New Delhi: Detailing economic growth during the UPA regime, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday the slowdown in 2012 was "temporary" and a longer term view would show that India has notched up an average "8 per cent growth" in the past nine years.
The prime minister, presenting the ruling United Progressive Alliance-II's report card, said the economic situation was "turning around" and economic growth rate in 2013-14 could exceed 6 per cent. This, he sid, would set the stage to achieve the 12th Plan target of 8 per cent for the next five years.
He said the goal of 8 per cent growth "will be difficult, but it is not impossible. We have done it before, and if we receive a mandate in 2014, we will certainly achieve it again".
He said the slowdown of 2012 was largely due to the global phenomenon, including of the eurozone GDP declining....
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02:44 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday appealed to the opposition to cooperate with the government in passing the key food security and land acquisition bills in the interests of the people, while expressing her disappointment that parliament was not allowed to run to enable the passage of the bills. "I make a plea to the NDA and other opposition parties...let us come together to ensure passage of the...
02:23 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: In a bid to bolster infrastructure growth, investment in road construction in rural areas saw a ten-fold jump under the UPA regime, according to the report card unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the fourth anniversary of UPA-II. The government rolled out more than 20,100 all-weather roads across the nation in 2012, the report said projecting a rosy picture of sector, battling...
01:45 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Amidst allegations of corruption in allocation of telecom spectrum and coal mines, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday promised to punish wrongdoers and said future allotment of scarce natural resources will happen only through auction. UPA II government has faced plethora of corruption charges in allocation of 2G spectrum when A Raja was the Telecom Minister and in allocation of coal blocks when Singh himself held the charge...
01:23 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The UPA government listed ushering the process of digitisation of the cable sector as one of its leading achievements in its report card that was presented to the people on Wednesday. The government said it had implemented digitisation in the Phase I cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata along with 38 cities which come under the second phase. It said that by choosing digital cable, the country would...
01:04 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The record loading of 1010 million tonnes freight and slight improvement of punctuality and safety have been listed as major achievements of the Railway Ministry during the year by the UPA government. Besides ongoing rail expansion, execution of Dedicated Freight Corridor work and introduction of bio-toilets have also found mention in the UPA's Report to the People for the year 2012-13. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the UPA...
12:45 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Free press and active civil society put pressure on the government for early and decisive action in addressing weaknesses in governance and sometimes it leads to "hasty judgement", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday night. "We are the world's largest democracy with a very free Press and an increasingly active civil society movement. These are our strengths," Singh said. "But they do put pressure for early and...
11:24 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed the UPA's report card as a "non-report card" that hid all the scams and revealed only what was convenient to the ruling dispensation. The Opposition party also lashed out at the UPA for "blaming it for its own failures". "The UPA's report card is a non report card. It hides all the scams and reveals only the convenient. More importantly, Congress is...
11:17 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was the cynosure of all eyes at the UPA anniversary function in 2012, was conspicuous by his absence on Wednesday. Instead, the pride of place was taken by Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Mishra and Brajesh Pathak who did not attend the presentation of the 'Report to the People' but came in time for dinner. No leader or MP from Samajwadi...
10:32 PM, May 22, 2013
The Opposition launched a scathing attack on the government which completed its nine years in power on Wednesday. ...
10:29 PM, May 22, 2013
As UPA-II presents its 'Report to the People', Bhupendra Chaubey asks a team of experts what is the road ahead for the government. ...
09:41 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Seeking to dispel the perception of gloom amidst scams and controversies, the UPA on Wednesday painted a rosy picture of its government's performance during the last nine years. In the 'Report to the People', released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the fourth anniversary of the UPA-II, the government maintained that allegations of impropriety were being investigated and that the guilty would be...
09:23 PM, May 22, 2013
The UPA-II government has just completed four years in power. So, what have been its achievements and failures? CNN-IBN's national affairs editor Bhupendra Chaubey joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. In urban areas, it seems like UPA-2 will definitely suffer in the forthcoming elections, whats the scene in the rural India... how is the performance seen there. Different or same like how urban India sees it...
06:37 PM, May 22, 2013
What are the key points on which the UPA-II dispensation failed to deliver? BJP's spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. Q. Hi Sidharth, Do you think that the BJP has oversold the corruption issue and leadership issue of the UPA..At one time it probably had a impact on people but now all your leaders and spokespersons sound very repetitive, at times arrogant and...
05:56 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: In the backdrop of NATO troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is keen to enhance defence cooperation with India and get supply of 'lethal and non-lethal' weapons. Karzai held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night and gave him a wishlist for military supplies. Karzai's other problem is Pakistan which has influence over elements of the Afghan Taliba, that is where Delhi's...
02:10 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, smiling and effusive, was out to smooth ruffled feathers in India this week, promising to ease tensions and increase trade between Asia's fastest growing economies in his first trip overseas since taking office. "China will make your dream come true," Li told a banquet hall filled with Chinese and Indian business executives in the financial capital of Mumbai as he wound up his visit...
12:40 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: As the UPA II completes four years and is set to release its report card at its celebration dinner on Wednesday evening, the Bharatiya Janata Party has questioned as to what is the celebration for. Attacking the UPA government over a range of issues, the BJP said the UPA government has failed on all fronts. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj began by attacking the UPA over the lack of...
12:06 PM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: Distancing himself from the UPA's falling fortunes, Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav may skip the dinner which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will host on Wednesday for its allies and supporting parties, according to sources. An invite has also gone to the BSP's Maywawati. However, sources say she may skip the dinner too, but the key aide Satish Mishra will be attending. Both SP and BSP support the...
10:08 AM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: India had flagged its concerns about Chinese construction activity in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during talks between Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said in Delhi on Tuesday. "Chinese construction activity in PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) is a cause of concern for us. We raised the issue during talks... We flagged our concerns... We were assured they are development projects," Khurshid told reporters here...
03:51 AM, May 22, 2013
CNN-IBN's 12-city opinion poll reveals that the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government has lost the credibility to govern. ...
11:46 PM, May 21, 2013
