Want Elon Musk to be my presidential adviser: Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy
Washington (PTI): Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian-American Republican presidential candidate, has indicated that he would like Elon Musk to be an adviser in his administration if he gets elected as the US president in 2024.
Ramaswamy, 38, made these remarks on Friday at a town hall in Iowa when he was asked about whom he would want as advisers for his potential presidency, NBC News reported.
Ramaswamy admires the mass layoffs Musk conducted after taking over Twitter last year.
The billionaire biotech entrepreneur said in response that he wanted people with a "blank fresh impression" who do not "come from within" the government.
"I've enjoyed getting to know better, Elon Musk recently, I expect him to be an interesting adviser of mine because he laid off 75 per cent of the employees at Twitter," Ramaswamy was quoted as saying in the report.
"And then the effectiveness actually went up," he noted.
A second-generation Indian-American, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, eventually culminating in successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDA-approved products, according to his bio.
Musk, 52, is the billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Ramaswamy has previously complimented Musk's management of the social media company, now called X, saying he would run the government the way that Musk runs the company.
"What he did at Twitter is a good example of what I want to do to the administrative state," Ramaswamy said in an interview on Fox News last week.
"Take out the 75 per cent of the dead weight cost, improve the actual experience of what it's supposed to do."
"He put an X through Twitter, I'll put a big X through the administrative state," he added. "So, that's where I'm at on common tactics with Elon."
The workforce of X has been cut down from just under 8,000 to about 1,500 since Musk bought Twitter for USD 44 billion last fall.
The billionaire who previously pledged his support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' White House bid and co-hosted DeSantis' chaotic campaign launch on Twitter Spaces said last week that he found Ramaswamy to be a "very promising candidate."
Ramaswamy is the youngest Republican presidential candidate ever. Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina is another Indian-American Republican Party candidate vying for the party's nomination.
Ramaswamy has been vocal about his desire to shut down the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the NBC report added.
He is one of the wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. He studied biology at Harvard before obtaining a law degree from Yale and was briefly a billionaire before a downturn in the stock market shrunk his wealth to just over USD 950 million, according to Forbes.
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TN polls: Vijay announces Rs 2,500 monthly assistance, 8 gm gold for women
Chennai (PTI): TVK chief Vijay on Thursday unveiled sweeping assurances in the party manifesto ahead of the April 23 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu that included Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women below 60 years, 8 gm gold for marriage and six free cooking gas cylinders a year, per family.
The actor-turned-politician also assured a quality silk saree in addition to gold for indigent brides and interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh for women-run SHGs. He assured corruption-free good governance if voted to power in his maiden electoral fight.
The manifesto also laid importance on education. To prevent school dropouts, mothers or guardians of children studying in government and state-aided schools will receive Rs 15,000 annually.
Vijay promised 100 special residential schools named after iconic leader K Kamaraj, credited with revolutionising education in the state, and higher education loans of up to Rs 20 lakh. The TVK founder also assured AI Ministry, AI University and AI City.
The manifesto placed a strong emphasis on agrarian welfare, too.
The party promised a full waiver of agricultural cooperative crop loans for farmers owning less than five acres of land, while those holding more than five acres will receive a 50 per cent waiver. Additionally, the party promised a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 3,500 per quintal for paddy and Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane.
Addressing youth unemployment, Vijay pledged to create five lakh new government jobs and offer as many stipendiary internships. Unemployed graduates will be provided a monthly aid of up to Rs 4,000. For government employees, the party assured consideration of the Old Pension Scheme and the regularisation of contract workers, including nurses.
On the health front, he promised a drug-free Tamil Nadu. Vijay also committed to modernising hospitals, providing free annual health checkups, and introducing a Rs 25 lakh family health insurance scheme.
The manifesto also included a Rs 3,000 monthly pension for the elderly and the differently-abled, 200 units of free power, patta (land deed) regularisation, and 100 per cent piped drinking water supply for all households.
Some of the policy intereventions promised by TVK include a legal guarantee to provide essential government services like community certificates, and land pattas, within a strictly specified timeframe.
Vijay also promised doorstep delivery of governance by implementing a system to deliver services, such as ration supplies, directly to the people. He also assured that ease of doing business will be paramount to his government and promised a strict guarantee that business licences will be issued within 21 days.
Elections to 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23 and outcome known on May 4. Vijay is facing his maiden electoral battle, billing it as a direct fight between the ruling DMK and his TVK.
