All ration cards digitised, 80% linked with Aadhaar: PM Modi

All ration cards have been digitised and around 80 per cent of them have been linked with Aadhaar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.

"In the last four years, we have cancelled around 6 crore fake ration cards, gas connections and scholarships. We plugged this leakage, saving crores of money," said Prime Minister Modi while addressing a public meeting here.

"All ration cards have been digitised and around 80 per cent of ration cards have been linked with Aadhaar," he added.

The Prime Minister said that projects worth more than Rs. 1,500 crore in sectors like education, connectivity, culture and tourism, that were kickstarted today will not only spur the growth of Odisha but entire eastern India.

"In a month, more than Rs 20,000 crore of development projects have been either inaugurated or initiated in Odisha," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that Odisha got more than Rs 4000 crore due to Centre's decision to create the District Mineral Fund. He said the amount would help in the development of the tribal areas where mining is carried out.

"Unfortunately the state government has not been able to spend the money for the welfare of tribals," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Balangir-Bichhupali railway line.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for a permanent building at the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Sonepur and inaugurated new Passport Sewa Kendras at Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapur, Puri, Phulbani, Bargarh and Balangir.

Apart from inaugurating the railway line, the Prime Minister launched six Ministry of Railways projects, including the launch of 813 kilometres of electrified lines from Jharsuguda to Vizianagaram and from Sambalpur to Angul.

Prime Minister Modi also dedicated a Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) Jharsuguda, which will facilitate Import/Export and Domestic Cargo, including Private Freight Traffic (PFT).

This is the Prime Minister's third visit to Odisha from the past month. On his first visit, to Khurdha in December, the Prime Minister launched Rs 14,523 crore worth projects in the state and during his second visit on January 5, he inaugurated projects worth Rs 4,733 crores, taking the total amount of projects in Odisha to Rs. 20,801 crore in the past month.

During Tuesday's visit, projects worth Rs 1,545 crore were inaugurated by the Prime Minister.