Modi woos Australian investors; says India's policies transparent

November 17, 2014

Brisbane, Nov 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wooed Australian investors to India, saying the environment that is prevailing in the country is "welcoming" and easy to do business, besides having transparent and predictable policies.

"You will begin to find a difference in India," Modi said, asserting that his government is focused on eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, and making processes easier.

modiThe prime minister was speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by Queensland Prime Minister Campbell Newman where several Australian business leaders were present.

Modi also said that Queensland can be an important partner in India's development – in energy, mineral resources, agriculture and food security, education and advanced technology in some areas.

"We have made our policies transparent and predictable. We have made our procedures clearly defined and smooth," Modi said during a breakfast meeting with Australian business leaders this morning before leaving for Sydney.

He said good governance is the starting point of change and it is important to business as it is to ordinary citizens. "You will not only be able to convert opportunities into partnerships, you will do it in an environment that is welcoming and easy to do business in," he said.

Modi also said that his government has launched 'Make in India' as a new mission to promote manufacturing in India.

He also told them about his plans to build 100 Smart cities, 50 metro projects and about the modern waste management system for another 500 cities in India.

He mentioned about the projects like The affordable healthcare within everyone's reach, sanitation for all by 2019, a roof over every head by 2022 and electricity in every household.

Modi also praised Queensland for sending a number of trade missions to India.

"Just this September, there was a Queensland-Gujarat Energy Roundtable in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat. And, I am naturally pleased that Queensland will be participating in Vibrant Gujarat in January 2015 to showcase your infrastructure capabilities", he said.

"I know that you are not partial to Gujarat, but you are sending delegations to Kolkata, Delhi and elsewhere," he said. "Clean Energy with special focus on solar energy for energy efficiency, he added.

He also lauded the Australian province for allowing a 16 billion dollar investment in coal mining in the state. Modi also stressed on the need for an integrated partnership joint research to improve yield and farm productivity to development of agriculture supply chain infrastructure and food processing.

The Prime Minister also emphasised on the need to develop strong synergies in the area of information and communication technology and its every growing application in all areas of life and business between Queensland and India.

He praised Queensland on its success in the tourism sector. "Indian investors would be willing to partner with you, as more and more Indians are drawn to the incredible beauty and hospitality of your state", he said.

He invited Queensland to participate in India's ambitious plans for smart, sustainable, habitable cities to cater to its growing urban population.

While concluding his speech, Modi said India-Australia relationship is comprehensive, involving economic cooperation, a growing security and strategic partnership and increasing cooperation in international forums, which are vital for peace, stability and prosperity in our region.

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: India's Covid-19 case fatality rate is "progressively falling" and is currently at 2.49 per cent, which is one of the lowest in the world, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday, crediting efficient clinical management of hospitalised cases for it.

There are 29 states and union territories with a case fatality rate (CFR) lower than India's average, with five of them having a CFR of zero and 14 having fatality rate of less than 1 per cent.

The focused efforts of the Centre and state and UT governments on efficient clinical management of hospitalised cases have ensured that India's case fatality rate has fallen below 2.5 per cent, the ministry said.

With effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardized clinical management protocols based on holistic standard of care approach, the CFR has significantly dipped, it said.

"The CFR is progressively falling and currently, it is 2.49 per cent. India has one of the lowest fatality rates in the world," the ministry said.

From 2.82 per cent over a month earlier, India's Covid-19 case fatality rate declined to 2.72 per cent on July 10 and has further reduced to 2.49 per cent presently.

Under the guidance of the Centre, the state and UT governments have ramped up testing and hospital infrastructure by combining public and private sector efforts, the ministry said.

Many states have conducted the population surveys to map and identify the vulnerable population like the elderly, pregnant women and those with co-morbidities.

This, with the help of technological solutions like mobile apps, has ensured keeping the high-risk population under continuous observation, thus aiding early identification, timely clinical treatment and reducing fatalities, the ministry said.

"At the ground level, frontline health workers like ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) and ANMs (Auxiliary Nursing Midwives) have done a commendable job of managing the migrant population and to enhance awareness at the community level.

"As a result, there are 29 States and UTs with CFR lower than India's average. This shows commendable work done by public health apparatus of the country," the ministry said.

Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands have zero case fatality rate.

States and UTs having a CFR below the national average include Tripura (0.19 pc),  Assam (0.23 pc), Kerala (0.34 pc), Odisha (0.51 pc), Goa (0.60 pc), Himachal Pradesh (0.75 pc), Bihar (0.83 pc), Telangana (0.93 pc), Andhra Pradesh (1.31 pc), Tamil Nadu (1.45 pc), Chandigarh (1.71 pc), Rajasthan (1.94 pc), Karnataka (2.08 pc) and Uttar Pradesh (2.36 pc).

India saw a record single-day jump of 38,902 Covid-19 cases pushing its tally to 10,77,618 on Sunday, while the total number of recoveries increased to 6,77,422.

A total of 23, 672 patients have recuperated in the past 24 hours, the highest so far in a day, according to the health ministry data updated at 8 AM.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,37,91,869 samples have been tested up to July 18 with 3,58,127 samples being tested on Saturday. 

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, their first meeting after the assembly polls in the national capital.

The meeting went on for over 20 minutes at Shah's residence. The meeting was earlier scheduled at the Home Ministry.

"Met Hon'ble Home Minister Sh Amit Shah ji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted.

Shah had led the BJP offensive against Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly polls in which AAP trounced the saffron party, bagging 62 of the 70 seats.

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Agencies
January 24,2020

New Delhi, Jan 24: The government's plan to sell national carrier Air India may face political and legal headwinds with senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy raising the red flag against the decision.

Days before the launch of bidding process by inviting Expressions of Interest (EoI) from potential suitors, Swamy has warned against such move, saying the issue was currently being discussed by a Parliamentary panel.

"Right now, it (Air India disinvestment) is before the consultative committee and I am a member of that. I have been asked to give a note which will be discussed in the next meeting. They can't go ahead without that," Swamy told media.

"If they do, I will go to court. They know that too," he cautioned.

A vocal opponent of Air India privatisation, Swamy had earlier suggested to list 49 per cent of Air India shares on stock exchanges while government holds 51 per cent in the carrier, as an alternative to selling its entire stake to private companies.

It has been reliably learnt that the Rajya Sabha member had expressed reservations over privatisation of Air India at the meeting of a Parliamentary consultative committee earlier this month.

After its failed first attempt, the Modi government has shown great zeal this time to sell Air India. It is set to offer a sweetened deal to potential buyers this time around by removing a large chunk of the debt and liabilities from the airline’s books.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier said that Air India will be shut down, in case the disinvestment exercise is not successful.

Sources told media that the preliminary information memorandum (PIM) inviting EoI has been tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on January 27.

Air India is proposed to be sold along with its subsidiary Air India Express and ground-handling joint venture company Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (AISATS) in which it has 50 per cent stake.

Air India on January 10 came out with a tender for engaging aircraft asset management companies for carrying out technical audit of its entire fleet.

A Ministerial panel on Air India chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on January 7 approved the draft EoI and a share purchase agreement (SPA) for the airline's disinvestment.

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