“I ponder over future of the country especially when the nation will turn 100 in 2047, already thinking about impact of country’s projected ageing demography”
“Neither do I think about elections, nor do I plan my work with the election timetable in mind, I think about where this Nation will be when it turns 100 years old”
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he has already prepared a 100-day plan for his next term adding that he wants to make some “big and important” decisions for the country.
In an interview with Times Now, the Prime Minister said that he does not want the country to suffer due to delays in decision-making and that not a single day would be wasted after June 4 (Vote counting day of Lok Sabha polls) in this regard.
“I would like to mention that advance planning is in my nature. It is God-gifted; my software has been designed like this. I think in advance and have experience of working in Gujarat. I had a plan in 2014 and even in 2019. The work we have done, if you look at my track record you will come to know. We made a law on Triple Talaq, Abrogation of Article 370 was done by us. To solve and deal with big problems is in my nature. I want to take some big and important decisions,” Prime Minister Modi said.
Prime Minister further said that he does not take divisive decisions. “My 100-day plan is ready and after June 4, I will not even waste a single day. I do not want my nation to suffer even a little. I do not want to nation to suffer due to delays in decision making. You must have seen my trailers for the past 10 years.”
When asked whether the Uniform Civil Code would be implemented if the BJP returns to power for the third time in a row, the Prime Minister said that the “issue of UCC is not Modi’s program nor BJP’s”.
“The makers of the Indian constitution have mentioned it in the constitution. These people did not implement it due to vote bank politics. UCC is part of our manifesto. The Supreme Court has mentioned at least two dozen times that UCC must be implemented. UCC is already there in Goa, which has a maximum number of minorities. Uttarakhand has taken very good steps in this direction. We do not impose things on people, we are evolving,” he said.
On One Nation One Election, Prime Minister said that he has asked for the report which has been a high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
“The report has recently come. I have asked for the report to be studied,” he said.
Responding to a question about whether he is already preparing for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister said that thinking about elections is not his priority adding that he ponders over the future of the country especially when the nation will turn 100 in 2047. PM Modi said that he is already thinking about the impact of the country’s projected ageing demography.
“I don’t prepare for elections. Neither do I think about elections, nor do I plan my work with the election timetable in mind. I think about where this Nation will be when it turns 100 years old when we have reached a century of freedom. And this doesn’t happen overnight. I said in the Budget, now you may call it a trailer, that we will institute a commission on demography. What’s this about? See, around the world many Nations are worried over the ageing of a large portion of their population I don’t want that in 2047 there is no planning for our elderly,” Prime Minister said.
“We are young now, but someday we’ll grow old. It’s the government’s job to think about it today. I think about it – when the youth of today grow old around 2047, they aren’t helpless. We need to plan for this. I want to work at this level, with that thought process. I mentioned it in the Budget, the media may not have picked it up,” he added.
According to the Economic Survey tabled in 2019, India is set to witness a sharp slowdown in population growth in the next two decades. “Although the country as a whole will enjoy the “demographic dividend” phase, some states will start transitioning to an ageing society by the 2030s,” the report read.
Earlier, sources have said that the BJP’s new government’s first 100-day agenda may include areas like how to use technology to boost growth, additional measures needed for ease of doing business, more thrust on infrastructure development, ease of living, and social welfare.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a day-long meeting with his council of ministers on April 2. The meeting discussed the road map of the first 100 days of his new government to march towards a Viksit Bharat or a developed India by 2047. In the meeting PM asked the ministers, that the economic momentum should not stop and new government would have to start working from the very next day after taking the oath.
