NEW DELHI, Dec 17: With 167 fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally has climbed to 4,46,75,776, while the number of active cases of the infection has declined to 3,608, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,30,667 with four more fatalities, including three reconciled by Kerala and one reported by Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.
The active cases account for 0.01 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.8 per cent, according to the ministry’s website.
A decrease of 83 cases was recorded in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to to 4,41,41,501, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry’s website, 219.99 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered to beneficiaries across the country.
India’s COVID-19 tally had 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, three crore cases on June 23, 2021 and the four-crore mark on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
COVID-19: India records 167 fresh cases
China preparing for war, Indian Government asleep: Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI, Dec 16: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday that China is preparing for war and the Indian government is sleeping over it and trying to ignore the threat. He also alleged that China has taken away 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killed 20 Indian soldiers and is “thrashing our jawans in Arunachal Pradesh”.
“I can see the threat of China very clearly. I have been clear on this for the last two-three years, but the government is trying to hide it and ignore it. This threat can neither be hidden or ignored. Going by their full offensive preparation that is on in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, the Indian government is asleep,” Gandhi told a press conference in Jaipur.
“The government does not want to hear this but their (China’s) preparation is on. The preparation is for war. It is not for incursion, but for war. If you look at their weapon pattern, what they are doing — they are preparing for war. Our government hides this and is not able to accept it,” the former Congress chief said.
He said this is happening because the Narendra Modi government does event-based work and does not work strategically.
“They think in terms of event management but where geostrategy is involved, event-based action does not work, power works there. I have said three-four times that we should be careful and understand what is happening. They keep making statements, I see the external affairs minister keeps making remarks, I should not say it, but he should deepen his understanding,” Gandhi said.
The Congress has been accusing the BJP-led government of succumbing to pressure from China and not taking on the neighbouring country after its frequent transgressions at the border.
The opposition party has been saying that the prime minister should take on China and address the border issues with it strongly by looking “eye to eye”.
The Congress has also been seeking a discussion in Parliament on the border issue and Chinese transgressions at the border. (Agencies)
BJP nominates office-bearers for Doda, Poonch and Pahari Zila
JAMMU: The Bharatiya Janata Party Friday nominated office-bearers for Doda, Poonch and Pahari Zila.
Nomination of BJP’s District Office Bearers of District Poonch
Rajesh Kumar, District President, BJP Poonch in consultation with J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina, J&K BJP General Secretary (Org.) Ashok Koul and other senior leaders of party nominated District Office Bearers of District Poonch.
The list is as follows: District Vice Presidents Sardar Paramjeet Singh (Poonch), Jahangir Khan (Khanetar), Sunil Kumar ( Poonch), Madam Samina Azad (Mendhar), Azhar Manhas (Surankote), Bashir Mir (Mandi), Sanjeev Kumar -Fancy (Mendhar), Ravinder Kumar-Bitta (Poonch)
District General Secretaries: Naresh Kumar Sharma (Poonch), Sardar Parvinder Singh-Abhi (Poonch),
District Secretaries: Davinder Kumar Tandon (Mendhar), Abdul Hamid (Mandi), Rajesh Sudan (Poonch), Sardar Paramjeet Singh (Poonch), Sandeep Gupta (Mendhar), Asif Azad (Mendhar), Sachin Khajuria (Dara Dhudiyan)
District Office Secretary/Addl. Office Secretary: Brij Lal Sharma (Poonch), Nisar Ahmed (Alaapir).
District Treasurer/Addl. Treasurer Roshan Lal Sharma (Jhulas), Yashpaul Sharma (Khorinar).
District Social Media Secretary/Addl. Social Media Secretaries Satpal Sharma (Poonch), Yashodan Raina (Poonch), Sunil Kumar (Sunny) Poonch.
District IT Incharge/Addl. IT Inchagre Qamar Ibrahim (Dingla) Wahid Mughal (Shahpur)
District Publicity Secretary/Addl. Publicity Secretary Rashid Manhas (Dingla) Kamal Din ( Kamsar)
District Spokespersons Zulfkar Pathan (Mendhar) Chief Spokesperson, Shashi Luthra (Poonch) Spokesperson, Capt. Ashok Kumar (Poonch) Spokesperson, Neetu Sharma (Mohalla Pandita) Spokesperson, Abdul Hamid Bajar ( Kasba) Spokesperson, Aman Dabur (Jhullas) Spokesperson and Satish Bhargav (Mendhar) Spokesperson
Morcha Presidents, District Poonch Jyoti Bhalla (Poonch) President, BJP Mahila Morcha, District Poonch. Er. Saahil Mir(Poonch)
President, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, District Poonch. Renu Bala(Poonch)
President, BJP SC Morcha, District Poonch. Naresh Pal Verma (Mangnar)
President, BJP OBC Morcha, District Poonch. Mohd. Akbar ( Danna)
President, BJP Kissan Morcha, District Poonch. Mohd Bashir ( Surankote-Lassana)
President, BJP Minority Morcha, District Poonch. Mohd. Bashir Bajran (Ex-Sarpanch-Dingla) President, BJP ST Morcha, District Poonch.
Pahari Zila
Nomination of BJP’s District Office Bearers of Pahari Zila
Darshan Singh Thakkar, District President, BJP, Pahari Zila in consultation with J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina, J&K BJP General Secretary (Org.) Ashok Koul and other senior leaders of party nominated District Office Bearers of District Pahari Zila.
The list is as follows: District Vice Presidents Capt. Om Parkash (Billawar) Sanjeet Sharma (Billawar), Ravinder Billowria (Billawar) Sushma Singh Karyal (BDC-Dhar Mahanpur) Nisha Thakur (Billarar) Sumesh Spolia (Basholi) Er. Jasvinder Singh (Basholi) Moti Ram (Bani)
District General Secretaries Gopal Krishan (Billawar) Sohan Lal (Sonu Gupta-Mahanpur)
District Secretaries Devinder Singh (Basholi) Veer Singh Jamwal (Basholi) Sakshi Khajuria (Duggan, Bani) Kewal Krishan Thakur (Bani) Janab Mushtaq Ahmad (Lohai Malhar, Bani) Sunil Banjlia (Bani) Sushma Jamwal (BDC-Basholi) Kishore Kumar (DDC-Lohai Malhar, Bani)
District Office Secretary/ Addl. Office Secretary Ashish Sharma Vikram Sharma
District Social Media Secretary/ Addl. Social Media Sec. Deep Sharma, Yoginder Singh
District IT Incharge Rajat Spolia
District Media Incharge Tilak Singh Mankotia
District Publicity Secretary/ Addl. Publicity Secretary Rajinder Jaswal, Rajeshwar Singh
District Treasurer/Addl. Treasurer Rajinder Kumar Lal Singh
District Spokespersons Kuldeep Abrol (Chief Spokesperson) Tejinder Singh Goldi, DDC Satish Verma, P.C.Sharma (Plassi)
Morcha Presidents, Pahari Zila Smt. Sulekha Sharma
President, BJP Mahila Morcha, Pahari Zila Sh.Udit Sharma
President, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Pahari Zila Puran Chand( Retd. Dy. SP)
President, BJP SC Morcha, Pahari Zila Kuldeep Katal
President, BJP OBC Morcha, Pahari Zila Ajit Singh
President, BJP Kissan Morcha, Pahari Zila Janab Mohd Yaseen
President, BJP Minority Morcha, Pahari Zila Pardeep Kumar
President, BJP ST Morcha, Pahari Zila
District Doda
Nomination of BJP’s District Office Bearers of Doda
Vijay Mohan Thakur,District President, Doda District in consultation with J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina, J&K BJP General Secretary (Org.) Ashok Koul and other senior leaders of party nominated District Office Bearers of District Poonch.
The list is as follows: District Vice Presidents Babu Ram Sharma (Jodhpur), Ramneek Manhas (Bhaderwah), Daljeet Gupta (Bhalla) Javed Zargar (Gandoh) Bachan Kumar Sharma (Ghatt) Munish Kumar Bhagat (BDC-Khalini) Vimal Manhas (Prem Nagar) Sonia Rao (Chilli Pingal)
District General Secretaries Sanjay Saraf (Bhaderwah) Rakesh Sharma (Doda)
District Secretaries Mohinder Singh (Bhalessa) Hakam Singh (Jodhpur.
Kashmir continues to reel under sub-zero temperatures
Srinagar, Dec 17: Sub-zero temperatures continued in Kashmir valley with a slight increase in the night temperature, officials said today.
A meteorological department official here told news agency GNS that Srinagar recorded a low of minus 2.4°C against the previous night’s minus 3.6°C which was coldest so far this season. The mercury was around 0.9°C below normal during this time of the year, the official said.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 2.6°C against minus 3.4°C on the previous night. The temperature 1.0°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
He said that Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 4.3°C against minus 5.3°C on previous night and it was 1.0°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.6°C against minus 2.1°C as on the previous night and it was 1.1°C above normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 2.0°C against minus 2.5°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 2.8°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the official told GNS.In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at minus 3.8°C against minus 3.6°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 1.4°C below normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.
Jammu recorded a low of 7.2°C against 9.3°C on the previous night. It was 1.7°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of 2.6°C (above normal by 1.1°C), Batote 4.3°C (0.9°C above normal), Katra 7.8°C (0.2°C below normal) and Bhadarwah 2.1°C (1.7°C above normal).
Ladakh, Leh recorded minus 7.6°C and Kargil minus 12.1°C, the official said. The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather for now and no major weather activity till December 25.
BJP to hold nationwide protests today over Pak minister’s ‘derogatory’ remarks against PM Modi
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold nationwide protests on Saturday against the “derogatory” remarks made by Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari against Prime Minister Narendra Modi that sparked outrage across the country.
“The protests will be held in all the state capitals across the country. BJP karyakartas will burn the effigy of Pakistan and Pakistani Foreign Minister and will strongly condemn the shameful statement of Pakistani Foreign Minister,” BJP said in a statement on Friday. This outrage comes in response to the Pakistani foreign minister’s defamatory remarks made during a press conference at the United Nations in New York.
Describing Bilawal Bhutto’s remark as “highly derogatory and full of cowardice”, BJP said the remarks were given to divert global attention from Pakistan’s collapsing economy, lawlessness and anarchy in Pakistan.
“The statement is also aimed at misleading the world and divert global attention from Pakistan’s collapsing economy, lawlessness and anarchy in Pakistan, simmering differences in the Pakistani army, its deteriorating global relations and the fact that Pakistan has become the major sanctuary for terrorists,” it said.
On Friday, BJP workers staged a protest outside Pakistan High Commission in Delhi against Bilawal’s statement. The BJP said that India’s foreign policy is being appreciated globally, while Pakistan is facing backlash from even smaller nations.
“On one hand we have our Prime Minister Narendra Modi under whose leadership India has left its indelible mark on various global fora, and on the other hand, we have Pakistan which has faced ridicule and insult on various international platforms. On one hand, India’s foreign policy is being appreciated globally, while on the other hand, Pakistan is facing backlash from even smaller nations,” the BJP said.
The party said that everyone saw how even the Pakistani students were rescued during the rescue mission carried out during the Russia-Ukraine conflict which was carried out under the guidance of PM Modi.
BJP said the kind of language Bilawal Bhutto has used is extremely reprehensible which does not reflect the true spirit of statesmanship and also crosses the limit of decency in public life.
“Does Bilawal Bhutto even have the stature to comment about our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji who is a true statesman and a highly respected global leader! This demeaning statement of Bilawal Bhutto had further lowered the image of Pakistan on the global platform,” it added.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also slammed Pakistan’s Foreign Minister for his “uncivilized outburst” at Prime Minister Modi and said that “these comments are a new low, even for Pakistan.”
“Pakistan foreign minister’s frustration would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country, who have made terrorism a part of their state policy. Pakistan needs to change its own mindset or remain a pariah,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in response to media queries.
Draw manufacturers to India amid recession fears in West: FM to industry
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked Indian industry to work out strategies as to how businesses operating in developed countries can look at India as a production or sourcing hub amid recession fears in the western countries.
India has brought in a lot of facilitation and tweaking of rules to attract foreign investment into India and is also engaging with industries who want to co-locate in the country, the minister said.
“As much as you are preparing yourself for a long-drawn recession in the Western world, in the Developed world, I think it is also the best time for you to work out strategies for drawing those manufacturers from there to India.
“Even as they are headquartered there, it might be useful for them to think of sourcing many things from here and producing from here at least for markets in this part of the globe,” Sitharaman said at an event here.
She said the suspected long-drawn recession, which is likely to affect Europe, is not just going to affect exports by Indian businesses. “It gives an opportunity for many of the investments which are there, which are now looking for a different place from where activities can continue to happen,” she noted.
Asking the industry to look at innovations by startups and find ways to scale them, the minister said India will continue to focus on manufacturing and newer areas of services.
As the world transitions into clean energy, the domestic industry could face higher tariffs by the developed countries, Sithraman said.
She also asked India Inc to tell the government how climate change is affecting them and suggest ways to reduce the burden of cost falling on them. The industry should prepare itself for tariff walls by some countries in the name of climate change, the minister added.
Talking about the upcoming Budget, she said it would follow the spirit of earlier Budgets to prepare India for the next 25 years.
SMVDU Faculty Delivers an Expert Lecture on Critical Thinking
Mr. Sumanta Sarathi Sharma, Head, School of Philosophy & Culture from Shri Mata Vaishno
Devi University (SMVDU) Katra, delivered an expert lecture on “Critical Thinking and Correct
Reasoning” for a workshop on ‘Logic and Language’ at the Bhopal School of Social Sciences
(BSSS).The invited lecture was conducted in hybrid mode where participants could choose
to join online as well as in physical mode. In his talk, Mr. Sharma outlined the meaning of
thinking critically, discussing the benefits of developing, asking questions, and seeking their
answers. Various approaches were discussed, like the sponge and the panning for Gold. The
sponge approach emphasizes knowledge acquisition; the panning for gold method stresses
active interaction with knowledge as it is being acquired, which makes the two methods
complement each other.The talk concluded with a question-and-answer session followed by
a vote of thanks to the speaker.
Now, Jamia Masjid Srinagar prohibits men, women from sitting together in its lawns
SRINAGAR, Dec 16: The management of the historic Jamia Masjid here has issued a notification banning photography inside the mosque and asking men and women to not sit together in its lawns.
Entry of photography equipment is also prohibited, the Anjuman Auquaf Central Jamia Masjid said in the notification put up all around the mosque complex.
“Photographers or camera persons are prohibited to take any kind of photos or clicks inside the mosque. Even equipments used to click any kind of photos are totally disallowed and need to be stopped at the gate forthwith,” it read.
It also prohibited carrying of eatables into the mosque premises.
“Nobody is allowed to have lunch or any kind of eatables inside the mosque. As such, visitors need to be stopped at the gate itself,” the notification read.
The management of the 14th century mosque directed its security guards to implement the instructions immediately.
Women can enter a mosque if there is a designated place for them, separate from men. (Agencies)
Swasthavritta and Yoga Department GAMC Akhnoor Organised awareness activities for ongoing Constipation Awareness Month
under the guidance of Prof Dr Shashi Sudan Sharma, Principal mam ,Nodal officer sir Dr Narinder Sharma and Mrs Seema Rani AO mam Department of Swasthavritta & Yoga Government Ayurvedic Medical college Akhnoor today conducted Awareness activities for Ongoing Constipation Awareness Month. During the event yoga Session and awareness lecture on the role of Yoga Asana in constipation was presented by Dr Abhishek Magotra Associate Professor and Dr Sheetal Gupta Assistant professor department of Swasthavritta and yoga. A lecture on Pathophysiology and treatment of constipation was given by Dr Priya Puesh Pargotra Associate Professor department of Roga Nidan. A yoga session was also conducted and students performed different yoga Asans.
Regards
Dr Abhishek Magotra
Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh lays wreath at Balidan Stambha on 51st anniversary of Vijay Diwas
JAMMU, Dec 16: Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh on Friday laid wreath at the Balidan Stambha in Jammu on the occasion of Vijay Diwas, commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The Union Territory’s top cop was accompanied by the Additional Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh during the wreath-laying ceremony.
In Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, Army chief General Manoj Pande, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade also laid wreaths at the National War Memorial. Fifty years ago, the day marked the largest military surrender after the Second World War, as 93,000 soldiers of the Pakistan Army laid down their arms before the Indian forces — resulting in the liberation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan.
The day is celebrated every year as ‘Vijay Diwas’. On December 16, 1971, Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the chief martial law administrator of East Pakistan and the commander of Pakistan Army located in East Pakistan, signed the Instrument of Surrender.
On Thursday, President Droupadi Murmu attended the ‘At Home’ reception at Army House in the national capital on the eve of ‘Vijay Diwas’, commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. “President Droupadi Murmu attended ‘At Home’ reception at Army House on the eve of ‘Vijay Diwas’,” the President’s official Twitter handle posted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the event. “On the eve of ‘Vijay Diwas’, attended the ‘At Home’ reception at Army House. India will never forget the valour of our armed forces that led to the win in the 1971 war,” PM Modi tweeted. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was also present on the occasion. (Agencies)