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Sitharaman only the 2nd woman to present Union Budget

Agencies
July 5, 2019

New Delhi, Jul 5: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday became only the second women in the history of independent India to present the Union Budget.

Sitharaman, 59, presented the Modi 2.0 government's maiden budget in the Lok Sabha.

Prior to the presentation, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Budget for 2019-20.

She handed over a copy of the Union Budget to President Ram Nath Kovind before her maiden budget speech.

Breaking away from the brown Budget briefcase, Sitharaman held a red parcel like a bag with a keyhole on the emblem.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first and only women till now to have presented the Union Budget. In 1970, she presented the Union Budget of India for 1970-71, after she took over the finance portfolio following the resignation of Morarji Desai as finance minister.

Gandhi held the portfolio for a year before appointing her home minister, Yashwantrao Chavan, as finance minister. Morarji Desai holds the distinction of presenting the most number of budgets -- 10.

Sitharaman's will present the 29th budget (excluding interim ones) post-economic liberalisation in 1991.

Prior to her, six finance ministers: Manmohan Singh (1991-1996), Yashwant Sinha (1998-2003), Jaswant Singh (2003-2004), P Chidambaram (1996-1998, 2004-2009, 2013-2014), Pranab Mukherjee (2009-2013), and Arun Jaitley (2014-2019) had presented 28 budgets.

In the post-liberalisation era, Chidambaram presented the most number of budgets at eight. Manmohan Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Jaitley presented five budgets each while Pranab Mukherjee presented four. Jaswant Singh presented only one budget.

Jaitley presented all the five Budgets of the Modi government's first tenure but missed out on presenting the interim budget in February this year due to ill-health. Stand-in finance minister Piyush Goyal presented the pre-general election interim budget on February 1 this year.

Sitharaman was also the second women defence minister after Indira Gandhi who held the portfolio till 1982. However, unlike Gandhi, she was the first full-time women defence minister.

Gandhi held the defence ministry portfolio between November 1975 and December 1975 and again from January 1980 to January 1982 alongside being the Prime Minister of the country.

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News Network
February 24,2020

New Delhi, Feb 24: The shared values between India and the US are "discrimination, bigotry, and hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers", Amnesty International USA said in a joint statement with Amnesty International India ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India on Monday.

Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as senior officials of his administration, landed in Ahmedabad on the first leg of his two-day visit to India.

"Anti-Muslim sentiment permeates the policies of both U.S. and Indian leaders. For decades, the U.S.-India relationship was anchored by claims of shared values of human rights and human dignity. Now, those shared values are discrimination, bigotry, and hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers,” Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, was quoted as saying in the statement.

It was a reference to the anti-CAA protests in India, the internet lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir and the Muslim ban expansion by President Trump affecting Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania, the statement said.

It added that Amnesty International USA’s researchers travelled to Lebanon and Jordan to conduct nearly 50 interviews with refugees that as a result of the previous version of the ban have been stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens.

The statement also came down hard on the Indian government, hitting out at the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 and saying it legitimises discrimination based on religious grounds.

It criticised statements such as “identify them (the protestors) by their clothes” or “shoot the traitors” by Prime Minister Modi and his party workers. Such remarks "peddled the narrative of fear and division that has fuelled further violence", it said.

“The internet and political lockdown in Kashmir has lasted for months and the enactment of CAA and the crackdown on protests has shown a leadership that is lacking empathy and a willingness to engage. We call on President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to work with the international community and address our concerns in their bilateral conversations,” Avinash Kumar, executive director, Amnesty International India said in the statement.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

New Delhi, Aug 3: President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday extended warm greetings and good wishes to the countrymen on the occasion of Rakshabandhan.

The President in his message said, "Greetings on Raksha Bandhan! Rakhi is the sacred thread of love and trust that connects sisters with brothers in a special bond. On this day, let us reiterate our commitment to secure the honour and dignity of women."

"Many wishes to all the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Rakshabandhan," Prime Minister Modi tweeted in Hindi.

Rakshabandhan, which is being celebrated today, is a celebration of the unique bond between brothers and sisters. Tying of the Rakhi by sisters, symbolises love, affection and mutual trust between brothers and sisters. 

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News Network
July 17,2020
New Delhi, Jul 17:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that as India's COVID-19 tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark and issued a warning that by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people may be infected in the country. He called on the government to take concrete steps to control the pandemic.
 
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi marked his earlier tweet from July 14 that stated: "This week the figure will cross 10,00,000 in our country."
"The tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark. If COVID-19 continues to spread at the same speed, by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people will be infected in the country.
 
The government must take concrete, planned steps to stop the epidemic," he tweeted today.
With the highest single-day spike of 32,695 cases and 606 deaths, India's COVID-19 tally on Thursday reached 9,68,876, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
 
The total number of COVID-19 cases includes 3,31,146 active cases, 6,12,815 cured/discharged/migrated and 24,915 deaths. 

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