PM Modi says govt reaching out to most deprived, mentions Pasmanda Muslims’ backwardness

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday emphasised the importance of good governance for reaching the last mile, saying such an approach will have no scope for discrimination and corruption.

Modi also underscored backwardness among Pasmanda Muslims as he highlighted his government’s efforts to reach out to the most deprived sections of society with its various welfare schemes.

In a post-budget webinar on “reaching the last mile”, the prime minister said his government is launching a special mission for the most deprived among the tribals.

“We have to quickly provide various facilities to our tribes people in over 200 districts and over 22,000 villages of the country. Similarly, among our minorities, especially among Muslims we have Pasmanda Muslims. How we have to take benefits to them... as they even today after so many years of Independence remain far behind,” he said. The backward sections of Muslims are described as Pasmanda Muslims.

Modi said the policy of saturation, a reference to maximum coverage of various schemes, and the approach of reaching the last mile complement each other.

The prime minister said along with money, political will is needed for development and asserted that the development of tribal communities has been a priority for his government.

Emphasising the importance of good governance and constant monitoring for the desired goals, he said, “The more emphasis we put on good governance, the more easily our goal of reaching the last mile will be accomplished.”

For the first time, he asserted, the country is tapping the huge potential of its tribals at this scale, adding that the latest Union Budget has paid special attention to taking the mantra of reaching the last mile to tribal and rural areas.

This post-budget brainstorming is important from the point of view of implementation and time-bound delivery. This also ensures proper utilisation of every penny of taxpayers’ money, he said. A “whole-of-the-nation” approach is needed to rapidly provide facilities as a special mission for the most deprived among the tribal community, he said.

In the context, the prime minister said the aspirational district programme has emerged as a successful model in terms of reaching the last mile. Monday’s address was the fourth in a series of 12 post-budget webinars organised by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023.