New Delhi, January 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed over 65 lakh property cards under the SVAMITVA Scheme to property owners in over 50,000 villages in more than 230 districts across 10 States and 2 Union territories through video conferencing today.

Key Points
1. Digitization of land records transforming rural property ownership
2. SVAMITVA Scheme providing legal property rights to villagers
3. Government leveraging drone technology for land mapping

During the programme, Modi highlighted the significance of the initiative said, "Today is a very historic day for the villages of the country, for the rural economy. The ownership scheme was started 5 years ago so that people living in villages can be given their legal proof. In the last 5 years, these ownership cards have been given to about 1.5 crore people. Today, more than 65 lakh families have received these ownership cards under this programme."

Prime Minister Modi also criticised the previous government for not tackling the challenge of land and ownership rights in villages.

"The previous governments did not take any concrete steps in this direction. So when our government was formed in 2014, we decided to tackle this challenge of property papers and we started the Swamitva Yojana. We decided that with the help of drones, mapping of houses and lands will be done in every village of the country. The villagers will be given papers of their residential property," he said.

PM Modi further said, "Today our government is trying with full sincerity to implement Gram Swaraj on the ground. With the ownership scheme, the planning and implementation of village development are now improving significantly. Now, with the availability of property rights, the problems of the Gram Panchayats will be resolved and they will also become financially empowered."

The Prime Minister also emphasized the transformative progress in rural India, stating that nearly 98per cent of land records have been digitized in the last 7-8 years.

"In the last 7-8 years, about 9per cent of land records have been digitized. Mahatma Gandhi used to say that - India lives in villages, the soul of India is in villages. The work of truly implementing this sentiment of revered Bapu has been done in the last decade."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the government's commitment to farmers and rural development, announcing significant decisions as 2025 begins.

"The year 2025 has also started with big decisions for the villages and farmers. The government has decided to continue the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Along with this, a decision has also been taken regarding DAP fertilizer so that farmers can benefit," he said.