Blitz India’s UK foray was announced at a spectacular event at the prestigious India International Centre in New Delhi. An array of dignitaries present on the occasion spoke about the rising stature of India under PM Modi-led Government and lauded the pioneering initiative of Blitz India to focus on development news.
AV messages from Lord Swraj Paul and Unicef India’s Hyun Hee Ban were also played to the thunderous applause from the packed audience. The venue brimming to capacity with thinkers, influencers, politicians, journalists, and others was a testimony to the success of the mission launched by Blitz India and a huge motivation for us to carry it further. The Cover Story wraps up the deliberations of the grand show that yielded many a takeaway, some of which are focused upon in the inside pages.
The inside package begins with the Solicitor General of India’s address in which he emphasised how difficult it is to enter into the arena of developmental journalism whereas being anti-establishment is easier, and more popular. In somewhat similar vein, Press Council of India chief spoke of the spree of complaints received by the regulatory body regarding fake, defamatory and sensational news. In this context, she lauded Blitz India’s resolve to focus on development journalism, which has no negativity and is always constructive.
While UP Deputy CM dwelt upon the various development works undertaken by the Modi Government, India’s G20 Sherpa elaborated upon the slew of projects initiated during the last over eight years.
A pictorial summary of the event on the centrespread pages gives a glimpse of the grand scale on which it was conducted. While the India Perspective pages carry on with celebrated journalist MJ Akbar’s piece on PM Modi’s policy towards Pakistan and an Army veteran’s write-up on the concept of ‘Two-Front War’, we bring two fresh insightful write-ups contributed by our UK team. In the first, London-based tech founder, investor and philanthropist Af Malhotra argues how agriculture is the next big area where technology startups can radically change the way farming is done, crop is harvested and the produce is distributed. This, he writes could be the next global export opportunity for India.
In the second, international lawyer and strategy advisor Saif Mahmood writes on the missing case of succession planning among UK’s Indian diaspora. For smooth transitioning of ancestral wealth, it is important for the diaspora to understand relevant laws of the land in India as well as in the UK, he explains in a well-researched piece.
Tata-owned Air India’s massive aircraft purchase order, besides ushering in a new dawn for the civil aviation sector in India, is a matter of massive jubilation in the UK. As PM Rishi Sunak put it, this landmark deal between Air India, Airbus and Rolls-Royce demonstrates that the sky’s the limit for the UK’s thriving aerospace sector. It will create better-paid jobs and new opportunities in manufacturing hubs from Derby to Wales, he said. Our special report on the Blooming Britain page deciphers the ‘mother of all aviation deals’ from every possible angle.
Apart from that, we offer more readable material as part of our freshly-launched Legal column.
Enjoy reading!