Modi in Rwanda: Prime Minister gifts 200 cows

New Delhi, July 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted 200 cows to villagers in Rwanda. The cows have been gifted under the Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme.

The event to mark the handing over of cows was held at Rweru Model Village, in the presence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Appreciating the Girinka Programme and President Paul Kagame's initiative, Prime Minister Modi said that people in India would also be pleasantly surprised to see that cows are being given importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages in faraway Rwanda.



PM Modi also spoke about the similarity in the rural life of the two countries and hoped that the Girinka Programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.

Wondering why? Well, gifting bovines at the Rweru Model Village is an important part of PM Modi's programme in Rwanda and India's contribution to the host country's popular 'Girinka' scheme.

'Girinka' (one cow per poor family program) is a social security scheme personally overseen by Rwandan President Paul Kagame. It is an interesting scheme that even India can implement to improve the economic condition of poorest families and farmers.

Under Girinika scheme, the Rwandan government gifts dairy cows to poorest families and the first female calf born to the cow is gifted to the neighbour, which helps promote brotherhood and solidarity.