By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 9 Sep: Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, held a press conference here, today, on completion of 100 days of the Union Government. Outlining the achievements of the government in the recent months, the minister said that the multi-pronged nature of decisive action had been a historic phenomenon. He said that the biggest achievement of the Union Government had been the action on taken against the climate of terrorism that had been festering for too long. The decision to change the status-quo in Jammu & Kashmir would not only integrate it further with India, it would also benefit the people of Kashmir. He added that the reputation of the neighbouring terrorism sponsoring nation had been shattered by the concerted efforts of the government. The Minister emphasised that the Union government was committed to revolutionising service delivery to citizens through Direct Benefit Transfers. He added that the milestone of providing gas connections to 8 crore beneficiary families was achieved seven months before the deadline. He said that this kind of commitment characterised every action of the government. Mentioning the Chandrayaan-2 lander, “Vikram”, Dr Pokhriyal said that it had travelled 3,84,000 kms successfully and it was only in the last mile that it faltered. This, he added, was a stepping stone for further development. He further appreciated the sensitive gesture of the Prime Minister towards the scientific community of ISRO. The Minister elaborated upon the plans of the Union Government to take higher education in the nation to the next level. He said that the government was committed to raising the IITs and other institutions of national importance to the top tier of world rankings. On the issues related to Uttarakhand, the minister said that the long pending amount of Rs 2,675 crore was released under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund. He also congratulated the state on the occasion of “Himalaya Diwas”, a day which is celebrated across the state on 9 September every year to spread the message of conservation of the Himalayan ecosystems. Speaking on the occasion, Additional Director General Narendra Kumar Kaushal highlighted the importance of communication in a democratic society and added that such interactions of Union Ministers with the Fourth Estate ought to happen more frequently.
