True Empowerment Is Made Possible By Hand-Holding Individuals: Vice-President

Jagdeep Dhankhar today said, “To empower the pocket of a person by freebies, by doles, is not true empowerment. True empowerment is that you hand-hold the person so that the person gets himself or herself empowered. That brings joy, that brings satisfaction, that gives you inner strength, and also makes you pride of your families.”

Addressing members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) of Meghalaya representing Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills regions in New Delhi today, Shri Dhankhar said, “North East part of our country is our jewel. In 90s, that is about three decades ago, the Government of India had a policy and that policy was ‘Look East’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an additional dimension to this policy - ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’. And that action has taken place very effectively. Meghalaya let me tell you, is heaven for tourists. Bountiful gift of nature.”

Highlighting the progress made under the ‘Look East, Act East’ policy, the Vice-President emphasized that Meghalaya holds immense potential in tourism, mining, IT, and services. He lauded the state's achievements in economic growth and women’s empowerment, crediting visionary leadership at both the Centre and the state level.

The Vice-President praised the decade-long governance reforms and development achieved under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, stating, “It is the visionary leadership that catalyzes the officials to act in the right direction. Fortunately in our country this is happening for last decade and it is happening in your state also. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the country in last decade has achieved milestones that are envy of the world in economy, infrastructure, technology, and women development, women empowerment. Our Tribal Culture Is Resplendent; Our Tribal Culture Is Our Wealth”

Commending the state's economic progress, the Vice-President noted, “Economy of a state is determined by gross state domestic product, GSDP. And for that the state of Meghalaya has seen a rise of 13%. 13% rise year to year is very greatly commendable. Congratulations to the Chief Minister for his deep commitment to improve the economy of the state. And right now, it is projected to be more than 66,000 crores. Meghalaya is a large state when it comes to heart, but otherwise geographically not that large. But size of your economy is good. You've set a great target. And your target is the state is aiming for $10 billion economy by 2028.”

Reflecting on the importance of inclusive growth, the Vice-President expressed, “The state has enormous talent, enormous potential in tourism, in mining, in IT, in service sector. But what is more important is, human resource must be nurtured. Human resource must be independent. And in that category also, societal growth, economic development is balanced when women come forward. I am so happy and delighted that both with respect to the revolving fund and the number, is a tenfold increase.”