New Delhi
"Our government keeps national interest above all else," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
here on the occasion of BJP's Foundation Day on April 6 and asserted that the saffron party
is dedicated to 'Rashtra Bhakti (patriotism)' but its rivals only knew "Parivar Bhakti (nepotism)".
Addressing party workers, he referred to global pressure on India to take a stronger stand against
Russia's Ukraine invasion and said in a polarised world, India had stood firm on its policy and had
prioritised national interest.
"From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Kutch to Kohima, BJP has been strengthening the resolve of
'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat', the Prime Minister said.
The BJP's foundation day was important for certain reasons including the "fast-changing world and global order",
the Prime Minister said in his virtual address.
"Today, the world is watching an India that remains firm on its interests without any fear or pressure.
When the world is polarised between two rival forces, India is seen to be a nation that can talk
about humanity with determination," he said.
"Our government keeps national interest above all else," he asserted.
Mr Modi said, the country has policy, intent and decisiveness. He said, today the government
not only sets goals but has also achieved them.
He said, the country has recently achieved the highest-ever goods exports of 400 billion US dollars.
While the BJP's 'double engine governments' came to power once again in four states, he further
said that after three decades the party has also touched the distinct mark of 100 members in Rajya Sabha.
Earlier, BJP national president J P Nadda hoisted the party flag at party headquarters in Delhi.
He also paid tributes to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
The BJP chief inaugurated a Blood Donation Camp at the party headquarters.
On the occasion, he thanked party workers for their contributions. He participated in the party's 'Shobha Yatra'
organised to mark the party's foundation day.
He said, BJP is the only party to cross 100 mark in Rajya Sabha after 1988.
The Lotus party, he said has its government in 12 states while it is running a coalition government
in 18 others.
Mr Nadda said, family-based parties are a threat to democracy and only the BJP, which is an ideology-based
party, can counter them.
Home Minister Amit Shah has said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the BJP is marching
ahead with the welfare of the people and the progress of the nation.
The Prime Minister also said, "Each and every worker of the BJP is a representative of the country's dreams".
"At the national level and in various states, there are some political parties who work only for the benefit of their
families. These dynastic parties did not allow the country's youth to progress and always betrayed them," PM said.
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PM Garib Kalyan Yojana played key role in minimizing extreme poverty in India during pandemic: IMF
New Delhi
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded India's food subsidy program which prevented the increased prevalence of extreme poverty in the country during Covid-19.
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY), which provides free foodgrains to poor people, played a key role in keeping extreme poverty in India at the lowest level of 0.8 per cent during the pandemic-hit 2020, the IMF.
The working paper titled 'Pandemic, Poverty, and Inequality: Evidence from India' presents estimates of poverty and consumption inequality in India for each of the years 2004-5 through the pandemic year 2020-21.
"Extreme poverty was as low as 0.8 per cent in the pre-pandemic year 2019, and food transfers were instrumental in ensuring that it remained at that low level in the pandemic year 2020," it said.
Applauding the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, the report demonstrated that the program provided insurance to the poor and prevented an increase in the prevalence of extreme poverty in the country.
It stated that doubling of entitlements in 2020 during the pandemic helped maintain extreme poverty at the low 0.8 percent level.
It also said, without any food subsidies, extreme poverty in the pandemic years would have increased by 1.05 per cent.
The report said that poverty in the country declined the fastest during the period 2014 to 2019.
The report also stated that the social safety net provided by the expansion of the country's food subsidy program absorbed a major part of the pandemic shock.
This illustrates the robustness of India's social safety architecture as it withstood one of the world’s biggest income shocks, the IMF said.
Under PMGKAY, which was launched in March 2020, the central government provides 5 kilograms of foodgrains per month for free. The additional free grain is over and above the normal quota provided under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kilogram.
The PMGKAY has now been extended till September 2022.
The working paper said that in the pandemic year 2020-21, extreme poverty was at its lowest level ever at 0.8 per cent of the population.
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