GST victory of integrity, celebration of honesty, says Modi
New Delhi, June 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that information technology has replaced the 'Inspector Raj' under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), as he termed the first year of the indirect tax regime as a "victory of integrity, celebration of honesty and a symbol of cooperative federalism".
In the 45th edition of his monthly radio address 'Mann ki Baat', he credited states with "successful" implementation of the 'One nation, one tax' reform, saying people of different ideologies have taken part in its 27 meetings but its decisions have been unanimous.
In his address, Modi took a veiled dig at the opposition while referring to his "greatest satisfaction" at seeing people transform their lives through the video bridge programmes in which he interacted with beneficiaries of government schemes.
"There are certain people in society, who find no solace till they do not express their frustrated views, their depressed views and seek ways to divide rather than unite. In such an environment, when the common man comes to you talking about emerging hope, new zeal and events that have taken place in his life, it is not to the government's credit," he said.
Modi also credited Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee with laying a strong foundation for country's industrial development in his capacity as Independent India's first Industry Minister.
The Prime Minister also invoked Sant Kabir and Guru Nanak to derive home the message of social harmony and brotherhood.
Pointing out that 2019 would mark the 550th Prakash Parv (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, Modi urged his followers to think about ways in which this historic occasion should be celebrated.
"Guru Nanak Dev wanted to end caste discrimination in society and to embrace entire mankind as one. He used to say that to serve the poor and the needy was to serve God," he said.
Recalling the sacrifice made by freedom fighters at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919, he said: "We must also remember the everlasting message that this incident has imparted, that is, violence and cruelty can never solve any problem. It is peace and non-violence, renunciation and martyrdom that are triumphant in the end!"
On GST, Modi said that although it was estimated that in a country as vast as India, it would take five to seven years for the "world's biggest tax reform" to get streamlined but it has stabilised in just a year, and under it Information Technology had replaced 'Inspector Raj' as everything from return-to-refund was being done online with little manual interference.
Modi said he had interacted with 40-50 lakh people, including farmers and beneficiaries of government schemes through his video bridge programmes, and that it imparted him with new strength.
He said an incident regarding a small girl from a remote village too can inspire the 125 crore people.
"With the help of technology, through the video bridge even a single moment spent with the beneficiaries was very enjoyable, very motivational and provided satisfaction to work more. There is a renewed joy in dedicating your life for the upliftment, and you're left with renewed fervour and inspiration."
Modi greeted doctors on Doctors Day on July 1 and recalled efforts of corporate professionals and IT engineeers in Bangalore in creating 'Samridhi Trust' through which they had doubled income of farmers.
Recalling India-Afghanistan cricket match in Bengaluru earlier this month, Modi said: "I will cherish the match for a special reason. The Indian team, while receiving the trophy, invited the Afghanistan team to pose together for photographs. This incident exemplifies the very spirit of sportsmanship."
Referring to the International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21, Modi hoped more and more people will come forward to make the practice a part of their lives.
He said the event presented some of "the rarest of sights" as hundreds in the European Parliament in Brussels, in the UN headquarters in New York and on the Japanese naval warships practiced yoga 'asanas'.
He said country's soldiers performed yoga in submarines, snow-clad mountains and even in the air, some 15,000 feet above the ground.
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
