India growth story to pick up speed with development of Northeast: PM

Agencies
February 3, 2018

Guwahati, Feb 3: Highlighting "path-breaking" economic reforms undertaken by his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India's growth story will further pick up speed when there is an all-round development of the Northeast.

Inaugurating the two-day 'Global Investors Summit' hosted by Assam, he stressed on the importance of 'Act East Policy' in the Centre's aim of achieving balanced and fast-paced growth of the Northeastern region.

"We have created the Act East Policy and the Northeast is at the heart of it.

"The Act East Policy requires increased people to people contact, trade ties and other relations with countries on India's east, particularly ASEAN countries," he said.

The prime minister said due to economic reforms, India is today the most preferred investment destination in the world with the highest FDI in last fiscal at USD 60 billion, and highlighted the country's improved credit rating, low inflation rate and an opening of various sectors to foreign direct investment.

"The world sees India today as an emerging powerhouse for economic growth," he said.

Modi said his government has changed the work culture of the official machinery, giving it greater speed, and "we want all projects to be completed before target".

Pointing to initiatives announced in the Budget on health insurance and free cooking gas connection for the poor and transparency in tax regime, he said all the schemes of the Union government are oriented towards bringing about a qualitative change in the lives of the people.

The aim is to improve "ease of living", the prime minister said.

The Union government has taken up many path-breaking economic reforms in last three years, which have simplified procedures for doing business, he said.

It is a result of these reforms that India today ranks 100 among 190 countries in the Doing Business Report, of the World Bank, after climbing up 42 ranks, Modi said.

India's position has improved in many other ratings like Global Competitiveness Index of World Economic Forum and Moodys rating upgrade from stable to positive in November 2017.

"Our policies have ensured that inflation remains below 5 percent mark. Now, we have foreign exchange reserves of USD 418 billion.

"Many new sectors have been opened for 100 per cent FDI through automatic routes like automobiles, textiles, tourism, ports and highways.

"Today, India is one of the most preferred destinations for FDI. India has received highest ever annual FDI of USD 60 billion in 2016-17," he said.

Talking about the recent announcements in the budget, he said 45-50 crore people will benefit from the health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat and it has enhanced the possibilities of setting up hospitals in tier II and III cities by hospital chains.

Modi said the government's current focus is on infrastructure investment and next year it will be investing about Rs 6 lakh crore in this sector.

"This year we aim to complete more than 9,000 kilometres length of National Highways. We will be developing 35,000 kilometers of roads with investment of Rs 5.35 lakh crore under Bharatmala project," he said, adding the Railways will make an investment of Rs 1.48 lakh crore in 2018-19. Assam is hosting its first global investors summit to showcase its manufacturing opportunities and geostrategic advantages to foreign and domestic investors.

The summit aims at highlighting Assam's core competencies in different sectors along with the policy initiatives taken by the state government.

The prime minister said the tagline of the summit 'Advantage Assam: India's Express way to ASEAN' is not just a statement but is a comprehensive vision.

India's growth story will further pick up speed only when there is an all-round development of the Northeast and its people, he said.

Modi said development of MSME sector is a priority for the government as this is the back-bone of country's industries.

"In this years budget, we are giving a big relief to MSMEs by reducing rate of income tax to 25 per cent on companies reporting a turn-over of up to Rs. 250 crore.

"This will benefit almost 99 per cent of companies, he said.

Modi said the 2018-19 budget has provided additional deduction to the employees of 30 per cent of the wages paid for new employees under the Income Tax Act.

"We are also rolling out e-assessment of income tax across the country to eliminate corruption and bring efficiency and transparency, he said.

Further, the women employees contribution to EPF will be 8 per cent for first three years against existing rate of 12 per cent.

The prime minister said he was happy to note that Assam is ranked first among the Northeastern states in the Ease of Doing Business report.

"I am sure that with the present leadership of the state government, Assam is going to further improve its current position to emerge as one of the most sought-after states for industrial investment in the country," he said.

Those present at the event included Bhutanese PM Tshering Tobgay, several Union ministers, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, ambassadors and high commissioners of 16 countries, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekharan besides other.

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News Network
February 5,2020

New Delhi, Feb 5: Taking on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after Shaheen Bagh shooter Kapil Baisala was identified as an AAP worker by police, BJP chief J P Nadda on Tuesday said it exposed the party and Kejriwal who were playing with the country's security.

The Aam Aadmi Party hit back, questioning the police investigation.

In a series of tweets, Nadda said people of the country and Delhi today have seen the "dirty face" of AAP.

"For political longing, Kejriwal and his people even sold the security of the country. Earlier, Kejriwal used to insult the Army and advocate terrorists, but today relations with those who carry out their terrorist activities came to light," he said.

Nadda said he wanted to make it clear to Kejriwal that this country is bigger than any election, any government, and "this nation will not forgive those who play with its security. Kejriwal and his entire team have been exposed. The people of Delhi will give a befitting reply".

He claimed the entire country has seen "photos of Imam Hussain, the MLA and former minister of the Delhi government, with a radical terrorist organisation, PFI".

Days before Delhi goes to polls, police claimed that Baisala is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. They said Baisala joined the party in early 2019 along with his father.

Police said it had photos of Baisala purportedly joining AAP along with his father Gaje Singh last year.

AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that photos which were part of investigation were leaked to the BJP. He also said the party will approach the Election Commission to raise this issue, which has cropped up four days before the polling date.

"On whose instance, the police is giving statement? How did the photos which were part of the investigation reach the BJP? Before the news came out, Manoj Tiwari in the morning stated that the accused was from AAP. How did Manoj Tiwari get this news," Singh questioned in a press conference.

Union minister and BJP's in-charge for the Delhi polls, Prakash Javadekar, in a press conference alleged that "their (AAP's) designs are very clear from the beginning and they are trying every trick".

The whole conspiracy of AAP is to "divide society, cause fear in a community and create a vote bank," he charged.

Javadekar also claimed that photos of Baisala were recovered by police from his mobile phone although they were erased.

He also claimed that Baisala and his father were welcomed by Sanjay Singh at their joining of AAP.

"This proves AAP misleads youth and pushes them on the wrong path. AAP's strategy is to divide two communities, they want to instigate riots in Delhi," Javadekar alleged.

He further alleged that AAP leader Sanjay Singh had said violence would take place in Delhi. Their "conspiracy has been exposed by Delhi Police," he claimed.

"We condemn this politics of AAP," he said.

Javadekar also claimed this was "not an isolated incident" as AAP member Amanatullah Khan made a "very provocative speech" and the party supported Shaheen Bagh and did not give permission for the prosecution of members of the "tukde-tukde gang".

He hinted the BJP could approach the Election Commission against AAP over the issue.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Guwahati, Feb 13: Hours after Assam's updated citizenship data disappeared from the website 'nrcassam.nic.in', an FIR was filed against a former NRC official for allegedly failing to submit the password to the sensitive document before quitting her job.

Talking to news agency on Thursday, NRC state coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma said the complaint against former NRC project officer was filed under Official Secrets Act in Paltan Bazar police station here, as she "did not provide the password to the document, despite written reminders".

"She failed to surrender the password even after tendering her resignation on November 11 last year. She was a contractual employee and no longer authorised to hold the password, after quitting her job. An FIR has been filed against the former NRC project officer on Wednesday for violating the Official Secrets Act," he said.

Sarma also stated that the NRC office had written to her on several occasions for submitting the password, but did not get any response.

"We knew (she had resigned) and, therefore, sent several letters to her for handing over the password. But as she did not respond all these months, we filed a complaint against her yesterday for violating the Official Secrets Act.

"We must know if she has tampered with the sensitive information, after resigning," he added. The NRC state coordinator, however, refuted allegations of "malafide intent" involved in the matter.

"...this (cloud service provided by IT major Wipro) was not renewed by the earlier coordinator. So, the data went offline from December 15 last year. I assumed charge only on December 24," Sarma, who had gone on leave for a weeks after being appointed as the NRC state coordinator, clarified.

He also said that the state coordination committee had discussed the issue in its meeting on January 30 and wrote to Wipro during the first week of February.

"Once Wipro makes the data live, it will be available to the public. We hope that people will be able to access it in the next 2-3 days," Sarma claimed.

Reacting to the development, Wipro had said: "The IT Services Contract was not renewed by the authorities upon its expiry in October, 2019. However, as a gesture of goodwill, the company continued to pay the hosting service fee until January-end, 2020."

In another FIR filed with state criminal investigation department on Wednesday, NGO Assam Public Works (APW) alleged that former NRC Assam coordinator Prateek Hajela tampered with the final NRC list - published on August 31, 2019.

APW member Rajib Deka, in his complaint, accused Hajela of disobeying orders and directions of the Supreme Court, forgery of public register and committed offences under cyber laws for altering or changing public records by misusing his powers and position.

The NGO also said that after publication of the final list, several social networks and sections of the media had reported anomalies, insisting that many 'doubtful' persons were able to insert their names in the final list.

The Centre on Wednesday asserted that NRC data in Assam was safe even though some technical issues have been detected, which would be resolved soon.

Senior journalist-cum-RTI activist Saket Gokhale had sent an application to the NIC, the IT wing of the government, seeking a copy of the contract with Wipro.

"The Assam NRC data suddenly vanishing from the website (& the lack of data security) is incredibly shady. I've filed an RTI with the NIC specifically asking about details of the contract with Wipro, name of the cloud service provider, & all contracts signed for hosting this," he tweeted, while attaching a copy of the RTI application.

Leader of the Opposition in Assam Assembly and Congress leader Debabrata Saikia has also written to the Registrar General of India, requesting him to look into the fiasco urgently.

"It is a mystery as to why the online data should vanish all of a sudden, especially as the process to file appeals was yet to begin, all because of the go-slow attitude adopted by the NRC Authority. There is, therefore, ample scope to suspect that disappearance of online data is a malafide act," he had insisted.

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News Network
March 26,2020

Panaji, Mar 26: Three persons, all with travel history abroad, tested positive for coronavirus in Goa on Wednesday, health department officials said, as the tourist haven joined the states which have reported COVID-19 cases.

This is the first time the tourist state has reported coronavirus positive cases.

The Directorate of Health Services, in a late night press statement here, said three suspected cases of COVID-19 from Goa, whose test results were awaited, have turned out positive.

All three are male patients of ages 25, 29 and 55 years. They have travel history of returning to Goa from Spain, Australia and the USA, respectively, the officials said.

The condition of the trio, admitted in Goa Medical College and Hospital near here, is stable, the officials added.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the state is providing the best healthcare facility to the diagnosed patients.

I have been informed by the state Directorate of Health services that three individuals have been tested positive for #COVID19 in Goa.

"We are providing the best healthcare facility to the diagnosed patients, he said.

Their condition is stable at present. e have also traced their contacts and are quarantining them, Sawant added.

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said the government is taking all precautions and following guidelines related to the viral infection.

In view of the three positive coronavirus cases in Goa, we are following all guidelines laid down by the central government and taking all precautions with the support of chief minister Pramod Sawant, he said.

Our testing facility will be up and running in the next two days. Our team of doctors is doing its est to make sure we contain the spread of virus in the state, Rane added.

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