National
Maharashtra received 50 percent of total FDI, says Fadnavis
Hyderabad, Sep 23 (IANS) Maharashtra attracted 50 percent of the entire Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which came to India during 2016-17, state Chief Minister Devandra Fadnavis said on Saturday.
Addressing Indian School of Business Leadership Summit (ILS) here, he said the state topped the list with FDI of Rs 1.20 lakh crore while Delhi stood second with Rs 14,000 crore.
He claimed that the global community had shown confidence in Maharashtra due to the reforms brought by his government over last three years.
Eminent leaders from politics, business, technology, sports, academia and entertainment were participating in the 15th edition of ILS, the School’s annual leadership conclave.
Speaking on ‘Governance Tomorrow’, Fadnavis touched at length on how politics in India today focuses on performance and competitive leadership, which in turn has led to Indian leaders being highly revered globally.
“Today’s Leadership is all about inspiring people and creating processes,” he said.
He explained about the challenges faced by his government in various sectors and how it overcame the same by installation of systems and procedures.
Fadnavis said they had taken several initiatives to improve Ease of Doing Business (EoB) in Mumbai and was confident that this would drastically improve its World Bank ranking.
He later told reporters that he has requested the Centre’s Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) to differentiate between large states and smaller states for their EoB ranking.
“Maharashtra is a large state and it is very difficult to put processes at every place,” he said.
The state was ranked 9th by DIPP for 2016.
On Goods and Services Tax (GST), he admitted that he was initially worried of losing revenues to other states with Maharashtra being manufacturing state and GST being consumption based tax.
Fadnavis claimed that in the first two months, Maharashtra crossed its target. “If the trend continues we may not required to claim compensation from Centre,” he said.
The CM said 2.50 lakh traders registered under GST during last two months against 70,000 registered under VAT.
Fadnavis said they were putting in place a system to pump out rain water into the sea and 60 percent of the work was completed. He explained that the city was facing problems when there are both torrential rains and high tides.
He claimed that agriculture, which was registering negative growth for four consecutive years, grew by 12.5 percent during the last financial year. He said this became possible due to various steps including convergence of 14 different schemes, Awater conservation programme and reforms.
The CM said 50 percent of the state’s population was dependent on agriculture though the sector contribute only 10 percent to the SGDP. He said 15-20 percent people dependent on agriculture need to be shifted to other sectors of the economy.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.