Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday delivered an address on the occasion of National Consitution day at Supreme Court in New Delhi. In 1949, it was on this very day when Independent India laid the great foundation for its future. This year’s Constitution day has special relevance as we are celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav on the completion of 75 years of its independence journey. Notably, the day is celebrated to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.Prime Minister Modi said, “I would like to pay my respect to Babasaheb Ambedkar including all the members and makers of the Constituent Assembly who envisioned modern India. I would also like to mention numerous people from domains of Legislature, Executives, and Judiciary who have extended crucial contributions in India’s developmental journey over the past 7 decades”He further said that in today’s global situation, the eyes of the entire world are on India. Amid the rapid development of our country, its quickly growing economy, and its strengthening global image, the world is looking at us with great expectations.
PSLV-C54 carrying earth observation satellite and co-passenger satellites lifts off
Sriharikota, (AP) Nov 26: A polar satellite launch vehicle carrying earth observation and eight co-passenger satellites lifted off from this spaceport on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.
The mission is said to be the last one undertaken by ISRO this year.
PSLV-C54 carries an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06) or Oceansat as its primary payload and eight co-passenger satellites are expected to be placed into sun synchronous orbits in over a two-hour time frame.
The entire separation of satellites is expected to take place in two hours after lift-off.
The Earth Observation Satellite-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas. (Agencies)
389 new Covid cases in India, active cases down to 5,395
New Delhi, Nov 26: India saw a single-day rise of 389 coronavirus infections, taking the tally to 4,46,71,219 on Saturday, while active cases declined to 5,395, the Health Ministry said.
The toll climbed to 5,30,608 with three fatalities, including one reconciled by Kerala, according to the ministry data.
The active cases constitute 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, it said.
A decrease of 365 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in the past 24 hours.
The recoveries increased to 4,41,35,216, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry’s website, 219.90 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the vaccination drive. (AGENCIES)
Vested interests denying democratic rights to people of J&K: Harsh Dev
Jammu, 25-11-2022: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held a massive protest outside Nirvachan Bhawan Jammu against the continuance of proxy rule in J&K and denial of democratic govt in the erstwhile state for the last four years. The protestors led by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, Former Minister and Chairman AAP J&K State Co-ordination Committee held the BJP–ECI nexus responsible for delaying and denying elections in J&K. They raised slogans of “BJP govt Hai Hai”, “Modi–Shah Hai Hai”, “ECI Hai Hai”, “Jammu Kashmir mein Jamhooriyat bahal karo, bahal karo” and so on.
Alleging subversion of democracy and denial of popular govt in J&K, Mr. Singh said that BJP led govt was inventing one excuse after the other to deny democratic rights to the people of erstwhile state and to continue its proxy rule through backdoor. He said that while no initiative had been taken to restore popular rule in J&K, the govt in the UT seemed to have been outsourced to bureaucrats mostly from outside the state, having hardly any connect with the general masses who were suffering for even the basic amenities. The silence of GoI and ECI over J&K while announcing Elections for HP and Gujarat amply revealed the intentions of the centre which seemed hell bent to continue its indirect rule in J&K through these bureaucrats. He said that with the political process having been rendered defunct in the new UT, political parties discredited and discouraged and opposition parties suppressed, the democracy had been reduced to a farce in J&K which had eventually given rise to present tensions in the valley and elsewhere in J&K. So much so that even the post of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) was deliberately kept vacant and remained unfilled for the last around 3 months, asserted Mr. Singh.
Maintaining that legitimate, elected govt. alone could deal with obsequious challenges posed by the rogue nation, Mr. Singh questioned the rationale behind repeated postponement of Assembly Elections in J&K. Strongly condemning the escalation in militancy related activists, he called upon the centre to initiate political process in J&K and ensure restoration of popular rule in the erstwhile state at the earliest. Rather than suppressing the main-stream political parties, these should be encouraged and taken into confidence for restoration of normalcy in the UT. Remember, the proxy rule through outside bureaucrats was not the solution to the woes afflicting J&K. The Advisors and bureaucrats had hardly any access to the general public who were feeling alienated. An elected govt therefore alone, in view of its accessibility and proximity with the common masses, could enlist their support in fighting cross border terrorism exported by the hostile neighbour. Questioning the rationale behind repeated postponement of Assembly Elections, Mr. Singh said that vested interests in the present bureaucracy were among the biggest stumbling blocks in restoration of democratic govt in J&K.
Mr. Singh said that the Election Commission had earlier taken a call for simultaneous polls of Assembly and Parliament which however did not materialize due to the interference by one political party. ECI later issued a statement on 4th June, 2019 stating therein that the EC “after the conduct of Amarnath Yatra will announce the election schedule for the conduct of Assembly Elections in J&K”, revealed Singh adding that it too turned out to be a damp squib. He reminisced that during the visit of the Full Election Commission headed by CEC to J&K in February, 2019 all political parties except BJP had favoured Assembly Elections in J&K in April–May, 2019. He regretted that the said Elections were avoided at the behest of BJP alone to keep the ruling party in good humour. Likewise, statements of early Assembly polls were issued by the central govt, Governor and the Lt. Governor of J&K also, which too created only cynicism amongst the masses in view of the frequency with which they were made and then forgotten.
Mr. Yash Paul Kundal while pointing towards the euphoria created post Article 370 abrogation in the name of fresh Delimitation of Assembly constituencies said that it too had petered out as hardly any progress had been achieved in ensuring the restoration of popular rule in J&K.
Asserting that a people’s govt alone could fulfil the aspirations of the general masses, Mr. Kundal sought early restoration of democracy by putting an end to proxy rule imposed by the centre in J&K.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Mehraj-ul-Malik, Gagan Pratap, Parshotam Parihar, Rampaul Sharma, Amit Kapoor, Capt.(rtd) Sultan Singh, Lovelu Sambyal, Rajiv Mahajan, Raj Mohd Salaria, M.P. Singh, Jeevan Jyoti, Surat Singh, S.Gurmeet Singh, Sukhjit Singh, Bodh Raj Sharma, Satpaul Singh besides others.
Mega Job Fair Organised at Govt Polytechnic Jammu
Department of Skill Development to sign an MOU with Desh Bhagat University for future placements.
Jammu, 25th November: Mega Job Fair was inaugurated today by Principal Secretary, Skill development Department, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon. The Mega Job fair was organised by Government Polytechnic Bikram Chowk, Jammu in its campus here in which more than 4000+ students of Polytechnic/ITI participated. More than 25 multinational companies, local industries participated to hire the Doctorates, Graduates, Post Graduates and Diploma Polytechnic students.
Dr Samoon was accompanied by Director Skill Development, Sudershan Kumar (JKAS), ADDC Jammu Ramesh Chander, President Desh Bhagat University Dr Sandeep Singh, Vice President Desh Bhagat University Dr Harsh Sadawarti, Principal GMC Rajouri Amar Jeet Singh Bhatia, Registrar Jammu Kashmir Paramedical and Nursing Council Dr Sandeep Singh, Deputy Director Employment Exchange Manisha Koul, Er Arun Bangotra, Principal, Govt. Polytechnic Jammu, Mr Amit Sachdeva, Director Desh Bhagat University and other officers of the department.
Dr Samoon lauded the efforts of the Er. Arun Bangotra Principal Government Polytechnic Jammu and its administration for conducting Mega Job fair. Dr Samoon further appreciated the team of Desh Bhagat University for providing 3000+ Job opportunities. He announced that the Department of Skill Development is going to sign an MOU with Desh Bhagat University for the future placements also. He further announced that Dr Harsh Sadawarti, Vice President of DBU will be added as the member of committee for New Education Policy by Department of Skill Development. He further said that this Mega job fair will adopt an integrated approach in addressing the employment and employability issues by making jobs available to the candidates according to their potential and educational qualification.
Dr Samoon encouraged the gathered aspirants to work more on innovation, incubation and skill development to upgrade their skills to latest technologies used in today’s modern Industrial environment. Dr Samoon said that technical Education has a pivotal role to play in providing skill development training to the students to overcome the problem of unemployment in Jammu & Kashmir. He directed the staff to work with utmost efforts to ensure empowerment of youth by way of imparting requisite proficiency.
Speaking on the occasion, Sudershan Kumar, JKAS Director Skill development, also briefed about the various aspects of the skill development department and the latest updates in terms of skill add-on courses the department is providing along with three-year diploma courses. He said that the job fair will be the platform for students to meet their future sponsors and the various company representatives.
Dr Harsh Sadawarti while addressing the gathering said that said that the aim of Desh Bhagat University is not only to educate the students but also to provide them with the best opportunities by equipping them with skills so that their future can be bright and secure for which they collaborated with Department of Skill Development to give large number of opportunities to the skilled students of Jammu and Kashmir. He appreciated Principal Secretary Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon for starting two CIIIT centres in J&K where the students will be incubated with the latest modern skills by technical experts from TATA Technologies.
Dr Sandeep Singh President Desh Bhagat University while presenting the vote of thanks congratulated Principal Er. Arun Bangotra for successfully organising such a mega event. He thanked Principal Secretary Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon for the collaboration of the Skill Development Department with Desh Bhagat University for this event. He assured the gathered gathering that Desh Bhagat University will bring in more opportunities of employment for students and youth of J&K. Dr Sandeep while speaking to the media said that Desh Bhagat University has already Organized approximately 42 job fairs in different areas like Chandigarh, Muktsar, Gobindgarh, Ambala, Ludhiana. In which more than 5000 students got placement with a maximum package of 12 lac per annum. He said Desh Bhagat University is working tirelessly to fulfil the Vision of our Honourable Prime Minister Narinder Modi to provide 10 lacs jobs to the youth within one year.
In his welcome address, Er Arun Bangotra, Principal of the college briefed about the various industries and companies participating in the event. With this Mega Job fair, he briefed that the department aims to bridge the skill gap by making fresh talent available to the industry. He further added that Mega Job Fair was organized with an endeavour to provide employment opportunities to Doctorates, Post Graduates, Graduates, Polytechnic and ITI students in 25 renowned multinational, national and local companies such as BYJU’S, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Collegedekho.Com, Justdial, Ocean Engineering, Cad Desk, Rodiex, Lead Magnet, Vertex etc.
The Training and Placement Cell of Government Polytechnic Jammu under overall guidance of Mrs Neena Duloo, TPO made all the arrangements for the smooth conduct of JOB FAIR in Govt. Polytechnic Jammu. Er Sakshi Kapai, Lecturer conducted the proceeding of the programme.
Other present on the occasion were Principal Er. Neelanjana Manwati, Principal Suket Gupta, Principal Vinod Bhardwaj, Principal Vivek Mahajan, Principal Vivek Sharma etc.
3 students drowned in Bhini Nala in sector Billawar
Very unfortunate and to hear about sad demise of 3 students who drowned in Bhini Nala in sector Billawar .May God give strength to theirs families and peace to departed souls.
Delhi High Court Bars Unauthorised Usage Of Amitabh Bachchan’s Voice, Image; Passes Interim Order
New Delhi, Nov 25: The Delhi High Court on Friday passed an interim order restraining unauthorised use of actor Amitabh Bachchan’s voice, image, name or any other trait exclusively identifiable with him by any individual.
The court’s order came on a lawsuit by the veteran actor alleging exploitation of his “publicity rights as a celebrity” by several individuals, including the person behind a “KBC lottery” to scam the public.
The 80-year-old Bachchan is the host of popular TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
Justice Navin Chawla said it is undisputed that Bachchan is a well-known personality and is likely to suffer an irreparable loss and disrepute if relief is not granted at this stage.
Opining that a case for relief at this stage has been made out by the actor, the court ordered, “There shall be an ad interim ex parte order of injunction”.
“The defendants appear to be using his celebrity status for promoting their own activities without his authorisation or permission. The plaintiff is therefore likely to suffer grave irreparable harm or injury to his reputation. In fact, some of the activities complained of may also bring disrepute,” the court said.
The court directed telecom authorities to take action to pull down websites providing the content in violation of Bachchan’s rights.
It also directed telecom service providers to block access to telephone numbers circulating infringing messages.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared on behalf of the actor, said the relief of injunction was sought not only against the individuals named in the lawsuit but also against “john doe” parties or unknown parties who may be exploiting Bachchan’s publicity rights.
Advocates Ameet Naik and Pravin Anand also appeared for Bachchan before the high court.
Salve argued that besides the lottery, domain names were registered under the actor’s name; there was “Amitabh Bachchan Video Call” service and even T-shirts bearing his photographs.
In his lawsuit, Bachchan has asserted that only he exercises the “control over commercial utilisation of his personality, name, voice, image, likeness and other characteristics that are uniquely identifiable and associated” with him and no one can “utilise”, “misappropriate” or “imitate” any facet of his personality or “exploit the same commercially” without his consent or express authorisation.
The elements of plaintiff’s persona have a huge commercial value associated with them and any third party found using any of them is bound to cause confusion and deception amongst the general public, asserted the lawsuit which has sought Rs 2 crore from the defendants as damages.
It has informed that one of the defendants is allegedly circulating messages on WhatsApp with the actor’s image to promote “KBC lotteries”, which scams the public into believing that ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ was offering lottery prizes to the general public.
Another defendant, the plea adds, is selling a general knowledge quiz book with Bachchan’s image for aspirants who wish to participate in the television quiz show.
In his plea seeking interim relief, Bachchan has said that due to his goodwill and reputation, he is “one of the most sought-after celebrities for brand endorsements” and to protect the same, he “ensures that he endorses a product only after carrying out a thorough background check of the brand, its perception in the minds of the public and other relevant factors”.
“The present suit is being filed to protect the plaintiff’s name, voice, image, likeness, and all other elements of the plaintiff’s persona which are distinctive and the unauthorised use of which by third parties is likely to create confusion and deception amongst the public,” it has further said.
The matter would be heard next in March. (Agencies)
Even after Independence, we are taught history written under conspiracy during colonial era: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the history that is taught in India even after Independence is one that was written “as part of a conspiracy” during the colonial era. He was speaking at the 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Assam war hero Lachit Barphukan.
“India’s history is the history of warriors, the history of victory, the history of sacrifice, selflessness and bravery,” Modi said. He further said: “After Independence there was a need to change the agenda of slavery but it did not happen.” He said that in every corner of the country, brave sons and daughters fought oppressors but this history was intentionally suppressed. “Is the valour of Lachit Barphukan not important? Are the sacrifices of thousands of people in Assam against Mughals not important?” the prime minister asked.
Barphukan’s life inspires us to rise above dynasty and think about the country. He had said that no relationship is bigger than the country, Modi said. Barphukan was the famous General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam who defeated the Mughals and successfully halted their ever expanding ambitions under Aurangzeb.
SEC prohibits exit poll in two north Kashmir DDC seats till December 5
SRINAGAR, Nov 25: The Jammu & Kashmir State Election Commission(SEC) has prohibited the conduct of any exit poll in Drugmulla (Kupwara) and Hajin-A district development constituencies(DDC) till December 5.
Quoting an official order, that the poll-body has prohibited the conduct of any exit poll or its publication till December 5.
“In exercise of powers conferred under Section 36 of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, the Election Authority (State Election Commission) hereby prohibits the conduct of any exit poll and publishing or publicizing/displaying the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner during re-poll in DDC Constituency Drugmulla (Kupwara) and Hajin-A (Bandipora), till the hour fixed for conclusion of re-poll at 02.00 PM on December 05, 2022,” read the SEC’s order. (KNO)
60 percent work completed on India’s longest rail tunnel in J&K
JAMMU, Nov 25: Indian Railway has completed nearly 60 percent work on India’s longest rail tunnel which is 12.75 km long on the Udhampur-Baramulla-Srinagar Rail (UBSR) Link in Jammu and Kashmir.
Named T49, the tunnel connects the Sumber and Arpinchala Stations in the Ramban district of J&K.
It surpasses the Peer Panjal Tunnel (11.2km) in length.
Afcons Infrastructure Ltd has constructed 7.32km of the total tunnel which is nearly sixty per cent of the entire tunnel length. Besides the main tunnel, Afcons has also constructed two adits, twenty cross passages, two bridges, and a station yard among others.
The tunnel passes through the mighty Peer Panjal ranges in the Lower Himalayas, in J&K.
Afcons spokesperson said, “We have constructed 7.32km of the tunnel from the north portal (Arpinchala Village) which is at an altitude of 1,600M.”
Chandra Shekhar Dixit, Afcons’ Project Manager said, “One of the major challenges was the pouring of overt gantry concrete from an upward gradient to a downward gradient. The pouring rate of overt gantry concrete should not be more than 5.8 cum/hr. If the pouring rate is increased then there are chances of bulging of the gantry which will lead to misalignment. To avoid this, the team effectively and meticulously ensured accurate pouring rate, and the gantry mechanism was minutely surveyed.”
There were other geological challenges like cavity formation due to the presence of a shear zone in the escape tunnel. The construction activities were also impacted by huge water ingress.
The spokesperson said, “Despite numerous challenges the breakthrough of the tunnel was achieved in February this year.”