News Analysis India

Tag: Prime Minister

  • In strength of panchayats lies prosperity of new India: PM Modi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: On National Panchayati Raj Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said panchayats are the basic pillar of Indian democracy, in whose strength lies the prosperity of the new India.

    April 24 is observed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as the National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) every year to celebrate the constitutional status accorded to the Panchayati Raj system in the country.

    “Best wishes to you all on National Panchayati Raj Day. Panchayats are the basic pillar of Indian democracy, in whose strength lies the prosperity of the new India,” Modi said in a tweet in Hindi.

    “Let us take a pledge to further empower our panchayats to build a self-reliant India,” he said.

    Modi is travelling to Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday to participate in the celebration for the National Panchayati Raj Day and address ‘Gram Sabhas’ across the country.

  • PM Modi arrives on 3-day visit to Gujarat to lay foundation of WHO centre

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived on a three-day visit to Gujarat. The PM was received at Ahmedabad airport by Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. From the  airport the PM directly went to the command and control centre of the education department in Gandhinagar.

    The facility collects over 500 crore data sets annually and analyse them using big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance the learning outcome. The command centre will also track daily attendance of teachers and students. The command centre has been deemed a global best practice by the World Bank, which has invited other countries to learn from it.

    Upon his visit, the PM renamed the centre in Gujarati as ‘Vidya Samiksha Kendra’.Modi interacted with students and teachers from Banaskantha, Kutch and Tapi. Expressing concern over schools giving less importance to physical activities, Modi said sports is no longer an extra-curricular activity but part of the curriculum. WHO chief Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus will join the PM on Tuesday for laying the foundation stone of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.

  • On BJP foundation day, Modi says it stands for ‘rashtravad’, rivals for ‘parivarvad’

    By PTI

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that the BJP is dedicated to “rashtra bhakti” while its rivals stand for “parivar bhakti”, and said every BJP member should be proud that the party made it an electoral issue and succeeded in convincing people of the dangers of dynastic politics.

    Addressing BJP workers on the party’s 42nd foundation day, he said the parties dedicated to further family rule have little regard for constitutional norms and cover up corruption and misdeeds of each other even though they may be active in different states.

    They did not allow the country’s young talent to come up and betrayed them, he said, without naming any party.

    Modi also asserted that the BJP governments at the Centre and states have worked to take welfare schemes to every beneficiary without any discrimination and biases, reflecting the motto of “sabka saath, sabka vikas.”

    The parties in power earlier practised vote bank politics in which promises were made to some sections of society while others were ignored, he said, adding that discrimination and corruption were “side effects of this politics.”

  • If society slips in recognising abilities of girls, it can never progress: PM Modi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged society to treat sons and daughters without any differentiation and give them an equal opportunity, asserting that if a society slips in recognising girls’ abilities then it can never progress.

    Modi made these remarks while answering a question in an interaction with students during “Pariksha Pe Charcha”, and noted that things have now changed from a time when discrimination between boys and girls was perceptible.

    Girls are estimated to outnumber boys among new students, he said, adding that every Indian can now be proud of the spirit and aspirations of girls.

    “Now, girls have become a big asset and strength for every family. The more this change occurs, the better it is,” he said.

    Noting that there used to be a time when many parents believed that their limited resources were better spent on sons so that they can take care of them later as they expected daughter to not work and instead settle down in their in-laws’ house, he said such a mindset may still exist in some places but things have by and large changed.

    Sons and daughters should have equal status in society. “It is the requirement of this era. It is the requirement of every era,” the prime minister said and cited noted women personalities like Ahilya Bai and Lakshmi Bai to note the impact they made in their fields.

    Equal opportunities for girls should be institutionalised, he said, adding that they are excelling in various fields ranging from sports to science.

    There are more women parliamentarians now than ever, and their numbers are rising in police and security forces, he said. Girls also repeatedly outshine boys in board exams, he said.

    While half of the elected panchayat posts in Gujarat are reserved for women, they have also been winning in general seats, highlighting the society’s confidence in their abilities, he noted.

    Modi also made a reference to women’s presence in large numbers in nursing and teaching fields, and said in a lighter vein that men may take out a rally demanding that their quotas be fixed.

    “If boys and girls are given an equal opportunity, then the latter may do better,” he said. The prime minister said he had seen daughters who did not marry so that they could take care of their parents, and had also seen parents living in old age homes even though their sons lived a happy life away from them.

  • Birbhum killings heinous, culprits should not be forgiven: PM Modi

    Investigations by the special investigation team set up by the state government are on and some 20 people who have been arrested.

  • Challenges like pandemic, Ukraine war make it important for nation to be self-reliant, says PM

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said challenges faced by the world like the Russia-Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic make it all the more important for the country to become self-reliant, and urged people to promote products made in India.

    Modi was virtually addressing an event on the launch of six volumes of ‘Shri Dharmajeevan Gatha’, a biographical book on the life of Gurudev Shastriji Maharaj of the Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam (SGVP).

    The PM said his ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwaas’ slogan was inspired by Shastriji Maharaj’s call for ‘sarvjan hitay (everybody’s welfare)’, and the book, authored by the latter’s disciple, Madhavpriyadasji Swami, will serve as an inspiration for readers through his life and teachings.

    “Looking at the condition of the world today, everybody is facing new challenges. We experienced coronavirus, and now the Ukraine-Russia war. In today’s world, it is difficult to estimate when and what will happen, and how it will affect us,” the prime minister said.

    Modi, while stating that the world had become so small that a country cannot remain unaffected (by events), highlighted the importance of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and asked people associated with SGVP to promote it.

    He urged them to be ‘vocal for local,’ and said this will generate employment and make the country strong.

    The PM asked SGVP members to contribute to the Clean India movement and promote natural farming as a way to serve mother earth.

    “Shastriji Swami’s life was one of dedication, and he lives among his followers in his divine form.

    The books on his life, authored by his disciple Madhavpriyadasji Swami, will help recall his words and inspire the readers to act as per his teachings,” the PM said.

    ‘Shri Dharmajeevan Gatha’, spread across six volumes and over four thousand pages, was launched in a grand ceremony by 108 delegates.

    It deals with the life and works of Gurudev Shashriji Maharaj, the founder of the Gurukul-like education system, and also carries the history of Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam (SGVP).

    Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, former state minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Union minister Prashottam Rupala were present in the programme along with former chief justice of Delhi High Court DN Patel.

  • BJP leaders meet PM Modi amid ongoing exercise for government formation in 3 states

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Top BJP leaders, including party chief J P Nadda, and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the ongoing exercise for government formation in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

    The meeting is underway at the prime minister’s residence and it is also being attended by BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.

    In the recent round of assembly polls, the BJP won in these three states and Manipur, while the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab.

    Earlier in the day, the BJP reposed faith in N Biren Singh and nominated him as the chief minister of Manipur.

    In Uttarakhand, the newly elected BJP MLAs will meet in Dehradun on Monday to choose their leader who will be the next chief minister of the hill state where the party has stormed back to power for an unprecedented second successive term.

    Though the party won the Uttarakhand polls, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost his assembly seat.

    In Uttar Pradesh and Goa it is almost certain that the party will repeat Yogi Adityanath and Pramod Sawant as chief ministers, but it has to take a call on the structure of the cabinet in these states.

    In case of Uttar Pradesh, the party has to take a call on who to appoint as deputy chief minister, as Keshav Prasad Maurya, who held the post in the previous BJP government, lost his assembly seat.

    It is expected that by the end of next week, the BJP will complete government formation process in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

  • JPDA seeks PM’s intervention to stop ‘unethical and allurement tactics’ in pharma business

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Expressing concern over “unethical and allurement tactics” adopted by multi-brand companies involved in the medicine business, Jammu Pharmaceutical Distributors Association (JPDA) on Sunday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in safeguarding this “noble trade” in the interest of healthcare.

    JPDA President Rakesh Gupta claimed that “price war and massive discounts” had paved the way for “spurious and sub-standard” medicines in the market.

    “We have highlighted the issue of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies selling most of the medicines at different prices to different sectors despite having the same maximum retail price (MRP) in September and December last year but our pleas went unanswered,” Gupta told reporters here.

    He said drugs are pushed into Jammu and Kashmir through unauthorised channels from different states by people who are not authorised stockists which is “not acceptable to us”.

    “The state drug controller has taken various effective measures to check the medicines available in the open market but when the delivery is directly made in the home of the patient, it cannot do anything,” Gupta said.

    He said the price war that has been started in Jammu Kashmir and at pan-India level has led to unhealthy and unethical allurement practices of offering huge discounts in the trade of medicines.

    “Our trade is governed by the Drug Price Control Order which clearly defines the profit margins at the wholesale and retail Level. After complete silence and inaction on the part of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority and the Competition Commission of India, it is our moral duty to make sure with the best of our intelligence and ethical behaviour to thwart any attempts by anyone to push sub-standard or spurious medicines in the market,” he said.

    “We request the central government, especially the Prime Minister to intervene personally to safeguard this noble business,” he said.

    Announcing a series of measures to be implemented on war footing, he asked dealers to strictly implement the practise of importing medicines only though authorised channels of the manufacturers and discourage and non-cooperate with all those who have adopted allurement tactics through discount offers.

    He also urged the pharma manufacturers to stop inter- and intra-region infiltration of medicines through unauthorised channels as well as the practice of ‘special discounted rates’.

    Gupta said various in-house measures were also being taken to regulate the trade of medicines in the larger interest of patients.

  • PM Modi chairs meeting to review India’s security preparedness

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting to review India’s security preparedness and the prevailing global scenario in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, government sources said.

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were among those who attended the meeting.

    NSA Ajit Doval and other senior officials also attended the meeting.

  • India, UAE will stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorism: Narendra Modi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India and the UAE will stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday at a virtual summit with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    In his remarks, Modi also referred to the recent terror attacks in the Gulf nation even as he delved into various facets of the expanding ties between the two countries.

    “We strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks in the UAE. India and the UAE will stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorism,” he said.

    The prime minister also complimented the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for showing interest in investing in Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Following the successful visit of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to the UAE last month, several Emirati companies have shown interest in investing in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

    “We welcome investment by UAE in all sectors, including logistics, healthcare, hospitality, in Jammu and Kashmir,” Modi added.

    In a significant development, the two sides also inked a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to further boost trade and investment ties.

    In his remarks, Modi said the agreement reflects the deep friendship, the shared vision and the trust between the two countries.

    “I am sure this will usher in a new era in our economic relations. And our business will grow from USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years,” he said.

    The prime minister said both sides can encourage startups through joint-incubation and joint-financing, adding that there is scope for cooperation in the skill development of people as well.

    At the summit, the two sides also firmed up a vision statement that lays out the contours of the future course of bilateral relations and highlights the areas of focus.

    In the vision statement, the two sides agreed to enhance maritime cooperation with an aim to contribute to the maintenance of peace and security in the region.

    The two sides also reaffirmed their joint commitment to fight against extremism and terrorism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, at both regional and international levels.

    It also refers to working on a dedicated investment zone for the UAE companies and joint ventures with a focus on setting up a food corridor and the establishment of a dedicated India Mart in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.

    It also seeks to create investment opportunities for Indian investors in establishing specialised industrial advanced technology zones in Abu Dhabi, with a specific focus in the areas of logistics and services, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agriculture, agri-tech, steel and aluminium.

    On energy partnership, the vision statement said collaboration will be forged to support India’s energy requirements, including new energies, and ensure the provision of affordable and secure energy supplies to India’s growing economy.