Srinagar: In a major feat for the J&K police, the force has bagged highest number of 115 police medal for gallantry on the eve of Republic Day among all States/UTs across the country, a top official told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) on Tuesday.

Aejaz Ahmad Malik DySP, BAR TO PMG Shabir Ahmad HC BAR TO PMG, Shabir Ahmad Dar SgCT PMG, Fida Hussain CT Ist BAR TO PMG, Mohamad Yesser Parray DySP PMG, Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani SI Ist BAR TO PMG, Shabir Ahmad Parray SgCT PMG.

Adil Rashid Insp. PMG Asif Iqbal Qureshi SgCT BAR TO PMG, Mubbasher Hussain SP 2nd BAR TO PMG 24 Mohmad Anzar Khan Insp. 1st BAR TO PMG, Sham Lal SgCT PMG, Ghulam Rasool Mir Follower PMG, Tahair Ashraf SP 3rd BAR TO PMG, Javid Ahmad Zagoo HC PMG, Mohd Junaid Akhter CT PMG, Matloob Hussain Shah CT PMG, Asrar Ahmad Mir CT PMG, Raj Kumar Addl.SP 1st BAR TO PMG, Abdul Qayoom HC PMG, Mukesh Singh,IPS IGP 2nd BAR TO PMG, Vivek Gupta,IPS DIG 1st BAR TO PMG, Shridhar Patil,IPS SSP 2nd BAR TO PMG.

Naresh Singh SP 1st BAR TO PMG, Dewakar Singh DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Parupkar Singh SDPO 1st BAR TO PMG, Balbir Singh ASI PMG , Vinod Kumar HC PMG, Javed Iqbal SgCT PMG, Rakesh Singh CT PMG, Aijaz Ahmad Dar SgCT PMG, Nazir Ahmad Lone SgCT PMG, Jahangeer Hussain Magray CT PMG, Aejaz Ahmad Malik DySP 3rd BAR TO PMG, Sanjeev Dev Singh SI 2nd BAR TO PMG, Manzoor Ahmad HC PMG, Javaid Ahmad Sheikh SgCT PMG, Gowhar Ali Ganie Insp. PMG, Farhat Hussain SI PMG, Nasar Ahmad ASI PMG.

Nazeer Ahmad Tantry SI PMG, Safeer Hussain CT PMG, Rajesh Kumar CT PMG, Mohd Ashraf Plout CT PMG, Viqar Younus DySP PMG, Assif Mahmood CT PMG, Javaid Ahmad Dar Insp. PMG, Mohamad Abass Wagay HC PMG, Bashir Ahmad Khan HC PMG, Nazir Ahmad Tragwal SgCT PMG, Ashwani Kumar SgCT PMG, Sheezan Bhat DySP PMG, Nazir Ahmad Tragwal SgCT 1st BAR TO PMG, Amritpal Singh, IPS SSP 2nd BAR TO PMG, Ramesh Lal Insp. PMG, Ab. Majeed Dar SgCT PMG, Manzoor Ahmad SgCT PMG.

Mohd Suleman Choudhary, IPS DIG 1st BAR TO PMG, Nisar Ahmad Bhat Insp. 2nd BAR TO PMG, Ravinder Kumar SI 1st BAR TO PMG, Farooq Ahmad Bhat HC 1st BAR TO PMG, Mansoor Ayaz DySP PMG, Quiser Ahmad SgCT PMG, Aumer Iqbal DySP PMG, Manzoor Ahmad Bhat SgCT PMG, Shabir Ahmad Wani SgCT PMG, Furqan Qadir DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Mohamad Irfan Malik SI 2nd BAR TO PMG, Tariq Ahmad Rather SgCT 1st BAR TO PMG.

Arif Amin Shah SP 2nd BAR TO PMG, Nazeer Ahmad Tantry SI PMG, Reyaz Ahmad Shah SgCT PMG,  Janak Raj SgCT PMG, Mushtaq Ahmad Wani SgCT PMG, Sayed Zaheer Abbas DySP 3rd BAR TO PMG, Gh. Hassan Skeikh DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Ashaq Hussain Lone HC PMG Ashaq Hussain Dar DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Vishal Shoor Insp. 2nd BAR TO PMG, Syed Sajad Hussain SgCT 1st BAR TO PMG, Parviz Ahmad Wani SgCT 1st BAR TO PMG, Sunil Singh DySP PMG, Parveen Kumar Insp. 2nd BAR TO PMG, Mohd Sadiq Qurishe HC 1st BAR TO PMG, Mohd Ameen Bhat DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Azim Iqbal Insp. PMG.

Manzoor Ahmad Malla HC PMG, Mahjoor Ahmad Ganie CT PMG, Amritpal Singh, IPS SSP 1st BAR TO PMG, Mushtaq Ahmad ASI PMG, Aijaz Ahmad Dar SgCT PMG, Ab. Latief Shabnam SI 1st BAR TO PMG, Bashir-Ul-Remzan SgCT PMG, Mohammad Younis Dhobi CT PMG, Parveen Singh CT PMG, Mohd Muzaffar Jan DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Prem Paul HC PMG, Mushtaq Ahmad HC PMG, Mohd Yousif SP 3rd BAR TO PMG.

Surinder Mohan DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Khalil-u-Rehman SgCT PMG, Manzoor Ahmad SI PMG, Shakeel-ul-Rehman CT PMG, Sajad Ahmad Parray CT PMG, Rameez Raja DySP PMG, Khurshed Ahmad Khan HC 1st BAR TO PMG, Fayaz Ahmad Juskum SgCT PMG, Ajaz Ahmed DySP 4th BAR TO PMG, Younis Khan SI PMG, Pervaiz Ahmad Shah SgCT PMG, Tahair Ashraf SP 4th BAR TO PMG, Sahil Mahajan DySP 2nd BAR TO PMG, Rahul Nagar DySP 1st BAR TO PMG, Feroz Ahmad Dar ASI PMG, Umer Hamid Wani SgCT PMG—(KNO)

Gen Bipin Rawat awarded with Padma Vibhushan posthumously
Azad, Poonawala, Nadella among awardees   

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday announced the names of 128 Padma awardees for this year on the eve of the Republic Day, with the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to be conferred with Padma Vibhushan posthumously for their exceptional and distinguished service in the field of civil service and public affairs, respectively.

Radheshyam Khemka will also be honoured with Padma Vibhushan posthumously for his contribution in the field of literature and education, while noted Indian classical vocalist Prabha Atre will be given the honour for his contribution to Art.

Among those who will be conferred with Padma Bhushan include former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, former West Bengal CM and veteran CPI (M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and actor Victor Banerjee. Serum Institute of India MD Cyrus Poonawala, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai have been awarded with Padma Bhushan. Out of the 104 names announced for Padma Shri include Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and singer Sonu Nigam.

Among the 128 names announced, 34 awardees are women. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated all the recipients of the Padma awards.

“No nation can excel without the contribution of selfless individuals working tirelessly to serve society. Congratulations to all those who have been conferred with the Padma Awards,” Shah tweeted.

He further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to honouring ‘real heroes’ of the country. “Congratulations to all the extraordinary people who are the symbols of change, on being conferred with the prestigious Padma Awards. A fitting tribute to recognise their exemplary contribution to society. We all salute them for their excellent work,” BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda tweeted. (UNI)

26 institutions, individuals awarded in 7 categories

Jammu: On the auspicious occasion of Republic Day, the Department of Tribal Affairs has announced awards for 26 institutions and individuals for their outstanding contribution to tribal welfare and achievements in different walks of life.

Earlier in the month, the Tribal Affairs Department has invited entries for the first ever Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory level awards.

After a multilevel screening process through panels of experts, the Department today announced awards on the eve of Republic Day.

Out of these 26 awards,17 awards have been conferred to the Tribal individuals for their outstanding work in the field of sports, education, culture, literature and Science & Technology. Award under this category carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000, a citation and a Trophy.  Six awards carrying a cash prize of Rs 50,000, citation and Trophy each have been conferred to the Institutions, NGOs and individuals for their exemplary services rendered to the Scheduled Tribes. In addition to it 03 more awards have been conferred to the best performing Gram Panchayat/BDC/DDC for their contribution towards the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes. Award under this category carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a trophy. The award money of Rs. 1 lakh shall be used by these Gram Panchayat/Block panchayat/District Panchayat for development Work.

More than 800 nominations were received out of which 139 nominations were recommended by District Level Screening Committees headed by concerned Deputy Commissioners. The UT level screening committee selected the nominees based on their outstanding contribution.

In individual categories, Aabida Akhtar, Ifrah Rafiq, Gulzar Ahmed and Mohammad Suhaib were selected for their  outstanding contribution in the field of Sports, eminent gastroenterologist Dr. Shoket Mehmud Choudhary, senior cardiologist Dr. Nasir Ali, acclaimed paediatrician Dr. Choudhary Muzaffar Paswal have been conferred the award for their outstanding achievements in professional education while Dr. Saima Aziz and Dr. Banti Kumar got the award as individual Tribal achiever under the field of Education. Acclaimed artist Muneer Ahmad Khan and singer Begum Jan got the award for their contribution in the field of Culture. Recognising their contribution in the field of literature Government awarded Dr Javaid Rahi, Ch Hassan Din Parwaz, Dr Rafiq Anjum and Dr Shazia Choudhary for their individual contribution. In Science and Technology eminent researcher and scientist Dr Zabeer Ahmed has been conferred with Special Award for Outstanding Excellence in Research while young boy Mr. Ashfaq Mehmood got the award for innovation.

In community services the awards have been conferred in three categories viz Institutions, NGOs and Individuals. Himalyan Education Mission Rajouri and Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust Jammu have been conferred the award for outstanding contribution in education and social services. Recognising the exemplary services rendered towards Scheduled Tribes Shakoor Foundation of Gurez and Sarimastan Tribal Welfare Foundation, Poonch got the award under the category of NGO

Mr. Yar Ali Khan and Ms. Sanya Khan got the award for the exemplary services rendered towards the Scheduled Tribes under individual category. Under the category of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Gram Panchayat, Chatroo Lower B, Kishtwar, DDC Kalaroos, Kupwara and DDC Hajin B, Bandipora.

Those who are awarded with commendation certificates include Salima Akhtar and Shaheem Aijaz Khan under Sports category, Sudesh Kumar, Kalsoom Akhtar and Shoket Naseem under Culture, Shabir Ahmad Paswal, John Mohd Gujjar and Liaqat Ali Choudhary under literature, KVK, Anantnag and Helping Hands Society Gurez for their Exemplary Community services rendered to the scheduled Tribes.

The UT Administration under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Sh Manoj Sinha has launched a number of initiatives and schemes for welfare of tribal communities. The awards as recognition of outstanding achievements of tribal individuals and outstanding community services for tribal welfare have been instituted to recognise the achievements and encourage innovation, excellence in public service and inclusive development.

Advisor to LG Farooq Khan and Secretary Tribal Affairs Deptt Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary have congratulated the awardees and nominees. The award function will be organised shortly by the Government.

Srinagar: A police inspector with Anti Corruption Bureau, and a couple were among eight persons injured in a grenade blast amid heightened security arrangements on the eve of January 26 at Hari Singh High Street area of Central Kashmir’s Srinagar district on Tuesday, officials said.

They said the militants targeted a joint team of police and CRPF. However the grenade missed the target and exploded on the roadside, causing splinter injuries to eight persons including a couple Tanveera (38) and her husband Muhammad Shafi Bhat (43) of Chattabal Srinagar. The other injured include police inspector, working with ACB identified as Tanveer Hussain (40), Asmat (40) wife of Zahoor Ahmad of Charar-e-Sharief Budgam, Nusrat (48) wife of Dr Tazeem of Nawab Bazar Srinagar, Zahoor Ahmad Lone (30) son of Ghulam Rasool of Khaniyar, Imtiyaz Ahmad (25) son of Abdul Gafar Wani of Lal Chowk and Gayas-u-din (35) son of Zain-ul-Aabudin of Assam.

All of them were shifted nearby SMHS hospital and their condition is stable, Dr Kawaljeet Singh said.

A top Police officer confirmed the blast and said that whole area has been cordoned off to nab the attackers, they said. He said that a case has been registered and further investigations are underway.

“At about 1525 hours, unknown (militants) hurled a grenade upon a Police vehicle near Hari Singh High Street, Srinagar. In this incident, however few civilians sustained minor splinter injuries, besides causing minor damage to the police vehicle,” a police spokesperson said in a statement. “All the injured were immediately shifted to nearby hospital, where from they have been discharged after required treatment.”

Senior Police officers immediately reached at the spot, he said.

“Police has registered a case in this regard under relevant sections of law and investigation is in progress. Officers continue to work to establish the full circumstances of this (incident)”.

Soon after the attack, police queued up pedestrians and subjected them to frisking, reports said. (GNS)

Srinagar: Police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested the person involved in grenade attack at Hari Singh High Street here.

“Police  arrested grenade thrower who was involved in today’s incident at Hari Singh High Street Srinagar in which a few civilians and one police personnel got injured,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.

“Investigation is going on,” he added.

In another tweet, the IGP identified him as “chronic stone pelter Aijaz Wani son of Fayaz Wani of Fatehkadal, Srinagar”. The IGP said investigations have revealed that Wani threw the grenade at the behest of militants.

By: Nadeem Nadu

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir reported the biggest ever daily spike of 6570 cases while 14 persons succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours which is the highest single-day toll of the present third wave, officials said on Tuesday.

1555 of the fresh cases were reported from Jammu Division and 5015 from Kashmir, taking the overall tally to 409166, the officials said.

Regarding the deaths, they said, seven each were reported from Jammu division and Kashmir Valley respectively. So far 4627 people have died due to the virus—2260 in Jammu division and 2367 in Kashmir Valley.

On Saturday last, the J&K recorded previous highest daily case count of 6568 since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The count was breached by two cases today.

Giving district wise details, the officials said that Srinagar reported 1450 cases, Baramulla 396, Budgam 971, Pulwama 107, Kupwara 395, Anantnag 416, Bandipora 243, Ganderbal 295, Kulgam 697, Shopian 45, Jammu 849, Udhampur 121, Rajouri 100, Doda 114, Kathua 81, Samba 112, Kishtwar 12, Poonch 82, Ramban 41 and Reasi 43.

There has been surge in covid-19 cases in J&K since the start of the New Year. On January 1, J&K reported 169 cases, 165 cases on January 2, 178 on January 3, 199 on January 4, 418 on January 5, 349 on January 6, 542 on January 7, 655 on January 8, 687 on January 9, 706 on January 10, 1148 on January 11, 1695 on January 12, 1966 on January 13, 2456 on January 14, 3251 on January 15, 3499 on January 16, 2817 on January 17, 4651 on January 18 and 5818 on January 19 and 5992 on January 20, 5720 on January 21 and 6253 on January 22 and 5394 on January 24.

A number of these cases were confirmed at diagnostic laboratories of GMC Srinagar and include male (32) from Brain nishat, male (70) from Anantnag, female (85) from Sgr, male (70) from Pulwama, male (32) from Sanatnagar, female (32) from Sanatnagar, female (80) from Naseemabagh, female (26) from Hostel, male (58) from Rawalpora, male (28) from Rawalpora, male (70) from Pulwama, male (31) from Baramulla, male (47) from Sgr, female (30) from Baramulla, male (54) from Sgr, male (30) from Shopian, male (70) from Sgr, female (28) from Sgr, male (23) from Sgr, female (53) from Sgr, female (40) from Budgam,female (74) from Sgr, male (33) from SMHS Hospital, male (30) from Pulwama, male (28) from Sgr, female (26) from Bandipora, female (90) from Budgam, male (65) from Ganderbal, male (17 months) from Budgam, female (27) from Sgr, male (45) from Nishat, male (48) from Sgr, male (67) from Sgr, female (60) from Bemina, female (60) from Baramulla, female (85) from Sgr, male (65) from Sgr, female (50) from Sgr, female (75) from Sgr, male (36) from Sgr, female (32) from Sgr, male (50) from SMHS, female (50) from Bandipora, male (56) from Sgr and male (34) from  Sgr.

Besides, they said, 3789 Covid-19 patients recovered during the time—1278 from Jammu Division and 2511 from Kashmir. So far 357163 people have recovered, leaving active case tally at 47376—13812 in Jammu and 33564 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 36, 620 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered during the time in J&K. (GNS)

New Delhi: Saying frequent elections hamper the country’s progress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged the people, academics, experts and intellectuals to discuss the idea of ‘One nation, One election”.

Modi made the observation while interacting with BJP workers from Gujarat when he expressed concern over low voter turnout in successive elections.

“In the 1951 general elections, only 45 per cent eligible population exercised their franchise. In 2019, the turnout was 67 per cent. Everyone … should spare a thought about the low voting percentage in the elections,” he said.

Citing low voter turnout in urban areas, he said: “People in these areas talk about elections on social media but the percentage of polling remains low. Such a situation should change in a vibrant democratic country.”

On the occasion of National Voters Day, Modi urged booth level workers to ensure 75 per cent polling in any election by encouraging people to vote.

“For us, election is a festival of democracy. We should not fight elections only to come to power but fulfill the expectation of the people,” he said. The Prime Minister lauded the Election Commission.

“From 1950 till today, it has increased its dignity by conducting free and fair elections.India is among those countries where the EC can … transfer officials. In many democratic countries, the election panel does not have such power.” (UNI)

‘Ensure training, placement of 60000 youth under HIMAYAT during next FY’

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Tuesday directed the Rural Development department to ensure training and placement of 60000 unemployed youth under HIMAYAT during the next fiscal year.

He asked RDD to identify 20 highly educated youth in each Panchayat. Assistance of DDCs and PRIs may be taken.

He said the trainings and consequent job placement of 60000 youth under HIMAYAT and other self employment initiatives launched by the Government will further the Government’s objective of driving down the unemployment in J&K to below 5 %.

Dr Mehta made this observation while reviewing the HIMAYAT scheme in a meeting attended by Administrative Secretary, RDD and COO, HIMAYAT.

The Chief Secretary said as the Scheme will close on 31st March, 2023, the department should target short term skill based courses spanning 3- 9 months.

Earlier, Commissioner Secretary, RDD, Mandeep Kour in her presentation informed that around 19000 youth have been trained while around 4000 youth have been given job placements up until now since the inception of the Scheme.

She said most of the trainees have received training in sectors/areas like healthcare, IT-TES, retail, telecom, tourism & hospitality etc. while emphasizing that there is also a need to arrange for trainings in domains like carpentry, masonry, plumbing etc in concert with ITIs as there is general shortage of technicians in these trades in the UT.

It was further informed that the plan for training and placing 60000 youth during the next financial year will be finalized in consultation with existing PIAs by end of February 2023.

She said that the department will engage with BRO to ascertain their requirement of skilled, semi skilled work force and based on their requirements, training courses will be got customized/tailor made to train/ equip the youth for jobs in BRO.

The Chief Secretary directed the department to ensure that trainings under HIMAYAT are arranged in sectors like hospitality, industries, housing &urban development, tourism, medical labs, water testing labs in Jal Shakti department etc, as there is going to be increased demand in these sectors due to investment in industries, heightened infrastructure development in these sectors and increased tourist activity in J&K.

Dr Mehta advised the department to consult with the concerned authorities in the States which have excelled in the implementation of HIMAYAT like AP, TN and Orissa as well as the officials in the Ministry of Rural Development Department to further improve the implementation of the Scheme in J&K.

While directing the department to ensure that it does not engage such PIAs/TSAs as have failed to file reports with the Government or have not maintained proper accounts or don’t have their own websites and have failed to monitor/conduct regular inspections, the Chief Secretary said only those PIAs which have the required capacity to deliver on mandate and which have neither been blacklisted by GoI nor are involved in any case in ACB should be engaged for training/placement of the identified youth.

Dr Mehta advised the department to put in place a proper institutional mechanism for regular monitoring of the implementation of the HIMAYAT Scheme.

Jammu: The DARPG and Government of Jammu & Kashmir will collaborate on (a) creation of an online portal for monitoring progress in 58 District Good Governance Index Indicators, (b) adoption of e-HRMS in the Jammu Secretariat and Srinagar Secretariat and (c) monitor online the citizen satisfaction in 150 e-Services through Jammu & Kashmir e-Services Delivery Assessment framework.

As a follow-up to the launch of the District Good Governance Index on January 22, 2022 by the Union Minister for Home & Cooperation, Amit Shah, in the august presence of Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, PG and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh and the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha at Convention Centre Jammu on January 22, 2022, the roadmap for three key good governance initiatives was drawn up in a meeting between Secretary DARPG V.Srinivas and Chief Secretary Government of Jammu & Kashmir Arun Kumar Mehta held on January 25, 2022.

The Jammu & Kashmir District Good Governance Index represents Next Generation Administrative Reform in Benchmarking Governance at District level. It was prepared after extensive stakeholder consultations.

The District Good Governance Index of Jammu & Kashmir helps identify the impact of various governance interventions at district level and provides a futuristic roadmap for improving district level governance with targeted interventions. To further strengthen the Good Governance model of Jammu & Kashmir, the 58 indicators of the District Good Governance Index would be monitored on a dedicated portal on and evaluated by an external agency the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad. The data collation formats would be decided by Government of Jammu & Kashmir and an online monitoring dashboard would be developed by NIC. This exercise is expected to be completed by mid-February 2022.

The Jammu Secretariat and the Srinagar Secretariat have been transformed into a paperless Secretariats, with the adoption of e-Office version 7.0. Taking this initiative forward, it was decided that e-HRMS software for digitalization of all employee records would be adopted by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir. The e-HRMS software provides for digitalization of employee service books, leave and travel records of employees, GPF, Gratuity and Pension benefits into the e-Office system. A project proposal for adoption e-HRMS would be prepared by Government of Jammu & Kashmir in collaboration with DARPG.

The Government of Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed a significant transformation in the Ease of Doing Business. One hundred and fifty e-Services are provided through digital platforms. The quality of the 150 e-Services and citizen satisfaction will be benchmarked by the Jammu & Kashmir e-Services Delivery Assessment with the objective to improve the ease of life of the common citizen, improve efficiency and effectiveness of governance and administration. Under this exercise the first set of data sets would be analyzed by February 2022.

The next meeting between Secretary DARPG V.Srinivas and Chief Secretary Government of Jammu & Kashmir Arun Kumar Mehta would be held on February 7, 2022.