New union ministers to take out 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra' from Monday

by Argus News

New Delhi, Aug 15: The newly inducted ministers of the union cabinet will seek blessings from people during 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra' starting from Monday.

The BJP has planned this yatra to tell people how opposition parties specially the Congress has not allowed Prime Minister Narednra Modi to introduce these ministers, who came from ordinary background, in the both houses of the parliament on the first day of monsoon session.

During last month's reshuffle of the union cabinet, for the first time a maximum of 11 women, 27 OBCs, 20 Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe leaders were made ministers.

Sources said that the saffron party has planned to reach out to SC, ST and OBC voters as majority of ministers in the Modi government are from these communities. A senior party functionary said, "After introducing themselves among 'Janta' and seeking their blessings, they will also explain to people about the mentality of the opposition parties against the poor and downtrodden, which was in full display when they (opposition) did not allow the Prime Minister to introduce his new ministers in parliament."

BJP national general secretary and convenor of 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra' Tarun Chugh said, "All the 39 newly inducted ministers in the union council of ministers will take people's blessings in three days 'Jan Ashirvad Yatra' in 19 states. Together, all 39 ministers will cover 19,567 kilometers, 212 Lok Sabha constituencies and 265 districts of the country."

"The newly-appointed 39 ministers will reach their Lok Sabha constituency after traveling to three Lok Sabha and four districts of their home state, before reaching their own constituency," Chugh had said.

According to party sources, during Yatra 1,663 programmes will be held which include visits to places of religious importance, addressing the public, overseeing the implementation of centrally sponsored programmes and vaccination centres.

A party insider said that this yatra will also set the party preparation in motion in poll bound - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa and for matter of fact maximum new ministers are from Uttar Pradesh.

The yatra will cover more than 3,500 kilometres, touching 120 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

While the seven new union ministers from UP will lead these yatras, all lawmakers and local representatives will join in, as and when these yatras pass through their respective areas.

The seven new faces from UP in the Modi ministry include six BJP MPs and one from the Apna Dal (Sonelal), a BJP ally.

The move comes ahead of the campaign blitzkrieg that the ruling BJP plans to launch in UP.

UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev said the party's state general secretary and member of legislative council (MLC) Govind Narayan Shukla has been made in-charge of these yatras that would cover several religious cities, including Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi (Varanasi) and Chitrakoot.

According to the party sources, B.L. Verma, minister of state for Development of North-eastern Region and Cooperation, will lead one of the seven yatras, from Vrindavan, Mathura on August 16.

Verma is the protege of former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh.

Another yatra led by union minister of state for law and justice, S.P. Singh Baghel, will begin from Firozabad and conclude in Mathura.

On August 17, union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises Bhanu Pratap Verma will start the yatra from Lalitpur and reach Fatehpur on August 19 via Jhansi, Mahoba, Banda. The yatra will end in Chitrakoot.

Kaushal Kishore, the Mohanlalganj MP who is the union minister of state for housing and urban affairs, will arrive in Lucknow on August 16 and start the yatra the same day.

Union minister of state for home affairs Ajay Mishra, too, will arrive in Lucknow on August 16 and start his yatra from Sandila, Hardoi the same day.

BJP ally and Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel, who is the union minister of state for commerce and industry, will start the yatra from Prayagraj on August 18 and it will end on August 19 in Mirzapur, her Lok Sabha constituency.

Union minister of state for finance, Pankaj Choudhary, will start the yatra on August 16 from Basti via Barabanki, Siddharth Nagar and Ayodhya.

Prime Minister Modi had also attacked the opposition for not allowing the introduction of ministers. Expressing anguish over the conduct of the opposition leaders, Modi questioned their mentality behind their behaviour of not allowing him to introduce women, Dalit and ST MPs who have been made ministers.

(IANS)

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Navy Day 2023: Defence Chiefs Lay Wreaths At War Memorial In Solemn Ceremony

by Manisha Das

New Delhi, Dec 2: In a solemn ceremony ahead of Navy Day, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar paid their respects at the National War Memorial. The top military brass laid wreaths in a gesture of remembrance, honouring the sacrifices of our brave soldiers.

The Indian Navy celebrates Navy Day on December 4 to commemorate "Operation Trident," the Navy's audacious attack on Karachi harbour during the 1971 War. This year the Indian Navy marks the day with an Operational Demonstration at the Sindhudurg Fort in Maharashtra on December 4.

"The Indian Navy will display its operational prowess and capabilities through an 'Operational Demonstration' covering a spectrum of naval operations by ships and aircraft at the iconic Sindhudurg Fort on the western seaboard of India on December 4, 2023. The event, hosted by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, will be witnessed from the Tarkarli beach by senior Centre and State government officials, military dignitaries and the local populace. The event aims to celebrate and glorify our rich maritime history and shed the colonial practises," according to a press release from the Ministry of Defence.

The 'Operational Demonstration' is being organised to celebrate the valour and courage of the personnel and their resolve to achieve the impossible under adverse circumstances. The event will also showcase the Indian Navy's state-of-the-art ships and aircraft to the general public and online viewers through a live telecast.

"Built in the year 1660 by the Maratha Ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Sindhudurg Fort boasts of India's rich maritime history and also meets the Navy's requirement to conduct an operational demonstration with its frontline assets," the release stated.

The event will witness the participation of 20 warships along with 40 aircraft, comprising MiG 29K and LCA Navy, as a major attraction, along with combat beach reconnaissance and an assault demo by the Marine Commandos of the Indian Navy.

The other major attractions include a performance by the Naval Band, a continuity drill and hornpipe dance by the SCC cadets. The event will culminate with the illumination of ships at anchorage, followed by a laser show at Sindhudurg Fort.

"This is the first time that the Indian Navy will be organising a mega event that is not taking place at any major naval station. The location of the Sindhudurg Fort is 550 km from Mumbai and about 135 km from the naval station at Goa. All out efforts have been made by the Navy, along with the state government and local administration, to showcase these events," as per the release.

"Navy Day celebrations are aimed at fostering greater outreach, renewing maritime consciousness amongst our citizens and highlight the Navy's contributions towards national security," it added.

(ANI)

"IPL Is The Best Make In India Brand Post-Independence": League Chairman Arun Dhumal

by Manisha Das

Bengaluru, December 2: The Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal hailed the league as the best 'Make in India' brand post-independence.

Arun Dhumal was speaking during the RCB Innovation Lab's Leaders Meet India in Bengaluru held this week.

While talking about the fan insights and engagement of IPL and its franchises, Dhumal said, "We work as a team with all franchises, we are all partners. We have seen at the recently held World Cup games, that they (fans) were there for Team India, but at the same time, they were rooting for RCB also, which is a great thing and we are very proud of that. Personally, I feel IPL is the best Make in India brand we can think of post-independence."

The media rights for the IPL have grown from Rs 6,000 crores to INR 48,000 crores and the league is only second to the National Football League (NFL) across all sporting leagues in the world. Dhumal believes the widespread popularity and success of the league will act as a catalyst in its evolution over the next 10 years, as per a press release from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

"If I have to see how it has gone over the last 15 years and if I have to go by estimates going forward, we are expecting media rights to go somewhere close to USD 50 billion by around 2043. Going forward, we need to keep innovating, keep doing better in terms of fan engagement, and keep making it better in terms of the quality of games. Now that cricket is becoming part of the Olympics and with the Women's Premier League taking it to a different level for women's cricket, I see a lot of hope and light at the end of the tunnel.

Because of the way it has been happening for the last 15 years, it is only going to get better," he said.

RCB Innovation Lab's Leaders Meet India brought together the biggest game changers from across the sporting world, offering a truly global perspective on the present and future of the sports industry and how India can become a powerhouse in the business of sports.

Dissecting the role of IPL in earning India a different reputation from the entire world, Dhumal commented, "IPL is the most-watched cricket league in the world. We have fans across the world and when they come to watch, they get to see the diversity and culture of India.

They will watch a match up North down South, East to West, because teams are spread all across the country. We are a very diverse country in terms of different states, different cultures, and different languages being spoken but this is one platform which is rooted so well that you are able to showcase in India to the globe."

(ANI)

X To Target SMBs For Ads After Musk’s Outburst Against Big Brands

by Manisha Das

San Francisco, Dec 2: After Elon Musk’s outburst against big advertisers like Disney this week, X is reportedly aiming to tap small and medium businesses (SMBs) to offset the advertising loss from big companies.

A new report by The Financial Times has claimed X will now turn to SMBs to shore up revenue after Musk angered big brands by supporting antisemitic content.

“Small and medium businesses are a very significant engine that we have definitely underplayed for a long time," a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.

“It was always part of the plan, now we will go even further with it,” the company added.

Musk has warned that the loss of big advertisers would spell the end of X.

The X owner stunned the world when he told advertisers to "go f*** yourself" earlier this week, after some top companies pulled advertising on his platform over his endorsement of anti-Semitism.

Speaking at The New York Times' DealBook Summit, when Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the X owner about pauses in advertising, Musk replied: "Don't advertise."

"You don't want them to advertise?" Sorkin asked him.

"If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself," Musk said.

"What this advertising boycott is going to do is kill the company. And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company, and we will document it in great detail," he told the audience.

Musk also apologised for what he called his "dumbest" ever social media post on Semitism.

Meanwhile, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said that the platform is enabling an information independence that's uncomfortable for some people.

“We're a platform that allows people to make their own decisions. And here’s my perspective when it comes to advertising: X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street — and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you,” she posted on X.