PM Modi addresses chief ministers at national conference
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled an ambitious ₹2 lakh crore infrastructure development plan targeting rural India, with focus on roads, digital connectivity, and healthcare facilities in tier-3 and tier-4 towns.
The announcement was made during a national conference of chief ministers held in New Delhi, where PM Modi outlined the government's vision for rural transformation ahead of the upcoming budget session.
The plan includes construction of 50,000 km of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana extension, installation of 5G towers in 1 lakh villages, and establishment of 500 new Ayushman Bharat health centres.
"Every village must be connected, every citizen must be empowered," the Prime Minister said. "This investment will create 1 crore jobs and transform the lives of 40 crore rural Indians."
Opposition leaders while acknowledging the scale of the announcement questioned the timeline and funding mechanism. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh called it "another jumla ahead of elections."
The finance ministry confirmed that the plan will be funded through a combination of budgetary allocation, PPP model, and multilateral development bank loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
