PM Modi and President Murmu pay tribute to Jallianwala Bagh massacre victims

Calling it a "coincidence", the Prime Minister said that the Congress party is weakening in India adding that Pakistan leaders are offering "dua" (prayers) for the party to return to power.

"The weak Congress government used to give dossiers to the masters of terror. But, Modi's strong government kills terrorists on their ground. It is a coincidence, today Congress is getting weaker in India and when here Congress is dying and there Pakistan is crying. Now Pakistani leaders are offering dua for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make 'Shehzaada' the Prime Minister and Congress is already Pakistan's fan. This partnership between Pakistan and Congress has now been completely exposed," PM Modi said while addressing an election rally in Gujarat's Anand on Thursday.

The Prime Minister accused the Congress of lying while calling itself "Mohabbat ka dhukan" (shop of love) and alleged that the latter has become a "factory of fake goods".

"People are asking why the Congress is so agitated. Today Congress has become a fake factory i.e. a factory of fake goods. Why is Congress selling lies by calling itself Mohabbat ka Dhukan?," he said.

Refering to the UPA rule as 'shaasankaal' (reign) and the current NDA rule as 'sevakaal' (service period), PM Modi accused Congress of trying to divide the country.

"These days, the 'shehzaade' of Congress are dancing keeping the Constitution on their heads. But, Congress should answer me why the Constitution, which you are dancing with on your forehead today, was not implemented in all parts of India for 75 years. Today Modi is realising Sardar Saheb's dream of uniting the country. Whereas Congress is busy dividing the country, Congress wants to create fights in society. Because of Congress, there were various kinds of tamperings with the Constitution of the country for decades," he said.

"The country has seen the rule of Congress for 60 years. Now the country has also seen 10 years of service of BJP. That was the reign, this is the service period," PM Modi added.

The Prime Minister further highlighted the initiatives undertaken during the last years of NDA rule and said, "During 60 years of Congress rule, around 60 per cent of the rural population did not have toilets. In 10 years, the BJP government built 100 per cent toilets. In 60 years, Congress was able to provide tap water facilities to only 3 crore rural households in the country, that is, to less than 20 per cent of the households. In just 10 years, the number of houses with tap water has reached 14 crore, that is, 75 per cent of the houses have tap water."

"In 60 years, Congress nationalised the banks, took over the banks and said that banks should be for the poor. Despite nationalizing the banks in the name of the poor, the Congress government could not open bank accounts for crores of poor people in 60 years. Modi opened more than 50 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts in 10 years," PM Modi said.

Voting for 25 out of 26 seats in Gujarat will take place in the third phase of the ongoing general elections on May 7.

Voting will not take place in Surat as Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed last week after Congress' Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected while other candidates withdrew from the contest. The results will be announced on June 4.

(ANI)

India has emerged as world's fastest growing major economy fuelled by Government expenditure on big-ticket infrastructure projects like highways, railways, power plants and seaports. This has had a multiplier effect in creating more jobs and incomes that have led to an increased domestic demand for goods and services.

The HSBC final India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, was recorded at 58.8 in April which is a wee bit lower than the 16-year high of 59.1 for March. The index has now been reflecting a rising trend for 34 consecutive months.

"April's manufacturing PMI recorded the second fastest improvement in operating conditions in three-and-a-half years, bolstered by strong demand conditions," said Pranjul Bhandari, HSBC's chief India economist.

Business optimism improved as firms expected demand to remain buoyant and planned for higher production volumes in the next 12 months, which led to hiring more workers during the month. The survey states that increased demand by firms also led to an increase in raw material costs and wages.

"However, firms passed these increases onto consumers through higher output charges, as demand remained resilient, resulting in improved margins," Bhandari added.

IMF's World Economic Outlook report released last month has raised India's growth forecast by 0.3 percentage point to 6.8 per cent for 2024-25 and sees the country as a bright spot "supporting global growth over the medium term and spill over to other countries."

With China having fallen behind after the crash in its real estate sector and US sanctions triggering an economic slowdown, the IMF report views India and other G20 large emerging market countries such as Brazil playing a bigger role in the global trading system and pushing global growth going ahead.

The IMF report also vindicates India's economic policy as it attributes the robust growth rate to a "strong domestic demand" which has been created by a huge increase in Government expenditure on large infrastructure projects with a revival in rural demand.

Stepped-up allocations for agriculture, rural employment schemes such as MNREGA and special programmes for women self-help groups have helped to bolster rural demand and create a larger market for industrial products.

(IANS)

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Now, groups belonging to a WhatsApp Community can create events, making it easier to come together in person and online.

He also announced that members can now reply to admin announcements in Community Announcement groups, so that admins can get feedback from members.

Zuckerberg announced the new features on his WhatsApp Channel, saying "If you're in a WhatsApp Community, you can now create events in your groups and reply to admin announcements."

"Over the next few months more groups will be able to create events," he added.

With events, users can now easily plan their get togethers directly in WhatsApp, whether it’s setting up a virtual meeting or birthday dinner. Anyone can create an event and others can respond so the whole group knows who is coming.

Events are coming to groups that belong to a Community first, and will roll out to all groups over the coming months, the company said.

Moreover, the company said adding replies to Announcement Groups will allow admins hear from their members while "keeping these groups an easy place to catch up on what’s happening in your Community".

Replies are grouped together and minimised so users can see what others have said in context, and notifications are muted for everyone.

Over the next few months, the tech giant will keep rolling out new features to Communities and groups so people have more tools to keep their lives organised on WhatsApp.

(IANS)

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