Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Monday said that the influencers, with their potential and power, would mould the real ‘Amrit Kaal’.
Inaugurating the fourth edition of the Swadesh Conclave, the Union Minister said that when the truth was trying its shoelaces, the lie would have travelled halfway around the world.
Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contribution to urban planning, Puri said that between 2004-2014, total Rs 1,78,000 crore were spent on urban space. The Prime Minister saw an opportunity in this sector and in the past nine years, the total expenditure on urban space has gone up to Rs 18.07 lakh crore, he added.
The Swadesh Conclave 2023 commenced in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan. The theme of this year’s event is Influential India. Editor-in-chief Rajshri Rai welcomed Union Minister Puri and stated that the ruling government has done a lot to change India’s image.
She said that some departments of the government, such as the Urban and Housing Affairs Ministry, have taken several initiatives, apart from making special contributions in nation-building.
Senior Advocate and Chairperson of Balaji Foundation, Pradeep Rai, congratulated Rajashri Rai for acknowledging the efforts of the influencers and exploring areas, which remained unexplored for a long time.
The Supreme Court lawyer, who is also the Chairman of the India Legal Research Foundation (ILRF), termed the influencers, filmmakers, artists and innovators as ‘change makers,’ who were doing great jobs.
However, he added that sometimes, the influencers made slight mistakes, which landed them in trouble, even leading to government pressure and litigation.
He said the main screen media has been replaced by brain screen media, adding that the influencers were contributing immensely to the society and discovering areas, which remained unexplored for a long time.
Talking about their work, the ILRF Chairman said that a niche-based content was generated by the youth, which was followed by millions.
He said as a lawyer, he has seen the influencers strengthening themselves in such a way that they were recognised and acknowledged by the society.
Hailing the Swachh Bharat Mission, Union Minister Puri expressed that Prime Minister Modi was the only leader after Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi to take up the cleanliness drive.
He highlighted that all the schemes initiated by the Prime Minister were women-centric, noting that the girls and women were the first beneficiaries of Swachh Bharat.
As per Puri, after PM Modi launched the Ujjwala Yojana in 2016, people of India received free stove and gas cylinders till 2019. He added that nine crore units were distributed free-of-cost to people.
Terming the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as one of the finest metros in the world, the Union Minister remarked that in the next two years, India will become the world’s finest metro connectivity system.
He shared that at times, he has also travelled through Delhi Metro, which hardly took 15 minutes to get him to the airport.
The Minister pointed out that India has the lowest fuel price in comparison to other neighbouring countries.
The first session of the Swadesh Conclave, The Power of Influencers: Shaping the News India concluded with presenting the Swadesh Samman to the influencers. The recipients of the prestigious award include playback singer Madhushree, Film Director Sandeep Singh, Financial influencer and entrepreneur Rachana Phadke and Content creator Anant Ladha.