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The announcement of the $1.35 trillion plan was met with suspicion by Indian social media and opposition activists.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech on the 75th anniversary of India’s independence that India will launch a major infrastructure plan to promote economic development and target 100% coverage of the development plan.
He said that a national infrastructure plan of 100 trillion rupees ($1.35 trillion) called “Gati Shakti” will be launched to promote manufacturing and employment.
“From free gas to health insurance plans, the poor in the country know the power of government plans. These plans have expanded rapidly recently, but now we must be saturated,” Modi said in a speech at the Red Fort in New Delhi.
“100% of villages should have roads, 100% of households should have bank accounts, and 100% of eligible people should have access to insurance, pensions and housing plans. We must operate on a one-percent model.”
“All manufacturers should target the global market. India should become the hub of the global market.”
However, Indian social media and opposition activists criticized the government for making similar infrastructure plans in the past.
Asia’s third-largest economy contracted by 7.3% in the fiscal year ending in March, which was the worst recession since independence, as the coronavirus lockdown hit economic activity and caused millions of unemployment.
Modi stated that a $1.35 trillion national infrastructure plan called “Gati Shakti” will be launched to promote manufacturing and employment [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]In the speech, Modi wore his iconic colorful Independence Day turban, detailed the achievements of his government and welcomed the country’s coronavirus vaccination campaign.
“Despite a lot of hard work, we have not been able to save many people. So many children have lost their support system, their relatives. This unbearable pain will always be with us,” he said.
India is the second most affected country in the world after the United States, with a total of more than 32 million cases and 431,225 deaths, many of which were in the second wave of COVID-19 fatalities that occurred between April and June Caused.
India gained independence from British rule on August 15, 1947. As the country prepares for the third wave of the pandemic, the celebrations commemorating this day have been cancelled for the second year in a row.
Modi said in his speech that India is responding to the dual challenges of “terrorism” and “expansionism”. Domestic media and foreign policy experts interpreted this as an attack on Pakistan and China.
Indian security agencies accused Pakistan of supporting armed groups that launched attacks in India, especially in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region.
The reference to expansionism refers to the invasion of the Chinese army and the continued confrontation in the border area of Ladakh after the conflict between the army broke out in June 2020, which was the deadliest conflict since the war between neighboring countries in 1962.
According to official reports, India lost 20 soldiers and China lost 4 soldiers. This was followed by a large-scale assembly of troops and artillery, and smaller skirmishes.
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