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The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over rising prices of essential commodities, saying the "achche din" promised by the BJP have instead left the common person's budget repeatedly battered by food inflation. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the BJP wants to dodge accountability for its misdeeds through distracting stunts and nonsensical talk but the Congress and the public would continue to raise questions over inflation. "Take a look at the state of the common man's kitchen during festivals -- onion prices have risen by up to 59 per cent in a year, Rs 50-60 per kg in many cities; sugar Rs 60-70 per kg, up to Rs 72 per kg in some places; mustard oil over Rs 200 per litre; food inflation 5.52 per cent; wholesale inflation 9.78 per cent," he said. "It's been 12 years of BJP government, and the reality of 'achche din' is that sometimes lentils, sometimes vegetables, sometimes oil, sometimes sugar keep wrecking the common person's budget," Kharge ...
On completion of a decade of the Unified Payments Interface, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed it as a major turning point in India's digital payment journey and said its sheer scale is something every Indian must be proud of. The UPI was launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The UPI has emerged as the backbone of India's digital payments ecosystem and a critical driver of financial inclusion. "A decade ago, UPI was rolled out, marking a major turning point in India's digital payments journey. The sheer scale and reach of UPI are something every Indian must be proud of," Modi said in a post on X. The prime minister also asked people to share with him their UPI experience and how it impacted the life. Over a decade of operations, the UPI has demonstrated extraordinary scale and momentum in the country. Annual transaction volume expanded from just 1.78 crore in .
Attacking the Modi government over the Great Nicobar project, the Congress on Friday said there seems to be no end to the march of "grave ecological folly" there and asserted that genuine local and national interest demands that the venture not be taken forward. Congress general secretary and former environment minister Jairam Ramesh said the public battle for saving Great Nicobar continues even though the Modi government is now 'planting' new reasons for going ahead with it. "There seems to be no end to the march of grave ecological folly in Great Nicobar," Ramesh said on X. First, there is the Great Nicobar Island Development Project -- transshipment port, airport, and vast tourism complexes -- that is being "bulldozed" through with environmental and forest clearances having been given in clear violation of all rules, procedures, and guidelines, he said. The Calcutta High Court is hearing five separate challenges to this disaster of a project but the Modi government is supremely
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a US federal judge permanently dismissed criminal charges against Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, saying there is much more to this than meets the eye as a "compromised PM" was forced to sell India's interest. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha also claimed that India is paying a huge price for it. In an X post, Gandhi shared a screenshot of a media report on the US court approving the US Justice Department's request to dismiss the charges against Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani. "There is much more to this than meets the eye," he said in his post. "A compromised PM was forced to sell India's interest. India is paying a huge price," the post read. The US federal judge permanently dismissed criminal charges against Gautam Adani and nephew Sagar Adani, removing a major legal overhang that had dogged the ports-to-energy conglomerate for nearly two years. US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis
A Parliamentary standing committee on Wednesday demanded an apology from Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech being removed from Facebook. In a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, a director of the Lok Sabha secretariat said protection and immunity for Zuckerberg may be withdrawn if there is no apology in three days. "The removal of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's video addressing students and Gen Z regarding examination controversies and strict actions against paper leaks from Facebook for 5-6 hours viewed very seriously by the Committee," said the letter signed by A Jyothirmayi. The panel has also sought government of India action against Google India head over investors losing more than Rs 48 lakh through fraud apps. "The Committee while discussing Hyderabad Cyber Police Action against the Google India Head as a co-accused along with the Cyber fraudsters after the complainants alleged that they lost more than Rs.48 lakhs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and leaders of the NDA constituents on Tuesday attended the ruling coalition's weekly meeting of the Parliamentarians where presentations were given on how India is getting laurels in international sports events and increased employment generating avenues offering crores of jobs to youth. BJP president Nitin Nabin was seen sitting next to Prime Minister Modi at the 'Mangal Milan' meeting held at the Parliament House complex here on Tuesday, a day after the saffron party was defeated at Bihar's Bankipur assembly seat where its candidate lost to poll strategist-turned- politician Prashant Kishore in a by-election. The by-election at Bankipur, considered a BJP bastion, was necessitated after Nabin vacated the seat following his election to Rajya Sabha after he assumed the charge of BJP President. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya gave a detailed presentation on sports and said the Modi government had adopted a sports
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that to achieve the target of a developed India, the country's youth must remain mentally and physically fit, for which they must stay away from all kinds of substance abuse. Launching the 'Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan' aimed at eradicating substance abuse among the youth, Modi said the campaign is not just for the youth, but also for their families, society and the entire country. The prime minister launched the campaign virtually in the presence of a large number of youth, who described themselves as representatives of Gen-Z, days after large-scale protests by students demanding reforms in the public examination system rocked Delhi and other parts of the country. The campaign aims to inspire youth to stay away from substance abuse and encourages them to become ambassadors of positive social change in their communities. The launch marked the beginning of a 100-week nationwide 'Jan Bhagidari' campaign, under which ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said it had become necessary to bring comprehensive reforms to the education system to tackle the menace of paper leaks and asserted that there would be no mercy for those playing with the future of children. In a late evening video message on Instagram shortly after Parliament passed a bill to amend the anti-paper leak law to introduce stricter punishments, Modi said the it was part of the government's efforts to tackle the menace that has threatened the future of children and posed a challenge for the Centre as well as several states. This was the third video message posted by Modi on his Instagram handle in the last week. "The Centre and many states have been facing the paper leak problem for several years," he said, adding that the menace has threatened the future of children appearing in various examinations. "Therefore, it had become necessary to bring comprehensive changes to the education system to deal with the problem," he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday lashed out at the Centre over the incidents of torching of several houses in two tribal villages in Manipur, saying it is the result of the Modi government's "divisive ideology". The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said Manipur has been burning for years, and again, 20 homes have been reduced to ashes in the fire of hatred and violence. "Even with two governments and President's rule, the conflict is only deepening. Thousands have lost their lives, countless families have been shattered-the unbearable agony Manipur is enduring is hard even to imagine," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. "This is the result of the Modi government's divisive ideology, which divides people in the name of religion, caste, language, region, and identity. Today, not just Manipur but the entire country has given up hope of even two words of empathy from the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), let alone any action," the former Congress chief said. Manipur deserv
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the Digital India initiative of the government, and said it has redefined governance, empowered citizens and accelerated all-round development by touching every aspect of life. Eleven years of Digital India has given India a new identity worldwide, he asserted. "Today, we mark 11 years since the Digital India initiative was launched. This initiative has redefined governance, empowered citizens and accelerated all-round development. It has touched every aspect of life," Modi said in a post on X. The prime minister said from seamless digital payments and direct benefit transfers reaching beneficiaries with transparency to the expanding digital public infrastructure, technology has become a powerful instrument for furthering 'Ease of Living.' "Digital India has taken the wave of innovation to all parts of India, especially villages, tier-2 and tier-3 cities," he said. Modi said young entrepreneurs, startups and innovators from every co
A reshuffle in the council of ministers of the Modi government seems imminent, with indications from the top echelons of the ruling dispensation that the exercise may be carried out anytime from now -- possibly before the Monsoon session of Parliament begins. Sources aware of the deliberations said the reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers will be carried out in tandem with the announcement of a new BJP team under its president Nitin Nabin. "Team Nitin Nabin" is likely to be announced soon, as the BJP top brass is believed to have finalised the list, with younger faces expected to be deployed in prominent organisational roles. The sources indicate that the BJP president also held consultations with a few Union ministers of state last week. There are strong possibilities of some Union ministers being sent to take organisational roles in the BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi ministry. Speculation is also rife about portfolio changes for some ministers,
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian has resigned from the council of ministers after his Rajya Sabha term came to an end. The BJP had decided not to renominate him in the recent Rajya Sabha polls. President Droupadi Murmu has accepted his resignation, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Tuesday. Kurian was also holding the charge as Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The President of India, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accepted the resignation of Kurian from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, the communique said. Kurian was probably the only minister in the Union government who belongs to the Christian community. His Rajya Sabha tenure ended on June 21. Two Union ministers -- Ravneet Singh Bittu and Kurian --- were not renominated for the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections even though their tenures were coming to an end.