If response is inadequate, bidders from the neighbouring Panchayats can be invited

Srinagar: In an important decision to accelerate development process at the grass-root level, the Government has decided that participation in tendering process of works up to an amount of Rs 3 lakh shall be restricted to the residents of the concerned Panchayats. In the event of inadequate response to the tenders, the participation norms will be relaxed to include bidders from the neighbouring Panchayats.

The decision is aimed at enhancing transparency and speedy execution of developmental works through local participation which will also boost public ownership of the created assets.

Residents of Panchayats, who wish to participate in the tendering process, will have to get registered in a simple system of registration, to be maintained at the level of Deputy Commissioners. These registrations shall be done on the basis of documentary evidence like Aadhaar, PAN Card, and Domicile Certificate, while the verification process shall be completed through Panchayats and the local police only. Detailed instructions are being issued by the Finance Department on this.

Further, to address the shortage of engineering staff in the Rural Development Department, which may affect the pace of works in Panchayats,   Rural Development Department has been authorized to engage optimal numbers of retired Junior Engineers, Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers on a contractual basis as part of the Project Management Unit in respective districts. Instructions have already been issued for delegation of powers to AEEs in the Rural Development Department.

New Delhi: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has congratulated athletes on winning the medals at World Athletics Under 20 Nairobi-2021.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said; “Picking speed and success! Congratulations to our athletes for bringing home 2 Silver medals and a Bronze medal at @WAU20Nairobi21. Athletics is gaining popularity across India and this is a great sign for the times to come. Best wishes to our hardworking athletes.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister, also congratulated wrestlers on winning medals at the Junior World Wrestling Championships 2021.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said: “More power to the talented wrestlers! At the Junior World Wrestling Championships 2021, our Men’s and Women’s contingent comes back with a total of 11 medals including 4 Silvers. Kudos to the team for the success and best wishes for their future endeavours.”

New Delhi: A Selection Board of the Indian Army cleared the way for the promotion of five women officers to Colonel (Time Scale) rank, post completion of 26 years of reckonable service. This is the first time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and the Corps of Engineers have been approved to the rank of Colonel. Previously, promotion to the rank of Colonel was only applicable for women officers in the Army Medical Corps (AMC), Judge Advocate General (JAG) and the Army Education Corps (AEC).

The widening of promotion avenues to more branches of the Indian Army is a sign of increasing career opportunities for women officers. Combined with the decision to grant permanent commission to women officers from a majority of branches of the Indian Army, this step defines the Indian Army’s approach towards a gender-neutral Army.

The five women officers selected for Colonel Time Scale rank are Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana from the Corps of Signals, Lt Col Sonia Anand and Lt Col Navneet Duggal from the Corps of EME and Lt Col Reenu Khanna and Lt Col Ritcha Sagar from the Corps of Engineers.

Pradhan to launch new initiatives today
New Delhi: In order to commemorate one year of the implementation of NEP 2020, the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has prepared a booklet on one-year achievements of the NEP Implementation. The booklet will be launched virtually by Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday on DIKSHA, etc.

In addition to the booklet, some major NEP 2020 initiatives will also be launched by the Education Minister. These include: NIPUN Bharat FLN tools and resources on DIKSHA, which is a separate vertical for FLN resources developed under DIKSHA to assist and mentor States/UTs and teachers for implementing NIPUN Bharat; Virtual School of NIOSfor providing advanced digital learning platforms through Virtual Live Classrooms and Virtual Labs; Alternate Academic Calendar 2021-22 of NCERT containing week-wise plan of interesting and challenging activities, with reference to learning outcomes, themes and chapters taken from syllabus or textbook.

Union Education Minister along with Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr Virender Kumar will also launch, ‘Priya’- Accessibility booklet developed by NCERT in collaboration with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability for ingraining the concept and significance of accessibility in children right from their formative years itself as a move towards inclusive education.

As the National Education Policy 2020 envisions a substantial transformation in the entire education system at all stages, the Department of School Education and Literacy took the implementation of the NEP 2020 on a mission mode and has prepared a flexible, interactive, indicative and inclusive NEP implementation plan called SARTHAQ.  The Department has accomplished 62 major milestones in this one year, which will transform the school education sector. These include: NIPUN Bharat Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, aligning of the Samagra Shiksha scheme with the NEP 2020, Vidya Pravesh- a three months School Preparation Module, Blue print of National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR), capacity building of Secondary teachers under NISHTHA, Assessment reforms, Digital content on on DIKSHA, etc

The programme will be attended by senior officials of the Department and Heads of Autonomous Institutions and senior officers from the School Education Department from all States and UTs, and will be followed by a workshop with the states and UTs, SCERTs on the way forward for NIPUN Bharat Mission. (PIB)

By: M S Nazki

Jammu: Border Security Force on Monday said it opened fire at a flying object that was spotted along the International Border in Arnia sector of Jammu district on Monday.

“Today at about 5:30 a.m. a blinking red and yellow light in the sky was observed by our forward troops in Arnia sector (J&K) near International Border,” a BSF spokesman said in a statement.

“Our troops immediately fired 25 LMG rounds on the flying object due to which it gained some height and went towards Pakistan side.” He said that the area was being searched with help of Police. (GNS)

Srinagar: A Kashmiri professor who was stuck in Kabul Afghanistan for days reached New Delhi on Monday.

Professor Asif Ahmad, who teaches Economics at Bakhtar University Kabul confirmed to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that he along with many people reached New Delhi from Kabul today.

“My air ticket for New Delhi was scheduled on last Monday but got cancelled due to chaos at the airport. I reached New Delhi today,” he said.

He has been teaching there for the last four years. “I came to Kabul last month to conduct the examinations of students and was expecting to return home in the third week of August. Then me, my colleague and his wife were stuck there. Our families were worried about our safety,” he said.

Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha last week said that he spoke to MoS Foreign Affairs, V Muraleedharan for immediate evacuation of professors from Kulgam teaching at Bakhtar University in Kabul.

“He has assured the government is committed to bring back every citizens safely as soon as possible. I assure the families of Prof Asif Ahmed and Prof Adil Rasool that they are safe and will be home soon,” LG had said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs had said India is committed to the safe return of all Indians from Afghanistan.

New Delhi: All flights to and from the Kabul International Airport have been suspended until further notice due to large crowds seeking to flee Afghanistan, the national civil aviation authority said in a statement issued on Monday.

“All flights at the Hamid Karzai International Airport are suspended until further notice. Passengers looking to fly to different regions around the country and abroad will be notified in advance when flights will be resumed. These measures are taken to avoid crowds and unrest in the airport,” read a statement published on the agency’s Facebook page, Tass reported.

The statement also stresses that the Afghan aviation authorities “are working hard for domestic and international flights to and from the Kabul airport to resume as soon as possible.”

The situation at the Kabul airport has remained tense ever since the Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours on August 15.

Banihal: Much embarrassment to the Navyug Engineering Company, a flyover near the recently opened Banihal-Qazigund tunnel developed a crack, prompting diversion of traffic for repairs, officials said.

The officials said that it was a minor crack that will be taken care off.

The 8.5-km-long Banihal-Qazigund tunnel, built at a cost of Rs 2,100 crore, was opened for traffic early this month.

Work on the tunnel, which is part of an ongoing four-lane highway project, was started in June 2011 by the Navyug engineering company, and its operationalization reduced travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by about 1.5 hours.

The officials said workers noticed the crack on the stretch between the toll plaza in Banihal and the tunnel early Monday, following which traffic coming from Kashmir towards Jammu was immediately diverted. (KNT)