Precious Kashmir

NEP aims at development of Higher Education in all aspects: Advisor Bhatnagar

Jammu & Kashmir

18/06/2021

Reviews progress on implementation of policy

SRINAGAR: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar today chaired a high level meeting of the Task Force to review the progress on smooth implementation of National Education Policy-2020 in Higher Education Department (HED) at Civil Secretariat here.

Vice Chancellors of University of Kashmir, University of Jammu, Central University of Kashmir, Central University of Jammu, BGSBU, SMVDU, Cluster University Srinagar, Cluster University Jammu, SKUAST Jammu,SKUAST Kashmir, Secretary HED,Director IIM Jammu, Director IIT Jammu, Director NIT, Srinagar, other members of the Task Force besides Principals of various degree colleges of J&K and other concerned officials of the higher education department participated in the meeting in person as well through video conferencing.

The meeting held detailed discussions with regard to Reflections on Consultations and Deliberations held in earlier meeting of the Task Force besides the Action Plan with regard to constitution of Sub-Groups on NEP-2020 was also discussed during the meeting.

The meeting also heldin depth deliberationson all themes of NEP-2020 particularly, Multi Disciplinary Education (to integrate Humanities and Arts with Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Reimagining Vocational Education and Catalysing Quality Academic Research through JK UT Research Foundation.

Speaking during the meeting, Advisor Bhatnagar maintained that the NEP-2020 aims at the development of Higher Education in all aspects like innovation, research advancements and other related fields which need timely interventions. He added that the needs of the country as well as J&K regarding the development of education sector will be met through this Policy.

Appreciating the ground work done so far by the Task Force and the specific NEP implementation Action Plan drawn for roll out in this year, Advisor Bhatnagar stressed upon all the Task Force Members to work closely towards achieving the objectives of NEP in a time bound manner. He laid special focus on the role of Central Institutes like IIT Jammu, IIM Jammu and NIT Srinagar in collaborating with the Government Degree colleges for research and training programmes in times ahead.

The Advisor delved upon all the participants that regular review meetingsshall be held to assess the progress in the implementation of NEP which is crucial to remodelling the HEIs in order to achieve good thoughtful and well rounded and creative individuals. He asked the participants to utilise the existing resources and be practical in implementation of the policy on the ground.

Advisor Bhatnagar impressed upon the members to work cohesively and in synergy with each other as well as within the Sub-Groups and suggested them to co-opt members from other diverse fields for requisite expertise and proper implementation.

The Advisor further emphasized on the members to create linkages between Higher Education and School Education Departments with regard to NEP-2020 so that several aspects of the policy can be implemented in cohesion with School Education department.

The Advisor asked the members of the Committee to utilise their academic expertise and other available resources so that the goals of the policy can be met and translated on the ground.

Administrative Secretary, HED Sushma Chauhan gave detailed presentation highlighting the deliberations and comments received from members of NEP Task Force.

During the course of presentation, the Secretary informed about the steps initiated by the Higher Education Department for implementation of NEP in the UT of J&K. She also said that the HED has initiated steps for the formation of Research consortium at Jammu and Srinagar and Higher Institute Management System (HIMS) which Supports Online Learning and Teaching.

The Secretary informed the members that Internal Quality Assurance cell (IQAC) would be established at each institute for assisting the colleges so that majority of the colleges can acquire National Accreditation within a years time. She also informed the meeting aboutthe number of students benefited from various Bachelor of Vocational (B.Voc) courses and employability and skill development courses initiated from the current academic year.

Secretary HED also presented an action plan with timelines for implementation of some of the key components of NEP, such as formation of State Regulatory Advisory Council for Higher Education, moving from single stream institute to multidisciplinary Education institutional setup with multiple entry & exit options in various academic programs, development of online academic credit bank, implementation of skill and Vocational courses and upliftment of special Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).

Lamberi gets 100-bedded Maternal & Child Hospital under NHM

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

18/06/2021

SRINAGAR: In a major decision, Government of India has accorded approval for Construction of 100 bedded Maternal & Child Health Hospital (MCH) in Lamberi, Rajouri under National Health Mission.

With the concerted efforts of Sh. Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, Shri Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to LG; Sh. Atal Dulloo, Addl. Chief Secretary , Health & Medical Education Department and Yasin Choudhary, Mission Director, NHM, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India has accorded approval for the construction of full fledged 100 bedded Maternal & Child Health Hospital including Staff Quarters, Laundry and Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) at Lamberi in District Rajouri coming up at a cost of Rs 36 Crore for which during the current FY 2020-21, Rs. 8 Crore have been approved.

Yasin Choudhary, Mission Director, NHM, J&K while informing about the development said that the government is committed in providing the best healthcare facilities to the residents in hilly and remote areas and the construction of MCH Hospital in Lamberi will be an easy access for availing health care, especially specialized Maternal & Child Health Care Services at the door steps of people, not only of Rajouri but also of adjoining district Poonch. MCH Lamberi shall act as an essential epicenter of Maternal & Child Health services like normal deliveries, management of high risk pregnancies and facility based management of newborn care, he added.

It is pertinent to mention that Lamberi is situated on the Jammu Poonch highway, about 100 km from Jammu, and is surrounded by Kalakote, Sunderbani, Budhal, Rajouri towards East and Poonch towards North.

DHSK visits Kheer Bhawani temple

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

18/06/2021

Srinagar:Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Rather on Thursday visited Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple in Tulmulla, Ganderbal to take stock of the arrangements of healthcare facilities in view of the upcoming Mela Kheer Bawani on 18th June.

A spokesperson of Director Health Services Kashmir, said the director visited the site and took stock of all the arrangements made for the pilgrims.

At the site, the director said that all the arrangements have been made at the site.

The spokesmen said in view of Covid-19,thermal screening and other arrangements have been made available for pilgrims like emergency equipment and emergency medicines.

Masks, sanitizers have been made available in good quantities at site. The director appealed to all the pilgrims to follow the guidelines issued by the government.

The DHSK also issued on spot directions with respect to implementation of Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or guidelines.

The director also directed the concerned Chief Medical Officer to ensure thermal scanning of all the pilgrims before entering into the temple.

Besides, displaying IEC/awareness for the general public, he further directed the district officers to put in place at least 5-bedded medical aid camp equipped with oxygen to mitigate any kind of eventuality.

The director also directed CMO Ganderbal to augment the human resource at PHC Tulmulla for better health care services and keeping the holy festival into consideration.

Kheer Bhawani is a temple dedicated to the Goddess Kheer Bhavani constructed over a sacred spring. The worship of Kheer Bhawani is universal among the Hindus of Kashmir, most of them who worship her as their protective patron deity (Kuladevi). The temple is situated at a distance of 14 miles east of Srinagar near the village of Tulmul.

CISF recovers Saudi currency worth Rs 10 lakh at IGI Airport from Afghan national

National

United News Of India

18/06/2021

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Thursday said that it has recovered 50,000 Saudi Riyals from an Afghan national on June 16 at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

According to the CISF officials, around 1030 hrs on Wednesday, on the basis of behaviour detection, CISF surveillance and intelligence staff of IGI Airport, New Delhi, noticed the suspicious activities of a foreign national while roaming in check-in area of Terminal-3.

He was later identified as Rohani Naqibullah, an Afghan national who was bound for Kabul by Kam Air flight, was taken to the random checking point for thorough checking of his luggage.

During x-ray screening of his hand bag, CISF personnel noticed suspicious image of currency notes inside his bag. Thereafter, he was allowed to go for check-in & Immigration formalities, but he was kept under close watch through electronic and physical surveillance.

After completing immigration formalities, he approached at Security Hold Area (SHA) for Pre-embarkation Security Check. His bag was physically checked, and 50,000 Saudi Riyals worth around Rs 10 lakh were found concealed under the layers of the clothes kept inside his bag.

On enquiry, he could not produce any valid document. Subsequently, Senior Officers of CISF and Custom Officials were informed.

On arrival of Customs Officials, the said foreign passenger along-with detected foreign currency was handed over to them for further action in the matter.

Be Vary Of New Variants

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Oped

Precious Kashmir

17/06/2021

The Government of India has formally acknowledged the occurrence of AY.1, a coronavirus variant that is closely related to the prevailing Delta variant.

First identified in India, the delta variant has been already detected in 74 countries and continues to spread rapidly amid fears that it is poised to become the dominant strain worldwide. Novel coronaviruses are marked by ‘convergent evolution’. A few defining mutations that emerge in different strains from around the globe start to become more common in subsequent variants.

As per Dr. V.K. Paul, Chairman, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19, AY.1 was first identified in March in Europe but brought into the public domain only two days ago.

For now, the government has said it’s not yet a variant of concern, or one which has adverse consequences to humanity. However, Dr. Paul underlined that not much is known about it but “we are studying it, including the prevalence in India.” So far, it has been found in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka.

Mutation of the viruses is a biological fact and the steps to protect against its exposure must remain the same for all including the novel coronavirus. As has been rightly pointed out by Dr. Paul, it should not be given opportunities to spread.

The call by the experts should be given heed and one well-known reason for multiple waves is the mutation in the genetic code of the coronavirus. Slow vaccination pace gives it more time to mutate and find ways to evade or trick antibodies. This accelerates the appearance of new variants as the continued spread of the virus allows it to get trained to detect and bypass antibodies, since the immune system merely looks out for the original strain.

Whether or not SARS-CoV-2 becomes a part of the human ecosystem marked by being less contagious amid vaccination and use of masks, lockdowns, remains unknown and difficult to predict. However, unlike pandemics of the past, in the present times, there is presence of rapid genome sequencing. There is already infrastructure and the resources to track threatening mutations and as such it should be a continuous process to find and explore. Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are better advised to see if the new variant has already permeated and takes steps to arrest its spread. Otherwise it would get a free run and may be too late to confront. Lack of preparedness proved deleterious in the past and as such it is important not to downplay the seriousness of the threat and remain prepared.

Srinagar: ‘Malkhah’ turns safe haven for evil practices

Anchor stories

Precious Kashmir

17/06/2021

Srinagar: ‘Malkhah’ turns safe haven for evil practices

By: Amjad Hussain

Srinagar: Evil practices like witchcraft, gambling and boozing are going on unabated at the prominent Muslim graveyard, Malkhah, located on the foothills of Koh-e-Maran at Rainawari area in Old City.

Malkhah, which houses burial places for thousands of people, has become a safe place for immoral activities like gambling and boozing while evil practices like ‘witchcraft’ are also performed to harm people.

Evil practices according to the locals living in the vicinity have been going on since decade’s altogether; however no efforts were made to contain such practices inside the graveyard.

They also alleged that desecration of graves is also being done for black-magic practice which in Islam is ‘forbidden’ as the practice is done to harm people under negative influence.

“I was shocked to see some old graves empty; I personally believe that these graves might be used for ‘witchcraft’ as black-magicians cannot perform black-magic in the open. I may be wrong but so far as the condition of graves is concerned, I am sure that graves are desecrated for evil practices,” Mohammad Altaf Qadri, a Makhdoom Sahab resident told ‘Precious Kashmir’.

Locals said Malkhah graveyard has also become a narcotic den where boozers without any fear of police use to drink alcohol while dope-heads smoke weed and consume drugs in broad daylight.

“We appeal to the authorities to immediately take note of the evil practices and deal strictly with those using the sacred land for immoral activities. This is a grave issue and we as a society also needs to rise and take notice of what is happening around,” Qadri added.

Fearing misuse of old graves for practices like witchcraft, he said the authorities must be cautious to prevent such un-Islamic activities inside the valley’s largest graveyard.

“Don’t know where our society is heading; people even do not spare graveyards to carry out immoral activities. Gamblers hide themselves in dense bushes so as not to be noticed by the passerby or people living around,” another local told ‘Precious Kashmir’.

Pertinent to mention that land for Malkhah graveyard also known as field of grave diggers was actually purchased and donated by known Muslim Sufi saint Hazrat Mir Syed Ali Hamadani (RA) for common cause.

Covid-19: In testing times, volunteers ease burden

Anchor stories

Precious Kashmir

17/06/2021

Covid-19: In testing times, volunteers ease burden

By: Sameer Showkin Lone

Srinagar: The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the human lives and had shattered great economies of the world, but in a small place like Kashmir, comprising a population of some 60 lakh, the volunteers have shown the way with everything possible way they could do.

In absence of proper healthcare system, the local administration received overwhelming support from Civil Society organsations, NGOs and other voluntary groups supported by the large portion of population through charity and other human resource support.

All these freebies wouldn’t have been possible without the support and generosity of the local people- be it financial, moral or in the form of men and machinery- of the local population, who poured support and campaigned hard on social media sites.

The Precious Kashmir spoke to numerous groups and organizations, who put in their services in different ways to strengthen the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr Mushtaq Ahmed has also hailed the services of volunteer groups and NGOs and CSOs for coming forward in the time of need.

“Some provided ambulances; some provided blood, oxygen support and some provided food… this has been continuing for over four months now. When the time was crucial, nobody was hungry or faced shortage of oxygen or any other support. It was a collective effort to save as many lives as possible,” said Dr Mushtaq Ahmed.

According to the doctors in GMC associated hospitals not only provided free meals to thousands of attendants from across the valley, but played a major role in saving the lives of critical persons.

Dr Irshad, a medico, said the most important role these volunteers played is they avoided chaos in the hospitals, which was the need of the hour.

“To save a critical patient, timing is the most important thing. These volunteers didn’t allow chaos in and outside the hospital. They streamlined the system. Without them such efficiency would have been least possible. As in normal days we see more of the attendant-doctor conflict,” he said.

Suhaib Rasool (name changed), who heads a group of volunteers serve food free of cost to the patients in hospitals in Srinagar. “It is a testing time for us as a nation. We have shown a united face in the time of need and we should continue. This pandemic should go defeated. Everyone should contribute the way they could do. The biggest contribution is taking precautions,” he said.

Govt approves Rs 12,600.58 cr District Capex Budget for J&K

Front

Precious Kashmir

17/06/2021

Govt approves Rs 12,600.58 cr District Capex Budget for J&K

Community need-based plan prepared through Public, PRI’s participation: LG

Srinagar: In a historic decision, Rs 12,600.58 Crore District Capex Budget 2021-22, which is more than double to the previous year’s budget of Rs. 5134.40 Cr, has been approved on Wednesday for equitable development of J&K with active involvement of Panchayats, BDCs and DDCs.

The historic and unprecedented District Capex Budget for all 20 districts was approved during a high-level meeting, chaired by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha here at the Civil Secretariat.

During the marathon meeting, 20 Chairpersons of District Development Councils, and all Deputy Commissioners gave a brief overview of their respective District Plans.

Highlighting the key features of the District Capex Budget, the Lt Governor observed that the Community need-based plan has been prepared through Public/ PRI’s participation which focuses on a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people, employment opportunities to the locals, ensuring better roads, potable water and electricity, tourism potential, empowering youth and determining other priorities as per the public demand.

The Lt Governor said that the bottom-up approach has been adopted to map optimal strategy for socio-economic development, sustainable and inclusive growth at the grass root level, strengthening of basic amenities, and development of human capital by solidifying health and educational institutions.

J&K is witnessing a new dawn. For the first time, after the detailed deliberations, a plan has been prepared with collective efforts of the PRIs and the Administration. The active participation of the public and their representatives in the planning process has laid a strong foundation for the developmental plans at Gram panchayat, Block and District levels, observed the Lt Governor.

The district plan preparations started at Panchayat level & through BDC, it finally reached the DDC, he added.

While congratulating the DDCs, BDCs, Sarpanches, Panches, officials of UT Administration for preparing the historic district development plan, the Lt Governor maintained that the community-based planning will play a key role in the implementation of the development works.

With this historic move, the three-tier Panchayati Raj system has been further empowered through funds, functions & functionaries in J&K UT to cater to the developmental needs of the people through efficient mobilization of resources, added the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor directed the Deputy Commissioners to take urgent action in order to tackle implementation constraints in infrastructure projects.

More than 80% works taken up this year should be completed within 12-months with the true spirit of Jan Bhagidari and through help of PRIs, the Lt Governor told the DCs.

The Lt Governor further asked the DCs and PRIs to focus on Youth engagement, Solid waste management, improving Health & Education sector, provision of clean drinking water/irrigation facilities, better mobility, livelihood generation, and tourism & sports infrastructure. He advised the DCs to maintain the connect with the public, besides sharing best practices for better and effective implementation of developmental works.

“Fulfilling people’s requirements is the top-most priority of the UT Government. The change must be visible on the ground. People need better governance, transparency and timely completion of welfare projects”, remarked the Lt Governor.

Reiterating the directions passed in earlier meetings, the Lt Governor further instructed the DCs for updation of the Districts’ websites with details of beneficiary-oriented & social security schemes, works under District Plans, besides ensuring availability of online services to the people.

Emphasizing on maintaining transparency and accountability in the implementation of the District plan, the Lt Governor asked the concerned functionaries to ensure that each panchayat must display the list of plans approved and date of completion of the works.

The Lt Governor further informed that the Government is initiating District Evaluation Framework which will be finalized soon and the performances of the districts and their ranking will be published monthly. An institutional mechanism will be put in place for monthly review of the progress in every district, he added.

Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar and Baseer Ahmad Khan- Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor; Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor; Administrative Secretaries, besides other senior officers participated in the meeting, in person and through video conferencing.

50,000 youth to get financial assistance: LG

Front

Precious Kashmir

17/06/2021

Srinagar: Riding high on the success of ambitious ‘Back to Village initiative’, J&K government is planning to reach out to 50,000 youth for financial assistance under the next leg of Back to Village program, the details of which would be finalized soon.

It may be mentioned that Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha during his visits to various villages in the third phase of B2V program had explicitly underscored the need to involve youth in the developmental process to make them financially independent, and job providers instead of job seekers. Taking his vision forward, Jammu and Kashmir Bank advanced more than Rs 340 crores to as many as 19,600 youth from across the UT, against the target of about 8800 youth. These youth were granted financial assistance, making them not only financially independent but also a source of livelihood to other families.

The Lt Governor during a high-level meeting of DDC Chairpersons, Administrative Secretaries, and District Development Commissioners today announced that this year, the UT administration should aim to provide financial assistance to 50,000 unemployed youth in order to make them entrepreneur.

“Last year, our target was to pick up two unemployed boys and girls from each Panchayat to make them Entrepreneur. The youth of Jammu & Kashmir have immense talent and till date, we have provided this opportunity to more than 19,000 boys and girls. This year our aim should be to reach out to 50,000 youths with all the assistance so that they can become entrepreneurs,” the Lt Governor observed.

Besides this, 18,000 posts have been advertised by SSB for recruitment in various departments. More posts are being identified. We had promised 25000 jobs in the public sector/government departments. We are moving in that direction. We want to empower the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth. The grassroots democracy is flourishing in J&K for the first time. Youth have an important role to play in the decision making process. We will ensure that the youth is given maximum opportunities, maintained the Lt Governor.

Another significant decision taken by the government is that no work will be taken up by any department without following due procedure of tendering. Avoiding laid down procedures has been found leading to pilferages and quality issues. Tendering process will ensure transparency, accountability, and quality of works. Our aim is to ensure responsive, accountable, transparent governance. And we are here to see that we deliver what we promise, the Lt Governor said.

Digital technology helped us cope, console in Covid: PM

Front

Indo Asian News Service

17/06/2021

Modi to launch crash course for frontline workers on June 18

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that where convention fails, innovation helps, as he noted that during the Covid pandemic, digital technology helped people to “cope, connect, comfort and console”.

Addressing the 5th edition of VivaTech, one of the largest digital and start-up events in Europe, held in Paris every year since 2016, he said: “India’s universal and unique bio-metric digital identity system – Aadhar – helped to provide timely financial support to the poor.

“We could supply free food to 800 million people, and deliver cooking fuel subsidies to many households. We, in India, were able to operationalise two public digital education programes – Swayam and Diksha – in quick time to help students.”

The Prime Minister also praised the role of the start-up sector in meeting the challenge of the pandemic, citing how indigenous IT platform, Arogya Setu enabled contact tracing and the CoWin digital platform has already helped ensure vaccines to millions.

“India is home to one of the world’s largest start-up eco systems. Several unicorns have come up in the recent years. India offers what innovators and investors need,” Modi said, invited the world to invest in India based “on the five pillars of Talent, Market, Capital, Eco-system and, Culture of openness”.

The Prime Minister also stressed the strengths like India’s talent pool, mobile phone penetration, 775 million internet users, highest and cheap data consumption in the world. and the highest use of social media to invite investors to India.

He also enumerated initiatives like state of the art public digital infrastructure, 523,000 km of fibre-optic network linking 156,000 village councils, and public wi-fi networks across the country.

About the disruption in different sectors over the past year, the Prime Minister insisted that disruption does not have to mean despair, instead, the focus should be kept on the twin foundations of repair and prepare.

“This time last year, the world was still seeking a vaccine. Today, we have quite a few. Similarly, we have to continue repairing health infrastructure and our economies. We in India implemented huge reforms across sectors, be it mining, space, banking, atomic energy and more. This goes on to show that India as a nation is adaptable and agile, even in the middle of the pandemic,” he said.

The Prime Minister also stressed the need for insulating our planet against the next pandemic, and called upon the start-up community to take the lead in working with collective spirit and a human-centric approach to overcome this challenge.

Emphasising that France and Europe are among India’s key partners, he, referring to his conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron, in summit with EU leaders in Porto in May, said that the digital partnership, from start-ups to quantum computing, emerged as a key priority.

“History has shown that leadership in new technology drives economic strength, jobs and prosperity. But, our partnerships must also serve a larger purpose, in service of humanity. This pandemic is not only a test of our resilience, but also of our imagination. It is a chance to build a more inclusive, caring and sustainable future for all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Modi will launch customized crash course programme for Covid-19 frontline workers on June 18 in over 26 states.

Organised at 11 a.m. via video conferencing, the launch will commence the programme in 111 training centres spread over 26 states. The launch will be followed by the Prime Minister’s address.

The programme aims to skill and upskill over one lakh Covid warriors across the country. The training will be imparted to Covid warriors in six customised job roles namely Home Care Support, Basic Care Support, Advanced Care Support, Emergency Care Support, Sample Collection Support, and Medical Equipment Support.

The programme has been designed as a special programme under the Central Component of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0, with total financial outlay of Rs 276 crore.

The programme will create skilled non-medical healthcare workers to fill the present and future needs of manpower in the health sector.

Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will also be present on the occasion. (IANS)

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