AMN /
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that terrorism and global warming as two major challenges facing the world. He said all forces believing in humanity must come together to defeat terrorism and the sooner they come together, the sooner this menace can be ended.
The Prime Minister was addressing Indian diaspora in Kenyan capital Nairobi last night. He arrived in Nairobi on Sunday evening on the last leg of his four-nation visit to Africa.
With regard to global warming, Mr Modi said India can show the way when it comes to mitigating the problem of climate change. He said India is marching towards economic progress despite the global recession and his government is aiming at over 8 per cent growth, up from the current level of 7.6 per cent.
Mr Modi said, this is a matter of pride that India saw a growth of 7.6 per cent despite a global recession.During his hour-long address, he spoke on a number of issues, including the initiatives taken by his government for transforming the lives of common people and fulfill their dreams.
Significantly, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied Mr Modi to the Kasarani Stadium where he addressed the gathering of estimated 20,000 Indians and people of Indian origin, soon after his arrival from Tanzania.
The Prime Minister said during the two years of his government, India has seen good governance and implementation of announcements, unlike the past when decisions were taken without anybody bothering as to what happened to them.
Contending that India has started to change and move towards progress, he said whatever has happened is due to work being conducted in a planned fashion.
The Prime Minister said, the country is changing because of its 125 crore people and their resolve to move ahead.
He spoke about his resolves like ensuring toilets are built in government schools and making available electricity within 1000 days to 18,000 villages which remained without power for the last 70 years.
Mr Modi also talked about Start-Up programme and the Mudra Bank to fund such initiatives, saying 3.5 crore people have been given Rs. 1.25 lakh crore as loan without any guarantees under the programme.
He said, Indian youth have the initiative, innovation and energy and they just needed somebody in New Delhi to hand-hold them.
Mr Modi said, under the Start-up initiative, the youth will not only be getting employment for themselves but will also be giving jobs to others.
He said the world acknowledges the prowess of India’s space scientists who just launched 20 satellites in one go.
Mr Modi declared that Africa is very vital for India and our journeys have been shared and he would like the two to move together in the future also.
He praised the Indian diaspora, saying they are the true ambassadors of the country and the living embodiments of India’s eternal values. Mr Kenyatta also hailed the Indian diaspora while noting that the relations between India and his country went back to over 100 years.