Narendra Modi - The African Mirror

Jun

26

2023

Egypt and India bolster ties as Modi makes first trip to Cairo

NEWS

EGYPT and India discussed strengthening ties in areas including trade, food security and defence during a state visit to Cairo by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two countries said. On his first trip to Egypt, Modi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egyptian ministers appointed to an "India unit" after a state visit by Sisi to India in January during which a "strategic partnership" was announced. Both sides said talks on Sunday covered areas including trade and investment, renewable energy, information technology and pharmaceuticals. "Prime Minister (Modi) and President Sisi also discussed further cooperation in G-20, highlighting the…

Jun

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Indian PM Modi meets tech CEOs as Washington visit concludes

WORLD

STEVE HOLLAND and SIMON LEWIS INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with U.S. and Indian technology CEOs in Washington, the final day of a state visit marked by pledges of deeper U.S.-India cooperation on areas including space, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for Modi on Thursday, declaring after about 2 -1/2 hours of talks that their countries' economic relationship was "booming." Trade has more than doubled over the past decade. Biden and Modi gathered with CEOs including Apple's Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella. Also present were Sam Altman of OpenAI, NASA astronaut Sunita…

Jun

19

2023

By The African Mirror

India’s Modi seeks African Union’s full membership in G20

NEWS

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to the leaders of the G20 nations proposing the African Union be given full, permanent membership of the diplomatic group at its upcoming summit in India, an official source said. Modi's proposal to grant the African Union full membership in the G20 demonstrates India's commitment to strengthening Africa's representation and partnership in shaping global affairs, the source said. The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The members represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of…

Mar

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Indian court orders Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail for Modi comment

WORLD

SUMIT KHANNA and ARPAN CHATURVEDI A lower court in India sentenced opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail on charges of defamation for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. Gandhi will appeal against the order in a higher court, but any jailing for him or his disqualification from parliament would be a blow to his Congress party ahead of the 2024 general election, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is widely expected to win. The judgment was passed by a magistrate's court in the city of Surat, located in Modi's…

Feb

15

2023

By The African Mirror

India tax officers search BBC offices weeks after critical Modi documentary

WORLD

KRISHNA N. DAS and KYLIE MACLELLAN INDIAN tax officers searched the BBC's bureaus in New Delhi and Mumbai, the British broadcaster said, weeks after the government banned as propaganda a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role in the 2002 riots. The documentary focused on the Hindu nationalist politician's leadership as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat during the riots in which at least 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims, though activists put the toll at more than twice that number. The government last month dismissed the documentary, "India: The Modi Question", as propaganda and blocked its streaming…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

India blocks BBC documentary on Modi from airing in India

WORLD

INDIA has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary which questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that even sharing of any clips via social media is barred. Directions to block the clips from being shared have been issued using emergency powers available to the government under the country's information technology rules, said Kanchan Gupta, an adviser to the government, on his Twitter handle on Saturday. While the BBC has not aired the documentary in India, the video was uploaded on some YouTube channels, Gupta said. The government has issued orders to Twitter to block…

Sep

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Modi pledges to use India vaccine-production capacity to help ‘all humanity’

WORLD

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged at the United Nations that his country's vaccine production capacity would be made available globally to fight the COVID-19 crisis. "As the largest vaccine-producing country of the world, I want to give one more assurance to the global community today," Modi said in a pre-recorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly. "India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis." Modi said India was moving ahead with Phase 3 clinical trials - the large-scale trials considered the gold standard for determining safety and efficacy -…

Dec

05

2020

By The African Mirror

India’s multi-billion-dollar food programme is at the heart of farmers’ protests

WORLD

MAYANK BHARDWAJ THOUSANDS of Indian farmers angered by farm laws that they say threaten their livelihoods have intensified their protests by blocking highways and camping out on the outskirts of the capital Delhi. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of protesting farmers' unions have held several rounds of talks but have not made any progress in breaking the deadlock over the set of laws passed by parliament in September. Although various farmer unions have supported the protest, the agitation is largely led by the growers of relatively well-off states of Punjab and Haryana in India's north. Every…

Dec

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Second Indian state steps closer to enacting ‘Love Jihad’ law

RELIGION

SAURABH SHARMA LAWMAKERS in a central Indian state-controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party approved legislation on Tuesday that would make pressuring a woman to convert to their husband's religion a crime punishable with imprisonment. Although no religion is specified in the legislation, critics say it is aimed against the country's Muslim minority. Hardline Hindu groups have accused Muslim men of waging a campaign, dubbed a "Love Jihad", to lure Hindu women to Islam with promises of marriage. The Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 will be enacted in Madhya Pradesh once it receives approval from the state's governor,…

Dec

09

2020

By The African Mirror

Farmers protest across India against Modi’s liberalisation

WORLD

MANOJ KUMAR and RAJENDRA JADHAV FARMERS’ protests against new laws liberalising agricultural markets spread across India on Tuesday, as farm organisations called for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. In eastern and western states, farmers blocked roads and squatted on railway tracks, delaying hordes of people getting to work, and preventing perishable produce from reaching markets. Farmers from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, neighbouring New Delhi, have been at the vanguard of the agitation since last month, and have set up protest camps in and around the capital. "We will not allow…