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Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 20
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday addressed a joint session of the newly convened 17th Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
In his speech, the President laid out the vision for 'New India' and asked all political parties to think “seriously” about the concept of ‘one nation one election.’
He also said that there was a need to eradicate 'kuritis' and practices like 'triple talaq' and 'nikah halala'.
Kovind said that India must aim to become a 5 trillion dollar economy and be amongst the top 50 countries in the ease-of-doing business.
In his address, the President said that “it a matter of pride” that India will be hosting G20 summit in 2022.
Kovind also lent his support for NRC and the Citizenship Bill—calling them “important for national security” in his speech.
The President said that people had given a clear election mandate after making an analysis of the work done by the government in the past five years.
'We want inclusive development'
Kovind said that a “negative atmosphere” prevailed in the country before 2014, but the subsequent government “began its journey with the aim of ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’”
He added that the government now aimed to “strengthen everyone” and wished to be inclusive. Emphasizing on winning everyone’s trust, Kovind said the government wanted:"sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka vishvas"
On Terrorism
In his speech, the President mentioned the Balakot strikes following the Pulwama attack, adding that the government was “committed to improving national security”.
Kovind said that in order to realise the government’s vision of ‘New India’, the new dispensation had— within 21 days of its inception— undertaken measures to help farmers.
Kovind said that the government was committed to doubling farmers’ income by 2022.
He spoke of extending the PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers and the decision to increase the scholarship money for the children of defence personnel.
The President said the government was aware of the drought-like situation in parts of the country and emphasized on the need to conserve water.
On women empowerment
In his speech, Kovind took cognizance of the number of women and young MPs in Parliament and spoke of women empowerment through women leaders.
Kovind said that there had been an improvement in the sex ratio of the country and that the government was committed to making women equal participants in the progress and development of the country.
On Sports
Kovind said that the government was also identifying young and talented players from rural areas and providing modern facilities to them to make India achieve greater laurels in sports.
'Zero tolerance to corruption'
The government is committed to zero tolerance to corruption, said Kovind.
The impact of steps undertaken by the government such as the fugitive law, RERA, and direct benefit transfer (DBT) are showing, he said.
Eight crore fake recipients had been removed from lists after the DBT implementation, Kovind said.
On environment, space technology
The President said that special efforts are being made to introduce bio fuel and ethanol blending for preserving the environment.
He said the government has been able to improve the condition of Ganga and the forest cover over the years.
India has been actively promoting solar projects throughout the country, he said.
The President said the government was also committed towards building space technology. Kovind said that Mission Shakti was a new leap when it came to national security.
He also lauded the efforts of the forecasting agencies in the “timely prediction” of the cyclones.
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