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Postal Regn. No: JK/306/2017-19 | Volume: XXV | Issue: 19 PublIshed fRom Jammu Tawi | 12 Pages | 2/-2 6 t h Y e a r o f P u b l i c a t i o n

Pak has ‘limited options’ to respond to India’s decision on J&K: US report

Washington, Jan 22

Pakistan’s leadership has “limited options” to respond to India’s decision on Jammu

and Kashmir as many analysts view that Islamabad has “little credibility” on the issue given its long history of covertly support-ing militant groups there, accord-ing to a US Congressional report.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) in its second report on Kashmir in less than six months said Pakistan’s ability to alter the status quo through mili-

tary action had been reduced in recent years, meaning that Islam-abad likely must rely primarily on diplomacy.

CRS is the independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic reports on issues of interest for US law-makers so that they can take informed decisions inside the Congress. Currently, two resolu-tions are pending in the House of Representatives, one of which is being sponsored by Indian-Amer-ican Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

In its report dated January 13, CRS said post August 5, Pakistan “appeared diplomatically isolat-ed”, with Turkey being the only country to offer solid and explicit support for Islamabad’s position.

Ties between India and Paki-stan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into Union Territo-ries on August 5, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad.

Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue. How-

ever, India has maintained that the move was “entirely an internal matter”.

The 25-page report said Paki-stan called for a UNSC session and, with China’s support, the Council met on August 16 to dis-cuss Kashmir for the first time in more than five decades, albeit in a closed-door session that produced no formal statement.

“Many analysts view Islam-abad as having little credibility on Kashmir, given its long his-tory of covertly supporting mili-tant groups there. Pakistan’s

Trump offers ‘help’ to resolve Kashmir issue, meets Pak PM in Davos

Davos, Jan 22

President Donald Trump has said that the US is watching the developments between India and Pakistan over Kashmir “very closely” and repeated his offer to “help” resolve the longstanding dispute between the two neighbours as he met Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the World Eco-nomic Forum here in the Swiss ski resort.

Addressing the media with the Pakistan Prime Minister prior to their pri-

vate meeting on Tuesday, President Trump asserted that trade and borders were both critical points for dis-cussion, while Khan said that for him Afghanistan was the top priority.

Trump told Khan, whom he referred to as “my friend” that he would speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the ongoing Kashmir issue. The US President is expected to visit India in the coming weeks, marking his first visit after taking up his post in the White House.

“What’s going on between

Pakistan and India…if we can help, we certainly will be willing to. We have been watching it very closely and it’s an honour to be here with my friend,” Trump said.

“The Pakistan-India con-flict is a very big issue for us in Pakistan and we expect the US to always play its part in deescalating the tensions, because no other country can,” Khan said.

Trump has repeatedly offered to mediate following India’s August 5 decision to revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir

oBC Commission term extended by 6 months

nEW DELhi, Jan 22

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an additional term of reference (ToR) to the Other Backward Classes sub-categorisation commission, headed by retired Delhi High Court Chief Justice G Rohini, and extended its term by another six months till July 31, 2020.

The new ToR, the fourth one, has asked the commis-

Iltija Mufti calls ministers’ visit ‘acrobatics’

srinagar, Jan 22

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday called the visit of Union ministers to Kashmir a “curated photo” opportunity to show there is normalcy in the region, even though there is “inter-net shutdown” in the valley.

“Normalcy acrobatics in full swing. Kashmir con-tinues to reel under a crip-pling internet shutdown

& political leaders remain detained. There is massive surveillance & heavy troop presence yet curated photo ops continue,” a tweet on Mehbooba Mufti’s Twitter handle reads.

Mehbooba’s daughter Iltija Mufti has been oper-ating her mother’s Twit-ter handle since August 5 when the PDP president was placed under detention in the wake of abrogation of Article 370 provisions.

Centre moves SC seeking 7-day deadline for hanging death row convicts

nEW DELhi, Jan 22

The Centre on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for fixing a seven-day deadline for execut-ing death penalty of condemned prisoners.

The plea of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) assumes significance in view of the death row convicts in the sensational Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case of 2012 filing review, curative and mercy petitions, which has delayed their hanging.

The MHA’s plea sought a direction from the top court in fixing the deadline for filing of cura-tive pleas after the rejection of review petitions.

It also sought a direction that “if the convict of death sentence wants to file mercy petition, it would be mandatory for a convict of death sen-tence to do so only within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of death warrant issued by the competent court”.

J&K spent only 37% from PM’s Rs. 80,000 Cr package in 4 years

Jammu taWi, Jan 22

The erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state government could only spend 37% of Rs 80,000 crore economic pack-age announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015.

At a time when the pack-age was announced, it was decided by the Central gov-ernment that the sanctioned amount would be spent in five years and the develop-mental works under the package had to be completed by the ending 2020.

Official figures reveal that of Rs 80,068 crore devel-opmental package, Rs 30,049 crore was released till 31 March 2019 for the erstwhile

state of J&K which has now been bifurcated into two union territories. As per the records, the erstwhile J&K state government has completed only 18 out of 63 projects under the package in four years time.

The other projects, the official records reveal, are at various stages of imple-mentation. The package was announced by Modi in Srinagar just a year after Kashmir was overcoming the devastation caused by September 2014 floods.

“If the work had been done at the pace, it was desired, there would have been no problem in sending utiliza-tion certificates (UCs) to the Centre. However, it could not

happen and the UCs were not sent in time resulting in a delay in the release of more funds,” sources told DH.

They said the Governor’s administration in the erst-while state had a number of times expressed concern over the delay in completion of works under the package. The Governor’s rule was imposed in J&K last year in June after the fall of PDP-BJP alliance.

Pertinently, earlier this year, a parliamentary panel had expressed concern over the slow pace of work on developmental projects in J&K.

A senior officer in the administration said that it was unlikely that in next

Team Modi promises new dawn in J&K outreach

srinagar/Jammu taWi, Jan 22

Four Union ministers visiting Kash-mir as part Centre’s outreach pro-gramme on Wednesday promised a new era in the Valley, which would also mark the return of Bollywood, tourism and employment.

The ministers inaugurated vari-ous developmental projects and addressed gatherings in Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal district.

Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Nity-anand Rai, GK Reddy and Sanjay Dhotre met people at different places reiterating that the Valley should shun all negativity of the past and look forward to a new new sunrise under Narendra Modi government that would bring happiness to all resi-dents here.

The Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technol-ogy and Law & Justice, Ravi Shan-kar Prasad who visited Baramullah under the Centre’ public interaction with the color today said Government will setup every required infrastruc-ture for development and export of IT products from J&K UT.

He said this after inaugurating the incubation facility at Srinagar Tech-nology Parks of India Srinagar.

“The incubation facility will pro-vide opportunities to IT entrepre-

neurs by providing plug-n-play and other digital infrastructure along with regulatory support to develop and export IT products from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kash-mir,” he said.

Later the Minister had a tour of the STPI complex where officials informed him about the various facilities provided by the center for software entrepreneurs of J&K.

He also interacted with young entrepreneurs and IT experts of some software companies who are using the space and other facilities of the STPI for development and export of their softwares for the outside market.

The additional facility of about 24,000 sqft will meet the growing demand of IT/ITES MSMEs of the region.

The officials informed the Min-ister that J&K has three STP units; employing around 140 resources are registered with STPI. They added that for financial year of 2019-20, esti-mated exports from these units are expected to be around Rs 6.76 crore.

Ravi Shankar Prasad later inau-gurated an ‘All Women Post Office’ in Srinagar.

“The initiative of opening of All Women Post Office is to encourage and empower the women of our coun-try,” he added.

During the programme, the Min-ister stated that Circuit Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal will be started soon in Srinagar, besides 350 lawyers of JK will become notary soon.

He also inaugurated parcel hub Srinagar which will be gateway for incoming and outgoing of parcels -a key milestone in a Post’s transfor-mation from an old world of letters to new world of an e-commerce logistics.

While praising BSNL services in JK, Prasad said that BSNL is strate-gic asset of the country. He stressed upon the officials of BSNL to expe-dite the process of connecting 3,500 villages with the rest of the country.

The Minister also launched the Annual Unlimited Voice Calling @1099 for J&K BSNL landline cus-tomers which provides free calling on every BSNL number.

MoS HRD, Communications, Electronics & IT Sanjay Dhotre vis-ited Kalakote and Naushera, Rajauri district.

Information technology minister Prasad inaugurated an all-women post office here and promised to pro-vide high-speed fibre optic internet services to over 3,500 villages of the newly formed UT of J&K.

“The youth of Kashmir are rest-less and want change... I see a new dream in their eyes. I am seeing a new dawn here and warmth of new sunrise in Kashmir would bring hap-piness on all the faces here,” he added.

The minister also inaugurated a new BSNL voice plan, saying the company is a strategic asset of the country. Prasad is staying in Kash-mir overnight and will be joined by two more ministers on Thursday.

Minister for Minority Affairs Naqvi who even ventured out into

Centre initiates several projects in valley, infra development, income tax appellate tribunal, it Export products, Women Post office

mha to take charge of JKP postings

nEW DELhi, Jan 22

Days after a Dy. SP of Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) was arrested for escorting terrorists to some safe zone, the Minis-try of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to take charge of all transfers and postings of JKP personnel, including junior postings such as that of Station House Officers (SHO), a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.

In addition, the MHA will now directly involve itself with the “operational effectiveness of the police force” in the region and “capacity building” of JKP.

JKP Deputy Superin-tendent of Police Davinder Singh, posted with the criti-cal anti-hijacking wing at the Srinagar airport, was arrested on January 11 when he was trying to escort two wanted Hizbul Mujahedeen (HM) ter-rorists, Naveed Babu and Rafi Rather. He has since claimed that he was work-ing on an undercover operation to eliminate the senior leadership of HM in the valley. Initial investiga-tions of JKP, however, have not found any evidence to this effect. The case is now being investigated by the National Investigation Agency.

MHA’s move is sig-nificant. Even after the region’s bifurcation into two union territories, J&K, and Ladakh, it chose to restrict itself to taking a call on senior positions in JKP; decisions on the transfers and postings of junior officers were left to the discretion of the local government.

Now, according to the

Comprehensive Industrial policy soon for J&K: Centre

Jammu taWi, Jan 22

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industries, Som Prakash today reiter-ated that Government of India would soon announce a comprehensive Industrial Policy for the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to attract large investments to the region.

The Minister was inter-acting with local industrial-ists and representatives of traders Associations, here at Udhyog Bhawan.

The Minister asserted that the policy would satisfy all the stakeholders and pro-vide a level playing field for growth of industry. "Central Government will extend all help to local industrialists to

enable them to flourish and compete with other competi-tors by providing them level field," Mr Prakash said and added that the people of J&K have strong will and determi-nation to progress with rest of the country. “Due to sev-eral political and economic barriers, the people in the region, including indus-trialists, were deprived of avenues for growth and fast paced development,” he added.

The interactive session was also attended by Secre-tary Industries and Com-merce, MK Dwivedi; Direc-tor Industries Jammu, Anoo Malhotra; Managing Direc-tors of PSUs (corporations) and other concerned officers.

On the occasion, the indus-

trialists projected several issues before the Minister and sought his intervention for the redress of the same.

T he indust ria lists informed the Minister that the Industrial Development Scheme (IDS) for J&K will end by March 31, this year and demanded its extension for next fifteen years.

They also said that there is shortage of land bank in J&K and demanded creation of Special Economic Zones and Special Investment Regions like Food Parks, Technology Parks etc.

Among other issues, the industrialists took up with the Minister, included freight subsidy for transportation, 24X7 power supply to indus-trial areas, extension of 50

Held Hizbul man planned major attack, says intel

nEW DELhi, Jan 22

The Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant arrested along with a Jammu and Kashmir police officer this month was planning to deliver explo-sives in Pulwama for major attacks his group was plan-ning to launch ahead of the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, according to a Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) input shared with the security agencies last week.

Naveed Babu, the HM’s operations chief for south

and central Kashmir, was arrested while he was trav-elling to Jammu with deputy police superintendent Davin-der Singh and two others on January 11.

According to an input, Babu was to deliver the explo-sives to his HM associates, who were likely to carry out attacks in Zadoora and also plant an Improvised Explo-sive Device (IED) on the Niwa-Pakherpora road near Pulwama. The January 15 DIA input, a copy of which HT has accessed, calls Babu

the “master terror recruiter” and an “IED expert”.

A car bomb attack on a paramilitary convoy in Pul-wama last year left 40 troop-ers dead and prompted India to launch an air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan.

Babu is HM’s second-in-command after Riyaz Nikoo. He is accused of involvement in a spate of civilian killings last year and also those of police officers and snatching of weapons from security forces.

The National Investiga-

Militants on run, Ops intensified in South Kashmir: DGP

srinagar, Jan 22

Jammu and Kashmir Direc-tor General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh on Wednes-day said that anti-militancy operations were stepped up in Southern districts and that militants were feeling heat. He said in the days ahead, more anti-militancy operations will be launched in South Kashmir.

He said in the past one week, security forces con-ducted six successful opera-tions in which top command-ers of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of wreath laying function at DPL Sri-nagar here, the DGP said that anti-militancy opera-tions have been intensified in all districts of South Kash-mir that’s why there is frus-tration in militant ranks. “It is because of the stepped up anti-militancy operations that militants are feeling heat in South Kashmir,” he said.

The J&K police had orga-nized a wreath laying cere-mony for the slain SoG man who was killed at Khrew encounter on Tuesday.

Ahead of the Republic Day,

Jammu and Kashmir Direc-tor General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh on Wednes-day said the security has been beefed up in Kashmir. "All arrangements have been made with regard to securi-ty measures on ground, the security in South Kashmir has been reviewed. We vis-ited Anantnag and also took stock of the security in other districts," DGP Singh said. "We have strengthened the security measures in Sri-nagar ahead of the Republic Day," he added.

Asked whether police was using drones in Srinagar and elsewhere, the DGP said that drones are being used by the police everywhere in the country. “J&K police is using drones as a technical aid. Drones help us to see

army chief arrives on two-day maiden visit to J&K

Jammu taWi, Jan 22

Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund N a r av a n e o n Wednesday arrived here on a maiden two-day visit of Jammu and Kashmir to review the prevailing security situation, an army officer said. Gen Naravane, who took charge of Chief of the Army Staff on January 1, is likely to meet the Lt Governor G C Murmu and visit

man dies after landslide hits car

Jmu-Sgr Highway shut due to multiple landslides, one dies

Jammu taWi, Jan 22

Multiple landslides at several places hampered restoration work on the Jam-mu-Srinagar National Highway which remained closed for the second day on Wednesday, officials said. The high-way, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed for traffic on Tuesday follow-ing fresh snowfall and incessant rains. Though the weather improved, multiple

landslides at Panthiyal, Moumpassi and Digdole coupled with slippery conditions delayed restoration work, the officials said. "The men and machines are on

2 Jammu Tawi | Jan 23, 2020 | Thursday

...Continued from Front Page

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groups there. Pakistan’s leadership has limited options to respond to India’s actions, and renewed Pakistani support for Kashmiri militancy likely would be costly internationally,” it said.

“Pakistan’s ability to alter the status quo through military action has been reduced in recent years, meaning that Islamabad likely must rely pri-marily on diplomacy,” the CRS said.

“Given also that Pakistan and its primary ally, China, enjoy lim-ited international credibility on human rights issues, Islamabad may stand by and hope that self-inf licted damage caused by New Delhi’s own policies in Kashmir and, more recently, on citizenship laws, will harm India’s reputation and perhaps undercut its recent diplomatic gains with Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” it said.

According to CRS, the long-standing US position on Kashmir is that the issue should be settled through negotiations between India and Pakistan while taking into consideration the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

“The Trump Administration has called for peace and respect for human rights in the region, but its criticisms have been relatively muted,” it noted.

With key US diplomatic posts vacant, some observers worry that the US government’s capacity to address South Asian instability is thin, and the US President’s July offer to “mediate” on Kashmir may have contributed to the timing of New Delhi’s moves, it said.

The United States seeks to balance pursuit of a broad US-India partnership while upholding human rights protections, as well as maintaining cooperative relations with Pakistan, the report said.

CRS said that following India’s August 2019 actions, numerous members of the US Congress went on record in support of Kashmiri human rights. H Res 745, introduced in December and currently with 40 co-sponsors, urges the Indian government to end the restrictions on commu-nications in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.

An October hearing on human rights in South Asia held by the House Subcom-mittee on Asia, the Pacific and Non-proliferation included extensive discussion of developments in Jammu and Kashmir. In November, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held an event titled ‘Jammu and Kashmir in Context’.

US policy, it said, sought to prevent conflict between India and Paki-stan from escalating, and the US Congress supported a US-India strategic partnership that had been under way since 2005, while also maintaining attention on issues of human rights and religious freedom.

CRS in its report told lawmakers that over the past decade, Washington appeared to have grown closer to India while relations with Pakistan appeared to continue to be viewed as clouded by mistrust.

The Trump Administration “suspended” security assistance to Pakistan in 2018 and has significantly reduced non-military aid while simultane-ously deepening ties with New Delhi. It viewed India as a key “anchor” of its “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy, which some argued is aimed at China, it said.

“Yet any US impulse to “tilt” towards India is to some extent offset by Islamabad’s current, and by most accounts vital, role in facilitating Afghan reconciliation negotiations. President Trump’s apparent bonhomie with Pakistan’s prime minister and offer to mediate on Kashmir in July was taken by some as a new and potentially unwise strategic shift,” it said.

Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan which has been trying to internationalise the issue.

New Delhi has defended its move, saying Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue was strictly internal to the country, and the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The country took the decision of abrogation of Article 370, which had only given separatism and terrorism to that state,” Prime Minister Modi had said in October.

Although President Trump has offered to mediate on the Kashmir issue in the past, New Delhi has told Washington that it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and there is no scope for any third-party mediation.

On the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French town of Biarritz in August last year, Modi, while interacting with the media alongside President Trump, categorically rejected any scope for third-party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries could discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and “we don’t want to trouble any third country”.

This was the third meeting between Trump and Khan since the Pakistan premier assumed office in 2018, and it came against the backdrop of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s recent trip to the US, amid reports that the US and Afghan Taliban were close to striking a peace deal.

“There are issues we want to talk about. The main issue is Afghanistan because it concerns the US and Pakistan. Fortunately, we are on the same page. Both of us are interested in peace there and an orderly transition in Afghanistan with talks with Taliban and the government,” Khan said.

When a reporter asked Trump if he would visit Pakistan considering he was already set to visit India, the US President said he was meeting the Pakistan premier in Davos.

“Well, we’re visiting right now. So we don’t really have to. I wanted to say that from a relationship standpoint, we got a great relationship. From the standpoint our two countries, we’re getting along very well. I would say we’ve never been closer with Pakistan the way we’re right now. And this is a big statement,” Trump said.

Khan left for Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum and meet the world leaders, including President Trump, on Tuesday. The four-day summit which kicked off on Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of the forum.

A total of 53 heads of State are on the guest list. Nearly 3,000 participants from 118 countries are expected to attend the event during which political lead-ers, business executives, heads of international organisations and civil society representatives are set to deliberate on contemporary economic, geopolitical, social and environmental issues.

flea market in the morning in the civil lines area and interacted with the vendors, who complained about government apathy. “We are here to spread positivity among the people and create an environment of change,” Naqvi said.

Union minister of state for HRD, communications, and electronics & IT Sanjay Dhotre visited Kalakote and Naushera, Rajauri district.

He said one of the objective of his visit was to discuss government’s develop-mental schemes.

Minister of state for home Reddy addressed a gathering at mini-secretariat in Ganderbal. He said the people in Kashmir should assist the government in implementing the developmental project. He inaugurated eight developmental projects costing around Rs 21 crore. “Our government is committed to peace and development in Kashmir and soon Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachhan would be seen here,” said Reddy..

MoS for home Rai addressed a gathering in Sheikhpora, Budgam district, where he said secularism was the unique strength of the country and the citizens have responsibility to strengthen it.

The Minister distributed pension cards among the widows and downtrodden under Prime Minister’s Pension Yojana.

He said that the Union government has come up with the concept of Golden Card through which deserving segments of the society can afford the treatment of upto Rs 5 lakh. He said so far 3.5 lakh families have received this card in J&K.

In BUDGAM, the Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai too reiter-ated that development of J&K is priority for the central government.

Addressing a large public gathering at Sheikhpora Budgam, the Minister said that special focus shall be given on industrialization in the newly carved Union Territory to open up new employment generation avenues for the local youth. Besides, he said, special focus shall also be given on the improvement of educa-tion sector in JK. The Minister said that people of J&K will be provided access and development at par with other states of the country.

Team Modi

Trump offers

was unlikely that in next one year all the remaining projects under the package will be completed. “Now as the J&K has become a union territory since October 31, we hope that the Center may give at least further two years to complete the projects.

J&K spent only

Pak has ‘limited

trial areas, extension of 50 per cent capital investment subsidy for captive power projects, introduction of self credit scheme and insurance cover etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Industries and Commerce, MK Dwivedi informed the Minister that capping of incentives under IDS-2017 scheme needs to either be reviewed or removed for the larger benefit of industry in the UT.

On the Occasion, the Minister assured the industrialists that all the issues flagged up by them would be given due consideration by the government and subsequently redressed.

The session discussed issues specific to pharmacy, walnut, carpet etc besides general issues pertaining to freights, high import cost, investment cost, industrial policy etc.

Meanwhile, the Minister was informed that there are 25,735 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) registered in UT of J&K with Rs 8,208 crore investment and providing employment to 1,62.084 persons.

It was further informed that there are 64 large scale units in the region with Rs 12,146 crore investment and providing employment to 18,310 persons.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing Singh’s links with Babu and other terror operators in the Valley, on Wednesday raided Singh’s residence in Srinagar. It is scrutinising the documents recovered from Singh. His staff will also be ques-tioned about the people who would visit Singh’s at his residence and office, according to the officials aware of the matter.

An officer said records and CCTV footage from the Srinagar air-port, where Singh was last posted with the anti-hijacking unit, will also be checked to see if any unauthorised people were given entry.

Another officer added that inquiries were being done in Sri-nagar, Qazigund and Kulgam districts. Singh’s call records and emails were also being checked to find whether any sensitive information had been shared with militants.

The second officer cited above said they will also examine Singh’s role in other cases pertaining to the capture of militant and over-ground workers over the last few years in districts where he was posted.

one, has asked the commission to study the various entries in the “Central List of OBCs and recommend correction of any rep-etitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription,” said a press release.

The four-member commission, set up on October 2, 2017, under Article 340 of the Constitution, started functioning from October 11, 2017.

said. "The men and machines are on the job and efforts are on to make the highway motorable as soon as possible," Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic), National Highway, Shemsher Singh told said.

He said the Jawahar Tunnel, which experienced nearly one feet of fresh snow-fall, was cleared for one-way traffic and around 1500 Kashmir-bound vehicles including trucks carrying essential commodities were allowed to move towards their destinations with drivers asked to drive carefully due to slippery conditions. Heavy rains in Ramban triggered shooting of stones from hillocks overlooking the highway between Panthiyal and Ramsu throughout the day on Tuesday, while fresh landslides occurred at different places along the stretch, blocking the road, he said.

In Jammu city and other parts of the region it was a sunny day. Jammu city recorded a minimum of 6 degrees Celsius -- one degree below normal, but the maximum temperature which had slipped over four degrees below normal on Tuesday is likely to settle around the season's normal at 18.8 degrees Celsius due to clear skies, an official of the Meteorological department said. He said Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district, recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius.

The shrine and adjoining areas experienced heavy snowfall on Tuesday. The highway town of Batote in Ramban district was the cold-est recorded place in Jammu region with a night temperature of minus 2 degrees Celsius followed by Bhaderwah in Doda district at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius and Banihal at minus 1 degrees Celsius, the spokes-man said.

A 25-year-old man was killed on Wednesday when his car was hit by a landslide on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district on Wednesday, police said. Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Noorbagh locality of Srinagar, died on-the-spot after boulders rolling down the hillock hit his vehicle on the highway at Panthiyal, an official said. The highway remained closed for vehicular traffic for the second day on Wednesday following multiple landslides triggered by rains along the Panthiyal-Ramsu stretch and slippery conditions due to snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel area. Bhat was on way to Srinagar from Jammu. The fresh landslide occurred shortly after the road was cleared of the debris, the official said. He said the quick reaction team of police and local volunteers recovered the body from the mangled car after hectic efforts and shifted it to public health centre in Ramsu.

370 provisions. She was commenting on Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naq-

vi’s visit to Lal Chowk earlier in the day.

aid. Drones help us to see activities of anti-peace elements in lanes and by-lanes,” he said

Now, according to the person cited in the first instance, MHA has issued fresh orders asking that all postings of even station house officers must be made after informing the MHA. R R Bhatnagar, the recently appointed advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, has been allocated responsibility for this. The order says, Bhatnagar, who headed the Central Reserve Police Force till recently “will suggest appropriate measures for effective policing and intelligence gathering for effective policing at the police station level including the reshuffling of Station House Officers and other cutting edge levels in consultation with the Special Security Advisor, (MHA).” HT has seen a copy of the order.

Singh, who was about to be promoted, has told interrogators that he has been part of covert operations for several security agencies operating in Jammu and Kashmir for many years. “The claims are being verified,” a second senior official who did not want to be named said. “Davinder’s stint with the Special Operations Group (SoG), the operations he was associated is being examined.”

Governor G C Murmu and visit the forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) during his two stay in Jammu region, the officer said. “The COAS has reached this evening and is scheduled to review the security situation at a high level meeting at Northern

Comprehensive Industrial

Held Hizbul

OBC Commission

MHA to take

Man dies after

Iltija Mufti

Militants on run

Army chief

Pakistan, ‘even America’ are theocratic states, India is secular: Rajnath

New DelHI, JAN 22

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Indian values considered all religions equal, and that is why the country is secular and never became a theo-cratic state like Pakistan.

Speaking at the NCC Republic Day Camp in Delhi, Singh said: “We (India) said we would not discriminate among reli-gions. Why did we do that?

Our neighbouring country has declared that their state has a religion. They have declared themselves a theocratic state. We didn’t declare so.”

“Even America is a theocratic country. India is not a theocratic country. Why? Because our saints and seers did not just consider the people living within our borders as part of the family, but called everyone living in

the world as one family,” the minister said.

Singh underlined that India had never declared its religion would be Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist and people of all religions could live here.

“They gave the slogan of ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’--the whole world is one family. This message has gone to the whole world from here only,” he added.

Scrapping of Article 370

SC to continue hearing pleas on Thursday too

New DelHI, JAN 22

At a time when a number of ministers from the Centre are visiting Jammu and Kashmir, Supreme Court on Thursday will continue hear-ing petitions that challenged the revocation of Article 370.

The development comes as the apex court’s five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Justice NV Ramana on Wednesday started hearing the petitions with regard to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Supreme Court will tomorrow continue hearing various pleas challenging the Abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which effectively removed the spe-cial status granted to Jammu & Kashmir.

These petitions were filed after the Central govern-ment on August 5 last year scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated Jammu and Kash-mir into two Union Territo-ries — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The pleas were filed by individuals, lawyers, activ-ists and political parties like National Conference, Sajjad Lone-led J&K Peoples Con-ference and CPI (M) leader Mohd Yousuf Tarigami.

Besides, another plea was also filed by a group of former defence officers and bureaucrats such as Radha Kumar, ex-member of Group of Interlocutors for J&K (2010-11), former J&K cadre IAS officer Hindal Haidar Tyabji, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, Major Gen.

(retd) Ashok Kumar Mehta, ex-Punjab-cadre IAS officer Amitabha Pande and ex-Ker-ala-cadre IAS officer Gopal Pillai.

The top court bench had on November 14 declined to pass any interim order on the pleas saying it might lead to delay in the matter and the apex court would settle all the issues at one go after hearing all the parties.

While hearing the case, the apex court asked the parties to prepare a common compilation of all the docu-ments so that hearing of the matter becomes easier.

Prior to this, the top court had also asked the Centre to respond to fresh petitions which have raised issues related to abrogation of the provisions of Article 370.

First unmanned mission, part of Gaganyaan, this December: ISRO

BeNGAlURU, JAN 22

Ahead of the launch of India’s maiden human spaceflight venture ‘Gaganyaan’ in December 2021, the ISRO will undertake two unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021, its chairman K Sivan said on Wednesday.

Addressing the inaugu-ral session of a symposium

on “Human Spaceflight and Exploration – Present Chal-lenges and Future Trends,” Sivan said the Gaganyaan mission not only aims at India’s maiden human flight to space but also setting up a new space station for ‘contin-uous space human presence.’

“We are doing all this (Gaganyaan) on three points – short term plan of

two unmanned mission in December 2020 and June 2021, followed by human space flight demonstration in December 2021.

“We have the mid-term goal of sustaining the human space programme and con-tinuous space human pres-ence in space on a new space station”, he said. (AGEN-CIES)

At 51st rank, India slips 10 spots on the global democracy index

New DelHI, JAN 22

India dropped 10 places in the Democracy Index’s global ranking to 51st place, with the survey describing the erosion of civil liberties in the country as the prima-ry cause of the democratic regression. Overall, though, India remains, in the terms of the survey, a ‘flawed demo-carcy”, a categorisation that also encompasses the US.

The Democracy Index – prepared by the Econo-mist Intelligence Unit, the research and analysis divi-sion of The Economist Group – provides a snapshot of the state of democracy world-wide in 165 independent states and two territories.

It is based on electoral pro-cess and pluralism, function-ing of government, political participation, political cul-ture and civil liberties.

India’s overall score, on a scale of 0-10, fell from 7.23 in 2018 to 6.90 in 2019, with the survey listing India among countries where there were “regressions”. In the Asia and Australia region, India ranked eighth, behind coun-tries such as Timor-Leste, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Norway topped the index, with a score of 9.87, while North Korea was at the bottom of the global rank-ings, with a score of 1.08. China’s score fell to 2.26, and it is now ranked 153rd, close to the bottom of the rankings.

The Democracy Index described 2019 as a “tumul-tuous year” for Asian democ-racies. The biggest change occurred in Thailand, whose score improved by 1.69 points

compared with 2018, to 6.32, resulting in a rise of 38 places, while introduction of a “fake news” law in Singa-pore led to a deterioration in the country’s score for civil liberties.

The index is largely an academic exercise, but it adds to growing international criticism of India , especially over Kashmir and CAA.

Indian officials did not immediately react to the survey.

The Democracy Index referred to the changes in Jammu and Kashmir and the controversial imple-mentation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam while describing what it termed as said was a “democratic regression” in India, the world’s largest democracy.

“The Indian government stripped the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state of its special status by repealing two key constitutional pro-visions granting it powers of autonomy,” it said, referring to Article 370 of the Constitu-tion and Article 35A, which prevented residents from other states from purchasing land or property in Kashmir.

“Following the removal of these provisions of the con-stitution and the passage of a new Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, J&K no longer enjoys state-hood and is now divided into two union territories: one that retains the name Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh,” it said. “Ahead of the move, the government deployed a large number of troops in J&K, imposed vari-

ous other security measures and placed local leaders under house arrest, includ-ing those with pro-India cre-dentials. The government also restricted internet access in the state,” it added.

To be sure, the changes were all cleared by parlia-ment and India has main-tained that they are internal issues. Some of them have been challenged in court.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, however, called the rankings ‘flawed’. Party spokesperson Nalin Kohli said, “They appear to have arrived at this flawed conclusion based on some motivated inputs. Had they followed the news in India or the raucous interaction of citizens of all political lean-ings on the social media, they would only concluded that a vibrant democracy is in full action.”

The Democracy Index noted that the “citizenship registration exercise” in Assam had “excluded 1.9m from the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC)”

It also commented on the Citizenship Amendment Act and said “the new citizen-ship law has enraged the large Muslim population, stoked communal tensions and generated large pro-tests in major cities.” Three countries – Chile, France and Portugal – moved from the “flawed democracy” cat-egory to the “full democracy” category, while Malta moved in the opposite direction, fall-ing out of “full democracy” to become a “flawed democ-racy”.

JAMMUJammu Tawi Janaury 23, 2020 Thursday 3

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

39th Regional Workshop onTraining and Capacity Build-ing of State and District MIS(Management InformationSystem) Coordinators hostedby Directorate of SamagraShiksha, J&K commenced to-day at hotel Radisson NarwalJammu.80 District MIS Officers fromfive 5 States/UTs viz J&K, Hi-machal Pradesh, Ladakh, Pun-jab and Uttrakhand partici-pated in the workshop. TheRegional Workshop is being or-ganised through Union Min-istry of Human Resource De-velopment.The broad agenda for theworkshop is to discuss newlyadded variables in Unified Dis-trict Information System forEducation (UDISE) + DataCapture Format (DCF) trainingon modified UDISE+ Software,to discuss key performance in-

dicators for planning and otherprogrammes and sharing ofbest practices and strategiesto improve coverage of UD-ISE+.Commissioner SecretarySchool Education, Hirdesh Ku-mar Singh while interactingwith the participants under-lined the importance of datacollection and uploading onUDISE for better planning andbridging the infrastructuraland institutional gaps. Hestressed that focus should be

on the purity of data uploadedon UDISE.The Secretary reiterated thatthe Administrative Officers ofSchool Education Departmentshould widely use the datafrom UDISE and analyse it forbetter planning and implemen-tation of schemes.State Project Director, Sama-gra Shiksha J&K, Dr ArunManhas while addressing theparticipants stressed that UD-ISE+ is an online applicationfor capturing school level data

related to infrastructure, PTR,subject wise teacher details,toilets, playgrounds, ICT labs,Libraries, Laboratories andmuch more for deciding thePerformance Indicators and toprepare better planning andexecute the policies perfectly.He stressed upon all the par-ticipants to acquire maximumskills and knowledge from thisprogramme and disseminatethe same to the ground level inorder to achieve the set goals.Chief Consultant TSG, UnionMinistry of Human Resourcesand Development (MHRD),Alka Mishra, Nodal Officer forWorkshop, Peerzada MushtaqAhmad, members from TSG,MHRD besides State Coordi-nators Ravinder Jangral,Jagdeep Padha, Technical Co-ordinator Mehrish Goni, Pro-grammers Sunita Fotedar,Vikas Khajuria and other sen-ior officers from Directorate ofSamagra Shiksha were pres-ent on the occasion.

39th Regional Workshop onUDISE+ commences in Jammu

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

For the first time in Jammu andKashmir, A One Day NationalSeminar on EmpoweringWomen through Entrepreneur-ship was organised by the Skilland Entrepreneurship Devel-opment Centre & Centre forWomen's Studies, University ofJammu in collaboration withthe National Commission forWomen, GoI, New Delhi. Prof.Manoj Dhar, Vice Chancellor,University of Jammu, in his in-augural address congratulatedthe organisers for organisingthe event focused on womenentrepreneurs to motivateyoung women for taking entre-preneurial activities. MeetaRajivlochan, Member Secre-tary, National Commission forWomen, the Guest of Honouraddressed the young womenand emphasized the partici-pants in taking challenges andopportunities to start entre-

preneurial initiatives. Amongsuccessful entrepreneurs,Varuna Anand, founder TheSplendour of Kashmir, Arti Ma-hajan founder of Shape nSmile-fitness studio, Geetika awriter and successful entre-preneur and Sakshi Beri fromCaliberi were invited to sharetheir journey of successful en-trepreneurship. It was fol-lowed by a Panel Discussion

comprising of Dr. Shamim Ah-mad Wani, Special Secretary,Finance, Govt of J&K, Prof.Vishva Raksha, Director CWS,Prof. Sameer Gupta, convenerUESDC and Divya Bhushan ofJKEDI. The panel discussionwas moderated by PoorviGupta, Senior CorrespondentShe the people. Participantsasked several questions to thepanellist. From the discussion

sisterhood and net-working were foundto be the missinglinks among youngwomen entrepre-neurs. Seminarwas attended bymore than 300women partici-pants. A surveywas also conductedamong the partici-pants to decipherthe obstacles andpossible solutionsfor the women en-trepreneurship.

Event was organized by theconcerted efforts of the mem-bers of team UESDC, Dr.Garima, Dr. Sikander, Dr.Aubid and Dr. Sunil and de-partmental coordinators in-cluding Prof. Samridhi Arora,Dr. Bindu, Dr. Vijay, Dr.Harleen, Dr. Pallavi and Dr.Padam Dev. Proceedings of theseminar were conducted byKusum and rapporteur Shreya.

National Seminar on Empowering Womenthrough Entrepreneurship organized

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

The Jammu and Kashmir unitof the CPI(M) on Wednesdaylaunched a scathing attack onthe BJP over its public out-reach programme in the UnionTerritory, saying "the move toparachute 36 ministers ispropaganda in panic mode asthe party has failed on everycount throughout the country"."What is the need for the BJPministers to visit J&K whenthe government claims every-thing is normal? Reality is thatthey want to sell Kashmir's'normalcy' and 'all is well'story for those in mainland In-dia who are ignorant aboutKashmir's ground realities,"senior CPI(M) leader and for-mer legislator M Y Tarigamisaid in a statement here. Re-acting to the statement ofUnion Minister Mukhtar Ab-bas Naqvi in Srinagar that hisgovernment's "outreach pro-gramme is aimed at resolving

all the issues" confrontingpeople in Jammu and Kash-mir, he said the visit is "noth-ing but a hoax". In the after-math of the abrogation ofArticle 370 provisions and bi-furcation of the erstwhilestate into UTs in August lastyear, the Centre launched amajor week-long public out-reach programme on January18 to aware people about thebenefits of the move and todisseminate information aboutthe implementation of its poli-cies and programmes for theoverall development of Jammuand Kashmir. He said the polit-ical activities of all other par-ties other than the BJP havecome to a standstill in J&K forthe last six months. He said in-ternet services continue to re-main snapped and the BJPclaims its ministers wouldmake aware people aboutschemes of the central govern-ment. "The parachuted minis-ters are inaugurating thoseprojects which had been sanc-

tioned before 2014," Tarigamisaid, adding "Where was theBJP government and its minis-ters when horticulture inKashmir and agriculture inJammu suffered massivelosses due to heavy snowfall inthe Valley in November andrainfall in Jammu?" "More thanthe losses to the economy, jobloss due to clampdown on in-ternet services and restric-tions is more worrying. Ac-cording to a recent report ofChamber of Commerce and In-dustry, present disruption hasresulted in loss of jobs of lakhsof people while J&K economysuffered losses worth thou-sands of crores," he said. Theformer MLA said the snowfallin early November causedlosses worth thousands ofcrores to horticulture sector."Education sector has beenworst affected as most of theschools, colleges and universi-ties remain shut since earlyAugust last year," the CPI(M)leader said.

BJP's outreach programmeto J&K a hoax: Tarigami

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

SKUAST Jammu-Teaching As-sociation Jammu (SKUAST-TAJ) met Kailash Choudhary,Minister of State, GoI. Chan-der Parkash Ganga, formercabinet minister, J&K was alsopresent. Dr. Vinod Gupta exec-utive member & commit-tee convener of SKUAST-TAJrequested the minister thatthe common name of two var-sities in the same state i.e.,SKUAST - Jammu and SKUAST-Kashmir is creating a lot ofcontroversy and confusionsamong the masses. He urgedthat SKUAST-Jammu shouldbe rechristened as JammuAgriculture University.SKUAST- Jammu have ample

staff and resources, efficientfaculty members, KVKs andresearch stations in all dis-tricts of Jammu province tocater the needs of farmers infar flung areas that have suf-fered political as well as devel-opmental alienation since in-dependence. The farmers ofthese areas are getting thebenefit of latest advances inagricultural technologies fromfarm university of Jammu di-vision, thus, resulting inhigher agricultural produc-tion. Dr. Gupta said that thereis a strong resentment amongthe farming community, civilsociety and intellectual ofJammu region regarding thenomenclature of the agricul-tural varsity. They have theopinion that their identity is

suppressed by prefixing thename Sher-e-Kashmir beforeAgricultural University ofJammu. Rechristening ofSKUAST-J as Jammu Agricul-tural University is very essen-tial for its separate identity atState / National level. Most ofthe State Agricultural Univer-sities (SAUs) in India are es-tablished in the name of theState like Punjab AgriculturalUniversity (PAU) - Ludhiana,Haryana Agricultural Univer-sity (HAU)- Hisar, HimachalPradesh Krishi Vish-wavidyalaya (HPKV) - Palam-pur Assam Agricultural Uni-versity (AAU), BiharAgricultural University (BAU),Kerala Agricultural University(KAU). Dr.Gupta urged theminister to consider the gen-uine demand for rechristeningof SKUAST-J as Jammu Agri-cultural University as evenUniversity of Jammu has itsown identity, so on the samepattern Agricultural Univer-sity of Jammu should benamed as Jammu AgriculturalUniversity (JAU).

SKUAST-TAJ delegation call on Union Minister Demands rechristening of SKUAST-J as Jammu Agricultural University

SMVDU Researcher awardedwith ICSSR Fellowship

NL CORRESPONDENTKATRA, JAN 22

Ishfaq Hamid S/o Abdul Hamid Bhat, Research Scholar, fromSchool of Economics (SoE), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University(SMVDU), has been awarded with centrally administered full-term doctoral fellowship for the Year 2019-20, from IndianCouncil of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Hu-man Resource Development, New Delhi. He has been workingin the field of political economy under the supervision of Dr.Pabitra Kumar Jena, Assistant Professor, School of Econom-ics, SMVDU. Prof. R. K. Sinha, Vice Chancellor, SMVDU, Prof.(Dr.) D. Mukhopadhyay, Dean, Faculty of Management and Dr.Kakali Majumdar, Head of the School, and the faculty mem-bers of the School congratulated the scholar for his achieve-ment and wished him success for future academic endeavour.

Training course on"Agribusiness DevelopmentPlanning & Management" begins NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

Eight-days model training course on "Agribusiness Develop-ment Planning and Management" commenced today at, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technologyof Jammu.The training programme is sponsored by Directorate of Exten-sion, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Govt of India,and is being organized by Division of Agricultural Economicsand Agribusiness Management. The training programme ismainly designed to sensitize officers of Agriculture and allieddepartments of the country involved in extension activities to thewhole concept of Agribusiness Development Planning and Man-agementSpeaking at the inaugural function, Dr K S Risam, Vice Chancel-lor, SKUAST-Jammu, briefed about the time to time importanceof business activities that are performed from farm to the mar-ket. He stressed upon the supply of agricultural inputs, the pro-duction and transformation of agricultural products and theirdistribution to final consumers. He wished the participants aninformative eight days of training programme.Dr D P Abrol, Dean Faculty of Agriculture, in his address, dis-cussed the importance of Agriculture and Agribusiness andwas of the opinion that agribusiness along with agriculture isneed of the hour.Dr R K Gupta, Director Research of SKUAST-Jammu, talkedabout the relation between agriculture and business manage-ment and suggested how the combination of both will benefitthe farmers.A total number of 22 participants from the Department of Agri-culture, Horticulture, Horticulture Planning and Marketing ofHaryana, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir are participating in thetraining programme.Dr Anil Bhat, Assistant Professor and Course Director of thetraining programme gave a brief presentation about the courseand highlighted the course content. He also informed the houseabout the resource persons and the topics to be covered duringthe eight days programme.Earlier, Dr Jyoti Kachroo, Head of the Division and Convener ofthe training programme, highlighted the main themes to be cov-ered during the training programme.

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

Continuing the drive to pro-vide better development andbasic facilities to the people ofJammu city, Chander MohanGupta, Mayor Jammu Munici-pal Corporation today con-ducted an extensive tour ofvarious parts of Jammu city inward no.49,50 & 53 and tookstock of the different develop-ment activities in the saidwards and met with the in-habitants of the these wards& also listened to their griev-ances patiently. In wardno.49, Mayor inaugurated awell furnished community/public toilet at Balgram SOSHome, Channi Rama, Jammuon the demands of manage-ment of S.O.S Home alongwith Kamal Singh Jamwal,Hon'ble Councilor of ward

no.49 Arun Gupta, XEN JMC,Anil Gupta, AEE JMC repre-sentatives of Voluntary Orga-nization on Environment &Social Economic Planning(VOESEP) concerned contrac-tor, Management of SOSHome, children studying atBalgram. Mayor also laidfoundation stone of construc-

tion of deep drains at sec 4Channi Himmat Jammu nearAmbika supermarket with ap-proved cost of Rs.2.70 crorealong with Baldev Singh Billo-ria , Chairman Health & Sani-tation committee JMC , NeenaGupta Councillor of ward no.50, Vinay Gupta, Distt Presi-dent BJP, Neeraj Puri Coun-

cilor of ward no. 54 & GandhiNagar BJP mandal President,Anil Kumar Massom Coun-cilor of ward no. 10 SanjeevKumar Gupta AEE UEED, in-habitants of Channi Himmat& other field staff of JMC.Mayor directed the engineersof UEED to execute the saiddevelopment works withquality material & within stip-ulated time period.Mayor appeals to the gather-ing that they should come for-ward & cooperate with JMC indevelopment and other initia-tives being taken by the deptt.in making Jammu neat, clean& green under Swacch BharatMission, plant more && moresaplings in their locality , seg-regate dry & wet garbage atsource avoid using plastics,polythenes etc which areharmful for our society and lo-cality.

Mayor JMC kick-starts development works

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

The Jammu and Kashmir Pan-thers Party here on Wednes-day termed Union ministers'visits to the newly carvedUnion Territory an 'eyewash',accusing them of avoiding dis-gruntled people and trouble-some areas in the aftermath ofthe scrapping of the J&K'sspecial status over fivemonths ago. Addressing a

rally in Ramnagar of Udham-pur district, JKNPP chairmanand former minister HarshDev Singh said the ministers"randomly select places oftheir tour in consultation withtheir local party colleagues,ensuring that troublesome ar-eas were omitted from theiritinerary and disgruntled peo-ple are avoided". "The minis-ters'' visits to Jammu andKashmir are only an eyewashand have nothing to do withaspirations of people," he said,adding that these trips provedto be "pleasure trips". "Theministers were supposed tomake people aware about ben-efits of the abrogation of Arti-cle 370 provisions but suchawareness was more requiredin Kashmir region thanJammu. Interestingly, centralministers has shown their dis-inclination towards Kashmiras only five of 36 ministerswere reported to have plannedvisits to the Valley," Singhadded. Even in the Jammu re-gion, he said Union ministerswere indulging in the inaugu-rations of petty developmentworks with their speeches fullof "tired shibboleths". "It wasnot understandable as to howthe same could help themachieve their objective of edu-cating people. It was furthernot clarified as to whatprompted them to visit J-Kwith the aforesaid motive fiveand a half months after thescrapping of the special sta-tus and downgrading of thestate into UTs," he said.

Union ministers visit to J&Kmere 'eyewash': Harsh

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

Secretary, J&K Academy ofArt, Culture & Languages Mu-nir-ul-Islam Wednesday vis-ited the Rashtriya RangshalaCamp New Delhi to take stock

of preparations for presenta-tion of J-K tableaux and cul-tural programme at the Re-public Day Parade 2020.This year's tableaux will de-pict the rich cultural legacy ofJammu and Kashmir throughthe back-to-village initiative,

showcasingcenturies oldshawl weavingtraditions, Ba-sohli art forms,besides thecopper workand paper-mache tradi-tions of theUnion territory.Elucidating thetheme of thetableaux, Munirsaid that it is in-novatively de-signed with em-

phasis on promoting theBasohli School of traditionalpaintings of Jammu with thecrafts of Kashmir in the back-drop of folk music and dancetraditions of the twin regions."Throughout its history nu-merous civilizations have left

their imprint on the culturalmosaic of Jammu and Kash-mir and as such the tableauxwill depict the cultural life andtraditional arts and crafts ofthe Union territory," he said.While taking stock of arrange-ments for the forthcoming pro-gramme, the SecretaryJKAACL also had one-on-oneinteractions with the partici-pating artists, who expressedsatisfaction over the arrange-ments made by the organizersfor their comfortable stay atthe venue.Expressing satisfaction overthe efforts of the designer,artists and staff in making thetableaux presentable, the Sec-retary JKAACL hoped that thetableaux of the Union territorywill make its mark at theforthcoming Republic Day pa-rade.

Secy JKAACL visits Rangshala CampTakes stock of preparations for presentation of J-K tableaux 2020 NL CORRESPONDENT

RAJOURI, JAN22As part of Union Government's Public Outreach Pro-gramme, Minister of State for Human Resource Devel-opment, Communications, Electronics and Informa-tion Technology Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao todayconducted a public outreach camp at Nowshera, Ra-jouri.The outreach programme witnessed overwhelmingparticipation of BDC Chairpersons, Sarpanches,Panches and general public hailing from different ar-eas, particularly the border areas of the subdivision.TheMinister also dedicated Community facilitation Centre(CFC) to the Public of Chalk Jarallian, a building to BDCChairperson Nowshera so that he can establish his officeand laid foundation stone of 100 mtrs Motorable Bridgeover Nowshera Tawi at Lamberi.Additional DeputyCommissioner Nowshera presented a detailed accountof various developmental activities and welfareschemes being carried out by different departments inthe area.BDC chairpersons and Chairman MC Now-shera while speaking on the occasion highlighted majorissues and demands of their areas including sanctioningof a Kendriya Vidayala and Navodaya Vidyalaya forNowshera, commissioning of Grid Station Stone, provi-sion of Mobile Connectivity for the Shadow areas be-longing to border belts, Opening Telephone exchanges,

Completion of Ring Road Nowshera, enhancement in thesalary of Sarpanchs and Panchs, SC/ST Hostel at Now-shera, accountability of funds released underTSP/BADP, border Bunkers, Super speciality hospitalon Jammu Poonch Highway near Lamberi, Degree Col-lege Lamberi, Skill Development Centre for Nowshera,harnessing of local Tourism potential, Satellite campusfor GDC Nowshera, provision critical care ambulance forborder, special recruitment and a number of other de-mands.Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said thatthe Government is committed to ensure all round de-velopment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and thecurrent visit is part of the initiative to take efficient gover-nance to the doorsteps of people. While giving details ofthe achievements under different schemes, the Ministerinformed the gathering that more than 2.5 lakh units un-der SBM have been established in the UT and nearabout 62% of targeted population of the UT has been cov-ered under different pension schemes. The Ministeralso said that the vision of the present Government isto complete all the Schemes in minimum time. He saidthere is no dearth of funds to cover the developmentaldeficit of Jammu and Kashmir. On the occasion, the Min-ister handed over sanctioned letters to the beneficiariesincluding letters of state marriage assistance and let-ters of pension cases including old age, widow and phys-ically challenged.

Shamrao conducts public outreach camp

4 Jammu Tawi Janaury 23, 2020 ThursdaySCI & TECH

The melted sea ice in theArctic cannot “quicklybounce back” even if cli-

mate change is slowed or re-versed, according to a study.Scientists led by the Univer-sity of Exeter in the UK usedthe shells of quahog clams,which can live for hundreds ofyears, and produce growthrings that can be examined tomeasure past environmentalchanges.They also analysed climatemodels to discover how Arcticsea ice has changed over thelast 1,000 years.The team found that sea icecoverage shifts overtimescales of decades to cen-turies—so shrinking ice can-not be expected to return rap-idly if climate change is

slowed or reversed.The study, published in thejournal Scientific Reports, ex-amined whether past icechanges north of Iceland were“forced”—caused by eventssuch as volcanic eruptions,and variations in the Sun’s out-put—or part of a natural pat-tern.At least a third of pastvariation was found to be“forced”—showing the climatesystem is “very sensitive” tosuch driving factors, accord-ing to lead author Paul Hallo-ran from the University of Ex-eter.“There is inceasingevidence that many aspects ofour changing climate aren’tcaused by natural variation,but are instead ‘forced’ by cer-tain events,” he said.The study underlines the large

effect that climate drivers canhave on Arctic sea ice, evenwhen those drivers are weakas is the case with volcaniceruptions or solar changes,the researchers said.“Today, the climate driver isn’tweak volcanic or solarchanges—it’s human activity,and we are now massivelyforcing the system,” Halloransaid.“Our results suggest that cli-mate models are able to cor-rectly reproduce the long-termpattern of sea ice change,”said co-author of the study, IanHall, a professor at the CardiffUniversity in the UK.When there is lots of sea ice,some of it drifts southwards,the researchers said.By releasing fresh water, thisprocess can slow the North At-lantic Ocean circulation, oth-erwise known as the AtlanticMeridional Overturning Circu-lation (AMOC), they said.The AMOC, researchers noted,brings warm water from thetropics towards the Arctic, soslowing it down cools this re-gion, and allows sea ice togrow further.With less ice, theAMOC can bring in more warmwater — a so-called “positivefeedback” where climatechange drives further warm-ing, and sea ice loss.

Arctic sea ice can’t‘quickly bounce back’

Samsung India on Tuesdaybrought much-anticipatedGalaxy Note10 Lite smart-

phone for a starting price of Rs38,999 to India. It comes with4500mAh battery, pro-gradecamera and super-fast charg-ing.Galaxy Note10 Lite is priced atRs 38,999 for the 6GB variantand Rs 40,999 for the 8GB vari-ant. Both models come with128GB internal memory.With an upgrade offer of up toRs 5,000, consumers can buyGalaxy Note10 Lite for Rs33,999, the company said in astatement.Pre-booking of Galaxy Note10Lite will begin from later in theday at 2 p.m. and the device willgo on sale from February 3 andwill be available across majorretail stores, online stores and

Samsung.com.The device supports expand-able memory up to 1TB."With Galaxy Note10 Lite, con-sumers will get premium fea-tures at an accessible pricepoint. Pro-Grade camera, Cine-matic display, powerful proces-sor and long-lasting batterymake Galaxy Note10 Lite themost sought-after smartphonefor the multitasking needs ofmillennials," said Aditya Bab-bar, Director, Mobile Business,Samsung India.The device offers a wide 6.7-inch Super AMOLED, edge-to-edge Infinity-O display -- de-signed to provide a cinematicexperience with more screenand less interruptions.Galaxy Note10 Lite packs aDual Pixel OIS (optical imagespecialisation) 12MP wide cam-

era along with an Ultra Wide12MP sensor and a 12MP Telelens at the rear.The camera system comes witha Super Steady mode that en-ables you to record hi-motionvideos without the motion blur.The device has 32MP selfiecamera which has been up-graded for better low-lightshots.The Bluetooth-enabled S Pen al-lows users to personalize pho-tos and videos with dynamicdrawings, effects and anima-tions and instantly convertshandwritten notes to digitaltext.The 'Air Command' feature ofthe S Pen allows users to clickpictures, navigate through pre-sentations and even edit videoslike a pro, all with a simpleclick."At Samsung, we believe indelivering meaningful innova-tions that improve the lives ofour consumers. Galaxy Note se-ries is known for its differenti-ated experience that empowersusers to explore infinite possi-bilities," said Babbar.Like other premium Samsungsmartphones, Galaxy Note10Lite comes with Bixby virtualassistant, Samsung Pay, Sam-sung Health and defense-gradesecurity platform SamsungKnox, Athat protects users' dataagainst any tampering.

Samsung Galaxy Note10 Litein India for Rs 38,999

Google CEO thinks AIis be more ‘profound’than fire or electricityGoogle’s chief executive officer has left no doubt in how

important he thinks artificial intelligence will be to hu-manity.

“AI is one of the most profound things we’re working on as hu-manity. It’s more profound than fire or electricity,” AlphabetInc. CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview at the World Eco-nomic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.Alphabet, which owns Google, has had to grapple with its role in

the development of AI, including managing employee revoltsagainst its work on the technology for the U.S. government. In2018, a group of influential software engineers successfully de-layed the development of a security feature that would’vehelped the company win military contracts.Also read: ‘No better person’: Google’s Sundar Pichai namedCEO at parent firm AlphabetGoogle has issued a set of AI principles that prohibit weaponswork, but doesn’t rule out selling to the military. It has alsopledged not to renew its Project Maven contract, which involvesusing artificial intelligence to analyze drone footage.Pichai, who’s led Google since 2015, took control of Alphabetafter founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down fromday-to-day involvement last month.“AI is no different from the climate,” Pichai said. “You can’t getsafety by having one country or a set of countries working on it.You need a global framework.”Current frameworks to regulate the technology in the U.S. andEurope are a “great start,” and countries will have to work to-gether on international agreements, similar to the Paris climateaccord, to ensure it’s developed responsibly, Pichai said.Pichai had stopped by Brussels on his way to Davos, giving arare public speech, where he called on regulators to coordinatetheir approaches to artificial intelligence. The European Unionis set to unveil new rules AI developers in “high risk sectors,”such as health care and transportation, according to an earlydraft obtained by Bloomberg.Technology such as facial recognition can be used for good,such as finding missing people, or have “negative conse-quences,” such as mass surveillance, he said.Most of us order food on-

line all the timethrough food-delivery

apps like Zomato, Swiggy andthe now-shut Uber Eats. Andthere definitely have been in-stances when we have thoughtthat ordering in from a restau-rant would be cheaper than ac-tually going there and eating.While we may be right if wetake app discounts into con-sideration, there are instanceswhere people have ended uppaying more for food while or-dering in from restaurants ascompared to what they wouldwhile dining in.Swiggy recently admitted thattheir food rates may be higherthan those being offered byrestaurants ‘in certain cases’.A man from Bengaluru tweetedcomplaining that the price offood items on Swiggy andZomato are at least 25 to 50%more than the actual price of

the same item at the restau-rant. Prices might be differentonline and offline “because ofrestaurant policies’” saidSwiggy in response.“Slowly big discounts are com-

ing down. In fact prices of fooditems in Zomato or Swiggymenu are 25 to 50 per centmore than actual price of thesame at restaurant. Deliverycharges added. Home made

food will always prevail,” readthe tweet and Swiggy repliedwith - “We understand yourconcern, and would like to in-form you that we’re trying tomaintain transparency in our

services and that extends tothe pricing on the platform.“However, the prices might bedifferent online and offline asit is the sole discretion of therestaurant without any addedinput from or end,” Swiggyadded.The disgruntled userthen further claimed that hehad proof -“Should send somescreenshots of your prices andactual menu pictures? Someprices of food items are morethan 50 per ceny (sic) in someareas of Bangalore. Where issole discretion of restaurant inthis. Don’t try to fool the con-sumer.”“We’re working hard tomake your ordering experi-ence as seamless as your dine-in experience. To that end,we’ve also looked at pricing,however, that remains to bethe restaurant’s right & we donot intervene with the same.“You may witness discrepana-cies in the online and offline

pricing which remains to bethe sole prerogative of therestaurant. Hope to serve youbetter in the future,” saidSwiggy.Swiggy tried to pass the buckon to the restaurants, but Twit-ter was having none of it.“Last I checked, that’s not theway your domain work thatway.You collect comissionfrom restaurants for bringingin customers, which is 25 percent of sales. In some restau-rants, there are no or mini-mum packing charges. But youadd packing charges too.. Andif you want proof...let know,”someone called Hemanthtweeted.“Hey Hemanth, we understandyour point of view. The taxesand the packing charges beingrestaurant’s prerogative ispassed on without any inter-vention from our end,” Swiggyreplied.

Ordering food online? You may be paying morethan what you pay at restaurants

Student researchers inPunjab have developed analgae-based air purifier

that will not only neutralise 98per cent of the harmful gassesand particulate matter in theair but will also increase theamount of oxygen making in-doors more breathable.The researchers at Lovely Pro-fessional University and IndianInstitutes of Science Educationand Research (IISER), Mohali,have also filed for the patentand are now in discussion withindustry experts for its com-mercialisation."The powerful air purifier ap-plies a completely new tech-nology than what is used by the

existing air purifiers in themarket. The device, whichuses an in-built container filledwith marine algae, decontami-nates the indoor air and effec-tively removes toxic industrialgases like carbon monoxide,nitrogen oxides and sulphuroxides with an impeccable suc-cess rate of over 98 pc and fur-ther infuses oxygen in the fil-tered air," Naveen Luthra, headof division of start-up at LovelyProfessional University, said."This innovative air purifierproduces biomass as the by-product of the photosynthesisprocess which can further besold to industries like bio de-velopment products, FMCG

and pharmaceuticals for pro-ducing energy," he said.The team, including B-Techstudents Anant Kumar Rajputand Deepak Deb, has also de-veloped a working prototype ofthe product and successfullyconducted trials. It was led by ASunila Patil, assistant profes-sor at IISER, Mohali."The product, OX- C, and itshigher version OX- C 2.0 are ex-pected to be commercialisedby September 2020 and willcost about Rs 18,000 and Rs25,000 respectively. The teamis now working on algae-basedface masks which they expectto develop by mid of 2020," Patilsaid.

Student researchers in Punjabdevelop algae-based air purifier

ARenaissance histo-rian has unearthedthe oldest known im-

age of Venice dating fromthe 14th century, showinghow even then the city ofcanals gripped the imagi-nation of visitors.Sandra Toffolo, a re-searcher at the Universityof Saint Andrews in Scot-land, found the sketch in amanuscript describingItalian pilgrim Niccolo daPoggibonsi's 1346-1350voyage to Jerusalem whichtook him through thebustling port city.

"The discovery of this viewof the city is of great im-portance for our under-standing of images ofVenice, because it showsthat even from very earlyon, the city held great fas-cination for contempo-raries," Toffolo said in astatement published bySaint Andrews earlier thismonth.The drawing in pen, whilequite rudimentary andlacking the linear perspec-tive which was only to beadopted in the followingcentury during the Renais-

sance, shows what ap-pears to be a crowded citywith churches, palaceswith parapets, canals andeven gondolas.Besides the Holy Land, daPoggibonsi's travels alsotook him to Damascus inSyria and Cairo andAlexandria in Egypt.The manuscript was likelywritten shortly after hisreturn to Italy in 1350.A specialist in VenetianRenaissance history, Tof-folo discovered the imagein a library in Florence inMay while working on a de-

tailed study of Venice, dueto be published this year.Throughout history, thecity-state has fascinatedvisitors, not only for itswatery mazes of islands,lagoons and canals, but forits unique architectureand international flair.At its height during theMiddle Ages and Renais-sance, Venice was a pow-erful maritime and finan-cial centre, and the cityhas inspired more contem-porary artists and writersincluding Thomas Mann,Marcel Proust and Ernest

Hemingway.Only maps and nauticalcharts indicating the cityof Venice predate thenewly discovered sketch.The oldest such map wasmade in about 1130 byFriar Paolino, a Franciscanmonk from Venice, accord-ing to Saint Andrews.Toffolo found that the orig-inal manuscript imagecontained small pinpricks,suggesting that it had beensubsequently copied.A common copying tech-nique at the time was tosift powder through the

holes onto a new surface,thus transferring the im-age to a new piece of pa-per.Toffolo subsequently foundother images in later man-uscripts and books thatwere "clearly based on theimage in the manuscript inFlorence".Renaissance art historianKathryn Blair Moore haswritten that da Poggi-bonsi's manuscript wouldhave been an early exam-ple of a new genre of writ-ing, a "pilgrimage guide-book."

Oldest image of Venice discovered dating back to 14th century

2019 was the second hottestyear on record and endedthe hottest decade in his-

tory, the European Union’s cli-mate monitoring service saidWednesday.Data released by the Coperni-cus Climate Change Service(C3S) showed that worldwidetemperatures last year weresecond only to 2016, in whichtemperatures were boosted0.12 degree Celsius by an ex-ceptionally strong El Nino natu-ral weather event.The average temperature in2019 was only a few hun-dredths of a degree below the2016 level.The five last years have beenthe hottest on record, and theperiod of 2010-2019 was thehottest decade since recordsbegan, C3S said.Globally temperatures in 2019were 0.6 Celsius warmer thanthe 1981-2010 average. Earth’stemperature over the last fiveyears was 1.1C-1.2C warmerthan pre-industrial times.Last year was Europe’s hottestever.“2019 has been another excep-tionally warm year, in fact thesecond warmest globally in ourdataset, with many of the indi-vidual months breakingrecords,” said Carlo Buon-tempo, head of C3S.2019 was just 0.04C cooler than2016, which saw temperaturesboosted by a once-in-a-centurystrength El Nino.C3S also said atmospheric car-

bon concentrations continuedto rise in 2019, reaching theirhighest levels on record.The United Nations said lastyear that manmade green-house gas emissions needed totumble 7.6 percent each year to2030 in order to limit tempera-ture rises to 1.5C.Current pledges by countries tocut their emissions put Earthon a path of several degreeswarming by the end of the cen-tury.The first week of 2020 has seenclimate-related disasters suchas the fires ravaging southeast-ern Australia and flooding killdozens of people in Indonesia.Scientists say such catastro-phes will become more fre-quent and more intense as tem-peratures climb.“The past five years have beenthe warmest on record; the lastdecade has been the warmeston record,” said Copernicus di-rector Jean-Noel Thepaut.“These are unquestionablyalarming signs.” Last year sawthe most pronounced warmingin Alaska and other parts of theArctic, as well as large swathesof eastern and southern Eu-rope, southern Africa, and Aus-tralia.In Europe all seasons werewarmer than average, with sev-eral countries registering bothsummer and winter tempera-ture highs. December 2019 was3.2C warmer than the 1981-2010 reference period, C3Ssaid.

2019 second hottestyear on record: EU

Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday it had movedup the launch of its video streaming service,Disney+, to March 24 in the United Kingdom

and in regions across Western Europe by a week,ahead of its earlier launch schedule of March 31.Disney+ would be available in UK and Ireland for5.99 pounds ($7.81) per month or 59.99 pounds everyyear, and in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerlandand Austria for 6.99 euros ($7.76) per month or 69.99euros annually.The streaming service is among the top players inthe crowded streaming landscape, competing withNetflix Inc, Apple Inc’s Apple TV+, and Amazon.comInc’s Prime Video in the region.Disney+ was downloaded nearly 41 million times onmobile devices since its launch in November, accord-ing to a report by research firm Sensor Tower lastweek.Netflix, which is scheduled to report its fourth-quarterearnings after markets close on Tuesday, had morethan 60 million paid subscribers at the end of Sep-

tember 2019.Disney+ is set to launch in Belgium, Portugal and theNordic regions later in summer this year, the com-pany said.Separately, Disney said on Friday its Chief ExecutiveOfficer Bob Iger’s total compensation in 2019 was$47.52 million, down from $65.65 million in 2018.(https://bit.ly/2tCW9BS)Changes in Iger’s compensation made during and af-ter 2019 were in response to feedback from investors,the entertainment company said.

Disney+ to launch in UK, WesternEurope ahead of schedule

STATEJammu Tawi Janaury 23, 2020 Thursday 5

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

Several delegations includingAhmadiyya Muslim Commu-nity Jammu, J&K CulturalFoundation, Kashmiri SamitiDelhi and a public delegationfrom Inderwal area todaycalled on Lieutenant Gover-nor, Girish Chandra Murmuhere at the Raj Bhavan andhighlighted their concerningissues and demands.The delegation of AhmadiyyaMuslim Community, Jammuled by Gohar Hafeez Fani ap-prised the Lt Governor aboutvarious activities undertakenby them to promote peace andinter-religious harmony. Themembers of the delegation also

presented a book titled "WorldCrisis and the Pathway toPeace" by Hazrat Mirza Mas-roor Ahmad, Worldwide headof Ahmadiyya Muslim Commu-nity to the Lt Governor.The delegation of J&K CulturalFoundation headed by AyashArif apprised the Lt Governorabout the issue related to theconversion of Tagore Hall intoa Cinema House.The delegation of KashmiriSamiti Delhi led by its Presi-dent Sumeer Chrungoo raisedseveral issues and demandspertaining to the welfare of themigrant Kashmiri Pandits in-cluding their rehabilitation,creation of employment for theyouth, relief and rehabilitationof the affected traders, en-

hancement of monthly cash as-sistance etc.Meanwhile, a public delegationled by Tariq Hussain Keencomprising of Sarpanches andresidents of Inderwal area alsocalled on the Lt Governor andprojected various developmen-tal issues and demands of thearea including early comple-tion of PMGSY roads, develop-ment of education sector, im-plementation of PMAY,distribution of Golden Cards tothe beneficiaries under Ayush-man Bharat etc. The Lt Gover-nor while interacting with themembers of the delegationsobserved that the present gov-ernment is putting special em-phasis for the redressal of thepublic issues to ensure goodgovernance and accountability.He assured the delegations toreview all the genuine issuesand demands put forth by themfor their early redresssal andurged them to continue work-ing towards promoting thepublic welfare.

Various delegations call on LG,highlight their issues & demands

NL CORRESPONDENTDODA, JAN 22

District Development Commissioner Doda,Dr Sagar D Doifode today convened a meet-ing of District Environment Committeemembers to review the action taken by thedifferent departments for proper implemen-tation of the plan.Threadbare discussion held regarding actiontaken on DEP across the district by differentdepartments which included solid wastemanagement, plastic waste management, bio-medical waste management, domesticsewage management and water waste man-

agement.The DDC, who is also the Chairman of DistrictEnvironment Committee, said that district en-vironment action plan aimed at improving pa-rameters of environment in the district in-cluding solid waste management, bio-medicalwaste management, construction and demoli-tion waste, polluted river stretches, industrialpollution control, utilization of treatedsewage, conservation of water bodies, e-waste management, prevention of illegal sandmining, widespread measures to curb use ofplastic/polythene, community participationand mass awareness, strengthening greenclubs, water conservation, curbing air andwater pollution and grievance redressalmechanism.DDC directed the EO MC's to collect the wastefrom the doorstep of every household in theirjurisdiction and ensure 100% segregation ofwet and dry waste in the identified wards.DDC asked the Medical Superintendent to in-vite the President MC and all EO MC's to showthem the identified dumping sites so that EO'scould issue the certification that all the wastematerial shall be dumped as per specifica-tions.ADC Doda Kishori Lal Sharma, CPODoda Parshotam Kumar, PO ICDS ShahidaParveen, CEO, CMO, MS District Hospital,CAO, Executive Officers MCs and other con-cerned were present in the meeting.

DDC reviews implementationof Distt Environmental Plan

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, JAN 22

Deputy Commissioner Srina-gar Wednesday visited theSher-e-Kashmir Cricket Sta-dium at Sonwar, the venue ofthis year's Republic Day cele-brations in the district, andtook stock of arrangementsbeing put in place there.The DC was briefed in detailabout different kinds ofarrangements being made atthe venue including those ofstage and seating, power anddrinking water, and parkingfacilities in and around thevenue for visitors.He issued specific instruc-tions to all concerned depart-ments to ensure that allarrangements are made wellin advance. He said the R&B,PDD and SMC have importantroles to play in view of theprevailing weather condi-tions and asked them to en-

sure all necessary arrange-ments are made for smoothconduct of the national func-tion.DC also instructed the con-cerned departments to en-sure thorough maintenanceof cleanliness in and aroundview and proper parking fa-cilities for all visitors. He di-rected close coordination be-tween the concerneddepartments to ensureproper communication forsmooth conduct of the func-tion.The DC also enquired aboutparticipant rehearsals andinstructed that all facilitiesincluding transportation, re-freshments and accommoda-tion be provided to the partic-ipants during the entireperiod of rehearsals.Senior officers from all con-cerned departments accom-panied the DC on the occa-sion.

R-Day: DC Sgr visitsvenue to take stockof arrangements

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, JAN 22

The Film and Television Insti-tute of India (FTII) and Satya-jit Ray Film and Television In-stitute (SRFTI), incoordination with J&K Acad-emy of Art Culture and Lan-guages (JKAACL) have madespecial arrangements for thestudents from Kashmir whocould not apply due to non-availability of internet inmany areas of the region.It may be mentioned herethat the process of applyingfor FTII and SRFTI's Joint En-

trance Test 2020 (JET 2020) isfully online and consideringthat internet services arestill not fully operational inKashmir, candidates fromthis region of the Union Terri-tory have so far not been ableto participate in the process.However now, in a unique ini-tiative, FTII and SRFTI, in co-ordination with J&K Acad-emy of Art Culture andLanguages have made it pos-sible for the candidates ordi-narily residing in the Kash-mir region of UT of J&K toapply for JET2020 by fillingthe application and deposit-

ing the fee offline.In this regard, hard copies ofapplication forms will bemade available at the officeof J&K Academy of Art, Cul-ture and Languages(JKAACL), Lalmandi, Srina-gar from January 24th on-wards in a way that providesabout a week's window forthe candidates to fill the Ap-plication Form and depositthe same along with the De-mand Draft of the requisitefee at JKAACL's Lal Mandi of-fice during working hours, onor before the last date, 31stJanuary 2020.

FTII, SRFTI Joint Entrance Test-2020Offline applications available at JKAACL, last date extended to Jan 31

NL CORRESPONDENTRAJOURI, JAN 22

District Level Centre forWomen organises AwarenessRally under a week long BetiBachao Beti Padhao campaignat District Headquarter Ra-jouri.ADC, Sher Singh flagged offthe rally in presence of DeputyDirector Planning Bilal RashidMir, Chief of NYC Rajouri,Women Welfare Officer AnumMirza, Sanjana Thakur (Dist.Co-ordinator of MSK), Nazma

Sheikh (Dist. Co-ordinator ofMSK) and various teachersfrom different schools.Around 700 students both girlsand boys participated in therally.The ADC said that the objec-tive of organising such ralliesis to make people aware aboutthe importance of girl child inthe society besides bringingabout an attitudinal changeamong the people about thegirl child.Deputy Director Planningstressed upon the need to un-

derstand the role of parentsand teachers in ensuring thatthe girl gets proper upbring-ing, education and all facilitiesfor their overall developmentand emancipation.Women Welfare Officer DLCW,Anum Mirza exhorted uponthe people to take optimumbenefit of schemes envisagingempowerment of girls for aflourished and prosperous so-ciety.Later, MSK organizedoath ceremony at HimalayanDegree College Thandikassiunder BBBP campaign.

DLCW organizes awarenessrally under BBBP campaign

DDO powers sanction forISM/Ayush deptt in Kishtwar

NL CORRESPONDENTKISHTWAR, JAN 22Nodal Officer ISM Dr Tariq Hussain today sanctioned DDOpower for ISM and Ayush Department in the first introductorymeeting held at Mini Secretariat New DC Office Complex.Nodal Officer instructed the medical officers and in charge ofISM dispensaries to recognize local medicinal plants and sub-mit report in this office along with photographs, local name,botanical name and their uses.He also asked the officer and staff members to remain punc-tual in duties. He further directed the incharge of dispensariesto lift medicine from District ISM Store to their concerned ISMcentres of the periphery for smooth functioning of Dispen-saries. He also said that awareness camps regarding AYUSHshould be organized every month for the benefits of the gen-eral public in particular.

Accounts Associationcondoles demise of AAO

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22Accounts Association of Civil Secretariat, Jammu has ex-pressed profound grief over the demise of their colleague, Hi-lal Ahmad.The Accounts Association has expressed solidarity with thebereaved family and prayed for the peace to the departedsoul. Hilal Ahmad was serving as Assistant Accounts Officerin the department. President, Accounts Association, Niyaz Qadri prayed for for-bearance to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.

TIC organizesmultilingual MushairaNL CORRESPONDENTKATHUA, JAN 22Tehsil Information Centre Basohli organized a multilingualMushaira on "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao" theme in the premisesof Government Higher Secondary School Basohli.Principal Government Modern Higher Secondary School DrRaman Shastri was the chief guest on the occasion. Prominentcitizens, students and members of print and electronic mediaamong others were also present on the occasion.Arrays of local poets and writers through their write-ups un-derscored the importance of female and their role in main-taining the natural balance of human race.While speaking on the occasion, the Principal appreciated theefforts of Information Department in preserving and promot-ing the cultural heritage of the area. He said that the poeticcompositions leave lasting impressions on the human mind.Prominent among the poets who recited their writings in-cluded Dr Sapna Devi, Dr Bhushan Shastri, Dr RamanSharma, Ashraf Mattoo, Major Singh and Ashish.

NYKS organizesyouth convention

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, JAN 22Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) Jammu today organ-ized a block level youth convention at Muthi Maira in Jourianarea of Akhnoor.The convention was organized in collaboration with AkhilSingh Youth Club, Block Bhalwal Brahmna. The chief guest ofthe function was Sarpanch of Muthi Maira, Priya Sharma, whodistributed sports kits among some sports clubs of Volleyball,Badminton and Carromboard.The chief guest, in her speech made the youth of aware aboutthe menace of drug abuse, its side effects besides importanceof sports in leading a healthy and prosperous life.The lectures were also delivered on "how to open the youthclubs and what are the merits of these clubs" by other guestsincluding NYKS officials and panchs of the area.Also present on the occasion were Ashok Kumar, Dalip Kumar,Rajan Vaid, Veena Devi and Sahil Singh.

NL CORRESPONDENTREASI, JAN 22

District Development Com-missioner Indu Kanwal Chibflagged off a group of 40 farm-ers hailed from differentblocks of the district on a 3-day tour within the UT for up-dating their knowledge on dif-ferent aspects of modernagriculture methods.Chief Agriculture Officer, SDAOReasi, Deputy Project Coordi-nator ATMA, Incharge STLReasi, AEOs and other officialsfrom Agriculture Departmentwere present on the occasion.

The DDC asked the farmers toavail benefit from the opportu-nity and learn in taking farmingas an enterprise in order to en-sure profitability from agricul-

ture. She informed the farmersthat the Agriculture Depart-ment in association with theDistrict Administration is tak-ing lemon grass cultivation on

a commercial scale and en-couraging farmers affected bymonkey-menace to take up thenew crop.She also informed them that oilextractor for lemon grass is be-ing installed at Panthal nearKatra to help farmers in extrac-tion of oil from lemon grassgrown in the district thus sav-ing their money, time and en-ergy.Chief Agriculture Officer Reasi,S Iqbal Singh advised farmersto adopt mushroom cultivationas alternate to traditional farm-ing to be profitable with sup-port from the department.

DDC flags off farmers on 3-day tour

NL CORRESPONDENTRAJOURI, JAN 22

Jammu and Kashmir Policealong with Civil administrationand other security forces onWednesday paid rich tributesto the martyr Special Police Of-ficer who laid down his lifewhile fighting militants inAwantipora area of Kashmir onTuesday.SPO Shahbaz Ahmed was apart of police team taking partin a Counter Insurgency opera-tion in Awantipora when he re-ceived bullet injuries and latersuccumbed. The body of themartyr was on Wednesdaymorning airlifted from Srinagarto Jammu and then to Man-jakote where senior officers re-

ceived the bodyat a helipad inManjakote fromwhere it wastaken to mar-tyr's native vil-lage Hayatpura.A wreath layingceremony wasorganised atHayatpura vil-lage where sen-ior officers ofJammu andKashmir police,civil administra-tion and army

took part while thousands of lo-cals attended the last rites.As per devised procedure, trib-utes were paid to the martyrcop who was later buried in an-cestral graveyard. Jammu andKashmir police will rememberthe martyr who laid down hislife for the motherland and setan example of bravery.Six months ago, the martyr hadvolunteered for serving inKashmir and was posted in val-ley from last around sixmonths. Senior police officerspresent on the spot assured thefamily members of martyr thatevery jawan and officer of po-lice family is stands with themin this out of grief and shall pro-vide all assistance to the familyin the future also.

Tributes paid to martyr SPOin Hayatpura Manjakote

NL CORRESPONDENTPOONCH, JAN 22

Deputy Commissioner PoonchRahul Yadav today providedcash relief to the victims ofcross border shelling duringceasefire violations by pakin-stan.

The DChanded overthe cash re-lief of Rs 5lakh to nextto the kin oflate ShamimAkhter (28)w/o Mo-hammad

Maqsood resident of Noona-bandi. The cash relief was alsogiven to Fatam Jaan (30) w/oMohammad Qasam resident ofShahpur for permanent dis-ability. ADC, ASP and other offi-cers of the concerned depart-ments were also present on theoccasion.

DC provides cashrelief to bordershelling victims

NL CORRESPONDENTDODA, JAN 22

District Development Com-missioner Doda Dr Sagar DDoifode today convened ameeting to review the arrange-ments for the celebration of10th National Voters Day.It was decided in the meetingthat district level function willbe held at Town Hall Doda on25 January 2020, meanwhilesimilar function will also heldat ARO level and at every SubDivision level under the theme"Electoral Literacy for StrongDemocracy". It was also de-cided in the meeting thatawareness stall of EVM-VVPATshall be put on display at thedesignated venue and Nodal of-ficer EVM-VVPAT shall give live

demonstration tothe voter's espe-cially to the newones.DDC, who is alsothe District Elec-tion Officer, di-

rected the CEO Doda and Prin-cipal GDC's to establishElectoral Literacy Clubs in allthe educational institutionsand they shall conduct all theactivities mention in the handbook of Chunav Patshalla tomake them valiant and radiant,besides to ensure participationof all to celebrate National Vot-ers Day in their respective ju-risdictions as per guidelines.He also said that special focuswill be given on PWD Votersand new voters who have at-tained 18 years of age recently.Among others ADC Doda,Deputy DEO, ACR, PrincipalGDC Doda, DPO, Tehsildar's,DSWO Doda, CEO, PO IWMP,and District Officer Youth Ser-vice Sports were also presentin the meeting.

Arrangements of NVDcelebrations reviewed

NL CORRESPONDENTKISHTWAR, JAN 22

A painting competition was heldunder Beti Bachao Beti Padhaoat Bal Ashram Kishtwar inwhich 40 students of differentage group participated.Assistant Director Employment,

DE&CC Kisht-war, Anoop Ku-mar along withDistrict SocialWelfare Officer,Tariq Qazi andSuperintendentBal Ashram Ra-jesh Sharma

were present during the func-tion.Nodal Officer BBBP Kishtwar in-formed that as a part of weeklongcelebrations of BBBP in districtKishtwar, a detailed schedule forthe next four days has been pre-pared for awareness generationunder the scheme.

Painting competition under BBBP held

6 OpiniOnJammu Tawi | Jan 23, 2020 | Thursday

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the northlines

nadda to captain BJp’s ship

Omkar DaTTaTray

Gagat Prakesh Nadda the BJP veteran and one of the orga-nizational strong head have

finally been assigned the mantle of the president - ship of BJP for piloting the organizational Rath of the party. As the BJP is committed to one post to one man and in furtherance of this principle the party has decided to elect Nadda as the 11th party presi-dent in an impressive and glittering function at the party headquarter at New Delhi. The function of electing Nadda as the president of the big-gest Political party of the world was attended by the Margadarshaks L.K Advani and M.M Joshi. Nadda has the organizational acumen and he will lead the party to new heights like his predecessors. The outgoing head of the party has lavished all praise on J.P Nadda and hoped the new president will prove his mettle and lead the party in right direction. Amit Shah wished all successes to the Nadda in leading the party. The rise of J.P Nadda from a humble beginning to the top post in the orga-nizational ladder is no mean develop-ment for the party and the election of Nadda is a testimony to the party’s stand of not electing dynastic leaders to head the top organizational post as BJP believes and also practices the principle of having no dynastic democracy like the grand old party congress. All the previous presidents of the party and the PM as well as the CMS and the state heads of the party have no family backgrounds and had no family connection and all of them where men of down to earth mettle. PM Modi also praised Nadda for his organizational skills .He remembered his old association with the new president of the party and wished all success to him, PM said in his address how J.P Nadda managed the youth wing of the BJP sucess-fully.PM Said that though Nadda belongs to Himachal Pradesh but he was associated with Bihar and had his education in Bihar and he is the alumni of Patna university. In fact he entered the field of politics from his student life and was entrusted with the mantle of leading and organiz-ing the BJVM in those good old days and hoped that the new president will come up to the expectations of the party rank and file. He will lead the party and face the challenges of the party in the present time and

come victorious .It is not that easy to manage the organizational affairs of the party being the biggest party having huge membership and fol-lowing. But Nadda is credited with the organizational skills and he will take the party to new heights in the coming days .He is supposed to lay stress on organizing the party and also to help in the development of the party workers so that the party will work in unison and march with great speed and discipline .The new presi-dent of the party should remember that the party in the past was lead by the great men and vetarns like Advani and Joshi and he should work on the footprints of these big leaders who had lead the party in the past .The election of Nadda reinforces the fact that the party is committed to the elevation of the party men irre-spective of their family background.BJP is a party with a difference and it should not degenerate itself into a party with differences and keeping it as a different party is the litmus test for the new president. There is inner party democracy in BJP and this also differentiates BJP from other parties .Moreover it is a cadre based and a disciplined political party and stands tallest in this respect and the newly anointed president will further develop and strengthen the party dis-cipline and give further boost to the inner party democracy. .All the eyes of the party men are set on the new president and he will be seen as to how he will lead and pilot the ship of the BJP at a time when the parties and forces opposed to the thought and philosophy of the party are mislead-ing the people over the big and bold decisions of the BJP government. In such an atmosphere he has to lead the party safely and defeat the forces that are spreading the rumors and lies to dislodge the BJP government and his is a challenging task. J.P Nadda in his first remark after been elected unanimously as the party president set the target of winning power in the states where his party has not registered electoral successes. PM in his address after Nadda was elected as the party president said that the opposition is spreading confusion and lies after being rejected by the public. Any way the new captain of BJP will lead the party in the right direction.

(The wriTer is a reTired educaTion officer

and columnisT)

Loss of face: PM Modi must assert credibility of his government

arun SrivaSTava

Suddenly an innocuous question has started making rounds in the political circles of Bihar, which has been causing consterna-

tion in the BJP circle. The question is: who is run-ning the BJP government? Is it Narendra Modi or Amit Shah?

While a section of the BJP leaders outright rejects this, describing it as simply a rumour, some leaders find reasons for it. Their argument is that without fire inside there should not be smoke. The argument finds strength from the style of function-ing of Shah and his sustained emphasis that CAA, NRC and NPR would be implemented and no force on earth could stop it.

Though Modi has been systematically castigat-ing his opponents, Shah has been more aggressive and unsparing. These leaders even confide that Modi desires to dilute the legal provisions of these rules, but Shah is not at all willing to concede any ground.

It is in the backdrop of this development that Modi-Shah intend to have a detailed discussion with the RSS leadership. Some top BJP leaders keeping away from the exercise or showing luke-warm response has been a matter of concern.

In fact, women actively participating in the movement and resorting to satyagraha across the country has unnerved Modi as well some national leaders. There is a lurking fear that the way politi-cal developments are taking shape even a section of bureaucracy may adopt a passive attitude. Initially the police in Uttar Pradesh was quite responsive to political directives, but they too in recent days have developed a passive attitude after women turned the vanguard of the protest.

With protesting taking a pan India character, it is interesting to note that the allies of the Modi government have started deserting the BJP. With a brute majority in Lok Sabha, the BJP may not be bothered by their dissent but it would certainly erode the base of public confidence in the Modi government. Two strong BJP allies, the Shiro-mani Akali Dal (SAD) and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), have already strongly opposed the government’s design to thrust the citi-zen matrix. While Akali Dal refused to contest the Delhi assembly election in alliance as a protest, they have now voiced openly the demand to roll back the proposal, much to the dislike of Modi-Shah combination.

Had they been fully subscribing to Modi’s accu-sation about the protest movement against the CAA and NRC, then they should have appreciated him slamming the opposition for “spreading lies” and his allegation against media for being biased. SAD has deplored the Modi government for its machina-

tion to force the citizens to stand in queues to prove their citizenship.

The BJP has lost its most important ally, Shiv Sena. Another ally, Nitish Kumar, has refused to follow its line on CAA and NRC. Their distancing from Modi’s action makes it explicit that Sikhs and Biharis are not willing to toe his line. Their stand would invariably impact the Delhi polls. Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa is already on record: “Our leader Sukhbir Singh Badal has always maintained that all religions should be included in the CAA and that Muslims should not be left out. During our meeting with the BJP, we were asked to reconsider our stand on the CAA but we declined to do so. The Shiromani Akali Dal is of the firm stand that Muslims cannot be left out of the CAA”.

In a significant statement, Paswan quipped: “The government thinks it has the majority, so it can do whatever it wants. They can bring any law.” He criticised the insertion of new queries in the NPR and the manner in which the government was dealing with the student protests. He also raised the issue of date of birth. He said large number of the people do not have any record of their birth and it was beyond the power of any political party to take away the citizenship of people belonging to any religion.

Police forcefully taking away water bottles,

biscuits and blankets has been met with severe criticism from this section of the BJP leaders. They allege these brutal actions of police would erode the party base in UP and for this Yogi must be held responsible. Yogi’s goons sneaking into protest camps with the aim to give it a bad name is also being criticised.

The worst incident that has to happen with Amit Shah is the denial of his own ministry that no ‘tukde-tukde’ gang ever existed in the country. Gokhale had filed the RTI application after Shah told a rally in Delhi that the “tukde-tukde gang” needed to be taught a lesson. Gokhale has also sought to know whether the ministry had drawn up a list of the leaders and members of this “gang”, and under which penal provisions action was being planned against them. For the last four years Shah has been systematically harping on the phrase. But ultimately this has proved to be a smear campaign against Leftist student leaders, specially Kanhaiya Kumar by Shah. Unfortunately for Shah it came out in one crisp and simple reply for all the queries: it had no information concerning the “tukde-tukde gang”.

This is the most ridiculous development. How could the Union Home Minister speak such blatant lies? He made the imaginary tukde-tukde gang the biggest threat to India and its democracy.

The wriTer is a freelance journalisT.

Understanding IIM ROHTAK Entrance 2020

ankiT kapOOr

Being a stream neutral option, Management as a career is very

much trending luring and rewarding and over the years it has gained huge popularity. DU-JAT, Symbi-osis, NPAT, Narsee Monjee, Mumbai, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha Uni-versity, Christ University and the prestigious IPMAT at IIM Rohtak are the most sought after Management Entrance exams.

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore and Rohtak conduct its national aptitude test once every year and over 20,000 students appear annually. The aptitude test facilitates admission to their 5 year integrated program in man-agement. The admission process consists of the IPM Aptitude test, on clearing the cut-off for which, students proceed for the next round, Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI).

IIM Rohtak has started a Five-Year Integrated Pro-gram in Management (IPM) for students after class 12th. The program is a unique blend of theories and prac-tical aspects. The students who wish to pursue a career in management; provide a solid platform and a thresh-old to enter the professional world. The Five-year inte-grated program aims at shaping the outstanding young energetic students to managerial and leadership roles. With the introduction of this course at IIM Rohtak, the students are getting a chance to study at a premier academic institution and gain knowledge from the pioneers of education.

How to Ace IPM – IIM Rohtak?

It is always important and advisable to plan in advance about what you are aiming for. The first step is to know the structure of the exam for which you want to prepare.

Track the exam trend - IIM-IPM 2017 had two sec-tions Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal Ability. The cut-offs for that year was

around 215-220. Whereas, the exam pattern in 2018 saw a remarkable change with fur-ther division of the Quanti-tative aptitude section into subjective (20 questions) and MCQ (40 Questions).

The exam in 2019 was no different with expected dif-ficulty level ranging from moderate to difficult. With regular practice one was able to perform and clear the cut-offs and emerge vic-toriously. The key to success this year was time manage-ment and speed. Another change of 2019 was that IIM Rohtak also started a 5-year integrated program in man-agement.

Preparing the right way

The preparation for any exam demands a lot of per-severance and dedication. It requires that a student should understand the pat-tern of the paper. Following the below mentioned tips would highly benefit all the students aiming for IPMAT 2020

Do the Basics and calcula-tions - It is very important to cover the basic concepts of Math and Verbal Ability. This will help you under-stand the questions well. Also, one should pay atten-tion to higher mathematics, as questions based on it are also asked in the exam. A student should work on his/her calculations. It is impor-tant to work on learning to do calculations mentally as it will help you save time.

Time Management - Regu-larity is the key to success for IPMAT, 2020. The most important thing you need to keep in mind when it comes to time management is that, unless you are exception-ally gifted and intelligent, you will most probably not be able to attempt all the questions in the test. This is perfectly fine. In fact, some-times this desire can land students in trouble because your accuracy level can fall down drastically under timing pressure. The test has negative marking, and this can adversely affect your overall score.

SWOT Analysis - It is

advisable not to spend too much time on any question. There are many questions that are there which can be easier compared to the one you are solving. Selection of which questions to attempt and which to skip is very important, and it makes sure that you are in control of the test at all times. It’s absolutely fine if you are not able to solve one ques-tion. Move ahead and try to solve other questions in the paper. This can only happen if you are regular and iden-tify your strengths and weaknesses. You should be regular in your preparation, and should not wait for the last moment. It is of utmost importance to be regular with Math, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.

Practice as many prob-lems - As an aspirant for IPM-IIM Rohtak entrance exam your target should be to attempt around 45-48 ques-tions in Maths and around 30- 32 questions in English, both with a 90% accuracy. If you can attempt more, by all means, do so, but this should be the target for an average student. The only way to achieve accuracy is to PRAC-TICE. When you practice, one thing you must try to do is identify the question types within each section that you are good at, and those that you are not so good at. This will help you save time on the actual exam.

Mock Tests - The more you practice and the more you work on strengthening the basic concepts it will help you enhance your score. Although, you can and you should always modify strat-egies based on your perfor-mance in the Mock Tests. The faculty at PRATHAM has diligently made the Mocks for the IPMAT-IIM exam that will get the real-time experi-ence of taking the paper. It is of utmost importance to be regular in taking these mocks tests and to analyze them thor-oughly. If one is completing this process diligently then it becomes easier for you to clear the paper with ease.

The auThor owns a coaching

insTiTuTe.

In Search for Reforms in Defence AcquisitionprOf (Dr) Sn miSra

Defence is a strategic compo-nent of Sovereign India and the Services have the oner-

ous responsibility to discharge this ‘integrity’ mandate. The expendi-ture, that the country commits, though not in the ‘charged’ cate-gory, is nevertheless a holy cow in Parliamentary debates. It roughly accounts for 2% of India’s GDP and 15% of CGE (2019-2020). However, if we include the pension budget and expenditure by the Border Roads organisation, the defence com-ponent swells to around 2.5% of GDP. Several Parliamentary Com-mittees have recommended that GDP allocation to defence should increase to 3% and 10% of defence expenditure be earmarked to R&D, as against 6% presently done.

India has the dubious distinc-tion of having a very low Self Reliance Index (SRI) (Kalam Com-mittee 1993) of 0.3, which has not moved much, despite several public posturing to upscale our Make-in-India component, improve value addition and bolster our military industry capability. In the critical subsystems levels like weapons, sensors and propulsion, the import dependence is as high as 90%. India is also the second largest importer of conventional arms as per SIPRI (2019). Defence procurement and acquisition, which represent the revenue and capital face of defence expenditure, have always been mired in controversy and allega-tion of undercover agents stealth-ily exerting ‘under influence’ over powers that be to clinch contract are endemic.

The unholy beginning of these scandals started with purchase of second hand jeeps from Czech Republic; thanks to the dubious role being played by Mr. Krishna Menon, the blue eyed Indian envoy of Nehru at UK. On inspection, they were found to be defective; incur-ring a loss of Rs.16 lakh in 1951. While Krishna Menon’s personal honesty in the deal seemed to be above suspicions, the dubious role played by a defence agent still dogs defence purchases thereafter. The mother of the defence scandals, however, has been the 155mm Howitzer contract with M/s. Bofors AB (1985), where the dubious role of agents was highlighted by the Swedish Audit Board in 1986.

In the year 1987, the submarine contract with the German firm M/s. HDW, came in for similar dia-tribe, with allegation of payment of 7% agency commission to bag this contract. The German firm was

initially found to be technically non compliant. The Congress gov-ernment under Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had to pay a very substantial price politically, due to these swirling corruption charges. Much later M/s. Denel, South Africa was blacklisted (2005) due to allega-tion of under influence in conclu-sion of Anti Material Rifles. In the Rafale deal also while there is no allegation of ‘agency’ involve-ment, the aircraft deal has been mired in several unanswered question, despite a clean chit given by India’s Supreme Court.

Defence procurement and acquisition have been now been put through a transparent pro-cesses and procedure; thanks to the Kargil engagement, where the CAG’s special audit report brought out several procedural and financial deviation. While the aluminium coffin scandal took the centre stage, mainly to settle polit-ical score with George Fernandes, the report clearly highlighted how most of the stores arrived after the conflict was over and how the price differential given for Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJs), were way above prescribed price differen-tial. The Tehelka sting operations (2001) brought out the widespread acceptance of bribes by politi-cians and defence personnel in fake defence deals.

The DPM (2005) and DPPC (2006) have been definitive steps to usher in transparency in pro-cesses, pre-evaluation and award criteria. They have assuaged the discomfort of dealing with arbi-trary defence officials, taking blatantly arbitrary decision. The Defence Ministry has now appointed a committee under the DG (Acquisition) to strengthen the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative. The panel is expected to suggest measures how to ensure seamless flow from asset acquisition to life cycle costing. It aims at facilitat-ing greater participation of indig-enous industries and develop a robust defence industrial base in the country. It also looks at promoting Indian start ups and boosting R&D footprint of Indian industry.

It may be recalled that in regard to asset acquisition, the acquisition wing has been follow-ing a system where cost of equip-ment and spares requirement are factored in for evaluation of L1. In the MMRCA contract, however, the MoD for the first time intro-duced the concept of life cycle cost to evaluate L1, which includes life time requirement of labour cost,

fuel and spares along with cost of main equipment. Sadly, this Buy and Make contract was cancelled to get into a Buy contract; there by losing a grand opportunity to bolster Make-in-India initiative. The MoD should opt for life cycle costing for its weapon systems and platforms in future. It’s a most welcome agenda; as it is practiced by all developed countries.

As regards, greater involve-ment of the private sector, the SP (Strategic Partnership) model suggested by Dhirendra Singh Committee (2015) continues to be still born. Like its preceding committee headed by Prabir Sen-gupta suggesting a “RUR” model, the criteria suggested by the DS Committee needs a relook and the private sector must be taken as board regarding its fairness and objectivity.

The MSME sector has been given many incentives in the nature of tax cuts, credit support through Mudra Bank and benefit of 2.0 multiplier in case of offset contracts. The offset provisions have attracted very little by way of FDI and technology transfer. The OEMs and design houses do not consider India as a welcome destination for investment in defence products as the FDI limit is 49%. The government is more often than not, partial to Defence PSUs. Such mindsets would need to be changed.

The Make procedure contains a provision that 80% funding can be made for developing a product in the ‘Make’ category by the private players. But the Make procedure is so cumbersome, that it has not taken off at all. The Defence Pro-duction Policy (2014) envisaged that R&D funding should be made to universities, private sector for designing and developing strate-gic products. This is yet to be acti-vated. R&D remains the preroga-tive of the DRDO and it languishes badly in critical subsystems like propulsion, weapons and services. When Dr. Kalam was the SA to RM, there was vibrant participa-tion with universities and other research organisations. Many project were getting funded in these organisation, with a view to bolstering DRDO’s footprint in indigenous research. There seems to be a limbo in this R&D synergy between DRDO and the private players.

Sadly the government has shelved a major design and devel-opment project for developing a ‘fifth generation stealth aircraft’ with the Russian. This would

have given excellent opportu-nity to our design engineers to absorb state of art technology from the Russians. The experi-ence of DRDO scientists in design and development with Israelis of MR-SAM project is an excellent template to emulate. Even the JV for BrahMos for developing cruise missiles is an edifying example to replicate. We seem to paying lip service to having JV and PPP in defence production. The public sector monopoly including DRDO remains unabated.

Mr. Rajnath Singh should also look into the excellent report given by Mr. Subramanian (1964) after the Chinese debacle where they flagged the need to collabo-rate with best design houses to develop a gas turbine engine. Instead the government chose to do it alone at GTRE. The failure of the Kaveri engine and the con-tinuing dependence on the Ameri-cans for powering LCA through a GE engine is an excellent example of our lack of foresight to imple-ment sensible suggestions. The Rama Rao committee (2011) had suggested that the design houses must work under the production agencies. They were reflecting on the endemic delay that has taken place in projects like LCA and MBT. Accountability of an organisation can never happen if design and production do not work in tandem.

In Russia, the success of their fighter aircraft program (SU-30) is largely a by product of the synergy between design house and production centre. It’s high time that the government takes decision to make structural change and evolve organisa-tion like DGA (France), where research, production and post production support is handled by one agency. The Sisodia Com-mittee had strongly recommend-ed similar set up as in France for India.

One hopes that the present committee does not go the way, the earlier committee have gone. The Make-in-India initiative, improving India’s capability in strategic subsystems require a systemic and structural over-haul of MoD. Procedures should not be shenanigan for delay and lack of accountability. India has done well by appointing a CDS, as a single point military advi-sor. It has to go beyond tokenism to make fundamental changes to bolster India’s military industry capability and improve SRI in criti-cal subsystems.

7Op-EdJammu Tawi | Jan 23, 2020 | Thursday

e d i t o r i a lWhen I went back home to Kashmir as a KP 14 years after exodus

Prerna Koul Mishra

My first visit to Kashmir after a 14-year hiatus was in 2004. I landed at

the Srinagar airport with my parents, husband and our five-year-old son in tow. Despite the pretence of absolute calm on the outside, my emotions were running amok. In my head, I was questioning my decision. Had I gambled with their safety in bringing them here? But the questions were too meek to dilute my resolve to reconnect with my roots. I was possessed.

Today when I look back, I realise that we all have our own way of dealing with loss and injustice. Mine probably was to snatch the power back from the situation and not allow his-tory to take control over where I belonged. This was home and I wanted to step right back in. I had no intention of allowing my parents to die with the unmet desire to revisit Kashmir. It was a choice I made, never to regret.

Experiences may take a more sorted and rational hue when viewed through the prism of years. But at that point in time, it was an adventure fraught with a lot of risks. All precaution had to be taken as the air was full of mistrust. I had no clue how strong an enemy line would have taken shape in 18 years. We had heard soul-stirring and barbaric stories back in the 90s.

The first manifestation of dis-comfort struck at the Delhi air-port, when the deghur (the orna-ment worn in the ear by mar-ried Kashmiri Pandit women) dangling from my mom's ears, caught my attention. It would be a bad idea to wear our identities on our sleeves. I requested her to go to the ladies' room and take it off. She understood. The deal was, till the time we had tested the waters, we had to masquer-ade around as just another group of tourists (not that there were too many flocking the Valley at that time). After we deplaned, as if as an orchestrated move, my parents and I stopped for a few seconds to inhale hard. In one’s homeland, the air anyway has a therapeutic value, and to top it all, this was Kashmir. We walked to the arrival lounge, giving way to silent tears. My son clung to me sensing that all cannot be well when adults are caught sniffing. That shook us out of the emotive zone and we braced for further impact. There

was a pregnant silence in the car as we drove towards our hotel at Gupkar Road.

The driver was a local and, in all probability, had recognised that we were Kashmiris too, but after observing our disposition, he gave us space and continued to speak in Hindi. The roads were flanked by armoured vehi-cles and the forces were standing guard every few meters. All that cemented the feeling of our being in a conflict zone.

The first day was spent in just taking in the air, talking to the hotel staff, exchanging notes with random gardeners and cleaners. The hotel staff could not get enough of us since we were the only guests, barring the chief engineer working on a government bridge project who had parked himself there for multiple months. The GM and the F&B manager spent long hours updating us on the developments and the emerg-ing local influencers. The con-versations and insights were a journalist’s delight. And to an extent, the place was El Dorado for my son as he would trot into the kitchen with friendly bhai-yyas and return with unending packets of joy food. Outside, how-ever, things were a bit tense. We ventured out for a shikara ride on the Dal Lake and interest-ingly, the boatman had to get his guests logged in at the Kabutar Khana for accountability pur-poses. Such was the trust deficit.

Gradually, we kept the dis-guise of outsiders and started visiting places that my parents wanted to see again — Kheer Bhawani, Shankaracharya Temple, Zeashta Devi, Hari Parbat, Lal Chowk and more. For me, it was a pilgrimage because I knew it would help them sleep better. We ventured out for a Shikara ride in the Dal Lake and the boatman had to get his guests logged in at the Kabutar Khana for accountability pur-poses. (Photo: Vitasta Mishra)

Giving in to a lot of encour-agement from the hotel staff, we ventured out of the city to drive down to Gulmarg. As usual, the facade of being outsiders was being maintained. It was then that my five-year-old, who was loving every bit of the atten-tion he was getting, decided to exhibit the most latent talents that rarely surfaced even in Delhi. He broke into, “Amat bhai kamtyo, khatuk ba zange” — the only Kashmiri rhyme he knew,

and crooned it out, full-throated. That was a moment in history. It broke walls and was probably our initiation back into who we really were — Kashmiris. Smiles were exchanged with the driver and the ice was broken, even though nobody said a word.

As we stopped for a tea break, my father spoke to the driver and we caught them hugging each other. He was an old-timer and seemed to have recognised my father in the first instance as the latter had been a thriving businessman and a highly social being, frequenting the hotel with guests. But the driver had respected our space and hadn't broached the topic.

Post this, nostalgia struck with a vengeance and my father was like an unbridled toddler. The next few days were spent going to our ancestral house, the Ishber Ashram in Nishat where my parents had stud-ied Shaivism under Swami Lakhman Joo, Little Sons in Amira Kadal where my father had grown from an accountant, as a student, to becoming a busi-ness partner. We visited all the eateries that my parents had fre-quented right from their court-ship days. We found the baker whose pastries and softies could account for a larger part of the bulge in my belly and the round-ness of my cheeks. We even went to scout for the tailor who would create bespoke magic for my much-fashionable parents. The trip was a journey back in time.

The success of that one trip led to a series of trips, including the ones when I was expecting my second baby. I wanted to ini-tiate the baby into Kashmir even before birth.

Our pursuits were getting pretty expensive so we had to make a decision. Was it time to refurbish the house that we could call home? We finally renovated an old house to make it habitable. Given the long absence from the scene, it was a tall task to try and put it back together, especially given the "administrative terrorism" in Kashmir. Digging into the paperwork, getting the relevant permissions — it was not some-thing that an average mind is trained to do. But by then, we had made many Muslim friends whose kick, I presume, came from the pride of helping a Kash-miri Pandit family rediscover their roots.

The journey introduced me

to some of the most wonderful humans like Yaseen Tuman, Latif sahib and Nazir Punjabi. They made sure the house got transformed into a home that I can today visit, as and when I please. They stood by me like a rock.

I returned recently, after a fortnight in Srinagar, right in the middle of the Challi Kalan (the 40 days of extreme chill). My daughter accompanied me and I can say that we are natives once again because we survived both the chill and the lack of con-nectivity with great aplomb and dignity.

And while we were at it, we met many other youngsters like my daughter, as we walked up and down the streets of Srinagar. One can safely say that experi-ence is a great unifying bond. We saw in their eyes, the hunger for achievement and the need to belong to the larger world. For instance, on the last day of our stay this time, we were at an eatery, enjoying a quiet lunch when this girl sitting at the next table joined the number that my daughter was humming under her breath. The beauti-

ful Highland lass, almost my daughter's age, adorning a hijab that only highlighted her perfect features and deep brown eyes, sang along, word to word. They seemed to have discovered each other through Rachel Platten's Fight Song, crossing the chasm of reality and perceptions that could have done them apart. The almost infrasonic jamming stopped and they exchanged million-dollar smiles and got busy eating. I tucked away that moment as one of the most beau-tiful ones from our trip to Kash-mir this time.

It also dawned upon me that irrespective of how others would like to make it look for us, the Hindu and Muslim Kashmiri can never be told apart. We are a creed of beautiful and bright people. Our trust was belied by the Hindu Maharajas and poli-ticians as much as it is being abused by the Islamic radicals. But now is the time, political masters and religious leaders must back off and give us our space.

We are and wish to be remem-bered as those born in the land of Sufis and Pirs. Period.

Youth disillusionment with Modi-2 has been rapid and deep

sheKhar GuPTa

'The economy is in a free fall.'

'And it's been declin-ing for so long, so consistently, that the promise of growth and better days now looks a fantasy.'

'A mid-1970s kind of pessi-mism, even hopelessness, is growing among the young.'

'This isn't what Mr Modi promised them.'

'Their aspirations and needs are clear and present, and not being fulfilled,' notes Shekhar Gupta.

A protest on the outskirts of Mumbai, January 9, 2020 against attacks on students at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Competitive sport follows the system of leagues -- upper, middle, lower, senior and junior and so on.

A contestant's stature deter-mines the league in which she plays.

One who stoops down to play at a much lower level, or fight with the 'bachchas' (juniors), diminishes her/his own stature.

We are applying this test to our politics, specifically to the way the BJP government is han-dling student protests.

A simpler way of under-standing this is how our great old wrestler-actor Dara Singh handled any new challenger.

He asked him to fight his brother Randhawa first, beat him, and earn the right to fight the champ.

I asked him why, and he said every "Lallu Panju" (Tom, Dick and Harry) wants to be able to boast he wrestled with Dara Singh.

Why should I lower my own standing to please them?

Back to the game of hard poli-tics.

For a month now, that is pre-

cisely what this almighty BJP government is doing: Senior, powerful men and women fight-ing with children.

They've seen fires lit in cam-puses across the country in response to their policies.

Their response -- especially where the BJP has been in power -- has been consistent.

Bring down the full force of State power, internet and tele-com restrictions, and, at least in one case, Uttar Pradesh, collec-tive fines.

If a government elected with such an enormous popular vote finds it worth its while to fight its students rather than reason or listen to them, three things follow:

First, a tyrant versus the underdog story builds up.

Second, it generates pictures that gravely damage Brand India globally.

And you can't stop any of this from 'getting out'.

Third, and the most sig-nificant, it inevitably creates a 'children versus uncle/aunty mood' among the youth. Let me elaborate.

Every exit and opinion poll in 2014 and 2019 showed us that the young of India -- all of the mil-lennials but especially first-time voters -- backed Narendra Damo-dardas Modi with passion.

I have in my archives a string of short conversations with young people while travel-ling through the 2019 campaign across the country that name only one leader: Modi.

I wrote and spoke out at a Centre for Policy Research debate in New Delhi on the fac-tors I found were propelling Mr Modi towards a big victory.

Especially on how the young were walking out of the identity trenches -- of caste, language, ethnicity, in many cases even religion -- to embrace Mr Modi.

The sentiment you saw in their eyes was optimism, joy, an anticipation of a better life, the storied 'achche din'.

They were not breaking their families's old political loyalties because they hated someone, or were afraid of them.

If 2014 was an election of hope of a better life, 2019 was the renewal of that promise in the expectation that it will take that long to redeem it fully.

Within six months, however, they find they are being deliv-ered something entirely differ-ent.

The economy is in a free fall.And it's been declining for

so long, so consistently, that the promise of growth and better days now looks a fantasy.

A mid-1970s kind of pessi-mism, even hopelessness, is growing among the young.

New jobs aren't available.And while all jobs are impor-

tant and dignified, let's face it: Not every young person study-ing in a college is looking for-ward to delivering for Swiggy or Zomato or driving an Ola or Uber.

That isn't what Mr Modi had promised them.

Their aspirations and needs are clear and present, and not being fulfilled.

And certainly they won't be compensated for the let-down either by 'firmness', with which you control and 'integrate' Kash-mir, or how you teach Pakistan a lesson a day.

Nor will their needs be met by how much you can persuade them to fear the Muslim or hate the migrant Muslim 'termite'.

None of these would get them a job, a living, a better life.

Unless, of course, they are your ideological followers.

The disillusionment of the college-going youth with Modi-2 has been rapid and deep.

Nobody should also remain under the misconception that it is just a virus specific to the few, liberal, Left, public universities infested by 'Urban Naxals'.

The anger has now spread to expensive private campuses as well, which allow no politics and unions, and cost many students' parents a lot of their savings and inherited assets.

I have been speaking at sev-eral in different parts of the country, and found anger simi-lar to what you might see at JNU, Jamia, or BHU.

The sentiment is a bemused -- and increasingly -- angry 'but this isn't what we had voted for'.

I can also say with reasonable certainty that a very, very large percentage of these young people voted Mr Modi, and mostly for the first time in their lives.

Once a month, ThePrint holds an innovative free-speech event called 'Democracy Wall' at a key campus.

One of its features is a giant banner that looks like a wall where the students can freely write what's on their mind and sign their names.

These have changed charac-ter dramatically over the past six months.

In the last three, the change is drastic.

All these are from private or elite universities.

Among outbursts of anger and disappointment on the latest one, along with clever lines like 'P...k The Folice' and 'Mera Desh Jal Raha Hai....#SaveAustralia', what catches the eye most strik-ingly is 'bure din wapas kar do' (please return my bad days to me).

Until about three months back, there was some criticism.

Today we see not a line, not even a word of praise.

You ignore this kind of una-nimity in anger among the edu-

cated young at your own peril.At most times, a cocktail of

nationalism, religion, and an almighty personality cult can win you one election.

But it can't win you two in succession.

Six months after he rode hope to his second conquest of India, he has senior police officers (who trusts the police on their word in this country, I am so sorry to ask) holding press conferences, calling students rioters and anti-nationals; Cabinet ministers speaking out on TV channels, telling boys and girls on our campuses how to behave and be patriotic.

But today's young are smart.They leave them speechless

when they retaliate by waving the tiranga, mass-reading of the Preamble of the Constitu-tion, and singing the National Anthem.

Just over six months back you had the cream of Bollywood fawningly pose for selfies with Mr Modi.

Today, many of the marquee stars, not just the usual 'arty' ones, have lent their support to protests.

And the rest may be silent, but almost no star of any conse-quence has risen in the govern-ment's support.

You have doubts, check out the worthies who landed at the central ministers's dinner in Mumbai to support the Citizen-ship (Amendment) Act.

You will need Google to iden-tify some.

And in the middle of all this, you field a second-term Cabinet minister like Smriti Irani to mock and taunt Deepika Padu-kone.

Remember, we said the league you choose to play in decides your stature.

Show us a more effective way of losing India's youth.

The enigma named Putin

Gwynne Dyer

What the Russian Premier needs is a position that gives him the final say when big changes loom but lets him abjure from daily exercise of power

Five years ago somebody posted photographs on the internet showing a man who looked a lot like Vladimir Putin in photo-graphs from 1920 and 1941. In both shots he was in military uni-form, defending the interests of the Russian people then as he still does today. But how can this be? He wasn’t even born until 1952. So the wave of faux speculation starts that Putin is an immortal hero who returns at intervals to save Russia. Or maybe just that he’s an immortal vampire. At any rate, he’ll be around forever. It was nonsense then and it’s nonsense now.

Last week the Russian President announced a wave of con-stitutional reforms and the vast majority of foreign observers, especially in the West, immediately jumped to the conclusion that Putin is changing the system so that he can stay in power forever. Twenty-five years in power (his current term as Presi-dent expires in 2024) is not enough for Putin, the foreign pundits insist. He can’t risk leaving power, they explain, or Russians would start asking where his vast illicit wealth came from. And then the pundits spin off into lengthy tirades about how he is Evil Incarnate, even comparing him to Joseph Stalin, who ruled the old Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. Stalin was a mass murderer without a conscience. Nobody was safe from his paranoia: He even killed most of the other heroes of the Bolshevik Revolution. He was probably responsible for the deaths of ten million Russians.

And Vladimir Putin? Here’s the opinion of Simon Tisdall, col-umnist and former foreign editor of The Guardian: “Like Stalin, (Putin) has made many enemies and caused untold misery....cronyism and corruption on a vast scale...military aggression and disruption abroad.....Again like Stalin, retirement is not a safe option for the ex-KGB spy who normalised assassination as a modern-day tool of state policy.”

Where to start? Perhaps with the obvious point that Stalin killed tens of thousands for every death that can be attributed to Putin. Moreover, corruption in Putin’s Russia is far less than it was in the 1990s under the first post-Communist President, the Western-backed Boris Yeltsin, a drunken puppet who made ordinary Russians cringe.

“Military aggression and disruption abroad?” Guilty as charged, in the illegal restoration of Crimea to Russian control (though most people in Crimea welcomed it) and in backing anti-Government rebels in two provinces of eastern Ukraine. But there is a litany of Western invasions and military inter-ventions (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Serbia, Syria, Yemen) that didn’t meet the highest legal standards either and had equally messy outcomes. Nor do Western Governments lag behind on the assassination front.

More importantly, Russia’s western border is a 1,000 km east of where it was in 1914. It is a minimum of 300 km east of where it was as recently as 1991. Putin has not challenged that new frontier once (with the partial exception of Ukraine) in 21 years in office. You could have a much more frightening and disruptive person than Putin in the Kremlin.

The old KGB was a ruthless organisation but also a rational and realistic one. Putin is a man steeped in that tradition, not an adventurer or a fantasist, and we should probably be grateful for that. So what are the odds that he will still be running things after 2024? He will be 72 years old in 2024: Definitely time to start thinking about what happens after he’s gone. And I’m going to make a bold assumption here: That he is a Russian patriot. Being Russian means that he fears disorder above all else: Russians sometimes call themselves “Italians of the North” and they don’t mean it in a good way. So he wants a strong state, run with a firm hand, even after he has retired, which means that a clear and orderly succession is very important. However, living on under somebody else’s firm hand is not an attractive prospect for Putin. He may or may not have fabulous sums of stolen money tucked away — the evidence for that is unclear — but you make a lot of enemies in a quarter-century in power and they could hurt you badly after you have relinquished it. So what Putin needs is a position that gives him the final constitutional say when big changes loom but lets him withdraw from the daily exercise of power. Something like the chairmanship of a strengthened State Council that can overrule both President and Prime Minister when necessary (but does so very rarely). And lo! That appears to be exactly what he has in mind. The details of his proposed reforms are not yet clear but a weaker President, a stronger Prime Minister and a State Council presiding serenely from afar are all part of the package. I’m not saying that’s what will actu-ally happen, but I think it’s what he’d like to happen.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is GrowinG Pains: The FuTure oF Democracy anD

work)

sC’s reference on speaker’s power thinkable

Supreme Court bench headed by Justice RF Nariman on 21.01.2020 desired Parliament to rethink over the power of Speaker to disqualify MLAs, because of Speaker being a

member of some political party, mostly of ruling party. Evidently Speakers in state-assemblies, having party affiliations, at times have openly misused their power in favor of their political lean-ings.

Better is to reform system of electing Speaker, Deputy Speaker and also of electing Chief Ministers. Speaker should be elected simultaneously with Chief Minister and Deputy Speaker by secret and compulsory vote through EVMs equipped with VVPAT on nominations signed by at least 34-percent members with abstain-ing members losing right to vote in the House though retaining membership. Such elected incumbents may be removed through same process but with compulsion to name alternate leader in the same motion. System will tend to bring comparatively un-biased person on post of Speaker, and will eliminate role of Speaker in biased proceedings in case of making and unmaking of Chief Ministers. It is often observed, that while the presiding officers of Indian assemblies have shown their tilt towards the treasury benches in house proceedings, their conduct become most crucial during the confidence-vote motions and subsequent proceeding against the legislators who defy the whips of their affiliated par-ties. This anti-defection law in India could not infuse the confi-dence of fairness among the masses when the practice of horse-trading goes open and brazen at the crucial time of defections caused to dislodge the government in seat.

The proceedings of disqualification, if at all get carried, invari-ably takes long and incredible. Keeping view such eventualities of making and unmaking of Chief Ministers in the states, one can safely says that the party nominee Speaker may flout or relax the norms to the advantage of the ruling dispensation. Thus in all its fairness, the Apex Court has rightly expressed its desire that the Parliament should rethink over issue of speakers’ power to dis-qualify the MLAs.

8 travel Jammu Tawi | Jan 23, 2020 | Thursday

Taj Mahal by nightThe Taj Mahal is considered by many, to possess architectural beauty unsurpassed by any other structure in the world. Constructed over a period of 22 years, employing twenty thousand workers, it was completed in 1648 C.E. and cost a whopping 32 million Rupees. Built entirely of white marble, it almost seems to glow in the moonlight, with the shimmering Jamuna river situated just across. The Muslim emperor Shah Jahan built this monument in the memory of his wife Mumtaz, whose grave is housed within the premises at the lower chamber. The grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. The Taj stands tall and regal on a raised, square platform, forming an unequal octagon with its four truncated corners. The architecture uses the interlocking arabesque concept, where each element is singular in its entirety, but integrates seamlessly with the whole. The central dome spans 58 feet in diameter and soars to a height of 213 feet. It is flanked on four sides by smaller domed chambers, and four slender minarets rising to a lower height of 162.5 feet. The entire mausoleum is decorated with an inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems like agate and jasper, and the main archways are carved with passages from the Holy Qur’an.

Balloon safariTake a balloon ride for an all-encompassing, bird's eye view of the Taj Mahal, and the surrounding Mughal-era buildings. The tethered helium balloon

TravelTravel

Celuk and MasUbud is often referred to as the cultural capital of Bali and this is due to the numerous shops and art galleries here that sells a plethora of wood works, stone arts, silverware and paintings. Both Balinese and Batuan paintings are quite popular. Most of the art works are of Buddha or characters from Ramayana. There are art workshops where visitors can see the making of these on guided tours. Celuk and Mas are the popular places in Ubud where one can witness the artisans in work. Celuk is well known for its silver wares and there are numerous shops which sell them. Also, one can take guided tours where they would be educated about the making of the same. The shops have a huge collection of silverware with very beautiful creations. Mas is a nice little town in Ubud which has numerous shops that sell wood works made by the local artisans. There are also guided tours to the workshops where one can see the artisans in work and also buy the souvenirs.

Kecak and fire danceThis unique Balinese dance performance is quite an interesting watch with absolutely

no music instruments but a huge orchestra of seventy people who create music with their vocals. The vigorous dancers remain in a trance and make communications with ancestors and deities throughout the play. Trance dance is also referred to as 'Sanghyang' dance. The dancer's performance is riveting one and definitely packs a punch. Fire is an integral part and is used extensively during the latter part of the play. The play has five acts in total and the story depicts a portion from the epic, Ramayana. The enactment shows Rama, Lakshmana and Sita in the forest, Ravana kidnapping Sita, Ravana's fight with Garuda, Rama and Lakshman meeting Hanuman and finally Hanuman flying to Lanka to meet Sita. With an expansive background, as the evening progresses, the lights and fire make the play a gorgeous affair. The dance is played daily evening near Uluwatu Temple, which is also well known for its enchanting sunsets. Make sure to grab your seats early as it gets a huge number of spectators.

Barong and Keris danceThis captivating dance is a form of a play which represents an eternal fight between the good spirit and the evil spirit. Barong (a mythological

animal) represents the good spirit, while Rangda (a mythological monster) represents the evil spirit. The dance has music tones in the background and consists of five different acts which sum up the whole play. The orchestra is huge and has numerous types of instruments being played. The play has reference to mythological Hindu stories, gods, and characters, and has an enthralling performance by the actors. The unique attire and the colourful masks they use are one of a kind. The play has actors dressed as tigers, monkeys, gods and is quite an enactment which keeps the viewers engrossed. One can watch this wonderful dance performance at Jambe Budaya in Batubulan. The play is enacted on a stage inside an auditorium and runs for more than an hour. Viewers are also allowed to go on stage and take photographs with the performers after the play.

KintamaniThough Bali is known for its ever popular beaches, Kintamani is one of the few hills stations that the island possesses. The warm weather turns cold as the road winds its way to Kintamani past the orange orchards and souvenir shops. From the beaches and paddy fields that Bali is synonymous with, Kintamani in northern Bali is a pleasant surprise with beautiful vistas and cool climate. Mount Batur and Lake Batur are the most popular attractions here. Mount Batur last erupted in 1968 and marks of the overflown black lava are still evident all over the mountain. An ideal way to explore would be go on an early morning trek to the top of this still active volcanic mountain.

Lake Batur lies adjacent to the mountain and looks breathtakingly beautiful with the azure waters. The mountain and the lake make a beautiful landscape frame and is a delight for photographers. There are numerous restaurants with the mountain and lake view which offer authentic Balinese cuisine. Kintamani is an ideal place in Bali where one can take a stroll enjoying the vistas, cuisines and climate.

TegalalangThe famed terraced paddy fields of Tegalalang are well known for its beautiful vistas. It is located a short drive away from Ubud town, winding roads take you to this beautiful terraced landscape. Along with Pejeng and Campuhan, it forms the paddy field region of Ubud. There are coffee shops, which overlook these fields and visitors can enjoy some Balinese coffee alongside. The landscape is enchanting and is a favourite with photographers and painters. One can opt for organised village tours and walk up the paddy fields or cycle around the fields, which is quite the preferred choice. Tegalalang is an ideal place where one can explore the village life and get to know more about the local farmers and their cultivation. Don't be surprised if any of the farmers invite you home as Balinese people are very warm, hospitable and friendly. There are also numerous souvenir shops in the vicinity which sell a wide range of artifacts and paintings made by local artisans. Evenings and early mornings are the ideal time to visit the terraced paddy fields of Tegalalang.

4 experiences

with new Everybody goes to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, and its cluster of Mughal forts, palaces and gardens. However, these five experiences will give you a new perspective on the city's most famous attractions.

Agra

Bali—off the beaten trackAmidst a sea of azure blue, away from the main Indonesian islands, Bali floats peacefully with an exciting culture, wonderful landscapes and amicable people. Bali is also well known for its beautiful temples with exquisite architecture and carvings. With stepped paddy fields, expansive beaches, swaying coconut trees and volcanic hills, Bali is truly a landscape lover's delight. Kuta and Ubud are the major tourist attractions; the former for its nightlife and beach, and the latter for its paintings and art galleries. Being an island, there is no dearth of beaches and the numerous vast white sands are one of the most sought after places on this island. Apart from Kuta, the popular beaches are Sanur, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua. Captivating sunsets, various water sports activities and delectable seafood along with numerous accommodation options, make these beaches a traveller's favourite.

Eyes

that will make you see

safaris operate from sunrise to 8.30 pm, but the best time to take a ride is at sunrise, sunset or in moonlight. The balloons travel to a maximum height of 250 feet and can carry up to 16 passengers.

Taj Nature WalkThis nature walk is a great way to explore the lesser-known side of the city. The tour takes visitors through a green belt located on the right bank of the Yamuna River, around 500 metres away from Taj Mahal’s east gate. The nine kilometre trail has grass mounds, watch towers and other viewing points to admire the Taj Mahal. This area is also rich in flora and fauna, and has over 46 varieties of flowers. You can also spot local birds, butterflies and mammals such as jackals, blue bulls, hares, parakeets, kingfishers and hoopoes.

Taj MahotsavStarted in 1992, this annual festival is both a craft mela and a cultural extravaganza that attracts artisans from all over the country. In the past, the festival has had displays of silk and zari work from Varanasi, paper mache from Kashmir, marble and zardozi from Agra and brassware from Moradabad. The programme also includes classical and folk music and dances performances by artistes from across India. There’s also a food festival and a fun fair for children.

NATIONALJammu Tawi Janaury 23, 2020 Thursday 9

MUMBAI, JAN 22

The Shiv Sena on Wednesdaydismissed the claim made byCongress leader Prithviraj Cha-van that the Uddhav Thack-eray-led party had proposed toform government with Con-gress and Nationalist CongressParty in 2014. The party also at-tacked the BJP, saying the 2014assembly polls had revealed

the “true face” of its former allywhich had snapped 25-year-oldties with Sena before the elec-tion then.On Sunday, Chavan had saidthat after the 2014 Maharash-tra polls, Shiv Sena and NCPhad approached him to form acoalition government to stopthe Bharatiya Janata Party. Butthe Congress had rejected thedemand immediately.

An editorial in Shiv Senamouthpiece Saamana onWednesday, however, said thatthere is no “logic” in Chavan’sclaims. “The Congress faced adrubbing in the 2014 electionunder the leadership of Prithvi-raj Chavan. The Congress thendid not have a ‘voice’. The ques-tion of going to Chavan with theproposal to form a governmentdoes not arise,” the editorialsaid.In the four-cornered contest tothe 288 -member state Assem-bly in 2014, the BJP got 122seats, the Shiv Sena bagged 63,while the Congress and NCP 42and 41 seats, respectively. TheCongress was relegated to thethird position.Following the claims of Chavan,former chief minister DevendraFadnavis, now Leader of Oppo-sition in the state assembly,said the Congress leader’s

statement was very surprisingand revealed the “true face” ofthe Uddhav Thackeray-ledparty, which in November lastyear formed the government inthe state along with Congressand NCP.The Saamana editorial hit outat the BJP, saying it “cruellybroke off the alliance with ShivSena”.“In 2014, the true face of BJPwas exposed which the wholecountry saw... without thinkingabout Hindus, division of Hinduvotes, relations of 25 years, theBJP cruelly broke off the al-liance with Shiv Sena. This wasthe first mask of BJP that cameoff,” the Sena said.After the state election fiveyears ago, BJP initially ran thegovernment alone but later theThackeray-led party also joinedit.The editorial in Sena mouth-

piece added that the BJP hasmultiple masks on it face as ithas a “factory of manufacturingmasks”. “NCP’s Praful Patelcame forward and extendedunconditional support to BJP toform the government. Here, thesecond mask of the BJP cameoff. It can be safely said that allthese things were planned inadvance. When all this was un-folding, the Shiv Sena was nothiding behind any mask,” it fur-ther added.Referring to the recent assem-bly election and its aftermath,the Sena said that despite at-tempts, Sharad Pawar did notlet a repeat of 2014 happen in2019. “The same Sena that wasin 2014 is still here. Despitehaving 105 [legislators], theyhad to sit in the Opposition be-cause the masks that the BJPwear are unending. They sayone thing and do another.”

In rebuttal to Prithviraj Chavan on 2014 govtformation claim, Shiv Sena jabs BJP for ‘mask factory’

NEW DELHI, JAN 22

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chiefRam Vilas Paswan’s suggestionto amend the National Popula-tion Register (NPR) forms is notonly an attempt to assuageconcerns of his vote bank, asizeable section of whom arethe socially and economicallydeprived Dalits, but is also amessage to its ally, the BJP thatthe party’s suggestions on keyissues should be taken onboard.On Tuesday, Paswan, who isalso a Union minister, said inPatna that it was at his in-stance that the Home Ministryagreed to “amend” the NPRforms wherein columns likethose pertaining to places ofbirth of parents had triggeredfears that the exercise might bea precursor to the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC).“Even I do not know my date ofbirth. Do I cease to become acitizen on that account? I hadtold the Home Ministry thatthese things will cause confu-sion. Now the ministry hasamended the forms,” he told

reporters.While the LJP has stood withthe BJP on the issue of amend-ing the citizenship act and pre-viously when the governmentdecided to read down Article370 from Jammu and Kashmir,the party, with a sizeable holdover the Dalit vote in Bihar,where an election is due laterthis year, has decided to opt fora cautious approach vis-a-visNRC and NPR.Dalits and other backwardscaste representatives havealso been part of the anti-CAAprotests across the countryand these groups are skepticalabout how NRC will unroll.Bhim Army chief ChandraShekhar Azad has been high-lighting that the Dalits who arelargely landless fear that theNRC will dispossess them oftheir rights, should they fail toprovide adequate documentsto support their claims of domi-cile.In such a scenario, the LJP istaking no chances. By support-ing the NPR and the proposedNRC, it does not want to beseen as a party that has com-

promised or sidelined its votebank.So, while Paswan clarified thatwhile the amended citizenshipact cannot revoke citizenshipof an Indian citizen “whetherhe is a Dalit or from the minor-ity community”, in December,when protests against the pro-posed NRC began, he had to al-lay fear by pointing out that hisparty would not support a lawthat does not take care of inter-est of the minority and Dalits.“There is no divergence ofviews on CAA. We support thelaw that gives persecuted mi-norities citizenship and thosespreading canard against it arepolitically motivated. CAA doesnot affect Indian citizens. Butas far as NRC is concerned, wehave said we’d like to see theprovisions of the bill,” said LJPspokesperson Sanjay Saraf.Concern about the provisionsof NRC is latest in the rounds ofbickering between the allies,which was manifest during thehard bargain that the LJP droveahead of the Lok Sabha polls.With an eye on consolidatingits vote bank, the LJP has in the

past questioned the govern-ment on what he alleges is“negligible” representation ofDalits and OBCs in higher judi-ciary.Ahead of the upcoming electionin Bihar, the LJP is expected toup the ante to have it wishesaccommodated. BJP’s ties withallies under a strain, the ShivaSena has quit the NDA and theparty is not contesting withShiromani Akaldi Dal (SAD) inDelhi, the LJP will ensure thatits demands are met.In the 2015 assembly polls,which the JD(U) fought withRLD, the BJP, which contested157 seats in alliance with theLJP and others, won only 53seats.The LJP, which quit the Con-gress-led UPA to join the NDAahead of the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls, is not happy with theBJP’s decision to make its can-didate contest from Seemapuriin Delhi instead of its strong-hold of Burari. “We will ensurethat the party is not forced toaccept such choices in the fu-ture,” said a party leader inDelhi.

In Ram Vilas Paswan’s pitch to amendNPR form, a message to ally BJP

GUWAHATI, JAN 22

University and college studentsin the northeast on Wednesdayboycotted classes in protestagainst the Citizenship Amend-ment Act (CAA), the day whenthe Supreme Court refused toorder stay on the law until theCentre is heard on the matter.Thousands of students in As-sam, Nagaland, Meghalaya andArunachal Pradesh abstainedfrom attending classes withsome taking part in demonstra-tions and sit-in hunger strike asa show of solidarity to theprotests taking place in the re-gion against CAA since Decem-ber last year.“We didn’t attend classes onWednesday and burnt copies ofthe gazette notification issuedearlier this month regardingCAA coming into force,” saidMoon Talukdar, general secre-tary of Gauhati University stu-dents union.Wednesday’s protest is part of atotal shutdown called under thebanner of North Eastern Uni-versities Students Fraternity.The universities included in the

total shutdown are GauhatiUniversity, Cotton University,North Eastern Hill University,Dibrugarh University, TezpurUniversity, Assam Women Uni-versity, Nagaland University,Rajiv Gandhi University, AssamAgricultural University andNorth Eastern Regional Insti-tute of Science and Technology.“The ANCSU while consideringthe ill repercussions of CAA,2019 on the masses of the northeastern states, in strong soli-darity and participation, appeal

all the colleges in Nagaland toobserve total shutdown of theinstitutes on January 22,” saidan appeal by All Nagaland Col-lege Students Union.Students of Cotton University inGuwahati stayed away fromclasses and took part in a 7-hour sit-in hunger strike begin-ning at 10 am.The apex court on Wednesdaygranted four-week time to theCentre to reply to the 144-oddpetitions challenging the con-tentious Citizenship (Amend-

ment) Act . While most of thepetitions challenge the consti-tutional validity of CAA, some ofthem seek a declaration thatthe act is constitutional. TheSupreme Court bench com-prised of Chief Justice of IndiaSA Bobde, Justice S AbdulNazeer and Justice SanjivKhanna.The apex court also directedthat the petitions from Assamto be segregated from rest andordered that high courts shouldnot take up cases on CAA.

University, college students in northeast boycottclasses in protest against citizenship act

NEW DELHI, JAN 22

Biometric systems and CCTVcameras at the server roomwere not vandalised in the firstweek of January, contrary to theclaims made by the JawaharlalNehru University administra-tion that students had de-stroyed them on January 3, thevarsity has said in a RTI reply.The reply to the RTI filed bySaurav Das, a member of theNational Campaign for People’sRight to Information (NCPRI),under “life and liberty” clause,said the main server of JNU atthe Centre for Information Sys-tem (CIS) was shut down onJanuary 3 and had gone downthe next day “due to power sup-ply disruption”.The varsity’s reply also statedthat “no continuous and entire”CCTV footage of cameras in-stalled at North/Main gate of theJNU campus from 3 pm to 11pm on January 5 was available,the day when masked men hadentered the campus, and at-tacked students and teacherswith iron rods and sledgeham-mers. The JNU administration, in anFIR, had claimed that on Janu-ary 3, a group of students wear-ing masks had forcibly enteredthe CIS and switched off thepower supply, making theservers dysfunctional, therebyaffecting a range functions, in-cluding CCTV surveillance, bio-metric attendance and internet

services.“The main server of JNU wasshut down on January 3 and hadgone down the next day due topower supply disruption”.“None of the CCTV cameraswere vandalised from Decem-ber 30, 2019 to January 8, 2020,”the varsity, in its response tothe RTI, said.The response also said a total of17 fibre optical cables weredamaged on January 4 at 1 pm.‘None’ of the biometric systemswere broken or destroyed fromDecember 30, 2019 to January8, 2020, it said. The RTI had also sought infor-mation on whether the CIS of-fice contains the servers of theCCTV cameras in and aroundthe campus. To this, the replystated that the servers of CCTVcameras are located in datacentre and not at CIS office.The RTI reply also said “the de-tails of locations of CCTV cam-eras cannot be provided due tosecurity reasons and con-cerns”.Das received the reply to a RTIfiled by him on January 9. The RTI also asked details of thetotal number of times the JNUwebsite was not functioning dueto technical snag or problemsince December 25, 2019 to Jan-uary 8, 2020.The reply stated that the var-sity’s website was functioningduring this period since it is“critical” and “a logical publicface of the university”.

“It was running from alternatebackup arrangement duringthis period,” the varisty said inits response.All FIRs in-line with Jan 3 inci-dents, no deviation from facts:JNUMeanwhile, the JawaharlalNehru University said all FIRsand other complaints filed withpolice are in-line with the inci-dents that took place on Janu-ary 3 and do not deviate fromfacts after an RTI suggested dis-crepancies in the varsity ad-ministration’s claims aboutvandalism in its server room.The university said its reply tothe RTI was related to the spe-cific location and questionssought by the applicant. It alsoclarified that the servers weredamaged by “a group of miscre-ants” on January 4.“As per the complaint filed byadministration on January 3,2020 about the incident in Cen-tre for Information System (CIS)Data Centre, JNU has notclaimed about damage toservers on that day. The RTI an-swers are correct and specificto the questions asked,” the var-sity said.The RTI response also clearlystates that servers are locatedat CIS Data Centre not in CIS of-fice, which seems to be “con-spicuously ignored while high-lighting the matter in themedia”, it said.“All FIRs and other complaintsfiled with police are in-line withthe actual incidents that tookplace on January 3 and do notdeviate from actual facts,” itsaid.The JNU administrationreiterates that a group ofmasked students came to CISData Centre premises on Janu-ary 3 and forcibly evicted thetechnical staff, switched off thepower supply, locked the prem-ises and squatted in front of themain entrance to the CIS DataCentre without providing anyaccess to the centre, the varsitysaid.

Biometric systems, CCTVs at JNU’s server roomnot vandalised in first week of Jan: RTI reply

INDORE, JAN 22

The Madhya Pradesh HighCourt on Wednesday sought areply from the state authori-ties over an incident wheregovernment officials allegedlyslapped a few BJP workersduring a rally in support of theCitizenship (Amendment) Act(CAA) in Rajgarh district.Justices SC Sharma andShailendra Shukla of the In-dore Bench of the high court

issued notices to the chiefsecretary, Rajgadh districtcollector Nidhi Nivedita andother officials, seekingreplies within four weeks.The court was hearing a pub-lic interest litigation (PIL)filed by HarshvardhanSharma, a Rajgarh-basedlawyer.A video purportedly showingcollector Nivedita and deputycollector Priya Verma slap-ping some BJP workers during

a rally in support of the CAA atBiaora in the district on Sun-day had gone viral.Ordersprohibiting public gatheringsunder Section 144 of the Codeof Criminal Procedure (CrPC)were in force when the rallywas held.The PIL alleged thatthe collector and her deputymisused their powers andslapped BJP workers whowere holding the national flagin their hands, said the peti-tioner’s lawyer PushyamitraBhargava.It requested thecourt to revoke the powers ofexecutive magistrate ac-corded to the two officers andorder a magisterial inquiryinto the incident, Bhargavatold reporters.It also de-manded that the prohibitoryorders imposed under CrPCSection 144, banning protestsacross the state, be lifted asthey violate people’s constitu-tional rights, he said.

Govt officials seen ‘slapping’ BJPworkers: MP HC seeks reply

HYDERABAD, JAN 22

After Home Minister Amit Shahthrew a challenge to leaders likeRahul Gandhi for a public de-bate over CAA, AIMIM chiefAsaduddin Owaisi joined issueand wanted the former to dis-cuss the law with him instead ofothers.Addressing a rally in Karimna-gar district on Tuesday nightahead of the municipal polls onJanuary 25, the Hyderabad MPsaid the Home Minister calledfor a public debate on CAA withthe opposition even as he askedShah to debate with him on thelegislation.At a rally in Lucknow in support

of the CAA on Tuesday, Shahhademphatically said the Citizen-ship Amendment Act (CAA) willnot be withdrawn and thoseprotesting can continue to do soeven as he challenged opposi-tion leaders for a public debateon the amended leglislation.Accusing the opposition of “mis-leading” people on the amendedcitizenship law, Shah threw thechallenge for the debate toRahul Gandhi, Mamata Baner-jee, Akhilesh Yadav (SamajwadiParty) and Mayawati(BahujanSamaj Party).Reacting to Shah’s challenge,Owaisi said, “I am here…debate with me.. why (debate)

with these people.. ‘Daadi walese karo na’ (Debate with abearded man). We will talk anddebate on CAA, NPR and NRC.”The CAA allows easier citizen-ship for Hindus, Sikhs, Bud-dhists, Christians, Parsis andJains who entered India fromthree neighbouring countriesbefore 2015 after facing reli-gious persecution. Muslim mi-grants don’t figure on this list.The AIMIM chief hit out at theBJP over renaming of places,while mentioning about the‘Halwa’ ceremony ahead of theUnion budget.“BJP says it will change names. Iwant to ask from where did theword halwa originate? It is an

Arabic word. It is neither Hindinor Urdu (word). now removethe Arabic word..“They (BJP) say they will (con-tinue to) change names.“Inshallah people of the countrywill change you,” the HyderabadMP said adding “remember I amnot halwa.. I am lal mirchi (redchilli).”Meanwhile, the AIMIM has re-quested the Telangana StateElection Commission not to useface recognition app being usedon pilot basis in the polls for ur-ban local bodies, alleging that itwould invade the privacy of thecitizens, among other viola-tions.

Debate CAA with ‘beardedman’, Owaisi dares Amit Shah

AMETHI (UP), JAN 22

An FIR has been lodged on acomplaint by Union MinisterSmriti Irani’s aide that her pic-ture was used by a developerwithout her consent in an ad-vertisement, police said onWednesday.Irani’s private secretary VijayGupta had written to the Su-perintendent of Police, KhyatiGarg complaining that a localpaper had published an adver-

tisement by Sai Green City,Jagdishpur which had usedthe pictures, names and desig-nations of some eminent peo-ple including Irani to sell plots.“The letter in this connectionstressed that the name andpicture of the MP (Irani) hasbeen used in the advertise-ment without her consent forattracting buyers,” SP Gargsaid.Through the letter, a demandfor action has been made andFIR has been lodged in Jagdis-pur Police Station againstsome unknown persons andinvestigations are on, Gargadded.Inquiries are on with the MD ofthe Sai Green City, Virendra

Vidhi, his partner Sonu YagyaSaini, gram pradhan AbhayPratap Singh and others, theSP said.Using the picture,name and post of a peoples’representative without his/herconsent is a crime, the SP said.Besides Irani, the name andpicture of Uttar Pradesh min-ister Suresh Pasi and outgoingdistrict unit president of theBJP Durgesh Tripathi havealso been used in the adver-tisement.Congress leader andMLC Dipak Singh had high-lighted the matter through atweet saying it had not yetbeen a year since Irani wonAmethi and she was alreadyselling plots by giving adver-tisements in newspapers.

Developer booked for using Smriti Irani’spicture in an ad without her consent

MUMBAI, JAN 22

Zen Sadavarte, a 12-year-oldgirl, who saved lives of 10 peo-ple from a fire at Parel’s CrystalTower on August 22, 2018, wasgiven the Indian Council forChild Welfare’s National Brav-ery Award for 2019 on Tuesdayin Delhi.Sadavarte, a student of Don

Bosco International School,Matunga, drew admiration forusing the techniques learntduring a disaster managementclass while battling the firewithout panicking and for ablyguiding others stuck in theblaze.She quickly gathered clothesfound in the house, soakedthem with water and instructed

everybody, including herfamily and neighbours tocover their noses andbreathe through it.“More than the award I amhappy that so many peoplesurvived through the fireand are alive today. Thetragedy could have taken atoll on our family andneighbours,” said Sa-davarte.Zen’s father Gun-ratan Sadavarte said theywere proud of their daugh-ter, who believed in helpingpeople.The fire that broke

out on the 12th floor of the Crys-tal Tower claimed four lives andleft 27 injured. Apart from Zen,16-year-old Akash Khillarefrom Aurangabad was alsoawarded for bravery on Tues-day. He had saved a woman anda daughter from drowning inDudhna river. Another 20 chil-dren from 11 other states werealso presented with the award.

Mumbai girl gets national bravery awardfor saving lives during 2018 building fire

10 Jammu Tawi Janaury 23, 2020 ThursdayKASHMIR

NL CORRESPONDENTKUPWARA, JAN 22

The District DevelopmentCommissioner (DDC), Kup-wara, Anshul Garg todaychaired a meeting of con-cerned officers regarding con-stitution of District Environ-ment Committees forimplementation of District En-vironment plan.The meeting was informedthat the Committees havebeen set up for assessmentand monitoring of environ-ment pollution in the district.Regarding the Solid WasteManagement plan, the DDC di-rected the Executive Officersof Municipalities to submit adetailed report about the num-ber of households in everyward of Kupwara, Handwara

and Langate. He also sought adetailed report from the con-cerned officers for identifica-tion and establishment ofland-fill sites for proper dis-posal of solid waste in the dis-trict.He directed EOs to frameDPRs regarding the establish-ment of Sewerage TreatmentPlants (STP) for managementof liquid waste in towns. TheDDC asked the concerned offi-cers to ensure door to doorcollection of garbage in townsto control the pollution at basiclevel.The DDC also sought de-tails about the disposal ofmedical and bio-medicalwaste. The Medical authoritiesinformed him that the medicalwaste is collected on regularat SDH and PHC levels forproper disposal. He directedthe health authorities to estab-

lishment in-house medicaland bio-medical waste dis-posal plant.Reviewing the plantation andsoil conservation plans in thedistrict, the DDC sought a de-tailed report from DFOs aboutthe total forest area reclaimedfrom degradation up to thisJanuary.The DDC also sought a reportabout the works done underrelevant Schemes in each divi-sion during the last 3 yearsand directed the concerned tosubmit a vision documentabout the steps to be taken forsoil conservation.The Industries departmentwas asked for collection andmanagement of industrialwaste in industrial estates toreduce the pollution levels.The General Manager DIC wasasked to establishment a Af-fluent Treatment Plant (ATP)at Chotipora Industrial Estate.The Mining authorities wereasked for assessment of dam-ages in Nallah Kehmil of Kup-wara and Mawar area of Hand-wara and take step for thedamage recovery.

DDC reviews Distt Environment Plan

NL CORRESPONDENTKULGAM, JAN 22

District Development Com-missioner, Kulgam ShowkatAijaz Bhat, today convened ameeting of officers to reviewthe implementation DistrictEnvironment Plan in the dis-trict.The meeting was attended byADDC, ADC, JD-Planning,General Manager Industriesand other officers.The meeting was informedthat the total solid waste gen-eration in all four Municipal

Committee's in the District is25.98 MT per day and a scien-tific solid waste treatmentplant is coming up in the dis-trict at Liroo.The EO's were directed tostrictly adhere to the guide-lines and distribute colorcoated dustbins among allhouseholds to collect and seg-regate the waste at source.The concerned officers fromhealth department informedthe meeting that all Bio Med-ical waste generated in healthinstitutions is being managedby private agency on contract

basis and primary segre-gation and collection iscarried out at hospitals.The meeting was in-formed that according tolatest survey conductedby Forest Survey of India(FSI), forest cover of dis-trict has increased by 32.34 sq Km's.The DDC urged the con-cerned that to ensure thestone crushers and otherindustrial unit are adopt-ing pollution controlmeasures and directed

for and strict action against vi-olators.Highlighting the impor-tance of District Environmen-tal Committee, the DDC askedthe officers to work with coor-dination for effective imple-mentation of District Environ-ment Plan.He also asked the concerned

to conduct awareness pro-grammes in schools, collegesand other institutions to sensi-tize students about the impor-tance of solid waste manage-ment which is of pivotal topreservation and conservationof environment.

Implementation of DEP reviewed DDC reviews progressmade under DEDS

NL CORRESPONDENTANANTNAG, JAN 22The District development Commissioner Anantnag, KhalidJahangir today convened a meeting to review the progressmade under Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme(DEDS) in the district Anantnag.The CAHO Anantnag informed the meeting that under DEDS395 cases were sponsored and under special DEDS 250 caseswere sponsored to various banks while under KCC dairy 2944cases were sponsored out of which 1299 cases have been sanc-tioned and 265 cases disbursed.The meeting was informed that 633 cases under 'Ten Cows perDairy Unit' scheme have been sanctioned in the district till De-cember 2019. The directed the concerned authorities to en-sure disbursement to the sanctioned cases.The DDC said that the scheme aims to promote setting up ofmodern dairy forms for production of milk and to encourageheifer calf rearing, besides conserving good breeding stockand to bring changes in the dairy sector so that initial process-ing of milk can be taken up at the village level.The meeting was attended byBranch heads of JK bank Verinag,Bijbehara, Sallar, Pahalgam, Mehand, Doru and Vailoo. Sizeablenumber beneficiaries were also present on the occasion.

Progress of CAPEXBudget reviewed

NL CORRESPONDENTSHOPIAN, JAN 22District Development Commissioner, Shopain ChowdharyMohammad Yaseem today reviewed physical and financialachievements registered under capex budget and status ofongoing, languishing and other projects.The meeting discussed road widening, construction WaterSupply Schemes and other major projects in the district takenin hand under capex budget. The DDC directed the concernedofficers to ensure timely completion of these projects.The Meeting was attended by ADC, CPO, Executive Engineers ofR&B, PHE, Irrigation, PDD Flood Control and other concernedofficers.

DDC calls for effectivemanagement of solid wasteNL CORRESPONDENTBANDIPORA, JAN 22District Development Commissioner, Bandipora ShahbazAhmad Mirza today convened a meeting with members andco-opted members of District Environmental Committee todiscuss various issues pertaining to the conservation of envi-ronment in the district.Additional Deputy Commissioner, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, CDFOBandipora, Executive Officers of Municipal Committees of thedistrict and other senior officers were present in the meeting.The DDC directed the members and co-opted members of DECto ensure that National Green Tribunal Guidelines are beingimplemented in letter and spirit.He directed the Executive Officers of Municipal Committeesto take concrete steps in segregation of waste at source for itssafe and proper disposal. He asked the Officers of Block and Pol-lution Control Board to ensure waste collection and its dis-posal in remote areas of the district.He also directed the Executive Officers to prepare a DPR forthe establishment of STPs at identified locations in Bandiporaand Hajin.The DDC asked the concerned to take steps for collection anddisposal of hazardous waste, e-waste and industrial waste andensure air quality and noise pollution management in the dis-trict.

EJAZ-UL-HAQ BHATBANDIPORA, JAN 22

The employees association ofhealth department Bandiporaon Wednesday submitted amemorandum to Deputy Com-missioner Bandipora againstBMO for assaulting their sen-ior colleague in his officechamber yesterday.According to reports, thehealth employees associationBandipora submitted thememorandum today seekingaction against the BMO for as-saulting their colleague.They have sought stern actionand transfer of Dr. Ashfaq BMOBanidpora for assaulting andmisbehaving with their senior

colleague Iqbal Hamid in hisoffice chamber yesterday."With humble submission wethe paramedical staff of dis-trict Bandipora approachedyour goodself to convey that allthe employees of health de-partment Bandipora have di-vided not to work under the ad-ministrative control of Dr.Ashfaq, BMO Bandipora asyour goodself knows the situa-tion better made by the said of-ficer, " reads the memorandumsubmitted by the associationto DC Bandipora as per newsagency.They have demanded thetransfer of BMO from the blockto "avoid such incident in thefuture".

In the memorandum, the asso-ciation have alleged that thebehaviour of the BMO is ill to-ward the subordinate staff.They have also alleged that theBMO demands bribe beforesigning the salary advices andother official documents." We have approved the chiefmedical officer Bandipora sev-eral times regarding the issuebut he has turned deaf ears to-wards our genuine complaints," reads the memorandum.The memorandum furtherreads that they have alreadyfiled a complaint in police sta-tion Bandipora against theBMO for physically assaultingtheir senior colleague yester-day.

"In view of the above facts wehope that an early action maybe initiated against the officerto save the dignity of the healthdepartment Bandipora, " thememorandum further reads.The BMO Bandipora had as-saulted a pharmacist yester-day in his office chamber forcoming late to the office. TheBMO had allegedly assaultedthe pharmacist by hurling astool toward him, resulting ininjuries to the pharmacist wowas later shifted to DHBandiproa for treatment.The health employees associ-ation had staged a protestdemonstration seeking actionagainst the BMO for his behav-iour. (KNO)

Assault on pharmacist: HEA submit memo to DC B'pora

NL CORRESPONDENTPULWAMA, JAN 22

ICDS Department Pulwana to-day organized painting Com-petition across the Districtwith the aim to generateawareness about Beti Bachao

Beti Padhao (BBBP)scheme. The themeof the competitionwas 'Save Girl Child,Educate Girl Child'.As many as 200 stu-dents from variouseducational institu-tions of the districtparticipated in thecompetition.

Speaking on the occasion Dis-trict Programme Officer saidthe aim of organizing suchcompetitions is to promoteBBBP objectives.Later, DPO distribute awardsamong the students for bestpaintings.

ICDS organizespainting competition

NL CORRESPONDENTSHOPIAN, JAN 22

Additional Deputy Commis-sioner, Shopian, Dr Abdul Aziz,today convened a meeting of of-ficers to finalize arrangementsfor smooth conduct of RepublicDay celebrations in the district.Among others Assistant Com-missioner Revenue, District andSectoral Officers, besides sen-ior officers of police, CRPF werepresent in the meeting.The meeting was informed, thatmain function will be held atDistrict Police Lines (DPL)Shopian, starting with ShaniaVadan followed by flag hoistingand march past by contingentsof JKP, CRPF, Home Guard, For-est Department, Fire & Emer-gency Services and school chil-dren.

The PDD & PHE departmentswere directed to ensure unin-terrupted power and water sup-ply and were asked to keepgenset and water tanker avail-able at the venue.The ADC directed CMO to keepambulance and first aid avail-able while MED, R&B & EO Mu-nicipality were asked to keepsnow clearance machines andmanpower available in case ofsnowfall on both days of re-hearsal and main function.The police department was en-trusted with security arrange-ments. Information Departmentwill facilitate proper Public Ad-dressing System and mediacoverage of the event.The meeting also finalized otherarrangements including re-freshment and illumination ofgovernment buildings.

EJAZ-UL-HAQ BHATBANDIPORA, JAN 22

Keeping the age old bond ofcommunal harmony intact,members from the muslimcommunity on Wednesday per-formed the last rites of a panditwoman in Ajar locality of Bandi-pora district.According to reports, a panditwoman namely Jai Kishori (80)wife of Dinanath Bhat a resi-dent of Ajar Bandiporabreathed her last during the in-tervening night of 21-22 Janu-ary.The Muslim neighbours of thepandit family went to theirhouse after they came to knowthat the woman breathed herlast and helped the family inperforming the last rites.In Ajar locality around a dozenpandit families are residing

who did not migrate from Kash-mir valley during the peak ofmilitancy 1990's and insteaddecided to stay put.Since then the two communi-ties have living in the localitylike brothers and have alwaysshown compassion to eachother.Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Sheikh,numberdar Ajar told newsagency that the whole villagevisited the pandit familieshouse in the morning after theycame to know about the deathof the pandit woman.He said that it was their dutyand they did everything to helpthe pandit family in performingthe last rites and other rituals."This is our culture as we havebeen living here from pastmany decades together and wehave been helping each other inall shades. We have living here

as one community. That is thereason these pandit familiesnever migrated from the areaeven peak of the militancy," hesaid.Pyarelal Bhat, relative of thedeceased pandit woman saidthat the Muslim brethren pro-vided them all the support theyneeded while performing thelast rites of the deceased lady."We have been living as one andthis is our cultural ethos andidentity. The muslim brothershave always stood by our sideand this brotherhood is goingon from last 80 years. We arethankful to our muslim broth-ers who helped us in this hourof grief," he said.Meanwhile, district adminis-tration Bandipora also providedthe pandit family all the sup-port in performing the last ritesof the deceased lady. (KNO)

Communal Harmony: Muslims performlast rites of Pandit woman in B'pora

NL CORRESPONDENTPULWAMA, JAN 22

Secretary, Food Civil Supplies& Consumer Affairs(FCS&CA), Pandurang Kond-barao Pole today visited Pul-wama and chaired a meetingof officers to review the posi-tion of essential commoditiesand other supply position inthe district.The meeting was attended byDirector, FCS&CA Kashmir,Bashir Ahmad Khan, DeputyController Legal Metrology, As-sistant Director FCS&CA Pul-

wama, TSOs besides Gas deal-ers of IOCL, BPCL and HPCL.The meeting was informed that2,28,000 Ltrs of Kerosene oil,633422 Ltrs of HSD & MS, suffi-cient quantity of Rice besides3815 LPG cylinders are avail-able in the district.The Secretary also sought thedetails of market checking inthe district and was informedthat 6195 establishment unitswere checked out of which 1860units were found defaultersand Rs 473450.00 was recov-ered as fine.Secretary FCS&CA directed

the concerned officers to inten-sify the market checking be-sides conducting special in-spection of various fillingstations and Gas Agencies inthe district to verify delivery ofexact fuel volume, quality andrates. He also directed takingstrict action against defaultersto curb price hike and hoardingof essentials. He also stressedfor 100% collection of pendingAdhaars and their subsequentseedling. He also reviewed thestatus of winter dumping of ra-tion in snow bound areas of thedistrict.

Secy FCS&CA reviews availability of essentials

R-Day arrangementsfinalized in Shopian

NL CORRESPONDENTBANDIPORA, JAN 22

Deputy Commissioner, Bandi-pora Shahbaz Ahmad Mirzatoday inspected various An-ganwadi centres to take stockof functioning of these centres.He was accompanied by Addi-tional Deputy CommissionerBandipora, Joint Director Plan-ning, District Social Welfare Of-ficer and other concerned offi-cers of the district.The DC Bandipora asked theconcerned to maintain growthchart of each child at 803 ICDscentres across the district, be-sides paying special focus onthe health of girl child.Later the Deputy Commis-sioner also visited Gujjar and

Bakerwal hostel and inspectedthe arrangements put in placefor the inmates. He directed formaintaining proper cleanlinessand sanitation in the hostel.

DC inspects Anganwari Centres,Gujar Bakerwal Hostel

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, JAN 22Director Horticulture, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat todayconvened a meeting to review progress of vari-ous schemes being implemented by the de-partment. The director asked the concernedofficers to redouble their efforts achieving tar-gets within stipulated time frame and to de-velop all public sector nurseries for productionof quality and true to type plant material aswell as grafted walnut plants for meeting therequirements of growers in the field.

He directed for covering more small and mar-ginal growers under high density plantation pro-gramme and asked the concerned to maintain aclose liaison with the growers and orchardists,besides conducting awareness and trainingcamps to aware them about modern fruit cultiva-tion techniques. Besides, conducting exposuretours for youth trained in various aspects of hor-ticulture sector and orchardists outside Jammuand Kashmir.The Horticulture Development of-ficers all Zones of Kashmir Division were pres-ent in the meeting.

Dir Horti convenes review meeting

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, JAN 22

Jammu and Kashmir Bankcommissioned two more on-site ATMs in the Kashmir Zone(Central-II), one at MirgundBudgam and another at Dur-suma Ganderbal, taking the to-tal number of ATMs in the zoneto 92. Zonal Head Kashmir (Central II)Syed Shujaat Hussain Andrabiinaugurated the ATM at Mir-gund in presence of ClusterHead Mushtaq Ahmad, HeadBusiness Unit (BU) Mahjabeenwhile as at Dursuma Ganderbalhe inaugurated it in presence ofCluster Head Parvez AhmadMir, Head BU Mushtaq

Makhdoomi amid a huge gath-ering of valuable customers, lo-cal traders and senior citizensof the respective areas.

While inaugu-rating the ATMs,Zonal Head saidthat J&K Bank isan exemplaryinstitutionwhich remainsat the forefrontof serving thesociety. "Thefeeling of beingpeople's bankinspires us toprovide the peo-ple with the bestof banking facili-ties and finan-

cial products tailored to meettheir specific requirements", headded.Later on Zonal Head interacted

with the customers and in-structed the staff of these busi-ness units to sensitize the cus-tomers and people at largeabout various schemes of thebank and meet their expecta-tions by providing them with thebest-in-class customer serv-ices. Hailing the decision of the bank,the locals thanked the manage-ment, particularly the Chair-man and Managing Director ofthe bank, for fulfilling the longpending demands of these ar-eas and hoped that new ATMsshall prove a source of conven-ience and comfort for them.They also hailed the staff of theBusiness Units for their dedi-cated service in the area.

J&K Bank commissions 2 ATMs in Bud, Gbl

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, JAN 22

Directorate of Family Welfare, MCH &Immunization today said that the re-cent Pulse Polio Immunisation Pro-gramme has succeeded in achieving100 percent coverage of target popula-tion in Jammu and Kashmir as1985380 children in the age bracket of0-5 years were administered oral po-

lio vaccine against the target of1985021 children.According to the figures compiled byData & Media Cell, Directorate ofFamily Welfare, MCH & Immunization,in Kashmir division, against the totaltarget of 1069470 children, 1064941children were administered oral poliovaccine against the crippling disease.Whereas, in Jammu division, againstthe target of 915551 children, 920439

children were given polio dropsamounting to 100 percent of the totaltarget children.Respective divisional and district ad-ministrations had made elaboratearrangements to cover all the childrenin the age group of 0-5 years. Further-more, health workers and volunteerscarried door-to-door visit in their al-lotted areas to ensure no child is leftout of the vaccination programme.

1985380 children administered polio vaccine in JK

BUSINESSJammu Tawi Janaury 23, 2020 Thursday 11

JAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

Environmental, socialand regu-latory response to them arehappening faster than ever andposes sizeable challenges forbusinesses. However, manybusinesses remain focused onhard financial cost/benefitanalysis while ignoring intan-gible costs like their carbonfootprint or waste emissions.This is becoming untenableand all stakeholders - cus-tomers, government and regu-lators, and the society at large -are pushing for more sustain-ability in business decisionmaking.For investment managers nav-

igating this backdrop to delivervalue is a challenge. The an-swer is sustainable investing -focus on identifying sustain-ably managed businesseswhile understanding the risksand opportunities of environ-mental and social change.We expect the companies that

adapt or align themselves tothese changes to benefit dis-proportionately going forward,while those which fail to act onthese issues are likely to fallbehind and open themselvesup to regulatory sanctions orgetting shunned by the societyand consumers.The ESG framework providesinvestment managers with atool to capture these issues ina comprehensive manner. ESGstands for Environmental, So-cial and Governance factorsand the framework is used by

investment managers to iden-tify how each company in theircoverage is exposed to or arereacting to these factors.Interest in ESG analysis hasbeen growing rapidly aroundthe world. This surge in inter-est has been accompanied bythe awareness that looking atsustainability does not have tocome at the cost of investmentperformance. ESG analysis al-lows investors to assess longerterm and harder to measure is-sues that can have a major im-pact on stock performance and

thus can become an importantsource of bringing down port-folio risk. Chandresh Kumar Nigam, MD& CEO, Axis AMC said, "We atAxis AMC believe that ESG is alogical extension to our philos-ophy given our core focus to-wards quality and sustainablegrowth. By combining ESGanalysis with traditional finan-cial metrics we can come upwith a more holistic under-standing of each company inour portfolio. We have faith thatthe Axis ESG Equity Fund byinvesting in a portfolio of suchcompanies will have strong po-tential to offer its investors arich source of alpha." The new fund offers (NFO)opens for subscription on Janu-ary 22, 2020 to February 05,2020. Mr. Jinesh Gopani, HeadEquity, and Mr. Hitesh Das,Fund Manager - Foreign Secu-rities, at Axis Asset Manage-ment Company will be manag-ing this fund.

Axis Mutual Fund launches 'Axis ESG Equity Fund'

NEW DELHI, JAN 22

A project taking the first stepstowards ending the use ofhorses in India and elsewhereto treat diphtheria has suc-ceeded. Funded by the PETA Interna-tional Science Consortium Ltd.and carried out at the Instituteof Biochemistry, Biotechnology,and Bioinformatics at the Tech-nische Universität Braun-schweig in Germany, the proj-ect created human antibodiescapable of blocking the poison-ous toxin that causes diphthe-ria. The results were publishedon Friday in Scientific Reports(a Nature research journal). Diphtheria is a potentiallydeadly infectious disease caus-ing severe respiratory distressand damage to vital organs andis a significant human health

burden. For more than 100years, the main method of pro-ducing the antitoxin to treat ithas been to inject horses re-peatedly with the diphtheriatoxin and then drain them ofhuge amounts of their blood inorder to collect the antibodiesthat their immune systems pro-duce to fight the disease. Thisanimal-derived antitoxin hasthe potential to cause seriousallergic reactions in humans,and global health authoritiesreport having difficulty acquir-ing sufficient stockpiles ofthese antitoxins to respondquickly to diphtheria out-breaks. Inspections of Indian facilitieswhere horses are commonlyused to produce animal-de-rived antitoxins for both do-mestic use and export havefound widespread neglect of

animal welfare concerns andregulations, with horses con-fined to filthy, severely crowdedenclosures and suffering fromanaemia, diseased hooves, eyeabnormalities, infections, par-asites, and malnutrition. Rather than using horses, theresearchers involved in thisproject used human blood cellsto create human antibodies thatblock the diphtheria toxin. TheScience Consortium is nowworking with its research part-ners to ensure that the non-ani-mal antitoxin is developed into amedicine that will be used totreat this menacing diseasemore reliably and safely with-out causing a single horse tosuffer. "Thousands of horses in Indiaand around the world areforced to endure cruel treat-ment for the production of

many different types of drugs,not just diphtheria antitoxin,"says Dr Dipti Kapoor, adviser tothe PETA International ScienceConsortium and PETA India."Solid science has now giventhese horses a way out of thissuffering." The PETA International Sci-ence Consortium Ltd. works toaccelerate the development,validation, and global imple-mentation of animal-free test-ing. It was established in 2012to coordinate the scientific andregulatory expertise of itsmembers - PETA India, PETAAsia, PETA US, PETA UK, PETAGermany, PETA Netherlands,PETA France, and PETA Aus-tralia. The Science Consortiumand its members have donatedsignificant funds towards help-ing to reduce and replace ani-mal use.

Scientists show we don't need to bleedIndia's horses to treat Diphtheria

JAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

Blue Dart Express Limited,South Asia's premier expressair and integrated transporta-tion & Distribution Companyand part of Deutsche Post DHLGroup (DPDHL), extends itsFirst Time Buyer program forits customers across India,launched on the 1st of Septem-ber 2019 - customers whosigned up for Blue Dart's Inter-national services which in-clude - International Outboundand Import Express betweenSeptember 2019 to December2019, were eligible for this pro-gram. In light of the colossalpositive response that hasbeen received with the intro-duction of the program BlueDart is extending the programfrom 1st January 2020 - 31stMarch 2020. Blue Dart facili-tates its International servicesto 220 countries and territories

worldwide. It also offers TimeDefinite Express 10.30 andTime Definite Express 12 serv-ices which is a door-to-doordelivery before 10:30 a.m. andbefore 12 noon respectively onthe next possible business day.Commenting on the announce-ment, Ketan Kulkarni, CMO &Head - Business Development,Blue Dart said, "Blue Dart hasalways focused on going be-yond customer satisfaction toensure customer delight. Ourcustomers are the most impor-tant part of our business, wevalue them and work tirelesslyto ensure that we offer the bestsolution to meet their needs.As part of our continuous efforttowards higher engagementand sustaining a strong rela-tionship with our customers,we introduced the First TimeBuyer program. Every newcustomer is presented with amemento, other offers through

the year and a dedicated andquick response team to wel-come them aboard, reassuringthem that they have made theright decision to partner withus for their logistics require-ments". Blue Dart continues tomaintain a strong focus onMSMEs, a segment that is seenas the growth engine of India'seconomy. MSMEs contribute tomore than 45% to India's manu-facturing sector and more than30% to the country's GDP andhave grown at more than 10%CAGR in the past 5 years. BlueDart with its core competencein being the best and settingthe pace in the industry aims tobe a Partner of Choice forMSMEs in the country. BlueDart will extend the First TimeBuyer program to MSME cus-tomers who sign up betweenJanuary 2020 to March 2020,for international and domesticservices.

Blue Dart extends its successfulFirst Time Buyer Program

JAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

In a historic result, a record 433students from Aakash Educa-tional Services Limited (AESL),the national leader in test prepa-ration services, have scored 99percentile and above in the pres-tigious JEE Mains 2020 engineer-ing competitive examinations.And out of a total of 9 studentsfrom across India who secured100 percentile, 2 are Aakashians,an impressive feat that speaksvolumes of the faculty, curriculumand training at Aakash. Register-ing one of the best results in theJEE Mains examination in the testpreparation sector.Eight Aakashi-ans also have the distinction ofbeing Toppers in the states ofWest Bengal, Delhi NCR, Ra-jasthan, Odisha, Kerala, Sikkim,Ladakh and Meghalaya. An im-pressive 2,052 students fromAakash have scored 95 percentileand above. The 2 students who se-cured 100 percentile are Nishant

Agarwal, a student of the Dis-tance Learning Programme (DLP)of AESL from Delhi NCR and ParthDwivedi from DLP from Ra-jasthan. Sreemanti Dey, a studentof the Classroom course fromWest Bengal shared 99.99 per-centile along with Sourabh S. Dasfrom the DLP course from Odisha.Other state toppers are AdvaidDeepak from Aakash DLP with99.97 percentile; Arnav Vyas fromAakash Digital from Sikkim with98.08 percentile; Parvez Mehdifrom Ladakh with 96.52 percentilefrom Aakash Classroom and PAlias Chakma with 96.39 per-centile from Classroom fromMeghalaya. Attached are graphi-cal details of the results.Congrat-ulating the students and com-menting on the impressiveresults, Mr. Aakash Chaudhry, Di-rector and CEO, Aakash Educa-tional Services Limited (AESL)and Founder & Trustee at PlakshaUniversity, said: "Congratulationsto all our students who have per-

formed well in the JEE Mains ex-amination. The credit goes to thehard work put in by our studentsand faculty, as well as the qualitytest preparation imparted atAakash Institute. I wish them allthe best for the future."JEE (Main)Examination for B.E./B.Tech. wasconducted by NTA between 7thand 9th January 2020 in two shiftsper day across 233 cities in thecountry and abroad. A total num-ber of 9,21,261 candidates wereregistered for B.E. /B. Tech. in theexam. Aakash Institute aims tohelp students in their quest toachieve academic success. It hasa centralized in-house processfor curriculum and content devel-opment and faculty training andmonitoring, led by its NationalAcademic Team. Over the years,students from AESL have shownproven selection track record invarious Medical & Engineeringentrance exams and competitiveexams such as NTSE, KVPY, andOlympiads.

Record 433 Students from AESL secure 99percentile & above in JEE Mains 2020

NEW DELHI, JAN 22

Pebble, one of the fastest grow-ing lifestyle accessories brandextends its Travel range of Ac-cessories with 'Dome' WirelessBluetooth Speaker. TheSpeaker in Black and White, isavailable with leading retailstores in India and Ecommerce

platforms in India like Amazonand Flipkart. The palm sized speaker, is de-signed true to its name. BeingLightweight and compact, withno compromise in sound, thespeaker serenades from thebedroom to the beach, andeverywhere in-between. TheBlack Beauty, features a sleek

curved design with minimalistexterior, a custom pattern andeasy to access control buttons.Despite its tiny size, theSpeaker brings high qualitysound in stunning 5W. Thespeaker guarantees deepheavy bass stereo sound withenhanced clarity, promising theloudest music for the outdoors.The speaker gives extendedplaytime, with 1200mAh Bat-tery, 5 hours of non-stop musicfrom a single charge. TheSpeaker connects up to 10mrange.The Dome also features inbuiltFM along with several connec-tivity options which includesMicro SD/USB/AUX providingthe all in one experience. TheWireless 5.0 Bluetooth alsocomes with TWS Connectivity,that connects Two PebbleDomes at one time, for the sur-round sound stereo effect.Dome also supports HandsfreeCalling facility, enabling ease ofuse btw Music and calls.

Pebble launches the Travelfriendly, 'Dome Speaker' in India

JAMMU TAWI, JAN 22

V-Mart Retail Ltd., one of India'sfastest growing value retail chainannounced the celebrations of In-dia's 71st Republic Day with thelaunch of "Bharat Bachat Karega"campaign, one of the most ag-gressive offers on fashion mer-chandise in the company's his-tory.The offer entitles a shopperto "Buy 1 Get 2 Free" across thewidest range of apparel frommen, women and kidswear. Theoffer started from January17thand continues till January

26th, 2020. The campaign is a partof V-Mart's regular endeavour tomake the latest fashion merchan-dise available to its customer at agreat value."Indians across the country cele-brate Republic Day, and we wantto make it even more special forour customers and patrons, bylaunching this campaign", saysSamir Misra, COO, V-Mart RetailLtd.Bharat Bachat Karega will be cele-brated across V-Mart's 258 storesin 189 cities and 19 UT's across In-dia.

V-Mart ushers in 71st R-Day with thelaunch of India's biggest fashionoffer "Bharat Bachat Karega"

MUMBAI, JAN 22Market benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 pointson Wednesday tracking gains in index heavy-weights HDFC twins, Infosys and Reliance Indus-tries as global stocks recovered from the previousday’s losses.The 30-share BSE index was trading204.30 points or 0.49 per cent higher at 41,528.11.Sim-ilarly, the broader NSE was trading 46.70 points, or 0.38per cent, up at 12,216.55.Infosys was the top gainer inthe Sensex pack, rising up to 1.46 per cent, followed byBharti Airtel, SBI, Sun Pharma, TCS, Bajaj Finance,HCL Tech, RIL and HDFC duo.On the other hand,ONGC, NTPC, PowerGrid, Asian Paints and Hero Moto-Corp fell up to 2.61 per cent.According to traders, do-mestic investors turned positive following recovery inother Asian markets after a day of massive selloff af-ter the outbreak of a new deadly virus in China.Boursesin Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a posi-tive note in their early sessions, while Shanghai wasstill in the red.Brent crude oil futures slipped 0.36 percent to USD 64.36 per barrel.Meanwhile, the rupee ap-preciated marginally to 71.18 against the US dollar inmorning session.In the previous session, Sensex settled205.10 points, or 0.49 per cent, lower at 41,323.81; whilethe Nifty settled 54.70 points, or 0.45 per cent, lower at12,169.85.Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institu-tional investors sold equities worth Rs 50.08 crore,while domestic institutional investors offloaded sharesworth Rs 307.81 crore on Tuesday, data availablewith stock exchanges showed.

In early trade, Sensex jumps 208points, Nifty touches 12000 mark

NEW DELHI, JAN22

Tesla Inc becamethe first $100 billionpublicly listed UScarmaker in ex-tended trading onTuesday, in a signof Wall Street’s con-fidence in an all-electric future.The milestonecomes less than amonth after Tesla’sstock crossed $420,the infamous priceat which Chief Executive Offi-cer Elon Musk had tweeted hewould take the electric carmaker private.Musk tweeted he had “fund-ing secured” to take Tesla pri-vate in August 2018, when itsshares were trading in themid-$330s, only to later giveup under investor pressureand regulatory concerns.Tesla shares were last up

1.4% at $555 after the bell,building on a 7.2% gain duringtrading when brokerage NewStreet Research raised itsprice target to $800.Tesla’smarket value also puts Muska step closer to earning thefirst $346 million tranche ofoptions in a record-breakingpay package.The $100 billion valuationneeds to stay for both a one-

month and six-month average inorder to trigger thevesting of the firstof 12 tranches ofoptions granted toMusk to buy Teslastock.Tesla, which is al-ready valued morethan Ford Motor Coand General MotorsCo combined, hasseen its stock morethan double in thelast three months,fueled by a rare

quarterly profit in October,news of production ramp-upin its China factory and bet-ter-than-expected annual cardeliveries.In another win, Tesla reacheda settlement with Michigan toallow it to directly deliver itsvehicles to customers in thestate, a person familiar withthe agreement said on Tues-day.

NEW DELHI, JAN 22

Netflix Inc. admitted that newrivals such as Apple Inc. andWalt Disney Co. have weighedon its already-sluggish USgrowth. But the streaming gi-ant reassured investors it canhandle the onslaught.Netflix climbed as much as4.3% in late trading after deliv-ering generally upbeat fourth-quarter results, with overseasgrowth helping offset the slow-down at home. Though thecompany expects to add fewersubscribers in the currentquarter than Wall Street pro-jected, it said there’s “ampleroom for many services togrow.”“We view our big long-term op-portunity as big and un-changed,” Chief Executive Of-ficer Reed Hastings said duringa pretaped recap of

earnings.Netflix investors havebeen grappling with whetherthe company’s days of acceler-ating growth are over. And it’sonly going to get tougher asnew services from AT&T Inc.and Comcast Corp. vie for sub-scribers. AT&T’s HBO Max andComcast’s Peacock are bothcoming online in the next fewmonths.But Netflix has remained con-fident that it can navigate thefast-changing TV landscape.In posting the results Tuesday,Netflix said it’s working to pullout of a slump in its home mar-ket, where price increases anda growing array of options havemade it harder to attract cus-tomers. Apple’s TV+ and theDisney+ platform bothlaunched in the US during No-vember, enticing consumerswith lower-cost services.Against that backdrop, Netflix

posted its weakest year of do-mestic subscriber growthsince it first broke out its onlineservice from the company’straditional DVD-by-mail busi-ness in 2011.“We are working hard to im-prove our service to combatthese factors,” it said in a letterto shareholders.Netflix is projecting a gain of 7million paid subscribersworldwide in the first quarter,short of the 7.82 million esti-mate. And it added just 550,000customers in the US andCanada during the fourth quar-ter.Staying the CourseThe Los Gatos, California-based company argues that itsstrategy is still sound, andcompetition shouldn’t cause itto change course. It can pointto its global growth in the latestquarter. Netflix added 8.76 mil-

lion customers in the period,compared with forecasts of7.65 million.Earnings also handily beat esti-mates, lifted by a tax benefit. Itposted earnings of $1.30 ashare, compared with a projec-tion of 30 cents.Europe and Latin Americahave been the company’s en-gine in the past couple years,and continued to serve thatrole in the fourth quarter. Net-flix added 4.4 million cus-tomers in Europe, bringing itsoverall total to almost 52 mil-lion, and another 2.04 millioncustomers in Latin America.The shares had dropped asmuch as 3% to $327.97 in ex-tended trading, but then re-bounded as investors took thedisappointing forecast instride. The company’s sharesclimbed 4.5% so far this yearbefore the close.

Netflix pinched by new US rivals, butsays it can handle them

Tesla crosses $100 billion stockmarket valuation in extended trading

WASHINGTON, JAN 22

Toyota Motor Corp said onTuesday it will recall 3.4 millionvehicles worldwide because ofan electronic defect that can re-sult in airbags not deploying incrashes.The recall, which includes 2.9million US vehicles, covers2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon and2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehi-cles and is tied to a report of onefatal crash.

The vehi-cles mayhave anelectroniccontrol unitthat doesnot haveadequateprotectionagainstelectrical

noise that can occur in crashes,which could lead to incompleteor non-deployment of theairbags. It could also impedethe operation of seat-belt pre-tensioners.In April, the US National High-way Traffic Safety Administra-tion (NHTSA) expanded a probeinto 12.3 million potentially de-fective airbags covering a num-ber of automakers, includingthe vehicles Toyota is recalling.NHTSA said in April it had iden-tified two frontal crash events,

including one fatal crash "in-volving Toyota products where(electrical overstress) is sus-pected as the likely cause" ofairbags not deploying. Both in-volved newer Corolla cars.NHTSA said the airbags underinvestigation were installed inmore than 12 million vehiclesfrom 2010 through 2019 sold byToyota, Fiat Chrysler Automo-biles NV, Honda Motor Co ,Hyundai Motor Co, Kia MotorsCorp and Mitsubishi.They were equipped with an airbag control unit initially pro-duced by TRW AutomotiveHoldings Corp, which is nowowned by ZF Friedrichshafen.In total, NHTSA said as many aseight deaths could be tied to theissue.Hyundai, Kia and Fiat Chryslerpreviously issued recalls formore than 2.5 million vehicleswith the TRW air bag control

units in question that might notdeploy in crashes.When it recalled nearly 2 mil-lion vehicles for air bag non-de-ployments in 2016, FiatChrysler said it had reports ofthree deaths and five injuriesthat might be related to the de-fect.Hyundai and Kia ultimately re-called more than 1 million vehi-cles for air bag non-deploymentconcerns in 2018. Hyundai andKia in 2018 said they had re-ports of four deaths and six in-juries in North America tied tothe issue.Toyota dealers will install anoise filter between the air bagcontrol module and its wire har-ness if needed.Toyota declined to say howmany deaths or injuries havebeen tied to the defect. Toyotawill notify vehicle owners of therecall by mid-March.

Toyota to recall 3.4 million vehiclesworldwide over airbag glitch

12 Jammu Tawi | Jan 22, 2020 | Thursday

Rohit of CABJK bags National cricket title

NL CorrespoNdeNT

Jammu Tawi, Jan 22: Out-standing international blind cricketer of Jammu and Kashmir, Rohit Kumar Sharma brought laurels to Cricket Association for Blinds Jammu and Kash-mir (CABJK) after he was named man of the series of the Nagesh Trophy Nation-al Cricket Tournament for Blinds 2019-2020.

The event, wherein 24 teams from across the coun-try participated, was organ-ised by Cricket Associa-tion for the Blinds in India (CABI) at different venues.

Rohit, a B1 category player, has been awarded with the coveted title for his distinguished innings in the national event.

A staffer of Bank of Baroda and posted at Gandhi Nagar branch in Jammu, Rohit scored 155 runs in five games J&K played and emerged top scorer in B1 category. Other player in B1 category scored 83 runs. In B2 cate-gory, Ajay Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and in B3, Sunil Ramesh of Karnataka were awarded the similar titles.

Earlier, in the final,

Andhra Pradesh defeated Karnataka by eight wick-ets. The Brief Scores: Kar-nataka: 197 for 6 wickets (Lokesh 68, Sunil R 44, Prakash 36; Venkatesh

30/2, Durgarao 40/1). Andhra Pradesh: 198 for 2 wickets in 17 overs (Than-davaKrishna 62, D Ven-kateshwara Rao 49. Ajaku-mar 47; Basappa 40/1)

NIFdJK hold continues seminars at district level

Bashir Malik resigns from JKFA

NL CorrespoNdeNT

Srinagar, Jan 22: Former general secretary of J&K Football Association (JKFA), Bashir Ahmed Malik has resigned from the Executive Committee of the Associa-tion on the grounds of alleged poor functioning of sports body.

Veteran footballer and senior functionary of the JKFA announced his res-ignation during a seminar organised by the National and International Foot-

ballers Delegation of J&K (NIFDJK), a handout issued by the Delegation here today informed.

“I have raised my voice time and again against the wrong doings within the JKFA where few people have hijacked the entire Associa-tion for their own interests and time has come to disasso-ciate myself from these mis-chievous people who have damaged the sport in entire J&K,” said Malik while expressing his concern.

In the meantime, another

prominent footballer and former member JKFA, Nazir Ahmed Andrabi, the man who was behind the success-ful conduct of the Santosh Trophy 2008, blamed JKFA for taking the game of foot-ball to the dark corners.

Famous star footballers Ishfaq Ahmed, MehrajUd Din Wadoo, Arun Malhotra and former Chairman J&K Bank Sports, Abdul Hameed Banday have already spoken openly against the unconsti-tutional and illegal working of JKFA.

Poonch Panthers win Volleyball League tie

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Poonch, Jan 22: Poonch Panthers made it straight 3-0 sets win against Poonch Gladiater in the ongoing Poonch Volleyball League, organised by Shaheed Manjit Singh Volleyball Club at Degree College ground, here today.

The competition is being held with the sole motive to educate the youth about the relevance of unity and importance of being fit.

The event is being held under the aegis of Volley-ball Association of Jammu and Kashmir. The score: 15-12, 15-10, 15-13.

JKSC conducts screening of Wrestling teams

NL CorrespoNdeNT

Jammu Tawi, Jan 22: Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council (JKSC) today con-ducted screening of the J&K wrestling teams heading for 39th Boys Free Style, Greco Roman Style and 23rd Girls Sub-Junior (Cadet) National Championship to be held at Patna in Bihar from January 25 to January 28.

The team was screened by

Divisional Sports Officer of the JKSC, Ravi Singh at MA Stadium, here. Also pres-ent were Dheeraj Sharma, Kamal Singh (coach), Ravinder Kumar and Sahil Sharma.

The Teams: Surya Udhay Partap Singh (Free Style-51 kg), Sahil Kumar (Greeco Roman, 51 kg), Harun Choudhary (Free Style-55 kg), Shubham Kumar (Greeco Roman-55 kg),

Natter Singh (Free Style 60 kg), Vishal Singh (Greeco Roman-60 kg), Aman Dogra (Free Style-65 kg), Harsh Dev Singh (Greeco Roman-65 kg), Shahid Omar (Free Style-71 kg), Gagan Singh (Greeco Roman-71 kg), Mohd Sahil (Free Style-80 kg), Sourav Sharma (Greeco Roman-92 kg), Sanjana Sharma (43 kg), Shreeeya Sharma (51 kg) and Mitali Kotwal (53 kg).

Handball infra squeezing, JKHA worried

NL CorrespoNdeNT

Jammu Tawi, Jan 22: The game that gave Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) most number of medals at the international level has wit-nessed, in the recent past, its area of operation—mainly the infrastructure, squeez-ing on a fast pace.

Worried over reducing training fields in the sports hub of Winter Capital of Jammu, the Jammu and Kashmir Handball Associa-tion (JKHA) has approached the authorities concerned but, unfortunately, the efforts turn out to be a futile exercise.

“In the past some time, the number of playing fields within the Jammu city have been reduced to one as against the three regu-lar training centres. Two regular coaching centres of MA Stadium and Mini Stadium, Parade shifted to one place i.e. Shastri Nagar Play fields,” expressing his concern, general secretary of the JKHA, Ashwani Raina told SAN.

Finding it difficult to con-vince the higher ups in the J&K Sports Council (JKSC), the organisation responsi-ble for up keep of the sports infrastructure, the JKHA has submitted a request with

the Advisor to the Lt. Gover-nor, Farooq Khan, recently.

“Finding it difficult to convince the office of the Secretary JKSC with regard to relocation of three cen-tres to one place that too far away from the old city, we have approached the Advi-sor Sports in this regard and conveyed our concern,” maintained Raina.

The JKHA has also rued the ill treatment meted out to sports hub of Jammu and poor planning by the Sports departments in setting up the modern sports infra-structure under Prime Min-ister Package.

“The Association sur-prised to know that the JKSC and the Department of Youth Service and Sports (DYSS) have selected district Udhampur for setting up of first of its kind synthetic handball court thereby deny-ing hub of sports (Jammu) the modern facility,” informed general secretary of the JKHA.

Important to mention here that Handball has maximum number of medal winners at the international level form J&K and those celebrity players at pres-ent hold higher positions in J&K Police and other depart-ments as also Central police and armed forces.

Maria Sharapova career in balance after Melbourne humiliation

MeLbourNe, JaN 22

Maria Sharapova burst onto the scene as a supremely gifted teenager and won five Grand Slams before serving a drugs ban, but at age 32 a persistent injury has now thrown her turbulent career into grave doubt.

The Russian former world number one’s ranking is set to dive below 350 after Tues-day’s first-round defeat at the Australian Open.

There have been sugges-tions that Sharapova could soon retire and she did little to dispel that notion follow-ing the straight-sets loss to the 19th seed Donna Vekic.

Asked by AFP if she will be back in Melbourne again, she replied: “I don’t know, I don’t know.

“It’s tough for me to tell what’s going to happen in 12 months’ time.”

Sharapova, banned for 15 months for failing a drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open, also said that she did not know what her playing schedule will be in the weeks ahead.

There were moments when Sharapova’s downcast press conference took on the air of a farewell.

One journalist asked what the best decision had been in her career.

“I surrounded myself with great people and a great team, and I think it starts with that because you can’t always get to where you want to go alone,” replied Sharapova.

The Russian once rivalled Serena Williams on court for Grand Slams as well as off it as one of the most market-able women in sport, her net worth estimated by Forbes at $195 million.

But while the 38-year-old Williams is going for a record-equalling 24th Major in Melbourne, Sharapova has hardly played in the past year because of long-standing shoulder problems.

When she did play she lost as many matches as she won and was dumped out in the first rounds at Wimbledon and the US Open—and now Melbourne.

A former champion in Melbourne, it was her earli-est Australian Open exit in a decade.

‘I don’t have a crystal ball’Sharapova shot to fame

as a giggly 17-year-old Wim-bledon winner in 2004, the third-youngest player to con-

quer the All England Club’s hallowed grass courts.

She became world number one in 2005 and won the US Open the next year.

But in 2007 Sharapova began her long on-off battle with shoulder trouble.

She would win the 2008 Australian Open before a second shoulder injury kept her off tour for the second half of the season, missing the US Open and Beijing Olympics.

In 2012, the Siberian-born Sharapova captured the French Open to become the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam. She added Olympic silver to her resume that year.

Her 2014 French Open title was another high after a dispiriting injury low.

More injury troubles fol-lowed before the bombshell announcement of her posi-tive test for the banned heart drug meldonium.

Always a fighter—the sev-en-year-old Maria and father Yuri left for the US in 1994 with just a borrowed $700 to their names—Sharapova returned to tennis in 2017.

She won a lower-level WTA title in Tianjin, China six months later. But if she hoped that would herald a return to the top, she was to be mistaken.

Back in Melbourne, where she had to rely on a wild-card to gain entry because of her lowly ranking of 145, Sharapova said she hoped to get her creaking body back into shape to be competitive once more—but she was far from convincing.

“I would like to, I don’t know,” she replied.

“I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you if I can or if I will, but I would love to.”

Bishnoi cuts through Japan

bLoeMFoNTeIN, JaN 21

Defending champions India outclassed debutants Japan by 10 wickets in their second match to secure a spot in the Super League quarterfinals of the ICC U-19 World Cup here today. Opting to field first, four-time champions India bowled out a hapless Japan for 41 runs in 22.5 overs with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi taking four wickets. It was the joint second lowest total by a team in the U-19 World Cup and joint third

lowest in the U-19 cricket history. Pacers Kartik Tyagi and Akash Singh shared five wickets among themselves as none of the Japanese bats-men entered double digits.

India needed just 4.5 overs to complete the formalities, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kumar Kushagra remaining unbeaten on 29 and 13, respec-tively. India play their final league game against New Zea-land on Friday.

‘Very happy’The game on Tuesday was

a complete mismatch, with Japan playing a major ICC event for the first time.

India captain Priyam Garg, however, said his fast bowlers could have done a better job. “Very happy with the perfor-mance. The spinners were good, but the lines and lengths could have been better from the pacers. There’s no pressure as such. We want to do well, we take every game as it comes,”

said Garg.Japan captain Marcus

Thurgate said the team will head back home a lot richer in experience. “I knew it was going to be a really tough game. We didn’t do our best, especial-ly with the bat. We could have done better. We learnt a lot. We can go to Japan and say that we’ve played against some of the big guys,” he said. “We’ll take a lot of positives from this game. We need to learn from our mistakes and keep getting better.”

Bangladesh winBangladesh are on the cusp

of joining the defending cham-pions in the Super League after a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Scotland for their second win of Group C. Their place in the next stage would be confirmed if Pakistan beat Zimbabwe on Wednesday — a result which would also see Pakistan progress.

Advisor Sharma felicitates Valley’s 2 mountaineers

GuLMarG, JaN 22

Advisor to Lieutenant Gov-ernor, K K Sharma Wednes-day handed over cheques of Rs 1 lakh each to the val-ley's two promising moun-taineers, Nawab Moauzam Khan and Ghulam Moham-mad Wani for successfully scaling Mount DKD Peak in Uttrakhand. The duo was facilitated here at Gulmarg in presence of Director Tour-ism Kashmir Nisar Ahmad Wani, Chief Executive Offi-cer (CEO) Gulmarg Develop-ment Authority (GDA) Inam-ul- Haq Siddiqui, Deputy Director Tourism (Recre-ation) Sarfaraz Mohammad, Assistant Director Gulmarg Nasir Mahmood, Principal IISM Col JS Dhillon.

The two climbers as part of their Indian Mountain-

eering Foundation (IMF) Pre-Everest training camp on June 25, 2019 successfully scaled 5700 mtr peak Mount Draupadi Ka Dhandaa 2 (DKD 2).

IMF as part of Scale Four Peaks in the ‘Everest massif region’ in 2020 from Ever-est Base Camp is scheduled to launch expeditions to Mt Everest – 8848 Mtrs, Lhotse- 8516 Mtrs, Nuptse – 7861 Mtrs and Pumori – 7161 Mtrs.

The Advisor further said J&K is also blessed with huge potential in adventure tourism for which the tour-ism department is making every effort to it not only at national but at international platforms. Speaking on the occasion, Director Tourism Kashmir said the depart-ment is laying special focus on adventure tourism.

Anurag Thakur visits Jammu’s M A Stadium, lauds upgraded facilities

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Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs and former BCCI President, Anurag Thakur today paid a visit to the upgraded Mau-lana Azad Stadium, Jammu. The sporting facility which was recently inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor, G.C Murmu has been refur-bished as an exclusive crick-et stadium under the Hon’ble Prime Ministers Special Development Programme. The Minister took a detailed review of the upgraded facil-ity. He was also given an architectural design pre-sentation of the renovated complex by the officials of

NPCC, the executing agency of the upgradation project. The former BCCI President, Anurag Thakur, who is also credited with the building world famous Dharamshala Cricket Stadium on this occa-sion also suggested certain infrastructure additions to the sports complex. “I have found this stadium to be much beautiful than I saw it the last

time. The upgraded facilities shall surely benefit the crick-eting fraternity of the Union Territory, Anurag Thakur remarked.” It is noteworthy that Anurag Thakur while interacting with the Media on the 19th January 2020 at Jammu in a public state-ment had supported the idea of hosting an international cricket match in Jammu.

Thakur’s statement was later also welcomed by Jb Farooq Khan, Advisor to the Lt Governor, who is also holding the charge of J&K Sports Ministry.

Ravinder Raina, BJP President, J&K, Aashiq Bukhari (IPS), CEO, JKCA, Naseem Choudhary, Secre-tary, J&K Sports Council, Sh Ranjeet Kalra, JKCA’s representative to the BCCI General Body, Sh Amrit-pal Singh, SP, North, Ravi Singh, Divisional Sports Officer, Jammu, Advocate Parimoksh Seth, Sh Ajay Gupta Pargal, Manager of the Sports Council, S.P Singh and Satish Gupta were also present on the occasion.

Australian Open: Sania Mirza pulls out of mixed doubles, will play women’s doubles

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Sania Mirza has pulled out of the Aus-tralian Open mixed doubles event to protect her calf from a strain but will compete in the women’s doubles with Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok.

Sania was scheduled to play in the mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopanna but decided to limit her appearance at the first Grand Slam of the season to just one event.

Sania, returning to action after a two-year maternity break, had won the Hobart International with Kichenok.

She had pulled her calf muscle during the training in run-up to the Hobart International and felt the strain during her triumphant campaign last week.

“As I speak to you I am still icing my leg,” Sania had told PTI after winning the Hobart event.

Bopanna, though, remains in the

mixed doubles and has teamed up with Kichenok. They will open their cam-paign against second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Shuai Zhang.

Leander Paes is also competing in

mixed doubles, pairing up with Jelena Ostapenko, who had won 2017 French Open. They are pitted against local wild card entrants Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans

Leg-spinner takes four wickets as India beat Japan by 10 wickets, enter next stage