16,850 villages getting benefits of government's flagship schemes: Shah
New Delhi, May 22: As many as 16,850 villages of 484 districts across the country are getting benefits of seven flagship welfare schemes, including Ujjwala and Saubhagya, of the BJP-led NDA government, BJP President Amit Shah said here on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference on the achievements of Modi government in last four years, he also said the Narendra Modi-government is working to ensure that benefits of all the seven schemes reaches to all villages before it goes to election in 2019 to seek fresh mandate of the people.
"There is not even a single person who has not been getting the benefits of the seven schemes in these villages. With the efforts of Narendra Modi government, we have been successful in connecting all the houses of these villages with electricity. We have provided every hold with gas connection and benefits of social security schemes. They were all given LED lights and all the children below the age of two are vaccinated," Shah said.
Working on the same line, he said, the government is now aiming to extend the benefit of these seven schemes in new 45,000 villages in 115 districts soon.
"We will try to extend the benefit of these seven schemes to new 45,000 villages having the population of more than 1,000 by August 15. Our aim is to slowly extend these benefit to all the villages in the country.
"The benefit of these schemes were given to all the states in the country apart from Karnataka and West Bengal. They were not included due to elections," he said.
Shah said that the Bharatiya Janata Party between April 14 and May 5 has held the "Gram Swaraj Abhiyan" in over 16,500 villages across the country.
Launched on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, the campaign ensured that the benefit of seven programmes - Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Ujala scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Mission Indradhanush - reached these 16,850 villages.
During the campaign, a total of 3,68,978 programmes were launched in which over 1 crore people took part, he said while giving a powerpoint presentation over the achievements of the government.
Under the Saubhagya Yojana, more than five lakh households were electrified and under the Ujala scheme over 25 lakh LED bulbs were distributed, while through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, bank accounts opened for over 20 lakh people, who were added to the national economy.
About 11 lakh families were given gas connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, he added.
He said that Modi will address a rally at Cuttack on the completion of his government's four years.
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FTII’s Kannada short film Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know qualifies for Oscars 2025
Bengaluru: The Kannada short film Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, directed by Chidananda S. Naik, has officially qualified for the 2025 Academy Awards, announced the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday. The film has earned a spot in the Live Action Short Film category.
The film was produced by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Earlier this year, Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know won the first prize at the Cannes Film Festival’s La Cinef Selection, a platform for emerging filmmakers. The La Cinef Jury at Cannes lauded the film for its exceptional storytelling and direction, with the jury describing it as "an illumination that, from the depths of the night, shines with humour and a keen sense of direction."
Film director Naik stated, “I have aspired to tell this story for as long as I can remember. Our goal was to recreate the experience of not merely hearing these stories but of genuinely living them–an experience I hope resonates with audiences around the globe.”
The 15-minute film is based on Kannada folk tale about an old woman who steals the village rooster, leading to a cessation of sunlight and resulting in turmoil within the community. In an effort to restore order, a prophecy is invoked, resulting in the exile of the woman’s family as they undertake a desperate mission to retrieve the rooster.
The film’s team includes Suraj Thakur as the cinematographer, Manoj V. as the editor and Abhishek Kadam for sound design.
The 97th Academy Awards will take place in March 2025.
