Government fulfilled election promises by delivering on guarantees

Shimla May 15

In just three and a half years of its tenure, the state government has fulfilled all its election guarantees and honoured the promises made to the people of the state. In the first Cabinet meeting, the government restored the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for 1.36 lakh employees, thereby fulfilling the Congress party’s first guarantee. Retired employees under the National Pension System (NPS), who earlier received mere Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000 per month as pension under the provisions of NPS, are now receiving between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000 under the OPS, ensuring financial security and dignified life for them and their families.

Fulfilling its second major guarantee, the government is providing Rs. 1,500 per month to the eligible women under its flagship Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh-Samman Nidhi Yojana. In the first phase of the scheme, Rs. 29.12 crore was disbursed as honorarium to 35,687 women across the state. In the second phase, one lakh women from extremely poor families are set to receive a monthly pension of Rs. 1,500.

To encourage self-employment among youth, the state launched the Rajiv Gandhi Swarozgar Start-up Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 680 crore. Under the Rajiv Gandhi e-Taxi Scheme, youth are being given a 50 percent subsidy to purchase taxis. Furthermore, for installing solar panels ranging from 100 kilowatts to 2 megawatts on private land, an interest subsidy of 5 percent is being provided in tribal areas and 4 percent in non-tribal areas. To promote natural farming, the Rajiv Gandhi Prakritik Kheti Start-up Scheme has been implemented. From the current fiscal, the MSP for naturally grown wheat has been increased from Rs. 60 to Rs. 80 per kilogram, maize from Rs. 40 to Rs. 50, and barley from the Pangi Valley from Rs. 60 to Rs. 80 per kilogram. In addition, the MSP for naturally grown turmeric has been raised from Rs. 90 to Rs. 150 per kilogram, and for the first time, ginger has been given an MSP of Rs. 30 per kilogram.

Fulfilling yet another guarantee, the government has introduced English medium education from Class 1 in all government schools. Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools are being opened in a phased manner in every Assembly constituency. Approval has been granted for the construction of day-boarding schools in 42 constituencies, and construction work is underway for 10 schools.