealth creators with respect
in what was seen as
an attempt to bridge the
trust deficit between the
government and industry,
which has grown in
recent months.
“Those who create
wealth for the nation,
those who contribute to
the nation’s wealth creation
are serving the nation.
We should not suspect
them and we should
not treat them with disdain.
It is important that
those who create wealth
in the country should be
given respect and encouraged.
They should be given
pride of place. If wealth
is not created, it will not
be distributed. If wealth
is not distributed, then
the poor cannot benefit.
Therefore, wealth creation
is critical for a
country like us and we
want to encourage that.
To me, those who
are engaged in creating
wealth are the country’s
wealth,” the PM said in
his Independence Day
speech.
His statement comes
barely six weeks after finance
minister Nirmala
Sitharaman’s words of
encouragement in her
maiden Union Budget
speech.
Modi also used the
speech to reiterate his
backing to ‘Made-in-
India’ goods as he asked
citizens to prioritise locally-made
products.
While underlining the
need to boost exports, including
an emphasis on
district-level focus, the
PM said, “We have to proceed
with the Make-in-India
mission that we took
up. Why should Made-in-
India product not be our
priority?
We should decide that
we will give priority to
what is produced in my
country. We have to focus
on local products for
a lucky tomorrow.”
In fact, exports, which
have been one of the big
laggards in recent years
and are seen to be dragging
the overall manufacturing
sector, was a key
theme.
“Our country has to
increase exports. India
can’t just be a market for
the world. We also have
to attempt to reach global
markets,” Modi said.
The PM also said the
$5 trillion GDP target
may appear tough but it
could be achieved over
the next five years and
will help in fulfilling the
aspirations of all Indians.
He said the economy
should use the stable and
predictable regime to its
advantage, especially
when the government
had managed to strike a
balance between moderate
inflation and growth.