JAMMU, Nov 8: Children orphaned by terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir will be eligible to avail of reservation for admission to MBBS and BDS colleges. The Board of Professional Entrance Examination, Jammu and Kashmir has released a detailed notification regarding the same. To obtain the quota, students need to at least pass the medical entrance exam. Further, they will have to apply separately for the quota. Among those who apply, students will be selected based on merit. For the current academic year, the applications under the central pool will begin from November 11.
” Board undertakes that mere submission of applications shall not confer any right on the applicant for his/her selection, which shall be done by the concerned Ministry Government, of India, in accordance with the rules/ procedures on the subject,” stated official notice.
Only students who are permanent residents of Jammy and Kashmir or those whose parents are employed with the state/UT government, or employees of central or other government-related departments, or kids of employees having headquarters within Jammu and Kashmir.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR THE QUOTA –
— Domicile Certificate of UT of J&K
— NEET- Score Card 2022.
— 10+2 Marks Card.
— Date of Birth Certificate.
— Category Certificate, if any
“It shall be necessary for the candidates to obtain minimum marks at the 50th percentile at NEET-2022. However, in respect of candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC, the minimum marks shall be at the 40th percentile. However, in respect of candidates with a specified disability, the minimum marks shall be at 45th percentile. The percentile shall be determined on the basis of highest marks scored in the All India Common Merit List in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses,” stated the official notice. (Agencies)
Centre reserves seats for ‘terror victims’ in MBBS, BDS courses in J&K
PM Modi greets people on Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary
New Delhi, November 8
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday greeted people on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
“May his noble teachings continue to guide us in our endeavour of building a just and compassionate society,” Modi said.The prime minister had on Monday addressed a function to celebrate the Sikh guru’s 553rd birth anniversary. He said that inspired by the Guru’s thoughts, the country is moving ahead with the spirit of welfare of 130 crore Indians.
Yogi govt recommends CBI probe in Ayush admission scam
The Uttar Pradesh government has recommended a CBI inquiry into the Ayush admission scam.
Confirming the development, an official spokesperson said: “Following orders from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the case of anomalies in Ayush colleges admission has been referred to the CBI.”
At least 12 per cent admissions in Ayush colleges of the state for the academic session 2021-22 could be bogus with a scam around the counselling process surfacing.
There are 7,338 seats in various government and private Ayush colleges in the state, of which 891 have come under the lens.
The anomalies were flagged by the Union Ayush ministry last week.
After an internal probe, director, ayurvedic services, UP, Prof S.N. Singh lodged an FIR on Saturday.
In his FIR, the department named UPTRON Limited, Gomti Nagar, its vendor company Soft Solution Private Limited and the company’s representative Kuldeep Singh, who were booked for the anomalies.
Charges of criminal conspiracy (section 120 B), dishonesty (420), forgery for the purpose of cheating (468), fraudulently or dishonestly used as genuine any document (471) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were pressed on the three parties.
Four officials were suspended by the state government in connection with the Ayush admission and counselling scam.
The UP Police formed a special task force to probe the matter.
The complainant alleged that the designated organisation/ persons were asked to conduct the online counselling, based on National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) merit. But the representative reportedly fiddled the data they obtained from the directorate which led to admission of undeserving candidates, he alleged.
A departmental probe revealed that the natural order of the merit was not followed in many cases. Also, in some cases, the selected students had not even appeared for the NEET.
They believe that the company worked upon a doctored merit list to accommodate its candidates.
Meanwhile, trusting the counselling records provided by the designated agency, the Director General of Medical Education and Training (DGME) went ahead with the admission of the candidates.
But eventually when the anomalies surfaced, the DG office summoned the company to probe the matter. He alleged that the company resorted to dillydallying and corrupted the database to escape trouble.
Zone Miran Sahib organizes zonal level competitions under Panchayat Talent Hunt Programme
Jammu: Zone Miran Sahib today organized zonal level competition under Panchayat Talent Hunt Programme level –II with an aim to provide a suitable platform to the talented youth in the district and to identify, nourish and embellish the young generation in the field of arts. ZEO Miran Sahib, Swarna Devi, Principal, GGHSS Miran Sahib, Mussarat Jabeen, BDO Miran Sahib,Afshan Hamal ,DDC Member Vidya Mottan, BDC Chairman Dalip Kumar, Sarpanchs Badrinath Sharma,Ravinder Singh,Sadiq Ahmad besides Headmasters of 12 High Schools , 25 Middle Schools of Zone Miran Sahib were present on the ocassion.
ZEO Miran Sahib, Swarna Devi speaking on the occasion said that the main aim of conducting these activities is to identify and nurture the talents from a young age to boost the self -confidence in student’s skills which will be translated into studies to gain parallel academic excellence. Various in-school competitions and interschool competitions provide a good exposure to the students. It helps in channelizing energy, encourages social growth, promotes emotional well – being, makes individual more responsible, relaxes the mind, helps in better time – management, taps the potential of the child, improves the confidence level, builds Inter-Personal relationship and prepares the students for a Career.
Art, craft, cookery, creative writing, cognitive skills, debate, dance, gardening, music, theatre arts are given importance to inculcate a strong system of values. Students are free to choose their course which depends on their interest, skill and capacity and they progress in one area throughout to become professionals in their talent. Hence along with academic knowledge they develop their skills, she added.
Principal, GGHSS Miran Sahib, Mussarat Jabeen in her address said that co-curricular activities are intended to bring social & intellectual skills, moral, cultural & ethical values, personality development, and character advancement in students. In this highly competitive world, better grades act as game changers while taking admissions in other schools, colleges, or institutions. Co-curricular activities provide better opportunities as students pursuing these activities are given more preference over those who aren’t involved in such types of activities.
BDO Miran Sahib speaking on the occasion said that School activities play a significant part in the development of students. Co-curricular activities have become a fundamental part of school life and aides in improving students learning at school. These activities are mandatory & necessary for every student to participate. Co-curricular are structured and balanced with the scholastic educational/ academic curriculum so that every student gets the opportunity to learn beyond studies.
Sarpanch and senior DAP leader Badrinath Sharma speaking on the occasion said that when at an early stage of life, children are given tasks of responsibility to handle; they become much better in handling these types of odd situations in their later life too. This fosters a sense of self-confidence, accountability & responsibility within them.Co-curricular activities improve the learning experiences of students, help them identify and develop their inner talents like creative & public-speaking skills, leadership qualities, etc.
Sarpanch Ravinder Singh said that Co-curricular activities offer them an opportunity of thinking unusually and getting the innovative ideas of their own. These activities help the students develop an enriched learning experience by providing them a chance of imagining new ways of solving an issue or answering a question.
J&K Mahila Morcha campaigns for BJP candidate from Bharmour Constituency, HP Dr Janak Raj
People determined to continue with BJP Government in Himachal Pradesh: Ritika Trehan
Bharmour (HP) : BJP Mahila Morcha J&K Spokesperson Ritika Trehan under the leadership of President Sanjita Dogra along with Bharmour Women Wing President Manisha Thakur and Meenakshi Jamwal beside others organized door to door campaign for BJP candidate from Bharmour Constituency, Himachal Pardesh Dr Janak Raj at Mahila village today. Impressed by support and enthusiasm for BJP, J&K BJP Mahila Morcha Spokesperson Ritika Trehan expressed confidence that with pro-people policies of PM Modi Govt in heart and mind of every Indian, BJP will create history by forming govt second time in a row with a huge margin that has never been seen in the past.She said that whether it is Centre or the Dev Bhoomi Himachal Pradesh, the situation for Congress is dwindling because neither it has a capable leader, nor any policy for the country or this state, therefore victory of the BJP in the State elections is certain.She said that Congress is known for loot and plundering of resources of states and regions therefore the people should ensure that no candidate of this party could make entry to the state’s Assembly as this is imperative for safeguarding the interests of all the natives of Himachal Pradesh.
Trehan claimed that from the campaign she was convinced that the people have determined to continue with BJP Government in the Himachal Pradesh by changing the tradition of not repeating the government of a party twice. She stated that people across Himachal Pradesh are fully satisfied with the pro-people policies of Modi Govt especially in view of the enormous benefit received by the people under the centrally sponsored schemes that have percolated right upto the grass-roots level.Enumerating the achievements of the BJP led Government, she said that during the Congress rule there were only two medical colleges in Himachal but as of today the number has gone up to 6 medical colleges which in itself indicated the rising graph of development in this State. Two years back there were six oxygen plants in the state while now there are about 48 plants,she asserted.
She said that Himachal Pradesh achieved 100 percent vaccination and stood first among the Indian States in accomplishing this feat during the first and second phase Covid-19 vaccination drive. Moreover, under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana houses were provided to the homeless with 8000 plus covered in urban areas and 7000 plus in the rural areas of the State. Similarly under “Har Ghar Nal Yojana” 16 lakh connection were provided to the people in Himachal.
She said that multiple centrally sponsored schemes have been launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the benefit of farmers and poor people of Himachal Pradesh. She further said that in view of such a background today the people of Himachal Pradesh have decided to change the earlier tradition viz-a-viz Govt formation and are fully determined to continue with BJP Govt this time and make history in the State.
Ritika further said that state government’s initiatives for empowering women had started showing “encouraging results”.She said they were now getting opportunities to excel in their lives and also feeling “more secure”. The present government has launched many ambitious schemes for the welfare of women, and these would go a long way in making them independent, she added.
She state government’s ‘Shakti Button App’ and ‘Gudiya Helpline’ were proving to be a boon in checking violence and crime against women. State had also set up a ‘Saksham Gudiya Board’ to frame recommendations of the police department for empowerment of minor girls and young women. The board is reviewing the implementation of all woman-centric programmes in the state.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had launched Shashakt Mahila Yojana, which envisages women’s empowerment by providing them an interface for socio-economic development of rural women by creating awareness about their rights and facilitating institutional support.
She said the state government had enhanced the one-time grant given to girls belonging to BPL families under the “Beti Hai Anmol Yojana” from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. Under the Mother Taressa Asahaya Matri Sambal Yojana, finance assistance has been hiked from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5000 per child a year. Money under the scheme has to be given to economically weak women as child maintenance.
Jhiri Mela begins after two-year COVID gap in Jammu
Jammu, Nov 7: The 10-day-long annual Jhiri Mela commenced here on Monday after a two-year gap due to the pandemic with thousands of devotees from across the country thronging the fair to seek blessings at Baba Jittoo temple.
The fair is being jointly organised by the directorate of tourism in collaboration with district administration from November 7 to 16.
The Jhiri Mela is held every year during ‘Karthik Purnima’ to pay obeisance at Baba Jittoo temple in village Jhiri to seek blessings.“All necessary arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the Mela, which is visited by one lakh people per day from different parts of the country,” Kumar told reporters.
He said since farmers mostly visit the Mela, the government has put up special awareness stalls to inform them about the new schemes and technologies introduced for their benefit.
Kumar said the key feature of the Mela is to promote the sports and cultural richness of the region to make this event accessible among the citizens.
Over 10 lakh devotees from across the Jammu region and neighbouring states including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are expected to take part in the fair to commemorate the sacrifice of the Baba, a farmer who gave up his life in protest against the oppressive demands of the ‘zamindar’ (landlords) about 500 years ago. His daughter, as per the legend, also took her life by jumping on her father’s funeral pyre.
The devotees also take a customary dip in the Baba-da-Talab, a natural pond four km from the temple which is believed to have curative powers, officials said. (Agencies)
Delay in decision over construction of Srinagar-Leh transmission line led to Rs 700 Cr loss: CAG
SRINAGAR: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has slammed the authorities over delay in taking decision for construction of Srinagar-Leh transmission line, saying it not only led to huge cost escalation but also caused a generation loss of 1,602.64 MUs and an extra expenditure of Rs 700.25 crore due to billing of deemed generation to Power Development Department.
In its report, the CAG has revealed that delay in taking decision over construction of the transmission line caused huge financial losses.
“Due to delay in taking decision for construction of the line, not only huge cost escalation had occurred but there was also a generation loss of 1,602.64 MUs and an extra expenditure of Rs 700. 25 crore due to billing of deemed generation to Power Development Department,” reads the CAG’s compliance audit of activities selected Central Public Sector Enterprises.
In 2003, the Government of India announced a special package for J&K comprising a 375 km transmission system project from Srinagar to Leh via Kargil with four substations at Drass, Kargil, Leh and Khaltsi at an estimated cost of Rs 377.52 crore.
However, in September 2004, the scope of the transmission system was revised by shifting overhead line between Gagangir to Zojila Pass to underground line along with change in the transmission capacity at Kargil sub-station, being an avalanche prone area, which led to an increase in estimated cost to ₹633.79 crore,” reads the report.
On December 15, 2004, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir accorded its approval for execution of the project by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL); however, the project was put on hold by the Ministry of Power on June 27, 2005.
The project was finally approved by the Government of India in January 2014 at an estimated cost of Rs 1,788.41 crore with scheduled completion period of 42 months from the date of release of first installment of fund. The first installment was received on March 01, 2014 and the approved commissioning schedule of the project was September 2017.
The project was planned and implemented by PDD and commissioned in January 2019 with a delay of 16 months from the scheduled date.
The CAG has said that due to time lag in approval/ implementation of the transmission system, completion cost has escalated to Rs 1,583.36 crore from initial estimated cost of Rs 633.79 crore.
The audit further noticed that in the absence of national grid connectivity due to delay in commissioning of Srinagar -Leh transmission system, Chutak and Nimmo Bazgo hydro power stations were operated in isolation mode and could not be optimally utilized upto their designed capacity and their generation had to be curtailed up to the limited requirements of the Ladakh region only. “As a result, 1,602.64 MUs of power could not be generated which resulted in generation loss,” the report states.
According to the report, NHPC raised a bill of ₹1,166.56 crore for deemed generation from these two projects on the Power Development Department. “Actual generation from these two power stations was only 736.75 MUs (29 percent) against their generation capacity of 2,524.36 MUs. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, however, allowed NHPC to claim the tariff in respect of deemed generation. Accordingly, NHPC raised a bill of ₹1,166.56 crore for deemed generation on Power Development Department (J&K) and received part payment of ₹267.59 crore from the Power Development Department and the balance amount is yet to be paid,” the report states.
Gulmarg, Sonamarg, other reaches of J&K receive heavy snowfall; rains lash Srinagar
Jammu November 7: Gulmarg resort in Jammu and Kashmir was draped in a white blanket as heavy snowfall lashed the Union Territory on Monday. Officials said snowfall and rains brought down the day temperature in the UT.
Gulmarg, in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, recorded around 9 to 12 inches of fresh snowfall, they said.
Another tourist destination, Sonamarg, in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, recorded about three inches of fresh snowfall.
Sadhna Pass, on Srinagar-Tangdhar road in Kupwara, received about two feet of snow, while Machil received about five inches of snow, they said.
Gurez, in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, received three inches of fresh snow.
There are reports of fresh snowfall in other areas in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir as well, the officials added.
The plains of the Valley, including Srinagar, were lashed by rains.
The officials said rain/snow showers are likely to continue at many places till afternoon and a significant improvement in the weather is expected in the evening.
Another western disturbance may bring light to moderate rain/snow showers from November 9-11, they added.
Large scale layoffs coming at Facebook’s parent company Meta: Report
NEW YORK, Nov 7: After job cuts at Twitter, Facebook’s parent company Meta is planning to begin “large-scale layoffs” this week in what could be the largest reduction to date at a “major technology corporation in a year that has seen a tech-industry retrenchment,” a media report said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the layoffs at Meta, which has more than 87,000 employees, are expected to affect “many thousands of employees” and could come as soon as Wednesday.
The WSJ report said that company officials have told employees to cancel nonessential travel beginning this week.
“The planned layoffs would be the first broad head-count reductions to occur in the company’s 18-year history. While smaller on a percentage basis than the cuts at Twitter Inc. This past week, which hit about half of that company’s staff, the number of Meta employees expected to lose their jobs could be the largest to date at a major technology corporation in a year that has seen a tech-industry retrenchment,” it said.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that the company would “focus our investments on a small number of high-priority growth areas.”
“So that means some teams will grow meaningfully, but most other teams will stay flat or shrink over the next year,” Zuckerberg had said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call last month. “In aggregate, we expect to end 2023 as either roughly the same size or even a slightly smaller organization than we are today.”
“Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here,” Zuckerberg had told employees at a companywide meeting at the end of June.
The layoffs at Meta come just days after Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk cut the company’s workforce by half following his acquisition of the social media site.
The WSJ reported that Meta had gone on a hiring spree during the pandemic as life and business shifted more online. Meta added more than 27,000 employees in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 combined and added a further 15,344 in the first nine months of this year—about one-fourth of that during the most recent quarter.
Meta, whose stock has fallen more than 70 per cent this year, has highlighted deteriorating macroeconomic trends, but “investors have also been spooked by its spending and threats to the company’s core social-media business.”
“Growth for that business in many markets has stalled amid stiff competition from TikTok, and Apple Inc.’s requirement that users opt into the tracking of their devices has curtailed the ability of social media platforms to target ads,” it said.
The report added that much of Meta’s “ballooning costs” stem from Zuckerberg’s commitment to Reality Labs, which is a division of the company responsible for virtual- and augmented-reality headsets as well as the creation of the metaverse. Zuckerberg has billed the “metaverse as a constellation of interlocking virtual worlds in which people will eventually work, play, live and shop,” the WSJ reported.
“The effort has cost the company USD 15 billion since the beginning of last year. But despite investing heavily in promoting its virtual-reality platform, Horizon Worlds, users have been largely unimpressed,” it said.
“I get that a lot of people might disagree with this investment,” Zuckerberg had told analysts on the company’s earnings call last month. “I think people are going to look back on decades from now and talk about the importance of the work that was done here.” (AGENCIES)
SI exam rescheduled for December, as JKSSB fights the credibility crisis
JAMMU: After months of chaos and uncertainty, the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) has announced the conduct of the examination for 1200 posts of Sub Inspector, Jammu and Kashmir Police tentatively in December 2022, five months after it scrapped the earlier recruitment drive after irregularities including the leak of question paper.
Only few among those who featured in the earlier selection list would be happy with the SSB notification, which said that the final dates of examination would be notified separately in due course of time. However, tens of thousands of those who had raised the question on the recruitment drive by the board have hailed the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who has not only ensured transparency and accountability, but has acted on every complaint his office has received.
As the administration gets lauded, youth prepares for the examination, the recruiting agency, JKSSB suffers from an institutional credibility crisis, restoring which is a Himalayan task.
3 Decades Of Neglect
For decades altogether, the Service Selection Board, the premier recruitment agency of Jammu and Kashmir remained a completely neglected and ignored institution. With Iqbal Khandey’s punishment posting way back in 2001 by an angry Farooq Abdullah, the deployment of officers to JKSSB has made the board a dumping yard.
“Despite tall claims of Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, none of the governments ever paid attention to such a sensitive institution that we didn’t even have our own building,” said an official.
The board has suffered for long from staff deficiency, both in terms of quantity and quality, even as scores of vacant posts have affected the functioning of the board, which was overloaded with the work, courtesy the government’s accelerated recruitment drive.
However, things started looking up for the better post August 2019, with a new constitutional environment setting in and new parameters of accountability being introduced.