Mukesh Ambani breaks into top 10, ranked at 9th in Forbes global rich list
New Delhi, Apr 3: Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd head Mukesh Ambani continues to be the richest Indian and has now broken into the world's top 10 wealthiest persons in the latest Forbes 2024 Billionaire List.
Ambani, 66, is ranked 9th on the list with a wealth of USD 116 billion, up from USD 83.4 billion in the 2023 ranking, according to Forbes.
Gautam Adani is the second richest Indian and is ranked at No.17 on the global list. He is worth USD 84 billion, up from USD 47.2 billion in 2023 when his apples-to-airport conglomerate was rocked by a damning report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Adani group has denied all allegations in the report.
Adani, 61, was worth USD 90 billion in 2022 ranking.
The Forbes 2024 Billionaires List features 2,781 individuals, an increase of 141 names from last year's list. The billionaires, according to the list, are richer than ever, worth USD 14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by USD 2 trillion from 2023 and USD 1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.
Two-thirds of the list's members are worth more than a year ago; only one-fourth are poorer.
Fashion and cosmetics giant LVMH's Bernard Arnault is at the top of the list with USD 233 billion wealth, followed by Elon Musk with USD 195 billion and Amazon's Jeff Bezos with USD 194 billion.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg comes next in the list with a net worth of USD 177 billion.
The US has a record 813 billionaires followed by China with 473 billionaires. India added 31 billionaires to the list compared to last year with the number now reaching 200.
"To calculate net worths, we used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024," Forbes said.
Other Indians on the list include IT pioneer and HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar at No.39 with USD 36.9 billion wealth, Jindal group's Savitri Jindal and family at No.46 with USD 33.5 billion, Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi at No.69 with USD 26.7 billion, vaccine maker Cyrus Poonawalla at No 90 with USD 21.3 billion, property baron Kushal Pal Singh at No 92 with USD 20.9 billion, and commodities king Kumar Bila at No 98 with USD 19.7 billion.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bommai condemns Goa CM's statement on Mahadayi river project
Gadag (Karnataka), Jul 27 (PTI): BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavarj Bommai on Sunday condemned Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's statement on the Mahadayi river project, as he also questioned the Congress' moral right to speak on the issue.
He claimed that whatever progress has been made on the Mahadayi issue, it happened under the BJP government.
Addressing the Goa Assembly last week, Sawant claimed that the Centre would not approve the Mahadayi project.
He also said the Goa government would file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka for carrying out activities aimed at diverting Mahadayi river water.
Bommai said, "There is no need to politicise the Mahadayi project issue. We are all united as this is an issue concerning the state. I condemn the statement made by the Chief Minister of Goa. There is no need to play such a big political game over one state's interests. He must act in accordance with the law, and hence I condemn his remarks."
Speaking to reporters here, he questioned the moral standing of Congress leaders in Karnataka on the Mahadayi issue.
"Congress leader Sonia Gandhi herself during the Goa polls said that not a single drop of Mahadayi water would be given to Karnataka. What moral right does Congress have to speak on this issue?" he asked.
Dubbing the Goa CM's statement an "insult to the people of Karnataka", CM Siddaramaiah had earlier hit out at the BJP stating "Why has the Centre not officially communicated its concerns? Is this how federalism works under the BJP? Are we being punished for not surrendering to the BJP?"
Bommai accused the Congress party of building a barrier to prevent Mahadayi water from flowing into the Malaprabha river, thereby obstructing the interlinking canal work initiated during the BJP regime and this was the only "contribution" Congress made to the Mahadayi project.
"Whatever progress has been made on the Mahadayi issue, it happened under the BJP government. The Congress, which constituted the tribunal, did not even provide it an office for four years. It was the BJP government that gave it an office. Though the tribunal gave a verdict, it was not notified. The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued the notification," he said.
It was the central NDA government that prepared the DPR for the Mahadayi project and got it approved. "It was also the BJP government that secured environmental clearance. The only thing the Congress did was to block the interlinking canal works started during the BJP tenure by constructing a barrier to prevent Mahadayi water from reaching the Malaprabha river," he said.
Goa has been opposing Karnataka's Kalasa-Banduri project in the Mahadayi river basin.
The Kalasa-Banduri project by the Karnataka government proposes diverting Mahadayi river water into the Malaprabha river to enhance the drinking water supply in parts of Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkote, and Gadag districts.
The Mahadayi river flows through Karnataka and Goa before joining the Arabian Sea. Known as the Mandovi in Goa, it is one of the state's two major rivers.
The diversion of Mahadayi water has long been a point of contention between Karnataka and Goa, with the latter claiming "it would severely impact the state's flora and fauna."
Speaking about the urea shortage in the state, Bommai said the government could have averted the crisis.
"Rainfall began early this year, and fertilizer should have been supplied where needed. Buffer stock should have been maintained, the management has not been proper," he said.
Noting that the state government has now submitted to the Centre for additional urea fertilizer supply, he said, "We (BJP) too will speak with the Union Minister for Agriculture and Fertilizers to get more supply. But more importantly, the fertilizer that is already arriving must be distributed properly by the Agriculture Department and the concerned ministers."
