The post Compassionate soul, extraordinary human: PM Modi pays glowing tribute to Ratan Tata. appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use the first in-person G7 summit in almost two years to ask leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to seize the opportunity to build back better from coronavirus, uniting to make the future fairer, greener and more prosperous,” the statement said.

Boris Johnson was planning to visit India to Republic Day parade. He was the supposed to be the chief guest in R-Day parade. However the plan was cancelled because of the serious coronavirus situation in the UK.

Terming India as ‘pharmacy of the world’, the UK praised the efforts regarding the production of coronavirus vaccine and said, “India already supplies more than 50 per cent of the world’s vaccines, and the UK and India have worked closely together throughout the pandemic.”

Apart from India, Australia and South Korea,too, have been invited to attend G7 summit. The meet is scheduled to be held in Cornwall from June 11 to 14, 2021.

Announcing plans to hold the G7 Summit in June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wanted to use Britain’s presidency of the G7 to forge a consensus that the global economy must recover from the COVID-19 crisis in a pro-free trade and sustainable way.

“Coronavirus is doubtless the most destructive force we have seen for generations and the greatest test of the modern world order we have experienced,” he said in a statement. “It is only right that we approach the challenge of building back better by uniting with a spirit of openness to create a better future.”

The summit in June will address shared challenges, from beating coronavirus and tackling climate change, to ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change and scientific discovery.

G7 is a grouping of leading economies — the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USA and the EU.

Last year’s G7 meeting, due to be hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, was cancelled due to the pandemic.The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Japan, the European Union and Canada have not met in person since the 2019 meeting in Biarritz, France.

The post UK invites PM Modi to G7, Boris Johnson plans to visit India appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Addressing the nation, PM Narendra Modi said, “India’s vaccines enjoy much credibility across the world . We’ve earned this via our track record. Most children in the world get their vaccine shots of those made in India. The world’s trust is on our Made in India vaccines will rise soon. These Indian vaccines are cheaper than foreign shots and easy to use. Some foreign doses are close to 5000/dose and to be stored in -70 degrees.”

PM lauded doctors and scientists who worked tirelessly to create the vaccine. He also stressed the importance of taking two doses of covid vaccine.

On the inaugural day, around 3,006 session sites across the country will be virtually connected. Around 100 beneficiaries would be vaccinated at each session.

India has two vaccine candidates so far — Covishield by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the vaccines for emergency use on January 2.

All states and UTs will have multiple session sites or centres at the district level. There will be a registration and waiting room, a vaccination zone and an observation room.

Once the beneficiary reaches the site at the designated time and date, they will produce identification documents. When they are verified, they will be sent to the vaccination room where they will receive the shot. After the shot, the beneficiary will have to wait in the observation room and will be under observation for 30 minutes. There are emergency kits and ambulances on site.

In the first phase, 30 crore health workers, frontline workers and senior citizens will be vaccinated. All the beneficiaries will be registered on the CoWIN app. Only beneficiaries who have registered on the app will be allowed to visit the centre

COWIN APP

The vaccination process will use the online digital platform developed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that will help the authorities keep track in real-time of vaccination stocks, storage temperature and track the beneficiaries.

COVID-19 VACCINE HELPLINE

A 24X7 call centre has been established to answer queries about the coronavirus pandemic, vaccine rollout and the CoWIN software.

The post PM Modi launches vaccination drive against COVID-19 appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

PM Modi is visiting Kutch to lay the foundation stone of 30,000-megawatt (MW) hybrid renewable energy park , four seawater desalination plants and modern milk processing plant of Sarhad Dairy.

The PM will land in Kutch district headquarters Bhuj and fly to Tent City, the venue of the annual Rann Utsav at Dhordo village near Khavda, around 80 km west of Bhuj.

The number of protesters at Delhi’s borders is growing by the day. According to reports, police officials said the borders can’t take more people as “the situation is increasingly turning unsustainable”. Hayana Police said more than 60,000 protesters are camping at the borders while the farm leaders said the figure is higher.

Meanwhile two farmers died and eight injured in a road accident between tractor-trolley and truck near Trawari tehsil of Karnal district of Haryana at midnight on December 14-15. All farmers in trolley were from Safera village of Patiala in Punjab. They were coming back from Delhi borders to Punjab.

The post Farmers protest: PM Modi to meet farmers from Punjab during visit to Kutch appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Addressing the nation through his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, PM Narendra Modi said, “Parliament has recently passed farm reform laws after rigorous brainstorming. These reforms have not only broken the shackles of farmers but have also given new rights and opportunities to them.

“Agricultural reforms in the past few days have opened new doors of possibilities for our farmers,” PM Narendra Modi said, adding that under these reforms, the SDM of the areas will have to settle the complaints of the farmers within a month.

PM Narendra Modi said, “There is another big thing in the law. Under these laws, the farmers will have their complaints resolved within a month. The SDM of the area will have to settle the complaint of a farmer within one month under these laws.”

The Prime Minister’s statement came amid the raging farmers’protest. The farmers from states like Punjab and Haryana braved through police’s tear gas shells, water cannons and multi-layer barriers to block the protestors, for the Delhi Chalo march.

The post Amid raging farmers’ protest, PM Modi says farm laws brought new opportunities appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Terrorism is the biggest problem facing the world today. We have to ensure that countries that support and assist the terrorists are also blamed, and this problem is tackled in an organised manner,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his speech.

He also emphasised on reform of institutions like IMF, WTO, WHO to gain credibility.

The purpose of the Russian BRICS chairmanship in 2020, as it is for multifaceted cooperation between the BRICS countries, is to contribute to raising living standards and quality of life of our people, a Russian statement said.

“Despite the current global situation due to the spread of the coronavirus infection, the activities under the Russian BRICS Chairmanship in 2020 are carried out in a consistent manner. Since January 2020 more than 60 events have been organised, including via video-conferencing,” said Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation.

The post Countries supporting terrorism must be held accountable, PM Modi at BRICS appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

This year, the forum will witness conversations centered on refueling the economy and charting a course for the future, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

The inaugural forum was held in Singapore, followed by a second edition in Beijing, covering issues such as global economic management, trade and investment, technology, urbanisation, capital markets, climate change and inclusion.

Director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres are some of the other speakers scheduled to address the forum.

The post PM Modi to address annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The virtual summit is being hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC). This year marks the 45th anniversary of the formation of the Council.

The summit will feature high-level presence from Indian and US government policymakers, state-level officials, and thought leaders from business and society. The discussions will focus on areas including India-US cooperation and future of the relation between the two countries in a post pandemic world.

Other key speakers at the Summit include Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Mr. Mike Pompeo, Senator of Virginia and co-chair of Senate India Caucus Mr. Mark Warner, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Ms. Nikki Haley, among others. The Summit will witness discussions on areas including India-US cooperation and future of the relation between the two counties in a post pandemic world.

USIBC hosted over 400 attendees over two days for its India Ideas Summit in Washington last year. Over 50 prominent speakers, 10 panels focused on trade and connectivity between the United States and India, across the Indo-Pacific.

The post Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the keynote address at the India Ideas Summit on July 22. appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

PM Modi joined Twitter in January 2009 when he was serving as the Gujarat Chief Minister. PM Modi uses the platform to engage with the public and most recently he is seen using the platform informing people about the steps the government is taking to control the spread of the COVID-19.

On March 2 , Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and said in one of his cryptic tweets that he is thinking of quitting his social media accounts. But in a surprising move, Mr. Modi on March 8 announced that he is handing over his social media accounts to seven achievers to share their life journeys as a part of International Women’s day.

Mr.Modi has also been active on other social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram as well. He has used these social media platforms for Clean India campaign, women safety, and also to give up subsidy for the Ujjwala programme of the government which distributes LPG connections to financially weaker sections.

The post PM Modi’s Twitter followers cross 60 million mark appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Pinarayi Vijayan in his letter said that the case had serious implications as it undermines the nation’s economy.

In his letter to PM, Mr.Vijayan said, “The fact that the attempt to smuggle huge quantity of gold was concealed in diplomatic baggage makes the matter extremely serious. It is learnt that customs officials are conducting an inquiry into the incident. The case has serious implications as this undermines the economy of the nation.”

“It is requested that an effective and coordinated investigation into this incident by all central agencies concerned is the need of the hour. The scope of the probe should cover all aspects from the source to the end utilization. Every link of this crime should be unravelled so that such incidents do not recur.” the Chief Minister said in his letter.

Earlier Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister alleging his role in the gold smuggling case. He also wrote a letter to Prime Minister stating that the entire matter will severely impact India’s national security.

The post Kerala CM writes to PM seeking effective probe in gold smuggling case appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November end, helping over 80 crore people to avail 5 kg free food grains. The Prime Minister said this extension will cost over Rs 90,000 crore.
Excerpts from Mr. Modi’s address to the nation:
India is now entering Unlock-Two in our fight against the corona pandemic. We are also entering the season of increasing cases of cough, cold and fever. I, therefore, request all of you to take special care of yourselves
Friends, considering corona’s death rate, India is comparatively in a better position compared to many countries of the world. Timely imposition of lockdown and other decisions have saved lakhs of lives. But we have also seen that since Unlock-One, there is increasing negligence in personal and social behaviour. Earlier, we were very careful with respect to wearing of masks, social distancing and washing of hands for 20 seconds. But today, when we need to be more careful, increasing negligence is a cause of worry.
Friends, rules were followed very strictly during the Lockdown. Now governments, local bodies, citizens, need to show similar alertness. Especially, we need to focus more on containment zones. Those not following the rules will need to be stopped and cautioned. You must have seen in the news, Prime Minister of a country was fined Rs.13,000 for not wearing a mask in public place. In India too, the local administration should work with the same enthusiasm. This is a drive to protect the lives of 130 crore countrymen. Be it a village pradhan or the Prime Minister, no one is above the law in India
Friends, nation’s top priority during the lockdown was to ensure that no one remains hungry. Central government, state governments, civil society, all did their best… to ensure that no one goes to bed hungry. Be it a nation or a person, timely and sensible decisions increase our power to fight any crisis. Thus, immediately after the lockdown, the government brought out the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. Under this scheme, a package worth Rs.1.75 lakh crore was provided for the poor.
In the last three months, 20 crore poor households have received direct benefit transfers worth Rs.31,000 Crore. During this period, Rs.18,000 crore have been deposited in bank accounts of over 9 Crore farmers. Simultaneously, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan was quickly launched for employment of Shramiks in rural areasGovernment is spending Rs. 50,000 Crore on this.
India, over 80 crore people were given free ration for three months. It means, every member of the family was given 5 kilogram wheat or rice, free of cost. In addition, every family got one kilogram pulse a month, free of cost. In a way, over 2.5 times the population of the United States, 12 times the population of the United Kingdom and double the population of the European Union was given free ration by our government.
July marks beginning of the festive season. 5th July is Guru Purnima, then month of Saawan is starting. Then 15th August is coming, Raksha Bandhan, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam will follow. Further, Kati Bihu, Navratri, Durga Puja is coming, then Dussera, Diwali and Chhath. This festive season increases necessities as well as expenditure.
Keeping the festive season in mind, it has been decided to extend Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana up to Diwali and Chhath Puja, till November-end.
Free ration to 80 crore people will continue in July, August, September, October, November. The government will provide free ration to 80 crore poor brothers-sisters for five months. Every member of family will get five kilogram wheat or rice. Also, every family will get one kilogram whole chana a month, free of cost.
Over Rs.90 thousand crore will be spent on this extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. If we add expenditure of last three months on this scheme, then it comes to around Rs.1.5 lakh crore.
One Nation, One Ration card is also being implemented. Major beneficiaries of this will be those who go to other states, in search of employment.
Today, if the government is able to provide free ration to the needy and poor, then credit for it goes to two categories. One – hard working farmers of our country. Second – honest taxpayers of our country. It is your hard work and dedication, due to which the nation is able to do it. You have filled the stocks of the nation, therefore, there is food in kitchen of poor, workers.You paid the tax honestly, you fulfilled your duty. That is why, the poor of the country is successfully coping with such a big crisis. On behalf of all the poor of the country, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the taxpayers and farmers, and also salute them.
In the coming days, we will further strengthen our efforts and continuously work to empower the poor, downtrodden and deprived sections of society. While taking all the precautions, we will further expand the Economic Activities. We will work ceaselessly for Atmanirbhar Bharat. We all will be vocal for Local. With this pledge and commitment, the 130 crore people of this country will have to work together and move forward together.

The post PM extends free ration till November end appeared first on The Gulf Indians.