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Narendra Modi, BJP MPs to observe fast to protest budget session washout

Agencies
April 11, 2018

New Delhi, Apr 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will observe a day-long fast on Thursday along with all members of Parliament (MPs) of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protest against the recent washout of the second half of the budget session of Parliament.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has blamed the opposition led by Congress party for the washout. The budget session was the worst session in terms of productivity in the last 18 years.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will observe a day-long fast on 12 April but he will continue with his official engagements. He will continue to clear the files and hold regular meetings,” said a senior BJP leader aware of the plan. BJP president Amit Shah will hold a meeting in Hubli, Karnataka, to protest against the state’s Congress government.

Speaking at centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s fast at Champaran in Bihar on Tuesday, Modi alleged that opposition parties were creating hurdles for the NDA while it was working for the upliftment of financially weaker sections.

“From the streets to Parliament, roadblocks are being created in the government’s work. While the government is working towards uniting people and their hearts, some opponents are working towards breaking up society,” said Modi.

Without naming any political party, Modi said there are people who don’t want any improvement in the condition of the poor as they feel it would become difficult to mislead financially weaker sections if the government succeeds in its efforts to uplift the poor.

Modi also reiterated the need to end the menace of caste, religious differences and corruption, and said that these issues were affecting society and weakening the country.

“We have to eradicate the problems affecting our society which are weakening the country. We have to build a new India which is free from corruption, caste differences and religious divide. The entire country is one big family, we have to work together, only then we would be able to pay respects to the people who fought for the independence of the country,” Modi said.

Modi’s remarks come at a time when the country has witnessed protests by Dalits against the alleged dilution of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Several organizations working for the rights of Dalits organized a nationwide protest on 2 April.

The Prime Minister also praised the Bihar government under chief minister Nitish Kumar and said the state government would never compromise on corruption and would continue making honest efforts for the betterment of the people.

Comments

Kalimama
 - 
Wednesday, 11 Apr 2018

one of the lofar PM ever india had, completly chitiya man.

MAX
 - 
Wednesday, 11 Apr 2018

Modiji Fasting ke waqt jhoot bolna bhi mana hai

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Agencies
July 29,2020

If everything goes as Russia’s expectation, it will be world’s first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine for widespread in the second week of August despite safety and efficacy concerns, according to a report. The adenoviral vector-based vaccine developed by Russian military and government researchers is currently in phase 2 trials.

According to a report from CNN, Russian officials are hoping to get approval for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute on Agust 10 or even before that. The officials told the outlet that the vaccine will be approved for public use with frontline healthcare workers receiving it first.

“It’s a Sputnik moment,” said Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is financing Russian vaccine research, referring to the successful 1957 launch of the world’s first satellite by the Soviet Union, according to CNN.

“Americans were surprised when they heard Sputnik’s beeping. It’s the same with this vaccine. Russia will have got there first,” he was quoted as saying.

However, Russia is yet to release the scientific data on its coronavirus vaccine trials, hence, questions remain about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, said the report. The vaccine is in the second phase of testing with developers planning to launch the phase 3 trials sometime after August 3.

Earlier, Interfax reported, citing Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, that the vaccine will be widely used in parallel with phase 3 trials. He said the country plans to vaccinate medics who are at high-risk for COVID-19 next month before clinical trials are completed.

Murashko added that individuals at higher risk of getting infected with the coronavirus such as older people or those with health conditions will also be prioritised for the vaccine, although he did not estimate or reveal when that would happen. The minister added 800 people will be recruited for the phase 3 trials.

Meanwhile, health officials were more cautious considering the fact that human testing of the vaccine is incomplete, and the state registration is expected to begin after August 3, reported The Moscow Times.

On Monday, Moderna and Pfizer announced the commencement of the final phase 3 trials of their candidate vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has so far claimed at least 654,477 lives and infected 16,514,500 people worldwide. 

Researchers will recruit up to 30,000 volunteers in separate trials both backed by the US government. India's first indigenous coronavirus vaccine, COVAXIN, is undergoing phase 1 human clinical trials across the country. More than 150 COVID-19 vaccines are being developed all over the world with at least six candidates already in late-stage clinical trials.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has said the monthlong ongoing lockdown has yielded positive results and that the country has managed to save “thousands of lives”.

Modi, who had a videoconference with various heads of the states on Monday, said the impact of the coronavirus, however, will remain visible in the coming months, according to a press statement released by his office. On the issue of getting back Indians who are overseas, the Prime Minister said that this has to be done keeping in mind the fact that they don’t get inconvenienced and their families are not under any risk.

During the meeting with state heads, Modi advocated for social distancing of at least 6 feet and the use of face masks as a rapid response to tackle COVID-19.

He said that states should put their efforts of converting hotspots, or red zones, into “orange and thereafter green zones”.

India last week eased the lockdown by allowing shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming activities to resume in rural areas to help millions of poor, daily-wage earners. But the economic costs of the nationwide lockdown continue to mount in a country of 1.3 billion people.

Modi, who put India under a strict lockdown on March 25, did not say if the lockdown restrictions will extend after May 3.

India has confirmed over 27,000 cases of the coronavirus, including 872 deaths.

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News Network
January 1,2020

New Delhi, Jan 1: In the backdrop of huge losses borne by airlines, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said the government is concerned that more airlines will shut down if predatory pricing continues. "Some predatory pricing is taking place" in airfares, the minister told reporters on Tuesday. Mr Puri however ruled out any plan by the government to regulate airfares. The remarks come amid high competition in the country's aviation sector, struggling against high fuel prices and other operating costs.

"The interesting thing that we have observed is that on Delhi-Mumbai route 20 years ago, the average fare was Rs 5,100. Today, the average fare is Rs 4,600. Some predatory pricing is taking place. It means people are selling tickets below their cost," he said.

"One of our concerns is that if there is predatory pricing, then the airlines will stop functioning. This is not Air India's problem only. Jet Airways got shut down. Before that, it was Kingfisher airline," he said.

IndiGo and SpiceJet - two of the country's biggest airlines - reported losses of Rs 1,062 crore and Rs 463 crore respectively in the second quarter of 2019-20. Other airlines have also reported losses in the quarter that ended on September 30, 2019.

Asked if predatory pricing is the reason for the ill health of the airlines, the minister said, "No, there are many reasons... Predatory pricing is one of the factors. But the profitability of an airline is dependent on (a) number of things."

Asked if the trend of predatory pricing has come down after regular discussion with the airlines, he said, "Yes, absolutely."

"It is (a) constant battle. An ideal situation from an airline's point of view is that they grow and they are also able to charge more fares. What fares they charge is their business. Our advice to them is to charge realistic fares," he added. "It should not be too high. And it is not in your business interests if you are imposing predatory fares."

The minister also said that the government is not planning to regulate fares. "No regulation. It has to be done within deregulation system.... If I put a cap on fare, the airline will start charging that cap only... that cap will become the normal fare... So, within a deregulated structure, we have to bring about an equilibrium," the minister said.

"Government, periodically, at my level or at secretary''s level, we sit down with the main aircraft operators and tell them it is in your interest not to allow such practices which undermine the civil aviation sector."

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