Silvassa/Surat, Mar 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed on the need to reduce weight as he cited a report which claimed that nearly 44 crore people in India may be obese by 2050, and described the figure as "huge and scary".On the first day of his two-day tour of Gujarat and its adjoining Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu, the PM inaugurated as well as performed ground-breaking ceremony for  projects worth Rs 2,587 crore for the UT, and launched a food security saturation campaign in Surat. He addressed gatherings in Silvassa, the administrative headquarters of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district, and later at Surat. Speaking at the rally in Silvassa, Modi called obesity the root cause of many diseases and urged people to fight the chronic health condition characterized by excessive body fat by doing regular physical exercises and reducing edible oil consumption by 10 per cent.

"Diseases linked to our lifestyle are posing a huge risk to our health today. Obesity is one of them because it is the root cause of many diseases. According to a recent report, nearly 44 crore people in India may be obese by 2050. This figure is huge and it is equally scary," Modi emphasised. He said one in every three people in the country may be suffering from obesity by 2050 if the findings of the report turns out to be true. Modi warned obesity will prove dangerous for people's health and everyone must start trying to overcome this situation. "I have already made an appeal that people should reduce their edible oil consumption by 10 per cent. I want all of you to take a pledge that you will buy 10 per cent less oil. Regular exercises and cycling will also help you in reducing obesity," Modi told the gathering. The PM informed the audience that his government is planning to open 25,000 new Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country as part of its endeavour to make medicines available at affordable prices.

Middle class and poor citizens have saved nearly Rs 30,000 crore so far by purchasing medicines from these government-run subsidised medicine shops, he noted. The PM sought the cooperation of local residents to turn the Union Territory into a developed enclave on the lines of Singapore. "There was a time when Singapore was just a small village of fishermen. But, thanks to the determination of its people, Singapore became what it is today. If people of this UT are ready to show similar commitment, I am ready to stand with you in your endeavour," declared the PM. Some of the projects launched by the PM included inauguration of a 450-bed hospital in Silvassa, two circuit houses in Diu, a toy train in Daman and inauguration of anganwadis (child care centres) and schools for the Union Territory. From Silvassa, the PM travelled to Surat, where he launched a food security saturation campaign and addressed a gathering on the occasion.

In his address, Modi took a swipe at the Congress, saying those who have zero seats may not be able to count the zeros in Rs 32 lakh crore loans disbursed by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana targeted at micro enterprises. Notably, the Congress failed to open its account in the February 5 assembly polls in Delhi, where the BJP emerged victorious. In the process, the Grand Old Party earned the dubious distinction of scoring a hat-trick of zeros in Delhi assembly polls. The PM noted there was a time when the poor were not even allowed to enter a bank if he wanted to take a loan for his small business. "Banks used to ask for a guarantee against loans. From where a poor person would arrange his guarantee? Thus, a poor mother's son, Modi, decided to become the guarantor of every poor," said the PM. "We have disbursed Rs 32 lakh crore to poor citizens under MUDRA so far. Those who abuse us, those with zero seats may not be able to count the zeros in Rs 32 lakh crore," said the BJP stalwart, taking potshots at the Congress.

He said the Surat Food Security Saturation Campaign will serve as an inspiration for other districts to achieve the goal of 100 per cent saturation of various government schemes. "No one will be unhappy when no one is left behind (in journey of growth). We want to leave behind the system of appeasement and achieve satisfaction. In Surat, nearly 2.25 lakh new beneficiaries have been identified by the administration. Now, they will get free ration under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana," averred Modi. The PM said he can very well understand the pain of the poor when it comes to securing food. Modi pointed out his government has streamlined the public distribution system (PDS) by weeding out five crore bogus ration cards.

Targeting past Congress governments, the PM asserted the people of India were tired of hearing the "garibi hatao (remove poverty)" slogan for nearly 50 years. "People were tired of hearing garibi hatao slogan for nearly 50 years. This slogan was raised in every election campaign, but no one was able to remove poverty. My government succeeded in lifting 25 crore people out of poverty in the last 10 years," he highlighted. The PM maintained the income tax exemption up to Rs 12 lakh, announced in the Union budget for 2025-26, will benefit salaried class, small businesspersons and workers. On the eve of International Women's Day on March 8 (Saturday), the PM announced he will hand over the operation of his social media account to women to mark the occasion. 

/Agencies