Oct 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released the 12th instalment of financial benefit worth Rs 16,000 crore to over 11 crore eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme, ahead of Diwali and ongoing rabi sowing.
With this, the total amount transferred to the beneficiaries is expected to cross Rs 2.16 lakh crore.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months. The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
The scheme was launched in February 2019 but is being implemented with effect from December 2018.
The Prime Minister released the 12th instalment at a two-day event “PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022” being held at the Pusa campus in the national capital.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chemicals & Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya were also present at the programme.
More than 13,500 farmers from across the country and around 1,500 Agri-startups are participating in the event.
Researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders too are attending the event.
PM-KISAN is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from the Central Government. The State Government and UT administration identify the farmer families that are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines. (Agencies)
PM Modi releases 12th installment of Rs 16,000 crore to eligible farmers under PM-KISAN
After 22 years, contest for Congress prez post today
The Opposition Congress is all set to witness a contest for the president post after 22 years on Monday with senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor pitted against each other and this time no member of the Gandhi family is contesting for the post of President.
The voting will be done between 10 am and 4 pm, with the results will be declared on October 19.
For the Congress presidential polls, party leader Rahul Gandhi voted at a Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite in Karnataka’s Ballari while the outgoing interim president, Sonia Gandhi voted at the party headquarters in the national capital.
Congress General Secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said, “There’ve been queries on where @RahulGandhi will cast his vote tomorrow for Congress Presidential election. There should be no speculation. He will be voting at the #BharatJodoYatra campsite in Sanganakallu, Ballari along with around 40 other Bharat Yatris who are PCC delegates.”
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also cast his vote at the party headquarters here.
For the October 17 polls, 67 booths have been set up in all the states, the party’s central election authority (CEA) said.
Madhusudan Mistry, Chairman of the CEA, said, “In AICC also there will be a booth, especially for all the senior leaders, working committee members and all those whose identity card is from a different state but are staying in Delhi. If they write to us that they want to vote in Delhi then we will make arrangements here as well, they can also vote here in AICC.”
A camp booth has been set up for Rahul Gandhi and others who are participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The vote will be by the secret ballot. All the ballet boxes will be brought to the AICC headquarters here and then, on October 19 the counting of votes will start and the result will be declared as soon as the counting gets over.
Congress Central Election Authority (CEA) Chairman had assured the voters of the secrecy of the ballot.
While issuing standard protocol for the voting till the counting of the votes, Madhusudan Mistry said that there was no numbering on the papers and only counterfoil with detail will be kept with the Election Authority while the ballot boxes will be sealed and unsealed in front of election agents. Ahead of the counting of votes, all the ballot papers will be mixed so that no one would know how many votes the candidate got from a particular state.
“The delegates from all states will vote at their respective polling stations with a ‘tick’ mark for the candidate they support. Arrangements have been made for smooth polling,” said Central Election Authority Chairman of Congress Madhusudan Mistry.
“Ballot boxes will reach Delhi on Oct 18 & counting of votes will be done on October 19. Polling booth set up at AICC as well, where over 50 people will vote. The whole polling process will be fair & free, no doubt about that,’ he added.
It is not the first time that a non-Gandhi leader is contesting for the party presidency post-Independence, Jitendra Prasad contested for the post of president about 22 years ago against Sonia Gandhi in which Sonia emerged as a winner holding the mantle of the party for 20 years.
Sonia Gandhi is the longest-serving president of the party, having held the office for over twenty years from 1998 to 2017 and since 2019.
This is the sixth time in its nearly 137-year-old history that polls will be held to elect the President of the party. In the 2017 elections, Rahul Gandhi became the president unopposed.
“There’s no problem with our ideology but I want to bring a change in our way of work… Mallikarjun Kharge is an experienced leader, if he wins, we’ll work in cooperation naturally,” Congress Presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor said ahead of the polls tomorrow.
Kharge, “It’s my duty to strengthen the org & fight vindictive policies of BJP-RSS, they’re dividing the country on basis of religion; they’re dividing the backwards, scheduled castes, minorities. They see everything through an election point of view.”
“We’ve to fight from parliament to street. It’s difficult as unemployment& inflation are there, GDP growth is falling, value of rupee is going down, petrol-diesel & essential commodities’ prices are going up,’ he added.
More than nine thousand delegates will vote in this election.The state from which the delegate belongs will have to go to the Congress headquarters of that state and vote.
Apart from the Congress headquarters in the states, the voting facilities will also be available at the party’s central headquarters at 24 Akbar Road.
Karan Singh demands early elections in J&K
Oct 17: Senior Congress leader Dr Karan Singh on Monday demanded early assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir and said that he was glad to see the world famous Dal Lake cleaned for the first time.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the AICC presidential voting at party’s Srinagar headquarters, Singh said that democracy cannot be ensured without the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, so all parties here have been demanding immediate conduct of the polls, news agency KNO reported.
“We have been hearing that the elections will be conducted in March next year, but there is no official confirmation yet. Congress and other parties have been demanding early polls and they should be held at an earliest,” he said.
About the inclusion of non-local voters in J&K, he said that there is confusion over it and the things are not clear, so he cannot comment anything on the issue.
Singh said the government has been making claims about the developmental progress in the Union Territory, but on ground it may take some time to see the impact. “Dal Lake for the first time is cleaned. I am happy to see Dal Lake clean as I have personally witnessed this development,” he said.
“This will never stop until justice is served….,” Farooq Abdullah on targetted killings in J&K
October 17: National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Monday alleged that incidents of targeted killings by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir are not going to stop “until justice is served.”
“This will never stop until justice is served. Earlier they said such killings happening due to Article370, but it’s abrogated now, so why such killings haven’t stopped? Who’s responsible?” National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, an all-party meeting is being held at the residence of Abdullah in Jammu on the electoral roll revision, ahead of the assembly elections likely to be held next year.
Earlier on Saturday, Puran Krishan Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit succumbed to his injuries after militants opened fire at him while he was on his way to an orchard in Shopian.
Bhat was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. (AGENCIES)
Man Held With Weapons, Ammunition In Kupwara: Police
Oct 17: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday claimed to have arrested a man with arms and ammunition in Karnah area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
A police spokesman in a statement said that in a joint action by Kupwara Police and Army, a man has been arrested along with arms and ammunition in his possession from Karnah area.
The spokesman said that acting on a specific information, a police team led by Incharge PP Taad ASI Muneer Ahmad along with local Army unit 3/8 GR conducted search of the house of one Mohd Shafi Sheikh son of Ali Aksar Sheikh resident of Hajitra Karnah.
He said that on questioning, Shafi revealed that he has concealed some arms and ammunition in a Sewing machine in his house. On Shafi’s disclosure 01 Pistol, 02 Pistol Magazines , 11 Pistol rounds and 02 live Garnades were recovered during the search and he was taken into custody .
He added that case under relevant provisions of law has been registered against Mohammad Shafi Sheikh and investigations taken up.
“It’s pertinent to mention that Mohd Shafi Sheikh is already facing trial in a similar case chargesheeted against him in the year 2021. More arrests are expected in the case,” said police spokesman in a statement.
Mainly clear to partly cloudy sky likely in J&K: MeT
Oct 17: The Meteorological (MeT) department on Monday forecast mainly clear to partly cloudy sky in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.
“Mainly clear to partly cloudy sky is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours”, an official of the MeT department said.
Meanwhile, Srinagar recorded 7.4 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam 2.6 and Gulmarg 4 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature this morning.
Drass town in Ladakh region had minus 1.5 degrees, Kargil 1.6 and Leh minus 0.4, while
J&K | Man held after setting ablaze two parked vehicles in Surankote Poonch
Oct 17: Police have arrested a man after he allegedly set ablaze two vehicles, damaging them substantially while some others parked nearby were also damaged in Surankote area of Poonch district, officials said on Monday.
They said that the person whose name has not been officially revealed also tried to set ablaze his house in the district.
A police officer said that at about 0700 a.m., an information was received from reliable source that the person put on fire two vehicles—a SUVs bearing registration number PB35M-7310 and JK 02BL-0718 near Tehsil Court Complex. The two vehicles suffered substantial damage before fire was doused off, he said. Some other vehicles parked nearby also got damaged due to heat but timely action saved them from significant damage, he added.
Subsequently, the officer said that the accused also tried to burn his house. While house was saved from any damage, he was arrested and is in police custody, the officer added.(Agencies)
J&K Government terminates services of Five employees for alleged terror links
Jammu and Kashmir | Five govt employees have been terminated from service for terror links, running narco-terror syndicate and aiding proscribed outfits to carry out terror attacks: Govt Sources
Pakistan is one of the most dangerous nations in world, says Joe Biden
Washington [US], Oct 15: In perhaps the most candid statement made against it, US President Joe Biden described Pakistan as “one of the most dangerous nations” in the world with holds “nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”
The US President made these remarks at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Reception in Los Angeles (California), during which he berated both China and Russia.
The remarks on Pakistan were made while Biden was talking about US foreign policy with regard to China and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Biden concluded by saying he considered Pakistan to be the most dangerous country in the world.
“This is a guy (Xi Jinping) who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems. How do we handle that? How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” said Biden, as quoted in a White House press release of his remarks at the Democratic party event.
Biden’s remarks could be seen as a setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government’s bid to improve ties with the US.
At the event, Biden said there were enormous opportunities for the US to change the dynamic in the second quarter of the 21st century.
“So, folks, there’s a lot going on. A lot going on. But there’s also enormous opportunities for the United States to change the dynamic in the second quarter of the 21st century,” the US president said.
These comments come two days after the release of the US’ National Security Strategy. The 48-page document makes no reference to Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration released the Congress mandated key policy document, underlining the threat posed to the US by both China and Russia.
The National Security Strategy states that China and Russia who earlier this year announced a “no-limits partnership” are increasingly aligned with each other but the challenges they pose are distinct.
“We will prioritize maintaining an enduring competitive edge over the PRC while constraining a still profoundly dangerous Russia,” it adds.
The policy document contends that competition with China is most pronounced in the Indo-Pacific, but it is also increasingly global.
The US Security Strategy highlighted that the next ten years will be a decisive decade of competition with China.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the document says Moscow’s “imperialist foreign policy” culminated “in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an attempt to topple its government and bring it under Russian control.” (Agencies)
Dry weather to continue in J&K during next 24 hrs: MeT
JAMMU, Oct 15: As a weak, feeble autumn sun continued to shine in Jammu and Kashmir, the Met department said on Saturday that dry, weather conditions are likely to continue for the next 24 hours.
A Department official also said that minimum temperatures are likely to drop further during the next 48 hours.
On Saturday, Srinagar recorded 6.6, Pahalgam 2.2 and Gulmarg 3.4 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature, while Drass town in Ladakh region had minus 2.2, Kargil 3 and Leh minus 0.4.
Jammu registered 17.7, Katra 15.2, Batote 9.6, Banihal 6 and Bhaderwah 7.2 as the minimum temperature. (Agencies)