‘India & Maldives…importance of geography'
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 socalled '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.
Read full story on TOI+
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author's own.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
Won't be Trumped
GOI has called out Trump's extra tariffs for what they are. He was wrong to think hegemony will work Three weeks from now, India will be the most heavily tariffed seller in the US market besides Brazil. Yesterday, through an executive order, Trump imposed an additional ad valorem duty of 25% on India for 'directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil', taking the total to 50%. GOI probably saw this coming from the time Trump's tone changed from friendly to brusque a week ago. Where he had talked up the chances of a trade deal with India on July 8 – 'We are close to making a deal with India' – on July 30 he slapped a 25% import duty along with the threat of an unspecified penalty. Now, the suspense is over. It's impossible to fathom Trump's logic. From the start, China was the presumed target of his tariff war. US runs its largest goods trade deficit with Beijing – worth $295bn in 2024. At one point, Trump raised tariffs on China to 145%, but China's retaliation with a rare earths supply freeze made him see reason. Now, China is tariffed at 30%. If Russian oil triggers Trump, China and Türkiye are also big buyers, yet they have not been 'penalised'. It may be that Trump's acting in frustration. He had boasted he would end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office, but six months have passed and Putin remains defiant. Perhaps, Trump believes stopping oil revenues will bring Putin to the table. And since he seems unable to touch China for now, India possibly seems like a softer target to him. But this is a huge mistake. For almost 80 years, India has refused to be cowed by hegemons. Yesterday, it termed Trump's action 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable' and made it clear it will 'take all actions necessary to protect its national interests'. As TOI has said before, the current discount on Russian oil is so little that India saves not more than $2bn a year. It could easily pivot to West Asian oil, but the resultant increase in crude prices would hurt all. Besides, if India chooses to pivot, it won't be on Trump's terms. While negotiations with US will continue, Indian exporters are under pressure, so deals with other countries must be prioritised. India should also look beyond goods exports – tourism, for instance – to increase forex earnings. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India should capture world's mindspace: PM
NEW DELHI: India should capture the mindspace of global consumers, tourists and students, PM Narendra Modi said on Wednesday as he urged govt employees and citizens to put their best efforts into increasing their and the country's productivity. Addressing an event after the inauguration of a Kartavya Bhawan along Kartavya Path, he said new office complexes would be the centre of making policies and taking important decisions for paving the way for a developed India. "Our resolve should be that we will scale up our and the country's productivity. When it comes to tourism, people from all over the world should come to India, when it comes to brands, the world's attention should be on Indian brands, when it comes to education, stude-nts from all over the world should come to India. The aim of our life should be to do what we can to increase India's strength," he said. Modi spoke about govt's focus on holistic infrastructure development while asserting that India had witnessed a transparent, sensitive and citizen-centric governance model over the last 11 years. He said earlier govts were sending money to 10 crore beneficiaries of various schemes "who were never born". The money was going to middlemen, he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Auto Insurance Rates You Can Actually Smile About in Massachusetts Policy Auto Pro Get Quote Undo But with implementation of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile, all fake names had been removed from the system, Modi said while highlighting that because of this intervention, more than Rs 4.3 lakh crore had been saved from falling into the wrong hands. Modi said the redevelopment of govt offices and bringing all ministries and departments closer would help avoid Rs 1,500 crore public expenditure annually towards rentals and around 8,000-10,000 employees shuttling between ministries daily.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Approve BC quota bills or face ‘political tsunami' in '29: Revanth to Modi
Hyderabad: Chief minister A on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the Centre of deliberately stalling the approval of Telangana's 42% Backward Classes (BC) reservation bills. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He warned Telangana's BC empowerment model and a bold quota expansion would turn into a political tsunami and "wash away the Modi-led BJP into the Bay of Bengal." Revanth's remarks came during a dharna—dubbed 'BC Poru Bata'—held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, which saw participation from a wide spectrum of INDIA bloc parties, Congress ministers, MPs, MLCs, MLAs, and prominent BC leaders. While Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were not present as they had gone to attend JMM leader Shibu Soren's funeral on Tuesday night, they deputed senior party leaders and MPs to show solidarity with what Revanth described as a 'historic moment' for BCs. Revanth declared, "If PM Modi wants to remain in office, he must ensure the approval of the two BC reservation bills. Telangana's BC community is prepared to sacrifice everything for this cause. If Modi fails, the OBCs will bring down his govt and make Rahul Gandhi the next Prime Minister." "Don't force us to return to Delhi again in such numbers. Next time, we will confront you in Telangana. Either sign the blls while you are still PM or watch us implement them after Rahul Gandhi takes charge. You have delayed them for four months. That's why we are here—not in Hyderabad—to expose your 'anti-BC' stance on a national stage. We are vowing from Jantar Mantar on behalf of four crore people of Telangana that we will bring down Modi govt in 2029. " Revanth also questioned the rationale behind the Centre's objection to the state-specific legislation. "We are not asking for a piece of land in Gujarat or its ports. We're only demanding the right to implement 42% reservations in Telangana—for our people, in our state. Who gave you the authority to crush this mandate?" He dubbed Modi the "biggest enemy of the BCs" and didn't spare state BJP leaders either, calling out Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, and Telangana BJP chief N Ramchander Rao for their 'silence'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "With what face will you go to BC voters now? You didn't even join this dharna. Have you aligned with Modi to block BC empowerment?" he asked. Revanth also targeted the BRS for its past decisions, blaming former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao for capping overall reservations at 50% under the Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. "We've moved an ordinance to scrap that cap. It's now pending with the President," he said. Taking a swipe at the BJP's 2029 ambitions, Revanth responded to party MP Nishikant Dubey's comments that Modi will again be the PM face. "Let Modi contest 2029. Rahul Gandhi-led INDIA bloc will defeat him decisively, and the BJP won't cross 100 seats," he claimed. He invoked Rahul Gandhi's slogan 'Jitni hissedari, utni bhagedari' (proportional representation for social justice), warning political consequences for those who ignore it. "No matter how powerful, if anyone opposes Rahul Gandhi's vision, Telangana will mark the death of their political career," the CM said. Revanth alleged that the BJP's continued delay is a deliberate attempt to suppress the aspirations of BCs. "The BC quota bills are pending with the President for the last four months. If we don't get an appointment with her tomorrow (Thursday), it will confirm BJP's 'anti-BC' bias," he said. Calling himself as a 'crusader for social justice,' Revanth added, "Over 300 chief ministers have led different states in India, but I am proud to be the one who conducted a caste survey and passed 42% BC reservations. I thank my cabinet colleagues and Rahul Gandhi for their unwavering support."
