New Delhi, Aug 21: The union government Friday clarified that there is no going back, and medical and engineering entrance exams, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) will happen as scheduled in September.
The clarification comes on a day that saw a lot of noise, virtual protest and even a formal appeal to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi by BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy.
“In this background, it is intimated that, for the first time, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the candidates of JEE (Main) were provided opportunity five times to change their option of Centre City. A total of 661911 Candidates availed this opportunity and they were considered for centres based upon their latest (revised) option.
“Now the National Testing Agency (NTA) has also released the Admit Cards for the JEE (Main) Examinations scheduled from 01-09-2020 to 06-09-2020. 649223 Candidates have downloaded their Admit Cards so far, against a total number 858,273. NTA is happy to share with the JEE (Main) 2020 candidates that it has been able to offer the first choice of preference of centre cities to 99.07% of the candidates. 142 candidates have, subsequently requested for a change in their allotted centre city due to various reasons, and the NTA is considering these requests positively,” NTA said.
In its statement Friday, NTA referred to the 17 August ruling of the Supreme Court that rejected pleas for deferment or cancellation of JEE and NEET.
The testing agency said it has made arrangement and have asked states to step up providing facilities while conveying “best wishes to all the candidates of these examinations”.
“As far as, NEET (UG)-2020 is concerned, again for the first time, the Candidates of this examination were given opportunity five times to change their choice of Centre City. A total of 95000 Candidates availed the same and they have been accommodated against their revised choices. The NEET (UG)-2020 exam is now scheduled on 13-09-2020 and the total of 15,97,433 Candidates are registered for the same. The Admit Cards will be released shortly. Overall, 99.87% Candidates will be accommodated against their first preference of Centre City,” the agency said.
In order to seek support of the states for maintaining law and order, power supply, facilitation of movement of candidates, and exam functionaries, crowd management in front of exam centres, etc., the NTA has also written to the state chief secretaries, director general of police of states, district magistrates of the concerned cities. “They have also been informed about the Advisory regarding COVID-19 for All Functionaries, and their support has been solicited,” it said. (Agencies)

New Delhi, Aug 20: India on Thursday said Jammu and Kashmir has been and will remain an integral part of India and call upon Pakistan to end cross-border Terrorism.
‘Jammu and Kashmir has been and will remain an integral part of India. We call upon Pakistan to end cross-border militancy our overtures should not be taken as sign for weakness,’ India said while responding to Pakistan National Assembly Speaker’s observation at the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP).
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the 5WCSP, being organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva, and the Parliament of Austria on August 19 and 20 with the support of the United Nations.
During the special event on ‘Countering Terrorism and violent Extremism: The perspective of victims’, India’s reply said: ‘India exercises its Right of Reply to statement by Pakistan, a country whose PM glorified dreaded ‘Osama Bin Laden’ a ‘martyr’ from its Parliament.’
UN Analytical Support Sanctions Monitoring Team mentions Pakistan as the leading exporter of militancy with more than 6,000 nationals currently engaged in insurgency, India said.
‘The international community should isolate Pakistan to increase the cost of engaging in militant activities. Pakistan’s Prime Minister had admitted to nearly 40,000 militants on its soil.
‘Pakistan’s aggressions against J&K in 1965, 1971, 1999 (Kargil), attack on Mumbai and Parliament, Uri, Pulwama among others show Pakistan’s State-sponsored policy of militancy as evident in the inaction against likes of Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Ehsanullah Ehsan,’ India said.
Birla attended the Conference being organised jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva and the Parliament of Austria on Wednesday also.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first time that an international Parliamentary Conference of such a magnitude is being organised in virtual mode. The second part of the Conference will be held next year in physical mode in Vienna, Austria.

Precious Kashmir News  

Srinagar, Aug 21: Announcing few employee friendly measures Govt today orders DBT of all the Group Janta (GJ) Insurance claims and real time updation of GPF accounts of employees.

In its circular instructions issued today the department of Finance has asked all the administrative departments to take nomination details of Group Janta Insurance policy from its employees and submit the same to Finance department within 15 days.

As per the circular the measure has been taken to avoid undue delay in disbursement of Group Janta Insurance payment claims in favour of the NoK’s of deceased employees due to want of legal heir/ dependant/ succession certificates.

Therefore in order to avoid the unnecessary delay in making of payment to the legal heir(s) of deceased employees, the Government has decided to adopt the policy of DBT, as such, making the nomination form mandatory for all employees.

The circular asks all the Administrative Secretaries to impress upon all the DDOs to furnish the details of nominees/legal heirs of all employees working under them as per the prescribed proforma through soft copy within 15 days positively to enable the Finance Department to make all future payments exclusively through DBT mode.

The circular further reads that in case of delay in submission of nomination form of any deceased employee, DDO concerned will be held responsible and strict action will be initiated against him.

In another government order the department of Finance has accorded sanction to the real-time ledger posting of credit and debit in General Provident Fund (GPF) Accounts and real-time Transfer Entry (TE) updation w.e.f. 1st September 2020.

This would enable employees to view their updated balances/transactions of their GPF accounts on real time basis.

The order obligates upon Director General Funds Organization, J&K to make necessary arrangement for online shifting of the same in consultation with Director General, Accounts and Treasuries and NIC unit J&K within a week’s time only.

Suhail Khan
Srinagar, Aug 21: The farmers are worried as rainfall deficit and scab infection have damaged crops in Kashmir.
Kashmir produces over 18 lakh metric tones of apples every year.
Farmers said they fear over 50 percent damage to apples due to dry weather and scab disease.
Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers cum Dealers Union president, Bashir Ahmad Bashir said they fear heavy losses due to scab infection and rainfall deficit.
“The scab infection has damaged our apple. We fear heavy losses to apples this season. Kashmir produces 22 crore boxes of apples annually. But this season there will be a huge decrease in production due to rainfall deficit and scab infection,” Bashir said.
He said reason for scab infection is substandard pesticides. “There is no check on pesticides by the authorities”.
Farmers suffered heavy losses last year when Kashmir remained shut post abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
Abdul Majeed Wani, a Saffron grower from Pampore said the Saffron fields have turned dry due to rainfall deficit.
“We are not able to dig our fields. The production of Saffron will depend upon the weather conditions in the next few weeks. If the dry continues, then there will be heavy damage to Saffron production. I can only pray that there is sufficient rainfall,” Wani said, who is also President of the Saffron Growers Association.
Saffron flowers are sensitive to vagaries of the weather. Its production depends on the weather conditions and the irrigation facilities.
The harvest season of Saffron begins from ending October. More than 16,000 families are associated with this crop production in the valley.
Kashmiri saffron is of superior quality because of the higher concentration of crocin, a carotenoid pigment that gives saffron its colour and medicinal value.
Each year, Kashmir produces 16 tonnes of Saffron.
Saffron is cultivated in three districts: Pulwama, Srinagar and Budgam of the valley.
Pampore, the township in Pulwama district produces the most.
Kashmir has recorded the highest temperature of over 36 degrees celcius in August, the first time in 40 years, which is believed to be due to global warming.
As per the Meteorological Department, in the last two months, Valley received deficit rainfall to the tune of 50 percent.
An official of Agriculture Department said if dry weather continues for the next few weeks, there will be huge damage to crops. (KINS)

Srinagar, Aug 21: Differences have surfaced within Ladakh unit of Congress over the party’s president Asgar Karbalie decision to observe August 5 as black day.
The party’s vice-president T. Samphel and General Secretary Rigzin Spalbar have resigned from their posts to protest against Karbalie’s move.
“I wish to draw your kind attention to the letter dated August 5 addressed to you by our senior Congress leader T. Samphel regarding the shocking statement made by the working President of Territorial Congress Committee (Ladakh) Haji Asgar Ali Karbali, who earlier chose to observe August 5 as ‘Black Day’ for declaring it as a Union Territory,” reads the letter to AICC working president Sonia Gandhi from Rigzin Spalbar.
“Sampels’ letter is self-explanatory who tendered his resignation from the post of Vice President of Ladakh Territorial Congress over Karbali’s statement. It has been over two weeks since Sampel resigned, Congress Working President has not issued any clarifications so far despite our strong objections to his statement,” reads the letter.
In the letter, Spalbar has written that UT status has been a long-standing demand of the people of Ladakh.
“As a political party we cannot but support the popular political aspirations of the people. It would be politically suicidal for us especially when the election for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council (LAHDC) is round the corner,” the letter reads.
“I cannot subscribe to Karbali’s view and at the same time continue to work as the General Secretary of the TCC (Ladakh) under him. In fact, as one of the fore-front leaders who spearheaded the demand for UT for decades cannot but join the people in their moment of happiness.” (KNO)

Pulwama, Aug 21: A Bachelor in Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS) student from Awantipora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district has been missing for the last four days and there are no traces of him since then.
Aadil Rashid Bhat, son of Abdul Rashid Bhat of Charsoo Batpora village of Awantipora area of Pulwama district, who was a last semester student of BUMS at Tibiya College Sumbal is missing since Tuesday afternoon.
Altaf Ahmad, brother of Aadil said on Tuesday afternoon after having lunch, he offered Zuhr prayers with him and since then he didn’t return home.
“We contacted all our relatives, his friends and other people but nobody has any clue about him,” he said, adding that after failing to trace him, they lodged a missing report at Police Station Awantipora.
“Since then, we have been searching him everywhere but so far we haven’t got any clue about him,” he said while requesting everyone to kindly allow his brother to return home if he is with anyone.
He said that he was a brilliant student and has secured 94 per cent marks in Class 10th examinations while he has got around 90 per cent marks in 12th class examinations.
He was never arrested before and hasn’t even taken part in street protests, he said.
Pertinently, three local youth including a lone son of a family from the particular village have joined militancy since July 2020.
A senior police officer said a BUMS student from Awantipora is missing and the efforts are on to trace him.
He said it would be premature to say whether he has joined any militant organization as investigation in this regard is going on. KNO