Am Gujarati, money is in my blood, says PM in Tokyo

September 1, 2014

Tokyo, Sep 1: Japan today announced doubling of its private and public investment in India to about USD 34 billion over the next five years even as the two countries decided to elevate their ties to a Special Strategic Global Partnership but failed to conclude a civil nuclear deal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during their summit talks also reaffirmed the importance of bilateral defence relations in their strategic partnership and agreed on greater defence equipment and technology cooperation.

The summit meeting took place on the third day of Modi's five-day visit to Japan when the two countries also decided to expedite talks on sale of US-2 amphibian aircraft to India for enhancing maritime security.

At a joint press conference, Abe also announced that as an example of Indo-Japan cooperation, Tokyo will help India in providing financial, technical and operational support to introduce Bullet trains, a project that Modi has been actively pursuing.

Japan will also help India in providing better connectivity with its neighbours, he said.

On the civil nuclear deal, which was expected to be finalised during the visit, Abe said they have directed the officials to accelerate negotiations for early conclusion of an agreement to strengthen partnership.

While India is said to be pursuing the deal with Japan on the template of the landmark Indo-US nuclear accord, Tokyo is said to be not that enthusiastic about that being the basis.

The 3.5 trillion yen( 34 billion USD) of investment from Japan to India including Official Development Assositance(ODA) during a 5-year period will be under the aegis of India–Japan Investment Promotion Partnership for development of projects including infrastructure and building of smart cities.

The five-year period will also see the doubling of the presence of Japanese firms in India, Abe said.

Thanking Abe for providing him an opportunity to make Japan his first bilateral visit outside South Asia, Modi said," we both have decided to raise the relationship to a special strategic and global partnership by giving it a special emphasis".

Asserting that his visit ushered in a dawn of new era in Indo-Japan relations, Modi said there is no "limit" to partnership between the two countries.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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