Uttarakhand, Oct 23: Doors of Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath temple will remain closed on October 25 on the solar eclipse, said the temple committee.
After the eclipse, the pujas will be performed in the evening, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Shri Kedarnath-Badrinath Temple Committee added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at Badrinath temple on Friday. Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmeet Singh and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami accompanied Prime Minister at the shrine.
Before arriving in Badrinath, PM Modi visited Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag and offered prayers donning a traditional pahadi outfit, Chola Dora, that was gifted to him by Himachali women during his tour to the state.

PM Modi arrived at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun earlier in the day and was received by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmeet Singh. He later laid the foundation stone of the Kedarnath ropeway project and after that visited the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal.
He reviewed the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath. PM Modi also interacted with the construction workers engaged in the Kedarnath Dham development project.
According to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the ropeway in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present to only about 30 mins

The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 km long and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 mins. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park, said the PMO statement.
The ropeways, which will be developed at a cumulative cost of around Rs 2,430 crore, are an environmental friendly mode of transport that will provide a safe, secure and stable mode of transport. This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism, which will give a fillip to the economic development in the region and lead to the creation of multiple employment opportunities as well.
Foundation stone for road widening projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore will also be laid during the visit. The two road widening projects – from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) – shall be another step towards providing last-mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas. Apart from boosting connectivity, these projects will also prove beneficial from a strategic point of view as well.
Kedarnath and Badrinath are among the most important Hindu shrines. The area is also known for one of the revered Sikh Pilgrim site – Hemkund Sahib. The connectivity projects are aimed to ease access and improve basic infrastructure in places of religious significance. (Agencies)

New Delhi, Oct 23: The Centre has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), a non-government organisation associated with the Gandhi family, for alleged violations of the law, officials said.
The action came after investigations carried out by an inter-ministerial committee formed by the home ministry in 2020.
“Yes, the FCRA licence of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been cancelled after an investigation against it,” an official said.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of RGF while other trustees include former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former finance minister P Chidambaram, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Set up in 1991, RGF worked on a number of critical issues including health, science and technology, women and children, disability support, etc., from 1991 till 2009. It also worked in the education sector, according to its website. (Agencies)

New Delhi, Oct 23: With 1,994 fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally has climbed to 4,46,42,742, while the number of active cases of the infection has declined to 23,432, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.
The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,28,961 with four more fatalities, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.
The active cases account for 0.05 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.
A decrease of 611 cases was recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours, it added.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.99 per cent, according to the health ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,40,90,349, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.

According to the ministry, 219.55 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered to the beneficiaries across the country.
India’s Covid tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, 40 lakh on September 5, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16, 2020.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 2020, 70 lakh on October 11, 2020, 80 lakh on October 29, 2020, 90 lakh on November 20, 2020 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4, 2021, the three-crore mark on June 23, 2021 and four crore cases on January 25 this year.
Of the four fatalities recorded in the 24-hour period, one each was reported from Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Nagaland. (Agencies)

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping was on Sunday re-elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China for a record third five-year term, a privilege only accorded to party founder Mao Zedong.
Xi, 69, was elected to the powerful Central Committee a day earlier by a once-in-a-five-year Congress despite crossing the official retirement age of 68 and completing 10-year tenure.
Several senior leaders including the number two leader Premier Li Keqiang either retired or failed to make it to the Central Committee resulting in a major shakeup of China’s politics and government.
The Central Committee members on Sunday elected a 25-member Political Bureau which picked the Standing Committee members to govern the country.
Soon after his election, Xi appeared before the media here on Sunday along with the newly elected Standing Committee.
Xi, in his brief closing remarks at the 20th Congress on Saturday, said that the revision of the Constitution sets out clear requirements for upholding and strengthening the party’s overall leadership.
“Dare to struggle, dare to win, bury your heads and work hard. Be determined to keep forging ahead,” he said.
“We must be ready to withstand high winds, choppy waters and even dangerous storms,” he said.
“Confronted with drastic changes in the international landscape, especially external attempts to blackmail, contain, (and) blockade… China, we have put our national interests first,” he said, apparently referring to the growing negativity against China in the US and West. (Agencies)

JAMMU, Oct 22: Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Saturday visited the Northern Command at Udhampur.
The minister was briefed on the security and operational situation. He interacted with senior officers and deliberated on various defence related issues.
The minister laid a wreath at the Dhruva War Memorial paying homage to the bravehearts who sacrificed their lives for the nation. The Minister later flagged off the ‘Shaurya Diwas (Infantry Day) Motorcycle Rally’ in presence of Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, GOC-in-C, Northern Command.

The Bike Rally was organised to commemorate 75 years of historic landings of the forces at Srinagar in the 1947-48 War. The rally will culminate at National War Memorial, New Delhi on October 27, 2022.

The Minister also interacted with NCC girl cadets and motivated them. He recognised the efforts of the Indian Army in J&K and Ladakh, appreciated the spirit and motivation of troops deployed in active operations and praised all ranks for their unconditional and selfless service to the Nation.
He commended Northern Command for Always being in Combat while securing the borders and keeping the internal security situation stable in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Rozgar Mela” on Saturday to recruit 10 lakh people and underscored his government’s efforts to create jobs in the last eight years amid the opposition’s constant criticism of it on the issue of unemployment.
In his address after more than 75,000 people were given appointment letters for various government jobs in the first tranche, Modi acknowledged the challenges facing the economy the world over with many countries hit by a record inflation and unemployment and said India is making every effort to come out of the situation unscathed.
“It is a fact that the global scenario is not very good. Several large economies are struggling. In many countries, problems such as inflation and unemployment are at their peak,” he said.
No one thinks that the side-effects of the once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic will go away in 100 days, the prime minister said, adding that the crisis is grave and global, causing adverse effects all around.
“Despite this, India is taking new initiatives and some risks to shield our country from being affected by these problems. It is a challenging job, but with your blessings, we have been protected till now,” he said, adding that it was made possible as his government dealt with the shortcomings that were a hindrance to the economy.
The efficiency of the government departments has increased manifold and India has now leapt from being the 10th biggest economy to occupy the fifth spot in the world in the last eight years, Modi said.
In his speech to the new appointees, Modi cited numerous measures taken by the government, including the push to the manufacturing, infrastructure and tourism sectors, to boost employment opportunities.
Unemployment has been a major plank of the opposition in several state elections as it has accused the government of failing to create adequate employment opportunities.
The government has rejected the claim, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) citing its victories in most of the poll contests to counter the charge.
Modi cited the record amount of loan given under the “Mudra” scheme, which funds prospective entrepreneurs, and noted that the assistance to the tune of more than Rs 3 lakh crore during the pandemic helped avert a crisis to over 1.5 crore jobs in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
He said the Centre is working on multiple fronts to create maximum job opportunities for youngsters and asserted that the “Rozgar Mela” is an important milestone in the efforts to create employment and self-employment in the last eight years.
The government is also working to boost agriculture, MSME and other sectors with a stress on upgrading the skills of youngsters. More than 1.25 crore people have been trained under Skill India, the prime minister said.
Modi had directed various ministries and departments in June to recruit more than 10 lakh people in the next 18 months.
Though his government has been generating employment for eight years, keeping in mind the 75th year of independence, it was decided that the Centre will give appointment letters to 75,000 youngsters on Saturday, the prime minister said.
“We decided that a tradition of giving appointment letters in one go should be started so that a collective temperament of completing projects in a time-bound manner develops in the departments,” he said, explaining the rationale behind the “Rozgar Mela”.
Initiatives such as liberalising the drone policy, opening up the space policy and loans worth Rs 20 lakh crore under the Mudra scheme have further boosted the employment opportunities, Modi said.
“Never before a self-employment programme of this magnitude was implemented in the county,” he added.
For the first time in the country, the worth of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has crossed Rs 4 lakh crore and more than four crore jobs have been created in the sector, he said.
The Start-Up India campaign has shown the potential of the youngsters, the prime minister pointed out, adding that the MGNREGA employment scheme has benefitted seven crore people in the country.
The most ambitious projects for the country in the 21st century have been “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, he said, adding that India is moving from being an importer to an exporter in many sectors.
“The government is working comprehensively in the manufacturing and tourism sectors as both have a huge employment potential,” Modi said, citing the PLI scheme to give incentives on a production basis.
Its results are already visible in many sectors, he said.
The prime minister noted that about 17 lakh people joined the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in August and have now become a part of the country’s formal economy. He said about eight lakh of these people are in the 18-25 age group.
Modi also cited the emphasis on building roads, ports, airports and laying railway tracks to assert that the infrastructure sector has been a big source of employment generation.
“More than three crore houses have also been built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana,” he added.
The country has a target of spending more than Rs 100 lakh crore to boost infrastructure, the prime minister said.
He urged the new appointees to always keep their “kartavya path” (duties) in mind.
“You are being appointed for the service of the citizens of the country. A government job is not about facilities but a commitment and a golden opportunity to serve people,” he said.
The new recruits, selected from across the country, will join 38 ministries or departments of the Government of India. They will join the government at various levels in Group A and B (gazetted), Group B (non-gazetted) and Group C.
The posts on which the appointments are being made include those of the central armed forces personnel, sub-inspectors, constables, LDCs, stenographers, PAs, income tax inspectors and MTS, according to a statement issued by the government.
More than 50 Union ministers handed over appointment letters to thousands of youngsters at different locations across the country.
With the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls round the corner, the BJP believes that the major employment exercise will give it a boost and blunt the opposition’s attack on it.
According to the latest annual report of the Department of Expenditure on Pay and Allowances, the total number of regular central government civilian employees in position (including in the Union territories) as on March 1, 2020 was 31.91 lakh, as against the sanctioned strength of 40.78 lakh, and approximately 21.75 per cent of the posts were vacant.
The latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said India’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.43 per cent in September due to an increase in labour participation in the rural and urban areas.
In August, India’s unemployment rate had surged to a one-year high of 8.3 per cent as employment sequentially fell by 2 million (20 lakh) to 394.6 million, the data said. (Agencies)