PM to visit Odisha on Saturday, unveil development projects worth Rs 60,000 cr
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Odisha on Saturday, during which he will unveil development projects valued at more than Rs 60,000 crore in sectors such as telecommunications, railways and higher education, officials said.
From western Odisha’s Jharsuguda town, he will commission more than 97,500 4G telecom towers built with BSNL’s ‘swadeshi’ technology, marking India's entry into a league of nations such as Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, and China that manufacture homegrown telecom equipment.
In a post on X, the prime minister said, "Will be in Jharsuguda, Odisha, to inaugurate developmental works...In a historic feat, over 97,500 telecom towers across India would be commissioned. These have been built using local technologies and will boost connectivity in remote areas, border areas and those affected by Maoism."
Besides several projects specific to Odisha, Modi will lay foundation stones for the expansion of eight IITs across the country, which will create capacity for 10,000 new students over the next four years.
"The other projects being launched or foundation stones being laid pertain to rail connectivity, expansion of IIT infrastructure, skill development centres, housing and much more. These works are in line with our vision to build a Viksit Bharat where the poor and downtrodden get access to all-round development," Modi said.
Initially, the place for his public meeting was fixed at Berhampur in Ganjam district in the southern part of the state, but it was later changed to Jharsuguda due to a forecast of heavy rain in that region on Saturday.
However, the IMD on Friday said Jharsuguda is among nine districts where thunderstorm and lightning with gusty surface wind speed reaching 20-30 kmph gusting to 40 kmph is likely to occur.
According to the official schedule, Modi will arrive at the meeting venue at 11:25 am and depart from Odisha around 12:45 pm.
He will flag off the Amrit Bharat Express connecting Berhampur with Udhna in Gujarat’s Surat district via video conference. He will also inaugurate a 5 km flyover in Sambalpur City, built at a cost of Rs 273 crore.
Modi will dedicate the doubling of the 34-km Koraput–Baiguda rail line and the 82-km Manabar–Koraput–Gorapur section, built at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore, officials said.
These upgrades will power mineral transport and open fresh pathways for growth in southern Odisha, benefiting industries and local communities alike, an official statement said.
He will also grant super-speciality status to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur and VIMSAR hospital in Sambalpur, launch a national skill development programme, and provide aid to 50,000 beneficiaries under the Antyodaya scheme.
This will be the Prime Minister's sixth visit to Odisha in 15 months since the BJP came to power in the state in June 2024.
Modi's visit to Jharsuguda comes after a gap of seven years. He had come to the town on September 22, 2018, to inaugurate Odisha's second commercial airport.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
