Amit Shah on Tuesday said the government's Land Port Management System (LPMS) and Smart Border initiatives will together create an impregnable and secure border, curbing illegal activities.
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NEW DELHI — Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the government's Land Port Management System (LPMS) and Smart Border initiatives will together create an impregnable and secure border, curbing illegal activities.
Addressing the launch of the LPMS, a centralised digital platform to modernise and streamline operations across the country's land ports, the home minister said 11 more land ports will be developed over the next three years, bringing the total to 26.
The concept of the Land Ports Authority of India emerged in 2012 and took shape from 2012 to 2014, he said.
After 2014, it received a new direction under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah said.
He said land ports have played an important role in the overall development of border areas, promoting legitimate trade and finding solutions to challenges like migration.
Shah said the launch of the LPMS will eliminate 90 per cent of paperwork and 40 to 60 per cent of the waiting time through single-window clearances.
He said his ministry is working on a four-pronged strategy to secure India's borders with the concept of Smart Border, in which the Land Ports Authority will have a crucial role.
Special attention has been given to the requirements of all stakeholders, as well as to security, in the LPMS, Shah said.
This arrangement, in conjunction with the concept of Smart Border, will build an impregnable and secure border, he asserted.
Shah said after 2014, the Land Ports Authority of India received a new direction under Modi's visionary leadership.
"Moving beyond a security-centric approach, land ports were developed as the first line of defence for security, a medium for trade facilitation and a bridge for people-to-people connectivity," he said.
Shah said land ports have not only enhanced business but have also strengthened security and helped convert illegal trade into legal trade.
He said the LPMS is being launched on a historic day, when Modi completed 12 years in the nation's service, marking 4,398 continuous days as the prime minister.
Shah said on June 10, Modi will become the longest-serving prime minister of the country, breaking the record of the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
He said after taking charge in 2014, Modi has made public welfare his watchword and the last 12 years have been a testimony to providing basic facilities to the country's deprived citizens.
The home minister said a fundamental change has occurred in the country's democracy over the last 12 years.
"We all know that dynasticism, casteism and corruption had become festering wounds in our democratic system, and people were habituated to living with those. Prime Minister Modi brought fundamental changes in the system by introducing the politics of performance," he said.
The politics of performance replaced the politics of caste, corruption and dynastic influence, and as a result, governments kept getting reelected in the states, bringing stability in policies and making it easy to implement and monitor those, he added.
"If anyone could be credited for the introduction of the politics of performance, it is Narendra Modiji," Shah said.
He said Modi has always considered power as "sadhana" (dedication) and serving the country has been his mission.
He has been a "Nishkaam Karmayogi" after completing 4,398 consecutive days as the prime minister of India, the home minister added.
Modi has monitored the implementation of public-welfare schemes and ensured that they achieved full saturation, he said.
Shah said the prime minister has ensured that every citizen of the country would have a "pucca" house, adding that about four crore people have got such houses and two crore more have been identified.
The prime minister has made similar efforts to ensure that people have toilets at home, tap water, Rs 5 lakh in health reimbursement, and five to seven kg of free ration per month, he added.
India used to be among the "fragile five" economies in the world but it is among the top five economies now and also, the fastest-growing economy, Shah said.
He said during Modi's tenure, 25 crore people have come out of poverty and India is progressing with stability amid global instability.
The prime minister has also introduced the concept of women-led development rather than just women's development, he said.
Dishing out development figures, Shah said 81 crore people are receiving five kg of free ration per month, 98 crore "Jan Dhan" accounts have been opened, 44 crore Ayushman Bharat cards for free treatment up to INR 5 lakh have been generated, 16 crore people have got "Nal se Jal" or tap water at their homes, 13 crore farmers have received Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman, 12.76 crore toilets have been built and four crore people have got houses.
He said India is number one globally in digital transactions, number two in mobile manufacturing and number three in creating a startup ecosystem.
The GDP figures of the last 12 years testify to these achievements, Shah asserted.
He said India's COVID-19 management was an example for the world.
"Whether it is the COVID pandemic or difficult economic situations due to wars in different parts of the world, the government has steered the country, taken it forward and seen it marching towards its goal at a fast pace," he said.