President Ram Nath Kovind addresses joint session of Parliament; here are the key highlights of his speech

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday highlighted the achievements of the Narendra Modi government's mega COVID-19 vaccination drive and noted that 150 crore doses were administered to the country's citizens in a record time.

In his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session, President Kovind said the Rs 64,000 crore PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission will prepare the country for a health crisis in the future.

The Budget Session of Parliament formally began with President Ram Nath Kovind’s joint address to both Houses in the Central Hall. 

Addressing the joint sitting of the two houses, the President said, “I bow down to the lakhs of freedom fighters who prioritised their duties and helped India get its rights. I also respectfully remember the personalities who contributed to the development journey of India in the 75 years of independence."

The Budget Session, which commences from today, is likely to be stormy affair as Congress-led Opposition has decided to corner the BJP-led Centre over several key issues, including the recent report in The New York Times on the Pegasus matter.

The session comes amid the third COVID wave and a high-octane election campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur. These five states will hold polls in seven phases from February 10 to March 7. 

On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union budget for the year 2022-23. The Budget Session of Parliament is scheduled to conclude on April 8 where the first part of the session will extend up to February 11, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.

Here are the key highlights of President’s speech: -

‘I bow down to India's freedom heroes’

"I bow down to the lakhs of freedom fighters who prioritised their duties and helped India get its rights. I also respectfully remember the personalities who contributed to the development journey of India," said President Kovind.

President hails India’s fight against Covid-19 pandemic

Lauding Centre-State coalition during COVID pandemic, he added, "'Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone around the world. India has too lost many people during this time. But Centre, States, Sanitation Workers worked as a unit. This is a good example of Democracy.''

Mentioning India's mass vaccination drive, he said, "We have crossed 150 cr vaccinations in less than a year. Over 90% eligible people have taken 1st dose of vaccination. Precautionary dose has also begun. Indian vaccines have saved lives of crores of people".

'Padma awards an example of unity in diversity'

Shifting his focus to Padma awards presented by the Centre recently, the President said, "Democracy means feeling of respect for all people. Our govt is working to ensure justice to all people. Padma Awards is an example of this unity. The awards are being given irrespective of religion, caste.''

‘NEP promoting local languages’

In his speech, the President hailed the Centre's New Education Policy and said that local languages are being promoted as part of NEP. "Emphasis is being laid to conduct entrance examinations in Indian languages. 19 engineering colleges across 10 states to teach in 6 Indian languages this year.''

President hails Tokyo Olympic winners

In his joint address to both houses of Parliament, the President, "India won 7 medals in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. India also set a record in Tokyo Paralympics by winning 19 medals. There are also several Khelo India centres being installed across India."

'Har Ghar Jal’ initiative

Flagging other achievements of the central government, President Kovind said ''over six crore rural households are getting tap water under 'Har Ghar Jal initiative''.

'India's agriculture exports beyond Rs three lakh crore'

President Kovind said India's agriculture exports have also crossed Rs three lakh crore. He said despite the pandemic, the country's farmers produced 30 crore tonnes of food grains and 33 crore horticulture produce in 2020-21.

'PM-KISAN a big game changer'

The President said more than 11 crore farmer families received Rs 1.80 lakh crore through PM-KISAN and big changes have been seen in the farm sector. He said the Government procured more than 433 lakh metric tonnes of wheat, which benefited more than 50 lakh farmers.

'Indian women empowering the nation'

President Ram Nath Kovind said ''Women are playing an essential role in empowering the nation...we are encouraging Banking Sakhis to take banking services to remotest regions; schemes like Ujjwala Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao empower our Nari Shakti.''

'Mission Karmayogi' 

President Ram Nath Kovind said that the Narendra Modi government has introduced capacity building programmes under the 'Mission Karmayogi' campaign to strengthen & boost the participation of civil servants in the government sector. 

'Yoga, Ayurveda becoming popular'

The President acknowledged that as a result of the efforts made by the central government, the popularity of Yoga, Ayurveda, and traditional medicine is increasing day by day.

'Relentless efforts by my government has led to India emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world,'' President Kovind said, adding, ''India received USD 48 billion in FDI in first seven months of this fiscal. This is proof of investor confidence in the country.''

'Make In India a top priority in Defence contracts'

The President said that the government is a priority to 'Make in India' in awarding defence contracts.  As many as 209 items used by armed forces will not be imported, said President Kovind.

President hails 'Gatishakti' masterplan

The President said that the 'Gatishakti' master plan is ushering the country in a new era of multi-modal transport. 'In last seven years, 24,000 km of railway route electrified. India's longest expressway linking Delhi to Mumbai to be completed soon; the government has also approved 21 greenfield airports,'' President Kovind said.

He added that eleven new metro rail lines have started which are benefiting lakhs of passengers across eight states. "India now has a network of more than 1.40 lakh km of national highways as against 90,000 km in March 2014,'' President Kovind said. 

The Budget Session, which commences from today, is likely to be a stormy affair as Congress-led Opposition has decided to corner the BJP-led Centre over several key issues, including the recent report in The New York Times on the Pegasus matter.

The session comes amid the third COVID wave and a high-octane election campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur. These five states will hold polls in seven phases from February 10 to March 7.