“Our government is making every effort to transform the country and take it to new heights,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing members of the Indian diaspora in Manila, Philippines during the ASEAN summit.
“Our efforts are aimed at transforming India and ensuring everything in our nation matches global standards,” said Modi in his nearly 35-minute speech.
Observing that 21st century is described as Asia’s century, Modi told the cheering audience that it was the duty of every Indian to work hard to make it a century of India.
Speaking about the Act East Policy, the Prime Minister said, “Since the beginning of our term, we have focused on the Act East Policy. India feels a special bond with these nations, adding that there would hardly be any country in the area which wouldn’t be familiar with the epic Ramayana.”
Stressing that peace is integral part of Indian culture, Modi said, “India has always contributed to the world peace and more than 1.25 lakh Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives just for peace during the two world wars. Our contingent in the UN Peacekeeping Forces is among the biggest. India is the land of Mahatma Gandhi, peace is integral to our culture.
Addressing a hall full of Indian community members, Modi also lauded his government's initiatives such as 'Swachh Bharat', 'Jan Dhan Yojna' and 'Ujjwala Yojana'. He said 30 crore families, which were out of the banking system for 70 years, have got their zero minimum balance accounts during the NDA regime and their total savings amounted to Rs 67,000 crore."
The Prime Minister said, “This is not a small change. Those (the poor) who were out of the banking system have now become the focal point of it.”
Talking about the ‘Swachh Bharat’ cleanliness initiative, he said, “If Singapore can be clean, if Philippines can be clean then why not India? Which Indian doesn't want cleanliness? We have started from where Mahatma Gandhi left and till now over 2.25 lakh villages in India have become open defecation free.”
PM Modi said the task of transforming India is proceeding at an unprecedented scale. He said we are working day and night towards easy, effective and transparent governance.
He said, with an emphasis on 'minimum government, maximum governance', about 1,200 outdated laws have been repealed in the last three years.
Speaking about ‘Make in India’, Modi said he wants to transform India into a manufacturing hub. He also said he wants to make the Indian youth not just job seekers but job creators as well.
