Catch the latest news from around the world here
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held deliberations with chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of BJP-ruled states over a host of issues. The "mukhyamantri parishad" organised by the BJP at regular intervals is aimed at reviewing key schemes in states, following the best governance practices and the delivery of central government welfare initiatives. Besides Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah and J P Nadda, who is also the party president, chief ministers Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Bhajanlal Sharma (Rajasthan) and Mohan Charan Majhi (Odisha) were among the leaders who attended the first day of the two-day meeting here. Chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Manipur and Chhattisgarh were also part of the deliberations. The leaders at times also take stock of the political situation. The meeting comes in the wake of the presentation of the Union budget, with the opposition targeting the government
Investor friendly charter, zero poverty and demographic management plans highlights of NITI Aayog meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India progressing in right direction after overcoming once-in-a-century pandemic
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday pitched for promoting skill-based education, natural dispensaries and artificial intelligence in his state, as he committed his state's full support in achieving the goal of making India a developed country by 2047. Speaking here at the Governing Council meeting of the Niti Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sai listed various priorities and efforts being made for Chhattisgarh's development with an emphasis on education, human resource development, health and technological advancement. He said Chhattisgarh will play a pivotal role in "Developed India by 2047". At present, the state's GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) is Rs 5.05 lakh crore, which is targeted to be increased to Rs 10 lakh crore in the next five years, and the state has started work on possibilities of improvements and achieving goals in various fields, Sai said. Emphasising the role of youngsters in the development of the state, the chief minister
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of a Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Saturday and claimed that she was unfairly stopped midway in her speech, despite being the sole representative of the opposition. Government sources, however, rejected her claim and said her speaking time was over. Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations. "This is insulting. I will not attend any further meeting," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said. "I have come out boycotting the meeting. (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu was given 20 minutes to speak. The chief ministers of Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh spoke for 10-12 minutes. I was stopped from speaking after just five minutes," she told reporters after coming out of the meeting of chief ministers chaired by Modi. "This is unfair. From the opposition side, only I am representing here. I attended
NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said Jawaharlal Nehru had a vision for modern India and his leadership was required to keep the country united post-partition. Speaking at a book release function here, Pawar said country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was an able administrator and worked for farmers and the working class. Patel's contribution to uniting the country post-independence was immense as he played a key role in persuading princely states to integrate into the Union of India. "Mahatma Gandhi knew the potential of both the leaders (Nehru and Patel) and their leadership qualities. Nehru's vision of modern India was necessary for the country's progress and development. He had the vision to take the country on the world's centre stage. His leadership was required to keep the country united post-partition," the veteran leader said. Pawar noted the contribution of Dr B R Ambedkar in drafting the Constitution of India and his work in the field of ...
India and Ukraine are looking at the possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyiv next month amid renewed global efforts to bring peace to the eastern European nation, multiple diplomatic sources said on Saturday. Modi might visit Kyiv around the Ukrainian National Day on August 24 and is expected to travel to Poland after concluding the trip to Ukraine, the sources said. The prime minister held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia. If Modi travels to Poland, it would be the first by an Indian prime minister to that country in more than four decades. India and Ukraine are looking at Modi's visit to Kyiv in the later half of August, the sources said, adding that there is no finality on the trip yet as massive preparations would be required in terms of logistics and related issues. The prime minister's two-nation visit might begin around August 23-24, the sources said. There is no officia
NITI Aayog's 9th Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi began here on Saturday. The meeting focuses on making India a developed nation by 2047. It aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and state governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions. The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog. The meeting also focusses on recommendations of the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December last year. During the conference, recommendations were made on five key themes--drinking water: access, quantity, and quality; electricity: quality, efficiency, and reliability; health: accessibility, affordability, and quality of care;schooling: access and quality and
The 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is facing boycott from several Opposition chief ministers over a 'biased' Union Budget
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said the country taught a lesson to those who were talking about changing the Constitution. He was speaking at the unveiling of the Urdu translation of English book "Padmavibhushan Sharad Pawar - The great Enigma" by Sheshrao Chavan here. The political situation in the country should change, Pawar said, adding, "We should think where we are heading. We have to see that the country does not fall in the wrong hands." Four months ago (during the Lok Sabha election campaign), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party colleagues made statements that were not in national interest, the NCP (SP) chief said, referring to BJP leader Ananthkumar Hegde's controversial remark that they needed 400-plus seats to amend the Constitution. "It is a good thing that the people taught a lesson to those who talked about changing the Constitution," Pawar said. He also hit back at Union minister Amit Shah who recently called him "ringleader of corrupt people". "A w
Latest LIVE news: Catch all the latest updates from around the world here
What the Modi govt got wrong: Moving away from its generally upbeat messaging of 'India is on the rise, growth will get steeper, and markets are red hot and will get hotter'
The Moidams, often hailed as the 'Pyramids of Assam' have become the first cultural site from the Northeast to be added to the Unesco World Heritage List
A statement from the state government said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat is channelling economic development through environmentally friendly policies
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the initiative to ensure that the 600-year-old mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty - 'Moidams' - is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sarma also thanked Union Culture Minister Gajendra Shekhawat who called to give him the news while the chief minister was addressing a press conference here. The unique burial mounds, represented by pyramid-like structures known as "Moidams", were used by the Tai-Ahom dynasty that ruled Assam for around 600 years between 1228 and 1826. 'It is great news for Assam as the Charaideo Moidam is now officially a UNESCO Heritage site... Assam will always remain indebted to the Centre for this honour. This inclusion is a great honour for the country and not for Assam alone,' Sarma told a press conference. The 'Moidams' is the first cultural property from the Northeast to get the coveted tag. The state government had submitted a dossier to the Pr
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that Pakistan has not learnt any lessons from history and has faced defeat whenever it carried out any misadventure. Paying tributes to soldiers here on Kargil Vijay Diwas, he said the nation honours gallant efforts and sacrifices of the armed forces. Pakistan faced defeat whenever it has carried out any misadventure. It has not learned any lessons from history, he said. "In Kargil, we not only won the war, we gave a wonderful example of truth, restraint and strength, he said at a ceremony here. "Our bravehearts will crush terrorism and enemy will be given a befitting response," he asserted while holding that Pakistan is trying to remain relevant through terror and proxy war.
The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours share an uneasy relationship and India has, for decades, accused Pakistan of backing Islamist militants fighting its rule in Kashmir
Chief ministers from Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Kerala will be skipping the Niti Aayog meeting
The Prime Minister also criticised the Opposition parties opposing the scheme for 'politicising' a sensitive issue related to national security