The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today said the Centre desired to move forward on energy generation using natural gas, to power the economy of India. He said youth of the north-east could gain employment from projects related to such plants. He was speaking at the dedication to the nation of Unit-II of ONGC Tripura Company Ltd Power Plant, at Palatana.
He said this was perhaps the first time that a Prime Minister had the good fortune to spend three days among the people of the North-East. He said he is thankful to the people of all four states of the North-East which he visited, for the love and affection they had showered on him. He said his first function in the north-east was connected to "gati" - speed or connectivity, and the last one here at Palatana was dedicated to "urja" - energy.
He said for a nation to develop, it needed both gati and urja and also disha - direction. Therefore, the Prime Minister said the Government was converting the Look East policy to Act East policy. He said the Government had signed an agreement with Japan, to open an economic corridor with Myanmar, which would boost employment in the region. He said the North-East would not remain backward now. As the gateway to Asia, it had the potential to move forward in this century, which was being called the century of Asia. He said towards this end, the Government was keen on building modern infrastructure in the north-east, to unlock its potential.
He said all globally accepted norms of green energy were being followed in this plant which was dedicated to the nation today. He said this plant represented one of the biggest investments in the north-east region.
The Prime Minister offered Bangladesh that if it wanted to buy power from India, India was willing. He said Tripura was the area which had stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Bangladesh during the Mukti agitation of 1971. He thanked the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for facilitating movement of machinery which helped to build this plant. He said such cooperation between two countries is a message for the entire SAARC region. He said this plant also represented a model of cooperation between various north-east states.
The Prime Minister referred to the four colours of the Indian flag, and four revolutions which he looked forward to: the second green revolution for agriculture, which should include a push for organic farming in the north-east; white revolution, for milk and animal husbandry; saffron revolution, for energy development including renewable energy development; and blue revolution, for fisheries and marine development.
