Turban-wearing Sikh woman of Indian origin is new councillor of Canadian city Brampton
Toronto (PTI): Navjit Kaur Brar, an Indo-Canadian healthcare worker, on Monday became the first turban-wearing Sikh woman to be elected as a councillor of Brampton city in Canada.
Brar, a respiratory therapist and mother of three, won the race in Wards 2 and 6 in the recent elections to the Brampton City Council, securing 28.85 per cent of the votes cast.
Jermaine Chambers, a former Conservative MP candidate for Brampton West, who secured 28.85 per cent of the votes cast, was the nearest contender with 22.59 per cent votes. Carmen Wilson was third at 15.41 per cent, the Brampton Guardian reported.
As a part of her campaign, Brar knocked over 40,000 doors and spoke to over 22,500 residents in the last two months.
“I am so proud of @Navjitkaurbrar. She was a selfless and dedicated front-line healthcare worker during the pandemic. She has stepped up for public service and I am confident she will be a phenomenal addition to Brampton City Council,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who won a second term in the recent election, tweeted.
Brar, who previously ran as the Ontario NDP candidate in Brampton West, had lost to the current Progressive Conservative MPP Amarjot Sandhu.
Another Sikh candidate, Gurpartap Singh Toor, knocked off his opponent Gurpreet Dhillon in Wards 9 and 10 by a scant 227 votes.
The report said as many as 40 Punjabis were in the fray for Brampton civic elections and only 87,155 of the 354,884 eligible voters turned up to cast ballots an abysmal voter turnout of approximately 24.56 per cent.
The Indo-Canadian community, along with the councillor candidates, had raised concerns over the election date overlapping with Diwali one of the most-awaited festivals celebrated by the large swathe of Indian diaspora in Canada.
“It is very problematic that the elections are taking place on Diwali day, especially the municipal election that has always seen a low voter turnout,” said Gurpratap Singh Toor.
Elections to the municipal government are held every four years on the fourth Monday of October, which was on October 24 this year.
Brar, who has little political experience, said, “I think a lot of people can relate to me. I'm just a respiratory therapist. I've actually worked with a lot of people. I'm a mom of three and a lot of people in Brampton are families.”
Brar focused on three areas - building new infrastructure, reducing crime, and improving road safety. Brar said that she planned to work hard to represent all demographics in her ward.
“I'm excited. I'm so proud of all Bramptonians who have voted, making sure our voices are being heard more than ever before,” she said before the announcement.
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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.
