AHMEDABAD:  Six Congress MLAs from Saurashtra are likely to leave the party and join the BJP ahead of Rajasthan chief minister and party’s Gujarat in-charge Ashok Gehlot’s visit to the state. Gehlot is set to visit the state from August 16-18. 

According to sources, Bhavesh Katara, Chirag Kalgaria, Lalit Vasoya, Sanjay Solanki, Mahesh Patel and Harshad Ribadia had a meeting with Gujarat BJP chief C R Patil on Saturday night. Four of them are  Patidar MLAs and Vasoya is a close friend of Hardik Patel. 

After these six cross-voted in the presidential election in favour of NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu, the Congress formed a probe panel. Sources said former home minister Naresh Raval, former Rajya Sabha member and Dalit leader Raju Parmar, who resigned from the Congress, will join the BJP on August 17. The six MLAs are also likely to join the BJP on the same day.

Lalit Vasoya told reporters, “I don’t want to state that I am with the Congress forever. The day I will make any decision, I will let everyone know.” Congress’ Saurashtra in-charge Ramkishan Ojha said, “I have received media reports that the six MLAs are in touch with the BJP. The ruling party is misusing power.”

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu in her maiden address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day talked about India’s vibrant democracy, success story of Covid vaccines, Atmanirbhar Bharat and the growth of the country’s economy after the pandemic.

The President on Sunday said that it is a cause of celebration “not only for all of us but also for every advocate of democracy around the world”.

“When India won independence, there were many international leaders and experts who were sceptical about the success of democratic form of government in India. They had their reasons to be doubtful. In those days, democracy was limited to economically advanced nations. India, after so many years of exploitation at the hands of foreign rulers, was marked by poverty and illiteracy. But we Indians proved the skeptics wrong. Democracy not only grew roots in this soil, it was enriched too,” the President said.

Murmu said that ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ festival is dedicated to the people of India.

“Based on the success achieved by the people, the resolve to build ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is also a part of this Mahotsav. Citizens from all age-groups have keenly participated in a series of events held across the country,” she added.

Talking about the vaccine success story that the country has achieved, President Murmu said: “The world has seen a new India rising in recent years, more so after the outbreak of Covid-19. Our response to the pandemic has been appreciated everywhere. We launched the biggest vaccination drive in human history with vaccines manufactured in the country itself.

“Last month, we crossed the 200-crore mark in cumulative vaccine coverage. In combating the pandemic, our achievements have been better than those of many developed countries. For this feat, we are grateful to our scientists, doctors, nurses, paramedics and the staff associated with vaccination.”

She said the pandemic has uprooted lives and also economies in the entire world.

“When the world has been battling the economic consequences of the great crisis, India got its act together and is now moving forward. India is among the fastest growing major economies in the world. India’s start-up eco-system ranks high in the world. The success of start-ups in our country, especially the growing number of unicorns is a shining example of our industrial progress.

“The government and policy-makers deserve credit for beating the global trend and helping the economy flourish. During the last few years, unprecedented progress has been made in the development of physical and digital infrastructure,” she added.

The President said: “The success of start-ups in our country, especially the growing number of unicorns is a shining example of our industrial progress. The government and policy-makers deserve credit for beating the global trend and helping the economy flourish.”

Murmu also talked about India’s achievement in the Commonwealth Games saying that a large number of our winners come from underprivileged segments of society.

“Our daughters are the biggest hope for the nation. Some of them brought laurels for the country at the recently held Commonwealth Games. Of course, India’s sportspersons have been making the country proud by their performance in international competitions,” she added.

In her maiden speech, the President said that the keyword for India today is compassion; for the downtrodden, for the needy and for those on the margins.

“Some of our national values have been incorporated in our Constitution as the fundamental duties of the citizens. I appeal to every citizen to know about their fundamental duties and follow them in letter and spirit so that our nation reaches new heights,” she added.

She also quoted the iconic Kannada poet Kuvempu in her first address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day to urge the youth to make a total sacrifice for the motherland and upliftment of fellow citizens, as they intend to build the country of 2047.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said his government’s priority is to work for the common man and it is committed to extending the reservation benefits to the Other Backward Classes, Maratha and Dhangar communities.

Speaking on the country’s 76th Independence Day after hoisting the national flag at the state secretariat as the CM for the first time, Shinde said several parts of the state have witnessed floods due to heavy rainfall.

“We started working from day one and our priority is to work for the common man, farmers, the working class,” he said.

“The government is committed to extending the benefits of reservation to the OBCs, Maratha and Dhangar (shepherd) communities,” he added.

The CM said 15 lakh hectares of land in 28 districts of the state has been affected due to floods.

The assistance to the affected people has been doubled, he said.

“To find a permanent solution to the floods, we are undertaking a programme of deepening and desilting of rivers in a scientific manner,” he said.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged people to focus their energy on the five resolutions of making India a developed nation, removing every trace of bondage, taking pride in its heritage and unity, and fulfilling their duties in the next 25 years.

“By the 100th year of Independence, we have to work with the vision of accomplishing what our freedom fighters dreamt of,” he said while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 76th Independence Day.

“I urge the youth to dedicate the next 25 years of their lives to the development of the nation. We will work towards even the development of the entire humanity. That is the strength of India,” he said.

Modi said India will have to move ahead with big goals to fulfil the vision of a developed India in the centenary year of its Independence.

“For the next 25 years we need to focus on the five resolves, developed India, removing every trace of bondage from our mind, taking pride in our glorious heritage and unity, and fulfilling our duties,” he said.

“We need to now move with a renewed focus and resolve for the next 25 years, and this can be made possible through the strength and determination of 130 crore Indians.”

Modi said the world looked at India with pride and hope, and as a problem-solver. “The world looks at India as a destination where aspirations are met,” he said.

The prime minister said a stable government has resulted in fast decision-making which has been noticed around the world.

SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday began a debate on a no-confidence motion brought by the opposition Congress and the CPM against the Jai Ram Thakur-led state government.-ADVERTISEMENT-Ads by 

Starting the debate on the second day of the ongoing monsoon session, Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri said the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated under the BJP government.

He said 354 murders, 1,574 rapes and 7,406 molestation cases have so far been reported in the hill state under the Thakur-led government.

The debate started at 11 am and would continue till 3 pm. Chief Minister Thakur is expected to give his reply at 3 pm.

The notice for the motion was given by 22 Congress MLAs and the lone CPM legislator in the assembly on Wednesday.

The speaker told the House on Wednesday that the notice was given at 9.50 am under Rule 278 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

“The notice stated the House expresses no confidence in the council of ministers as the government fails on all fronts,” the speaker had said.

The BJP has 43 MLAs in the 68-member House, while the Congress has 22. There are two Independents and one CPI(M) MLA.

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India have raised concern over increasing Central government debt as several indicators gauging the sustainability of debt have turned unfavourable since 2015-16. The CAG in a report tabled in parliament recently pointed out that some of the indicators like debt/GDP ratio, interest repayment to revenue receipts and interest rate spread became unfavourable during the five-year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

The Central government debt-to-GDP ratio in 2019-20 was 52.30% compared to 50.5% in 2015-16. The government was using 34% of the revenue earned in 2019-20 to pay interest on the debt. This was 32% in 2015-16. The report also pointed out that although the average interest cost declined from 6.91% in FY16 to 6.61% in FY20, the actual interest paid on debt consistently increased from Rs 4.57 lakh crore in FY16 to Rs 6.55 lakh crore in FY20 due to expanding overall debt.

Another area of concern pointed out by the CAG is that the interest spread, which is the difference between nominal GDP growth rate and average interest cost, turned negative in 2019-20. The CAG said the government must have in place a requisite plan to achieve the target set by the FRBM act to cap the Central government debt-to-GDP ratio of 40%.

Meanwhile, data released by the department of economic affairs in the Finance Ministry showed interest paid on debt by the central government has increased to `8.05 lakh crore in FY22 from Rs 6.80 lakh crore in FY21. The government spent almost 37% of its total revenue in FY22 on interest payments. The overall central government debt, as per provisional estimates, was Rs 128 lakh crore, 54% of the GDP in FY22.
India’s debt situation is a cause of concern, feel experts.

“One of the major fallouts of high debt is interest payments, which could have been otherwise used for more productive purposes. It is estimated that the Indian government’s interest payment is approx 3.1% of GDP against 2.5% in 2014-15,” says Debopam Chaudhari, chief economist and head of research, TruBoard Partners.

NEW DELHI: India is working closely with Spain to strengthen its naval and air defence capabilities. In line with that India could consider buying five naval submarines from Spain. This follows an agreement India has signed with Spain for procuring 56 C295MW Airbus aircraft worth Euro 2.5 billion, to replace the Indian Air Force (IAF) AVRO fleet.-

“India is considering buying submarines and several countries including Spain are taking part in the tender. Spain considers that Navantia’s (a Spanish company) offer is very competitive in terms of quality, cost, transfer of technology and indigenisation. Navantia would be in charge of providing to the Indian Navy with state-of-the-art conventional Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarines – if the Indian government consider’s the offer,” said Spain’s Ambassador to India, Jose Maria Ridao told this paper.

Meanwhile, India signed an agreement with Spain for the acquisition of 56 Airbus aircraft at a cost of Euro 2.5 billion.

“This contract is representative of the great potential between our two countries. On the one hand, it shows the importance of Spain´s defence industry and, on the other, it contributes to the “Make in India” policy. In that context, the first 16 aircrafts will be produced in Seville and the other 40 will be produced by Tatas with Spanish assistance,” Ambassador Ridao added.

This will be  the first ‘Make in India’ aerospace programme in the private sector, involving the full development of a complete industrial ecosystem: from the manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft.

“Under the contractual agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain. The subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by the Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies,” said a spokesperson of Tatas.

The first 16 aircraft will be delivered over four years after the contract implementation. All the IAF C295MW aircraft will be handed over in transport configuration and equipped with an indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite.

With a proven capability of operating from short or unprepared airstrips, the C295 is used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft.

Meanwhile, in recent years, imports into Spain have tripled, compared to exports.

“In 2021, Spanish exports were €1,496.53M and imports from India were €4,200.10M, a coverage rate (which is the ration between the value of exports and imports) of 35.6%. In 2021, total exports increased by 37.1% as a sign of recovery after the pandemic,” said Ambassador Ridao.

During the first five months of 2022, Spanish exports to India were €731.9 million and imports from India were €2,466.7 million, which represents a coverage rate of 29.67%.