Narendra Modi News

Pilgrimages to Adi Kailash and Om Parvat in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district will be temporarily suspended from June 25, an official said on Monday. The decision to temporarily suspend the yatras was taken amid fear that monsoon rain could disrupt the pilgrimages to the high-altitude sites, said Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam official LM Tiwari. Bookings for the yatras will resume in September, the official said. Adi Kailash shot into prominence last October after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jolingkong, which offers a majestic view of the peak.

Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing «strong reservation» over the Centre excluding the state government from discussions with Bangladesh regarding Teesta water sharing and the Farakka Treaty. Banerjee also urged the PM to not hold any such discussion with the neighbouring country without involving the West Bengal government. «I am writing this letter in context of the recent visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh. It seems that water sharing issues relating to the Ganges and Teesta rivers may have been discussed during the meeting. Such unilateral deliberations and discussions without consultation and the opinion of the state government is neither acceptable nor desirable,» she said in a three-page letter to Modi. Bengal has a very close relationship with Bangladesh — geographically, culturally and economically, she noted.

India is set to host the International Sugar Organization (ISO) Council Meeting from June 25-27, in the national capital, bringing together delegates from over 30 countries to discuss critical issues in the sugar and biofuel sectors. As the world's largest consumer and second-largest producer of sugar, India has been nominated to chair the ISO for 2024, an official statement said. The event kicked off with an industrial tour to a grain-based distillery in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, on June 24, demonstrating India's adoption of cutting-edge technology in biofuel production. The main proceedings begin on June 25 with a workshop titled «Sugar and Biofuels — Emerging Vistas» at Bharat Mandapam, to be inaugurated by Union Minister for Food as well as New & Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi.

Yogi Adityanath on Monday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking oath as Lok Sabha member and said his third consecutive term would help fulfil the aspirations of 140 crore countrymen and achieve all the resolutions of 'Amrit Kaal'. «Hearty congratulations to you on being sworn in as Lok Sabha MP for the third consecutive time! Under your successful leadership, the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat-Viksit Bharat' (self-reliant, developed India) is becoming a reality,» Adityanath wrote on X. «Undoubtedly, this third term will prove to be the fulfilment of the aspirations of 140 crore countrymen and all the resolutions of Amritkaal,» he added. The prime minister took oath as a Member of Parliament on Monday, the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha's first session. This is his third term as a member of the Lok Sabha.

Constitution in Parliament as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha. Home Minister Amit Shah was also greeted in a similar manner. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took oath as Lok Sabha member amid chants of NEET-NET by the opposition members even as a controversy is raging on the entrance examinations that has put the government in the dock. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool leader Kalyan Banerjee, and Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad were seated in the first row in the opposition benches. In a prestige battle, Prasad defeated the two-time sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad, the constituency that comprises Ayodhya, by a margin of 54,567 votes.

Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath in Hindi amid slogans of «Jai Shri Ram» from the treasury benches. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Urban Development Minister ML Khattar were among those who took oath in Hindi. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the MP from Odisha's Sambalpur, took oath in Odia.

Congress said Monday Prime Minister Narendra Modi had nothing new to offer in his remarks ahead of the start of the 18th Lok Sabha and «as usual resorted to diversion» and that he has forgotten that the last 10 years of "undeclared emergency" was ended by the people. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Prime Minister Modi made a longer than usual customary address «but clearly, even after the moral and political defeat, the arrogance remains». Kharge said the nation was hoping that Modi would say something on important issues. «Narendra Modi ji, you are giving advice to the Opposition. You are reminding us of the 50-year-old Emergency, but have forgotten the last 10 years of Undeclared Emergency, which was ended by the people,» he said in a post on 'X'.

Jairam Ramesh has hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks against the Opposition in Parliament over , calling for “slogans and drama".Responding on social media site X (formerly known as Twitter), Ramesh took a jibe at Modi's claims of being “non-biological"“The non-biological PM is telling the Opposition: substance, not slogans. INDIA is telling him: consensus, not confrontation," Ramesh wrote.“The non-biological PM is telling the Opposition: discussion, not disruption.

MPs from the Opposition INDIA bloc are expected to enter the Lok Sabha together on the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which will begin on Monday, sources said. According to sources, the opposition leaders will assemble where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi was placed earlier. They are also likely to carry a copy of the Constitution with them. The Congress MPs will also gather at the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) office in Parliament House this morning.

Jaishankar held «productive and deep» conversations with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on India and UAE's «ever-growing» comprehensive strategic ties and discussed regional and global issues. Jaishankar, who was in the UAE on Sunday, visited the iconic BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi and participated in the 10th International Yoga Day celebrations before meeting Al Nahyan. «Very pleased to meet UAE FM @ABZayed today in Abu Dhabi,» he said in a post on X after meeting his UAE counterpart. «Productive and deep conversations on our ever-growing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Appreciated the discussion and his insights on regional and global issues,» he said.

OBC category, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini Sunday announced an increase in annual income limit for creamy layer from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. Saini was addressing a gathering at 'OBC Morcha Sarv Samaj Samrasta Sammelan' held in Gurugram. The move comes months before Haryana Assembly polls likely to be held in October. «With the key aim of ensuring the welfare of the OBC community in Haryana and providing substantial benefits to the youth in government jobs, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh today made a series of pivotal announcements,» an official statement said.

joint exercise between the Air Forces of the two nations being held from June 21-26. India's Ambassador to Egypt, Ajit Gupte, visited Berighat Air Base to interact with the Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent. In a post on X, Indian Embassy in Egypt stated, "India-Egypt defence cooperation continue to strengthen, with 4th joint exercises b/w IAF and EAF being held in Egypt from 21 to 26 June 2024. Amb @AjitVGupte visited Berighat Air Base to interact with IAF contingent. C 17, IL-78 and Rafales are participating in HOPEX with EAF."

India and Bangladesh bolster ties as New Delhi tries to become a regional power.

IMA on Sunday welcomed the government's decision to transfer the probe into alleged irregularities in NEET-UG to the CBI. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) also expressed its gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other key ministers for their prompt response to concerns surrounding the controversies over the exam. «We extend our gratitude to the Union Ministry of Education for transferring the investigation of the 'irregularities' in NEET-UG to the CBI for a thorough probe,» it said in a statement. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR on Sunday in connection with the alleged irregularities in Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) held on May 5 on a reference from the Union education ministry, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

BJP's election in-charge for Jharkhand Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Sunday that the saffron party will form the next government in the state by uprooting the «corrupt» JMM-led coalition from power. Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is BJP's election co-incharge for Jharkhand, held a meeting with party leaders, MLAs, MPs, and workers in Ranchi to prepare strategies for the assembly elections in the state due later this year. He said the BJP had an outstanding performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand where it won eight seats and its ally AJSU Party bagged one. «We had a lead in 52 of the 81 assembly seats in the parliamentary polls. The state played an important role in securing the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I congratulate the party leadership, booth workers and people of Jharkhand for the achievement,» he said.

India and Bangladesh signed 10 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) following the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi, with both leaders endorsing a vision statement on peace and prosperity that underscored longstanding ties between the two nations. Three of the pacts were renewals of existing accords. The Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s visit is the first by a head of state or government after the inauguration of the new Modi government and comes ahead of her trip to Beijing. The Modi-Hasina talks focused on boosting defence ties, management of the Mongla port in Bangladesh and cross-border power trade. Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur (Bangladesh) will cooperate in the field of strategic and operational studies. ET had first reported last week that defence ties will likely get a boost at the meeting.

Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy has asked top officials of Hindustan Machine and Tools (HMT) to submit proposals for reviving the ailing public sector undertaking (PSU). An official statement said, “The once-glorious HMT is currently facing significant challenges. The Minister emphasized the need to strengthen the company and instructed Rajesh Kohli (HMT’s Chairman and Managing Director) to submit a proposal to the central government for necessary support.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative was highlighted as a framework for HMT's revival, the statement added.

Teesta river, moving ahead to start negotiations on a comprehensive trade pact and boosting defence ties were among major outcomes of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Saturday. The two sides signed 10 agreements providing for bolstering ties in a range of critical areas such as digital domain, maritime sphere, blue economy, railways, space, green technology, health and medicine. Both sides also firmed up a «futuristic vision» for bringing transformative cooperation between the two «trusted» neighbours in a raft of new areas. A major focus of the talks between the two prime ministers was to explore ways to shore up India-Bangladesh cooperation in digital and energy connectivity even as both sides resolved to work towards peaceful management of borders between the two countries.

India and Bangladesh on Saturday moved to bolster their defense relationship and signed agreements for expanding cooperation in maritime security, ocean economy, space, and telecommunication sectors, as New Delhi tries to present itself as a regional power and a counterweight to China. The agreements were signed during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, the first foreign leader to visit New Delhi since Narendra Modi became the country's prime minister for a third term two weeks ago. Modi welcomed Bangladesh's decision to join his Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative to expand and facilitate regional cooperation of India's maritime neighbors. He said the deals with Dhaka were part of his country's pursuit of a neighborhood-first approach.

strategic partners to building a defence innovation bridge under the Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative, the US has said on the partnership's first anniversary. INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the US, was launched on June 21 last year by the US Department of Defence and the Indian Ministry of Defence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington, DC. «In its first year, INDUS-X has advanced both countries' commitment to build a defence innovation bridge under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET),» the Department of Defence said in a press release on Friday. The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the QUAD summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022.

India lodged a «strong protest» with the Canadian High Commission in Delhi opposing the organisation of 'Citizen's Courts' by Khalistactivists in Canada. «We have strongly protested at the Canadian High Commission here. Such courts or gatherings are not helpful at all. We have strongly taken it up with them and asked them to take appropriate action in the matter,» said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in response to ANI's question. Jaiswal emphasised India's stance against providing political space to extremist anti-India elements and those advocating violence.