PM Modi believes in empowering people, not offering freebies: Union Minister Piyush Goyal

Rajkot, Jan 12 (PTI) Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in empowering people through schemes instead of offering freebies.

Addressing a seminar on the Centre's 'PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana' and 'PM KUSUM Yojana' at Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference (VGRC) being held here, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry said these two schemes were personally designed by the Prime Minister and were a reflection of the latter's thinking.

"It is an example of how to empower individuals. People should not be dependent on the government. People should not be dependent on freebies given by the government, like free electricity for life without any involvement from the people. The PM does not believe in floating such schemes," Goyal said in his address.

Quoting the proverb "skin in the game" (have personal involvement in a task and be fully committed to its success) to emphasize the involvement of citizens along with government's support for the successful implementation of a scheme, Goyal said the PM empowered people through these schemes.

"The Prime Minister empowered citizens through the Surya Ghar Yojana (solar rooftop scheme). He made them self-reliant. The government provides the means for generating electricity at home. Some of the cost is borne by the individual," Goyal pointed out.

"There should be individual involvement; it shouldn't be a situation where people just sit back and expect the government to buy electricity from you and provide it for free," said the minister.

Goyal said when electricity is given free, then gradually power cuts begin and the supply decreases from 24 hours to 20, then 16, then 12 hours.

"The Surya Ghar Yojana allows people to generate electricity for home consumption, and feed the surplus electricity into the grid. That is how you will receive free electricity for life. You won't have to depend on the government. And no one can cut off or reduce your electricity supply. With a small battery backup, you can become self-reliant for 24 hours," he said.

Similarly, through the Kusum Yojana, the PM has empowered farmers to become self-reliant, the Union minister said.

"And I believe these two schemes are unique. They are designed with a different, innovative approach. And at the same time, they are a tool of empowerment. They will boost the confidence of our people in the future," said Goyal. PTI COR PJT PD BNM

PM Surya Ghar and KUSUM schemes empower households and farmers to generate electricity and reduce dependency on free supply. The government promotes empowerment through the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which provides means for rooftop solar while requiring partial individual cost contribution; households can consume generated power, feed surplus into the grid, and use small battery backup for continuous supply. The PM KUSUM Yojana similarly aims to empower farmers by enabling distributed solar generation, combining government support with beneficiary involvement to reduce dependence on free government electricity.