Jharkhand progressing fast : Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind today said that Jharkhand is progressing fast and is ahead of many other states in ease of doing business.
Kovind, who was chief guest at the programme celebrating the 17th foundation day of Jharkhand, thanked former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for founding Jharkhand.
"Jharkhand is progressing fast and looking at its development and the new energy and enthusiasm in the people present here, I bow in respect and thank the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had taken a path-breaking decision of founding Jharkhand as a new state."
The president said it is "a matter of pleasure" that Jharkhand is developing fast and it is also working well for labour reforms and ahead of many other states in the ease of doing business.

The state has 40 per cent of the minerals of the country, which is conducive for the development of trade and industry in the state, he said.
Kovind appreciated the development and welfare schemes of the state government wherein the government is establishing 'Sakhi Mandals' in 32,000 villages where four lakh and eighty thousand women will be directly associate with different government schemes.

The president said he felt "very happy" inaugurating the Rs 1500 crore Johar Yojana for the poor, health insurance scheme for most of the families of the state, emergency ambulance service scheme and road construction schemes of the state.

The president, who recounted the contributions of freedom fighters like Birsa Munda, Sidho Kano, Nilambar and Pitambar, said, "I came to know here that Jharkhand government is running a Shaheed Gram Development Scheme for the holistic development of villages of the freedom fighters, which is a very praiseworthy step.
He said Birsa Munda in his life of only 25 years contributed a lot for Jharkhand and "It is our duty to work to achieve the objectives set by Birsa Munda for Jharkhand state and its people."
Kovind said that Jharkhand has produced a warrior like Albert Ekka who got Paramveer Chakra for his valour in the 1971 war, hockey player Jaipal Singh Munda who lead the Indian hockey team to gold in the 1928 Olympics and was also a member of the Constituent Assembly.

Jharkhand has also produced cricketer Mahindra Singh Dhoni, ace archer Deepika Kumari and many other players in hockey, football, cricket, kabbadi, archery, boxing and mountaineering.
Earlier, he also released a stamp on Maluti art of Jharkhand and inaugurated a health insurance scheme for 68 lakh families of the state. Under the scheme 57 lakh BPL families will get Rs two lakh health insurance free of cost.