News Analysis India

Tag: Development

  • Last 10 years a ‘Golden Era’ for Northeast: Amit Shah

    Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said that if the last 10 years in northeast are compared with 75 years after the country’s independence, then this decade will definitely be considered as the golden period of the Northeast.

    He was addressing the 71st plenary session of the North Eastern Council in Shillong. While all the chief ministers and governors of eight northeastern states attended the meeting, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh skipped it owing to law and situation in his state.

    Shah said that the last 10 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been the most significant for the development of the northeast in 75 years since independence. Shah said that the northeast, which was struggling with various ethnic, linguistic, border and extremist group-related problems, has also had the beginning of a fresh and durable era of peace in these 10 years.Shah urged all the states to control the Gross Fiscal Deficit and said that Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Tripura have made commendable efforts in this direction. The Union home minister said that from 2004 to 2014, a total of 11,121 violent incidents took place in the northeast. It declined by 73% to 3,114 from 2014 to 2023. Deaths among security forces dropped by 71% from 458 to 132, while civilian deaths declined by 86%.

  • Development works will be carried out without bringing in politics: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

    By PTI

    PUNE: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that development works, be it in Maharashtra or India, will be carried out without bringing in any kind of politics.

    Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of two National Highway projects in Sangli, the Union transport minister said he considers himself an “ambassador of Maharashtra” and feels that the state should emerge on top in the country.

    “In the last seven years of my tenure, I got an opportunity to execute development works worth Rs 5 lakh crore in Maharashtra. I was in port, shipping, water resources, MSME and road transport (as a minister), but I always considered myself an ambassador of Maharashtra and feel that the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should prosper and flourish,” Gadkari said.

    If any state should emerge as number one, it should be Maharashtra, he said. The minister further said that development works will be carried out without bringing in any politics and assured that the demands put forth before him will be fulfilled.

    “We are going ahead with an attitude that as far as development works are concerned, be it of anybody, if it is related to the development of Maharashtra or country, it will be carried out without bringing in any politics,” Gadkari said.

    As a minister for ropeways and cable cars, he appealed that proposals be sent for alternate modes of transport, especially for tourism purposes. State Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, BJP MP from Sangli Sanjay Patil and others were also present at the inauguration of Rs 2,344 crore highway projects.

  • Ram Mandir only ‘one of the poll issues’ as UP voters seek development 

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The construction of Ram temple seems to have been relegated to “one of the poll issues” in Ayodhya this time as competing parties are raking up development topics and also relying on caste arithmetic for victory.

    The BJP, for whom the temple town sharpened its Hindutva plank, is facing a challenge particularly from the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the ongoing state polls. With 10 candidates in fray, the Ayodhya Assembly segment will go to vote in the fifth phase on February 27.

    After it became clear that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would not contest from Ayodhya, the party reposed faith in sitting MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, while the SP has fielded former minister Tej Narayan alias Pawan Pandey. The BSP, Congress and AAP, too, have fielded their candidates in Ayodhya, thereby making it a multi-cornered contest.

    “It is going to be a close contest in the Ayodhya Assembly constituency. As far as the issue of Ram temple is concerned, the BJP was not able to derive optimum mileage during this election initially. The issue started cropping up only after the third phase of the polls,” Mahant Raju Das of Hanumangarhi temple told PTI.

    He said while the distribution of ration to the poor has benefitted people in rural areas, a number of party leaders, on the other hand, were of the view that they will be able to garner enough votes only with Modi and Adityanath’s credentials. They did not want to mingle with the people and connect with them, he said.

    ALSO READ | Voters have blessed BJP in first four phases of UP polls, says PM Modi 

    On whether the scene would have been different if Adityanath were to contest from Ayodhya, the mahant said, “There is no opposition to the BJP, there was an opposition only towards the candidate.

    ” SP candidate Pawan Pandey told PTI, “Lord Ram and the Ram temple are not the fiefdom of the BJP. Prabhu Shri Ram belongs to all of us. Even when the BJP did not exist, Lord Ram did.”

    When asked whether he had heaved a sigh of relief after Adityanath decided not to contest from the Ayodhya seat, Pandey said it would have made no difference “even if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was named the candidate” (from Ayodhya).

    A firebrand student leader from Lucknow University, Pandey had trounced the saffron party’s local giant and incumbent MP from Ayodhya Lallu Singh in the 2012 Assembly elections. He had,however, lost to Gupta in 2017.

    Pandey also alleged that the BJP has indulged in exploiting farmers, harassing traders and the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation has also significantly increased the tax.

    “We will roll it back,” he said. He said cows in cow shelters had allegedly died due to shortage of fodder and water. “They (BJP) claim to be ‘Ram bhakts’ (devotees of Lord Ram), but Adityanath and his government are killers of the cows,” he said.

    ALSO READ | VHP workers fan out across constituencies to distribute prasad, temple soil 

    BJP nominee Gupta, when asked about a section of the people being miffed at his candidature, said, “You cannot satisfy each and every person in politics. I have not been able to please my family. However, I can say that work for the people has been done and development has taken place. Yogi has done a lot of development in Ayodhya.”

    By fielding a Brahmin, the SP is trying to exploit the upper caste displeasure with the BJP government. Out of about 3.81 lakh electors in Ayodhya seat, Brahmins account for over 62,000 while Vaishya voters number 51,000, Muslims 55,000 and Yadavs 37,000.

    Iqbal Ansari, who was an independent litigant and son of one of the oldest litigants in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri mosque dispute case, Mohammad Hashim Ansari, said, “People now want development and jobs.”

    “People of Ayodhya are now drifting away from the ‘mandir-masjid issue’, and talking about development and only development. It has already been two years since the Supreme Court gave its judgement. However, some people try to make the temple-mosque an election issue. The temple-mosque may remain one of the issues in this election, but not the biggest among the poll issues.”

    “Earlier, the Hindus and Muslims used to fight over it, but now there is nothing as such. The main issues in this election is price rise, which has affected almost each and every household,” he said.

    BSP candidate Ravi Prakash said the main issues are jobs and development. Shubham Srivastava of the Aam Aadmi Party echoed similar views.

    Ayodhya mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay said, “Ram temple was never an election issue (for us). It was a matter of faith. It was an issue mentioned in the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra (election manifesto), and we have fulfilled the promise, which we had made to the people.

    “A local homoeopathy doctor Prajwal Singh said, “The electoral prospects of the BJP were not very good until a few days ago in the district. However, Thursday’s roadshow by Adityanath has done a lot to contain the damage. The party’s condition was not looking good in Ayodhya, Gosainganj and Milkipur Assembly seats. The success of the roadshow is likely to help the saffron party.”

  • There is only one mantra for peace – development, trust and security: Shri Bhupesh Baghel

    Bhupesh Baghel has said that there is only one mantra for peace – development, trust and security. He said that the State Government was making every effort to bring the people of Bastar region forward in the mainstream of development. In order to give the rights of water, forest and land to the forest dwellers, along with individual and community forest rights, rights to forest resources are also being given. Apart from getting the right price for minor forest produce including tendu leaves, forest dwellers are also being linked with employment. Health facilities have been strengthened in Bastar zone. The benefits of state government schemes are being extended to forest dwellers, farmers, women and villagers. Due to which a big change is coming in their life.
    Chief Minister Mr. Baghel today presented 275 development works worth Rs. 222 crore to Kanker and Narayanpur districts in a virtual program organized at his residence office. He inaugurated 145 works costing Rs.152 crore 59 lakh in Kanker district and 130 construction works costing Rs.69 crore 75 lakh in Narayanpur district and performed Bhoomi Pujan. On this occasion, Chief Minister Shri Baghel announced a power sub-station at Kodekurse in Kanker district on the request of Deputy Speaker Shri Manoj Mandavi. On the request of Shri Shishupal Singh Sori, Parliamentary Secretary and Shri Rajesh Tiwari, on the advice of the Chief Minister, an announcement of sanction of Rs. 2 lakh for the establishment of the statue of Martyr Shri Ganesh Kunjam in Galwan Valley in B.Ed. . The Chief Minister, on the request of the Chairman of Chhattisgarh Handicrafts Development Board, Shri Chandan Kashyap, directed the Collector to give approval to get necessary work done under DMF and CSR heads for bee keeping in Narayanpur district.
    The Chief Minister said that the Chhattisgarh government has started new schemes to change the lives of forest dwellers, farmers, women and villagers. Many farmer-friendly decisions have also been taken. The rate of collection of tendu leaves has been increased from Rs. 2.5 thousand to Rs. 4000. Similarly, due to the arrangement of buying 52 types of minor forest produce in support price, forest dwellers are getting more price than before. Now all the work of collecting, selling, buying and processing forest produce is being done by the people of the village, due to which the people of the villages are getting employment and abundant income.
    Mr. Baghel said that the state government has fixed the support price of Kodo-Kutki at Rs.3,000 per quintal. Along with the processing of forest produce, the processing of Kodo-Kutki is also being done. Its processing unit has been set up at Krishi Vikas Kendra in Kanker and Gotulmunda village of Durgukondal block. Harra-Behera processing unit is running in Ichhapur of Kanker itself. Flowers and brooms of Narayanpur are also being sold in Delhi. The forest produce which was once a means of exploitation, has become a great force of the forest dwellers today.
    The Chief Minister said that due to the Narva-Garwa-Ghurva-Bari scheme, the land is now becoming fertile and irrigation is also being arranged. The economy of the village is getting stronger. Thousands of our sisters are getting employment by buying cow dung and making vermi compost in Gauthan. He said that Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana has made a big revolution in agriculture. Since the start of the scheme, the area under cultivation has been increasing continuously. The number of farmers is also increasing. Now the scope of this scheme has been expanded.

  • ‘Performer’ status to Chhattisgarh, better achievements in many areas of development

    Composite SDGs by NITI Aayog, Government of India on 3rd June, 2021. India Index (3.0), 2020-21 released. In this report, a composite score between 0-100 was assessed by all the states and union territories on the results of the work done by them towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
    In the ranking of states, where Chhattisgarh was ranked 21st in the year 2019-20, it has now improved to 19th position. Similarly, where the score of the state was 56 earlier, it has now come down to 61 with an improvement of 5 points. According to the classification of NITI Aayog, the state of Chhattisgarh has been classified as a ‘Performer’ state.
    Ajay Singh, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Commission informed that due to the many development oriented activities initiated by the State, significant improvement has been seen in many goals. Chhattisgarh state was placed in the category of top states due to achieving a score of 64 in goal number 5 gender equality of the Sustainable Development Goal. The state’s score has increased from 49 to 78 in target number 11 sustainable safe city, similarly target number 7 in affordable modern energy, target number 5 gender equality, target number 10 reduction in inequality, target number 2 to end hunger etc. 22 respectively. Point, 21 point, 12 point and 10 point improvement was observed.
    Target number 5 in the state, efforts made to improve gender equality are showing good results, which include improvement in sex ratio, reduction in cases of violence against women, increase in women’s participation in democratic institutions, adequate women in jobs. Opportunities etc. are the reasons which have reflected the better improvement in this target. Apart from this, the benefits of many new schemes of the state government like Godhan Nyay Yojana, Narva, Garuva, Ghurva and Bari, Sakhi One Stop Center, Noni Suraksha Yojana, Nava Bihan Yojana, Saksham Yojana etc. have also proved useful in bringing women empowerment and gender equality. happened.
    Each new edition of the SDG India Index is more refined than the old one. Where in the year 2018-19, 13 goals, 39 targets and 62 indicators were included in it. In the year 2019-20, there were 16 goals, 54 targets and 100 indicators. In this edition 3, the states were assessed covering a total of 17 goals, 70 targets and 115 indicators.

  • Dr. Charandas Mahant gave the gift of development works in Korea, inaugurated the construction works

    Charandas Mahant has reached Korea district. He inaugurated and performed Bhoomi Pujan for construction works worth more than 1 crore. In this, under Municipal Panchayat area Jhagrakhand. Construction of Pauni Pasari, including the inauguration of Bisahu Das Smriti Yatri waiting room and Bhoomi Pujan of road and drain construction works in various wards. During this period, Manendragarh MLA Dr. Vinay Jaiswal, Municipal Corporation Chirmiri Mayor Kanchan Jaiswal, Collector SN Rathore and other public representatives, citizens and a large number of common people were present.

  • Development of urban areas accelerated in two years: Minister Dr. Dahria

    Urban Administration, Development and Labor Minister Dr. Shiv Kumar Dahria handed over development works worth crores of rupees to Dongargaon in Rajnandgaon district. During this, while addressing the program, he said that the development work of the state has increased in the last two years. The state has been at the forefront of the development of the urban body sector. He said that under the leadership of the Chief Minister, loan waiver of farmers, power bill half and paddy are being purchased. Work is being done to make the farmers prosperous in the state. Irrigation tax is also waived. Most of the promises have been fulfilled. He said that the fund of aldermen and councilors has been released by the urban administration even during the Corona period, so that there is no hindrance in the development work. He said that many schemes have been implemented in urban body areas also, through which all basic facilities are being provided.
    Minister Dr. Dahria inaugurated and performed Bhoomi Pujan of various development works worth Rs 8 crore 71 lakh 50 thousand in Dongargaon. On this occasion, he inaugurated Rs 3 crore 34 lakh 50 thousand and performed bhumi pujan for development works worth Rs 5 crore 37 lakh. He provided a check of Rs 40 lakh 90 thousand to the beneficiaries under various schemes of the Labor Department. Minister Dr. Dahria announced development work of Rs. 1 crore 37 lakh, construction and renovation of various societies. Under the Chief Minister Swavalamban Yojana announced to build 100 city shops in the commercial complex and the Chief Minister’s Palika Bazar in Dongargaon. Under the Rajiv Gandhi Asylum Scheme, lease was distributed to 192 beneficiaries.
    In the program, Minister Dr. Dahria announced to build 100 nos. Shops in the business premises and Chief Minister’s Palika Bazar in Dongargaon under Mukhyamantri Swavalamban Yojana. He gave Rs 1 crore for various development works, Rs 10 lakh for construction of Mukhiar Samaj Bhavan, Rs 10 lakh for construction of Sant Ravidas Bhawan, Rs 7 lakh for construction of Patel Samaj Bhavan and Rs 10 lakh for renovation of Satnami Samaj Bhavan. Announced. He did an old age home in Dongargaon at a cost of Rs 1 crore 25 lakh, Children Park in ward number 2 at a cost of Rs 11 lakh, Nishad Samaj Bhawan at a cost of Rs 13 lakh, Vaishnav Samaj Bhavan at a cost of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 4 lakh. Women Brahmin Samaj Bhawan at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs, Rajput Samaj Bhawan at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs, Community Building at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs, Sen Samaj Bhawan at a cost of Rs. 6 lakhs 50 thousand, Extra Room Satnam Samaj and Community at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs. Inaugurated building building and ITI building at village Konari at a cost of Rs. 1 crore 50 lakh. On this occasion, he made a flower garden of ward number 2 at a cost of Rs 2 crore, sports ground (stadium) at a cost of Rs 1 crore 50 lakh, haat bazaar costing Rs 40 lakh, guthan construction costing Rs 20 lakh, 67 Drainage system costing Rs. Lakhs, Pauni Pasari for Rs. 30 lakhs, Open theater costing Rs. 25 lakhs, performed Bhoomiujan for garden construction in Ward No. 11 at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs.

  • EC trends for 200 of 243 seats- NDA leading on 102 seats – BJP 54, JDU-42, Vikassheel Insaan Party-5, HAM-1

     Counting of votes polled in Bihar Assembly elections began at 8 am on Tuesday at 55 counting centres across 38 districts of the state.

    The voting across 243-assembly constituencies in Bihar was held in three phases on October 28, November 3, and November 7 to decide the fate of 3,755 candidates. Over 7,29,27,396 electors were eligible to vote in Bihar polls and the voter turnout was at 57.05 per cent, which was 0.39 per cent higher compared to 56.66 per cent in 2015 elections.

    The poll body also increased the number of counting centres to 55 in 38 districts across Bihar, in order to comply with social distancing guidelines. The number of counting centres in the state was 38 during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    EC trends for 200 of 243 seats: NDA leading on 102 seats – BJP 54, JDU-42, Vikassheel Insaan Party-5, HAM-1

    Mahagathbandhan ahead on 88 seats – RJD 57, Congress 17, Left 14

    BSP leading on one seat, LJP on 4, while AIMIM is ahead on 2 & independents on 3

    EC trends for 189 of 243 seats: NDA leading on 97 seats – BJP 53, JDU 39, Vikassheel Insaan Party 5

    Mahagathbandhan ahead on 82 seats – RJD 54, Congress 14, Left 14

    BSP has a lead on one seat, LJP on four, while AIMIM is ahead on 2 & independents on three

    Janata Dal (United) leading in Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat in Bihar which went to by-poll, as per Election Commission

    EC trends for 161 of 243 seats: NDA leading on 81 seats – BJP 42, JDU 34, Vikassheel Insaan Party 5 Mahagathbandhan ahead on 75 seats – RJD 51, Congress 13, Left 11 BSP has a lead on one seat, LJP on two, while AIMIM and an independent ahead on one each

    A year ago, RJD couldn’t win a single seat in Lok Sabha polls. As per Lok Sabha results, JDU & allies were to win over 200 seats. In last one year, nothing has harmed brand Nitish or added to brand RJD, we’re losing only due to COVID19 impact: Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi

    RJD’s Tej Pratap Yadav trailing behind JDU’s Raj Kumar Ray from Hasanpur seat

    BJP’s Jamui candidate Shreyasi Singh leads over RJD’s Vijay Prakash by 1,323 votes.

    Early trends of counting in Bihar assembly polls: the NDA is leading in 15 seats, while the Grand Alliance is ahead in nine constituencies.

    As per the Election Commission of India’s trends at around 9:40 am on Tuesday NDA is leading on 32 seats – BJP 20, JDU 9 and Vikassheel Insaan Party on 3 seats.

    BJP ahead on 9, JDU and RJD leading on 5 seats each, Congress has a lead on 3, Vikassheel Insaan Party ahead on 1 seat, according to official Election Commission trends

    BJP leading on 8 seats, JDU and RJD ahead on 3 seats each, Congress on 1, Vikassheel Insaan Party also ahead on one seat.
    According to official Election Commission trends, Bharatiya Janata Party leads on 5 seats, JD(U)-2 seats, RJD-1 seat, Congress-1 seat, Vikassheel Insaan Party-1 seat, and Bahujan Samaj Party-1 seat

    According to official Election Commission trends, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads on Darbhanga assembly seat

    Early trends in, Tejashwi’s grand alliance takes early lead over Nitish’s NDA

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) have been imposed in and around the counting centres to prevent the gathering of people.

    This time Bihar witnessed a triangular contest with the ruling JDU-BJP alliance and grand alliance (RJD, Congress and others) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is eying the role of a kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.

    On one side is the NDA which includes JD-U (115 seats), BJP (110 seats), Vikassheel Insaan Party (11 seats) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (7 seats).

    Mahagathbandhan constitutes RJD (144 seats) and the Congress with 70 seats. Other alliance partners include the CPI-ML (19 seats), CPI (6 seats), and the CPIM (4 seats).

    Incumbent chief minister Nitish Kumar was the face of the NDA while Mahagathbandhan declared Tejashwi Yadav as its chief minister candidate.

    LJP contested over 130 seats on its own and fielded candidates against all JD-U nominees and only a few against BJP.

    Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is eyeing his fourth term with ally BJP by his side. In 2015, however, Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) fought polls with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress under the Mahagathbandhan banner. The BJP-led NDA had fought the elections with LJP and other allies.

    RJD with 80 seats had emerged as the single largest party in the elections, followed by JD-U (71) paving way for Nitish Kumar to take oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the third term. BJP was reduced to 53 seats and got the largest vote share (24.42 per cent).

    However, in 2017, differences emerged between the RJD and JD-U, resulting in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar returning to the NDA.

    The exit polls differed in their prediction of tallies of major players in Bihar assembly polls with most predicting an edge for Mahagathbandhan or its victory.

  • India inks pact with Iran to pay crude bill in rupee

    India has signed an agreement with Iran to pay for crude oil it imports from the Persian Gulf nation in rupees, sources in know of the development said.

    The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed following the US letting India and seven other nations to keep buying Iranian oil despite sanctions were reimposed on the Islamic state on November 5.

    Sources said Indian refiners will make rupee payments in a UCO Bank account of the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC).

    Half of these funds would be earmarked for settling payments for exports of Indian goods to Iran, they said.

    Under US sanctions, India can export foodgrains, medicines and medical devices to Iran.

    India had won the exemption after it agreed to cut imports and escrow payments.

    Under the 180-day exemption, India is allowed to import a maximum of 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil. This compares to an average daily import of about 560,000 barrels this year.

    India, which is the second biggest purchaser of Iranian oil after China, has since then restricted its monthly purchase to 1.25 million tonne or 15 million tonne in a year (300,000 barrels per day), down from 22.6 million tonne (452,000 barrels per day) bought in 2017-18 financial year, sources said.

    Two of its refiners — Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) — bought 1.25 million tonne of oil from Iran in November and December.

    India, the world’s third biggest oil consumer, meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports. Iran is its third largest supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia and meets about 10 per cent of total needs.

    US President Donald Trump in May withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, re-imposing economic sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation. Some sanctions took effect from August 6, while those affecting the oil and banking sectors will start from November 5.

    Prior to this, India paid its third largest oil supplier in euros using European banking channels. These channels got blocked from November.

    During the first round of sanctions when EU joined the US in imposing financial restrictions, India initially used a Turkish bank to pay Iran for the oil it bought. Beginning February 2013, India paid 45 per cent of the oil import bill in rupees while keeping the remainder pending till the opening of payment routes. It began clearing the dues in 2015 when the restrictions were eased.

    Sources said New Delhi may export goods, including wheat, soybean meal and consumer products, to Iran during the exemption period.

    Iran was the India’s second biggest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia till 2010-11 but Western sanctions over the Persian Gulf nation’s suspected nuclear programme relegated it to the seventh spot in the subsequent years. In 2013-14 and 2014-15, India bought 11 million tonne and 10.95 million tonne crude, respectively from Iran.

    Sourcing from Iran increased to 12.7 million tonne in 2015-16, giving it the sixth spot. In the following year, the Iranian supplies jumped to 27.2 million tonne to catapult it to the third spot.

    Iranian oil is a lucrative buy for refiners as the Persian Gulf nation provides 60 days of credit for purchases, terms not available from suppliers of substitute crudes — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria and the US.

    Besides blocking of banking channels from November, shipping firms are unwilling to transport Iranian oil. To get around this, Iran is using its own ships to transport crude to India. Its insurance companies are also providing insurance cover for such shipments, sources added.