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Centre appoints Murmu as new CAG

GC Murmu

New Delhi (NVI): The Central Government tonight appointed former Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

Murmu had yesterday resigned as the first LG of J&K Union Territory. He will replace the CAG Rajiv Mehrishi who will be completing his term on Friday.

Earlier today, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Murmu’s resignation and former union minister and senior BJP leader Manoj Sinha was appointed the new LG on J&K. Sinha, who arrived in Srinagar today, will be administered the oath of office at Rajbhavan there tomorrow.

Murmu, a 1985-batch IAS officer from Gujarat cadre, had been appointed as the first LG of Jammu and Kashmir on October 25 last year, just before the erstwhile state became UT on October 31.

Murmu, who hails from Odisha, had worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for over a decade when the latter was Chief Minister of Gujarat and is considered his confidante.

He was the Expenditure Secretary in the government of India since March last year before being sent to J&K. Previously, he was Special Secretary, Revenue, in the Ministry of Finance.

Earlier, he has served as Principal Secretary to the Gujarat Chief Minister when Modi held the post.

-ARK

Army Chief visits Assam to review op preparedness amid tensions with China

New Delhi (NVI): Amid face-off with China, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane today visited Army formations in Tezpur (Assam). He interacted with all Corps Commanders of Eastern Command in Tezpur and reviewed prevailing security situation and operational preparedness in the Eastern Theatre.

At the Gajraj Corps Headquarters in Tezpur, Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command briefed the COAS on various operational and administrative aspects.

“He was appreciative of the efforts by our soldiers in safeguarding the territorial integrity of the Nation and encouraged all ranks to keep up the high state of alertness and professionalism displayed by them,” the Army said in an official statement.

The Army Chief is scheduled to arrive at Lucknow tomorrow to visit HQ Central Command.

-ARK

J&K: 92 travelers among 499 fresh Covid cases, tally at 23,454

Over 3,200 cops COVID positive in J&K and 15 succumbed to virus
File photo

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir today recorded 499 fresh cases of novel coronavirus including 92 travelers, taking the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory to 23,454.

With 499 new cases, the tally of positive cases in J&K has reached 23,955 including 18,181 from Kashmir and 5,273 from Jammu division.

Officials said among 499 new cases, 416 belong to Kashmir division while 73 are from Jammu division, adding that the total number of positive cases in Kashmir has reached 18,181 including 12,339 recoveries while the total number of positive cases in Jammu has reached 5,273 including 3,369 recoveries and 34 deaths.

The officials said that the total number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir is 7,310 including 5,440 from Kashmir and 1,807 from Jammu.

With 464 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in the UT has reached 15,708 which is 66.97 percent of the total cases.

Pertinently, Srinagar district alone has 5,699 positive cases which is more than the total number of positive cases in Jammu division where total cases are 5,273.

“Cases tested positive in J&K include 113 from Srinagar, 44 from Baramulla, 09 from Pulwama, 20 from Kulgam, 08 from Shopian, 73 from Anantnag, 52 from Budgam, 17 from Kupwara, 49 from Bandipora and 41 from Ganderbal in Kashmir division while as 73 from Jammu division include 51 from Jammu, 06 from Kathua, 05 from Rajouri, 01 from Ramban, 02 from Udhampur, 05 from Samba, 01 from Poonch and 02 from Kishtiwar,” read the daily Covid bulletin.

As per the daily information bulletin, 3,81,410 persons in J&K are under observation while 43,098 persons have been kept under home quarantine. Besides that, 7,310 persons are in isolation.

According to the bulletin, 2,86,926 persons have completed surveillance period and 43,640 persons are under home surveillance.

So far, results of 6,86,808 samples are available out of which 663,354 stand negative while 23,454 have been tested positive. Among positive cases, 7,310 are active and 15,708 have recovered.

-ARK

Govt approval reqd for any MoU with Indian varsities: MEA on Confucius institutes

New Delhi (NVI): China’s Confucious institutes will need to get the approval of the Indian Government before signing any MoU or Agreement that “such centers” might wish to enter into with an Indian college or university, the Ministry of External Affairs said today.

During a virtual media briefing here today, External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that MEA had in 2009 issued detailed guidelines for establishment and functioning of Foreign Cultural Centres.

“These guidelines apply also to any cultural centre that is supported/sponsored by an autonomous foreign organisation, including any Confucius Centre,” the MEA spokesman said.

“Under these Guidelines, approval of MEA is required for any MoU/Agreement that such Centres might wish to enter into with an Indian organisation,” he added.

Srivastava said that naturally, if any Indian institution were to enter into or has entered into an arrangement that would come under the purview of these guidelines, then it would require the approval of the Government.

“And as a corollary if the approval was not taken when establishing such Centers then it was not in conformity with the Guidelines,” the MEA spokesman said.

It is pertinent to mention here that UGC had last year officially asked Indian universities to seek approval from the Central government, including the home and foreign ministries, before entering into any agreement for setting up a Confucius Institute.

India has put restrictions on several activities with China after the violent Galwan Valley clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

Amid the tense border face-off in Ladakh at Line of Actual Control (LAC) and China’s aggressive posturing in the region, India also banned 59 China-based apps in June.

-ARK

Pak shells forward areas along LoC in J&K’s Poonch

Ceasefire
Representational image

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Pakistani troops yet again resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Mendhar and Balakote sectors of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district along LoC by firing with mortars and small arms, defence officials said today.

They said at 8 pm, Pakistani rangers fired mortars and small arms in a bid to target forward posts of the Indian army at Mendhar and Poonch sectors. “The own troops gave a befitting reply,” a defence official said, adding that “there was no report of any loss to life or property.”

This is the third ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Poonch this week as it shelled the forward areas in the district on Tuesday and Wednesday also.

Defence sources said that Pakistan started intense shelling post abrogation of Article 370 last year and continues to resort to frequent unprovoked CFVs (ceasefire violations) in the forward areas of both Kashmir and Jammu regions since August 5 last year.

“The Indian army has been giving a befitting reply to Pakistan every time it violates ceasefire. This time we were expecting some misadventure from Pakistan on the eve of the first anniversary of Article 370 rollback. Our troops are alert across LoC and are keeping a watch on every attempt made by the neighbour, be that ceasefire violation or an infiltration bid,” they said.

As per official records, since January this year, over 1,776 ceasefire violations have taken place in J&K, majority of them in Poonch, Rajouri, RS Pura, Keran, Tangdhar, Machil and Uri sectors of the J&K UT.

An army official said that it is the Pakistan army that violates the 2003 CFV pact every time. “We are always giving them a befitting response. There have been casualties on both sides,” he said, adding that “this year so far, there is a surge in CFV from across the LoC.”

Pertinently, after a long gap of over three decades, the government in the J&K UT has once again started construction of community bunkers in villages close to LoC in J&K.

NVI was the first to break the story about the b construction of community bunkers in Uri, Tangdhar and Gurez sectors of north Kashmir’s Kupwara, Bandipora and Baramulla district. The construction of almost 140 bunkers was started after massive protests by the locals living close to the LoC.

-ARK

India expects ‘sincere’ efforts by China for mutual disengagement at LAC: MEA

Ladakh

New Delhi (NVI): India today said that it expects the Chinese side to work sincerely with New Delhi for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, in a press briefing here, recalled the July 5 telephone conversation between the Special Representatives of India and China where they discussed the situation in the India-China border areas. along LAC. The Chinese side was represented by its foreign minister Wang Yi while National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was from the Indian side.

“The two Special Representatives had agreed that early and complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and de-escalation from India-China border areas in accordance with bilateral agreement and protocols and full restoration of peace and tranquility was essential for the smooth overall development of bilateral relations,” Srivastava said, adding that India remains committed to this objective.

The MEA statement on the status of India-China border row comes four days after both the countries held the fifth round of military-level talks to expedite the process of disengagement of troops along LAC. The senior military commanders from both sides held the meet in Moldo, on the Chinese side of the LAC.

Earlier on July 30, the Chinese ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, had claimed that troops of both countries have disengaged in most areas at Line of Actual Control (LAC) on which the MEA issued a clarification saying that there has been some progress but the disengagement process has not been completed yet.

Since the face-off in Galwan Valley of Ladakh on June 15, India and China have held diplomatic and military level talks to resolve the border situation.

Apart from the June 15 Galwan clashes between the Indian Army and PLA troops, the border tensions were also triggered by a violent clash between the two militaries in Pangong Tso area in eastern Ladakh on May 5.

In the June 15 violence, 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives while China also lost some of its troops but Beijing didn’t disclose the number of casualties.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, India asked China to desist from making “infructuous attempts” to raise issues pertaining to Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir at the UN Security Council (UNSC) after its third attempt failed on Wednesday.

China, at the behest of Pakistan, raised the issue at an informal and closed meeting but most of other member nations refused to pay heed, saying it’s an internal matter of India, according to officials.

This is the third time that China raked up the issue since abolition of special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370 on August 5 last year.

The issue was first raised in August last year and then in January this year, but like previous occasions, there was no resolution.

-ARK

Draft EIA notification not final yet, ‘premature’ to publicise objections: Javadekar

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar (File)

New Delhi (NVI): Countering objections from Congress MP Jairam Ramesh over the draft Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020 (EIA), Union Minister Prakash Javadekar today said that the draft has not been finalised by the Centre yet and it doesn’t not relax the process of public hearing, but rather aims to make it more meaningful.

Javadekar, in a letter to the former environment minister, who also heads the Parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment, forest and climate change, wrote: “It has not been finalised yet as public consultation is underway.”

In his response, the Union Environment Minister also issued a point by point rebuttal to the Congress leader on draft EIA notification and termed publicising letters by Ramesh as “premature” as “public consultation is still underway.”

In his letter to Javadekar on July 25, Ramesh had said that the draft EIA reduces public participation in all steps of the environment clearance process “by lessening the notice period for public hearings and doing away with them for a large category of projects”.

Earlier today, Ramesh had written to the minister saying, “The Parliamentary Standing Committee has been inundated with requests from various stakeholders to give them an opportunity for presenting their views. I am sure you will agree that this is both desirable and necessary. Further meetings of the committee will call non-official witnesses. The Notification may, therefore, be kept in abeyance till the committee completes its deliberations.”

To his tweet, Javadekar replied: “Today morning only I had sent you a detailed response to your July 25, 2020 letter, which was delivered at your residence office, still you chose to write this letter and make it public through twitter. I am sharing today’s letter here once again.”

“Provision of ex-post facto approval to bring all violators under regulatory regime by imposing heavy penalties; companies cannot be in perpetual unregulated status,” Javadekar said in his letter.

He further stated in his letter that every project expansion will require submission of the Environmental Management Plan.

“Government has issued a draft notification not the final notification, and is still open for public consultation; ready to discuss in details when the situation warrants,” Javadekar’s letter to Ramesh read.

-ARK

India and Japan looking to have trusted partners to expand businesses: Piyush Goyal

Union Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal (file pic)

New Delhi (NVI): India and Japan are looking to have trusted partners from authentic investors to expand their trade and business relationships, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal today said.

While addressing the Digital Edition of Make in India, Japan Roadshow 3.0, Goyal said, “Japan is one of our most trusted trading partners, fourth-largest contributor of FDI (foreign direct investment). The current partnership will expand through proposed India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership, which was discussed during the meeting with Japan Minister Hiroshi San.”

“It is important Japan and India expand our trade and business relationships through the proposed India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership. Together, I have the confidence that we will come out successful in all matters,” he added.

Piyush Goyal further said that as India is opening up for business, both the Centre and states are making strong policy decisions to help investors take advantage of growth opportunities.

The Minister said, “As the world has recovered from the grip of the COVID-19, the Government of India has been preparing strategies and Action Plan not only for business continuity and is set to a revival but also setting out red carpet for global investors to continue to choose India as the preferred destination for investments.”

“Japan’s interest in India is increasing due to variety of reasons including India’s large and growing market. With its large population and growing consumer base, India is the preferred destination for Japanese investments,” he said.

During the event, Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy,Trade and Industry (METI), Japan, in his remarks, reiterated his country’s interest in furthering the bilateral relations.

-CHK

Rlys to begin Kisan Rail service to transport perishable items

(File/Representational image)

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Railways will introduce country’s first Kisan Rail, a special parcel train to supply perishable products, between Maharashtra’s Devlali and Bihar’s Danapur from tomorrow on weekly basis, the Ministry of Railways said.

The train from Devlali will start at 11 am on August 7 and will reach Danapur the next day at 6.45 pm, covering a distance of 1519 kilometres in about 32 hours.

It will be flagged off by Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal through video conferencing.

In a official statement the Ministry said that, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 had mentioned the Kisan Rail project.

The government had proposed that to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of milk, meat and fish, the Indian Railways will set up a Kisan Rail, it added.

It will provide seamless supply chain of perishable products. This train is a step towards realizing the goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 and Railways aims to help double farmers’ income with the launch of Kisan Rail.

Furthermore, Kisan Rail will help in bringing perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time. The train with frozen containers is expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of fish, meat and milk.

According to Indian Railways, over the Central Railway zone, the Bhusawal Division is primarily an Agro-based division. The city of Nasik and its surrounding region produces a huge quantity of fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, onions, other perishables, as well as other agro products. Mainly, these perishable items are transported to areas around Allahabad, Patna, Satna, Katni, etc.

The Kisan Rail special parcel service has been provided scheduled halts at Nasik Road, Jalgaon, Manmad, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Itarsi, Khandwa, Jabalpur, Satna, Katni, Prayagraj Chheoki, Manikpur, Buxar and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Nagar.

However, it is being expected that the Kisan Rail train service will be patronized well and also, it will be a great help to farmers, as the freight of this train service will be charged at ‘P’ Scale, the ministry added.

-RJV

2 fuel tankers torched, 7 hijacked in Afghan province of Baghlan

(Source: Twitter)

New Delhi (NVI): At least seven fuel tankers were hijacked by “anti-government gunmen” on the Baghlan-Samangan highway near Pul-e-Khumri, capital of Baghlan province, while two others were torched this morning, reports TOLO news.

After torching two tankers, the gunmen took seven others to Dahna-ye-Ghori district, the Aghan news website quoted sources as saying. The incident happened in the Bagh-e-Shamal area in Pul-e-Khumri in Baghlan province.

The incident takes place amid the increasing Taliban attacks in the area, apart from other parts of Afghanistan.

However, neither the local officials have yet commented on the attack nor has any group claimed the responsibility.

TOLO news reports that the Taliban has increased its attacks in Baghlan, particularly against security checkpoints in recent days.

The incident also comes a day after at least 12 people, close to Mahbubullah Ghafari, a former member of the provincial council of Baghlan, were killed in a roadside mine blast in the province.

The incident took place in the Chashmaye Shir area, on the Baghlan -Samangan highway, while Ghafari and his convoy were on the way to Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province. Ghafari said, “a vehicle was hit by a roadside mine.”

-ARK

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