AIR World Service English

My dear countrymen, Namaskar! I want to share a good news with you all at the beginning of Mann ki Baat today. Every Indian will be proud to know that a very old idol of Devi Annapurna is returning to India from Canada. This idol was stolen from a temple of Varanasi and smuggled out of the country around 100 years ago somewhere around 1913. I express my gratitude to the Government of Canada and to all those for this large heartedness who made this propitious deed possible. Mata Annapoorna has a very special relationship with Kashi. Now the coming back of her Idol is pleasing for all of us. Just like the idol of Mata Annapurna, a lot of our invaluable heritage has suffered at the hands of International gangs. These gangs sell them at a very high price in the international market. Now not only are they being subjected to heavy restrictions; India has also increased her efforts for their return. Because of such efforts, India has been successful in bringing back lots of such idols and art...

On the 18th episode of monthly “Mann ki Baat” programme over the All India Radio network, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared good news with all Indian. Prime Minister said, everyone will be proud to know that a very old idol of Devi Annapurna is returning to India from Canada. This idol was stolen from a temple of Varanasi and smuggled out of the country around 100 years ago somewhere around 1913. Mr. Modi expressed his gratitude to the Government of Canada and to all those for this large heartedness who made this propitious deed possible. Mata Annapoorna has a very special relationship with Kashi. The coming back of her idol is pleasing for all of us. Prime Minister observed, the twelfth of November marked the commencement of the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr. Salim Ali ji. Dr. Salim has done illustrious work in the field of bird watching – the avian world. This has also attracted bird watchers of the world towards India. In India, many bird watching societies are active...

India shares strong commercial, strategic and cultural relations with the tiny island nation of Bahrain based on historical ties, bilateral trade and people-to-people contacts. Though small in size, the kingdom, strategically located in the southwest of the Gulf, holds the key for regional security and stability. Bahrain is also the pioneer of the Arab Gulf model of development. India has always maintained strong diplomatic and commercial relations with Bahrain. In addition to the bilateral trade in petroleum and other commodities, the kingdom is host to nearly 300,000 Indian expatriates who have contributed to the economic development and have enjoyed cordial relations with the local communities. The bilateral relations have reached new heights under Prime Minister Narendra Modi who in August 2019 became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the island nation. In recognition of his efforts to promote bilateral relations between India and Bahrain, the Prime Minister was conferred th...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s roadmap for carbon-free energy development and projected the country as an attractive destination for investment in renewable energy sector. Inaugurating the global conference on renewable energy, RE-INVEST 2020, Prime Minister Modi detailed India’s progress in increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy basket. ‘’In the last 6 years, India is travelling on an unparalleled journey. We are expanding our generation capacity and network to ensure every citizen of India has access to electricity to unlock his full potential. At the same time, we are rapidly expanding generation of energy through renewable sources,’’ Mr. Modi said in his virtual address. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Netherlands Premier Mark Rutte were amongst those who participated in the inaugural. The three-day event on a virtual platform themed “Innovation for Sustainable Energy Transition’’ aims to accelerate worldwide effort to scale u...

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar led the Indian delegation at the “2020 Afghanistan Conference” that was organized in Geneva this week virtually. The Conference was co-hosted by the United Nations, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Government of Finland. It aimed at reaffirming the commitment of the International community to Afghanistan during the second half of the transformational decade 2015-2024. The External Affairs Minister announced that India had just concluded with Afghanistan an agreement for the construction of the ‘Shatoot’ Dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul city. India had earlier built the 202-km Phul-e-Khumri transmission line that provided electricity to Kabul city. Dr. Jaishankar also announced the launch of Phase-IV of the High Impact Community Development Projects in Afghanistan, which envisages more than 100 projects worth US$ 80 million that India would undertake in Afghanistan. The ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with Chief Ministers of all States and Union Territories via video conferencing, to review the status and preparedness of COVID-19 response and management, with special emphasis on eight high focus States. These States are Haryana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal. The modalities of Covid-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were also discussed during the meeting. Prime Minister remarked that the country has faced the pandemic through concerted efforts and in terms of both recovery rate and fatality rate, the situation in India is better than most other countries. He talked about the expansion of the testing and treatment network, and noted that special emphasis of the PM CARES fund has been to make available ventilators. He said that efforts are on to make medical colleges and district hospitals self-sufficient in terms of oxygen generation, and informed that the proce...

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan last week announced a ban on political rallies across the country on behalf of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) terming it as a necessity to contain the spread of the second wave of coronavirus. The Islamabad High Court has also observed that the implementation of the decisions of NCOC on Covid-19 was mandatory in the event of a coronavirus crisis and legal action might be taken against those violating its decisions. However the real reason for the ban ‘is said to be’ the major power shows and anti-government protests planned by the collation of the 11 opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM). Terming the government's ban as a tactic to thwart the opposition party protests in the grab of the corona, the PDM refused to give in and organized a mammoth rally in Mansehra in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The opposition is set to kick off another Jalsa in PTI stronghold Peshawar today despite the refusal to grant permission b...

The 15th G-20 Annual Summit, hosted by Saudi Arabia over the weekend, reaffirmed that “coordinated global action, solidarity, and multilateral cooperation are more necessary today than ever to overcome the current challenges and realize opportunities of the 21st century for all by empowering people, safeguarding the planet, and shaping new frontiers.” Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Summit was held in a virtual format. G-20 leaders welcomed actions taken by members since the G-20 Extraordinary Summit in March this year in mobilizing “resources to address the immediate financing needs in global health to support the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of safe and effective COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.” The interest of developing country G-20 members like India in affordable and equitable access to vaccines for all people received the conditional approval of the Summit, which kept open the possibility of voluntary licensing of intellectual propert...

In the post Covid-19 world, India will be among a few countries which will be a shining example of spirited economic growth. Several optimistic projections are being made about the country’s economy in the coming fiscal year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to investors to invest in India at the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum needs to be seen in this perspective. Indeed, blessed with a vibrant democracy, a business friendly atmosphere, huge market and a pro-business minded government, India is the solution to investors’ quest for good returns. Whether be the issues of mobility, urbanization or innovation—India offers exciting opportunities to investors. Prime Minister said the ongoing pandemic has shown the world that cities, which are also growth engines, are the most vulnerable. However, without further indulging in negativity of the Covid-19, he juxtaposed the pandemic with opportunity; Opportunity to reset things for developmental purposes. Undoubtedly, the pandemic tri...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inaugural address at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020; brought out the Indian government’s commitment to integrate technology into governance to deliver better services to all. He described technology as the prime reason our schemes have gone beyond files and have impacted the lives of Indians at a rapid speed and on a larger scale. The government has made technology a key part of all schemes and built its governance model on a ‘tech-first’ approach. Mr.Modi said the amount of tech adoption that has happened in the last few months may not have happened in a decade. “We are now in the middle of the information era, where change is disruptive”. Prime Minister observed. He said, this also gives us the confidence that we can vaccinate a large population of people against the COVID-19 virus in a short period of time. The Prime Minister also urged the youth to play a bigger role in devising robust cyber security solutions that will effectively vaccinate against c...

Last week, Pakistan came out with a bunch of ridiculous allegations against India. Islamabad’s lies have found no takers. The so called “dossier” detailing the various allegations was released at a joint press conference by the Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the DG Inter Services Public Relations, General Babar Iftikhar.  It said that Pakistan has got “irrefutable evidence” of India indulging in many activities and using Afghan soil to send “terrorists” to Pakistan. It also tried vainly to point out that India had projected itself as a victim of terrorism.   Clearly, this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. These are precisely the concerns which the world is grappling with reference to Pakistan for the last four decades! As a result, the US stopped financial aid to Pakistan years ago, the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog on terror funding, has put Islamabad in the ‘grey list’ for the last 2 years and refused to give any relax...

Next year BRICS will complete 15 years of its institutional journey. Its path and trajectories have not been exactly paved with gold; though it has kept the expectations high. That India will take over BRICS helmsman ship in 2021 for the third time is no less significant. India’s membership of international organisations, movements and cooperation mechanisms has given respectability to them as India has impeccable credentials as far global initiatives and their visualisation are concerned. Even before her independence, India became a member of the UN and several global institutions. The fact that next year India joins the UN Security Council for the eighth time is not a mere coincidence; it is a vindication of India’s sterling role in global affairs. The theme of the 12th BRICS Summit virtually hosted by Russia, ‘Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’ is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi called “both relevant and visionary”. He explained how the geo-strategic changes ...

Defying the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, launched its first satellite of the year 2020 recently, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Island off the Bay of Bengal coast. Along with the earth observation satellite EOS-01, the flight also carried 9 smaller customer satellites from three countries. The foreign satellites included an experimental satellite from Lithuania, four marine application satellites from Luxembourg, and four remote sensing satellites from the United States. Riding on ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C49, all the satellites were sequentially placed in their intended orbits after launch. It was ISRO’s first launch since December 11 last year, when the PSLV-C48 had put in space an earth observation satellite similar to the one launched on Saturday. In January this year, ISRO had sent a communication satellite GSAT-30 to space, but that was done using an Ariane rocket launched from French Guiana. Therea...

2020 commemorates 15 years of the East Asia Summit (EAS), a key pillar in ASEAN-centred regional architecture. On Saturday last, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar attended the 15th EAS virtually, steered by ASEAN Chair, Vietnam. Advancing India’s “Act East” policy and the Indo-Pacific outlook, he underscored India’s commitment to build robust regional cooperation while addressing the shared political, security and economic challenges. Drawing synergy between ASEAN’s Indo-Pacific Outlook and India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, the External Affairs Minister argued the importance of promoting a rules-based global order anchored in international law, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. The 15th EAS adopted the Ha Noi Declaration besides four other Leaders’ Statements on Marine Sustainability; Epidemics Prevention and Response; Women, Peace and Security; and Steady Growth of Regional Economy. Instituted in 2005, EAS comprises of India, China, Japan, ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 17th ASEAN-India Summit virtually at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is ranging across the region. The economic and trade relations are under stress as the pandemic has had an impact on the economic performance of many of the South-east Asian countries and India. In this context, Prime Minister Modi emphasized on the connectivity initiatives between India and ASEAN on all formats including physical, social, digital, financial and maritime. The connectivity projects are fast emerging as a fundamental focus point for countries to push for economic dynamism such as investment, job growth, and tourism. By offering US$ one billion Line of Credit to the ASEAN connectivity project, India has offered substantial financial commitment to its promises, which underscores New Delhi’s increasing desire to improve connectivity among ASEAN countries and between India and the ASEAN. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities in the current ec...

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla made an official visit to the Maldives on an invitation of his Maldivian counterpart Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed. This was his first visit to the country after he assumed office as well as the first high-level in-person interaction between the two countries since the outbreak of the Corona Virus in March this year. During the visit, the Foreign Secretary called on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and had substantial discussions with the Maldivian Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Economic Development, Planning, Home Affairs, Tourism, Youth and Sports as well as Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in sports and youth affairs, High Impact Community Development Projects, and a US$ 100 million grant to fund the Greater Male connectivity project were signed by the two countries during the visit. Equipment for 67 children’s park across the country was handed over during the Indian Foreign Sec...

The virtual Summit of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place under the chairmanship of Russia. The meeting took place in the backdrop of the unprecedented impact of coronavirus on the health of the people the world over, which has also resulted in serious socio-economic consequences. The SCO, ever since its inception, has established itself as one of the important edifice of the world order and is making significant contribution in maintaining peace and stability and facilitating development in the region Addressing the virtual Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the Russian President Vladimir Putin for his efficient leadership of the Organization and for hosting the Summit in spite of the challenges and obstacles posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Modi urged the member-countries to respect each other’s territorial integrity. He said that while “ India maintains close cultural and historical ties...