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Indian prime minister Modi calls for saturation level coverage of schemes including GatiShakti, Har Ghar Jal, Svamitva, Direct Benefit Transfer, and others. Also given emphasis in his statement to 18 chief ministers was the importance of sports and sports facilities  for young people, and continually improving the environment for business in the states.

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Ellen Barry's interview with Yogi Nagendra in which Nagendra talks about meditation yoga and how it is practiced in India. Nagendra has known prime minister Modi since 1984 and has provided 4 yoga meetings to Mr. Modi and his ministers in Gujarat when he was Chief Minister of the state, till today as prime minister. This Yoga concentrates on meditation and tries to calm the mind as described in the Kena Upanishad (the classics of the Indian philosophy of Vedanta which form the basis of Yoga).

"The eye does not go there, nor speech, nor the mind. It is different from what is known, and what is unknown."

It is through constant and repeated practice that this meditation yoga can through concentration and yearning help one to reach a level of calmness that is a form of samadhi. Samadhi produces a level of calm and serenity mostly unknown to man.

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Prime Minister Modi of India visits Vienna, Austria in July 2024.

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The warm and hugely enthusiastic welcome given to India's newly elected prime minister Modi in New York in September 2014

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Increasing cooperation in fast rail, clean energy, semiconductors and defense manufacturing between India and Japan following the visit of prime minister Kishida of Japan to India. The plans for Japanese investment in India will be accelerated with this visit. PM Modi will visit Hiroshima for the G-7 summit. As India's development accelerates it is likely to make the G-7 the G-8 summit in coming years. The unity of purpose shown by Biden and Trudeau in Canada is seen today between Kishida and Modi in India. This follows the close relationship Modi had with prime minister Abe of Japan. Kishida was foreign minister in Abe's government.

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There are 240 Norwegian and Finnish companies in India, says this report in The Hindu. Nordic countries are providing green technologies to India. At the Nordic-India Summit held in Copenhagen in May 2022, the five Nordic prime ministers and prime minister Modi agreed to intensify cooperation on digitalisation, renewable energy, maritime industries and the circular economy. Denmark is helping India with ports and logistics. Trade ministers of Norway and Finland visiting India together  Feb 9-10 describe the efforts to provide Nordic technology solution in green transition to India. Trade between Norway and India has doubled in the last 3 years and the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund is likely to become on the largest investors in India at $17.6 billion. Vestre us Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry, Skinnari is Finnish Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade. 

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The new cabinet of ministers of prime minister Modi following the second wave of the pandemic brings in 36 new faces to the Ministries, many in important new roles such as Health, Education, IT, Information and Broadcasting, Social Empowerment, Law. Railways. The Council of Ministers goes up to 78, three short of a statutory limit of 81. By bringing in new and younger faces as well as some experienced IAS and other persons in certain states, this new group. An experienced IAS officer was put in charge of the important Railways ministry, as the railways take on modernization and technological progress. Where ministers were lacking in performance the prime minister has made the needed changes. 

The large number of new faces gives the government an opportunity to train new people before the next parliamentary elections three years from now.

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Indian prime minister Modi talks to chief ministers of all the Indian states by videoconference as he prepares for gradual reopening of the economy. A key concern- that the coronavirus should not spread to rural areas. Chief ministers were asked for their ideas on reopening. Indian railways sets up train services to take 45 million migrant workers to their home regions.

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India's prime minister Modi takes the first six months of his administration to come to grips with the problems of a slow moving bureaucracy, inexperience of ministers, problems left behind from the previous Congress party administration. He had raised hopes during the election campaign of faster action, but it now appears that it will take much longer, about 1-2 years for the new administration to make the transition to rapid growth. Analysts say this is also the approach Modi took in Gujarat state where he was chief minister, an approach of carefully studying the problems before formulating a plan of action. To do this Modi is ensuring a level of continuity in the civil service and has reappointed top civil servants such as Mr. Ajit Singh.

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The BBC's Soutik Biswas takes a look at prime minister Modi as he seeks a second term in India's general election in May 2019.  Modi's first term is marked by exceptional development schemes, efforts to provide health insurance to 500 million people who cannot afford health insurance, bringing cooking gas cylinders to hundreds of millions of Indian women especially in rural areas, efforts to jumpstart building of infrastructure projects such as airports and metro subways. A new law for GST brings together the country with one tax instead of a hodge podge of state taxes for interstate commerce, something India needed for a long time but different governments failed to implement. A failed effort to fight corruption by removing from circulation large denomination currency notes reduced economic growth briefly during the first term, though it may have accelerated the shift to formal economy needed in the long run to improve tax revenues for development needs. One of the problems for the Modi government is how do you put a value on something like Swach Bharat Mission, the achievement of the goal of defecation free India in 2019 by 100% on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, getting rural toilets up from 38% to 100%. Development had to start from the bottom up. Similarly in a country where middle men took up a lot of the transfer to poor families of government assistance- the delivery to hundreds of millions their own bank accounts.- how do you put a value on something like this, but it is essential for development from the ground up. More than missiles or other talk this has got to be the spirit of any development oriented administration in India. Ground up, big goals and rapid delivery and an apology for the difficulties that the people suffered earlier for lack of this infrastructure. For both China and India it is the same - moving quickly to make up for 100 years of colonial rule and stagnation. The Modi government has responded to rural farmer distress with support for guaranteed crop prices. As more young voters vote for the first time an important factor is how the new voters see the years ahead under either a government led by the BJP or by a patchwork of parties as the previous ruling Congress party depends on alliances with other parties with conflicting agendas or lack of rapid development agendas. The Modi government sees itself as setting the stage for the next phase of development that would change the economy through new infrastructure development and create jobs in construction and engineering, and other areas. The criticism is that not enough jobs were created in the first term. Yet bold infrastructure development targets such as transformed the Chinese economy could be the answer for job creation. The question then is who is better qualified to launch that effort based on its track record. The Congress party's main criticism is that it has to make alliances with parties that could stall development with conflicting agendas. The other is that in the the 2 years leading to the election of Mr. Modi the Congress led government of Manmohan Singh was stalled due to corruption charges, leading to a lack of decisionmaking at the highest levels, and stalled efforts for the rapid development that could deliver the kind of jobs India needs.  Young Indians would like to see growth first and foremost, only something rivalling China's transformation over 2 decades can do this. It should be kept in mind that China poured more concrete in the 21st century so far than all the concrete the United States poured in the 20th century, according to The Guardian report. The question then is who is best qualified and in a position to deliver this needed economic miracle.    ...

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BJP led by prime minister Narendra Modi wins a huge majority of 325 seats out of 405 in India's largest state Uttar Pradesh for the state assembly elections. The national opposition party Congress wins only 7 seats in what was once the main source of Congress support during the period of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. This will enable the BJP to push forward with the modernization program for infrastructure and roads, and other development. Opposition in the upper house Rajya Sabha and lack of support from states will not be a major hurdle in development now that BJP has won in states such as Orissa, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarkhand in recent state elections after its win in the 2014 national parliamentary election. This also gives credibility to the government's other efforts such as demonetisation to fight corruption in real estate and other areas. India's GDP is a fraction of China's and it is smaller than that of countries such as Indonesia, because of the poor administration and lack of development in India's 2 largest states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the northern Hindi speaking region. To double the GDP from its current level will require doubling the GDP of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Bihar's state government is run by a former BJP leader, who has also pushed for improving standards of living and economic growth.  ...

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Each year the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore convenes to bring together Asian prime ministers, defense ministers, experts and journalists to discuss issues relating to Asia such as tensions on the Korean peninsula, terrorism, nuclear proliferation. In previous years the keynote address was given by prime ministers of Japan, Singapore, Australia, Thailand. The 2018 keynote was given by prime minister Narendra Modi of India. U.S. Defense minister James Mattis in his address described the free and open approach of the U.S. in its Indo-Pacific strategy contrasting it with China's policies. In Modi's address the key pieces of the Indian approach were outlined- a free open and inclusive space "from the shores of Africa to the shores of America," that includes the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Modi called Indo-Pacific not a strategy or a exclusive club, but a principle of freedom on the world's oceans based on rules and norms, respect for international law including for overflight and navigation.    ...

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Mr. Arjun Meghwal from the reserved constituency of Bikaner in Rajasthan is appointed by prime minister Modi to be the new Law minister of India. It also ensures smoother relations between the federal government and the Judiciary.

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Vikshit Bharat 2047, Voice of Youth is launched in December 2023 by prime minister Narendra Modi. The plan is for India to be a fully developed economy by 2047.

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Just 2 weeks before president Xi's arrival in New Delhi for a G-20 Summit, Xi meets prime minister Modi at the Johannesburg BRICS summit. Modi and Xi agree on an expeditious disengagement of forces at the Line of Actual Control after Modi tells Xi that maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas and respecting the LAC is essential for a normal India China relationship.  

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The prime ministers of Australia and India at the fourth cricket Test in Ahmedabad's cricket stadium. Modi interacts with India's cricket team.

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This NYT article on India's Olympics preparations focuses on Neeraj Chopra, in javelin. In actual fact the Indian Olympics efforts is now supported by the government of prime minister Modi with his personal involvement at many levels. Funding is now provided by the government to athletes on a scale and in ways that never happened before. India;s Olympics athletes batch was personally invited to the prime minister's residence and Modi gave apep talk to the athletes including some useful advice from him and from seniro Olympians. One of the pieces of advice from Modi was to concentrate on the task at hand and not get distracted by the many things happening in Paris and the excitement of being at the first Olympics. Modi has also told athletes as he has for India's Space program to the Moon that a loss or a failure to achieve on the first try means you only try harder and learn the discipline required to achieve what you set out to do.

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The Sanjhi panel is art from Uttar Pradesh showing Krishna on the banks of the Yamuna in Gokul. This panel was a gift from prime minister Modi to president Biden at the Quad meetings in Tokyo. Art from Gond in Madhya Pradesh and Kutch art were part of the gifts to Mr. Albanese the prime minister of Australia, and Mr. Kishida the prime minister of Japan.

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Speech by European Union President von der Leyen on her visit to India and signing Major Partnership Agreement : ‘The Consequential Partnership: Reimagining and realigning EU and India ties for today's world'-   "This world is fraught with danger. But I believe this modern version of great power competition is an opportunity for Europe and India to reimagine their partnership. In many ways, the EU and India are uniquely placed to respond to this challenge together. India is the largest democracy and soon to be in the top 4 of the world's largest economies. It is the leading voice of the Global South. Europe is a unique cross-border democracy and open economy. The largest trading partner for some 80 countries around the world. But this partnership makes sense not only because of our shared values or our close ties. Or even because of our respective geographies, demographies or economies. But it is because our interests in this hyper-competitive world align more often than not. We both stand to lose from a world of spheres of influence and isolationism. And we both stand to gain from a world of cooperation and working together. Because we can offer each other distinctive alternatives and tools to make ourselves stronger, more secure and more sovereign in today's world. The kind of offer that cannot really be replicated by others. This is why the EU and India have the potential to be one of the defining partnerships of this Century. And it is why it will be a cornerstone of Europe's foreign policy in the years and decades to come. So, I want this visit to be the start of this new era. Prime Minister Modi and I share the same view. It is time to take our EU-India Strategic Partnership to the next level. For our own security and our prosperity. For the common global challenges that we face. And for the benefit of our respective regions and our partners around the world." ...

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi sends message to the BIMSTEC summit as it meets in in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is visiting Sri Lanka for the summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative countries. Modi calls for greater cooperation and free trade agreements to bring these countries together- Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, India.

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India under the leadership of prime minister Modi hosting the G20 meeting of world leaders may have for the world passed the test of the ages on November 16, 2023. On that day the G20 with China, India, (and Russia's Lavrov), and the US issued the statement saying-  "The use of threat of using nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today's era must not be of war." The words "Today's era must not be of war," were words Modi had stated repeatedly to the Russian president.  In dire situations that it can be conceived that small nuclear weapons with half the destructive capacity as Hiroshima bomb that could be put on a small missile could be used is a new threat. Hennigan in the NYT reports that as Ukrainian forces moved towards Kharkiv and other Russian held territory and were seen as a threat to Russian held Crimea, on October 23, 2023 the Russian minister of defense Sergei Shoigu, contacted the Defense ministers of US, Britain, France and Turkey about Ukrainian fighters it believed planning to launch a dirty bomb -a conventional explosive wrapped in radioactive material- on their own territory to frame Moscow. Hennigan in this NYT report says US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and Jt. Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, held 3 phone calls in 4 days during this time around October 23, 2023, with their Russian counterparts. By November 16 Indian prime minister Modi and Chinese president Xi had their discussions with the Russian president to prevent accidental nuclear escalation. ...

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Mexico's foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard is to present a peace plan for Ukraine at the UN General Assembly. The proposal is for Pope Francis, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and prime minister Narendra Modi of India, to form a dialogue and peace committee. Mexico is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Narendra Modi talked to Mr. Putin at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Council and is said to have told Putin that "this is no time for war."

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Tense moments after India's Chandrayan 2 covers 364,000 miles in space, coming close to the lunar surface at the South Pole, as close as 2.1 kilometres before losing communication with the ISRO Space Center. ISRO scientist Sivan and prime minister Modi at the Space Center.  Mr. Modi says he fully supports the space program's mission, saying the need was for continued "prayas" effort and learning from the experience. "Stay steady, look ahead," the prime minister tells ISRO scientists.

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Indian prime minister Modi attends the 125th anniversary of Founders Day at the Scindia School of Gwalior. India's Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel comes from the royal family of Gwalior which ran the princely state as part of the British Empire and founded the school. It is the most reputed boarding school for boys in India.