'Over 80% of Delhi can be called encroached, will you demolish all?'
Kejriwal targets BJP over anti-encroachment drive
New Delhi, May 16: Slamming the anti-encroachment drive being carried out in various parts of the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said if bulldozers raze shops and houses of 63 lakh people in Delhi, which are considered illegal, it will be the "biggest destruction" in independent India.
At a meeting with Aam Aadmi Party MLAs on the matter, Kejriwal told them that they should be ready to go to jail for opposing the anti-encroachment drive being carried out by the BJP-led municipal corporations in various parts of Delhi.
"They are reaching colonies with bulldozers and razing any shop and house. Even if people show them papers to prove that the structure is not illegal, they do not check them," he said.
"Delhi has not been made in a planned way. More than 80 per cent of Delhi can be called illegal and encroached. Does that mean you will destroy 80 per cent of Delhi?" he said in an online briefing.
The party is against the way the anti-encroachment drive is being carried out, he said, adding nearly 50 lakh people stay in unauthorised colonies, 10 lakh in 'jhuggis' and there are lakhs of people who have modified balconies or done something that does not conform to original maps.
"That means homes and shops of 63 lakh people will be bulldozed. This will be the biggest destruction happening in independent India," he said.
While noting that the Aam Aadmi Party is against encroachment and wants Delhi to look beautiful, he said razing homes and shops of 63 lakh people will not be tolerated.
"In the last 15 years, the BJP was in power in MCD and took money. Their tenure will be ending on May 18. Do you have constitutional power to take such a big decisions. Let elections happen and let that party take the decision. Everyone knows that the AAP will come to power in MCD," he said.
He assured people that the AAP will solve the problem of encroachment and people residing in unauthorised colonies will get ownership rights.
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World Bank projects India’s growth at 7.2% in FY26 on "resilient activity"
New Delhi: The World Bank has projected India’s economic growth at 7.2 per cent in FY2025-26, saying strong domestic demand despite rising global trade tensions, the World Bank said on Tuesday.
According to NDTV, in its latest Global Economic Prospects report released on Tuesday, the World Bank said India’s resilience has lifted overall growth in South Asia in 2025, offsetting the impact of heightened policy uncertainty and global trade frictions.
The report noted that growth in South Asia strengthened to 7.1 per cent in 2025, “mainly because of resilient activity in India.” The World Bank does not include Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia, and their economies are included in the Middle East and North Africa division.
India's expansion is "mainly reflecting robust domestic demand, including strong private consumption, supported by earlier tax reforms and improvements in real household earnings in rural areas", the bank said.
The World Bank projected India’s growth to moderate to 6.5 per cent in FY2026-27, assuming higher US import tariffs remain in place, before edging up to 6.6 per cent in FY2027-28. The bank attributed this to strong services activity, a recovery in exports, and improved investment flows.
Despite higher tariffs on certain Indian exports to the United States, the report said India’s growth outlook remains unchanged from earlier projections because "the adverse impacts of higher tariffs will be offset by stronger momentum in domestic demand than previously anticipated".
Across South Asia, India continues to be the region’s primary growth engine. Excluding India, growth in South Asia is forecast to rise to 5.0 per cent in 2026 and 5.6 per cent in 2027, while the region as a whole is expected to slow to 6.2 per cent in 2026 before rebounding.
For developing economies, including India, the report stressed the importance of improving productivity and job creation. It said per capita income growth in developing economies is projected at 3 per cent in 2026, well below long-term averages, limiting convergence with advanced economies.
