Bihar, November 13, 2024.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday showered accolades on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, praising the alliance partner for bringing in good governance in a state which was previously reeling under “jungle raj”.
“Today, we have more than two dozen AIIMS across the country. Healthcare is being made available to people of weaker sections through 1.5 lakh ‘Aaryogya mandirs'”. Besides, more than four crore people have benefited from the Ayushman Bharat scheme”, the Prime Minister said.
Modi also highlighted his government’s efforts to increase the number of doctors by allowing pursuit of courses in medicine in Hindi and other vernacular languages besides “adding 75,000 new seats” in medical colleges across the country.
Known for his penchant for connecting with the people by peppering his speeches with local flavour, the PM referred to inclusion of Maithili, spoken in large parts of north Bihar, in eight schedule of the Constitution.
He also spoke of other steps taken by the Centre to promote Bihar’s cultural heritage like giving classical language status to Pali.
Modi also underscored that his government’s policies would give a boost to export of freshwater fish and foxnuts (makhana), which are produced in abundance in Mithila region.