PM Modi congratulates Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Indian badminton players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, on winning women’s doubles title in Canada Open.

"Very proud of Ashwini P. and jwala Gutta for the wonderful victory at the Canada Open. Congratulations to the brilliant sportspersons", the Prime Minister said. (PIB)

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PM’s gift to President Park Geun-Hye

The Prime Minister today presented President Park Geun-Hye two finely woven pashmina stoles on which a poem that Rabindranath Tagore had written specially for Korea is hand embroidered in English and Korean. The text of Tagore’s poem that was published in 1929 in the Korean daily 

Dong-A Ilbo is as below:

In the golden age of Asia 

Korea was one of its lamp bearers 

And that lamp is waiting 

To be lighted once again 

For the illumination of the East

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Text of the Press Statement made by the PM Modi Mongolian Parliament

Your Excellency Prime Minister Saikhanbileg

Distinguished members of Mongolian delegation,

Members of the media,

I am delighted to visit Mongolia. It is a great honour to be the first Prime Minister of India to do so.

It is a special privilege to come on the occasion of two important milestones that unite us – 25 years of democracy in Mongolia and 60 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries.

I am deeply grateful for your welcome and hospitality that have touched our hearts. You have embraced us with unlimited generosity and warmth of a true friend.

Your Parliament's decision to host me on a Sunday is a remarkable gesture of honour for India.

I could not have started my visit in a better way. It began with a visit to the historic Gandan Monastery, where I handed over a sapling of the Mahabodhi Tree. This is a token of friendship from the people of India.

I am here in respect and appreciation for our timeless kinship. You have called us your spiritual neighbour and third neighbour. We will always fulfil the responsibility that comes with this honour.

Today, Mongolia is also an integral part of India's Act East Policy. The destinies of India and Mongolia are closely linked with the future of Asia Pacific Region. We can work together to help advance peace, stability and prosperity in this region. So, I am also here in commitment to our shared responsibility to our region.

Prime Minister has spoken eloquently about the relationship and our meeting today. I will have the honour to speak about our vision in the Parliament a little later.

I was very pleased with my discussions with Prime Minister today. We have strong convergence of views on bilateral relations and our regional and international partnership.

The agreements that we have just signed speak to the depth of the relationship. These cover economic relations, development partnership, defence and security, and people-to-people contacts.

We will take our economic partnership to a new level. Today, I am pleased to announce that India will provide a Line of Credit of One Billion U.S. dollars to support expansion of Mongolia's economic capacity and infrastructure.

Supporting development of human resources is the best way to secure a nation's development. We reiterated our commitment to continue our efforts in Mongolia. India will increase the ITEC training slots for Mongolia from 150 to 200. We will also establish an India-Mongolia Joint School.

Later today I will have the pleasure to lay the foundation stone for the expansion and upgrading of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Center of Excellence for Information and Communication Technology. I will also visit the National Cancer Centre to gift Bhabhatron II. It is state of art nuclear medicine cancer therapy machine, developed and manufactured in India.

We attach high importance to our security cooperation. We will continue to participate in each other's defence exercises. The agreements today will deepen our cooperation in border security and cyber security. Cooperation between National Security Councils will provide a strategic framework for cooperation. We have also agreed that India will help establish a cyber security centre in Mongolia’s defence and security establishment.

Our trade and investment relations are modest. We recognise that there are physical limitations. But, we agreed that economic growth in our two countries is opening up new opportunities. There is huge potential in civil nuclear sector, mining, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and dairy. We should also explore the possibilities of using digital technology to expand our economic relations.

I conveyed to Prime Minister that we greatly value our international partnership, which is based on our friendship, shared spiritual heritage and democratic values. These also provide solid foundation for our cooperation in our region.

I conveyed India's sincere appreciation for Mongolia's strong support for India's permanent membership of United Nations Security Council.

In a reflection of our commitment to further deepen our relationship, we have decided to upgrade our Comprehensive Partnership to ‘Strategic Partnership’. We also agreed to renew our Treaty of Friendly Relations and Cooperation.

So, at a significant milestone in our relationship, we are starting a new era in our partnership.

I keenly look forward to the rest of my stay in Mongolia. Thank you.

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PM inaugurates Bombay High Court Museum

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today said the Government had identified about 1700 obsolete laws, and is working towards their repeal. In his address at the concluding Sesquicentennial Function of the Advocates Association of Western India (AAWI) in Mumbai today, the Prime Minister said the world is looking towards India with great hope. He said one of the reasons for this is that the investor community across the world trusts the independence of India's judicial system. He said this is a great contribution of all those associated with the legal profession.

The Prime Minister appreciated the role played by the AAWI over 150 years - the bar to which both Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel belonged. He said that the founders of this association would have created this bar, in order to pursue excellence in the profession. He said the country's freedom struggle was led by people from the fields of law and education.

The Prime Minister asked the AAWI to think about how the bar will go forward after 150 years. He said that along with quick justice, "quality justice" was also the need of the hour. And this depended a lot on advocates arguing the cases. He stressed the need for advocates to specialize, particularly in emerging areas of litigation such as international law and cyber crime. He said acquaintance with forensic science is now a must for those associated with the legal profession. He said the bar has the strength to raise the capabilities of the advocates to deal with these emerging areas. He said well-argued cases provide satisfaction to advocates, besides raising institutional credibility.

The Prime Minister said laws are sometimes not drafted well, and therefore lead to multiple interpretations. He said the bar associations can play a significant role in drafting good laws with minimum grey areas. He said training in drafting of laws is essential.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Bombay High Court Museum. He said visitors to the museum will learn a lot about India's judicial history. In his remarks in the visitors’ book at the Museum, the Prime Minister said that “the High Court Museum is a commendable effort to preserve and perpetuate the rich heritage of this great institution.” He suggested that a digital version of this museum be also prepared. He said in many parts of the world, museums are a part of everyday life. He gave the example of China, which is building many museums currently. He said India too has a glorious heritage to preserve and showcase.

The Governor of Maharashtra Shri Vidyasagar Rao, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis, and Union Minister Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda were present on the occasion.(PIB)

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Review of RTI is needed: PM

Business News This Week: The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh said on Friday that RTI and the authorities work is very crucial for the society. He also stressed on the review of the RTI further and it should not affect the delivery process of governance.

RTI Act has been a strong instrument for social activists and common man to get information from government organizations and departments. The act was enacted in the year 2005.

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