Take steps to provide reservation for Persons with Disabilities in statutory bodies: HC
A division bench comprising Justices G R Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan gave the directive in a recent order while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by B Rameshbabu, who is afflicted with polio paralysis.
The petitioner sought a direction to the authorities to identify elected representatives to Statutory bodies under Central and State Acts of the disabled person, based upon the petitioner's representation dated March 10, 2025.
The bench said the petitioner's grievance was that persons with disabilities were not being represented in statutory bodies such as Bar Council of India, National Medical Council, Dental Council of India and Pharmacy Council of India.
Noticing that the Supreme Court of India by its order dated May 6, 2025 directed that women should find due representation in the Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association, the bench said while the SC in exercise of its power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India has issued such a direction, "the High Court though being a constitutional court cannot issue any writ of mandamus unless the petitioner shows the existence of any legal right."
"However, we can certainly nudge the respondents to take appropriate steps in that direction".
The bench said the petitioner was justified in his contention that persons with disabilities were entitled to due representation in every walk of life. That was why, the Parliament enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 providing four per cent reservation.
Sections 32 and 34 of the said Act provides for reservation in higher education institutions and in positions. Section 33 mandates the Government to identify posts in the establishments which can be held by the respective category of persons with benchmark disabilities, the bench added.
The bench said it was only just and proper that apart from finding a place in educational institutions and in employment, persons with disabilities also find a place in the elected bodies.
Section 75 of the Act states that the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities shall promote awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and the safeguards available for their protection.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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IANS Prime Minister Modi on the 79th Independence Day Read full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of 79th Independence Day: My dear countrymen, This great festival of independence is the festival of 140 crore resolutions. This festival of independence is a moment of collective achievements, of pride when the heart is filled with enthusiasm. The country is constantly strengthening the spirit of unity. Today, 140 crore countrymen are painted in the colour of the tricolour. Every house has the tricolour, from every corner of India, whether it is the desert, or the peaks of the Himalayas, the seashore or the densely populated areas, there is only one echo from everywhere, there is only one slogan, there is only one praise, there is a praise of the motherland, dearer to us than our lives. My dear countrymen, In 1947, with infinite possibilities and the strength of millions of arms, our country became independent. The aspirations of the country were soaring, but the challenges were even more than that. Following the principles of Pujya Bapu, the members of the Constituent Assembly played a very important role. The Constitution of India has been showing us the way by becoming a lighthouse for 75 years. The contribution of many great men who made the Constitution of India was not less, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ji, not only this, the contribution of our women power was also no less. Scholars like Hansa Mehta ji, Dakshayani Velayudhan also played their role in strengthening the Constitution of India. Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I respectfully bow to the makers of the Constitution, who guided the country, who gave direction to the country. My dear countrymen,Today we are also celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was the first great man of the country to sacrifice for the Constitution of India. When we made the mantra of one country, one constitution a reality by sacrificing for the Constitution, by demolishing the wall of Article 370, we paid true tribute to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Today many special dignitaries are present at the Red Fort, there are members of Panchayats from far-flung villages, there are representatives of Drone Didi, there are representatives of Lakhpati Didi, there are people associated with the world of sports, great people who have given something or the other to the national life are present here, in a way, here in front of my eyes, I am seeing a miniature India and today the Red Fort is also connected with the great India through technology. On this great festival of independence, I heartily congratulate the countrymen, the India lovers spread across the world, our Nature is testing us all. In the last few days, we have been facing so many disasters like natural calamities, landslides, cloudbursts etc. We sympathize with the victims. The state governments and the central government are working together with full force for rescue work, relief work and I am also seeing a special significance of 15th August. I am feeling very proud, today I have got the opportunity to salute the brave soldiers of Operation Sindoor from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Our brave soldiers have punished the enemies beyond their imagination. The kind of massacre that the terrorists did on 22nd April in Pahalgam from across the border, people were killed after asking their religion, the husband was shot in front of his wife, the father was killed in front of the children, the whole of India was filled with anger, the whole world was also shocked by this kind of dear countrymen,Operation Sindoor is an expression of that anger. After the 22nd, we gave our army a free hand. They could decide the strategy, decide the target, choose the time and our army did what had never happened in decades. They penetrated hundreds of kilometers into enemy territory and razed the terrorist headquarters to the ground, turned the terrorist buildings into ruins. Pakistan is still sleepless. The destruction in Pakistan is so huge that new revelations are being made every day, new information is coming dear countrymenOur country has been bearing the brunt of terrorism for many decades. The country's chest has been pierced. Now we have established a new normal, we will no longer consider terrorism and those who foster terrorists, those who give strength to terrorists, as different. They are the common enemies of humanity, there is no difference between them. Now India has decided that we are no longer going to tolerate these nuclear threats, nuclear blackmail has been going on for a long time, now that blackmail will not be tolerated. Even in the future, if the enemies continue to try this, our army will decide, on the army's terms, at the time decided by the army, in the manner decided by the army, we are going to implement the target set by the army. We will give a befitting dear countrymen,Now India has decided that blood and water will not flow together. Now the countrymen have come to know very well how unjust and one-sided the Indus agreement is. The water of the rivers originating from India is irrigating the fields of the enemies and the farmers of my country, the land of my country is thirsty for water. This was such an agreement that has caused unimaginable damage to the farmers of my country for the last 7 decades. Now the right over the water that is India's right belongs only to India, to the farmers of India. India has tolerated the Indus agreement in that form for decades, it will not be tolerated in that form further. In the interest of farmers, in the interest of the nation, we do not accept this dear countrymen,Countless people sacrificed their lives for freedom, spent their entire youth, spent their lives in jails, were hanged on the gallows, not to take, attain or become something, but for the self-respect of Mother India, for the freedom of millions of people, to break the chains of slavery and there was only one feeling in their hearts, made us poor, slavery also made us dependent, our dependence on others increased. We all know that after independence, it was a big challenge to feed millions of people, and these are the farmers of my country who toiled hard and filled the granaries of the country. They made the country self-sufficient in terms of grains. Even today, the biggest criterion of self-respect for a nation is its my dear countrymen,The basis of a developed India is also a self-reliant India. The more one depends on others, the bigger question mark is raised on his independence and it becomes unfortunate when one gets used to dependence and does not even realize when we are giving up self-reliance and when we become dependent on someone else. This habit is not free from danger and hence one has to be vigilant every moment to be my dear countrymen,Self-reliance is not just limited to import and export, rupee, paise, pound, dollar, it does not have such a limited meaning. Self-reliance is related to our strength and when self-reliance starts to end, the strength also continuously diminishes and hence to protect, maintain and increase our strength, it is very essential to be self-reliant!Friends,We have seen in Operation Sindoor, what was the magic of Made in India. The enemy did not even know what kind of weapons these were, what was this power that was destroying them in a blink of an eye. Think if we were not self-reliant, would we have been able to carry out Operation Sindoor so quickly? We did not know who would supply or not, whether the equipment would be available or not, we would have been worried about this. But we had the power of Made in India in our hands, in the hands of the army, so without worry, without hindrance, without hesitation, our army continued to perform its valor and for the last 10 years we have been carrying forward a mission of self-reliance in the field of defense, its results are visible would like to draw your attention to another topic. No one can deny that the 21st century is a technology driven century and when we look at history, history is a witness that the countries which have mastered technology have crossed the heights of development, reached the pinnacle, and their economic power reaches new heights. When we talk about different dimensions of technology, I would like to draw your attention to semiconductors, and give you an example. I am not standing here from the Red Fort to criticize anyone, any government, nor do I want to do so, but it is equally important for the young generation of the country to be aware of it. In our country, files related to semiconductors started 50-60 years ago. The idea of a factory started 50-60 years ago. You young people will be surprised to know that today semiconductors have become a power in the whole world. 50-60 years ago those ideas, those files got stuck, got stuck, got stuck, the very idea of semiconductor was aborted, 50-60 years were wasted. After us, many countries are establishing their power in the world by achieving mastery in we have freed ourselves from that burden and have taken forward the work of semiconductors in mission mode. 6 different semiconductor units are coming on the ground, we have already given the green signal to four new units. And I would like to tell the countrymen and especially the youth and the people who understand the power of India's technology across the world that Made in India chips made in India, made in India, made by the people of India, will come in the market by the end of this year. I want to give another example, now in the field of energy, we all know that we are dependent on many countries for energy, whether it is petrol, diesel, gas, we have to spend lakhs of crores of rupees to bring it. It is very important for us to make the country self-reliant from this crisis, to make it self-reliant in energy. We took up the challenge and today in 11 years, solar energy has increased 30 times. We are building new dams so that hydro can expand and we can get clean energy. India is investing thousands of crores of rupees today under Mission Green Hydrogen. Keeping in mind the energy of the future and the energy sectors, India is also taking very big initiatives on nuclear energy. 10 new nuclear reactors are being rapidly commissioned in nuclear energy. We have set the target of a developed India by 2047. When the country will complete 100 years of independence, we are moving ahead with the resolve to increase the nuclear energy capacity by more than 10 dear countrymen,Reform is a continuous process, reforms have to be done as per the situation and time. We have brought about very big reforms in the field of nuclear energy. Now we have opened the doors of nuclear energy for the private sector as well. We want to add dear countrymen,When the world is worried about global warming today, I want to tell the world that India had decided that we will make 50% clean energy available in India by 2030. This was our target by 2030. See the capability of my countrymen, see the determination of my countrymen, see the race of my countrymen to fulfill their resolve of making India a developed country, the target that we had set for 2030, that target of 50% clean energy we achieved in 2025, we achieved it 5 years earlier. Because we are equally sensitive towards the world, we are equally responsible towards dear countrymen,A huge part of the budget was spent on bringing petrol, diesel, gas, etc. Lakhs of crores of rupees were spent. If we were not dependent on energy, that money would have been used for the future of the youth of my country, that money would have been used to help the poor of my country fight against poverty, that money would have been used for the welfare of the farmers of my country, that money would have been used to change the conditions of the villages of my country, but we had to give it to foreign countries. Now we are working towards becoming self-reliant. To make the country developed, we are now also moving towards Samudra Manthan. Taking forward our Samudra Manthan, we want to work in a mission mode towards finding oil reserves, gas reserves under the sea and hence India is going to start the National Deep Water Exploration Mission. This is our important announcement to become energy dear countrymen,Today the whole world has become very cautious about critical minerals, people have started understanding their potential very well. What was not given much attention till yesterday, has come to the center stage today. Self-reliance in critical minerals is very essential for us too. Be it the energy sector, industry sector, defense sector, every field of technology, today critical minerals play a very important role in technology and hence we have launched the National Critical Mission, exploration campaign is going on at more than 1200 places, and we are moving forward towards becoming self-reliant in critical minerals as dear countrymen,Every citizen of the country is seeing the wonders of the space sector and is filled with pride. And our Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from the space station and he is also coming to India in the coming days. We are also preparing for Aatmanirbhar Bharat Gaganyaan on our own strength in space. We are working towards building our own space station on our own strength. And I am very proud of the reforms done in space recently, more than 300 startups of my country are now working only in the space sector and thousands of youth are engaged with full capability in those 300 startups. This is the strength of the youth of my country and this is our faith in the youth of our dear countrymen,140 crore Indians are working with full force to fulfill the resolution of a developed India in 2047, when we will celebrate 100 years of independence. To fulfill this resolution, India is today creating a modern ecosystem in every sector and the modern ecosystem will make our country self-reliant in every field. Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, my appeal is to the young scientists of my country, my talented youth, my engineers and professionals, and also to every department of the government, should we have our own jet engine for Made in India fighter jets or not? We are considered the Pharma of the World. We are setting new records in the field of vaccines, but isn't it the need of the hour that we put more energy into research and development, we should have our own patents, we should research the cheapest and most effective medicines for the welfare of mankind, and in times of crisis, these should be useful for the welfare of mankind without any side effects. The Government of India has formulated the BioE3 policy. I request the youth of the country to come and study the BioE3 policy and take steps. We have to change the fate of the country and we need your dear countrymen,Today is the era of IT, we have the power of data, isn't this the need of the hour? From operating systems to cyber security, from deep tech to artificial intelligence, everything should be ours, on which the strength of our own people is concentrated, we should introduce their strength and power to the be it social media or any other platform, we are working on the world's platforms. We have shown the world that our own UPI platform is surprising the world today. We have the capability, India alone is doing 50% of the real time transactions through UPI. This means that there is power, whether it is the creative world, social media, all these platforms, I challenge the youth of my country, why don't you have your own platform, why should we depend on others, why should India's money go out and I have faith in your dear countrymen,Just like we are dependent on the world for energy, it is the misfortune of the country that we have to depend on the world for fertilizers as well. The farmers of my country can also serve Mother Earth by using fertilizers properly. They are causing a lot of harm to Mother Earth by using it indiscriminately. But at the same time, I want to tell the youth of the country, the industry of the country, the private sector of the country, let us fill the reserves of fertilizers, let us find new ways and prepare our own fertilizers as per the requirement of India, let us not depend on coming era is of EV. Now if we don't make EV batteries, we will be dependent on them. Be it solar panels or all the things required for electronic vehicles, we should have our dare to say this because I have faith in the capabilities of the youth of the country and this faith is not just because they are the youth of my country, during Covid we were dependent on many things, when the youth of my country were told that we need our own vaccine, the country did it. The Covin platform should be our own, the country did it. We have saved the lives of crores of people. The same spirit, the same passion, we have to give our all to become self-reliant in every sphere of life, we have to live by seeing our the last 11 years, entrepreneurship has gained a huge strength. Today, lakhs of startups in tier-2 and tier-3 cities are giving strength to the country's economy and innovation. Similarly, through the Mudra Yojana, crores of youth of our country, including crores of our daughters, are taking loans from Mudra and starting their own business. They have stood on their own feet, but are also giving strength to others to stand on their feet. In a way, this is also giving every person an opportunity to become comrades,Women Self Help Groups, nobody paid attention to them, in the last 10 years Women Self Help Groups have done wonders. Today their products have started going to the world market. Our Women Self Help Groups are doing business worth lakhs and crores. I once spoke about toys in Mann Ki Baat. We used to import toys worth crores of rupees from abroad. I said in Mann Ki Baat that will the youth of my country do this, will they import toys from abroad and today I say with pride that my country has started exporting toys. That means the potential of the country should get all kinds of opportunities, should get freedom from all obstacles, should be inspired to do the maximum, the country can do it. I tell the youth of the country, come with innovative ideas, do not let your ideas die friends, your idea today can create the future of the coming generation. I stand with you, I am ready to work for you, I am ready to work as your partner. Come, gather courage, take initiative. The youth who think about manufacturing, come forward. If the government rules need to be changed, tell me, now the country does not want to stop. 2047 is not far, every moment is precious and we do not want to lose even a single moment, is an opportunity to move forward, an opportunity to dream big, an opportunity to be dedicated to the resolution. When the government is with you and I myself am with you, now we can create a new the National Manufacturing Mission is declining very rapidly. The world accepts the strength of our MSMEs. Whatever big things are made in the world, some or the other tools are supplied by the MSMEs of our country. They go with great pride, but we want to go on the path of comprehensive integrated development, and hence their strength should increase and in that too I had once said from the Red Fort, zero defect zero effect. I want to say today that if we have to get our strength accepted in the world market, then we have to cross the heights not just continuously in quality, the world accepts quality. Our quality should be the highest and the government should also make efforts, raw material should also be available, how can we reduce the cost of our production in that ........And comrades,The mantra of all of us who are involved in the manufacturing sector should be low price but high power. Our every product should have high power but low price, we have to move forward with this dear countrymen,Countless people have sacrificed their lives for freedom. I have said earlier also, they sacrificed their youth, were hanged, why for an independent India. Remember that period 75-100 years ago, the whole country lived with the mantra of independent India. Today the need of the hour is, those who lived with the mantra of independent India gave us independent India. Today the only mantra of 140 crore countrymen should be prosperous India. If independent India can be created by the sacrifice of crores of people, then prosperous India can also be created by the determination of crores of people, by hard work, by becoming self-reliant, by talking about vocal for local, by chanting the mantra of Swadeshi, that generation was sacrificed for independent India, this generation should take new steps for a prosperous India, this is the need of the hour. And that is why I request again and again today and I want to tell all the influencers of the country. Please help me in taking this mantra forward. I say to all the political parties, politicians, everyone, come, this is not the agenda of any political party, India belongs to all of us, let us together make Vocal for Local, the mantra of every citizen's life. We will buy only those things made in India, made with the sweat of the citizens of India, which have the fragrance of the soil of India and which give strength to the resolve of self-reliance of India, we will use only those things, we should come forward in that direction, let this be our collective resolve, we will change the world in no time friends. Today I want to request every small businessman and shopkeeper, you also have a responsibility, we were small, did we never see in the market, that there is a shop of pure ghee, it was written like this that ghee shop, but with time people started writing pure ghee shop. I want such businessmen to come forward in the country, such shopkeepers to come, that they should put up boards saying that indigenous goods are sold here. We should start feeling proud of swadeshi, we will use swadeshi not out of compulsion, but with strength. We will use it for strength and if needed, we will use it to compel others, this should be our strength. This should be our dear countrymen,I have had the opportunity to work in the government for a very long time. I have seen many ups and downs. I am also aware of the problems of the governments, I am also aware of the limitations of the systems, but despite that it is our responsibility that we do not waste our energy in shortening someone else's line. I say from great experience, we do not have to waste our energy in shortening someone else's line, we have to lengthen our line with full energy. If we lengthen our line, then the world will also accept our strength. Today, when economic selfishness is increasing day by day in the global conditions, then the need of the hour is that we do not need to cry over those crises, we should lengthen our line with courage. And I can say from the experience of 25 years of governance, if we choose this path, if everyone chooses it, then no selfishness can trap us in its dear countrymen,The past decade has been about reform, perform and transform. But now we have to join with new strength. In the past, we have done many reforms, be it FDI, insurance companies, or giving space to world universities in India, we have done many reforms. We have done away with more than 40,000 unnecessary compliances. Not only this, we have done away with more than 1500 old laws which were from the times of Adam. We have made changes in dozens of laws by going to the Parliament to simplify them, keeping the interests of the public paramount. This time too, the message may not have reached the people amid the hue and cry. But a very big reform has happened in the Income Tax Act. We have decided to abolish more than 280 sections. And friends, we have not only done reforms on the economic front, we have also done reforms to make the life of the citizen easier. Be it income tax refund, this is the result of reform. Talking about cashless assessment, it is the result of reform. Exemption from income tax up to Rs. 12 lakhs today, my middle class family which is eager to build the future of the country, is very happy today, no one had ever thought that income tax up to Rs. 12 lakhs will be made zero, today it has been made zero. When the strength of the country increases, the countrymen benefit. Since the British era, we were suppressed by the Penal Code, life was going on by showing fear of punishment, 75 years of independence went like this, we abolished the Penal Code, have brought the Justice Code. There is a sense of trust in the citizen of India in the Justice Code. There is a sense of belongingness in the citizen of India, it is full of sensitivities. We have taken the initiative to speed up the journey of reform, we want to move forward very fast. I want countrymen, I am doing this for the country, I am not doing it for myself, I am not doing it to harm anyone. My political parties, my competing partners, also, should come forward for this bright future of the country, support us. Be it structural reforms, regulatory reforms, discussion of policy reforms, discussion of process reforms, need to do constitutional reforms, every kind of reforms, today we have set this as our my dear countrymen,We have decided to form a task force for next generation reforms. This task force should complete this work within the time limit. The current rules, laws, policies, practices should be prepared afresh in the context of making India a developed nation in 2047, and a task force has been formed to complete its work within the time to these reforms, new people who want to build their future will get courage. Be it our startups, our small scale industries, our home industries, the compliance cost of those entrepreneurs will be reduced a lot and due to that they will get a new strength. Those in the world of export will get a huge strength due to the logistics support and the changes in the are such laws in our country, laws that put people in jail for small things, you will be surprised, nobody noticed them. I am following them, these unnecessary laws that put the citizens of my country in jail should be abolished. We had brought a bill in the parliament earlier also, this time also we have brought Diwali, I am going to make it a double Diwali for you. This Diwali, you fellow countrymen are going to get a very big gift. In the last 8 years, we have done a big reform of GST, reduced the tax burden across the country, simplified the tax arrangements and after 8 years, the need of the hour is that we review it once. We started the review by setting up a high power committee and also held discussions with the my dear countrymen,We are bringing the next generation GST reforms, these will be a gift for you during Diwali, taxes required by the common man will be reduced to a great extent, facilities will increase a lot. Our MSMEs, our small entrepreneurs, they will get a huge benefit. Everyday things will become very cheap and the economy will also get a new boost from dear countrymen,Today, the country is moving at a fast pace towards becoming the third largest economy. We are knocking at the doors and we will achieve it very fast and some day, I will go among you and share this news from the Red Fort. Today, the whole world is confident about India's economy and economic situation. Amidst so much instability, India's financial discipline, India's financial energy has remained a ray of hope. When the economy is in the grip of crisis, the belief that India is the only one to get out of it has grown in the world. Today, inflation is under control, our forex exchange reserves are very strong, our macroeconomic indicators are very strong, global rating agencies also constantly praise India, expressing more and more confidence in India's economy. We are making new efforts in the direction that the benefits of this growing economy should reach the poor of my country, the farmers of my country, the women power of my country, the middle class of my country, the development of my country should become a source of opportunities are being created for our youth in new sectors. Skill development, self-employment, internships in big companies, a very large scale campaign is being run on this and that is why, youth of the country, today I have brought a good news for you too, for the youth of my country. Today is 15th August, today on 15th August, we are starting and implementing a scheme of one lakh crore rupees for the youth of my country. From today, on 15th August, the Pradhan Mantri Vikasit Bharat Rojgar Yojana is being implemented today, this is very good news for you. Under this scheme, the government will give Rs 15000 to the son or daughter of the youth who gets a job in the private sector first. Companies will also be given incentives for those who will provide more opportunities to give new employment. Pradhan Mantri Vikasit Bharat Rojgar Yojana will create new employment opportunities for about three and a half crore youth. I congratulate all the youth for dear countrymen,Today, everyone has started acknowledging the power of women in India. Our women are the beneficiaries of the growing economy, but our women have also contributed a lot in accelerating the growing economy, our mother power has contributed, our women power has contributed. From startups to the space sector, our daughters are dominating. They are dominating the sports field, shining in the army, today they are proudly participating in the country's development journey by standing shoulder to shoulder. The country was filled with pride when the first NDA women candidate passed out. The whole country was filled with pride, all the TV channels were following her. Those were moments of great pride. Self-help groups, 10 crore self-help group sisters, what amazing things they are doing. Namo Drone Didi Nari Shakti became a new identity. I met a sister in the village, she says that now the villagers call me a pilot. She was saying with great pride that she was not very educated, but she has gained had pledged to make 3 crore women Lakhpati Didi. 3 crore and I am satisfied that we are working at a fast pace. We will achieve the target of 3 crore before time and today I want to happily tell the country, see the power of my Nari Shakti, two crore women have become Lakhpati Didi in no time. Today some Lakhpati Didi are sitting in front of us. This is my power, and I believe friends, their participation in India's development journey is going to dear countrymen,The farmers of my country have a huge contribution to the economy of India. The hard work of the farmers of India is paying off. Last year, the farmers of my country broke all old records in the production of grains. This is the strength of my country. The same amount of land, but the systems have changed, water has started reaching, good seeds have started becoming available, farmers have started getting good facilities, so they are increasing their strength for the country. Today India is number one in the world in the production of milk, pulses and jute. Today it is the second largest fish producer in the world. Look at the strength of my fisherman brothers and sisters, we have reached the second position in the world in fish production. Today India has also reached the second position in the world in the production of rice, wheat, fruits and will be happy that the produce of my country's farmers is reaching the world markets today. Agro products worth 4 lakh crore rupees have been exported. The farmers of my country have shown us their strength. Whether we are small farmers, cattle rearers, fishermen, we are providing them the benefits of many schemes for the country's development. Whether it is PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, rain water harvesting, irrigation schemes, quality seeds, fertilizer requirement, in every sector today farmers have a trust in crop insurance. He is becoming bold, the country is getting its results too. Earlier this was a matter of imagination, today it has become a countrymen,To save the livestock of our country, we remember that we got one Covid vaccine for free, but we have also administered 125 doses for free to the animals so far. To get rid of foot and mouth disease, which is called foot and mouth disease in North India, we have administered 125 crore doses and that too for free. In terms of agriculture, those districts of the country where the farmers have lagged behind others, due to some reason or the other, there are 100 districts where there is relatively less farming and hence we have identified 100 districts from the whole country and have launched a campaign to empower the farmers there, to give power to the farmers, to help the farmers, and for this, we have started the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana. PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana is those 100 districts of the country where if a little help is given, then the farmer there will also be at par with other farmers of dear countrymen,India's farmers, India's livestock farmers, India's fishermen, these are our biggest priorities. Modi is standing like a wall in front of any harmful policy related to India's farmers, India's fishermen, India's livestock farmers. India will never accept any compromise regarding its farmers, its livestock farmers, its countrymen,I have not had to read in books what poverty is. I know, I have also been in the government and hence my endeavour has been that the government should not be in files. The government should be in the lives of the citizens of the country. Be it the Dalits, the oppressed, the exploited, the deprived, the governments should be positively proactive for them, the governments should be pro-people, we are constantly working in that direction. Some people feel that the government schemes were available earlier also for every needy person of the society, no, we are bringing the government schemes on the ground, we emphasize on saturation and if there is any true execution of social justice, then it is in saturation, in which no deserving person is left out, the government goes to the house of the deserving and he gets the things of his right, we are working for Jan Dhan accounts were opened, it wasn't just a bank account; it gave us self-respect that the doors of the bank open for me too; I can also go to the bank and put my hand on the table and talk; we have instilled this confidence. Ayushman Bharat has helped people overcome the habit of bearing illness and help them in getting good health; and when we help senior citizens with more than ₹5 lakh,00,000 and take care of their health, today 4 crore poor people are getting homes through PM Awas Yojana, it means that new dreams of life reside there. Those are not just four walls, Swanidhi Yojana for street vendors, who were once trapped in the interest cycle, today even street vendors are benefited by PM Swanidhi and you must have seen that they take money through UPI and give money through UPI, this change is that the government should be concerned about the last person in people's lives, because of which these ground-related schemes are made and the ground-related schemes reach the ground and the schemes reach the ground become a powerful medium to bring about change in life. There was a time when the poor, the oppressed, the tribals, the deprived, the disabled, our widows, mothers and sisters used to wander from door to door for their rights, their lives were spent in visiting government offices. Today the government comes to your doorstep, comes with a saturation approach, crores of beneficiaries are getting the benefits of government schemes, Direct Benefit Transfer is a very revolutionary country has heard many slogans of Garibi Hatao, even from the Red Fort and the country was tired of hearing these slogans and had accepted that poverty cannot be eradicated, but when we take the schemes to the homes of the poor, we create confidence in the minds of the poor, then 25 crore poor people of my country create a new history by defeating poverty and coming out of poverty. Today 10 crore poor and in 10 years more than 25 crore poor have come out of poverty by defeating poverty and a neo middle class has comrades,This neo middle class and middle class is such a combination which has aspiration as well as efforts; it is going to become a huge force in taking the country dear countrymen,In the very near future, the 200th birth anniversary of the great social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule is coming. We are going to start the celebrations of that birth anniversary and the principles of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, the mantras he gave, are an inspiration for us - priority to the backward. By giving priority to the backward, we want to achieve the heights of change. We want to work hard for this. We want to bring priority to the backward on the ground through transparent policies, we want to bring it into the life of every backward it is the Swanidhi Yojana for street vendors or the Vishwakarma Yojana for skilled manual workers or the PM Jan Man Ki Yojana for the backward tribals, work should be done to bring our eastern India at par with the rest of the country in terms of development and to give them leadership. We are not going to get stuck worrying about only the backward communities. We want to give priority to the backward regions as well. We want to give priority to the districts that have been backward. We want to give priority to the blocks that have been backward. We have worked on 100 aspirational districts, 500 aspirational blocks, on the same mission. We have focused on infrastructure projects worth thousands of crores of rupees for the development of eastern India. We have decided to become a part of the country's development journey by changing the lives of eastern dear countrymen,There should be development in every sphere of life. Sports are also important for development. And I am happy that there was a time when parents did not like it if their children spent time in sports. Today, the situation has completely changed. If children come forward and take interest in sports, parents are filled with pride. I consider this a good sign. When I see an environment of encouragement for sports in the families of my country, my heart fills with pride. I consider this a very good sign for the future of the comrades,To promote this sport, we have brought the National Sports Policy, after several decades we have brought the Khelo India Policy in the country, so that it is an effort for the all-round development of the sports world. We want to develop a complete ecosystem from school to Olympics, whether it is coaching arrangements, fitness, playgrounds, sports arrangements, necessary equipment for sports, helping small industries in making equipment for sports. That is, in a way, we want to take the entire ecosystem to children in remote comrades,When I talk about fitness, when I talk about sports, I also want to put forth a concern before you. Every family in our country should be concerned, obesity is becoming a big crisis for our country. The pundits, the knowledgeable people, say that in the coming years, one in every three people will be obese. We have to prevent obesity. And so, I will have to do everything else, but I gave a small suggestion that families should decide that when cooking oil comes home, 10% less oil will come and 10% less oil will be used, and we will contribute towards winning the battle against dear countrymen,Our country is fortunate, we are blessed with thousands of years of heritage, and it gives us constant energy, inspiration, and the path of sacrifice and penance. Today is the 350th martyrdom year of Guru Teg Bahadur ji, he sacrificed everything to protect the culture of the country, to protect the values of India. I salute him strength of our culture is our diversity. We want to celebrate diversity and we want to make it a habit to celebrate diversity. It is our pride that our Mother India is a garden decorated with so many different types of flowers. There is so much diversity. This diversity is a great heritage for us and a great pride. We have seen in the Maha Kumbh of Prayagraj how the diversity of India is lived. Crores of people at one place with the same feeling, same spirit and one effort is a great wonder for the world. The success of the Maha Kumbh speaks of the unity of India and the strength of country is full of diversity of languages. And that is why we have given the status of classical language to Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit. And I believe, the more our languages develop, the more rich our languages become, the more strength our knowledge system will get. And that is our strength, and when it is the age of data, this power can become a big power for the world as well, our language has so much potential. We should be proud of all our languages, everyone should make every effort for the development of all our are treasures of our knowledge lying in manuscripts, but there has been indifference towards them. This time, under the Gyan Bharatam scheme, we are working in the direction of searching for handwritten texts, manuscripts, centuries-old documents across the country and using today's technology, so that the richness of that knowledge can be used by future dear countrymen,Our clear opinion is that this country is not made by just governments, this country is not made by those who sit on the throne, this country is not made by those who handle the system of governance, this country is made by the efforts of millions of people, sages, saints, scientists, teachers, farmers, soldiers, army, laborers, everyone's efforts make the country. Everyone contributes. Individuals contribute, institutions contribute. Today I want to mention one thing with great pride. 100 years ago, an organization was born, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, 100 years of service to the nation is a very proud golden page. With the resolution of nation building from individual development, with the goal of welfare of Mother India for 100 years, the volunteers have dedicated their lives for the welfare of the motherland. Service, dedication, organization and unmatched discipline, this has been its identity. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the world's largest NGO. In a way, it has a history of 100 years of dedication. Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I respectfully remember all the volunteers who have contributed to this 100-year journey of national service and the country is proud of this 100-year grand, dedicated journey of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and it will continue to inspire dear countrymen,We are moving towards prosperity, but the path to prosperity passes through security. In the last 11 years, we have worked with full dedication on all fronts of national security, national defence, and the protection of the citizens of the nation. We have succeeded in bringing about change. This country knows that a large tribal area of our country has been bleeding in the grip of Naxalism, Maoism for the last several decades. My tribal families suffered the most. Tribal mothers and sisters lost the promising children of their dreams. Young sons were pulled on the wrong path, misled, their lives were destroyed. We acted with a steely hand. There was a time when Naxalism had spread its roots in more than 125 districts. Our tribal areas, our tribal youth were trapped in the clutches of Maoism and today we have reduced the number of districts from 125 to 20. We have done the greatest service to those tribal communities and you see there was a time when on remembering Bastar, the sounds of Maoism, Naxalism, bombs and guns were heard. After getting rid of Maoism and Naxalism in the same Bastar, when the youth of Bastar participate in the Olympics, thousands of youth enter the sports ground chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai, the entire atmosphere is filled with enthusiasm, the country is seeing this change. The areas which were once known as Red Corridors are today becoming Green Corridors of development, friends, it is a matter of pride for us. The areas which were bloodied and painted red in the map of India, we have hoisted the tricolour of Constitution, law and development dear countrymen,This is the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Lord Birsa Munda, and by freeing these tribal areas from Naxalism and saving the lives of the youth of my tribal family, we have paid a true tribute to Lord Birsa dear countrymen,Today, I want to alert the country about a concern, a challenge. Under a conspiracy, under a well-planned conspiracy, the demography of the country is being changed. A new crisis is being sown and these intruders are snatching the livelihood of the youth of my country. These intruders are targeting the sisters and daughters of my country, this will not be tolerated. These intruders are occupying the lands of innocent tribals by misleading them. The country will not tolerate this and therefore, my dear countrymen, when there is a change in demography, there is a change in demography in border areas, then a crisis arises for national security. This creates a crisis for the unity, integrity and progress of the country. It sows the seeds of social tension and no country can hand over its country to intruders. If no country in the world can do it, then how can we do it for India? Our ancestors have gained freedom through sacrifice and self-denial. It is our duty towards those great men who have given us independent India that we should not accept such acts in our country, this will be their true tribute and that is why I want to say this from the ramparts of Red Fort today. We have decided to start a high power demography mission. This mission will definitely do its work in a well thought out manner in the stipulated time to deal with the grave crisis that is looming over India, we are moving ahead in that dear countrymen,Tomorrow is the holy festival of Janmashtami. The birth anniversary of Lord Shri Krishna is celebrated in the I remember Lord Shri Krishna, we are seeing that the methods of warfare are changing all over the world today. We have seen that India is capable of dealing with every new method of warfare. We have shown in Operation Sindoor, whatever mastery we had in technology. Pakistan attacked our military bases, our airbases, our sensitive places, our centers of faith, our citizens with missiles and drones in countless numbers. The country has seen this, but the efforts that have been made to keep the country safe in the last 10 years, the result of that power was that our brave soldiers and our technology scattered their every attack like straw. They could not cause even an iota of damage and therefore when technology is expanding in the battlefield, technology is dominating, then for the protection of the nation, for the safety of the citizens of the country, we also need to further expand the mastery that we have gained today. The mastery that we have gained today needs to be continuously upgraded. And therefore, friends, I have taken a resolution. I need your blessings, the blessings of crores of countrymen, because no matter how much prosperity there is, if one is indifferent towards security, then even prosperity is of no use and hence the importance of security is very that is why I am saying from the ramparts of Red Fort today that in the coming 10 years, by 2035, all the important places of the nation, including strategic as well as civilian areas, such as hospitals, railways, any centre of faith, will be given a complete security cover through new technology platforms. This security cover should keep expanding, every citizen of the country should feel safe, any kind of technology should come to attack us, our technology should prove to be better than that and that is why in the coming 10 years, by 2035, I want to expand this national security cover, strengthen it, modernize it and that is why, taking inspiration from Lord Shri Krishna, we have chosen the path of Shri Krishna's Sudarshan Chakra. Many of you will remember, when the battle of Mahabharata was going on, Shri Krishna had blocked the sunlight with his Sudarshan Chakra and made it dark during the day. Sun light was stopped by Sudarshan Chakra and Arjuna was able to fulfill the oath he had taken to kill Jayadratha. This is the result of the power and strategy of Sudarshan Chakra. Now the country will launch Sudarshan Chakra Mission. This mission Sudarshan Chakra is a powerful weapon system and will not only neutralize the enemy's attack but will also hit back on the enemy many times more. We have also decided some basic things for this mission of India, Sudarshan Chakra, in the coming 10 years we want to take it forward with great intensity. Firstly, this entire modern system, its research, development, its manufacturing should be done in our country itself, with the talent of the youth of our country, made by the people of our country. Secondly, there will be a system which will calculate the possibilities of the future in terms of warfare and then work out the strategy of plus one. And thirdly, Sudarshan Chakra had a strength, it was very precise, it went where it had to go and returned back to Shri Krishna. We will move forward in the direction of developing a system for targeted precise action through this Sudarshan Chakra and therefore, for the security of the nation and the citizens in the changing ways of warfare, I promise to take this work forward with great dear countrymen,When we talk about democracy, independent India, then our constitution is the best lighthouse for us, our center of inspiration, but 50 years ago, the Constitution of India was strangled. The Constitution of India was stabbed in the back, the country was turned into a prison, emergency was imposed, emergency was imposed. It has been 50 years since the emergency, no generation of the country should ever forget this sin of killing the constitution. The sinners who killed the constitution should not be forgotten and we should move forward by strengthening our dedication towards the Constitution of India, it is our dear countrymen,I had spoken about Panch Prana from this Red Fort. Today, I want to remind my countrymen once again from the Red Fort. To build a developed India, we will neither stop nor bow down, we will keep working hard and we will build a developed India before our eyes in dear countrymen,Our second vow is that we will not allow even a trace of slavery to remain in our lives, in our systems, in our rules, laws and traditions. We will not rest until we are free from all forms of dear countrymen,We will be proud of our heritage. The biggest ornament, the biggest jewel, the biggest crown jewel of our identity is our heritage, we will be proud of our dear countrymen,Unity is the most powerful mantra among all these and hence it will be our collective resolve that no one should be able to break the thread of dear countrymen,Fulfilling our duty towards Maa Bharati is no less than worship, no less than penance, no less than adoration, and with the same feeling, for the welfare of the motherland, while putting in our utmost hard work, we will devote ourselves to achieving the target of developed India by 2047, we will not leave any opportunity with whatever capability we have, not only that, we will create new opportunities and after creating them, we will keep moving ahead with the strength of 140 crore countrymen, keep moving ahead, keep moving dear countrymen,We have to remember, 140 crore countrymen have to remember, the one who has toiled hard, the one who has toiled hard, he is the one who has created history. The one who has toiled hard, he is the one who has created history. The one who has broken the steel rocks, he is the one who has bent the time. The one who has broken the steel rocks, he is the one who has bent the time. And this is the time to bend the time, this is the right dear countrymen,Once again I extend my best wishes to all of you on this great festival of Independence. I extend my heartiest congratulations to you. Will you say with me, (The above text may have certain descrepancies as the speech is translated to English using AI)
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
UGC directs universities to stop offering healthcare, allied programmes in ODL, online mode from July 2025
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed the higher education institutions (HEIs) to discontinue offering programmes in healthcare and allied disciplines under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode from the academic session beginning July-August 2025. The decision, taken at the UGC's 592nd meeting on July 23, 2025, follows the recommendations of the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting held on April 22, 2025. The ban applies to specialisations including Psychology, Microbiology, Food and Nutrition Science, Biotechnology, Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. According to the directive, no colleges and universities will be permitted to offer such programmes in ODL or online mode from the 2025-26 session. Institutions that have already received recognition to run these programmes will see it withdrawn by the UGC. In cases where a programme offers multiple specialisations, such as a bachelor of arts degree with majors in subjects like English, Hindi, Punjabi, economics, history, mathematics, public administration, philosoply, political science, statistics, human rights and duties, Sanskrit, psychology, geography, sociology or women studies, only the healthcare-related specialisation will be withdrawn. The UGC has also instructed HEIs not to admit students into these programmes for the July-August 2025 session onwards. All stakeholders have been advised to strictly comply with the decision. Earlier, the higher education regulator issued a fresh public advisory cautioning students and HEIs against entering into unrecognised collaborations with foreign educational providers. The University Grants Commission (UGC) reiterated that any degree or diploma awarded through such arrangements will be considered invalid in India and treated as unrecognised by the Commission. As per UGC regulations, all foreign collaborations must receive explicit approval under the 2022 and 2023 frameworks governing joint degrees, dual degrees, and the setting up of foreign campuses in India. The latest clarification builds on a previous notice issued on December 12, 2023, which raised concerns over unapproved tie-ups between Indian HEIs and foreign institutions. Despite earlier warnings, the UGC noted that several colleges and EdTech platforms continue to offer joint or online degree and diploma programmes with foreign entities that lack its recognition.
