New Union Ministers Call on Vice President Naidu

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri called on Vice President yesterday.  During the discussions, the Vice President noted with satisfaction that schemes like Smart Cities and Housing have taken off very well and suggested that momentum should be kept up and implementation accelerated in the coming months.

In his meeting with the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Naidu underscored strengthening of various schemes for skill development, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities. He accepted the invitation of the Minister for attending a programme in Kolhapur in which more than 10,000 persons with disabilities will be provided with special aids and assistive devices.

Today morning, the Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal called on the Vice President. During his interaction with Goyal, the Vice President advised him to speed up the progress of the ongoing projects expeditiously before rolling out new projects.

The Railway Minister also apprised him about the progress of various projects in Andhra Pradesh, including the South Coast Railway Zone (Vizag Zone), new railway line between Venkatachalam - Vellikallu and Obulavaripalle - Cherlopalli (part of Krishnapatnam - Obulavaraipalle rail line project), redevelopment of Nellore railway station, steps being taken for passenger amenities at all railway stations between Krishnapatnam and Obulavanipalle stations.

Referring to Namburu (Andhra Pradesh) - Errupalem (Telangana) railway line, BLNaidu observed that the 106-kilometre railway line would facilitate connectivity to the State capital Amaravathi and wanted the two States and the Centre to work in Team India spirit to ensure its speedy execution.

As regards a few bottlenecks in the execution of Nadikudi - Srikalahasti railway line, the Vice President assured to speak to the Andhra Pradesh government for expediting the project.

The Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Giriraj Singh called on Vice President and in his interaction, the Vice President suggested that a brainstorming session with entrepreneurs engaged in aquaculture and marine culture as well as poultry and dairy could be convened to get inputs for fast-tracking various ongoing initiatives which have great potential for improving the rural economy and exports.

The Union Minister for Women and Child Development; and the Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani called on the Vice President.

The Vice President suggested that child labour is an issue which needs concerted action and offered to support the initiatives taken by the government to promote child rights.