*English rendering of PM’s address at the National Panchayati Raj Day program and launch of development works in Madhubani, Bihar
Delhi,24 APR 2025:Before I begin my speech, I would like to make a request to all of you, wherever you are, sitting at your place, there is no need to stand, we will sit and pay tribute to the family members we lost on the 22nd, by sitting at our place for a few moments, by observing silence and remembering our respective deities, we will pay tribute to them all, after that I will begin my speech today.
Om Shanti-Shanti-Shanti.
Governor of Bihar Arif Mohammad Khan ji, the popular Chief Minister here, my friend Mr. Nitish Kumar ji, all the other senior dignitaries present on the stage and my dear brothers and sisters of Bihar.
Today, on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Day, the whole country is connected to Mithila, is connected to Bihar. Today, the foundation stone and inauguration of projects worth thousands of crores of rupees related to the development of the country and Bihar have been done here. These various works of electricity, railways, infrastructure will create new employment opportunities in Bihar. Today is also the death anniversary of national poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar ji. I offer my humble tribute to him.
Friends,
Bihar is the land from where Pujya (revered) Bapu spread the mantra of Satyagraha. Pujya Bapu firmly believed that unless the villages of India become strong, India will not be able to develop rapidly. This is the spirit behind the concept of Panchayati Raj in the country. In the last decade, one step after another has been taken to empower the Panchayats. Panchayats have also been empowered through technology. In the last decade, more than 2 lakh Gram Panchayats have been connected to the Internet. More than 5.5 lakh Common Service Centers have been built in villages. There is another benefit from Panchayats going digital. Life-death certificates, land ownership certificates, and many such documents can be obtained easily. Several decades after independence, while the country got a new Parliament building, 30 thousand new Panchayat buildings were also built in the country. It has also been the government’s priority to ensure that Panchayats get adequate funds. Panchayats have received funds worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore in the last 10 years. All this money has been invested in the development of villages.
Friends,
Another major problem of Gram Panchayats has been related to land disputes. There were frequent disputes on which land was inhabited, which was agricultural, which was panchayat land, which was government land. To resolve this, land is being digitized. Digitization of land records has helped resolve unnecessary disputes.
Friends,
We have seen how panchayats have empowered social participation. Bihar was the first state in the country to provide 50 per cent reservation to women in these, and hence I congratulate Nitish ji. Today, a very large number of sisters and daughters from poor, Dalit, Mahadalit, backward and extremely backward communities are serving as public representatives in Bihar, and this is true social justice, this is true social participation. Democracy prospers and strengthens only with maximum participation. With this thought in mind, a law of thirty-three percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly has also been made. Women of every state of the country will benefit from this, our sisters and daughters will get more representation.
Friends,
The government is working in mission mode to increase the income of women in the country and to create new opportunities for employment and self-employment. The Jeevika Didi program running in Bihar has changed the lives of many sisters. Today itself, assistance worth about one thousand crore rupees has been given to the self-help groups of the sisters of Bihar. This will further boost the economic empowerment of sisters. This will further help in achieving the goal of creating three crore Lakhpati Didis in the country.
Friends,
In the last decade, the rural economy has gained new momentum. Houses for the poor have been built in the villages, roads have been built, concrete paths have been made. Gas connections have been provided in villages, water connections have been provided, toilets have been built. Lakhs and crores of rupees have reached the villages through every such work. New employment opportunities have also been created. From laborers to farmers and from cart drivers to shopkeepers, everyone has got new opportunities to earn. This is benefiting the society the most, which was deprived for generations. I will give you the example of PM Awas Yojna. The aim of this scheme is that no poor family in the country should be homeless, everyone should have a concrete roof over their head. Just now, when I was giving the keys of the house to these mothers and sisters, the satisfaction seen on their faces, the new confidence that was visible in them, really became the reason for inspiration to work for these poor people. And with this aim in mind, more than 4 crore concrete houses have been built in the last decade. In Bihar also, till now fifty-seven lakh poor families have got concrete houses. These houses have been given to poor, Dalit, backward and extremely backward, Pasmanda families and deprived families of such societies. In the coming years, 3 crores more concrete houses are going to be given to the poor. Today itself, about 1.5 lakh families of Bihar are entering their new pucca houses. Sanction letters for construction of new houses have also been given to 15 lakh poor families across the country. Out of these, three and a half lakh beneficiaries are from our Bihar only. Today itself, financial assistance has been sent to about 10 lakh poor families for their concrete houses. This includes 80 thousand rural families and one lakh urban families of Bihar.
Friends,
The past decade has been the decade of India’s infrastructure. This modern infrastructure is strengthening the foundation of developed India. For the first time, tap water has reached the homes of more than 12 crore rural families in the country. Electricity connection has reached more than 2.5 crore homes. Those who never thought of cooking on a gas stove have got gas cylinders. You must have read the news recently. In Ladakh and Siachen, where it is difficult to provide even basic facilities, 4G and 5G mobile connections have now reached there. This shows what the country’s priorities are today. We also have the example of a sector like health. Earlier, hospitals like AIIMS were only in big cities like Delhi. Today, AIIMS is being built here in Darbhanga itself. In the last ten years, the number of medical colleges in the country has almost doubled. A new medical college is also being built here in Jhanjharpur.
Friends,
To build good hospitals in villages, more than 1.5 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been built across the country. More than 10 thousand Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been built in Bihar. Similarly, Jan Aushadhi Kendras have become a great relief for the poor and middle class. Here low-price medicines are available at 80 percent discount. More than 800 Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been set up in Bihar. This has saved the people of Bihar Rs 2000 crores on medicines. Under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, lakhs of families in Bihar have received free treatment. This has saved thousands of crores of rupees for these families.
Friends,
Today, India is also getting connected with infrastructure like railways, roads, airports at a very fast pace. Metro work is going on in Patna, more than two dozen cities of the country are connected with metro facility. Today, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail has also been started between Patna and Jai Nagar. With this, the journey between Patna and Jai Nagar will be completed in a very short time. Namo Bharat Rapid Rail will help lakhs of people of Samastipur, Darbhanga, Madhubani and Begusarai.
Friends,
Today, many new railway lines have been inaugurated and dedicated here. Starting of the modern Amrit Bharat train from Saharsa to Mumbai will provide great convenience to our labourer families. Our government is also modernizing dozens of railway stations in Bihar, including Madhubani and Jhanjharpur. The air connectivity of Mithila and Bihar has improved with Darbhanga airport. Patna airport is also being expanded. Due to these development works, new employment opportunities are being created in Bihar.
Friends,
Our farmers are the backbone of the rural economy. The stronger this backbone is, the stronger the villages will be and the more powerful the country will be. We all know that this region of Mithila, Kosi has been very troubled by floods. The government is going to spend eleven thousand crore rupees to reduce the impact of floods in Bihar. With this, dams will be built on Bagmati, Dhar, Burhi Gandak and Kosi. Through this, canals will be constructed and irrigation will be provided with river water. And there will also be arrangements to deliver water to every farmer’s field. This means that now the problem of floods will be reduced and sufficient water will reach the fields.
Friends,
Makhana is a superfood for the country and the world today, but it is a part of the culture of Mithila. We are making this culture the source of prosperity here. We have given the GI tag to Makhana. That means Makhana is a product of this soil, it has now been officially certified. Makhana Research Center has also been given national status. The formation of the Makhana Board which has been announced in the budget is going to change the fortunes of Makhana farmers. Makhana of Bihar will reach the markets of the world as a superfood. The National Institute of Food Technology and Management is also going to be built in Bihar. This will further help the youth here in setting up small enterprises related to food processing.
Friends,
Along with farming, Bihar is also continuously progressing in fish production. Our fishermen are now able to avail the facility of Kisan Credit Card. This has benefited many families engaged in fisheries. Under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, works worth hundreds of crores of rupees have been done in Bihar.
Friends,
The entire country is aggrieved by the brutality with which terrorists killed innocent citizens in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April. Millions of countrymen are saddened. The entire country stands with the families of all the victims in their grief. The government is also making every effort to ensure that the family members who are currently undergoing treatment recover soon.
Friends,
Someone lost their son, someone lost their brother, someone lost their life partner in this terrorist attack. Some of them spoke Bengali, some spoke Kannada, some were Marathi, some were Odia, some were Gujarati, some were from Bihar. Today, from Kargil to Kanyakumari, our grief is the same on the death of all of them, our anger is the same. This attack has not just been on unarmed tourists; the enemies of the country have dared to attack the soul of India. I want to say in very clear words, those terrorists who have carried out this attack and those who conspired for this attack will get a punishment bigger than they could have ever imagined. Now the time has come to destroy the remaining ground of the terrorists. The will power of 140 crore Indians will now break the back of the masters of terror.
Friends,
Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world: India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist, and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders, who have stood with us in these times.
Friends,
Peace and security are the most important conditions for rapid development. A developed Bihar is necessary for a developed India. It is the endeavour of all of us that there should be development in Bihar and the benefits of development should reach every section and every region here. I once again thank all of you for joining this programme on Panchayati Raj Day.
Thank you very much. Speak with me-
Bharat Mata ki Jai. (Hail Mother India)
Bharat Mata ki Jai.
Bharat Mata ki Jai.
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.