ITANAGAR, Sep 17: Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impeccable leadership and unwavering passion that ‘propelled India to unprecedented heights of prosperity’ in the last nine years, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday said PM Modi has sent a strong message to China by holding G20 events in Arunachal despite opposition from the neighbouring country.
Without naming China, the Chief Minister said that previously, foreign delegates, especially the ambassadors of foreign countries were ‘afraid’ of visiting Arunachal Pradesh due to objections from our neighbouring country.
“But this time, despite opposition from the neighbouring country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the bold decision of holding G20 event at Itanagar and C20 meeting at Namsai, and the foreign delegates came to Arunachal Pradesh then, thus sending a strong message to that country,” Khandu said.
The Chief Minister was speaking in a function organised at the DK Convention Centre here to mark the launch of Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Scheme by PM Modi from the newly inaugurated International Convention and Expo Centre ‘Yashobhoomi’ in New Delhi’s Dwarka on the occasion of Vishwakarma ‘Jayanti’.
While noting that the PM-Vishwakarma Scheme will largely benefit the artisans of the country, the Chief Minister on the occasion announced that Arunachal Pradesh government will launch a flagship scheme for the left out artisans not included in the Central scheme so that everyone gets an equal opportunity.
With a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore, the Central Sector Scheme aims to provide holistic support to the traditional artisans and craftsmen, so as to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products and also to integrate them with MSME value chains.
State’s Industries, Textile & Handicrafts, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Trade & Commerce Minister Tumke Bagra informed that apart from 9,600 enlisted artisans in the state, 9,200 weavers registered under Ministry of Textile will be benefitted by the PM-Vishwakarma Scheme.
With the launch of the PM-Vishwakarma Scheme, self-employment avenues will be created across the state, thereby decreasing people’s dependency on government jobs. Moreover, the number of job seekers will also reduce considerably, Bagra opined.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju, who also attended the event, cited India’s rise on the global stage under PM Modi’s leadership during the past nine years. He also mentioned Arunachal Pradesh’s developmental journey that got a major boost in the past few years with CM Pema Khandu on the helm.
“In the last 7-8 years, Arunachal Pradesh has seen the fastest development in the country,” Rijiju, also the Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal West constituency, said. He said that basic amenities like roads, water, electricity, etc have reached almost every citizen in the state and now the government’s next phase will be to make quality of life better for them through income generation, better health and education facilities etc.
Also expressing his conviction on Arunachal's prospect of becoming number one state in India, Rijiju said, “I am sure that in the next 10 years, Arunachal Pradesh will have the highest per capita GDP in the country”. “If we can tap even 30 percent of our hydropower resources, we will become a financially self-sufficient state,” he further added.
He also appealed to the youth of Arunachal to bring positive changes in their thinking and not consider any work as small. The tribal youth should focus on making themselves skilled so that they can get employment.