Narendra Modi - The African Mirror

Jan

2021

Modi says India self-reliant on COVID-19 vaccines as 1 mln inoculated

KRISHNA N. DAS PRIME Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday India was completely self-reliant on coronavirus vaccine supplies as the world's second-most populous country inoculated more than one million people within a week of starting a massive campaign. On Saturday, India began what the government calls the world's biggest vaccination programme, using two shots made locally: one licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc , and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research. "Our preparation has been such that vaccine is fast reaching every corner of the country," Modi said…

Dec

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

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…

Dec

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…

Sep

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 -…