Charles to be proclaimed King
London (PTI): Charles III will be formally proclaimed King of the United Kingdom at a historic ceremony at St James's Palace on Saturday.
The proclamation is a public announcement of the accession of the new monarch.
Charles,73, Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son, automatically became King after his mother's death, and traditionally an Accession Council is convened within 24 hours of a sovereign's death. But the late announcement of the Queen's death meant there was insufficient time to organise it for Friday.
There will be a multi-stage process publicly announcing his new title of King Charles III.
Flags lowered in mourning for the late Queen will fly full-mast after the Accession Council, which will be televised for the first time.
A wave of further proclamations will take place across the UK until Sunday when flags will return to half-mast.
The Accession Council, which is made up of senior Cabinet ministers, judges and leaders of the Church of England, and will meet at 10 am, without Charles, at the State Apartments of St James's Palace in London to formally proclaim him as the new sovereign.
At the council, the King will then make a personal declaration about the death of the Queen and make an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland - because in Scotland there is a division of powers between church and state.
Among those attending will be Camilla, Charles's wife of 17 years who now has the title of Queen Consort, and the King's son, William, the new Prince of Wales.
The first public proclamation is due to take place from the Friar Court balcony of St James's Palace in London at 11:00, a moment that is usually accompanied by centuries-old pageantry, with trumpeters playing a fanfare and gun salutes fired in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London.
Following the first, a second Proclamation will be read in the City of London at the Royal Exchange around midday on the same day as the first Proclamation. Further Proclamations will be read in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales at midday on September 11.
The Accession Council must take place before Parliament meets, and Parliament should meet as soon as practicable after the death of a sovereign.
At 1 am, Parliament will hold a second day of Tributes to the Queen.
King Charles on Friday pledged to follow his "darling mama's" life of service in an emotional first address.
The King promised to serve the nation with the same "unswerving devotion" as the late Queen had during her 70-year reign.
On Friday, Charles was met by cheers and shouts of "God save the King!" as he met people in the crowds who had gathered at Buckingham Palace.
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'Made in India' must become symbol of excellence, global competitiveness: PM
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'ease of doing business' and strengthen the services sector to make India a global services giant.
Addressing the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries here, Modi emphasised the need for quality in governance, service delivery and manufacturing, and said the label 'Made in India' must become a symbol of excellence and global competitiveness.
He said India has the potential to become the world's food basket and the country must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries to become a major food exporter.
"Called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and strengthen the services sector. Let us aim to make India a Global Services Giant," Modi said in a series of posts on X.
The theme of the three-day conference, which began on December 26, was 'Human Capital for Viksit Bharat'.
Modi observed that this conference marks another decisive step in strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism and deepening Centre-State partnership to achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
Highlighting India's demographic advantage, he said nearly 70 per cent of the population is in the working-age group, creating a unique historical opportunity which, when combined with economic progress, can significantly accelerate the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat', according to an official statement.
Modi said India has boarded the "Reform Express", driven primarily by the strength of its young population, and empowering this demographic remains the government's key priority.
He noted that the conference is being held at a time when the country is witnessing next-generation reforms and steadily moving towards becoming a major global economic power.
Underlining the need to strengthen 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance), he said India must pursue self-reliance with zero defect in products and minimal environmental impact, making the label 'Made in India' synonymous with quality and strengthening the commitment to "zero effect, zero defect".
The PM urged the Centre and states to jointly identify 100 products for domestic manufacturing to reduce import dependence and strengthen economic resilience in line with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat'.
In higher education, too, he said, there is a need for academia and industry to work together to create high-quality talent.
He highlighted that India has a rich heritage and history with the potential to be among the top global tourist destinations.
Modi urged the states to prepare a roadmap for creating at least one global-level tourist destination and nourishing an entire tourist ecosystem.
He said it is important to align the national sports calendar with the global sports calendar.
"India is working to host the 2036 Olympics. India needs to prepare infrastructure and sports ecosystem at par with global standards," he said.
The prime minister said the next 10 years must be invested in the states, only then will India get the desired results in such sports events.
Every state must give this top priority and create infrastructure to attract global companies, he said.
In the services sector, Modi said, there should be greater emphasis on other areas like healthcare, education, transport, tourism, professional services and artificial intelligence, etc. to make India a global services giant.
He said India will soon be launching the National Manufacturing Mission (NMM).
States should work in tandem with the discussions and decisions emerging from the conferences of both chief secretaries and DGPs to strengthen governance and implementation.
The PM said similar conferences could be replicated at the departmental level to promote a national perspective among officers and improve governance outcomes in pursuit of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
In conclusion, he said every state must create a 10-year actionable plan based on the discussions of this conference with one, two, five and 10-year target timelines wherein technology can be utilised for regular monitoring.
The conference featured a series of special sessions that enabled focused deliberations on cross-cutting and emerging priorities.
It marks another important milestone in strengthening the Centre-State partnership through structured and sustained dialogue on national development priorities, according to the statement.
The PM's principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, members of the NITI Aayog, chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, and domain experts attended the meeting.
Anchored in the prime minister's vision of cooperative federalism, this conference serves as the forum where the Centre and states collaborate, designing a unified roadmap to maximise India's human capital potential and accelerate inclusive, future-ready growth.
It has been organised annually over the past four years.
The first conference was held in Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by subsequent conferences in New Delhi in January 2023, December 2023 and December 2024.
