Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday distributed more than one lakh appointment letters to newly-inducted employees in the government, and said the BJP regime gave one-and-a-half times more jobs in the last 10 years as compared to the UPA government.

Addressing the new recruits attending Rozgar Mela at 47 places in the country, via video conferencing, he said his Government had not only made the employee-induction process transparent and short, but also time-bound. On the other hand, this process was unduly long during the UPA rule, generating scope for corruption, he said.

Mr Modi said the changes introduced by his Government offered many more youth opportunity to attempt for Government jobs, making use of their abilities, and gave them confidence they could secure a good job, just by their hard labour and talent.

Right from 2014, the Prime Minister said his Government wanted to involve the youth in the process of nation-building and gave them an atmosphere of equal opportunity. He had laid foundation stone of Phase I of the Integrated Complex Karmayogi Bhavan in the Capital to strengthen facilities for capacity building.

Mr Modi said his Government had opened new sectors and created opportunities for employment and self-employment. The Budget had unveiled a plan for one crore roof-top solar plants which will not only reduce power bills but give people a chance to earn money by supplying power to the grid. This scheme has potential for lakhs of new jobs, he said.

India is the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world with about 1.25 lakh start-ups, he said. Many of these start-ups are in tier-2 or tier-3 cities. As these start-ups are creating new job opportunities, the Budget has announced continuation of the tax rebate for them. He said a Rs 1 lakh crore fund has been announced for promoting research and innovation.

Railway is the first choice of people when it comes to travelling, he said. The current Rozgar Mela has made appointments in the railways also. The railways in India are undergoing a massive transformation and the sector will witness a complete makeover in the next decade, he said.

Mr Modi said the sector was neglected before 2014 and mentioned electrification and doubling of rail lines, as well as, flagging off of new trains and increased facilities for passengers, under his Government.

He said his Government focused on modernization and upgradation of the railways. Under this year’s Budget, he said that 40,000 modern bogies like Vande Bharat Express will be prepared and added to normal trains.

Highlighting the far-reaching impact of connectivity, the Prime Minister said improved connectivity will create new markets, expand tourism and businesses and create lakhs of jobs.

“Investment in infrastructure is being ramped up to accelerate development,” the Prime Minister said, as Rs 11 lakh crore have been marked for investment in infrastructure in the recent Budget. New rail, road, airports, and waterways projects will create new job opportunities, he said.

Many of the new appointments are in paramilitary forces, he said. The process for selections for para-military has been reformed and from this January, the examination will be conducted in 13 Indian languages, apart from Hindi and English. This will give everyone an equal opportunity to compete. Quota for border and extremism-affected districts has been increased.

The Prime Minister said Government employees have a big role in the journey of Viksit Bharat. “More than 1 lakh Karmyogis that are joining today, will give this journey new energy and speed,” he said. The employees joining Government service should see the Karmyogi Bharat Portal and take advantage of the 800 courses available there to improve their capacity, he said.