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PM Modi dials Joe Biden, discusses Covid-19 pandemic, climate change

PM Modi dials Joe Biden, discusses Covid-19 pandemic, climate change

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today talked to US President-elect Joe Biden and congratulated him on his victory in the recently concluded US elections, while reiterating India’s firm commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership.

In a late-night tweet, PM said: “Spoke to US President-elect @JoeBiden on phone to congratulate him. We reiterated our firm commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed our shared priorities and concerns – Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region.”

The PM also spoke to US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris over phone and congratulated her. “Her success is a matter of great pride and inspiration for members of the vibrant Indian-American community, who are a tremendous source of strength for Indo-US relations,” he wrote on Twitter.

In the recently held US Presidential elections, Joe Biden, the former two-term vice president and a Senate veteran, defeated Republican candidate Donald Trump to be the 46th President of the United States.

Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also exuded confidence that ties between India and the US will expand further under Biden’s administration. The EAM said that Biden he was part of the period when bilateral relations underwent a radical transformation.

Jaishankar added that the President-elect Biden is “not a stranger to India or to the relationship” and India has dealt with him in his former roles as vice president in the Barack Obama administration.

-ARK

‘Pak Army has stationed artillery guns in civilian areas of PoJK’

'Pak Army has stationed artillery guns in civilian areas of PoJK'
Prof Sajjad Raza and Shabbir Choudhary

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan Army has stationed its artillery guns in civilian areas of occupied Kashmir and because of this civilians die whenever Indian Army responds to cross-LoC shelling, two senior leaders from the region have said, exposing Islamabad’s ill designs.

Prof Sajjad Raja, Chairman of National Equality Party of Jammu and Kashmir Gilgit-Baltistan, said Pakistan Army has deliberately stationed its artillery guns in civilian areas of PoJK so that common people die and suffer in cross-LoC shelling and as a result hatred is generated against India.

His version was echoed by another senior leader from PoJK Dr Shabbir Choudhary.

The revealing comments have come days after Pakistan said some civilians were killed in Neelum Valley in occupied Kashmir when Indian Army retaliated to shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC).

Raja and Choudhary, both of whom live in exile in London, were exchanging views via video conference and cited their colleagues and other local people as the source of their information.

Raja said two days before the November 13 cross-LoC shelling which caused casualties, his party workers were in the Neelum valley in PoK.

Quoting his party workers, he stated, “They said they have no complaints against India. India wants to spare us. But we are troubled by the Pakistani Army…. Indian Army is forced to retaliate when fired upon by Pakistani Army. But Indian Army tries to avoid civilian population. But Pakistan deliberately wants killing of civilians because when someone dies or is injured or property destroyed, there is hatred for India.”

He added, “Pakistan deliberately wants losses for the local people (of PoJK) so that they hate India.”

Choudhary agreed with Raja and said he too had spoken to some people after the November 13 incident, including those whose properties were destroyed in the Shelling. “When mortar guns fire from civilian areas towards Indian side, naturally Indian mortars will also land there only and people will die,” he said.

Raja added, “It is absolute fact. I also talked to our workers. Mortar guns have been positioned inside civilian areas. When India tries to hit them, civilians also get hit, since these are inside civilian areas. This is just two days’ old report.”

Choudhary said he had spoken to “responsible people” in PoJK, who have seen Pakistan Army using locals as “human shields” against India’s retaliatory shelling.

Raja said he is planning to launch a campaign for removal of Pakistani Army ‘morchas’ and gun positions from civilian areas. “We should also apprise people in Europe, UK etc,” he told Choudhary.

He said he was not bothered whether he would be called “Indian agent” but is concerned about the safety and well-being of “our people”.

Raja also said that it is always the Pakistan Army which provokes trouble at the LoC, because of which the lives of people on both sides of the frontier are endangered.

He said Pakistan Army resorts to shelling to provide cover to ‘jihadis’ and other “Pakistan-trained elements” to help them sneak into the Indian side of Kashmir.

“It begins with Pakistani firing to give cover to the infiltrators to enter J&K,” he said.

Choudhary said he had been told by local sources “much earlier” that a lot of infiltration is taking place and highly-trained people have entered Indian side of Kashmir before snowfall. “I was told much earlier that even the SSG (Special Services Group of Pakistan Army) people are also there. They are highly-trained men of the Pakistan Army,” he added.

“Our destruction is because of this infiltration only. You may recall the situation that existed before 1989 or before 1965 (war)…There was a time when people would freely move across the LoC, including for trade,” Raja said.

J&K: Srinagar administration to upgrade 180 govt-run schools

J&K: Srinagar administration to upgrade 180 govt-run schools
(File/Representational Image)

Lubna Fayaz

Srinagar (NVI): The Srinagar administration has embarked on an ambitious project to transform all government schools with owned buildings in the district on modern lines, equipping them with smart facilities and state of the art infrastructure.

Under the project, a total of 180 schools, including 120 in urban areas and 60 in rural areas of the district are being upgraded in terms of facilities. These schools will be equipped with modern facilities through interventions at infrastructural and operational levels.

The project follows successful completion of the pilot project of modernising 25 selected government schools taken up and completed during the last fiscal.

This was informed in a meeting convened here at Banquet Hall under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary.

The meeting with heads of schools to be upgraded as part of this project was informed that an amount of 6 crore rupees has been earmarked for upgrading 120 schools located in urban areas of the district under special plan.

The funding has in fact been released in favour of 25 schools located in urban Srinagar. Another 70 schools – which have already been partly equipped with modern facilities under the GoI’s Samagra Shiksha scheme – will receive the required funding in due course, the meeting was informed.

During the meeting, extensive discussions and interactions were held on components and the aim of the smart school project envisaging modernising of public schools to bring them at par with private schools in the district. Headmasters of 25 model schools, upgraded last fiscal, were also present in the meeting. They shared experiences and feedback.

In addition to 120 schools in urban Srinagar, at least 60 schools are also being modernised in rural Srinagar. These schools are being upgraded to smart schools under the J&K government’s ‘Back to Village’ programme.

In each rural block of the district, 15 schools have been identified for upgrading and modernising under the ambitious smart schools project. These schools include primary and middle schools and have been selected through the Gram Sabha. It was informed that the project targeted for completion in four to five months will include upgrading of the entire infrastructure and improvement of learning outcomes through a range of interventions including capacity building of teachers.

The meeting was further informed that as part of this ambitious project, a host of interventions are being made aimed at enhancing the learning outcomes of public schools in the capital district.

Some of the interventions being made include refurbishing of buildings where required, upgrading of furniture and equipment, round-the-clock power and water supplies, establishment of libraries, science laboratories, IT labs and smart classes, HR Management and development of teachers, concurrent evaluation and society involvement, additional classrooms where required, separate toilets, sporting infrastructure and games, skills labs, pure drinking water availability, innovation grant for development of models, capacity building and training of teachers.

Speaking on the occasion, DC Srinagar said that work is being started in around 100 of these schools located in both urban and rural areas of the district, adding that the entire project is targeted for completion in six months.

He said the district administration is keen on equipping the schools with latest facilities and transforming them on modern lines, the aim being to improve the learning outcomes in the public school domain.

Apart from that, 25 smart schools established earlier last fiscal will be provided additional facilities to further equip them, the meeting was informed. Teachers from these schools also shared their experience with newly selected schools. A dedicated team has been constituted for planning, implementing and monitoring the project.

-ARK

Countries supporting terrorists should be held accountable: PM at BRICS

Countries supporting terrorists should be held accountable: PM at BRICS

New Delhi (NVI): Talking tough on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today raised the global threat at the 12th BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the countries that support terrorists must be held guilty.

“The finalisation of BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy is an important achievement. I propose that our NSAs hold discussions on a Counter Terrorism Action Plan,” PM Modi said while addressing the summit of the five-nation grouping via video conferencing.

The PM also identified terrorism as the “biggest problem” facing the world and asserted that there was a need to tackle the menace in an organised manner. Although Modi didn’t name any particular country, his remarks can be seen as directed towards Pakistan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was also present during the virtual summit. This was for the second time that PM Modi and Xi were face to face at a virtual platform in the wake of border tensions between the two countries since May this year.

Before this, Xi and Modi were seen together at a virtual session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held on November 10. The two leaders had participated in the virtual interaction at the SCO which was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Modi will also share a virtual platform with the Chinese Premier on November 21-22 for the G-20 summit.

During his address at the summit, PM Modi said that India’s vaccine production and delivery capabilities in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic will work in the interest of the humanity.

“We have started a comprehensive reform process under the ‘Self-reliant India’ campaign. The campaign is based on the belief that a self-reliant and resilient India post-Covid can be a force multiplier for the global economy and make a strong contribution to the global value chains,” PM said.

He also underlined that BRICS economies will play a crucial role in the global recovery after the pandemic.

Apart from this, PM Modi stressed on the need for reform of the United Nations Security Council as well as multilateral bodies like the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund.

The virtual summit was also attended by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The theme for this year’s summit is ‘BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’.

7th round of India-Kazakhstan Foreign Office Consultations held

7th round of India-Kazakhstan Foreign Office Consultations held

New Delhi (NVI): The seventh round of Foreign Office Consultations (FoC) between India and Kazakhstan was held in a virtual format today as the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation within the framework of their strategic partnership.

“The consultations covered political, economic and commercial, energy, defence, space, consular and cultural matters. They also shared views and experiences on combating COVID-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

During the session, an MoU on “Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects in Kazakhstan” was also signed between the both sides, coinciding with the Foreign Office Consultations, the Ministry said. Announcement regarding the assistance program was made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during the recent India-Central Asia Dialogue.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and agreed to enhance cooperation in the multilateral arena, including during the forthcoming stint of India in the UN Security Council for the period 2021-22.

MEA said the talks were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. “It was agreed to hold the next consultations in a physical format at a mutually convenient date,” it said.

The Indian side was led by Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West) and the Kazakh side was led by Shakhrat Nuryshev, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

-ARK

India among countries with lowest covid cases, deaths per million population

New Delhi (NVI): With the consistent decline in the active cases and fatalities, India’s Covid-19 cases and deaths per million population is among the lowest in the world, according to Union Health Ministry.

While addressing a media briefing, Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan said, “India’s deaths per million population is amongst the lowest in the world; stands at 94 deaths per million population.”

“India’s cases per million population is also amongst the lowest in the world; stands at 6,430, while the global average is 6,956,” Bhushan added.

Meanwhile, the country has been recording around 30,000 daily new cases for the last two consecutive days. 29,163 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The country has also seen less than 50,000 daily new cases being registered continuously for the past ten days.

While this signifies the wide adoption of COVID appropriate behaviour among the population, it also assumes significance in view of the high number of daily cases being continuously reported in many countries in Europe and the Americas.

Furthermore, the trend of new daily recoveries exceeding the daily new cases continues with 40,791 cases recovering in the last 24 hours against just 29,163 newly detected cases.

The active caseload which has now stands at 4,53,401 comprises just 5.11 per cent of all cumulative cases.

The total recovered cases stand at 82,90,370. With this, the recovery rate has improved to 93.42 per cent today.

In addition to this, the Government continues to maintain a high level of countrywide testing. Total tests conducted so far stands at 12,65,42,907 today. This has led to bringing down the cumulative positivity to 7.01 per cent.

-CHK

EESL, DNRE Goa join hands for India’s first decentralised solar convergence project

EESL, DNRE Goa join hands for India’s first decentralised solar convergence project

New Delhi (NVI): Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under the Union Ministry of Power, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of New & Renewable Energy (DNRE), Goa to set up the country’s first Rs 450-crore 100 MW decentralised solar convergence project.

The project is to be implemented by the newly-formed subsidiary Convergence Energy Services Ltd. Under the initiative, EESL will implement decentralised solar energy projects.

EESL, in a series of tweets, said: “We’re delighted to announce the signing of an MoU with Dept. of New & Renewable Energy (DNRE), Govt. of Goa for carrying out feasibility studies and subsequent implementation of decentralized #solar energy projects.”

“This partnership marks the beginning of our ‘convergence’ initiative that focuses on delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy,” read another tweet.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Power Minister RK Singh; Goa Power Minister Nilesh Cabral; Goa Power Secretary; Sanjiv Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power (GoI) along with other senior officials of the Ministry.

-ARK

Delhi declares Nov 20 as public holiday

New Delhi (NVI): Delhi government today made an announcement that November 20 will be a public holiday on account of Chhath Puja.

The Chhath Puja is celebrated in Delhi in a big way by the natives of Bihar and eastern UP. The two-day festival, falling on November 20-21 this year, involves worship of the Sun God at a water body like a river, pond or tank.

Last week, Delhi government had prohibited celebrating Chhath Puja in public places and water bodies.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has instructed officials to ensure that Chhath Puja this year is not performed at public places, river banks and temples in Delhi in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

-CHK

PM to address Bengaluru Tech Summit

modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (file photo)

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Bengaluru Tech Summit on November 19 through video conferencing, to will deliberate on the key challenges during the post-pandemic world.

“The summit will see participation of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin and many other prominent international figures,” the PMO said in a statement.

Apart from them, thought leaders, industry captains, technocrats, researchers, innovators, investors, policy makers and educators from India and the world will also be participating in the summit, it added.

This year the theme of the Bengaluru Tech Summit is “Next is Now”.

The summit will deliberate on the key challenges emerging in the post-pandemic world with focus on the impact of prominent technologies and innovations in the domains of ‘Information technology & electronics’ and ‘biotechnology’, the PMO said.

However, the event scheduled from November 19 to 21 is organised by the government of Karnataka along with Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), the state government’s Vision Group on Information Technology, Biotechnology & StartUp, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications, the statement added.

-RJV

JKTDC organising weekend events to boost local tourism in Kashmir

JKTDC organising weekend events to boost local tourism

Lubna Fayaz

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) is organising events every weekend to give a boost to local tourism and revive the sector affected due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In this regard, JDTDC’s Kongposh restaurant was inaugurated here two weeks ago, where these weekend events are oganised on the banks of Jhelum.

Notably, tourists have started arriving in Kashmir in recent weeks, though not in large numbers, after fresh snowfall.

Manager JKTDC, Tabassum Kamila said that these events are meant to create some local tourism activity in the city.

Besides tourism, this festival would also give a chance to the youth to showcase their talent.

“The festival is particularly meant for youth and would act as a platform wherein they can exhibit their talent,” she said, adding “this place would act as a cultural forum, where cultural people would be roped in for the entertainment of people.”

The art and craft which would be exhibited in this fest would include candle making, calligraphy, pottery, etc, Kamili added. According to her, every weekend, there would be some activity happening at this place.

In addition to this, cultural event is also going to be held where different artists would perform.

Tabassum Kamila said that due to COVID-19, tourism has got badly affected and coming up of events like these would amplify the tourism-related activities.

“People are sitting at their homes, children fear to go out, that’s why we came up with this idea so that people get a chance to rejoice themselves after a gap of months.”

It’s pertinent to mention that the J&K Tourism Development Corporation threw open the Kongposh, a restaurant on the banks of Jhelum at Zero Bridge, Rajbagh, recently.

The restaurant was inaugurated by Advisor to J&K LG, Baseer A Khan.

JKTDC Manager Kamila, while talking about this place, the locals can relish traditional foods at the restaurant and catch glimpses of the local art. Besides, it will also provide a platform for the local artists, she added.

-ARK

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