NRIs are India's brand ambassadors, symbolise country's capabilities: PM Modi
Varanasi, Jan 22 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described NRIs as India's brand ambassadors and said they were the symbols of the country's capabilities.
The prime minister was inaugurating the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi.
"I consider NRIs India's brand ambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities," he told the gathering.
"People of Indian origin are in leadership roles in countries such as Mauritius, Portugal and Ireland," he said.
Modi also alluded to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's comment that only 15 paise of Re 1 reaches masses and said the Congress government had done nothing to stop the leakage.
The prime minister added that his government had stepped in to rectify the situation. The "85 per cent loot" taking place during the Congress regime had been plugged "100 per cent" through technology, he said.
"We have given about Rs 5,80,000 crore to people, transferred to their bank accounts through various schemes. Imagine, if the country was being run on the older system? Then Rs 4,50,000 crore would have vanished," Modi said.
Continuing his attack on the Congress, he said efforts to stop the "leakage" could have been made earlier as well but there was no intention and will power.
"Our government is moving towards ensuring that the aid given by government is directly transferred to beneficiary accounts through direct benefit schemes," he said.
Mauritian Premier Pravind Jugnauth, who is the chief guest for the three-day event, also spoke on the occasion.
He hailed the prime minister for India's transformation through initiatives such as the Skill India and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao schemes.
He also praised Modi's global stewardship in promoting clean energy and for setting up the International Solar Alliance.
Jugnauth announced that his country will hold a Bhagwad Gita Mahotsav next month and a Bhojpuri Festival next year.
For the first time, the three-day convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad and attend the Republic Day parade in the national capital
The theme of this year's convention is 'Role of Indian diaspora in building new India'.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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