India Maldives Relations: ‘India & Maldives…Importance Of Geography'
Sujan Chinoy
Updated: Jul 22, 2025, 21:01 IST IST
Chief of IDSA argues Modi's visit to the island will put Muizzu's pivot on India on firmer grounds
Modi's state visit to Maldives on Friday, which will reaffirm the traditionally close and friendly relations between the two countries, stands out for several reasons. It's his first visit since Mohamed Muizzu became president in Nov 2023, and he'll be the guest of honour at the country's 60th independence day celebrations. This year also marks 60 years of India's diplomatic ties with Maldives.
Although Muizzu was associated with the so-called 'India Out' campaign before the presidential election, Maldives' official readout after his first meeting with Modi, on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai in Dec 2023, expressed commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, economic cooperation and people-to-people contact. The two sides also agreed to set up a core group.
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Hindustan Times
a few seconds ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Modi chairs high-level meeting to discuss roadmap for next-generation reforms
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to deliberate on the roadmap for next-generation reforms aimed at speedy and comprehensive reforms that will enhance Ease of Living, improve Ease of Doing Business, and foster inclusive prosperity. PM Modi also talked of GST reforms and said this Diwali will be "double Diwali" for people.(X/@narendramodi) "Chaired a meeting to discuss the roadmap for Next-Generation Reforms. We are committed to speedy reforms across all sectors, which will boost Ease of Living, Ease of Doing Business and prosperity," Prime Minister said in a post on X. In his Independence Day address, PM Modi said the government has decided to constitute a task force for next-generation reforms. "This task force will complete its work within a set timeframe. Current rules, laws, policies, and procedures must be re-drafted to suit the 21st century, to fit the global environment, and to align with the vision of making Bharat a developed nation by 2047. The task force has been created to accomplish this within the prescribed period," he had said. "These reforms will give courage to all those who wish to shape their future. Be it our start-ups, our small industries, or our cottage industries, entrepreneurs will see a significant reduction in their compliance costs, which in turn will give them new strength. In the field of exports too, changes in logistics and systems will give them a major advantage," he added. PM Modi had said the past decade has been one of Reform, Perform, and Transform. "But now, we must add new strength to our efforts. In recent times, we have undertaken many reforms--whether in the field of FDI, in the insurance sector, in allowing global universities to establish campuses in Bharat. We have abolished more than 40,000 unnecessary compliances. Not only that, we have also scrapped over 1,500 obsolete laws. We have gone to Parliament to amend dozens of laws to simplify them, always placing the interests of the public first. This time too, amidst the ruckus, the news may not have reached people about a very significant reform that has taken place in the Income Tax Act," he said. "We have decided to abolish more than 280 sections. And friends, our reforms are not limited to the economic front alone--we have also implemented reforms to make life easier for citizens. The promptness of income tax refunds is a result of reforms. Cashless assessments are a result of reforms. Exempting income up to ₹12 lakh from income tax--this has brought great joy to my middle-class families, who are eager to contribute to nation-building. Never before did anyone imagine that income up to ₹12 lakh could be entirely tax-free, but we have made it a reality today," he added. PM Modi also talked of GST reforms and said this Diwali will be "double Diwali" for people. "This Diwali, I am going to make it a double Diwali for you. This Diwali, you fellow countrymen are going to get a very big gift. In the last 8 years, we have done a big reform of GST, reduced the tax burden across the country, simplified the tax regime and after 8 years, the need of the hour is that we should review it once. We started the review by setting up a high-power committee and also held discussions with the states," he said. "We are coming with the next generation of GST reforms, this will be a gift for you this Diwali, taxes needed by the common man will be reduced substantially, a lot of facilities will be increased. Our MSMEs, our small entrepreneurs, will get a huge benefit. Everyday items will become very cheap and that will also give a new boost to the economy," he added. PM Modi pushed for self-reliance in various sectors. He said that India's farmers, cattle rearers, and fishermen are our biggest priorities. "Modi is standing like a wall against any harmful policy related to the farmers of India, the fishermen of India and the cattle rearers of India. India will never accept any compromise regarding its farmers, its livestock farmers, its fishermen," he said. India and the US have been negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement and Washington DC is keen on India giving more access to its farming and dairy sectors. The United States has imposed 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods. After imposing 25 per cent tariff, US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent more tariff on India for the import of Russian oil. PM Modi said reform is a continuous process and reforms must be undertaken as per the demands of the times and prevailing circumstances. The Prime Minister said India has opened the doors to nuclear energy to the private sector. "In the field of nuclear energy, we have introduced major reforms. We have now opened the doors of nuclear energy to the private sector as well, we want to combine our strengths," he said.
Mint
30 minutes ago
- Mint
Modi meets key ministers, economists to discuss 100-day reform agenda
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday huddled with senior ministers, top bureaucrats and economists to draw up a 100-day roadmap for 'next-generation reforms' aimed at sustaining India's growth momentum and insulating the economy from fresh US tariffs on exports, three persons familiar with the development said on condition of not being named. The meeting was attended by home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, secretaries of key departments, and select economists. 'Chaired a meeting to discuss the roadmap for next-generation reforms. We are committed to speedy reforms across all sectors, which will boost ease of living, ease of doing business and prosperity,' the Prime Minister said in a social media post. Individual ministries have been urged to come up with tailored measures towards the 100-day agenda to accelerate India's economic growth, one of the persons quoted above said. Another issue that was deliberated was the impact of tariffs that the US has imposed on Indian exports, said the second person. Notably, the 25% reciprocal tariffs on Indian exports that US President Donald Trump imposed came into effect on 7 August. This may double to 50% on 27 August after additional tariffs imposed for New Delhi's oil trade with Russia kick in. Given that such high tariffs could impact Indian exporters' competitiveness in their largest export market, policy makers are keen to step up domestic consumption demand and, thus, capacity utilisation in factories, which will ensure jobs are protected. Modi had highlighted the need for faster economic growth in his Independence Day speech on Friday. 'We want to grow fast,' Modi said in his speech while announcing that a task force will give recommendations in this regard. Current law, practices, procedures, etc, should be aligned to the 21st century and the global environment, and should aid India in becoming a developed country by 2047, Modi had said in his address. The theme of stimulating the economy through reforms was already in motion early this financial year as Sitharaman presented a reform-focused budget in February with big cuts in income tax, welfare targets for inclusive growth, and across-the-board reforms especially in regulatory framework, taxation and the financial sector. Policy makers believe cutting red tape and making it easier to do business can unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of people, which can help to achieve much more than what the government and state-run firms can do directly, the people cited above said. While agriculture and services are performing well, the government wants to increase the share of manufacturing in the economy, which can fetch more and better paid jobs to people. The Centre has also launched several schemes to address the skill gap among the youth that affect their employability. India's GDP is projected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to grow at 6.5% this financial year. Above normal monsoons, the income tax relief announced in the budget, and a 100-basis points reduction in RBI's repo rate are also expected to support growth this year. On 14 August, Mint reported that the government has asked 37 ministries to submit a detailed report on the key compliance requirements that are creating roadblocks for manufacturers, exporters, investors and small enterprises, and hurting their ability to conduct their businesses smoothly. Subhash Narayan contributed to this story
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Shubhanshu Shukla Shows Pics Of Earth From Space During Meet With PM Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla this evening, a day after the astronaut returned to India after his historic visit to the International Space Station (ISS). PM Modi hosted Mr Shukla at the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi. PM Modi was seen welcoming Mr Shukla, who was wearing an ISRO astronaut's jacket, with a hug. He gifted the Axiom-4 mission patch to PM Modi and showed him pictures of the Earth taken from the International Space Station. He is the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). "India is proud of his feat," posted PM Modi on X after the meeting. Had a great interaction with Shubhanshu Shukla. We discussed a wide range of subjects including his experiences in space, progress in science & technology as well as India's ambitious Gaganyaan mission. India is proud of his feat. @gagan_shux — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 18, 2025 Mr Shukla was part of the Axiom-4 private space mission, which lifted off from Florida on June 25 and docked at the ISS on June 26. He returned to Earth on July 15. During the 18-day mission, Mr Shukla, along with astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), conducted more than 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions aboard the ISS. On Saturday, he posted on Instagram a photo of himself sitting on a plane. "As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is -- everything all at once," read his post. "Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission, I can't wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you. Goodbyes are hard, but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander Peggy Whitson fondly says, 'the only constant in spaceflight is change'. I believe that applies to life as well," he said. Recalling the song from the Bollywood movie ' Swades ' that was on his playlist just before he embarked on the Axiom-4 mission from the US, Mr Shukla said, "I guess at the end of the day -' Yun hi chala chal rahi - jeevan gaadi hai samay pahiya '".
