Page 8 - Anurag Thakur

E-auction of 808 FM radio stations soon, says IB minister Anurag Thakur

The government will soon conduct an e-auction of 808 FM radio stations across 284 cities to further increase the footprint of radio communication, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Sunday. Addressing the Regional Community Radio Sammelan (North) here, Thakur said the government has also eased the processes for getting a license to operate radio stations, particularly community radio, by reducing the number of compliances. He said India currently has 388 FM radio stations in 113 cities across 26 states and five Union Territories. "Government is now planning a third batch of e-auction of 808 channels across 284 cities soon to further expand radio services," Thakur said.

Appeal to opposition to join debate in Parliament on Manipur: Anurag Thakur

As Parliament's Monsoon session remained deadlocked over ethnic violence in Manipur, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday appealed to the opposition parties "with folded hands" to join the debate on the issue. Thakur also urged the opposition not to politicise the issue of atrocities against women in the northeastern state. The opposition parties have planned joint protests in Parliament on Monday on the situation in Manipur. They have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament before starting a discussion on the issue. The government has been insisting that Home Minister Amit Shah will speak on the issue and not the prime minister. "Atrocities against women are painful, no matter which state the victims belong to. It is the responsibility of the state to curb such incidents," the minister said. He said the government is keen on a discussion on the issue of atrocities on women, which are prevalent in states such as Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal an

Oppn running from debate as their leader no longer MP: Anurag Thakur

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday hit out at the Congress-led opposition for "not allowing Parliament to function" and wondered whether it was because their leader was no longer a member of the Lok Sabha. In an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member in March, Thakur wondered whether it was the "desire" of some persons no longer members of the House to ensure that Parliament does not function. "Opposition is making excuses for not allowing the House to function. Some persons are no longer members of the House and it is their desire that the House should not function," said the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister outside Parliament. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on March 24 after a Gujarat court convicted him and sentenced him to two-year imprisonment on charges of criminal defamation for comments he made about the Modi surname. The Manipur violence rocked proceedings in both Houses of ...

3 NSFs reported cases of sexual harassment in last 3 years: Anurag Thakur

The Sports Ministry on Thursday said the POSH Act, 2013 (Sexual Harassment at Workplace) is applicable to all National Sports Federations and in the last three years, only four NSFs have reported complaints of such nature. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur made the disclosure during a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. "Prohibition and Redressal) (POSH) Act, 2013 are applicable to all National Sports Federations (NSFs), as applicable to any entity defined in the Act. The NSFs are bound to take action in terms of the extant legal provisions in the cases of sexual harassment reported to them. "The Ministry has also issued instructions to all NSFs from time-to-time on the prevention of sexual harassment in sports," Thakur wrote in his reply during the question hour in Rajya Sabha. "Based on the information provided about complaints of sexual harassment during the last three years and the current year by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and all the presently recognised NSFs, fou

Best web series award added to Int'l Film Festival of India: Anurag Thakur

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has announced the addition of a new award category to the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that will be presented to a show for its "artistic merit, storytelling excellence, technical prowess and overall impact". The Best Web Series Award will be given to an original web series on an OTT platform, originally shot and available in an Indian language, Thakur said on Twitter on Tuesday evening. "Delighted to announce the BEST WEB SERIES AWARD @IFFIGoa to be presented to an exceptional web series for its artistic merit, storytelling excellence, technical prowess and overall impact. "India is filled with exceptional talent; I encourage you to tell the story of a rising and aspirational New India - ready to lead the world, with a billion dreams and a billion untold stories," the Union minister tweeted. Thakur also said the award aims to "incentivise and create investment opportunities in India's OTT sector, encourage content

Centre doing its best to help calamity-hit states, says Anurag Thakur

The Centre is doing its best to help states, including Himachal Pradesh, that have been hit by natural calamities in their hour of crisis, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Saturday. The Union government has already released Rs 361 crore in two installments and more financial aid will be released shortly, he said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday said Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses of about Rs 8,000 crore as heavy rain wreaked havoc in the hill state, triggering landslides and flash floods and damaging roads and other infrastructure. According to the state emergency response centre, the losses amounted to about Rs 4,000 crore till Friday night and Sukhu had sought an interim relief of Rs 2,000 crore from the Union Home Ministry. On Saturday, Thakur visited the Dharmapur assembly segment in Mandi district and various regions of Hamirpur district where he met victims of the recent flood. The sight was shocking and beyond expectation, Thakur, who holds the U

Anurag Thakur expresses concern over panchayat election violence in Bengal

The deteriorating law and order situation in Bengal, which has resulted in multiple deaths and injuries, has drew attention and raised worries throughout the country and abroad, he said

PM Modi, Thakur congratulate football team on SAFF Championship victory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian football team after their triumph in the SAFF Championship final against Kuwait.Indian team clinched the SAFF Championship title in a penalty shootout as the game ended in a scoreline of 4-4 at the Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium on Tuesday."India crowned champions, yet again! The Blue Tigers reign supreme at the #SAFFChampionship2023! Congrats to our players. The Indian Team's remarkable journey, powered by the determination and tenacity of these athletes, will continue to inspire upcoming sportspersons," PM Modi tweeted.Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur also took to his Twitter handle to congratulate the Indian team for their victory."We have done it again! Kudos to the #BlueTigers for holding their nerve in such a gripping encounter with Kuwait in the final & giving a scintillating performance to clinch the #SAFFChampionship for a record th time. India is thrilled on your victory, keep shining!" Thakur wrote in his ...

Rahul Gandhi's abroad programmes organised by 'anti-India forces': Thakur

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's programmes abroad are organised by "anti-India forces" which run an agenda against the country. Gandhi and the Congress party should tell the nation as to why such elements are "associated" with them, the senior BJP leader told reporters here. There was no immediate reaction from the Congress. Thakur was interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the BJP's outreach campaign 'Sampark se Samarthan' to mark nine years of the Modi government. "Thinking of Congress gets evident when Rahul Gandhi visits abroad, and with whose support his programmes are organised. People whose names are associated with organisations who run an agenda against India. And, who fund them, who talk of breaking India, who funds those campaigns," the information and broadcasting minister alleged. Shaheen Bagh matter's funding was done, funding is done for "those who spew venom against India", Thakur claimed. And, Rahul Gan

Cabinet assent to set up National Research Foundation to boost R&D

The government on Wednesday approved a bill to set up the National Research Foundation, a new funding agency to bolster the country's research competence, Union minister Anurag Thakur said. He said the National Research Foundation Bill will be brought in Parliament and the Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008 will be repealed. At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to introduce the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023, Thakur told reporters here. The NRF will be governed by a governing board consisting of 15 to 25 eminent researchers and professionals. The governing board will be headed by the prime minister, he noted.

Thakur inaugurates hockey astro turf ground at BSF headquarters

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday inaugurated a state-of-the-art astro turf for hockey at the BSF headquarters here. On the occasion, Thakur highlighted the government's commitment to promoting sports in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An official release quoting Thakur said, "Sports are a catalyst for holistic development, and the government of India is fully committed to providing the necessary infrastructure and opportunities for our talented athletes. "This astro turf inauguration symbolises our dedication to promoting sports and nurturing the immense potential of our sporting community." Thakur said that the newly constructed stadium received all necessary approvals from the Hockey India, ensuring compliance with international standards. He also mentioned about the rich legacy of Punjab, which produced exceptional athletes and contributed significantly to India's sporting heritage. Further, he acknowledged the contributions of the Bord

Alliance of corrupt will collapse like pack of cards: Thakur on Oppn unity

Firing a fresh salvo over the unity bid by opposition parties, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Saturday said they should tell the country who will be their leader and claimed that their "thagbandhan" (an alliance of the corrupt) will collapse like a pack of cards. Addressing a rally in Haryana's Panipat, Thakur said several leaders of 15 opposition parties held a meeting in Patna on Friday. Though they came together, their hearts did not meet, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting said and claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had hosted the meeting, was not accepted as convener by the parties. Neither do they have a leader nor any policy and their intentions are also not clean, he alleged. Yesterday's meeting was nothing more than a joke. Ahead of the 2024 polls, this 'natak mandli' (drama company) has come together and 'rang manch' (stage) is being decorated and characters are being decided. A drama will play out. Everybody will speak of support. "Peo

What Musk said, reveals a lot about India, PM Modi: Anurag Thakur

"PM Modi's US visit has just begun, and a lot of things are going to take place...it is going to be a historic moment," he added

Ask Nitish Kumar about corruption in Bihar: Anurag Thakur on Oppn meet

"They should also say who is the leader of their alliance," he added

OTT emerged as biggest medium, bridged geographical barriers: Anurag Thakur

Union Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said OTT, which emerged as one of the biggest mediums during the COVID-19 time, has bridged the geographical barriers. He said with the vanishing of boundary in OTT, the possibility of content from across the world being accepted by the pan-world audience has increased and cited the example of Korean content. "Soft power doesn't have any boundary. The Covid-triggered lockdown had spurted the emergence of the OTT platform in a big way," he said at an awards programme here on Saturday night. He said Bengal, the land of a visionary and poet like Rabindranath Tagore, a film icon like Satyajit Ray, a new direction giver filmmaker like Ritwik Ghatak, a new age singing sensation like Arijit Singh can win the hearts of OTT audiences in the world with new content in near future. Thakur in this context harped on the issue of the need for any regulation on OTT content or not by the stakeholders. "The content will be seen by family. On the issu

Dorsey wants to cover up, 'Twitter files' exposed misuse: Anurag Thakur

The "false" allegations made by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey were an attempt to cover up past misdeeds and Twitter's internal communications had exposed that the platform was "misused and there was bias and tinkering, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said here on Tuesday. Thakur said many "foreign forces" get active at the time of elections to vitiate the democratic process and build tension, but such attempts have failed in the past and would not succeed in the future also. "Such elements within the country and abroad will never be able to destabilise the nation which is being led by a strong leader," the minister told reporters here. Dorsey, who quit as Twitter CEO in 2021, claimed in an interview Indian government "pressured" the company with threats of a shutdown and raids on employees if it did not comply with requests to take down posts and restrict accounts, a charge rubbished by the government. "Jack Dorsey has woken up after deep slumber and is

Anurag Thakur alleges conspiracy to keep Indians away from their history

Union minister Anurag Thakur alleged on Friday that no effort was made to rectify the narration of history set out by the British, who glorified Mughal emperors and made a brief mention of warriors such as Maharana Pratap. "Why was this conspiracy hatched to keep Indians away from their history? What was achieved by doing this?" Thakur asked in his inaugural address at the "National Conference on Recent Advances in School Education" here in Punjab. He asserted that there is a need to understand why an entire page in history textbooks was devoted to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, why Akbar was referred to as "great" while Maharana Pratap got a mention of just a few lines. "They came as aggressors and destroyed India. They ruled India and destroyed our culture, system of knowledge. Even after Independence, no efforts were made to rectify this. The western thought was forced on us," he said. The information and broadcasting minister added that "Indianness" is very much necessary in the ...

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Wrestlers to halt protest till June 15 after Anurag Thakur assures action

Wrestler Sakshi Malik accompanied star wrestler Bajrang Punia. However, Vinesh Phogat, one of the prominent faces in the protest, did not attend the meeting

Make woman WFI chief, scrap FIRs against us: Wrestlers to Anurag Thakur

The protesting wrestlers have been invited by the government for the second time days after they met Home Minister Amit Shah