The railway budget for the projects in Karnataka increased fourfold in the last 8 years, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

MANGALURU, Sep 3 (The CONNECT) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said

Karnataka is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Sagarmala scheme and the

prioritised infrastructure development in the last 8 years.  

Highway Projects worth 70 thousand crore rupees have been added over the last 8 years in the state and more than one lakh crore rupees worth of projects are in the pipeline, Modi said launching a series of projects yesterday.

The railway budget for the projects in Karnataka increased fourfold in the last 8 years, the Prime Minister said. While more than 3 crore houses have been built for the poor in the country, in Karnataka, the approval for more than 8 lakh pucca houses have been given. “Thousands of middle-class families have also been supported with crores of rupees to build their houses”, he said.

He highlighted that under the Jal Jeevan Mission, more than 6 crore households in the country have been linked with piped water facilities in just 3 years. “Piped water has reached more than 30 lakh, rural families of Karnataka, for the first time”, the Prime Minister said.

Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, about 4 crore poor people of the country have received free treatment during hospitalisation. “Due to this, about 50 thousand crore rupees have been saved from being spent for the poor. More than 30 lakh patients of Karnataka have also got the benefit of Ayushman Bharat”, Modi said.

Referring to the projects for which were inaugurated or foundation stones were laid, the Prime Minister said that these projects will increase the ease of living and employment in Karnataka especially, ‘One District and One Product’ scheme will facilitate the availability of market for the products of fishermen, artisans and farmers of the region.

The Prime Minister said that the government is making sure that those who were forgotten due to their weak financial conditions are not neglected. The Prime Minister further added that small farmers, small traders, fishermen, street vendors, and crores of such people have started getting the benefits of the country's development for the first time. “They are joining the mainstream of development of India”, he said.

Drawing everyone’s attention towards India’s seven and a half thousand kilometres coastal line, the Prime Minister said that we have to take full advantage of this potential of the country. The Prime Minister said, “When tourism grows, it benefits our cottage industries, our artisans, village industries, street vendors, auto rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers etc. I am glad that New Mangalore Port is continuously adding new facilities to boost cruise tourism.”

Reflecting on the GDP figures that have come out a few days ago, the Prime Minister said that the policies made by India during the Corona period and the decisions taken have played a key role in the development of India. “Last year, despite so many global disruptions, India’s exports were worth a total of $ 670 billion i.e. 50 lakh crore rupees. Overcoming every challenge, India made a new record of merchandise export of $ 418 billion i.e. 31 lakh crore rupees”, the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister said that every sector related to the growth engine of the country is running at full capacity today. The service sector is also moving towards rapid growth. He said that the impact of PLI schemes can be seen very clearly in the manufacturing sector. “The entire electronic manufacturing sector including mobile phones has grown manifold”, he said.