Delhi Archives - Page 8 of 34 - Lokmarg

Modi Has Invited Biden To Be Republic Day Chief Guest: US Envoy

By LokMarg 20th September 2023

US President Joe Biden has been invited to India’s January 26-Republic Day celebrations here in the national capital, the Ambassador of US to India, Eric Garcetti revealed on Wednesday.

Garcetti said the invitation was extended to Biden by PM Modi on the sidelines of the bilateral that took place between the two leaders at the recently concluded G20 Summit.

During this, India and the US also settled the seventh and last outstanding World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute.

Notably, the six previous disputes were resolved during PM Modi’s state visit to the US.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed United States President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to India today, reaffirming the close and enduring partnership between India and the United States. The leaders expressed their appreciation for the substantial progress underway to implement the ground breaking achievements of Prime Minister Modi’s historic, June 2023, visit to Washington,” the India-US joint statement read.

The two leaders called on their governments to continue the work of transforming the India-US Strategic Partnership across all dimensions of our multifaceted global agenda, based on trust and mutual understanding.

After the meeting, both the leaders lauded the India-US relations and said that the friendship between the two nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good.

The G20 Summit took place in New Delhi from September 9-10 under India’s Presidency.

Notably, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day parade. In 2015, Barack Obama became the first US President to attend India’s Republic Day parade as the chief guest. (ANI)

India’s First Transgender OPD Opens In Delhi’s RML Hospital

By LokMarg 17th September 2023

In a step toward inclusivity and healthcare accessibility, Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital inaugurated India’s first transgender Outpatient Department (OPD) today.

The inaugural ceremony was led by Professor Dr Ajay Shukla, Director of RML Hospital, who emphasized the importance of providing equitable healthcare services to the transgender community.

Addressing the gathering, Dr Ajay Shukla highlighted the challenges faced by transgender individuals when seeking medical care. “Transgender individuals were facing numerous difficulties in accessing our hospital’s services,” he noted.

“Their numbers in the hospital were negligible, largely due to discomfort and the fear of discrimination. Hence, on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, we have initiated this special OPD dedicated to their healthcare needs.”

One of the key features of this initiative is the provision of a dedicated restroom facility for transgender patients within the hospital premises.

This restroom has been designed to ensure that transgender individuals feel comfortable and do not face any difficulties during their visits to the hospital.

Transgender individuals present at the inauguration expressed their delight and gratitude for this pioneering step. Members of the transgender community stated, “We are overjoyed with this initiative. Today’s inauguration feels like a special gift to us on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. Previously, we often hesitated to come to the hospital.”

In addition to the inauguration of the transgender OPD, RML Hospital also organized a blood donation camp on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday.

The establishment of India’s first transgender OPD and the thoughtful provision of restroom facilities is a significant step toward ensuring that healthcare services are accessible to all, regardless of gender identity.

It is anticipated that this pioneering initiative at RML Hospital will set an example for inclusivity and inspire similar efforts across the nation, furthering the cause of equitable healthcare for all. (ANI)

Delhi Woman, Auto Driver Nab Chain Snatchers After 2km Chase

By LokMarg 16th September 2023

Two phone snatchers were arrested after a 33-year-old woman whose phone was snatched by the duo chased the thieves for nearly two kilometers in an auto-rickshaw near north Delhi‘s Wazirabad.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Sagar Singh Kalsi, the two accused have been identified as Mohammad Chand and Aftab Alam.

Giving details about the incident, the DCP said, “The incident occurred on the night of September 2, when the 33-year-old woman had hired the auto from Burari and was on her way to ISBT Kashmere Gate.

Shortly after the vehicle reached the Wazirabad flyover, two youths on a motorcycle came and snatched the phone from her hand,” he added.

After this, the woman asked the auto driver to chase the duo and after chasing them for about 2 kilometres, a snatcher fell down.

Subsequently, he was caught and arrested by the police.

During the interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime and led the cops to the second suspect.

Further, the accused person also disclosed that he and his associate had been indulging in the theft of other motorcycles and two-wheelers for the last three months and were using the stolen vehicles to commit crimes.

“Subsequently, raids were conducted at possible hideouts of an absconding co-accused who was also arrested. Four cases of theft across the city have been worked out with the arrest,” the DCP said. (ANI)

Arvinder Singh Lovely Takes Charge As Delhi’s Cong Chief

By LokMarg 14th September 2023

Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely took charge as Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president on Thursday and said that every Congress worker is to strengthen the organisation.

“The priority of every Congress worker is to strengthen the organisation…This is the first step in strengthening the organisation where after five years for the first time Congress leadership and the workers were together on the stage…I have become a president to deliver to my leadership and workers. Congress has a more capable leadership than any other party,” said Lovely.

DPCC president Arvinder Singh Lovely had earlier said that his priority was to strengthen the party in the city-state and said, “I see a bright future for the Congress in Delhi.”

While speaking to ANI, he further stated that people are looking towards Rahul Gandhi, and added that the people of Delhi and the country are missing Congress.

“It is true that the performance of Congress has not been good in the last few years, but seeing the atmosphere in Delhi and the country today, people are looking towards Rahul Gandhi. The people of Delhi are facing a ‘double maar’. The people of Delhi and the country are missing Congress. We will strengthen our organisation and continue to raise people’s issues. I see a bright future for the Congress in Delhi. The decision (on an alliance with AAP in Delhi) will be taken by the party high command.”

Arvinder Singh Lovely took over from Anil Chaudhry. He was earlier in charge of the state unit in 2013 and had jumped ship to the BJP in 2017 only to return to the Congress in 2018. In 2013 he was one of the 8 MLAs that extended support to the first AAP government formed by Arvind Kejriwal. Lovely has also served as a minister in all three governments of late Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and held significant portfolios such as transport, education, revenue, and urban development, among others. (ANI)

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They Were Successful In Showcasing India Before World: Pak Locals Praising G20 Summit

By LokMarg 14th September 2023

Locals in Pakistan reserved high praise for India for successfully hosting the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit.

The big-ticket event, which drew heads of state of over 30 countries and delegates of leading international organisations, was hosted over two days — September 9 and 10 — at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan.

The two-day mega huddle saw the G20 members states adopt the New Delhi Declaration by consensus. The declaration even had a reference to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the members, while not outrightly condemning Russia, called on all coutries to refrain from using force to grab territory.

Among other key takeaways from the summit were announcement of an India-Middle East-Europe trade corridor and the formal induction of the African Union (AU) as a full member of the G20.

Speaking to ANI, a Karachi local was effusive in his praise for India over its conduct of the G20, saying, “When heads of the top 20 countries visit a country, it is an honour for that nation. Indian economy will derive many benefits out of it (G20).”

India took over the G20 presidency on December 1 last year at the summit in Bali and will continue to hold the mantle till the end of November.

However, on the concluding day of the summit, PM Modi handed over the gavel of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

Another Pakistani local lamented the global isolation of Pakistan, saying, “The fact that India hosted the heads of the major economies also, in a way, casts a negative light on our foreign policy. Our economy and security situation have deteriorated significantly over the last 5-6 years. The world has sidelined us.”

The New Delhi Declaration was adopted on the inaugural day of the summit.

Another local from Lahore questioned the host country, India, over inviting Bangladesh to the summit and not Pakistan.

Prime Minister Modi had formally invited his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina to attend the G20 summit.

“At a time when we are desperately trying to lift our economy from the dumps, India played host to leaders of the 20 major economies of the world. The succesfully conduct of the global event would have filled the Indians with pride. We all saw pictures from India, of (PM) Modi posing with world leaders. They were successful in showcasing India in a positive light before a global audience. The ‘Shezada’ of Saudi Arabia (Crown Prince Salman) didn’t come here (to Pakistan) but went to India for the G20 Summit. This shows the growing importance of India for the world. It was also surprising that Bangladesh was invited but Pakistan wasn’t.”

Earlier, Pakistani media outlet Geo News had reported, citing sources, that the Saudi crown prince was to visit Pakistan in the second week of September.

According to the report, during visit visit, Crown Prince Salman was expected to meet the country’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir. (ANI)

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Special Session Of Parliament: Govt Calls All-Party Meet On Sept 17

By LokMarg 13th September 2023

Ahead of the special session of Parliament, a meeting of the floor leaders of all parties has been called on September 17, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi informed on Wednesday.

A five-day special session of the Parliament will be held from September 18 to 22.

“Ahead of the parliament session from the 18th of this month, an all-party floor leaders meeting has been convened on the 17th at 4.30 PM,” Minister Pralhad Joshi posted on social media platform X, (Formerly Twitter).

“The invitation for the same has been sent to concerned leaders through email. Letter to follow,” he added.

The opposition has also criticised the BJP-led central government for calling a special session of Parliament without disclosing the agenda.

Earlier, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister informed about the five-day special session of Parliament from September 18-22.

The agenda for the special session was however not revealed yet.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which concluded last month, was held in the old Parliament building. The announcement of the Special Session came as a surprise in political circles with the parties gearing up for assembly polls in five states later this year. (ANI)

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Modi, Saudi Crown Prince Hold Bilateral Talks

By LokMarg 11th September 2023

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a bilateral meeting in New Delhi.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and others were present in the meeting.

The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, who arrived here on a three-day State visit to India attended the G20 Summit in the national capital over the weekend.

The two leaders will also co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council. PM Modi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince will review the progress made under the two Ministerial Committees of the Strategic Partnership Council i.e. the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation and the Committee on Economy and Investments Cooperation, according to a release from the Ministry of External Affairs.

PM Modi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, including political, security, defence, trade and economic, cultural and people-to-people ties. Both the leaders will also discuss the regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The Saudi Crown Prince is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ministers and senior officials.

Prior to his meeting with PM Modi, the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince received a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu welcomed the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Saudi Crown Prince then inspected a combined defence services Guard of Honour. In a brief statement, Mohammed bin Salman congratulated India for a successful G20 presidency.

Speaking to reporters, he said, “Well done India, a lot of announcements made that will benefit both our countries, the G20 countries and the whole world. So I want to say to India well done, and we will work to create a future for both countries.”

Later in the day, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince is scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu.

At the G20 Leaders’ Summit on Saturday, India, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the European Union announced a historic agreement to launch a mega India-Middle East-Europe shipping and railway connectivity corridor.

This is a historic and first-of-its-kind initiative on cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, EU, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

Speaking at the G20 Summit, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, “… We look forward to the integration of the initiative and the Economic Corridor project which is announced in this meeting. I would like to thank those who worked with us to reach this founding step to establish this important economic corridor…”

PM Narendra Modi said the mega-deal would give a sustainable direction to connectivity and sustainability across the world. Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince visited India on a State visit in February 2019 and the current visit will be his second State visit to the country.

“India and Saudi Arabia have historically close and friendly relations with extensive people-to-people contacts. The trade between both countries reached all-time high of USD 52.75 billion in FY 2022-23, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an earlier press release.

India is Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner whereas Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest trading partner. Both countries also have a strong partnership in the area of energy, according to an MEA statement released earlier.

Saudi Arabia also hosted a three-day event in conjunction with the G20 Leader’s Summit to provide an immersive and interactive experience of the Kingdom’s leading projects in various fields.

The event titled ‘Media Oasis’ was organized on September 9 and will conclude on September 11 in New Delhi. The event aims to provide an immersive experience of Saudi Arabia’s leading projects in the sectors of tourism, entertainment, technology, culture and sports. The overarching theme of the exhibit is ‘Vision 2030’, an initiative by Saudi Arabia aimed towards the diversification of the country economically, socially, and culturally. (ANI)

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Successful G20 Summit Brings Cheers To Indian Stock Investors

By LokMarg 11th September 2023

Indian stock indices started Monday’s trade on a firm note, taking cues from the overall successful G20 Summit in New Delhi.

The consensus on the New Delhi declaration by all G20 member countries despite a divided house given the ongoing war in Ukraine and the West’s sanctions on Russia, the ambitious rail-port economic corridor deal to connect India-Middle East-Europe, and the launch of Global Biofuel Alliance on the summit sidelines seemed to have attracted investors to bet in the market.

Sensex and Nifty were 0.3-0.4 per cent higher from their Friday close of 66,861.16 points and 19,910.10 points, with all sectoral indices in the green. Last week, Indian stocks ended at a high to log their best week in over two months.

Companies involved in railways, ports and infrastructure are the top gainers today.

Moreover, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continuing to be net buyers in Indian stock markets for the sixth consecutive month until August supported market sentiment. They bought equity assets worth Rs 1.31 lakh crore cumulatively in 2023, data showed.

“The G20 Delhi Declaration and India’s diplomatic triumph can trigger a continuation of the positive market mood and momentum,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“More importantly, the inclusion of the African Union in G20 and the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Corridor have positive economic and market connotations,” Vijayakumar added.

Citing an example, he said the inclusion of the African Union in G20 is positive news for Bharti Airtel which has a significant presence in Africa.

Going ahead, August inflation data in India and the US, expected to be released on Tuesday and Wednesday are likely to be the next market trigger for fresh cues.

Retail inflation in India rose sharply in July to 7.44 per cent and in the process breached RBI’s 6 per cent upper tolerance target, largely due to a sharp spurt in vegetable, fruit, and pulses prices. (ANI)

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Chandrababu Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody

By LokMarg 10th September 2023

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday sent to 14 days judicial custody in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.

Vijayawada ACB court Judge Himabindu read out the judgment on former CM Chandrababu’s case.

The judge ordered the remand of Naidu for 14 days to judicial custody and suggested to take former CM to Rajahmundry central jail.

Earlier on Sunday morning, Naidu was produced before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.

According to the officials, the former CM was produced before the court within 24 hours of his arrest.

On Saturday, Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection to an alleged corruption case.

According to officials, the case pertains to the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3300 crore.

The agency officials also claimed that the alleged fraud has caused a huge loss to the state government in excess of Rs 300 crores.

As per the CID, the investigation has revealed serious irregularities such as before any expenditure by private entities, the then state government provided an advance of Rs 371 crores, representing the entire 10 per cent commitment by the government.

Most of the money advanced by the government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices, CID officials said.

In its remand report, the CID has said that according to the investigation so far, the total amount spent by private entities on six skill development clusters is sourced exclusively from funds advanced by the Government of AP and AP Skill Development Center, totalling Rs 371 crores. (ANI)

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Modi Announces Conclusion Of G20 Summit, Proposes Virtual Review In November

By LokMarg 10th September 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced the conclusion of the G20 Summit here and proposed to hold a virtual G20 session in November to review the suggestions and proposals made at the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

“As you all know India has the responsibility of G20 presidency till November 2023. In these two days, all of you gave a lot of suggestions and placed proposals. It is our duty to see how faster progress can be achieved on these,” PM Modi said.

“I propose that at the end of November, we hold a virtual session of G20. We can review the topics decided in this Summit, in that virtual session. I hope you all will connect in the virtual session. With this, I declare the conclusion of the G20 Summit,” he added.

Before declaring that the summit had ended, PM Modi handed over the ceremonial gavel of the Group of 20 presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“I congratulate Brazilian President and my friend Lula da Silva and hand over the gavel of Presidency,” PM Modi said.

Earlier Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva handed over saplings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Session 3 of the G20 Summit.

While Indonesia held the G20 presidency last year, Brazil will hold the presidency after India.

India took over the G20 presidency on December 1 last year at the G20 Summit in Bali and will continue to hold it till the end of November.

The New Delhi Declaration was adopted by G20 leaders on Saturday, the first day of the Summit.

The G20 leaders visited Rajghat on Sunday morning to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. (ANI)

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