Duty of every citizen to construct a respectable and developed India in next 25 years: Governor Gehlot

PTI, Jan 26, 2023, 12:15 PM IST

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday said it is the duty of every citizen to construct a respectable and developed India, which will make the country ”crown of the whole world”, in the next 25 years.

On the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, he also urged the people to unite and make Karnataka healthy and prosperous.

”In the next 25 years of golden period of Amrithkal, it is our duty to construct a respectable and developed India, which will make our nation the crown of the whole world,” Gehlot said.

He said, ”I have faith that all of you will not only take an active role in public life, but also encourage everyone to tender their contribution towards the progress of our nation.” The Governor was speaking after unfurling the national flag and receiving the guard of honour at the Manekshaw Parade Ground parade ground here.

”Come, let’s unite and make the Karnataka State healthy and prosperous and let’s make the resolution of strengthening the sovereignty, unity and prosperity of our nation and move forward,” he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, several of his cabinet colleagues, legislators, officials among others were present in the event, which saw a marchpast by defence, police contingents and contingents by various schools and organisations. It was followed by cultural performances by students and various groups. Stating that Karnataka, being one of the progressive States in the Country, Gehlot said, as per the latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index report 2020-21, Karnataka State stands in the 4th position.

He also pointed out that Karnataka retains its position as the most innovative state and has been ranked number one in the India Innovation Index by Niti Aayog.

Karnataka State has been declared as the Best Performing State under the Start-up Ranking of the States by Government of India, he said, as he highlighted that the revised Karnataka Start-up Policy 2022-27 and the State’s first Karnataka R&D Policy 2022 and Karnataka Data Centre Policy 2022 have been announced.

Noting that Karnataka has emerged as the ”top achiever” in the ranking list of ”Ease of Doing Business” released by the Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Central Government, the Governor said, in terms of merchandise exports, the state contributed USD 25.87 billion in financial year 2022 to India’s exports, its highest ever tally.

It is a significant milestone as Karnataka is among the top four exporting states, he said.

Invest Karnataka 2022, the flagship global event of Government of Karnataka was held from November 2 to 4, 2022, he pointed out and said a total investment of Rs.9,81,784 crore has been attracted.

The State government has announced the Karnataka Aerospace & Defence Policy 2022-27. With the increased focus on EV manufacturing in the state, the government amended the Karnataka Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy, 2017 and updated the incentives in line with investor expectations and to accelerate the adoption of EV uptake in Karnataka, the Governor mentioned.

Gehlot said the government is committed to develop a good road network in the State to ensure safe and easy movement of vehicles by taking up improvements of State Highways and major district roads through the Public Works Department through different schemes and programs.

The government is constructing roads and bridges costing Rs 5,140 crore. Construction of 1,411 foot-bridges has been taken up under ”Gramabhandhu Sethu” scheme to provide connectivity to the people of remote coastal and malnad areas, he said, adding construction of 135 bridges has been completed with an expenditure of Rs 90 crore. Road safety works to the tune of Rs165 crore have been taken up under ”Road Safety programme”.

A Youth Policy has been launched, the Governor said, adding Swamy Vivekananda Yuvashakti Sangha programme has been launched to support micro-enterprises in rural areas. Around 5 lakh youth are expected to be benefitted.

The Minor Irrigation department is implementing several works aimed towards improving the water availability in the state, he said and added major works include filling 97 Tanks in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Tumkuru and Chikkaballapur districts using the secondary treated water of Rishbhavathi valley. Also five barrages are being implemented by lifting water from Ghataprabha river.

The Governor highlighted that Karnataka is the first state in the country to implement National Education Policy, and is in the process of establishing seven new affiliating universities in the state including Chamaraj Nagar, Kodagu, Bidar, Haveri, Koppala, Bagalkote and Hassan.

Steps have been taken to upgrade seven engineering colleges as Karnataka Institute of Technology based on the IIT model, he said.

Further, he noted that a Government Order has been issued in respect of reservation in appointments and promotion in state services for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and it has been ordered to increase reservation from 15 to 17 per cent and from 3 to 7 per cent respectively.

Grama One Project is envisaged to be a single point assistance centre for all citizen-centric activities. At village level, centres have been set up in 31 districts, he said. The Seva Sindhu Project provides 850 government services of 80 departments, he added.