NEW DELHI, Nov 30: The Union Government extended the tenure of Ambassador to the U. S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu by a year until January 31, 2024.
Mr. Sandhu, a 1988 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, has been Ambassador to U. S. since February 2020, when he succeeded Harsh Vardhan Shringla. (Agencies)
India extends Ambassador to U.S. Taranjit Sandhu’s tenure through January 2024
CBI raids 13 locations in Jammu, Samba
Jammu: The CBI is conducting raids at 13 locations in Jammu and Samba districts including a JKAS officer’s residence in connection with paper leakage of Financial Accounts Assistants (FAA).
More details awaited…..
NEP will play a significant role in making India a Knowledge Superpower: J&K LG
Jammu, November 30:Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched key initiatives of National Education Policy-2020 today at an event held at Padma Shri Padma Sachdev Government PG College for Women, Gandhi Nagar.
Highlighting the transformation taking place in the education sector under the leadership ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi, LG Sinha said: The future higher education & learning will be more dynamic, adaptable and personalized like a liquid learning model platform to seamlessly blend the ideas from different disciplines to prepare students for varied & comprehensive knowledge in rapidly shifting world.
National Education Policy will play a significant role in making India a Knowledge super power. Since, the government educational institutions are equipped with requisite tools and resources at par with private institutions, we need to assess our national and global ranking and take corrective measures, observed the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor also emphasized that Teachers-Students need to capitalize on the advances in Science & Humanities for reorganizing classrooms and working world experience with focus largely on research and values that provide with skills and knowledge relevant for today and tomorrow.
In order to supplement the successful implementation of NEP-2020 in a paperless mode, various digital initiatives have been launched such as, e-Samarth portal, feedback portal, Biometric attendance portal, Sparrow portal, and Annual Transfer Portal to bring transparency and accountability in the department.
The Lt Governor underlined that Inter-disciplinary curriculum and multi-disciplinary education are at the heart of National Education policy to train future innovators and leaders.
Environmental, scientific, technological transformation & globalisation has increased the pace of socio-economic changes. Problem-based learning will make the students familiar with real-world situations & develop thinking and creativity skills,” the Lt Governor said.
The recommendations implemented in UG Program of all the colleges from 2022-23 session will bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills, provide resources and choice for research and flexibility in completing degree programme, the Lt Governor further added.
National Education Policy promotes collaborations between disciplines to foster innovation and creativity. In future sustainable technological advances will be driven by people having an interdisciplinary approach, he added.
The Lt Governor stressed on developing future-oriented skills among the youth, promoting research and strengthening the academia-industry relationship.
Degree Colleges shall be encouraged to start the skill development courses identified from the skill sector council under the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). These courses shall be taught in partnership with industry where component of 12 credits taught by the College as professional knowledge and the component of 18 credits taken as professional training from industry. In the initial stage, 50 colleges have been identified to start the skill development courses, the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor asked the teachers and faculty members to promote the startup ecosystem in Higher Education. He further called upon students to nurture critical thinking.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor, highlighted the need for effective utilization of all the resources for preparing the youth to be future leaders.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary entrusted upon the Educational institutions to empower the students through education and providing them with skills training and advanced learning to adapt to the dynamic needs of the job market. He also called upon the universities to regularly engage in course content revision. J&K will be among the front runners in implementing NEP 2020, right from kindergarten to providing PhDs, he added.
Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary to the Government, Higher Education Department highlighted the steps taken by the Higher Education department towards implementation of NEP-2020. He also spoke on the key features of initiatives launched today.
The occasion also witnessed signing of MoUs between J&K’s Higher Education Department with SKUAST-Jammu, SKUAST Kashmir, Jammu University, Kashmir University for sharing of agro based skills, and research based knowledge, life skills courses and mentoring of colleges respectively, to better equip the students.
The Lt Governor launched a book on “Implementing National Education Policy”. Principals of different Colleges were felicitated by the Lt Governor for getting NAAC accreditation.
On the occasion, impressive cultural performances were showcased by local artists highlighting the rich culture and heritage of Jammu Kashmir.
Prof. Ravinder Kumar Sinha, VC, SMVDU; Prof. Nilofar Khan, VC, University of Kashmir; Dr J.P. Sharma, VC, SKUAST-J; Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, VC, SKUAST-K; Prof Bechan Lal, VC, Cluster University Jammu; Dr. YasmeenAshai, Director Colleges; Prof. Minu Mahajan, Principal PSPS Govt. PG College for Women, Gandhi Nagar; HoDs, principals of various colleges and students in large numbers were present during the launching ceremony.
LG reviews winter preparedness of power supply in J&K
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday while reviewing functioning of the Power Development Department, ordered enhancing sustainability, resilience and efficiency of the power sector and steps to achieve targets to reduce transmission losses.
Issuing directions to the PDD officers present in the meeting, the Lt Governor said that monitoring mechanism of power projects should be strengthened to meet the energy goals and aspirations of the people and businesses.
We need to have multi-pronged strategy for energy security and decisions taken during winter preparedness meetings should be followed in letter and spirit, he further said.
The Lt Governor impressed on the Department to address the problems of common man with seriousness and commitment.
During the meeting, the Lt Governor sought the status of the steps taken to meet power demand; required energy and peak availability; demand-supply deficit, status of ongoing projects; implementation of the short-term, medium term and long-term action plans.
Earlier, H. Rajesh Prasad, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department gave a detailed presentation on the power scenario of Jammu Kashmir.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Dr RP Singh, Chairman JKPCL; Jagmohan Sharma, Chairman JPDCL; Shiv Anant Tayal, Managing Director, JPDCL; Chaudhary Mohammad Yasin, Managing Director, KPDCL, besides senior officers of Power Development Department and Power Distribution Corporations were present.
Putin is failing in his brutal war of aggression: NATO chief
Bucharest, Nov 30 (IANS) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “failing in his brutal war of aggression” in Ukraine and is “responding with more brutality”.
He made the statement on Tuesday while attending a forum in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.
In his opening remarks, Stoltenberg said that in response to Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, “we are raising the readiness of our troops”.
“We have doubled the number of NATO battlegroups from four to eight, including one in Romania, led by France,” he said.
The Secretary General stressed that NATO allies and the alliance are not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, “but we are providing unprecedented support” to Kiev for as long as it takes.
“Because Ukraine is a nation that has the right to self- defence, a right which is enshrined in the UN Charter.”
According to the NATO chief, Putin is trying to “weaponise winter”.
“To force Ukrainians to freeze or flee. He is trying to break the will of the brave Ukrainian people. And to divide all of us who support them.”
Stoltenberg went on to say that NATO and its allies have made additional pledges to the alliance’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine which will fund urgent non-lethal support, including fuel and generators, as well as help fix critical energy infrastructure badly damaged by massive Russian missile and drone strikes.
“We realise that it is extremely important that President Putin is not able to win in Ukraine. That will be a tragedy for Ukraine, but it will also make the world more dangerous and much more vulnerable,” he added.
Later at a press conference with the NATO chief also in Bucharest, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the last time he met senior officials of the alliance, his three words were “weapons, weapons, weapons”.
“Today I have three other words, which are faster, faster and faster. We appreciate what has been done, but the war still goes on. Decisions on weapons and production lines have to be made faster,” Kuleba was quoted as saying.
Stoltenberg’s remarks come as the US-led NATO alliance has repeatedly ruled out supplying longer-range missiles and other such weaponry to Ukraine, amid concerns that this could lead to a major escalation with a nuclear-armed Russia.
Promote technical, medical and law education in mother tongue for better understanding: Shah to states
Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stressed that states should promote education in Hindi or regional languages in technical, medical and law fields so that the country can utilise the talent of non-English speaking students.
Underlining the importance of education in Hindi and regional languages, Shah said students can develop an original thought process with ease if they study in their mother tongue and this encourages research and innovation.
“Technical, medical, and law – all should be taught in Hindi and regional languages. All state governments should take initiative to properly translate the curriculum of these three fields of education into regional languages,” Shah said in an interview to PTI.
Suggesting that education in the mother tongue is easier and faster, Shah said, “It will promote the country’s talent in higher education. Today we can use only five percent of the country’s talent but with this initiative, we would be able to use 100 percent talent of the country.”
He said this five percent comes from an English background, while adding that he has nothing against English as a language.
“It is that ‘maulik chintan’ (original thinking) of a student can be easily developed in his mother tongue and there is a strong connection between maulik chintan and anusandhan (research),” Shah said.
Talking about his observations on History education, Shah said he has appealed to students to “study 300 (Jannayak) people’s heroes who were not given their due by historians and thirty such empires who ruled in India and established a very good model of governance.”
Shah said it is time that people and students study the “real history” of the country.
“Till when we will make a hue and cry about what others have written about our history and distortions in it. Students of our country should research our actual history,” he said.
The BJP-led governments at the Centre and in states have been holding programmes on various historic icons and their contribution to the freedom struggle and development of the country.
The party sees this as part of his ideological exercise to recall the contribution of native personalities including many who were allegedly not given due credit.
India sees 279 new Covid-19 cases, 5 deaths in 24 hours
NEW DELHI, Nov 30: India reported a single-day rise of 279 new Covid-19 cases, which pushed its tally of the infection to 4,46,72,347, while the count of active cases has declined to 4,855, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,30,620 with five fatalities being recorded, including two deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The three fresh fatalities reported were from Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra.
Active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry.
A decrease of 127 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,41,36,872, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent, it stated.
According to the ministry’s website, 219.92 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.
India’s COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.
The country crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021, three crore on June 23, 2021, and four crore on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
Dry, cold weather with hazy mornings in J&K, Ladakh
JAMMU, Nov 30: Weather was dry and cold in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh during the last 24 hours as the Meteorological (MeT) office said on Wednesday that dry weather with hazy mornings is expected to continue.
“Dry weather with hazy mornings is expected in J&K and Ladakh during the next 24 hours. Due to clear night sky, minimum temperatures continue to remain below the freezing point in Ladakh and the Valley,” an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar had minus 1.6, Pahalgam minus 3.4 and Gulmarg minus 1 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
Drass in Ladakh region had minus 9.6, Kargil minus 10.7 and Leh minus 6.8 as the minimum temperature.
Jammu had 10, Katra 9.2, Batote 4.6, Banihal 1.2 and Bhaderwah 2.8 as the minimum temperature. (Agencies)
J&K approves new Human Resource policy for Anganwadi workers, helpers
JAMMU: As a major step towards the empowerment of women in the UT the Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the HR policy for female Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Helpers working in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) of J&K.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K attended the meeting.
The Administrative Council approved the proposal of comprehensive Human Resource Policy to govern the engagement, leave(s), promotion and other important aspects of this very vital work force of the department.
AWWs and AWHs shall be re-designated as Sanginis (AWWs) and Sahayikas (AWHs).
Gujarat Assembly elections: High-octane campaigning for first phase ends, voting on Dec 1
From power-packed rallies and roadshows by top leaders of the ruling BJP and other political parties to freebies promises and allegations and counter-allegations on each other, the high-octane campaigning for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections ended on Tuesday.
Voting for 89 seats spread across 19 districts of Kutch, Saurashtra, and South Gujarat will be held on Thursday. The campaigning ended at 5 pm on Tuesday ahead of the first phase of polling.
“Campaigning for first phase Gujarat assembly elections has ended. All arrangements have been made for election and training has been provided to polling staff,” Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P Bharathi told ANI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah held rallies and roadshows in the state as the BJP seeks a record seventh term in office.
BJP chief JP Nadda, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala, Ravishankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari also campaigned during the first phase of elections.
BJP Yuva Morcha president Tejasvi Surya and leaders Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan also held rallies to garner support for the party candidates.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were among the prominent campaigners of the party. Party leader Rahul Gandhi addressed two rallies in the state.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann campaigned extensively in the state while making various promises.
A total of 788 candidates are in the fray on 89 first-phase seats which include 718 male candidates and 70 female candidates.
Candidates from both BJP and Congress will be contesting on all 89 seats in the first phase, while AAP will contest on 88 seats. A total of 39 political parties have fielded their candidates.
Among prominent candidates, Gujarat Chief Minster Bhupendra Patel is contesting from Ghatlodia, AAP Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi from Khambhaliya, former Congress leader and BJP candidate Hardik Patel from Viramgam, former Congress leader and now BJP candidate Alpesh Thakor from Gandhinagar South.
AAP state president Gopal Italia is contesting from Katargam constituency, Gujarat Home Minister (State) Harsh Sanghavi from Majura, Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar North, former Gujarat minister Parshottam Solanki from Bhavnagar Rural, Kunwarji Bavaliya from Jasdan, Kantilal Amrutiya from Morbi and Jayesh Radadiya from Jetpur.
Former BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav is contesting as an Independent from Vaghodia.
A total of 2,39,76,670 voters, including 1,24,33,362 males, 1,1,5,42,811 females, and 497 from the third gender are eligible to vote in the first phase of Gujarat polls.
The second phase of voting will be held on December 5.
The counting of votes will be done on December 8. Results of the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will also be declared on the same day.