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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Modi’s ‘Melody’ diplomacy stuns the world

Overjoyed investors buy shares of a wrong company after the PM’s gift Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gifting his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni 'Melody' toffees, reviving the light-hearted "Melodi" wordplay associated with the two leaders on social media. Meloni thanked Modi and shared a video on the social media in which she could be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi brought as a gift, a very, very good toffee - Melody.” Modi, who was also seen in the video, burst...

Modi’s ‘Melody’ diplomacy stuns the world

Overjoyed investors buy shares of a wrong company after the PM’s gift Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gifting his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni 'Melody' toffees, reviving the light-hearted "Melodi" wordplay associated with the two leaders on social media. Meloni thanked Modi and shared a video on the social media in which she could be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi brought as a gift, a very, very good toffee - Melody.” Modi, who was also seen in the video, burst into laughter as Meloni jokingly referred to the "Melody" toffee while showcasing the gift. The hashtag "Melodi", a blend of Modi and Meloni's names, was coined by the Italian prime minister during the COP28 in Dubai in 2023 and later went viral on social media following the warm interactions between the two leaders at global events. Modi, who arrived in Rome on Tuesday, is on the final leg of his five-nation tour to the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy from May 15-20. Modi’s gift not only floored the social media, but also earned gushing gratitude from the manufacturer of the sweet candy, Parle Products, in Vile Parle, Mumbai. “Thank You. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for taking Parle Melody to the global stage. A proud moment for all of us at Parle Products to see an Indian favourite being shared across borders,” said a social media post from @ParleFamily, a 97-year-old company. Parle Products describes Melody: “Parle Melody brings to you an irresistible layer of caramel on the outside & a delightful chocolate filling inside. Open & pop it in your mouth & relish the unique experience. It won't be too long before you start asking yourself the age-old question "Melody Itni Chocolaty Kyun Hai?”.” Cong Attacks Modi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other Congress leaders also attacked Modi saying he continues his PR even when the economy is suffering. However, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hit back at Gandhi, accusing him of "hating India" and refusing to tolerate the "global respect" the country has garnered under Modi's leadership. Gandhi, who is on a visit to his constituency Raebareli and Amethi, said on X, "This isn't leadership, it's a gimmick." At a time farmers, labourers, traders and others in the country are all in tears, the prime minister is laughing and making reels while BJP folks are clapping along, the former Congress president said in his post in Hindi. "An economic storm is raging over our heads, and our prime minister is busy handing out candies in Italy!" he said. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge attacked Modi over issues of "rising" prices, unemployment, paper leaks, "dampening" investment and "sinking" Rupee, saying the prime minister continues his PR even as the economy is suffering. Shares turn sweet but the company was mistaken Shares of Parle Industries Ltd saw frenzied buying on Wednesday, surging five per cent to hit the upper circuit limit after Meloni posted the video. Investors wasted no time and flocked to the counter to buy the stock. Shares of the firm jumped to Rs 5.25 - the highest trading permissible limit for the day - on the BSE. On volume terms, 8.57 lakh shares of the firm were traded on the BSE during the day. But, there is a catch! Investors mistook Parle Industries for the maker of Melody toffees. Parle Products, the FMCG major, is the manufacturer of Melody toffees and is not listed on the stock exchanges. Parle Industries Ltd is a diversified commercial services provider, engaged in the business of infrastructure & real estate, and paper, waste paper and allied products. The history of swadeshi toffee is entwined with the country’s Independence and the company, House of Parle was founded in 1928 by Mohanlal Dayal Chauhan, a tailor from Pardi near Valsad, then part of the Bombay Province. As the country was flooded with imported sweets and confectionery, he decided to give it a ‘desi’ touch and flavour, and with a band of 12 workers, he launched the Parle products from a musty old warehouse near Vile Parle east station, when large parts areas of Vile Parle west were still marshes dotted with a few old bungalows and chawls. Later, he visited Germany to master the art of confectionery and returned with machinery worth Rs 60,000 to churn out simple sweets, toffees and locally flavoured Indian confections at affordable prices – willy-nilly challenging the imported British offerings. It was in 1983 that the chocolate Melody toffee. -WITH PTI

Shifting Projects Reduces Votes

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

BJP

In the span of two months, Maharashtra has lost out on two huge projects to Gujarat. The shifting of the project was an effort by the Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government to ensure the victory of the BJP in the Gujarat Assembly polls. In all the state has lost total investments projected at Rs 2.25 lakh crore which could have generated over two lakh jobs. The Opposition in Maharashtra came down heavily on Eknath Shinde-led government for losing out the multi-crore Tata-Airbus project and Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor manufacturing project to the neighbouring poll-bound state of Gujarat.


Instead of competing hard, the Eknath Shinde-led government allowed, within four months of taking oath in 2022, four major projects to slip out of the state. Coincidentally, all preferred Gujarat. These include the Tata Airbus manufacturing plant and Vedanta-Foxconn plant besides two others, totalling a staggering Rs 1.80 lakh crore investment and lakhs of jobs. Therefore, the state’s overall capacity was questioned. Due to which electric vehicle manufacturing, AI-driven industries, integrated data centre parks, agri and food processing units, has been met with scepticism. Without a plan and aggressive canvassing the Shinde government proceeded. Even Mumbai’s status as the commercial and financial capital of India is under a shadow. Already, the finance sector has shown a preference, natural or politically nudged, towards the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, near Ahmedabad with eight of the 10 biggest Indian asset managers by assets having relocated their business there or set up new funds in GIFT City, according to a recent report. With the GIFT City assiduously promoted by the Modi-led union government as a gateway for global capital and financial services, and Mumbai’s status as a diamond trading centre challenged by the 800-hectare Surat’s Diamond Research and Mercantile City, Mumbai needs to pull up its socks. However, hardly any efforts are seen. The Shinde -Fadnavis government preferred to tow the line of Delhi bosses.


The state government, in turn, has pinned the blame on the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, alleging that kickbacks and corruption on part of the MVA government were the root cause of the project slipping out of Maharashtra. But even as the ugly war of words continues in Maharashtra politics, it turns out that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Nitin Gadkari had written a letter to the Tata Sons chairman, making a case for why the company should expand its various businesses in Nagpur-Maharashtra and how the company could make good use of the excellent infrastructure facilities created in the region. The letter written by Nitin Gadkari emphasised how the state had created a special economic zone (SEZ) in MIHAN (Multi-Modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur). Gadkari had advocated how land, manpower, and warehousing could favour the Tata Group.


But what caused these slippages?

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