&w=3840&q=100)
PM Modi hails UK trade deal as ‘historic', says it shows global trust in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed the recently signed Free Trade Agreement between India and the United Kingdom as 'historic', saying it reflected the world's growing trust in the country.
Speaking after launching development projects worth ₹4,900 crore in Tamil Nadu, Modi reaffirmed the NDA government's focus on the state's progress.
The Prime Minister said he felt 'blessed' to arrive in Tamil Nadu directly after concluding his foreign tour, during which the India–UK FTA was finalised before his visit to the Maldives.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Calling the trade deal with the UK a milestone, he said, 'India and Britain have signed a Free Trade Agreement. This reflects the increasing global trust in India and our growing self-confidence. With this confidence, we will build a developed India and a developed Tamil Nadu.'
'FTA with Britain adds pace to our vision of Viksit Bharat, Viksit TN,' the PM, clad in a traditional veshti (dhoti), shirt and an 'angavastram' worn around the neck, said. He landed here directly after wrapping up his official tour of the Maldives.
As regards Operation Sindoor, he said weapons manufactured under the 'Make in India' initiative played a great role during the cross-border military offensive in destroying enemy targets and made enemies lose sleep.
Promising a developed India and Tamil Nadu, he said, 'infrastructure and energy are the backbone of any state's development; our focus on infrastructure and energy in last 11 years shows our commitment to TN's growth.' The NDA government has constructed Atal Sethu, Sonmarg Tunnel, Bogibeel bridge in different parts of the country and these created thousands of job opportunities.
As regards the railways, he said it is the lifeline of industrial growth.
The projects he inaugurated on Saturday are related to airport, highways, railways, port and power in Tamil Nadu and he said that infrastructure.
The inaugurated projects include a new state-of-the-art Tuticorin airport terminal building, developed at an estimated cost of around Rs 450 crore.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
As regards railway projects, it includes the electrification of the 90 km Madurai–Bodinayakkanur line, commissioned at a cost of Rs 99 Crore and the Rs 650 crore worth doubling of the 21 km Nagercoil Town–Kanniyakumari section.
The PM dedicated to the nation, two strategically significant highway projects– 4-laning of 50 km Sethiyathope–Cholapuram stretch of NH-36, developed at a cost Rs 2,350 crore and 6-laning of the 5.16 km NH-138 Tuticorin Port Road, built at around Rs 200 crore.
He inaugurated the North Cargo Berth–III with a cargo handling capacity of 6.96 MMTPA at V O Chidambaranar Port established at a cost of Rs 285 crore.
On the occasion, he invoked legendary freedom fighters from the region–VO Chidambaram Pillai, king Veerapandia Kattabomman and chieftain Veeran Azhagu Muthukon.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi participated in the event. State Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu presented a memento, a replica of the iconic Valluvar Kottam in Chennai, to the prime minister on the occasion.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, Union Minister of State L Murugan, TN Social Welfare Minister P Geetha Jeevan, Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi and top officials took part.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
7 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Operation Sindoor debate: Home minister Amit Shah counters Opposition with data, digs into Congress past
New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah slammed the Opposition in Lok Sabha for demanding proof of Operation Sindoor and criticised former home minister P Chidambaram for questioning Pakistani links of terrorists involved in Pahalgam attack. In his 75-minute intervention in the discussion on Operation Sindoor, Shah blamed Nehru-Gandhi family for erroneous decisions in the past and linked them to the current problem of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. "If PoK exists today with a separate identity, it is because of Nehru's decision to stop the war in 1948. It was a unilateral ceasefire, which was opposed by Sardar Patel," he said. "In 1948, Indian armed forces were in decisive position to take back PoK but then PM Nehru declared unilateral ceasefire." Tearing into opposition, Shah said, "I was pained yesterday when former Home Minister P Chidambaram raised the question that what was the proof that the Pahalgam terrorists came from Pakistan? What is Chidambaram trying to say? Whom does he want to save? What will you gain by saving Pakistan?" The Home Minister also slammed the then Manmohan Singh government for its response on terror attacks. "Following Operation Sindoor, our DGMO informed the Pak DGMO that India has attacked terror infrastructure on their land as per our right of self-defence. It cannot be like how it happened during Manmohan Singh's government, that terrorists come and kill us and we sit quietly...," Shah said. Following the Opposition's question over efficacy of the Modi government's decision to revoke Article 370, Shah said: "The number of terror attacks have gone down from 7,214 during UPA's regime 2004-14 to 2,150 in our 10 years from 2015-25," said Shah adding, "21 organisations with terror links that had been banned by the current government. "If you have ostrich-like mentality, you will not even be able to see the sun." aid Shah.
India.com
7 minutes ago
- India.com
Big blow to Elon Musk, Indian govt limits Starlink connections to…, good news for Mukesh Ambani's Jio, Sunil Mittal's Airtel because…
Billionaire Elon Musk-led satellite communications company Starlink will be limited to a maximum of 20 lakh connections in India, Union Minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Monday, downplaying concerns over its impact on state-run BSNL and other telecom operators. The Minister of State for Telecom made the remarks while speaking on the sidelines of a BSNL review meeting. 'Starlink can have only 20 lakh customers in India and offer up to 200 Mbps speed. That won't affect telecom services,' the minister said. What Will Satcom Services Do? Satcom services are expected to target rural and remote areas where BSNL is known to have a significant presence..A government official mentioned that the limit on Starlink connections is due to its existing capacity. The minister said that the upfront cost for satcom services will be too high and the monthly cost may be around Rs 3,000. The minister also said that BSNL 4G rollout is complete and it does not plan to increase tariffs as of now. 'We want market first. There are no tariff hikes planned,' he said. What Minister Said On BSNL Future Plans? The minister said that BSNL has seen a 20-30 per cent increase in revenue in the first quarter of the current fiscal year due to the rollout of 4G services and technology is settling down. 'Earlier, there were some technical issues but over 90 per cent of them have been sorted out. There were issues around power stations. 30,000 power stations have been replaced with an expenditure of around Rs 600-700 crore,' Pemmasani said, adding that improvement in power supplies has resulted in higher uptime for BSNL networks and enhanced customer's experience. 'Each circle is being given individual targets in terms of increasing subscriber base,' he said, adding that BSNL has had a lot of legacy issues that are being resolved now. When asked about the status of Chinese equipment in BSNL, the minister said that the government plans to continue using indigenous technologies in the state-run firm and it will gradually phase out 2G and 3G equipment and do away with the need for maintenance of that equipment. BSNL has installed 2G and 3G technology using some of the equipment from Chinese vendors, including ZTE. (With Inputs From PTI)
Time of India
7 minutes ago
- Time of India
India-Pak War: PM Modi Breaks Silence On Trump Ceasefire Role; 'Called Me Multiple Times, But...'
/ Jul 29, 2025, 11:32PM IST Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly rejected Donald Trump's ceasefire claim, stating no world leader, including the U.S., asked India to halt Operation Sindoor. Modi emphasized that the operation was fully led and executed under Indian command. He confirmed receiving a call from U.S. Vice President JD Vance on May 9 but did not take it, as he was in an army meeting. Watch
