Cash withdrawal limit Rs 50K from Feb 20 - Northlines

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Vol No: XXII Issue No. 33 09.02.2017 (Thursday) Daily Jammu Tawi Price ` 2/- Pages-12 Regd. No. JK|306|2014-16

INSI

DE 3

GLTF holds protest,highlight demands

General Line Teachers Forum (GLTF) heldprotest demonstration at press club,Jammu demanding adjustment of teacherspromoted to masters in DPC held inFebruary 2014. Speaking......

4 5NYK organizes awarenessprog for youth

In continuation of generating awarenessand educating rural youth and link themwith flagship programmes of Govt. andensure the participation, Nehru YuvaKendra, Kathua organized ...

LPG connectionsdistributed under PMUY

Member Legislative Assembly, RambanNeelam Kumar Langeh distributed LPGconnections under the scheme titled"Ujjwala Yojana' at Assar, today. As manyas 100 connections have...

northlinesDate Min Temp Max Temp Weather

09-Feb 0.0 8.0 Generally cloudy skywith possibility of rain or Thunderstorm or Duststorm10-Feb -1.0 10.0 Partly cloudy sky11-Feb -2.0 11.0 Mainly Clear sky

3 DAY'S FORECAST SRINAGARDate Min Temp Max Temp Weather008-Feb -1.0 6.0 Rain or Snow09-Feb -2.0 7.0 Partly cloudy sky10-Feb -1.0 9.0 Partly cloudy sky

3 DAY'S FORECAST JAMMU

Six unauthorisedcoaching centressealed in KashmirSRINAGAR, FEB 08

Six unauthorised coachingcentres have been sealed inPulwama and Ganderbaldistricts in the KashmirValley, officials said.They said during theinspection, three coachingcentres in Tral in Pulwamadistrict have failed tofulfill the registrationprocess and were functionillegally. P2

Power shutdownJAMMU, FEB 08

To carry out stringing ofPanther Conductor of 33KV new G-6 line betweenGrid Station Gladni and 33KV Receiving StationChanni Himmat, the powersupply to P2

7.6 lakh citizensreceive Rs 117 Crfor paying digitallyNEW DELHI, FEB 08

Over 7.6 lakh consumersand merchants won prizemoney worth Rs 117.4crore under two incentiveschemes - Lucky GrahakYojana and DigiDhanVyapar Yojana - as onFebruary 7, 2017, NITIAayog said today."The schemes have seenactive participation fromboth males and females," aNITI Aayog statementsaid, adding P2

IN BRIEF

RS GILLJAMMU TAWI, FEB 08

Beware! The infamousDropsy of 1998-notoriety isback again as it has taken alife of one in prime youth inJammu. A youth Yash Pal,aged 18, died of suspectedDropsy symptoms inGovernment MedicalCollege (GMC) Jammu onJanuary 28 while his motherManisha Devi 42, fatherRaj Kumar 46 and hisyounger brother HappySingh 13 have beenstruggling for their lives.

Four members of RajKumar’s family, residentsof village Kattal, nearSukrala Tehsil Billawar,were admitted in the GMCJammu after they werereferred to by Sub-DistrictHospital Billawar in criticalcondition.The MedicalSuperintendent GMC, Dr.Ramesh Gupta confirmedthat four members of afamily were admittedsuffering from EpidemicDropsy caused byconsuming adulteratededible oil. One of them had

died while condition of oneManisha Devi is still verycritical. He however, saidthat they have capabledoctors and appropriatetreatment available at theGMC and other hospitals todeal with such medicalconditions if such patientsapproach in reasonabletime.Inquiries revealed that thefamily had consumedmustard oil which waslocally extracted from homegrown mustard after mixingmustard-like-seeds that RajKumar brought from Delhi.Raj Kumar does a labourjob and he collected thosemustard-like-seeds spilledover after unloading/uploading a truck at Delhi.The entire family havedeveloped multiple clinicaldisorders like vomiting,diarrhoea, nausea,breathlessness and swellingin the feet.Their condition deteriorateddue to crucial time-lag intrying traditional localquacks for treatment insteadof approaching hospitals. A senior lawyer who hailsfrom the victims’ areaBillawar and practising atJ&K High Court at Jammu,Mr. HC Jalmeria raised alegitimate question as towhat was loaded on thetruck that was P2

Dropsy knocks at Jammu;one dies three critical

NL CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, FEB 08

The cash withdrawal limiton saving accounts are tobe withdrawn in two stages,the Reserve Bank of Indiaannounced on Wednesday,

with the limit slated to goup to Rs 50,000 per accountfrom February 20 and tocease from March 13. Theannouncement was made byRBI Deputy Governor RGandhi following thefiscal's last monetary policy

review announcement bythe central bank at which itkept its key interest rateunchanged at 6.25 per cent,saying it awaited data onthe full impact of thegovernment'sdemonetisation drive threemonths ago. On January 30,the RBI had ended all curbson withdrawals fromcurrent accounts, cashcredit accounts andoverdraft accounts. Thelimits were placedfollowing the November 8demonetisation of Rs 1,000and Rs 500 notes. Theupper limit at ATMs wasjust Rs 2,500 initially andwas later P2

Cash withdrawal limit Rs 50K fromFeb 20; no limit from March 13

NL CORRESPONDENTSRINAGAR, FEB 08

The Jammu and Kashmirhas witnessed increase indownpour since 1980 withan official report predicting50 percent rise inprecipitation by 2030 due toclimatic change. The meteorologicaldepartment said thesnowfall recorded inJanuary has broken recordof the last 25 years in thevalley."The snowfall in Januarywas the highest one since1992. The valley receivedso much of snowfall inJanuary 1992," directormeteorological departmentSonam Lotus said.While, as per the officialfigures of meteorologicaldepartment, there has beenan increase in precipitationin the valley since 1980.The Srinagar districtaccording to meteorologicaldepartment figures received671.6 mm of rain and snowin 1980 that increased to743 mm in 1981. In 1988,the summer capital recorded811.5 mm, 942.8 in 1990,937.7 in 1996. The Srinagarrecorded 892.9 mm during2014 and 1095 in 2015.The south Kashmir's

Kulgam district received996 mm of rain and snow in1980, 1119.9 in 1990. In1996, the district received1346.5 mm of rain and snowand 1473 in 2015. Thefrontier north Kashmir'sKupwara district receivedprecipitation 1261 mm in1980, 1439.3 mm in 1996and 1539 in 2015.The picturesque Pahalgamrecorded 1231.2 mmprecipitation in 1980,1634.2 mm in 1996, and1539 mm in 2015.Meanwhile, an officialreport of the Environmentdepartment said, the Jammuand Kashmir is likely towitness 50 percent increasein precipitation by 2030 dueto 'climatic change' acrossthe globe."All seasons in the Jammuand Kashmir indicate anincrease in precipitation dueto climatic change," thereport says."The general impact ofincrease in the precipitationis reflected in the increase insediment yield. The othermajor factors that dictatesediment yield are theintensity of rainfall, landuse and the soil type of thearea. The increase in thesediment yield in theHimalayan P2

JK may witness 50% risein rains, snow by 2030

JAMMU TAWI, FEB 08

Since the Kargil war of1999 people living in theborder villages on this sideof the International Borderin Jammu have beendemanding that theGovernment allot land insafer places where theborder dwellers couldconstruct dwellings whichtheycould use during Pak Armyfiring.Despite the fact that duringthe last 30 years severalcivilians have been killedand scores of otherswounded in areas likeSamba,R.S.Pora,,Akhnoorand other sub sectors thestate Government has notinitiated any step forproviding accommodation

to the borderdwellers in safer areas.. A group of border dwellershave suggested to theGovernment to followPakistan which has plans ofbuilding scores of bunkerson the other side of the IB.The plan has dualsignificance. By announcingthat it was building 50bunkers close to the IBIslamabad wanted toconvince the world that itwas India that had resortedto ceasefire violations. Thereal story is that Indiaretaliated with force andfury whenever Pakistanresorted to ceasefireviolations.Border dwellers living in theIndian territory close to theIB have suggested to theGovernment P2

Border dwellers wantsbunkers near IB for safety

NL CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, FEB 08

Launching an oblique attackon his predecessor, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onWednesday said onlyManmohan Singh knows theart of taking a bath whilewearing a raincoat."Bathroom main raincoatpehan ke nahane ki kala sirfwohi jante hain," Modi saidamid vociferous protestsfrom the Congress memberswho staged a walkout.Replying to the debate on

the motion of thanks to thePresident's address in RajyaSabha, Modi said "there wasno blame against ManmohanSingh despite scams in theUPA"."How to take bath with araincoat on could only belearnt from ManmohanSingh ji," he said.PM Modi said, "We willhave to be tough on thosewho are cheating the system.When we do that, the handsof the poor will bestrengthened."On note ban, Modi said

former bureaucrat MadhavGodbole in a book he wrotesaid in 1971 Indira Gandhiwas advised by then financeminister to demonetise, butshe rejected the idea."You are showing so much

zeal, why were you quiet tillnow? Why did you not sueMadhav Godbole," PMModi asked Congress leaderAnand Sharma.India's demonetisation movecan become a case study for

world economies andbusiness schools, Modi said."The note ban demonstrateda horizontal divide in thecountry with people on oneside and politicians on theother. People are ready tobrave difficulties to purgethe country of ills ofcorruption," he added.After the Congressmembers, including ex-PMManmohan Singh, walkedout, PM Modi said theOpposition should also beready to listen to the truth."Despite P2

Cong walks out of RS after PM Modi's raincoat jibe at Manmohan

Raj Kumar of Kattal Billawar, a dropsy patientadmitted in GMC struggling for life along with hiswife and son. One of his sons could not survive.


In an unprecedented order,the Supreme Court onWednesday issued contemptnotice to Justice CS Karnan--a sitting judge of theCalcutta High Court andordered him to forthwithrefrain from discharging anyjudicial or administrativefunctions.In a jam-packed court, aseven-judge bench headedby Chief Justice JS Kheharasked him to forthwithreturn all judicial andadministrative files to thehigh court registrar general.The bench ordered him toremain present before it onFebruary 13 to explain whycontempt proceedingsshould not be initiated

against him.During the hearing thatlasted about half an hour,Attorney General MukulRohatgi said thecommunications sent byJustice Karnan werescurrilous and calculated tobring the judiciary intodisrepute.He said the top court mustset an example so thatcitizens get a message thatthe court would not hesitatein taking action against evenits own.The CJI said he had beenreceiving many letters fromJustice Karnan and herecognised his signature.However, Justice Kheharsaid, "If he denies it, then itchanges the wholescenario."Besides the CJI, other

judges on the bench werethe senior-most judges of thetop court.The judges on the bench areCJI JS Khehar, JusticeDipak Misra, Justice JChelameswar, JusticeRanjan Gogoi, JusticeMadam B Lokur, Justice PCGhosh and Justice KurianJoseph.Justice Karnan, who hasbeen courting controversyfor quite some time, sent aletter to the PM on January23 stating that "highcorruption in the judiciary isstill being perpetrated in anarbitrary fashion andwithout fear".The letter mentioned thename of a High Court ChiefJustice who was due forelevation to the top court.He claimed P2

Contempt notice to Calcutta HC JudgeDirects him to refrain from judicial or adm functions


The infiltration bids fromPakistan into Jammu andKashmir in 2016 werehighest among the previousthree years at an average ofone attempt per day. In awritten reply in RajyaSabha, Minister of State forHome Hansraj GangaramAhir said 364 infiltrationbids were made fromPakistani side last year. Thefigures for 2014 stood at222 and for 2015 at 121.The minister, however, didnot give the number of

successful infiltrationattempts last year. Heinformed the House that theCentre in collaboration withthe state government hasadopted a multi-prongedapproach to contain cross-border infiltration whichincludes strengthening ofborder and enhancedsecurity along Line ofControl. In reply to anotherquestion pertaining toHome Ministry on FullBody Truck Scanners(FBTS), Minister of Statefor Home Kiren Rijiju saidthe government is procuringfive such P2

An attempt a day: Pakinfiltration bids highest in 2016

NL CORRESPONDENTJAMMU TAWI, FEB 08

Nearly 50 hectares of primeforestland in Jammu andKashmir has beenencroached upon by 221land grabbers, including 53government employees, infour famous tourist resortsof Pahalgam, Gulmarg,Patnitop and Aharbal.As per an official report ofState Forest Ministry, 217people, including influentialpersons and governmentemployees, have encroachedon 49.99 hectares (nearly

124 acres) of prime forestland in the four touristresorts.Pahalgam worst-hitPahalgam with its denseforests and picturesque hillshas seen maximumencroachment with 33.81hectares of forestlandgrabbed by 145 persons,followed by 16.3 hectares offorestland being grabbed by59 encroachers in Aharbaltourist destination, which isfamous for its water fallsand untapped beauty of itsmountains full of greenconiferous trees in Kulgam

district of South Kashmir.Similarly, the world famousGulmarg tourist destinationhas lost 0.05 hectare offorestland to one encroacherwho has built a hotel on theland.Besides this, 12 encroachershave grabbed 0.83 hectaresof forest land in famousPatnitop tourist resort inJammu region.Govt employeesThe 53 governmentemployees involved inencroachment of the forestland include 17 policemen,12 P2

50 hactres forestland encroachedupon in J&K tourist resorts'


The Himalayan glaciers areretreating but not at a rapidpace and no abnormal trendin their melting wasdocumented in recent years,the Government said today.Union Earth SciencesMinister Harsh Vardhan in awritten reply in Lok Sabhasaid the glaciers in theeastern and centralHimalayas are retreating"continuously", while somein the western part of themountain range are

reportedly advancing."The rate ofmelting/recession variesfrom glacier to glacier anddepends on the topographyand climatic variability ofthe region."Studies have revealed thatthe Himalayan glaciers areretreating in general, but notat a rapid pace. There is noabnormal trend in meltingdocumented in recentyears," Vardhan said.He said the Ministry ofEarth Sciences monitors sixglaciers - Sutri Dhaka,Batal, Bara P2

No abnormal trend in meltingof Himalayan glaciers

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Dropsy knocks at Jammu;one dies three critical

so poisonous, even in a small quantity that Raj Kumar

brought in can take one's life. To whom the consignment

belonged and where the truckload had gone to and also its

end-use. "Any unscrupulous person can spread this fatalist

Dropsy epidemic in any area by passing on such oil-seeds

look-alikes as genuine mustard oil seeds. The death of

youth and sufferings of this family has trail that is to be

followed and investigated by mark to be trailed by the

investigating agencies upto Delhi and the last destiny of the

trucks that carried such seeds.

Inspector Susheel Sharma, SHO Police Station, Billawar

confirmed death of a youth of Village Kattal under

suspicious condition and an inquest proceedings are under

way. "We have taken the samples of the edible oil from the

deceased's residence and sent those for Forensic test," said

Sharma adding that if need be they would send a police

party to Delhi for further investigation.

Dropsy is an old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to

the accumulation of excess water. In medical terms -

Dropsy, more often called edema, is the increase of

interstitial fluid in any organ. Epidemic dropsy is a clinical

state, characterized by edema, resulting from use of edible

oils adulterated with Argemone mexicana seed oil.

The Northlines, cautions the state authorities to be vigilant

in the matter of edible products as pernicious lives are at

stake. Food samples should be regularly taken and people

should be made aware about the status of food products

available in the local market.

Cong walks out of RS after PMModi's raincoat jibe at Manmohan

attempts made to incite people, no untoward incident was

reported, which portrays the commitment of the people to

fight corruption," he said.

"Listening to the Opposition leaders it seems they are

presenting a report of the work done in the country in past

60 years. Please do not undermine the strengths of our

country. There may be problems but we have to keep trying

and move forward," he said in response to Opposition

parties criticism on less cash economy.

"If there is a problem in technology we can rectify it but to

move forward on the premise that it is wrong would be

incorrect."

Prime minister proposed competition on cleanliness in the

states ruled by different parties. "Let there be competition

on swachchta amongst nagarpalikas of states ruled by

different parties to enhance performance," he said.

He also advised people to learn languages of other states to

increase cohesiveness. Telengana should hold a festival in

Haryana and vice-versa, he said asking different regions to

draw strength from each other to build a "shreshtha Bharat".

Leaders of opposition parties like Sharad Yadav, Sitaram

Yechury and Derek O Brien demand clarifications from the

PM as Chairman Hamid Ansari started moving

amendments.

Ansari also expresses "distress" over what happened in the

house today. All members have to share blame, he says as

Opposition members protest against remarks made by the

PM.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said the Prime Minister

should at least express regret over the people who have died

following the demonetisation move. The CPM also walked

out of the House, followed by CPI.

Yechury did not seek a division over an amendment on the

issue and walked out.

TMC leader Derek O Brien asks the government to observe

one-minute silence in the memory of those who lost their

lives due to demonetisation.

All amendments were either negated or withdrawn and the

motion was adopted in present form.

Contempt notice toCalcutta HC Judge

his allegations could be proved through a probe by some

competent agency.

The development comes close on the heels of the top court's

decision to initiate contempt proceedings against former SC

Judge Justice Markandey Katju for openly questioning its

decision to acquit an accused in a rape-cum-murder case.

Justice Katju was let off after he tendered an unconditional

apology.

No abnormal trend in meltingof Himalayan glaciers

Shigri, Samudra Tapu, Gepang Gath and Kunjum of

Chandra basin - for mass, energy and hydrological balance.

(AGENCIES)

JK may witness 50% risein rains, snow by 2030

region is up to 25%, which can be detrimental for the

existing water resources projects and has the potential to

cause considerable damage to the environment," it reads.

Cash withdrawal limit Rs 50K fromFeb 20; no limit from March 13

raised to Rs 4,500. In January, the RBI had hiked the daily

ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 10,000 and doubled the weekly

current account withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh. The upper

limit for weekly withdrawal from bank accounts had been

raised to Rs 24,000 from Rs 20,000 in November. While

lifting of ATM withdrawal limits from March 13 will

represent coming full circle for these machines in respect of

demonetisation, it is to be seen whether the amount of cash

supplied by RBI will be able to satisfy the demand of

citizens in future.

50 hactres forestland encroachedupon in J&K tourist resorts'

from education department, two from army, one from BSF

and others from revenue department, power department,

health department, agriculture department, forest

department and rural development department, it said.

The report said the forest department has launched a special

drive for removal of encroachments from the forest land and

removal of encroachment is being linked to the

performance and assessment of officers.

There has been widespread criticism of the government by

public and environmentalists over massive encroachments

of forestland.

Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 20.23 lakh hectares of

forestland. Jammu accounts for 12.06 lakh hectares,

followed by 8.12 lakh hectares in Kashmir Valley and 3,600

hectares in Ladakh region.

An attempt a day: Pak infiltrationbids highest in 2016

scanners for location at Attari (Indo-Pak Border), Petrapole

(Indo-Bangladesh Border), Raxual (Indo-Nepal Border),

Poonch-Chakkanda-bagh (Indo-Pak Border) and Uri-

Salamabad (Indo-Pak Border).

7.6 lakh citizens receive Rs117 Cr for paying digitally

that the latest data show that Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,

Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have

emerged as top five states with maximum number of

winners.

According to the statement, a majority of the winners are in

the age group of 21-30 years.

The involvement of the elderly challenged the notion that

they find it tough to embrace technology to adopt digital

payments, it noted. (AGENCIES)

Six unauthorised coaching

centres sealed in Kashmir

The coaching centres were later sealed, they said. Officials

said three more tuition centres were sealed in the Central

Kashmir district of Ganderbal after they were found

functioning in violation of the norms. (AGENCIES)

Border dwellers wants

bunkers near IB for safety

that if it has not been able to provide land at safer places it

should construct bunkers where civilians could reside

during turmoil and ceasefire violations. Pakistan has

decided to build at least 50 bunkers for civilians along the

Working Boundary with India in the Punjab province to

provide protection during cross-border firing incidents.

During a cabinet meeting, three federal ministers, including

defence minister Khawaja Asif who belong to Sialkot and

Narowal districts of Punjab, urged the Nawaz Sharif

government to take measures to avoid civilians' casualties

along the border.

"The cabinet decided to build 50 bunkers along the Working

Boundary to provide refuge to villagers living in the area

during cross-border firing from India," Information minister

Maryam Aurangzeb said. The government also announced

to enhance compensation for those killed and injured in

cross-border firing incidents.(KIP)

FROM PAGE 1

2 CITY the northlinesJammu | Thursday | Feb | 09 | 2017

With profound grief

and sorrow we

inform the sad

demise of our

beloved tenth day of

Late Sh. Sham Lal

Rattan S/0 Late Sh.

Rikhi Ram and Smt.

Paro Devi expired

on 03-02-2017. The

Tenth day will be performed on 11:00 AM

(Satsang 11:00 AM to 12: Noon, Langar:

1:00 PM) at 11-02-2017

Grief strickenKamla Devi (Wife)and all Rattan FamilyContact: 9419777227, 729841068

TENTH DAY

Late Sh. Sham Lal Rattan

JAMMU TAWI, FEB 08

Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar

Tuesday said the state government is

pursuing for increase in seats under the

Prime Minister's Special Scholarship

Scheme (PMSSS) to benefit maximum

number of students from Jammu and

Kashmir.

Speaking at an awareness workshop on

PMSS at Women's College Gandhi

Nagar here, the Minister said with the

sustained efforts of the State

Government, the flagship Scholarship

scheme, which was earlier marred by

various hiccups, is now attracting more

and more students and last year around

3500 students get admission in various

colleges, including some of the

prestigious institutions.

He said taking serious note of the

complaints of the students about the

problems in getting the due benefits

after their admission, the state

government took up the issue with All

India Council for Technical Education

(AICTE) and other agencies and

streamlined the implementation by

isolating certain elements in the

process.

Minister thanked the Union Human

Resource Development Ministry and

AICTE chairman Prof Anil D

Sahasrabudhe for

taking keen

interest in

ensuring that these

objectives are

realized and the

youth of the state

are empowered in the real sense of the

term.

He said it is for the first time that full-

fledged winter academic activity is

going on in Kashmir schools to revive

the educational spirit among the

students and compensate the loss due

to the unrest. He said all the schools

across Kashmir valley are open where

classes are going on regularly.

"Over 1.10 lakh students are being

benefited by the winter tuitions, winter

camps and under the innovative Chief

Minister's Super 50 coaching over

1000 students are being prepared for

NEET and other competitive tests," he

added.

The Minister especially thanked

AICTE by conducting such awareness

workshops to disseminate information

amongst the students. The workshop

was jointly organized by the State's

Education Department and AICTE.

Earlier, in his welcome address

Commissioner Secretary Higher

Education, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon

explained to the audience the main

objective of PMSSS which he said is

aimed at building capacities of JK

youth.

Prof A P Mittal, Member Secretary

AICTE also spoke on the occasion and

informed the gathering about various

initiatives in education.

Ms Madhuri Sahasrabudhe made a

power-point presentation on the

importance of interaction in

developing mutual trust and bonding

and shared her personal experiences as

a first lady head of an institution.

Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman,

AICTE guided stakeholders of its

selection procedure and eligibility

criteria. He laid emphasis that all the

students having annual income of Rs

6.00 lakh per annum should avail this

scheme.

Information brochures about PMSSS

were also distributed among the

students on the occasion.

The workshop was attended by

Director Colleges, Higher Education

Department, Director School

Education, Prof. Dileep Malkhede,

Adviser AICTE, A.K.Singh, HOD,

School of Architecture and Landscape,

SMVDU Katra, Mr. Anand Sharma,

Dy Director RIFD-PMSSS, Mr.

R.K.Ganju, Asstt. Director, RIFD-

PMSSS, Ms Mithilesh, Representative

of Nursing Council of India, Dr R S

Rathore, Regional Officer AICTE,

New Delhi, Registrar Central

University of Kashmir, Nodal

Principal, Principals of facilitation

centres Principals of Higher Secondary

Schools of Jammu Division and other

eminent members of the society.

Ajit Angral, Principal Science College,

presented formal vote of thanks while

Dr Kiran Bakshi, Principal, Govt. P G

College for Women, Gandhi Nagar,

Jammu welcomed the guests.

Workshop on PMSSS'Over 3500 students selected for top colleges in 2015-16'

Rajiv Gandhi assassination case:SC rejects TN's review plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed the pleasof the Tamil Nadu Government and one convict seekingreview of its judgement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassinationcase in which was ruled that the Centre has "primacy" overstates' right to grant remission.A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar dismissed the pleas on the ground of delay infiling the petition and also on merit."The instant petitions have been filed by the petitioners forreview of the judgement dated December 2, 2015 renderedby this court in the writ petitions and criminal appeal. TheReview Petition Nos.560-564 of 2016 is barred by 208days, whereas Review Petition (Crl.) No.27 of 2017 isbarred by 358 days. There is no satisfactory explanation forcondonation of such huge delay."Thus, though the present petitions are liable to bedismissed on the ground of delay itself, yet we havecarefully gone the petitions for review, the judgementimpugned and the papers connected therewith. We aresatisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of therecord of the case, warranting reconsideration of thejudgement impugned.

Governor to reach Chennaitomorrow as Sasikala herds MLAs

CHENNAI: Injecting a new twist to the ongoing political

drama in Tamil Nadu, Governor C Vidyasagar Rao would

be reaching here tomorrow as AIADMK General Secretary

V K Sasikala today mustered an overwhelming majority of

party MLAs against a rebellious O Panneerselvam, who

claimed he has their backing.

Rao, who had kept away from Chennai for the last three

days triggering speculation whether he had reservations on

swearing-in Sasikala, will reach here tomorrow afternoon

but there was no word on what he plans to do.

Jurists were divided on whether Sasikala, against whose

acquittal in a disproportionate assets case the Supreme

Court is likely to deliver its verdict next week, can be

sworn-in. After Panneerselvam's midnight rebellion,

Sasikala called a meeting of party MLAs at the AIADMK

headquarters in a show of strength this morning and later

herded them in buses to undisclosed destination in a bid to

keep the flock together.

JKHCBA organized a colourful

function in the Bar room in High

Court premises with a view to

felicitating Ranbir Singh Pathania,

MLA Ramnagar for being awarded

'Best Legislator Award'. Function was

presided over by Abhinav Sharma,

president of JKHCBA and Pranav

Kohli, Vice-President conducted the

proceedings whereas Deepesh Pawar

presented vote of thanks. Speakers

congratulated the young legislator on

being conferred with this honour and

expressed hope and optimism that

MLA Pathania will sustain his tirade

on raising issues of public importance

in the assembly and further keep the

flag of legal fraternity rising. Pathania

said that 'he is a lawyer amongst

legislators and not a legislator

amongst the lawyers'. He expressed

thanks to the Bar which has groomed

him as ceremoniously as a mother

grooms her son'. He expressed fullest

support for the day to day issues of

his lawyer brethren in times to come.

He also thanked the BAR

Association Jammu for organising

such a wonderful function and

assured the legal brethren that he will

continue to raise his voice for

common man and truth and justice

will continue to be his guiding

principle. UK Jalali, Aslam Goni, P

N Raina, D C Raina, K S Johal (all

senior advocates) and SK Shukla,

Sheikh Shakeel, Z S Malik, Rajesh

Thappa, Monish Chopra, Ashok

Sharma, M K Pandita, H C Jalmeria,

advocates were present on the

occasion.

3 STATE the northlinesJammu | Thursday | February 09 | 2017

Adbi Kunj held a

multifaceted literary and

tributes meet at its centre in

the premises of Kidzee

School Talab Tillo, Jammu

on Wednesday. The meet

was presided over by the

Chairman of the

organization Aarash Om

Dalmotra while a renowned

poet Bashir-Ul-Haq-Bashir

was the special guest of the

meet. Santosh Shah Nadan

Vice President of the

organization was conducted

the proceeding of the meet.

In the opening session, Sham

Talib President of the

organization presented a

condolence resolution in

which organization condoled

the sad demise of reputed

poet Malik Mohammad

Illayas Tanvir Bhaderwahi

who expired yesterday (31-

01-17) in the Narayana

Hospital Katra after a

prolong illness. In the meet,

various speakers paid

glowing tributes to him. In

the second session, various

poets presented their poems

and highlighted various

aspects of the life and

journey of Ved Pal Deep and

Tanveer Bhaderwahi. Others

who were present on the

occasion include Aarash Om

Dalmotra, Bashir-Ul-Haq-

Bashir, Dr. Matlood Ahmad

Tak, Azad Mohi-Ud-Din,

Masoom Kishtwari, Raz

Rayaz Sohil, M.L. Ganjoo

Frisal, Manzoor Badana,

Shamas Reyaz, Sanjeev

Kumar, Bishan Dass Khak,

M.S. Kamra, Rajeev Kumar,

Ved Uppal, Romesh Rahi,

Raj Kamal, Ram Pal Dogra,

Rakesh Tripat, Vinod Katib,

S.C. Gupta, Santosh Nadan

and Sham Talib. The vote of

thanks was presented by

Chairman Aarash Om

Dalmotra.

Adbi Kunj organizesliterary meet

NL CorrespondentJammu Tawi, Feb 08 Alleging increase in bias

and discrimination against

Jammu region, Harsh Dev

Singh Jammu and Kashmir

National Panthers Party,

Chairman and Former

Minister today observed that

re-organization of the state

with statehood for Jammu

was the only panacea for ills

afflicting the region. While

addressing a press

conference, National

Panthers Party, Chairman,

Harsh Dev Singh said that

history bore testimony to the

fact that Jammu region had

all along remained neglected

in various spheres including

employment, development

etc with Kashmir region

holding majority not only in

legislature but occupying

the highest office of Chief

Minster since the formation

of the state with a few

exceptions. Describing the

bias against Jammu region

in the field of employment

as most obnoxious, Harsh

Dev Singh urged upon the

people of Jammu especially

the youth to unite for a

decisive battle so as to

safeguard the progeny, the

future generations. He

regretted that while the

Kashmir region walked

away with a lion's share, the

BJP was left flaunting a

consolation prize with its

loud mouthed dunderheads

vainly attempting to

hoodwink people for having

managed a few crumbs.

Appealing the youth and

students to strengthen

JKNPP, the lone political

voice of Jammu region, for

the honor and Justice to

Dogra land, Singh said that

the ultimate solution lay

only in the creation of

separate state for Jammu. He

said that those opposing

state hood for Jammu were

only acting as agents of their

Kashmiri Masters who had

lost their authority in

Kashmir and wanted

Jammu's perpetual

subjugation so as to

continue their black rule

over the Dogra land.

Balwant Singh Mankotia,

State President, Gagan

Partap Singh Gen. Secretary

and several other members

of Panthers Party were

present at the occasion.

State hood is the ultimate solutionto end bias against Jammu: Harsh

NL CorrespondentJammu Tawi, Feb 08

General Line Teachers

Forum (GLTF) held protest

demonstration at press club,

Jammu demanding

adjustment of teachers

promoted to masters in DPC

held in February 2014.

Speaking on the occasion,

State president, General Line

Teachers Forum, Neeraj

Sharma lambasted the tall

and hollow claims of the

government regarding the

transparency and

accountability in the

functioning of the state

government. Present

government has failed to

deliver justice to the

employees particularly the

teaching community, he

added.

President Women Wing,


Forum, Mrignayani Slathia

stated that the education

department owes an

explanation to the teachers

for the unreasonable delay

caused by the department in

the implementation of the

order whereby 1193 teachers

were promoted as masters.

She further asked the

education department to

disclose the criteria adopted

by them for adjusting only

165 teachers out of 1193

teachers who were promoted

as masters. While addressing

the teachers, Kanchan

Meenia President Women

Wing, Kathua said it seems

that no law and order is left

in the education department

of the state where henchmen

are ruling the roost.

Ramneesh khajuria, District

Vice President, Digvijay

Singh, Ganesh Sharma,

Surinder Singh, Ashok,

Rachna Gupta and many

others were present at the

occasion.

GLTF holds protest, highlight demands


S.K Sharma takes chargeof Powergrid, NRTS-II

Jammu, Feb 08

S.K Sharma has taken over

the charge of Executive

Director Northern Region

Transmission System

(NRTS) -II of

POWERGRID. As per

press note, newly NRTS

shall be monitored the construction, operation and

maintenance of all central transmission projects of four

states including J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana

and Union Territory Chandigarh. (Vinul Koul)

JSC organizes workshop on Yoga Jammu, Feb 08

Jammu Sahajyog Centre on Wednesday organized a

workshop cum seminar in which the participants were

aware about the benefits of Yoga. The program was

coordinated by Johee Mahajan, Rakesh Mahajan and

trained doctors from Sahaja Yoga Health Centre, Greater

Noida. The objective of the seminar was to make each

practicing Sahaja Yogi a physician proficient in not just

correct diagnosis but also treatment of his/her ailment as

that of the others as well. This would give them a better

state of meditation, eventually leading to good health. Dr

Avinash while speaking on the occasion said that recently

a team of trained Sahaja Yogis from Jammu, Delhi, Noida

and Himachal Pradesh got together with the sole objective

of spreading this love of God through different

programmes conducted in and around Jammu. He said

that the team started by visiting villages close to the

border areas of Jaurian and Pargwal and went to the

schools in these places.

The areas being extremely close to the border and

disturbed due to the disruptions caused by the

neighbouring country a need was felt to give them Self-

Realisation so that they are able to maintain calmness of

the mind and with that an inner strength to face the

challenges of living close to the highly volatile border.

DRSC-III meeting heldJammu, Feb 08

A meeting of Department Related Standing Committee

(DRSC-III) of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council

was held under the Chairmanship of MLC, Dr Bashir

Ahmed Shah Veeri here today. Legislators, Saif-ud-Din

Bhat and Ramesh Arora were also present in the meeting

and gave their valuable suggestions to retrieve and

safeguard the state properties outside J&K.

While taking cognizance of news published in a daily

newspaper, the Chairman and members of the Committee

called for protection, preservation and retrieval of state

properties in Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana,

Mumbai etc.

The Committee asked the officers of Council Secretariat

to seek a comprehensive status report of said properties

falling outside the state from the government as early as

possible and furnish the same to members of the

Committee for scrutinizing.

Special Secretary, Legislative Council, Mohammad

Ashraf Wani besides other Officers of Council Secretariat

were also present in the meeting.

To train and develop the

skill and provide an

employment opportunity to

the Jammu and Kashmir

youth, Career Counselling

Cell of Govt. P.G College

for Women, Gandhi Nagar,

Jammu conducted two

days mega recruitment

drive UDAAN under

National Skill

Development Corporation

(NSDC). While interacting

with students, Dr Anjali

Bhat, Convener welcomed

all and highlighted the

contributions made by

Career Counseling Cell in

helping the students in job

placements. This drive was

conducted by National

Skill Development

Corporation (NSDC) for

Jammu And Kashmir State

only.Dr. Kiran Bakshi,

Principal of the College

was the Chief Guest, Ajay

Pal Singh, Mobilization

Officer from NSDC

interacted with the students

and advised them to be

focused and dedicated in

their pursuit for job.

Around 14 companies have

sent their representatives

for the selections of the

students who have either

completed their graduation

in any professional course

or pursuing their final year

course. Outside students

also participated in this

grand recruitment drive.

GCW conducts recruitment driveNL CorrespondentJammu Tawi, Feb 08

JKHCBA felicitates MLA PathaniaNL CorrespondentJammu Tawi, Feb 08

A batch of 100 farmers of

Samba underwent training at

Seed Multiplication Farm

Chinore and sensitized with

the operations of improved

farm machinery, cropping

systems and plant protection

measures. During the Inter

District Exposure Visit under

National Mission on

Agriculture Extension &

Technology (NMAET-

ATMA), the farmers visited

Mushroom Demonstration &

Training Centre, Hi-Tech

Green House structure at

Talab Tillo, Jammu and

SKUAST-J Campus

Udeywalla to study the

various farm technologies

being popularized. Director

Agriculture, Jammu, A. K.

Malhotra, had a detailed

interaction with the farmers

and said that the Exposure

Visit has been organized to

sensitize the farmers about

the objectives and impact

points of the various centrally

sponsored schemes under

implementation. He said that

in the context of global

warming tendencies and

depletion of water resources

there is a great need to further

modernize agriculture on

scientific lines through

adoption of micro-irrigation

and other water saving

technologies. Micro

irrigation is being

popularized to ensure "Per

Drop-More Crop" through

Pradhan Mantri Krishi

Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

H. K. Razdan, Joint Director

of Agriculture (Extension),

C. M. Sharma, Deputy

Director of Agriculture

(Central), Onkar Choudhary,

SMS (RL), Choudhary

Mohammad Iqbal, CAO,

Samba, N. K. Sharma, DAO,

Jammu, Mrs Sureshta

Andotra, SDAO, Samba and

other senior officers of the

department were present on

the occasion.

A 18th executive meet of

S K U A S T - T e a c h i n g

Association Jammu

(SKUAST-TAJ) was held

under the chairmanship of its

President, Dr. Vikas Sharma

at Main Campus Chatha,

Jammu in which several

agendas pertaining to the

Registrar office were

discussed. Dr. Vikas

announced in the meeting

that University has initiated

the process for the institution

of Dr. Arun Gupta Memorial

Gold Medal in the Division

of Vegetable Sciences for

which the money has been

deposited with the

Comptroller Office. The

meeting resolved to address

the release of pending

advance increments in

favour of incumbents who

have joined University with

higher qualification. The

house appealed to the Vice

Chancellor to look

personally into the

functioning of Registrar

office as many important

agendas pertaining to the

welfare of teaching fraternity

have not been resolved by

the registry from the last one

year. Dr. Vivek. M. Arya-

General Secretary, stressed

for displaying of up to date

statutes of the varsity on

website and for the

preparation of the inter-se-

seniority list among all

cadres of the teaching staff.

Speedy disposal of genuine

transfer cases and few other

issues were also discussed in

this 18th Executive

Committee Meet of

SKUAST-TAJ. Others who

were present on the occasion

include Dr. Susheel Sharma-

Adivsor, Dr. Pradeep Kumar

Rai-Joint Secretary, Dr.

Devinder Sharma-Publicity

Secretary, Dr. Rajeev

Bharat-Treasurer, the

meeting was attended by Dr.

Jai Kumar, Dr Anil Bhat, Dr.

Brijesh Ajarawat, Dr.

Amitesh Sharma, Dr. Rohit,

Dr. Brahma.

SKUAST-TAJ convenes executive meetNL CorrespondentJammu Tawi, Feb 08

Training prog for farmers organized


4 HILL DISTRICT the northlinesJammu | Thursday | February 09 | 2017

NoticeI, Anita Sharma W/o Late Sh. Subash Chander R/o WardNo.10 Katra, Tehsil Katra, distt. Reasi is/are running ahandicraft shop under the name & style Partners of M/SSubash Shawl Emporium situated at main bazar Katra. Now,we are applied for Registration of said shop in the office ofthe Joint Director Handicraft (Quality Control Wing)Panama Chowk, Rail Head Complex Jawahar Lal NehruUdyog Bhawan Jammu under the provision of Tourist TradeAct 1978/82. If anybody have any objection may convey tothe said office within seven days from date of publication ofnotice.

With an aim to enhance

awareness amongst the

youth of Poonch and Rajouri

districts about the ill-effects

of drugs and about the

importance to follow a multi

dimensional policy in war

against drugs menace, Army

organised an interactive

seminar at Baba Ghulam

Shah Badshah University,

Rajouri, today. In the

seminar, prominent

personalities from different

sections of society to include

drug crusaders of the State as

well as those of National

level repute took part and

addressed the locals. They

included Shashi Kant,

Retired DGP Punjab,

Zorawar Singh Jamwal,

Chairman of 'Team Jammu'

(A group of youth active in

anti drug crusade), Johnny

William, IGP (Technical)

Police HQ, J&K whotill very

recently was DIG Police of

Poonch-Rajouri range, Prof.

Javed Musarrat, Vice

Chancellor of Baba Ghulam

Shah Badshah University

and Uttam Chand, DIG

Police, Rajouri- Poonch

range. A few student

representatives also

addressed the gathering. All

the speakers highlighted the

grave affects of Drug Abuse

to include loss of health,

confidence and the social

stigma attached. The

remedies to meet the

challenge were also

elaborated upon. The

speakers called for a multi-

dimensional approach to

deal with the situation which

involves stringent action

against the peddlers and

rehabilitation and de-

addiction of addicted youth

through government help.

All present appreciated the

Army's initiative to organise

the seminar that attracted a

lot of attention and involved

a wide cross section of youth

from the district of Poonch

and Rajouri.

Seminar on drug abuse organized

NL CorrespondentRajouri, Feb 08

District Development

Commissioner (DDC),

Mohammad Aijaz today held

an extensive tour of town

Ramban and took stock of

ongoing developmental

activities.

He was accompanied by

Executive Officer (EO)

Municipal Committee (MC)

Ramban and Romesh

Kumar, GM, GAMMON

India besides officers of

various departments.

DDC Ramban also

interacted with the people

and listened to their

grievances. He directed the

concerned officers to take

necessary steps for

mitigation the problems of

the people. He appealed to

the people to keep town

clean and green for

achieving the target of

sanitation.

Responding to demand of

toilet complex public

convenience in the town

Ramban DDC directed the

EO Ramban to identify land

for the same with the

coordination of locals so that

work can be taken under

some suitable scheme. He

also directed EO MC

Ramban to prepare DPR for

the construction of Drainage

System in Ramban town

He also instructed the

municipal authorities to

remove the encroachments

on the lanes, roads and also

improve the drainage

system.

Officers of concerned

departments were directed to

check licenses of

shopkeepers and quality of

the edible items, fruits and

vegetables. The concerned

officers were directed to

keep close watch on food

items and medicines.

DDC reviews developmental scenario

NL CorrespondentRamban, Feb 08

Preparations for leprosycampaign reviewed

DODA, FEB 08

Deputy Commissioner Doda, Bhupinder Kumar convened

a meeting to review preparedness for Sparsh Leprosy

Campaign in the district. Among others, Chief Medical

Officer Dr Kulbhushan, ACD Sushil Kumar, PO ICDS,

Medical Superintendent District Hospital Doda, DEPO,

Members of District Committee of Leprosy attended the

meeting. During the meeting, DC emphasized for creating

awareness among public regarding the symptoms,

diagnosis and treatment of the disease. He stressed upon

the concerned to create proper awareness among public

for self-reporting, timely diagnosis and complete MDT

treatment of leprosy cases which is crucial for eradication

of the disease. He asked the concerned institutions like

Health, Education, Social Welfare Department, NGOs and

other organizations to work in tandem in making the

Leprosy campaign success which shall continue for 6

more days in the district.

Horticulture Depttorganizes Kissan GhostiDODA, FEB 08

Horticulture Department organized Kissan Ghosti under the

scheme ATMA 2016-17 at Akramabad Doda, here today.

More than 100 progressive orchardists from various blocks

of the district participated in the even t. Additional Deputy

Development Commissioner Doda Narinder Singh Bali

while addressing the orchardists asked them to adopt latest

technology and avail maximum benefit from Horticulture

schemes. Chief Horticulture Officer Doda Bipan Pandita

apprised them of various schemes being implemented by

the Horticulture Department in the district. Dr. Sanjay

Khajuria Scientist KVK Bhaderwah and Dr. Neeraj Kotwal

Scientist from RHRS Bhaderwah gave technical know-

know during the event. Dr. Mahital Jamwal Head RHRS

Bhaderwah, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar and Dr. Rohit Sharma also

interacted with the farmers. They provided their expertise to

the orchardists regarding the different

Pathological/Entomological problems of fruit corps in the

field. Sandeep Sharma District Level Subject Metter

Specialist Doda, Rahat Bashir HDO, Pardeep Dhingra

HDO Assar, Zia-ur-Rashid HDO Marmat and Mohinder

Rana HDO Bhallessa were also present on the occasion.

NL Correspondent

RAMBAN, Feb 08

Member Legislative

Assembly, Ramban Neelam

Kumar Langeh distributed

LPG connections under the

scheme titled "Ujjwala

Yojana' at Assar, today. As

many as 100 connections

have been provide to the

beneficiaries In a function

which was attended by

SDPO and SHO Assar

besides prominent citizens

and general public.


MLA said that providing

LPG connections to BPL

households will ensure

universal coverage of

cooking gas in the country,

he said. This measure will

empower women and

protect their health. It will

reduce drudgery and the

time spent on cooking.

MLA expressed gratitude to

Prime Minister Narinder

Modi for lunching such

schemes for betterment and

upliftment of women,

children, and socially and

financially backward

masses. He advised women

to use it properly for

making their life

convenient and avoiding

any untoward incident.

Neelam asked woman of

the BPL household, which

does not have access to

LPG connection, may

apply for a new LPG

connection (in the

prescribed format) to the

LPG distributor. While

submitting the application

form, the woman will

submit details, like address,

Jandhan, Bank Account and

Aadhar number. He asked

the people to come forward

for availing benefits of

welfare scheme initiated by

the government for overall

development of

downtrodden.

LPG connections

distributed under PMUYKrishi Vigyan Kendra

(KVK) Poonch, working

under the patronage of

Directorate of Extension,

Sher-e-Kashmir University

of Agriculture Science and

Technology of Jammu

(SKUAT-J) conducted its

9th Scientific Advisory

Committee (SAC) meeting

under the chairmanship of

Dr. Raj Kumar Arora,

Associate Director

Extension and I/C KVKs

SKUAT-J , here today.

While speaking on the

occasion, Dr. Arora stressed

for devising pragmatic

solutions to problems faced

by farmers related to

agriculture through

synchronization of efforts of

KVK with allied

departments. He advised the

KVK scientists and

members of allied

departments particularly the

Agriculture and Horticulture

department for working out

a common inventory of

training programmes for the

betterment of farming

community. He stressed for

the value addition and

vocations trainings in

collaboration with

department of Horticulture

emphasizing on

e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p

development qualities

among farmers in general

and rural women and youth

in particular.

Dr. Ajay Gupta I/C

Scientist and Head

formally welcomed the

participants of SAC and

carried out the technical

programme by presenting

the Action Taken Report

Progress Report of 201-17

and proposed Action Plan

for the next financial year

officers from the line

Department.

Dr A K Razdan, Professor

and Head Division of PBG,

SKUAST-J and Dr. Sanjay

kher Professor Agricultural

Engineering SKUAST-J

were also present in the

meeting and put forth their

suggestions.

Among others present were

Chief Agriculture Officer,

Chief Horticultural Officer,

Chief Animal Husbandry

Officer, District Sheep

Husbandry Officer, District

Information Officer,

Assistant Soil Conservation

Officer, Lead District

Manager, Divisional Forest

Officer, District Officer

Fisheries and other heads of

the line Departments.

9th SAC meet heldNL CorrespondentPoonch, Feb 08

To strengthen the bond

between the local populace

and the Army, continuing the

trend a Qaumi Ekta meet to

discuss the 'Society and

Culture in J&K' was

organised today by the Army

at Hubi in Rajouri district.

The aim of the meet was to

promote unity and

brotherhood amongst the

AWAM and the Army for

peaceful situation in the

state. The mulaqat was

attended by more than 40

villagers including teachers,

Headmasters, Ex-

servicemen and important

personalities of villages in

the region. During the

interaction the AWAM was

informed about Army's

initiative towards

development of youth by

various projects and the

commitment of Army to

stand in 'thick and thin' with

the local population. The

meet was well received and

the locals appreciated and

applauded the support

provided by the Army.


Sarpanch of the village said

that such meetings not only

enhance the bond between

Army and AWAM but also

boost the morale of the

villagers and assists in

maintaining peace and

harmony in the region.

Army organizes Qaumi Ekta meet

NL CorrespondentRajouri, Feb 08

TSO arrested forembezzlement of public ration

NL Correspondent

Doda, Feb 08

Tehsil Supply Officer (TSO) of the Consumer Affairs and

Public Distribution Department has been arrested by police

for alleged embezzlement of public ration in Gandoh area

of district Doda. The arrest was made in the course of a

criminal investigation that was going on since last year over

a large embezzlement case involving CAPD department

Gandoh in cases of black-marketing of several tons of

ration meant for poor people. Sub District Police Officer

(SDPO), Gandoh Sunny Gupta said, "TSO Gandoh, Suresh

Kumar was arrested last night in a case of embezzlement

registered at Police station Gandoh under FIR No: 27/16

U/S 409/120

RPC as his involvement was established after a prolonged

investigation by SHO, Some more arrests are expected

within a couple of days, but we cannot divulge the details of

the others involved in the scam as it can hamper the

investigation which has reached a crucial juncture," the

officer added. It is notable to mention that on 17th of April

2016, Gandoh Police seized 501 quintals of wheat and Rice

in 1002 bags of CAPD ration from two private shops at

Bhatyas in Chilly Pingal Tehsil of Distt Doda and an FIR

No 27/2016 was lodged and a case was registered under

section 409,120-B RPC at PS Gandoh. Storekeeper Abdul

Rashed was arrested but later released on bail.

NL Correspondent

RAMBAN, Feb 08


Forum (GLTF) Ramban held

a meeting of its executive

members at Government

Higher Secondary School,

here today. The meeting was

chaired by the forum

president Rajinder Kumar

Attri. Speaking on the

occasion the president said

that the main agenda of the

meeting is immediate

adjustment of promote

teachers who were promoted

to masters in DPC held in

February, 2014 on priority

basis as it was delayed by

Education department since

last three years for various

unknown reasons. He further

said that seven teachers

joined the education

department on February

2014 but nobody has take

any interest in DPC, which is

shameful act for whole

School Education

department as there is nearly

3000 posts of masters lying

vacant and it is also reflected

in this year's result

percentage, which has

suddenly fall down.

Irrespective of this GLTF

demanded long pending

revocation of controversial

SRO-469 with immediate

effect, so that quality in

education department

maintained.

The meeting was attended by

district vice president

Gulchain Singh, general

secretary Suresh Pandita,

Zonal President Ramban

Ajay Singh, Zonal President

Gool Nissar Ahmed, district

cashier Rohit Gupta, Farooq

Rounyal and Fayaz Ahmed.

GLTF holds meeting,discuss several issues

Minister for Revenue, Disaster

Management, Relief,

Rehabilitation and Reconstruction,

Syed Basharat Bukhari today met

a delegation of Executive Council

of Jammu and Kashmir

Mechanical Engineering

Graduates Association

(JKMEGA).

The JKMEGA delegation

expressed their concern about the

state's preparedness to handle the

natural disasters and apprised the

Minister about the role mechanical

engineers can play in Disaster

Management. The Minister

appreciated the suggestions put

forth by the delegation, said that

these suggestions will be given

due consideration and will be

employed on ground level to

strength the state's response to

manage natural disasters.

The delegation suggested for

increasing direct involvement of

mechanical engineers of the state

in disaster management and rescue

operations. They also listed down

ways in which mechanical

engineers can directly contribute

in disaster scenarios.

They said that mechanical

engineers can directly work to

employ preventive measures by

way of mechanized dredging of

existing contours of river Jhelum

to avoid flood like situations in

future. They also said that the

installation of fire fighting system

can prevent and minimize the

human and material loss for an

entire public arena besides the

state can also tackle all disasters

related to snow and avalanches by

utilizing the services of modern

mechanized machinery like Snow

cutters, Snow plough, they added.

Progress of RevDeptt reviewed

RAMBAN, FEB 08

Department, Deputy Commissioner

(DC) Ramban Mohammad Aijaz today

convened a meeting of revenue

officers to review the functioning the

department.

DDC directed the concerned officers

to ensure early completion of land

acquisition cases, preparation of

Jambandi, attestation of mutations.

Tehsildars were directed to submit

inheritance mutations detail with

proper verification as per death record

of chowkidar register besides

submitting the village wise detail of

eviction of encroached land.

DC stressed upon the officers to adopt

pro-active approach for timely

disposal of applications and

submission of information under

PSGA to Deputy Commissioner

Office.

He directed the revenue officers to

provide revenue and other services

including RBA, PRC and other

category certificates under PSGA

within the prescribed time.

JKMEGA delegationcalls on Bukhari


Jammu Justice SecularForum (JJSF) staged protestagainst GGM ScienceCollege administration atcollege's main gate. The protest was against thecollege administrationwherein it failed to startwork for installation ofTricolour flag in collegepremises.The protest was led by JJSFprovincial president,Vikram Singh Chib underthe supervision of AdvocatePushvinder Singh Manhas. JJSF demanded immediatestart of work on installationof Tricolour Flag instead offake assurance otherwisewe all students of Collegeholds strong protestdemonstration against thecollege administration.Addressing the mediapersons here today, JJSFprovincial president,Vikram Singh said that JJSFgave a memorandum dulysigned by approx 3000students of college and

some prominent citizens ofJammu to "install 210 feetTricolour Flag at GGMScience college premises." The memorandum wassubmitted by Vikram Singh,student PG English 2ndsemester GGM ScienceCollege along with twostudents of UG course onOctober 18, 2016. But afterthe expiry of four monthsno action was taken bycollege administration forinstallation of flag incollege, alleged Vikram.Others who were presentduring the protest includedSagar, Shubam, Vikas,Sachin, Nitin, Akhil, Lalit,Opinder, Atul, Abhmanyu,Hrithik, Prince.

GDC organizes literary meet Kathua, Feb 08Department of Hindi of Govt. Degree College Kathuaorganized a literary meet on the topic, "Changing SocialMilieu and Folk-culture; An Analysis". On this occasion, aguest lecture was delivered by Dr. Manjiri Sharma a researchassociate from Nagri Parcharini Sabha, Agra(U.P.) whothrew light on the social, cultural and individual intricaciesarising from the emerging global societies in the changingscenario of today's world. Principal of the college Dr. NaterSingh who presided over the function appreciated the role ofDepartment of Hindi for organzing such a meet. He reflectedon the serious social issues associated with the changingsocial set up. He advised the students to follow their culturewith full spirits and try to stick with the true values of richIndian culture. Another remarkable feature of the literarymeet was the poetic presentation by Prof. Sumanesh whoimpressed the audience by his literary potential. The meetwas hoisted by Dr. Sangeeta HOD Hindi who deliberated indetail on the relevance of folk culture. Vote of thanks waspresented by Prof. P.K.Rao. Dr. Anita, Dr. Geetanjali, Dr.Rachna, Prof. Anoop Sharma and Prof. Mudassarcontributed a lot in making this programme a grand success.The meet was attended by alarge number of studentsand teachers.

An uncontrolled matador atKathua damaged sixvehicles parked on theroadside this morning. Nonewas reportedly injured inthe accident. A Kathua-Lakhanpur route matadorhit the divider near shivajiChowk and damaged sixtwo wheelers includingthree scooties and threemotorcycles parked on theroad side, when the driverlost his control over thematador. No passengerinside the matador orpasserby has been injured inthe accident, but the twowheeler have been badly

damaged. The driver of thematador managed to fleeaway from the spot. Policehas seized the vehicle andlodged a FIR. Governor NN Vohra had yesterdayasked the stateadministration to takeconcrete measures to avoidrecurrence of such accidentsand take strict measures toensure that no unqualifiedand unlicensed person isallowed to drive vehicle .He has also asked forcondemnation of old andun-pliable vehicles.

5 KATHUA the northlinesJammu | Thursday | February 09 | 2017

In the court of Ld Munsiff DistrictMobile Magistrate (T), Kathua

Present: Munish Kumar Manhas.

Rafiq Chopra S/o Ibrahim Chopra R/o W.No.10, Tehsil & DistrictKathua.

………..( Petitioner)V/s

Chief Executive Officer MC, Kathua (J&K)………..( Respondent)

Petition U/s 13(3) of registration of Birth/Death Act, seekingdirection to the respondent to enter Birth record of Chief ExecutiveOfficer MC, Kathua the date of birth of Raffi Mohd. Born on 16-02-2008.the minor Son of Rafiq Chopra and Makhni R/o W.No.10,Tehsil & District Kathua.

*Notice to Public at Large*Whereas petitioner has field the above titled petition in this court forissuing direction to respondent regarding registration of Birthparticulars Petitioners minor Son namely Raffi Mohd. S/o. RafiqChopra and Makhni R/o W.No.10, Tehsil & District Kathua. Born on16-02-2008 at home in W.No.10,Kathua Tehsil & District Kathua.and through the medium of this proclamation, general public is

informed that any person/s has/have to the same, in that eventhe/she/they shall file objection before this court on/or before09/02/2017, failing which appropriate order shall be passed. Takenotice that in case the date fixed is declared holiday, the matter shallbe taken in the next working day.

Munsiff District Mobile Magistrate, Kathua.

In the court of District JudicialMobile Magistrate, Kathua

Present: Munish Kumar Manhas.

Sanjeev Kumar Alias Tej Ram S/o Lt.Sh. Raghu Nath Vaid &Smt.Shanti Devi Vaid R/o W.No.9,Parliwand Kathua, Tehsil &District Kathua.

………..( Petitioner)V/s

Chief Executive Officer MC, Kathua (J&K)………..( Respondent)

Petition U/s 13(3) of registration of Birth/Death Act, seekingdirection to the Chief Executive Officer MC, Kathua (J&K) makingentry in the death particular of The petitioners .

*Notice to Public at Large*Whereas petitioner has field the above titled petition in this court forissuing direction to respondent regarding registration of death ofdeceased Shanti Devi Vaid W/o Lt.Sh. Raghu Nath Vaid R/oW.No.9,Parliwand Kathua, Tehsil & District Kathua expired on 02-06-2006 at home i.e W.No.9 Tehsil & District Kathua and through themedium of this proclamation, general public is informed that anyperson/s has/have to the same, in that event he/she/they shall fileobjection before this court on/or before 14/02/2017, failing whichappropriate order shall be passed. Take notice that in case the datefixed is declared holiday, the matter shall be taken in the nextworking day.

(DJMM), Kathua.

In the court of SpecialMobile Magistrate, Kathua

Present: Sh.Sunil Sangra

Ajay Singh S/o Sh.Vakil Singh R/o Village Forelain, Tehsil andDistrict Kathua A/p Sanjwan,Tehsil Marheen Distt.Kathua.(Petitioner)

V/s Chief Medical Officer, (Registrar of Births & deaths), Kathua

(Respondent) Petition U/s 13(3) of registration of Birth/Death Act, seekingdirection to Chief Medical Officer, and Kathua to register the date ofbirth particular of applicant's namely Ajay Singh who was born on03-03-1993 at home at Village forlain, Tehsil and District Kathua

* Proclamation*Whereas petitioner has field the above titled petition in this court forissuing direction to respondent regarding registration of Birthparticulars petitioner namely Ajay Singh who was born on 03-03-1993 at home at Village forlain, Tehsil and District Kathua Andthrough the medium of this proclamation, general public is informedthat any person/s has/have to the same, in that event he/she/they shallfile objection before this court on or before 09-02-2017 failing whichappropriate order shall be passed. Take notice that in case the datefixed is declared holiday, the matter shall be taken in the nextworking day.

Sd/-Special Mobile Magistrate, Kathua

In the court of SpecialMobile Magistrate, Kathua

Present: Sh.Sunil Sangra

Parmeet Kour Lubana D/o Sh.Jaswinder Singh Lubana &Smt.Amarjeet Kour Lubana R/o Village Barnoti, Tehsil and DistrictKathua (Petitioner)

V/s Chief Medical Officer, (Registrar of Births & deaths), Kathua

(Respondent) Petition U/s 13(3) of registration of Birth/Death Act, seekingdirection to Chief Medical Officer, and Kathua to register the date ofbirth particular of applicant's namely Parmeet Kour who was bornon 26-01-1998 at home at Village Barnoti, Tehsil and District Kathua

* Proclamation*Whereas petitioner has field the above titled petition in this court forissuing direction to respondent regarding registration of Birthparticulars petitioner namely Parmeet Kour who was born on 26-01-1998 at home at Village Barnoti, Tehsil and District Kathua Andthrough the medium of this proclamation, general public is informedthat any person/s has/have to the same, in that event he/she/they shallfile objection before this court on or before 09-02-2017 failing whichappropriate order shall be passed. Take notice that in case the datefixed is declared holiday, the matter shall be taken in the nextworking day.

Sd/-Special Mobile Magistrate Kathua

In the court of Chief JudicialMagistrate, Samba

Present : Deepak Sethi

Kamaljeet Singh S/o Banta Ram r/o Chack Paras Tehsil RamgarhDistt. Samba.

V/SINCHARGE Police Station RamgarhApplication U/S 13 (3) of Registration of birth/death Act, seekingdirections to INCHARGE Police Station, Ramgarh to enter the birthparticular of applicant's child.

PROCLAMATIONWhereas applicant has filed the above titled application in this courtfor issuing direction to INCHARGE Police Station Samba regardingregistration of birth particulars of applicant's child namely SapnaChoudhary(F) D/o Kamaljeet Singh & Manjeet Kour R/o ChackParas Tehsil Ramgarh Distt. Samba in Police Station Ramgarh whowas born on 30-12-1985 At home and through the medium of thisproclamation, general public is informed that any person/s has/haveobjection to the same, in that event he/she/they shall file same beforethis court on or before 15-02-2017,failing which appropriate ordershall passed. Take notice that in case the date of fixed is declaredholiday, the matter shall be taken in the next working day.

Given under my hand and seal of this court today 07th dayof February 2017.

Chief Judicial Magistrate,Samba

In the court of Judicial Magistrate1st Class (Addl. Munsiff), Samba

Present : Junaid I. Mir

Sohan Lal S/o Sat Pal R/o. Rakh Baroie Tehsil Bari BrahmanaDistrict samba

V/SINCHARGE Police Station Bari BrahmanaIn the matter ofApplication for Registration of birth/death of:-Late Sat Pal (male) D.O.D.11-08-1997 At homeHusband's's Name : Indru Ram

NOTICE TO GENERAL PUBLICWhereas, an application stand filed in this court for registration ofdeath of Late Sat Pal (M) S/O Indru Ram r/o Rakh Baroie Tehsil BariBrahmana Distt. Samba in Police Station Bari Brahmana and throughthe medium of this publication notice at large and any otherinterested person is/ are informed that in case anybody has anyobjection in respect of aforementioned application then he/she/theyshall file their objections in this court within 5 days from the date ofpublication of notice, failing which appropriate order shall follow.

Given under my hand and seal of this court today 08th dayof February 2017.

Addl. Munsiff,(Judicial Magistrate Ist Class Samba)

NoticeI, Nisha Devi W/o Late Sh. Sudesh Kumar R/o Vill.Sadyali Tehsil and Distt. Samba, declare that AkashKumar is my son who is studying in 11th class inChambyal Model Public School, Nud. But clericallymistake my husband's name has been wrongly recordedas Suresh Kumar instead of Sudesh Kumar in the recordof above school. Now, I am applying for the correction ofmy husband's name as Sudesh Kumar instead of SureshKumar in the above said academic record. Objection, ifany, may be conveyed to concerned authority within 7days after publication of this notice.

NoticeI, Nisha Devi W/o Late Sh.Sudesh Kumar R/o Vill.Sadyali, Tehsil and Distt.Samba declare that Vikas ismy son who is studying in9th class in JawaharNavodaya Vidyalal Nud.But clerically mistake myhusband's name has beenwrongly recorded asSuresh Kumar instead ofSudesh Kumar in therecord of above school.Now, I am applying for thecorrection of my husband'sname as Sudesh Kumarinstead of Suresh Kumar inthe above said schoolrecord. Objection, if any,may be conveyed toconcerned authority within7 days after publication ofthis notice.

NoticeI, Surjeet Singh S/o Sh. Karan Singh R/o Poonda, TehsilMahanpur, district Kathua, have purchased Mini Busbearing regd. no.JK08D-9780 from Ramnesh Kumar S/oSh. Dass Chand R/o Thana, Tehsil Basholi, DistrictKathua. Now I am applying for the transfer of RC.Objection, if any, may be conveyed to concerned authoritywithin 7 days from the publication of this notice.

Deed of DisinheritanceI, Parshotam Dass S/o Late Sh. Ram Chand R/o VillageKhokhyal, Tehsil Nagri Parole and District Kathua,disinherits my son namely Joginder Sharma S/o Sh.Parshotam Dass R/o Village Khokhyal, Tehsil NagriParole and District Kathua from all my movable andimmovable properties. Now, if anyone deals with him,he/she will be dealing at their own risk and responsibilityand I shall not be responsible for any mishappening.

In continuation of generatingawareness and educatingrural youth and link themwith flagship programmes ofGovt. and ensure theparticipation, Nehru YuvaKendra, Kathua organized

Neighborhood youthParliament Panchayat Ghar,Karrho in which 135participants haveparticipated. Resourcepersons from Employment &Counseling Centre briefedabout Skill development andemployment generation

schemes of State & CentralGovt. From AnimalHusbandry educate aboutOpportunities of self-employment in AnimalHusbandry ,& Lead BankOffice educate about thevarious social securityschemes of Insurance, SBI

RSETI, KCC, Cash lesstransaction etc. and fromHealth Department deliveredlecture on nation rural healthmission and prevention ofdiseases etc. Som Datt ZardDistrict Youth Coordinatorurged the youth to organizethemselves by forming youthClubs and play active role inyouth welfare and social andnational development. Healso discussed the road mapof taking up social and localissues with the help ofDistrict Administration,public representatives,media etc and come forwardto take social responsibilityon shoulders to make ourvillage as model. He assuredthat NYK Kathua shallprovide sports material freeof cost to youth clubs.

NYK organizes awareness prog for youth

NL CorrespondentKathua, Feb 08

'Society for Development &Training' organized anawareness programme inGujjar Basti Block Kathuaunder the banner ofScheduled Tribes, theirwelfare schemes. Largenumber of people fromScheduled Tribe communityattended the programme. Dr.S.K Sharma Retd. KASOfficer and Raj KumariTehsil Social WelfareOfficer spoke on theoccasion. Besides this, largenumber of youth from STcommunity shared their

views regarding un-employment. Emphasis waslaid on skill development,which is a key resource ofemployment generation.Other Schemes that wasdiscussed on the occasionincludes Pre-Matric and PostMatric scholarship,Coaching and skilldevelopment. Importance ofgirl education was alsodiscussed in the programme.Locals appreciated the eventand also demanded toconduct more suchprogrammes in future.Bishan Kumar ProgramCoordinator present vote ofthanks to all participants.

SDT organizesawareness prog


DIC organizes Multi-lingual Mushaira

KATHUA, FEB 08District Information Centre, Kathua organized a Multi-lingual Mushaira and Cultural Bonanza at Govt. DegreeCollege, Basohli. Principal of the College Prof. Sohan Lalwas the chief guest on the occasion.Those who recited their poems during the mushariaincluded Shahbaz Shah, Pallavi Rani, Jahangir Iqbal, SohoilAhmed, Javed Sheikh, Kajal Pathania, Rishab Sharma,Ashraf Mattoo and Sourav Shastri. After Mushaira, acolorful cultural programme was also presented by theartists of Information Department. District InformationOfficer Kathua Angrej Singh appreciated the poets andespecially the students of the college who recited theirpoetry for the first time in this multilingual mushaira. Hesaid that Kathua is famous for its lingual and culturaldiversity and budding poets shall carry forward this legacy.Principal of the college Prof. Sohan Lal Bhagat in hisaddress thanked Information Department for organizingmultilingual Mushaira and cultural bonanza. He alsocomplimented the participating poets and cultural artists fortheir performance.College staff, prominent citizens and large number ofcollege students were presented on the occasion.

Mini-bus rams into divider,damages six vehicles


JJSF stages protestagainst College Admn


Air Marshal Dheeraj Kukreja

India has an opportunity, and should seize it, withoutdelay or any hedging. This does not mean going alongwith whatever President Trump says. If he wishes to

pursue an "America First" policy, India pursuing an "IndiaFirst" policy is a logical response. India, therefore, shouldbuild long-lasting coalitions with like-minded nations, suchas Japan or UK, without unduly annoying USA. India does have many major pending issues with itsneighbours, especially with Pakistan, which is an 'ally' ofthe US, but none of those issues are of much interest toUSA…The visit of the Secretary of Defence of USA, AshtonCarter, to India - fourth in the recent past, and just before hedemitted office - generated many questions and lessanswers. The frowns of puzzlement gathered furrows on theforeheads of many a strategist, since the Democrats weregoing out of power and White House was to be occupied byDonald Trump, a predictably unpredictable President. Onewonders why the special attention, since India continues tofight shy to be labelled as an US ally, though it is the largestimporter of US military equipment. India does have manymajor pending issues with its neighbours, especially withPakistan, which is an 'ally' of the US, but none of thoseissues are of much interest to USA; the balance of relationsbetween India and countries of the Middle East, anotherperpetual trouble spot, also has not created any problems forUSA. Why, then, this continuing interest in India, at a timewhen Carter was the outgoing official, and the world wastrying to guess the forthcoming policies of the newgovernment?One needs to study the relations of 'estranged democracies'to comprehend the course that the bilateral relations arefollowing today.BackgroundFrom 1947 to 1999, US-India relations followed a sinecurve with many vicissitudes. The Cold War period sawIndia and USA having widely divergent views about theirnational security interests. India was never on the US radarfor any assistance, except for a short period during the early1960s. The general distrust of India and Indians continuedthrough the decades with USA trying to fathom the Indianpolicy of non-alignment, and its affinity towards socialism.The 1971 Indo-Pak conflict probably marked the lowestpoint in the Indo-US relations. The recently declassifieddocuments of the Nixon era throw light on some importantdecisions taken during that period. In the months precedingand during the Indo-Pak war, the US administrationsupported Pakistan, contrary to advice by its foreignservice. Immediately after the war, however, it set abouttrying to mend its relations with India. The ceasefire and thebirth of Bangladesh can, therefore, viewed as a turningpoint in Indo-US relations.In the 21st century, Indian foreign policy has sought toleverage India's strategic autonomy to safeguard ownsovereign rights and promote national interests within amulti-polar world.The process of engaging India once again suffered asetback, after India conducted nuclear tests; the bonhomiepicked up steam under President Clinton and acceleratedfurther under George Bush and Barack Obama. India is nowfirmly on the American radar as a growing regional power.The new stance on the part of USA has not come aboutovernight. It has evolved after careful studies of the Indianeconomic growth, the support that India offered on the USdeclaration of its policy on national missile defence and9/11. Apart from these reasons, there are other strategic andeconomic grounds which affect US interests, and rightly sotoo, for no country would move to support another withouthaving carefully considered the advantages to itself, of sucha move.

The Indian foreign policy pundits, with some deft moves,adapted to a uni-polar world after the end of the Cold War.In the 21st century, Indian foreign policy has sought toleverage India's strategic autonomy to safeguard ownsovereign rights and promote national interests within amulti-polar world. USA, under the previous two regimes ofPresidents Bush and Obama, recognised India's corenational interests and acknowledged its unresolved issueswith neighbours and within the region. This acceptance washeretofore missing, and, hence, well appreciated by theIndian governments, especially under the currentdispensation. India and USA continue to differ on a varietyof regional issues; India's cordial relations with Iran andRussia are not well appreciated in American government asalso the foreign policy disagreements relating to itsneighbours in South Asia; nevertheless, relations betweenthe two nations have continued to grow.There have been rifts between the two nations on economicissues as well. India criticised President Obama's decisionto limit H-1B (temporary) visas; India's then Minister ofExternal Affairs, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, (now thePresident of India) opposed US "protectionism" at variousinternational forums. In May 2009, President Obamareiterated his anti-outsourcing views and criticised the UStax policy "that says you should pay lower taxes if youcreate a job in Bangalore in India, than if you create one inBuffalo, New York." Notwithstanding, India and the USshare an extensive and expanding cultural, strategic,military, and economic relationship, which is in the phase ofimplementing confidence building measures (CBM) toovercome the legacy of trust deficit.President Trump has entered office at a time of dynamicchange, not only in US political and economic life, but alsoin the structure of the international system.There are apprehensions on the future of Indo-US relations,now that President Obama has handed over the reins of thecountry. President Trump, in a vitriolic campaign againstMs Hillary Clinton, which ended in his victory, had many a'promise' to further his protectionist ideology, get more jobsfor Americans, and 'make America great again', being themain theme. Despite his announcements during thecampaign, many of his Indian-American supporters believethat the relationship is destined to see better days.Trump and Indo-US RelationsDuring the early stage of the Republican primaries whenIndian diplomats spoke to senior US administrationmembers or prominent intelligentsia, Donald Trump'schances to win the party's nomination were emphaticallydenied. How wrong were they proven! Trump's presidentialoath on 20 Jan 2017, has marked the beginning of a new erain America's foreign, economic, and domestic policies.Today, all of President Trump's executive orders, are beingdiscussed not just in USA, but the world over; people gettogether and discuss issues, or write reports/opinions, witha seriousness as if the world is coming to an end and it isonly their suggestions that can save the world!

President Trump has enteredoffice at a time of dynamicchange, not only in USpolitical and economic life,but also in the structure ofthe international system. Atthis point, how he plans tomanage and channelchanges underway withinthe United States issomewhat clear, at least inits broad strokes. Bycomparison, how hisadministration will approachthe US foreign policy,following through on someof his less orthodox

suggestions, is unknown. Not many concrete policyproposals about the approach to South Asia have beenspoken about, though some campaign statements, reports onhis telephone calls to the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and ofIndia, do offer a window to his approach. A new foreignpolicy for the United States with both China and Russiathough can help guess what a Trump administration mightmean for India.President Trump has criticized Asian economies like China,Japan, and Korea for cheating America through currencymanipulation or bad trade practices; India was one of thefew countries that escaped his wrath!President Barack Obama and the Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi shared more of a personal friendshipdeveloped through an investment of tremendous amounts oftime and political capital to improve the bilateralrelationship. There is no reason that Trump and Modicannot find similar success. Trump has called Modi a "greatman" and has repeatedly expressed an interest in workingclosely with India. He has also emphasised that "there won'tbe any relationship more important to us", than the one withIndia. President Trump may well prefer maintainingfriendship over principle, which could work to India'sliking; there, however, could be bumps along the road.Pursuance of 'America for Americans' policies, as has beenindicated by a spate of announcements on the Mexico Wall,H-1B visas, import taxes on US companies and others,would probably raise doubts on the reliability of USA as apartner, under Donald Trump. Similarly, his belligerenttelephone calls with the President of Mexico and the PM ofAustralia, imposing fresh sanctions on Iran after the missiletest, and the talk of lifting sanctions against Russia, do givea give an indication of the path of his foreign policy. Someof Trump's views could directly undermine India's interestsand the cooperation Modi secured with Obama. Forinstance, climate and energy cooperation were top prioritiesfor both Obama and Modi, about which he has spoken inderogatory terms. What happens to that legacy if Trumpbacks away from those commitments and rejects the Parisagreement, as is expected?President Trump has criticized Asian economies like China,Japan, and Korea for cheating America through currencymanipulation or bad trade practices; India was one of thefew countries that escaped his wrath! However, India willnot be able to get away from the negative impacts of thetrade policies that he had proposed during his campaign,and if implemented. In 2015, India had a positive tradebalance of $23 billion with USA. That number willdiminish if fresh US policies erect trade walls. Just as Indiais on the cusp of gaining benefit from greater integrationwith the global economy, Trump's actions could depressalready sluggish global trade and growth.

Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukrejaformer Air OfficerCommanding in Chief of Training Command.

Swapan Dasgupta

Either Jaitley and Modiare living in La LaLand and conjuring

up a picture of the Indianeconomy that bears noresemblance to reality or thealternative scenario ofimminent collapse is apolitical positioningexercise.When Parliament works, as

it has done in the past week,it can serve as a mirror to thecross-currents in the country.Yet, the question arises:among the many versions ofIndia that get reflected,which one comes closest torepresenting the aggregate?There were many differentpictures of India that were onpublic view through theproceedings of Parliament. Ifwe were to regard the viewsof the Leader of Oppositionin the Rajya Sabha, GhulamNabi Azad, or theperspectives shared by thefloor leader of the TrinamoolCongress Derek O'Brien asgospel, there would be anunmistakable impressionthat the country was on theverge of imminent collapse.

Both of them painted apicture of widespread ruraldestitution, collapse ofindustry and the country'sinternational isolation-asgleamed through the pagesof the New York Times andGuardian. The Gospelaccording to the TMC leaderalso suggested that the extentof the collapse wasn'tadequately reflected becausethe media had beencompromised. He, in fact,appealed to the media toshed its inhibitions and joinin a grand and noble struggleagainst the Narendra Modigovernment and its Twittersupporters.Then there was FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley'sinordinately long Budgetspeech that, for a change,didn't have sections of thepolitical class crying out forrollbacks. Yes, there werethe ritual noises about howthe Budget hadn't addressedthe problems of the youth,farmers, et al. That was onlyto be expected. However,what was curious is that thepicture of immiserationresulting from the November8 demonetisation that MessrsAzad, O'Brien and others oftheir persuasion had drawnwasn't at all reflected inJaitley's speech or proposals.This could mean one of thetwo things: either Jaitley and

Modi are living in La LaLand and conjuring up apicture of the Indianeconomy that bears noresemblance to reality or thealternative scenario ofimminent collapse is apolitical positioningexercise.I can only offer anecdotalevidence. In the TV studioson Budget day, most of thenon-political expertssuggested that the Budgetwas good and that theFinance Minister had tried tobalance the twin imperativesof good politics and goodeconomics. Of course therewere some stray complaintsof the Budget not being aBig Bang exercise-ameaningless phrase thatincreasingly conveysnothing more than a demandfor the immediateprivatisation of a whiteelephant called Air India, asif there are buyers standingin queue. There were alsosome complaints from well-

off media figures aboutbeing over-taxed-a relevantobservation that failed totake into account that themid and low incometaxpayers have had their taxrates reduced, as have thesmall enterprises. Rewardingthe honest taxpayer has oftenbeen a demand that hasfallen on deaf ears. At leastin the aftermath ofdemonetisation, Jaitleylistened.In the Central Hall ofParliament, a safe zonewhere MPs and ex-MPs letdown their guard, dissolvetheir party identities andspeak uninhibitedly, I foundquiet (and sometimes vocal)satisfaction with the Budget.In private conversations,people didn't go overboardwith tales of destitution anddespair, either in the towns orthe countryside. Inconversations on theelections, where assessmentsdiffered, the talk veeredpredictably to caste equations

and, in the case of Punjab, toeither the spectacular rise ofthe Aam Aadmi Party in theMalwa belt or the simmeringanger with a family that hasgoverned for two terms. Likethe dog that didn't bark,demonetisation didn't figureor figured peripherally in thenarrative. This doesn't meanthat demonetisation has beenforgotten and people havereturned to the old normal. Itonly suggests that anyprognosis based on theAssembly elections being areferendum ondemonetisation must beseriously discounted.There was another feature ofthe Budget that wasunderplayed significantly,both by the media and thepolitical class. This wasJaitley's announcement ofproposed legislation toregulate political funding.When Modi had suggestedthat one of the objectives ofdemonetisation was curbingcorruption, the sceptics hadargued that the exercise wasmeaningless unlessaccompanied by some stepsto curb the super-abundanceof black money in politics.The proposed measures maynot be draconian and won'tstop influence buying or graftentirely. Innovative Indians,accustomed to short-circuiting all rules, willdefinitely find ways to beat

legislation. Indeed, it will beinteresting to see whatresponse the proposedlegislation elicits whenpresented to Parliament.At the same time, it washumorous, to say the least, todiscover that many of thoseanti-corruption stalwarts,including those who had saton dharna with Anna Hazarein 2013-14, were nowrubbishing the proposal asbeing insufficient. Whenpeople counter pragmatic andworkable proposals withmaximalist demands thatinclude banning cashaltogether and shifting tosome mysterious system ofstate funding, there is causefor suspicion. It would seemthat either they want thesystem to become totallydysfunctional and riddledwith a conflict between lawand reality or else,maximalist approaches are aconvenient smokescreen toconceal their innatepreference for the status quo,particularly now that they arepart of a system they decriedwhen they wore their civilsociety activist hats. There isa great deal of hypocrisy in theair. In studying India's politics,the challenge is to separate thebogus from the real. The authoris a senior journalist andMember of Parliament,being a PresidentialNominee to the RajyaSabha.

6 OPINION the northlinesJammu |Thursday | Feb | 09 | 2017

(Disclaimer: The views expressed here are personalopinions of the writers. The information, facts oropinions appearing in the articles do not reflect theviews of The Northlines and it does not assume anyresponsibility or liability for the same)

Indo-US Relations: Will they be trumped ?

Beware, hypocrisy is in the air

Vikram Johri

'Modi followed a primeminister whose second termwas marked by such tragicpassivity that Indians, itwould seem, are willing togo to great pains to help thisone realise his ambitions forthem,' says Vikram Johri.The News Minute reportedof an old woman in Keralawho learnt only in the newyear, that is after thedeadline to exchange themhad passed, that old notes ofRs 500 and Rs 1,000 wereno longer legal tender.Sathi Bai, who lives allalone in Ernakulam district,told the online news outlet:'I don't have electricity here.I don't need it. I have noidea how to use atelevision... never used aphone either in my life.'When Sathi reached the SBIbranch she receives herpension in, she was told thatthe bag of old notes she hadbrought could not beaccepted.Luckily for her, the policeintervened and they are nowin touch with the income taxdepartment to help herconvert her currency.Sathi's case may be extremebut her dilemma is hardlydifferent from that faced bymany in the days sinceNovember 8, when PrimeMinister Narendra Modiunveiled his grand design torid India of a host of evils.For two months, we haveseen long queues outsidebanks, harried customersand bank staff, but perhapsmost damagingly, agovernment and RBI unableto contain the chaosunleashed bydemonetisation.We have been told this isbeing done to rid thecountry of corruption andterrorism.Indeed, there are reports thathawala transactions havegone down and that terrorfunding -- in both Kashmirand the Naxal heartland --has dried up.Belatedly, the governmentalso evangelised thebenefits of digital payments,of how less cash in thesystem will force people toadopt mobile wallets andonline money transfer.But none of this takes awayfrom the deep pain theexercise has wrought.Scores in the informalsector have been affectedand the GDP is expected togo south of 7 per cent forthis financial year.More worryingly, thehallowed aim of rooting outcorruption may remainunrealised.Much black money has beenlaundered in return for stifffees charged by someunscrupulous bankers.Even as the queues outsidebanks lengthened, new notes

made their way to thosecapable of meeting theasking price.If this had been anotherprime minister, the gamblewould have backfired badly.But Modi benefits frommore than charismaticleadership. He followed aprime minister whose secondterm was marked by suchtragic passivity that Indians,it would seem, are willing togo to great pains to help thisone realise his ambitions forthem.Modi is also -- and this hasbeen proved repeatedly sincehis Gujarat days -- politicallyastute.For a while, it was believedthat protests againstdemonetisation were nothappening because there wasno cash to go around (and inour society, even protestsmust bow to the power ofpelf before they can be'spontaneous').But as the days went by, itbecame clear that there wasgenuine support for themove among the poor, evenas they suffered hardships fargreater than merely waitingin lines.Ironically, the dominantnarrative in the media -- ofpeople suffering inside andoutside banks for days onend -- fed into what somecommentators uncharitablycalled schadenfreude.These commentators failedto see that to the poor man,lines are a symbol of access.Used as he is to being deniedentry, he finds itunfathomable that peopleshould complain about beingmade to wait.Perhaps there was some glee,too, at the sight of others,better off than him by orderssmall and large, scramblingto ensure that their currencyremains usable.But who can blame him?We reserve our empathy forthose who face 'our'problems.It is this poor man and his ilkthat are likely to vote Modiback to power should theprime minister manage tokeep the issue alive over thenext two-and-a-half years.Modi has brilliantly diffused,and even at times valiantlyadopted, barbs directed athim.In the popular imagination,he remains the chaiwallah,the outsider who stormed thepearly gates of Lutyens'Delhi and who will not resttill he recasts his country andsociety in his image.He is here for the long haul,a fact that gets lost in the heatof politics.He outgrew his blackenedpast to emerge the nationalleader.Now, he has jettisoned his'minimum government'agenda under the guise ofcleansing India.Atal Bihari Vajpayee wasfamously known as the manto whom no charge stuck.Modi has done one better,wrapping his idiosyncraticexperiments in the gloss ofchange.For a long-suffering nation,his words are music.For a democratic one, theyare ominous.

For a democracy, Modi'swords are ominous

7 KASHMIR the northlinesJammu | Thursday | February 09 | 2017

2 drug peddlers heldSrinagar, Feb 08Police has arrested two drug peddlers and recoveredprescription drugs on their instance at Sangam in DistrictAnantnag.Following a tip off, a police party headed by DO Sangamunder the supervision of SDPO Bijbehra, during NakaChecking intercepted an Alto car bearing registrationnumber JK01J/2343 near Sangam Bridge. On checkingof the vehicle police recovered 28 bottles of codeinephosphate. Two persons boarding the car have beenarrested and a case has been registered against them.

SDM conductssurprise visit to HTC

TANGMARG, FEB 08To ensure punctuality in Government offices, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate Tangmarg today conducted asurprise visit to the Handicrafts Training Centre Kunzer,during which one employee was found unauthorizedlyabsent since January 24, 2017. The said employee wasplaced under suspension and the SDM directed theconcerned to initiate action against him as per law. TheSDM reiterated that such inspections will be conductedon regular basis to curb the menace of growingabsenteeism in Government offices.

Functioning of Rev Deptt reviewedGANDERBAL, FEB 08District Development Commissioner Ganderbal, TariqHussain Ganai, today convened a meeting to reviewfunctioning of the Revenue Department in the district.The DDC instructed the Revenue officials to demolish allthe illegal structures that have come up in violation ofrules. He directed the officials to intensify the anti-encroachment drive and remove encroachments fromKahcharai and State land.He also directed Tehsildars to keep strict vigil onconversion of agriculture land to non-agriculture andcommercial purposes. He impressed upon the officers towork with added zeal and dedication and ensure efficientpublic delivery system in the district.Additional Deputy Commissioner, Tehsildars, NaibTehsildars, Girdawars of the District and other concernedattended the meeting.

Time not conducive for holdingof Panchayat polls: Tarigami

Srinagar, Feb 08Stating that time wasn't conducive for holding ofPanchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir, CPI (M) leaderand MLA Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf TarigamiWednesday said that state government had left people ofKashmir to fend for themselves in harsh winter.Addressing a convention of party leaders and workers atKhanabal in Anantnag he said, "After unrest of 2016,government should take some confidence buildingmeasures (CBMs). It should release all politicalprisoners, review the cases of those booked under PublicSafety Act (PSA) and revoke cases against hundreds ofpeople especially youth. The government should take intoconsideration the ground realities before announcing theschedule for the panchayat polls."In a statement issued to KNS, the CPI (M) leader alsosaid that instead of allowing indirect election ofSarpanches by Panches, the government should empowerthe Panchyati Raj Institutions. "The way government hasamended the PR Act it is undemocratic. This step willonly weaken the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the State.The powers of these institutions have been diluted bysuccessive governments and they never allowed selfgovernance at grass roots level functional," the MLAKulgam said.He also questioned the PDP-BJP government about itsclaims regarding "Agenda of Alliance." On the sidelinesof the convention, when asked by reporters about thedeath sentence awarded to Muzaffar Ahmed Rather ofKulgam by a Kolkata court, he said, "The CPI (M) is ofview that death sentence to anyone is barbaric. We willcertainly raise our voice at every level and ensure that itis seriously contested in the court of law."The convention was presided over by Ghulam HassanRather and addressed by CPI(M) leaders MohammadAmin Dar and Mohammad Afzal Parry who highlightedthe alarming problems unemployment in the State. (KNS)

Distt Admn seals sixcoaching centres

Srinagar, Feb 08District administration Ganderbal Wednesday sealedthree coaching centres for operating them illegally. TheAdditional Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal SyedShahnawaz Bukhari along with CEO Ganderbal, DeputyCEO Ganderbal and ZEO Ganderbal according to reportsconducted surprise visit of the various coaching centersin Ganderbal and took stock of the facilities beingprovided to the students. During the inspection, threecoaching centers were sealed for being illegally run. TheADC directed the authorities of coaching centers toadhere to the norms strictly and ensure better facilities tostudents. He said any violation of the fixed criterion shallbe dealt sternly and such inspections shall continue infuture as well. ADC has warned owners of other coachingcenters, which are illegally functioning, to close thesecenters forthwith or face action. Three unauthorisedcoaching institutes were also sealed by teams fromEducation Department in Tral town on Wednesday.Official sources told CNS that Monitoring CommitteeTral headed by Deputy Chief Education Officer PulwamaFayaz Ahmed raided these unauthorized coaching centresand sealed them on spot,The sealed coaching institutes are Toppers Edge, BigBang and Success Point. (CNS)

Minister for Social Welfare,Trainings, and Science & Technology,Sajad Gani Lone, today conducted anAwami Durbar at Handwara andreviewed snow clearance measures,besides availability of essentialservices and restoration works postheavy snowfall in HandwaraConstituency.During the Durbar, Lone heldinteractive sessions with officers ofvarious concerned Departments and

met various public deputations whoapprised him about issues related topower supply, safe drinking watersupply, availability of essentialcommodities and healthcare facilitiesin their respective areas.The Minister gave a patient hearing topublic deputations and assured themthat their genuine demands would beredressed at the earliest. He directedthe officers to provide better servicesto the people especially during wintermonths.To address water supply issues, theMinister said that a plan is being

formulated which will cater to theneeds of people regarding availabilityof safe drinking water supply. Healso said that 200 electrictransformers have been provided inthe constituency which will beinstalled at required places wheretransformers have got damaged.He directed the officers to ensurebasic facilities to the people and fine-tune roadmap for development of theconstituency and for addressinggrievances of peoples in an effectivemanner. Referring to the developmentalworks, Lone said that Karnah powerproject, Bungus road, Bridges,Multistory hospital, Bio-technologypark, besides beautification ofHandwara town has been formulatedon modern lines. It was said that the Minister who is onthree-day visit to the Constituency isgoing to hold public darbars,interactions and review meetings forexpediting developmental works andaddressing issues being faced by thepeople of the Constituency.

Minister convenes Awami Durbar

NL CorrespondentHandwara, Feb 08

ANANTNAG, FEBRUARY8: Jammu and KashmirE n t r e p r e n e u r s h i pDevelopment Institute(JKEDI) today organized anawareness camp foreducated un-employedyouth at Dooru Anantnag.SDM Doru, EO MunicipalCommittee Doru, Officersof JKEDI, Employment &Counseling CenterAnantnag and otheraffiliated Departments,besides a large number ofun-employed educatedyouth of Doru constituencyattended the camp.On the occasion, speakershighlighted the work ofJKEDI in encouragingculture of entrepreneurshipin the State. It was said that

till date JKEDI helped insetting up of 55 incomegenerating units inAnantnag district for whichthe Institute providedfinance of Rs 3.3 crore tothe beneficiaries.Further, it was said that theJKEDI organizesorientation trainingprogramme for 8th class toHigher Secondary pass outsunder skill developmentinitiative and forestablishment of their ownunits for which advancesare provided without anyguarantee.On the occasion, it wasgiven out that a trainingprogramme of 40candidates shall be held inDoru during which theywould be acquinted withnecessary skill developmentexpertise.

JKEDI organizesawareness camp

NL CorrespondentAnantnag, Feb 08

District DevelopmentCommissioner Budgam, MirAltaf Ahmad, today chaireda meeting to take acomprehensive review ofvarious developmentalprojects being executedunder various sectors in thedistrict.The DDC exhorted theofficers to ensure time boundcompletion of all ongoingdevelopmental works andcalled for work in double-shifts to achieve set physicaland financial targets.Among others, officers ofthe district administration,engineers from variouswings and other concernedattended the meeting.

On the occasion, the DDCwas informed that up toending January 2017, about80.3 percent of the totalfunds were expended. Themeeting was further told thatunder PMGSY 13developmental projects havebeen sanctioned in thedistrict.During the meeting, theDDC also reviewed progressmade under various

Centrally SponsoredSchemes includingMGNREGA, IAY, NHM,RMSA, SSA, PHE andPMGSY, besides variousschemes of PDD includingDeen Dayal UpadhayayGram Jyoti Yojana.He directed the concerned toensure timely completion ofall the works taken up underconvergence withMGNREGA, besides PHE

and Irrigation & FloodControl Departmentprojects.Later, the DDC reviewedfunctioning of Doodhpatriand Yousmarg DevelopmentAuthorities under SwadeshDarshan Scheme.He also reviewedimplementation of ChiefMinister's decisions whichshe made during her visits tothe district.

DDC reviews development scenarioNL CorrespondentBudgam, Feb 08

Deputy CommissionerShopian, Manzoor AhmadQadri, today convened ameeting to reviewmodalities for establishing ahelpline by Central ReservePolice Force in the district. The meeting was informedthat the helpline is aimed toreach out to people, receivetheir grievances and forwardthem to the concerneddepartments in the district. Itwas said that the helplinewould be similar to alreadyestablished CRPF's Kashmirdivision helpline number.On the occasion, the DCCwhile extolling the initiativeof CRPF said such a

helpline number would go along way in timely redressalof people's grievances. Hedirected the officers ofdistrict administration totake immediate necessaryaction in case they receiveany communication fromthe CRPF helpline numberand submit the compliancereport accordingly. Heassured CRPF of all possiblehelp in making this initiativea purposeful one.ADC, Commandant CRPF14th Bn Shopian, ExecutiveEngineers of variousEngineering Departments,CEO, CMO, officers of thedistrict administration andother concerned attended themeeting.

Modalities for setting-up helpline discussed

NL CorrespondentShopian, Feb 08

Minister for Food, CivilSupplies and ConsumerAffairs, Choudhary ZulfkarAli on Wednesday whilepushing for earlycompletion of various roadworks in his DarhalConstituency of Rajouridistrict said better roadconnectivity is correlatedwith economicdevelopment as it promotesaccess to economic andsocial services.In a review meeting withthe officials of Road andBuilding (R&B), andPradhan Mantri GramSadak Yojana (PMGSY),the Minister exhorted allconcerned authorities toensure that all road worksare completed at theearliest and with the bestpossible quality.The Minister said lack of

road connectivity is one ofthe major infrastructuraldeficiencies in the remotedistricts. He saidimprovement inconnectivity will greatlyhelp in reaching out topeople living in remoteareas, adding makingvarious services availableby smooth accessibilitywould also help inenhancing agriculturalincomes and employmentopportunities.Regarding widening andupgradation of Kotranka toKhwas road which standssanctioned under CentreRoad Fund (CRF) forestimated cost of Rs 76.2crores, Chief Engineer,R&B Jammu Mr. AlokMangi informed that theallotment has been maderecently and the work onthe project would be startedsoon. The meeting was alsoinformed presently in stage

one construction of tworoads, Kewal to Targainroad, and Marasi Morh toBagyal Kot is underwayunder CRF, and for stagetwo detailed project reportwould soon be preparedand would be submitted innext 15 days. Besides, themeeting was also informedthat under National BankFor Agriculture & RuralDevelopment (NABARD)five schemes werecompleted during thecurrent year, while the sixmore schemes with a lengthof 25 kms would becompleted in next financialyear. Chief Engineer,PMGSY, PL Bhushan,Superintendent Engineer,Abdula Majeed, ExecutiveEngineer, R&B SaddiqWani, Conservator,Rajouri, Q D Khouja, andother concerned officerswere present in themeeting.

Improved road communicationkey to dev: Zulfkar


Sub-Divisional Magistrate Karnah todayconvened a meeting to review availabilityof essentials of life and restoration ofelectric power supply post heavy snowfallin the sub-division of Kupwara district.Officials of FCS&CA, PDD,representatives of LPG agency dealers andother concerned attended the meeting.

It was given out that there is sufficient stockof essentials likes Rice 14693 quintals,Flour 5397 quintals, Sugar 1329 quintals,Kerosene 72000 liters and 2900 LPG filledcylinders available at various stores inKarnah which is sufficient for next threemonths.The SDM was briefed that power supplyhas been restored in the Sub-division and noelectric transformer was damaged duringrecent heavy snowfall.

Demanding immediaterelease of their salaries, theRehber-e-Taleem (ReT)teachers of Bandiporadistrict on Wednesdaycarried out a protest marchagainst the government forfailing to release theirmonthly salaries. Amidanti-governmentsloganeering, the protesterswho were holding bannersassembled at Nishat Parkand marched towards Mini-secretariat Bandipora

to mark a protest againstthe government. Theprotesting ReT teacherswere demanding release oftheir salaries pending,which according to themare pending from pastseven months.Theprotesters said they arewithout salaries from pastseven months while thegovernment doesn't evenbother to look into thesufferings faced by theReT teachers whosesalaries have beenwithheld for unknownreasons. The protesters

said that they approachedthe higher ups butunfortunately nothing hasbeen done in this regard."We appeal to the ChiefMinister, Mehbooba Muftiand Minister Concerned,Naeem Akhtar to look intothe matter and release oursalaries at earliest," theaggrieved teachers said.The protesters said that theReT teachers are beingsubjected to facehardships. Meanwhile, theprotesting ReT teacherslater dispersed peacefully.(KNS)

ReT teachers demand release of wagesNL CorrespondentSrinagar, Feb 08

Availability of essential commodities reviewedNL CorrespondentKupwara, Feb 08

Printed, Publish

8 TRAVELthe northlines

Jammu | Thursday | Feb | 09 | 2017

Nation the northlinesJammu | Thursday | Feb. 09 | 20179

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi defendeddemonetisation + on Tuesday and took asharp dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying thepolitical earthquake the Congress vice-president had promised+ finally arrived whentremors shook north India on Monday night.Replying to the debate on the President'saddress in the Lok Sabha, Modi remindedCongress of Rahul's claim last Novemberthat he would make sensational revelationson demonetisation that would cause anearthquake.Modi also cited Rahul's response to his jibethat SP, Congress, Akhilesh and Mayawatistood for `SCAM'+ . Rahul had said it stoodfor sewa+ , courage, ability and modesty ."How can someone see sewa or a virtue in ascam?" the PM asked. Rahul had claimed that he has evidence ofthe PM's "personal corruption" -a referenceto diaries and loose papers alleging payoffsto politicians recovered from two corporateoffices. Apart from political attacks thatbrought the fierce electoral contest in UP tothe Lok Sabha, the PM used his speech tooffer comparisons with UPA, arguing that hisgovernment had implemented Congress's petschemes more effectively . Modi countered criticism that demonetisationhad slowed a growing economy, saying only

a strong economy could have taken the shockof the policy designed to weed out blackmoney. The strident defence ofdemonetisation is significant in the backdropof Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul making thenote ban a key campaign point against BJP inthe UP campaign.The government also defendeddemonetisation in the Rajya Sabha, whereHRD minister Prakash Javadekar termed it amove to cleanse India of black money whilethe opposition accused the Centre of ignoringthe woes of the poor and farmers. Javadekarsaid the party "which made people stand inqueues for over 50 years for even basicthings was now crying hoarse overdemonetisation".

Note ban timing perfect as

economy was doing well: PM

New Delhi: Amidst

simmering cross-border

tensions, the Pakistan

military on Saturday

released a song in solidarity

with Kashmiri stone pelters.

Titled "Sangbaaz" the song

spoke of the "liberation" of

Kashmir.

It ends with the text, "An

ISPR production".

ISPR or the Inter Services

Public Relations is the mass

communication wing of the

Pakistan armed forces.

The video used visuals from

Kashmir along with those of

protests and violence. "You

can snatch away my

eyes/But how will you

snatch my dreams away?"

goes the Urdu song's

refrain. Senior Kashmiri

journalist Bashir Manzar

wrote, "Pakistan's

glorification of stone-pelting

is sick.

On Sunday, Pakistan Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif had

said that Kashmir was the

"core dispute" between

India and Pakistan+ .

Chennai: Faced with a revolt from O

Panneerselvam, AIADMK General

Secretary VK Sasikala on Wednesday said

she had got wind of his moves a few days

ago itself and asserted that the party remains

united and will not be cowed down by such

threats. Sasikala said “betrayal” will never

win in the AIADMK and blamed arch rival

DMK for trying to destabilise her party.

The opposition so far unseen but emerging

now was a proof that “certain developments

our rivals don’t desire are happening in the

party,” she said in an apparent reference to

her elevation.

Sasikala said she had noticed

“Panneerselvam joining hands with DMK

following their conversation in the

Assembly,” recently and added that she said

duty bound to prevent the next course of

action from happening, apparently referring

to a revolt.

She referred to the remark of Deputy DMK

Leader Durai Murugan who had last week

in the Assembly favoured Panneerselvam to

continue as Chief Minister for the rest of the

term of the current government, i.e till

2021.

However, responding to Panneerselvam’s

charge last night on Ministers speaking

against him and that she had not taken

action against them, the party chief said she

had actually pulled them up, giving him his

due respect.

She recalled she was “not in the frame of

mind” to accept the leadership of AIADMK

following Jayalalithaa’s demise, although

Panneerselvam was one of the proponents

of the idea.

Referring to Panneerselvam’s political

career, Sasikala said he had been part of the

AIADMK Janaki (MGR’s widow) team

following the death of the founder MG

Ramachandran, before switching over to

Jayalalithaa camp.

Jayalalithaa had ‘forgiven’ this and provided

him with various opportunities (in the party

and government), she added.

Many had aided DMK’s “conspiracy” she

said while referring to Panneerselvam who

last night raised a banner of revolt after

meditating at Jayalalithaa’s memorial at the

Marina.

AIADMK not to be cowed down by

Panneerselvam’s revolt: Sasikala

Pak army releases songglorifying stone pelters

New Delhi: In an

unprecedented move, the

Supreme Court on

Wednesday issued a show

cause notice to justice C.S.

Karnan, a sitting judge of

the Calcutta high court, in a

contempt case against him.

Under the court’s directions,

he is required to be

personally present in the

court on the next date of

hearing on 13 February.

This is the first time that the

highest court of the country

has issued a contempt notice

against a serving judge of

another court.

A seven-judge bench headed

by chief justice of India J.S.

Khehar took suo moto

cognizance of the matter

based on his conduct while

he was serving as a judge in

Madras high court. He was,

thereafter transferred, to the

Calcutta high court.

The court took note of the

situation on its own accord

based on certain letters

circulated by justice Karnan

to various dignitaries,

including the prime

minister, the chief justice of

India, the Union law

minister and various sitting

judges across high courts,

alleging corruption against

several sitting and retired

judges in the country.

The court has stripped

justice Karnan of all

administrative and judicial

work until he makes an

appearance in court. He has

also been directed to return

all judicial and

administrative files in his

possession to the registrar

general of the high court.

Attorney general Mukul

Rohatgi told the court that it

had powers under

provisions of the

Constitution to take action

against contempt not only

related to the apex court but

also across other courts in

the country.

The court added that it did

not want to be

presumptuous and assume

that the letters had been

written by justice Karnan.

The apex court is also

hearing another case against

justice Karnan related to his

transfer from the Madras

high court to the Calcutta

high court. At the last

hearing, he had been

allowed to appear in person

for the proceedings.

The case will be heard next

on 13 February.

SC issues show cause notice to sitting

Calcutta HC judge C.S. KarnanNew Delhi: Internet

services are expected to be

provided to all the 2.5 lakh

gram panchayats by the end

of next year, government

told Lok Sabha on

Wednesday, adding that the

net connectivity is being

strengthened to promote

"less cash economy".

One lakh gram panchayats

are to be connected by

underground Optical Fibre

Cable (OFC) by March this

year under the first phase of

BharatNet project, Minister

P P Chaudhary said while

replying to questions on

behalf of Minister of State

for Communications Manoj

Sinha who was not present

in the House.

Under the second phase of

BharatNet project,

remaining 1.5 lakh gram

panchayats are to be

provided connectivity by

December 2018, Chaudhary

said. This would be done

through a mix of

underground fibre cables,

fibre over power lines, radio

and satellite media.

"Internet connectivity is

being strengthened for less

cash economy. Low internet

penetration can affect

Digital India initiatives. In

the absence of internet

facility to the users, e-

governance services are not

accessible to them," said a

written reply by Sinha.

As on January 29, 2017,

Optical Fibre Cable (OFC)

has been laid to 76,089

gram panchayats with a

total length of 1,72,257

kilometres. As many as

16,355 gram panchayats

have been provided with

broadband connectivity.

Internet to be available in all grampanchayats by next year: Govt

New Delhi: The Congress

party released its manifesto

for the Uttar Pradesh

Assembly elections on

Wednesday. The party is

fighting elections on 105

seats in the 403 seat

Assembly election.

Congress General Secretary

in charge of Uttar Pradesh

Ghulam Nabi Azad, UP

Congress chief Raj Babbar,

Salman Khurshid and other

senior leaders released the

manifesto in Lucknow on

Wednesday at the Uttar

Pradesh Congress

Committee HQ.

The focus of the party’s

manifesto seems to be on

loan waivers for farmers

and cheaper electricity.

Interestingly, the issue of

police reforms also figures

in the manifesto.

However, the party didn’t

reveal much details about

the scheme.

Here are 10 highlights of

the party manifesto:

1. ‘Qarza Maaf, Bijli Half’

is the prime issue taken in

the party’s manifesto. The

party promised the welfare

scheme that proposes to

waive off loans of debt

ridden farmers and

reducing the price of

electricity for farmers and

artisans by half.

2. Police reforms,

interestingly, is an issue

that figures among the top

issues. The party proposes

changes in police

preparedness and response

measures while citing

guidelines issued by

Supreme Court of India in

Prakash Singh & Ors vs

Union of India case for

overhaul of police

administration structure.

3. In a rare mention of

women-specific poll

promise, the party has

proposed 50% reservation

for women in Panchayat

elections.

4. Push for better

implementation of credit

facilities for small-scale

industry and self-

employment. The party has

also proposed a new Uttar

Pradesh Skills and

Employment Mission for

skilling youths and

ensuring jobs for 50 lakh

youths. A separate cell

looking after job creation is

proposed to be created

within the Chief Minister’s

office.

5. For incentives to

minorities, the party

proposes a scheme to

encourage young

entrepreneurs to start their

businesses but as a vague

promise fails to give any

details of the scheme.

6. It has proposed to reform

the Mandi system while

optimising fertiliser

distribution in the state. It

also promises farmers that

they will be provided

returns over and above the

MSP announced by the

Central Government by

establishing an Agricultural

Price Commission.

Congress promises ‘qarza

maaf, bijli half’ in manifesto

UUUUPPPP EEEElllleeeeccccttttiiiioooonnnn 2222000011117777::::

As many as 140 cases of

rape and 238 cases of

molestation were registered

by Delhi Police in January

this year alone, of which 43

and 133 cases respectively

remain unsolved.

The number of rape cases

registered in 2016 was 2,155,

of which 291 were unsolved,

while there were 4,165

molestation cases of which

which 1,132 are unsolved.

There were 36 rape cases

registered against Delhi

police personnel in the years

2014, 2015 and 2016. Of

these, 28 were registered in

Delhi and 8 in other states.

While two of these cases

were cancelled or quashed, in

six cases there were aquittals

while 28 cases are pending

trial or investigation.

Ninety cases of molestation

and 9 cases of eve-teasing

were also registered against

Delhi police personnel in

these three years.

The details were tabled in the

Rajya Sabha by Minister of

State for Home Affairs Hans

Raj Ahir during Question

Hour. "The reasons for

unsolved cases vary from

case to case. However, some

of the main reasons include

non- identification of the

accused person, stay on the

arrest of the accused by

courts, insufficient evidence

or the accused person is

absconding and not

traceable," the minister said.

140 rape cases registeredin Delhi last month: Govt

Hyderbad: President

Pranab Mukherjee will be

the chief guest for the

centenary celebrations of

Osmania University, set to

begin on April 26.

The state government has

decided to organise the

event on a grand scale.

Chief minister

Chandrasekhar Rao met the

President in New Delhi on

Tuesday along with party

MPs and senior officials.

"The President has accepted

our invitation for the event,"

Telangana government chief

advisor Rajiv Sharma told

the media. After inviting the

President, KCR met HRD

minister Prakash Javdekar

and extended a similar

invitation.

Meanwhile, the meeting

between Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and chief

minister K Chandrasekhar

Rao in New Delhi stands

postponed once again as the

former is busy with the BJP

Parliamentary party meeting

and UP election rallies. The

meeting is now expected to

take place after the second

phase of polling gets over in

Uttar Pradesh on February

15.

Prez, Nobel laureate to graceOsmania University centenary

Lucknow: Firebrand BJP leader Yogi

Adityanath today said "Ram Bhakts did

whatever happened in Ayodhya" and

whatever happens in the future will be done

by them as well.

He was answering questions related to the

Ram temple issue and Ayodhya, Mathura

and Kashi during a press conference.

BJP in its manifesto has said the Ram

Temple issue will be settled as per law and

under provisions of the Constitution.

He also attacked rivals SP and BSP for

raising questions on BJP's secular

credentials and said these parties do

everything on the basis of caste and

religion.

"SP and BSP do all the work on the basis of

caste and religion unlike BJP, yet they call

themselves secular. What type of

secularism is this," he said.

On the issue of exodus raised by him

during his campaign in western UP,

Adityanath said he takes up matters which

are of interest to people.

"There are over two dozen areas, where it

(exodus) is clearly visible. Population

imbalance is a reality there and that cannot

be ignored," he said.

On the issues mentioned in the BJP

manifesto, including exodus and triple

talaq, Adityanath said BJP used to highlight

issues related to people and will continue to

do so. On the triple talaq issue, he said, "It

is necessary for protecting the interest of

women for their empowerment. If any part

of the body is weak, the body cannot

remain strong."

Ram Bhakts did whateverhappened in Ayodhya: Adityanath

New Delhi: After a meeting

of BJP lawmakers on

Tuesday morning, party

patriarch LK Advani

reportedly stopped three top

ministers and declared that

he was ready to speak to

Congress leaders Sonia

Gandhi and Manmohan

Singh to resolve a niggling

problem for the government.

Mr Advani, 89, made the

offer as Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley, Law Minister

Ravi Shankar Prasad and

Parliamentary Affairs

Minister Ananth Kumar were

coming out of the meeting at

parliament. The ordinance to

skirt a Supreme Court

decision favouring the

family's claim was first

issued in 2010, when the

Manmohan Singh's UPA

government was in power.

The order has been cleared in

the Lok Sabha but has been

blocked in the Rajya Sabha,

where the government is in a

minority, forcing it to keep it

alive by issuing ordinance

after ordinance.

In December, when the

government issued another

ordinance and it went to

President Pranab Mukherjee

for the record fifth time, he

made his displeasure clear

but signed off on it "because

it involves national interest"

said sources close to him.

Questioning why the

Congress was blocking a law

that it had introduced, Mr

Advani said he wanted to

meet Sonia Gandhi and

Manmohan Singh to win

their support for the bill.

The senior BJP leader who

has largely remained silent

since he was assigned a

mentor's role after the party

came to power in 2014,

recently drew attention with

a sudden outburst in

parliament over disruptions,

when he said, "I feel like

resigning".

I wants to speak to Soniaand Manmohan : Advani

New Delhi: Describing nuclear terrorism as

a global threat, India on Wednesday called

for a comprehensive global response to

counter it. Inaugurating a three-day meeting

of the Implementation and Assessment

Group of the Global Initiative to Combat

Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) here, Foreign

Secretary S. Jaishankar said that though there

were 13 instruments that were widely

accepted as benchmarks for a state's

commitment to combat terrorism, what was

more important was that adhering parties

display the required sincerity to implement

their commitment.

GICNT is a voluntary international

partnership of 86 nations and five

international organisations that are

committed to strengthening global capacity

to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear

terrorism. It works towards this goal by

conducting multilateral activities that

strengthen the plans, policies, procedures,

and interoperability of partner nations.

Stating that nuclear power would continue to

play an important role in the world's quest

for clean energy, Jaishankar said that "the

negative consequences of atomic power also

cannot be ignored".

N-terrorism a global threat,needs global response: India

10 SPORTS the northlinesJammu | Thursday | Feb. 09 | 2017

Akhnoor: Shemrock Apple

Orchid , Akhnoor

celebrated its 3rd Annual

Sports Day in Shemrock

Apple Orchid Playground

premises with great zeal

and fervor, here today.

Tarun Sharma, Renowned

Actor / Director, President

& Founder of Nat manch

and 3rd dan black belt in

karate was the chief guest,

whereas Mrs. Shilpa

Mahajan, Principal and

Director of Shemrock

Apple Orchid was the guest

of honour.

The annual sports day was

organised under the

supervision of Mr. Umesh

Rekhi , President &

Technical Director Director

of Dhammika Kai Jammu

& Kashmir Karate

Association.

Guest of Honour, Principal

Mrs. Shilpa Mahajan

presented welcome address,

wherein he highlighted the

importance of games and

sports in students’ life and

expressed his gratitude to

for providing all kinds of

facilities for its students to

make up their personality.

The programme began with

the flag hoisting and flying

of colorful balloons in the

air by all the chief guest

followed by a beautiful

welcome song presented by

the Tiny-Tots of the school.


the chief guest Tarun

Sharma said that Shemrock

Apple Orchid has no leaps

and bounds as far as its

growth is concerned.

Students participated in

various races, athletics and

sports activities and the

winners of various

competitions were awarded

with medals by the chief

guest and on the occasion.

Final results

Shem foundation Junior

(Simple race )

1 Sutikshen 2 Amithi 3

Nikhilesh

Shem foundation Senior A

1 Kridhay 2 Adira 3 Ridaan

Shem foundation Senior b

1 Prikshit 2 Daksh 3

Atthatv

Shem prep junior

1Bhagyesh 2 Aashman 3

Lavish

Shem prep senior 1 Angel 2

Aduvika 3 Aditya

Primer Standard One Sack

race

1 Shrwan 2 Pragati 3

Vaibhavi

Leg tie race 1 Agrim -

Ambika 2 Bhanu- Chahat 3

Ansh - Bhavansh

Thirteenth Beach: Rising Indian

golfer Aditi Ashok returns to Vic

Oates Open, where she made her

debut last year and finished Tied-31st

but now she will be one of the strong

challengers when she tees off at the

event. Aditi has not only been hitting

the headlines but her showing has also

encouraged others to raise their levels.

So much so, three other Indian girls

have made the LET Tour card.

Two of them Vani Kapoor and

Amandeep Drall also

feature in the start list

this week. Last week

at Gold Coast, Vani

made the cut, while

Drall missed out.

In what turned out to be an

outstanding rookie season, the 18-

year-old Bengaluru girl, won back-to-

back wins at the Hero Women's Indian

Open and Qatar Ladies Open.

This week she enters the Vic Oates

Open inside Top-100 of the world.

This year Aditi should also get into

some Majors and she has a conditional

card on LPGA,

too. So, she

should get

to play a lot

on various

Tours.

"I should be

able to

play some

of the

(women's)

majors this

year so that

should be

interesting

and I have a conditional card on the

LPGA Tour so I'm going to try and

play as much as I can," Aditi said.

"I don't know where I'll be for most of

the year so we'll see how it goes."

Coming off a Tied-sixth place finish in

her season-opening RACV Gold Coast

Challenge, Aditi will once again have

her father, Ashok at the bag. He was

on it, when she won the second of her

two titles in Qatar last year.

"Last year the wind was a big factor

for me. Especially some of

the headwind holes, I really

didn't score well on them.

So this time, I've played two

practice rounds on the Beach

course and I'm going to play one on

the Creek tomorrow and hopefully I'll

be able to manage the wind better,"

Aditi said, speaking to the LET

website.

"I'm hitting it a bit longer than I

did last year so that should

help."

Apart from Aditi, Beth Allen, who

topped the LET Order of Merit, is also

in the field besides a whole lot of

other 2016 tournament winners on

LET. The field also has Dame Laura

Davies, a multiple Major winner.

Aditi back at Vic Oates Open but now as a star player

New Delhi: Olympic

bronze-medallist Gagan

Narang says shooting's

"ecosystem" will take a "hit"

if the ISSF Athletes

Committee's

recommendation for

mixed-gender team

events for future

Olympics, starting

with the 2020 edition

in Tokyo, is ratified by

the world body. In a

decision that

evoked mixed

response, the ISSF

Athletes

Committee, headed

by India's lone individual

Olympic gold-medallist

Abhinav Bindra,

recommended mixed-gender

team events for the Olympic

Games.

The panel has sought to

replace the double-trap men's

event with a mixed-gender

trap event, convert the 50m

prone men's event into a

mixed-gender air rifle event

and the 50m pistol men's

event into a mixed-gender

air pistol event.

Narang, one of India's most

versatile shooters, said, "The

ecosystem of shooting sport

will take a hit with these

three events going out of

the Olympic

program."

The

ace

shooter,

though,

promptly added, "But like

many others, I will also cross

the bridge when we get to

it." Unlike some of India's

top pistol shooters, Narang is

not "deeply saddened" but

ready to embrace it.

When asked to elaborate on

his statement that ecosystem

of shooting will take a hit,

Narang said, "Prone is very

popular across the world and

suppose it is dropped, so

many shooters who are

shooting prone only will be

out."

Citing another example, he

said a 50m range that caters

to three events now will

cater to two only, if 50m

prone and pistol are dropped.

The move follows the

International Olympic

Committee's objective of

international sport

federations working towards

a 50 per cent female

representation at the Games.

Currently, shooting has nine

men's and six women's

events at the Olympics.

The 33-year-old Narang is

currently not part of his pet

event 10m air rifle in which

he won the bronze medal at

2012 London Olympics, but

he is determined to regain

peak form.

Change in Olympic events willhit shooting's ecosystem: Narang

Sachin Tendulkar put up a strong case to be

classified the world’s best batsman after Sir

Donald Bradman over an international

career that spanned more than 25 years, but

when it comes to one-day internationals,

Ricky Ponting doesn’t even think he’s the

best batsman to come out of India.

Instead, the former Australian skipper has

reserved that mantle for current Indian

captain Virat Kohli. He believes the 28-year-

old’s record in the coloured clothing is

enough to crown him the best ODI batsman

ever especially considering he’s got plenty

of runs still left in him.

“Is he (Kohli) the best batsman in the world?

Yeah, he probably is,” Ponting told Gulf

News. “I thought he was six or seven

months ago and he’s probably taken it to

another level since then.

“Is it too premature to call him the best ever?

You can probably say that right now as far as

his one-day cricket is concerned.

It’s almost blasphemy to snub Tendulkar

who holds a God-like status in his

homeland. His 18,426 ODI runs scored at an

average of 44.83 are the most in history

4000 more than the next best Kumar

Sangakkara on 14,234. He also scored 49

centuries in the 50-over format, the next best

being Ponting, who reached triple figures 30

times.

But when it comes to current stars, Kohli is

in a stratosphere of his own. He’s scored the

fourth-most hundreds ever (27) while

plundering 7755 runs at an average of 53.11

and a strike rate of over 90 in 179 games.

Most impressive is the reputation Kohli has

carved out for himself as being a run-chase

specialist in ODIs. His most recent act of

wizardry came in the first limited overs

match of a series against England when the

Poms belted 350 first up.

Coming in at 1/13, Kohli hit a splendid 122

off 105 balls which, in partnership with

Kedar Jadhav (120 off 76), saw the hosts

reach their target with 11 balls to spare.

That ton was his 17th in the second innings

of a one-dayer, and of those, 15 have come

in successful run chases. Tendulkar

previously held the record number of

centuries in a successful second innings with

14. That knock also saw Kohli become the

fastest man to reach 27 ODI hundreds,

needing just 169 innings to achieve the feat

way ahead of Tendulkar who needed 254

innings.

Ponting doesn’t think Tendulkar

is India’s best ODI batsman

The BCCI is gearing up for

an uprising. Member

associations of the Board,

who have made a resolve to

keep their internal

differences aside for now,

are planning a meeting to

figure out how India can

resist pressure from the

international cricket

fraternity that has proposed

a flurry of "undesirable"

policy changes. While it is

not clear if this can be

officially addressed as a

meeting of the general body

and even as connotations

are still being worked out,

sources did confirm that the

stage is being set for a get-

together.

The members have an

argument to make. Their

logic says "cricket

infrastructure that state

associations have invested

in over decades is not a

result of government grants.

The government has not

given BCCI a single penny.

On the other hand, BCCI

has made contributions to

the exchequer. If BCCI

loses ground at the ICC, it

means the state associations

stand to lose out as a

result." These associations

are armed with an

agreement that BCCI has

signed with the ICC on their

behalf - the Members

Participation Agreement

(MPA). Among other things,

the MPA details India's

bilateral rights vis-vis the

international cricket

calendar gives BCCI the

authority to call the ICC

back to the table for a

renegotiation.

The Committee of

Administrators (CoA)

knows that a meeting has

been called for. What they

don't know yet is what the

MPA entails. Sources say

the CoA is ready to have a

look at the document but is

not yet reacting to the idea

of associations meeting.

The individuals who

attended the ICC Board

meeting last week may have

missed out on a trick, one

that the old hands in the

Indian cricket

administration point out.

Nobody raised the point and

the ICC Board went ahead

with the in-principle vote.

The CoA's line is "What can

the BCCI do if there's a

voting process in place and

India has been outvoted."

BCCI's member

associations say: "A lot can

be done provided the CoA

agrees to a bit of

intelligence gathering and

see who is capable of

negotiating with the ICC."

The MPA signed in 2014

with N Srinivasan at the

helm of affairs technically

gives India the right to red

flag policy changes they

believe is not in their

interests. The CoA for the

responsibilities that it has

been tasked with by the SC

does realise this is

uncharted territory .

BCCI stateassociations to meet

Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba

ran the fastest ever

women's 2,000

metres at the

indoor Miting

Internacional

de Catalunya

meeting in

Sabadell,

Spain on

Tuesday.

Her time of

five minutes 23.75

seconds sliced almost

seven seconds off the

previous indoor world

record of 5:30.53 set by

Romania's Gabriela Szabo

in 1998.

The IAAF, athletics' world

governing body, said

although the 2,000m is not

an official indoor world

record event, Dibaba's

performance was "an

outright world record" as it

was faster than the outdoor

mark of 5:25.36 set by

Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan.

The 25-year-old

Dibaba, a three-

time world

indoor

champion, now

owns the

fastest

recorded

times

indoors

for the

1500m,

mile,

2,000m, 3,000m, two miles

and 5,000m as well as the

outdoor 1500m world

record.

Dibaba runs fastest ever

women's 2,000 metres

Shemrock Apple Orchid

celebrated 3rd Annual Sports DayJAMMU, Feb 08

Khalsa Club Gole Gujral

shall be playing against

Hirangar Club in the final of

the ongoing Senior District

Hockey Tournament,

organised by Hockey Jammu

and Kashmir, at K K Hakhu

Stadium, here on February

11.

Earlier, in the second

semifinal, played today,

Khalsa Club trounced Guru

Nanak Nagar Club Nanak

Nagar by a solitary goal. JS

Reen was lone scorer, who

sounded the board in the

52nd minute.

It was a well contested game

with both sides playing

attacking hockey. However,

Khalsa Club managed to

break the defence line of

Nanak Nagar in the later

stages of the game.

Today's semifinal officiated

by the technical penal

comprising Iqbal Singh,

Mukesh Kumar and Joginder

Singh.

The AGM J&K Bank, Iqbal

Singh and Ajeet Singh, both

veteran hockey players, were

special guests in today's well

contested game. Among

others present were Jaswant

Singh, Rajinder Singh (both

senior vice presidents),

Tajinder Singh, Vijay Singh

and G S Bakshi (general

secretary).

Khalsa faces Hirangar Club in Hockey final

66662222nnnndddd NNNNaaaattttiiiioooonnnnaaaallll SSSScccchhhhoooooooollll GGGGaaaammmmeeeessss

J&K girls win by 19 runsin U-17 Cricket

JAMMU, Feb 08

Hosts Jammu and Kashmir outplayed their counterparts

from Gujarat by 19 runs to stay alive in Under-17 Cricket

in the ongoing 62nd National School Games in the two

disciplines of Under-17 Girls Cricket and Under-19 Boys

and Girls Tennis Cricket, organized by the Directorate of

Youth Services and Sports (DYSS) at different venues,

here. Earlier, J&K won the toss and decided to bat first.

Batting first, J&K scored a fighting total of 105 runs in the

stipulated 20 overs at Jammu University ground. Sonika

was the top scorer with 42 runs, while Ananya contributed

9 runs to the total. For Gujarat, Rajvee scalped 3 wickets

and Dhruvi claimed one. In reply, Gujarat managed to

score 86 runs, thus lost the match by a margin of 19 runs.

Ayushi top scored with 18 runs, while Anmol scored 9

runs to the total. For J&K, Ishani was the wrecker-in-

chief, who took four important wickets. In another match

in Under-17 Girls at MA Stadium, Punjab defeated

Chhattisgarh by 10 wickets. Chhattisgarh bundled out for

paltry total of 43 runs, while Punjab scored the required

runs in 8.3 overs. In other matches of Cricket Under-17

Girls, Telangana got better of Delhi by 7 wickets at

MHAC School Nagbani ground, Andhra Pradesh defeated

Tamil Nadu by 10 wickets in a one-sided contest at MA

Stadium and Punjab drubbed Haryana by 7 wickets at the

same venue. Meanwhile in Tennis Cricket at Heritage

School ground, J&K beat Uttar Pradesh by 5 wickets,

while Assam prevailed over DAV by 5 wickets.

A British Sikh footballer of

an amateur team in England

was not allowed by a referee

to play in his “bandana”,

which he wears in lieu of a

turban.

Leicester Nirvana striker

Gurdeep Mudhar was ordered

to take his religious headwear

off ahead of his team’s match

at Huntingdon Town Football

Club, in the East Anglian

county of England, last

month.

The 21-year-old’s team-mates

reacted by refusing to go on to

the pitch without him, forcing

the referee to eventually back

down.

“He (Gurdeep) always plays

in the bandana. It’s never been

a problem anywhere else but

the referee went up to him and

said: ‘You’re not playing in

that’. I think it was more out

of ignorance because he didn’t

know the rules rather than

anything else. But it was

embarrassing for him

(Gurdeep). The other players

were right behind him – if he’s

not playing we’re not,” Zak

Hajat, the first team secretary,

was quoted as saying by

‘Leicester Mercury’

newspaper.

Gurdeep went on to score both

Nirvana goals in a 2-1 victory

in the match on January 21.

The club has now made a

complaint to the Football

Association (FA) about the

referee and says more needs to

be done to make officials

aware of the rules to prevent

similar situations in the future.

In a statement, Leicester

Nirvana said: “What we find

very difficult is the lack of

appreciation or understanding

of the impact that these types

of events have on the club, the

team, the community and

most importantly the players

concerned.

“Nirvana is one of the most

diverse clubs in the country,

and have been put in a

position where a lack of

training or cultural

understanding has yet again,

resulted in discrimination,”

Nirvana said.

British Sikh footballer told

he can’t play with bandana

New Delhi, Feb 08

Kings XI Punjab have

appointed Satish Menon as

Chief Executive Officer and

Rajeev Khanna as the Chief

Operating Officer of the

franchise for the upcoming

season of Indian Premiere

League (IPL).

Menon is a veteran in the

media business with a

cumulative experience of 35

years comprising print,

television and sports

marketing. He has been the

head of business with some

of the top brands like Mid-

day, Zee TV, Zee News,

Sahara television and TV 18

(Sport 18).

A lawyer by profession,

Rajeev comes with over 16

years of experience in the

sport industry. He has

previously headed

operations for Rajasthan

Royals and is currently also

the advisor to the Rajasthan

Government on sports. He

has been associated with

Kings XI franchise since

2016 as General Manager,

Operations.

Commenting on their

appointments, the co-

promoters of Kings XI

Punjab said, "Satish and

Rajeev were a natural

choice for the roles of CEO

and COO based on the

expertise in their respective

fields. We are confident that

their rich experience will

bring immense value to the

team."

Kings XI Punjab appointSatish Menon as CEO

Company Current Previous Change Volume

Price Close (%) (Nos.)

DRREDDYSLA 3013.00 3064.15 -1.67 24071

ITC LTD 273.45 277.10 -1.32 604335

AXIS BANK 487.50 492.60 -1.04 746371



MAH&MAH 1278.80 1258.65 1.60 49404

TCS 2277.20 2244.80 1.44 29978

COAL INDIA 320.15 315.60 1.44 109316



ITC LTD 273.00 277.10 -1.48 7702782

DRREDDYSLA 3022.50 3065.10 -1.39 188942

BHARTI AIR 348.25 353.15 -1.39 1550325

NSE Losers (Nifty)


price Close (%) (Nos.)

ACC 1491.50 1456.20 2.42 406142

BHARTI INF 308.40 301.30 2.36 2133348

ZEETELEFIL 512.35 502.25 2.01 1365450

BUSINESS the northlinesJammu | Thursday | Feb. 09 | 2017

NSE Gainers (Nifty)

BSE Gainers (Sensex)

BSE Losers (Sensex)

11

Mumbai, 8 Feb: BlueDart Express Limited,South Asia's premierexpress air and integratedtransportation, distributionand logistics Company,today declared itsfinancial results for thequarter ended December31, 2016, at its BoardMeeting held in Mumbai.The company posted `28.17 crores profit aftertax for the quarter endedDecember 31, 2016. NetSales/Income fromoperations for the quarterended December 31, 2016stood at ` 720 crores.Anil Khanna, ManagingDirector, Blue Dart said,"The last quarter of 2016has been extremely toughfor the economy, the

industry and Blue Dart.The challenges wereintractable and we expectthem to continue for sometime into the year. Wehave fought hard todeliver on every aspect ofthe business bymaintaining excellentservice quality, ensuringcustomer delight throughbest-in-class technologicalinnovation in ourofferings.Going ahead, we have tofurther steer successfullyagainst the strongheadwinds our economyand business face. Weremain committed andwill have a continuedstrategic thrust towardsmaintaining marketleadership in all segments.

We will keep serving BlueDart country with renewedpassion, focus andcommitment and sustainour leadership position inthe industry”.He adds, "Blue Dartremains one of the mostadmired and awardedbrands. It was recentlyhonoured as the ‘IconicBrand’ in the LogisticsSector at the WorldBusiness Conclave 2016,Hong Kong, awarded forBrand Excellence inSupply Chain & LogisticsSector at the BrandExcellence Award 2016and for Excellence inEmployee Engagement atthe Business World 2ndHR Excellence Awards2016”.

Gurgaon, 8 Feb: MindaIndustries posted robustresults for Q3FY2016-17,9M sales of MILconsolidated has crossedfull year sales of previousfinancial year 2015-16.Theconsolidated margins(EBITDA %) for the 9Mperiod improved to10.67%and 12.12% for Q32016-17. The consolidatedrevenue stood at Rs.885Crfor Q3FY17 as againstRs.626Cr in Q3FY16recording a growth of 41 %

YOY.The companyreportedEBITDA ofRs.107Cr, a growth of 82%year on year. EBITDAmargin has expanded by270basis points to 12.12%for Q3FY2016-17 from9.42% for Q3 2015-16.PBT for the consolidatedentity grew to Rs.64.67 Crfor Q3FY17 as against Rs.40.42 Cr for Q3FY16,growth of 60% year on year.Profit after Tax (afterMinority Interest) increased

by 55% year on year to Rs.44.73Cr in Q3FY2016-17fromRs. 28.85 Cr inQ3FY16. Profit after Tax(after MinorityInterest)margin at 5.06% inQ3FY17 from 4.61% inQ3FY16, an expansion of45basis points during theyear.EPS for the company for the9 Month period endedDecember 30, 2016 stood atRs 13.89per share ascompared to Rs.8.63 pershare in 9MFY16.

New Delhi: Reducingdiscretionary powers oftaxmen, the income taxdepartment has asked its fieldofficers to maintain digitalrecords of summons, noticesand special audit ordered bythem.In the new 'AssessmentModule' for Income TaxBusiness Application(ITBA), an electronicplatform for regularoperations, the departmenthas laid out functionality forissue of summons, noticesand special audit.As per the module, incometax authorities will now haveto create online digitalrecords or entries issuingorders, the required approvalsobtained in this regard,

enquiries made and responsesreceived from taxpayers.For ordering summons underSection 131, the taxauthorities will now berequired to enter the detailsof the person summonedalong with the time and date.He will then have to recordthe statement of thesummoned person anddocuments submitted, if any,and submit the record as anattachment.For reference for audit undersection 142(2A), theinstruction provides thatAssessing officer can issue ashow cause notice to theassessee, record the response,capture details of approvalfor referring the case forAudit.

On submission of Auditreport, the officer can capturethe details and place onrecord the Special auditreport by way of anattachment, it added.Section 142(2A) of the I-TAct provides that specialaudit can be ordered by theAssessing Officer in case ofcomplex accounts.Nangia & Co Director(Direct Taxation) ShaileshKumar said the move isanother step for digitisingand standardising processesin I-T department, forcreating a digital record forall proceedings, automatedfollow-ups and bringing inbetter and more transparentprocesses in taxadministration.

Blue Dart sales at 720 cr forthe quarter Oct -Dec 2016

New Delhi: While the formal decision toeffect demonetisation was taken onNovember 8, consultations with the RBI at

a very senior level had commenced as earlyas February, Union finance minister ArunJaitley said on Tuesday. Replying toquestions in the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley saidthe RBI board had "independently" appliedits mind and made the recommendation todemonetise two high-value currencydenominations."The RBI board in the month of May 2016,as a part of these consultations, had decidedto go in for and approve the design and

taken the decision with regard to the high-denomination currency which was requiredto be printed as a replacement currency,"said Jaitley. The FM said demonetisation was one of thesteps that the NDA government has takento curb black money, which also includethe formation of an SIT.In a written reply to the RS, Jaitley saidover Rs 16,200 crore in black money hadbeen detected by the government afterinvestigations into global leaks aboutIndians stashing funds abroad."As a result of systematic investigations,undisclosed income of about Rs 8,200 crore(including protective assessment of incomeof Rs 1,497 crore) has been brought to taxin about 2 years on account of depositsmade in unreported foreign bank accountsin HSBC. Further, about Rs 8,000 crore ofcredits in the undisclosed foreign accountsof Indians, whose names were disclosed bythe International Consortium ofInvestigative Journalists (ICIJ), have beendetected," the F M said.

RBI decided to print, approveddesigns for new notes in May: FM

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New Delhi: Havingreturned to academia after acontroversy-ridden stint atthe RBI, former GovernorRaghuram Rajan feels"great to be back" riding hisbike in Chicago and hopesto "do it as long as" he can."Taking my bike out andriding the bike path alongLake Shore Drive, that's oneof the great experiences inmy life. And I hope to do itas long as I can. It's great tobe back," Rajan said in aninterview with the mediateam of the University ofChicago Booth School ofBusiness.Lake Shore Drive is anexpressway running alongthe shoreline of LakeMichigan through Chicago,Illinois.Rajan was governor of theReserve Bank of India from

2013 to September 2016. He was accused of refusingto lower rates to boostgrowth, though Rajan oftencited data to the contrary.

Previously, he served as thechief economist and directorof research at theInternational MonetaryFund (from 2003 to 2006).He is currently KatherineDusak Miller DistinguishedService Professor of

Finance at the University ofChicago Booth School ofBusiness, which he joined in1991.Asked what he is lookingforward to most afterreturning to academic life,the former RBI Governornoted that one of thedifficulties of a job in the"real world" is that one doesnot really get time to shutoneself off in a room andthink.Talking about focus of hisresearch, he said, "Researchnever really leaves youWhile I was at the ReserveBank, I published somepapers, but you don't gettime to really reflect."Referring to the globalfinancial crisis, Rajanpointed out that the crisisessentially gave us researchtopics for the next 30 years.

Great to be back : Rajanat University of Chicago

UNO Minda Q3FY 2017consolidated RevenueRs. 885 Cr

New Delhi: The rupeeopened nearly 3 paisehigher at 67.38 against thedollar on Wednesday ahead

of the outcome of RBI’ssixth bimonthly policyreview due later in the day.The domestic equity marketopened on a flat notefollowing mixed globalcues.The 30-share BSE Sensexwas trading 11.74 points, or

0.04 per cent, higher at28,346 in early trade ataround 9.20 am (IST), whilethe 50-share NSE Nifty was

up 4.45 points, or 0.05 percent, at 8,772.The rupee was trading 7paise higher at 67.34 againstdollar around the same time.The local currency closed19 paise down at 67.41 onTuesday against the USdollar amid fresh selling of

the American currency bybanks and exporters.Government bonds fell forthe third session onTuesday. The benchmark6.97% 2026 bond yield roseto 6.43 per cent from 6.41per cent on Monday.In the currency futuresmarket, the most tradeddollar-rupee Februarycontract on the NSE endedat 67.55 on Tuesday. Openinterest of the Februarycontract fell 1.41 per centfrom the previous day.According to Nirmal BangCommodities, USD-INR isexpected to be volatile laterin the day on account ofRBI’s money policyoutcome. “Trading in theexpected intraday range of67.30 – 67.65 isrecommended,” thebrokerage house said.

Rupee opens nearly 3 paise

higher at 67.38 against dollar

Tax officers to maintain digitalrecords of summons, notices

New Delhi: ChineseInternet giant Alibaba mayprovide free Internet inIndia, as per news reports.The company is in talkswith telecom operators andWi-Fi providers to offerfree Internet services, mediareports further said.Wi-Fi providers and otherplayers can be potentialsand we are in talk,” JackHuang, President ofOverseas Business, AlibabaMobile Business toldBusiness Insider India.Alibaba is considering

providing free Internetservices to states that haveconnectivity problems."We actually think ingeographic way because inIndia not every state issuffering from connectivityproblem so we will focusmore on providing this kindof services to states that aresuffering more and also wewill have comprehensiveanalysis on already existingconsumers who willactually need this kind ofservice," BI quoting Huangsaid.

Alibaba to providefree Internet in India

New Delhi: RBI GovernorUrjit Patel on Wednesday cutthe economic growthforecast to 6.9 percent for thecurrent fiscal from 7.1percent estimated earlier,even as he said the economywill bounce back to 7.4percent rate next fiscal.The Reserve Bank todaykept key interest ratesunchanged saying it wants toassess how the transitoryeffects of demonetisation oninflation and the output gapplay out."GVA (gross value added)growth for 2016-17 isprojected at 6.9 percent withrisks evenly balanced aroundit. Growth is expected torecover sharply in 2017-18on account of severalfactors. GVA growth for2017-18 is projected at 7.4per cent, with risks evenlybalanced," the RBI said in its6th bi-monthly monetarypolicy statement.In its last monetary policy onDecember 7, the centralbank had cut growth forecastto 7.1 percent, from itsearlier projection of 7.6

percent for this fiscal.The apex bank said thatdiscretionary consumerdemand held back bydemonetisation is expectedto bounce back in the closing

months of 2016-17.Economic activity in cash-intensive sectors such asretail trade, hotels andrestaurants, transportation aswell as in the unorganisedsector is expected to berapidly restored, the RBIsaid."Demonetisation-inducedease in bank fundingconditions has led to a sharp

improvement intransmission of past policyrate reductions into marginalcost-based lending rates(MCLRs), and in turn, tolending rates for healthy

borrowers, which shouldspur a pick-up in bothconsumption and investmentdemand," it added.The apex bank said theemphasis in the 2017-18Budget was on stepping upcapital expenditure andboosting the rural economyand affordable housing,which will contribute to theeconomic growth.

RBI cuts FY17 growth forecastto 6.9%, pegs 7.4% for next year

The country is slowing downimports ahead of the harvestin April and purchases in themonths ahead will dependon production this year, twotraders told Reuters onWednesday. ThomsonReuters data showed 5.1million tonnes of wheat hasbeen delivered or loaded forarrival into India since July1, while traders estimatedthe country has bought about5.2 million tonnes. Indiabought 6.7 million tonnes ofwheat in 2006/07, accordingto the U.S. Department ofAgriculture. For Australian StandardWheat (ASW), millers paid$215-$220 a tonne andAustralian Premium Wheat(APW) was delivered to thecountry at about $235-$240a tonne, traders said. Indianwheat futures fell for a

second day on Tuesday, asdata released on Fridayshowed higher plantingcompared with last year.

Winter wheat planting inIndia this year was up about7 percent at 31.78 millionhectares as of Friday,government data showed.

India's wheat imports rise

above 5 million tonne

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NEW DELHI, FEB 08

The Supreme Court has dis-missed the pleas of the TamilNadu government and oneconvict seeking review of itsjudgement in the RajivGandhi assassination case inwhich was ruled that theCentre has "primacy" overstates' right to grant remis-sion.A five-judge ConstitutionBench headed by ChiefJustice JS Khehar dismissedthe pleas on the ground ofdelay in filing the petitionand also on merit."The instant petitions havebeen filed by the petitionersfor review of the judgementdated December 2, 2015 ren-dered by this court in thewrit petitions and criminalappeal. The Review PetitionNos.560-564 of 2016 isbarred by 208 days, whereasReview Petition (Crl.) No.27of 2017 is barred by 358days. There is no satisfacto-ry explanation for condona-tion of such huge delay.”"Thus, though the present

petitions are liable to be dis-missed on the ground ofdelay itself, yet we havecarefully gone the petitionsfor review, the judgementimpugned and the papersconnected therewith. We aresatisfied that there is noerror apparent on the face ofthe record of the case, war-ranting reconsideration ofthe judgement impugned.The instant petitions arewithout any merit," theBench also comprisingJustices PC Ghose, SABobde, AM Sapre and UULalit said. "The review peti-tions are, accordingly, dis-missed on the ground ofdelay as well on merits.”The verdict, which waspassed by the Bench onTuesday, was made avail-able on the apex court web-site today. The Supreme Court alsorejected that pleas for openhearing, a prayer that theTamil Nadu government andconvict AG Perarivalan aliasArivu that made.The Tamil Nadu government

had on July 28 last yearmoved the apex court seek-ing review of its judgementin the Rajiv Gandhi assassi-nation case.The petition had soughtreview of the apex court'sverdict given in December2015, virtually overturningthe state government'sclemency decision.A five-judge bench had in2015 said that the state gov-ernments must secure "con-currence" of the Union gov-ernment before freeing con-victs in certain cases.The state government'sreview petition had said thataccording to the CriminalProcedure Code, the central

government had no primacyin matters relating to remis-sion or commutation of sen-tence and that it was "erro-neous" on the part of theapex court bench to hold thatthe Centre had a "special sta-tus" under the constitutionalscheme."In the case of remitting thesentence of the convicts, it isthe state government whichis the executive authoritymore competent to decidethe outcome of suchrelease/remission of convict-ed persons because of itsproximity to the facts andcircumstances relating to thecase pertaining to convictionof the convicts," it said.

The NORTHLINESJAMMU || THURSDAY | FEB | 09 || 201712 www.thenorthlines.com

MUMBAI, FEB 08

For the second time in a row,the Reserve Bank onWednesday opted for a sta-tus quo in its key rates butshifted the stance of themonetary policy from'accommodative' to 'neutral'.

"The decision of theMonetary Policy Committee(MPC) is consistent with aneutral stance of monetarypolicy in consonance withthe objective of achievingconsumer price index (CPI)inflation at 5 per cent by Q4of 2016-17 and the medium-

term target of 4 per centwithin a band of +/- 2 percent, while supportinggrowth," it said.Accordingly, the repo rate atwhich it lends to the systemstands at 6.25 per cent andthe reverse repo rate atwhich it absorbs excess liq-uidity is also retained at 5.75per cent. The monetary poli-cy committee said it is "com-mitted to bringing headlineinflation closer to 4.0 percent on a durable basis andin a calibrated manner" andthis requires further "signifi-cant decline in inflationexpectations, especiallysince the services compo-

nent of inflation that is sensi-tive to wage movements hasbeen sticky. "The committeedecided to change the stancefrom accommodative to neu-tral while keeping the policyrate on hold to assess howthe transitory effects ofdemonetisation on inflationand the output gap play out,"the resolution of theMonetary Policy Committeesaid. In the last policyreview in December, theRBI had decided to keeppolicy rate unchanged.The RBI also revised downits gross value added growthprojection down to 6.9 percent for FY2016-17 from 7.4

per cent earlier, but addedthat it will pick up sharply to7.4 per cent in FY2017-18.The central bank also decid-ed to form a separateenforcement department forstricter enforcement of itsregulatory and supervisoryactions.At 6.25 per cent, the reporate is already at a six-yearlow.A majority of analysts in allpre-policy polls had said thatRBI will go for a 0.25 per-centage point cut in its keyrates at the review. The ana-lyst community, was howev-er, not so sure of suchactions further. —PTI

RBI keeps key rates unchanged at 6.25 pc

LAHORE, FEB 08

In a relief to Pakistan PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif, hisbrother and Punjab ChiefMinister Shahbaz Sharif andseveral others, an anti-ter-rorism court has rejected aplea seeking their trial in acase involving killing of 14supporters of Canada-basedcleric Tahirul Qadri.Nawaz, Shahbaz, InteriorMinister Chaudhry Nisar AliKhan and Defence MinisterKhwaja Asif were among 12top government functionar-

ies booked by Lahore policein the murder of 14 support-ers of Qadri in June, 2014.During an anti-encroach-ment operation by policeoutside the residence ofQadri, 14 people, includingtwo women, were killed andover 100 suffered bulletinjuries.Lahore’s Anti-TerrorismCourt rejected the plea to trythe premier, chief ministerand 10 ministers, observingthe court cannot summon aperson in a complaint unless“direct documentary evi-dence” is furnished by plain-tiff.The court, however, sum-moned 125 officials, includ-ing Inspector General ofPolice Punjab Mushtaq

Ahmad Sukhera. The plain-tiff presented 56 witnessesin support of the allegations.Qadri who is also the headof Pakistan Awami Tahreekcriticised the ATC decisionsaying: “The main plea totry the rulers in the murdercase is not accepted by theATC and lower level offi-cials have been made scape-goat.“The court has summonedthose who implemented theorders but ignored theauthorities who issued theorders to kill innocent work-ers. We will not accept sacri-fice of goats.”He said his party will chal-lenge the ATC decision inthe Lahore High Court. —PTI

Pak court rejects plea totry PM Sharif, 11 others

UNITED NATIONS, FEB 08

Islamic State (IS) has “suf-ficient funds” to continuefighting and might resort tocovert communicationssuch as the “dark web”, theUN political chief warnedon Wednesday.“IS is adapting to militarypressure in several ways,”Under-Secretary-Generalfor Political Affairs JeffreyFeltman said, urging theUN member states to sharemore information about air-line passengers to defeat

“transnational terrorism”sparked by the IS.“Although its income andthe territory under its con-trol are shrinking, IS stillappears to have sufficientfunds to continue fighting,”Feltman said, briefing theUN Security Council on theSecretary-General’s reporton the threat the groupposes to international peaceand security efforts.The report said that till nowonly 56 nations have sharedadvance passenger infor-mation, as it lamented the“uneven” response it isreceiving from memberstates in sharing the “criti-cal” information.Feltman noted that IS reliesmainly on income fromextortion and hydro-carbonexploitation, even thoughresources from the latter are

on the decline.He expressed concern thatIS will try to expand othersources of income, such askidnapping for ransom, andincrease its reliance ondonations as it adopts toincreased military pressure.“IS is adapting in severalways by resorting toincreasingly covert com-munication and recruitmentmethods, including byusing the ‘dark web,’encryption and messen-gers,” he said.While the previous reportson the subject have focusedon South East Asia, Yemenand East Africa, Libya andAfghanistan, this reportzeroed in on Europe, NorthAfrica and West Africa.It noted that IS has con-ducted a range of attacks inEurope since declaring in

2014 its intent to target theregion.Some of these attacks weredirected and facilitated byIS personnel, while otherswere enabled by IS by pro-viding guidance or wereinspired through its propa-ganda.The military offensive inLibya has dislodged ISfrom its stronghold in Sirte,but the group’s threat toLibya and neighbouringcountries persists.Its fighters – estimated torange from several hundredto 3,000 – have moved toother parts of the country.The report warned that thegroup has increased itspresence in West Africa andstressed the need to developsustained, coordinatedresponses to the threatposed by IS. — PTI

IS has sufficient funds to continue fighting, warns UN

NEW DELHI, FEB 08

Aam Aadmi Party MPBhagwant Mann onWednesday urged Lok SabhaSpeaker Sumitra Mahajan toexpunge Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's jibe at himin the Lok Sabha.In a letter to the Speaker, theAam Aadmi Party memberfrom Sangrur in Punjabasked her to expunge Modi'sremark or send his complaintto the Privileges Committeeof the House.Speaking on Tuesday, Modiquoted a saying from theCharvaka school of philoso-

phy to say a person shouldtake loan and drink 'ghee'."I generally tell people 'gheepiyo'... but if BhagwantMann were to tell people hewill ask them to drink some-thing else," Modi had said.Mann wrote in his letter:"...you may kindly exerciseyour power and expunge thederogatory expressions allud-ed to me by the honourablePrime Minister. If you find itdifficult to expunge theremarks of Prime Minister...you may kindly refer mygrievance to the Committeeof Privileges of the LokSabha." — IANS

Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: SC rejects TN's review plea

WASHINGTON, FEB 08

The US and India seem likea natural fit in the Trumpera: rambunctious democra-cies, led by populists,focused on economicgrowth and fighting radicalIslam.It's a budding partnershipthat could be set back by anuts-and-bolts dispute overemployment visas.As President Donald Trumplooks to help Americanworkers, his administrationis considering a broadreview of a visa programmeused heavily by India's mas-sive technology and out-sourcing industries to sendprogrammers and othercomputer specialists to theUnited States.Speculation about tougherrules on so-called H-1Bvisas sent tech stocks tum-bling in India last week, andcompounded concerns aboutthe protectionist direction ofUS policy after Trump tem-porarily suspended immi-gration from seven Muslim-majority countries.The technology sector isvital for India's economyand creating jobs for a fast-growing, young workforce,a top priority for PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.America is the main cus-tomer: It accounted for morethan 60 per cent of India's$108 billion in foreign techand outsourcing sales lastyear, according to theNational Association ofSoftware and ServiceCompanies, an Indian indus-try lobby group."There is a general sense ofanxiety in the industry," saidDipen Shah, an IT analyst atKotak Securities in India.He said it seemed likely thatthe cost of hiring people onH-1B visas would increase,hurting tech companies' bot-tom lines.A draft executive order pre-pared by Trump's team isshort on specifics. It calls fora report within nine monthson the injury caused to USworkers by several workingvisa categories, including H-1B, and a re-considerationof how to allocate the visasto ensure they go to "the bestand the brightest".The US government grantsup to 85,000 of these visaseach year. They're open to abroad range of occupationsand recipients who can stayin the country for up to sixyears.First Lady Melania Trump,who comes from Slovenia,had one as a fashion modelin the 1990s.The top occupations, how-ever, are tech-related andabout 70 per cent of therecipients are Indian.Critics say the programme isabused, with many compa-nies contracting out jobs toconsulting firms that bringin lower-paid workers from

overseas. Employees on H-1B visas are unable tochange employers.Critics say that leaves themwith little leverage to negoti-ate their salaries. Trump'snominee for attorney gener-al, Senator Jeff Sessions, haslong opposed the pro-gramme, and there's biparti-san congressional supportfor reform.Advocates say the visa pro-gramme allows companiesto fill skills shortages andencourages students with hi-tech degrees to stay in theUS and set up companies oftheir own.Vinson Palathingal, whoruns a mid-sized, US-basedIT consulting company, saidthe administration's priorityshould be training Americanworkers to address skillsshortages, and developing aquicker path to permanentresidency for Indian talent.Without those steps, he said,restricting H-1B visas wouldmean tech jobs leaving theUS.India's government wantsmore of the visas to beissued, not less.After visa fees were hiked inlate 2015, India challengedthe US at the World TradeOrganization, a rare instancein which one WTO membercontended that another'simmigration laws violatedinternational trade rules."Limitations on this visa aresure to cause of a lot concernin Delhi and that will beconveyed in fairly strongterms to Washington," saidRick Rossow, an India spe-cialist at the Center forStrategic and InternationalStudies."The question is how muchis the Indian governmentwilling to put on the table torepresent corporate interestsin its discussions with theUS," said BharathGopalaswamy, director ofthe South Asia programmeat the Atlantic Council,another Washington-basedthink tank. "I don't thinkthey will bet all their chipson this."Over the past decade, Indiashifted from a Cold War-eraforeign policy of non-align-ment to become more com-fortable as Washington'spartner. Its military, longreliant on Russian weapon-ry, is being modernised withUS help. Modi has called theUS an "indispensable part-ner".India hopes Trump's vow totake a harder line on Islamicextremism will mean atougher stance on Pakistanover militants that Indiablames for launching attackson its territory.It also shares Washington'sconcern about a rising Chinaand would favour an effortby Trump to improve tieswith Russia.But economic interests areparamount. — AP

Visa changes could stunt buddingUS-India ties under Trump

Mann complainsagainst Modi's remark

Cash withdrawal limit Rs 50K from Feb 20 - Northlines

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