Page 5 - President

President Droupadi Murmu arrives in Fiji, set to address Parliament

President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Fiji on Monday on the first leg of her three-nation visit during which she will hold meetings with President Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka as India seeks to give further impetus to the historic bilateral ties. She will be in Fiji from August 5-7 at the invitation of its President Katonivere. This is the first visit by an Indian head of state to the archipelago nation. President Murmu was received by Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister, Viliame Gavoka, the Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, PS Karthikeyan, and other Fijian officials at the airport. "President of India, Her Excellency Droupadi Murmu arriving into Nadi for her two-day State Visit of Fiji. Her Excellency was received and welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Viliame Gavoka, Turaga na Tui Nadi Ratu Vuniyani Navuniuci and Fiji's High Commissioner to India, Mr Jagnnath Sami," said a post on the Fijian government's official Facebook page. During her visit, she

President Murmu to embark on 6-day visit to Fiji, New Zealand, Timor-Leste

President Droupadi Murmu will undertake a six-day visit of Fiji, New Zealand and Timor-Leste beginning August 5, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday. Murmu's first destination will be Fiji where she will hold meetings with President Katonivere and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. "This will be the first-ever visit by a Head of State from India to Fiji," the MEA said on Murmu's August 5 to 6 trip to the island nation. It said she is scheduled to address the Fijian Parliament and interact with the Indian diaspora in the country. "The visit reflects India's continued commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations with Fiji," the MEA said. "On the second leg of her visit, President Murmu will visit New Zealand on August 7 to 9 at the invitation of Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor General of New Zealand," it said. During the State visit, she will hold a bilateral meeting with Governor General Kiro and meet Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. President Murmu will

Govt aims to make Northeast gateway of 'Act East Policy': President Murmu

The government is working to make the northeast a strategic gateway under its 'Act East Policy' and has increased the allocation for the region's development by more than four times over the last 10 years, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday. Addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, Murmu said that for the first time, work on inland waterways has started in the northeast on a large scale and it will benefit the region immensely. "My government has increased the allocation for the development of the northeast region by more than four times over the last 10 years. The government is working to make this region a strategic gateway under its Act East Policy," she said. India's 'Act East Policy' focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Indo-Pacific region with ASEAN as its core. The objective of the 'Act East Policy' is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries i

Govt-scripted speech full of lies: Oppn leaders on Prez's address in House

Opposition leaders on Thursday dismissed the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament as a "script given by the government" that was "full of lies" and also castigated the government over the repeated mention of the 1975 Emergency. They said there is an "undeclared emergency" in the country and the Constitution is being attacked under the Modi government. In her address, President Droupadi Murmu described the imposition of Emergency in 1975 as the "biggest and darkest chapter" of a direct attack on the Constitution and said the country emerged victorious over unconstitutional forces. Speaking to reporters after the President's address, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav punched holes in the government's claim of India being the fifth-largest economy in the world. "The story that is being told about India becoming the fifth-largest economy... has it made our farmers prosperous? If we are the fifth-largest economy, then why are so many youths unemployed? Why is th

Street vendors in rural, semi-urban areas to be under PM SVANidhi: Prez

President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday that the scope of the Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme will be expanded and street vendors in rural and semi-urban areas will also be brought under its ambit. PM SVANidhi Scheme, launched by the Modi government in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak, is a micro-credit scheme for urban street vendors, which provides collateral-free loans up to Rs 50,000. Addressing the first joint sitting of Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, President Murmu said, "The scope of PM SVANidhi will be expanded and street vendors in rural and semi-urban areas will also be brought under its ambit." On December 11 last year, the then Union housing and urban affairs (HUA) Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had informed in Rajya Sabha that loans disbursed to PM SVANidhi beneficiaries stood at Rs 2,039 crore in the 2020-21 fiscal, Rs 1,248 crore in 2021-22, Rs 1,866 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 4,637 crore up to December 5 o

'Hoping for strong bilateral relations': Mohamed Muizzu after India visit

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described his first official visit to India as a major 'success'

JP Nadda sworn in as Cabinet Minister; who will be BJP's next president?

Modi Government 3.0: Previously speculated candidates including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bhupender Yadav, and CR Paatil also joined Modi's Cabinet. Here are some probable candidates for the position

Iceland elects businesswoman Tomasdottir as prez, will take office on Aug 1

Halla Tomasdottir, a businesswoman and investor, has won Iceland's presidential election, topping a crowded field of candidates in which the top three finishers were women, the country's national broadcast service reported. Tomasdottir was elected to the largely ceremonial post with 34.3% of the vote, defeating former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, with 25.2%, and Halla Hrund Logadottir, with 15.5%, RUV said Sunday. Tomasdottir, 55, campaigned as someone who was above party politics and could help open discussions on fundamental issues such as the effect of social media on the mental health of young people, Iceland's development as a tourist destination and the role of artificial intelligence. She will replace President Gudni Th Johannesson, who did not seek re-election after two four-year terms. Tomasdottir will take office on Aug 1. Iceland, a Nordic island nation located in the North Atlantic, has about 384,000 people and a long tradition of electing women to high office. .

Ex-Iranian speaker Larijani registers as possible presidential candidate

A former speaker of Iran's parliament registered on Friday as a possible candidate in the Islamic Republic's June 28 presidential election to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this month with seven others. Ali Larijani is the first high-profile candidate to register for the contest. He and other serious contenders against Raisi had been barred from running in the 2021 election. Larijani, 66, is viewed as a conservative within Iran's narrow political scene. However, he has increasingly allied himself with former President Hassan Rouhani, whose administration reached a 2015 nuclear deal with a group of world powers. Larijani had positioned himself as a pragmatic candidate in the 2021 vote in which hard-liner Raisi, a protg of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was elected. Larijani had posted online and made comments in recent days all but confirming he would be a candidate. The Larijani family has long been powerful in Iran's Shiite ...

Taiwan's legislature passes new Bill reducing president's authority

Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature passed changes on Tuesday that are seen as favouring China and diminishing the power of the island's president. The changes pushed by the opposition Nationalist Party and its allies give the body greater power to control budgets, including defence spending that the party has blocked in what many see as a concession to China. The Nationalists took control of the legislature with a single-seat majority after elections in January, while the presidency went to Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party, which favours Taiwan's de facto independence from China. The Nationalists officially back unification with China, from which Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949.

'Our Droupadi' vs local poll dynamics in tribal terrain of Mayurbhanj

There were media reports that Uparbeda, 120 km from the district headquarters in Baripada, got electricity only after Murmu became President

Why President Ebrahim Raisi's death comes at a sensitive time for Iran

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on Monday, after their helicopter crashed in the country's northwest

President Raisi dead in chopper crash. Why it's a blow to Iran's hardliners

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollhian and others crashed on Sunday

Who is Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, the newly appointed president of GSTAT?

The appointment of Sanjaya Kumar Mishra follows the recommendation of the Search-Cum-Selection Committee and aims to expedite the operationalisation of GSTAT

President Murmu pays obeisance, performs 'aarti' at Ram temple in Ayodhya

President Droupadi Murmu paid obeisance and performed "aarti" at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday. Before visiting the temple in the evening, Murmu took part in the Sarayu "aarti" and performed puja at the Hanumangarhi temple here. "President Droupadi Murmu had darshan and performed puja at Shri Hanuman Garhi temple, Ayodhya," the president's official X handle said in a post on the microblogging platform. Earlier in the day, the president was received at the Ayodhya airport by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. This was Murmu's first visit to Ayodhya since the newly-built Ram temple's consecration ceremony was held on January 22.

Prosecutors ask to punish Trump for violating gag order in hush money trial

As Trump watched from the defense table, New York prosecutor Christopher Conroy cited posts from the former president's Truth Social platform that he said violated the gag order

Keep in mind interest of poor: President to economic service officers

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday asked a group of economic service officers to keep in mind the interest of the poor and backward sections of the country while taking any decision in their workplace. Addressing a group of probationers of the Indian Economic Service (2022 and 2023 batches), who had called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, Murmu said that economic growth is an important component in the country's development. "Macro and micro economic indicators are considered useful parameters of progress. Therefore, the role of economists is important in making government policies and schemes effective and useful," she said. Murmu told officers that as India is moving towards becoming the third largest economy in the world, they will get countless opportunities in the times to come to enhance their capabilities and utilise them to the fullest. She expressed confidence that they will make a significant contribution to the development of the country by taking proper advantage

Let's build nation with values of 'Lord Ram', says President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday greeted citizens on the eve of Ram Navami and asked them to imbibe the values of Lord Shri Ram to build a nation in line with the concept of 'Ram Rajya', where every person lives with dignity. "Ram Navami, celebrated on the auspicious occasion of the birth of Lord Shri Ram, guides us on the path of truth and righteousness. Maryada Purushottam Prabhu Shri Ram is an ideal of humility, fortitude and bravery," the president said in a message. Lord Shri Ram set the highest standards of selfless service, friendship and unwavering commitment to his word, she said. "The festival of Ram Navami is also an opportunity to reflect on our eternal values. Let us imbibe the values of Lord Shri Ram and pledge to build a nation where, in line with the concept of Ram Rajya, every person lives with dignity and the stream of development continues to flow in everyone's life," Murmu was quoted as having said in a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Let's spread love, kindness: Prez Murmu greets citizens on eve of Eid

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday greeted citizens on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, and said this festival motivates all to lead a peaceful life and work for the prosperity of the society. This festival marks the culmination of the period of fasting and prayer during the holy month of Ramzan and gives us the message of love and brotherhood, she said. "This festival promotes unity, forgiveness and charity. Eid is the occasion to help the poor and deprived people and share our happiness with them. This festival motivates us to lead a peaceful life and work for prosperity of the society," Murmu said. She said, on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, "let us spread the feelings of love, kindness and compassion.

Holi promotes love, unity, brotherhood among people, says President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday greeted citizens on the eve of Holi and said the festival promotes the feeling of love, unity and brotherhood among people. This festival also inspires us to strengthen our cultural heritage, she said in a message. Holi is a vibrant and joyous festival which infuses hope and enthusiasm in our lives, Murmu said. "Various colours of Holi symbolise the diversity of our country. This festival promotes the feelings of love, unity and brotherhood among the people. This festival also inspires us to strengthen our cultural heritage," the president said. "May this festival of colors bring happiness in everyone's life and motivates all of us to work towards nation-building with new zeal," she said. In the message, the president said, "On the auspicious occasion of Holi, I extend my greetings and best wishes to all Indians living in India and abroad.