News Analysis India

Tag: India News

  • Address by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind at the India-Greece business forum meeting

    1. I am happy to  address the India-Greece Business Forum.  First of all, I would like to thank Entreprise Greece for bringing us together this morning. I am  happy that  30 companies from India, led by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture and the Trade Promotion Council of India are participating in this business engagement.
    1. India and Greece are two ancient civilizations. Our economic, trade and cultural engagement go back over 2500 years. There was flourishing trade network between Greece and India as early as the 3rd century  BC.  With such rich history of engagement to inspire and build on, one cannot, perhaps, be more optimistic of the future of India-Greece trade and investment relations.
    1. Yesterday, I had meaningful discussions with President Pavlopoulus on the way forward for India-Greece relations.  Both of us were convinced that there is immense potential to take India-Greece economic ties to a higher level. Similar sentiments were echoed in my interaction with Prime Minister Tsipras There are ample opportunities for our businesses to grow in the areas of trade, technology and investment.
    1. Our bilateral trade at US Dollars 530 million is way below what had been achieved in the past, and what possibly could be a reasonable target for the future. As per market survey, with some efforts this can easily be made to cross US Dollars 1 billion in the next few years. My Government is keen to take lead in this effort. We have accepted the Greek Government’s invitation to be the “Honoured Country” at the ThessalonikiInternational Fair, Greece’s flagship business event, to be held in September 2019.  I hope this will   give a major boost to our bilateral trade. And while the two Governments are taking lead, we would expect Chambers of Commerce, Export Promotion Councils and Industry Groups to participate in the Thessaloniki fair in large numbers and make our partcipation a grand success.

     

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    1. There are clear complementarities  between the Indian and Greek economies. Both have their strong points. India happens to be the fastest growing major economy in the world with a growth rate of 7.7%.  We have undertaken  an ambitous plan to build next-generation infrastructure including 100 Smart Cities, airports, high-speed trains, highways and cyber connectivity. Last year, we built nearly 10,000 kilometers of national highways – that is 27 kilometers daily, almost double the speed few years  ago.  Our Sagarmala project proposes to develop a string of new ports including  5 major ports along our vast coastline. It has initiated a robust programme for portled industrialisation and connectivity. We have  also designated 111 rivers as National Waterways. In addition, we have opened coastal shipping  to international players. These measures will change the way we harness our maritime and inland river transport corridors in India.

     

    1. To boost our manufacturing sector and Make In India programme, we have undertaken pathbreaking reforms. The most transformative of them has been the introduction of Goods and Services Tax which makes India into a single unified tax market  for the first time in its modern history.  We have repealed over   1400   outdated laws. Both the Central and State Governments have undertaken over 10,000 measures to make it easier for business to establish and grow in India.  Due to these reforms, we have jumped 42 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index in the last four years. As a result, Foreign Direct Investment flows into India have risen from US dollars 36 billion in 2013-14 to US dollars 60 billion in 2016-17.  All in all, India is set to be a 5 trillion dollar  economy by 2025 with the 3rdlargest consumer market in the world. This sort of growth and demand opens up immense business  opportunities.

     

    1. The Greek economy has global reputation in several  fields including shipping, tourism and agriculture. I would encourage greek shipping, agriculture, food processing, tourism, infrastructure, technology, defence and Start-up companies to look at investment and technology tie-up openings in India. There are lucrative opportunities for the Greek Shipping Industry in the Indian growth story. Greece is also a frontrunner in agriculture and food processing sectors. We have a target to double farm incomes by 2022 in India.  This represents major prospects for Greek agro-based companies. There are opportunities for us to collaborate in defence manufacturing, pharma, tourism, real-estate, entertainment, infrastructure and technology sectors as well. Both our countries have a strong renewable energy programme, especially in the solar energy sector. India’s target is to produce 175 Gigawatt of renewable power by 2022.  We should explore how we can leverage each other’s strength in the field. On the Start-up side, India has the third largest network in the world. I undertand that Greece also has a niche start-up sector in place.  We should explore opportunities in this sector as well.

     

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    1. Indian companies have a  global standing in the fields of IT, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, automobiles, energy, technology,  entertainment and hospitality sectors. We have our business representatives from these sectors present here. There are still others here from agriculture, electronics, real-estate, footwear, mining and skill development  sectors.  I am hopeful they  would all  have an engaging day ahead with their greek counterparts. On skills side, I must highlight that we have an ambitious Skill India programme to train 150 million youth by 2022. Greece with its proven capacity in the tourism sector could be a potential partner for developing skills for the hospitality sector in India.

     

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    1. Opportunities before us are manifold. It is for us  to  see how we convert them into real business prospects. I wish the participants in this business engagement a fruitful day of deliberations and discussions.

  • PM to interact directly with farmers across the country tomorrow

    Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will interact directly with farmers across the country through video bridge at 9.30am tomorrow. The interaction will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the farmers. Initiatives related to doubling the farmer’s income will also be discussed. It will be broadcast directly by Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s, Common Service Centres (CSC), Doordarshan, DD Kissan and Aakashvaani from all over the country. About 2 lakh Common Service Centres and 600 Krishi Vigyan Kendras will be connected through the video bridge. People will also be able to interact with the Prime Minister through “Narendra Modi App”.

    *****

  • SAIL Steel for World’s Tallest Girder Rail Bridge

    Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has supplied around 60,000 tonnes of steel material for the 111-km-long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new broad gauge railway project in Manipur. SAIL has supplied TMT rebars and structural along with HR Plates and Sheets, Plate Mill Plates  for this project. SAIL has been supplying the materials  produced in its state-of-the-art new mills at Durgapur, IISCO, Rourkela and Bokaro  plants.

    The project was taken up in 2008 and was declared a National Project.

    It involves the construction of 111-km long broad gauge railway line which includes 9 stations at Dolakhal, Kaimai Road, Kambiron, Thingou, Khongsang, Noney Tupul, Haochang Road and Imphal, 148 bridges & 45 tunnels, of which tunnel No. 12 is 11.55-km long, making it India’s longest tunnel.

    The project is being developed in two sections. The first section involves the construction of 84 kms of railway line connecting Jiribam to Tupul which is on the verge of completion. The second section of 27 kms connecting Tupul to Imphal is expected to be completed by 2019. Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is undertaking the construction of the project.

    In addition to this, a bridge is being constructed near Noney which will become the tallest girder rail bridge in the world. At 141 metres, the bridge over river Iring  will be as high as two Qutub Minar’s stacked on top of each other.

  • Shri Prakash Javadekar urges District Education Officers of Aspirational Districts to play a key role in transforming them into developed districts

    Union Human Resource Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar has urged the  District Education Officers to play a key role in transforming Aspirational districts in to developed districts. He was addressing the workshop with District Education Officers, DIETs, SCERTs, State Nodal Officers and Central Ministries on Transformation of Aspirational districts in New Delhi today. He said that unless we develop education properly, districts will not develop. No nation will develop without education; similarly no district will develop without education, Shri Javadekar added. He said to District Education Officers that the real challenge is to make government schools better. He further said that under the Samagra Siksha funds will not be a problem for the development of education in the inspirational districts.

    HRD Minister said that Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has launched the “Transformation of Aspirational Districts- programme in January 2018 to transform over 100 districts in 28 States. These districts have been ranked on 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across five sectors by NEETI Aayog. Education is one of the sectors with 30% weight attached.

    Shri Javadekar said that key performance indicators in education sectors are transition from Primary to Upper Primary and Upper Primary to Secondary. This include Schools with Functional Girls’ Toilets, availability of Functional Drinking Water Facility in the schools, availability of Textbooks within 1 month of the Academic Session, availability of Functional Electricity Facility at Secondary School Level, Elementary Schools Complying with RTE specified Pupil Teacher Ratio, Learning Outcomes of Classes 3, 5 and 8 in Language, Mathematics and Female Literacy.

    He said that Gram Swaraj Abhiyan was initiated to attain saturation coverage of 7 flagship programmes. It is now extended to include all the five sectors under the Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme and coverage has also been extended to all the Aspirational Districts. District Education Officers need to upload data on all the Key performance Indicators at village level except the KPI on Transition which will be at district level in the portal being developed by the Ministry of Rural Development.

  • Vice President visits Shri Vajpayee at AIIMS

    The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, along with his family members, visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), here today, and enquired about the health condition of former Prime Minister, Shri A.B. Vajpayee, who is undergoing treatment there.

    The Vice President spoke to the family members of Shri Vajpayee at the hospital. He was also briefed by the doctors on the condition of the former Prime Minister.

    The doctors informed the Vice President that Shri Vajpayee’s condition was stable and that he was improving. He was admitted to AIIMS on June 11 with urinary tract infection.

  • Sports Minister sanctions a special financial assistance of Rs.5 lakhs for former International Archer Limba Ram.

    Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore has sanctioned a special financial assistance of Rs.5 lakhs to former International Archer & Arjun Awardee Shri Limba Ram.  Shri Limba Ram, who is suffering from neuro generative disease or neurological illness is undergoing treatment at Jaipur. He is working for the State Government of Rajasthan and is in receipt of salary beyond the ceiling of Rs.4 lakhs fixed under the scheme of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons. The Minister in his capacity as Chairperson of the Fund, has relaxed the condition and by invoking the discretionary clause sanctioned Rs.5 Lakhs considering that his widowed mother, widowed sister and her children, widowed mother-in-law and unemployed brother are dependent on him.

    Earlier, on getting the news of Shri Limba Ram’s admission in a hospital, the Minister had deputed a team of officers to visit and enquire if any assistance is required.  The sanctioned amount is based on the report of this Committee.  The Minister has also asked his officers to regularly visit him and update on his health

  • Year of Disabled Soldiers In Line of Duty

    To honour soldiers who have been disabled in line of duty, while serving the Nation and to celebrate the undying spirit of ‘Soldiering’, Indian Army is observing the year 2018 as the ‘Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty’. The primary focus is towards alleviating the sufferings of these soldiers, who have done their duty with utmost dedication to the Nation and have been disabled for the life.

    The endeavour this year is to provide a onetime financial assistance to disabled soldiers who have been boarded out from service on medical grounds and are rendered non-employable due to their medical or physical conditions.

    Indian Army recognizes the inherent stress and strain on such soldiers & their dependents and has well established rehabilitation programmes and beneficiary schemes but these require to be reinforced. The Government is considering proposal of major grant to establish a separate fund which can be further enhanced by contributions from individuals, establishments and corporate sector thus facilitating meaningful initiatives for disabled soldiers.

    Indian Army plans to create awareness on organizational support available to soldiers and their dependents with respect to medical, rehabilitation, various beneficiary schemes of Central and State Governments, vocational opportunities and assistance for their placement. Indian Army also plans to showcase talent of disabled soldiers by organizing sports and physical activities, cultural events and their art exhibitions. These disabled soldiers have inspiring deeds behind them, hence, it is planned to felicitate them along with selected organizations which dedicate in their rehabilitation.

    Management of disabled soldiers is an onerous responsibility. Indian Army plans to galvanise due support for the unemployable disabled soldier, his wife and his family with initial financial support to ensure a life of dignity through partially-funded entrepreneurship venture.

  • The 3-day NATIONAL YOGA OLYMPIAD-2018 organized by NCERT begins in New Delhi today

    A 3-day National Yoga Olympiad was inaugurated at the National Council of Educational Research and Training in CIET in New Delhi today by Mr. Eric Falt, Director and UNESCO Representative of the New Delhi Cluster Office for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

    This is the third consecutive year of National Yoga Olympiad of NCERT and this year about 500 students from 26 States and 4 RIEs are participating in the Olympiad as compared to the participation of students from 25 States/UTs last year.

    In his welcome address, Professor Hrushikesh Senapaty, Director, NCERT brought to the attention that the Olympiad creates awareness about a scientific and holistic way of living and the purpose is to create positive attitude among all human beings and promote peaceful living in the society. He quoted the Prime Minister, Shri Narender Modi, “It is our responsibility to ensure that right spirit of yoga is conveyed to everyone”. It is in this backdrop that the Olympiad is organized to create a sense of unity and understanding among children, who have travelled from different parts of the country – both from rural and urban areas.

    Professor Saroj Yadav Dean, NCERT narrating the journey of Yoga Olympiad highlighted the importance of yoga in the development of physical, mental and spiritual health. She elaborated about the objectives, target group, yogic practices included and the criteria for judging. She stressed that Yoga Olympiad is an instrument to generate awareness about yoga among children and building team spirit and confidence.

    After witnessing a mesmerizing yoga performance by young students from Government Girls school from Rewari, Haryana and Students from Girls School of Kerala, the Chief Guest, Mr. Eric Falt, thanked the NCERT for the opportunity to see such a performance.

    Two books – Joy of Theatre and Sangeet— training packages were released on the occasion.

  • Regional Conference of Western States on Water Resources at Mumbai on 18-06-2018

    A Regional Conference of Western States on Water Resources, an initiative by Govt. of India to discuss the contentious issues among the five western states viz. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa was held in Mumbai today.

    On this occasion, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal said, pending inter-states water issues need to be solved on priority; therefore; it is decided to organise such conferences at state level. He reiterated that, water management is the top priority at Union Government as well as state governments. He also added that the river basins of different states need to be connected, so basin specific states meet will also be held. Water management, irrigation, flood management etc. were other topics which were discussed at the conference.

     

    Shri Meghwal further stated that, such conferences give an opportunity for studying details of many pending issues related to main issue and such issues can be resolved with participation of concerned authorities. Such conference can induce improved habits, new thoughts, and help in appreciating field reality. All these factors will be put forth to NITI Ayog as well, so that they can come up with new schemes.

     

    This is third in the series of such initiative by the Union Government following similar Conferences for southern states (at Hyderabad on 20.02.2018) & Eastern states (at Kolkata on 16.04.18). Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation chaired the Conference.

    In the Conference, various issues pertaining to inter-state and intra-state river linking proposals under Peninsular Rivers Development Component and regarding projects/schemes undertaken by the states were discussed.

    • Karnataka has raised certain issues regarding intra-state link proposals of Maharashtra concerning them, Godavari (Akinepalli)-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link project, Kalasa-Bandura Nala diversion project and Dudhganga project.

     

    • Madhya Pradesh requested for inclusion of their approved projects under Pradhaan Manthri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) and sought central assistance for their on-going pressurised micro-irrigation projects.

     

    • Maharashtra raised the issues of finalisation of MoU to be signed among the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Government regarding Par-Tapi-Narmada and Damanganga-Pinjal link projects, use of Tapi regeneration flow, proposal for mega recharge of ground water in Tapi basin, alternative proposal to Kanhan Hydro-electric project, review of water allocation in Pench valley and reimbursement of expenditure incurred in respect of Tilari Inter-state project from Goa.

     

    • Gujarat requested for approval of their proposal for RRR of water bodies in Saurashtra region under PMKSY and for taking up of DPR of Damanganga – Sabarmati – Chorwad intra-state link project by NWDA.

     

    • Goa requested for central assistance for restoring of Khazan land bunds, aquifer mapping and methodologies for regulation of groundwater, RRR of ponds/lakes, evaluation of environmental flows for the rivers and implementation of post monsoon harvesting structures in the state. The state also sought its inclusion in DRIP and other flagship programmes of MOWR, RD &GR.

    All the issues were duly deliberated and it was broadly decided –

    1. to further this initiative by conducting follow up meetings at appropriate level on specific issues by the concerned states for speedy resolution and  if need be under the aegis of Central Govt.
    2. to extend budgetary support by the Centre to the various schemes of the states under PMKSY, CADWM etc. and through external funding from NABARD or World bank
    3. to abide by the awards of the Tribunals and to take up any proposals by the States in accordance with them
    4. to await the Award of the Tribunal regarding the issues raised by the States concerning  Mahadayi basin  and
    5. to work in collaboration by the Centre and the States for the development and management of water resources in the country in national interest

     

    Ministers of Water Resources from States of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, have participated in the Conference. Principal Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra, Secretaries of Governments of Karnataka and Gujarat and other senior officials from the participating states, Member (D&R), Central Water Commission, Chairman, Central Ground Water Board, Joint Secretary (RD&PP), MoWR,RD&GR, Director General, National Water Development Agency, Chief Engineers from CWC & NWDA and other senior officers of Govt. of India attended the Conference.

  • Chairman, Railway Board conducts review meeting with Central Railway and Western Railway

    Chairman Railway Board, Shri Ashwani Lohani held a review meeting regarding all the ongoing and future projects with General Manager, Central Railway, Shri D.K. Sharma and General Manager, Western Railway, Shri A.K. Gupta, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai today.  Shri Ashwani Lohani also held discussions with Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MRVC) regarding capacity enhancement works under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), particularly Diva-Thane and Kurla-Parel 5th and 6th lines.  On this occasion, Principal Heads of Departments of Central, Western Railways and MRVC were present. Presentation was given on various developmental works by Divisional Railway Managers Mumbai, Mumbai Central and also Director MRVC. Shri Ashwani Lohani also addressed Press and Media at the Heritage Hall before inspecting the station.

    Shri Ashwani Lohani first inaugurated the Self Ticketing Zone at the Suburban booking concourse (Star Chamber) where one can buy tickets through CoTVM, ATVM and QR code. Besides, Shri Lohani interacted with the UTS App booth staff popularising the app amongst the commuters. Mobile charging station was also inaugurated at CSMT main line concourse.  The mobile charging station supports 12 direct charging and 8 USB charging points. Such stations will be provided at CSMT (total 7 stations), Dadar -4 and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus -5 soon.

    Shri Ashwani Lohani also inaugurated the child helpline 1098 day and night helpdesk at CSMT where destitute and run away kids are after identification sent to their homes back or to the shelter homes as the case may be.  Such helpdesks are available at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kalyan. Shri Lohani also met Ms. Rekha Mishra, who has rescued and united hundreds of destitute and runaway kids.  Shri Lohani also met outstanding sports persons of Central Railway and appreciated their contribution to the Nation.

    General Manager, Central Railway, Shri D.K. Sharma then gave a presentation on the Self Propelled Inspection Car (SPIC) which has been converted from Diesel Power Car. Shri Lohani also inspected the 250th periodical overhauled (POH) Siemens EMU train.  This POH is done by Matunga Workshop by replacing all conventional lights with LED, Screen Printing of instructions, Aluminium chequered plate on doorways, Polyurethane (PU) painting and intensive cleaning of the rake.  Shri Lohani also inspected the passenger facilitation centre, signage board (you are here map) at CSMT.  The facilitation centre is equipped with all basic amenities such as wheel chair, stretcher, battery operated cars, etc.

    During the meeting with branch managers of Mumbai Division, Chairman enquired from officers whether they regularly meet their staff or not.  Shri Lohani reiterated the need to look after the well-being and welfare of the staff.  Shri Lohani also enquired about the result of decentralisation of many powers.  The feedback of staff was very encouraging.  There has been remarkable momentum in execution of works due to decentralisation of powers.  Shri Lohani also encouraged officers to come up with innovative ideas without any hesitation and fear for the betterment of the organisation.