'We Will Achieve the Dream of New India by 2022: PM Modi

India is rising and transforming very fast as a result of a series of measures taken by the central government over the past four years said Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the 'Rising India' summit organized by Network 18 in the capital. Addressing a packed hall with the who's who of the central government, state chief ministers, foreign dignitaries and industry captains, PM Modi started about by explaining what 'rising India' means for him. "When confidence of 125 crore Indian rises, that is Rising India for me. Rising India reflects our growing confidence. It means moving from darkness to light. When commitment of 125 crore Indians rises, that is Rising India for me," PM Modi said.

Expanding on the work and the projects undertaken by his government since taking charge in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi said: "Today, India is among the fastest growing in digital payments. Swachh Bharat has become a people's movement, and that is 'rising India' for me. People have supported us in our movement against corruption," he said. "Earlier, the new and renewable energy department did not know what the power ministry roadmap was. This created Silos. Today, we are moving towards Energy surplus status. We are also moving towards our dream of One Nation, One Grid," he said.

With the help of audio-video clippings and power point presentation slides inter-spread between his speech, PM Modi explained in great detail the vast gamut of work undertaken and completed in a short-span of four years. The ongoing development of the North Eastern part of the country got a special emphasis in his hour-long speech. He said as Prime Minister he must have visited the North-Eastern states 28-29 times. "Jobs have been created due to several of the government projects. We restarted the Assam Gas Cracker project that was pending for the past 31 years. The government is spending Rs 16,000 crore on projects in the North East," he said.

Talking about electrification of over 18,000 villages that remained without electricity since independence, PM Modi said that within a short-span of past three and half years, his government was able to provide electricity to over 16,452 villages or which around 13,000 were in the east and north eastern part of the country. He said today the North Eastern states are getting connected via airports. "Out of the 12 new airports currently under construction, six are in the North East," PM Modi said.

Stating that health of mothers and sisters was a priority for his government, PM Modi said: "We launched the National Nutrition Mission on International Women's Day. If women get good nutrition, then they will be healthy. We have integrated the women and child development department with the health department for this," he added.

PM Modi also touched upon another important issue of shortage of doctors in rural areas. "There is a shortage of doctors in rural areas. To deal with that problem, we have increased the number of medical seats. We want a medical college for every three Parliamentary constituencies," PM Modi said adding that his government aims to bring health and wellness in every panchayat and make healthcare affordable to people. "We have been able to reduce prices of heart stent and also knee implants," he mentioned during his speech.

During his keynote address to the august gathering, PM Modi touched upon a number of subjects like healthcare, providing LPG cylinders to the rural households, revamping of education system, addressing the shortage of doctors, increase in FDI inflow, improving the ranking on 'ease of doing business' parameters among others. He said the government was planning to spend Rs 1 lakh crore on revamping the education system.

"When anyone talks about India, it is a positive story. India is among the top two emerging economies and one of the most popular destinations for FDI. Earlier, the tax system was seen as unfriendly. We have changed that. India has contributed massively to the world economy. Our contribution to world economic growth has increased 7 times," PM Modi said adding that 'rising India' was more than just two words. "They are a symbol of the strength of every Indian. The world wants to end TB by 2030, we aim to end it by 2025," he said.

The Prime Minister said that in the last 4 years India's influence among the world powers has increased under a planned approach. India can break its shackles and progress...Today, at least twice the number of heads of states come to India compared to previous governments," he pointed out.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended his keynote address at the News18 Rising India Summit with a message, "We should all think about what we can do to create a New India by 2022."