Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country’s youngsters can provide solutions to emerging global challenges and contribute to India’s overall development as he urged them to “dream big, think differently, and be fearless”.
During a visit to Tamil Nadu, his first since the summer’s assembly elections, Modi called upon the youth to have confidence in their skills, make the most of the opportunities available to them and become the driving force behind the ‘Viksit Bharat’ goal.
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Modi urges youth to ‘dream big, think differently’ for Viksit Bharat
“Today the world is looking for solutions, and you have the potential to provide them… There is infinite opportunity in India today. I urge all of you here to give yourselves a chance to be fearless. Work on your ideas. Dream big, think differently, and be fearless,” he said in Chennai while participating in the golden jubilee celebrations of Jaigopal Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School.
Modi’s visit was also marked by him unveiling development projects worth ₹13,000 crore, inaugurating a new stretch of the Chennai Metro, offering prayers at the Arulmigu Jalakandeswarar Temple, and maintaining that the Centre was committed to working with the state government to ensure Tamil Nadu’s growth.
In his address, Modi also reiterated the new slogan he coined last week — “We will do it” — to inspire citizens to work towards making India a developed nation by 2047, outlining economic and social goals for the country.
“Develop India by 2047. We will do it...Top three economies. We will do it. Self-reliant India. We will do it. Global manufacturing hub. We will do it. Hosting the Olympics. We will do it. An Indian on the moon. We will do it. Yes, we will do it. We will do it,” he said amid applause from the audience, which included students of the school.
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Vijay seeks ₹5,110 crore in pending Samagra Shiksha funds from Centre
Earlier in the day, Modi, accompanied by chief minister C Joseph Vijay, governor Rajendra Arlekar, Union minister L Murugan and senior government officials, virtually unveiled projects worth ₹13,000 crore across sectors including railways, roads and ports at IIT Madras.
“As a CM, I understood the expectations of a state. After becoming PM, not only did I try to fulfil the aspirations but also made efforts so that the states met their aspiration goals,” Modi said.
The PM’s visit came a day after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi visited Chennai and accused Modi of launching a “full-scale attack” on Tamil language, culture and history. Gandhi said that the delimitation exercise was designed to “punish” Tamil Nadu and reduce its voice in Parliament.
Modi reaffirms Centre’s commitment to Tamil Nadu’s development
In his address, Modi said that during his tenure as Prime Minister, he got an opportunity to work closely with several Tamil Nadu chief ministers — J Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam, Edappadi K Palaniswami and MK Stalin — to ensure that the state continued to prosper.
“Governments may change, but my resolve for Tamil Nadu’s development remains steadfast. With this determination to serve people, together with CM Vijay, we are taking forward the development of the state,” he said.
Modi stressed that he believed in making state development and national development go hand in hand. “Tamil Nadu’s manufacturing sector, its small-scale industries, and every person working make every Indian proud. Today, the central government initiatives like Make in India and Vocal for Local are bringing benefits to Tamil Nadu as well,” he said.
Vijay thanked Modi on behalf of the people of the state for inaugurating the projects but also urged the Centre to release ₹5,110 crore in pending funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme “without any conditionalities”.
“Under the SSA scheme, an amount of ₹5,110 crore of the central share is due to Tamil Nadu. I request the Government of India to release the amount without any conditionalities,” Vijay said. SSA is an integrated, centrally sponsored umbrella scheme for school education.
Vijay also called for the Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project to be designated a national project, saying it was essential to achieving water equity. “Godavari–Cauvery linkage project represents a critical opportunity to augment water resources in southern states, and we request the Union Government to designate it as a national project,” he said.
Modi also inaugurated the Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch of Phase 2 of the Chennai Metro Rail project, built at a cost of around ₹4,900 crore. Modi and Vijay together flagged off the new services and travelled on the Metro train. The new services are part of Corridor 4 of Phase 2 of the Metro Rail project. The newly inaugurated stretch has 11 elevated stations across approximately 15 km.
Underlining that urban development was not a challenge but an opportunity, Modi said, “Public transport plays a massive role in this. Public transport systems must be excellent, as this increases the ease of living.”
“We all know that better transportation requires more than just widening roads. Modern cities require holistic infrastructure, and that is why, over the past decade, we have massively expanded the metro network across the country. In 2014, metro services were operational in only 5 cities nationwide, today, metro services operate in 25 cities across the country,” he said.
Vijay urged Modi to ensure early approval for Phase 3 of the Chennai Metro Rail project, including the Airport-Kilambakkam and Poonamallee-Sunguvarchatram corridors.