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PM commences grand Deepotsav celebrations

Published By : Admin | October 23, 2022 | 18:53 IST
“Today Ayodhya is a reflection of the golden chapter of India’s cultural rejuvenation”
“The illumination and effects of these lights is the proclamation of the principle mantra of India - 'Satyamev Jayate'”
“Deepawali lamps are the living energy of India's ideals, values and philosophy”
“ ‘Diya’ burns to dispel darkness creates a sense of dedication”

On the eve of Deepavali, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi initiated the commencement of the grand Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh today. The Prime Minister also witnessed the 3-D Holographic Projection Mapping Show at Ram Ki Paidi on the banks of river Saryu along with the Grand Musical Laser Show.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister hailed Lord Ram and said that today Ayodhya Ji is divine with the light of the diyas and grand with emotions. “Today Ayodhya is a reflection of the golden chapter of India’s cultural rejuvenation,” the Prime Minister remarked. The Prime Minister stated that he felt a rush of emotions running through him when he came here for the Rajyabhishek earlier. The Prime Minister wondered in admiration about how Ayodhya would have been decorated when Lord Shri Ram returned after 14 years of exile. “Today in this Amrit Kaal, with the blessing of Lord Ram, we are witnessing the divinity and immortality of Ayodhya”, the Prime Minister remarked.

He said we are the carriers of those traditions and cultures where festivals and celebrations have been a natural part of people’s lives. “There is no match for India when it comes to keeping alive the message of humanity about the victory of every truth and the defeat of every lie”, the Prime Minister remarked. “Deepawali lamps are the living energy of India's ideals, values and philosophy”, the Prime Minister added, “The illumination and effects of this light is the proclamation of the principle mantra of India - 'Satyamev Jayate'.

Quoting the Upanishad the Prime Minister said, “Satyameva Jayate Nanritam Satyen Pantha Vitato Devayanah”, which means victory belongs to the truth, not to the untruth. The Prime Minister also quoted the words of our sages, “Ramo Rajamani Sada Vijayate” which means victory is always for the good conduct of Rama and not for the misconduct of Ravana. Throwing light on the conscious energy in the physical lamp, he said quoting the sages, “Deepo Jyotih Parabrahma Deepo Jyoti Janardana '' which means the light of the lamp is the form of Brahma. Shri Modi reiterated his belief that this spiritual light will guide India's progress and upliftment.

The Prime Minister took the opportunity to remind everyone of what Goswami Tulsidas had said in the Ramcharit Manas and quoted, “Jagat Prakash Prakashak Ramu”, which means Lord Rama is the giver of light to the whole world and is like a beacon for the entire world. The Prime Minister remarked, “This is the light of kindness and compassion, of humanity and dignity, of equanimity and kindness, and it is the message of Sabka Saath.”

The Prime Minister recited a few lines from his poem ‘Diya’ about a lamp, that he had written in Gujarati many years ago. He went on to explain the meaning of the poem which meant that the lamp gives hope and heat, fire and rest. Even though everyone worships the rising sun it is the diya that supports the darkest of evenings. He further added that the lamp itself burns to dispel darkness while bringing a sense of dedication into the minds of the people.

The Prime Minister underlined that when we rise above selfishness, then the resolution of all-inclusiveness automatically gets absorbed in it. He said, “When our thoughts are fulfilled, we say that this accomplishment is not for me, it is for the welfare of mankind. From Deep (lamp) to Deepawali, this is the philosophy of India, this is the thought of India and the eternal culture of India.” The Prime Minister remarked that even though India faced the ill effects of the dark ages in medieval and modern times, the countrymen never stopped lighting the lamps and never ceased to build trust. He recalled that every Indian stood up with a lamp in the same spirit during the difficulties of Corona and the world was a witness to India’s fight against the pandemic. “India came out of every darkness in the past and spread the light of its might on the path of progress” the Prime Minister concluded

Background

The sixth edition of Deepotsav will be the first time when the Prime Minister becomes a part of the celebrations in-person. On the occasion, more than 15 lakh diyas (lamps) will be lit and five animated tableaus and eleven Ramleela tableaus with different dance forms from different states will be showcased.

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the 50th meeting of PRAGATI - the ICT-enabled multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation - earlier today, marking a significant milestone in a decade-long journey of cooperative, outcome-driven governance under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The milestone underscores how technology-enabled leadership, real-time monitoring and sustained Centre-State collaboration have translated national priorities into measurable outcomes on the ground.

Review undertaken in 50th PRAGATI

During the meeting, Prime Minister reviewed five critical infrastructure projects across sectors, including Road, Railways, Power, Water Resources, and Coal. These projects span 5 States, with a cumulative cost of more than ₹40,000 crore.

During a review of PM SHRI scheme, Prime Minister emphasized that the PM SHRI scheme must become a national benchmark for holistic and future ready school education and said that implementation should be outcome oriented rather than infrastructure centric. He asked all the Chief Secretaries to closely monitor the PM SHRI scheme. He further emphasized that efforts must be made for making PM SHRI schools benchmark for other schools of state government. He also suggested that Senior officers of the government should undertake field visits to evaluate the performance of PM SHRI schools.

On this special occasion, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi described the milestone as a symbol of the deep transformation India has witnessed in the culture of governance over the last decade. Prime Minister underlined that when decisions are timely, coordination is effective, and accountability is fixed, the speed of government functioning naturally increases and its impact becomes visible directly in citizens’ lives.

Genesis of PRAGATI

Recalling the origin of the approach, the Prime Minister said that as Chief Minister of Gujarat he had launched the technology-enabled SWAGAT platform (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology) to understand and resolve public grievances with discipline, transparency, and time-bound action.

Building on that experience, after assuming office at the Centre, he expanded the same spirit nationally through PRAGATI bringing large projects, major programmes and grievance redressal onto one integrated platform for review, resolution, and follow-up.

Scale and Impact

Prime Minister noted that over the years the PRAGATI led ecosystem has helped accelerate projects worth more than 85 lakh crore rupees and supported the on-ground implementation of major welfare programmes at scale.

Since 2014, 377 projects have been reviewed under PRAGATI, and across these projects, 2,958 out of 3,162 identified issues - i.e. around 94 percent - have been resolved, significantly reducing delays, cost overruns and coordination failures.

Prime Minister said that as India moves at a faster pace, the relevance of PRAGATI has grown further. He noted that PRAGATI is essential to sustain reform momentum and ensure delivery.

Unlocking Long-Pending Projects

Prime Minister said that since 2014, the government has worked to institutionalise delivery and accountability creating a system where work is pursued with consistent follow-up and completed within timelines and budgets. He said projects that were started earlier but left incomplete or forgotten have been revived and completed in national interest.

Several projects that had remained stalled for decades were completed or decisively unlocked after being taken up under the PRAGATI platform. These include the Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in Assam, first conceived in 1997; the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, where work began in 1995; the Navi Mumbai International Airport, conceptualised in 1997; the modernisation and expansion of the Bhilai Steel Plant, approved in 2007; and the Gadarwara and LARA Super Thermal Power Projects, sanctioned in 2008 and 2009 respectively. These outcomes demonstrate the impact of sustained high-level monitoring and inter-governmental coordination.

From silos to Team India

Prime Minister pointed out that projects do not fail due to lack of intent alone—many fail due to lack of coordination and silo-based functioning. He said PRAGATI has helped address this by bringing all stakeholders onto one platform, aligned to one shared outcome.

He described PRAGATI as an effective model of cooperative federalism, where the Centre and States work as one team, and ministries and departments look beyond silos to solve problems. Prime Minister said that since its inception, around 500 Secretaries of Government of India and Chief Secretaries of States have participated in PRAGATI meetings. He thanked them for their participation, commitment, and ground-level understanding, which has helped PRAGATI evolve from a review forum into a genuine problem-solving platform.

Prime Minister said that the government has ensured adequate resources for national priorities, with sustained investments across sectors. He called upon every Ministry and State to strengthen the entire chain from planning to execution, minimise delays from tendering to ground delivery.

Reform, Perform, Transform

On the occasion, the Prime Minister shared clear expectations for the next phase, outlining his vision of Reform, Perform and Transform saying “Reform to simplify, Perform to deliver, Transform to impact.”

He said Reform must mean moving from process to solutions, simplifying procedures and making systems more friendly for Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business.

He said Perform must mean to focus equally on time, cost, and quality. He added that outcome-driven governance has strengthened through PRAGATI and must now go deeper.

He further said that Transform must be measured by what citizens actually feel about timely services, faster grievance resolution, and improved ease of living.

PRAGATI and the journey to Viksit Bharat @ 2047

Prime Minister said Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is both a national resolve and a time-bound target, and PRAGATI is a powerful accelerator to achieve it. He encouraged States to institutionalise similar PRAGATI-like mechanisms especially for the social sector at the level of Chief Secretary.

To take PRAGATI to the next level, Prime Minister emphasised the use of technology in each and every phase of the project life cycle.

Prime Minister concluded by stating that PRAGATI@50 is not merely a milestone it is a commitment. PRAGATI must be strengthened further in the years ahead to ensure faster execution, higher quality, and measurable outcomes for citizens.

Presentation by Cabinet Secretary

On the occasion of the 50th PRAGATI milestone, the Cabinet Secretary made a brief presentation highlighting PRAGATI’s key achievements and outlining how it has reshaped India’s monitoring and coordination ecosystem, strengthening inter-ministerial and Centre-State follow-through, and reinforcing a culture of time-bound closure, which resulted in faster implementation of projects, improved last-mile delivery of Schemes and Programmes and quality resolution of public grievances.