In his speech in Mathura while launching the ‘National Animal Disease Control Program’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the importance of the welfare of livestock in the country by emphasizing on the need for a vaccination drive for cattle nationwide. The Prime Minister proclaimed animals and environment as the real wealth of the nation.

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Vaccination program for 51 crore livestock

Giving the example of underdeveloped nations who have accomplished the task of livestock welfare and conservation, PM Modi said that it was high time India started a similar initiative. He announced a vaccination drive for 51 crore cattle twice a year, and said that the cattle will also be given a unique ID tag and health cards in order to keep a track of the welfare of animals. 

The purpose of this initiative is to keep livestock healthy, decrease spending on cattle borne diseases, and improve products generated from livestock which will lead to higher revenue for livestock breeding families. PM Modi emphasized that a rural family or a village of this nation or its economy cannot run without the contribution of animals, and thus highlighted the importance of livestock. 

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Challenged the youth to find solutions

PM Modi also issued a challenge to start-ups in the country. The Prime Minister appealed to the youth of the country working in Bangalore and Hyderabad startups, and students from IIT to come and join the Start-Up Grand Challenge. He urged the start-ups to find solutions on how to ensure proper arrangement of green fodder and more options of nutritious food for livestock. The Prime Minister also challenged them to find cheaper and accessible alternatives to plastic bags.

"To expand India's dairy sector, we need innovation, new technology is needed. These innovations can also come from our rural society," he said.

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The Prime Minister in his address on the 14th session of Conference of Parties (COP-14) of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) brought the world’s attention to the need for re-thinking on our plastic use and the desertification of land and insisted the world to join hands against the climate change, land desertification, and global water crisis. PM Modi declared the ban on single-use plastic in India urging the world to follow India’s footsteps in fighting plastic pollution across the world.

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