PM Modi receives rousing welcome from Indian diaspora in London
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New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
PM Modi to dedicate railway projects worth Rs 1,030 crore in Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate a series of development projects in Tamil Nadu during his visit to Thoothukudi on Saturday, including key railway electrification and doubling works valued at Rs 1,030 crore. The PM will dedicate three critical railway infrastructure projects: Electrification of the 90 km Madurai-Bodinayakkanur line, doubling of the 21 km Nagercoil Town-Kanniyakumari section under the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanniyakumari corridor, and doubling of the Aralvaymozhi-Nagercoil Junction (12.87 km and Tirunelveli-Melappalaiyam (3.6 km) stretches. The Madurai-Bodinayakkanur section, previously a meter gauge route, was converted to broad gauge at a cost of Rs 99 crore. This is expected to promote environmentally sustainable transport, enhance tourism, and benefit farmers, students, and small traders in the Madurai and Theni districts. Similarly, the doubling of tracks in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari will significantly boost rail connectivity across southern Tamil Nadu. The project facilitates the introduction of more passenger and freight services while enhancing overall operational efficiency, according to an official release. For the Nagercoil Town-Kanniyakumari doubling project alone, the railways incurred an expenditure of Rs 650 crore, forming a vital part of the larger Thiruvanan–thapuram-Kanniyakumari corridor. The remaining two sections – Aralvaymozhi-Nagercoil and Tirunelveli-Melappalaiyam - were completed at a cost of Rs 283 crore, the release said.
New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
PM's foreign visits cost Centre Rs 350 cr since '21
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits between 2021 and July 2025 might have strengthened India's bilateral ties with the host nations, but they have also incurred a cost of nearly Rs 300 crore to the exchequer. That includes Rs 67 crore spent on his five foreign visits in February, March and April this year to the United States, France, Mauritius, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a written reply to the questions of TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, has shared the details of expenditures. The data reveal that Modi visited France and the United States between February 10 and 13, for which the expenses totalled Rs 25,59,82,902 for the French visit and Rs 16,54,84,302 for the US visit, respectively. His visits to Thailand and Sri Lanka from April 3 to 6 cost over Rs 9 crore (`4,92,81,208 in Thailand and Rs 4,46,21,690 in Sri Lanka). He went to Saudi Arabia from April 22 to 23, during which Rs 15,54,03,792.47 was incurred. The PM also visited Mauritius(March 11-12), Cyprus, Canada and Croatia (July 15-19) and Ghana, Trinidad &Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia (July 2-9), but the expenditures have not been shared as the bills are still under settlement. In 2024, the PM visited the UAE and Qatar (February 13-15), during which the exchequer spent Rs 3,14,30,607 (Qatar), while on his next visit to Bhutan (March 22-23), Rs 4,50,27,271 was spent. An amount of Rs 14,36,55,289 was spent on his visit to Italy (June 13-14). His visits to Austria and Russia from July 8 to 10 cost Rs 4,35,35,765 and Rs 5,34,71,726, respectively.
NDTV
12 minutes ago
- NDTV
The Vice Presidents of India I Know
I still remember that muggy morning in Delhi fourteen years ago. For the first time ever in my life, I was meeting a person holding a high constitutional office. The then Vice President of India, Mr Hamid Ansari. It was my first day in Parliament. After being sworn in, he called some of us rookies for an informal chat over coffee. The conversation flowed. Noticing that it had been well over 15 minutes, he asked us to come home soon to continue our chat. We went over a few days later. Exciting. A person holding the second-highest constitutional office in India, finding the time to meet MPs who were 'newbies'. Hamid Ansari had a long and distinguished career as a diplomat. Chief of Protocol to Government of India, High Commissioner to Australia, Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Then the thirteenth Vice President of India. What is lesser-known of this Kolkata-born, is that he was a middle-order wicket-keeper batsman who won a college cap. In fact, as the Ambassador to Iran, he introduced cricket to the staff of the Indian Embassy, and it is said that he popularised the sport in that country. As the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Mr Ansari introduced many innovations in the Council of States. When Parliament was in session, he used to host a coffee meeting everyday from 10.30 to 10.55 am. This informal catch-up with floor leaders and chief whips of parties helped the Opposition and the Treasury Benches to try and reach a consensus on the order of play for the day. As Chairman, Mr Ansari had one rule cast in stone: no bill to be passed in the din. This ensured that the government of the day could not bulldoze legislation, Mr Ansari must get full credit for changing the timings of Question Hour and Zero Hour. For over six decades, Question Hour started at 11 am, followed by Zero Hour at 12 noon. The Chairman noticed that Question Hour would often be disrupted because members wanted to raise crucial issues at the start of the day. In 2014, Mr Ansari reversed the timings and since then, Zero Hour starts at 11 am (members raise issues of 'urgent public importance'), followed by Question Hour at 12 noon in Rajya Sabha. His approach to the role as the Chairman is best exemplified by what he said: 'the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is not a player but an umpire in a cricket match… You become a player; you become partisan'. He is now living a happy retired life in Delhi, and has authored many books. The second Vice President I had the pleasure to interact with in Rajya Sabha was Mr Venkaiah Naidu. A seasoned parliamentarian, he had held the portfolios of Rural Development, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Information and Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs as Minister. History will be kind to Mr Naidu who did not preside over the House on 20 September, 2020- the day the contentious Farm Laws were bamboozled in Parliament. He was born into an agricultural family. Perhaps there lies the answer. Whether it be his chamber or the floor of the House, Mr Naidu used to talk in the same tone with everyone - government or the Opposition. Admirable. And I must mention, whenever he hosted us in the Vice President's house, the non vegetarian Andhra food was terrific. Equal credit must go to Mrs Naidu for being such a wonderful host. He once jokingly told us that he might be the chief outside, but at home he had a Home Minister! Mr Naidu loved delivering snappy one-liners. On students going abroad for higher studies, he quipped, 'learn, earn, and return'. When asked if he had aspirations to become Rashtrapati, he wittily replied that he was happy being Ushapati (husband of Usha, Mrs Usha Naidu is his wife). Then there was the famous line, 'The Left can never be right'. While he had a great sense of humour, he was also very sentimental, often getting visibly misty-eyed when emotive issues were discussed in Parliament. The fourteenth Vice President of India, Mr Jagdeep Dhankar. The subject of a column. Someday.
