Befitting reply given to every misadventure

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said the government has been laying constant emphasis on modernising the military as it firmly believes that lasting peace is possible only when India is politically and strategically strong. Murmu's comments during her address to the joint session of Parliament on the first day of Budget session came amid India's lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as the challenges of Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Without directly mentioning either Pakistan or China, the President, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, highlighted that "befitting response" was given to every "misadventure from LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control)" .

"My decisive government has always kept the country's interest paramount and shown the willpower to completely transform the policies and strategies when required," she said. "From surgical strike to a firm crackdown on terrorism, from a befitting response to every misadventure from LoC to LAC, from abrogation of Article 370 to Triple Talaq, my government has been recognised as a decisive government," she said. The president's address reflects the views of the government of the day. In September 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. A week back, Congress' Digvijaya Singh made controversial remarks questioning the surgical strike. However, party leader Rahul Gandhi trashed the comments as "ridiculous".

Murmu said "unprecedented infrastructure" has been developed in the border areas in the past few years from the point of view of national security. "My government firmly believes that lasting peace is possible only when we are strong politically and strategically. Therefore, we are constantly laying emphasis on the modernisation of our military strength," she said. The President also mentioned the commissioning of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, rolling out of the Agnipath recruitment scheme and the 'Vibrant Village' programme to provide better facilities to the border areas. She also highlighted the six-fold increase in defence exports and renaming islands of Andaman and Nicobar after Param Vir Chakra awardees of the Indian Army.

Steps taken by the government like construction of separate toilets for girls in schools and a scheme related to sanitary pads have led to a sharp decline in dropout rate of girls, President Droupadi Murmu said .

More than 50 crore Indians have been provided free treatment facility under the 'Ayushman Bharat Yojana', President Droupadi Murmu said. In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session, Murmu said the health scheme has saved crores of poor from becoming poorer and prevented them from spending Rs 80,000 crore. "A major cause of poverty is illness. A serious ailment completely shatters the morale of a poor family, leaving generations in debt. To free the poor from this worry, a nationwide Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched.