Narendra Modi News

Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consciously taken several women-centric policy decisions for their emancipation and empowerment. Reeling out some of the decisions, she said, permanent commissioning of women officers, entry of girls in Sainik School, raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, and Poshan Abhiyan benefitting 10 crore women are some of them. To promote entrepreneurship among women, she said, the government is providing credit facilities under the PM Mudra Scheme without collateral and at a concessional rate. So far, she said, 70 per cent of loans sanctioned belong to women category and 30 crore beneficiaries are enrolled.

Supriya Shrinate on actress Kangana Ranaut's electoral debut has sparked a fresh controversy. The National Commission of Women has demanded action against the Congress leader. Although Supriya clarified that the post, which has since been removed from Instagram, was posted from a parody account, she has however issued an apology.

Sanjeev Sanyal, an economist and advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has ignited a debate by suggesting that preparing for the UPSC exam might be an inefficient use of time unless someone is genuinely interested in administrative roles. Instead, he argues that India needs more entrepreneurs aiming to become billionaires like Elon Musk or Mukesh Ambani. He suggests that the energy spent on preparing for the UPSC could be better utilized in fields such as sports, entertainment, medicine, entrepreneurship, or science. Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), expressed his views during "The Neon Show" podcast hosted by Siddhartha Ahluwalia. He advocates for a shift in mindset among young people. He argues that too many young individuals are investing their prime years preparing for the UPSC exam, which he believes yields limited benefits given the small number of positions available. “I'm not saying you don't want people to take the exam. Yes, every country needs a bureaucracy, that's perfectly fine. But I think lakhs of people are spending their best years trying to crack an exam where a tiny number of a few 1000 people actually are going to get it makes no sense,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on its own in Punjab, and will nottie up with former-ally Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD), BJP state unit president Sunil Jakhar said. Jakhar said the move will benefit all sections of the society in Punjab. "The work done by the BJP for Punjab under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not hidden from anyone," he added.

Congress charges, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is designed based on the best practice choice architecture and guarantees a minimum of 8 per cent return. «Atal Pension Yojana is designed based on best practice choice architecture to automatically continue the premium payment unless the subscriber opts out. This is a deliberate and beneficial feature which is in the best interest of the subscribers,» Sitharaman said in post on X. Instead of requiring people to decide each year to continue, they have to take a decision to discontinue, she said, adding, this makes many of them take the right decision and save for their retirement. Earlier in the day, the Congress attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over the Atal Pension Yojana, alleging it is a «very poorly-designed scheme» and a «paper tiger» that needs officials to hoodwink and coerce people into participating in it.

Delhi Police has strengthened security at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence after the AAP called for a "gherao" to protest against the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, an officer said on Tuesday. The police have also beefed up security in several other parts of the national capital. A Delhi Traffic Police officer said movement is likely to be affected in parts of New Delhi and Central Delhi due to the protest. «Robust security arrangements have been made. We have installed layers of security to maintain law and order in the area,» the Delhi Police officer said.

While NSE Nifty 50 Index’s monthly options expiring just after the election have risen slightly in value relative to shorter-term contracts as the world’s largest democratic exercise approaches, their premium over April is 61% smaller than it was before the May 2019 vote, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

ANI, "As far as BJP candidates are concerned, it is their party's internal matter. I would not like to make a comment on it. It is their prerogative.

Amid the various protests in Delhi following the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, the party launched a social media campaign to save the constitution and democracy in the country.

Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case linked to a money laundering case. Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi said on Monday that they have resolved not to play with colours and celebrate Holi this year and appealed to the countrymen to join them in the fight against cruelty and evil. "Holi is not just a festival, but a symbol of the victory of good over evil, a symbol of justice over cruelty.

trade agreements (FTAs) with the UK and Oman are expected to figure in the commerce ministry's 100-day agenda roadmap for the new government, an official said. The ministry will also focus on issues pertaining to the exporting community with a view to promoting the country's outbound shipments. Further talks between India and Australia to expand the scope of existing economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) are also progressing at a healthy rate. The exercise assumes significance as while chairing a Cabinet meeting on March 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the ministers to meet secretaries and other officials of their respective ministries to discuss how the agenda for the first 100 days and the next five years can be better implemented.

Elon Musk’s long courtship of Indian officialdom may have finally paid off. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted him to open one of his Tesla “gigafactories” in the country, as part of its efforts to expand its long-moribund manufacturing sector; Musk, meanwhile, wanted India to address tariffs on electric vehicle imports that rendered foreign-made Teslas uncompetitive. On March 15, the government announced a new scheme to promote investment in EVs. Any company willing to invest $500 million in a new manufacturing facility that begins production in three years (and with at least a quarter of its components added locally, to begin with) will also be allowed to import 8,000 high-end vehicles a year at a lower tariff of 15%. It’s generally assumed that this quid pro quo will be enough to get Musk — and, hopefully, one or two other companies, like Vietnam’s Vinfast Auto Ltd. — to bite. Certainly, the EV producers that currently dominate the Indian market are already bracing for competition. On the one hand, this looks like business as usual. Officials have made a habit of using the supposed potential of the domestic market as an inducement for foreign investors. The stick of high tariffs together with the carrot of possible consumer demand growth should be enough to lure in people like Musk, they think.

meeting of BJP state office bearers and parliamentary candidates was held on Sunday at Dr Shyam Prasad Mukherjee Bhavan, the BJP State Office in Nampally, Hyderabad. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, BJP National Vice President DK Aruna, and BJP National General Secretary and State Incharge Sunil Bansal were among those who attended the meeting. Other leaders and candidates who are set to contest the forthcoming elections also participated. While speaking to after the meeting, BJP National Vice President DK Aruna stated that with the election dates announced and public sentiment favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP is actively preparing to ensure a large voter turnout.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released the fifth list for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The list of 111 Lok Sabha candidates included the name of ‘Queen’ actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi constituency seats of Himachal Pradesh and Arun Govil from Meerut.

₹50,000 crore investment across businesses to add at least $2.5 billion to annual EBITDA. The RBI is also set to conduct a special audit of IIFL Finance, JM Financial for regulatory breaches. Kejriwal has issued his first direction from ED custody, asking Water Minister Atishi to solve water- and sewer-related problems in some areas of the city.

Janardhana Reddy on Sunday said he would rejoin BJP on March 25. The KRPP founder said he took the decision to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again for the third time. «After consulting my supporters, I took the decision. Tomorrow at 10 am I am rejoining BJP,» he told reporters here. Reddy said he would support the BJP candidate from Ballari Lok Sabha constituency, B Sriramulu, whom he called a boy raised by him.

S Jaishankar on Sunday said he has spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and conveyed India's deepest condolences on the loss of lives in the «horrific terrorist attack» in Moscow. More than 130 people were killed in the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall on Friday. «Spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Conveyed our deepest condolences on the loss of lives in the horrific terrorist attack in Moscow,» Jaishankar posted on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday had condemned the attack, calling it a «heinous terrorist attack».

Tamil Nadu BJP on Sunday alleged that state Fisheries Minister and DMK leader Anitha R Radhakrishnan publicly uttered an expletive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said it would approach the police and Election Commission seeking action. K Annamalai, the BJP's state unit president posted on X that DMK leaders have reached a new low in their «uncouth behaviour» by passing «vile comments and an unpardonable public discourse» against PM Modi. «When they have nothing to criticise, this is the level DMK leaders have stooped. DMK MP Smt Kanimozhi was on the stage and did not bother to stop her colleague,» Annamalai said in his post. The BJP leader said his party would take up this matter with the Election Commission and the Director General of Police (DGP) on March 24 seeking the «strictest and immediate action» against Anita Radhakrishnan.

Overseas Friends of BJP', Australia, launched a campaign for members of the diaspora, titled 'Modi for 2024', covering seven prominent cities and significant landmarks in the country. The campaign is aimed at drumming up overseas support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) going into the Lok Sabha elections in the country. «Overseas Friends of BJP Australia has launched a massive campaign from iconic locations like Sydney Harbour Bridge, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Perth Optus Stadium, Brisbane GABBA, Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast, Mt Ainslie in Canberra and Naval Memorial Garden in Adelaide,» read a post on the official X handle of the 'Overseas Friends of BJP', Australia.

INDIA bloc, Union Minister Anurag Thakur claimed that while the opposition leaders were busy «abusing» Prime Minister Narendra Modi's, his prestige continued to grow globally in the last ten years. "… Initially you wanted to do 'tukde tukde' of the country and now you want to do the same to PM Narendra Modi. First, they would go and stand with the 'tukde tukde' gang, now they include those advocating 'tukde tukde' into their gang...," the Minister for Information and Broadcasting said. The sharp remarks came at a press conference held on Sunday in New Delhi.

Penalty provisions can act as a deterrent to the development and dissemination of deepfakes and misinformation, a senior official of global think tank Cuts International said while calling for the deployment of technology interventions to check misuse of AI-generated content. CUTS International, Director, Research, Amol Kulkarni told PTI that internet users would require adequate opportunities to verify the genuineness of content and it becomes important during the election season while the role of credible fact-checkers and trusted flaggers becomes crucial.