21st century India is moving ahead with people-centric governance: PM Modi

New Delhi: Highlighting the policy reforms made by the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that 21st century India is moving ahead with the approach of people-centric governance leaving behind the government-centric approach.

Prime Minister participated in the 'Iconic Week Celebrations' of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on Monday at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The week (June 6-11) is being celebrated as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' (AKAM) in order to focus on the reforms.

Speaking at the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said, "The country has borne the brunt of government-centric governance in the past. But today 21st century India is moving ahead with the approach of people-centric governance."

He said, "There was a time when policies and decisions in the country were government-centric. It means that after a scheme started, it was the responsibility of the people to reach the government to avail benefits. In such an arrangement, the responsibility of the government and administration used to decrease."

He said the reforms in the last eight years were made keeping the youth on priority so that they can achieve their potential.

"Now, our youth can easily open the company they want. They can make and run their enterprises easily, they can run them easily. Therefore by reducing more than 30,000 compliances, abolishing more than 1,500 laws, decriminalizing several provisions of the Companies Act, we have ensured that Indian companies not only grow but also achieve new heights," stated PM Modi.

"Along with reforms, we are focusing on simplification. The simplification of GST has now replaced the web of many taxes at the centre and the state level. The country is also seeing the result of this simplification. Now it has become normal for GST collection to cross Rs 1 lakh crore every month," he added.

He launched the national portal for credit-linked government schemes - Jan Samarth Portal today.

According to Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Jan Samarth Portal is a one-stop digital portal linking government credit schemes. It is a first of its kind platform which directly connects beneficiaries to lenders. The main purpose of the portal is to encourage inclusive growth and development of various sectors by guiding and providing them with the right type of government benefits through simple and easy digital processes. The portal ensures end-to-end coverage of all the linked schemes.

Prime Minister also inaugurated a Digital Exhibition which traces the journey of the two Ministries over the past eight years. Prime Minister also released special series of Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20 coins. These special series of coins will have the theme of the logo of AKAM and will also be easily identifiable to visually impaired persons.

The programme has been been organised simultaneously at 75 locations across the country and each location was connected through virtual mode with the main venue. (ANI)