AIR World Service English

My dear countrymen, generally speaking, I touch upon varied subjects in Mann ki Baat. But today, the foremost concern in everyone’s mind in the country and all over the world is the catastrophic Corona Global Pandemic. Amidst that, it will not be appropriate on my part to reflect on anything else. But first of all, I extend a heartfelt apology to all countrymen. And I strongly feel from the core of my heart that you will forgive me – since certain decisions had to be taken, resulting in myriad hardships for you. And when it comes to my underprivileged brothers and sisters, they must be wondering on the kind of Prime Minister they have, who has pushed them to the brink! My wholehearted apologies, especially to them. It is possible that many are annoyed with me for their confinement in their homes. I fully understand your situation; I can feel what you are going through. But in order to battle Corona in a country of 130 crore people such as India, there was no other option. The fight a...

In the 63rd edition of the extremely popular radio programme Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the whole world and country is concerned with the covid 19 pandemic. He apologised to the countrymen for the country wide lockdown. He said he understood the troubles faced by the poorer sections. The lockdown was inevitable to ward off the spread of coronavirus. "A disease must be dealt with at the very beginning" our ancient texts say. Mr Modi said that today the entire country is doing the same. Covid 19 is a challenge before everyone. Entire humanity must unite and resolve to stop its vicious tentacles. The lockdown is meant to save every Indian, Prime Minister emphasised. Following the Lakshmanrekha can save us from coronavirus. Quote from our scriptures, Mr Modi in today's Mann ki Baat said, Arogyam Mahabhagyam, that is good health is the biggest fortune. The country can be saved if everyone follows the lockdown rules. Prime Minister Modi thanked the doctor...

An extraordinary virtual G20 Leaders Summit was held on 26.03.2020 to discuss the challenges posed by covid 19 outbreak. This extraordinary Summit was called by the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud on the request of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All the G20 Leaders including US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe participated in the extraordinary virtual Summit. The G20 Leaders agreed to use all available policy tools to minimise the economic and social costs of the pandemic. They also agreed to restore global growth, market stability and strengthening resilience. G20 countries committed to inject over US$ 5 TRILLION into the global economy. The Leaders further agreed to contribute to the WHO led covid 19 Solidarity Response Fund. Prime Minister Modi thanked the Saudi King for convening the extraordina...

Namaste, My dear countrymen, I have once again come to talk to you about the pandemic of coronavirus. We had taken a pledge of Janta curfew on 22nd March which we as a nation fulfilled with the responsible contribution of each Indian, children, senior citizens, small and big, poor, middle& upper class, each one came together in this hour of crisis. Janta curfew was made successful by each Indian With this one-day Janta curfew, it showed that when the country and humanity are faced with a crisis all Indians come together to combat it . You all need to be admired for the Janta curfew. You are hearing and watching the worldwide situation arising from the corona pandemic. You are also seeing how the most empowered nations have become helpless in the face of this pandemic. It's not that these nations are not making efforts or lack resources but the coronavirus is spreading so rapidly that despite all their efforts the challenge is increasing. The results of a two-month stu...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the entire country will go in complete lockdown from midnight tonight. In his address to the nation this evening, Prime Minister said that this lockdown is in a way of curfew and would be more stringent than Janta curfew. He said in view of the current situation of the novel coronavirus, the nationwide complete lockdown will remain in force for 21 days. Prime Minister said that the government has allocated 15,000 crore rupees to strengthen health infrastructure to the spread of coronavirus. He said, testing facilities, Personal Protective Equipments, Isolation Beds, ICU beds,ventilators,and the number of other necessary tools will be increased rapidly. He said, India, today is at the stage where our actions will decide how much we can reduce the impact of this major disaster. He said, this is the time to further strengthen our resolve to tackle its spread. Mr Modi said, all steps are being taken by the Central and State government to e...

1.3 billion Indians reiterated their firm resolve to fight the coronavirus. On the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country observed “Janata Curfew” (people’s curfew) on Sunday. People including politicians, sportspersons, film stars and celebrities came out on to their balconies, roofs and stood before open windows to clap, ring bells and utensils to show their respect and appreciation for the people who are in the front-line tackling the virus like doctors, nurses, para-medics, police, delivery personnel and people involved with maintaining hygiene. The Prime Minister had addressed the nation on Thursday and called upon the people to observe voluntary abstinence from going out from 7 AM to 9 PM on Sunday, 22nd March. The entire country participated in the noble cause. Essential services remained open. However, many states and union territories have declared a complete lockdown till 31st March for maintain public health. This is absolutely necessary to keep the coronavirus ...

Several issues including the threat of Corona virus dominated the proceedings in both the Houses of Indian Parliament this week. Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan told the Lok Sabha that eight resident Indians in the United Arab Emirates were under quarantine. Kuwait has none. In Iran, there are over 6,000 Indian nationals including about eleven hundred pilgrims mainly from the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra, nearly 300 students primarily from Jammu and Kashmir, about one thousand fishermen including from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat and others who are on long term stay in Iran for pursuing their livelihood and religious studies. He said, New Delhi has made focused efforts for the safe return of Indians stranded in Iran. A team of six Indian health officials was deputed to Iran to set up testing and sampling facilities there. He said 1,706 samples have been taken including from pilgrims, students and other Indians in Iran. The...

Last Sunday, on 15th March 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to all member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC through video conferencing to chalk out a strong common strategy to fight the fast spreading deadly virus COVID 19. The virus has claimed over ten thousand lives globally so far with more than two hundred thousand affected people convalescing in isolated wards in hospitals, the world over. All eight member nations of SAARC reacted positively to Prime Minister Modi’s initiative for a joint strategy to fight out COVID 19 and Presidents of Srilanka, Maldives and Afghanistan and Prime Ministers of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan actively participated in the video conferencing. Pakistan was represented by the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza. All leaders underlined the need to pool their efforts for unitedly taking on the pandemic. They were conscious that it was a major humanitarian issue and Prime Min...

In an address to the nation last evening broadcast over radio and television, Prime Minister NarendraModi sounded a high alert against the Corona pandemic. He appealed each and every citizen to not be complacent, or remain in a state of denial. He underlined that the deadly and devastating disease, which is wreaking havoc almost in the entire world, has touched the Indian shores and no longer remains something we can ignore. He said that in the last two months 1.3 billion Indians have fought resolutely against Corona by taking necessary precautions. Yet, he cautioned that no one should be under any delusion about the relatively small number of people infected so far in India and feel that worst has passed by. Prime Minister Modi said, data from the worst affected countries show how numbers skyrocketed after initial phase. So, India cannot afford to drop guards and each and every citizen needs to remain alert. Countries which took prompt and early action in isolating people did bet...

My Dear Countrymen, The entire world is passing through a grave situation. Generally, whenever there is natural crisis, it is limited to a few countries or states. But, this crisis has engulfed the entire human race. Even during the first and second World wars, the number of countries affected were not as many as the number affected by the Coronavirus. For the last two months, we have been watching with concern, the news about Coronavirus spreading all across the world. In these two months, 130 crore Indians have resolutely confronted the Corona pandemic and taken the necessary precautions. But, in the last few days, a feeling has crept in that we are safe and everything is okay. But, this complacency in the face of this global pandemic is not correct. Therefore, it is very essential that every Indian is alert and aware. Friends, Whenever I have asked something from you, you have never disappointed me. It is the power of your blessings ...

Iraq is suffering from internal divisions and external interventions for long. The problems of the people of Iraq did not end despite the hope generated by the defeat of the ISIS in 2017. It was due to the inability of the government in Baghdad to deliver on the expectation of Iraqis on crony capitalism and corruption. Also, there was no consensus among the political class that not only stalled government formation but also paralysed governance. The political and military interventions, especially by Iran and the US, fuelled internal divisions. To protest against these, the Iraqi people started protests and demonstration throughout the country demanding accountability in governance, better amenities, end to crony capitalism and corruption as well as the end to meddling by outsiders. The demonstrations in Iraq soon snowballed into a major crisis after some of the protestors were killed in action by the security forces and Iranian-backed militias such as Kataib Hezbollah. The group also...

The World Health Organisation has termed the novel coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic. Over 7500 deaths worldwide and countries under lockdown; India has once again demonstrated leadership in crisis management. Speed with intelligence has marked India’s response to mitigate outbreak of the deadly virus, tracing its’ origin to China. Swiftly evacuating Indian nationals from countriess hit by the COVID-19 virus and quarantining them at exclusive facilities have steadied the response. Serving the cause of humanity, India also evacuated many citizens of other countries from badly hit nations. India’s Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that India is acting on jet speed to contain the outbreak of the virus. That India is an immediate neighbour of China and a country of 1.3 billion people, while reporting just over 120 positive cases, loudly tell the story of Indian response. Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly brought to the attention of the leaders of SARC that India b...