Page 6 - Smriti Irani

Didn't intend to insult anyone, says Ajay Rai about remarks on Smriti Irani

Following an uproar over his Latka-Jhatka comment about Union Minister Smriti Irani, Congress leader Ajay Rai clarified that he had no intention of insulting anyone

India has emerged as third-largest startup ecosystem in world: Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday said India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with more than 84,400 such businesses operating across 656 districts in the country. In 2014, there were only 720 startups in the country, Irani said. She further said the valuation of Indian unicorns stood at USD 332.7 billion. "Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has emerged as the third-largest ecosystem of startups with more than 84,400 startups in 656 districts across the country," Irani was quoted as having said in a statement issued by the BJP. The minister said in 2014 when Narendra Modi assumed the charge of prime minister, he had stated that his aim would be to create such atmosphere that the youth should be "job creators rather than job seekers." "Prime Minister Modi took various measures including Skill India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Make in India, Digital India and Mudra Yojana to empower the youth," Irani said. Talking about th

Smriti Irani questions WEF's gender gap report which ranked India at 135

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday questioned the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index assessment which ranked India at 135th place in terms of gender parity. Irani said the Index failed to take into account the political empowerment and financial inclusion of women at the grassroots level. The Union minister interacted via video link with the audience during a seminar organised at the Rashtriya Raksha University at Lavad in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat. She was asked questions related to the empowerment of women and gender equality. "It is time to challenge what the Global Gender Gap Index has done in the way India has challenged the Global Hunger Index. This measurement has been done through the western standards," Irani said. She said when it comes to marks of political empowerment, the Index does not take into account women who serve across panchayats and municipalities as district panchayat presidents, sarpanchs, mayors and ...

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Smriti Irani visits Amethi only to show 'latkas, jhatkas': Cong's Ajay Rai

UP Congress leader Ajay Rai on Monday took a jibe at Union minister Smriti Irani here, saying that she only comes to her constituency Amethi to show "latkas" and "jhatkas", an unflattering reference to dance moves that provoke a sharp response from the BJP. Such a remark from a leader of the party which gave the woman prime minister to the nation, is definitely "shameful", UP BJP spokesperson Anand Dubey said in Lucknow, alleging language used by the Congress leaders has always been "anti-women". Speaking to reporters here, while answering a question whether Rahul Gandhi will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Rai said, "It (Amethi) has been the seat of the Gandhi family. Rahul jee has been the Lok Sabha MP from there, so has been Rajiv (Gandhi) jee and Sanjay (Gandhi) jee, and they have served it." Currently, Amethi is represented in Lok Sabha by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Irani. "Most of the factories in Amethi are on the verge of closure. Half

Smriti Irani visits Purba Medinipur for outreach ahead of panchayat polls

In a public outreach programme ahead of the panchayat polls in West Bengal, Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday interacted with local people and had tea with them in Kanthi town of Purba Medinipur district. The Union Women and Child Development Minister also offered puja at the Maa Nachinda temple during the day. "I won't make any political statement here. I only prayed for the happiness and prosperity of the people of West Bengal. Let her blessings be showered on one and all," she told reporters later. Irani also asked the people about local development issues and whether they are getting the benefits of central projects and what is their problem in a 'Chai pe Charcha' session at a tea stall on the side of Kanthi canal, a BJP leader said. Irani, who arrived in Purba Medinipur district on Saturday on a two-day visit, earlier held a meeting with BJP leaders and workers. She met the 'karyakartas' of BJP at the local level and discussed ways to strengthen the organisation in the ar

No waiting period for adopting child with special needs: WCD

There is no waiting period for those who desire to adopt a child having special needs and also from the immediate placement category which includes mostly older children, the government said on Wednesday. The immediate placement category includes children who have been referred several times to prospective adoptive parents (PAP's) through Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System, but have not found a family. These children are mostly above the age of five. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said while there is a long queue to adopt a normal child up to six years of age, there is no waiting period for PAPs who desire to adopt a child having special needs and a child from immediate placement category(mostly older children). According to the data shared by her, 2,991 children, including 1,698 girls, were adopted in 2021-22 while 3,142 children, including 1,856 girls, were adopted in-country in 2020-21 and

Average time taken to dispose of POCSO case is 509 days, says Smriti Irani

The average time taken to dispose of a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case is 509 days, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said and sought suggestions from judges on what could be done infrastructurally to expedite solutions for children. The POCSO Act 2012 aims to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of special courts for trial of such offences. Addressing the inaugural session of the National Stakeholders Consultation on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences on Saturday, Irani said for every conviction, there are three acquittals and 56 per cent of all the POCSO cases correspond to offenses of penetrative sexual assault. Aggravated penetrative assault accounts for 25.59 per cent of the cases. Which means that today we have a mechanism that still needs a robust intervention, she said. The minister said the average time that is taken to disposal of a POCSO case is

No report of starvation deaths from states and UTs, Smriti Irani tells LS

There is no report of starvation deaths from states and Union Territories, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. Responding to a question, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said the Global Hunger Index did not reflect India's true picture as it was a flawed measure of "hunger". It should not be taken at face value as it is neither appropriate nor representative of hunger prevalent in a country, she said. India ranked 107th of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index - 2022 with its child wasting rate, at 19.3 per cent, being the highest in the world. "There is no report of starvation deaths from states/UTs," Irani said in a written reply in response to a question on the number of starvation-related deaths among children and adults in India since 2014. Responding to another question, Irani provided data as per which 140,575 children went missing since 2019 and 125,445 children had been recovered during the same period.

Need to discuss violence against women by intimate partners: Smriti Irani

As a debate over the gruesome killing of Shraddha Walkar raged on, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said there is a need to discuss violence against women by intimate partners and the fact that there was not much that she could get in terms of help. Aaftab Amin Poonawala (28) allegedly strangled Walkar (27) and sawed her body into 35 pieces, which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in south Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping those across the city over several days past midnight. Walkar was allegedly killed in May. Speaking at a session at the Times Now summit, Irani stressed on the need for discussion on violence against women by intimate partners. "Nobody cuts a woman into small pieces in the heat (of the moment). Nobody continues to beat a woman who he claims to love or is in a relationship with in the heat of the moment," she said. The fact that the abuse was continuous, the fact that the abuse was known to so many people, a

Gandhi family gave nothing except 'deceit' to Amethi: Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday attacked senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying despite the people of Amethi blessing the Gandhi family, it gave nothing to them except "deceit". The minister for Women and Child Development had defeated Rahul Gandhi in his family's bastion Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "The people blessed Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhi family by electing them as public representatives from Amethi (previously). But, they gave nothing to the people except deceit and just one glimpse in five years," she said. Irani also said she was receiving full support from the Centre, state government and the district administration in implementing development works. During her day-long visit to the constituency, Irani laid foundation stones for projects worth Rs 6.85 crore in Dih block, distributed nutrition kits to tuberculosis patients and inaugurated a blood donation camp. She also interacted with the local people and heard their grievances.

Crackdown on common man, says Irani on removal of TET protestors in Howrah

Union Minister Smriti Irani slammed West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee after TET job seekers' were forcibly removed from the protest site by the police and termed it a "crackdown" on common people

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao includes skilling girls on conventional livelihood

Smriti Irani, the minister for women and child development, emphasised the significance of convergence amongst various departments for delivering high-quality education to empower girls

Irani mocks Nitish's 'national ambitions', says Modi will return to power

Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday mocked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's "national ambitions" and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP leader was here to attend a party symposium based on the book "Modi@20" where her cabinet colleague Giriraj Singh, former minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi were among those present. "In this state, barbs are being hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by those who always lean on others to form a government," said Irani, in an obvious reference to Kumar, whom she did not mention by name. Kumar snapped ties with the BJP last month, accusing it of trying to break his JD(U), and retained power by aligning with the RJD, Congress and Left combine. "Modi's political rivals desperately want power in 2024. But they do not realise that there are many aspirants for the post of Pradhan Mantri but only one who is happy to remain Pradhan Sevak," said th

India on path of becoming world superpower in next 25 yrs: Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said India is moving strongly on the path of becoming more resilient, capable and stronger and will become the world superpower by 2047. She was addressing a gathering at a health check-up camp organised on the occasion of 'Seva Diwas' being celebrated as part of the celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72nd birthday. She said the country is moving strongly on the path of becoming more resilient, capable and stronger under the leadership of PM Modi. "The Prime Minister has laid the foundation for India's charge to the top and there is now no stopping India from moving on the path of becoming more resilient, capable and stronger, and ultimately becoming the world superpower in the next 25 years," said the union minister for women and child development, and minority affairs. The camp where Irani addressed the crowd was inaugurated by Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit. He said serving the poor and needy people by organising such a bi

K'taka: BJP's mega event draws huge crowd; pledges to keep Cong at bay

'Janaspandana', the mega event organised by the BJP to commemorate the completion of one year in office of CM Bsavaraj Bommai and three years of BJP rule in Karnataka, was successful

Smriti Irani hits out at Rahul Gandhi over 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Karnataka

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' questioning him on who has harmed the unity of India that required the opposition party to take out such a campaign. Making an indirect reference to Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, Irani also took a dig at Gandhi for being in the company of people who allegedly chanted "anti-India" slogans. "Rahul Gandhi is on the way to unite India but he should answer first who dared to break India. You make a person a member of your party who had shouted the slogan 'Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Insha Allah'," Irani said at Doddaballapura in Bengaluru. She was addressing the gathering at the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Jana Spandana' programme celebrating the ruling party's three years in office in Karnataka. Irani expressed her shock over Gandhi's remark in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu that the fight is now against the structure of Indian state and the opposition. "With all seriousness, I am

Merchants need to modernise, digitise their business models: Smriti Irani

There is a need for the traders and merchants to modernize and digitize their business models, Union Minister Smriti Irani said on Monday. "In the constantly changing business scenario, the merchants of our country need to transform, digitize and modernize their business models," Irani, who is also the Minister of Minority Affairs, said. The Minister of Women and Child Development made the remarks while launching CAIT India Knowledge Mission in the national capital, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a statement. The initiative will educate and assist the traders across the country to adopt new and modern technologies to their businesses. CAIT will organise both offline and online workshops across the country as part of the programme. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said "in the last few years foreign e-commerce companies and big corporate companies are trying to take on the retail business." The mission has been launched to teach the traders and mercha

Made allegation against Irani, family on Goa restaurant based on connection

Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Netta D'Souza have told the Delhi High Court that they had made allegations against Union Minister Smriti Irani based on multiple and repeated positions taken by her and her family allegedly "acknowledging the ownership or connection" with a restaurant in Goa. The Congress leaders, in a common written statement filed in response to Irani's defamation suit against them, claimed they made a "fair comment" in public interest and it was the moral and constitutional duty of the Opposition to hold members of the ruling government to account. Irani has filed the suit against the Congress leaders for allegedly making baseless and false accusations against her and her 18-year-old daughter. The Congress leaders alleged that the suit was an abuse of process of law and the minister deliberately and knowingly suppressed documents, information and linkages and intentionally placed distorted and concocted facts before the court. The statement said t

Ghulam Nabi Azad has become 'azad' now: Union minister Smriti Irani

Taking a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Smriti Irani has said that Ghulam Nabi Azad has become 'azad' (free) now but Amethi has been "liberated" long ago. Veteran Congress leader Azad, who ended his five-decade association with the grand old party on Friday, accused Rahul Gandhi of demolishing the entire consultative mechanism and also pinned the blame on him for the 2014 electoral debacle. To a question on Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and Azad leaving the Congress, Irani told reporters here on Saturday evening, "Congress's own leadership is commenting especially on the Gandhi family, so we do not need to add anything to it. Ghulam Nabi Azad sahib became 'Azad' (free) now but Amethi has been liberated long back." In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP leader Irani had defeated Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi parliamentary seat. Amethi was the traditional seat of the Gandhi family and was represented by Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in