Moscow:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said energy is an important pillar of cooperation between India and Russia. New Delhi is eager to further cement ties in this sector with Moscow as he visited the Rosatom Pavilion along with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Prime Minister Modi witnessed a photo exhibition dedicated to India-Russia cooperation in civil nuclear energy at the Rosatom Pavilion at VDNKh, inaugurated in November 2023. It is one of the largest exhibitions in the history of scientific and technological developments.

“Visited the Atom Pavilion with President Putin. Energy is an important pillar of cooperation between India and Russia and we are eager to further cement ties in this sector,” Modi posted on his official X platform along with the photographs from the visit.

Visited the Atom Pavilion with President Putin. Energy is an important pillar of cooperation between India and Russia and we are eager to further cement ties in this sector. pic.twitter.com/XpLLxrYVQ0

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 9, 2024

“Prime Minister Modi was also shown the ‘Atomic Symphony’ – a permanent working model of the VVER-1000 reactor, which is the heart of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in India,” a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Prime Minister Modi is here to hold the 22nd India-Russia annual summit with President Putin. Prime Minister Modi and President Putin visited the All Russian Exhibition Centre, VDNKh, ahead of the summit talks.

“At the Pavilion, the Prime Minister also interacted with a group of Indian and Russian students. He encouraged them to look at future possibilities in the realm of science and technology, which could be harnessed for the benefit of future generations and for the planet,” the MEA statement said.

“Cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology is an important pillar of the multifaceted cooperation between India & Russia,” the MEA posted on X soon after the visit.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi paid tribute at the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ here and also laid a wreath at the Tomb. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made a wholehearted endorsement of India’s ties with Russia, describing the old ally as India’s “all-weather friend” and lauding President Vladimir Putin for strengthening the bilateral relations over the past two decades of his leadership.

Addressing the Indian diaspora, he said the India-Russia relationship is built on the strong pillar of mutual trust and respect, asserting that their ties were tested time and again only to emerge stronger every time.

PM Modi’s high praise of Russia as an ally and President Putin’s leadership came amid ongoing efforts by the Western world to isolate the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Modi also made a veiled criticism of the “influence-oriented global order” which endured for decades.

“But, what the world needs right now is confluence not influence and no one can deliver this message better than India which has a strong tradition of worshipping confluences,” he said.

He said India is being seen as a strong pillar in the “emerging multi-polar world order”.

“When it speaks of peace, dialogue and diplomacy, then the whole world listens.” PM Modi has often stressed the need for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Commenting on India’s ties with Russia, he said he has been for decades an admirer of the unique partnership between the two countries.

“On hearing the word Russia, the first word that comes to the mind of every Indian is India’s ‘sukh-dukh ka saathi’ (all-weather friend) and a trusted ally,” he said.

“No matter how low the temperature dips below zero degrees during Russian winter, India-Russia friendship has always remained in ‘plus’ and been full of warmth. This relationship is built on the strong foundation of mutual trust and mutual respect,” PM Modi said.

He said he had a special appreciation for “his friend” President Putin for steering the India-Russia friendship to greater heights over the last two decades.

As prime minister, he said it was his sixth visit to Russia and the two leaders have met 17 times during this period.

“All these meetings have added to our mutual trust and respect,” he said, praising Putin for helping the evacuation of Indian students during the war. He expressed gratitude to the Russian leader and Russian citizens for this.

To the applause from the audience, he announced that India will open two new consulates in Russia to boost travel and trade between the two countries.

Recalling the celebrated Hindi song ‘Sar pe lal topi Rusi, phir bhi dil hai Hindustani’ picturised on Raj Kapoor, he said it may be an old number but its sentiments remain evergreen.

He also mentioned Mithun Chakraborty, another Indian actor who earned a big following in Russia, as he spoke about the deep cultural ties between the two countries.

PM Modi said India was undergoing a transformation and the pace of development over the past 10 years has taken the world by surprise. Even the world now acknowledges what he used to say during his poll campaign that the 21st century belongs to India, he added.

The fast pace of India’s development will write a “new chapter” in the world’s progress, he said.

He said India was changing as it believes in the strength of its 140 crore citizens who are now dreaming of turning their resolve of ‘Viksit Bharat’ into reality.

“Today’s India is brimming with self-confidence, unlike the situation before 2014 when the country was sunk in despair, and this is our biggest capital,” PM Modi said.

In this context, he mentioned India’s win in the T20 World Cup and added that India’s teams in different sports were giving a historic performance.

“The youth India of today does not concede defeat till the last ball and the last moment,” he said, adding that the country is sending a strong team for the Paris Olympics and its athletes will show their mettle.

“When people like you bless us, even the biggest goals can be achieved. You all know that today’s India achieves whatever goal it sets its mind to,” he said.

He said it was in his DNA to challenge all the challenges and India will write a new chapter of global growth in coming years.

PM Modi said it was exactly a month ago that he took oath as prime minister for the third consecutive term when he had made the resolve to work at thrice the strength and speed to fulfil the aspirations of the country.

“Our government envisions making India the world’s third-largest economy, build three crore homes for the poor and turn three crore poor women in villages to ‘lakhpati didi’,” the prime minister said amid chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ and ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’.

He said India was the country which sent Chandrayaan to a place on the moon where no country has gone before and has given the work the most reliable model for digital transactions.

“India’s development of the past 10 years was just a trailer, we will see much faster growth in the next 10 years,” PM Modi asserted.

The Indian diaspora takes pride in the country’s achievements, he added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Russia as India’s “all-weather friend” and hailed President Vladimir Putin’s leadership in strengthening the bilateral relationship over the past two decades.

Mr. Modi said he had a special appreciation for “his friend” President Putin for steering India-Russia friendship to greater heights over the last two decades.

The Prime Minister said for a long time the world had seen an “influence-oriented global order”.

“But, what the world needs right now is confluence not influence and no one can deliver this message better than India which has a strong tradition of worshipping confluences,” Mr. Modi said.

– PTI

A jawan being taken to Billawar Health Center as he was injured after terrorists attacked an army convoy in Billawar, in Kathua on July 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Five soldiers killed, five injured as militants attack Army convoy in J&K’s Kathua

Five Army soldiers were killed and five were injured in an ambush by militants in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Following the attack, the Army engaged the attackers in a firefight, which is still continuing.

Preliminary reports suggested that an Army patrol, comprising light and heavy vehicles, came under fire from two directions when the convoy reached Jenda Nallah in Badnota village, which is 124 km away from Kathua town. The incident took place around 3.30 p.m. The patrolling vehicles were from the Army’s 9 Corps (Rising Star Corps).

Ahead of talks with Putin, Modi says will ‘support’ peace in region

The solution to the Russia-Ukraine war will not be “found on the battlefield” is the message Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to deliver, even as he and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet on July 9 for structured talks and the 22nd Annual bilateral Summit. The two leaders met on Monday night for a personal dinner hosted by Mr. Putin at his Dacha in the Moscow suburb of Novo-Ogaryovo to set the tone for the visit, embracing each other, and discussing Mr. Modi’s return to office for a third term. In formal talks on Tuesday, economic issues and the issue of discharge of Indians “misled” into joining the Russian military on the Ukraine warfront will be at the top of India’s wish list.

Campaigning ends for Assembly byelections in 13 seats

Campaigning ended on July 8 for the Assembly byelections to be held on July 10 in 13 constituencies across seven States — Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

The bypolls will be keenly watched, specially in Himachal Pradesh, where polling will be held in the three seats of Dehra, Hamirpur, and Nalagarh, vacated by Independent MLAs who joined the BJP. Though the Congress has crossed the majority mark of 35 seats in the Assembly by winning four of the six seats in the bypolls held simultaneously with the recent Lok Sabha election, the BJP is hoping for a windfall in these three.

ED moves Supreme Court against bail to Hemant Soren

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday (July 8) against the grant of bail to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the State High Court in a money laundering case linked to a land scam.

Mahua Moitra flags BJP Minister’s ‘beef passes’ for ‘smugglers’; permits a routine affair, says BSF

After Trinamool Congress member of parliament Mahua Moitra alleged that Union Minister Shantanu Thakur issued passes to “smugglers” along the Bangladesh border to transport “beef”, Border Security Force (BSF) officials said that public representatives were authorised to endorse such passes for local residents and consumption of beef was not illegal in West Bengal.

As Mumbai faces deluge, Maharashtra CM assures high priority help to citizens

On behalf of the India Meteorological Department (Mumbai), a red alert has been issued for Mumbai Metropolis. Considering the safety of the students, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani has announced a holiday for all primary, secondary and higher secondary schools and colleges of Mumbai Metropolis on July 9.

A major Russian missile attack on Ukraine kills at least 20 people and hits a children’s hospital

A major Russian missile attack across Ukraine killed at least 20 people and injured more than 50 on Monday, officials said, with one missile striking a large children’s hospital in the capital, Kyiv, where emergency crews searched rubble for casualties.

High anti-incumbency against BJP, Congress will form govt. with a thumping majority in Haryana: Deepender Hooda

The Haryana Assembly polls are three months away. The Congress is going into this election riding high on the Lok Sabha poll results, where, after a gap of 10 years, the party won five out of the 10 seats. Lok Sabha member and senior party leader in Haryana Deepender Hooda speaks to The Hindu on lessons from the Lok Sabha polls and the expectations ahead of the Assembly elections.

Centre set to tweak criteria for according classical language status

Amid a clamour for classical status for many languages, the Central government has decided to tweak the criteria for giving this special tag. The Linguistics Expert Committee of the Union Culture Ministry submitted a report on October 10 last year, suggesting some tweaks and changes in the criteria for according classical status to any language, sources in the Ministry told The Hindu.

Chopra flogging survivor files complaint against CPI(M), BJP leaders for sharing video

The survivor of the Chopra flogging incident in West Bengal has filed a police complaint against CPI(M) State secretary Mohammed Salim and BJP leader Amit Malviya for sharing videos of the incident on social media. The video of the flogging incident went viral on June 30 and was shared by many, including Mr. Salim and Mr. Malviya.

Mentor Yuvraj was very happy when I got out for duck, he must be proud now: Abhishek Sharma

India opener Abhishek Sharma has revealed that his mentor Yuvraj Singh was delighted when he got out for a duck on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe here as the swashbuckling former all-rounder, for reasons best known to him, felt it was a “good start”.