Narendra Modi invokes Gandhi for village development

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invoked Mahatma Gandhi's economic philosophy to emphasise that the development of country could only be achieved through the growth of villages.

"I say with conviction that Mahatma Gandhi's economic ideas are as relevant today as they were when he was alive. If we follow his philosophy then for the coming years and decades we will not need to seek new ways for the development of our country," Modi said during his inaugural address at the all India conference on livestock and dairy development.

"When the world is reeling under global warming and other environmental problems, if we hear what Gandhiji had said we will find all our answers," Modi said addressing more than 5,000 delegates from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

During his over an hour-long address, which was interrupted by power outage for a few minutes, at the Mahatma Mandir Modi touched upon issues like how to increase productivity, animal husbandry, use of modern technology in farming and dairy sectors and how India can play an important role in the 21st century.

"As the population is increasing, the need for food, grains and milk is also increasing. At the same time individual land holding is reducing. In this scenario we must find ways to increase the productivity," he said.

"We have to re-think our approach to face these new challenges and have to take a scientific approach towards animal husbandry, increasing milk productivity and equipping farmers with modern technology," Modi added.

The inaugural function was attended, among others, by Ambassador of Denmark in India Freddy Svane and Bihar minister of fisheries and animal husbandry Giriraj Singh.

In his address, Svane praised the progress and development in Gujarat and said, "My journey has left lasting footprints because this is the state where modern India is being shaped."

Giriraj Singh, while stressing the need to adopt a policy of 'agriculture with livestock', said that, "Our 46 per cent of livestock lack nutrition. So without green stock our livestock cannot survive, our economy cannot sustain." All delegates at the conference would tomorrow visit different dairies in the state and the government's various animal husbandry projects.