New Delhi: India will fight the Covid-19 pandemic with all its strength and protect the interests of the country in 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address to the nation on the new year's day on Saturday.
The PM also released the 10th instalment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme transferring over Rs 20,000 crore to more than 10 crore beneficiary farmer families across the country.
He released the amount to beneficiaries at an event held through video conference.
After releasing the money, PM Modi highlighted the country's achievements in the fight against Covid-19 so far, and how the nation had fared in other sectors.
The pandemic, he said, cannot hamper the "pace" of India.
“In 2022, India will fight Covid-19 with full caution and vigilance and fulfil its national interests,” he said.
The PM also highlighted how digital payments were being accepted as the preferred mode of payment in the country.
"In 2021, India has done about 70 lakh crore rupees transactions only through UPI," he said.
"Today there are more than 50 thousand start-ups working in India. Out of these, more than 10 thousand start-ups have been formed in the last 6 months," the Prime Minister said.
Modi said that the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan was going to give a new edge to the pace of infrastructure construction in the country.
"Giving new dimensions to Make in India, the country has implemented ambitious schemes for new sectors like chip manufacturing and semiconductors," he said during his address.
Modi also discussed India's leading position in the global campaign against climate change.
"India has set a target of net-zero carbon emissions in front of the world by 2070. India is also working on electric vehicles," he said.
The PM said India has seen record foreign investment as the economy was growing.
"Today the growth rate of our economy is more than 8%. Record foreign investment has come to India. Old records have also been broken in the GST collection. We have also set new paradigms in the matter of exports and especially agriculture," he said.
The PM also highlighted how chemical-free farming was a "great way to save our earth from becoming barren".
"So, in the last year, the country has started another visionary effort -- natural farming," he said.
