PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Grameen Bharat Mahotsav 2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Grameen Bharat Mahotsav 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with the theme of Building a Resilient Rural India for a Viksit Bharat 2024 on January 4.

The event aimed to showcase India's development journey and create an identity for the country. PM Modi highlighted the potential of villages and the spirit of the village in those who live in them. He noted that notwithstanding the hardworking nature of the people, they miss out on chances due to a lack of capital.

The PM also emphasized the trials faced by agriculturalists, such as natural calamities and lack of access to markets. He highlighted that growth works in rural areas are inspired by the lessons and experiences of the villages. 

The government has applied programmes in each village to ensure basic amenities, such as toilets, pucca houses, safe and clean drinking water, health facilities, telemedicine, and vaccines. 

He also underlined the importance of creating economic policies, considering every section of rural society to strengthen the rural economy. Over the past 10 years, the government has formulated special policies and made decisions for every section of the village.

Modi highlighted the launch of campaigns like Swamitva Yojana, through which villagers receive property papers. He also mentioned that over the past 10 years, the amount of agricultural loans has increased by 3.5 times, providing livestock and fish farmers with Kisan Credit Cards.

More than 9,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in the country are receiving financial assistance. The government has consistently increased the MSP for several crops over the past 10 years.

Modi highlighted the significant contribution of cooperatives in altering the rural landscape. He said that India is on the path to prosperity through collaboration, and for this drive, the Ministry of Cooperation was established in 2021. 

Around 70,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) are being computerized to ensure that farmers and villagers get better value for their products, thereby strengthening the rural economy.

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He emphasized that traditional arts and skills such as blacksmithing, carpentry, and pottery have been prevalent in villages, and to enhance skills and provide affordable assistance, the Vishwakarma Yojana is being implemented to provide lakhs of Vishwakarma artisans an opportunity to progress.

Modi also highlighted the benefits of the hard work done over the past 10 years, including a large-scale survey that revealed that consumption in rural India has nearly tripled since 2011, indicating that people are spending more on their favoured items. He noted that the spending on food in rural areas has fallen below 50 per cent, refining the quality of life for the people.

Another significant finding from the survey was that the gap in consumption between urban and rural areas has decreased, highlighting the importance of cooperatives in achieving prosperity.