WEB DESK | New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the ‘Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya’ during the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav in the national capital, as a tribute to every prime minister in the country since independence, irrespective of their ideology or tenure in office.
Addressing the gathering, Modi said every prime minister of the country has contributed immensely in the fulfilment of the goals of constitutional democracy.
“To remember them is to know about the journey of independent India,” he said.
“Coming from a remote countryside, from a very poor family, coming from a farmer’s family, reaching the post of prime minister, this strengthens the faith in the great traditions of Indian democracy,” Modi added.
Asserting that India is the mother of democracy, he said the great feature of India’s democracy is that it has been continuously changing with the passage of time.
The museum is aimed at sensitizing and inspiring the younger generation about the leadership, and achievements of Indian prime ministers. The museum will be open to the public with tickets of Rs 100 and Rs 110.
The PM also bought the first ticket to the museum before its inauguration.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the museum tells the story of India after its independence through the lives and contributions of its prime ministers.
The PMO said the museum has been guided by Modi’s vision to honour the contribution of all the prime ministers of India towards nation-building.
Starting from freedom struggle, and the making of the Constitution, the museum goes on to tell the story of how Prime Ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured the progress of the country.
THE BUILDING
The design of the Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya or PM Museum is inspired by the story of rising India, shaped and moulded by its leaders.
It is a blend of the old and the new and includes the erstwhile Nehru Museum building, designated as Block I.
The building has been completely updated, technologically advanced display of the life and contribution of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. A number of gifts received by him from all over the world but not exhibited so far have also been put on the display in the renovated Block I.
The design incorporates sustainable and energy conservation practices as no tree has been felled or moved. The total area of the building is 10,491 square meters and has a total of 43 galleries.
The logo of the building represents the hands of the people of India holding the “Ashoka Chakra”.
The information about the former PMs has been acquired on a license in most cases, through repositories with institutions such as Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan, Films Division, Sansad TV, Ministry of Defence, Indian and foreign media houses, etc.
The use of literary works, important correspondences, personal items, memorabilia, speeches, and anecdotal representation of ideologies and different aspects of the lives of Prime Ministers have been reflected in a thematic format.
The museum has also employed cutting-edge interfaces to present information in an easy interesting manner for the youth.
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Trade Agreements with UAE and Australia very well received: Goyal
ANDALIB AKHTER / NEW DELHI
Recent Trade Agreements signed with UAE and Australia were very well received and did not elicit a single negative response from any sector, said Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal while delivering the keynote address at the 51st National Export Awards of Engineering Export Promotion Council of India in New Delhi recently.
Referring to the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed with Australia, Goyal said that it was the first agreement signed with a developed country after a decade. He also highlighted that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed with UAE was the fastest ever negotiated bilateral FTA globally. FTA negotiations are going on with UK, Canada, EU, Israel etc. and expected to start with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) soon, he added.
He assured that FTA negotiations were no longer being carried out in silos but were being done with extensive consultations with stakeholders.
Goyal said that our export community had made India proud with stellar achievement in exports.
Pointing out that exports have been the backbone of India’s economy, the Minister said that it was crucial to honour our exporters and recognise their contribution in nation building.
He added that the award function couldn’t have comes at a better time when India is celebrating its enviable exports performance. He congratulated all the award winners and applauded their excellence in entrepreneurship,hard work, planning and management skills.
Goyal said that Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India had done phenomenal work and was a model Export Promotion Council. He appreciated EEPC India for consistently working with industry in capacity building including technology upgradation, quality, certifications, besides exports promotion.
The Minister urged exporters to adopt an uncompromising stance when it comes to ensuring quality. He said that, as a nation, we must focus on quality and productivity and decide that we would be second to none in the world when it comes to quality and insist upon and demand good quality every single time. Goyal said that we should not make products of two different qualities in the country. Quality standards must be unambiguous, uniform and strict. We must not let quality culture weaken in the country, he cautioned.
The Minister said that export targets were not set at the top but was set in consultation with all stakeholders including Export Promotion Councils.
He said that the government’s role is to facilitate trade and not create hurdles. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is insistent on ensuring Ease of Doing Business, reduction in compliance burden, decriminalization etc, thereby creating a conducive environment for businesses to grow and prosper, he added. PM GatiShakti, is bringing about a culture of the whole of the government approach, the Minister also said.
The world now wants to engage with a trusted partner like India, the Minister said and added that India had sent sizeable delegations consisting of EPCs and MSMEs to UAE and Australia to strengthen economic partnerships, thus building business to business relationships, helping develop markets for labor intensive sectors.The Minister said that Indian Missions across the world have been instructed to strive to promote trade, tourism, technology adoption etc.
Piyush Goyal said that India had the potential to achieve exports of USD 1 trillion by 2030. He called for building stronger partnerships with like minded nations all over the world, especially nations in the African Union.
The Minister said that we must reform our laws, including labor laws and strive to work within the framework of these contemporary and modern laws.
It may be noted that India’s goods exports have crossed USD 419 billion- highest ever and services exports have also been estimated to touch USD 250 billion. The previous highest value of USD 213 billion was achieved in 2019-20, the Minister pointed out.
It may also be noted that Engineering Goods Export account for more than 25% in India’s USD 400 billion plus exports.For the first time, engineering exports had touched approx USD 10 billion in a month (Mar’22 ). The sector had shown tremendous resilience in the pandemic and had recovered quite remarkably since then, recording a 45 % Year on year growth in 2021-22 viz-a-viz 2020-21, touching approximately USD 111 billion, the Minister noted.
Goyal cautioned that while the above achievements were indeed celebratory for the whole country, we should leave no scope of complacency.
This must be used as a step on the ladder, to reach even loftier landmarks, he said.
111 exporters in 34 product groups bag EEPC India National Award 2018-19 across 7 categories. BHEL, NALCO, HAL, TATA Motors, RINL JSW Steel, Toshiba, Toyota Kirloskar, Bharat Forge and Bajaj Auto were among the winners.
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Elon Musk has made a “best and final” offer to buy Twitte
WEB DESK
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is making his “best and final” offer to buy 100 percent of Twitter in an updated 13D filed Thursday with the SEC. He’s offering $54.20 per share in cash.
Naturally, Musk had to sneak a “420” into the offer.
Musk’s wealth hovers around $260 billion, according to Bloomberg. Twitter’s market valuation is about $37 billion. Musk’s offer values Twitter at about $43 billion, according to CNBC.
The world’s richest man will pay $54.20 per share in cash, representing a 54% premium over the Jan 28. Closing price and a value of about $43 billion. Twitter’s shares jumped 12% in premarket trading.
“Since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” Musk said in a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor.
“My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk said.
Musk, 50, announced the offer in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The billionaire, who also controls Tesla Inc., first disclosed a stake of about 9% on April 4.