“Modi’s Commitment: Unpacking BJP’s Pledges for Women, Youth, and Farmers”

Lok Sabha election 2024: If Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP secures a third term, their pledges include job creation, infrastructure enhancement, and welfare program expansion.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday, April 14, released its manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’ with the tagline ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president JP Nadda, and other senior leaders at the party headquarters in New Delhi. The manifesto focused on the poor, youth, farmers, and women.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for the poor

1. Provide free ration under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for the next five years.
2. Expanding efforts to protect ‘Garib ki Thali’ by becoming ‘Atmanirbhar’ in the production of pulses, edible oils, and vegetables.
3. Continuing to provide free health treatment by strengthening Ayushman Bharat and other initiatives.
4. Expanding the PM Awas Yojana to ensure every poor household has access to quality housing.
5. Ensure clean drinking water for all households in villages, towns, and cities.
6. Provide houses to slum dwellers by making new policies to construct houses on slum land so low-income families can be rehabilitated into high-quality houses.
7. Continuing to provide LPG connections to beneficiaries under PM Ujjwala Yojana.
8. Provide free electricity to poor households under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for the middle-class

1. Empowering the neo-middle class by supporting them with affordable quality housing and healthcare, access to quality education, and ample employment opportunities.
2. Strengthening the RERA Act which has helped make the real estate sector in the country more transparent and citizen-friendly.
3. Creating high-value jobs by expanding India’s top-tier startup ecosystem to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
4. Ensuring quality healthcare services by expanding the AIIMS and Ayushman Arogya Mandir network.
5. Promoting quality higher education by introducing more IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, and other such institutes and launch internship programs to blend academic and practical skills.
6. Focus on the modern road network, enhance rail and metro connectivity with new-age trains and expanded networks, develop comprehensive EV charging stations, construct new airports, and advance telecom infrastructure with affordable 5G and innovative 6G technology.
7. Develop more green spaces like parks and playgrounds, revive water bodies like lakes and ponds, and develop other natural spaces to make cities more adaptable, sustainable, and people-friendly.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for women

1. To empower three crore rural women to become ‘Lakhpati Didis’.
2. Integrating women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the service sector.
3. Enhancing market access for women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) enterprises.
4. Facilitating participation of women in the workforce.
5. Increasing women’s participation in sports.
6. Constructing and maintaining public toilets for women.
7. Expanding the existing health services to ensure women’s health and well-being.
8. Implementing the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ to ensure representation for women in the Parliament and state legislatures.
9. Establishing Shakti Desks (women help desks) in police stations.

Strengthen the Emergency Response Support System and enhance the capabilities of emergency helpline 112.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for youth

1. Implementing law to stop misconduct in recruitment exams across the country.
2. Conducting recruitment exams in a transparent manner.
3. Involving the youth in nation-building.
4. Expanding the startup ecosystem and funding for startups.
5. Encouraging startups in government procurement.
6. Increasing employment opportunities in manufacturing.
7. Strengthen efforts to make the country the global hub for High-Value Services by establishing more Global Capability Centres (GCCs), Global Tech Centres (GTCs), and Global Engineering Centres (GECs).
8. Ensuring employment opportunities for the youth and promoting the entrepreneurial spirit.
9. Providing new employment opportunities in tourism.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for senior citizens

1. Expanding the Ayushman Bharat Yojana to cover senior citizens and provide them access to free and quality healthcare.
2. Introducing a national senior citizens portal to honour the wisdom and experience of elders by providing them with a platform for sharing their stories, insights, and knowledge.
3. Ensuring seamless access to social security benefits and other essential government services to senior citizens by leveraging the extensive reach and reliability of the postal and digital network.
4. Providing senior citizens with comprehensive training in using UPI and other online payment methods.
5. Organising regular Ayush camps to provide holistic healthcare solutions.
6. Ensuring age-friendly public infrastructure and transportation.
7. Work with state governments to ensure convenient facilities for senior citizens to undertake sacred pilgrimages across the country.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for farmers

1. Strengthening PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to provide financial support to farmers.
2. Strengthening PM Fasal Bima Yojana to ensure speedy and more accurate assessment, faster payouts, and quicker grievance resolution.
3. Increasing MSP.
4. Support farmers to make India ‘Atmanirbhar’ in the production of pulses and edible oil production.
5. Support them with requisite farming inputs to increase the production of nutritious vegetables by establishing new clusters for the production of essentials.
6. Promoting millets for food security, nutrition, and environmental sustainability.
7. Strengthening natural farming.
8. Launching a Krishi Infrastructure Mission for integrated planning and coordinated implementation agri-infrastructure projects like storage facilities, irrigation, grading and sorting units, cold storage facilities, and food processing among others.
9. Expanding irrigation facilities.
10. Develop a substantial storage capacity in PACS under the world’s largest grain storage scheme the cooperative sector.
11. Launch an indigenous Bharat Krishi satellite for farm-related activities.
12. Ensuring access to robust agri infrastructure.
13. Develop digital public infrastructure to remove information asymmetry in agriculture and provide farmer-centric solutions and services.
14. Upgrading Krishi Vigyan Kendra to provide digital solutions to farmers.
15. Expanding PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras and access to the Nano area.
16. Ensuring high-yielding seeds.
17. Expanding the network of dairy cooperatives.
18. Eliminating major veterinary diseases.
19. Bring in the National Cooperative Policy.

‘Modi’s Commitment’ for fishermen families

1. Extending the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana to increase fish production and increase annual seafood exports.
2. Expand the insurance coverage available under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana to ensure speedy and more accurate assessment, faster payouts, and quicker grievance resolution.
3. Developing production and processing clusters for fishermen.
4. Boosting seaweed cultivation under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana to increase the income of fishermen.
5. Create sustainable livelihood opportunities for fishermen through the promotion of pearl farming.
6. Increase production and productivity in the fisheries sector through the establishment of a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres and Brood Banks.
7. Launching a special program utilising satellite imagery for rendering integrated service for the fishermen’s community, ensuring both their safety and security.
8. To make use of a series of technological interventions for farm biosecurity, management of diseases in aquatic animals, feed, and growth monitoring.

The BJP under its ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ has also promised to expand livelihood opportunities for all families, including OBC, SC, and ST, by measures such as doubling the MUDRA loan limit to ₹20 lakh, and by expanding other schemes such as PM Svanidhi, and PM Vishwakarma Yojana, among others.

The party has also assured to make the country a global manufacturing hub and enhance employment in these crucial sectors.

PM Modi, in the manifesto, has promised to expand the network of ‘Garima Grahas’ to cater to the needs of transgenders and issue identity cards to them in order to ensure their recognition nationwide. All transgenders will also be covered under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

Under ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ for Shramik Salman, the BJP has promised to ensure a review of national floor wages from time to time and also to reach out to migrant workers and empower them to avail benefits of various programs that they are eligible for. The saffron party has also promised to enhance special train services for migrant workers.

Several other ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ include – world-class infrastructure, ease of living in cities, good governance, quality education, sports development, balanced regional development, technology and innovation, Surakshit Bharat, and sustainable Bharat.