Atmanirbhar Bharat national resolve, not slogan, for growth: CM

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has said the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat is not just a slogan, but a resolve to make India a leading economic power in the 21st century. He was addressing the Atmanirbhar Bharat Conference in Panchkula today.

The essence of Atmanirbhar Bharat lay in self-reliance in industry, agriculture, education, skills, technology and trade, he said, adding that the five vital pillars of economy, infrastructure, system, demography and demand formed the strong foundation of nation-building. "Haryana is playing a key role in strengthening all these pillars," said Saini.

Speaking on the agriculture sector, he said Haryana had played a leading role in making the country self-reliant in food grain production, and the state was promoting diversification and the production of pulses and oilseeds. In the industrial sector, the Haryana Atmanirbhar portal was providing direct benefits of government schemes to entrepreneurs. More than 12 lakh MSMEs had provided employment to over 65 lakh people and around Rs 400 crore assistance had been provided under ease of doing business reforms, he said.

Startup ecosystem

The CM said through the 'Padma programme', industrial infrastructure was being developed at the cluster level in every block. Over 1,100 unnecessary regulations had been eliminated across 48 departments to create an industry-friendly environment.

Describing demography as an important pillar, he said Haryana’s objective was to prepare youth who became job-providers, not job-seekers. After the implementation of the Haryana Startup Policy, more than 9,500 startups had been established in the state. Recently, 22 startups were provided assistance of Rs 1.14 crore, and a 'Fund of Funds' of Rs 2,000 crore was being set up.

He informed that to strengthen the demand-supply chain, Haryana was developing its NCR region as a major logistics hub. In the field of infrastructure, expressways, freight corridors, multi-modal logistics hubs, greenfield projects and Gurugram’s 1,000-acre “Global City”, the electronics cluster at IMT Sohna, and industrial clusters at Hisar-Narnaul were progressing rapidly. Work was underway by HSIIDC to establish 10 new Industrial Model Townships, he added.

Women self-help groups

Addressing a Self-Help Groups Conference in Panchkula, the CM said the women of the state had earned recognition across the country through their hard work and talent. Thousands of self-help groups (SHGs) in the state had become the strongest pillars of a self-reliant nation, he said.

He said the government had empowered over 65,000 SHGs so far, and women were also moving ahead in fields like digital payments, e-commerce and online marketing.

He said women were supporting indigenous products through activities like animal husbandry, horticulture, fisheries, grocery shops and canteens. "Every region has a product of uniqueness. To ensure such products receive national and international recognition, we are promoting 'one block, one product' under the Padma scheme. The experience and skills of women SHGs will play a major role in this initiative," he added.