Era of 'corruption and scams' before 2014, but now every penny going into accounts of poor people: PM Modi

Bhopal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the era of "corruption and scams" prevailed before 2014 when the rights of the poor and their money were robbed, but now every penny is directly reaching their bank accounts.

Citing a NITI Aayog report, Modi said 13.50 crore Indians have come out of BPL (below poverty line) category in five years.

The data shows an increasing number of people are paying taxes, which shows their trust that the government is putting their money to good use, he said.

The prime minister was virtually addressing the training-cum-orientation programme of newly-appointed teachers at the CM Rise Government Mahatma Gandhi Higher Secondary School in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.

He said positive news started coming up in the first year of "Amrit Kaal" itself, which shows the increasing prosperity and decreasing poverty.

“The NITI Aayog report said that 13.50 crore Indians have come out of BPL (below poverty line) category in five years. The number of Income Tax returns shows that the average income of Indians has increased during the past nine years to Rs 13 lakh from Rs 4 lakh in 2014,” Modi said.

People are moving from lower income group to upper-income group, he added.

Modi said data shows all sectors are gaining strength and generating employment opportunities.

“The faith of citizens has been increasing. They are coming up to deposit their tax with the faith that their every penny will be spent on the country's development,” he said.

The country's economy has now reached the 5th spot in the world from the 10th position in 2014, he said.

"The rights of the poor and their money were being looted even before reaching their accounts before 2014 in the era of corruption and scams. Now, every penny is reaching their accounts directly,” the prime minister said.

He said the plugging of "leakage in the system" means more money being spent on the welfare of the poor.

The PM said investment has generated employment, and after 2014, five lakh new common service centres have been set up in India, providing employment to several people.

"The teachers getting their appointment letters today are joining the important responsibility of teaching in this historic period. They will hold the responsibility of moulding the future generations of India, modernizing them and giving them a new direction," he said.

He said the new teachers will play a key role in the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) as they will make a huge contribution to fulfilling the resolve to make a developed India.

An equal importance has been given to traditional knowledge as well as future technology in the NEP, Modi said, adding a new curriculum has been prepared in the field of primary education while progress has been made regarding (providing) education in the mother tongue.

He said great injustice was caused by not imparting education in the mother tongue to students who did not know English.

Modi said his government emphasizes books in regional languages in the syllabi which will become the basis of a big change in the education system of the country.

“When decisions are made with positive thinking, right intention, and full integrity, the whole environment gets filled with positivity and the announcement of the PM Vishwakarma Yojana is a reflection of this vision," he said.

The prime minister had announced Vishwakarma Yojana during his Independence Day address from Red Fort with an outlay of Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 crore, to boost livelihood opportunities for people engaged in traditional skills, including carpenters, masons and goldsmiths.

"The scheme has been formulated to adapt the traditional skills of Vishwakarmas to the needs of the 21st century. An amount of about Rs 13,000 crore will be spent on this scheme which will benefit those associated with 18 different types of skills," Modi said.

During the training-cum-orientation programme, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan handed over appointment-cum-congratulatory letters to 10 teachers.

The appointment-cum-congratulatory letters were given to 5, 580 newly-recruited teachers on the occasion.