anirudhsankar/PMIndia-SpeechDataset-2004-2024 huggingface dataset:
PM's statement after an aerial survey of Uttarakhand
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: June 19, 2013 New Delhi

PM's statement after an aerial survey of Uttarakhand Earlier today, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, UPA and I undertook an aerial survey of the rain and flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand. We saw for ourselves the large scale devastation that has been caused in the State. Our hearts go out to the families of those who have lost their lives and those who have suffered injury or loss of property in this huge tragedy. Assessing the magnitude of the losses, both in terms of lives lost and houses destroyed, or the damage to buildings, roads and other infrastructure, is an exercise that will take some more time. The priority for the authorities at the moment is to rescue the stranded and provide urgently needed succor to those most in need of it. What Chairperson UPA and I saw today was most distressing. While the most recent estimates put the death toll at 102, it is feared that loss of lives could eventually be much higher. So far, more than 10,000  people have been rescued and are being provided food, clothing and shelter. Many persons still remain stranded. The maximum damage has been in Kedarnath and its vicinity. The immediate need is for rescue and relief operations and the Government will not spare any effort in this regard. The Central and State Governments have deployed all possible resources to deal with the immediate aftermath of the ghastly tragedy.  About 5500 Jawans and Officers of the Army, 3000 men of the Border Roads Organisation and 600 ITBP personnel are engaged in relief and rescue efforts. Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed. The Air Force has deployed 18 helicopters and a C-130 aircraft. Private helicopters have also been engaged by the State Government. The Central and State Governments will continue to work in close coordination to ensure that every possible effort is made not only to provide immediate relief to the affected persons but also to help them reconstruct their lives. Ex-gratia assistance of Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of those who have lost their lives and Rs. 50,000 each to those who have been injured will be provided from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Further, we will also provide from the PMNRF ex-gratia assistance of  Rs.1 lakh each to those whose houses have been completely destroyed and Rs. 50,000 each to those whose houses have been damaged. I have decided to provide an amount of Rs.1000 crore to Uttarakhand for disaster relief, of which Rs. 145 crore is being released immediately. I have also directed all Central Agencies to render all possible assistance in their domain to the State.
PM’s opening remarks at the All Party meeting on Naxal violence
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: June 10, 2013 New Delhi

PM’s opening remarks at the All Party meeting on Naxal violence "I welcome you all to this meeting of political parties to review the security situation arising out of Naxalite violence, particularly in the wake of the brutal attack on Congress leadership and workers and their security personnel in Chhattisgarh on 25th May. The ideology of the Naxalites is well known-adoption of violent means with a total disregard for human life to weaken and overthrow the democratically elected governments in our country. For many years now, they have been resorting to brutal and inhuman attacks causing serious loss of lives and injury to security personnel, political functionaries and innocent people. But I believe that the Chhattisgarh attack marks the first time that they have targeted the top leadership of a political party in a systematic manner. The strength and robustness of the democratic forces in our country would suffer if the space for political activity gets restricted because of fear or terror. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the Chhattisgarh attack is a frontal assault on the democratic foundations of our nation. I am sure that all of us would agree that the State governments, and especially the Chhattisgarh government, must work to ensure that conditions become more conducive to political activity in Naxalite affected areas. The Central government is committed to supporting the States fully in this task. The Government has been following a two-pronged strategy to deal with this challenge of Left Wing Extremism- sustained and proactive operations against Maoist extremists and addressing development and governance issues in Left Wing Extremist affected areas. We believe that there is a need to further fine tune and strengthen this strategy. We have already started work in this direction. I would not like to take your time to give details of the steps that we are taking or planning to take, but would only reaffirm that our government will not be found wanting in this regard. We believe that there is urgency to the need to effectively deal with the Naxalite menace. Even as we take all measures that are needed to permanently root out this menace, we must immediately ensure that Naxalite violence is held in check and attacks like the one in Chhattisgarh do not recur. Our Government looks forward to benefitting from your immense wisdom, knowledge and experience to meet a grave challenge that our country faces today."
PM's statement to the media after meeting the Prime Minister of Japan
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: May 29, 2013 Tokyo, Japan

PM's statement to the media after meeting the Prime Minister of Japan I am delighted to return to Tokyo, a city where I have always found warmth, goodwill and hospitality whenever I have visited it over the past four decades. My wife and I were deeply honoured by the special gesture of Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress in hosting us earlier today. I also want to thank Prime Minister Abe for the excellent arrangements that have been made for our discussions and for his exceptional hospitality. Prime Minister Abe and I had wide-ranging discussions over the past two days, characterized by a convergence that is fully consistent with our Global and Strategic Partnership. Our discussions were guided by the fundamental belief that at a time of global uncertainties, change and challenges, India and Japan are natural and indispensable partners for advancing prosperity in our two countries and for a peaceful, stable, cooperative and prosperous future for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The Joint Statement reflects our mutual understanding and the steps we are taking to advance our relationship. We attach particular importance to intensifying political dialogue and strategic consultations and progressively strengthening defence relations, including through naval exercises and collaboration in defence technology. Cooperation in high technology, space, energy security and rare earth minerals will also add rich content to our strategic partnership. While continuing our development partnership, especially in the infrastructure sector in India, we will also strive to substantially expand the flow of trade and private investment. We had a meeting of minds in our discussions on global and regional issues. We will seek reforms in the United Nations Security Council, an open, rule-based and balanced regional architecture and deeper regional economic integration and connectivity. I also conveyed our good wishes and support for Japan’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. I am satisfied that not only is our strategic partnership on a strong foundation, but that we are truly moving forward in pursuit of the vision for which we have reached out to each other with so much resolve and intensity in the past decade.
PM's statement to the media on his arrival at Parliament for the resumed budget session
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: April 22, 2013 New Delhi

PM's statement to the media on his arrival at Parliament for the resumed budget session This is a very important part of the session of Parliament. Important financial business is before the House. There are also important Bills like the Food Security Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill, which require to be passed. And it is my sincere wish that the House should be allowed to function. If there are any concerns of the Opposition, we are willing to debate all those issues which worry the Opposition. Therefore my request to all members of the Opposition is to let the Government function. We have been put in this position by the people of India to deliver certain goods, and we hope that everyone would cooperate in that process: that the budget is passed, that essential business contained in other important Bills is also dealt with effectively.
PM’s statement to the media after the Plenary Session of the 5th BRICS Summit
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: March 27, 2013 Durban

PM’s statement to the media after the Plenary Session of the 5th BRICS Summit “I would like to thank His Excellency President Jacob Zuma and the people of South Africa for the warm hospitality and for the excellent arrangements made for Fifth BRICS Summit. I also take this opportunity to thank the local government and the people of Durban for their welcome. India has a special affinity for this city as it was Durban that first welcomed the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, when he arrived in South Africa nearly 120 years ago in May 1893. The BRICS platform has evolved tremendously since the First Summit at Yekaterinburg in 2009. Our agenda now encompasses diverse areas, including global economic developments, peace and security, reforms of political and economic institutions of global governance, international trade, sustainable development and food and energy security. We have just concluded very fruitful discussions on many of these issues. As Chair of BRICS during the last year, India’s focus was on consolidating intra-BRICS cooperation, as well as highlighting the capacity of BRICS to contribute meaningfully in addressing global challenges. I am happy that with the support of our BRICS partners, we were able to implement the ambitious Action Plan adopted at the New Delhi Summit in 2012. It gives me great satisfaction to note that one of the ideas that we first discussed at New Delhi, that of instituting a mechanism to recycle surplus savings into infrastructure investments in developing countries, has been given a concrete shape during the Durban Summit. Our Finance Ministers will now work to develop the details of this project. Our discussions today demonstrated the similarity of our perspectives on many global issues, such as the situation in West Asia and efforts to rekindle global economic growth. A number of substantial outcomes, such as the launch of the BRICS Business Council and the Consortium of Think Tanks, as well as the enabling agreements between our Development Banks to enhance financing of projects in Africa and for sustainable development, signify the promise of intra-BRICS cooperation. This being the first BRICS Summit on African soil, it is only appropriate that it includes a special BRICS – Africa event and I look forward keenly to our interaction with African leaders later today. I once again thank President Zuma for hosting this Summit, and for admirably guiding it towards a very successful outcome. I also extend my best wishes to him as he takes over the Chairmanship of BRICS.”
PM's statement in the Parliament
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: March 13, 2013 New Delhi

PM's statement in the Parliament There can be no two opinions about the actions that have been taken by the Italian government on the matter raised by the Hon'ble Members. Our government has already made it clear that these actions of the Government of Italy are not acceptable.  They violate every rule of diplomatic discourse and call into question solemn commitments given by accredited representatives of a sovereign government to our Supreme Court. This cannot, by any standards, be in the interests of any bilateral relationship that has to function on the basis of trust. Our government has therefore insisted that the Italian authorities respect the undertakings they have given to the Hon'ble Supreme Court and return the two accused persons to stand trial in India. If they do not keep their word there will be consequences for our relations with Italy. I would also urge all members of the House to treat this matter with the seriousness that it deserves, acting and speaking together as the Government moves forward on this issue.
PM's statement in the Rajya Sabha
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: March 6, 2013 New Delhi

PM's statement in the Rajya Sabha Mr. Deputy Chairman, Sir, this reference is to the CAG Report on loan waiver scheme, this is a matter which should be entrusted to the PAC as is the normal practice. If there are any irregularities, which have been shown, I assure the House we will take stringent possible action against the defaulters.
PM's statement to the media at Parliament House on the start of the Budget session
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: February 21, 2013 New Delhi

PM's statement to the media at Parliament House on the start of the Budget session Ladies and gentlemen, we are looking forward to a very productive, constructive session of Parliament. That is what our country’s people expect Parliament to do. We are meeting against the background of global slowdown of economic activity which has also affected us. It is now a challenge for all of us to take credible action to ensure that we are least affected by this global slowdown. In this context, the way we conduct the financial business, now before Parliament, will be a crucial determinant of our country's ability to cope with the formidable challenges that our country faces. We look forward to the cooperation of all sections of the House. On our part, we wish to engage constructively, productively with all sections of the House in the expectation that there would be responsible dialogue, debate among members of Parliament.
PM’s remarks to the media after the All Party meeting convened by the Speaker
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: February 20, 2013 New Delhi

PM’s remarks to the media after the All Party meeting convened by the Speaker This session of Parliament is going to transact the important financial business before the house, and it is our sincere hope that we will have a productive, constructive debate, leading to agreed solutions to the many national problems that our country faces. I have said this before and I repeat it again. Parliament is a forum for discussion, for dialogue, and all parties have an obligation to ensure that Parliament runs smoothly. And I am hopeful and I am confident that this session is going to be a fruitful session. This is a session, as I said, which is going to deal with the financial business, and our country faces many economic challenges, and it is my sincere hope that all political parties will join hands to find productive, constructive solutions to the formidable challenges facing our Nation.
PM's message for peace, and assurance of all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: December 24, 2012 New Delhi

PM's message for peace, and assurance of all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women My fellow citizens, There is genuine and justified anger and anguish at the ghastly crime of gang rape committed last Sunday in Delhi. As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly about this as each one of you. My wife, my family and I are all joined in our concern for the young woman who was the victim of this heinous crime. We are constantly monitoring her medical condition. Let us all pray for her and her loved ones during this critical time. I also feel deeply sad at the turn of events leading to clashes between protesters and police forces. Anger at this crime is justified but violence will serve no purpose. I appeal to all concerned citizens to maintain peace and calm. I assure you that we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women in this country. The Home Minister has already spoken about the steps being taken. We will examine without delay not only the responses to this terrible crime but also all aspects concerning the safety of women and children and punishment to those who commit these monstrous crimes. Our Government will keep you informed of the steps we are taking and the processes we are following. I appeal to all sections of society to maintain peace and help us in our efforts.
PM's closing remarks at India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit 2012
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: December 20, 2012 New Delhi

PM's closing remarks at India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit 2012 "I sincerely thank each one of you for sharing your vision and views on the India-ASEAN partnership. Your thoughts accurately capture the themes of peace, progress and shared prosperity, which form the guiding principles of our partnership. Our discussion today has demonstrated the unique strength of this partnership. I am heartened by the consensus in this room on the importance of this relationship to each one of us. We are united in our desire to improve connectivity, enhance commerce, promote cooperation among our institutions and deepen links between our people. We realize the strategic importance of this relationship in the regional and global contexts. The Vision Statement lays out a comprehensive roadmap for political, security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation. It imposes on us the responsibility to work diligently and innovatively to fulfill the heightened expectations from this relationship The vitality and durability of our partnership will depend not only on what the governments do with each other, but also on how we facilitate greater interaction between our people, students, scientists, academics, intellectuals, media, entrepreneurs, agriculturists and artists. That is why this commemorative summit is particularly special. We have with us not just leaders and diplomats from the ten ASEAN countries, but also students, experts, farmers and artists. On this occasion, I would like to record my sincere appreciation for the excellent recommendations made by the ASEAN India Eminent Persons Group, many of which we have endorsed today in our Vision Statement. We will explore others as we continue on our journey. I am very happy that we have decided today to elevate our relationship to a strategic partnership. This is a historic step, and together with the conclusion of the negotiations on FTA in Services and Investments, defines a qualitatively new paradigm of our partnership. It is a natural progression of the journey we embarked on together in 1992 and it will serve our relationship well in the next decade and beyond. Excellencies, I thank you once again for accepting my invitation to this special Summit. I must, at this moment, also recall with appreciation the support that India has enjoyed from all Members of ASEAN, at all times. I thank Prime Minister Hun Sen for Cambodia’s role as ASEAN Chair in coordinating this Summit. I would also like to assure His Majesty Haji Hassanal Bolkiah that India will work with Brunei, our ASEAN Country Coordinator for the next three years, to give shape to the vision endorsed by all of us today. We will also work to make the 11th ASEAN-India Summit in Brunei Darussalam and related events a success. Excellencies, I look forward to interacting with you in the series of celebrations over today and tomorrow to mark this milestone in the relations between India and ASEAN and I thank you very much once again for your participation in making this Commemorative Summit a great success."
PM's statement to the media at Parliament House on the start of the winter session
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: November 22, 2012 New Delhi

PM's statement to the media at Parliament House on the start of the winter session Our Parliament has a very heavy Legislative agenda during the Winter Session.  I seek cooperation from my colleagues in the House to come together and address the issues and challenges that we face as a nation.  We are ready to discuss all issues on the floor of both the Houses.  We all have an obligation, in opposition as well as in Government, to work together to enable our parliamentary democracy, of which we are genuinely proud to grapple with the formidable challenges facing our country. Our country faces many problems on the economic front arising out of the consequences of global economic slowdown.  We need to create new jobs on a large enough scale to provide gainful employment to our youth.  We need to increase investments in infrastructure sectors and social services like health and education to accelerate the tempo of economic growth.  Our Govermnent is committed to these tasks but success thereof requires cohesive collective action on the part of all segments of our polity. I invite all political parties to join hands in this vital national endeavour.
PM's statement at Plenary Session of 7th East Asia Summit
Speaker: Dr.Manmohan Singh
Date: November 20, 2012 Phnom Penh, Cambodia

PM's statement at Plenary Session of 7th East Asia Summit “I thank Prime Minister Hun Sen for his very warm hospitality and the excellent arrangements for the 7th East Asia Summit. I would like to begin by complimenting ASEAN members, not only for their progress in creating an integrated ASEAN community, but for their leadership in launching wider regional initiatives such as the ARF, EAS and the ADMM+. For India, ASEAN has been the bridge to the East. It is also central to the evolution of a regional architecture and its different cooperative frameworks. Excellencies, India’s security and prosperityare vitallylinked to the Asia Pacific region. Our vision for this region is rooted in cooperation and integration. Forums such as the East Asia Summit can help create a large economic community in this region that will accelerate development and enhance prosperity, besides reinforcing mutual understanding and confidence in the region. This Summit is witness to important events and changes taking place in the Asia Pacific region. Concerted effort and collective action on the part of the countries gathered in this room can strengthen mutual understanding and help us address shared challenges. For this, it would be necessary to develop a common set of principles, establish cooperative mechanisms and deepen regional economic integration. We, therefore, welcome the launch of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations today. We also support the Phnom Penh Declaration on East Asia Summit Development Initiative. Connectivity is vital for increased commerce, contact and cooperation between our countries. We must quickly implement the EAS Declaration on ASEAN Connectivity, adopted at our last Summit. Early identification of specific projects and the evolution of innovative financing mechanisms for their implementation would also help move forward this important aspect of our cooperation. Excellencies, India has been happy to carry forward several EAS-related initiatives. Following the EAS Declaration on Malaria Control, we have proposed a programme on capacity building and vector control management systems to our ASEAN partners earlier this year and look forward to cooperating with other EAS members. Earlier this month, we held the EAS-India Workshop on Building a Regional Framework for Earthquake Risk Management in New Delhi. This will augur well for our cooperation in responding to natural disasters. Finally, the Nalanda University project, in which your support has been invaluable, is gaining momentum and we expect the first two schools to commence teaching in the academic year 2014-15. Excellencies, though EAS is still new, we have built an impressive agenda for economic cooperation and for addressing some of our common challenges. We should try and bring to bear the same spirit in addressing our differences. I have no doubt that, together, we can create an open, balanced, inclusive and rule-based architecture in the region for our collective security, stability and prosperity.”