Modi's Nepal visit: PM calls Oli 'bhai', draws on ties 'since Treta Yug'

On the eve of his visit to Nepal, Modi said India would remain a steadfast partner of the Himalayan nation in its quest for growth and development. Catch all the Modi Nepal visit updates here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning arrived in Nepal for a two-day state visit. Ahead of the visit, Modi had tweeted that the "visit reflects the high priority India attaches to friendly relations with Nepal". Further, Modi said India would remain a steadfast partner of Nepal in its quest for growth and development. Kicking off his tour, Modi offered prayers at the Ram Janaki temple in Nepal's Janakpur and inaugurated the Ramayan Circuit Bus Route, before addressing a civic reception. The prime minister is visiting the neighbouring country on an invitation from his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Prasad Oli.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Friday tweeted that Modi's Nepal visit would consolidate the principle of neighbourhood first and Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. He added that it would build on Prime Minister Oli's visit to India. The Nepalese Prime Minister was on a three-day visit to India in April this year, when the two sides signed a number of agreements, which were termed 'game-changing' by the MEA.

According to news agencies, Nepal is all set to welcome Modi, for whom this will be a third tour to the Himalayan nation. "As Nepal enters a new era of consolidating the gains of a democracy and achieving economic growth, India remains a steadfast partner of the Nepal government to implement their vision of 'Samriddha Nepal, Sukhi Nepali' (prosperous Nepal, happy Nepal)," tweeted Modi on the eve of his visit.

According to officials, certain agreements were expected to be signed between the two leaders. Security has been tightened in the country and as many as 11,000 security personnel from both countries have been deployed for the visit.

Here are the top 10 developments around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day Nepal visit:

1) Modi addresses gathering at Rangabhoomi ground, says India's faith 'incomplete without Nepal': Prime Minister Modi was felicitated at a civic reception at the Bahrabigaha's Rangabhoomi ground, where he addressed the people gathered to welcome him. At the reception, Modi said it was his "long due wish to visit the land of Goddess Sita and offer his prayers".

"Today, I am extremely happy and grateful that I got this opportunity," said Modi. Further, the Prime Minister said that the Indo-Nepal relationship "dates back to Treta Yug".

Referring to the mythological epic Ramayana, Modi said, "King Janak and King Dasharath not only united Janakpur and Ayodhya but also India and Nepal."

Modi, Xi could meet 3 more times in 2018 to build better relations: China

Xi had hosted Modi in the central Chinese city of X'ian in 2015 and last week the two leaders met in Wuhan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have the opportunity to meet at least three times this year to take forward their friendship forged during their unprecedented informal summit in Wuhan, China's ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui said today.

Addressing a seminar here on the 'Wuhan Summit: Sino-India Relations and its Way Forward', Luo said the two leaders reached broad consensus on the overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and bilateral importance during their two-day summit in the central Chinese city last week.

The summit in Wuhan was seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild trust and improve ties that were hit by the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff last year.

Giving a first-hand briefing to scholars and journalists on the informal summit, which he dubbed as a "very special event" in Chinese diplomacy, Luo noted that President Xi has never hosted a foreign leader twice outside the Chinese capital Beijing.

Xi had hosted Modi in the central Chinese city of X'ian in 2015 and last week the two leaders met in Wuhan.

"This shows that China attaches high importance to its relations with India," he said.

The envoy said the idea of holding an informal summit was first mooted by Prime Minister Modi when he met President Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2017. After that, the two side worked very hard to make it happen, he said.

Luo said President Xi and Prime Minister Modi will have three more opportunities this year to carry forward their fruitful and wide-ranging conversations in Wuhan.

The ambassador said the two leaders could meet at the next Shanaghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held in June in Qingdao, China, the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa and the next G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He said the officials concerned of the two countries were closely working to facilitate these meetings and implement the consensus reached between the two leaders in Wuhan.

The ambassador said the two leaders had in-depth discussions and reached consensus on their respective visions for national development as well as domestic and foreign policies.

China and India, the two biggest developing countries and emerging economies --each with a population of over one billion, are important countries with strategic autonomy.

"A peaceful, stable and balanced relationship between China and India is an important positive factor for the stability of the world," he said. (more)

Union Budget 2018 to bring income tax cheer? Here's why this EY survey thinks so

About 59% of the respondents were of the view that multiple outdated deductions would be replaced with a standard deduction in order to reduce the tax burden of employees

The government is likely to tweak income tax slabs and rates in Budget 2018-19 to bring down the burden on individuals, while there is unlikely to be any change in the current taxation of dividends, according to a survey by EY.

In a pre-Budget survey by tax consultant EY, a wide majority of 69 per cent of the respondents felt that the threshold limits for taxation would increase further in order to boost disposable income in the hands of the people.

About 59 per cent of the respondents were of the view that multiple outdated deductions would be replaced with a standard deduction in order to reduce the tax burden of employees.

The survey includes the views of 150 CFOs, tax heads, and senior finance professionals and was conducted in January.

About 48 per cent of the respondents said they expect the finance minister to lower corporate tax rate to 25 per cent but the surcharge would continue.

Most of the respondents (65 per cent) do not anticipate a change in the current taxation of dividends at this stage. About 24 per cent of the respondents feel that with a view to lowering the overall burden on the corporate sector, the government may lower the rate to 10 per cent.

"The pre-Budget 2018 EY Survey with business decision makers reveals a consensus amongst India Inc for stability and consistency in tax policies and a moderate tax structure. There seems to be little expectation of any major direct tax overhaul after the transformative introduction of GST earlier in the year," EY India National Tax Leader Sudhir Kapadia said.

Why Modi is keen on 3rd & 'final' cabinet reshuffle before 2019 polls

Performers among MoS, including those with independent charges, are set to be promoted

The long awaited cabinet reshuffle of the Narendra Modi government, its third and possibly its final before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, is set to take place by Sunday afternoon.

Laggards among the ministers are being dropped. Performers among ministers of state, including those with independent charges, are set to be promoted. Some of the leaders who have excelled in organisational work will be included in the council of ministers, and some ministers asked to return to party work.

New ally Janata Dal (United) will get representation. Existing allies, who need to be placated in the run up to the 2019 polls, could get more ministerial berths. There is still no clarity on whether AIADMK might be included in the cabinet.

However, the shape of the forthcoming expansion and reshuffle would highlight the failures of the Modi government on some of its key promises – job growth and skill development, improvements promised in the farm sector and Ganga rejuvenation.

Also Read : Is Modi winning fake currency war? A data you shouldn't miss

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised 20 million jobs a year if voted to power. However, job growth has been abysmal, and significantly lower than the last three years of the UPA 2 government. The PM and BJP chief Amit Shah have argued how the MUDRA Scheme has provided loans to over 80 million people, which in turn has provided employment in the informal sector.

But it's becoming increasingly apparent that the over two percent dip in GDP growth, the impact of demonetisation and inability of the industry to invest resulted in poor job growth. The Modi government’s plans to impart skills to a large section of the youths has fallen way short of its targets. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, despite his hard work in what was a newly carved out ministry in 2014, couldn’t meet the PM’s expectations as the minister of state (independent charge) for skill development and entrepreneurship. (more)

जनता की सहूलियत को ही नियमों की जुगत

जनता से संवाद स्थापित करने के अपने मासिक रेडियो प्रसारण 'मन की बात' में प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने एक बार फिर नोटबंदी का बचाव करते हुए इस दौरान बदले गए तमाम नियमों को भी जायज ठहराया। साथ ही उन्होंने संकेत दिए कि भ्रष्टïाचार के खिलाफ अपनी मुहिम को तेज करने के लिए सरकार जल्द ही बेनामी संपत्तियों पर भी शिंकजा कसने की तैयारी कर रही है। नोटबंदी के बाद कई बार बदले नियमों पर प्रधानमंत्री ने कहा कि जनता की ओर से मिली प्रतिक्रियाओं के बाद सहूलियत के लिए ही इतनी बार नियमों में बदलाव किया गया। बेईमानी और भ्रष्टाचार के काले कारोबार में लिप्त लोगों के खिलाफ सख्ती जारी रखने का संकल्प व्यक्त करते हुए मोदी ने पूर्ववर्ती कांग्रेस नीत सरकार पर बेनामी संपत्ति से जुड़े कानून को कई दशकों तक ठंडे बस्ते में डालने का आरोप लगाते हुए कहा कि वर्तमान सरकार ने बेनामी संपत्ति कानून को धारदार बनाया है और आने वाले दिनों में यह कानून अपना काम करेगा। आकाशवाणी पर प्रसारित संबोधन में मोदी ने कहा, 'मैंने 8 तारीख को (नोटबंदी की घोषणा के दिन) पहले ही दिन कहा था कि यह लड़ाई सामान्य नहीं है। 70 साल से बेईमानी और भ्रष्टाचार के काले कारोबार में कैसी शक्तियां जुड़ी हुई हैं? उनकी ताकत कितनी है? ऐसे लोगों से मैंने जब मुकाबला करना ठान लिया है तो वे भी सरकार को पराजित करने के लिए रोज नए तरीके अपनाते हैं।'

उन्होंने कहा कि जब वे नए तरीके अपनाते हैं तो हमें भी तो उनकी काट के लिए नया तरीका ही अपनाना पड़ता है। तू डाल-डाल, तो मैं पात-पात, क्योंकि हमने तय किया है कि भ्रष्टाचारियों को, काले कारोबारों को, काले धन को, मिटाना है। भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ कठोर कदम जारी रखने का संकल्प व्यक्त करते हुए मोदी ने कहा, 'मैं आपको विश्वास दिलाता हूं कि यह पूर्ण विराम नहीं है, यह तो अभी शुरुआत है। ये जंग जीतनी है और थकने का तो सवाल ही कहां उठता है, रुकने का तो सवाल ही नहीं उठता है।' उन्होंने कहा कि जिस बात पर सवा-सौ करोड़ देशवासियों का आशीर्वाद हो, उसमें तो पीछे हटने का कोई प्रश्न ही नहीं उठता है।' Read more

Breaking News :

• नकदी से भारी हो गई गाड़ी
• बीएमडब्ल्यू चीन में 1.93 लाख वाहनों को वापस मंगाएगी
• सुधारों पर बढ़ी सरकार, अंजाम तक पहुंचाना चुनौतीपूर्ण
• बीएमडब्ल्यू चीन में 1.93 लाख वाहनों को वापस मंगाएगी
• दो लाख रुपये से अधिक प्राप्ति की रिपोर्ट करें : सीबीडीटी

Demonetisation trouble not over, to spill over into new year: Bankers

AIBEA GS expressed his anger at state of bank employees who are being targets of customers' wrath

Breaking News : A mere four days before the demonetisation deadline of December 30, by when the pains of customers are supposed to allay -- as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said -- bankers seemed to nurse no hopes of any comfort and expected long queues to slither into the new year and into the months that follow.

"The rush is still there and there's no hope of any respite. How can there be any when the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) is providing only 20-30 per cent of total cash required at the banks?" All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS.

"The situation has not improved much. We had written to even RBI Governor Urjit Patel, apprising him of the situation. But then this is India, you cannot expect a swift reply from anyone. There's no transperancy," he said.

Venkatachalam expressed his anger also at the sorry state of bank employees who are being targets of disillusioned customers' wrath for no fault of theirs.

He blamed RBI for eroding customers' confidence in the institution of banks by not coming up with any satisfactory answers for the instances of new currency being seized all over the country, while none of this is reaching the legitimate candidates.(more)

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PM Modi says those killed in Kashmir violence 'part of us', emphasises dialogue

PM Modi says those killed in Kashmir violence 'part of us', emphasises dialogue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed "deep pain" and concern over the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley and emphasised on the need for dialogue to find a lasting solution within the framework of the Constitution.

He told a delegation of opposition leaders of Jammu and Kashmir that those who lost their lives during the recent disturbances are a "part of us" and it is a matter of "distress" whether the lives lost are of "our youth, security personnel or police," official sources said.

The Prime Minister said his government stands with the state of Jammu and Kashmir and suggested that all political parties should reach out to the people and convey the same.

During the meeting with the delegation led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Prime Minister expressed "deep concern and pain" at the prevailing situation in the state and appealed for restoration of normalcy in the Valley which has been witnessing unrest for the last 44 days.(more)

Terror being 'incubated' in India's neighbourhood

Terror being 'incubated' in India's neighbourhood

With Pakistan obviously in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said terrorism was being “incubated in India’s neighbourhood” and pressed for action without making any distinction against groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Taliban and ISIS who share the “same philosophy of hate, murder and killings”.

In his address to the joint sitting of US Congress here, he said terrorism has to be fought with “one voice” as he commended the American Parliament for sending out a clear message by refusing to “reward” those who preach and practice terrorism for political gains, an apparent reference to the blocking of sale of 8 F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

In the course of his 45-minute speech, he covered all major aspects of the growing relationship between India and the US, particularly strategic ties and civil nuclear cooperation, and emphasised that the two countries should leave “constraints of the past” behind as the “foundations of the future are firmly in place”.

“India lives as one; India grows as one and India celebrates as one,” Modi said. “For my government, the Constitution is its real holy book. And, in that holy book, freedom of faith, speech and franchise, and equality of all citizens, regardless of background, are enshrined as fundamental rights.”

Read more.

From tackling terror to NSG inclusion, Modi - Obama make headway on a range of issues

From tackling terror to NSG inclusion, Modi - Obama make headway on a range of issues

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussion on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama in Washington, a joint statement described what it billed as their “third major bilateral summit”, after earlier meetings in September 2014 and January 2015.

The statement noted a new military logistics agreement, made common cause in the South China Sea, revealed growing American involvement in helping India build an indigenous aircraft carrier, and announced additional co-development projects for defence equipment. There is a new agreement for sharing terrorist-related information. India will be buying six 1,000 MW nuclear power plants from Toshiba-Westinghouse, with the contract to be signed in 2017. And Washington has thrown its full weight behind India’s candidature for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Asia-Pacific cooperation

US officials privately lament New Delhi’s poor follow-up of strategic agreements. This joint statement pins India down to specific action, announcing “a roadmap for cooperation under the 2015 US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region, which will serve as a guide for collaboration in the years to come.”

In a subtly-worded statement that takes the US-India partnership beyond the 2014 Vision Statement and 2015 Declaration of Friendship, Modi and Obama “resolved that the United States and India should look to each other as priority partners in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean region.”Read more.

Modi, Obama have forged close working relationship: think-tank

Modi, Obama have forged close working relationship: think-tank

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone from somebody who was basically a "pariah" to someone who is now going to be celebrated in the course of just two years, a top American think-tank has said ahead of his meeting with US PresidentBarack Obama at the White House next week.

"This would probably be the Prime Minister's seventh meeting with the President since he took office which probably is a record both for Modi and for the President with respect to meeting a head of government from a country which is not a formal ally of the United States," Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment forInternational Peace said yesterday.

"This speaks to the personal relationship that the two have developed over the last two years and also the surprising quality of it, given the history that Modi had with the United States," Tellis said ahead of the Obama-Modi meeting on June 7 at the White House.

During his US visit, the Prime Minister will also address a joint meeting of the US Congress on June 8.

"The close personal relationship that has now developed between Modi and Obama is one of the surprises of the last two years," Tellis said.

Echoing Tellis, Milan Vaishnav of Carnegie said the personal transformation that Modi has undergone is nothing short of remarkable.

"In the course of just two years, Modi has gone from just who could not step foot on American soil as a legal matter to addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress. He has gone from somebody who was basically a pariah to someone who is now going to be celebrated by Washington.Read more.