PM Modi to gift 200 local cows to Rwanda President
New Delhi : When Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes to Rwanda for the first-ever Prime Minister-level visit on Monday, he will have an interesting gift for his hosts — 200 cows, all sourced locally in the small, land-locked east African country. Modi will travel to Rweru model village in Rwanda’s eastern province and gift the cows as India’s contribution to Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s flagship “Girinka” programme. Officials said the cattle will be sourced locally since they are adapted to the natural surroundings of the region.
Girinka is the Rwandan government’s “one cow for one poor family” programme, launched in 2006. The government claims the scheme has benefitted nearly 3.5 lakh families so far. The social protection scheme is personally overseen by Kagame — as part of the programme, the poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the government and the first female calf born of that cow is gifted to the neighbour, aimed at promoting brotherhood and solidarity in the community.
Ministry of External Affairs’ Secretary (Economic Relations) T S Tirumurti, who worked on the specifics of the Rwanda visit, called this an “important element” of the PM’s programme. The word Girinka can be translated as “have a cow” and describes a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda, whereby a cow was gifted by one person to another, either as a sign of respect or as marriage dowry.
Modi, who will also visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, will express India’s gratitude to the Rwandan people, and acknowledge that during the genocide of 1994, no Indian was killed or injured. “The gifting of cows is not just an economic contribution, but also an expression of India’s gratitude to Rwanda for treating Indian community well,” an official said.
courtesy : indianexpress.com
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Bhambri-Goransson pair reaches Indian Wells quarterfinals
Indian Wells (USA) (PTI): India's top doubles player Yuki Bhambri and his partner Goran Goransson advanced to the quarterfinals of the men's doubles event at the Indian Wells Masters after registering a straight-set win over the pair of Sander Arends and Jiri Lehecka.
Bhambri and Goransson produced a solid performance to defeat Arends and Lehecka 6-4 6-4 in the pre-quarterfinal clash that lasted one hour and 14 minutes. They did not face any break point in the match and broke their rivals twice.
The Indo-Swedish pair maintained control through most of the match, securing a crucial break in each set to seal the contest in straight sets.
Bhambri and Göransson will take on Alexander Erler of Austria and Andrea Vavassori from Italy in the last-eight stage of the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
