WASHINGTON: India and the United States have called on Pakistan urging it to ensure that its territory is not used to launch cross-border terror strikes. 

They also asked it to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot air base attacks in January last year. Visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump vowed to strengthen efforts to fight terrorism and eliminate safe havens for terrorists.

The joint statement issued after the meeting between the leaders affirmed their support for a U.N. Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism. 

They also pledged to work together to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors.

Briefing media after the talks between the two leaders, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said the two nations noted that in their joint statement that terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought in every part of the world, and the US and India would do it together.

The leaders said, they committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, D-Company, and their affiliates.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence that, together, the US and India will provide strong leadership to address global challenges and build prosperity for their citizens in the decades to come. 

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed that a close partnership between the United States and India is central to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Recognizing the significant progress achieved in these endeavors, the leaders agreed to take further measures to strengthen their partnership. 

In accordance with the tenets outlined in the U.N. Charter, they committed to a set of common principles for the region, according to which sovereignty and international law are respected and every country can prosper.

They reiterated the importance of respecting freedom of navigation, overflight, and commerce throughout the region and call upon all nations to resolve territorial and maritime disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law.

They supported bolstering of regional economic connectivity through the transparent development of infrastructure and the use of responsible debt financing practices, while ensuring respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the rule of law, and the environment.

The leaders strongly condemned continued provocations by the North Korea emphasizing that its destabilizing pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programs poses a grave threat to regional security and global peace.

NEW DELHI:  Spice commonly used in Indian kitchens may have health benefits, a new study has indicated.
A clinical trial conducted in New Delhi has found that consumption of cinnamon (dalchini) powder helps address obesity and symptoms of metabolic disorder.
The study, done at the Fortis Diabetes Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation,involved 116 men and women having conditions such as abdominal obesity,impaired glucose tolerance, high triglycerides and hypertension.
After consuming 3 grams of cinnamon powder per day for 16 weeks, the average weight reduced was from 89 to 85 kilograms in the cinnamon group, while it reduced from 82 from 81 kilograms in the control group who were not given cinnamon. Along with dietary intervention, they were all prescribed brisk walking for 45 minutes every day. Patients were monitored two times a week.
Researchers said consuming cinnamon along with dietary changes and physical exercise decreased fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, waist circumference, and body mass index. It also improved waist-hip ratio, blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum triglycerides, and beneficial high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
“Cinnamon is a spice which is commonly used in Indian cooking and hence can be easily incorporated in our daily dietaries, which will balance out metabolism better”, said Dr. Seema Puri, Associate Professor at Institute of Home Economics,who contributed to the study. The study results have been published in the June 2017 issue of the journal Lipids in Health and Disease.
A few previous studies have shown that cinnamon improves insulin sensitivity,reduces blood glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin, cholesterol, and blood antioxidant levels. But these have were done with a few patients. 
Doctors suggest that the possible mode of action of cinnamon may involve inhibiting activity of enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, stimulating cellular glucose uptake, and enhancing insulin sensitivity. “The study is scientifically well planned, but I have some reservations as the study groups were not matching at baseline. It is a major issue in double blind placebo controlled studies and it raises doubts over successful implementation of plan”,says Dr. Rajesh Khadgawat, from the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, who is not connected with the study.
Dr Anoop Mishra, one of the authors of the study, agreed that “there are baseline differences in the average weight between the two groups” but said “we have adjusted the analysis for that and found significant differences in outcomes that are valid”. (India Science Wire)

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nominee for President Ram Nath Kovind side stepping the 18 party non-BJP grand alliance has not torn them apart. Apart from the expected discomfiture in the alliance which created ripples, the JD (U)-Congress-RJD alliance in Patna is not breaking up any time soon, assured RJD strongman Lalu Prasad Yadav after the meeting of the opposition parties in the national capital on Thursday. 

The meeting chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi unanimously agreed to seasoned politician Meira Kumar being the opposition alliance’s nominee for the office of President. 

Needless to say she is pitted against Kovind and her defeat in the Presidential election next month on July 17 is certain. If Kovind has a bemishless record as a Dalit politician from the RSS stable, Meira Kumar has been a Parliamentarian for five terms or a quarter of a century, along with being the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as well as a Union minister. She began her career in the Indian Foreign Service. Born in Patna she is an accomplished “Bihar ki beti” of well known Dalit stalwart of the Congress, the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, who rose to became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country. 

Meira Kumar’s choice was not entirely unexpected in the prevailing circumstances as she had met Sonia Gandhi a few days back. On his part the Prime Minister has invariably been one up on the opposition be it last November’s Demonetisation or the recent appointment of Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of the crucial and most populous state of Uttar Pradesh in the country. 

The Presidential contest by a weak opposition is more symbolic than anything else. It may be recalled that the Dalits, the poor, the minorities and and the oppressed and depressed classes in the country had been the traditional vote bank of the Congress, the oldest political entity which was in the vanguard of the independence struggle and ruled the roost for more than three decades. 

Thereafter, regional satraps appeared on the scene in different parts of the country carving out their own spheres of influence in the Hindi heartland and in the South apart from other regions. 

The emergence of a backward as Prime Minister in Modi and now a Dalit in his capacity as the 14th Head of State are not mere coincidences bringing to the fore the pre-eminence of caste identities in society. 

At the same time it will be naive on anybody’s part to assume that if a Dalit becomes the country’s President for the second time the first being K R Narayanan, it can solve the problems of the deprived and oppressed communities suffering for centuries. 

Efforts at evolving a consensus on Kovind backfired. An ideological contest has become inevitable. The writing is on the wall about an RSS man being enconsed in the sprawling and majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan. 

The BJP’s studied silence about the atrocities against Dalits since Modi assumed power at the Centre on May 26, 2014 has angered the community. In the prevailing situation the Opposition is unlikely to pick up the obvious ideological and political gauntlet being dangled at them by the ruling establishment. 

At the same time what cannot be lost sight of is that the office of President is not a political one. The Constitution casts on the President and the Head of State alone the responsibility to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. It is another matter that considerable number of people in the country believe that the aims and objectives of the RSS are at variance with the provisions of the Constitution. 

After the meeting of opposition parties, RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav urged Nitish Kumar to reconsider what he described as “his wrong decision” to back the NDA nominee for President. Lalu ruled out the danger of the JD (U)-Congress-RJD alliance breaking up. Taking a dig at Nitish Kumar, he made it clear he would “never have voted with the BJP even if the Congress had asked him to”. 

The Kovind-Meira Kumar contest brings to the fore the role and responsibility of the President, independent of his his/her erstwhile political affiliations or ideological indoctrination. It is in the overall fitness of things, the ruling party and the opposition owes the nation not only a free and fair contest leading to the installation of a dignified Head of State.

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi comfortably ahead of the opposition, he has managed to keep at bay any threat to his leadership so far. He has managed this ever since he became the Head of Government on May 26, 2014. 

Having completed three years in office last month, he has continued to gain in strength with hardly any opposition threat to him. Modi has consolidated his position over the last three years without any threat from any quarter. 

This is because the BJP’s rivals have hardly tried to be competitive. Consequently, matters have been smooth sailing for him so far. At least as of now there is no leader anywhere close to emerging as a threat to Modi on the national scene. This is primarily on account of not a single leader in the opposition ranks being popular among large sections of society. 

Given his high popularity ratings even after completing 36 months in office when the honeymoon period for a Head of Government starts waning, the chances of Modi enjoying a second consecutive five-year term as Prime Minister appears certain. It is primarily on account of a fragmented opposition. 

It has been so since Modi secured a majority on his own for the Lotus party in the Lok Sabha in 2014 since its formation in 1980. The opposition is in desperate need of evolving its own socio-economic programmes different from that of the ruling BJP led NDA. 

The BJP’s success lies in large measure to restructuring and effecting subtle changes in the major socio-economic programmes of the UPA with the Congress in the vanguard which has caught the imagination of the people.

If the Modi bandwagon is to the stopped in the general elections two years hence in 2019 then the opposition must not only remain united but ensure an effective challenge to the BJP. 

On her part Congress president Sonia Gandhi tried to bring the opposition together late last month in May for putting up a common candidate for July’s presidential election. 

Strategist Modi has once stolen a huge march over the opposition by announcing that their Presidential nominee in next month’s election for the Head of State will be Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit lawyer and a politician from Uttar Pradesh. Having served as Governor of Bihar since 2015, he has since resigned.  

Having emerged from RSS stable, the ideologue of the BJP, the low profile Kovind, is a self made man proficient in politics and constitutional matters having a clean record. As a lawyer Kovind has practised in the High Court and the Supreme Court and is an expert in constitutional matters. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms and hails from Kanpur Dehat. 

Once again the opposition has been caught leaden footed. The first Dalit to occupy the highest Constitutional office in the country was K R Narayanan. On his part, Modi did not waste time in contacting some of the opposition leaders personally like Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and others to inform them that Kovind will be the BJP’s Presidential nominee. 

This is also intended to send a clear political signal to the Dalits that the BJP is with them as well as seeking to allay apprehensions about caste disturbances being whipped up deliberately against them in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and some other BJP ruled states.

Be that as it may, many non-BJP opposition leaders met in Chennai recently and spelt out their political differences with the Centre. The important aspect is that these busy bodies have at least begun to sit together and discuss matters. 

Another significant step is expected to be taken in Patna in August where Lalu Prasad Yadav proposes to invite a large number opposition leaders for a mass rally. 

BJP’s stunning victory in the recent assembly elections in crucial Uttar Pradesh has created the necessary climate for bringing non-BJP parties together like the Left, the RLD, JD (U), NC, NCP and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in a bid to form a coalition in the run up to the 2019 general elections which is representative of the country as a whole. 

However, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has announced that the JD (U) will extend its support to Kovind. This has inevitably created fissures in the 18 party non-BJP opposition grand alliance.  

This group has to identify and agree on minimum issues on which they can work together to effectively counter Narendra Modi’s policies. In any personality based contest Modi will be a runaway winner. Therefore, care has to be taken to focus on “issue based politics” in a bid to corner Modi and bring to the fore his blunders connected with national security as well as saddling the common man with disasters on social and economic fronts.

So far the Modi government has faced unprecedented Dalit turmoil with countrywide protests sparked by the suicide on the Hyderabad University campus by Rohith Vemula, the agitation in the wake of the atrocities perpetrated by the so called ‘gau rakshaks’ and the Dalit-Thakur violence in Saharanpur, UP.

With Modi having essayed his gambit, its impact on the Dalits is expected to be known in the medium to long term. 

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

The Archives Department of Rajasthan has initiated digitalization of priceless historical and revenue records for posterity. These archived records are now available online on www.rsad.rajasthan.gov.in

This website has more than 75 lakh historical and revenue records of Rajputana’s princely states which are easily available to research scholars, administrative department, and judiciary. These online records are available for a variety of research uses including teaching purpose, building plans, publications and legal proceeding.

“It is very useful to both public and research scholars as it will help them in their research work. Professor and lecturers of different universities can upgrade their knowledge through these online records and spread their knowledge in students. Writers and historian consult these original online archives records for publishing new books. Government departments including judiciary, research centre, government library and other state archives are also benefited from these online records as they obtain essential information for use in legal proceeding, and research. Archives attracted tourist for family history and cultural heritage have become major reasons of tourism,’’ says Mahendra Khadgawat, Director, Rajasthan State Archives.

Available online are 3.25 lakh `patta’ records on Bikaner division including Bikaner Bahiyat, English records, confidential records and files of Prajamandal and peasant movement of the erstwhile Bikaner State. Bikaner Bahiyat such as Bikaner-Kagdo ki Bahiya, kagad-bahis, zakat-bahis, old-bahis, Sava Bahi, Hasal Bahi, and Vivah Bahi are also archived.

Bikaner English records such as Mahkama Khas (1891-1914), PWD Records (1914-1948), PMO Department Records (1927-1949), Army Department Records (1914-1947), Bikaner Classified Files (1896-1927), and Jaipur Secretariat confidential records(1894-1940) too are now available online.

From the erstwhile State of Alwar are available Alwar English records such as Toshajhana, Mahakma-Khas, Judiciary, Dault-Khana, Mahkma-Alia-Hazori, Army, Rasora Khas, Police, Education, and Mines. Alwar Patta records have been recently added and administrative records will be added shortly.

The Jaipur State records include Datoor Komwar (1708-1866), Nawajana (1708-1852), Nasokha punya (1712-1870), Dwani Hajuri (1873-1900) Vakil reports (1681-1688), Khatot Ahalkaran (1681-1701), Khatot Maharajgan (1677-1718), Wills Report printed (1725-1887), Draft Kharite (1725-1897), and Yaaddashi Rajasthani (1807-1940). Tozi and Arsattha records are the new additions to the treasure trove.

In the Joshpur State gallery are Patta files of City Patta Kotwali (1894 to 1951). The archive has online approximately 4 lakh Bahis of Marwar Jodhpur State namely Arji Bahi, Hajuri Bahi, Futker Bahi, Hakikat Khata Bahi, Hakikat Register, Hath Bahi, Jodhpur Dafter Hajuri, Khajana Bahi, Kharitha Bahi, Khass Ruka Parwana Bahi, Ohada Bahi, Patta Sigare Bahi, Sand Parwana Bahi, and Vivah re Bahi. Patta Bahi and Mahekma Khas records of Jodhpur have now been uploaded.

The Ajmer Dargah records are an important component of the Ajmer State records archived recently. The erstwhile State records also include judicial records and the Ajmer Commissioner records.

Bahis of Kishangarh and the pattas of Mount Abu Sirohi (1849-1885) are archived online under the Kishangarh and Sirohi states segment respectively while the judicial records from Bharatpur State are available in the Bharatpur segment.  Judicial record of Jhalawar State is also archived.

Records of adminstrative reports of princely states, round table conference, chamber of prince, treaties, engagements and Sanads; and records of agriculture, economics, education, history, biography, and archaeology are preserved in the Archival Library.

Revenue and Settlement records, Political Administration Reports, Gazetteers, Rules & Regulation, City Improvement, Alwar Gazette, and rare books, too, are included in the Archival Library in addition to administrative reports of 110 states of India. Documents pertaining to agriculture, census, famine and revenue settlement, and medical and veterinary reports are also digitized.

The section on Departmental Archives has records of 55 departments, and publications based on archival sources which are available online. 

On the occasion of International Day of Yoga – 2017, the Prime Minister today participated in a mass Yoga demonstration event in Lucknow. 

Thousands of people gathered for the event at the Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan despite continuous rain in the city. 

Addressing the enthusiastic and vociferous gathering, the Prime Minister conveyed his greetings from Lucknow to all those joining the Yoga Day celebrations across India. 

He said that today, Yoga has become a part of many people’s lives. He said Yoga’s popularity is high even outside India; and Yoga has connected the world with India. 

The Prime Minister said he is glad to see several Yoga institutes take shape over the last three years, and noted that the demand for Yoga teachers is increasing. In addition to fitness, wellness is important, the Prime Minister said, adding that Yoga is a medium to achieve wellness. 

Urging everyone to make Yoga a part of their lives, the Prime Minister said that Yoga is about health assurance, and it is not even expensive to practice. 

Earlier, welcoming the Prime Minister to Lucknow, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, said that Yoga is a part of our tradition and it integrates us. 

NEW DELHI: Bahubali-The Conclusion is all set to create ripples at the upcoming Moscow International Film Festival 2017 beginning later this week. This movie has already set the screens on fire in China. Indian cinema will find a special place in the Festival where an Indian Panorama has been has been specially curated to celebrate 70 glorious years of India-Russia friendship. Blockbuster Bahubal-2 will be screened at the Festival. 
It is for the first time in the history of this mega film festival in Russia, that a section is dedicated to Indian cinema showcasing path breaking films from Bollywood. It has been jointly curated by Captain Rahul Bali and Mr. R C Dalal and organised by Indian Film Festival Worldwide with Innovations India & JD Institute of Fashion being the partners.
International Film festivals have become a widespread phenomenon across the globe over the last 50 years as major events that go on to establish the reputation of the cities in which they are organised and the Moscow International Film Festival organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Federation every year is one of the most reputed film festivals in the world.
A symbol of exemplary friendship and bilateral relations between India and Russia, the Indian Panorama will feature some of the finest Indian movies such as Bahubali: The Beginning, Badman, A Death in the Gunj, Bey Yaar, U Turn, Kothanodi and Bahubali: The Conclusion.   Indian cinema is known for songs, dance and bright colours but changes are being made to the iconic brand of cinema and they will be on display at the Festival.  The audience in Russia will have an opportunity to see some great works of creative brilliance by master Indian film makers by way of these iconic Indian movies which will go a long way in strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two countries via cinema
Over the course of the past 20 years, the jury at the Moscow International Film Festival has been headed by leading film personalities with global recognition like Richard Gere, Theo Angelopoulos, Margarethe von Trotta, Alan Parker, Gleb Panfilov, Fred Schepisi, Luc Besson, Geraldine Chaplin, Héctor Babenco, Pavel Lungin, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf to name a few. The program director of the prestigious and globally renowned Moscow International Film Festival is Kirill Razlogov, a culturologist. The selection committee is headed by a Russian film critic Andrei Plakhov while the President of the Moscow International Film Festival is the Oscar Wining Russian legendary director and actor, Nikita Mikhalkov.
Gulshan Grover’s Badman—India’s first mockumentary film be the opening film of the Indian Panorama at the Moscow Festival scheduled to be held between June 22 and 29 at Moscow. Actor Gulshan Grover, S.S.Rajamouli, Shobu Yarlagadda and Abhishek Jain would represent the Indian Film Fraternity amongst a galaxy of film stars from Russia and across the world. 
Indian Film Festival Worldwide (IFFW), a brainchild of Captain Rahul Bali and Mr. R C Dalal, is an organisation devoted towards a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and organises Indian Film Festivals across the globe which give the Indian film fraternity a platform to share their remarkable work and create a dialogue with the concerned communities in the host countries. The IFFW acts as a platform for intellectual exchanges, for discoveries, for resistance and a place that assures the continuation of “auteur” cinema in a manner so as to be a reflection of specific societies and cultures.
“We would be showcasing seven award winning Indian films in six different languages—Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Gujarat and Hindi – to mesmerize the world audience with the magic of Indian cinema and spreading the fragrance of India in Moscow,’’ said Captain Rahul Bali and R.C.Dalal, co-curators of the Indian Panorama.                                                               

PARIS: Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited(TASL) signed a landmark agreement affirming the companies intent to join hands to produce the F-16 Block 70 fighter jets in India. 
The F-16 Block 70 is ideally suited to meet the Indian Air Force’s single engine fighter needs and this unmatched U.S.-Indian industry partnership directly supports India’s initiative to develop private aerospace and defense manufacturing capacity in India. The agreement comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the U.S. later this month during which he will have a meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump. 
This unprecedented F-16 production partnership between the world’s largest defense contractor and India’s premier industrial house provides India the opportunity to produce, operate and export F-16 Block 70 aircraft, the newest and most advanced version of the world’s most successful, combat-proven multi-role fighter.
F-16 production in India supports thousands of Lockheed Martin and F-16 supplier jobs in the U.S., creates new manufacturing jobs in India, and positions Indian industry at the center of the most extensive fighter aircraft supply ecosystem in the world.
“This agreement builds on the already established joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Tata and underscores the relationship and commitment between the two companies,” said N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons. 
“Lockheed Martin is honored to partner with Indian defense and aerospace leader Tata Advanced Systems Limited on the F-16 program, said Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “Our partnership significantly strengthens the F-16 ‘Make in India’ offer, creates and maintains numerous new job opportunities in India and the U.S., and brings the world’s most combat-proven multi-role fighter aircraft to India.”
The Lockheed Martin-TASL F-16 partnering agreement builds on TASL’s proven performance manufacturing airframe components for the C-130J airlifter and the S-92 helicopter.
With more than 4,500 produced and approximately 3,200 operational aircraft worldwide being flown today by 26 countries, the F-16 remains the world’s most successful, combat-proven multi-role fighter ever produced. The F-16 Block 70 is the newest and most technologically advancedF-16 ever offered.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company which is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
Tata Advanced Systems Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, focused on providing integrated solutions for Aerospace, Defence and Homeland Security. In a short span of five years, Tata Advanced Systems Limited has become a significant player in the global aerospace market, becoming the premier manufacturing partner for global OEMs, including Boeing, Airbus Group. 

NEW DELHI: H2 Life Foundation which is a not-for-profit organization focused on public policy and advocacy has committed to train 20,000 persons as GST (Goods and Services Tax) Champions, in line with the government’s aim to provide entrepreneurship skills and promote self-employment. These GST Champions will help small businesses file their GST returns.

H2 Life Foundation has developed a comprehensive course in association with Aspire Institute of Professional Studies (ASPIRE). ASPIRE is a private limited company engaged in education and training since 2009.

Spread across three modules – theory of GST, practical training on GST software of a GSTN recognized GSP, and how to make a career in GST filing, the course aims to hone the skills of students and professionals to become ‘trained GST champions’, who will help meet the GST compliance requirements of small businesses.

As promulgated by the Government, GST is one of the major economic reforms, affecting more than two crore taxpayers in the country. It is expected to create employment requirement for more than five lakh computer operators having knowledge of finance-related subjects along with information technology. This is over and above the existing pool of tax preparers and professional firms already engaged in it. People need to be aware of this new taxation system and H2 Life Foundation is committed to create this awareness and improve employability.  

H2 Life Foundation in association with ASPIRE has launched the course across India through authorised learning centres that meet the infrastructure and manpower requirements. The course content has been created with inputs from experts across the industry.

Mr. Vikas Sharma, President, H2 Life Foundation, during the launch of the course in New Delhi said that, “GST is one of the biggest economic reforms since 1991. It will surely impact the economy in a positive way. That’s one reason why people should be well aware and educated about the Act. Therefore, we are running a pan-India project of appointing our learning centres across the nation so that more and more people get aware of GST and are able to tap the opportunity to get a skill-based livelihood’’.

He also said that, “we have set our own milestone to educate more than 20,000 people about GST, GST filing and related procedures”.

H2 Life Foundation and ASPIRE aim to make learners immediately valuable whether as an entrepreneur or in their daily jobs. GST will not only improve the economy by reforming the tax collection system but will also open up myriad employment opportunities given its scale.

NEW DELHI: Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind will be the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Presidential nominee. 
The surprise choice of Mr. Kovind’s name was made on Monday by BJP chief Amit Shah at a news conference here, saying that party’s parliamentary board had finalised his name. 
Calling the BJP-NDA  Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind a farmer’s son, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he will make an exceptional President.        “I am sure Ram Nath Kovind will make an exceptional President & continue to be a strong voice for the poor, downtrodden & marginalised,” Mr Modi tweeted minutes after the formal announcement.         “With his illustrious background in the legal arena, Mr. Kovind’s knowledge and understanding of the Constitution will benefit the nation,” Mr. Modi said in another tweet.    He said that Mr Kovind, who comes from a humble background has devoted his life to public service and worked for poor and marginalised.        Known to keep a low profile, Mr. Kovind is a lawyer by profession and has headed BJP’s Dalit wing and was a Rajya Sabha member for 12 years. He has also been a party spokesperson. He completed his education from Kanpur University in Uttar Pradesh. Though he began his career with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), BJP’s ideological mentor, Mr. Kovind is not knows for his hardline views. Extremely soft spoken and gentle, his approach has been to take everyone along. 
Born on October 1, 1945, Mr. Kovind comes from a humble background and his family hails from rural area of Kanpur, a bustling industrial town in North India. 
He was appointed Governor of Bihar three years ago when the Modi government took office in New Delhi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, while welcoming his nomination, said that his gubernatorial stint in Patna’s Raj Bhawan has been very cordial. 
Mr. Kovind is scheduled to arrive in the Capital on Monday evening. His Presidential nomination is likely to be filed on June 23. President Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends on July 24 and the Presidential election process will be completed by July 20. 
The main opposition party Congress criticised the manner in which the BJP “unilaterally” announced the candidature of Mr. Kovind. “This kind of unilateral, full-fledged announcement was not expected…The Opposition parties have decided to meet on June 22 for consultations,” senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters here. 
He said after the three-member BJP panel had met the Congress president and other opposition leaders, it was expected that the BJP-led NDA would first discuss the “specific names” with the opposition parties. 
Prime Minister Modi has already spoken to his predecessor Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha in a bid to evolve a consensus on the name of Mr. Kovind. As the ruling NDA dispensation is comfortably placed, Mr. Kovind’s election as the country’s next President will be a smooth affair. By nominating a Dalit leader as the next tenant of Rashtrapati Bhawan, the BJP hopes to expand its base among lower castes, downtrodden, oppressed and deprived sections of the society.