The country fought the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic “courageously” and it would be “victorious” in its ongoing fight against the virus during the second wave, PM Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

“In the form of the corona pandemic, we are being continuously put to test. This is a crisis that has plagued the whole world, so many people have lost their loved ones. Even big countries were not spared from its devastation,” Modi said in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ reports The Times of India.

He emphasized that no matter how big the challenge, the country’s ‘vijay sankalp’ (resolve to be victorious) had always been equal to the challenge. “Our collective strength and our spirit of service has always rescued the country from the midst of every storm,” he said.

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During the programmed, he spoke to three people involved with transporting oxygen cylinders and containers through rail, road and airways, and listened to their experience and challenges during the recent crisis when many parts of the country faced severe shortage of medical-grade oxygen. He also pointed to the government completing seven years in office and highlighted signature initiatives, including power connections to all households and the Jal Jeevan mission to provide tap water to all rural homes. “In the midst of this pandemic, India is moving forward with the resolve of service and cooperation,” he added.

Modi pointed to the scheme to provide tap water connection to every rural household in the country by 2024 under Jal Jeevan Mission and said it had made strong progress without any break during the pandemic. “In the seven decades after independence, only 3.5 crore rural homes of our country had water connections. However, in the last 21 months, 4.5 crore houses have been given clean water connections. Of these, 15 months were of the corona period,” he added.

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The PM also noted the contribution of farmers and the agriculture sector during the pandemic. “The agricultural sector protected itself from this attack to a great extent. Not only did it keep itself safe, but the sector also progressed, moving forward. Farmers produced record output and this time, the country went on to procure record amounts of crops. This time, in many places, farmers have got more than the minimum support price for mustard,” he said.

Noting that India was able to provide support to every citizen due to record food grain production, he said, “Today, 800 million underprivileged citizens are being provided free ration in this hour of crisis. So, no such day ever occurs in a needy home when the stove is not lit.”