Swachh Bharat, Make in India Missions will Help Realise Gandhi Vision: Pranab Mukherjee

Pitching for the success of the Swachh Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the NDA government, President Pranab Mukherjee today said that the two missions would help realise Mahatma Gandhi's vision of a 'Swachh and Samarth Bharat'.

"Gandhiji's dream is our dream; his vision must lead us through the challenges of the present towards a clean, green and self-sufficient Bharat," Mr Mukherjee said while inaugurating an international seminar in Delhi on 'Clean and Capable India of Gandhi's Dream'.

Noting in this regard the crucial role of society at large and the need for the support of key stakeholders, Mr Mukherjee said that "a concerted effort to refurbish India will help realise Gandhiji's dream of a Swachh and Samarth Bharat".

Highlighting the two pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "We have recently embarked upon two important initiatives -- Swachh Bharat Mission -- to achieve a Clean India by October 2, 2019, to coincide with the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji, and Make-in-India campaign - aimed at enhancing the manufacturing capability of our nation."

The Make in India campaign seeks to realise Gandhiji's dream of a self-sufficient and productive India, Mr Mukherjee said, adding that it aims to make India "'Samarth' on all fronts of economic development by facilitating investment, promoting innovation, fostering skill development and establishing best-in-class infrastructure".

As for the Swachh Bharat campaign, the President said that Gandhiji visualised cleanliness as having three dimensions -- "a clean mind, a clean body and clean surroundings". He said that "a winning strategy to achieve a state of cleanliness would comprise engaging the citizenry, addressing the reduction of waste and improving the processing of waste".

Also at the seminar, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that the NDA government was inspired by Gandhi's philosophy of inclusive development based on the involvement and empowerment of every individual.

He said that the government was keen to turn the Swachh Bharat Mission into a "Swachhagraha" movement for making the country clean in the next five years.

The people of the country should insist on cleanliness and undertake mass action with a missionary zeal for a "Swachhagraha" inspired by Gandhi's vision, Mr Naidu said at the event organisied by the Rajghat Samadhi Committee, a statutory body under Urban Development Ministry.