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Yogi stresses need for realising “Digital India” dream
UP CM Yogi Adityanath was speaking at the free smartphones and tablets distribution ceremony organised at Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University in Lucknow
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday stressed the need for realising the dream of “Digital India” and make every youth of the state “smart” by providing them free smartphones and tablets.
Yogi was speaking at the first free smartphones and tablets distribution ceremony in the Yogi 2.0 government organised at Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University here. He distributed free tablets and smartphones to 886 students and also laid foundation stone of a new engineering and technology department of the university on the occasion.
“We will have to keep pace with challenges. During the Covid-19 pandemic, education was among the worst-hit sectors when physical classes and examinations were suspended,” the CM said.
“It was then we decided to equip one crore students with smartphones and tablets so that they can attend online classes and prepare for exams,” he added. Yogi also asserted that no one could judge a person by their personal appearance. Further stressing his point, the CM said who could have imagined after reading the works of renowned 16th century poet Surdas that he was visually challenged.
Attacking the previous Samajwadi Party government in UP, he said, “Five years ago, riots and rowdiness were common in the state.” Talking about the development carried out in the state, Yogi said, “Five years ago, Uttar Pradesh was referred to as a ‘BIMARU’ state but today the economy of the state is second highest in the country.”
He also highlighted the work done by his government for “divyang” (differently-abled) people in the last five years. He praised PM Narendra Modi for coining the term “divyang” for differently-abled individuals in place of “viklang”.
The CM also termed the state’s 25 crore population as a big asset. On the occasion, he also spoke about the steps taken by his government for the welfare of differently-abled people, including hike in annual budget from ₹670 crore to ₹1,150 crore. He made a mentioned of around ₹1000 monthly pension being given to the differently-abled by the state government.
“Earlier, only 8.75 lakh differently-abled people were given pension in the state. Today, 11.26 lakh such people get it. The government earlier used to provide compensation of ₹8,000 for artificial organs or limbs. It has now increased to ₹10,000,” the chief minister said.
“In the last five years, the government has distributed artificial limbs to 2.56 lakh differently-abled people and provided them with the facility of free travel in government buses,” Yogi said.
