Latest news with #AmitShah
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
CM Chandrababu Naidu seeks Amit Shah's support for Polavaram-Banakacherla link project
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday and discussed various projects, including Polavaram-Banakacherla and financial matters related to AP. At the outset, the Chief Minister conveyed his appreciation to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Central Government for appointing senior TDP leader and former Union Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju as the Governor of Goa. Following this, the Chief Minister held detailed discussions with Amit Shah on several issues concerning Andhra Pradesh. He briefed the Home Minister about the need for financial support for various projects and development programs in the state. The CM also expressed his thanks for the Centre's support during the state's challenging times over the past year and said the state is working to rebuild its shattered economy with central assistance. Surplus water of Godavari is AP's right: CM However, he highlighted that Andhra Pradesh continues to face a severe shortage of financial resources and urged the Centre to extend further support. He informed Shah that the 16th Finance Commission has been requested to consider the financial losses suffered by AP due to bifurcation while allocating funds. He also raised the issue of the Polavaram-Banakacherla link project, which is critical to supplying water to drought-hit areas in the State. If this interlinking project is completed, it will significantly benefit the drought-prone Rayalaseema region. Naidu explained to Shah that even after meeting the needs of the upper and lower riparian states, surplus water from the Godavari continues to flow steadily for about 90 to 120 days. He stressed that, as the last State on the river's course, AP has the rightful claim to fully utilise this surplus water from the Godavari. Earlier, NITI Aayog Member V K Saraswat met with the Chief Minister at his Delhi residence. They discussed the establishment of aerospace and defence industries in Rayalaseema. Later, he met Delhi Metro Rail MD Dr Vikas Kumar and deliberated on the construction Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada metro projects.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Union home minister chairs high-level meeting on Delhi master plan 2041
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the Delhi Master Plan 2041 ( MPD-2041 ), bringing together key stakeholders, including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar . Delhi Home and Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood also attended the meeting, which comes a day after a separate review session on the provisions of the MPD-2041 was conducted at the Delhi Secretariat. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had submitted the draft of the master plan to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in April 2023. However, the plan is still awaiting final approval. It may be recalled that the draft MPD-2041 had earlier received the nod of Delhi's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who also serves as the chairman of the DDA, on February 28, 2023.
NDTV
3 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Telangana Says No To Discussion On Andhra's Banakacherla Project Ahead Of Key Meet
Hyderabad: Ahead of a crucial meeting of the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to discuss inter-state river water issues, the Telangana Government has formally lodged a strong objection to the inclusion of the Godavari-Banakacherla link project on the agenda. In a sharply worded letter addressed to the Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, Telangana's Chief Secretary asserted that any discussion on the project at this juncture is "unequivocally premature and procedurally untenable" due to numerous legal and procedural violations. The meeting, convened by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti on Wednesday afternoon, aimed to facilitate dialogue between the two Telugu states. The Telangana government requested that the agenda for the upcoming meeting be revised, given the lack of statutory clearances and ongoing violations of binding legal provisions and tribunal awards. It sought to defer any discussion on the Godavari-Banakacherla link project until all statutory requirements, inter-state consultations, and clearances are fully complied with and all objections are resolved. Telangana also reiterated its request for its own outstanding issues and proposals to be duly included in the agenda. On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed the project. Mr Naidu said the project only seeks to divert 200 TMC of surplus waters to drought-prone areas, and as the last riparian state, Andhra Pradesh should have the right to do so. Telangana's Objections Telangana's letter meticulously outlined a series of profound objections to the Godavari-Banakacherla link project. It argued that the project fundamentally violates the 1980 Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. It contends that the project proposes to alter water allocations and project operations without the mandatory consultation and consent of all co-basin states, as required by the GWDT Award (Annexures G and H) and the Reorganisation Act (Sections 85(8)(d) and 90). The proposal to divert water beyond the 80 TMC limit at 75% dependability would also trigger mandatory sharing among all basin states, which has not been addressed. The Telangana government highlighted the absence of crucial statutory clearances from key central agencies. The project reportedly lacks approvals from the Central Water Commission (CWC), Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), and the Apex Council. These clearances are mandated under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, and the GWDT Award. Telangana stated that the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) submitted by Andhra Pradesh suffers from "critical data gaps and methodological deficiencies," particularly concerning water availability assumptions and technical feasibility. The CWC itself has raised fundamental questions regarding water availability computations and the need for a simulation study. The state also said the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has already rejected the project proposal, citing violations of legal and procedural requirements. Furthermore, the parent Polavaram project, from which 200 TMC of floodwaters are proposed to be diverted, faces unresolved submergence issues in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, which are sub judice, making any linked diversion proposal premature. The project has not obtained environmental clearance. Telangana asserted that the proposed diversion of 200 TMC of floodwaters from Polavaram is unilateral, fundamentally alters the operation schedule of the Polavaram Project, and directly impacts Telangana's rightful share of Godavari water, especially for its drought-prone regions. Objections By Central Agencies: Telangana's letter also noted that its objections are echoed by various Government of India agencies and statutory bodies: It said the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) has indicated that the proposed 200 TMC diversion is not part of the approved Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Polavaram and requires a comprehensive study and compliance with the tribunal awards. It said the diversion could only be considered after the Polavaram Project's completion to Full Reservoir Level and submission of a revised DPR. In the letter, it also said the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) highlighted that the diversion alters the scope and operation schedule of the Polavaram Project, requiring prior consultation and written consent from all co-basin states as per the GWDT Award. It also stressed the absence of a mutually agreed-upon apportionment of Godavari waters between the two states. Telangana said the Central Water Commission (CWC) has questioned water availability assumptions in the PFR, demanding accurate dependability computations and a simulation study to establish technical feasibility. It also said the Expert Appraisal Committee had returned the proposal due to potential GWDT Award violations and the necessity of inter-state issue resolution and clearances from CWC before further processing.
DW
16 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Language rows rage in India as ruling party pushes Hindi – DW – 07/15/2025
People who speak English in India will "soon feel ashamed," according to a senior government minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. But the party's efforts to promote Hindi are facing an escalating backlash. India's Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that those who speak English in the South Asian country would "soon feel ashamed." He also urged people to speak their mother tongue with pride. "I believe that the languages of our country are the jewels of our culture. Without our languages, we cease to be truly Indian," he said. He emphasized that India should lead globally through its own languages instead of using English. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has also been increasingly giving precedence to Hindi over English in official work. Legal directives require Hindi in official communication, documentation, courts, and recruitment, especially in Hindi-speaking states, aiming to boost Hindi's role and reduce dependence on English. The push to elevate Hindi, however, has been controversial — particularly in non-Hindi-speaking states. Language is a touchy subject in the world's most populous country, where its 1.4 billion people speak a mosaic of over a hundred languages and thousands of dialects. India does not have a single "national language." Instead, it now has 22 official languages. At the federal level, both Hindi and English are designated as official languages, while individual states have adopted one or more regional languages as their official languages. The nation's internal, state boundaries are also drawn mostly along linguistic lines. Hindi is the country's most-spoken language with more than 43% of the population (more than 528 million people) able to communicate in it, as per the last census held in 2011. It's followed by Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil. "Unlike Western nation-states that are mostly monolingual, India embraces multiple official languages, reflecting its rich linguistic diversity, from which this tension arises," said Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, a professor at the Center for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Attempts were made in the past to make Hindi the sole official language at the federal level, but they all met stiff resistance in non-Hindi-speaking regions. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, has long campaigned for the promotion of Hindi. Prafulla Ketkar, editor of Organizer, the mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP's ideological parent, said, "English as a colonial legacy should be replaced by Indian languages. Hindi serves as a communication medium with the Union without undermining other languages, as every Indian language holds national importance." While the BJP insists it wants to promote all native Indian languages — not just Hindi — its attempts to expand the usage of Hindi have been contentious, with critics accusing New Delhi of trying to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states. Southern states, whose languages don't have much in common with Hindi, have particularly opposed the Hindi push. "Hindi is as foreign for non-Hindi-speaking states as English," said Samuel Asir Raj, a sociologist and formerly a professor at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli. In the western state of Maharashtra, which is run by the BJP, the government recently announced that young pupils would be taught Hindi as a third language. But a fierce backlash quickly forced it to scrap the move. In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin has been engaged in a bitter row with Modi's government over language policy. The dispute centers around India's National Education Policy (NEP), first introduced in 1968 and recently updated by the Modi government in 2020. The original policy envisioned a three-language formula. Hindi-speaking states in northern India had to teach Hindi, English and a third Indian language in school. Non-Hindi-speaking states, meanwhile, would teach the regional language, Hindi and English. When revised in 2020, the NEP retained the three-language formula but offered more flexibility for states to choose the three languages. It, however, mandated that at least two of the languages must be native to India, although Hindi is not mandatory. Tamil Nadu, though, has remained a fierce opponent of the policy and wanted to stick with teaching its school children just two languages — Tamil and English. And it views the three-language plan as an attempt to impose Hindi on the state through the backdoor. Concerns over federalism and cultural identity have also fueled resistance. "South India's opposition to the NEP isn't about Hindi itself, but about the central government using the policy to culturally appropriate their identity," said Raj, the sociologist. Despite the Modi government's push for Hindi, the use of English in India remains widespread, including in education, commerce and courts, even in Hindi-speaking regions. People across the country view learning the language as key to upward economic and social mobility. They increasingly send their children to English-medium schools, in the hope that it would help them gain access to better and higher-paying jobs. Against this backdrop, it's unlikely that Hindi will completely replace English in India anytime soon. But Hindi has been spreading across the country in recent years, thanks to the Hindi film industry, or Bollywood, which has popularized the Hindi language in non-Hindi-speaking areas. Migration from northern, Hindi-speaking regions to southern states has also contributed to the spread. Bhattacharya said the Modi government's "heavy financial support" for Hindi "creates a sense of imposition." He called for a dialogue between New Delhi and state governments to put an end to the language disputes."Unity should not mean uniformity imposed by the state. While this may spark regional opposition, it won't lead to major conflict. Ultimately, dialogue and compromise between the center and states are essential to resolve these tensions."
DW
16 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
India: Language rows erupt as BJP pushes Hindi – DW – 07/15/2025
People who speak English in India would "soon feel ashamed," according to a senior government minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. But the party's efforts to promote Hindi are facing escalating backlash. India's Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that those who speak English in the South Asian country would "soon feel ashamed." He also urged people to speak their mother tongue with pride. "I believe that the languages of our country are the jewels of our culture. Without our languages, we cease to be truly Indian," he said. He emphasized that India should lead globally through its own languages instead of using English. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has also been increasingly giving precedence to Hindi over English in official work. Legal directives require Hindi in official communication, documentation, courts, and recruitment, especially in Hindi-speaking states, aiming to boost Hindi's role and reduce dependence on English. The push to elevate Hindi, however, has been controversial — particularly in non-Hindi-speaking states. Language is a touchy subject in the world's most populous country, where its 1.4 billion people speak a mosaic of over a hundred languages and thousands of dialects. India does not have a single "national language." Instead, it now has 22 official languages. At the federal level, both Hindi and English are designated as official languages, while individual states have adopted one or more regional languages as their official languages. The nation's internal, state boundaries are also drawn mostly along linguistic lines. Hindi is the country's most-spoken language with more than 43% of the population (more than 528 million people) able to communicate in it, as per the last census held in 2011. It's followed by Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil. "Unlike Western nation-states that are mostly monolingual, India embraces multiple official languages, reflecting its rich linguistic diversity, from which this tension arises," said Dwaipayan Bhattacharya, a professor at the Center for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Attempts were made in the past to make Hindi the sole official language at the federal level, but they all met stiff resistance in non-Hindi-speaking regions. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, has long campaigned for the promotion of Hindi. Prafulla Ketkar, editor of Organizer, the mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP's ideological parent, said, "English as a colonial legacy should be replaced by Indian languages. Hindi serves as a communication medium with the Union without undermining other languages, as every Indian language holds national importance." While the BJP insists it wants to promote all native Indian languages — not just Hindi — its attempts to expand the usage of Hindi have been contentious, with critics accusing New Delhi of trying to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states. Southern states, whose languages don't have much in common with Hindi, have particularly opposed the Hindi push. "Hindi is as foreign for non-Hindi-speaking states as English," said Samuel Asir Raj, a sociologist and formerly a professor at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli. In the western state of Maharashtra, which is run by the BJP, the government recently announced that young pupils would be taught Hindi as a third language. But a fierce backlash quickly forced it to scrap the move. In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin has been engaged in a bitter row with Modi's government over language policy. The dispute centers around India's National Education Policy (NEP), first introduced in 1968 and recently updated by the Modi government in 2020. The original policy envisioned a three-language formula. Hindi-speaking states in northern India had to teach Hindi, English and a third Indian language in school. Non-Hindi-speaking states, meanwhile, would teach the regional language, Hindi and English. When revised in 2020, the NEP retained the three-language formula but offered more flexibility for states to choose the three languages. It, however, mandated that at least two of the languages must be native to India, although Hindi is not mandatory. Tamil Nadu, though, has remained a fierce opponent of the policy and wanted to stick with teaching its school children just two languages — Tamil and English. And it views the three-language plan as an attempt to impose Hindi on the state through the backdoor. Concerns over federalism and cultural identity have also fueled resistance. "South India's opposition to the NEP isn't about Hindi itself, but about the central government using the policy to culturally appropriate their identity," said Raj, the sociologist. Despite the Modi government's push for Hindi, the use of English in India remains widespread, including in education, commerce and courts, even in Hindi-speaking regions. People across the country view learning the language as key to upward economic and social mobility. They increasingly send their children to English-medium schools, in the hope that it would help them gain access to better and higher-paying jobs. Against this backdrop, it's unlikely that Hindi will completely replace English in India anytime soon. But Hindi has been spreading across the country in recent years, thanks to the Hindi film industry, or Bollywood, which has popularized the Hindi language in non-Hindi-speaking areas. Migration from northern, Hindi-speaking regions to southern states has also contributed to the spread. Bhattacharya said the Modi government's "heavy financial support" for Hindi "creates a sense of imposition." He called for a dialogue between New Delhi and state governments to put an end to the language disputes."Unity should not mean uniformity imposed by the state. While this may spark regional opposition, it won't lead to major conflict. Ultimately, dialogue and compromise between the center and states are essential to resolve these tensions."
