Union Home Minister Amit Shah today stated that rural development is essential to making the country independent, ‘which began when PM Modi came to power in 2014’. He further cited Mahatma Gandhi saying that the ‘soul of the country lies in the villages’. “Gandhi ji had said country’s soul resides in villages. Thus, if you’ve to make this country complete, and independent, you’ll have to do it for the villages. This began when PM Modi came to power in 2014,” he said.
Shah, further, highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s rural development efforts. “The aspect of rural development is to make villages convenient. For this, remote connectivity of villages is necessary. There was no electricity in the village, we gave it to them,” he said.
Speaking about the Central government’s initiatives, he said that PM Modi is working on the basis of three concepts for rural development. Firstly, personal development, secondly, development of villages and thirdly, planned works that will promote development of the area.
Shah was addressing the 41st convocation ceremony of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (Irma). He called upon the educated youth of the country to contribute towards India’s growth by focusing on developing rural areas and fulfilling the responsibility of bringing prosperity to the lives of the poor.
Talking to the graduating students, Shah insisted that when knowledge has been gained, it is the responsibility of the students to contribute to the development of the village and the poor for the rest of their life. “That is the true Gurudakshina and working to make Bapu’s dream of village development come true.”
The post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) degree in rural management was conferred on 31 students. At the ceremony, PGDM (Rural Management) graduate Avinish Arora was awarded the Kuchibhotla Vasanti Gold Medal for academic excellence.
Dilip Rath, Chairman, Irma, highlighted the importance of Irma and the field of rural management and its role in the journey of inclusive development in India. He expressed the feeling that Irma should be established as a central university for cooperatives.
IFFO Chairman Dilip Sanghani, NCDFI Chairman Mangaljit Rai, MP Mitesh Patel, Amul Chairman Ramsinh Parmar, District Panchayat President Hansaben Parmar, and other leaders attended the event. Office bearers, Irma Board of Directors members, representatives of co-operative societies, faculty, students as well as parents were present here.
