Mumbai, 09 October (HS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth more than Rs 7600 crore in Maharashtra through video conferencing. These projects include the upgradation of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur and the foundation stone of the new integrated terminal building at Shirdi Airport. Along with this, the Prime Minister also inaugurated 10 government medical colleges in Maharashtra. He inaugurated the Indian Institute of Skills, Mumbai and Vidya Review Center of Maharashtra.

The Prime Minister said that the assembly election results for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir that came yesterday have clearly revealed the mood of the people of the country. He said that the victory in Haryana for the third consecutive time after successfully completing two terms is historic. The Prime Minister said that in the last 10 years, the government has started a mahayagya of building modern infrastructure for the development of the nation. The Prime Minister said that today we are not just building buildings, but laying the foundation of a healthy and prosperous Maharashtra. He said that Thane, Ambarnath, Mumbai, Nashik, Jalna, Buldhana, Hingoli, Washim, Amravati, Bhandara and Gadchiroli districts will become centres of service to millions of people.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the 10 new medical colleges will add 900 more medical seats in Maharashtra, taking the total number of medical seats in the state to around 6000. Recalling his pledge to add 75,000 new medical seats from the Red Fort, the Prime Minister said that today's event is a big step in this direction. The Prime Minister said that new avenues have opened up for the youth of Maharashtra. He said that the priority of the Government is to ensure that more and more children from poor and middle class families become doctors and fulfill their dreams. PM Modi said that at one time, the non-availability of books in mother tongue for such specialized studies was a big challenge. The Prime Minister said that the government has ended this discrimination and the youth of Maharashtra will be able to study medicine in Marathi language.

Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were present virtually on this occasion.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar