National News Content

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today met top business leaders and addressed the India-Israel Business Summit in Mumbai. <br/><br/>Speaking at the power breakfast with the select chief executives of Indian companies, Israeli Prime Minister said, the future belongs to those who innovate and therefore it is crucial that business leaders of both countries meet. Describing his India tour as extraordinary, Mr. Netanyahu said, his country has a deep and abiding respect for India, it's people and culture. <br/><br/>Mr Netanyahu laid wreath at the memorial of the 26/11 terror attack victims at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace Hotel this afternoon. He was accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. <br/><br/>He then proceeded to visit Nariman House, where he met 11-year-old survivor Moshe Holtzberg. Moshe's father and mother were killed at the Nariman House during the 2008 attacks. Mr. Netanyahu is in Mumbai on the final leg of his six-day visit to India. <br/>

FIR against English daily newspaper should not be viewed as targeting media: UIDAI <br/><br/><br/>The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has said the act of filing an FIR against an English daily newspaper should not be viewed as UIDAI targeting the media or the whistle-blowers. In a statement, the authority said, it respects free speech including the freedom of Press and Media. It said, UIDAI takes every criminal violation seriously and it is for the act of unauthorized access, criminal proceedings have been initiated. <br/>The authority said, UIDAI is duty bound to disclose all the details of the case and name everyone who is an active participant in the chain of the events leading to commission of the crime so that police can conduct proper investigation and bring the real culprit to justice. It said, it does not mean that all those who are named in the report are necessarily guilty or being targeted. The UIDAI reiterated that there has not been any Aadhaar data breach. It also dismissed the report of full Aadhaar details being made available on payment of 500 rupees and said it is clearly a case of misreporting being incorrect and misleading.

National News Content

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said she is monitoring the situation of attack on Indian students in Milan, Italy. <br/><br/>In a tweet, Mrs Swaraj said, she has got the detailed report and asked the students not to worry.<br/><br/>Yesterday, the Indian Consulate General in Milan had received reports of attack on the Indian students. All Indian students were requested not to panic. <br/><br/>The Consulate General has already taken up the matter with highest authorities of law and order.

The Supreme Court has expressed concern over non-utilisation of funds for providing shelters to the urban homeless and non-constitution of committees for the purpose in the urban local bodies of West Bengal, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. <br/><br/>Seeking a roadmap from these states on how they plan to provide such shelters, the apex court has observed that the executive committees to oversee the implementation of the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) have not been constituted by most of the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in the states.<br/><br/><br/>A bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta directed that a senior officer dealing with the NULM should file an affidavit within two weeks and made it clear that no extension of time will be granted. <br/><br/>The bench noted that no information was available with regard to the status of executive committee in the ULBs in Haryana in the status report filed by the Centre. It also noted that as far as the state of West Bengal is concerned, only six committees have been constituted out of 125 ULBs and as far as the state of UP is concerned, only 74 committees have been constituted out of 130 ULBs.

Evacuation of Indian nationals from Sint Maarten is priority for us: Sushma<br/><br/>The Indian government has arranged for the evacuation of Indian nationals from the hurricane-hit Caribbean island of Sint Maarten. <br/>'<br/>The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet last night that the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sint Maarten is<br/>a priority for us. <br/>'<br/>Sint Maarten, that is jointly administered by France and<br/>the Netherlands, was directly in hurricane Irma's path. The<br/>island suffered widespread destruction after the storm made<br/>landfall last week and wreaked havoc on the Caribbean islands.

Stone-pelting incident on Rahul Gandhi's vechile in Gujarat was unfortunate: Rajnath Singh <br/><br/><br/>Government today termed the stone-pelting incident on the vehicle in which the party's vice-president Rahul Gandhi was travelling during his visit to the flood-affected regions of Banaskantha in Gujarat on Friday as unfortunate. <br/><br/>Replying to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's allegation that BJP supporters were involved in the attack on Mr Gandhi's vehicle, Home minister Rajnath Singh in a passionate reply condemned the incident in strongest terms and asserted there were no lapses in Rahul Gandhi's security.<br/><br/>Mr Singh said the Centre has provided advance security information to Gujarat police well in advance and all necessary arrangements were made by SPG, Gujarat police during his visit. The Home minister also informed the House that Mr Gandhi stopped on the places which were not on his tour schedule.

Congress facing challenges at present: Randeep Singh Surjewala <br/><br/><br/>Congress today admitted that the party is facing challenges at present. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said party will meet all the challenges like it has done in 2004 and it will emerge victorious in 2019.<br/><br/>Mr Surjewala said the party has nothing to do with senior leader Jairam Ramesh's comment that the party is going through existential crisis. Mr Surjewala said this is Mr Ramesh's personal opinion. He said Mr Jairam Ramesh should raise this matter at the party forum.

Disinvestment of Air India: Par panel to hear views of stakeholders today

PM inaugurates Parliament House Annexe Extension Building in New Delhi<br/><br/>Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated Parliament House Annexe Extension Building in New Delhi. The building, designed by Central Public Works Department, CPWD, has two blocks with eco-friendly green building features.<br/><br/>Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Urban Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar were present on the occasion.

Prasar Bharati Chairman Dr. A. Surya Prakash has said that both the wings of the Public Service Broadcaster have lived up to the expectations of the people and fulfilled their mandate by contributing in the process of inclusive development. He also impressed upon the need to continue the good work and carry it further with zeal while addressing the officials of All India Radio and Doordarshan in Nagpur today.<br/><br/>Dr. Prakash appreciated the role played by AIR and DD in reaching out to the people with all the necessary information and garnering support to achieve the objectives of several national campaigns. He further said that 'Swachh Bharat' and 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' are the other two such important campaigns that need to be promoted in a big way. <br/><br/>He also underlined the role of the Public Service Broadcaster in preservation of the rich cultural heritage of our country and promotion of the diverse art forms including classical music and dance as well.

3-member central BJP team stopped by police from visiting riot-hit Basirhat in Bengal<br/><br/>A three-member central BJP team comprising Meenakshi Lekhi, Om Prakash Mathur and Satyapal Singh has been stopped by police from visiting the riot-hit Basirhat in West Bengal. They were<br/>detained by the police. The BJP team was sent to the violence hit Bashirhat to take stock of the ground situation. <br/>'<br/>Yesterday, a BJP delegation, led by MP Roopa Ganguly, which was heading towards Baduria, was detained by the police near International Airport in Kolkata. Left and Congress delegations were also prevented yesterday from visiting riot-hit areas in Basirhat, around 80 kms from Kolkata.

India's telecom subscriber base grows to 1.18 bn in February: Trai<br/><br/>Telecom regulator TRAI says, India's telecom subscriber base, mobile and landline combined has touched the 1.18 billion mark at the end of February 2017, growing 1.17 per cent over the previous month. The market growth was propelled by the addition of 13.75 million mobile users during the month. As per the data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the urban connectivity went up to 692.15 million in February-end, from 681.15 million in January-end, a growth of over 1.6 per cent. The pace of growth of rural connectivity was slower at 0.56 per cent. Rural telecom users increased to 496.39 million from 493.65 million during the same period.<br/>'The Indian telecom market is the second-largest in the<br/>world after China. <br/>'<br/>'''''<br/><br/>

Delhi Police arrests hawala operator in connection with EC bribery case involving Dhinakaran<br/><br/>In the 'attempt to bribe Election Commission' case for getting the 'two leaves' symbol for the AIADMK Amma party, one more person has been arrested by the Delhi Police in the national capital today.<br/><br/>The Crime Branch Joint Commissioner Praveer Ranjan has confirmed the arrest of the alleged hawala operator Naresh at Delhi airport for his reported involvement in the illegal transfer of money. Meanwhile, a Delhi Police team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjay Sherawat continues the probe into the case in Chennai for the second day today. <br/><br/>A suspected associate of the main accused TTV Dhinakaran called Mr Mohan, who is a retired state Public Works Department official, was grilled in the case by the police today. AIR correspondent reports that the main accused in the 'Attempt to bribe Election Commission' Mr TTV Dhinakaran was questioned at his residence by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police since yesterday at his residence. His wife was also subjected to the inquiry to unravel the route by which the money meant for the crime has been transferred to the national capital. <br/><br/>The inquiry was also held separately at the residence of Mr Dhinakaran's aide Mallikarjuna in Chennai. The continuing probe into the money trail is expected to lead to more vital leads. Jayasingh, AIR News, Chennai.

SC seeks response of WhatsApp in matter relating to blocking of sexual offence videos<br/><br/><br/>The Supreme Court has sought the response of US-based instant messaging application firm WhatsApp Inc in a matter relating to blocking of sexual offence videos on social networking sites. The court, while making WhatsApp Inc a party in the matter, said that the petitioner might send a detailed e-mail to them to make a presentation, if possible through video conferencing. <br/><br/>This would assist the committee set up by the court to explore a technical solution to block such videos. The court's order came after the counsel for the petitioner mentioned the matter before it seeking to make WhatsApp a party in the case. The court had on March 22 constituted a committee comprising representatives from the Centre and Internet majors to explore a technical solution to block videos of sexual offences on social networking sites.<br/><br/> It had given the nominees of Google India, Microsoft India, Yahoo India, Facebook and other internet intermediaries 15 days to meet and come up with a solution. The Centre had earlier informed the apex court that it would set up a specialised agency to block and curb sharing of sexual offence videos on social networking platforms.<br/><br/><br/>

Home Ministry has issued an advisory to all states and union territories, ministries and departments of Central government to ensure strict compliance of provisions contained in the Flag Code of India and The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. The Advisory stated that the National Flag represents hopes and aspirations of the people and hence should occupy a position of honour. <br/><br/>It said a lack of awareness is often noticed amongst the people as well as government organizations in regard to laws and practices that apply to 'display of the National Flag'. The Home Ministry directed that mass awareness programmes be carried out in this regard through advertisements in the electronic and print media.

Uphaar Fire Tragedy: SC to hear Gopal Ansal's plea today<br/><br/>The Supreme Court will today hear the plea of real estate baron Gopal Ansal seeking extension of time to surrender for serving one-year jail term in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case. The court had, last month, asked Gopal to surrender within four weeks and the time is expiring today.<br/><br/>Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, representing the real estate baron, said Gopal will not be available today and tomorrow as he has to go to Pune for a teaching assignment. He said, the bench can fix Gopal's appeal for hearing immediately after the reopening of the apex court post Holi vacation on the 20th of this month.<br/><br/>Although it listed the matter for today, the court said, it is very unlikely that the bench will extend the time to surrender.<br/><br/>The court had, last month, granted relief to Sushil Ansal considering his advanced age-related complications by awarding him jail term already undergone and asked his younger brother Gopal to surrender in four weeks to serve the remaining jail term.<br/>

Students now require Aadhaar to get Mid Day Meal <br/><br/>Students who are served cooked meal under the Mid Day Meal Scheme will now be required to have an Aadhaar card to avail the facility. <br/><br/>The government is implementing the scheme to improve nutritional status of children studying in classes from 1st to 8th in government or government aided schools or Special Training Centres or Madrasas or Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.<br/><br/>Human Resource Development Ministry has issued a notification in this regard. The move is aimed at improving efficiency and transparency in the scheme.<br/><br/>The Department of School Education and Literacy has decided to give a window till 30th of June to those who do not have an Aadhaar card yet. <br/><br/>As per the notification, the use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or subsidies simplifies the government's delivery process and enables beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly.<br/><br/>It said, the cook-cum-helpers engaged for preparing and serving midday meals are paid an honorarium and hence they will also be required to furnish Aadhaar numbers.

Contemporary art; most significant way of expressing thoughts, emotions, concerns & ideas : President Mukherjee<br/><br/><br/>President Pranab Mukherjee has said that contemporary art is one of the most significant ways of expressing thoughts, emotions, concerns and ideas that are current and relevant. Inaugurating the Kochi-Muziris Biennale seminar on 'Importance of Sustainable Cultural Building' at Kochi today, he said it is an integral part of the cultural calendar of the country. Mr Mukherjee said, it has rejuvenated Kerala's long standing contribution to visual arts and culture and cemented Kochi's status as a cosmopolitan city brimming with potential and ideas. He further said that the resounding success of biennale can be gauged from the fact that it has, so far, attracted more than a million visitors. <br/>'<br/>Later, while delivering the 6 th K S Rajamani memorial lecture on 'India at 70', the President said, in the last decade, the country's growth rate averaged around 8% making it the fastest growing large economy of the world. He said, today, India not only produces enough food grains to feed its citizens, but also exports the same. He said India has transformed from a poor underdeveloped nation into the third largest economy in PPP terms within a short span of seven decades.<br/><br/><br/>

Union Minister for Urban Development and Information Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to transform the country as an economic super power by eliminating poverty. Mr. Naidu said the peoples' participation is important in attaining PM's vision. <br/><br/>He said social organisations should take the responsibility in improving the living conditions of the poor and especially the rural people in the country. He said socio-economic disparities and regional disparities needed to be removed. Citing Swami Vivekanada, the Union Minister said that, he has shown the world a complete man by way of his exemplary life. <br/><br/>Living up to his aspirations, Mr. Naidu said that he has started the Swarna Bharat Trust (SBT). SBT in Atkur village of Ungatur mandal in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh is observing its first anniversary today. Mr.Venkaiah Naidu presiding over the programme said that he had established Swarna Bharat Trust some 16 years ago, first in Venkatachalam in Nellore. <br/><br/>He said he is very much inclined to serve the society since his college days.<br/><br/>The Union Minister along with Supreme Court Judge, Justice J. Chalameswar inaugurated Muppavarapu Knowledge Centre at SBT-Atkur in Ungatur mandal of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh.

PM Modi to lay foundation stone of first ever Indian Institute of Skills at Kanpur<br/><br/>Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of first ever Indian Institute of Skills in the country at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. The Institute has been conceptualized by Mr. Modi during his visit to Singapore's Institute of technical education. The institute will be open by the Skill Development Ministry in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education, Singapore. <br/><br/><br/>'Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Kaushal Pradarshini (Skill Exhibition) for the youth. The Exhibition will showcase state-of-the-art vocational training practices of various sectors. Mr. Modi will also launch a number of skill development initiatives including Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras and Drivers' Training Institutes. <br/>

Curtailment of R K Dutta's service at CBI as per law: Centre tells SC<br/><br/>Curtailment of service of senior IPS officer R K Dutta at CBI was as per the law governing the probe agency, Centre<br/>tells Supreme Court. Attorney General said, the process to select regular CBI director is on and the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of the Opposition may meet this month.<br/>

National News Content

National News Content

Poor in India can register themselves online for availing houses under "Housing for All by 2022" scheme: Venkaiah Naidu <br/><br/><br/>Union Urban Development Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu has said the poor in India can register themselves online for availing houses under the Centre's "Housing for All by 2022" scheme. Addressing the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Builders Association of India in Chennai this morning, he said the public can apply through the over 2-lakh Common Service Centers across the nation at a nominal cost of Rs 25. The scheme came into force yesterday, in collaboration with the Union IT Ministry. Mr Naidu said this will avoid the pain of approaching Tehsildar office, collectorates and other government offices. Their applications would be forwarded to the state governments who after due verification would grant houses. The Centre is also taking action to bring in a Single-Window Clearance system for Construction activity wherein an application needs to be processed within 60 days. If no reply is given within the period, it would be deemed as an approval for the project, Mr Naidu informed. <br/><br/>He said the applicants need not individually approach various ministries and agencies, and the scheme would come into force by this year end. <br/>Mr Naidu said the Centre has fixed a target of having 50 percent of the infrastructure projects to be implemented under the Public-Private Partnership mode in the 12th Plan Period. During the period, one-trillion US dollars' worth investment would be required in the infrastructure sector. <br/><br/>Construction industry is the second most generator of employment in the country and has contributed upto 7.8 percent to the GDP of the nation. Mr Naidu said, for the construction industry, red tapes are being replaced with red carpet under the Modi Government.

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is being celebrated in different parts of the country today.<br/><br/>Textiles Minister Smriti Irani is visiting Siachen base camp to tie Rakhi to soldiers deployed there. <br/><br/>Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman will be tying Rakhi to the jawans at Lumla in Tawang today. Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal tied Rakhi to the BSF personnel deployed at the international border in Attari near Amritsar yesterday. <br/><br/>Girls from colleges and schools also tied Rakhis to BSF troops at the Attari border.

The Government has revised the time schedule for making payments under Income Declaration Scheme 2016. As per the revised schedule, a minimum amount of 25 percent of the tax, surcharge and penalty can be paid by 30th of November this year and further amount of 25 percent by 31st of March next year. <br/><br/>A Finance Ministry release said, the balance amount can be paid on or before 30th of September 2017. The decision was taken following practical difficulties expressed by various stakeholders that the time period available under the Scheme up to 30th November, 2016 for making payment of tax, surcharge and penalty is very short. A notification to this effect will be issued shortly.

Ajit Jogi indicates floating a new political outfit soon <br/>Former chief minister of Chhattisgarh Ajit Jogi has indicated floating a new political outfit soon.<br/><br/>He further said the Congress is not in a position to fight the BJP in the state. Talking to reporters in Raipur, he said he would visit his Marwahi constituency on June six to discuss with elders to decide future course of action.<br/><br/>Mr. Jogi said the present day Congress is different from the party led by Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and Sonia. Now, leaders with mass base have no say in the organisation. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, state Congress spokesman Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said that the state Congress has taken note of former chief minister Ajit Jogi's statements and apprised the party high command. He said the state Congress had already recommended his expulsion from the Congress following the Antagarh assembly by-poll fixing scandal that surfaced last year.

Samajwadi Party leader Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav suggested, the Railways take up incomplete projects to save cost escalation. Participating in the resumed discussion on Railway Budget, he favoured marginal increase in passenger fare to generate revenue for new projects. <br/><br/>Prof. Yadav wanted Railways to adopt suitable technology for smooth operation of trains during fogs. Bimla Kashyap Sood of BJP wanted rail connectivity for pilgrimage centres in Himachal Pradesh.<br/>The discussion is continuing.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to roll back tax on Employees' Provident Fund, EPF. Mr Gandhi told media outside Parliament that EPF is a safety net for government employees therefore it should not be taxed. <br/><br/>Yesterday, Finance minister Arun Jaitley had said he would respond to all the concerns that have been raised while replying to the discussion on the Budget in Parliament.<br/><br/>Mr Jaitley had proposed in the general Budget 2016-17 that 40 per cent of withdrawals from National Pension Scheme (NPS) would be tax free and sought to bring EPF on par with this. That would make 60 per cent of the EPS corpus subject to tax at withdrawal unless invested in an annuity. The condition only applies to those with a monthly salary in excess of Rs 15,000 .

Police wait for JNU permission to take action students surfaced on campus<br/><br/>Five Jawaharlal Nehru University students, who the police have been looking for in connection with a sedition case, surfaced on the University's campus late yesterday. The students maintained that they will not surrender but police can come and arrest them. They also said, they did not do anything wrong but were framed using a doctored video. <br/><br/>The five students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash had gone missing from the campus since 12th of this month after JNU Student leader Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in a sedition case. A senior Police official said, a police team has right now been positioned outside the JNU and asked to wait for the students to surrender themselves before the police. He said, if they don't come till morning, police team will be sent to arrest them. Meanwhile, JNU Vice Chancellor Jagdesh Kumar said, the entry for police as well as media persons has been barred for now and a call in this regard will be taken this morning. <br/>Kanhaiya's bail plea is likely to be heard by Delhi High Court tomorrow. He had approached the high court after the Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear his bail petition on the ground that it will set a dangerous precedent and had asked him to approach the high court.<br/>Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear today a plea seeking contempt action against jailed JNU Student leader Kanhaiya, former Delhi University lecturer SAR Gilani and few others. The plea has been filed by a lawyer on the ground that the accused allegedly termed the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as judicial killing. The plea said, pamphlets were allegedly distributed during the event held at JNU on February 9th that termed death sentence to Guru as judicial killing, which outright tantamount to criminal contempt as the respondents are calling the judges of the apex court as killers. <br/><br/>

National News Content

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the worst victim of ideological intolerance. In a facebook post, Mr Jaitley alleged that Congress, many left thinkers and activists have practiced ideological intolerance towards BJP over the decades. The Finance Minister said the opposition party's strategy is two fold- to obstruct Parliament and create an environment that there is a social strife in India by structured and organized propaganda.<br/><br/>He said India has repeatedly rejected intolerance and does not respond to provocations. Speaking on Dadri incident, Mr Jaitley said it was a stray incident and was both unfortunate and condemnable. He said the government and the people must ensure that they do not engage in any action or statement that provides a tool in the hands of those who want to obstruct India's growth story.<br/><br/>Talking on India's ranking in ease of doing business, going up in the recent report of World Bank, Mr Jaitley said the number of steps taken by the government in the last seventeen months has improved India's ranking. He, however, mentioned that the upward push is modest numerically but it marks the reversal of an adverse trend. Finance Minister also said quicker decision making, faster policy changes, eliminating corruption at the top and smoother clearances have played a significant role in it. He said Investors no longer queue up before the Ministries in Delhi lobbying for policy changes or approvals.<br/><br/>Speaking on Foreign Direct Investment , Mr Jaitley said government has opened most of the sectors for it and time has come to examine whether some of the conditionalities on which FDI investment is permitted, have become anachronic. He said there is a need to cut down on the number of permissions required so that the time lag between the decision to invest and the actual investment can be shortened significantly.

The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ms. Amber Rudd today called on Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh in New Delhi. During the meeting, both leaders discussed wide range of issues of mutual interest between the two countries including civil nuclear energy cooperation and Prime Minister's forthcoming visit to the United Kingdom later this year. Dr Singh also conveyed to Ms Rudd that India's nuclear energy programme is primarily meant for peaceful purpose. <br/><br/>Noting that India and UK share collaboration in the field of atomic energy at different levels, Dr. Singh said, the mutual cooperation in this field is bound to grow further in the years to come. Ms. Amber Rudd, who is on a two-day visit to India, dwelt on overall strategy of the British government in relation to energy including renewable energy and solar energy as well as climate change policy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has floated the idea of a personal sector that empowers the individual saying it can work wonders for the country as public and private sectors have failed to ensure the required economic development. Mr Modi said, the debate in the country has so far centred on public and private sectors. These two sectors have not been able to ensure growth at the rate that was required. <br/><br/>The Prime Minister said, he wants to introduce the personal sector for the empowerment of the individual and it also includes small traders, entrepreneurs and artisans. Mr Modi was addressing a public meeting in Varanasi after inaugurating number of projects relating to power, road and health sectors Friday. He said the entire world is looking at India with pride and hope, which presented the country with tremendous opportunity.<br/><br/>Mr Modi said, more than half of the country's population is below the age of 35 and with his government's emphasis on skill development, the personal sector can work wonders for country's economy.

Congress showed doubled standard on land acquisition issue: Naidu<br/><br/>The Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu today crticised Congress party for stalling monsoon session of parliament and alleged that the Congress party is creating obstacles on the road of development as sitting in the opposition in the House.<br/><br/>Mr. Naidu was addressing media persons at BJP office in Varanasi today. On a day visit in Varanasi, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu referred to the land acquisition issue and alleged that Congress had showed its doubled standard on this issue. He claimed that his government has acquired only 0.2 percent land from farmers but they created big controversy on that while when they were in power they had acquired 10 lakh hectares of land from farmers. He said out of this land, 79 thousand hectares agriculture land acquired from Haryana state only. Mr Naidu said that his government will soon expose Congress and place all the facts before public. <br/><br/>While mentioning the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections, Mr. Naidu said that BJP will contest on the issue of development versus caste and corruption in the state. Commentating on Gujarat movement led by Hardik Patel, Mr. Naidu raised the question as to why he did not raise this issue before the NDA government was formed at the Centre. He said that due to Hardik Patel's movement, nine people lost their lives and the state also lost crore of rupees.

J&K CM expresses disappointment over cancellation of India-Pakistan NSA talks<br/>Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed today expressed disappointment over cancellation of India-Pakistan NSA talks. <br/><br/>Speaking in Srinagar, Mr Sayeed hoped that the break in talks would be temporary. He also expressed the hope that India and Pakistan will re-engage soon in a meaningful dialogue and steps taken by New Delhi to remove impediments in normalization of relations will be reciprocated by Islamabad. <br/><br/>Former Chief Minister and National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah termed the cancellation of talks as unfortunate. He blamed separatist leaders for the breakdown.

India has strongly condemned terror attack on innocent civilians in the Turkish town of Suruc in which at least 32 people were killed. <br/><br/>External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, the attack is yet another reminder of the necessity of concerted international action to fight the scourge of terrorism.<br/>The incident took place on Monday, in the southern town of Suruc near the Syrian border.

Congress to corner Govt. during Monsoon session on Lalit Modi & Vyapam issues<br/>The Congress is all set to corner the government during the Monsoon session over Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam. <br/><br/>Briefing reporters in New Delhi this evening, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, his party expects that the External Affairs Minister and the Chief Minister of Rajasthan will resign from their posts for helping out former IPL chief Lalit Modi. He said, Congress also expects that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister will be sacked for inaction in the Vyapam scam. Mr Azad hoped that other parties will co-operate with the Congress to take on the government.<br/><br/>On Goods and Services Tax bill, Mr Azad said, his party is not against the passage of the bill but there should be consensus and detailed discussions on it. He said, only time will tell how many amendments proposed by the Congress will be accepted by the government on GST. <br/><br/>On all party meeting convened by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister tomorrow, he said his party will express its views during the meeting.<br/><br/>Replying to a query over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress leader said, large number of ceasefire violations have taken place during the last 15 months. He also said, there has to be a clear cut policy by the Indian government towards Pakistan.

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that there is a need to raise our voice against those who attempt to divide the society on communal lines. He said India is a multicultural and a multi- ethnic society and that the liberal outlook has to be strengthened. He was speaking at the presentation of the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration on the martyrdom Day of Indira Gandhi in New Delhi yesterday. The award was given to Balraj Puri, a freedom fighter, a human rights activist and a well known journalist from Jammu and Kashmir.