Jammu (NVI): An Indian Army Cheetah helicopter made a hard landing in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir following a technical snag, according to media reports.
Both the pilots are safe and out of danger, as per reports. An enquiry into the incident has been ordered.
The chopper, which was flying from Udhampur on a training sortie, developed some technical problem and had to make an emergency landing in Rudkhud area in Arnas belt of the district at around 11:30 am.
New Delhi (NVI): As China struggles to control the novel coronavirus from spreading, the death toll due to the epidemic soared to 361 today. Chinese health officials have confirmned 17, 238 cases in China, with 148 cases abroad.
361 deaths have been reported in China while one person has died abroad. A pneumonia outbreak was first reported in the city of Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province in December.
Around 480 people who were treated for the virues have recovered.
The virus was traced to a market in Hubei province capital Wuhan, that sold wild animals. The virus has now been transported to more 20 countries including India, where the first positive case was confirmed in Kerala. A third case of the viral infection was reported by the Kerala government today. All three cases in Kerala are students who came back from Wuhan.
The US, UK, Russia and Sweden have also reported cases of coronavirus, apart from France, Germany and Finland.
The World Health Organization has declared the crisis a global health emergency. The first foreign death from the virus was reported in the Philippines on February 2.
New Delhi (NVI): A third positive case of novel coronavirus infection was reported by the Kerala government today even as over 350 people have been killed by the epidemic in China.
The southern Indian state, which reported the first two cases of the deadly infection, informed today about the third case who is also a student studying in China’s Wuhan.
KK Shailja, the state health minister has confirmed the third case and the person has been kept in isolation at a hospital.
Coronavirus, which originated in Chinese province Hubei, has now been transported to at least 20 countries in the world, keeping the airports across the globe on high alert.
WHO has declared a global health emergency in view of the situation. The Indian Government is taking all necessary steps to control the spread of the virus.
Yesterday, a second Air India evacuated 330 passengers (including 7 Maldivan citizens) from Wuhan. Of these, 300 (including 7 Maldivan citizens) are housed at ITBP Chawla Camp and 30 are in Manesar. They are being quarantined and will be monitored for any symptoms of the virus, for the next few days.
New Delhi (NVI): The iconic Mughal Garden at the heart of the President’s Estate will be opened for general public from February 5.
President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the annual “Udyanotsav” of Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow.
The gardens will remain open for the general public from February 5 to March 08 between 10 PM to 04, except on Mondays which are maintenance days.
The main attraction of this year’s Udyanotsav, beside Tulips and exotic flowers, are Bulbous flowerings. Around 10,000 Tulips specially cultivated in Mughal Gardens are expected to bloom during February.
They are in vivid colors of red, white, orange and yellow mixed with red and pink.
Flower carpets in magnificent designs will also be on display in the central lawns revealing the skill and craft of the gardeners at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The dominant color scheme of this year’s ornamental flowers is white, yellow, red and orange.
As in previous years, a small beautified cactus corner with interesting varieties of cactus and succulents has been landscaped. Air purifying plants have also been showcased at the gardens.
New Delhi (NVI): Anyone with travel history in China since January 15 could be quarantined, the government said today in its revised travel advisory to the coronavirus-hit country. The government has also maintained its appeal to the Indian citizens to refrain from travelling to China.
“As already communicated yesterday, Travel Advisory further revised informing the public to refrain from travel to China and that anyone with travel history in China since 15th January 2020 and from now on could be quarantined,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement today.
The decision was taken by the cabinet secretary in another high-level review meeting on the preparedness for novel coronavirus in the country. The Cabinet Secretary has held six review meetings so far.
In another development today, the Indian Embassy in Beijing said that due to the prevailing situation of coronavirus outbreak, travel to India on E-visas stands temporarily suspended with immediate effect. “This applies to holders of Chinese passports and applicants of other nationalities residing in the People’s Republic of China,” the embassy tweeted.
Yesterday, the embassy had said that already issued E-visas will no longer be valid. “Holders of already issued E-visas may note that these are no longer valid. All those who have a compelling reason to visit India may contact the Embassy of India in Beijing or the Indian consulates in Shanghai or Guangzhou, and the Indian Visa Application Centres in these cities,” it said in a tweet.
As on February 2 (Sunday), 58,658 passengers from 445 flights have been screened at several airports in the country. A total of 142 symptomatic travellers picked up by the
Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) have been referred to the isolation facilities.
As many as 130 samples have been tested of which 128 have been found to be negative. The two positive cases found in Kerala are being monitored and are clinically stable.
The second batch of 330 passengers (including 7 Maldivan citizens) from Wuhan arrived in India yesterday. Of these, 300 (including 7 Maldivan citizens) are housed at ITBP Chawla Camp and 30 are in Manesar. They are also being effectively monitored.
Mubashir Bukhari
Srinagar (NVI): An environmental crisis looms large over Kashmir as a study has found that the Himalayan glaciers in the Valley have lost 23 per cent area in the last 60 years, posing serious threats like water shortage and decrease in agriculture productivity in the region.
“The shrinking of glaciers and the depleting stream flows, if continues in the future, will adversely affect the availability of water in the valley, especially during summers when it is needed the most. This will lead to decline in hydropower generation, decrease in agriculture productivity, fall in winter tourism and drinking water scarcity,” says Professor Shakil Romshoo, a national award-winning scientist who conducted the study in 2018 with Asif Marazi, one of his fellows at the Department of Earth Sciences at Kashmir University.
The study was aimed at accessing the impact of streamflow to the shrinking glacial mass by selecting a total of 37 glaciers from the Lidder valley in the south-eastern part of Kashmir, which hosts many glaciers including the largest glacier — the Kolahoi.
According to a glacier research report by India Climate Dialogue, the famed fertility of the Kashmir Valley owes a lot to the meltwater of the Kolahoi Glacier. It is one of the most famous glaciers in Kashmir but is slowly losing its crown due to climate change.
The study by Romshoo and Marazi investigated the streamflow response to the shrinking cryosphere under changing climate in the Lidder valley, Upper Indus Basin (UIB), Kashmir Himalayas. They used a combination of multitemporal satellite data and topographic maps to evaluate the changes in area, length and volume of the glaciers from 1962 to 2013. A total of 37 glaciers from the Lidder valley, with an area of 39.76 square km in 1962 were selected for research in the study.
“It was observed that the glaciers in the valley have lost 23 per cent of the area and 22 per cent of glacial mass in the last 60 years,” says Professor Romshoo, while commenting on the climate change effect on the glaciers till 2019-2020 period. Back in 2013, the study had compiled the data for 51 years.
The study notes that the depletion of glaciers has led to the significant depletion in the stream flows under the changing climate in the valley. “The shrinking of glaciers in the region is due to the increasing temperatures and the change in the form of precipitation (from snow to rain) observed in the region during winters, he says.
The streamflow shows an overall decreasing trend (of precipitation) in the peak summer months of June and July; however, an increasing trend in April and May, as per the study.
Professor Romshoo termed precipitation as an important climatic parameter that controls the overall health of a glacier in the Lidder valley.
The climate change due to global warming and other human factors has already been ringing alarm bells in Valley in the form of snow avalanches, snowstorms and low production of crops like saffron on which the lives of many farmers in Kashmir depend.
New Delhi (NVI): Minimum temperature in Delhi today dropped to 5.4 degree celsius from 6.0 degree celsius recorded yesterday.
The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 21.0 degrees celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The weatherman stated that the northwesterly winds to blow for next few days and no significant change in temperature is expected for another three to four days.
Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the national capital today deteriorate again to“poor”from “moderate” category.
According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR),the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 290 which falls in the “poor” category.
New Delhi (NVI): The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) hailed certain aspects of the Budget 2020 but said the government could have gone further to liberalize some sectors, like insurance.
“USISPF is pleased to see a focus on inclusive growth, aspirational India, ease of living for all citizens, and digital technologies for economic growth in the 2020 Union Budget,” USISPF President and CEO Mukesh Aghi said.
“However, we believe the budget could have gone further to liberalize sectors such as insurance that are in need of capital. Despite a slowdown in growth, the global outlook for investment in India remains strong and therefore the budget was a great opportunity to convert the global sentiment into action,” he said.
He said that on corporate taxation, it is pleasing to see the elimination of the dividend distribution tax.
“On ease of doing business, measures such as simplified GST returns, no audit requirement for MSMEs with up to Rs 5 crore turnover, instant issuance of PAN by furnishing Aadhaar Card, pre-filing of tax returns, faceless appeals and assessments will further enhance India’s image from an ease of doing business perspective. Together, these steps show that India’s tax policy is moving in the right direction,” Aghi said
Aghi said provisions such as creation of an “Investment Clearance Cell” to facilitate investment advisory and continued focus on smart cities projects and electronics manufacturing is playing an important role in growing the Indian economy and creating much-needed jobs.
As the USISPF hi-tech manufacturing report has indicated, India’s hi-tech manufacturing sector has the potential to offer an additional investment of USD 21 billion and create 5,50,000 direct jobs and 14,00,000 indirect jobs over the next 5 years.
However, the USISPF also urged government to move away from further tariffs on ICT products in the budget.
The government is taking measures to boost infrastructure spending, creating a national logistics policy, and modernizing India’s connectivity. Improving India’s logistics and infrastructure build-out is one area where American companies can contribute significantly.
USISPF is encouraged to see a focus on digital infrastructure that will enable private sector to build data center parks throughout the country as well as public funding for the Bharatnet program. The government’s attempts to bolster public consumption through tax holidays on the profit earned on affordable housing projects, optional tax relief to middle income tax payers, rationalizing the tax rates and increasing the disposable income in the hands of the middle class are welcome moves.
Startups continue to be the engines of growth for the Indian economy— deferring the tax payment on ESOP granted to employees; and increasing the revenue threshold to Rs 100 crore for claiming profit exemption for a period of 3 years out of first 10 years will allow startups to create jobs and attract more skilled talent. USISPF will work with the government on additional steps it can take to further boost the startup ecosystem in India.
“E-commerce is a bright spot of the Indian economy and expected to touch $84 billion by 2021. We therefore, urge the government reconsider its decision to impose 1% TDS on e-commerce. This creates differential treatment of sellers on these platforms and the burden will be ultimately passed on to the consumer,” the statement read.
Mubashir Bukhari
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir administration today released four politicians from detention. The leaders were in detention since August 5, 2019, from the time when Article 370 was abrogated in the valley.
The leaders who have been released are Abdul Majid Larmi, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, Muhammad Shafi, and Muhammad Yusuf Bhat. All of them belong to the National Conference.
On January 16, 2020, five political leaders were released from detention.
A total of 35 leaders were under detention since August 5 which includes. Three former chief ministers– Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti continue to under detention.
Out of 35, 18 leaders have been released so far.
Farooq Abdullah has been detained in his home at Gupkar Road in Srinagar, which has been designated as a sub-jail.
Omar Abdullah is detained at Hari Niwas and Mehbooba Mufti has been kept in a government building on Maulana Azad Residency Road.
Mubashir Bukhari
Srinagar (NVI): Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men and seven civilians suffered injuries after a grenade attack by militants on CRPF deployment at Lal Chowk area of Srinagar today.
The grenade was lobbed at CRPF personnel posted near Pratap Park in Lal Chowk in which nine persons including two CRPF men suffered injuries. The injured civilians were shifted to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar.
IG, CRPF Ravideep Sahi said, “Two CRPF men and few civilians have been suffered injuries in the blast. Today was Sunday market and they have taken an advantage of that. Both our injured men are recovering and are safe,” he said.
Medical Superintendent of SMHS, Nazir Choudhary said that seven civilians were brought to SMHS hospital. “All the injured civilians are safe and they will be discharged soon,” he said.
Soon after the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area.
