Sartaaj Aziz, and how Indian government should hold him back

सरताज अज़ीज़ का हार्ट ऑफ़ एशिया समिट, में सम्मलित होना एक ऐसा विषय है जो हम सबको सोचने पर मजबूर कर देता है। एक तरफ तो हमरी सरकार कहती है की हम पाकिस्तान से किसी भी प्रकार की बात चीत के पहले उसे आतंकवादी गतिविधियों पर अंकुश लगाना होग, लेकिन आज पाकिस्तानी के foriegn मिनिस्टर की मौजूदगी हमें कुछ और दर्शा रही है।

पकिस्तान ने भारत को हर बार पीठ में खंजर मारा है, भले ही अटल जी की बस यात्रा हो या फिर मोदी का शरीफ की बेटी की शादी में जाना हो। पाकिस्तान ने हमेशा ही भारत के दोस्ती के हाथ में ज़हर भरी सुई चुभाई है।

डिप्लोमेसी के नज़रिये से देखा जाए तोह यह समिट भारत का नहीं परंतु अफगानिस्तान की सरकार का कार्यक्रम है, ऐसी स्थिति में अगर भारत किसी भी देश के प्रतिनिधि को अगर वीसा नहीं देता तो क्या ये सही होता। सही और गलत का फैसला हम अभी छोड़ देते है, पर अब जब पाकिस्तानी प्रतिनिधि यहाँ आ ही गए है तो भारत को उसे उसकी सही जगह दिखाना ज़रूर चाहीये।

अब देखिये हमारे प्रधान मंत्री ने रात्रि भोज पर जाने से पहले, गोल्डन टेम्पल पहुंचे और वह पर माथा टेका, और लंगर में मौजूद लोगों को खाना भी परोसा। उनके साथ हमें अफगानिस्तान के राष्ट्रपति भी दिखाई दिए।

लेकिन यह सब करके क्या मोदी जी सरताज अज़ीज़ के मुद्दे से हमारा ध्यान हटाना चाह रहे है, या फिर वह कोई सन्देश भेजने की कोशिश कर रहे है। हमने मोदी जी के छप्पन इंच के सीने के बारे मई तोह बहुत बार सुन रखा है, ऐसे लोगो के बीच अचानक पहुंचकर शायद वह दर्शाना चाहते है की उन्हें सिक्योरिटी के लिए पहले से प्लान नहीं करना पड़ता, क्योंकि भरत की जनता ही उनका सुरक्षा कवच है।

सरताज अज़ीज़ी अगर भारत आया है, तो वो अलगाववादी संगठनो से भी ज़रूर मिलेगा, क्या भारतीय सरकार इसकी इजाज़त देगी। भारत को सरताज अज़ीज़ी को समिट के venue पर ही नज़र बंद रखना चाहिए, और एक बार सउम्मीत ख़तम होते ही उसे पकिस्तान के लिए रवाना कर देना चहिये। इस दौरान पाकिस्तानी प्रतिनिधि को मीडिया से बात चीत करने के लिए भी ज़्यादा मौके नहीं देना चहये। ऐसा करकर भारत ज़रूर एक strong signal भेजना चाहिये।

सरताज अज़ीज़ को सिर्र्फ समिट तक सीमित करके भारतीय सरकार पाकिस्तान को उसकी सही जगह भी दिखा सकता है।

अब हमें आने वाले दिनों में देखना होगा की भारत क्या रणनीति अपनाता है, और पाकिस्तानी प्रतिनिधि को आग उगलने से कैसे रोकता है। 

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Demonitisation Myths Busted - A set clarifications on Myths people are spreading

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Official Press Release on banning of 500 and 1000 Rupee Currency notes

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Economic Affairs

*******

Press Release

With a view to curbing financing of terrorism through the proceeds of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) and use of such funds for subversive activities such as espionage, smuggling of arms, drugs and other contrabands into India, and for eliminating Black Money which casts a long shadow of parallel economy on our real economy, it has been decided to cancel the legal tender character of the High Denomination bank notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 denominations issued by RBI till now.

This will take effect from the expiry of the 8th November, 2016.

2. Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in circulation in these denominations are comparatively larger as compared to those in other denominations. For a common person, the fake notes look similar to genuine notes. Use of FICN facilitates financing of terrorism and drug trafficking.

Use of high denomination notes for storage of unaccounted wealth has been evident from cash recoveries made by law enforcement agencies from time to time. High denomination notes are known to facilitate generation of black money. In this connection, it may be noted that while the total number of bank notes in circulation rose by 40% between 2011 and 2016, the increase in number of notes of Rs.500/- denomination was 76% and for Rs.1,000/- denomination was 109% during this period.

New Series bank notes of Rs.500/- and Rs.2,000/- denominations will be introduced for circulation from 10th November, 2016. Infusion of Rs.2,000/- bank notes will be monitored and regulated by RBI. Introduction of new series of banknotes which will be distinctly different from the current ones in terms of look, design, size and colour has been planned.

3. The World Bank in July, 2010 estimated the size of the shadow economy for India at 20.7% of the GDP in 1999 and rising to 23.2% in 2007. There are similar estimates made by other Indian and international agencies. A parallel shadow economy corrodes and eats into the vitals of the country’s economy. It generates inflation which adversely affects the poor and the middle classes more than others. It deprives Government of its legitimate revenues which could have been otherwise used for welfare and development activities.

4. In the last two years, the Government has taken a number of steps to curb the menace of black money in the economy including setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT); enacting a law regarding undisclosed foreign income and assets; amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Mauritius and India and Cyprus; reaching an understanding with Switzerland for getting information on Bank accounts held by Indians with HSBC; encouraging the use of non-cash and digital payments; amending the Benami Transactions Act; and implementing the Income Declaration Scheme 2016.

5. In order to implement the above decisions of the Government and keeping in view the need to minimise inconvenience to the public, the following operational guidelines have been issued:-

(i) Old High Denomination Bank Notes may be deposited by individuals/persons into their bank accounts and/or exchanged in bank branches or Issue Offices of RBI till the close of business hours on 30th December, 2016.

(ii) Old High Denomination Bank Notes of aggregate value of Rs.4,000/- only or below held by a person can be exchanged by him/her at any bank branch or Issue Office of Reserve Bank of India for any denomination of bank notes having legal tender character, provided a Requisition Slip as per format to be specified by RBI is presented with proof of identity and along with the Old High Denomination Bank Notes. Similar facilities will also be made available in Post Offices.

(iii) The limit of Rs.4,000/- for exchanging Old High Denomination Bank Notes at bank branches or at issue offices of Reserve Bank of India will be reviewed after 15 days and appropriate notification issued, as may be necessary.

(iv) There will not be any limit on the quantity or value of Old High Denomination Bank Notes to be credited to the account of the tenderer maintained with the bank, where the Old High Denomination Bank Notes are tendered. However, in accounts where compliance with extant Know Your Customer (KYC) norms is not complete, a maximum value of Rs.50,000/- of Old High Denomination Bank Notes can be deposited.

(v) The equivalent value of the Old High Denomination Bank Notes tendered can be credited to an account maintained by the tenderer at any bank in accordance with standard banking procedure and on production of valid proof of Identity.

(vi) The equivalent value of the Old High Denomination Bank Notes tendered can be credited to a third party account, provided specific authorisation therefor accorded by the said account holder is presented to the bank, following standard banking procedure and on production of valid proof of Identity of the person actually tendering.

(vii) Cash withdrawal from a bank account, over the counter will be restricted to Rs.10,000/- subject to an overall limit of Rs. 20,000/- in a week for the first fortnight, i.e., until the end of business hours on November 24, 2016.

(viii) There will be no restriction on the use of any non-cash method of operating the account which will include cheques, demand drafts, credit/debit cards, mobile wallets and electronic fund transfer mechanisms.

(ix) Withdrawal from ATMs would be restricted to Rs.2,000 per day per card up to November 18, 2016. The limit will be raised to Rs.4,000 per day per card from November 19, 2016 onwards.

(x) For those who are unable to exchange their Old High Denomination Bank Notes or deposit the same in their bank accounts on or before December 30, 2016, an opportunity will be given to them to do so at specified offices of the RBI on later dates along with necessary documentation as may be specified by the Reserve Bank of India.

(xi) Instruction is also being issued for closure of banks and Government Treasuries, on 9th November, 2016.

(xii) In addition, all ATMs, Cash Deposit Machines, Cash Recyclers and any other machine used for receipt and payment of cash will remain shut on 9th and 10th November, 2016.

(xiii) The bank branches and Government Treasuries will function from 10th November, 2016.

(xiv) To avoid inconvenience to the public for the first 72 Hours, Old High Denomination Bank Notes will continue to be accepted at Government Hospitals and pharmacies in these hospitals/Railway ticketing counters/ticket counters of Government/Public Sector Undertaking buses and airline ticketing counters at airports; for purchases at consumer co-operative societies, at milk booths, at crematoria/burial grounds, at petrol/diesel/gas stations of Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies and for arriving and departing passengers at international airports and for foreign tourists to exchange foreign currency at airports up to a specified amount.

6. The relevant Notifications are available in the website of Finance Ministry (http://finmin.nic.in/). Further details including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are available on the website of the Reserve Bank of India (https://www.rbi.org.in/)

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Is it time to change the GAME PLAN??? for Bhartiya Janta Party!!!

It is a very intersting time for the Bhartiya Janta Party and National Democratic Alliance, at the center they are enjoying a great majority, but the euphoria is dampened the moment you look at the Upper House (Rajya Sabha). In the Upper house BJP led NDA falls short of the half way mark by a great extent. But a lot is about to happen in coming months and it will define the fate of NDA in the Rajya Sabha (RS). With state elections looming in 5 states by June and more to come later, the NDA might be able to turn tables here by December of 2016.



The election commission ha already declared the dates of elections in 5 (see table below) states and the political parties have started to work overtime to please people. We saw a glimpse of it just before the India versus Pakistan world cup T20 match, the West Benagl Chief Minister, Mamta Benarjee by calling upon film stars like Amitabh Bacchchan on one hand and calling upon Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim and others on the other side. Is the facilitation of Pakistani players a stunt to lure a certain set of voters!!! Hmmmm.... that only time will tell.

S.NO.	HOUSE/STATE	FROM	TO	ASSEMBLY SEAT
1.	TAMIL NADU	23.05.2011	22.05.2016	234
2.	WEST BENGAL	30.05.2011	29.05.2016	294
3.	KERALA	01.06.2011	31.05.2016	140
4.	PUDUCHERRY	03.06.2011	02.06.2016	30
5.	ASSAM	06.06.2011	05.06.2016	126

Now coming back to BJP/NDA, recently there seems to be a change in how Mr. Modi, is giving out his election campaign speeches. Be it talking about reservations and praising Mr. Ambedkar, or stopping his speech mid-way for the azaan (the mosque call for the prayer).

Finally it seems BJP has realised that state elections are very different from central elections, it is primarily because in states people have different problems and thus seek different kinds of solutions and have a different expectation of a leader. Although every one knows that the government can not do anything with majority in Lok Sabha only, but still when it comes to state elections people forget all about the Rajya Sabha, and vote based on local issues and contingencies only.

The BJP seems to have realised this and thus it seems Mr. Modi has suddenly become sensitive of local issues. They just need to go a step further and start promoting local leaders who should be on the forefront and not the national leadership alone.

Time will only tell what is store for the BJP in the upcoming state elections, but as a nation these elections will define the way the nation will move ahead going forward.

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Around 7,00,00,000 Bihar voters to decide the next Chief Minister in 5 phases starting October 12

09-Sep-2015||InPoMo Team || The latest electoral battleground is all set and ready to go to war of votes. More then 6.68 Crore voters of Bihar would cast their votes in a election divided in 5 phases starting from the 12th of October; as announced by the Election Commission of India today.

image courtesy: PTI

The 5 phased elections would be marked with a major set of festivities along with the political drama. Noting the same the Election Commissioner Mr. Nasim Zaidi said, that election commission will ensure communal peace and harmony during the period. The festivities during the period would also witness the Chatt Pujan, along with Diwali, Moharram, Dusshera etc.

First phase would see 49 seats going to poll, wit second phase having 32 seats, third phase with 50 seats, fourth phase with 55 seats and final phase will have 57 constituencies going to polls. Out of the total 243 constituencies, the election commission has identified 47 as naxal affected and as per the election commissioner, more than adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections in all areas of the state.

Bihar is looking at a different political dynamics post the Lok Sabha elections, Bhartiya Janta Party had a great show in the state for the national elections, even after Mr. Nitish Kumar a 17 year old ally of NDA, walked out of the alliance. But the situation is very different now, the opposition seems to have left all the old issues behind and come together the behemoth called BJP. Mr. Manjhi, the ex-CM of the sate has formed his own party and has allied with the BJP, but it seems that they have issue in seat sharing arrangement with Mr. Paswan and BJP.

The political drama of bihar is all set to heat up in the coming days, where the fight seems to be between Alliance of Nitish, Lalu and Sonia (Where congress is looks like the smallest share holder) and the NDA.

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Making Indian Presence felt in the Pacific Islands Mr. Modi Announces $75 Million Credit Line to Fiji

Concluding his 10 day tour Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, addressed the special session of the Fiji Parliament and left for India. The tour is being looked at as an exercise to build stronger ties with nations which can be strategic partners in the Indian growth story.

Shri Narendra Modi arrived in Fiji, at the crack of dawn and was greeted by his Fijian counterpart Mr. Bainimarama, at the Nausori International Airport in Fiji. this is the third and final leg of Mr. Modi's 10 day long trip.

Mr. Modi, was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the airport before he went on to attend a traditional welcome ceremony at Albert's Park, near the Fijian Parliament. This is a first visit by any Indian Prime Minister to Fiji, in 33 years and it coincides with Mrs. Indira Gandhi's Birth Day, who visited Fiji in 1981.

Mr. Modi, expressed his intent to help Fiji, to make it "Digital Fiji", the Prime Minister announced, Visa on arrival for tourists from Fiji. This came along with announcements of a $75 Million, credit line to Fiji. Pacts were also signed to increase Security and Military co-operation between the two countries. Discussion regarding co-generation of power and up-gradation of Sugar industry in Fiji were also held, India has announced a fund of US$5 million, towards betterment of villages in the island nation.

Mr. Modi, went on to call Fiji as a strong voice in the region and also amongst the developing world. India has offered assistance to Fiji, in the field of defence training and other aspects, to better equip the island nation.

Mr. Bainimarama, also congratulated India on the Mars Mission, and went on to say that they are looking for to Indian support and co-operation for the development of Fiji in future. He also invited the Indian film industry to come forward and shoot Bollywood movies in the region. He also added that Fiji is looking forward to increasing co-operation in the field of renewable energy.

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Fiji Opposition Party Boycotts Modi Speech at Fiji Parliament....

In a shocking turn of events in Fiji, where Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi addressed a special session at the Fiji Parliament, the main opposition party Social Democratic Liberal Party boycotted the event as they were upset since they came to know that there leader Ms. Ro Tiemumu Kepais, is not being mentioned in the thank you note at the end of the event.

Fiji Prime Minister Mr. Voreqe Bainimarama, apologised for the step taken by the opposition Party and called it "inexcusable behaviour"

The other opposition party National Federation Party, although is an ally to Ms. Tiemumu's party did not support the move to boycott the special parliamentary session being held on Wednesday at the Fiji Parliament.

The Fijian premier further went on to say that, "(boycott by opposition is an) insult to the people of Ba town and Fijians."

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Congress runs out of Tricks.... Decides to boycott the Prime Minister

Image Courtesy: Link

It seems business is not running as usual for the Congress party at least; after losing to BJP in the national elections; Congress seems to have run out of tricks in their bag of political wits. All along they have tried to mock the BJP led NDA's "acche din aane waale hai" "Good days are about to come" slogan, coined by Mr. Modi, who is now the Prime Minister. The tricks have led to further deterioration in Congress's position it seems, Congress tried to cement themselves, when finally Mr. Rahul Gandhi woke up in the parliament and created disruptions without any concrete reasons. They even tried playing the communal card against the BJP, but all in vain.

They finally understood that nothing much can be done, at least for now and they will have to bite the bullet and stay silent for a while. Mr. Modi's speech on 15th of August, came as a further blow and a few Congress veterans also praised the same, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, posted on his website that, "I have been saying that making India open defecation free should be a national junoon, a national obsession. When I was Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, we had launched the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan and now Mr. Modi is taking that forward with his Swachh Bharat Mission"

Finally it seems Congress has found a way to avoid the Prime Minister in public at large, after the incident in Haryana where Mr. Modi and Mr. Hooda (CM of Haryana) were sharing the dais, the public that was cheering for Mr. Modi wooed Mr. Hooda and the same was taken very well by the Congress Party, instead of doing an analysis of why such a thing took place they decided to boycott Mr. Modi during state functions, by asking Congress Chief Ministers not to share dais with Mr. Narendra Modi.


Congress seems to have forgotten that, Mr. Modi is not a mere Politician but the representative of 1/6th population of the world, that he has been elected  by a democratic process and not by force or anything. By boycotting the Prime Minister isn't the Congress sidelining the democratic process that was mainly constituted by the founders of the Congress itself. The congress party needs to understand that as a nation to grow all states need to work in unison and not in seclusion.

Here it seems like a repeat of the history at the end of Congress, when NDA came into power under Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he started a program where all state CM's were to meet on a common forum and discuss the growth agenda for the nation. I remember reading about the same and a lot of Congress chief ministers also welcomed the idea, but after the first meeting Congress CM's were instructed not to attend any such forum held by the than Prime Minister Mr. A B Vajpayee. A Congress CM was quoted in the a prominent current affairs magazine on condition of anonymity that, "Madam Ji has instructed us not to attend the meetings any more"

It seems that the Congress party does not want India to come out of the loop of Political Agendas which only revolve around Roti, Kapda aur Makan (Food, Clothing and housing); as people of the nation we need to analyse what is happening and what is right or wrong, it is us the people of the nation who can bring about the change, a few steps in the right direction can result in tremendous growth. As people we need to ask our politicians to give up on party based differences and work towards a common goal of a developed India, a India which will shine bright, India whose future generations will be free from the tag of a developing nation and an India which will be united at every front when it comes to national integration....

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The Bihar Saga... The quest of power can brings together the all time rivals Lalu and Nitish in Bihar...

                                                                 Image Courtsey HTMedia

The story of Bihar began with Nitish Kumar's ambitions of being the Prime Minister wannabe, which he has laughed off more often than not. Nitish Kumar came out in the open when the voices to name Narendra Modi (Current PM) as the prime ministerial candidate started gaining momentum, what unfolded next was a slew of attacks on Mr. Modi and his brand of politics. Nitish Kumar always considered Bihar as his strong hold, just like Mayawati thought about Uttar Pradesh. But the story of what happened in the elections is out there for everyone to see and believe and the biggest beneficiary in the process came out to be Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan.

But this article is not about what happened and why it happened, but about what does Bihar have in store next, the political scenario of Bihar has undergone a tremendous change, once storng Janta Dal (United) headed by Mr. Nitish Kumar, was seen lost in the Modi wave that had engulfed the nation. Something changed all of a sudden and Mr. Kumar realised that he is at the verge of losing his strong hold if corrective measures are not taken. A lot of drama followed regarding him resigning etc.

But now it seems Mr. Kumar, seems to have found solace in the lap of his elder brother Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav, this is the same person against whom Mr. Kumar united with BJP (Bhartiya Janta Party) with the agenda of ending the Jungle Raj, that was prevalent under Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav's rule. But when hit hard by reality both of them have realised that if they want to survive the onslaught of BJP, they have to come upfront and stop cutting into each-others vote bank. The Congress has also decided to stick to both of them as they do not have a strong face in Bihar anyhow. The real strength of the alliance between JDU and RJD, is going to be put to test soon in the by-elections, to held for the 10 seats in the state on the 21st of August.

The shift from bitter rivalry to the sweet friendship, the overall theme of the alliance seems to be one dimensional, that of defending their ground against the BJP. Mr. Kumar and Mr. Yadav also have doled out the same advice to Ku. Mayawati and Shri Mulayam Singh, to unite against BJP in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The overall scenario seems to be one where the third front seems to be aligning with the Congress party in order to fight against the BJP bandwagon across the country, whereby all the non NDA parties seem to be clubbing together, in a hope to form a formidable face against the BJP led NDA.

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India - Bhutan, ties set to conquer new heights...

India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, chose to visit Bhutan as the first nation after becoming the Prime Minister. The visit is very important for India's foreign policy which has suffered a policy paralysis and things have become pretty stagnant in the past.

Mr. Modi seems to have understood the need of strengthening ties with it's neighbours before it moves on further away from his borders to enhance ties. Bhutan has been a strategic partner of India for long and has always stood alongside India whenever need be. Mr. Modi have defined the relations as B2B -> Bharat to Bhutan.

During the visit Mr. Modi addressed the Bhutan Parliaments combined session, he also met with the King of Bhutan, who inturn have assured the PM that action wil be taken in order to sweep out any anti-India camps that might be operating on Bhutan soil. During the visit Mr. Modi also inaugurated the Bhutan Supreme Court which has been funded by the Indian Government. Mr. Modi has made a lot many commitments towards Bhutan during the visit to increase Indian influence on Bhutan, which is being wooed by China as well. It may be noted that the Bhutan arny is being trained  at the Indian Military Training Camp, in Bhutan which was setup by the Indian Army and is still operating in full force.

During his address to the combined session in the Bhutan Parliament, Mr. Modi also emphasised on the need of a stronger India, and how it will help the SAARC nations to grow further. Mr. Modi said that a stronger India would bring prosperity to the region.

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Modi at Sea, Presents INS Vikramaditya to the nation...

In his first visit outside Delhi, after being sworn in as the Prime Minister of India. Mr. Modi, was welcomed by slogans that he would have commonly heard during his election rallies and party meeting, by naval officers in Goa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the 44,500 tonnes Aircraft carrier to the nation and went through the complete detailing of the ship, He gave a crisp salute to the steam past, amid heavy downpour and saw 10 naval ships showcasing India's naval prowess during the program. The Naval personnel chanted slogans like "INS Vikramaditya ki Jai", "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Narendra Modi ki Jai".

The ship would be equipped with modified MIG 29's along with Sea Harriers (Rescue and search aircraft), Dornier Aircraft and Sea King Helicopters.

The acquisition of INS Vikramaditya was finalised during the previous NDA government, headed by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The carrier was commissioned in Russia last November, Mr. Modi congratulated the officers and seaman on the occasion.

Mr. Modi was accompanied by Goa Chief minister and head of naval staff during the ceremony.

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Modi seems to be stuck on Hindi...

As per sources in the foreign office, Mr. Modi has decided to use Hindi as the language of communication from his side. This has called for the use of an interpreter, in all the talks. Although Mr. Modi is pretty conversant in English, he has chosen to use the services of the interpreter in all his meeting, apart from the leaders who were able to speak in Urdu/Hindi.

It seems that Mr. Modi is poised to bring the glory of Hindi, that it truly deserves. Mr. Modi is not the first person to use Hindi as the official language of conversation, even in the past leaders from our country have used Hindi whenever  the language of communication from the other side has not been English or Hindi.

Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also made it a point to use Hindi as the language of communication at all the international forums. In the past a lot of leaders have used Hindi, but have always resorted to the use of English during Bi-lateral talks.

Mr. Modi, would the first Prime Minister of India to use Hindi at all forums. The practice would not be unique to Indian PM, most of the international leaders prefer to use their mother tongue at all times during conversation and use the services of an interpreter.

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Narendra Modi's 10 Point agenda for the Cabinet

 

Four days in and the new government in Delhi has already started working overtime. Media has already covered news about, strict office timing mandates being driven by Mr. Modi. Yesterday Mr. Modi met with his cabinet to set in place the core guidlelines for the functioning of the government.

Narendra Modi realises the importance of empowering the bureaucracy and thus the first point on the list is about building confidence of the civil servants. Bureaucrats due to issues like lack of confidence and excessive interference, are vary of taking tough decisions; which has resulted in paralysing the system.

The other agenda on the list is about infrastructure, and it is the most important aspect as it directly co-relates to growth of the nation. Just like a corporate organisation, Mr. Modi has also directed all the ministers to work hand in hand and solve inter ministry issues. The economy is also in need of a major boost.

Graphic Source: Economic Times

A lot of things have been laid down, like e-tendering, transparency, infrastructure reforms etc., what needs to be seen is where does all this take the new government.

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The Black Money Trail, Governments Attempt to trace it...

The government of India today announced setting up of a Special Investigation Team, to look into the trail of Black Money that is parked outside India. The Supreme Court, had asked the government to setup a SIT invetigate into the Black Money, based on the writ petition filed by the former Law Minister and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani in July, 2011.

                                                                              Graphic CourtseyThe Hindu

The government has setup a  high profile SIT team is being headed by retired Supreme Court Judge M.B. Shah, and Arijit Pasayat as vice-chairman. The other members of the team include Secretary revenue, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, director of the Intelligence Bureau, director of the Enforcement Directorate, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Based on the graphic below that has been circulated widely on the internet as being published by Wikileaks (as per internet sources), the total money stashed in the Swiss bank accounts only for the selected few accounts amounts to a whopping 313.45 billion dollars, if we peg the Indian Rupee at Rs. 50 per Dollar.



If we are able to bring back even a part of this money back, it would do wonders for the Indian economy, the current dollar reserves of India stand at $287.18 billion. The government if is able to trace the source and provide a route to bring it back it would mean a lot for the development of India. As per our understanding, the following routes can be used to bring this money back:

1. Ask the Swiss Government to hand over the money to Indian Government: This route seems to be impossible as Swiss banks have got very stringent security and privacy policies.

2. Create a scheme to offer the offenders to pay a tax amount and retain the remaining money as white money, this will not only help the system in terms of extra tax revenue. The money converted as white money would be invested back in the markets either in the form of industries or share markets, which will inturn result in better liquidity and help the country grow.

The overall scenario in terms of the black money is very vague and we need to look at how the SIT and the government goes about it.

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New Ministers Take Charge; What is Next on the Agenda!!!

The power equations have changed in the heart if India. The new governments has come with a lot of promises that needs to be fulfilled, the overall agenda that needs to be taken care of is much larger than one can imagine. The only worry that we should have is of over expectations, systems are tough to change and overhaul when we talk of the largest democracy in the world.

The new government is being headed by Shri Narendra Modi, a lot has been said before the elections and Mr. Modi had picked up issues that others had avoided in the past for his campaign. The people have also responded and given him a clear mandate; while discussing with a few people involved in political circles, I have heard people saying that if Bhartiya Janta Party would have fielded more candidates it would have easily crossed the 300 mark, but now all that is a thing of past, what we need to look at is what next??

The ministers who took office yesterday, The ministers made the following comments:

 

Everything said and done PM has taken oath of office, in a grand celebration of Democracy which was attended by all the neighboring country heads. The grand affair at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, was followed up next day by ministers taking charge of their respective offices and the Prime Minister met with all the country heads right from Hamid Karzai to Nawaz Sharif.

Although BJP has got majority on it's own, but still it's allies seem to be unhappy with whatever they have got, one of it's oldest allies Shiv Sena, seems to be unhappy with what they have got (Heavy Industries Ministry), Anant Geete with minister in question did not take office on the day and the matter came out in the open, it seems that BJP has assured them of more and the minister took charge of office today.

Let us see what the new government has in store, the step that BJP has taken towards Black money is a positive step, article for the same coming soon.

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Complete List of Cabinet Ministers with Portfolios

The exhaustive list of ministers who took oath along with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Bhai Modi: (Some Portofolios to be updated soon)

1. Rajnath Singh - Home Ministry
2. Sushma Swaraj - Ministry of External Affairs
3. Arun Jaitley - Finance and Defence 
4. Venkaiah Naidu - Urban Development Minister
5. Nitin Gadkari - Surface Transport Minister & Shipping Minister
6. D.V. Sadanand Gowda - Railway Minister
7. Uma Bharati - 
8. Najma Heptullah - Ministry of Minorities
9. Gopinath Munde -
10. Ramvilas Paswan - Food and Civil Supplies Ministry
11. Kalraj Mishra - 
12. Maneka Gandhi - Women and Child Development Minister
13. Ananth Kumar - Parliamentary Affairs Minister
14. Pasupati Ashok Gajapati Raju - 
15. Anant Geete - 
16. Harsimrat Kaur Badal - 
17. Narendra Singh Tomar - 
18. Ravi Shankar Prasad - Telecom Minister & Law & Justice Minister
19. Jaul Oram - 
20. Radha Mohan Singh - Agriculture Minister
21. Thawar Chand Gehlot - 
22. Smriti Irani - Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister
23. Dr. Harsh Vardhan - 

Ministers of State

1. Gen Vijay Kumar Singh (Ex-Army chief VK Singh) - Minister of State - Independent Charge
2. Rao Inderjit Singh - Minister of State - Independent Charge
3. Santosh Gangwar - Minister of State - Independent Charge
4. Shripad Naik - Minister of State - Independent Charge
5. Dharmendra Pradhan - Minister of State - Independent Charge
6. Sarbananda Sonowal - Minister of State - Independent Charge
7. Prakash Javadekar - MoS - Information & Broadcasting (I&B) & Environment
8. Piyush Goel - MoS Power
9. Jitendra Singh - Minister of State - Independent Charge
10. Nirmala Seetharaman - MoS for Commerce
11. G.M Siddeshwara - Minister of State 
12. Manoj Sinha - Minister of State  
13. Upendra Kushwaha - Minister of State 
14. Pon Radhakrishnan - Minister of State 
15. Kiren Rijiju - Minister of State 
16. Krishnan Pal Gurjar - Minister of State 
17. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan - Minister of State 
18. Mansukhbhai Vasava - Minister of State 
19. Raosaheb Dadarao Danve - Minister of State 
20. Vishnu Dev Sai - Minister of State 
21. Sudarshan Bhagat - Minister of State 

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Narendra Modi's Journey from Vadnagar to 7RCR

September, 17th 1950: Birth of a legend:

Narendra Modi is born in Vadnagar a small settlement around 100Kms from Gujarat, in a not very well to do family.

Mid 1950's  to 1960's: Years of his youth:

Spends his youth studying in Vadnagar and Ahmedbad, also works as tea seller at a small canteen during the duration to make ends meet.

1969: Marriage and RSS:

Although already active in RSS, marries Jashodaben under pressure from the family, but leaves her and starts living in RS headquarter in Maninagar, Ahmedabad.

1987: Enters BJP:

BJP wins the civic body polls, Modi joins BJP and is made the General secretary of the Gujarat unit.

1990: The Rath Yatra:

Becomes a close aid of Shri Lal Krishna Advani, and plays a big role in the Somnath - Ayodhya Rath Yatra.

1995 - 1998: The Gujarat BJP split and regain of power:

Shankersingh Vaghela rebels and splits BJP six months after wining Gujarat polls in 1995, BJP regains power in 1998 polls and Modi is made the Oraganising Secretary.

2001: Earthquakes aftermath:

Keshubhai resigns after the earthquakes and Narendra Modi is made the Chief Minister of Gujarat. (Arun Jaitely and Advani seems to have played key role in the posting)

2002: The Riots and Massacres:

After a train with pligrims is burnt in Godhra, Gujarat sees the worst ever riots ever to hit the state more than 100 people die in the communal polls. Mr. Modi is backed by Advani and is stopped from resigning. BJP wins with a thumping majority in the elections held in December.

2005: The US Visa:

USA denies Visa to Modi, for spreadin unrest in the state on communal grounds.

2007: Gujarat in the Bag:

BJP comes to power again under the leadership of Mr. Modi.

2008: Tata's come to Gujarat:
Tata Motors agrees to relocate Nano Plant from Singur, West Bengal to Gujarat.

2009 to 2011: The SIT Saga:
Supreme Court asks SIT to investigate based on the complaint based on Zakia Jafery, Amit shah is arrested in 2010. Modi gets a clean chit from SIT and begins Sadbhavana Fast.

2012: UK ends Boycott:
UK followed by EU ends ban on Modi. Modi wins Gujarat polls again.

2013: General Secretary to BJP PM nominee:
Appointed as campaign committee chief for the BJP in June of 2013. Nitish Kumar pulls out of 17 year long alliance in NDA. Mr. Modi is announced as the PM nominee on the 13th September, 2013.

16th May 2014: Lead BJP to thumping Vcitory:
BJP attains complete majority under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi.

26th May 2014: The Pinnacle for any politician:

Shri Narendra Bhai Modi, a common man with a humble background becomes the Prime Minister of the biggest democracy in the World and shows the world that in a Democracy, it's all about the people.....

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Tweets by PM Designate in last 24hrs.

On my way to Atal ji's residence to seek his blessings.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2014

This is a step towards Smart Governance & will give us added strength to fulfil aspirations of the people http://t.co/4FRuKRF9Y1

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

Various Assembled Ministries will be transformed into Organic Ministries for quicker pace of work & better coordination between departments.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

Keeping our commitment to 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' we have made an unprecedented & positive change in Ministry formation.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

I welcome the step by Sri Lanka & Pakistan to release our fishermen. I welcome our fishermen brothers back home!

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

Great having leaders from SAARC nations & Mauritius join us during the ceremony. Their presence will make the occasion more memorable.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

Tomorrow, will begin the day by visiting Raj Ghat & paying my respects to Pujya Bapu.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

Was very happy to read this. Congrats to our youngsters. They make us truly proud http://t.co/BVQYosvl2c

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014

Congratulations to Shri T R Zeliang on taking oath as Nagaland CM. My best wishes & support in Nagaland's development journey.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 24, 2014

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Special Prayers in Varanasi ahead of Swearing in ceremony

Special prayers held for Narendra Modi in Varanasi pic.twitter.com/xcYXmW9J3K
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 26, 2014

Varanasi has been upbeat since the day results came and Mr. Modi has promised to make Varanasi the world capital of Spritual activities. People in Varanasi have begin prayers since early morning in the run-up to the swearing in ceremony of Shri Narendra Modi....

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Narendra Modi begins his day with a visit to Rajghat and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

63 year, old PM designate Shri Narendra Modi started his most important day by visiting the Rajghat today admist tight security. Clad in white dress Mr. Modi along with several BJP leaders reached Rajghat around 8am and paid homage to Mahtma Gandhi and observed silence.

On my way to Atal ji's residence to seek his blessings.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2014

The next stop for Mr. Modi after Rajghat was the residence of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

PM-Designate Narendra Modi leaves from Atal Behari Vajpayee's residence pic.twitter.com/e6IHiEvy63
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 26, 2014

The day is going to abuzz and Delhiets are going to see some unprecedented security all around, representatives from all SAARC nations along with Malaysia are going to be in attendance for the grand affair, with a guest list that includes celebrities like Amitabh Bacchan, Rajnikant and business tycoons like Shri Ratan Tata.

Everyone is also closely watching the announcement of the Cabinet and there has been a lot of speculations that are doing rounds, about who will get what. As per sources the list of cabinet ministers would only be around 18-20, and around 30-35 MoS level ministers would be sworn in today.

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