Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation

PM’s address at inauguration of the College and Administration Buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University in Jhansi via video conferencing

  • Our country’s Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Sigh Tomar ji, my other colleagues in Union Council of Ministers, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji, other guests, all student friends and all my dear brothers and sisters who are connected with this virtual programme from different parts of the country.
  • I congratulate and extend my best wishes to all of you for the new college and administration buildings of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University.
  • The young colleagues will work for the empowerment of the agriculture sector after their graduation from here.
  • I could sense and see the enthusiasm, jubilation and confidence, in the preparations by the students, during my conversation with them.
  • I am confident that there will be more facilities available after the construction of the new building. The students will be inspired and encouraged to do more with these facilities.
  • Friends, once Rani Lakshmi Bai had roared from the land of Bundelkhand: “I will not give my Jhansi”.
  • We all remember this sentence “I will not give my Jhansi”. Today there is a need for a new roar and from Jhansi, from the land of Bundelkhand. ‘My Jhansi- My Bundelkhand’ will put all the power at its disposal and will write a new chapter to make self-reliant India campaign a success.
  • Agriculture has a very big role in it. When we talk about self-reliance in agriculture, it is not restricted to food grains only, but it is about the self-reliance of the entire economy of villages.
  • The mission is to add value to the produce cultivated in different parts of the country and take them to the markets of the world. The purpose behind self-reliance in agriculture is to make farmers not only producers but entrepreneurs as well.
  • There will be huge opportunities for jobs and self-employment at a large scale in villages and nearby areas when farmers and agriculture will progress like industries.
  • Friends, the government has been continuously taking several historic reforms in the field of agriculture with this resolution in mind.
  • In India, there has been a huge improvement in the legal laws which had shackled the farmers, the mandi (market) laws and the Essential Services Act. Like any other industry, the farmer will be able to sell his produce anywhere in the country where he gets better price.
  • Besides, a comprehensive plan has been made to develop clusters of industries near villages. A special fund with one lakh crore rupees has been created so that these industries get better infrastructure facilities.
  • The fund will help our Farmer Producers’ Organisations (FPOs) to prepare modern infrastructure for storage and establish processing-related industries.
  • This will create new opportunities for the youth studying in the field of agriculture and their other friends and there will be new avenues for Start-ups.
  • Friends, work is in progress to connect everything from seeds to markets with technology and modern research. Research institutions and agricultural universities have a big role in it.
  • Just six years ago, there was only one central agricultural university in the country. Today, three central agricultural universities are operational in the country.
  • Other than this, three more national institutions – IARI-Jharkhand, IARI-Assam and Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Integrated Farming in Bihar’s Motihari are being established.
  • These research institutions will not only provide opportunities to students, but will also extend technology gains to local farmers and help increase their capacity.

Author