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The historic 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat aired today where Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the citizens of India to help him reach the milestone. He said that his radio programme is the “Mann Ki Baat” of millions of Indians and an expression of their emotions. At the beginning of his address, the prime minister said, “I have received thousands of letters from you, lakhs of messages from people. While going through these letters, I got emotional and was swept away by them.” “You have congratulated me on the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat, but all the listeners, our countrymen deserve to be congratulated. Mann Ki Baat is the ‘Mann Ki Baat of millions of Indians and the expression of their emotions,” he added. “The Mann Ki Baat show is the personification of our citizens; here we celebrate positivity, and people’s participation,” PM Modi said while adding that the show is a way of celebrating others’ achievements, an occasion to learn from others. During the show, he also

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his US counterpart Joe Biden will meet in Papua New Guinea next month where they will join Pacific Islands leaders to take part in the “historic” future-oriented meeting, the island’s Prime Minister James Marape said. “This is a historic first and at the same time a ‘going forward’ futuristic meeting of global superpowers, in the biggest country in the Pacific,” Marape said in a statement. Biden’s visit to Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby will be the first such visit by a sitting US President to the resource-rich but largely undeveloped country of 9.4 million people just north of Australia. Papua New Guinea has been on the radar of both China and the US and its allies. The last time Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the nation was in 2018. Washington has stepped up efforts to counter Beijing’s growing influence in the region after China struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year. China failed to reach a wider security and tr

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lashed out at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he is “not just a person but an institution.” Kharge, while addressing a rally in poll-bound Karnataka, said, “PM Modi is like a ‘poisonous snake’, you might think it’s poison or not. If you lick it, you’re dead.” The defence minister added that the grand old party is shredding the traditions of a healthy democracy. Singh said, “PM is not just a person but an institution on its own…The manner in which Congress leaders are making personal attacks on the PM, they’re shredding the traditions of a healthy democratic system.” Kharge later clarified that what he wanted to say is BJP’s ideology is as dangerous as a snake and didn’t mean to make a personal attack against PM Modi. The Congress chief further clarified his stance on Twitter, saying, “BJP’s ideology is divisive, hostile and full of hatred and prejudice towards the poor and Dalits. I

India on Saturday brought back home the latest batch of 365 people under its mission to evacuate stranded Indians from conflict-hit Sudan. “More Indians come back home under #OperationKaveri. 365 passengers have just landed in New Delhi,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted. The return of the fresh batch of Indians came a day after 754 people arrived in India in two batches under the evacuation mission Operation Kaveri. More Indians come back home under #OperationKaveri . 365 passengers have just landed in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/H2UQ2G2aMA — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 29, 2023 The total number of Indians who were brought back home from Sudan now stands at 1,725, according to official data. The first batch of 360 evacuees returned to New Delhi in a commercial plane on Wednesday. The second batch of 246 Indian evacuees arrived in Mumbai in a C17 Globemaster aircraft of the IAF on Thursday. Evacuation being carried out via Saudi Under Operation K

Army personnel were reportedly killed on Saturday when an ambulance of the force skidded off the road and plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. The officials familiar with the matter said that the Army ambulance met with an accident near Dungi Gala near the Line of Control when its driver lost control while negotiating a sharp curve, the officials said. They added that the ambulance driver and a soldier died in the accident. Their bodies were retrieved from the gorge by rescuers. With inputs from agencies. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram . from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/X1Znzga FP Staff

India is likely to ban the exports of sugar amid a fall in production of the sweetener. The country is expected to produce 32.8 million tonnes of sugar in the 2022-2023 marketing year, 3.5 per cent lower than the earlier forecast, as per media reports. In view of this decline in output and to avoid a hike in prices domestically ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year, the Centre is set to ban sugar exports, according to an Indian Express report. Let’s take a closer look. India may halt sugar export The Central government is expected to issue a notification on banning shipments of sugar soon, sources told Indian Express. The decision was taken on the matter at a meeting convened on 27 April by a panel of ministers, including Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal, which recommended stopping mills from exporting sugar with “immediate effect”, the report added. “There is enough sugar at present to meet the estimated domestic c

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said that it had conducted searches in the office and residential premises of BYJU’s CEO Raveendran Byju in Bengaluru for allegedly violating foreign funding laws. The ED also said in a statement that it had found “incriminating” documents and digital data as part of a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) probe. A total of three premises, two businesses and one residential, were raided recently under the provisions of FEMA. ED has conducted searches at 3 premises in Bengaluru in the case of Raveendaran Byju and his company ‘Think & Learn Private Limited’ (Byju online learning platform) under the provisions of FEMA. During the search, various incriminating documents and digital data was seized. — ED (@dir_ed) April 29, 2023 The investigative body said that the searches were conducted on the basis of “various complaints” received by private people. It also alleged that Raveendran was issued “several” summons but he remained “evasive

The Indian government has roped in IndiGo to further the ongoing repatriation operation from Sudan under ‘Operation Kaveri’, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in a tweet, “Indigo joins #OperationKaveri. 231 Indians in a flight to New Delhi from Jeddah. With this 5th outbound flight, around 1600 reached or airborne for India. Happy journey. Our Mission continues.” Indigo joins #OperationKaveri . 231 Indians in a flight to New Delhi from Jeddah. With this 5th outbound flight, around 1600 reached or airborne for India. Happy journey. Our Mission continues. pic.twitter.com/5JtBR0sHCF — V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) April 28, 2023 “We have offered our services for charter flights to Jeddah under the Indian Government’s Operation Kaveri rescue mission of our citizens from Sudan. We are still awaiting details from the ministry to launch these flights, nothing has been confirmed as of yet,” IndiGo Airlines said

The 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio broadcast is going to be a gala event. The BJP has planned out many things to make this milestone an “unprecedented” mass outreach programme. The party will organise facilities at 100 venues on average in every assembly constituency across the country for people to come together and listen to it on 30 April. Sources said that the party will arrange around four lakh venues around the country and abroad for people to hear Modi’s address. Party President J P Nadda will oversee the entire exercise to make it a “historic” success. To ensure maximum outreach, the party’s overseas units and several non-political organisations have been reached out to for coordination. The party has also made arrangements for eminent citizens residing in Raj Bhawans, official residences of governors and the homes of chief ministers, regardless of which party they belong to. Padma awardees from all states have been invited to attend th

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Congress would put the poll-bound state of Karnataka into “reverse gear” by depriving it of the benefits put forth by BJP, the “double-engine sarkar.” “One hand, there is the Congress under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and on the other, is the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. This (Karnataka Assembly) election is an opportunity for you to decide if you want a double engine sarkar led by PM Modi, which will take Karnataka forward, or the Congress’s reverse gear sarkar, which will take Karnataka backward,” Shah said while addressing a rally in Navalgund Assembly constituency. On Friday, Shah addressed a rally in Shirahatti where he said each vote to the BJP will go to protecting the state from the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). He said, “Each vote counts. So ensure that it goes to the right leadership. When you cast a vote in favour of the lotus (the BJP’s symbol), you will not vote to elect an MLA or a minister or

The Amethi district Congress chief has been booked for allegedly abusing and beating up a party worker Akhilesh Shukla for donning a saffron kurta to the party office. However, Youth Congress district president Shubham Singh dismissed the allegation saying that it was a conspiracy to tarnish the Congress image. On the complaint of Shukla, an FIR has been lodged against Congress district unit president Pradeep Singhal, Youth Congress district president Shubham Singh and others for abusing and beating Shukla and issuing life threats to him, Station House Officer of Amethi Kotwali police station Arun Kumar Dwivedi said. Shukla, a former vice president of the Amethi Congress unit, said when he visited the party office at Durgapur Road here wearing a saffron kurta and white pants on Thursday evening, party workers accused him of supporting the BJP through his attire instead of campaigning for the Congress for the upcoming municipal elections here, the police officer said. The argument e

09:41 (IST) Karnataka Election 2023 LIVE Former CM Siddaramaiah's nephews booked for beating BJP worker Nagesh, a BJP volunteer from Karnataka's Varuna, claims he was beaten up by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's nephews while campaigning for BJP politician V Somanna in Siddaramanahundi. Nagesh, who was hurt during the incident, was taken to a local hospital and is being treated. Siddaramaiah's nephews have been named in a lawsuit. 09:30 (IST) Karnataka Election 2023 LIVE Karnataka Congress chief Shivakumar springs a surprise DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress head who is facing a tough struggle from the BJP in his Kanakapura seat, has managed to get Narayana Gowda, a prominent JD(S) politician, to join the party. Gowda ran against Shivakumar in the 2018 elections and received 47,643 votes. The BJP has fielded R. Ashoka, the current Minister of Revenue and the party's Vokkaliga face. This time, the JD(S) has fielded BR Ramachandra. Shivakumar, wh

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to deliver an address on the 20th anniversary of the State Wide Attention on Grievances (SWAGAT) in Gujarat today via video conferencing. The programme will be held in the presence of Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, and the prime minister will be interacting with the beneficiaries of the scheme. What is SWAGAT? -The scheme was started by PM Modi in April 2003 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. -It was started to bridge the gap between citizens and the government by using technology to resolve their day-to-day grievances in a quick, and time-bound manner. -Over 94 per cent of the grievances in the past twenty years have been solved through the programme. -In this system, PM Modi on every fourth Thursday of the month at 3 pm would let applicants come face to face with him with their complaints, and the solution was found on the spot. -The main idea behind this system was to bring all stakeholders on the same platform. -The p

With around 2,800 nationals in Sudan, Indians are one of the largest Asian communities in the civil war torn country. Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and rival paramilitary force – Rapid Support Force (RSF). Indians stuck in Sudan are being evacuated on a war footing by the Government of India under Operation Kaveri. Operation Kaveri was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. Under the mission, 670 Indians have, so far, been brought back and work is underway to ensure the safe return of others stranded in Sudan. #WATCH | MoS MEA V Muraleedharan meets Indian evacuees from Sudan in Jeddah #OperationKaveri pic.twitter.com/WmtVjwRhZv — ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2023 The Indian diaspora in Sudan have been residing in the major urban centres of Sudan, such as Khartoum, Omdurman, including regions that have been badly hit by the conflict. Though the Embassy of India in Khartoum began coordinating for possible evacuation of Ind

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the ‘National Medical Devices Policy 2023 will boost the health sector and further efforts to make India a leader in making as well as exporting medical devices. PM lauded the Union Cabinet’s move to approve the policy. He also said the cabinet decision approving the establishment of 157 new nursing colleges is great news for India’s aspiring nursing professionals. “The co-location with existing medical colleges also signifies optimum use of resources,” he said. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of 157 nursing colleges at a cost of Rs 1,570 crore in co-location with the medical colleges set up in the country since 2014. In another decision, the Union Cabinet approved National Medical Devices Policy 2023 to promote domestic manufacturing and help the sunrise sector grow from the present USD 11 billion (one billion = 100 crore) to USD 50 billion in the next five years and reduce import dependence. “This is an

‘Red Terror’ reared its ugly face again in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Wednesday evening when Naxals blew up a vehicle which was part of a convoy carrying security personnel. The attack – the biggest by Maoists in two years – killed 10 police personnel and a civilian driver, drawing condemnation from all the central government to state authorities. The blast took place around 1 pm in the Aranpur police station area when a team of the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation. The Naxals used an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) containing an estimated 40 kg of explosive material to blow up the police personnel’s Multi-Utility Vehicle (MUV). The attack took place after security personnel had received information that Maoists were present in the Darbha division of the area. On Wednesday morning, there was an exchange of fire between the authorities and Naxals. Subsequently when they were returning to base, the Naxals targeted the second veh

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and states government agencies procured over 18.37 million tonnes (MT) of wheat on Tuesday, up 30% on the year. The procurement process was delayed because of delayed harvesting of crops but it picked up pace in the last week and crossed over 18.37 MT, an official familiar with the matter said. “Wheat purchases from the farmers by agencies will cross 19 MT on Wednesday against the total purchase of 18.79 MT of grain in the entire last season (April-June), 2022,” Financial Express cited sources as saying. According to data, the government’s wheat procurement fell by 53 per cent to 182 lakh tonnes in the 2022-23 marketing year. The nodal agency has set a target of procuring 341 lakh MT this year including 132 lakh MT from Punjab. Among the major contributors to the FCI’s procurement kitty, the highest contributor is Punjab, where the nodal agency has purchased 8.35 MT of wheat. While the figures for Haryana and Madhya Pradesh are 5.26 MT and 4.6 MT

09:35 (IST) Karnataka Assembly Election LIVE Updates "Corruption increased every time Congress came to power": Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh, the defence minister, attacked the Congress on Wednesday, claiming that every time the grand old party won power, corruption developed in the state of Karnataka, which is going to the polls. Singh stated, "Corruption has increased every time Congress has been in power," while speaking to a crowd in Belagavi. The party has been accused of corruption each time its government has been in power at the centre. He stated, Since the last nine years, the BJP has been in power at the Centre. Neither our Prime Minister nor any minister has a single allegation of corruption against them.” At a public event earlier in the day in Dharwad, Singh declared that regardless of how well-known they may be, the BJP administration will look into all corrupt leaders. 09:22 (IST) Karnataka Assembly Election LIVE Updates Yediyurappa slams Sid

The first special flight carrying 360 Indians who evacuated from conflict-hit Sudan landed in New Delhi on Wednesday night. The flight was part of the Indian government’s evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri.’ Sharing pictures of the evacuees on Twitter, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “India welcomes back its own. #OperationKaveri brings 360 Indian Nationals to the homeland as the first flight reaches New Delhi.” India welcomes back its own. #OperationKaveri brings 360 Indian Nationals to the homeland as first flight reaches New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/v9pBLmBQ8X — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 26, 2023 Evacuation being carried out via Saudi Under the ‘Operation Kaveri’, India is taking the evacuees to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah from where they are returning home. #WATCH | ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, Indian Army Zindabad, PM Narendra Modi Zindabad’ slogans chanted by Indian nationals as they arrive in Delhi from conflict-torn Sudan. pic.twitter.com

New Delhi: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has revealed that India’s military expenditure rose by 6 per cent in 2022, making it the fourth-highest spender globally. Earlier, India was third-highest spender, but now Russia climbed to that spot due to a hike in military spending owing to the Ukraine war. The top five spenders in the world in 2022 were – US ($877 billion), China ($292 billion), Russia ($86.4 billion), India ($81.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($75 billion). This accounted for 63 per cent of the world’s military spending, according to the SIPRI report. Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7% in real terms in 2022, to reach a new high of $2240 billion. The three largest spenders in 2022—the USA🇺🇸, China🇨🇳 and Russia🇷🇺—accounted for 56% of the world total➡️ https://t.co/GRbPi3w6kr Fact Sheet➡️ https://t.co/qBe5MZu9fi pic.twitter.com/Rz6rEyk6lA — SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) April 25, 2023 “The increase in India’s spending shows th

Aam Aadmi Party’s Shelly Oberoi was unanimously elected mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after BJP candidate Shikha Rai withdraws her nomination. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that the party decided to withdraw from the election as leaders of AAP are not ready to make MCD functional by not allowing the formation of the Standing and Ward Committees despite our best efforts. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Oberoi. He tweeted “Congratulations Shelly and Aley on again becoming Mayor and Dy Mayor, this time unopposed. Best wishes to both. People have huge expectations from us. Work hard to meet their expectations,”. Congratulations Shelly and Aley on again becoming Mayor and Dy Mayor, this time unopposed. Best wishes to both. People have huge expectations from us. Work hard to meet their expectations — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 26, 2023 The civic polls held on December 4 last year were the first after

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised a 7-year-old girl from Himachal Pradesh who donated her entire pocket money to support PM TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. The girl, Nalini Singh, from Una district of Himachal Pradesh, was also recently honored by Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla. PM Modi lauded the girl’s initiative, calling it “good gesture”. Good gesture. https://t.co/LTusRZPwDO — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 26, 2023 Little Hands, Big Impact Sharing the generosity of Nalini on Twitter, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said: "Your little effort can make a big impact on someone’s life and strengthen our (India's) fight for TB Mukt Bharat." Nikshay Mitra scheme Nikshay Mitra (donor) is a digital platform for tuberculosis (TB) patients in India. It includes co-operative societies, corporates, elected representatives, individuals, institutions, non-governmental organizations, political parties and partners who can support by ad