New Delhi: Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said his ministry will hold dialogue with states for bringing uniformity in laws for cooperatives in the country, as he stressed on the economic importance of the sector in economic empowerment of crores of poor. Stating that the demand for a Ministry For Cooperation was long standing, Shah said while the history of Cooperatives in India is over 100 years old, the sector suffered decline gradually. Shah, who is the first Minister of Cooperation, also called for uniform cooperative laws across states, and said his ministry will initiate a consultation process for this. Shah, while dismissing the requirement for a new law for cooperatives, said as per Constitution, state cooperatives come under the control of state governments and multi state cooperatives are controlled by the center. He said there was no problem with the current structure. “As per the Constitution, the state looks after state cooperatives, and the center looks after multi state cooperatives, no change is required in that. But we can have uniform laws across states through dialogue. My ministry will consult all states and we will bring a proposal to change laws on cooperatives,” he said. He also said his ministry had no intention of deciding the policy for cooperatives and invited suggestions for it. “Cooperation ministry does not want to decide the cooperative policy. Very soon, feedback will be invited on the ministry website in all Indian languages,” he said. Shah also said there are 8,55,000 cooperatives in the country, 1,77,000 credit societies are there. There are 33 state cooperative banks, over 12 crore members and 51 percent villages have presence of cooperatives:. He also called for more transparency in the processes including elections in cooperatives.

 Arms, ammunition recovered 

Srinagar: Police recovered arms and ammunition after driver of a vehicle fled from the spot after seeing a Naka party in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district last night, officials said on Tuesday.

“As per sources, a team of Anantnag police was on night domination near Mehmodabad Dooru. A vehicle coming from opposite direction stopped on seeing the police party. This raised suspicion and police team fired some rounds in air. However driver of the vehicle fled away from the spot taking advantage of the darkness,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Upon checking of the vehicle which the unknown person abandoned, the spokesperson said, a red colour bag was found.

“From the bag one AK-56, short barrel,  two AK magazines, 2 pistols, three pistol magazines, six hand grenade, 44 rounds of AK-47, 58 rounds of 9mm ammo and a sling was recovered”, he said.

Subsequently, he said, case under relevant sections of law has been registered in police station Dooru Anantnag. “Nakas have been laid and alert has been raised to look out for person who escaped”, he added.

Srinagar: The overnight firefight between militants and joint team of police and army in Kulgam district of south Kashmir ended with the killing of two militants of Jash-e-Mohammad, one of them being “active for five years,” while two policemen suffered injuries, officials said on Tuesday.

“On 11 April 2022, based on a specific input regarding movement of (militants) in a vehicle on Manzgam-Aharbal axis, a special joint team of Kulgam Police and Army’s 9 & 34 RR  was constituted and at about 17:50 hours,” a police spokesperson said, adding, “a three-wheeler vehicle (tempo) was spotted near Khur-Batpora moving in suspicious condition and was chased and challenged.”

However, he said, militants travelling in the vehicle jumped out and resorted to indiscriminate firing towards the joint team. “The fire of the (militants) was effectively retaliated. However, in the initial firefight, two of the policemen got critically wounded and were evacuated amidst the heavy firing to 92 Base Hospital (BB Cant Srinagar) where their condition is stable now.”

He said the encounter which started at twilight lasted for the whole night and two militants—Jameel Pasha alias Usman Chachu of JeM (Pakistani) and Sameer Sofi son of Farooq Ahmad Sofi of Amshipora, Shopian were killed.
“As per Police records, Jameel Pasha was active since five years in Kulgam-Shopian belt and had a history of cases including attacks on Police/SFs, abduction of forces personnel, civilian atrocities, IED attacks, weapon looting,” he said, adding, “Besides, he was also instrumental in recruitment of gullible youth into (militant) folds.” He said that killed militants were part of the group that escaped after a brief gunfight in Chaki Samad area of Kulgam on April 9.
He said a large cache of arms and ammunition including one AK47 rifle, 3 AK47 Magazine, 36 AK 47 rounds, one Pistol, one Pistol Magazine, five Pistol rounds, one Grenade, one BP Pouch, and weapon Oil Bottle was recovered. (GNS)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya on Thursday at around 11 AM as a tribute to every Prime Minister of the country since Independence, irrespective of their ideology or tenure in office.

The Sangrahalaya, being inaugurated during the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, tells the story of India after Independence through the lives and contributions of its Prime Ministers, the PMO said in a statement.

It is an inclusive endeavour led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aimed at sensitising and inspiring the younger generation about the leadership, vision and achievements of all our Prime Ministers, it added.

“Representing a seamless blend of the old and the new, the Sangrahalaya integrates the erstwhile Teen Murti Bhawan designated as Block I, with the newly constructed building designated as Block II. The total area of the two blocks is over 15,600 square metres,” the PMO said

The design of the museum building incorporates sustainable and energy conservation practices.

“No tree has been felled or transplanted during the course of work on the project. The logo of the Sangrahalaya represents the hands of the people of India holding the Dharma Chakra symbolising the nation and democracy,” the PMO said.

Information for the museum was collected through resources and repositories with government and private media platforms, Defence Ministry, Foreign News Agencies etc.

Appropriate use of the collected works and other literary works, important correspondences, some personal items, gifts and memorabilia, felicitations, honours, medals conferred, commemorative stamps, coins, speeches of Prime Ministers and anecdotal representation of ideologies and different aspects of the lives of Prime Ministers have been reflected in a thematic format in the Sangrahalaya.

There are a total of 43 galleries in the Sangrahalaya. Starting from displays on freedom struggle and the framing of the Constitution, the Sangrahalaya goes on to tell the story of how the Prime Ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured the all-round progress of the country, the PMO said.

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today announced setting up of Single Window Portal for pensioners and superannuated elder citizens. The Portal, he said, will not only enable constant contact with pensioners and their associations across the country but will also regularly receive their inputs, suggestions as well as grievances for prompt response.

Addressing the 32nd Meeting of “Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies” (SCOVA) for Review and Rationalisation of Pension Rules i.e (CCS) (Pension) Rules, 2021, Dr Jitendra Singh said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several revolutionary changes were brought in since 2014 in Pension Rules for bringing “Ease of Living” to the common man.

Pensioner Associations from Jammu, Jaipur, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Chandigarh and other parts of the country participated in the meeting. Jammu & Kashmir was represented by DGP (Retd) Kuldeep Khoda IPS and Secretary (Retd) K B Jandial IAS.

The Union Minister said that the objective of Common Pension Portal is to create a single window digital mechanism for pensioners to raise their grievances and get the same resolved without approaching different authorities in person. He said, all Ministries responsible to process, sanction or disburse pension dues, are interlinked to this system and grievances are forwarded after assessment to the concerned Ministry/Department for resolution. Pensioners as well as Nodal officer can view the status of the grievance online till disposal in the system.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that since the launch of Doorstep Service for submission of Digital Life Certificate (DLC) through Postman in November 2020, more than 3,08,625 Life Certificates through India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have been done. The facility to submit life certificate online through Jeevan PramaanPortal was launched by the Prime Minister in November, 2014 with the objective to provide a convenient and transparent facility to pensioners for submission of Life Certificate. He also added that Doorstep banking for collection of Life Certificates is in place in 100 cities by Public Sector Banks and the number of Life Certificates done through Banking Agents is 4253.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Face Authentication Technique through Android phone for submission of life certificate digitally has been launched on 29.11.2021 and till date, more than 20,500 Life Certificates through face authentication have been done. Similarly, he informed that as on date total number of DLCs submitted by the Central Government Pensioners is around 1,07,75,980 /- since 2014. In 2021 total DLCs submitted till date is 19,80,977.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the ‘Bhavishya’ platform, an integrated online pension processing system is at present being successfully implemented in the main Secretariat of 96 Ministries/ Departments including 813 Attached Offices. As on date, more than 1,50,000 cases have been processed ie. PPOs issued which includes more than 80,000 e-PPOs. The Minister also informed that Bhavishya 8.0 released in August, 2020 with a new feature to PUSH the ePPO in Digilocker. Bhavishya’ is the first application to use the Digilocker Id based PUSH Technology of Digilocker.

The Minister said that the Department had started in 2017 the unique experiment of holding Pension Adalats to resolve chronic grievances of Central Government Pensioners, falling within the four walls of extant policy and the First Pension Adalat was held on 20.09.2017. So far, the Department has conducted a total of 6 Pension Adalats. The next Pension Adalat is scheduled to be held on 05.05.2022.

Dr Jitendra Singh directed the officials to create widespread awareness of the initiatives for the welfare of pensioners through official and social media channels.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the earlier Pension Rules were notified 50 years ago in 1972. Since then, a large number of amendments to the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 have taken place. He said, in the light of such changes and several office memoranda clarifying different provisions of these Rules, the Department has brought out a revised and updated version of the Rules i.e. Civil Services (CCS) (Pension) Rules, 2021.

Dr Jitendra Singh clarified that the revised Rules do not make any changes in regard to entitlement of amount of pension, family pension or gratuity. However, the new Rules bring about several new policy and procedural improvements over the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. Also, some provisions in the old rules, which have become redundant over a period of time, have been omitted from the new Rules, the Minister added.

Washington/New Delhi: The India-US joint statement on the 2+2 talks has a small paragraph on Ukraine and significantly does not mention Russia, though in their media remarks the US side did mention Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine.
The joint statement, issued after talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and their US counterparts Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the four ministers “reviewed mutual efforts to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications. “They urged an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Ministers unequivocally condemned civilian deaths. They underscored that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, respect for international law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.” US President Joe Biden in his virtual meeting with PM Modi on Monday had mentioned that the “United States and India are going to continue our close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war.” On the Quad, the ministers of the two sides said they looked forward to the next Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo in 2022, which President Biden revealed would be held on May 24 in Japan. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states are respected, and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion. They also reiterated the importance of adherence to international law to meet challenges to the rules-based order, including in the South China Sea, the joint statement said. They welcomed the remarkable progress made under the Quad Vaccine Partnership to augment the manufacturing capacity of the Biological E facility in India, supported by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and committed to expedite delivery of the first batch of vaccines to countries of the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Following up on the October 2021 virtual meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, the Ministers welcomed the opportunity to enhance engagement in this forum on shared priorities such as food security, clean energy, waste management, and infrastructure development, it said. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to work together in close coordination at the UNSC and in international organizations. The United States reaffirmed its continued support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed UNSC and for India’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. Considering growing national security threats from both state and non-state malicious cyber actors, the Ministers recognized the importance of an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable Internet and stable cyberspace. They confirmed their intent to work closely as part of ongoing efforts to counter the use of information communications technologies for criminal purposes. The Ministers called on the Taliban to abide by UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021), which demands that Afghan territory must never again be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or finance terrorist attacks. They recommitted to close consultations on Afghanistan to help facilitate an inclusive and peaceful future for all Afghans. The Ministers called for the cessation of violence in Myanmar, the release of all those arbitrarily detained, and a swift return to the path of democracy and inclusive governance. They also called for urgent implementation of the ASEAN Five Point Consensus. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and India’s Development Partnership Administration (DPA) have decided to expand triangular development activity with third countries, for greater cooperation to address global development challenges around the world, including in Asia and Africa. The United States appreciated the opportunity for USAID to co-chair the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)’s Governing Council. Both sides reaffirmed plans to collaborate through CDRI in supporting countries most impacted by natural disasters, including those resulting from climate change. India welcomed the United States’ signing of the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and looked forward to supporting projects to expand the availability of reliable and affordable solar power including the $500 million investment by the DFC in First Solar’s facility to produce solar panels in India. The United States conveyed its full support to India’s upcoming G20 Presidency from December 2022 to November 2023. In this context, the Ministers reiterated their commitment to work closely on international security, social, and economic issues of global interest and impact.

Jammu: A woman was arrested on Tuesday for beating her toddler mercilessly in J&K’s Samba district.

Police sources said that a video went viral on social media in which a mother was seen beating her child mercilessly.

Police investigation identified the woman as Preeti Sharma, resident of Upper Kamila Purmandal in Samba district.

“An FIR has been lodged against the mother under the relevant sections of law. She has been detained for questioning”, the sources said.

Srinagar: Days after the Jammu and Kashmir government asked businesses to install security cameras, J&K Police on Tuesday said non-compliance of this order may lead to penal action and FIR.

Srinagar Police said April 19 is the last date for compliance.

“It is requested to all establishments in Srinagar to install CCTVs as instructed via DM (District Magistrate) Srinagar Order dated 5th April 2022. Non-Compliance of this order may lead to Penal Action and FIR. 19th April is the last date for compliance. CCTVs are for your own protection & deterrence,” a tweet by the Srinagar police said on Tuesday evening.

After the recent spurt in targeted attacks by militants, DMs of various districts including Srinagar last week asked businesses to install CCTVs of specific configurations.

Jammu: A complaint lodged by a selection grade constable has landed his senior in the Jammu and Kashmir Police department in the trap of Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday in the bribery case.

CBI sources told UNI that Inspector Ved Prakash, posted as Station House Officer at police station Loran, District Poonch on Tuesday was taken into custody after he was arrested with bribed money of Rs 10,000.

“A selection grade constable posted at Police Station Bari Brahmana in District Samba had a land dispute with his brother in village Jabri, Loran,” sources said.

They revealed that the constable’s brother had lodged a complaint against him in a land dispute case at Police Station Loran following which he was summoned by the accused Station House Officer.

“The Constable on April 9, 2022 reached the police station but the SHO demanded Rs 10,000/- from him for settling the matter between two parties,” a CBI official said as reported by the complainant.

Acting on the constable’s complaint, a CBI team this afternoon raided the Police Station Loran and caught the Inspector red handed with a bribe.

He was arrested on the spot, CBI officials said, adding that a case under relevant sections was registered and investigation started.

Washington: At least five people were shot inside a subway train on Tuesday morning in Brooklyn, Al Jazeera reported.

According to the police at least 13 people had been taken to local hospitals, adding that the nature of all the injuries was still unclear as to whether they had been shot, or were injured by shrapnel from a suspected smoke bomb.

Eyewitnesses told the media that the attack happened at about 0830 am as the N train began to pull out of the 59th street station, adding that white smoke billowed in the adjoining train car loud bangs were heard.

After initial reports circulated that undetonated devices had been found at the scene of crime, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) later tweeted and clarified there were no active explosive devices were found at the station.

Police are searching for a suspect, who was described as a Black man wearing an orange construction vest and a gas mask.

Images from the scene showed people tending to injured passengers lying on the floor of the station bleeding, while smoke could be seen in the air at the station. Witnesses alleged that one or more smoke canisters were used in the attack.