Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves after taking oath, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
The newly formed NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its first cabinet meeting on Monday approved construction of 3 crore new houses for the poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
"It has been decided in the cabinet meeting today to provide assistance to 3 crore additional rural and urban households for the construction of houses, to meet the housing requirements arising out of the increase in the number of eligible families,” an official statement released after the cabinet meeting noted.
PMAY was launched in 2016 with an objective of providing “housing for all” by 2022. The scheme for supporting the construction of houses in rural areas is called Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) while for the urban areas it is referred as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U).
As per the official statement, financial assistance to poor families have been provided for construction of 4.21 crore houses in the past 10 years.
First file okays PM Kisan disbursement
After assuming office on Monday, the first file signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to authorise the disbursal of another installment of the PM Kisan Scheme to farmers' accounts.
The government, in a release said that, the first file he signed authorised the release of the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Nidhi. "This will benefit 9.3 crore farmers and distribute around Rs 20,000 crore," the PIB said in a release.
"Ours is a government fully committed to Kisan Kalyan. It is therefore fitting that the first file signed on taking charge is related to farmer welfare. We want to keep working even more for the farmers and the agriculture sector in the times to come," the PIB said, quoting the PM.
PMO should be people's office, Modi tells staff
Addressing the staff at the Prime Minister's Office, Modi said the PMO should be the "people's office" and "not Modi’s".
He said the PMO used to be seen as a big power centre 10 years ago. "We have tried to develop the PMO as a catalytic agent which becomes a source of new energy and inspiration."
The PMO should be for the service of the people, Modi said adding that he was not born to rule and he does not think about accumulating power.