In a democracy, every initiative by the political party in power shall be invariably scrutinised by the Opposition for possible loopholes, and also by the disgruntled elements within the ruling party. It, in fact, represents the procedural spirit of functional democracy. The process is in full swing after two year in office of the present Modi Government.
Political analysts who have seen and analysed every election in the last 69 years, and have no ideological compulsions, are seem to be unanimous on one point: Never before had any one individual generated so much of hope, confidence and bonhomie with people as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had prior to the 2014 general election.
A Chief Minister who was and still repeatedly hounded and demonised from every nook and cranny of the political canvas had the stamina, grit, self-assurance and the will-power to come clean through all this. Those who unrelentingly demonised Modi failed to capitalise the fact that the common man had gradually become more interested in the development initiatives that he had launched successfully in Gujarat. The message went throughout the country that Mr Modi is an exception who works, and works for his people and never for himself or his kith and kin. He connected to every section of society, and this connect was in the true spirit of India, people loved him without any consideration of caste, creed, region, language or religion. They voted for him, leaving their own political affiliations. The entire globe watched with great expectations, as did India. Millions and millions were waiting for the achhe din. And bam! He set his target immediately after getting the hot seat. Compare the fate of the much-hyped slogan of the Indira era, “Garibi hatao”, to the very first major initiative Narendra Modi launched: The Jan Dhan Yojana. What an unbelievable response it created! Fifteen thousand eight hundred crores of rupees were deposited in banks even when an account could be opened without a deposit. A simple idea like ‘self-attestation’ brings relief to millions every day. They all get connected to one person: Narendra Modi. They too constitute the Team India he oftens talks about.
The social sector initiatives are increasing by the day; now there are three other schemes for the last man in the line. For over 60 years, no one could think of social security, insurance or a pension to one and all. There were such systems in operation outside India, but no leader had the courage and the imagination to implement it in India. The launch of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana are indeed epoch making initiatives. These are affordable, and rather enchanting, to those who would be the beneficiaries. The Atal Pension Yojana can become a living testimonial to the empathetic connect that the Prime Minister has internalised in respect of his people. Furthermore, in his attempt to lighten up the lives of these last people in the line, he launched Pradhanmantri Ujjawala Yojana recently, in which 5 crore LPG connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the next 3 financial years.
Now,Petro Stands For Poor
Minister for Oil and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan is surely changing the face of his ministry. He is in for the complete overhaul of the ministry. His recent policy decisions in the petro sector are completely changing the scenario in the field. For one, he has prospectively replaced the existing profit-sharing arrangement in hydrocarbon exploration with a revenue-sharing formula. And in another, he put in place a transparent single licence and policy framework for oil, gas and coal-bed methane exploration in the country. At present there is a different policy for each form of hydrocarbons. Experts in the sector says that the revenue-sharing formula may help prevent future disputes over pricing and cost recovery of the kind the government has been embroiled in with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). The ministry also freed gas pricing from the new blocks and existing discoveries which are yet to commence production. However, to protect user industries from any unexpected spikes in gas prices, it is imposing a price cap linked to the opportunity cost of imported fuels. These changes are part of the overhaul undertaken by the Minister to incentivise oil and gas exploration by operating a transparent policy regime, improve energy security by reducing dependence on imports and minimizing government intervention—consistent with the strategy of the Modi government in improving ease of doing business.
And now, with the launch of Pradhanmantri Ujjawala Yojna, he has added another feather in his cap. While launching the scheme, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the minister. He said “"My compliments to Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan and the entire Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for working on mission mode on this initiative and making it such a grand success.” He also complimented the Minister and his team for re-orienting the priorities of the Ministry and for giving it a pro-poor tilt.
In sync with Pradhanmantri Ujjawala Yojna Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Independent Charge has already announced that distribution system will be further strengthened to ensure catering to people’s demand especially in remote areas. He has directed OMCs to ensure reliable, sustained last mile supply and effective monitoring and redressal mechanisms to ensure targeted delivery and effective implementation. He also said that 10,000 new LPG distributorships have been planned during the next 3 financial years to expand the coverage area. Further, one officer from the public sector Oil Marketing companies would be appointed as coordinator for each of the country’s 674 districts to augment the penetration of LPG in the country. In a nutshell, Dharmendra Pradhan has scripted a new chapter in the history of Petroleum Ministry.
With 2016 being declared as the ‘Year of Consumers’ by Mr. Pradhan, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ensured that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) offer customer centric offereings like Sahaj – the online booking and release of new connections, the online booking and payment for LPG refills, ‘1906’- the 24x7 LPG leakage Emergency telephone helpline, to name a few.
(NK)
In our country, the poor have limited access to cooking gas (LPG). The spread of LPG cylinders has been predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas with the coverage mostly in middle class and affluent households. But there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on polluting fuels. According to WHO estimates there are about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to polluting cooking fuels. Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children. According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like inhaling smoke from 400 cigarettes per day. Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal penetration of cooking gas in the country. This measure will empower women and protect their health. It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.
Dwelling on the scheme Modi reiterated that the Government of India had initiated the ‘Give It Up’ scheme on March 27, 2015 as an appeal to the ‘better –off’ sections of the society to give up their subsidy on LPG cylinders which then may be used to provide LPG connections to the poor. He said that over 5 crore BPL women would be provided LPG connections in the next three years, without having to pay any security deposit. The administrative cost of Rs. 1600 per connection, pressure regulator booklet and safety hose would be borne by the Government. The government aims at achieving the objective of providing relief to 5 crore women from the scourge of smoke and disease by the time the country celebrates the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. He also underscored the fact that in the last 2 years, 3 crore households have been provided with LPG connections. This can be cited as an illustration of pro-active governance and part of the commitment of the Modi government to uplift the cause of the poor and the down-trodden. Meanwhile, it would be prudent for the opposition parties to realise how ideas can be generated, and translated into implementable action points, paving the way for socio-economic transformations. Such ideas emerge only when the nation and people’s welfare alone dominate the thinking, and nothing else matters. It is best for the veterans in the Opposition to accept that India is shining and the leadership is in capable hands.
By Nilabh Krishna from Balia
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