The G 20 Summit begins at the Pacific desert resort of Los Cabos, Mexico later this evening. The conclave is expected to call on member countries to increase contributions to the International Monetary Fund.

Leaders attending the summit heaved a sigh of relief as news trickled that Greek had voted for parties that supports the European Union and the IMF led bailout terms. The summit has been overshadowed by the debt crisis in the Eurozone and the meltdown in the global economy.

Cautioning leaders of the top industrialized nations and emerging economies,Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said the world is in deep trouble and expressed the hope that the summit will come up with constructive proposals to get the world out of the crisis.

Dr Singh will begin his engagements in Los Cabos hosting a meet of BRICS leaders. The leaders of the five nations including Dr Manmohan singh , Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South African President Jacob Zuma. will discuss the strategy to be adopted by the grouping in the summit.

AIR correspondent covering the summit reportrs that China’s vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao predicted the group would pledge at least $60 billion and thus boost the firewall up to the International Monetary

Prime Minister Dr Singh will have a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. He will be holding talks with Mexican President Felipe Caledron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel later today.

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has asked the Centre, the Ganga basin States, civil society and industry to come together to clean the Ganga. He was chairing the meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority in New Delhi on Tuesday. Expressing concern that the efforts in the past have not been very successful, he sought a renewed and sincere commitment in both thought and action to make a definite change in the situation. The Prime Minister asserted that all the stake holders must find the right balance between the need for environmental and ecological conservation of the Ganga and its basin on the one hand and the imperatives of growth and development on the other.

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today favoured joint and coordinated efforts to deal with challenges of terrorism whatever its origin, whether internal or external. Inaugurating the annual conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi, Dr. Singh said there is no question that the burden of the fight against terrorism falls largely on the states machinery. He said the Centre is ready to work with the states to put in place strong and effective institutional mechanisms to tackle this problem. The Prime Minister said proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre will be discussed on May 5th in a separate meeting as suggested by some Chief Ministers. Dr. Singh said in the last two years, the Integrated Action Plan has brought development to villages in the most backward and violence affected districts in the country. The Prime Minister warned that threats from terrorism, left wing extremism, religious fundamentalism and ethnic violence persist in the country. The Prime Minister described the internal security situation in the country has by and large been satisfactory since February last year for which the efforts of the states and the Centre need to be commended. Terming the task of dealing with the security challenges as a complex and onerous, Dr. Singh said it is an endeavour that requires the united effort of everyone. Talking about Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime minister said there has been a perceptible improvement in the security and law and order situation. Dr. Singh said the state witnessed the highest inflow of tourists and pilgrims during 2011. He said the Panchayat elections were successful and were more proof of the people’s desire to be able to lead normal lives free from the shadow of violence and terrorism. On left wing extremism, Dr. Singh said 2011 was better as compared to 2010 in terms of the number of deaths caused by Naxal violence. He said the situation in some of the North-Eastern states have remained complex. Dr. Singh said the pilferage of development funds by militant groups is hurting our efforts to improve the lives of the people of the region.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the Indian economy is facing difficulties but expressed hope that the challenges will be overcome.



The Prime Minister was the chief guest at a panel discussion on the Challenges of Economic Reforms in India. RBI Governor D Subbarao, Professor of University of Chicago Raghuram G Rajan and Business Standard Chairman T N Ninan have participated in the discussion . The issues concerning declining growth and the impact for eurozone crisis on the domestic economy too figured during the discussion.

The growth rate during 2011-12 slipped to three-year low of 6.9 per cent, mainly on account of global factors. The government proposes to raise it to 7.6 per cent during the current fiscal.

The discussion was organised by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations ICRIER.

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has stressed the need for change in the working style of zonal cultural centres. He said it is necessary to take the advantage of technology and advancement in keeping alive our rich cultural heritage and art forms.
 Dr. Singh said television and internet could provide a new forum to folk arts.

Referring to the report submitted by a committee headed by Mani Shankar Aiyer, Dr. Singh informed that the Committee has suggested 70 per cent of the allocated funds should be used to encourage the new talents in villages and slums.

Talking to reporters after the meeting in New Delhi, Mr Yadav said that the Prime Minister has assured him of Centre's full support. He also urged the Prime Minister to release seperate aid for Bundelkhand region.

The Prime Minister today stressed the need for continuous upgrading of security forces, both in terms of technology and training, to meet the ever emerging new challenges.

Addressing the 27th Raising Day function of Special Protection Group, SPG. in New Delhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh said, terrorism today has acquired new forms and shapes and often driven by a bold and educated class of terrorists.

He said that SPG must induct top quality and highly motivated personnel in adequate numbers, provide them an environment that encourages good performance and equip them with the latest technology and skills. 

Dr. Singh assured government’s full support to the organization in its endeavors in this direction. Dr. Singh lauded the SPG for adopting innovative methods in training its personnel and acquiring security preparedness capabilities in line with international best practices. 

He said, it has also been undertaking in-house Research and Development for improvements in technology and weaponry and possible measures to meet the threat of Nuclear Biological and Chemical warfare.

India has given over four million dollars to the UN Democracy Fund - UNDEF. This brings up its total contribution to 30 million dollars since the Fund was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then US President George Bush in 2005 for promotion of democratic values.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri handed over a cheque for 4.17 million dollars to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his
Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani today expressed their desire to intensify the bilateral dialogue process for further engagements as they had an informal in Seoul. The two leaders shook hands as they greeted each other
during the photo-op for the top world leaders attending the nuclear security
summit in the South Korean capital.

Dr. Singh also had a long chat
with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is set to visit India for the BRICS summit in New Delhi later this week.

he Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday asserted that India is taking pro-active steps to improve business climate in the country. He said, investments from South Korea is a priority area. Dr. Manmohan Singh elaborated his argument of India being an attractive investment destination. He said, country will return to 8 to 10 per cent growth. 

Dr. Singh listed six priority areas including about 35 per cent of GDP as saving rate to support his argument. Other important areas include Young working population, heavy investments in education, health and agriculture and huge expansion of skill development and physical infrastructure 

Reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism is high on the agenda of discussions in the two-day nuclear security summit The World leaders at the summit will review the progress made since the first nuclear security summit held in Washington in 2010. Over 50 Heads of States and Governments are participating in the summit. 

They include U.S. President Barack Obama, his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani apart from Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Heads of international organisations like U.N., IAEA, European Union and Interpol were also participating in the summit. 

the Prime Minister's summit reports from the venue that the U.S. President and the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh exchanged pleasantaries at the beginning of the summit. The South Korean President is hosting a dinner in honour of visiting dignitaries