<span style="color: #222222;">President Ram Nath Kovind today said a strong national economy is possible only on the foundation of a strong rural economy.<br />'' <br />'' Addressing the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, Mr Kovind said, farmers are the pillars of rural economy and large scale investments have been made to strengthen rural India.<br />'' <br />'' Mr Kovind said in order to enhance agriculture productivity, an investment of 25 lakh crore rupees will be made in the coming years.<br />'' <br />'' The President said, rural women are the biggest beneficiaries of freedom from smoke through Ujjwala Yojana, vaccination through Mission Indradhanush and free electricity connections under Saubhagya Yojana. He said, women are also being given priority in the registration of houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the rural areas.<br />'' <br />'' He said, under the housing scheme, nearly 2 crore new houses will be built in the villages during the next three years.<br />'' <br />'' The President said, the Government accords top most priority to national security and effective steps are being taken to tackle Terrorism and Naxalism.<br />'' <br />'' Mr Kovind said, work is underway to transform India into a Global Manufacturing Hub and a New Industrial Policy will be announced shortly.<br />'' <br />'' Mr Kovind said people after evaluating the government's first term, have given even stronger support for the second term in the Lok Sabha elections.<br />'' <br />'' Listing the government's initiatives, the President said it has been decided to provide the 'Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi', to every farmer in the country. He said the government's 'pension scheme' for small shopkeepers and retail traders, will benefit around three crore small shopkeepers in the country.<br />'' <br />''<br />''The President said, the world's biggest healthcare scheme Ayushman Bharat Yojana has been implemented, providing 'Health-Protection-Cover' to 50 crore poor people. Mr Kovind said, the objective is to set up about 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres in all rural areas by 2022. </span>''<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;line-height:normal"><br />''</p>