Ranchi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Centre's priority is development of tribals, poor, Dalits, women and youths, and several schemes have been launched to benefit them.

Jharkhand, which was lagging in development, will also see rapid growth with the launch of these projects, he said.

"Jharkhand was lagging in development but now several projects would usher in progress here. Now, the Centre's priority is development of tribals, poor, youth, women and Dalit," Modi said, while virtually addressing people gathered at Tatanagar for the launch of Vande Bharat trains and several projects.

The PM apologised to the people for not being able to reach Tatanagar as "my chopper could not take off from Ranchi due to bad weather".

He said rail and other projects would boost industry, tourism, economic growth and development in the eastern region.

"The Centre has increased its investment for the development of Jharkhand. This year, Jharkhand has been given an allocation of Rs 7,000 crore for the development of railway infrastructure. If we compare the budget of the past 10 years, it is 16 times higher.

"Jharkhand has joined the list of states where 100 per cent electrification of the railway network has been achieved," he said.

Under the Amrit Bharat Station Yojana, over 50 railway stations in the state are also being transformed, he added.

Earlier, he virtually flagged off six Vande Bharat trains for Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and UP at Ranchi.

On the occasion, Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Annapurna Devi and Sanjay Seth and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar were present at Tatanagar station.