Sun for development of New India will rise in north-east: Irani

Union minister Smriti Irani today said the government would prioritise the development of the north-eastern region in its efforts to build a "New India".

"The sun for the development of a New India will rise in the north-east," the Union textile minister, who was here to attend the convocation ceremony of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), said at a press meet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speeches at home and abroad, had said a "New India", free from corruption and terrorism, would emerge by 2022, when the country would celebrate 75 years of independence from British rule.

A forum was set up under the NITI Aayog to work out strategies for the growth of the north-east, she said, adding that it would focus on developing infrastructure in the region.

Irani alleged that the previous Congress-led UPA government had neglected the weavers, "most of whom hail from the north-eastern region".

"The current government pays 75 per cent of the education fees for the weavers' children. Every state now has textile manufacturing units, which were set up in two years," she said.

Stating that six lakh people had received skill-based training in the last four years, Irani said the textile sector was now the second-largest job provider in the country.

The Centre had doled out Rs 4 lakh crore under the Mudra Yojana, a scheme to provide loans to micro enterprises and entrepreneurs, benefitting 70 per cent women workers, the minister said.

"Schemes of the Union government such as the Jan Dhan Yojana, the Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana, the Swachh Bharat Mission have contributed greatly towards the development of a New India," she added.