Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold nationwide protests on Saturday against the “derogatory” remarks made by Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari against Prime Minister Narendra Modi that sparked outrage across the country.

“The protests will be held in all the state capitals across the country. BJP karyakartas will burn the effigy of Pakistan and Pakistani Foreign Minister and will strongly condemn the shameful statement of Pakistani Foreign Minister,” BJP said in a statement on Friday. This outrage comes in response to the Pakistani foreign minister’s defamatory remarks made during a press conference at the United Nations in New York.

Describing Bilawal Bhutto’s remark as “highly derogatory and full of cowardice”, BJP said the remarks were given to divert global attention from Pakistan’s collapsing economy, lawlessness and anarchy in Pakistan.

“The statement is also aimed at misleading the world and divert global attention from Pakistan’s collapsing economy, lawlessness and anarchy in Pakistan, simmering differences in the Pakistani army, its deteriorating global relations and the fact that Pakistan has become the major sanctuary for terrorists,” it said.

On Friday, BJP workers staged a protest outside Pakistan High Commission in Delhi against Bilawal’s statement. The BJP said that India’s foreign policy is being appreciated globally, while Pakistan is facing backlash from even smaller nations.

“On one hand we have our Prime Minister Narendra Modi under whose leadership India has left its indelible mark on various global fora, and on the other hand, we have Pakistan which has faced ridicule and insult on various international platforms. On one hand, India’s foreign policy is being appreciated globally, while on the other hand, Pakistan is facing backlash from even smaller nations,” the BJP said.

The party said that everyone saw how even the Pakistani students were rescued during the rescue mission carried out during the Russia-Ukraine conflict which was carried out under the guidance of PM Modi.

BJP said the kind of language Bilawal Bhutto has used is extremely reprehensible which does not reflect the true spirit of statesmanship and also crosses the limit of decency in public life.

“Does Bilawal Bhutto even have the stature to comment about our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji who is a true statesman and a highly respected global leader! This demeaning statement of Bilawal Bhutto had further lowered the image of Pakistan on the global platform,” it added.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also slammed Pakistan’s Foreign Minister for his “uncivilized outburst” at Prime Minister Modi and said that “these comments are a new low, even for Pakistan.”

“Pakistan foreign minister’s frustration would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country, who have made terrorism a part of their state policy. Pakistan needs to change its own mindset or remain a pariah,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in response to media queries.

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked Indian industry to work out strategies as to how businesses operating in developed countries can look at India as a production or sourcing hub amid recession fears in the western countries.

India has brought in a lot of facilitation and tweaking of rules to attract foreign investment into India and is also engaging with industries who want to co-locate in the country, the minister said.

“As much as you are preparing yourself for a long-drawn recession in the Western world, in the Developed world, I think it is also the best time for you to work out strategies for drawing those manufacturers from there to India.

“Even as they are headquartered there, it might be useful for them to think of sourcing many things from here and producing from here at least for markets in this part of the globe,” Sitharaman said at an event here.

She said the suspected long-drawn recession, which is likely to affect Europe, is not just going to affect exports by Indian businesses. “It gives an opportunity for many of the investments which are there, which are now looking for a different place from where activities can continue to happen,” she noted.

Asking the industry to look at innovations by startups and find ways to scale them, the minister said India will continue to focus on manufacturing and newer areas of services.

As the world transitions into clean energy, the domestic industry could face higher tariffs by the developed countries, Sithraman said.

She also asked India Inc to tell the government how climate change is affecting them and suggest ways to reduce the burden of cost falling on them. The industry should prepare itself for tariff walls by some countries in the name of climate change, the minister added.

Talking about the upcoming Budget, she said it would follow the spirit of earlier Budgets to prepare India for the next 25 years.

NEW DELHI, Dec 16: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said more than 1,500 private hospitals have been empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the last one year. The scheme is reviewed every month and out-of-pocket expenditure of patients under the scheme has come down, Mandaviya said, replying to a question in Lok Sabha.
Under the scheme launched in 2018, the government provides health security cover to 10 crore families or 50 crore people of India.
Today, 4.5 crore needy people have been empanelled under the scheme, the minister said.
He said seven-eight lakh beneficiary cards are printed daily and the ministry was working to ensure that 50 crore cards are made available in the next four-six months.
“Poor and needy people are covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and they can avail Rs 5 lakh health security cover. Any hospital can empanel under the scheme … In the last one year, more than 1,500 private hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme,” Mandaviya said during the Question Hour.
The minister said 22,000 hospitals, both public and private, have been empanelled under the scheme so far. (Agencies)

NEW DELHI, Dec 16: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday announced dates for Common University Entrance Test (CUET) 2023. As per the agency, the exams will be conducted from May 21 to 31, 2023.
NTA had conducted the debut edition of CUET for approximately 14,90,293 candidates this year. The candidates applied for 54,555 unique combinations of subjects across 90 universities.
CUET-UG began in July and was marred by glitches prompting the NTA to cancel the exam at multiple centres. While several students were informed about the cancellation a night before the exam, many of them were turned away from centres.
With 14.9 lakh registrations, CUET, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities, is now the second biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing JEE-Main’s average registration of 9 lakh.
NEET-UG is the biggest entrance test in India with an average of 18 lakh registrations. While JEE-Mains is a Computer-Based Test (CBT) conducted twice a year, NEET is conducted in pen and paper mode. (Agencies)