Rajiv Gandhi

When DLF's K P Singh fulfilled Rajiv Gandhi's wish of bringing GE to India

When Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, he was determined to bring General Electric into India and his wish was fulfilled by DLF's K P Singh, who helped catalyse the American giant's presence in this country, says a new book. Singh talks about his journey through India's transforming landscapes and his indelible contributions to the industry in "Why the Heck Not", published by Penguin Random House India. Co-authored with Aparna Jain, Singh also writes about the bold risks and visionary decisions that shaped his career, as well as the challenges he overcame. Delving into the GE story, the book says in the mid to late '80s, Gandhi revered GE chairman and CEO Jack Welch as a business icon. Determined to bring him to India, he dispatched the Indian envoy in Washington, Ambassador P K Kaul, to extend a formal invitation, it says. "At the time, India was not globally known for business prospects and was not a priority on the lists of investors and entrepreneurs. Jack refused Kaul, blu

Congress' 'shahi parivar' believes it was born to rule India: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that has always been the mentality of Congress' 'shahi parivar' that it was born to rule the country. That is the reason that after Independence, the Congress never allowed Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis to progress, Modi said, addressing a rally at Chimur in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district ahead of the November 20 state assembly elections. The Congress gets annoyed with (the topic of) reservations. In the 1980s, when Rajiv Gandhi led the party, it published an advertisement raising questions over the special rights enjoyed by Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis, Modi said. This old advertisement has been shared on social media, he said. It reflected that party's anti-reservation attitude, he added. The huge crowd here shows that the BJP-led Mahayuti will retain power in Maharashtra with a massive majority, the PM said. The BJP's Sankalp Patra poll manifesto will be a guarantee for Maharashtra's development, Modi said. On ..

Bibek Debroy (1955-2024): From free-market advocate to cultural custodian

Debroy was one of the very few economists not bound by any single area of expertise and was simultaneously curious about economics and politics, myths and maths, and what not

Rahul more intellectual, strategist as compared with Rajiv, says Pitroda

Rahul Gandhi is more intellectual and more of a strategist as compared with his father Rajiv Gandhi, says long-time Gandhi family confidant Sam Pitroda, describing both leaders as "custodians of the idea of India". In an interview with PTI, Pitroda also asserted that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has all the qualities of a future prime minister. Pitroda, the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, dismissed as "bogus" the BJP's attack on Rahul Gandhi in the past over his remarks critical of the government during his visits abroad. Speaking about Gandhi's upcoming visit to the US next week, Pitroda said he is not coming to the US in his official capacity but will have a chance to interact with a variety of people on Capitol Hill at an "individual level". "He (Gandhi) will definitely have interactions with the press at the national press club, he will meet with the think tank people and will also have interaction at Georgetown University which is equally import

Sadbhavna Diwas 2024: All you need to know about Rajiv Gandhi's birthday

Every year, 20th August is observed as Sadbhavana Diwas or Harmony Day to celebrate India's Former PM, Rajiv Gandhi's birthday. This day serves as a reminder of his vision for a peaceful India

PM Modi pays tribute to ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary

Tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji on his birth anniversary, said PM Modi

Congress remembers former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his 80th birth anniversary

The Congress on Tuesday paid rich tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 80th birth anniversary with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge saying that he ignited hope in crores of Indians and brought India to the 21st century with his "unprecedented contribution". Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes to his father at his memorial Veer Bhumi here. "A compassionate personality, a symbol of harmony and goodwill... Papa, your teachings are my inspiration and your dreams for India are my own, I will fulfil them taking your memories with me," Rahul Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. India's youngest prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi held office from 1984 to 1989. He was assassinated by a suicide bomber of the LTTE in 1991. In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said today the country is celebrating 'Sadbhavana Diwas'. "Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was a great son of India. He ignited a ray of hope in crores of Indians and brought India to the 21st

News updates: Lok Sabha Speaker sets up the Business Advisory Committee for new session

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Sensex to GDP: How India looked when a party won 400 seats the last time

If the BJP secures over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha, it will be the second party to do so after Congress, which won 414 seats in 1984 after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Sonia, Kharge pay homage to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on death anniversary

Other Congress leaders like P Chidambaram and Sachin Pilot also paid their respects to the former prime minister in the national capital

PM Modi pays tribute to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, paid tributes to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his 33rd death anniversary. Rahul shared his childhood picture with his father with an emotional caption

Rajiv's life was short but 'impactful', liberalisation his legacy: Ramesh

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's political life was very short but "hugely impactful" and he left behind numerous legacies, including the 1991 manifesto which promised liberalisation, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday. Ramesh remembered the contributions made by Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. "His political life was very short but hugely impactful. He left behind numerous legacies that we take for granted now," he said. "These include the right of 18 year olds to vote; Constitutional empowerment of panchayats and nagarpalikas, including reservations for women in elections to them; peace in Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Punjab; India's entry into the IT, computer and telecom era as a major power; the use of science & technology to address societal concerns and challenges; strengthening of India's space and nuclear programmes. And much more," he said. One legacy, however, that is often overlooked is the Congress' 1991 manifesto that was released by him on April

PM Modi pays tributes to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. India's Prime Minister between 1984 and 1989, Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE cadres at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu in 1991 during an election campaign. "On his death anniversary, my tributes to our former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji," Modi said in a post on X.

Rajiv Gandhi abolished inheritance tax to save family wealth, says PM Modi

Says Congress wanted to bring back estate duty; latter calls claims 'lies'

PM Modi launched big attack on Cong and former PM Rajiv Gandhi over inheritance tax.

Rajiv scrapped inheritance tax to save Indira Gandhi's wealth: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday alleged that former PM Rajiv Gandhi had abolished inheritance tax in 1985 after his mother Indira Gandhi's death to save her wealth from going to the government, as he continued his relentless attack on the Congress over wealth redistribution and inheritance tax. Modi also claimed at a poll rally in Morena in Madhya Pradesh that after benefitting from the abolition of estate duty--a levy imposed on inherited movable and immovable assets, the Congress now wants to bring back the levy. As the political slugfest over the issue of inheritance tax escalated on the eve of the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress hit back at Modi, calling his remarks on Rajiv Gandhi "lies". The opposition party also cited the then finance minister V P Singh's budget speech in 1985 on scrapping of inheritance tax. If the Congress comes to power, it will snatch more than half of the earnings of the people through inheritance tax, Modi claimed. A day afte

Three ex-convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination record statements in Lanka

Three ex-convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case returned to Sri Lanka on Wednesday and recorded their statements upon arrival, nearly two years after being freed by India's Supreme Court. The trio, who had earlier served a three-decade prison term in connection with the killing of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, were met by the Colombo Police crime investigation department to record their statements as they returned to their homeland from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Murugan, Robert Payas and Jayakumar arrived at the Colombo International Airport here around 11 am (local time) on Wednesday on a flight from Chennai, police officials said. Their statements were recorded for over 5 hours, the officials said. The trio and Santhan, the fourth convict, had been released from prison in 2022 and were lodged in a special camp in Tiruchirappalli, and on Tuesday night brought to Chennai to be repatriated to Sri Lanka. On March 1, the remains of Santhan alias T Suthendiraraja, who died i

Caste census against 'Indira-Rajiv legacy': Congress leader Anand Sharma

Anand Sharma invoked Congress' historical position on the issue under the regime of former PMs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and advised the party to refrain from indulging in identity politics

Gehlot calls for immediate release of Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship funds

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded that the state government should release the amount to the youths selected under the Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme without any delay. He had also written a letter to Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma in this regard. Gehlot said on X, "The Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship for Academic Excellence scheme, started by our government with the aim of providing free education to 500 children abroad, is also stuck in the new government. Due to this, children studying abroad are facing problems". He claimed that 346 students are not getting scholarship despite selection in the scheme. Gehlot said the students who came to meet him gave him this information. The Congress leader had written a letter to Chief Minister Sharma over the issue. Now again the students and their families have come together to say that even after more than a week has passed, they have not received the scholarship. "I would like to again request Chief Minister Bhajanl

Cong, not Rajiv responsible for unlocking of Babri Masjid gates: Aiyar

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has said the party and not former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for unlocking of Babri Masjid gates and asserted that the "BJP-planted" Arun Nehru was behind it. Aiyar also said his guess is that had Gandhi been alive and been the prime minister instead of P V Narasimha Rao, Babri Masjid would still be standing, the BJP would have been given an appropriate riposte and he would have found a solution similar to the one that the Supreme Court arrived at years later. He hailed the Congress top brass' decision to decline the invitation for the January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony. Aiyar was speaking on Friday at the launch of his book "The Rajiv I Knew And Why He Was India's Most Misunderstood Prime Minister", published by Juggernaut. "He (Gandhi) was saying keep the masjid and build the temple. The Supreme Court said make the temple and make the masjid somewhere else. In a sense, the judgement is the same as the conclusion