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Political violence continues in Odisha: Mutilated body of BJP worker found on the eve of phase-2 polls

OpIndia Staff
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Political violence continues in Odisha: Mutilated body of BJP worker found on the eve of phase-2 polls

On the eve of the second phase of Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the mutilated body of a BJP worker was found in the Agajhola village in Bhanjanagar, Ganjam. The BJP worker, a 26-year-old man named Santosh Pati was allegedly found dead in a pool of blood, according to local reports.

As per reports, locals in the village discovered Santosh’s body and alerted the police. The police have since then sent the body for post-mortem at the Bhanjanagar hospital.

BJP leader Baijayant Panda has tweeted to request the ECI to take cognisance of the situation in Odisha and arrange for extra forces.


Tension prevailed in the locality and police forces have been reportedly deployed to handle any untoward situation as many areas of the state go to polls today.

The deceased person, Santhosh Kumar Pati reportedly hailed from the Lathipada panchayat. A scuffle had broken out among workers of two parties last night over tearing posters of their respective parties. News reports state that Pati was allegedly attacked with iron rods and left to die.

Prabhat Kumar Sahu, IIC of Saroda police station has stated that investigations are underway and police teams have been deployed to ensure smooth polling process in the area.

Incidents of political violence have been reported in Odisha in the past week. Earlier this week, a BJP Mandal president in Khurda town was shot dead by unknown assailants near the party office while the MLA candidate had a narrow escape.

It is notable here that a week ago, the nephew of the BJP MLA candidate in the same Bhanjanagar area was attacked by violent miscreants and had sustained critical injuries. Ajit Pradhan, the nephew of BJP MLA candidate Pradyumna Nayak was violently attacked after a public meeting of union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Nayak had alleged that a local sarpanch named Tutu Pradhan had orchestrated the attack.

Two Punjabi men, who were arrested in 2015 on charges of murder, executed by beheading in Saudi Arabia

OpIndia Staff
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Two Punjabi men, who were arrested in 2015 on charges of murder, executed by beheading in Saudi Arabia

Two men belonging to Punjab have been executed by beheading in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Wednesday.

According to reports, two men, identified as Satwinder Kumar of Hoshiarpur and Harjeet Singh of Ludhiana, were executed in connection with a murder case. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, however, was not informed before Satwinder Kumar of Hoshiarpur and Harjeet Singh of Ludhiana were executed on February 28, said MEA.

As per officials Satwinder and Harjeet were arrested on December 9, 2015, on charges of allegedly murdering Arif Imamuddin, another Indian national.

Expressing shock over the deaths of two men, Punjab Chief Minister has condemned the execution, called it as “totally barbaric and inhuman” and he said that he would seek a detailed report from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Reportedly, Amarinder Singh also said that he would seek information from the MEA regarding the charges and whether the due legal representation was provided to the two men.

He further expressed shock and grief over the “vicious act” and said it was atrocious that such incidents continued to happen in civilised nations even today. Captain Amarinder Singh has also criticised the MEA for failing to prevent, and then not disclosing the execution of the two men till it was forced to do so by a petition filed by Satwinder’s wife in Hoshiarpur district.

“If the executions were undertaken without prior information even to the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, with the victims not provided legal counsel, it amounted to a grave violation of human rights,” the chief minister said in a statement here Wednesday.

The Punjab Chief Minister called upon the United Nations and other global human rights organisations to take serious cognizance of the incident and pressure Saudi Arabia “to end its ancient and blatantly illegal practices which were against all norms of humanity”.

As per the Saudi system, the families of the two deceased will only get death certificates and not the mortal remains, the MEA informed Satwinder’s wife Seema Rani. However, the chief minister said he would seek Swaraj’s intervention to take up the matter with the Saudi authorities at the highest level.

Captain Singh asked the Prime Minister to intervene himself to ensure the return of their mortal remains. The central government should also take steps to ensure that such incidents are not repeated and no Indian is denied justice or his/her legitimate right in any manner in the future, the chief minister said.

Reportedly, the family of Satwinder had received a call from Saudi Arabia on March 2 informing them about the execution. As there was no official confirmation, Satwinder’s wife Rani approached the MEA. However, she did not receive any confirmation regarding the incident, hence she filed a petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court, which issued a notice to the Centre on April 8 asking it to confirm if Satwinder had been executed in Saudi Arabia.

Following the High Court direction, the External affairs ministry confirmed the execution of Satwinder Singh and Harjit Singh. The MEA said that the Indian embassy on March 3 requested the Saudi authorities for providing information about the mortal remains of the two.

Voting concluded in second phase of elections, parts of West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir witness violence on polling day

OpIndia Staff
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Voting concluded in second phase of elections, parts of West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir witness violence on polling day

Voting for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections has concluded with people of 95 out of 543 seats will cast their votes to choose their representative in the parliament. Amidst the incidents of violence reported from West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir, 11 states and 1 union territory voted today.

Voting took place in some parts of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

While the first phase saw the voter turnout of 69.43 per cent, the total voter turnout for the second phase was 61.12% till 5 pm.

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, BJP MP Hema Malini, Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah were among the prominent candidates for Phase 2 Lok Sabha election 2019.

6:00 pm:

Times Now has reported that Hindu voters were reportedly blocked from voting at a polling booth in Raiganj constituency in West Bengal. As per Times Now, Hindu voters at a village in the constituency have alleged that while some were stopped from proceeding towards the polling booth, others claimed that bogus votes in their names had already been cast when they reached the polling station in the morning.

Surendra Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha has recommended re-polling in booth 213 in Sundergarh, booth 129 in Bonai, and booths 210 & 222 in Daspalla assembly constituency due to technical problems in EVM machines and VVPATs. He said that the technical snag happened due to lapses on the part of polling officers.

Total estimated voters’ tunout has been recorded at 61.12% till 5 pm.

2:30 pm:

Shoe hurled at BJP Rajya Sabha MP GVLN Rao while he as addressing media.


Election Commission Flying Squad searched Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy’s chopper.

Voter turnout till 1 pm:

Assam: 46.42%
Karnataka: 36.31%
Manipur: 49.07%
Jammu and Kashmir: 29.6%

1:30 pm:

TMC workers clash with BJP workers inside a polling booth in Chopra, Darjeeling, break an EVM machine.

12:45 pm:

Stone-pelting incidents reported at polling station in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Yesterday, two Army personnel, one CRPF jawan and one personal security officers were injured in pre-poll violence.

One ITBP jawan is injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon.

11:30 am:

Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy bats for dynasty, says it is because of dynasty that India has developed.


His son Nikhil Kumaraswamy and father former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda are both fighting the elections. Nikhil is contesting from Mandya while HD Deve Gowda is contesting from Tumakuru in Karnataka. Kumaraswamy’s brother and JDS leader HD Revanna’s son, Prajwal Revanna is also contesting from Hassan.

In West Bengal, security personnel had to resort to lathi charge after people blocked NH-34 to protest after they were prevented from voting in West Bengal’s Chopra.


Meanwhile, voters in Garhi herbal village of Sadabad, Uttar Pradesh boycott election due to lack of development in Hathras. Election Commission flying squad has seized Rs 11.85 Lakh cash in Sion area of Mumbai City district. Polling has temporarily halted at booth number 217 in Solapur’s Shastri Nagar due to a fault in EVM.

10:30 am:

BJP worker’s body found hanging from a tree in West Bengal’s Purulia. In February this year, a VHP leader who had gone to attend Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath’s rally had gone ‘missing’ under mysterious circumstances. Two BJP workers Trilochan Mahto and Dulal Kumar had also gone missing from the same Balrampur area last year and were found murdered later. While Mahato’s body was hanging from a tree, that of Kumar was hanging from a high tension electric pole.

Acts of savageness due to extreme animosity have become common in West Bengal under the TMC supremacy. BJP workers have in the past few months, succumbed to a string of brutal political murders and political rapes.

9:45 am:

Goons stop people from voting in North Dinajpur, women voters attacked in North Dinajpur’s Chopra. Locals who protested the violence said that the police were mute spectators and remained inactive. North Dinajpur is the place where Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed was invited by TMC for campaigning for their candidate. Following a notice issued by the MHA, Ahmed was sent back, his visa was cancelled and he has been blacklisted.

Mutilated body of a person believed to be BJP worker recovered from Agajhola village in Bhanjanagar. This is reportedly third such murder of a person related to the BJP in a week in Odisha.

9:00 am: 

Reports of incidents of violence are coming in from West Bengal. As reported by ABP Ananda, some people were not being allowed to vote. When ABP Ananda journalists went to see, they were beaten up by TMC goons. A reporter and cameraperson were reportedly thrashed.


Reports of intimidating and threatening of voters in Darjeeling also pouring in.

8:15 am:

Polling is yet to begin at booth number 29/134 at Islampur Hindi FP School of Uttar Dinajpur, in Raiganj Parliamentary constituency, West Bengal as the EVM at the booth is not functioning.

Manipur Governor, Dr Najma Heptullah has cast her vote in an all women polling station.


The VVPAT which was not working properly in polling station no 200 in Silchar, Assam earlier today is working fine now.

In Bihar, voter turnout in 5 constituencies is 5.73% till 8 am.

8:00 am: 

Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami has cast his vote. Congress candidate BN Chandrappa sought his blessings from a cow before casting his vote in Tamil Nadu.

7:45 am:

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has just cast her vote in Bengaluru South constituency.

Son of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress leader Karti Chidambaram has cast his vote in Sivaganga.


Income Tax Commissioner S. K. Srivastava had written to the Election Commission against Karti and his father P. Chidambaram for allegedly using black money to bribe voters. Labelling the DEO and RO as partisan and compromised, Srivastava has said that the officer has ignored that Karti Chidambaram has concealed that fact he is out on bail in many cases including cases relating to undeclared properties and assets. The I-T officer wrote that P Chidambaram has compromised the electoral process completely.

7:30 am:

Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde has cast his vote in Solapur, Actor Rajinikanth has voted in Stella Maris College, Chennai Central and Congress leader P. Chidambaram has cast his vote in Sivaganga.

Odisha state assembly elections also being held simultaneously. 35 out of 244 seats in Odisha Assembly will be in the fray today.

BJP writes to EC against Mamata Banerjee’s alleged biopic ‘Bhaghini’ set to hit theatres smack in the middle of elections

OpIndia Staff
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BJP writes to EC against Mamata Banerjee’s alleged biopic ‘Bhaghini’ set to hit theatres smack in the middle of elections

After the controversy over the release of PM Modi’s biopic, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday wrote to the Election Commission against the release of a movie which is purportedly based on Mamata Banerjee’s life.

In its letter of complaint, the Vice President of BJPs West Bengal unit, Joy Prakash Majumdar, said that the EC must review the biopic before its release as was done in the case of a biopic based on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

SS of the letter written by Vice President of BJPs West Bengal unit to EC

The Bengali movie, named Baghini, is scheduled to release on May 3 in the middle of election season. While the director and producer of the film maintain that the film is only inspired by the life and struggles of Mamata, the timing of the film’s release is being questioned by many political rivals of TMC.

The Election Commission had stalled the release of Vivek Oberoi’s Modi biopic, claiming it could endanger the ‘level playing field’ and thereby threaten the “conduct of free and fair elections”. The BJP has now urged that the film ‘Baghini’ ought to be reviewed by the EC on the lines of what was done regarding PM Modi’s biopic.

Vivek Oberoi’s biopic on Prime Minister Modi was originally slated to release on April 11 which was also the date for voting in the first phase of Lok Sabha election 2019.

The release was eventually stalled after the matter reached Supreme Court and the apex court directed the EC to watch the film and submit a report in a sealed cover by the end of this week.

The BJP has also moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday against the scheduled release of Mamata Banerjee’s biopic, which the producers say has been “inspired” by the life and struggles of the West Bengal Chief Minister. The party has called it ‘Mamata’s hypocrisy’ since she had opposed PM Narendra Modi biopic.

Moreover, a delegation of CPI(M) leaders, led by party general secretary Sitram Yechuery, met Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Monday urging it to ban the trailer of the film ‘Baghini’. The Left party said that the movie could have an impact on free and fair elections. A CPI(M) leader said, “We are hopeful that after taking action against the Modi biopic, the EC will also take note of this film. It is pure propaganda.”

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has taken several steps in the recent past that have raised doubts about whether the decision is being influenced. The decisions are, more often than not, viewed as anti-Modi.

EC officials in Maharashtra had recently issued an order directing producers of television serials ‘Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai’ and ‘Tujhse Hai Raabta’, aired on &TV and Zee TV channels, to remove content that deemed to benefit the “prospects of a political party” by praising government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Before this decision by the EC, Congress had objected to these serials.

A citizen had printed “No gifts, please vote for PM Modi” on his wedding card and had got a notice from the Election Commission too raising concerns about the Election Commission encroaching on citizen’s fundamental rights. The Election Commission had also served a show cause notice to ABVP students for a book launch that was organised in JNU claiming poll code violation. The ABVP had planned to launch #ModiAgain by author Aabhas Maldahiyar and Saffron Swords by Manoshi Sinha Rawal on 15th April. The event has now been cancelled.

The same Election Commission had served a show cause notice to officials for banning the release of a book on the Rafale Deal for violation of the MCC. However, the ban was subsequently revoked and the book was released.

Keeping all this in view, a group of 81 former civil servants that compromise of defence personnel, judges, academicians and professionals, led by former Delhi Police Commissioner R S Gupta have written to the President of India, Ramnath Kovind expressing concern on how EC is being forced by anti-Modi lobby to conform to a ‘particular line of behaviour’.

BJP claims that Lalu was willing to pull the plug on grand alliance in exchange for relief from CBI, Arun Jaitley refused flat out

OpIndia Staff
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BJP claims that Lalu was willing to pull the plug on grand alliance in exchange for relief from CBI, Arun Jaitley refused flat out

In a stunning revelation, the BJP had alleged that RJD supremo chief who is currently serving a jail sentence for his conviction in multiple fodder scam cases was making overtures to the Finance minister Arun Jaitley for getting relief from CBI in his fodder scam cases.

The BJP had claimed that Lalu Prasad Yadav had met Arun Jaitley and offered to pull down the grand-alliance government in Bihar in lieu of getting the CBI to go soft on him against his fodder scam cases.

In a press conference, the BJP leader Sushil Modi alleged that Lalu Prasad Yadav had approached Union Minister Arun Jaitley “three to four times” through his representative former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta. However, Arun Jaitley passed up his requests following which Lalu Prasad Yadav himself met Jaitley, claims Sushil Modi. Revealing further details, Modi said that Yadav approached Jaitley after the setback he received from the Jharkhand High Court which refused to conduct separate trials for all the six fodder scam cases against the RJD supremo.

“Jaitley tersely told him that the CBI is an independent agency and government has no business to interfere in its functioning. Lalu Prasad Yadav has always castigated the BJP-RSS but never hang backs from seeking our help whenever it is to his advantage,” the BJP leader said.

Recently, a dejected Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was denied bail by the court had penned down a letter expressing his anguish for not being amongst the people during the elections. Lalu had then accused the BJP government of falsely implicating him in the fodder cases and urged people to save democracy and constitution in the upcoming elections.

Complaint filed against Mayawati’s statement in SC where she said if UP govt can make statue of Lord Ram, why can’t her statue be made

OpIndia Staff
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Complaint filed against Mayawati’s statement in SC where she said if UP govt can make statue of Lord Ram, why can’t her statue be made

A complaint has been filed in Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court by All India Raiger Mahasabha against BSP supremo, Mayawati, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by saying “if ruling Uttar Pradesh government can make a tall idol of Lord Rama with government funds, then why can’t she make her own idol”.


BSP supremo Mayawati on April 2 defended her life-size statues in Uttar Pradesh which were built from crores of rupees in public money when she was UP Chief Minister. Justifying the need, Mayawati told the Supreme Court that her statues represent the “will of the people”.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, in an affidavit filed in the apex court, said the memorials and statues of herself and other leaders are “intended to promote values and ideals of various sants, gurus, social reformers and leaders among the public and not intended to promote the symbol of BSP or to glorify” her.

Mayawati, defending the use of public money for the construction of her statues audaciously compared it to the construction of the UP government’ proposed Lord Ram’s statue, asking the court as to why no objections were raised when state government proposed a 221-meter tall statue of Lord Rama in Ayodhya.

Mayawati filed an affidavit in the top court after her statues invited a plea. Advocate Ravi Kant alleged Mayawati spent public money on these structures.

In the plea filed in 2009, Kant claimed the former Chief Minister of UP spent money on acts of “self-aggrandizement”. He asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and also a directive to remove the statues.

Notably, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had on February 8 hinted Mayawati might have to cough money from her own funds, which she spent on erecting statues of herself and the party symbol, the elephant, in public places, and return it to the public exchequer.

Defending the budget of the statues, Mayawati said funds for the construction of the memorial and installation of statues were sanctioned through budgetary allocations after approval of the budget by the state legislature.

Mayawati also sought the dismissal of a plea, which alleged that public funds were misused in the construction of memorials and statues, saying it is a politically motivated and gross abuse of process of a court of law. “Issue of the utilization of funds for a particular purpose is more a debatable question for political and moral purposes rather than a legal issue,” the affidavit read.

How ‘Make in India’ initiative is accelerating FDI investment in India and helping India emerge as the fastest growing economy

Dhairya Roy
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How ‘Make in India’ initiative is accelerating FDI investment in India and helping India emerge as the fastest growing economy

‘Make in India’ initiative launched in 2014 by the Modi Government has revitalised the country’s manufacturing sector. Many foreign-based companies are entering the Indian market through this initiative. Foray of foreign entities is promoting the manufacturing sector in India, generating employment and motivating new investors to participate in the Indian growth story. 

About Make in India

Make in India Initiative was launched by the NDA Government led by PM Narendra Modi in 2014 as a part renewed focus on revitalising the country’s manufacturing sector. The initiative increased the inflow of funds within India significantly. An estimated 46% growth occurred in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows and highest ever FDI inflow of US$ 55.5 billion was recorded during 2015-16. Since the launch of this initiative, India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy with GDP growth rate above 7.6% in 2015-16 and projected to grow above 7% till 2020 as per International Monitory Fund (IMF).

Key Milestones of Make in India

Since the election of the NDA government in 2014, the business climate of the country has improved phenomenally, pushing it towards the trajectory of high and sustainable growth. From a call-to-action to becoming a platform for national development, ‘Make in India’ has made its presence felt across the globe. 

Here are some of the key milestones since the implementation of the initiative in 2014:

    • September 2014

Department of Industrial Policies and Promotion (DIPP) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry instilled series of measures to improve the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rankings and simplify some of the existing rules for entrepreneurs.

    • January 2015

Spice Group announced an investment of US$ 75.16 million to set up a manufacturing unit for budget smartphones in Uttar Pradesh.

    • February 2015

Huawei made a huge investment of US$ 170 million to set up a new Research and Development (R&D) campus in Bengaluru sprawling across 20 acres, and accommodating 5,000 engineers.

    • March 2015

Magneti Marelli, Fiat’s component manufacturing arm, started operations for manufacturing of Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) in a joint venture with leading two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp in Manesar.

    • May 2015

Hyundai Heavy Industries partnered with Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam to help build naval ships in India.

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG, Stuttgart, Germany, announced the inauguration of its new bus manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu and unveiled its second wave of products – BharatBenz and Mercedes-Benz buses as well as a new range of new BharatBenz high-power engine trucks and BharatBenz heavy-duty tractors.

    • June 2015

French aircraft manufacturing company LH Aviation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian OIS Advanced Technologies (OIS-AT) for manufacturing of tactical drones in India.

    • July 2015

Mercedes Benz India inaugurated its second manufacturing facility in Chakan, which shall double the plant capacity to 20,000 units per annum. 

    • August 2015

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, signed a pact with Maharashtra to invest US$ 5 billion over five years in a semiconductor manufacturing facility.

The electronics manufacturing sector received a further boost, with Lenovo and Motorola announcing their plans to manufacture smartphones in India in a 40,000 square feet factory in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The facility currently can create 6 million smartphone units per year.

Xiaomi launched local manufacturing in Visakhapatnam in August 2015 under the Make in India program. 

    • September 2015

Mittelstand initiative was launched in partnership with the Indian embassy in Berlin, Germany for providing Market Entry Support Services like strategic consulting, tax & legal support, project financing, technology collaboration and facilitation of approvals to German Mittelstand organizations.

Japanese electronics giant Sony got on to the ‘Make in India’ bandwagon with plans confirmed to manufacture two models of its television brand Bravia, in the nation.

Amazon opened a warehouse in Pune in September 2015 taking the total count to over 21 with a cumulative storage capacity of over 5 million cubic feet.

    • November 2015

India attracted over US$ 18 billion worth of investments since September 2014 from companies viewing the country as a potential electronics manufacturing powerhouses including Samsung, Bosch, Phillips, LG and Flextronics.

International Tractors Ltd invested US$ 75 million for setting up its new Hoshiarpur plant in Punjab with the capacity to manufacture 0.2 million tractors per annum. 

    • December 2015

General Electric Transport and Alstom won contracts worth a combined US$ 5.6 billion to supply India’s railways with new locomotives. 

The Japanese Government announced setting up a US$ 12 billion fund for ‘Make in India’ related projects. 

    • February 2015

The multi-sectoral Make in India Week (MIIW), a mega event held in Mumbai, was a platform to showcase the nation’s focus towards design, innovation and sustainability. MIIW was a resounding success which was attended by over 0.9 million visitors from 102 countries and over 8000 B2B/B2G/G2G meetings were conducted over the course of the week.

    • March 2016

Japanese technology giant Hitachi announced its plans to roll out ATMs in India – one of Asia’s largest ATM markets – with the investment capital of US$ 15 million.

    • April 2016

US chipmaker Qualcomm plans to establish an innovation lab in Bangalore to provide technical and engineering assistance to the selected companies. It has launched ‘Design in India’ initiative with the aim to mentor up to 10 Indian hardware companies who have the potential to come up with innovative solutions.

    • June 2016

In a sweeping overhaul of FDI norms, the government radically liberalized key sectors like defence manufacturing, civil aviation, pharmaceutical and food processing, making India as one of the ‘most open economies’ in the world. India jumped 13 positions and was placed second in retail potential in the 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). India was rated 15 in the 2015 Global Retail Development Index.

    • July 2016

Actual work on the ground has started on 25% of investments commitments signed during the Make in India week.

    • August 2016

India improved its performance on the Logistics Performance Index by 19 positions when compared with its ranking in 2014. India’s ranking has jumped from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016.

    • October 2016

Schneider Electric is preparing to make India its export hub on the back of government’s policies such as Make in India, Digital India and Smart City Mission. Schneider Electric to have 28 factories, R&D centres and further plans to invest around US$ 110 million in the coming five years and will keep investing in skill development.

Make in India initiative has been responsible for garnering increased flow of FDI within the nation, resulting in increased EODB ranking for India. As evident from the graph above, reforms introduced by the NDA Government has resulted in a consistent increase in India’s rankings in Ease of Doing Business ratings. From 142nd rank in 2014, India has now risen to 77th place in 2018.

Ikea’s story of establishing in India

Sensing the winds of change in India, Ikea the Swedish manufacturing and retailing giant announced its plans to launch in India 6 years ago. It faced challenges due to the requirement of sourcing 30% of its products from within India. This requirement was introduced in an effort to support the country’s manufacturing sector. While it has caused a certain amount of discomfort for the retailing outlet, it will no doubt help the company in maximising profitability in the long run. In the long term, the goal for Ikea is to maximize sourcing from India. 

Such initiatives serve as win-win for the companies involved and development of the region in which the company operates. By encouraging Indian and foreign companies to manufacture in the country, the national GDP is given a boost and millions of jobs are also being created. Make in India is there precisely to improve the competitiveness and encourage the growth of manufacturing in a big way.

Challenges faced by Make in India initiative

India, Asia’s third-biggest economy, has lagged behind China, the world’s second largest economic powerhouse when it comes to manufacturing. China has bigger factories and superior trade infrastructure such as large ports that are essential for a global manufacturing hub. The Indian government plans to boost the manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of the economy by 2020 and is banking on Make in India to play its part in achieving this goal.

In order to strengthen the manufacturing sector in India, the core issues such as lack of infrastructure, high interest lending rates and high logistics costs need to be addressed. Such core issues cannot be tackled instantaneously. They require careful planning and support across all verticals. Initiatives such as Mudra Yojana are helping entrepreneurs start businesses. Make in India initiative is boosting local manufacturing and infrastructure, which in turn will create employment opportunities. Development is being done on all fronts, to ensure holistic and sustainable development across sectors. A series of announcements for manufacturing plans have been made in the defence sector. 

The success of Make in India so far

As a direct result of the Make in India initiatives, India has become the World’s 2nd largest mobile phone producer in three years. According to data shared by ICA, India accounted for 11 % of global mobile production in 2017 compared to 3 per cent in 2014, second only to China. India replaced Vietnam to become the second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017. With the rise in mobile phone production, imports of the devices in the country also reduced to less than half in 2017-18. The fast track task force, a body under Ministry of Electronics and IT, has set a target to achieve around 500 million mobile phone production in India by 2019, with a value estimated to be around USD 46 billion.

The FTTF, which has members from industry and government, has set a target to create USD 8 billion component manufacturing as a result of growth in mobile phone production and create 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs by 2019. The body has set the target to export 120 million mobile phone units with an estimated value of USD 1.5 million by the end of next year. 

The Future of Make in India  

Make in India has now become a calling card for investors to come and invest in the Indian growth story. To further the Indian manufacturing capabilities, the government is focusing on the development of sectors that are going to be the key focus in the coming years. By the introduction of new reforms in policies along with a positive economic atmosphere, it has created a fertile ground for businesses to thrive in India.

Even as government charts out a roadmap to give a significant push to its flagship programme Make in India, country’s top bureaucrats and multi-national companies feel a lot needs to be done still to make it a success such that more and more companies are willing to set up manufacturing base here. 

Issues such as the enforcement of contracts, improving the quality of education and establishing research facilities are paramount to make this initiative a success. Sustained investment is required from within the country as well as beyond to enable a higher growth rate of development. The roadmap created by the Indian Government addresses aggregate demand sourcing challenges to help create scalability of initiatives. 

Government has recently launched Make in India 2.0 with a renewed focus on 10 sectors, including capital goods, auto, defence, pharma and renewable energy to push growth in manufacturing and generate job opportunities.

The NDA government is striving to make India a better place to do business with an aim to be in the top 50 nations in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report. For the first time in 2017, India gained 30 positions to be among top 100 nations after persistent efforts over the last three years to improve upon ease of doing business parameters. 

The strategies placed to increase the manufacturing sector, are bearing and will continue to bear fruit. The GDP growth and consistent increase in Ease of Doing Business rankings prove beyond any reasonable doubt that PM Modi’s Make in India scheme has been an outright success. 

The World, as of now is heavily dependent on China for its production prowess. The increased trade wars are indications that the World needs another country capable of manufacturing at economies of scale. India has access to a reserve of skilled and highly educated talent. In comparison to the USA and other developed nations, labour is available at cheaper rates. Combining this untapped resource with the manufacturing sector can be key in increasing production capacity which can propel India towards becoming an economic Super Power. 

Foreign funds flowing in the country to make sure Modi does not win the elections: Baba Ramdev

OpIndia Staff
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Foreign funds flowing in the country to make sure Modi does not win the elections: Baba Ramdev

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has shown support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, urging people to vote for Modi and make him Prime Minister for a second time. He said that there is no alternative to PM Modi in the country.

Ramdev alleged that the anti-India forces all over the world and a number of countries are sending funds in India to make sure that Modi does not win the election. “Modi ji ne desh ka kya bura kiya hai (What harm did Modiji cause to the country)”, said Ramdev.


Speaking to media in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Baba Ramdev stated that anti-India powers both within and outside the country are funding thousands of crores of rupees to prevent PM Modi from coming to power.

Praising the schemes initiated by Modi government Ramdev said that Modi has not only dealt with terrorism but also has started hundreds of schemes and development infrastructure in the country. He said no other leader has a character, policy, and vision like PM Modi.

Calling the anti-India forces as “Asura Gang“, Ramdev said this is a gang comprising of anti-India forces from all over the world who have been running their propaganda and hatching conspiracies. He added that people who oppose Modi and want to remove Modi should tell why they want to remove a man who had dedicated himself to the country.

They have branded a whole backward community as thieves: PM Modi on Rahul Gandhi calling everyone with name ‘Modi’ as a thief

OpIndia Staff
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They have branded a whole backward community as thieves: PM Modi on Rahul Gandhi calling everyone with name ‘Modi’ as a thief

Hitting back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s ‘all Modis are thieves’ jibe, PM Modi said that he has been abused by the opposition many a time but this time Gandhi has branded the entire backward community as thieves.

Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra Modi said that several times Congress and its allies have targeted him for his humble background and caste and that he has endured such insults for many years but if someone tried to insult the chowkidars, the backward classes, the Dalits or Adivasis, he would not tolerate it.

Accusing Gandhi of calling the entire backward community thieves, the PM condemned the use of such language. “Should such language be used? We have to throw out such people. Abusive language has become the norm. The Sahu community here would have been called Modi in Gujarat. Are they all thieves?”, said PM at the rally.

The Congress dynast had attacked Prime Minister Modi by linking his surname with those of fugitive businessmen charged with corruption, Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi. “I have a question. Why do all the thieves have Modi in their names whether be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, and Narendra Modi? We don’t know how many more such Modis will come out,” said Gandhi.

Retaliating on Gandhi’s remarks, PM Modi said, “Recently the Namdar (a reference used by the PM for Gandhi) branded an entire community as thieves. He says everyone having Modi in his name is a thief. They abuse me because I am from a backward community. This is how they view people from backward castes.”

The Gandhi scion often makes such distasteful remarks about Prime Minister Modi which are some times based on his own imagination and are nowhere close to reality. Recently he had targeted veteran BJP leader L K Advani with his imagination saying that Advani was hit with a shoe and thrown out of the Party by the PM Minister after BJP National President Amit Shah was given the Lok Sabha ticket from Advani’s seat of Gandhinagar.

Imran Khan’s ‘endorsement’ of PM Modi could be a Congress ploy: Nirmala Sitharaman

OpIndia Staff
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Imran Khan’s ‘endorsement’ of PM Modi could be a Congress ploy: Nirmala Sitharaman

Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement endorsing PM Modi for another term as India’s Prime Minister might be Congress Party’s ploy against PM Modi.


I don’t know why such statements are being made. Every time such statements are being made and this is individually my perception and not my party’s or the government’s take. There have been eminent Congress leaders who’ve gone there to seek help and said ‘Modi hatane ke liye madad karo’. I wonder if this is also part of a scheme of things which have been put forth by the Congress’ side,” Sitharaman was quoted as saying by ANI news agency.

During an interaction with foreign journalists in Islamabad, Imran Khan had, last week, said he believes there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settling the Kashmir issue if Modi’s party BJP wins the general elections. Khan had also said if the next Indian government was led by the opposition Congress party, it might be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir.

Imran Khan’s statement was maliciously used by Congress to call out PM Modi saying that a vote for Modi is a vote for Pakistan. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala in a tweet said, “Pakistan has officially allied with Modi.”


Moreover, this statement coming from Pakistan, where ministers were seen openly mirroring the statements made by Congress and Rahul Gandhi after the Balakot airstrikes, also raised suspicions as it was immediately picked up by opposition leaders in India to attack PM Modi.

In fact, Nirmala Sitharaman in a statement in January 2019 had made similar allegations. She had accused Congress leaders of playing dirty politics by seeking help from Pakistan to remove PM Modi’s government.

Nirmala Sitharaman statements targetting the Congress party was an apparent reference to senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, who had called for the support of Pakistan to not only remove the current government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also to help Congress come to power. This is not surprising since earlier, Congress had even promoted a ‘Modi hatao, Desh bachao’ Facebook advertisement in Pakistan. They had, in fact, shared fake images of Modi and also ran ads in Pakistan and Bangladesh through a pro-Congress Facebook page.

Moreover, Congress rhetoric at home has always had eerie similarities to Pakistan’s rhetorics. Pakistani trolls had tried to shield and promote Rahul Gandhi fervently on Twitter. One can also recall how Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had gone to Pakistan for Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony and hugged the Pakistan army chief undermining the sacrifices of thousands of soldiers who are butchered by Pakistan. He had then asserted that he rather visit Pakistan than South India. In fact, global terrorist Hafiz Saeed had also endorsed Congress’ “vision” of Kashmir.

In fact, Congress’ soft approach towards Pakistan is not new. Recently, following the Pulwama terror attack which claimed lives of over 40 soldiers, echoing Pakistan’s words, Congress referred to the terrorist as ‘home-grown so-called terrorist’. This, when Jaish-e-Mohammad, a terror organisation nourishing and flourishing on Pakistan’s soil has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, too, gave a clean chit to Pakistan by saying that ‘terrorism has no country‘. In fact, Congress supporters are so keen to absolve Pakistan of the responsibility that they are even floating theories that Pulwama terror attack was an inside job carried out on behest of PM Modi (with help of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the very terror organisation which wants him dead).

Similarly, echoing Pakistan’s rhetorics in claiming that the Indian airstrikes in Pakistan did not hit any terror camp, Congress also demanded proof of the strike.

Congress party’s politicking of the airstrikes was utilised by the hostile Pakistani establishment to propagate a narrative pertaining to the authenticity of the strikes.

It is also notable that earlier, the despiteful and bogus statements made in the Congress-led opposition party meet were cited by Pakistani channels to further their agenda.

And now, in the latest, a Pakistan media outlet, Radio Pakistan has yet again picked up a spiteful statement by Congress’ Navjot Singh Sidhu, trying to polarise votes in India.


Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has a special fondness for Pakistan, indulged in communal politics after he asked Muslims to unite and vote for the Congress party to remove Modi and the BJP. While speaking at a rally in Katihar, Bihar, Navjot Singh Sidhu stirred a massive controversy after he sought votes for Congress party candidate Tariq Anwar on the religious lines. Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the Muslims must come together and destroy the BJP with their solidarity.

This statement has been enthusiastically endorsed by Pakistan, who has often turned this Congress’ predisposition to their benefit and used comments of such political leaders to berate India.

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