Gujarat CM sends letter to PM against railway freight fare hike, fourth letter in two week
“Withdraw immediately 20% hike in Railway freight fare imposed on public just before Railway Budget”: Narendra Modi asks Dr Singh
Gandhinagar, Wednesday: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has in a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today expressed his strong indignation at the Centre’s sudden decision to hike the Railways freight fare by a whopping 20 per cent through backdoor, just a week before the Railway Budget, diminishing the supremacy of the Parliament
Mr. Modi demanded immediate withdrawal of the unnerving hike, as it would cause an unprecedented burden on the common man and indirectly on the nation’s economy.
“Was the Central Government waiting for the results of the elections to five State Assemblies to impose an anti-people and anti-farmer policy?” he pointedly asked Dr. Singh.
He described the hike highly unjustified since the prices of a number of commodities, are already ruling at a much higher level than people’s tolerance limits. The freight rationalization would entail a jerk of Rs350 per tonne on food grains and fertilizers. The decision also reflects huge communication gap between the Ministries of Railway, Energy, Coal and Environment. This is despite the Prime Minister’s constituting a high-level committee for coordination.
Mr. Modi said that Gujarat will be most hit on the coal front, because the coalfields are far away. He said that rise in railway freight fare since 2006 has caused an additional burden of Rs.19,000-crore on Gujarat, on just one commodity. The latest hike would coast another Rs.300-crore on power generation.
The Chief Minister recalled that he had in a letter sent to the Prime Minister on February 11, 2008 pointed out that Gujarat got only nine lakh tonnes of coal through coal linkages from Western Coalfields, and the rest from farther away Southeastern Coalfields of inferior quality at higher prices, as against an annual requirement of 174-lakh tonnes. Instead of solving the problem all these year, he regretted, the Centre has been increasing the coal and prices as well as railway freight.
List of Highest National Honours and Global Awards Conferred on PM Narendra Modi
July 09, 2025
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred highest civilian honours by several nations. These recognitions are a reflection of PM Modi’s leadership and vision which has strengthened India’s emergence on the global stage. It also reflects India’s growing ties with countries around the world.
Let us have a look at awards bestowed on PM Modi in the last ten years.
Awards Conferred by Countries:
1. In April 2016, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour- the King Abdulaziz Sash. The Prime Minister was conferred the prestigious award by King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
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2. The same year, PM Modi was bestowed upon the State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan – the highest civilian honor of Afghanistan.
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3. In the year 2018, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a historic visit to Palestine, he was awarded the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award. This is the highest honour of Palestine awarded to foreign dignitaries.
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4. In 2019, the Prime Minster was awarded the Order of Zayed Award. This is the highest civilian honour of the United Arab Emirates.
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5. Russia conferred Prime Minister Modi with their highest civilian honour - the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle in 2019. The PM received the award during his visit to Moscow in July 2024..
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6. Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin- the highest honour of the Maldives awarded to foreign dignitaries was presented to PM Modi in 2019.
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7. PM Modi received the prestigious King Hamad Order of the Renaissance in 2019. The honour was conferred by Bahrain.
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8. Legion of Merit by the US Government, the award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements was conferred on PM Modi in 2020.
9. Bhutan honoured PM Modi with the highest civilian decoration, Order of the Druk Gyalpo in December 2021. PM Modi received the award during his visit to Bhutan in March 2024
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10. During his visit to Papua New Guinea in 2023, PM Modi was conferred with Ebakl Award by the President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. of the Republic of Palau
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11. PM Narendra Modi has also been conferred the highest honour of Fiji, Companion of the Order of Fiji in recognition of his global leadership. The award was conferred by PM Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji.
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12. Governor General of Papua New Guinea, Sir Bob Dadae conferred PM Modi with Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu. It is the highest honour of Papua New Guinea.
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13. In June 2023, President Abdel Fattah El-sisi conferred Prime Minister Modi with the highest state honour of Egypt, the 'Order of Nile.'
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14. On 13th July 2023, PM Modi was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest award in France by President Emmanuel Macron.
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15. On 25th August 2023, PM Modi was conferred with 'The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour' by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou of Greece.
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16. Dominica honoured PM Modi with the ‘Dominica Award of Honour.’ It was presented to PM Modi by President Sylvanie Burton of Dominica during the Prime Minister's visit to Guyana in November 2024.
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17. Nigeria honoured PM Modi with 'The Grand Commander of The Order of the Niger' during his visit in November 2024. It was presented to him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria.
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18. Guyana honoured PM Modi with the ‘The Order of Excellence’ during the Prime Minister's visit in November 2024. It was presented to him by President Dr. Irfaan Ali.
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19. PM Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados announced her government’s decision to honour PM Modi with the Honorary Order of Freedom of Barbados Award during the Prime Minister's visit to Guyana in November 2024. MoS Pabitra Margherita Ji received the award on behalf of PM from President Dame Sandra Mason of Barbados on 06th March 2025.
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20. In December 2024, PM Modi was conferred the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Order by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah.
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21. During PM Modi's visit to Mauritius in March 2025, President Dharambeer Gokhool conferred PM Modi with the Highest National Award of Mauritius, 'The Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean'.
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22. During PM Modi's visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake conferred PM Modi with the highest Sri Lankan honour, the 'Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana' award.
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23) PM Modi was conferred the 'Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III' of Cyprus during his visit in June 2025. It was bestowed upon PM Modi by President Nikos Christodoulides.
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24) PM Modi was conferred ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’ during his visit in July 2025. It was bestowed upon PM Modi by President John Dramani Mahama.
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25) PM Modi was conferred ‘The Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago’ during his visit in July 2025. It was bestowed upon PM Modi by President Christine Kangaloo.
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26) PM Modi has been conferred with ‘The Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross’ during his visit to Brazil in July 2025. It was bestowed upon PM Modi by President Lula.
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Apart from the highest civilian honours, PM Modi has also been conferred with several awards by prestigious organisations across the globe.
1. Seoul Peace Prize: It is awarded biennially to those individuals by Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation who have made their mark through contributions to the harmony of mankind, reconciliation between nations and to world peace. Prime Minister Modi was conferred prestigious award in 2018.
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2. United Nations Champions of The Earth Award: This is UN’s highest environmental honour. In 2018, the UN recognized PM Modi for his bold environmental leadership on the global stage.
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3. First-ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award was given to Prime Minister Modi in 2019. This award is offered annually to the leader of a nation. The citation of the award said that PM Modi was selected for his “outstanding leadership for the nation”.
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4. In 2019, PM Modi was conferred the ‘Global Goalkeeper’ Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. PM Modi dedicated the award to those Indians who transformed the Swachh Bharat campaign into a “people’s movement” and accorded topmost priority to cleanliness in their day-to-day lives.
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5. In 2021, Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates CERA was bestowed on PM Modi. The award recognizes the commitment of leadership towards the future of global energy and environment.