Page 2 - Anurag Thakur

Anurag Thakur accuses TMC in WB of providing shelter to anti-govt forces

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal of providing protection and shelter to 'anti-government forces' and supporting those committing atrocities against women. Speaking to reporters during his election campaign in Siliguri, the Union Information and Broadcasting minister questioned why actors of terror activities, committed in the state or elsewhere in the country, "find protection and shelter in West Bengal." "Why is this so?" he asked. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two key accused, including the mastermind, in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast case from West Bengal, a development that triggered a war of words between the BJP and the state's ruling TMC. While the BJP alleged that the TMC has turned West Bengal into a "safe haven for terrorists", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the accused were arrested due to the state police's prompt action. "Under the nose of Mamata Banerjee, ...

AIFF forms panel to probe alleged physical assault of two women footballers

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday asked its executive committee member Deepak Sharma to refrain from game-related activities till the conclusion of a probe by a panel into his alleged physical assault of two women footballers in Goa. Two footballers of Himachal Pradesh-based Khad FC, taking part in the Indian Women's Football (IWL) League second division, had alleged that Sharma, the owner of the club, had barged into their room and physically assaulted them on the night of March 28. They filed a complaint with the competition committee of the AIFF and the Goa Football Association (GFA), which was hosting the tournament, also lodged a complaint at the Mapusa police station on the basis of the complaint of the two women footballers. In the complaint, according to sources, the two players said Sharma was in an inebriated state for most of the time and they were "scared of their lives". Sports Minister Anurag Thakur earlier in the day asked the AIFF to take "quick"

Financial inclusion important for economic empowerment of women: Thakur

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday urged women entrepreneurs to use digital technology to help small businesses become resilient and champions of change. Addressing the 40th Annual Session of the FICCI Ladies Organisation, Thakur said financial inclusion and going digital was critical to achieving the economic empowerment of women. "Women must be a larger part of the economic development. Empowering women, addressing their concerns and amplifying their voices is a priority for the present government," Thakur said. He said India has the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world with 1.2 lakh start-ups and 110 Unicorns. "Women's contribution will be much more when India will move to become the 3rd largest economy in the next three years," he said. "Adoption of advanced technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) by women can serve as a tool for growth for small businesses in building their resilient capacity," he said. Adoption of digitalisation by small businesses means

New age-based ratings for films in Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 2024

The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 2024 were notified by the Centre on Friday, introducing an updated mechanism for film certification process in India

Defence exports to more than double to Rs 40,000 cr by 2026: Anurag Thakur

Swedish think-tank SIPRI's recent report revealed India was world's biggest arms importer in 2019-23, with a 9.8 per cent share of all arms imports

Shah informing people about CAA from different platforms: Anurag Thakur

"Home Minister Amit Shah has been briefing people about the CAA from Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and other platforms that no one should get worried about it. It is a law that gives citizenship," he said

Cabinet approves Rs 8,400 cr for two corridors of Delhi Metro under Phase-4

The corridors, which are already at pre-bid stages by DMRC, are expected to be completed by March 2026

I&B minister Anurag Thakur launches 'Swaraj' series on OTT platform

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday launched the first season of "Swaraj" on OTT platform Amazon Prime. Speaking on the occasion, Thakur said, the launch of the series on the over-the-top (OTT) platform was a true tribute to all those unsung great heroes of our independence who sacrificed everything for the country. He said the series was commissioned taking inspiration from the "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" national campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and captures the stories of bravery in India's freedom struggle about which very few people know. "These are the wars which got lost somewhere in the pages of history. I am confident that this series will instil a sense of pride in our youth towards the history of our nation," Thakur said. He said the series will help the national and international audience understand the spirit of the country's 500-year-long relentless struggle to gain independence from colonial rulers. Produced by Contiloe Pictures, the

Anurag Thakur announces two National Centre of Excellence for women

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday announced the establishment of two National Centres of Excellence (NCOE), exclusively for women on the occasion of International Women's Day. The NCOE cover 23 focused and priority disciplines where Indian athletes have a chance to win medals in global competitions like the Asian Games and the Olympics. "Sports is a state subject but still the central government is keen to look at the upliftment of sports in the country. We have to spend a lot of money on infrastructure and coaches," Thakur said reacting to lack of trainers, coaches and infrastructure at the state level. "We are collaborating with state governments and asked them to identify three key sports so that we have a roadmap and information on which state will promote hockey, boxing and athletics etc. "I have already started consolidating our NCOEs and in association with the national sports federations, will greater emphasis on producing good coaches," he added. The Sports Authorit

Khelo India medal winners now eligible for government jobs: Anurag Thakur

Medal winners in all Khelo India competitions will now be eligible for government jobs as per a revised criteria, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday. Thakur said the move is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vision of a robust sports ecosystem, nurturing talent at grassroots level and turning sports into a lucrative and viable career option." He said the department of personnel and training, in consultation with the sports ministry, has made "progressive revisions to the eligibility criteria for sportspersons seeking government jobs." "This groundbreaking step now extends eligibility to medal winners from the Khelo India Games -- Youth, University, Para and Winter Games -- to be eligible for government jobs. Additionally, games and events have been clearly defined to ensure inclusivity across various sports," Thakur said in his post on X. "These revised rules mark a significant stride in supporting our athletes in making Bharat a sporting superpower," he

Registered athletes to be issued digital certificates: Anurag Thakur

Sports minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday announced that the government will issue digital certificates to registered athletes across the country, a move which would ensure a transparent account of their participation and performance. The digital certificate will have dates of the athletes' participation in competitions and serve as proof of their achievements. "With athletes at the heart of our progressing and growing sporting ecosystem, the sports ministry has made a crucial decision to promote the 'issuance of digital certificates to athletes'," wrote Thakur on 'X'. The minister had first announced his plan to simplify things for athletes and National Sports Federations (NSFs) during the National Sports Day on August 29 last year. On the occasion, the NSF portal was launched for ensuring ease of business and good governance. It is a unified single window for processing annual renewals and elections in NSFs. On Thursday, the minister said, "Keeping up with our policy of ...

We must embed sports science into every layer of athletic framework: Bindra

For India to grow into a sporting powerhouse, it needs to develop not just state of the art infrastructure but also adopt scientific mindset, champion shooter Abhinav Bindra said on Wednesday, calling upon coaches to embrace sports science in their training methods. Bindra, India's first individual Olympic champion, was speaking at the Bharat Sports Science Conclave. "Coaches as the custodians of athletic progress must embrace sports science to fine-tune their training methodologies to this digital age," Bindra, the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist, said. "To ascend to the Olympic echelon as a nation, we must embed sports science into every layer of our athletic framework. It is not just the state-of-the-art facilities but the integration of the scientific mindset from the grassroots to elite levels that will catalyze India's growth into a global sporting powerhouse. "The importance of starting at the grassroots level cannot be overstated. It is here we must begin to instil a

Things have changed from UPA to UPI, says Anurag Thakur at FICCI event

India will become a developed nation much before 2047 through initiatives of the government and contributions from all quarters, including the industry, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said here on Tuesday. Addressing the Viksit Bharat @ 2047 conclave organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Thakur said India moved from being counted among the fragile five economies in the world to the top five due to the bold policies and decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The senior BJP leader said the prime minister was empowered to make tough decisions because of the clear mandate he received in the elections. "If you look back at 2014, we were among the fragile five economies of the world. There were corruption cases. There were many other issues faced by a lot of people where the delivery was a big challenge. From a lost decade to 'techade', how this journey has been from the time of UPA to the time of UPI, I think

It makes sense for IOC to give 2036 Olympics to India, says Anurag Thakur

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Sunday "it makes more sense for the IOC" to give India the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympic Games as the country is growing by leaps and bounds in every sphere including sports. Thakur, while speaking at the News9 Global Summit, said India's recent performance at mega international events, such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, gives him hope that the country could become a top-10 sporting nation by 2036 and be in the top-5 by 2047. "We had the largest population to see the Olympic sports last time (in 2020 Tokyo) and this time, it makes more sense for the IOC to give 2036 Olympics to none other than Bharat, our India," said Thakur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already expressed the country's desire to host the Olympics in 2036 during the IOC session in Mumbai last year, and when asked if India was ready to hold the mega event and which city could play host, Thakur said, "PM Modi made it very clear during the I

Congress will not be able to open its account in UP this time: Thakur

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday said the Congress will not be able to open its account in Uttar Pradesh this time as party leader leader Rahul Gandhi has raised a question mark on the intelligence of the people of the state. Thakur said the people of Uttar Pradesh have elected four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family and sent them to the Lok Sabha. Referring to Gandhi's recent drunk and addict comment on the youth of Uttar Pradesh at a rally in Varanasi, Thakur said the Congress leader has lost his senses and is not aware of what he is saying. Thakur, while talking to the media persons here, said Gandhi has hurt the honour and respect of the people of Uttar Pradesh. The minister said the Congress has cheated the public by making false promises. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's videos are going viral among the public in which she had said that five lakh government jobs would be given to the youth in Himachal Pradesh and now Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has ...

Anurag Thakur hits out at TMC, condemns atrocities in restive Sandeshkhali

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has hit out at the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in West Bengal, accusing it of doing nothing to control the goons targeting innocent people in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali. Thakur was speaking to reporters on the sideline of a function in Bhota on Friday night. "The sad thing is that the West Bengal government is not doing anything... If women were not safe under the rule of a woman chief minister, then questions start to arise on the law-and-order situation in the state," he said. An intense political row involving the BJP and the Trinamool Congress has erupted after several women in Sandeshkhali, in the state's North 24 Parganas district, accused the regional party's strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grab and sexual assault". Fresh protests erupted in the village on Friday as locals torched the property of the accused Trinamool leaders and held demonstrations against the delay in arresting Sheikh. Th

Sports infra worth Rs 3000 cr established under Khelo India: Anurag Thakur

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said that over 300 sporting infrastructure projects worth Rs 3,000 crore have been established under the Khelo India umbrella. Thakur added that Khelo India and Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) had "revolutionised" the sports landscape in India. The minister, while virtually addressing students of a private university in Greater Noida, also described how the Khelo India programme annually adds 1,000 new athletes, providing them with funding for training, accommodation, diet, and a monthly allowance. "Over 300 sporting infrastructure projects worth Rs 3,000 crore have been established under the Khelo India umbrella," the minister was quoted as saying in a press statement. "Even the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) has transformed, providing athletes with foreign exposure, training, and world-class coaching apart from financial support to the tune of Rs 25,000-50,000 per month as out-of-pocket allowance," Thakur told students. He urge

Govt modifies National Livestock Mission, includes various activities

The government on Wednesday modified the National Livestock Mission by including various activities and providing 50 per cent capital subsidy to individuals and organisations for establishing horse, donkey, mule, and camel entrepreneurship. The Centre will provide Rs 10 crore for the establishment of semen station and nucleus breeding farm for horse, donkey, and camel under the modified National Livestock Mission. The Union Cabinet approved inclusion of additional activities in National Livestock Mission (NLM), Union Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters here. Under the modified NLM, establishment of entrepreneurship for horse, donkey, mule, and camel with 50 per cent capital subsidy up to Rs 50 lakh will be provided to the individuals, farmer producer organisations, self-help groups, and Section 8 companies. Also, the state government will be assisted for breed conservation of horses, donkeys, and camels. Also, the state government will be assisted for fodder cultivation in ...

Ready for talks with 'our brothers': Anurag Thakur on farmers' protest

The Centre is ready for talks with protesting farmers who are our "brothers" and "annadaatas", Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday, asserting that the Modi government has taken various steps to ensure higher income for farmers. At a cabinet briefing, Thakur said the government is committed to doubling of farmers' income and has taken several steps toward this end. On whether the issue of farmers protesting at Punjab-Haryana borders was discussed during the Cabinet meeting, the minister said the Centre is ready for talks. "We were ready for talks earlier and are ready even today and will be ready to discuss their issues even in future," he said, adding that, "we have no problem as they are our brothers and are 'annadatas'." Thakur highlighted various steps taken by the Modi government to double farmers' income and achieve higher growth in the agriculture and allied sectors. He said the government has doubled the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and ...

Anurag Thakur condemns attack on media freedom amid Sandeshkhali incident

The stifling of freedom of expression in West Bengal is unfortunate and amounts to the murder of democracy; the TMC government is flouting constitutional norms, he added