‘Govt committed to creating culture of innovation’

Jammu, Feb 18: Principal Secretary Higher Education Department, Rohit Kansal Friday reiterated that the J&K Government is committed to supporting the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu and other institutions to build a culture of innovation and growth. He also committed to supporting innovation hubs not just in IIT Jammu but in other universities in J&K also.

He also announced that the entire process would be enlarged and a J&K wide start up contest would be organized soon. The Higher Education department would support and facilitate a J&K wide version of the event which would be organized by the IIT and supported by the government.

He made these remarks while speaking at a prize distribution ceremony of the first-ever I2EDC Pitch Desk Competition-2022 held at IIT Jammu here today.

The first-ever completion witnessed an overwhelming response from innovators all over the Jammu and Kashmir during which three teams were conferred prizes for the first three places which include: Team BB & GG from SKAUST-K (Rs one lakh) bagged first prize while as Team Azad Identity Solutions (Rs 50,000) from IIT Jammu and Team Manukrishi (Rs 25000) bagged second and third prize respectively.

The organizer of this competition was I2EDC (Institute Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre) also known as the Idea Factory of IIT Jammu whose job is to help in incubating promising startups not just from IIT Jammu but also from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

I2EDC hosted an early stage idea pitch deck competition open to the community of all higher education institutes as well as research labs in JK UT and Ladakh in the month of January. The competition received over 70 registrations, and 35+ valid entries from the Union Territory.

Speaking at the ceremony, Kansal observed that we are living in the age of innovation and the I2EDC Pitch Desk Competition-2022 was a first but very significant step in this direction.

He confirmed that the government stands committed in supporting IIT Jammu in all their innovation efforts and are going to take this forward to expand the scope of this exercise to enable it to reach a much larger audience set.

“We will expand our support in size as well as scope whereby IIT Jammu shall be developed as an incubation hub; we will also support other institutions and universities in J&K by mapping up these incubators with spokes that we will create in all our colleges. The resultant culture of innovation, growth and progress will benefit not just J&K but the entire nation.” Kansal said.

On the occasion, he congratulated all the participants and hoped that the innovators and entrepreneurs will continue in their endeavours.

Director IIT Jammu, Dr Manoj Singh Gaur; Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Jammu and Head I2EDC, Dr Amit Kumar Singh;  Professor Incharge Incubation, Prof Rakesh Singhai among other also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the role of innovation and startups in entrepreneurship.

On the occasion, the institute also announced multiple levels of hackathons where all the entrepreneurs and innovators throughout J&K will be invited and will later on also to be opened to all over India.

The IIT Jammu will support the innovators in prototyping with proper guidance while also proving to connect with industry so that developed products can be marketed and startups can grow and have exponential growth as well.

New Delhi: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the second such free trade pact in last five years, seeking to double the merchandise trade to $100 billion in next five years.

The pact was signed and exchanged by Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of Economy of UAE, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri in the virtual presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“The Agreement will provide significant benefits to Indian and UAE businesses, including enhanced market access and reduced tariffs. It is expected that the CEPA will lead to increase in bilateral trade from the current $ 60 billion to $ 100 billion in the next 5 years,” a statement from Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. Negotiations for CEPA with the UAE were launched in September 2021.

“Both nations are entering a golden era of economic and trade cooperation with the signing of India-UAE CEPA,” Goyal wrote on Twitter as the two sides signed the trade pact.

India had signed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius in February last year.

Other than Mauritius and the UAE, India is currently in negotiation with seven more countries and blocks including Australia, UK, EU and Canada for a free trade agreement.

“It’s a huge milestone particularly because this is first major comprehensive economic partnership agreement which has been signed by India in last 10 years or so,” said Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

Sahai said India is already a dominant player in the UAE and has the required wherewithal to increase its share.

Besides, Indian exporters are also looking at UAE as gateway to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and beyond (Africa). The UAE is currently India’s third-largest trading partner with bilateral trade in 2019/2020 valued at $ 59 billion. It is also India’s second-largest export destination after the US, with exports valued at about $ 29 billion in 2019-2020.

The UAE is the eighth-largest investor in India, having invested $ 11 billion between April 2000 and March 2021, while investment by Indian companies in the UAE is estimated to be over $ 85 billion, as per official data. India’s major exports to the UAE include petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems & jewellery, minerals, processed foods, apparels, sugar, engineering and chemicals. India’s top imports from the UAE include petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems & jewellery, minerals, chemicals and wood and wood products. (UNI)

Dr Jitendra Singh holds interaction with young entrepreneurs

New Delhi:Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitender Singh, Friday visited the ‘India First Startup & Conclave 2022’ being organized at Hotel Le MeridianMeridian by All India Council for Robotics and Automation (AICRA).

Dr Singh interacted with the young entrepreneurs present in the conclave.

While interacting with Shivaang Satya Gupta, Dr Singh appreciated the efforts of ESPA Learn Private Limited EdTech.

“India is emerging as the world’s preferred StartUp destination due to its vast unexplored potential coupled with an entrepreneurship friendly environment being provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”, Union MoS maintained during interaction.

Managing Director, Jammu Kashmir Trade Promotion Organization (JKTPO), Ankita Kar, also visited the stalls of J&K start ups set up in the conclave.

Pertinently, JKTPO sponsored 15 startups from J&K at the event. JKTPO is J&K government undertaking incorporated as a Joint Venture of Government of J&K, Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) and Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

Among the startups were Espa Learn Private Limited and Espa Fee Private Limited.

Ankita Kar admired the ideas being implemented by bright brains of J&K. “For making processes and the technology sector relevant, JKTPO has worked hard to showcase the efforts being put in by startups in Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.

ESPA Group of Companies had three unique startups in the event including ESPA Learn Private Limited, ESPA FEE Private Limited and ESPA Lines Private Limited. Shivang Satya Gupta, Chairman, ESPA Group, attended the event as Director Promotions for these companies.

Shivang Satya Gupta explained his vision and modern IT interventions being used in the start ups and expressed that it would be highly useful for the target groups. He also invited the prospective entrepreneurs to get along with ESPA Learn in this journey.

Washington: The Biden administration has proposed removing Trump-era hurdles that restrict non-citizens from accessing public health benefits and other government services, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release on Thursday.

“Under the proposed rule, DHS proposes to define ‘likely at any time to become a public charge’ as ‘likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence,'” the release said.

The proposed rule change would provide fair and humane treatment for noncitizens requesting admission to the United States and also apply to noncitizens who are applying for lawful permanent residence from within the United States, the DHS added.

“Under this proposed rule, we will return to the historical understanding of the term ‘public charge’ and individuals will not be penalized for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them,” Secretary for Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in the release.

In 2019, the Trump administration expanded the interpretation of the term “public charge” and the types of public benefits considered, causing many noncitizens to be fearful of accessing benefits that Congress intended them to have, including children in mixed-status households, the DHS said. (UNI)

Jammu: As a major initiative towards good governance and ease of convenience to the citizens, the Revenue Department is starting issuance of trilingual Land Passbooks in Hindi, Urdu and English to the landholders with effect from 19th of February 2022 from the districts of Jammu and Srinagar.

To begin with, 7 Tehsils of Srinagar district and 21 Tehsils of Jammu district would distribute the land passbooks at 28 locations with participation of representatives of PRIs, landholders, farmers, financial institutions and line departments.

Pertinently, the land passbooks being issued to every landholder contain sentry from the Jamabandi in revenue estate so as to enable him to make its use for credit facilities and for other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The land passbook prescribed by the Revenue Department is true to the record and can be generated online by landholder without visiting a Patwari or Tehsildar or any Revenue office.

With scanning and digitization of land records already under implementation for the convenience of citizens and under good governance initiative of the Government, the department in tune with the statute laid has also framed the Jammu and Kashmir Land Passbook Rules-2022 for online issuance of Land Passbook.

The Land Passbook is progressive in the sense that it is in tune with e-governance, and for the convenience of citizens issued in trilingual form which will make these as an easy and simple document for reference and record.

Land Passbook is an evidently valid entity carrying same evidentiary value as if being certified copies of Record-of-Rights for all intents and purposes before courts and financial institutions. It is an authoritative document for grant of financial assistance by a financial institution.

Each Land Passbook has a unique ID and QR code as an additional security feature. With the help of QR code any institution, individual or an agency can verify the credentials and authenticity of the Land Pass Book.

It is going to be a tool for redressal of various grievances, litigations, disputes at various forums and for reference.

By: Nadeem Nadu

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir reported 197 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest single-day count in 46 days, even as one person succumbed to the virus, the first death reported after four days, officials said on Friday.

They said 118 of the fresh cases were from Jammu Division and 79 from Kashmir Division, taking the overall tally to 451989.

Giving district wise details, the officials said that Srinagar reported 30 cases, Baramulla 20, Budgam 12, Pulwama 0, Kupwara 5, Anantnag 2, Bandipora 6, Ganderbal 1, Kulgam 3, Shopian 0, Jammu 41, Udhampur 1, Rajouri 1, Doda 42, Kathua 10, Samba 1, Kishtwar 1, Poonch 4, Ramban 12 and Reasi 5.

A few of these cases were confirmed at GMC Anantnag and include female (70) from NA, male (45) from Sagam Kokernag and male (63) from Gawas Kapran.

There was no death either from Jammu or Kashmir in the last 24 hours, they said. So far 4745 persons have succumbed to the virus—2323 in Jammu and 2422 in Kashmir.

Besides, they said, 577 Covid-19 patients—269 from Jammu and 308 from Valley— recovered during the time. So far 444646 people have recovered, leaving the active case tally at 2597— 1307 in Jammu and 1290 in Kashmir.

They said there was no new confirmed case of mucormycosis (black fungus) reported today. So far 51 black fungus cases have been confirmed in J&K, the officials said. They also informed that 32341 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered during the time in J&K. (GNS)

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday assigned duties and responsibilities to the medical superintendents and deputy medical superintendents of Government hospitals of Health and Medical education department.

As per the order issued by additional chief secretary Health and Medical Education Department Vivek Bharadwaj, Medical Superintendent will be the official spokesperson of the hospital and deputy medical superintendent has to ensure availability of medicines and functioning of electronic items.

“The positions of Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents have existed in the Government Hospitals of Health and Medical Education Department for several years. The purpose of these positions is to manage day-to-day affairs of the hospitals;  the role and responsibilities of these officers requires clarity to bring greater efficiency and accountability in the interest of health and patient care; extensive consultations were held in a meeting under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department on 07-02-2022 with all the stakeholders including the Principals of Medical Colleges, Srinagar & Jammu and some other Heads of Departments regarding assigning of duties and responsibilities to the Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals of Health and Medical Education Department,” reads the order.

“After threadbare discussion, it was observed that. the some areas of work need to be formally assigned to the Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents of the Government Hospitals of the Health and Medical Education Department so that there is effectiveness in functioning and enhanced accountability among these officers in the interest of health and patient care and in order to take all the stakeholders on board, assignments were identified and drafted for considering to be entrusted to the Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals of Health and Medical Education Department and were circulated to all the concerned HODs, Medical Superintendent of all Associated and District Hospitals and thereafter a meeting was convened under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department on 11.02.2022 for seeking suggestions on the draft,” the order reads.

“Based on the consultations and suggestions put forth by the participants in the discussions, some suggested modifications have been incorporated in the draft and it has been decided to notify the duties and responsibilities of these officers accordingly,” it states further.

As per order the duties and responsibilities of Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals include overall supervision and control of the hospital and shall be official spokesperson of the hospital, to ensure availability of doctors in the hospital round the clock for health and patient care. In Associated Hospitals this shall be done in coordination with the respective HoDs, hall supervise the functioning and maintenance of all wings of the Hospital including Administration, Medical, Civil, Mechanical, IT, Electrical, etc, to establish and ensure implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), supervision of medical records and its proper maintenance, to ensure preventive maintenance schedules of all equipment and physical assets, planning, Development and Budget of the hospital, exercising of financial and administrative powers delegated to him under relevant rules and regulations, supervision and monitoring of Hospital Development Fund, fully functional emergency room, 24X7 availability of free drugs/medicines, maintaining the roster of Doctors and staff and its display on the Notice Board/ Website etc. In Associated Hospitals this shall be done in coordination with the respective HoDs, to ensure all prescriptions are signed/stamped by the Consulting Doctor and all medicines provided by the Hospital to the patients (OPD/IPD) are entered in Computerized OPD/IPD tickets, implementation of all Government Programmes including Kaya Kalp and Mera Haspatal in coordination with the respective HoDs, ensuring observance of referral protocol for advanced treatment in any other hospital, inventory management of the hospital supplies including life saving drugs, to implement accreditation process of the hospital viz. NABL, NABH, ISO, ICI etc, implementing the generic medicine policy. In Associated Hospitals this shall be done in coordination with the respective HoDs, prominent display of Citizen Charter, induction & Training of Paramedics, over all supervision and control of Paramedical staff, sanction of free treatment of indigent patients, to deal with routine administrative and public relation issues, local Purchase for Hospital as per rules, Utilization of the Hospital Development Fund, Implementation of National Health Programmes, Training of Field Administrators and Academic programme in Hospital Administration and Maintenance of sanitation and security in the hospital.

It is clarified that Consultants and Medical Officers of J&K Health and Family Welfare (Gazetted) Service and other organizations of the H&ME Department i.e. NHM/ Ayush etc, who are posted in District/Tertiary care Hospitals shall remain under the supervision/control of the Medical Superintendent concerned during their posting in such hospitals.

As per order, the duties and responsibilities of Deputy Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals include that during the absence of Medical Superintendent, the Deputy Medical Superintendent shall look-after the aforesaid routine works, To supervise manpower availability to run the affairs of the hospital, Daily coordination and interaction with Heads of Civil, Mechanical, IT, Electrical wings etc for smooth functioning of the hospital, to ensure availability of medicines, functioning of electric/electronic items/equipment and their periodic maintenance as per standard. guidelines, nodal officer for all grievances of the staff, any other work assigned by the Medical Superintendent from time to time, Bio Medical waste disposal under Bio Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, Keeping record of every meeting taken in the hospital and action taken on the decisions as per minutes of the meeting, To ensure that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are followed properly, to ensure mandatory information is displayed on notice boards of the hospital for awareness of general public, to ensure hospital transport facilities are used for the specific purpose only, Manpower planning, legal matters and implementation of all relevant Laws, annual appraisal of staff and Public Grievances.