Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on June 18-19. Meanwhile, he will release an amount of more than Rs 20,000 crore under the 17th installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan. Over 30,000 women from self-help groups will be awarded certificates as Krishi Sakhis and will inaugurate the Nalanda University campus in Bihar. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has given this information in a statement on Monday.
According to the PMO, the Prime Minister will attend the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Sammetra in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on June 18 at 5 pm. Prime Minister will watch Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat at around 7 pm and will also offer pooja and darshan at Kashi Vishwanath Temple at around 8 pm. This is Modi’s first visit to Varanasi after being sworn in as Prime Minister for the third consecutive term. After taking oath, the Prime Minister signed his first file to release the 17th tranche of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Nidhi, underlining the government’s commitment to farmer welfare.
Continuing this commitment, the Prime Minister will release the 17th installment of over Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.26 crore beneficiary farmers under ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-Kisan) through direct benefit transfer, the PMO said. So far, more than 11 crore eligible farmer families have benefited over Rs 3.04 lakh crore under Pradhan Mantri-Kisan. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister will also award certificates as Krishi Sakhis to more than 30,000 women of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
The PMO said the ‘Krishi Sakhi Convergence Program’ (KSCP) aims to transform rural India by empowering rural women as Krishi Sakhis by imparting training and certification to Krishi Sakhis. This certification course is aligned with the objectives of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ programme. The next day, Wednesday, the Prime Minister will visit Nalanda at around 9.45 am. He will inaugurate the campus of Nalanda University in Rajgir, Bihar at around 10.30 am and will also address a gathering. The university is envisioned as a joint venture between India and the East Asia Summit (EAS) countries.
On the other hand, the inauguration ceremony will be attended by many dignitaries including heads of missions of 17 countries. The campus has two academic blocks with 40 classrooms with a total seating capacity of around 1900. It has two auditoriums with a capacity of 300 seats. It has a student hostel with a capacity of about 550 students. It has international center, amphitheater and many other facilities. The PMO said the campus is a ‘net zero’ green campus. It is equipped with solar plant, domestic and drinking water treatment plant, water recycling plant to reuse waste water, 100 acre water bodies and many other eco-friendly facilities.
The university has a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, founded around 1600 years ago, is considered one of the first residential universities in the world. In 2016, the ruins of Nalanda were declared as a United Nations Heritage Site.
