Page 12 - Modi Govt

Ex-RBI Guv Raghuram Rajan lauds Modi govt, hopes job market to get boost

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday lauded the Modi government for doing a lot of good work on the infrastructure front in India and hoped there would be some concrete steps in the upcoming Budget to boost the job market. Speaking at a session on the US dollar here at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Rajan also said the depreciation in rupee to near Rs 85-level against the US dollar is more because of the strengthening of the American currency rather than any domestic factor. The Modi government has done a lot of good work on the infrastructure front but the other key pillar that needs to boost consumption is the job market, he said. India is growing at 6 per cent, which is actually great but when we look at per capita figures, it needs to grow much faster, Rajan said. There is an urgent need to boost the job market, he said, adding, "a Union Budget is due in the next few days and hopefully we will see something there". When people talk about US dollar remaining

Govt converted ease of doing business to unease in doing business: Cong

The Congress on Sunday claimed that the Modi government's retrograde policies have broken the confidence of investors in India and converted the ease of doing business to unease in doing business. Ahead of the Union Budget, the opposition party said that to fix this, the upcoming budget must eliminate raid raj and tax terrorism. It also called on the government to take action to protect Indian manufacturing jobs and take decisive action to shore up wages and purchasing power. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government has long proclaimed its desire to improve the "ease of doing business" in India but yet in the past decade "we have only seen an easing of private investment which has fallen to record lows and the easing out of businesspersons who have departed India in large numbers for foreign shores". "A byzantine, punitive, and arbitrary tax regime covering both GST and income tax - which amounts to sheer Tax Terrorism -is now the .

In last 7-8 years, about 98% of land records have been digitised: PM Modi

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

PM Modi distributes 6.5 million 'Svamitva property' cards across 10 states

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday distributed around 65 lakh Svamitva property cards, and said it will bolster economic activities and help in poverty alleviation. He also interacted with some beneficiaries through video conferencing, and said the scheme will help people in getting loans and benefits of government schemes. These property cards are being distributed to beneficiaries across more than 50,000 villages in 10 states -- Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and two Union Territories off Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. "Around 2.24 crore beneficiaries in villages will now have Svamitva property cards after 65 lakh cards are distributed today," the prime minister said. "Property rights is a major challenge across the world. Years ago, the United Nations had held a study, which revealed people did not have legal documents for property rights in several countries. The UN has said property ..

PM Modi atoning for sins committed by Congress government: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is atoning for the sins committed by the Congress government and the triple talaq amendment is an example. The prime minister has atoned for the Congress' sins by bringing triple talaq amendment to give justice to sisters of a particular society and uplifting the poor, he said addressing the media here. Singh, who was here to take part in the state-level 'Samvidhaan Gaurav Abhiyan' programme, said it was the Congress, which always insulted BR Ambedkar and tried to defeat him in the elections. The Congress leaders, who always ignored Baba Saheb socially and politically, are today pretending to be his own for the sake of vote bank and spreading lies by distorting the statement of the BJP leaders, but people know that the party made 88 amendments in the Constitution by using or misusing Article 356 to serve its interests, he added. The minister said that Baba Saheb had made a huge contribution in making the ...

PM Modi to distribute 6.5 million SVAMITVA property cards on Jan 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday distribute more than 65 lakh property cards under the SVAMITVA Scheme, the Panchayati Raj Ministry said. According to senior officials of the ministry, beneficiaries from more than 50,000 villages in 10 states -- Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh -- and two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- will receive the cards. SVAMITVA, a scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, provides a Record of Rights' to village household owners with the issuance of legal ownership cards to the property owners by mapping land parcels using drone technology, it said. The prime minister will preside over the event through videoconferencing, where he will interact with selected beneficiaries and also deliver a nationwide address, the ministry said in a statement. This event will mark a major milestone of crossing more than 2.24 crore property cards ...

Cabinet clears setting up of 8th Pay Commission for central govt employees

In a major decision, the Union Cabinet on Thursday decided to set up the 8th Pay Commission to revise salaries of central government employees and allowances of pensioners. The decision to set up the 8th Pay Commission was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The 7th Pay Commission was set up in 2016, and its term will end in 2026. Vaishnaw further said the chairman and two members of the Commission will be appointed soon.

Spirituality rooted in spirit of service: PM at ISKCON temple inauguration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted India's spiritual culture is deeply rooted in the spirit of service and his government has been working selflessly for people's welfare for more than a decade. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating an ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, Modi, who assumed office for a third time in June last year, emphasised his government has launched a slew of welfare measures like building toilets, homes for the poor and providing LPG connections and medical insurance to citizens. "This spirit of service brings true social justice and is a symbol of true secularism. The main foundation of our spiritual culture is the spirit of service. India is not just a piece of land surrounded by geographical boundaries. It is a living land, living culture. Knowledge is spirituality and if we want to understand India, we have to imbibe spirituality," he underlined in his speech. He said followers of ..

Parl panel must question Meta on fact-check, hate speech rules: TMC MP

If Meta executives are summoned by the Parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology, they should be questioned about the company's decision to stop fact-checking and changes in its content guidelines on hate speech and disinformation, panel member and TMC MP Saket Gokhale said on Wednesday. Gokhale's remarks come a day after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads the panel, said the committee will summon executives from social media giant Meta for "tarnishing" India's image amid a controversy over its CEO Mark Zuckerberg's statement during a podcast that after the COVID-19 pandemic, most incumbent governments, including the one in India, lost elections in 2024. In a letter to Dubey, Gokhale said that in the same interview, Zuckerberg also announced that the platform would be ending its fact-check programme and would also be making changes to its community guidelines. "It has been reported on several occasions that there has been a significant misuse of Me

Election rules row: SC seeks govt, poll panel reply on Jairam Ramesh's plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and the poll panel on Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's plea against the recent amendments, including no public access to CCTV, to the 1961 election rules. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Ramesh, and issued notices on the plea. The bench said it would hear the plea in the week commencing March 17. Singhvi said amendments to the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules were made "very cleverly" and barred any access to CCTV footage claiming it would reveal the identity of the voter. He said voting choices were never revealed and the CCTV footage couldn't reveal votes. The senior lawyer urged the bench to ask the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Centre to file their responses before the next date of hearing else they would come and say "reply is needed to be filed" on tha

PM Modi doing 'damage control' with 'not God' remarks, says Jairam Ramesh

Ramesh reacted to PM Narendra Modi's recent interview with a social media influencer, where he said that human beings were prone to making mistakes, including him since he was not a God

Singapore Prez to visit India on Jan 15 to mark 60 yrs of diplomatic ties

The relationship got a major boost last year after the India-Singapore ministerial roundtable, followed by Prime Minister Modi's visit to Singapore last year, according to diplomatic sources

PM Modi interacts with scribes outside BJP HQ; advises them to stay warm

The journalists were gathered outside the BJP headquarters to cover the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting for the upcoming Delhi Assembly Election

Punjab govt rejects Centre's draft policy on agricultural marketing

The Punjab government has formally rejected the Centre's draft policy on agricultural marketing, asserting that it is an attempt to bring back the "contentious" provisions of the three farms laws repealed in 2021 after a year-long protest by farmers. The state government noted that since agriculture marketing is a state subject, the government of India should not come up with any such policy and should leave it to the wisdom of the state to frame suitable policies on the subject as per their concerns and requirements. The Centre had last year shared the draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing with the state government for its views on it. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had already said the Centre was trying to "bring back" the now-repealed farm laws, referring to the draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing. The AAP-led Punjab government had termed the draft policy as an attempt to reintroduce the three central agricultural laws

Tirupati stampede: PM Modi, Prez Murmu express grief over loss of lives

As many as six people lost their lives and several others were injured after a stampede broke out near Vishnu Nivasam in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati

PM Modi to lay foundation, inaugurate slew of projects in Andhra on Jan 8

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Visakhapatnam on Wednesday to lay the foundation for a few important projects and inaugurate a few others. This will be the Prime Minister's first visit to the state, after he assumed the office of PM for the third consecutive term in 2024. The NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh consisting TDP, BJP and Janasena played a key role in forming the union government. Accompanied by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and others, Modi will lay the foundation for a railway zone at Visakhapatnam. Likewise, he will lay the foundation for NTPC's integrated green hydrogen hub at Pudimadaka, Nakkapalli mandal, Anakapalli district. As part of this project, the public sector company will invest Rs 65,370 crore in three phases. The Prime Minister will virtually launch Krishnapatnam Industrial Hub, a Rs 1,518 crore project coming up on a 2,500 acre land parcel in the first phase. It is expected to generate employment

Kejriwal seeks immediate action from Centre amid HMPV virus concerns

ICMR emphasised that despite the detection of these two cases, there has been no significant increase in Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in the country

Pvt sector reluctant to invest in India as no-confidence in govt: Cong

The private sector's reluctance to invest in India is a corporate motion of no-confidence in the Narendra Modi government, the Congress claimed on Monday. The opposition party also urged the government to take measures in the upcoming Union budget to stimulate and sustain domestic investment in the country that, it claimed, was on the decline. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the investment environment in India had been sluggish in the "Modi decade". In a post on X, he said the Gross Fixed Capital Formation had fallen from an average of 32 per cent of GDP during Manmohan Singh's prime ministerial decade to consistently being below 29 per cent of GDP in the past 10 years. "Investment is sluggish because mass consumption is not accelerating, tax and other authorities are threatening and intimidating businesses, and because of the growing perception that only four-five business groups can grow in the Modi regime," he said. "Now comes fresh eviden

PM Modi to inaugurate railway projects in J&K, Telangana, Odisha today

The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the Rayagada Railway Division Building of East Coast Railway, which will improve connectivity in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and nearby areas

Projects inaugurated by PM Modi result of govts collaboration: Kejriwal

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday described the two projects inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as milestones for Delhi's infrastructure and claimed they were joint ventures between the central and the city governments. Modi on Sunday inaugurated a 13-kilometre stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor from Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad to New Ashok Nagar here and the Janakpuri West-Krishna Park Extension section of the Delhi Metro's Phase IV. At a press conference, Kejriwal congratulated the people of Delhi and asserted that the projects were a collaboration between the city and the central governments. Taking a dig at his critics, Kejriwal said, "These inaugurations are a reply to those who say AAP only engages in fights." Referring to the challenges faced by his party, he claimed AAP leaders were imprisoned and tortured but maintained their focus on governance. "Over the past 10 years, our tenure has shown how we kept work ab