Archives for 2018

The Congress on Friday said the people are losing trust in the banking system and the Indian rupee has become the worst-performing currency in the world under the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Addressing the media here, Congress spokesperson R.P.N. Singh said: “We request him (Modi) to answer the same question he raised to the Congress when it was in power. Now he should answer all these questions from all stages and forums.”

Attacking Modi over record fall in the value of rupee, he said: “When he (Modi) was in the opposition, he had said after coming to power he would ensure that the value of one dollar becomes Rs 40. If we look at the condition of rupee now, it is about to cross Rs 70, worst in the past 70 years.

“It is under Modi’s rule that the rupee has collapsed to an all-time low value against dollar. The Indian rupee is the worst performing currency in the world right now.”

Singh recalled that Modi would also say that he would bring black money back, but the opposite had happened.

“Modi had also promised to deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of poor by bringing back the black money worth USD 800,000 million from foreign countries, but now the data shows that this year the deposit in the Swiss Bank has gone up by 50 percent. It is the second highest in our history, the highest was in 2004 when the BJP was in power last time,” he said.

“Some Indians, including Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, took away the money of the poor. The non-performing assets under the NDA rule in past four years has crossed Rs 10,00,000 crore, which can cross Rs 15,00,000 crore in next two years. People are losing trust in banks under their rule,” he said.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of black money and said he had promised to bring back all illegal money stashed abroad but his government was now virtually saying that there was no illegal money in Swiss banks.

In a tweet, Gandhi referred to Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks earlier in the day about the latest data released by the Swiss National Bank that showed a rise in Indian deposits last year.

Gandhi said that the Modi government had carried out demonetisation to supposedly curb black money but its stance now was totally different.

“In 2014, he said: I will bring back all the “BLACK” money in Swiss Banks and put Rs 15 lakh in each Indian bank account. In 2016, he said: Demonetisation will cure India of “BLACK” money. In 2018, he says: 50 per cent jump in Swiss Bank deposits by Indians, is “WHITE” money. No “BLACK” (money) in Swiss banks!” the Congress chief said.

Goyal had maintained that under an agreement signed by the Modi government with Switzerland, all data from January 1, 2018, will be made available to the Indian government.

He was responding to a query about the data showing a rise in Indian deposits last year in Switzerland.

“From what I understand (from media reports) 40 per cent increase in foreign remittances are on account of the Reserve Bank’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme brought during the previous (UPA) government under which a resident Indian can remit $250,000 per year,” the Minister said.

“Then, there are also non-resident deposits… rest assured, if any wrongdoing is revealed, we will take action. With the various measures of this government against black money, Swiss bank deposits have been decreasing,” he added.

The data showed that after falling for three years in succession, money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose 50 per cent to Swiss Francs 1.02 billion in 2017 over the previous year.

Deputy CM Parameshwara said that the coordination committee of the JD-S and Congress will be discussing on the proposals for inclusion in the state budget for 2018-19 Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will present in the assembly on July 5.

The five-member committee which includes Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara, and K.C. Venugopal, Kumaraswamy and Danish Ali of Janata Dal-Secular.

Addressing the press, Parameshwara “As Ali is the convenor, he will decide on the time and venue of the meeting in consultation with the committee’s members,”

The committee will go through the report of the sub-committee set up by the coalition government on June 14 to draft a common minimum programme (CMP) from the poll manifestoes of both the coalition parties.

The five-member sub-committee has former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily, state Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande and Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar of the Congress and Public Works Department Minister H.D. Revanna of the JD-S and Chief Minister’s Economic Adviser S. Subramanya.

“The sub-committee has recommended some of the promises made in both the manifestos, including socio-economic and welfare schemes and farm loan waiver as part of the CMP,” said Parameshwara.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that 42 lakh senior citizens had voluntarily given up their railway concession in the past nine months while 1.25 crore families had surrendered their gas subsidy.

Modi said an environment of honesty has been fostered in the country and more and more people are coming forward to contribute to the nation building by voluntarily giving up on various subsidies and concessions.

He said with his one request from the Red Fort to the well-off citizens to give up LPG subsidy, and 1.25 crore families gave up the benefit.

“Here (in case of railway concessions) I had not announced anything. But the railways themselves on their form asked people if they would want to give up their senior citizen concessions…I am proud to say that in the past eight-nine months, 42 lakh elderly passengers have voluntarily given up their subsidy,” Modi said.

He further said that he had requested the doctors of the country to treat pregnant women free of cost at least once in a month, following which thousands of medical practitioners had come forward. “And 1.25 crore pregnant women have been treated free-of-cost so far,” he said.

The prime minister had called on a doctor working in the private sector to provide free ante-natal services (ANC) on the 9th of every month on a voluntary basis to pregnant women, especially those living in under-served, semi-urban, poor and rural areas during his radio address in 2016.

“This shows the trust of the people on this government is increasing. People have this feeling that the tax we are paying, every single penny is being utilized for the purpose of development,” Modi said after laying the foundation stone of the National Centre for Aging at AIIMS and inaugurating a super specialty and an emergency block at Safdarjung Hospital here today.

Modi said that the vision of his government is not limited to providing modern treatment facilities such as hospitals and medicines and thus a national health policy with an aim to ensure low-cost treatment for every citizen and to eradicate the causes of diseases was introduced.

“Our government has taken healthcare services beyond the boundaries of the health ministry and today the ministries of rural development, drinking water and sanitation, women and child development and Ayush have all got linked with the government’s vision to provide accessible and affordable health to all,” he said.

Modi also talked about the two pillars of the Centre’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat, as part of which 1.5 lakh sub-centers that are being converted into health and wellness centers to provide screening for tuberculosis and leprosy, along with diabetes, hypertension, breast, oral and cervical cancers.

Also, he talked about the National Health Protection Scheme which aims to provide a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family annually to 10 crore vulnerable families.

Modi said these will highly benefit the poor living in villages and rural areas and more and more states are being linked to the project and private hospitals are being brought on board. “This will be the world’s largest health assurance scheme,” he said.

Reiterating India’s commitment to eradicate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target, Modi said he has faith that the healthcare sector of the country would meet the challenge.

In the past four years, the public healthcare sector has been given a new direction and the continuous policy interventions by the union government have ensured that the poor and the middle-class do not have to wander around for better health services and spend unnecessarily on them.

The National Centre for Ageing, the foundation stone for which was laid by the prime minister today, will provide state-of-the-art clinical care to the elderly population and lay a key role in guiding research in the field of geriatric medicine and related specialities.

The centre will have 200 general ward beds, which will include 20 medical ICU beds. The centre will be developed at a cost of Rs 330 crore and will be completed by February 2020.

During the event at AIIMS, the prime minister also inaugurated a 500-bedded new emergency block and 807-bedded super speciality block at Safdarjung Hospital.

He also dedicated a 300-bed Power Grid Vishram Sadan at AIIMS and a “connection motorable tunnel” between AIIMS, Ansari Nagar and the trauma centre.