Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 13 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released the 22nd installment of the PM-KISAN scheme to over 9.3 crore farmers across the country, under which eligible farmers receive Rs 2,000 directly into their bank accounts.

Addressing an event in which he unveied projects of Rs 19,480 crore in the poll-bound state, PM Modi slammed the Congress, accusing it of a 'lack of commitment to the nation' and said it 'remains focused on spreading misinformation and falsehoods'.

'Just a little while ago, a message has reached the accounts of millions of farmers that the PM Samman Nidhi has been deposited... These are the same farmer brothers and sisters, most of whom did not have a mobile phone nor any account in a bank before 2014. Today, more than Rs 4 lakh 20,00 crore have been deposited in the accounts of millions of such farmers so far,' he said.

He said while the BJP-led NDA government is working towards supporting farmers and achieving self-reliance for the country, 'the Congress party has once again demonstrated a lack of commitment to the nation'.

'Even in times of crisis caused by war, Congress remains focused on spreading misinformation and falsehoods. I urge members of Congress to listen to Pandit Nehru's August 15th speech--you may find it enlightening. Pandit Nehru once remarked that the wars in South and North Korea were contributing to inflation in our country. Assam, today, is becoming a model for the new future of our North East, that is, Ashtalakshmi. The progress here is giving a new momentum to the entire North East,' he said.

'To reduce the Railways' dependence on other countries and minimise oil imports, significant progress has been made over the past decade. In the last 10 years, the entire rail network across the country has been electrified. As a result of this electrification, approximately 17 million litres of diesel are being saved annually,' he added.

The Prime Minister said that over the past decade, the BJP-led NDA government has undertaken another monumental initiative focused on self-reliance.

'We have actively promoted self-reliance within the agricultural sector to insulate it from external shocks. Time and again throughout independent India's history, we have witnessed that whenever conflicts erupted in other parts of the world or disruptions occurred in global supply chains, it was our own farmers who bore the brunt of the ensuing difficulties. At times, fertilisers would become prohibitively expensive; at other times, the prices of diesel and energy sources would surge,' he said.

'This was because, for decades, the Congress party kept the nation dependent on foreign countries--a dependency that inevitably drove up the cost of cultivation. With the intention of integrating farmers' agricultural practices with modern technology--connecting them to innovative irrigation methods and ensuring benefits for their crops--our government formulated the policy of 'Per Drop, More Crop.' We have brought micro-irrigation technologies, such as drip and sprinkler systems, directly to the farmers. This has resulted in improved irrigation efficiency as well as reduced operational costs,' he added. (ANI)