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February 1st, 2011
India confident of over 9 pc growth next year: President
President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil on January 25 said her Government was confident of achieving over 9 percent economic growth next year. “We are now returning to the pre-crisis growth pattern and are confident of growing at over 9 percent next year,” the President said in her Address to the Nation on the eve of the 62nd Republic Day.
Text of the President’s Address:
“On the eve of our 62nd Republic Day, I extend my warmest greetings to all of you across the country and also to those living abroad. I convey my special greetings to the members of our Armed Forces and Para-Military Forces, who guard our frontiers and to our internal security forces. I also compliment every citizen from every walk of life for contributing to the process of nation-building.
January 26 is a very significant date in our nation’s calendar, when we celebrate the establishment of free India as a Republic based on the ideology of justice and equality. It is a day when we recall with gratitude the sacrifices of our freedom fighters and the work of our Founding Fathers, for giving to us a country where our dignity and individual freedoms are guaranteed by an enlightened Constitution. It must also be an occasion when we rededicate ourselves to maintaining harmony, peace and brotherhood.
Most of all, it is a time to introspect about how we have fared so far, and in which direction are we moving.
For our achievements, the foremost credit goes to the drive and the dedicated hard work of millions of men and women of our country. We are witness to the increasing influence of India and its steady economic growth that has brought prosperity to an increasing number of people. We can be proud of our successes, but there are many significant tasks that are yet to be accomplished, in particular the pledge to empower the poor and the marginalised sections of our population so that they too can become a part of the growth story of our nation.
We are fortunate that we are the inheritors of the ideals and values of one of the world’s oldest civilisations, which has bequeathed to us a rich treasure of human experiences and thought.
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Celebrations of India’s Republic Day in London
To commemorate the 62nd Republic Day of India, two functions were organised by the High Commission of India, London on January 26. In a ceremony held at India House, His Excellency High Commissioner Nalin Surie unfurled the National Flag. It was followed by the singing of the National Anthem and the telecast of the Address to the Nation delivered on the eve of the Republic Day by President of India Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil. The function was attended by the officers and members of staff of the High Commission along with their family members.
In the evening, a reception was hosted by the High Commissioner ands and the early-1940s.
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Speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar visits UK
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House) of the Indian Parliament, Mrs. Meira Kumar, recently visited London from January 15-19.
The Speaker, accompanied by five Members of Parliament and Secretary-General T.K. Viswanathan was on a bilateral visit, at the invitation of the Right Honourable John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, Britain. The last bilateral visit by an Indian Speaker was in 1997 when P.A. Sangama visited the United Kingdom.
The visit was organised to promote goodwill and enhance cooperation between the Westminster and the Indian Parliament and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The accompanying MPs, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Sanjay Nirupam, H.D. Kumaraswamy, K. Sugumar and Dushyant Singh, represented both the Houses of the Indian Parliament.
Speaker Kumar was warmly received by the British Speaker, House of Commons, Rt. Hon. Bercow on January 17, following which they had a one-to-one meeting. They discussed best parliamentary practices like the Question Hour, Calling Attention Motion and other matters of mutual and global interest. Speaker Kumar extended a cordial invitation to Speaker Bercow to visit India, which was readily accepted.
The Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association U.K. Branch, Sir Alan Haselhurst, hosted a luncheon on the same day for the Indian delegation. Speaker Kumar interacted with
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