India's opposition parties have sharply criticized the Union Budget, calling it inadequate to address the country's economic woes and accusing the BJP-led government of using it to woo voters in Bihar and Delhi ahead of upcoming elections. Leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, SP, and CPI(M) voiced their disapproval, highlighting concerns over inflation, unemployment, and the lack of substantial measures to support the agricultural sector and the poor. They also criticized the tax cuts for the middle class as insufficient and coming too late after years of high taxes and rising prices.
The mesmerizing march included elite marching contingents, missiles, warplanes, surveillance gadgets and lethal weapon systems, with French President Emmanuel Macron gracing the occasion as the chief guest.
According to the World Bank, economic growth in middle-income countries, including India, is not accelerating. 'In fact, it is slowing down as incomes increase, with the trend becoming more pronounced each decade.'
"I am fighting a big battle to save my country from the corrupt. That is why they are behind bars today and not getting bail even from the Supreme Court," Modi said.
Unlike the previous visit, where TDP MPs accompanied Naidu to meetings, sources termed the current visit as "low profile", with one-on-one meetings with key Union ministers.
"My aim is to make Maharashtra the world's big financial powerhouse and to make Mumbai a global fintech capital," he said.
The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Singh had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency as a Congress candidate.
'Since the last ten days our own people were spreading canards and propaganada against me and my family.' 'I was upset by this behaviour and I decided that I should not contest this Lok Sabha election.'
The resolution noted that the Ram temple is a symbol of India's vision, philosophy and path. "Shri Ram temple has truly become a temple of national consciousness," it said and added that every Indian was happy to see the divine consecration of Lord Shri Ram.
Gupta, along with some other leaders, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the party's national general secretary Vinod Tawde.
All arrangements, including heavy security, are in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 45-hour stay at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari on Thursday, as he would sit on meditation at the place named after the revered Hindu saint.
'The non-biological PM's capacity for malice, mischief, and maligning of history knows no bounds. It was on full display today from the Red Fort'
The generation of quality jobs and skill development should be the focal point, cutting across ministries and departments, asserts Nivedita Mookerji.
The eighth Budget of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman continued to focus on 'GYAN' (Garib, Youth, Annadata, Nari) to maintain a consistent and coherent strategy initiated over the years in pursuing the government's vision for Viksit Bharat. The approach, characterised by incremental yet impactful steps, aims to create a compounding effect over time.
'Can we force somebody to contest and fight an election when they don't want to contest an election?'
He, however, made it clear that his party candidates, as and when they contest elections, will do so only on MNS symbol 'railway engine'.
The auction of radio waves used for mobile services saw a muted opening on Tuesday, with five rounds attracting bids worth about Rs 11,000 crore from telecom companies. The government has put over 10,500 Mhz spectrum in eight frequency bands -- 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz, valued at Rs 96,238 crore at base price, for auction.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday targeted Jawaharlal Nehru and claimed that past mistakes were responsible for the problems such as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and occupation of some parts of the Indian territory by China.
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
Much drama is likely to continue in the coming year, within the Sangh Parivar as well as involving the Opposition parties and, of course the BJP's allies, predicts Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Modi's high praise of Russia as an ally and Putin's leadership came amid ongoing efforts by the Western world to isolate the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine.
The row over Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anurag Thakur's remarks in Lok Sabha escalated on Wednesday with the Congress submitting a notice to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posting on 'X' a video that allegedly also contained expunged portions of Thakur's speech.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged bureaucrats to make national interest the sole basis of their every decision, saying the country has put its faith in them and they must uphold that trust.
In an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi, Modi said some INDIA bloc leaders left the Lok Sabha and moved to the Rajya Sabha as they have no courage to contest elections.
'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
The 75th Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path on Friday showcased India's rich cultural diversity, military prowess, and 'Nari Shakti'.
India-France synergy is poised to open vistas of collaboration between the two countries, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Addressing a gathering of around 6,000 in-charges of 'Shakti Kendras,' each comprising two to three booth-level areas, at Marine Drive, the prime minister said that Kerala has the potential to influence who will be in power in Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has set its sights on winning an 'unprecedented majority' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking key organisational leaders to work towards boosting the party's vote share by 10 per cent, sources said.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
Seeking a third straight term, Modi is not just looking to stamp his electoral dominance on India but also chasing history with another consecutive victory equalling first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's record.
The total allocation to the defence sector is 12.9 per cent of the total budget of the government of India for the financial year 2024-25.
Ron Somers, founder and CEO of India First Group and the former President of leading business advocacy group US-India Business Council said that when Lok Sabha election results are declared on June 4, "I believe that Narendra Modi will win Parliament by the largest majority ever recorded in the country's history.
Communication skills, negotiation skills, social skills, etiquette, behavioural skills, etc, should be part of your learning. Develop confidence because that's the key to success, advises rediffGURU Archana Deshpande.
Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
The climate for 'doing business' remains forbidding, taxtortion is still rife, corruption at state and district levels has increased, oil prices remain extortive with high taxation, and the continued red tape has kept the enterprise system as stifled as before, points out Debashis Basu.
The big surprise is that Narendra Modi, the greatest conjurer in our national politics, has not yet presented a theme to this election, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Few in Varanasi expect the result to be different from 2014 and 2019. The only point of interest is whether Narendra Modi will increase his winning margin against his rivals.
