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Russian President Vladimir Putin praised India as a leading player in the IT and software sectors at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching India First. I'm Gaurav Savant. Our big story on this special broadcast is Russian President Vladimir
00:09Putin talking about a new world order and India's place in that new world order.
00:15Of course, the Russian President also hit out at the West during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026. Now,
00:24this is a very crucial event. India Today has a special connect. India Today, our group foreign affairs editor, Geeta
00:32Mohan, was moderating this session with the Russian President. As you see in those images, the Russian President used this
00:38event to argue that the world is witnessing a historic change. It's a historic shift.
00:43This is no longer an era of Western dominance. It's now moving towards a more multipolar world. He took potshots
00:54at the West. President Putin said that Western control over global trade, global finance and global information networks, that that
01:03had created political dependence for many countries.
01:07He criticized European leaders, saying their policies are increasingly more aggressive. There's increasingly more aggressive rhetoric and that's weakening Europe's
01:20economic position and it's harming not just regional, but even global security.
01:25A key focus of President Putin's speech was the conversation around the BRICS.
01:33The Russian President said the BRICS block now accounts for close to 40% of global GDP in purchasing power
01:42parity terms and compared it to less than 29% for the G7 countries.
01:47So the world order, as you see, is changing. He argued that BRICS economies are growing much faster than developed
01:54nations and said trade within the grouping had already crossed $1 trillion annually.
02:01The Russian President also praised India. He reserved special praise for Russia's close strategic partner, India.
02:11He called India a leading player in information technology and software sector.
02:17The Russian President maintained, despite global turbulence, Russia's inflation is easing and the countries adapting to what he described was
02:26the emergence of a new and more balanced world order.
02:30Now, this is very, very interesting. I'll tell you more about it during the course of this broadcast. But first,
02:39let's listen in to the Russian President. I'll get you more on this big story.
02:43In 2021, 2025, the global economy grew on average by 4.1% annually, 2% accounted for by BRICS
02:56and just 0.8% accounted for by the G7.
03:00Right now, the share of BRICS and the world GDP based on purchasing power parity stands at 40%, whereas the
03:08G7 share is less than 29%.
03:13So, BRICS has already overtaken the G7 and it did so back in 2020, but this gap is increasing. This
03:24gap is expected to grow in favor of BRICS, but what are the sources explaining this process?
03:32This is due to the fact that BRICS is due to the fact that BRICS is going to grow at
03:37a steadily greater pace. The pace is greater right now, but the strength is going to persist.
03:43The G7 is going to grow at best by 1.1% per year, whereas BRICS nations are going to
03:53grow by more than 4% colleagues. We're not the ones who say that. This is the World Bank and
04:00the IMF that are saying that.
04:01Another key partner of ours is India, which is one of the leading players in the IT industry. It accounts
04:09for a significant share of the global software market.
04:15Very significant points being made here. One, the emergence of a new world order. Two, the manner in which developing
04:24countries or BRICS partner countries, they are moving faster, growing much faster than the G7 countries.
04:32A significant point being made by the Russian president and this St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. While the focus remains
04:40on Davos. At St. Petersburg, the Russian president is talking about the emergence of a new world order.
04:48The BRICS world order that's growing faster than G7 countries from 1% projected for G7 countries to 4%
04:57projected for BRICS countries.
04:59And that's where the global south also moves forward. Now, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the founding members and
05:07then so many other nations coming together and moving forward.
05:12It's the pace of economy. I want to bring in Pranay Upadhyay for more on this.
05:16Pranay, the Russian president's emphasis on the changing world order is very significant and this speech will be watched very
05:25closely by European countries and by the United States of America because this change, they would notice this much faster.
05:35And in fact, this speech has come at a very, very interesting time because this speech of President Vladimir Putin
05:41has come just days ahead of the France G7 summit for which President Donald Trump is also likely to travel
05:48in Avion of France.
05:49And in fact, many European economies will be there. And all these G7 countries are currently facing challenges of the
05:57economic slowdown, of the economic turbulence because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, because of the West Asia conflict.
06:02And at a time, President Vladimir Putin has given out a message of the multipolarity of the world, breaking hegemony
06:09of the Western world.
06:11And also, he has given the comparative figure, though not for the first time, but he has reiterated those figures
06:15that it's the BRICS which has become the driving force of the global economy.
06:20They have higher number of 40% of the purchasing power parity of BRICS as compared to only 29%
06:27of the G7, G7 which is the grouping of the seven big economies.
06:33So he was trying to portray a picture here that it's the Western hegemony has, it's like they are losing
06:38their grip on the global economy and BRICS nations are the rising economy.
06:43He counted on countries like Russia and India as the emerging economies, they are seizing these opportunities.
06:49And in fact, if you see a few days, Gaurav, this West Asia conflict and the position of Russia, Russia
06:55has emerged as the net beneficiary in terms of the energy trade, in terms of their oil exports.
07:01And in fact, even United States has agreed or they are compelled to ease the sanctions on the Russian oil
07:09trade and oil exports.
07:11And this came at a time when the West tried to weaponize their systems, whether it was the SWIFT system
07:18when they tried to weaponize or when Russian dollars were frozen.
07:24They have done that with Iran, they have done that with Russia.
07:27Now the world is actually moving forward, the weaponization of the economy or the weaponization of existing world order.
07:33Russia, Iran and several countries are now coming around, around that system.
07:40A new system is emerging and the West clearly doesn't know how to cope with that. Threats don't work anymore.
07:46Absolutely, Gaurav. And in fact, if you see, President Vladimir Putin has, you know, for long, he has championed, he
07:53has advocated the idea of alternative economy, the ruble-yuan trade, the alternative BRICS payment system.
08:00So he has been advocating on these ideas of the multipolarity or the idea of alternative world order, which is
08:08like different and away from the Western-centric, the Bretton Woods institution.
08:13But if you see, this statement by President Vladimir Putin has come only few weeks or rather few months ahead
08:20of his India visit for the BRICS summit, which is likely to happen in the first week of September in
08:26India.
08:27And this is also an idea which he is trying to push.
08:31He is trying to advocate that this is the opportune time for the world to think about the alternative global
08:36order, to go for the reforms, to go for the system, which is not sanction-driven.
08:41And he has also, you know, highlighted the fact that this is the time the world should think about the
08:47different institutions, about the alternative system, about the payment gateways and find a global order or form a global order,
08:56which is more equitable, which is more representative.
09:00Very interesting points. Keep tracking that story. I will come back to you for more on this big story.
09:05The world order is changing and the focus remains on a multipolar world, that there is no one country that's
09:12talking down to the rest, expecting them to either kowtow to them or listen to their diktats.
09:18We'll be tracking the story very closely. But for the moment, I want to shift focus. There's more breaking news
09:22coming in.
09:23And this time, it's domestically within the country from the state of Bengal, where it's Trinamul Congress versus the Trinamul
09:29Congress.
09:29And that battle is escalating. That battle has reached Delhi. Very significant. Very, very significant.
09:37Only five of the 41 Trinamul Congress MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha attended a meeting called by Trinamul
09:47Congress Supremo.
09:48Mamta Banerjee, Mamta Banerjee, only five of 41. Very significant. And this number becomes stark because just yesterday, several TMC
09:59MPs and other leaders, including those who were no longer a part of the Mamta Banerjee or rather Abhishek Banerjee
10:08grouping,
10:10said that Mamta remains their leader, Mamta Banerjee remains their leader, but it's not Abhishek Banerjee.
10:17Rajya Sabha MP Sukhandu Shekhar Roy, in an exclusive interview to India today, he said more than 20 members of
10:24parliament are already in touch with the BJP.
10:28He seemed to indicate that physically he may still be in the Trinamul Congress, but mentally he had moved on.
10:35Today's poor attendance, as you see those images on your television screen at Mamta Banerjee's meeting, only five of 41
10:42appear to lend credence to that claim.
10:46The story is similar amongst the MLAs. Only eight of the 78 MLAs, and we're not even saying 80 because
10:55two were expelled by the Trinamul Congress.
10:58Only eight of 78 were present at that meeting. The figure is equally important because reports seem to indicate as
11:06many as 58 of the 60 MLAs are aligned to the Ritabrath Banerjee faction of the Trinamul Congress.
11:14Now, this raises another question. What about the remaining 12 MLAs who chose to skip Mamta Banerjee's meeting even now?
11:24Even as these developments unfold, the Mamta Banerjee camp has announced major organizational changes in the Trinamul Congress.
11:31For example, Chandrima Bhattacharya has been appointed the new Trinamul Congress Bengal president.
11:38Sayoni Ghosh takes charge as the president of the Trinamul Congress youth wing.
11:44And Mala Roy has been named president of the TMC Mahila wing after Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar put in her papers.
11:54Mamta Camp, they've also said that they will challenge the West Bengal Assembly speaker's decision to recognize Ritabrath Banerjee as
12:04the leader of the Trinamul Congress in the state assembly and the leader of opposition in the state.
12:10I quickly want to cut across to India today's Indrajit Kundu for more on this big story.
12:16Indrajit, in that exclusive interview that you had with Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, he made it very clear.
12:22Physically, he may be in the Trinamul Congress. Mentally or emotionally or worse to that effect, he had moved out.
12:28But the picture is more stark when it comes to MPs in the bigger picture.
12:33What is the Mamta Banerjee or Abhishek Banerjee group's response to the low attendance, whether it's MLAs or MPs?
12:47Well, Gaurav, you know, the Trinamul Congress today has clarified that it was the meeting of the National Working Committee
12:54of the party.
12:54Therefore, there was no requirement for all MLAs or MPs to attend this meeting.
12:59There was a core team that was called by Party Supreme of Mamta Banerjee and they were present because many
13:04of them were not in town.
13:06They were in other locations, not in Calcutta. So that is the clarification that's coming in from the Trinamul Congress.
13:12But as you just mentioned, the Trinamul Congress just a few days back when that coup of sorts took place
13:19in the West Bengal Assembly had dissolved all organizational committees.
13:23Today in the National Working Committee meeting, Mamta Banerjee has reinforced, has once again kept her faith on her own
13:31nephew.
13:32So Abhishek Banerjee continues to remain the National General Secretary, but he will now be assisted by two other joint
13:38secretaries in the party, Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, both Mamta Banerjee loyalists.
13:43There are others also like Kalyan Banerjee, Chandrima Bhattacharya, she will now be the, you know, the state president of
13:50the Trinamul Congress.
13:52Shaini Ghosh, a new entrant, she will be taking, looking after the youth wing of the Trinamul Congress.
13:58So complete overhaul of the party at a time when there is internal revolt within the Trinamul Congress.
14:05The TMC, of course, has now said that they will be challenging the speaker's decision on Monday at the Calcutta
14:12High Court.
14:12Sources within the Trinamul Congress and Mamta Banerjee's camp now tell us that even though the rebel camp is claiming
14:19that there are about 20 to 23 Lok Sabha MPs who are in touch,
14:24the Mamta Banerjee camp believes they are very confident the number will not cross single digit.
14:30Back to you.
14:31Okay, but they're still apprehensive.
14:33And how do they explain this mass exodus of the MLAs, newly elected MLAs from the Trinamul Congress?
14:42Did they expect the party to use what Dr. Shantanu Sen, former Trinamul Congress, Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson,
14:52former national spokesperson seem to indicate why is the party disintegrating in the manner in which it is?
15:03Well, you know, there's an explanation that has been given by the senior leadership.
15:07Kalyan Banerjee said that there are a lot of, you know, MLAs who have corruption charges against them,
15:13and they are just, you know, trying to jump ship, be in touch with the BJP so that they are
15:18not, you know, the agencies do not come for them.
15:21But the question, of course, that was asked to Kalyan Banerjee was that when he's talking about these corruption charges,
15:28it was during the tenure of the Trinamul Congress government that some of these ministers, some of these MLAs, they
15:34have indulged in corruption.
15:35How is it that now that the Trinamul Congress is saying that all these corruption charges are against them and
15:41that's why they are going to the BJP?
15:42Why is it that the Trinamul Congress then did not swing into action, not take any action against these corrupt
15:48leaders and throw them out of the party?
15:50No answers have come from the Trinamul Congress on that.
15:53Okay. Stay with me for a moment. And as Indrajit was just telling us, the Trinamul Congress now intends to
15:59move the Calcutta High Court on Monday
16:02against the Speaker's decision to appoint Ritavrata Banerjee as the leader of the Trinamul Congress in the State Assembly and
16:11leader of opposition in the Assembly.
16:13Mamata Banerjee camp terms that decision blatantly illegal and untenable.
16:19Earlier, Bengal Speaker had termed Ritavrata Banerjee's expulsion from the Trinamul Congress as illegal.
16:30Now, Kalyan Banerjee explains the fight against the BJP and the strategy of the Trinamul Congress ahead. Listen in.
17:06Kalyan Banerjee'
17:29Indrajeet, you've heard both sides of the story.
17:32The Ritabrat Banerjee faction who said the expulsion is illegal, the speaker has said
17:38the expulsion is illegal because Ritabrat Banerjee and Sandeepan Saha were not given an opportunity
17:44to explain their stance.
17:46They continue to insist that they are the real Trinamool Congress and that Mamata Banerjee
17:51remains their leader or chief advisor and mentor and you've heard Kalyan Banerjee.
17:55But what's the legal position?
17:57What are legal eagles in Kolkata telling you?
18:01Is the decision untenable as Kalyan Banerjee puts it or sound in law as Ritabrat Banerjee
18:07insists?
18:13Well, you know, off the cuff it's very difficult to say what exactly is the, you know, the
18:18legal veracity of the position of the speaker.
18:22But the Trinamool Congress, of course, and Kalyan Banerjee is an advocate.
18:26He is claiming that this is untenable because they are saying that the speaker's role comes
18:31once after the party has decided who is going to be their nominee.
18:37Only then the speaker's role comes.
18:39So the decision to choose one person cannot be taken by the elected members of the party
18:44first.
18:45It is the party which nominates one person and the elected member votes for him.
18:49So therefore, the elected members cannot unilaterally decide who is going to be nominated on behalf
18:56of the party.
18:56So that's kind of a technicality in which this entire thing has now, you know, has now snowballed
19:03into.
19:03So it will be before the court on Monday.
19:06And the Trinamool Congress believes that they have a strong case in hand.
19:10The speaker, of course, is also talking about the Trinamool Congress's internal dealings.
19:16I did ask this question to Kalyan Banerjee.
19:18He's saying that the speaker does not have the jurisdiction to question the rules that
19:23operate within the Trinamool Congress.
19:25Once the Trinamool as a party decides that one person is their nominee, the speaker can
19:30only work Sunday.
19:31Okay.
19:32But that is as far as the speaker is concerned.
19:34But rules within the Trinamool Congress, should a show cause notice have been issued to
19:39Ritabrat Banerjee and to Sandeepan Saha to explain their stance?
19:44Should they have got an opportunity to explain their stance before their expulsion, internal
19:50rules of the political party?
19:57Well, they could have, you know, I mean, it's not very clear as to what exactly is the rule,
20:01the rule book that the Trinamool Congress is following.
20:04There have been instances where people have been suspended.
20:07There have been instances where people have been show cause.
20:10In this instance, they have been directly expelled.
20:12So, you know, the Trinamool Congress only will be able to explain as to what is the kind
20:18of rule book that they are following for various cases and specifically for this instance.
20:23And one thing is very clear that Mamata Banerjee is standing very solid with Abhishek Banerjee.
20:29Given the kind of response that is coming from the rebel faction, there is no way of abandoning
20:35Abhishek Banerjee at any stage.
20:37That is very clear from the meeting that was held today and the new appointees that were made, Indrajit.
20:47Well, that's right, Gaurav. You know, Mamata Banerjee seems has made amply clear that she is not,
20:53you know, going to quit from her support from Abhishek Banerjee.
20:58She is standing firmly by Abhishek Banerjee.
21:00He continues to remain the national general secretary of the party, which, of course,
21:05in hierarchy would be the second in command as far as the entire party's leadership is concerned.
21:10There, of course, there will be two new joint secretaries.
21:13Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen would be the two joint secretaries now assisting Abhishek Banerjee.
21:17There are two ways of looking at things.
21:19It was the power then was consolidated only with Abhishek Banerjee so far.
21:23One can say that there will be a little bit of dilution with two more people added to assist him.
21:29That can be one way of looking at things.
21:32The other way of looking at things, of course, would be that given the kind of rebellion
21:35and massive rebellion that Mamata Banerjee is facing from within the party,
21:39and that is precisely against Abhishek Banerjee,
21:41she still continues to back her nephew and doesn't want to bow down.
21:47So, you know, that's how one can also look at it.
21:50Keep tracking that story, Indrajit. I will come back to you for more.
21:53For the moment, Indrajit Kundu, many thanks for joining me from Kolkata.
21:57Another big story we're tracking here on India first is the Indian economy.
22:02Now, despite a prolonged geopolitical crisis, surging oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflow,
22:09India's focus firmly remains on economic resilience and making it stronger.
22:16So instead of waiting for the storm to pass, policymakers are moving aggressively to strengthen the economy's shock absorbers.
22:23Official data released earlier today indicates that the Indian economy grew at 7.7% in FY26 and 7.8
22:35% in the January to March quarter,
22:39outperforming market expectations and reinforcing the view that domestic growth remains resilient despite an increasingly challenging global environment.
22:49Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed these numbers.
22:52The Prime Minister said India's growth momentum remains strong, reflects the inherent strength of the economy and the success of
23:01reforms and the hard work of 140 crore Indians.
23:05Russian President Vladimir Putin rewarded India's economic resilience at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026.
23:13President Putin said BRICS economies are growing much faster than the developed nations.
23:19He reserved special praise for India.
23:22He called India a key partner in one of the world's leading players both in information technology and in software
23:31sector.
23:31That resilience is now being backed by policy action.
23:36So through a coordinated effort between the centre and the Reserve Bank of India,
23:41India is making its financial markets more attractive to global investors.
23:45So India is trying to boost dollar inflow and support the rupee.
23:51The message is clear.
23:52The message is clear.
23:53External risks may be beyond India's control.
23:56Building resilience through stronger capital inflows, deeper markets and macroeconomic stability,
24:03that remains firmly within the grasp and that's the effort that India is trying to make.
24:10And I quickly want to cut across to my colleague Maria Shakil who joins us for more on this.
24:15Maria, the politics around this is intense while the opposition says that the economy is in tatters,
24:24people are suffering and how the government continues to insist that the shock absorbers are working,
24:32the economy remains resilient and the markets seem to indicate a growth.
24:38Yes, that's right.
24:39And India remains the fastest growing large economy.
24:43And if you look at the GDP numbers, they are very, very promising,
24:46indicating that as far as the foundation of this economy is concerned, that remains pretty strong.
24:53You know, for all the talks around particularly the rural distress, Gaurav,
24:59the numbers are actually very promising, particularly in the agriculture and fishery sectors.
25:04The sense here is, and if you look at the numbers, it says that the primary sector has observed 3
25:10.2% growth,
25:12which is largely driven by the performance of agriculture and fishery sectors.
25:16So this certainly actually, you know, dismisses all the narrative which has been built around rural distress.
25:23Yes.
25:23Now looking at another very important sector which has to do with manufacturing and also the real estate.
25:30Real estate and manufacturing continues to register double-digit growth is also the indication which is coming in
25:38because these are important sectors which employ a high percentage of Indians.
25:42So overall, it's a good news that is coming in that despite all the challenges that are coming in from
25:49the oil and energy sector,
25:50India remains robust and the economy certainly appears to be in safe hands.
25:57Maria, keep tracking that story.
25:59I will come back to you for more on this.
26:01But while the economy remains in safe hands, the safety aspects within cities, it leaves much to be desired.
26:10And we're talking about this tragedy in the national capital where 21 lives were lost,
26:15a hotel turned into a debt trap.
26:17And this is where we lose face, not just within our country, but internationally.
26:22Because there are very uncomfortable questions that are being asked about, one, safety standards.
26:28This is the national capital.
26:29While you blame the hotel owner, the management for not having systems in place,
26:34but what was the so-called system doing?
26:37What was the administration doing?
26:39How could the system function in the manner in which it did?
26:43The Delhi government has now ordered a crackdown on illegal structures.
26:47They've launched inspections in the aftermath of the Malvianagar blaze.
26:51Now, India today actually did a reality check.
26:55And we're going to various cities to get you very revealing and very disturbing truths about what lies ahead in
27:04various cities,
27:05in various hotels, in various localities.
27:07Because this is a disaster, sadly, that's waiting to happen again and again.
27:13From Delhi's congested hotel clusters with very narrow access roads hanging electricity wires,
27:20limited escape routes to illegal construction to hotels in Lucknow, for example,
27:24where critical firefighting systems appear inadequate.
27:27Safety lapses have raised very serious concerns.
27:30India today's special investigations have revealed that in many places safety norms exist,
27:35sadly only on paper and not on ground.
27:39Piyush Mishra in the National Capital gets us this exclusive report.
28:03The horror of Malvianagar was a wake-up call for the capital.
28:09As the Delhi government begins its crackdown on illegal structures and Chief Minister Radeka Gupta holds review meetings,
28:15India today's reality check revealed that Delhi is sitting on a Tinder box.
28:20In the heart of the capital's tourist hub, safety norms are being violated in plain sight.
28:54Adieu's
28:54is
28:55a
28:55A
28:55foreign
29:26Hotel after hotel, packed into cramped lanes, operating without basic fire preparedness.
29:34Above them hangs a deadly web of electric wires.
29:38A single spark, a short circuit and these narrow lanes could turn into death traps within minutes.
29:44The roads are so congested that even a car struggles to pass through.
29:48For firefighters, every second matters in an emergency.
29:54This is the area where we have multiple lodges, restaurants in this area.
29:59And if fire breaks out here, it will be cumbersome for fire brigade to even reach here on time.
30:06If any kind of short circuit happens, then people will die in large number here.
30:12Why? Because no rule is being followed here.
30:19What's even more alarming is that most hotels have just one entry and one exit point.
30:24If flames block that lone escape route, guests could find themselves trapped with nowhere to run.
30:32In a few days, we've got a road in full houses.
30:37They have a cylinder facilities.
30:40For no objection certificate, everything has been applied.
30:48How old are these hotels?
30:52foreign
30:55foreign
30:57foreign
30:57foreign
31:05foreign
31:10foreign
31:39The Malweya Nagar blaze was a warning, a warning that Delhi cannot afford to ignore.
31:45Because unless authorities crack down on violations and enforce fire safety norms,
31:49the next tragedy may not be a question of if, but where.
31:54With Piyush Mishra in Delhi, Bureau Report, India Today.
32:03A fire safety audit is desperately needed because it's better to be safe than sorry.
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