Weekend

On this weekend, I am writing on the current topic only. Elections results are out and Modi govt has again come back to power with  higher number of seats, as compared to last time. Many hardliners believe that Modi govt won because of hardline hindutva politics. But there are other stalwarts who say that the following schemes which have benefited the have nots are the one which tilted the votes in favour of Modi and they are

1 Swachh Bharat Mission– Under this Swachh Bharat Gramin scheme

9.27 Crores Household toilets were built, and more than 56,000 villagers were made open defecation free.

2 Jan Dhan Yojana  Total number of beneficiaries under this scheme- 35.65 Cr. Total deposits made in these accounts Rs 94,414 Cr

3 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana- The purpose of this scheme to provide insurance for crops. Post harvest lost also covered. All farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing notified crops in notified areas are eligible for this scheme. Farmers pays premium of  2% for all Khariff crops and 1.5 % on rabi crops. Already claims worth Rs 22,900 Crs have been settled and paid.

4 Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana- to provide financial support to entrepreneurs for growth of micro industries. In the year 2017-18 amount of Rs 253, 671 Cr was sanctioned.

5 Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana- its purpose is to provide a renewable one year accidental death cum disability cover of Rs 2 lakhs to all bank account holders, for premium of Rs 12 per annum. Claim settled till Apr 2018 – 16,644 in nos.

6 Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana –  offers a renewable one year life cover of Rs 2 lakhs, to all subscribing bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, for a premium of Rs 330 per annum. Total numbers of claim disbursed till Apr 2018- 92,089.

7 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana- to provide skill development training to youth and enable them to get jobs. Beneficiaries as on 13^th May 2019- total 14,055,92 candidates have passed this course.

8 Pradhan Mantri Awas yojana- to ensure housing for all by 2022. Total house completed in 2017-19 are 88,42,185.

9 Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana- it aims to safeguard health of women and children by providing them with clean cooking gas- LPG. Beneficiaries till 22 May 2019 7.19 Cr.

10 Saubhagaya Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Ghar Yojana-

To provide electricity to each and every household in the country. Beneficiaries till 1^st Feb 2019. Total nos of household electrified 2,62,84,350. Pending on that day were 18734.

11 Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Scheme (Ayushman Bharat Scheme)- purpose cashless treatment upto Rs 5 Lakhs to poor people in govt/private hospitals. As of 3^rd Apr 2019, Number of E Cards issued were 2,89,63,698. Number of beneficiaries admitted -18,35,227 in hospital who were treated in this cashless manner.

So friends, how many of you were aware of all these schemes running in rural/semi urban sectors. There are crores of families in the country who must have availed the benefits of any of the above mentioned schemes, and naturally the voters from that family will definitely must have voted for Modi govt irrespective of the caste and religion. This may be the key factor, where BJP got votes in the rural and smaller cities in big way. Here in the last election all the opposition parties were asking votes  on caste and religion  basis, which must have back fired on them.

I could have written  on this subject before the election, but then people would have thought I am canvassing for Modi govt, therefore I decided to write blog on this topic after the election results.

Waiting for your comments/views/feed backs.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

31^st May 2019.