Modi invites world to be part of India’s growth

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Modi invites world to be part of India’s growth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited the whole world to come to India and be a part of its growth trajectory considering its seriousness towards the maritime sector.

Addressing Maritime India Summit through video conferencing, Modi made the clarion call while expressing India’s vision to turn up it as a leading Blue Economy of the world with its focus on the maritime sector.

“Through this Maritime India Summit, I want to invite the world to come to India and be a part of our growth trajectory. India is very serious about growing in the maritime sector and emerging as a leading Blue Economy of the world,” the Prime Minister said after inaugurating the summit.

The Prime Minister further said that the summit will bring together key stakeholders from the maritime sector and play a leading role in furthering the growth of India’s maritime economy.

BJP MP Nandkumar passes away, PM expresses grief

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BJP MP Nandkumar passes away, PM expresses grief

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed grief over the demise of Lok Sabha MP from Khandwa Nandkumar Singh Chauhan, saying the leader will be remembered for his contribution to Parliamentary proceedings and many efforts in strengthening the BJP.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nandkumar Singh Chauhan passed away on Tuesday morning. He was 69. The Madhya Pradesh BJP MP had tested positive for the Covid-19 on January 11 and was under treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram since last month. He breathed his early on Tuesday.

The leader is survived by his wife, a son, and two daughters. His last rites will be performed at his ancestral place Shahpur in the Burhanpur district on Wednesday.

Extending his condolences over the BJP leader’s demise, the Prime Minister took to Twitter and said: “Saddened by the demise of Lok Sabha MP from Khandwa Shri Nandkumar Singh Chauhan Ji”.

“He will be remembered for his contributions to Parliamentary proceedings, organizational skills, and efforts to strengthen the BJP across Madhya Pradesh. Condolences to his family. Om Shanti,” Modi said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also expressed sorrow over the MP’s death.

“Nandu Bhaiya (as he was popularly known) gave his best to the party as the state BJP president. His mortal remains will reach his ancestral village today. I offer my tributes to him,” Chouhan tweeted.

Chauhan represented the Khandwa seat in the Lok Sabha since 1996, barring a five-year period of 2009-14 when he lost to Congress’ Arun Subash Chandra Yadav.

He was also the BJP state president of Madhya Pradesh till April 18, 2018, before being replaced by Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh.

Priyanka begins poll campaign in Assam

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Priyanka begins poll campaign in Assam

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived here on Monday to campaign for the party in Assam, where the Congress-led seven-party alliance will take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led three-party coalition.

Priyanka soon after her arrival offered prayers at the famous Kamakhya Devi Temple, which was rebuilt in 1565 by Koch king Naranarayana and is one of the 51 holy and venerated sites in India.

Assam Congress Media Department Chairperson Bobbeeta Sharma said that during her Assam tour, Priyanka would hold interactions with party office bearers and diverse groups of people of the poll-bound Assam and address public meetings in Tezpur on Tuesday.

The Congress leader would launch a statewide campaign for the unemployed youths and hold interaction with tea garden women workers and Self-Help Group members.

Former Congress President and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi on February 14 visited the state and addressed a public gathering in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar.

The Congress, which was in power in the state for 15 years (2001-2016) until the BJP-led alliance came to power in Assam in 2016, had formed the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (Grand Alliance) with three Left parties — CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) — as well as the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), three regional parties having a political base among the Muslims and indigenous people, respectively.

The BPF on Sunday joined the Congress-led grand alliance a day after snapping its ties with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP, after the Bodoland Territorial Council polls in December last year, had forged an alliance with new ally United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) after discarding incumbent partner BPF.

The BJP has decided to fight the polls in western Assam’s tribal-dominated Bodoland area in alliance with new ally UPPL besides Asom Gana Parishad.

The elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1, and April 6. The results will be declared on May 2.

Modi receives his 1st Covid vaccine dose at AIIMS

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Modi receives his 1st Covid vaccine dose at AIIMS

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS.
  • Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19.

I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first dose of Covid vaccine here at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Monday, leading the country in the third phase of the inoculation drive as a massive chunk of the population aged above 60 and those above 45 with comorbidities prepare to take the shots.

Modi was administered Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. “Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS,” he informed on Twitter.

The Bharat Biotech vaccine is a vaccine that aims to protect against COVID-19.

Bharat Biotech International Limited is an Indian biotechnology company headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

At the time of the vaccination, Modi wore a “gamchha” (scarf) from Assam, which is regarded as a symbol of the blessings of women from Assam. The Prime Minister has been seen wearing it on many occasions. The vaccine dose was administered by a nurse from Puducherry P. Niveda, who was assisted by another nurse from Kerala Rosamma Anil.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to get the jab at 6.25 a.m. to avoid media glare as scores of people could be queuing up at the hospital. He remained under observation for half an hour in the hospital and left around 7 a.m.

“Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19,” Modi later wrote on Twitter.

He also appealed that those who could take vaccines should come forward for it. “I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free,” Modi said.

The ongoing vaccination drive will now reach around 27 crore people who are on the list of priority for vaccination after the healthcare and frontline workers, starting Monday.

Vaccination will be provided free of charge at the government health facilities and will be on a payment basis in the private health facilities. All private hospitals can charge Rs 150 for vaccines and Rs 100 for service charges fixed by the central government.

Around 10,000 hospitals impaneled under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and 687 hospitals under CGHS can be used by states as Covid vaccination centers (CVCs).

The COWIN portal will provide the facility for booking an appointment based on the vaccination centers declared by the states/UTs, with their location, the dates on which appointment slots are provided and the capacity declared as open slots, and the vacancies available at the time of booking.

Besides, all beneficiaries, regardless of the mode of access, i.e through online registration or mobilization through on-site registration are advised to carry the following for verification at the time of vaccination — Aadhar Card, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC); and Certificate of comorbidity for citizens in the age group of 45 years to 59 years.

Active COVID-19 cases in India stand at 1,68,627, while 1,07,86,457 people have recovered from disease so far.

‘Mann Ki Baat’: Modi stresses on water conservation

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‘Mann Ki Baat’: Modi stresses on water conservation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the people to start a 100-day ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign to conserve water ahead of the summer.

Addressing the country in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the Prime Minister said, “This is the best time to think about water conservation in the summer months ahead”.

“In most parts of India, rainfall begins in May-June. Can we right away start a 100-day campaign for the sake of cleaning up water sources around us and conserving rainwater?

“With this very thought in mind, in a few days from now, Jal Shakti Ministry will begin a similar campaign ‘Catch the Rain’. Its credo is ‘Cath the rain, where it falls when it falls’,” the Prime Minister said.

Modi further said, “We shall commit ourselves to the task right now and get existing rainwater harvesting systems repaired, clean up lakes and ponds in villages, remove impediments in the way of water flowing into water sources; thus we shall be able to conserve rainwater to the maximum.

“For the conservation of water, we should begin efforts right away. A few days later, just on the 22nd of the month of March, it’s World Water Day.”

Referring to ‘Kumbh’ being organized in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar — a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism — the Prime Minister said that water is not only connected with our life but also our faith and the stream of development.

“There must not be a single day in India when there is no festival connected with water in some corner of the country or the other. Water has been crucial for the development of humankind for centuries,” Modi said while beginning the interesting discussion on water conservation in the second ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme of this year.

“For us, water is life, faith too, and the flow of development as well. In a way, water is more important than PARAS, the philosopher’s stone. It is said that with the touch of a PARAS, iron gets turned into gold. Similarly, the touch of water is necessary for life; imperative for development.”

Mentioning the festival of ‘Magh Poornima’ which was celebrated on Saturday, the Prime Minister said the month of ‘Magh’ is related especially to the rivers, lakes, and water sources.

“In the month of Magh, a bath in any holy water body is considered sacred,” Modi said, adding, “In every society of the world, invariably, there is one tradition or the other with respect to a river”.

Mamata winning Bengal, BJP perception battle

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Mamata winning Bengal, BJP perception battle

The battle for the states is a mixed bag with Mamata Banerjee projected to win the high-stakes battle for West Bengal despite losing the war of perception, DMK-Congress is sweeping Tamil Nadu, the Left is comfortably retaining Kerala while the BJP is retaining Assam and the AINRC–BJP alliance in Puducherry is slated to be victorious, as per the IANS C Voter opinion poll wave 2.

An important observation in the tracker is a significant gap between the numbers of actual voting intention and the perception of winnability in West Bengal.

“While the BJP is leading the war of perception and winnability, it is the TMC which is still leading the likely voter’s equation”, it said.

The survey has a sample size of 70608 for 824 seats in 5 states with a margin of error of 3-5 percent.

In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry, there is no contradiction observed as far as the actual voting and perception of winning are concerned. In fact, in all these states, the perception of winning goes further up for the leading party in actual vote share, which confirms the trend reported by the Tracker.

The TMC led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is tipped to get a simple majority in the high decibel and cut-throat Bengal election with a projected seat share of 156 seats in an assembly of 294. TMC is holding on to its vote share with erosion of just 2.1 per cent. The challenger, BJP is making big gains with a vote share swing of 27.8 percent to notch 38 per cent vote share and will get 100 seats while the Left-Congress combine is projected to get 35 seats.

In Tamil Nadu, it is the DMK-led combine that is headed towards a nearly two-thirds majority with the alliance with the Congress and others projected to win 158 seats out of 234 while the ruling AIADMK in alliance with BJP and others will get only 62 seats. The UPA alliance is only gaining a 2 percent vote share but AIADMK is losing heavily with the erosion of 15 percent vote share.

In Kerala, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is repeating its 2016 performance and will form the government again with a haul of 87 seats compared to 91 in the previous election. While the LDF is losing a 3.4 percent vote share, the Congress-led UDF is losing more with 6.2 percent erosion and even BJP is losing a vote share while others are gaining. The UDF is projected to win 51 seats in a house of 140.

In Assam, BJP Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is headed for a second term with the party matching its 2016 performance and winning 72 seats, just down 2 seats in a house of 126. The Congress is winning 47 seats despite winning big in vote share by almost 10 percentage points reducing the gap with the BJP to just 2 percent but winning fewer seats.

In Puducherry, while the Congress government lost the vote in the assembly, it is also losing at the hustings. The AINRC-BJP-AIADMK alliance is winning big with 19 seats in a house of 30.

Shah to visit poll-bound Puducherry, Tamil Nadu on Sunday

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Shah to visit poll-bound Puducherry, Tamil Nadu on Sunday

Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Amit Shah will visit poll-bound Puducherry and Tamil Nadu on Sunday to participate in various poll-related programs of the party.

In a statement, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and media in-charge Anil Baluni said, “The Union Home Minister will leave for Tamil Nadu today and reach Chennai by 10:45 pm tonight. He will participate in various important programs tomorrow.”

Baluni further stated that Shah will attend BJP’s Puducherry core committee meeting at Karaikal.

“After the core committee meeting, he will address a public rally at Karaikal. After the public rally, the Home Minister will attend the BJP Puducherry Mandal and office bearers meeting in the afternoon,” he said.

After Puducherry, Shah will then reach Villupuram in Tamil Nadu where he will attend the BJP Tamil Nadu core committee meeting at the Theivanai Ammal College for Women.

“In the evening, he will address a Vijay Sankalp rally at Jankipuram, Villupuram (Tamil Nadu). After that, he will participate in the BJP Tamil Nadu Mandal and office-bearer’s meeting at Theivanai Ammal College for Women,” Baluni said.

SC stays quashing of FIR against T’gana minister

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SC stays quashing of FIR against T’gana minister

The Supreme Court has stayed a Telangana High Court order which quashed a 2017 FIR lodged against Telangana Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh and his civil servant wife T.N. Vijayalakshmi, in an alleged disproportionate assets case.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the CBI, has submitted before the top court that in breach of the well-settled principles which have been laid down by it, the single-judge bench of the High Court has quashed an FIR in a case involving allegations of the possession of disproportionate assets, under Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 read with Section 13(2) and Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. The CBI has moved the top court challenging the High Court order.

A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah noted that it has been urged that the single-judge bench, in its February 11 order, launched impermissibly into a detailed inquiry, more akin to a trial. The bench issued notice to the couple on CBI’s petition.

“Issue notice, returnable in six weeks,” said the bench. According to the top court order, the minister and his wife would continue to face the investigation in the matter. The couple has earlier moved to the High Court, which observed that the investigation into the matter is unsustainable.

“Pending further orders, there shall be a stay of the operation of the impugned judgment and order of the High Court of Telangana dated February 11, 2020..,” said the top court.

The CBI’s ACB Chennai registered an FIR on September 20, 2017, against 1992-batch IRS officer Vijayalakshmi and former civil servant-turned-politician YSRCP MLA Suresh.

The investigating agency had alleged the couple has acquired assets to the tune of Rs 5,95,58,322 against the income of Rs 4,84,76,630 during the check period of April 1, 2010, to February 29, 2016. The CBI has alleged the difference in the income is 22.86 percent more than the known sources of income.

Priyanka visits Ravidas temple in Varanasi

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Priyanka visits Ravidas temple in Varanasi

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday attended the 644th birth anniversary celebration of Sant Shiromani Shri Guru Ravidas Ji Maharaj at Seer Govardhanpur of the Ravidas temple in Varanasi.

Priyanka also sought the blessings of Sant Niranjan Das and enquired about his well-being. She had last visited the temple in 2020.

The Congress General Secretary’s visit witnessed a massive crowd as she reached here at around 11 a.m. and offered her prayers at the Sant Ravidas temple to mark the celebration of the Jayanti.

Priyanka was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu, former MLA Ajay Rai, Varanasi Metropolitan president Raghavendra Choubey, Manindra Mishra, Gaurav Kapoor, Naveen Mishra, and other Congress leaders.

Mamata showers sops hours before poll date announcement

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Mamata showers sops hours before poll date announcement

Hours before the Election Commission announced the schedule for Assembly polls in five states, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee showered sops for the people of Bengal in a bid to garner their support.

“I am pleased to announce a hike in the wages of daily wage workers under West Bengal Urban Employment Scheme: It has been increased to Rs 202 per day from Rs 144 earlier for unskilled labor, to Rs 303 from Rs 172 earlier for semi-skilled and Rs 404 for skilled labor – a new category that has been introduced,” Banerjee Tweeted.

The CM further said that a total of 56,500 workers (40,500 unskilled, 8000 semi-skilled, 8000 skilled) will benefit from this.

“These wages are in parity with rural workers’ enhanced pay (MNREGA unskilled and semi-skilled),” Banerjee added.

She said that budget provision for this step has been made available for both the financial years in 21 and 22.

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