“Like the strings of sitar, which produce different notes but come together to create a beautiful melody, people professing different faiths  constitute the spirit of India and contribute to the strength of the nation. The  spirit of Mother Teresa, who was cannonised recently, inspire us for of selfless service”, said President Pranab Mukherjee while addressing the Parliament in a joint session of both houses  at  the start of the budget session which begins today.

“The core of all my government policies, is the welfare of ‘gareeb’, ‘peedit’, ‘Dalit’, ‘vanchhit’,  (poor, abused, dalits, cheated)”, the President said.

The government, he said, plans to empower over 250,000 scheduled Castes, scheduled tribes and women entrepreneurs through the Stand-up India initiative.

In his speech he praised the countrymen for going through the struggle of demonetisation and said that the resilience showed by the citizens, particularly the poor in the fight against black money and corruption was remarkable.

The President highlighted a Rs 600 billion package  to boost employment generation and exports in the apparel and made-ups sector, which is expected to generate over 10 million jobs, mostly for women.

Asserting that youth is our greatest strength and ‘yuva urja’ (young energy) needs to be effectively channelised, President Pranab Mukherjee today said the government is taking several initiatives to skill the youth and improve their employability potential which  Includes a nation-wide network of 50 India International Skill Centres.

Mukherjee also lauded the performance of female Indian athletes at the Rio Olympics and said the government wants to empower women.  “Our women deserve equal opportunity. The Rio Olympics, where we took great pride in the performance of PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Deepa Karmakar and others, illustrates the strength of our women…. The nation is proud of its first three women fighter pilots. This reminds us of what we can achieve, as a nation, if women are fully empowered, and if their skills and talent are optimally utilised,” he said.