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New Delhi, Feb. 23 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged people to visit border villages to impart a degree of "vibrancy" to sparsely populated regions along the country's frontiers.
Addressing a webinar on the impact of Budget on Rural Development, the prime minister also called for convergence of efforts to ensure 100 per cent implementation of the announcements made in the Union budget within the given time-frame.
Budget has given a clear roadmap for achieving the goal of saturation of government development schemes benefits and how basic amenities can reach cent percent population, he said addressing the webinar on the theme Leaving no Citizen Behind'.
He suggested touring border villages and organising tehsil level competitions in such hamlets to make them more vibrant.
Can we tour border villages, spend a night there, experience the ambience, study the lives of people staying there. This will bring vibrancy to those regions, Modi said.
The prime minister also stressed on the need to break silos and make concerted efforts to ensure 100 per cent implementation of schemes such as the PM Awas Yojana and the Jal Jeevan Mission as well as schemes for rural roads, improving connectivity in north-eastern region and providing broadband connectivity in villages.
He said the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for the North East (PM-DevINE) will ensure the saturation of basic amenities in the region.
Similarly, Svamitva Scheme is helping in properly demarcating residences and land in villages as more than 40 lakh property cards have been issued, he said, adding that the budget has also allocated INR 48,000 crore to build 80 lakh houses.
Referring to the target of providing four crore tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the prime minister asked officials to step up efforts to ensure that every household in the country had access to clean tap water by 2024.
He also asked every state government to be vigilant about the quality of the pipelines being laid under the Mission as also the quality of water that is proposed to be supplied to households.
Noting that rural digital connectivity had become a necessity, Modi said the initiative will lead to creation of a pool of skilled youth in villages and help expand the services sector in the country.
He underlined the role of women power as the foundation of the rural economy.
Financial inclusion has ensured better participation of women in the financial decisions of the families. There is a need to push this participation of women further through self-help groups , Modi said.
The webinar was attended by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh, ministers of state and officials of more than a dozen ministries and departments.