Page 7 - Modi Govt

'Cowardly' Pahalgam attack by Pakistan a direct assault on republic: CWC

The Congress on Thursday said the "cowardly" Pahalgam attack has been masterminded by Pakistan and is a direct assault on the "values of our republic", even as it accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy to promote discord and polarisation at a time when unity is most needed. The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party, adopted a resolution expressing its deepest shock and condemnation of the heinous terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists and left more than 20 others grievously injured. "The Congress Working Committee extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families. It stands with them wholeheartedly in this moment of profound anguish. "This cowardly and calculated act of terror, masterminded by Pakistan, is a direct assault on the values of our republic. The deliberate targeting of Hindus was done to inflame passions across the country," the party's resolution said. "We appeal for calm in the face of this

Pahalgam all-party meet: Owaisi slams Centre for ignoring smaller parties

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite all political parties irrespective of the number of members in the Parliament for the Pahalgam all-party meeting. In a social media post, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha member said he spoke to Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday night and that he was informed that the NDA government was thinking of inviting only parties with "five or 10 MPs". Owaisi also said when he asked why not parties with fewer MPs, the Union Minister replied that the meeting would get "too long" and "joked" that the AIMIM leaders "voice is anyway, too loud". "Your own party (BJP) does not have a majority. Whether it is a party with 1 MP or a 100, they were both elected by Indians and deserve to be heard on such an important matter. This is not a political issue, it is a national issue. Everyone must be heard. I urge Narendra Modi to make this a real ALL Party Meeting, every party with an MP in Parliamen

PM should chair all-party meeting on Pahalgam terror attack: Congress

The Centre will brief leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and hear their views at an all-party meeting to be held on Thursday evening. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Singh will chair the meeting. With the government announcing a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack where terrorists killed at least 26 persons, mostly tourists, on Tuesday, sources said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may also speak at the meeting. The decision to call an all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties. There has been a convention for calling an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020. It helps present a picture of national unity in moments of cr

PM Modi to visit Bihar today; to inaugurate key projects worth ₹13,480 cr

Prime Minister will also participate in a programme marking National Panchayati Raj Day and address a gathering in Madhubani, Bihar

PM Modi's visit to Kanpur on April 24 cancelled after Pahalgam attack

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Kanpur on Thursday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for development projects has been cancelled in light of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, officials said. Modi was scheduled to visit Kanpur on April 24 to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for development projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore. However, in light of Tuesday's terror attack that claimed a number of lives, including that of Shubham, a courageous young son of Kanpur, and keeping in mind the sombre mood and sentiments of the people, the event has been cancelled, officials said. As a mark of respect, it was considered appropriate to defer any celebratory or formal public engagement in Kanpur during this period of grief, they said. Shubham Dwivedi, a 31-year-old businessman from Kanpur who got married just two months back on February 12, was among those gunned down in Pahalgam. The terror attack at a tourist location in Pahalgam in south ..

PM Modi, Saudi Crown Prince hold talks, condemn terror attack in Pahalgam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir as they co-chaired the Strategic Partnership Council, aimed at further strengthening the friendship between the two countries. Modi, who arrived in Jeddah on Tuesday on a two-day visit, delayed his scheduled meeting with the Crown Prince by at least two hours to assess the situation in Kashmir, where terrorists killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. Modi, who held bilateral talks with the Saudi Crown Prince, skipped an official dinner hosted and decided to cut short his visit and return home on Tuesday night, sources said. He was originally scheduled to return to India on Wednesday night. Earlier, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Al Salam Palace (Palace of Peace), where he was received by Crown Prince Mohammed. The two leaders hugged as they greeted each other, ..

Bold reforms, capacity boosts key to India's growth in next two decades: FM

India's quest for sustained growth over the next two decades hinges on a new paradigm, driven by bold reforms, enhanced domestic capabilities, and strategic institutional collaborations suited for the evolving global landscape, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. The last two Union Budgets have laid the groundwork for this transformation, with a clear multi-sectoral policy agenda, she said, while speaking at Hoover Institution at Stanford University California. In the last decade, she said the government has undertaken structural reforms, rationalising over 20,000 compliances, decriminalising business laws and digitising public services to reduce friction. She further said a significant thrust on infrastructure development has also created a strong foundation for manufacturing-led growth by bolstering investor confidence over the last 10 years. This has been enabled by a more than four-fold increase in the union government's capital expenditure between 2017-18 and t

FM Sitharaman meets business leaders in San Francisco, discusses investment

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met several senior executives and business leaders in San Francisco and discussed bilateral areas of cooperation in sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence, energy and digital infrastructure as well as opportunities to enhance investment collaboration between India and the US. Sitharaman arrived in San Francisco Sunday as she began her 11-day trip to the US and Peru with an interaction with the Indian diaspora in the Californian city. On Monday, she held several meetings with business leaders and corporate executives. The minister met Silicon Valley venture capital firm a16z General Partner Anjney Midha and technology company VMware Chief Executive Officer Raghu Raghuram in San Francisco. She discussed the remarkable transformation in technology space driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and suggested that a16z and VMware "may like to explore collaboration across sectors" within the domain of AI including in education,

PM Modi to discuss Hajj quota with Saudi Crown Prince, sign 6 pacts

India and Saudi Arabia are set to sign at least six memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on Tuesday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jeddah, with talks ongoing late Monday to finalise a few more agreements, according to sources. Highly placed sources told PTI that Modi will also discuss issues relating to Hajj including the quota for Indian pilgrims during his meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in the evening. Among the deliverables, the two sides are expected to sign agreements in the fields of space, energy, health, science and scientific research, culture and advanced technology. "Meetings in Riyadh continued late Monday to finalise details, with over a dozen MoUs under discussion, some to be signed at the official level," an official told PTI. Sources added that efforts were underway 24 hours before Modi's arrival to conclude additional trade, investment, and defence agreements. Modi will arrive on Tuesday aftern

JD Vance faces diplomatic test in India amid trade tensions and tariffs

For Vance, this is an opportunity to soften a global image as Trump's attack dog. It is his first visit to India since taking office

BJP govt will reduce everything to 'zero' before its exit: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre of not delivering on their promises and alleged that the party was repackaging old schemes with new names to mislead the public. "Before they become zero themselves, everything around them is turning into zero," Yadav said in a swipe at the BJP in a post on X. "Just like their 'zero tolerance' has become zero, the slogan of 'zero poverty' will also turn out to be a BJP-style jumla," the former chief minister said. India gave the world the concept of zero in mathematics, "not for distributing lies among people", he added. "Poverty is eradicated through actions, not words. And when it comes to action, the BJP government stands at zero," Yadav said, claiming that the government will leave everything in a state of "shunya" (zero) before its exit. He also criticised the BJP for renaming rural development schemes. "They may continue their old tradition of deceit by renaming scheme

PM Modi flags off Hisar-Ayodhya flight, lays stone for new airport terminal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday flagged off a commercial flight from here to Ayodhya and laid the foundation stone of the new terminal building at the airport. In line with his commitment to make air travel safe, affordable and accessible to all, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of Maharaja Agrasen Airport's new terminal building to be built at an estimated cost of over Rs 410 crore. It will include a state-of-the-art passenger terminal, a cargo terminal and an ATC building. The project is targeted to be completed in two years. About Modi flagging off the inaugural flight from here to Ayodhya, a statement had earlier said that scheduled flights from Hisar to Ayodhya twice a week, and three flights in a week to Jammu, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh will mark a significant leap in Haryana's aviation connectivity. Modi is in Haryana to launch several development initiatives worth Rs 10,000 crore in the state on Monday to mark the birth anniversary of Bhim Rao Ambedkar, an icon

TMC's Kunal Ghosh alleges Murshidabad violence linked to some conspiracy

There's an allegation that with BSF's help, a conspiracy is underway to malign Bengal and create unrest, which the BJP and Opposition can exploit for political gains, said TMC's Kunal Ghosh

Om Birla praises Modi govt for transforming rail connectivity for people

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla attended the inaugural ceremony of the special train between Kota and Delhi from Kota Railway Station

From Daikin to Samsung, companies fight Indian govt over e-waste policy

Daikin, Hitachi and Samsung are among manufacturers raising concerns over new Indian government rules mandating significantly higher payments for recycling appliances like ACs, refrigerators and TVs

PM Modi lauds Delhi's joining of Centre's health schemes as 'revolutionary'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded the implementation of twin central government health schemes, including an insurance cover programme, in Delhi as a revolutionary step in the national capital. "This mission of the double engine government is going to be very beneficial for lakhs of brothers and sisters in Delhi. I am delighted that people of Delhi, too, can now received treatment under the Ayushman scheme," he said on X. After signing a Memorandum of Understanding on April 5 to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the BJP government in Delhi signed another MoU with the Centre on Thursday for the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM). PM-ABHIM was launched in October 2021 to ensure that the public health infrastructure effectively manages future pandemics and outbreaks of diseases. The previous AAP dispensation had declined to adopt the schemes. Union Health Minister J P Nadda

Centre, NDMA can ask banks to waive loans of Wayanad landslide victims: HC

The Kerala High Court on Thursday said that while the RBI cannot ask banks to waive the loans of Wayanad landslides victims, the Union government and the National Disaster Management Authority can do so. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Easwaran S said it will pass orders "nudging" the Centre and the NDMA to ask the banks to waive off the loans. The bench pointed out that the Kerala Bank had waived off the disaster victims' loans and it had an exposure of around Rs five crore. The High Court observed that if the Kerala Bank can do it, then the other banks, which have lesser exposure, can also do the same. "It only requires a bit of goading from the NDMA and the Union government," it said. The observations came in the wake of the central government filing an affidavit earlier in the week stating that according to the RBI's Master Directions on Natural Calamities, the loans of the Wayanad landslides victims can only be restructured or rescheduled. The bench also dir

PM Modi pays tribute to Lord Mahavir, hails message of non-violence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tributes to Mahavir, the 24th and last 'tirthankar' in the Jain religion, on his birth anniversary, saying his ideals give strength to countless people all around the world. Modi said his government will always work to fulfil the vision of the reverted holy figure. He noted that the government last year conferred the status of classical language on Prakrit, a decision which received a lot of appreciation. He said, "We all bow to Bhagwan Mahavir, who always emphasised on non-violence, truth and compassion. His ideals give strength to countless people all around the world." "His teachings have been beautifully preserved and popularised by the Jain community. Inspired by Bhagwan Mahavir, they have excelled in different walks of life and contributed to societal well-being," he added.

PM Modi to visit UP, MP on April 11; to launch projects worth ₹3,880 crore

Prime Minister Modi will then visit Madhya Pradesh, perform darshan and pooja at Guru Ji Maharaj Temple in Isagarh around 3:15 pm, and attend a public programme at Anandpur Dham at about 4:15 pm

Centre releases over ₹4,200 crore to Andhra for Amaravati capital project

The Central Government has released over Rs 4,200 crore to Andhra Pradesh for Amaravati Capital Development project after it (centre) received the first disbursement of USD 205 million from the World Bank, a senior official has said. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) together committed to fund USD 1600 Million (Rs 13,600 crore), USD 800 Million each, for Amaravati capital city phase-I development, while the Centre will be contributing remaining Rs 1,400 crore, out of the Rs 15,000 crore committed by the Central Government for phase-I of the development. According to the World Bank documents the project became effective on January 22 this year and the first disbursement of USD 205 million for program advance was done last month. "Out of this total Rs 15,000 crore, there is a sharing between the World Bank, ABD and the centre. The also may have given same amount. I do not know exactly how much the has given to the Government of India. The Centre has also released its ...