PM Narendra modi email to all bank officers.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has written an email to all bank officers, referring to his Independence Day announcement of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana – the National Mission on Financial Inclusion with the objective of covering all households in the country with banking facilities, and having a bank account for each household. 

Describing the task as “gigantic,” the Prime Minister said, “We need to enroll over 7 crore households and open their accounts. This is a national priority and we must rise to meet this challenge. There is an urgency to this exercise as all other development activities are hindered by this single disability. I am sure we will overcome this situation collectively.”

The Prime Minister has urged bank officers to “put your shoulder to the wheel and try your level best to ensure that no one is left without a bank account. This itself will be a source of immense satisfaction for you and your teams. I will myself recognize the achievements of the best performing branches.”

The Prime Minister said: “The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana lies at the core of our development philosophy ofSab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas. As we move rapidly forward in this knowledge era with modern banking and financial systems, it is untenable that a large majority of our population is deprived of basic banking facilities. I sometimes wonder whether we have made matters so complicated that the poor and the marginalized are those who are trapped in a perpetual cycle of exclusion and deprivation. We need to break that cycle and the Jan Dhan Yojana is the first step in that direction. With a bank account, every household gains access to banking and credit facilities. This will enable them to come out of the grip of moneylenders, manage to keep away from financial crises caused by emergent needs, and most importantly, benefit from a range of financial products.”

As a first step, under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, every account holder gets a RuPay debit card with a Rs 1,00,000/- accident cover. “As we go along, they will be covered by insurance and pension products,” the Prime Minister said.

“I am confident that you will rise to the occasion and contribute to this national endeavour in significant measure. I am there to support you,” the Prime Minister added. 

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana will be launched on 28 August, 2014 across the nation simultaneously. The Prime Minister will launch it formally in Delhi, with parallel functions at the state level which will be attended by Union Ministers, and also at district and sub-district levels. Camps are also to be organized at the branch level.

Mood of Nation Poll: India gives thumbs up to Modi, 57 per cent say he is fittest for PM job.

When Narendra Modi issued orders that the fibre-glass barrier at the podium at Red Fort be removed at 2 a.m. the day before his Independence Day speech, it was more than symbolic. In an extraordinary election campaign, Modi managed to connect instantly to the people, using local heroes, regional dialects and common concerns. He made a direct covenant with the voters: elect me and I will deliver. Ninety days into the new government, having voted overwhelmingly for him, India has kept both its faith and patience. In the India Today Group-Hansa Research Mood of the Nation opinion poll, the first after Modi took office, 57 per cent believe he is best suited to be prime minister, 48 per cent think he has made ministers irrelevant and 47 per cent are sure he will be able to resist the RSS agenda-having lived through the dyarchy of UPA years, voters want power and responsibility to be vested in the same office. If Indians had to go to polls again, 48 per cent say they would vote for BJP again which, though overwhelming, is still less than Modi's personal popularity. If a General Election were to be held today, BJP would get 314 seats, 32 more than on May 16.

Modi was always going to be India's chief executive officer. But he is its Chief Emotive Officer too, reaching out to previously uneasy communities with his firm displays of bi-partisanship, whether it was his moving speech in Parliament or his passionate Independence Day address. While 76 per cent respondents feel safe under the Modi Government, 68 per cent Muslims share the sentiment. Even more surprisingly, more Muslims say they will vote for the BJP (29 per cent) if they had to again, rather than for the Congress (24 per cent). What's more, Modi seems to be in step with India, perhaps as a result of his famed system of feedback. According to the India Today Group-Hansa Research poll, 69 per cent believe textbooks need to be revised, 43 per cent do not want FDI in retail and an alarming 41 per cent believe that criminal proceedings for comments in Facebook are not an infringement of freedom of speech. Buoyed by the BJP's tremendous victory, India is still a nation with hope, waiting patiently for achche din. As many as 49 per cent believe their financial situation will improve in future while 65 per cent think that the Modi Government will be able to put the economy back on track in the next six months. But in what is the greatest sign of a mature democracy, respondents have indicated they want a strong Opposition and hope the Congress will play that role in the Lok Sabha. India wants a leader but not an unfettered one. Indian voters are generous. They are willing to give Rahul Gandhi another chance, preferring him to his sister Priyanka and even his mother Sonia Gandhi. They believe the First Family is the only one capable of providing leaders to the party. It's a message Rahul should act on, and do so consistently agitating about communal violence in the nation one day and then not speaking at the debate in Parliament is not the sign of a man capable of standing up to Modi. But the clock is ticking. Respondents have given Modi a deadline of six months. They do not want precious resources wasted on tokenism like the Sardar Patel statue and 67 per cent say they are not earning enough to meet rising expenses. Modi has already unveiled a more accountable government which works longer and harder. Power brokers from Delhi drawing rooms and five-star hotel suites are being edged out of the establishment. There has not been the whiff of scandal so far there is accountability even for what would be considered small change, as in the Rs.70,000 bribe allegedly taken by the Central Board of Film Certification CEO. And the arrow of public service has hit home, with two corporates already pledging Rs.100 crore each to building toilets. His Government would touch everyone in one way or the other, Modi said. E-governance, e-education, e-commerce and telemedicine would cut the interface between the bureaucrat and the public, removing kickbacks and sloth. But will that be enough? As the poll shows, people want better public services but don't want to pay for them. There are more anomalies: other than real estate, why do the children of liberalised India still wish to "invest" in bank FDs? Or even as they lambast politicians as corrupt, why has one in four respondents paid a bribe? As economist Bibek Debroy points out, if change, even in the economic domain, has been slow across various governments since 1991, that's also because citizens don't necessarily want it. Both India and Modi will have to get used to each other. They have at least five years to do so.

Heckling of CMs: How is Narendra Modi responsible, asks Uddhav Thackeray

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be held responsible for the booing and heckling of non-BJP chief ministers in some states, including Maharashtra, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has said. "The people who are booing are not imported from Gujarat or New Delhi, they belonged to Maharashtra, ditto in Haryana," Thackeray said, referring to the hooting of chief ministers of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand in official functions attended by Modi in the past few days. In an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana', he said Modi won the Lok Sabha election with a convincing mandate and wherever he goes, people raise slogans praising him. "How can you hold Modi responsible for this?" Thackeray asked. Thackeray termed "unfortunate" the decision of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to boycott the prime minister's functions in Nagpur two days ago, but said such sloganeering reveals the mood of the people who are not in favour of the Congress. Implying that the Bharatiya Janata Party activists were repaying the Congress, Thackeray recalled the days of the previous Congress-led central government when Modi was the Gujarat chief minister. "Under the UPA regime, Modi was virtually a persona non grata, and no occasion was spared to insult him, though he was a duly elected chief minister of a state," Thackeray said. He said that during chief ministers' conferences in New Delhi, Modi was treated like a "step-brother", and the Congress-led government stooped to such tactics which could never be forgiven. The issue of heckling non-BJP chief ministers came to a boiling point when, in an unprecedented move, Chavan and other ministers of the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance boycotted Modi's functions in Nagpur. Other non-BJP chief ministers have also threatened to skip official functions in which the prime minister would be present to avoid heckling by BJP activists.

Congress CMs wary of sharing dais with PM Narendra Modi

Shaken by the booing of their Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday, Congress chief ministers are wary of sharing the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in election-bound states, fearing that BJP would use these events to embarrass them by orchestrating protests. Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan has decided to skip a function in Nagpur where he was to lay the foundation of Metro with Modi on Thursday. At the same time, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has asked the PMO to ensure that he is not put in an embarrassing position when he joins Modi at a function in Ranchi on Thursday. Chavan announced his decision to skip the foundation-laying ceremony of Nagpur Metro, pointing to a pattern in the booing of Hooda and his own experience at an earlier event with the PM in Solapur where Modi chose to attack the now-dislodged UPA government. READ ALSO: BJP supporters heckle Haryana CM Hooda at event with PM "In my opinion, the recent incidents in Solapur and Haryana in the presence of Modi had adverse impact on our federal structure. Under such circumstances, I decided not to attend the Nagpur event,'' Chavan told reporters. The concern of CMs coincide with Congress's resentment over the Kaithal incident where Hoodda was heckled with Modi by his side. Congress circles feel the protest was organized by the BJP to paint rival CMs as unpopular, and could be part of a saffron strategy in poll-bound states where BJP is on a strong wicket electorally. In fact, much before Chavan announced his decision, Congress managers started mounting pressure on the party leadership to direct its CMs to keep an arm's length from Modi till the elections. A party leader said Sonia Gandhi was apprised of the concern in writing. A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Hooda was heckled by BJP supporters while he shared stage with Modi. Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Haryana are set for assembly polls later this year and most of the PM's visits are focused on these states. BJP, however, dismissed Congress's decision as a political antic meant to cover up the discontent facing them. "Our government respects all CMs — be it ours or of other parties. When the PM goes somewhere, the CM sits next to him and he (PM) accords all due respect to him. But if the people are angry with the CMs, what can the government do about it," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said. "The situation in Maharashtra and Haryana is such that the CMs are not ready to face the public. When public asks questions from them, they demand answers. People in Haryana seem to be angry with Hooda and that is not our fault. Hooda should introspect," Hussain added. His colleague Sudhanshu Trivedi further said, "BJP workers are, of course, expected to exercise restraint but Congress is fooling itself by passing off the protest against Haryana CM as something which was staged by his political opponent. What happened at Kaithal was a spontaneous eruption of public grievance against 10 years of the worst kind of corruption and usurpation of farmers' land by Hooda government for its masters and favourite businessmen." He added, "Congress would have done itself a service by engaging in self-introspection rather than decide to skip PM's function and play victim to garner sympathy which is not there.. Those who are in public life should be take adulation and protest in the same stride." Trivedi also said BJP never displayed such synthetic outrage during the years Congress was in power. AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmed justified the concern expressed by the Jharkhand CM. "There is a political design behind the incidents. PM is visiting Jharkhand on Thursday and CM Soren should be cautious. It's not only about Congress CMs. All self-respecting CMs of the Opposition should avoid political functions of Modi, which are being held in the name of public functions," he said.

The man who would remake India: A 90-day scorecard

Ninety days, Modi has made some unpopular decisions, such as approving diesel price hikes and ratcheting up the cost of railway tickets. But how much real change has he brought overall to the world's largest democracy?

Indian voters put Narendra Modi into office as prime minister three months ago as the former regional governor ran on an agenda of tackling inflation, taxes and rampant corruption. Ninety days, Modi has made some unpopular decisions, such as approving diesel price hikes and ratcheting up the cost of railway tickets. But how much real change has he brought overall to the world's largest democracy? Investment bank BNP Paribas India outlined a number of notable changes made by the government so far under Modi, including: • The percentage of foreign direct investment allowed in insurance firms was raised from 26 percent to 49 percent, subject to parliamentary approval • Passenger fare and rail freight rate hikes • Continuing gradual diesel deregulation—according to Amit Shah of BNP Paribas, the diesel subsidy is very close to being wiped out altogether • The formalization of rules for long-term infrastructure bonds • Hiking foreign direct investment limits in defense firms (from 26 percent to 49 percent) and railways (up to 100 percent) • Simplifying environmental and forest clearance rules • Controlling inflation by releasing food and grain stocks • Labor law reforms, mainly relating to procedural changes to statutory filings and labor inspections John Kriley, international investment analyst at S&P Capital IQ, said Modi needs to enact further reforms while he has early momentum, especially with regard to regulating the retail industry. Kriley characterized Modi's work so far as "not impressive, but promising." "He [Modi] established his credentials for reform in the state of Gujarat and he has pledged to do more for the country as a whole, but what he plans on doing remains to be seen," noted Kriley. In addition to the regulatory changes Modi has made, investors have applauded him for bringing about a cultural shift, introducing a certain level of work ethic back to the country, especially the capital New Delhi. Bureaucrats on the ground in India told CNBC that they're seeing more top-level executives showing up to work early and spending less time at the golf course. "He [Modi] has thus created a culture of meritocracy and transparency where earlier a culture of bonhomie and favor-seeking existed," said Suhel Seth, managing partner at Counselage India, a brand marketing consultancy. Read More: New sanctions? Russia may ban Western car imports Several India watchers note Modi's no-nonsense leadership style is what helped the state of Gujurat become so successful, but it ignited a level of fear in those who worked for Modi. "Modi has sent out a strong signal that there will no longer be a culture of 'friends' doing business together at the expense of governance," noted Seth.

Modi promises tough steps to end corruption

Development was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra at a rally in poll-bound Haryana on Tuesday. He also said he had people's blessings to take tough steps against corruption. "Let's take the mantra of development to every corner of the state," Modi said from a stage in Kaithal in Kurukshetra district after laying the foundation stone of a Kaithal-Rajasthan border section of National Highway. "The number of people gathered here shows the importance of development in the lives of the people. A nation that gives impetus to infrastructure - be it roads, rail, airport - that is where chances of development increase," he said. "Development is the only path that will take us forward. It will get rid of our difficulties. The first aspiration of common man is development," he said. The Prime Minister said infrastructure has to be of modern. "We cannot do with infrastructure of the last century. Any contractor comes and makes a road and it gets destroyed in the monsoon. This won't do. People are hungry for international-level roads," he said. "When the road network increases, the avenues of development increase too. Connecting Haryana to Rajasthan is not only about cars passing one way from the other. It is good for commerce too," Modi said. Modi then attacked corruption, asking the crowd if he had their blessings to take stringent action against graft. "This feeling of "mera kya" and 'mujhe kya' (why should I care) has ruined the nation. We need to free nation from corruption. Do I have your blessings to take strict action against corruption? This menace of corruption is so dangerous, it can destroy the nation. And I can see that the nation can't bear injustice any longer," he said. Modi also said he knew Haryana as much as he knew Gujarat. He said he had lived in the state for many years and had learnt a lot. Modi with Haryana CM"I said it earlier and I am saying it now- Haryana has a special right over me," he said. Modi said several Central schemes, which were in limbo, will be started again in Haryana. "Some Central schemes that had to be completed have not. I assure that we will try to ensure they are completed," he said. He then gave a call to the state government to work in tandem with the Centre. "Be it the state or Central government, let us work together for the development of Haryana," he said. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present at the stage. There were reports that he was hooted while he addressed the crowd. Haryana goes to polls in October.

Banks rise on PM's financial inclusion plan

Shares of fourteen banks rose by 0.06% to 2.28% at 10:49 IST on BSE after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new financial scheme to help the poor open bank accounts. Yes Bank (up 2.28%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2.11%), ICICI Bank (up 1.28%), Union Bank of India (up 0.91%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.90%), Axis Bank (up 0.87%), HDFC Bank (up 0.87%), Canara Bank (up 0.84%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.84%), Bank of India (up 0.71%), Federal Bank (up 0.52%), State Bank of India (up 0.52%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.18%) and IDBI Bank (up 0.06%), edged higher. The BSE Bankex was up 1.16% to 17,450.90. It outperformed the Sensex, which was up 0.42% at 26,212.78. The BSE Bankex had underperformed the market over the past one month till 14 August 2014, rising 3.95% compared with 4.38% rise in the Sensex. The index had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 6.12% as against Sensex's 9.61% rise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, 15 August 2014, launched 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' to help the poor open bank accounts, which will come with the facility of a debit card and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh. Observing that people have mobile phones but not bank accounts, Modi said, the scheme will help in bringing the benefits of formal banking system to them. Under the Jan Dhan Yojana, Modi said that the person who will open bank account will get a debit card and the family will get Rs 1 lakh insurance cover. This will help the family to tide over the unforeseen eventuality. According to media reports, the Union Cabinet has already cleared the two-phase financial inclusion scheme under which bank accounts will be opened for 15 crore poor persons with an overdraft facility of Rs 5000 and accident insurance of Rs 1 lakh. The scheme, to be pushed by the government in a mission mode, seeks to provide two accounts to 7.5 crore identified households by August 2018, reports added. The main features of the scheme include Rs 5,000 overdraft facility for Aadharlinked accounts, Ru Pay Debit Card with inbuilt Rs 1 lakh accident insurance cover and minimum monthly renumeration of Rs 5,000 to business correspondents who will provide the last link between the account holders and the bank.

Pakistan shuts window of opportunity opened by Modi ABP

India called off the scheduled foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, objecting to its envoy meeting Kashmir separatists on the eve of the dialogue. The tough response renders bleak prospects of resumption of dialogue with Pakistan anytime soon. Pakistan's engagement with Kashmir separatists has always caused heartburns in New Delhi, but never led to the breakdown of dialogue. With the unprecedented response to latest provocation from Pakistan, the Modi government has set the bar high for Islamabad. "Pakistan and powers within that country do not want Indo-Pak ties to be normal," said defence minister Arun Jaitley while visiting forward posts on the border. High-level government sources said India had told Pakistan that this sort of indulgence to separatists was unacceptable when Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif came for the inauguration of the Modi regime. Sharif had heeded the advice, and stayed away from the Hurriyat group when he came here on May 26. However, on Monday morning, Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit turned down foreign secretary Sujatha Singh when she asked him not to go ahead with his meeting with separatists scheduled later in the day. Singh warned Basit that the Indian government would take a dim view of the meeting and asked the Pakistani high commissioner to choose between meeting separatists and the government. She dismissed his explanation that his meetings were to facilitate the peace process in Kashmir, saying India needed no such assistance. The talks between Sujatha Singh and her Pakistani counterpart, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, would have been the first official-level meeting by the Narendra Modi government. "Pakistan has to decide whom it wants to engage with: with the government of India or the separatists. They should realize that no effort at friendship can be considered genuine if they engage in such unfriendly acts," said a top-level government functionary. Pakistani high commissioner Abdul Basit (R) and Shabir Shah, president of Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party after a meeting at Pakistan high commission in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI photo) The Pakistan High Commission reacted to India's decision by saying that such meetings had happened in the past, like when Mathai met his Jalil Jilani and when Krishna met Hina Khar, the High Commission had met Hurriyat. According to Pakistan diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, India was running away from talks and the decision to call it off was "an attempt to divert attention from internal issues." India's decision came just three days after Modi refrained from attacking Pakistan in his Independence Day address and offered a partnership in the battle against poverty in Saarc countries. Announcing the cancellation of talks, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, "Indian foreign secretary conveyed to the Pakistani high commissioner today, in clear and unambiguous terms, that Pakistan's continued efforts to interfere in India's internal affairs were unacceptable. It was underlined that the Pakistani high commissioner's meetings with these so-called leaders of the Hurriyat undermines the constructive diplomatic engagement initiated by Prime Minister Modi in May on his very first day in office." The Indian statement questioned Pakistan's sincerity and questioned its "negative approaches". Disregarding India's views, Basit went ahead to meet Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Ahmad Shah and Yasin Malik. The shift in Islamabad's response since May 26 when Sharif departed from the familiar Pakistani routine of hosting separatists is attributed to the power tussle within the neighbouring country. Thousands of opponents of Sharif have laid siege to Islamabad and have vowed to stay put until he quits. This may have allowed the Pakistan Army, which objected to Sharif not meeting separatists, to gain an upper hand. Although Modi used tough rhetoric against Pakistan during election campaign (when he said "talks are drowned in the sound of guns"), he took a more generous approach to Pakistan after taking over, including a feel-good conversation with Nawaz Sharif on the very first day. This despite the fact that the ISI-supported LeT had just attacked the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan. On the Independence Day too, the PM refrained from mentioning Pakistan except to invite SAARC countries to join the battle against poverty. A file photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pak counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New Delhi. The shift to hardline position on Monday invited criticism of being confused, or floundering for lack of a policy. Given that Hurriyat meetings with Pakistan leaders have been very frequent, the government's sharp reaction has been criticized as being extreme, and making it difficult to go back to the table. Congress spokesperson, Anand Sharma said, "The question is not about calling off the talks. The question to be asked is what prompted the Modi government to decide to hold the foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan when there was constant provocation from that side through ceasefire violations, giving clean chit to Hafiz Saeed, key accused in Mumbai terror strikes and so on?" Hussain Haqqani, former Pakistan envoy to the US, tweeted, "Was not euphoric about 'new beginning' rhetoric on India-Pakistan rels (sic) hence not surprised by latest developments." Yasin Malik of JKLF, who met the Pakistan envoy, protested the government decision, saying, it showed India was not interested in talking about Kashmir at all, only in talking trade with Pakistan. Although the decision to call off the talks coincided with an increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan, sources said this was not the reason for India's protest. Ceasefire on the LOC has held nominally, violations are now more the norm than the exception. Just in the past fortnight, there have been over 10 violations by Pakistan, with three occurring in the span of 24 hours.

India calls off talks after Pakistan envoy ignores signal to not engage with Hurriyat leaders

India today sent out a stern message to Pakistan by calling off foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan that were scheduled for 25 August in Islamabad. Earlier in the day, senior separatist leader Shabbir Shah had told the media in New Delhi after meeting Pakistan High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit that he hoped that India accepts that Kashmir is a "disputed region" and the talks need to be trilateral rather than being bilateral which were not effective enough till date. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI India was clearly peeved when Basit invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for "consultations" before the talks in Islamabad. Not only that Pakistan also resorted to firing on 20 Border Security Force throughout Sunday night. As per reports, Indian foreign security Sujatha Singh called up the Pakistan High Commissioner to inform him that her talks ahead with her counterpart in Islamabad AA Chowdhury has been cancelled. "Pakistan High Commissioner's meeting with the 'so-called' separatist leaders undermines the constructive diplomatic engagement initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his very first day in office. The invitation to the so-called Hurriyat leaders by the Pakistani High Commissioner so-called raises doubts about Pakistan's sincerity," Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbauddin told ANI. He made it clear unless talks are held within the framework of Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration, they will be rendered futile. The MEA spokesperson made it amply clear that Pakistan's bonhomie with the Hurriyat Conference amounts to interfering with India's internal affairs. The hard stand by the NDA government is in opposition to the soft stand taken by then prime minister Manmohan Singh through the Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement on 16 July 2009 along with his then Pakistani counterpart Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. "The two Prime Ministers had a cordial and constructive meeting. They considered the entire gamut of bilateral relations with a view to charting the way forward in India-Pakistan relations. Both leaders agreed that terrorism is the main threat to both countries. Both leaders affirmed their resolve to fight terrorism and to cooperate with each other to this end.... Both Prime Ministers recognised that dialogue is the only way forward. Action on terrorism should not be linked to the composite dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. Prime Minister Singh said that India was ready to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including all outstanding issues," the joint statement had said. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi had surprised everyone by inviting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in May this year, the euphoria soon got lost due to Pakistani forces' continuous violation of the ceasefire both along the International Border and Line of Control.

Gandhis hog bulk of Cong campaign spends; BJP could show a Modi skew too

When it comes to the Gandhis, the Congress is clearly not afraid to put its money where its mouth is. Literally. A report in The Times of India says that the grand old party spent a whopping 93 percent of its 2013 assembly poll budget on advertising and travel expenses of the Gandhi family, and a few other star campaigners like Manish Tewari, Digvijaya Singh, AK Antony and Jyotiraditya Scindia. This amounted to around Rs 30 crore, the report said, adding that the travel expenditure of all other party leaders combined in the five states was less than Rs 7 lakh. This was also the case in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul and Modi are both 'star campaigners' According to the data, the Congress's first family was a clear favourite of the party when it came to distribution of funds in the last general elections. This has been gleaned from expenditure data submitted by party treasurer Motilal Vora recently to the Election Commission. The interesting point to note is that while crores were spent on Sonia and Rahul for the assembly elections, their own expenses to get themselves elected to the Lok Sabha this year could not have exceeded Rs 70 lakh - the upper limit in large states like Uttar Pradesh, where both mother and son got elected. The data revealed that all Congress candidates in the last Lok Sabha polls on an average got Rs 10 lakh each as the party's financial support. However, this situation is unlikely to be unique to the Congress, for in the BJP camp, the bulk of the campaign expenses would have been spent on Narendra Modi and a few top leaders. Poll expenditures figures for the BJP during the same period have not been released as yet, but it is highly likely that we will see a similar percentage of poll funds expended towards the party's star campaigner. Why? Because the poll expenditure limits placed on candidates is low. For example, in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the upper limits for expenditure on candidates was raised from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 70 lakh in the bigger states and from Rs 22 lakh to Rs 54 lakh in smaller states. However, the late Gopinath Munde created a storm last year when he claimed he spent Rs 8 crore on his Lok Sabha election. He later recanted, and claimed it was mere rhetoric. However, it is an open secret that few candidates stick to their poll limits. The extra spending is either not disclosed, or sometimes gets lumped in the expenditures of star campaigners. When costs are attributed to star campaigners like Modi or the Gandhi family, it is tougher to stick the numbers to individual candidates with lower limits. The line separating the costs of star campaigners and candidates is often deliberately blurred. According to information provided by the Association for Democratic Rights - and election watchdog - the BJP has missed the deadline to furnish details of its expenditure on advertising and travel for its candidates. But given the party's high decibel advertising campaign and the frequency with which Modi was helicoptered in and out of all states, the chances are the data will show a larger overall amount was spent on advertising and Modi's campaigns and travels

It is difficult to read Modi's Mind

It is difficult to know what modi will going to do next.As he surprises by all his decison.He write his own Script. The supremely wily British PM, Harold Macmillan, when asked by a reporter what he feared most in politics, said, “Events, dear boy. Events.” By that he meant unexpected and unanticipated occurrences that can derail the most stable of governments. Modi, who after nearly 100 days in office looks in total command, seems sure of not just one term in office, but two or even three. With an opposition that is decimated and devastated, and the overwhelming majority of public opinion behind him, he looks extremely secure. (Clearly, I don’t share his feeling that he is getting a curtailed honeymoon; he is actually getting an extended honeymoon period.) Assuming Modi continues to live in 7, Race Course Road for a fair amount of time, what kind of India will he usher in? First, it will be an India over which he has absolute political control. This should be clearly apparent to even the most novice commentator. To implement his vision for India, Modi intends to consolidate power both within the government and the party. With Amit Shah as the new president of the BJP and Arun Jaitley as his right-hand man, that goal is already half-achieved. There is opposition to him within the party—from LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi and some chief ministers—but they can only strike when Modi seriously falters, loses public support and, most importantly, loses RSS backing. When and if that will happen is something I will refrain from speculating on, except that it cannot be ruled out. What is Modi’s vision for India? Prior to and just after the elections, he seemed prepared to make the country a right-wing paradise, extremely friendly to big business and unfriendly to the welfare state and jholawallahs. After the Budget, though, things seem less certain. While the BJP constituency, the middle and the neo-middle class, are being pampered, the PM is pulling his punches. P Chidambaram, the UPA government’s finance minister, is already claiming the Budget as his—that there is something for everybody. True. Modi has ruffled a few feathers and appears to be cruising along a centrist path. Of course, this is his first (and early) Budget. Therefore, he may be testing waters before embarking on transformative measures. Nevertheless, all indications are that the expected turn to the right may be both marginal and gradual. The welfare state is not about to be dismantled and the jholawallahs are not being sent to prison. So, what is his vision? I would like to reserve my judgement on the question. Certainly, the speed at which Modi was scheduled to move the country away from the centrist consensus has slowed. Does that mean we will have a status quo as far as policy is concerned? Perhaps Modi has realised that unlike Europe and the United States, India is not a middle-class society. While this class is growing, the predominant class here is the poor. Whatever criteria you fix, at least 35 percent of the 1.2 billion people will be the poor. There is no way any astute government can ignore that fact. The pink papers tell us that PM Modi has spurned the radical advice of Messrs Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya sticking firmly to the middle path. Whether he will continue on that road is an open question. Pseudo-secularists like me will continue to worry about the Hindutva agenda, and the manner in which it will be implemented. There have been a few troubling signs: The killing of the Muslim techie in Pune, the Muzaffarnagar riot-accused being rewarded with ministerial posts, and above all, Modi’s reluctance to comment on communal violence, is distressing. From what I understand of Modi’s character and temperament—and I hope this doesn’t sound too Freudian — he is a stubborn man. The more you tell him to do something, the less likely he is to do it. Therefore, let me state this plainly. Modi’s refusal to condemn certain acts of his party men and party affiliates is cause for much concern. People of all faiths look up to him for the preservation of the country’s secular fabric, even as he curbs minority appeasement started by the previous government. Alas, I detect no clarity here. I’m not suggesting that the PM has given in to communal elements of the Sangh Parivar; unfortunately, he has not condemned them either. His complaint of not getting his requisite honeymoon period does not apply to the unexpected honeymoon he is enjoying with the RSS. Modi, one should remember, has successfully and ruthlessly crushed Parivar personnel and the projects they ran in his home state. So, he has a record of being out of sync with the parent organisation. All that seems to have been forgotten. Modi and Mohan Bhagwat [RSS chief] are the best of friends now. But, for how long? Currently, the PM is keeping the RSS happy by giving it control over cultural and educational bodies. The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) has already gone to a Parivar man. More such appointments will follow. However, I am not sure if the RSS will be satisfied with small change. Sooner rather than later, the RSS vision of India and the Modi vision of India must clash. Who will blink first? They will clash in the political and economic areas. If Modi is serious about taking economic reform forward — how long can the PM keep stalling FDI in multi-brand retail? - he will have to take on the gentlemen at Jhandewalan [RSS headquarters in Delhi]. On the political front, the PM will be under pressure to give the RSS its ‘pound of flesh’. Either on the Uniform Civil Code or Article 370 or the Ram Temple, he will have to compromise. And we know Modi is not a compromising person. In the area of foreign affairs, Modi has bowled a googly to both his foes and friends. His audacious invitation to Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif does not fit into his Pakistan-baiting background. Indeed, he has shown both pragmatism and courage in reaching out to the international community which may have had some misgivings about him. I remember my occasional cups of afternoon tea with former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He often reminded me how it took a Republican President, Richard Nixon, to normalise US-China relations. Similarly, he said, “I, a BJP prime minister, will normalise relations with Pakistan.” Vajpayee tried heroically but failed. I don’t know if Modi has embarked on a similar mission, but his general approach towards our estranged neighbour and the neighbourhood is distinctly encouraging. In this context, it must be noted that the PM’s first overseas visit was to Bhutan. Since I am a journalist, and one who in the past has been at loggerheads with Narendrabhai (although I must remind readers that since December 2013, in all my journalism and TV appearances, I have urged Modi’s critics to give him the “chance” he so eagerly asks for, and to judge him not on his past but present), the media’s relations with the BJP government and Modi in particular are of special interest to me. I am not giving away any secrets when I say that more than any politician it is Modi who doesn’t relish criticism, especially when it comes from the English media. These 'snobbish' ladies and gentlemen have not only patronised him, but also called him a 'mass murderer'. It would be no surprise if he is itching to get even with them. I hope he resists the temptation though. First, he will unnecessarily tie himself up in knots and waste a lot of his precious energy. Second, it is a battle he must lose: If he opens a front against the media, he may register some short-term victories, but in the end, the media will defeat him. It is significant that in nearly three months in office, Modi has not felt the need to appoint a press advisor (who is usually a senior journalist). Besides, on his trips to Bhutan and Brazil, he did not take a media party, except the safe PTI and Doordarshan. The PM does not like the media and the media does not like the PM—even though it is singing his praises now. Thus it is better for him to persist with his current policy of keeping them at arm’s length—cordial but distant. Modi has many challenges, as any PM does. But he has an extra challenge. Most of his enemies are within. And I hope he doesn’t have an ‘Et tu...’ moment like Julius Caesar.

TCS pledges Rs 100 crore for PM Narendra Modi's 'Clean India' initiative

Tata Consultancy Services), country's largest software services exporter on Monday announced that it will earmark a budget of Rs 100 crore to be spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government's 'Clean India' initiative. TCS would finance hygienic sanitation facilities for girl students across 10,000 schools in the country, the company said in a press release. "This significant investment in school sanitation will help children, especially girl students, to participate in school education for a longer period of time and play a larger economic role in their communities," the company said. Commenting on TCS's decision, N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD said, "TCS is proud to support the Prime Minister's Clean India initiative and would like to pledge a sum of Rs 100 crore towards it." "We firmly believe that achieving the mission of providing hygienic sanitation for girl students will have a tangible impact on the level of education achievement and development of India's next generation," Chandrasekaran added. Stressing on "dignity of women", Modi had in his Independence Day speech urged parliamentarians and the corporate sector to help build separate toilets for girls in schools across the country by next year. "I want to start one work from today. There should be a toilet in all the schools of our country. A separate toilet for girls...it is only then our girls will not have to quit schools. "I urge all MPs using MPLADS funds, spend your money in building toilets in schools. I also appeal to the corporate sector of our country. Under the Corporate Social Responsibility, whatever you are spending, give priority to building toilets in schools," Modi had said.

Pakistan Vs India at border As Pakistan provokes ceasefire violation yet again

In a major ceasefire violation that lasted throughout the night, Pakistani troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling and fired with automatic weapons at 20 Border Out Posts and civilian areas along the International Border in Jammu sector, leaving a villager injured. "Pakistan Rangers armed with heavy weaponry resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing of automatic weapons on 15 to 20 Border Out Posts (BoPs) in Arnia and R S Pura sub-sectors in Jammu district around 2130 hours last night", a BSF officer said on Monday. The BSF troops responded with equal caliber weapons to Pakistan's firing which resulted in intermittent exchanges of fire, which stopped around 0630 hours today, the officer said. An elderly villager identified as Attar Singh of Treva hamlet was injured in the mortar shelling, he said. There were reports that Pakistani Rangers also fired 82-mm mortars on BoPs and some civilian areas in Arnia and R S Pura. Most of the borderline in R S Pura and Arnia was shelled by the Pakistani Rangers throughout the night, making it the biggest ceasefire violation this year. The cross-border firing comes ahead of the August 25 Foreign Secretary talks between India and Pakistan. This is the 11th ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along LoC and IB in Jammu region during the past 10 days and the 12th in August this year. Pakistani troops had yesterday violated the ceasefire twice by resorting to heavily firing with automatic and small arms along Arnia sub-sector in International Border and Hamirpur sub-sector in Jammu and Poonch districts. On August 14, Pakistani troops had resorted to unprovoked small arms and automatic weapons firing on Indian posts along LoC in Hamirpur sector of Poonch district. Besides this, there were two other violations of ceasefire in Balakote (Mendhar) and Hamirpur sectors in Poonch on August 14. On August 13, Pakistani troops had resorted to firing by small arms and automatic weapons on forward posts along LoC in Bhimbher Gali sector of Poonch district, in which one jawan was injured. On August 12, Pakistani Rangers resorted to heavy firing with mortar shells, small arms and automatic weapons on five BoPs and civilian areas along the IB in Arnia-R S Pura areas in Jammu district. Two BSF jawans were among four persons injured on August 11 when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by firing with small arms, automatic weapons and mortar shells on 10 border out posts and civilian areas along the International Border in Arnia and RS Pura belts of Jammu district. On August 10, Pakistani troops had violated ceasefire by targeting Indian forward posts with small arms and automatic weapons along the Line of Control in Mendhar sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting Indian forces to retaliate. Pakistani troops had violated the ceasefire on August 8 by resorting to firing on Indian Posts along LoC in Bhimbher Gali sector of Poonch district. On August 5, there was a ceasefire violation along the LoC in Poonch.

Modi Loss this time

The 35 Indians packed into an airtight shipping container unloaded at a British port today are an example of the importance of ports and exports in India’s prosperity that Modi referred to in his Independence Day speech yesterday. Goonda Modi wants to keep India in the gutter, providing cheap labor to foreign companies. You do not abolish the Planning Commission, you immediately increase the size of the Plans tenfold or twenty fold, with unlimited amount of capital available by printing the money, to produce and provide free house, free 4 sets of clothing, free bicycle, free food, free education, free computer etc. to everyone. AMagicalSolutionToPovertyDOTblogspotDOTcom . And unimaginable prosperity in 10 years. India doesn’t do that because it is still under colonial rule through RAW which is a branch of the CIA because of the over 10 million Indians killed after 1857 by gun and sword in just Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar out of a total Indian population of 200 million. For the first time now India has the means to destroy its colonial masters by exploding the nuclear warheads emplaced in Washington and New York with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be similarly destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. (August 11, 2014) INDIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY IN GRAVE DANGER Home Minister Rajnath Singh says we can have a dialog on Kashmir under the ambit of “Insaniyat” (humanity). But the Kashmir problem exists because a Pakistan exists which exists because of Hindu-Muslim conflict created by the Intelligence Bureau (which is under the Home Ministry) and which continues to do so as RAW. Under Satish Chandra there will be no United States, no CIA-RAW and no Kashmir problem. Both the Congress party and the BJP supported the secessionist Telangana movement because the politicians of both parties are controlled by the CIA and whatever public presence or public office they may have is under the sponsorship of the CIA via RAW. Both parties and their politicians have been participating in the crimes of CIA-RAW against Satish Chandra who can make India the supreme military and economic power in the world immediately and both parties must be rubbed out. After what I have written below about the United States as the enemy, CIA-RAW have been doing all they can to divert attention to Muslims as the enemy, as part of which Modi is visiting Siachen and Kargil; this bugger will do all he can to tell his CIA masters locations of India’s nuclear weapons emplaced in U.S. cities; he cannot be removed from office fast enough. After Vajpayee as prime minister had conducted the nuclear tests in 1998, I had written how the tests, conducted at my prodding, had been pre-arranged with the Americans whose lifelong agent he has been upon which the control of India’s nuclear weapons was taken away from him -- rather, he gave up control after I expressed a lack of confidence in him -- and given to K. R. Narayanan who was president. This will not do; I have shown how Pranab Mukherjee is also a U. S. agent. I must have direct control of India’s nuclear arsenal. No one else qualifies. (August 9, 2014) By now it is clear that the Telangana movement was a secessionist movement -- secession from India to restore a separate Nizam Hyderabad state. It must be nipped in the bud by nullifying the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh immediately. As usual, the CIA was behind this secessionist movement. After I wrote about the grounding of the Dhruv helicopter fleet having been engineered to facilitate multi-billion dollar purchases of American helicopters, talk of these purchases abruptly stopped but talk of co-development and co-production of military equipment with this enemy continues and it must also stop. Whatever votes BJP got were due to U.S. National Security Agency satellites and, even if they were not, votes of the uninformed masses have no meaning; the BJP must immediately quit or be removed by India’s nuclear forces by the simultaneous destruction of Washington, New York, RAW headquarters, South Block and North Block. (August 8, 2014) I have pointed out (in ‘Indian Air Force Pilots’ Murder’ : IndianAirForcePilotsMurderDOTblogspotDOTcom) that crashes of India’s Sikhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft have been engineered to facilitate a decision to purchase multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter aircraft, once only 2 days before the purchase decision. Similarly the current grounding of India’s Dhruv helicopter fleet has been engineered to facilitate the multi-billion dollar purchases of American Chinook and Apache helicopters for which the American Defence Secretary is allegedly in India. (August 3, 2014) INDIA, THE SOLE SUPERPOWER, BLOCKED WTO ACCORD DESIRED BY THE UNITED STATES Those who are surprised by India blocking a World Trade Organization accord strongly desired by the United States have not been paying attention to the fact that, thanks to Satish Chandra, India is now the sole superpower and can dictate to the United States in any and all matters -- because of India’s nuclear warheads emplaced in Washington, New York and other U.S. cities ready to be exploded to destroy Washington and New York with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation -- and can compel the United States to do anything it wants it to do and, through the United States, compel any other country to do whatever it wants it to do. IndiasLegitimateRulerSatishChandraDOTblogspotDOTcom (August 1, 2014) The United States objects to India stockpiling grain because it “distorts trade”; can you imagine a more ridiculous excuse? The archetype of India’s population in the American mind is the “Starving Indians” and stockpiling grain interferes with the Americans doing what they please with the starving Indians. India should accept no caps at all on the stockpiling of grain. In the middle 1960s there was a media-created impending famine in India and shiploads of wheat were imported from the United States under PL480 -- basically to bring Indira Gandhi who had just become prime minister under American control -- which no one bought because it looked red and tasted funny and everyone bought regular Indian wheat though it cost more. In January 1967 I went to the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago. A man sitting on a bench, on learning I was from India, said “They will have to start killing some of them” and, having voiced his innermost feelings about Indians, quickly changed to willingly sharing with friends. I have said that the United States’ long term intent and behavior toward India is genocidal and the stockpiling of grain interferes with this intent. After I published a paper on him, psychologist B. F. Skinner first lauded it very highly but after suffering a very severe public rebuke from his own followers on account of his plagiarism it had uncovered (see BFSkinnersMonumentalCrimeDOTblogspotDOTcom), he put the CIA (which has a large behavioral department) after me and I was terminated from Harvard university with Skinner’s assistant telling me “If you find yourself without food and shelter go check into a hospital“, though I had a millionaire family in India and numerous rich relatives and friends in the U.S. but by using tactics such as blocking all his mail via RAW, the CIA forced siblings to rob me of all my money -- in a telegram to Indira Gandhi I said “Because of murderous harassment ranging from violent crime to theft to systematic disinformation and fraud and conspiracy and wholesale invasion of privacy using the CIA” -- and through everyone else of everything else. As I wrote more than twenty years ago “Year after year after year I had trouble buying enough flour -- the cheapest source of calories besides margarine -- to keep me weight from falling below …” showing how complete is American control over Indians even in India. I have enough calories now but 24-hour surveillance and harassment by CIA and RAW continues as does CIA’s control of India’s prime ministers. Those in charge of India’s defence applaud it as can be seen on Indian defence blogs. What is my plan to punish the Americans? This is what I have written: “ADDED ON DECEMBER 30, 2008: In designing nuclear weapons for use against the United States, radioactive materials should be identified that can be dispersed over the territory of the United States, either via separate radiological weapons (“dirty bombs”) or as part of the regular thermonuclear weapons, that will so contaminate the territory of the United States with radioactivity that nothing will grow there for at least several years that can be consumed without getting a lethal dose of radiation. This will force the Americans who survive the nuclear bomb explosions on the four thousand largest population centers to eat one another till no one remains alive. The ‘salting’ of the territory of the United States with such radioactivity can be done in a separate operation -- such as by unmanned aerial vehicles -- after its four thousand largest population centers have been destroyed by regular thermonuclear weapons.”

India is a Hindu nation, says RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

Stoking yet another controversy, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said India is a Hindu nation and Hindutva is its identity. "Hindustan is a Hindu nation...Hindutva is the identity of our nation and it (Hinduism) can incorporate others (religions) in itself," he said. Last week, Bhagwat had said in Cuttack, "The cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva and the present inhabitants of the country are descendants of this great culture." If inhabitants of England are English, Germany are Germans and USA are Americans then why all inhabitants of Hindustan are not known as Hindus, he had posed. Bhagwat was in Mumbai on Sunday on the occasion of Krishna Janamashtami to attend the inauguration programme of the golden jubilee celebrations of the VHP, that was founded in Mumbai on August 29-30, 1964. He said the goal of VHP in the coming five years would be to ensure equality among the Hindus of the nation. "For the next 5 years we have to work with the aim of bringing equality among all the Hindus in the country. All Hindus should be drinking water at one place, should be praying at one place and after their death, their bodies should be burnt at the same place," he said

Rahul Gandhi does it again: Skips Lok Sabha debate, lets party down

Rahul Gandhi shied away from the debate on communal violence that he forced by leading a protest in Lok Sabha, defying enormous pressure from within that he speak on the party's top concern and raising eyebrows in friendly quarters. The Congress vice-president sat quietly during the second day of the debate which saw Congress and BJP spar with claims and counterclaims. The same happened on Thursday when Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge opened the discussion to slam the BJP, only to find saffronite Yogi Adityanath resort to strident Hindutva rhetoric. Sources said there was considerable push from party managers that Rahul lend his face to the allegation that communal incidents were on the rise since the advent of the Narendra Modi government. "I don't know why he did not speak. The party wanted him to and had repeatedly nudged him to take the mike," a party MP, in the know of things, said. Another party MP expressed similar surprise, pointing out that Rahul appeared to prepare a speech. The AICC vice-president is also said to have made preparations for the debate. It again highlighted the Gandhi scion's reluctance to plunge into parliamentary proceedings that would involve sparring with the rivals and, in the aftermath of the electoral debacle, face snide comments from Hindutva champions. Having played a key role in ensuring that the debate takes place, Rahul's disappearing act let down the Congress MPs who argued that he should have finally assumed a more engaged leadership in Parliament. "Nobody knows why such a sharp person shrinks in crunch situations," a young Congress MP said. While some feel Rahul developed cold feet because his espousal of the sensitive issue would help BJP with religious polarization, it does not tally with the tone adopted by the Congress leadership lately. Party chief Sonia Gandhi for two days in a row this week accused the Modi government of having a role in the rise in communal incidents, once at a rally in Kerala and then at the meeting of the parliamentary party. One reason for Rahul to keep away could be that BJP punctured the profile of the debate. It fielded a Hindutva leader like Adityanath to lead its case and then fell back on young members, not appearing to give it the importance that Congress attached to it. The absence of home minister Rajnath Singh to reply to the debate because of illness further dimmed the political interest.

Modi Sends India's Soviet-Inspired Planning Commission

Narendra Modi-backed five-member thinktank likely to replace Planning Commission India’s prime minister used his annual Independence Day speech last Friday to cut off an arm of the country’s government that dates back nearly all the way to independence: the powerful, unloved and sometimes irrelevant-seeming Planning Commission. The body was the creation of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, who took from the experience of Japan and the Soviet Union the lesson that late-industrializing countries needed to use state intervention to transform their economies from the “commanding heights.” In the words of the 1950 cabinet resolution that created the commission: “The need for comprehensive planning based on a careful appraisal of resources and on an objective analysis of all the relevant economic factors has become imperative.” Narendra Modi said on Friday that India could do better. The new prime minister said circumstances had changed since the commission’s creation. He said the federal government wasn’t the only driver of economic growth, and that state governments needed to be empowered to innovate. He promised the creation of a new institution that would serve as a platform for exchanging economic-policy ideas within government. The announcement wasn’t unforeseen. The prime minister serves ex officio as the Planning Commission’s chairman. But Mr. Modi had spent his first months in office leaving the commission’s other full-time seats conspicuously unfilled. As a former chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, Mr. Modi was said at the time of his election this spring to have a strong interest in giving state governments more space to set budget priorities. Killing the Planning Commission won’t entirely decentralize government spending in India. Federal tax revenue, according to the country’s constitution, is first distributed between the central and state governments by the Finance Commission. The Planning Commission then allocates further spending to states along lines laid out in its Five-Year Plan. That’s how it’s supposed to work, at least. Critics have accused the Planning Commission of gradually usurping the Finance Commission’s role as chief arbiter between the federal and state governments, all in the service of Five-Year Plans that are meticulously crafted but rarely achieved. The current plan, which covers 2012 to 2017, runs to three volumes and more than 1,000 pages. It covers all and sundry from boosting the manufacturing sector and increasing female literacy to promoting sports medicine and modernizing the powerloom sector. The Five-Year Plans pervade policy making in India, at least in name if not always in effect. All federal expenditure is classified as either “plan” or “non-plan,” depending on whether it is undertaken in pursuit of the current Five-Year Plan. The Planning Commission occupies a monolithic grayish structure in New Delhi—Yojana Bhawan, or “Planning House”—just down the road from Parliament. In fact, it may be the very language of “planning” and “planning commissions” that most offends Mr. Modi’s vision for a modern India. The term “Five-Year Plan” conjures up clanking Soviet bureaucracy and Mao Zedong’s disastrous attempts to remake the Chinese economy by force. Even Beijing uses the term “guideline” these days instead of “plan.” In unruly India, it feels strangely but definitively like progress that the country’s next big economic changes will be entirely unplanned.

PM condoles loss of life in Odisha floods

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has condoled the loss of life in the recent floods in Odisha. The Prime Minister has sanctioned Rs. 2 lakhs for each of the deceased, and Rs. 50,000 for each of the seriously injured, from the Prime Minister`s National Relief Fund. The amount will be disbursed directly to the district collectors. The Prime Minister spoke to the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, and sought information on the situation arising out of the floods.

Cisco CEO John Chambers thinks Prime Minister Narendra Modi can “turnaround” India

Amid gloom over flat forecasts and job cuts, if there is one arena that is looking up for Cisco-it is India. Networking giant Cisco announced in its quarterly results today its intention to cut down 6000 jobs as the company struggles to sustain growth. Most of Cisco's woes are related to the dismal, mostly negative growth in some key emerging markets. Two key markets where it suffered was China, where product orders fell 23 per cent, and Brazil, which faced a decline of 13 per cent. India, as a market, however, has bucked that trend for Cisco. India grew at a healthy 18 per cent for the company, even as the remaining emerging countries in Asia actually declined 34% (excluding China and India). Cisco's overall APJ business was down by 7 per cent. "We saw the impact of economic and geopolitical challenges in China, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, Turkey, and Thailand and in a number of emerging markets that many of other peers are seeing. These declines are reducing our growth by several points from what was expected and typically seen. Unfortunately as we look out we don't see emerging markets growth returning for several quarters and believe it possibly could get worst," Chambers said during the earnings call. Chambers however, displayed great enthusiasm around Cisco's prospects in India. "There are some bright spots for the first time in a while. I think Modi in India is going to turnaround that country. You can see the enthusiasm both the citizens and the businesses there are betting on a single emerging market. I would bet on India right now in a big way." Cisco's high-end routers and switches declined 7 per cent and 4 per cent year-over-year, respectively, as customers were slow to order a new series of products. Its data center revenues rose 30 per cent, and security sector revenues rose 29 per cent. Cisco posted a smaller-than-expected 0.5 per cent dip in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to $12.4 billion. Chambers recently visited India and is said to have held high-level talks with the Modi government around opportunities in the country. Chambers has also been vocal about Cisco's keen interest in exploring the smart cities opportunity in India. FM Arun Jaitely announced Rs. 7060 crore for development of smart cities in his maiden budget speech in July 2014.

PM dedicates development works in Solapur, talks about revitalising Solapur’s textile industry

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today outlined a comprehensive vision for new modes of infrastructure development in the country, which would include nationwide connectivity networks of roads, power transmission lines, gas grids and water grids. In a function at Solapur, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation 765 kV Solapur – Raichur transmission lines, and four laning of Pune – Solapur section of NH-9. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for four laning of Solapur – Maharashtra / Karnataka Border Section of NH-9. Giving the example of South Korea, the Prime Minister said across the world, countries which had invested in infrastructure creation, had reaped the fruits of development and prosperity. He asserted that roads and highways development will be given priority by the new Government, drawing inspiration from the Golden Quadrilateral and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana launched by former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Prime Minister shared the concern expressed by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Prithviraj Chavan, over power plants being idle due to shortage of coal and gas. He, however, added that he had been raising this concern as Chief Minister of Gujarat. He said the Union Government would do all it could to ensure enough fuel for power plants. Coal would be extracted in a way that did not harm the environment. The Prime Minister called upon students to take the lead in a nationwide movement to reduce electricity bills of their family. This too would be a form of service to the nation, he added. Students should exhort all family members to join in this movement, he said. The Prime Minister referred to the Union Government’s decision to grant permission to raise the height of the Narmada Dam. He said this decision had been pending for years, and the new Government had taken a decision on it soon after assuming office. He said once this project is completed, Maharashtra would get electricity worth Rs. 400 crore, free, every year. Greeting the people of Solapur who had gathered in large numbers for the function, the Prime Minister assured them that he would return the gift of their love through development. He said Solapur was a well established centre for textile industry, and revitalization of this industry was among the priorities of the Union Government. Union Ministers Shri Nitin Gadkari and Shri Piyush Goyal, and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Prirhviraj Chavan also spoke on the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a scheme under which MPs will develop one model village each in their constituencies. “There are several schemes named after leaders and former Prime Ministers. I want to announce a scheme named after the members of Parliament under which they will adopt and develop one village each in their respective constituencies,” he said in his address to the nation. He said he would like Rajya Sabha MPs and state legislators also to participate in the scheme, the blueprint of which would be announced on the birth anniversary of Jai Prakash Narayan on October 11. There are nearly 800 members of Parliament and close to 4000 MLAs and MLCs in different state legislatures. “Our MPs want to do something. They can give memorandums, raise issues but cannot do anything at present,” Mr. Modi said. The Prime Minister also announced a scheme under which a cleanliness drive will be launched across India starting October 2. He hoped that on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019, the target would have been achieved.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urges PM to help free up power corridor

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to free up the power transmission corridor to enable the State to get its due share of electricity from the western and eastern regions. Tamil Nadu’s ‘Long Term Access (LTA) Entitlement’ in the allocation of transmission capacity by the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) to evacuate power from the western and eastern regions should not be curtailed, Ms. Jayalalithaa said in a letter. Pointing out that the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco) had signed 15-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with private producers for 3,330 MW commencing 2014, she said that of this, 2,158 MW was contracted from private generators outside the south. These suppliers had applied for LTA to the PGCIL. Ms. Jayalalithaa said that though a 4,000-MW Sholapur-Raichur inter-regional transmission line had been commissioned for transferring power from the western region to the south, the operational limits set by the PGCIL resulted in “only 350 mw flowing to the southern region now.” Even as the applications for LTA of long-term power suppliers to the Tangedco had been pending with the PGCIL since November 2013, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Power Ministry allocated an additional 377 MW of ‘surrendered power’ from the Delhi government to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala, over and above the 316 MW allotted to these States up to March 31, 2015. This, Ms. Jayalalithaa said, “will adversely affect” Tamil Nadu availing itself of transmission capacity under the LTA, as “even temporary allocation of power from the Central Generating Stations (CGS) is considered equivalent to long- term power for allocation of transmission capacity.” Emphasising that the State’s entitlement should not be curtailed, Ms. Jayalalithaa urged Mr. Modi to advise the Power Ministry and the PGCIL to “consider the LTA applications of power suppliers to Tamil Nadu without taking into account the temporary allocation of surrendered power of 693 MW to some of the southern States.” The PGCIL should also review its ‘transmission reliability margin’ so that Tamil Nadu got “its rightful share of LTA” in inter-grid transfers, she added.

Can Modi Has The Power To Do All These Things That He Says In His Speech

Our Honerable Prime Minister Mr. Modi gave a very good and heart touching speech in front of the red fort but can he do this. If 10% of the things that is said by the PM will done then we will become the largest economy of the world but the thought coming to my mind always is

Can Modi Has The Power To Do All These Things That He Says In His Speech

PM Modi addresses the nation on I-Day

Can we not wage a war and emerge victorious against poverty. Let us defeat poverty: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

The Prime Minister paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat this morning pic.twitter.com/Tc3zwwT0LW — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

In a short span of time we will initiative a new institution that will work in place of the Planning Commission: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

Importance of federal structure is only increasing. This is a good thing and we have to strengthen it: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

11th October is Jay Prakash Narayan's birth anniversary. On that day we will share the blueprint with MPs and States: PM — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

I announce an initiative- Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. If we have to build the nation we have to start from the villages: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

I come from a poor family and I want the poor to get dignity. We want to start a movement for a Clean India: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2014

You would think that from Red Fort he is talking about cleanliness and toilets but I am speaking from the heart: PM @narendramodi — PMO India

Let us pledge that I will not make my surroundings dirty: PM Narendra Modi — PMO India

Modi Greetings To People

नम􀃨ते ! 􀃨वाधीनता िदवस पर मेरी हािदर्क शुभकामनाएं ! आज 15 अग􀃨त के िदन हम उन सब महापु􀇽ष􀉉 को याद करते ह􀉇 िज􀃛ह􀉉ने देश की 􀃨वतंत्रता के िलए अपना बिलदान िदया। हम सब का यह क􀃗तर्􀃥य है िक हम इन महापु􀇽ष􀉉 का 􀃨मरण करते हुए ऐसा कायर् कर􀉅 िजससे देश का भला हो, देशवािसय􀉉 का भला हो। 2014 का जनादेश आशा और सुशासन का जनादेश है। म􀉇 यह िव􀃦वास िदलाता हूँ िक मुझे जो दािय􀃗व देश की जनता ने िदया है, उसे म􀉇 और मेरी सरकार पूरी लगन और िन􀃧ठा से पूरा करने का प्रयास कर􀉅गे। हमारी सरकार इस जनादेश पर खरा उतरने के िलये हर पल कायर् कर रही है। मेरा यह वादा है िक बदलाव और सुशासन के संबंध म􀉅 लोग􀉉 की जो अपेक्षाएं ह􀉇, वे पूरी ह􀉉गी। देश को आगे बढ़ाने के िलए सुशासन और िवकास ही एकमात्र रा􀃨ता है। सुशासन से गरीब􀉉 के िहत􀉉 की रक्षा होती है और िवकास से गरीब􀉉 को आगे बढ़ने का अवसर िमलता है। हमारी लड़ाई गरीबी के िखलाफ है। मेरा िव􀃦वास है िक इस लड़ाई म􀉅 िनि􀃦चत ही हमारी जीत होगी। आज 15 अग􀃨त के िदन हम सब िमलकर यह संक􀃣प कर􀉅 िक देश के िहत म􀉅, देशवािसय􀉉 के क􀃣याण के िलए कोई न कोई शुभ कायर् कर􀉅गे। एक ऐसा शुभ कायर् जो भारत के ितरंगे झ􀃖डे की आन, बान और शान बढ़ाएगा। मेरा प्रयास होगा िक देशवािसय􀉉 से सीधा संपकर् बना रहे। 􀃨वतंत्रता िदवस की ढेर􀉉 शुभकामनाएं। जय िह􀃛द! आपका, (नरे􀃛द्र मोदी)

I-Day speech: Let's take a pledge to defeat poverty, says Modi

08:40 am: The strength of the saviour is much more than the strength of the person who kills. Lets unite to fight poverty: PM. 08:39 am: Can we not wage a war and emerge victorious against poverty. Let us defeat poverty: PM. 08:38 am: Today is also the birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo: PM. 08:36 am: In a short span of time we will initiative a new institution that will work in place of the Planning Commission: PM. Planning Commission to go, says Modi on I-Day 08:34 am: Importance of federal structure is only increasing. This is a good thing and we have to strengthen it: PM. 08:32 am: Today the times have changed from the time the Planning Commission was created: PM. PM says we need to give impetus to manufacturing sector.08:28 am: People are asking for a while now- what about the Planning Commission: PM. 15 things Modi said in his August 15 speech 08:27 am: 11th October is Jay Prakash Narayan's birth anniversary. On that day we will share the blueprint with MPs and States: PM. 08:26 am: I announce an initiative- Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. If we have to build the nation we have to start from the villages: PM. 08:25 am: I come from a poor family and I want the poor to get dignity. We want to start a movement for a Clean India: PM. 08:24 am: You would think that from Red Fort he is talking about cleanliness and toilets but I am speaking from the heart: PM. 08:23 am: Let us pledge that I will not make my surroundings dirty: PM Narendra Modi. 08:22 am: We want to give an impetus to tourism. Tourism gives opportunities to the poorest of the poor: PM Narendra Modi.08 08:20 am: Let us think about 0 defect- that our products are not defected and 0 effect- our products have no adverse effect on the environment: PM. Independence Day: Make in India, Modi to global investors 08:18 am: Let us come together and think of ways India does not have to import but we export to the world: PM. 08:17 am: Our dream should be that all over the world we can say-Made in India: PM. 08:16 am: I tell the world- Come, Make In India. Sell anywhere but manufacture here. We have the skill and talent: PM. 08:15 am: We need to give impetus to manufacturing sector: PM. 08:11 am: The world has changed. We can't think about our development journey isolated from the world: PM. 08:10 am: Let our youth get skills..those skills that contribute towards a strong India. We want youngsters who are job creators: PM. Independence Day: Modi hoists tricolour at Red Fort 08:08 am: We are a youthful nation. Our youth are our strength. The world and India needs a skilled workforce: PM. 08:06 am: PM Jan Dhan Yojana- We want to integrate the poorest of the poor with bank accounts: PM.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Red Fort.08:05 am: We believe in Jan Bhagidari. We believe in taking everyone together: PM. 08:02 am: To take India ahead the only ways ahead are development and good governance: PM. 08:00 am: Our sportspersons have brought us immense pride. So many brought us medals and I am proud that there are several daughters too: PM. Independence Day: Give up caste, communal poison, says Modi 07:58 am: I appeal to parents not to sacrifice the girl child. I have seen families where 1 daughter served parents more than even 5 sons: PM. 07:56 am: Have we seen our sex ratio? Who is creating this imbalance in society. Not Almighty. I appeal to doctors not to kill the girl child: PM. PM Narendra Modi pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.07:54 am: After all a person raping is someone's son. As parents have we asked our sons where he is going. Why not put same yardstick for sons too: PM. 07:53 am: Our head hangs in shame when we hear news about rape. Parents ask about daughters but did anyone dare ask their sons: PM. 07:52 am: Everything is not for us. There are something things that should be for the nation.Lets think beyond 'what about me' and look at the nation: PM. 07:51 am: Is it not our duty to build an India that our forefathers dreamt of. Do we think how our work is helping the poor of India: PM. 07:50 am: I came from outside Delhi but I can say there is immense skill in the people who are in Government. I want to integrate their strengths: PM. Google Doodle celebrates India's 68th Independence Day 07:50 am: When I read that with the new government officers came on time I was not happy- should officers coming on time be news: PM. 07:50 am: Government is not an assembled entity but an organic entity. I have tried to break down these walls: PM Narendra Modi. 07:49 am: One Government department is quarrelling against the other. Matters reached the Supreme Court too. How can we take India ahead like this: PM. 07:48 am: I saw that even in one Government there were different Governments. It was as if each had their own Jagirs: PM Narendra Modi. PM Narendra Modi at Raj Ghat.07:47 am: I am an outsider to Delhi. But an outsider came to Delhi and got an insider view. I was surprised. What I am saying is not about politics: PM. 07:47 am: Want to take all parties together and we succeeded in taking Opposition together. Credit does not go to PM or Govt but also to Opposition: PM. 07:45 am: We are not those who want to move ahead on the basis of our mandate. We want to walk together with consensus: PM. 07:44 am: Let us walk together, think together, and make a determination to take the nation ahead together: PM Narendra Modi. 07:43 am: All PMs, Governments have contributed. All Governments of the States have contributed. I offer my respects to all of them: PM. 07:40 am: Leaders or rulers did not make this Nation. Nor did Governments. It is farmers, labourers, women, youth, seers, scientists who made it: PM 07:38 am: These days give us inspiration & they showcase the national character. This day can inspire us to take India to newer heights: PM {mosimage}07:35 am: I salute all those who sacrificed themselves for India's freedom: Prime Minister 07:33 am: The struggle for freedom went on for years, generations sacrificed their lives even at the prime of their youth: PM Narendra Modi 07:32 am: Today Indians, both in India and all over the world are celebrating Independence Day. As a Pradhan Sevak, I convey my greetings: PM 07:30 am: PM Narendra Modi unfurls national flag at Red Fort. No bullet-proof glasses for Narendra Modi 07:20 am: PM Narendra Modi gets guard of honour at Red Fort. 07:10 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage at Raj Ghat. 06:46 am: No bullet proof podium for Prime Minister Narendra Modi while making speech. 06:30 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation as India observe the 68th Independence Day.

Raghuram Rajan: PM Narendra Modi’s financial inclusion plan will reduce corruption

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said the financial inclusion drive, likely to be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, will break the link between poor public services, patronage and corruption. "It can break a link between poor public service, patronage, and corruption that is growing more worrisome," Raghuram Rajan said, delivering 20th Lalit Doshi memorial lecture here. The drive is likely to include identifying the poor, creation of unique biometric identifiers, opening bank accounts linked to these identifiers and eventually transferring government subsidies to these accounts. "When fully rolled out, I believe it will give the poor the choice and respect as well as the services they had to beg for in the past," Raghuram Rajan said, adding that financial inclusion will be an important part of government's and Reserve Bank's plans for the coming years. Rajan laid extra stress on the cash benefit transfers, saying "money liberates and empowers". He also said profitability for banks is very crucial for the success of the scheme, and mentioned ideas like government paying the bank commission for transfers. To prevent the hazard of people squandering the money on alcohol, etc, Rajan said the money could be transferred to the women of the family, who are generally better spenders. Other aspects such as linking the transfers to conditions like children attending the school regularly too can be looked at, he said. Acknowledging that a corrupt monitor will vitiate the entire effort, Rajan advocated that we should still go ahead with the efforts and look for automation on monitoring wherever possible. Coming out against the hazard of transfers making one addictive, Rajan stressed the need to use cash transfers as a tool to build capabilities in education and health-care, rather than using the resources only for inessential consumption. Still, if data on misspending emerges, we can look at alternatives such as giving some of the benefit in the form of electronic coupons which can be used by specified individual for a narrow purpose like food, education or health-care, Rajan said. In the financial inclusion drive, RBI will play the role of enabler and undertake efforts like "to nudge" banks to offer all the basic products to address financial needs. Rajan also said the central bank is looking at re-examining KYC norms, to simplify them. He also stated that RBI's efforts to open the payment banks and small local banks are directed at deepening the financial inclusion itself.

PM’s address at the Outstanding Parliamentary Awards Function

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the importance of the combination of three qualities “Netritva, Kartutva, Vaktutva” – Leadership, Action and Speech – as essential in the making of an Outstanding Parliamentarian. Addressing the Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards function at the Balyogi Auditorium in Parliament Library today, the Prime Minister urged the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to convene a meeting of Speakers of all Vidhan Sabhas, so that the practice of awarding outstanding legislators could be extended to the states as well. Complimenting the three award winners – Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Karan Singh and Shri Sharad Yadav – for their contribution to Parliament, the Prime Minister hoped that younger MPs would learn from the examples set by them. The Prime Minister said the country is looking at Parliament with a lot of hope, adding that it may also be worthwhile to conduct a survey among the people as to how they judged a particular session of Parliament. This may be an eye-opener, the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister regretted the decline of the use of wit and humour in the proceedings of Parliament in recent years. The Prime Minister said sharp comments can give us space for a short time – but cannot impact or inspire. He said the time had come when every sentence said in Parliament should be an inspiration for the country.

PM congratulates Shri Thambi Durai on his unanimous election as Deputy Speaker

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today complimented and thanked all sections of the Lok Sabha, for the consensus which led to the unanimous election of Shri Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker. The Prime Minister also congratulated Shri Thambi Durai on his election as Deputy Speaker. Appreciating the incumbent Deputy Speaker, Shri Thambi Durai, the Prime Minister described him as a highly experienced and active Parliamentarian. He said Shri Thambi Durai had been Deputy Speaker earlier as well. The Prime Minister also described Shri Thambi Durai as an academician, activist and agriculturist. The Prime Minister assured Shri Thambi Durai full support for the functioning of the House, on behalf of the treasury benches. He also expressed confidence that Shri Thambi Durai`s election as Deputy Speaker would further the spirit of dialogue that had prevailed in the ongoing session of Parliament.