Modi to ask Carney to act on India's pending requests for extradition of Khalistanis from Canada
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Ottawa to participate in the outreach sessions to be held on the sidelines of the G7 summit, which will be held at Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada from June 15 to 17.
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NDTV
22 minutes ago
- NDTV
BJP Manifesto: Promise Versus Reality
June 9 marks exactly one year since Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers were sworn in. Before the elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) published a 69-page manifesto. Here are 15 promises from the BJP Manifesto 2024. What is the reality in 2025. 1. Promise: Expanding our efforts to protect garib ki thali (page 11). Reality: According to the World Bank, 7.5 crore Indians earn less than Rs 225 per day. The poorest 5% spend Rs 68 per day. A vegetarian thali costs Rs 77. 2. Promise: Empowering the neo-middle class (page 13). Reality: Between 2014 and 2024, household liabilities have doubled, while net financial savings have fallen to one of their lowest levels in the last 50 years. 3. Promise: Creating high value jobs (page 14). Reality: Since 2021, more and more people have been pushed towards agriculture. Currently 46% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture. Nearly three out of five people are self employed, which experts call 'not the best form of employment'. 4. Promise: Participation of women in the workforce (page 15). Reality: Between 2018-23, the proportion of women engaged in employment-related activities rose by just 2.3 percentage points. Time spent on employment-related activities increased by just 10 minutes over five years. The labour force participation rate for women remains half that of men. 5. Promise: Implementing the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Bill) (page 16). Reality: BJP has 13% women MPs in Lok Sabha. The Bill was passed in 2023. However, it was linked to the Census which is slated to be conducted in 2027. Post Census, the delimitation exercise will be held. It is only after both of these, that the Bill can be actually implemented. When? Anybody's guess. 6. Promise: Strengthening PM KISAN (page 22). Reality: 30 farmers commit suicide every day. Between 2018-23, real wages declined annually by 0.4% in rural areas, while agricultural wages saw an annual growth of just 0.2%. The suggestion made by a Parliamentary Committee to increase funds under PM Kisan to Rs 12,000 has been ignored. 7. Promise: Global manufacturing hub (page 42). Reality: The value added by the manufacturing sector declined from 12.3% of GDP in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024, falling below 2014 levels. Over the past two years, only one in ten individuals have been employed in manufacturing. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of manufacturing MSMEs grew just over 2%. 8. Promise: Expansion of kavach train protection system (page 45). Reality: In four years, Kavach has been installed in just 2% of routes and less than 1% of locomotives. At the current rate of progress, the implementation of Kavach across the Indian Railways network could take a few decades to complete. 9. Promise: Expanding bullet trains (page 46). Reality: The government announced the bullet train project in the railway budget 2014 with an estimated expenditure of 60,000 crore. 11 years later, after spending more than Rs 71,000 crore, less than half the project has been completed. 10. Promise: Expanding expressways and ring roads (page 47). Reality: In 2017, the government sanctioned 34,800 km under Bharatmala Pariyojana. However, only about half of this has been completed. Nearly 25% of the project has not even been awarded as yet. 11. Promise: Developing airports for seamless connectivity (page 48). Reality: 114 routes have been discontinued even before they completed three years. 619 routes were operationalised of which half are currently operational under UDAN. 12. Promise: Combating corruption (page 54). Reality: In the last decade, only two convictions have been made out of 193 cases against MPs, MLAs, and political leaders by the ED. In the last 11 years, a total of 5297 cases were filed by ED. Only 47 were taken to court for trial. For every 1000 cases filed, accused were found guilty in only seven cases. 13. Promise: Strengthening AIIMS (page 57). Reality: 18,737 positions are vacant in AIIMS hospitals across India. More than 2200 of these positions are related to faculty. 14. Promise: Expanding skills training for youth (page 60). Reality: One in three young people in India are neither in education, employment, nor training, with women making up 95% of this group. Only 4% of the youth workforce have received formal skill training. Under the PM internship scheme, one out of five districts had less than 10 internship opportunities available. 15. Promise: Maintaining peace in northeast (page 63). Reality: It has been over two years since the violence began in Manipur. The Prime Minister has not visited Manipur even once. Another broken promise.
Hindustan Times
28 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Canadian journalist alleges assault by Khalistan supporters in Vancouver
An independent Canadian investigative journalist on Sunday alleged that he was physically assaulted and 'threatened' by a group of Khalistan supporters who reportedly also snatched his phone while he was reporting their rally in Vancouver. The journalist, Mocha Bezirgan, who posted his ordeal on social media platform X said that the Khalistani extremist movement in Canada has raised serious security concerns and strained ties between India and Canada. 'It just happened two hours ago and I'm still shaking,' Bezirgan told ANI in a phone interview. 'They acted like thugs - crowding in on me, grabbing my phone, trying to stop me recording.' The incident occurred while Bezirgan was in Vancouver city to cover a rally organised by Khalistan supporters. The Canadian journalist described the attack as 'thuggery' and said he was targeted for his editorial independence and past coverage of Khalistan-related protests. Earlier, he took to X to post, 'I've been surrounded by a group of Khalistanis who grabbed my phone out of my hand and threatened me. Naturally I'm a bit shaken, but not deterred.' Bezirgan further said that the pro-Khalistan movement has led to acts of vandalism, intimidation, and violent rhetoric, despite not being widespread within the Sikh community. On being asked about Khalistani extremism, the Canadian investigative journalist said, 'This is a movement headed by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). They are the ones organising it, and most of the time, it's the same people attending these protests, be it in Ontario, British Columbia, US, UK, New Zealand. They mobilise people to come from local gurdwaras to create a little bit of crowd, but there are bigger political organisations like the World Sikh Organisation which is based in Canada that provide political cover for the movement. 'Their executives include current and former MPs and ministers, who have spread influence across Canadian institutions,' said the Canadian journalist. Bezirgan also expressed concern over the reluctance of Canadian politicians to condemn these extremist groups. 'Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, the NDP, and some Liberal MPs recently attended a Nagar Kirtan in Surrey, BC, which had significant Khalistani influence. They shared the stage with Santokh Singh Kelha, a convicted Sikh Canadian who conspired to bomb an airplane,' Bezirgan said. Bezirgan condemned the glorification of violence by these groups, who the journalist said speak openly about plans to ambush and kill India's current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 'It is disturbing that Canadian politicians continue to associate with such extremists, despite their violent history and inflammatory rhetoric,' Bezirgan said. He warned that lack of media coverage and public awareness in Canada allows such events and political participation to go unchecked. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed on June 6 that he will represent India at the upcoming G-7 summit in Canada next week, after he was invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a telephone call.
Indian Express
31 minutes ago
- Indian Express
11 years of Modi government: The transformation and the road ahead
India, today at $4.2 trillion GDP, is on the threshold of becoming the fourth-largest economy, surpassing Japan and expected to overtake Germany to be the third-largest in the next few years. This is underpinned by a significant transformation across various dimensions under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 11 years (2014-25). Average growth since 2014 has been 6.4 per cent, accelerating to 7.4 per cent in the latest quarter. This demonstrates resilience and sustained momentum in the Indian economy. Inflation management improved markedly, coming down from 9.4 per cent in 2013-14 to 4.6 per cent today, providing much-needed stability for households and businesses alike. Infrastructure Expansion India's infrastructure development has been one of the most visible symbols of this transformation. National highways expanded from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,204 km in 2024, and construction speed has increased from 12 km/day to 34 km/day. The emphasis on last-mile connectivity has resulted in nearly four lakh km of rural roads being built, bringing 99 per cent of rural India into the national network, supporting rural mobility and economic inclusion. India's railway network has seen unprecedented expansion over the past decade. A total of 25,871 route kilometres (RKM) of new tracks were laid, significantly higher than the 14,985 RKM added in the previous decade. India now leads the world in locomotive manufacturing, producing 1,681 locomotives in 2024-25. This is more than the combined output of the US, Europe, and Japan. Freight movement has also surged, with Indian Railways becoming the world's second-largest cargo transporter, handling 1,617 million tonnes annually. Notably, railway connectivity has now reached the northeastern states, enhancing regional integration. Its wider reach now enables Indian Railways to serve over 30 million passengers daily — a testament to its scale and efficiency. The ongoing development of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) is another transformative step and is expected to significantly boost efficiency in cargo movement and reduce congestion on passenger routes. Similarly, air travel has seen rapid democratisation. Operational airports have grown from 74 to 160 between 2014 and 2025, with the UDAN scheme bringing air connectivity to remote towns. The government's vision of expanding to 300 airports by 2047 underlines its continued focus on logistics and accessibility. Urban Growth and Clean Energy: Towards a Sustainable Future Urban transformation has continued through the Smart Cities Mission, with over 8,000 projects and investments worth Rs 1.64 lakh crore. Urban transport has also advanced, with the Delhi Metro expanding into one of the largest and most efficient metro systems globally, setting benchmarks for mass rapid transit in the country, which now reaches 15 Indian cities. India's clean energy progress is equally commendable. Solar capacity has grown from 2.82 GW in 2014 to over 105.65 GW, with total clean energy capacity now at 228.28 GW. This positions India as the third-largest solar and fourth-largest wind energy producer globally. Digital Infrastructure and Governance Reforms One of the major success stories of the past decade has been the exponential growth of India's public digital infrastructure. Led by platforms like UPI and Aadhaar, this public-first approach has enabled real-time payments, direct transfers, and expanded rural banking through Jan Dhan and digital access points. DPI infrastructure contributed about 1 per cent of GDP and is projected to reach about 3-4 per cent by 2030. As the World Bank has recognised, DPI has accomplished in six years what would typically take decades. India's DPI has now been adopted in over 12 countries. This has led to social development as well as significant poverty reduction. Official data shows that 17.1 crore people have been lifted out of poverty during this decade. The poverty rate has fallen from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23, and further declines are now being reported. The Road Ahead: India @ 2047 As India approaches the centenary of its independence, it is now setting an agenda for global development. India's progress and resilience are evident through key reforms like GST, simplification of regulations, and removal of legal redundancies. Yet, more needs to be done to improve ease of doing business, reduce compliance burdens, enhance competitiveness, and integrate more deeply into global supply chains. Strategic investments, governance reforms, and inclusive growth have built a strong foundation. Going forward, agility in policymaking, focus on sustainability, and deeper integration into global supply chains through improved manufacturing and skilling will be key. India's development journey, rooted in economic strength, digital progress, is now aiming for resilience and long-term impact. The writer is Chairman and Managing Director, JK Paper Limited and Director, J K Organisaton
