The Evening Wrap: PM Modi, Putin discuss developments in India-Russia strategic partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed to chalk out a roadmap for future initiatives to further strengthen the “special and privileged strategic partnership” between the two nations. Last month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Russia, during which the two countries decided to step up military and technical cooperation, including manufacturing of modern weaponry. “Had a good conversation with President Putin. We discussed various positive developments in our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and agreed to chalk out a roadmap for future initiatives. We also had a useful exchange of views on various regional and global issues, including Russia’s Presidency of the BRICS,” the Prime Minister said on X. Later in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said Modi and Putin reviewed progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation in follow-up to recent high-level exchanges between the two countries. “They positively assessed the developments in bilateral relations and agreed to develop a roadmap for future initiatives to further strengthen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” the MEA statement said. Mr. Modi also conveyed his best wishes for Russia’s Presidency of BRICS in 2024 and assured India’s full support, the MEA statement said, adding that the two leaders agreed to remain in touch. BSP will go it alone in Lok Sabha polls: Mayawati Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Monday reiterated her stand to fight the 2024 parliamentary polls alone but did not rule out a post-poll alliance. “We suffer more losses from alliances. Most of the parties want to ally with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). But, the BSP will fight the elections alone. An alliance can be considered after the polls,” said Ms. Mayawati, addressing a press conference in Lucknow on her 68th birthday. “With the support of people hailing from backward community, tribals, Dalits and Muslims, we [the BSP] formed a majority government in the State in 2007 Assembly polls, and that’s why we have decided to contest the parliamentary elections alone. We will maintain a distance with those who are casteist and communal, and we will not join any alliance,” added the former four time U.P. CM. Ms. Mayawati also put on rest speculation of retiring from politics adding she will continue towards strengthening the BSP. “Last month, I declared Akash Anand as my political successor at the National Council meeting of the party, following which it was being speculated in media that I may soon retire from politics. However, I want to clarify that it’s not the case, and I will continue to work towards strengthening the party,” said the BSP president. The BSP chief asked the party leaders and workers to put all the necessary effort going into the 2024 polls. Over 24.8 crore people moved out of poverty in India in nine years: NITI report As many as 24.82 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty in nine years to 2022-23, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh registering the largest decline, NITI Aayog said in a report on Monday. According to the NITI discussion paper, multidimensional poverty in India declined from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of this bracket during this period. The national multidimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators, according to NITI Aayog. These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts. The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by Niti Aayog uses the Alkire Foster methodology to assess the decline in poverty rates. However, the National MPI covers 12 indicators while global MPI covers 10 indicators. At the State level, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 5.94 crore people escaping poverty followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore and Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore. The paper said India is all set to reach single-digit poverty levels during 2024. Want to make Manipur peaceful, harmonious again: Rahul on 2nd day of Nyay Yatra The Congress stands with the people of Manipur and wants to make the State peaceful and harmonious again, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday as he interacted with the people on the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Starting the yatra this morning in a custom-made Volvo bus, Mr. Gandhi also walked for some distance meeting people and enquiring about their problems. Addressing the people from atop his bus in Senapati, he said the Congress did a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and the idea was to bring people of India together. “It was a very successful yatra where we walked over 4,000 km,” he said. The Congress stands with the people of Manipur and wants to make the State peaceful and harmonious again, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on January 15 as he interacted with the people on the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Starting the yatra this morning in a custom-made Volvo bus, Mr. Gandhi also walked for some distance meeting people and enquiring about their problems. Several people, a number of them women and children, had lined up along the yatra route and cheered on Mr. Gandhi as his bus made its way along several busy areas in Senapati. Addressing the people from atop his bus in Senapati, he said the Congress did a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and the idea was to bring people of India together. “It was a very successful yatra where we walked over 4,000 km,” he said. “We wanted to do another yatra from east to west and we decided that the most powerful thing would be to start the yatra from Manipur so that the people of India get a sense of what the people of Manipur have been through, the difficulty that they have been through, the struggles they have been through,” the Congress leader said. “I understand that you have faced a tragedy, you have lost family members, you have lost property and I want you to know that we are fully standing with you, we want to bring peace back to Manipur. We want to make Manipur peaceful and harmonious again,” he said. He said he has been speaking with delegations from the State who have been telling him about the issues the people of Manipur have been facing. “I hope peace returns to Manipur as soon as possible,” Mr. Gandhi added. In brief The White House said that “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory’s ruling Hamas militant group. The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war. The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 15 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( PM Modi, Putin discuss developments in India-Russia strategic partnership  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday [agreed to chalk out a roadmap for future initiatives]( to further strengthen the “special and privileged strategic partnership” between the two nations. Last month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Russia, during which the two countries decided to step up military and technical cooperation, including manufacturing of modern weaponry. “Had a good conversation with President Putin. We discussed various positive developments in our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and agreed to chalk out a roadmap for future initiatives. We also had a useful exchange of views on various regional and global issues, including Russia’s Presidency of the BRICS,” the Prime Minister said on X. Later in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said Modi and Putin reviewed progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation in follow-up to recent high-level exchanges between the two countries. “They positively assessed the developments in bilateral relations and agreed to develop a roadmap for future initiatives to further strengthen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” the MEA statement said. Mr. Modi also conveyed his best wishes for Russia’s Presidency of BRICS in 2024 and assured India’s full support, the MEA statement said, adding that the two leaders agreed to remain in touch. BSP will go it alone in Lok Sabha polls: Mayawati Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Monday reiterated her stand to[fight the 2024 parliamentary polls alone]( but did not rule out a post-poll alliance. “We suffer more losses from alliances. Most of the parties want to ally with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). But, the BSP will fight the elections alone. An alliance can be considered after the polls,” said Ms. Mayawati, addressing a press conference in Lucknow on her 68th birthday. “With the support of people hailing from backward community, tribals, Dalits and Muslims, we [the BSP] formed a majority government in the State in 2007 Assembly polls, and that’s why we have decided to contest the parliamentary elections alone. We will maintain a distance with those who are casteist and communal, and we will not join any alliance,” added the former four time U.P. CM. Ms. Mayawati also put on rest speculation of retiring from politics adding she will continue towards strengthening the BSP. “Last month, I declared Akash Anand as my political successor at the National Council meeting of the party, following which it was being speculated in media that I may soon retire from politics. However, I want to clarify that it’s not the case, and I will continue to work towards strengthening the party,” said the BSP president. The BSP chief asked the party leaders and workers to put all the necessary effort going into the 2024 polls. Over 24.8 crore people moved out of poverty in India in nine years: NITI report As many as 24.82 crore people [moved out of multidimensional poverty]( in nine years to 2022-23, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh registering the largest decline, NITI Aayog said in a report on Monday. According to the NITI discussion paper, multidimensional poverty in India declined from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of this bracket during this period. The national multidimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators, according to NITI Aayog. These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts. The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by Niti Aayog uses the Alkire Foster methodology to assess the decline in poverty rates. However, the National MPI covers 12 indicators while global MPI covers 10 indicators. At the State level, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 5.94 crore people escaping poverty followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore and Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore. The paper said India is all set to reach single-digit poverty levels during 2024. Want to make Manipur peaceful, harmonious again: Rahul on 2nd day of Nyay Yatra The Congress stands with the people of Manipur and wants to make the State peaceful and harmonious again, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday as he interacted with the people on[the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.]( Starting the yatra this morning in a custom-made Volvo bus, Mr. Gandhi also walked for some distance meeting people and enquiring about their problems. Addressing the people from atop his bus in Senapati, he said the Congress did a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and the idea was to bring people of India together. “It was a very successful yatra where we walked over 4,000 km,” he said. The Congress stands with the people of Manipur and wants to make the State peaceful and harmonious again, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on January 15 as he interacted with the people on the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Starting the yatra this morning in a custom-made Volvo bus, Mr. Gandhi also walked for some distance meeting people and enquiring about their problems. Several people, a number of them women and children, had lined up along the yatra route and cheered on Mr. Gandhi as his bus made its way along several busy areas in Senapati. Addressing the people from atop his bus in Senapati, he said the Congress did a yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and the idea was to bring people of India together. “It was a very successful yatra where we walked over 4,000 km,” he said. “We wanted to do another yatra from east to west and we decided that the most powerful thing would be to start the yatra from Manipur so that the people of India get a sense of what the people of Manipur have been through, the difficulty that they have been through, the struggles they have been through,” the Congress leader said. “I understand that you have faced a tragedy, you have lost family members, you have lost property and I want you to know that we are fully standing with you, we want to bring peace back to Manipur. We want to make Manipur peaceful and harmonious again,” he said. He said he has been speaking with delegations from the State who have been telling him about the issues the people of Manipur have been facing. “I hope peace returns to Manipur as soon as possible,” Mr. Gandhi added. In brief The White House said that “it’s the right time” for [Israel to scale back its military offensive]( in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory’s ruling Hamas militant group. The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war. The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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