Meerut (UP), Feb 22 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday lauded the Centre’s push for digital and physical infrastructure, saying India’s transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has drawn global recognition and improved ease of living for citizens.
Addressing a gathering at the inauguration of the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail and Meerut Metro services, Adityanath said India has built a robust digital public infrastructure covering 1.4 billion people, processing nearly 20 billion digital transactions every month.
He said more than 500 million digital health IDs have been issued under the “One Health” initiative, enabling beneficiaries to avail treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Referring to praise from French President Emmanuel Macron, the chief minister said the world has acknowledged India’s success in leveraging technology to deliver welfare benefits to the poor, farmers and youth without discrimination.
Adityanath said the prime minister’s regular review of infrastructure projects has helped fast-track projects worth Rs 85 lakh crore that had remained pending for decades.
Highlighting connectivity improvements, he said the travel time between Delhi and Meerut has reduced from four to five hours to around 45-50 minutes due to expressway expansion and the launch of rapid rail services.
The Namo Bharat and metro projects would further strengthen regional connectivity, he added.
Adityanath welcomed Modi to Meerut and said the new infrastructure projects would further accelerate development in western Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off the Meerut Metro and Namo Bharat train from the Shatabdi Nagar station here, giving a fillip to high-speed intercity travel and swift intra-city movement.
He described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the architect of a new and modern India.
“Global leaders are widely appreciating Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’, under which, along with world-class infrastructure, the benefits of government schemes are being ensured for every section of society, especially poor and deprived, farmers, women and youth,” he added.
Adityanath said no minister reviews departmental work as rigorously as the prime minister reviews development works across the country.
“Just before Holi, the Prime Minister has gifted the Namo Bharat train along with the Meerut Metro. This gift further strengthens the foundation of ‘Viksit Bharat’, where advanced infrastructure showcases the nation’s strength,” he said.
The chief minister added that modern, safe and fast public transport, through Namo Bharat, Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat, has become India’s new identity.
The prime minister recently laid the foundation stone of a new semiconductor plant in Gautam Buddha Nagar, showing that under his leadership, India is continuously preparing for future challenges.
He said, “At the ‘India AI Impact Summit’ in New Delhi, heads of state and representatives from over 100 countries participated and praised the prime minister’s vision and its effective implementation.” Recalling how the country functioned before 2014, Adityanath said that the prime minister recently chaired the 50th monitoring meeting for infrastructure projects, something that was absent earlier.
Under this modern “PRAGATI” system, ideas are generated, and decades-pending projects worth Rs 85 lakh crore have been completed within just ten years.
He said that Uttar Pradesh’s first sports university in Meerut, named after Major Dhyan Chand, will be ready by April, with classes already underway.
The chief minister also said the Noida International Airport (Jewar Airport) is nearly complete and was also initiated by the prime minister. He welcomed the prime minister at the Shatabdi Nagar helipad in Meerut.
Prime Minister Modi travelled by Metro from Meerut South to Shatabdi Nagar along with Adityanath and interacted with children with disabilities, school students, medical students and other passengers. PTI ABN CDN OZ OZ
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