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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently on his first State visit to Egypt, will meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The two leaders had decided to elevate the relationship to the level of strategic partnership during El-Sisi’s visit to India as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations this year.
Modi’s first official engagement in the country on Saturday was a meeting with the India Unit, a group of high-level ministers constituted by El-Sisi in March to enhance India-Egypt relations. Seven members of the Egyptian Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, were also present during the discussions on deepening trade relations and strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Discussions focused on deepening cooperation across a range of areas including trade & investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, pharma and people to people ties.
This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt in 26 years. Modi also met the Grand Mufti of Egypt Dr Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam and interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora and the Bohra community.
Govt & Politics
PM wraps up US visit: Together shaping dreams (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Together India and the US are not just forming policies and agreements, “we are shaping lives, dreams and destinies”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, concluding his three-day state visit to the US. He said the partnership between India and the US will make the world better in the 21st century.
In his farewell speech to the Indian-American community, the Prime Minister said, “In the last three days, a new and glorious journey has started for India-US relations.” He said the world is watching the two great democracies strengthen their bond.
The partnership between India and the United States will make the world better in the 21st century. You all play a crucial role in this partnership, addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora at Ronald Reagan Center in Washington.
The diaspora will play a big role in helping realise the true potential of the two countries’ ties and this is the right time to invest more and more in India, he said.
Opinion
Atrocities on Dalits and a dead society (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
I do not like to write about this. It is one of the 50,000-plus acts committed last year. Caste atrocities committed against Dalits is a topic I avoid writing about. It is too much to take.
To relive the atrocities and try to make sense of what happened is visceral, with fear and tremors pacing throughout the body.
It sends shivers while reading the news and transcribing it. An atrocity committed against a person, more so a Dalit, feels like an organ has been mutilated in my body.
To investigate the case and fathom the pains of my fellow beings withdraws me from the world. Whether I am sitting at my desk in a foreign country or covering miles across India, the emotions travel faster than light to transmit the message of people’s agony.
Once it is committed, I create scenarios in my mind. Most of them are fatal. Reasons may vary, but consequences of fear and alarm are constant, causing anxiety attacks. We’re constantly looking back as if a ghostly shadow is following us in the dark.
Economy
14 out of 25 states achieved less than 75% of capex targets in FY 23 (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Many states, led by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, UP and Kerala, have failed to meet the target in terms of actual capital expenditure (capex) on various fronts despite getting the required disbursals from the central government in FY2023.
“States’ performance has been disparate. A total of Rs 7.49 lakh crore was budgeted for by these states. However, they spent only Rs 5.71 lakh crore which is 76.2% of the total. As many as 14 states — out of data available for 25 states — met less than 75 per cent of the target in FY2023.
The centre has met its target both in terms of actual capex in various areas as well as the loans disbursed to states that were to be used for capex. The fiscal deficit target was also maintained in this year.
How Micron can boost India’s chip manufacturing plan (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
While India is yet to approve a semiconductor fabrication or production plant — a key to the government’s ambitious plan of making the country a chips hub in the next five years — some other crucial parts of the chips ecosystem were finalised during PM Modi’s US visit.
US Chip maker Micron Technology, a leading manufacturer of memory chips — which was recently barred by the Chinese government from national projects over alleged national security risks — has become the most high profile name to commit investment in India to build a chip packaging plant.
Other leading names including Applied Materials and Lam Research have announced that they will support research and training programs in the country.
Amazon raises investment in India to $26 billion; Google to put $10 billion (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
AMAZON.COM INC said it will take its investments in India to $26 billion by 2030, adding $6.5 billion in new planned investments in an announcement made after CEO Andy Jassy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States.
Though Jassy gave no break- down, the announcement follows Amazon's cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) saying last month it will invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($12.9 billion) in the country by the end of 2030. Earlier, Amazon had announced a $6.5 billion investment plan, largely to boost its e- commerce business where it competes with Walmart's Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail.