Former Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had wrapped up his three-decade-long political career to return to what he called his “roots”. In a long farewell message posted on X, formerly Twitter, he said, he would continue his work against “tobacco and substance abuse, against climate change and teaching simple and sustainable lifestyles”.

His message came as the BJP fielded Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk, a seat which Mr Vardhan holds at present. His name did not figure in the 195 names announced in the party’s first list.

The 69-year-old, who started his political career with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP’s ideological mentor, also said a “swayamsewak at heart”, he jumped into electoral politics “at the insistence of the then RSS leadership”.

“They could convince me only because for me politics meant opportunity to fight our three main enemies – poverty, disease and ignorance,” he added.

Dr Harshvardhan had stepped down from the post of the Union Health minister in July 2021, shortly before a cabinet reshuffle. He was replaced by Mansukh Mandaviya.

The Congress alleged that his exit was Centre’s tacit admission of its all-round failure to manage the Covid pandemic.

A doctor, Harsh Vardhan enjoyed a sterling record in his stints as health minister — in Delhi and then the Centre.

But the unprecedented scale of devastation during the second Covid wave ambushed India’s health infrastructure.

Thousands of patients had died, desperate for oxygen, hospital beds and vaccine.

Images of bodies floating in the Ganga or washing up on its banks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar played out in Indian and foreign media.

His removal was seen as a strong message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the importance of performance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today presented a Vision India document for 2047, saying planning for a “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India) by 2047 is a priority area, sources told NDTV. At a meeting of the Council of ministers today, he said

The plan hinges on empowering citizens and creating a sustainable economy. The 25-year-plan envisages India as a developed nation providing leadership to the world in terms of technology and innovation.

The vision document has been prepared after more than 2700 meetings across ministries from December 2021 to January 2024. The government has examined 450 recommendations and consulted 15 stakeholders.

The Prime Minister spoke for an hour in at the meet, which was attended by ministers and departmental secretaries.

Sources said he spoke about the Rs 1 lakh crore in budget to future technologies and ways to harness that so India leads in innovation.  He also spoke of age-related demography changes – of ageing populations and the challenge it involves.

PM Modi is believed to have asked for Viksit Bharat seminars to be included in the agenda of every department, which have been asked to prepare ideas and action plans.

Business bodies like CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) and FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) should also be urged to start dialogue on this, he said.

PM Modi also asked ministers and officials to go through the records of respective ministries to see how decisions evolved in the past, and how ideas have changed over the last 25 years.

He spoke about maximum government and minimum governance, focusing on progressive government and proactive good governance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired a day-long meeting with his Council of Ministers, had a fairly simple message for them ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections: “Go, win. I will see you soon”. The crucial meeting was to brainstorm on the vision document ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ and also to deliberate on a detailed action plan for the next five years.

As per sources, PM Modi asked ministers to be careful while meeting people, “especially during elections”.

In his nearly hour-long address to the ministers, the Prime Minister also advised them to avoid controversies and be cautious of deepfakes.

“Please be mindful before making any statements. Nowadays, there is a trend of deepfake in which voice, etc can be altered, be cautious of this”, a source quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

Deepfake videos are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness.

“Speak about the schemes, avoid controversial statements,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the glimpse of a ‘Viksit Bharat (developed India)’ should be visible in the upcoming full budget that will be presented in June, the sources said. He is believed to have asked for Viksit Bharat seminars to be included in the departmental agenda and that business bodies like CII and FICCI should be urged to start dialogue on this. PM Modi, the sources said, asked departments to prepare an action plan and pitch ideas on this.

2024 being an election year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented an interim Budget on February 1. The full Budget will be presented after a new government is formed. The general election is due by May.

Government sources said a 100-day agenda for immediate steps to be taken after a new government is formed in May was deliberated upon during the meeting for its quick implementation.

They said the roadmap for “Viksit Bharat” is a result of more than two years of intensive preparation and involved a “whole of government” approach involving all ministries and wide-ranging consultations with state governments, academia, industry bodies, civil society, scientific organisations and mobilisation of youths for inputs.

“More than 2,700 meetings, workshops and seminars were held at various levels. Suggestions of more than 20 lakh youths were received,” they said.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister also spoke about the Rs 1 lakh crore in budget to future technologies and ways to harness that so India leads in innovation.

He also asked ministers and officials to go through records in respective ministries and see how decisions evolved in the past and how ideas changed in the last 25 years. PM Modi also spoke about maximum government and minimum governance during the meeting.

Several ministries articulated their ideas in the meeting, which is likely to be the last such get-together before the Lok Sabha poll dates are announced.

In the last general elections, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the Congress behind at 52 seats.