‎Free Basic Internet Services‬ Available in ‎India

Mark Zuckerberg is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to connecting the world. And we make for a significant part of his universe, where "as of today, everyone in India nationwide can access free internet services for health, education, jobs and communication through Internet.org's Free Basics app on the Reliance network."

Zuckerberg's Facebook post particularly talks about an Indian family in Maharashtra, who, by using Internet.org's Free Basics app, have successfully achieved better results for their farming efforts.

In a major step to expand its presence in India, Facebook released its controversial free Internet service Internet.org(now Free basics) to all over India in collaboration with Reliance telecom.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his post on facebook said that now evert person in Indian can avail free internet. Zuckerberg also shared the story of a farmer who was benefited through his programme.

“We just took another step towards connecting India. As of today, everyone in India nationwide can access free internet services for health, education, jobs and communication through Internet.org’s Free Basics app on the Reliance network.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.

Zuckerberg wrote, “Ganesh struggled with traditional farming methods in a region plagued by droughts, but last year he started using Free Basics—accessing services like AccuWeather, which helped him work better through the monsoon season, and Reuters Market Light, which helped him understand commodity prices and get a better deal for his crops. By using Free Basics, Ganesh has doubled his crop yield, eradicated insect infestations and even invested in new crops and livestock.”

Internet.org(Now Free basics) will allow users to access some websites (as chosen by Facebook) for free or at very low data cost. Here, the cyber experts accuse Facebook of discriminating between the websites as it will only provide access to the portals which are favoured by the internet giant.

Actually, Facebook’s Internet.org is a partnership between social networking services company Facebook and six companies (Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm) which claims to bring affordable access to selected Internet services to less developed countries.

The service claims to increase efficiency, and facilitating the development of new business models around the provision of Internet access.

The service is accused of violating net neutrality and favoring Facebook’s own services over its rivals. It is said that Facebook will set ''free service'' service as a bait for its users and hamper the bussiness of its rival. On the other hand, it will dominate the choice of the users about website.

Experts believe that this will lead to a cable TV like system where service provides on one hand charge the different channels to be aired to their users and on other hand they charge the users for subscriptions to different channels as required by them to draw out maximum profits.

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, 23 November 2015

We just took another step towards connecting India.

As of today, everyone in India nationwide can access free internet services for health, education, jobs and communication through Internet.org's Free Basics app on the Reliance network.

Why does this matter?

Just look at the story of Ganesh Nimbalkar and his wife Bharati, who support their family of four by farming a five acre plot their family has tended for generations in Maharashtra.

Ganesh struggled with traditional farming methods in a region plagued by droughts, but last year he started using Free Basics -- accessing services like AccuWeather, which helped him work better through the monsoon season, and Reuters Market Light, which helped him understand commodity prices and get a better deal for his crops.

By using Free Basics, Ganesh has doubled his crop yield, eradicated insect infestations and even invested in new crops and livestock.

Today, nearly 1 billion people are currently without internet access in India. Now with Internet.org's Free Basics available to everyone in India, many more people like Ganesh and Bharati will have access to the information and opportunity the internet brings.

Anti Tobacco Day

Our country is the second largest tobacco producing and fourth largest tobacco consuming country in the world. Controlling tobacco problem in India is therefore more difficult and demands extraordinary campaign to save the innocent people from its dangerous effects. Organizations and NGOs have together made a documentary to be circulated in the entire country that visually depicts the disastrous consequences of tobacco consumption. In India tobacco is used not only for smoking but also in gutkas, chewing, huqqa, bidi and snuffing etc. Thus its disastrous effects are more widespread in the country. Unfortunately while there is much of propaganda against the consumption of tobacco as injurious to health, tobacco-producing companies are resorting to many clever and subtle ways of continuing the propaganda for use of tobacco. This has been brought to the notice of the civil society by the NGOs who met in Delhi on the occasion of the World Anti Tobacco Day.

It is now established that tobacco is most injurious to health and should be avoided at all costs. Governments have issued instructions and in most of the countries in the Western world these instructions are faithfully carried out. But in our country people addicted to the consumption of tobacco in different ways are thick skinned and may not change that soon. Therefore more stringent legislation needs to be made to deter them from the use of this dangerous material. A strong nationwide campaign is perhaps needed to help reduce consumption of tobacco. It has been seen that in our country mostly the illiterate and backward people are addicted to tobacco consumption.  Awareness and education alone can help in the eradication of this evil.

Corruption in India

Mahatma Gandhi once said "Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be the inevitable products of democracy, but they undoubtedly are today". By this he meant that the basic idea of democracy was to empower the masses not to turn them into corrupt human beings. But somehow along the road that idea has been completely lost and what we have today is uncontrolled and unbridled corruption.

For any country to become a superpower it requires an efficient, hard working, dedicated and above all, a corruption free machinery.. The human nature is such that we can never be satiated. No matter what our riches are, we always have this urge to want more. In other words when people are dissatisfied with what they have they invent dishonest ways to acquire more, which is simply known as corruption. In the Indian society corruption has become so deep rooted that it is quite impossible not to encounter it in your daily routine. One of the major areas where corruption has set its roots deep is the Government, especially the lower bureaucracy, but with the recent telecom scams being unearthed and now the Coal scam it is quite evident that corruption has left no part of the government from its grasp. It rules one and all. If somehow we could remove the word 'corruption' from India then I'm sure that we would become a developed nation earlier than we think. Now the important question here is whether corruption has halted India's growth or, made it stagnant? Well I certainly feel that corruption is a like a malignant cancer and if we do not take strong preventive measures right now, then we might as well let it feed on us. If India aspires to be developed country it must fight this disease of corruption with an iron hand. There should be no exceptions. A strict law should be passed and defaulters harshly punished. Examples must be set so the future generations learn to stay away from this menace. With the likes of Anna Hazare taking up the baton to highlight the menace of corruption in India, the day is not far when India would finally break free from the tentacles of this disease.
As a matter of fact no country in the world is free from corruption but in these countries corruption is not as rampant and free as it is witnessed in India. I bet the USA also faces problems because of corruption but they have a better way of handling it, a much better way of punishing the errant people. As of present India ranks 93 out of 183 in the corruption perception index, a much better rank than its neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh but much higher than that of China which ranks 72. When the C.B.I unearthed the 'great' 2G scam it was realized that it cost the exchequer a loss of 1.76 lakh crores, approximately $33 dollars in revenues. Can you imagine the amount of roads, or the number of schools or the number of hungry Indians that could have been fed or in general the amount of development work that could have been undertaken with that mount of money. The then union telecom minister A. Raja took now finds himself behind bars. That is not all. The Bofors scandal in which the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was implicated shook the conscience of the entire nation. Not even the office of the Prime Minister, supposedly one of the most respectable offices in the country, was free of corruption. The Telgi scam, the Bihar fodder scam in which the then Bihar Chief Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav was involved, the Taj Corridor scam in which the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati was charged with corruption, and the very recent cash for votes scam in 2008 and the commonwealth scam in 2010 and now the coal mining scam which is called as mother of all scams as its resulting in a loss of approx 186,000 crore to the exchequer during the period 2004-2009 speaks volumes about the prevalent corruption scenario in India. Scams and development in India go hand in hand. Whenever there is some large development work, no matter in which part of India, some part of the tax payer's money is always siphoned off. Take the 2010 commonwealth games scam for instance. The commonwealth games which were supposed to showcase India to world were nothing but an embarrassment. First was the fear that the stadiums would never be constructed on time, with Melbourne unofficially kept on stand by. Secondly, the construction work was shoddy with most of the venues being completed in haste. Thirdly, most of the projects when completed had overrun their costs. And when finally an enquiry was set up to look into the commonwealth games debacle, it was found that the organizing committee had cost the exchequer a loss in excess of Rs. 23,500 crore. Nothing really happened except that it made up for one the most sensational news of 2010.In 2010 Anna Hazare, a social activist and a Gandhian got the nation's attention going on corruption with his fast until death unless a strong Anti Corruption Bill was passed in the Parliament. His fast at Jantar Mantar soon attracted thousands of people every day with the both the print and electronic media taking a strong stance against the Government for its apathetic attitude towards corruption.

Anna Hazare soon became the rallying cry for the millions of Indians of who were sick and tired of corruption and wanted the Government to act on it. The Government soon buckled and it promised to appoint a committee to draft a bill .The point here is that most of us Indians have witnessed or experienced corruption in one form or the other, and unless we raise our voice against it the government is just going to sit on it. It is unless we, the ordinary people, the heart of India, start doing something, only then would this evil be uprooted from our society. The fight against corruption has often been dubbed as the second fight for our independence. The first fight was to free our country of foreign powers while this fight would be to weed out all forms of corruption from our society.   

                                    By   Nayeem Wani

Tunnel Digging Stoped at IB

Tension has once more increasing informed the International Border (IB) at Chechwal in Samba sector when Pakistan not permitting the Border force (BSF) to hold out any work on the tunnel before border fencing fearing that it'd be exposed as security forces had detected that tunnel was leading toward Pakistan.

Official sources confirmed that job on any creating by removal of the tunnel by the BSF authorities between border fencing and 0 line has been stopped in anticipation of firing by the Pakistani Rangers.

The BSF had managed to dig earth before fencing and was nearing Zero Line once the Rangers objected to the work and needed it to be stopped. The Rangers told the BSF to prevent work or, otherwise, they might open firing.

Sources same the Rangers were afraid that the BSF would expose their game set up by creating by removal right up to the Zero Line, which might establish that the tunnel was originating from West Pakistan.

"Anticipating international embarrassment when the exposure of their set up of creating by removal underground tunnel into the Indian territory, the Rangers weren't left with no choice because the BSF was near reach to the Zero Line on the IB to determine that the tunnel had been mamma from West Pakistan side’’, they added.

The Rangers objected to the creating by removal work and got it stopped, sources same however additional that the BSF resolve to finish feat to Zero Line to show West Pakistan for constructing tunnel within the Indian territory.

According to sources, whereas the tunnel was twenty five feet beneath the world within the border fencing at village Chechwal, it had been concerning forty feet underground before the fencing. The West Pakistan authorities may need mamma the tunnel a lot of underground between Zero Line to frame fencing to confirm that the work wasn't detected by the BSF jawans manning the border space.

Sources same the tunnel would have its origin concerning two hundred feet within West Pakistan. it'd are mamma from close to a post of the Rangers. They additional that the Rangers were currently fearful of obtaining exposed and face embarrassment at the international level because it was established that the tunnel had been created by Pakistani authorities into the Indian territory for facilitating infiltration of militants and export narcotics.

The BSF had started creating by removal before border fencing to seek out out alignment of the tunnel and its origin when groups of geologic Survey of Asian nation (GSI) and BSF authorities had detected 540 meters underground tunnel within the Indian territory at forward village of Chechwal in Samba sector.

A farmer had detected the tunnel on Gregorian calendar month twenty seven whereas operating in his fields because the land had caved in at 3 straight points leading towards West Pakistan. The BSF and GSI groups later detected that the tunnel had been mamma 540 meters within the Indian territory resulting in village Chechwal. The exit purpose of the tunnel was additionally detected.

Few days back, the BSF had started creating by removal work before border fencing to seek out out any alignment of the tunnel.

Centre refuses to take stand on Ram Setu

The Centre today refused to take any stand on the issue of declaring mythological Ram Setu a national monument and asked the Supreme Court instead to decide it.

Appearing before a bench headed by justices H L Dattu and Anil R Dave, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Haren Raval submitted that the Government after consultations on the issue has decided that it would not take any stand on it.

He said the Government would stand by its earlier affidavit, filed in 2008, in which it had said that the Government respects all religions but it was of view that it should not be called upon to respond to the issues of faith, except in recognising their existence.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy seeking the court’s direction to declare Ram Setu a national monument.

The apex court earlier on March 29 had granted two weeks to the Centre to take a stand on the issue.

"If you say you don’t want to file counter affidavit, we can go ahead with the arguments in the case," the bench had said.

The case relating to Ram Setu came under judicial scrutiny due to a bunch of petitions filed in the apex court against the ambitious Sethusamudram project, whose execution allegedly was to damage the mythological bridge.

Sethusamudram project is aimed at constructing a shorter navigational route around India’s southern tip by breaching the mythological Ram Setu, said to have been built by Lord Rama’s army of monkeys and bears to the demon king Ravana’s kingdom Lanka.

As per the Sethusamudram project, the shipping channel is proposed to be 30 metres wide, 12 metres deep and 167 kms long.

The Centre in its earlier affidavit, cleared by the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs (CCPA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had said the Government respects all religions but was of view that it "should not be called upon to respond to the issues of faith, except in recognising their existence."

The amended affidavit was filed after the Centre had withdrawn its two affidavits in which it had questioned the existence of Lord Ram and "Ram Setu".

Following an outcry led by the Sangh Parivar over the controversial affidavit, the apex court on September 14, 2007 had allowed the Centre re-examine entire materials afresh to review the Rs 2,087 crore project.

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India test-fires Agni V missile successfully

India nowadays took an enormous leap in fortifying its strategic capability by successfully test-firing its nuclear capable Agni-V Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a strike vary of five,000 km, bringing China and also the neighbouring region beneath its cowl.

With this, India joined the elite missile club of the US, Russia, France and China.

The surface-to-surface Agni-V is capable of placing a target over five,000 km away. it's concerning 17-metres-long and two-metres-wide with launch weight of around fifty tonnes. the delicate missile will carry a nuclear warhead of over one tonne.

“We had a successful launch of Agni-V. The missile lifted off at eight.07 hours nowadays,” Defence analysis and Development Organisation chief V K Saraswat said when the three-stage solid propellant missile was take a look at fired from launch complex-4 of Integrated take a look at vary (ITR) in Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.

Agni-V had a sleek and ideal vertical lift-off from the launcher and an intensive analysis was done to assess its health parameters when retrieval of information from the wide selection of subtle communication network systems, Saraswat said.

“The sleek missile, among some seconds of its blast-off from the Island launch pad roared majestically into the sky jilting its a trajectory a path of skinny orange and white smoke before disappearing,” a defence official said.

The test-fire, that was originally scheduled to be held yesterday, had to be deferred at the last moment for safety reasons thanks to dangerous weather marked by rains and serious lightning.

New Delhi’s deterrence capability can currently be more strengthened and it'll push its case for having a bigger say at multilateral fora.

India has nowadays in its armoury of Agni series, Agni one with 700 km vary, Agni two with two,000 km vary, Agni three and Agni four with two,500 km to over three,500 km vary.

Hailing the successful launch of the indigenously developed missile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it represents another milestone in India’s quest to feature to its security preparedness.

Defence Minister A K Antony described the maiden take a look at flight of Agni-V as an “immaculate success” and a “major milestone”.

“The nation stands tall nowadays. we've joined the elite club of countries (to possess the ICBM capability),” Antony told Saraswat on phone when the take a look at flight of the missile was declared successful.

ITR Director S P Dass said, “It was an ideal launch and also the missile hit the pre-determined target and also the mission met all its parameters.

“We will decision it an ICBM because it has the aptitude to travel from one continent to a different,” Dass said.

“The missile achieved specifically what we tend to needed to realize during this mission. This missile from the prime board to launch pad went on in concerning 3 years,” the missile’s Programme Director Avinash Chandra said.

The test-firing of Agni-V demonstrated large strides taken by India in its integrated missile development programme, he said.

Preparation for Agni-V take a look at had gathered momentum when India achieved successful results from the primary development trial of Agni IV, that contains a strike vary of over three,500 km, from an equivalent launch pad on November fifteen, 2011.

Apart from Saraswat, who is additionally the scientific advisor to the Defence Minister, a number of prime defence scientists, military officers and functionaries of involved agencies were gift at the location to observe, supervise and witness the maiden take a look at of the new generation missile.

Top scientists gift at the take a look at website said a minimum of twenty laboratories of the DRDO were engaged for many months to arrange the state-of-the-art missile.

About 800 scientists, employees and support personnel had been engaged to create the primary ever launch of the Agni-V successful, they said.

Unlike alternative missiles of indigenously engineered Agni series, the newest one - Agni V - is that the most advanced version having many new technologies incorporated in it in terms of navigation and steering, warhead and engine, said a scientist related to the project.

Satish Reddy, architect of the missile navigation systems, said, “The systems have worked with high accuracy... we tend to don’t need any further technology from anybody else.

DRDO plans to conduct additional such tests of the missile over future one year when finding out and analysing the parameters achieved in every subsequent trial, defence sources said.

Regarding the timeline fastened for totally developing the Agni V, Saraswat had earlier said another year of testing would be needed.

Known as ‘Agni Lady’, an elated Katy Thomas, who has been concerned with the Agni project, said, “Today we've done an excellent event for the country. The mission was good with all the events being recorded and that we had an ideal separation. The stages of steering system worked splendidly.

“All the teamwork that has gone in for the last 3 years has given fruitful result nowadays,” she added.

India Pak to have new visa regime

India and Pakistan are likely to announce formally a new business visa regime to boost bilateral commerce at the next Secretary level talks.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim, during their meeting yesterday, expressed "joint wish" that business visa regime needs to be liberalised at the earliest.

"It was noted that a formal decision on this is expected at the forthcoming meeting of the Home Secretary of India and the Secretary of the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan," a joint statement released today said.

Although India has sought the date for the meeting after May 22, the schedule is yet to be finalised.

Giving impetus to people-to-people contact and trade ties with Pakistan, India yesterday opened a modern Integrated Check Post (ICP), equipped with a dedicated passenger terminal and sprawling cargo facility, built at cost of Rs 150 crore, at Attari.

As per the statement, Pakistan side stated that through a Cabinet decision in 2009, the flow of items is linked to provision of adequate infrastructure at the check post.

"...It (Pakistan) would take the case to the Cabinet on the basis of the additional capacity created through the new ICP," the statement said adding Pakistan will take necessary steps to remove extant restriction on items permitted through the land route.

The objective of ICP is to permit all items not in the ‘negative list’ to be traded across the land border at Attari-Wagah. The two ministers also expressed their wish that discussions may continue at the official level for possibilities of opening more land customs stations.

Except 1,209 items in the ‘Negative List’, Pakistan now allows import of all other Indian goods even as only 137 items are allowed through land route.

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SC warning to 7 States on mercy plea of death convicts

The Supreme Court today asked 7 states to furnish "within 48 hours" details of mercy petitions filed by death row convicts pending with respective Governors, failing which it warned that Home Secretaries of the states concerned would have to appear before it.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyaya passed the direction after expressing dismay at the non- compliance of its earlier order in this regard which was brought to its notice by Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval.

The states which reportedly failed to comply with the order are Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal.

The bench said it would like to examine the cases relating to all other death row convicts whose mercy petitions are pending with the President or Governors, though they have not approached the court for various reasons.

In a dig at the media, the apex court said "their cases are not highlighted by the media. The media highlights only those cases which are taken up by political organisations, which get support from people outside the country."

The bench further said it would also like to examine the judicial accountability for the delay and disposal of cases relating to death row convicts at various levels including the apex court.

The apex court had on April 3 directed the Centre to furnish details of 18 mercy pleas, including that of Parliament attack death convict Afzal Guru pending before the President for 7 years.

The court passed the directions while dealing with the appeal filed by death row convict Sikh militant Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, challenging the undue delay in disposal of his mercy petition by the President.

The court had earlier asked eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani to file written submissions on "whether the President should objectively apply mind while deciding mercy petitions".

The apex court had felt the role of the state was perhaps advisory and the final verdict is that of the President.

Appearing for Bhullar, senior counsel K T S Tulsi had earlier told the court that between 1997 and 2011, the President has disposed off 32 mercy petitions, 13 of which were done after a 10-year wait.

The bench is hearing the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist Bhullar’s family plea that his capital punishment be commuted to the life imprisonment as there has been an "inordinate" delay in deciding his mercy plea and he is not mentally sound.

He had submitted prolonged incarceration awaiting his execution amounted to cruelty and violated his fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Bhullar was awarded death penalty for triggering a bomb blast here in September, 1993, here office killing nine people.

The Supreme Court had on March 26, 2002, dismissed Bhullar’s appeal against the death sentence awarded by the trial court and endorsed by the Delhi High Court. He had filed a review petition, which was also dismissed on December 17, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition, which too had been rejected by the apex court on March 12, 2003.

Bhullar, meanwhile, had filed a mercy petition before the President on January 14, 2003.

The President, after a lapse of over eight years, dismissed his mercy plea on May 25 last year.

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PC arrives today

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, on his one day visit to the winter capital of the state, is arriving here on Tuesday morning. He is scheduled to visit Mata Vaishno Devi cave Shrine, besides security review meeting  with the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and meeting with few delegations. The meeting

 with state Congress leaders is also on his itinerary.

 The Union Home Minister will arrive at Jammu airport at 8.15 AM in his special plane. The Governor N N Vohra, who is also the chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine  Board and is presently on tour to New Delhi, will accompany the Union Home Minister. From Jammu airport, Chidambaram will fly to Mata Vaishno Devi Cave Shrine situated  in Trikuta Hills in district Reasi to pay obeisance to the Goddess. From there, he will fly  back to Jammu. At around 11.20 AM, he will have a meeting with Chief Minister Omar  Abdullah at CM’s official residence in Jammu.

 At 1.00 PM, he will have a security review meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence. Around 1.20 PM, the Union Home Minister will leave for Governor House.

 During their meetings with the J&K Governor and the Chief Minister, he will deliberate  on the security scenario in the state. The deliberations are likely to revolve around  revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and dismantling of more  bunkers and reducing footprint of security forces in the state.

 At around 2.00 PM, Chidambaram will meet few delegations at the state Guest House including the delegation of Jammu and Kashmir State Pradesh Congress Committee  (JKPCC) headed by Prof Saif-ud-din Soz and a delegation of Sikh Coordination Committee headed by Jagmohan Singh Raina. At around 4.00- 4.30 PM, he will fly back  to New Delhi. Meanwhile, the security has been stepped up in Katra- the hilly town of Reasi district ahead of Union Home Minister's scheduled visit to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Cave Shrine tomorrow. Tight security arrangements have been put in place in Katra town, the base camp of Cave Shrine, en route the Bhawan. Additional police and para-military personnel have been deployed along the 13-kilometre long track. Besides, tight security, checking of hotels and lodges has also been intensified. Hoteliers have been asked to remain alert and maintain vigil.

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PC arrives today with 2012 summer

With 2012 peaceful summer in Kashmir and Amarnath yatra security arrangements high on agenda, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is arriving here tomorrow morning on a one day visit of Jammu, the winter capital of the State, during which he would also review the affairs of Congress party, the major coalition partner in Omar Abdullah led coalition Government in the State.

Governor NN Vohra, who is in New Delhi, K Skandan, Joint Secretary (Kashmir) in Ministry of Home Affairs and Additional Director of Intelligence Bureau, Rajiv Kapoor would accompany the Union Home Minister during his one day trip to Jammu from New Delhi.

The Home Minister’s itinerary included visit to holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji in the morning to offer prayers and review security of the shrine.

Authoritative sources said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who would host lunch for the Union Home Minister at his official residence, would take up the issue of making Interlocutors' report on Kashmir public for debate and discussion followed by its implementation to ensure that it didn't meet the fate of many such previous reports.

Sources said repetition of peaceful summer of 2011 in 2012 after three consecutive summer unrest in 2008, 2009 and 2010 in the Kashmir valley would dominate security review meeting, which would be attended by top brass of civil administration, police, para-military forces and Intelligence agencies of the State including Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Home Secretary BR Sharma, Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda, Special DG CRPF, J&K, Anirudh Uppal, Additional DG Law & Order K Rajendera, IG BSF Jammu Frontiers, AK Jain, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Samoon, IGP Kashmir SM Sahai, IGP Jammu Dilbagh Singh, IGP CID B Srinivas and heads of other Central Police Forces and Intelligence agencies operating in the State.

The security review meeting that was expected to last at least two hours would be held at banquet hall of the Chief Minister's residence.

Besides Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani would be present in the meeting.

Sources said the Home Minister would devise a strategy to ensure a peaceful summer in the Kashmir valley in 2012 like the previous year of 2011. It may be mentioned that more than 100 people were killed in summer unrest in the Valley in 2010.

Recruitments drives in para-military forces, police, State Government and private sector across the country were among a host of options to engage youth in different activities so that they were not lured by the separatists, sources said adding that the security review meeting would work on various strategies to tackle separatists and militants.

Para-military, police and Intelligence agencies would give a detailed review of security scenario on the International Border (IB) in Jammu and internal security across the State on militancy front, which had seen a massive decline all over the State during past couple of years. No successful infiltration attempt has been allowed on the border, sources said.

Upcoming Baba Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir Himalayas from June 25 to August 2 would also figure in security review. Sources said the State police would seek additional para-military forces from the Union Home Ministry, like previous years, for deployment on highways and two tracks of Pahalgam and Baltal to ensure smooth pilgrimage.

Sources said the Chief Minister would take up the issue of the report of Interlocutors with Mr Chidambaram. Omar would stress that the report should be made public for debate and discussions of all sections of society and implementation of recommendations.

The report, prepared by the Interlocutors-Dileep Padgaonkar, a noted journalist, Prof Radha Kumar, an academician and MM Ansari, a former Information Commissioner after an year long tour of the State, had been submitted to the Union Home Minister in October last year. However, despite lapse of six months, it has not been officially made public so far though its contents occasionally continued to appear in both national and regional media, which were neither denied nor confirmed by anyone.

In the just concluded budget session of the Legislature, Omar had demanded that report of the Interlocutors should be made public for debate.

The Chief Minister would also take up the issue of partial revocation of Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Srinagar and Badgam districts of J&K and removal of more bunkers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Srinagar in a phased manner as situation was gradually improving in the State.

Sources said Mr Chidambaram on his arrival at Jammu Airport at 9 am from New Delhi would straightway fly to Sanji Chhat and trek remaining three kilometers on foot to reach holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi ji to pay obeisance. Governor NN Vohra, who happened to be chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), would accompany him.

The Home Minister would be briefed on security and other arrangements made for the pilgrims at Bhawan, 13 kilometer track and Katra.

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He would return to Jammu and have two hour long security review meeting at the Chief Minister's official resident. He would also have lunch with the Chief Minister.

Mr Chidambaram would reach the State Guest House in the afternoon where he was scheduled to meet a Congress delegation comprising PCC (I) president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, Lal Singh and Madan Lal Sharma, both MPs, selected MLAs and MLCs and majority of top office bearers of the PCC (I).

He would also inter-act with a delegation of All Party Sikh Co-ordination Committee.

The Home Minister would leave for Dehradun, Uttarakhand in the evening where he was schedule to address a function at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration on April 11.

Mufti hails Singh Zardari meet

Terming today's meeting between Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari as a good beginning, patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed hoped that this positive development would help in finding pragmatic solutions to a number of issues that affected relationship between the two neighbouring countries. Addressing public meetings at Langotian and Chak Ahmad Yar villages in border belt of R S Pura, Mr Sayeed said that cordial relations between India and Pakistan were in the interest of the common people of both the countries. He observed that in the prevailing circumstances it was good opportunity to take some bold initiatives to solve all the contentious issues."Today's meeting between Prime Minister of India and Pakistan President is not a coincidence but a positive development to further improve relations between two countries", he said and hoped that this meeting would yield substantive results and the process started today would be taken to the logical conclusion.

"Although all problems can not be solved in one meeting yet it is good thing that both the countries have now realized that dialogue must be continued to arrive solutions of all the issues affecting the bilateral relationship", he said and expressed his satisfaction over the joint statement issued by both the leaders after the meeting.

"Both India and Pakistan should seize the moment and turn it into a stepping stone to make substantial progress on all the issues including Jammu and Kashmir," he said and hoped that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh would visit Pakistan very soon because invitation in this regard has been extended to him by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during today's meeting. He further hailed decision of both the leaders to follow up today's decisions in coming days also. Mr Sayeed said that Pakistan has already taken the decision to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India and this bold decision could redefine the bilateral relations and regional equations in South Asia.

April 2011 Kashmir News 

Omar underlines preservation of State's unique fauna

Highlighting the State's rich bio-diversity and uniqueness of being land of rich fauna and flora, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Friday emphasized the need for protection and preservation of this individuality of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism.

Chairing the 2nd meeting of State Board for Wildlife (SBW), the Chief Minister, who is also its Chairman, said that measures should be in place to minimize wild animal-human conflict.

"While moving forward on development front the protection of environment, forests, wetlands, water bodies and wildlife should be underlined as compulsory requirement", he added and said that greening policy should be factored in every development project.

"We have to preserve the treasure God has bestowed to us and protect it for future generation", he said calling for coordinated and holistic approach to strike balance between development and protection of environment.

The Chief Minister said that the conditions put by the Forest and Environment Department while granting permissions for some necessary development works should be adhered to in letter and spirit. He said any laxity in this direction is not acceptable.

Omar Abdullah directed for shifting of Sheep Farm from Dachhigam to some suitable area within next three to four months. He said a Committee of the officers of State Sheep and Animal Husbandry Ministry should urgently identify the place for the Sheep Farm and the shifting should take place within the fixed time frame.

This issue was hanging in balance for many years despite the Cabinet decision in this regard. The Chief Minister's direction for its shifting would give boost to the conservation and protection of 'Hangul'.

The Chief Minister said that preservation of the natural wealth of the State should be prime concern to all of us. "In this connection Government agencies and public should be fully aware of their roles. We have to be fully sensitized for its importance", he said, adding that his Government has flagged this aspect as an important concern in its policy planning.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Legislator, Ravinder Singh, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas, Commissioner Secretaries, Shantmanu and Atal Duloo and Shaleen Kabra, Chief Wildlife Warden, A. K. Singh, the presidents and chairpersons of Wildlife Trust of India, Wildlife SoS, Worldwide Fund for Nature India, Wildlife Tours in India representatives from Command, Wildlife Institution of Dehrandun, Botanical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India and public representatives.

The meeting discussed matters relating to the enhancement of ex-gratia compensation for loss of life, livestock and crop in case of wild animal-human conflict, handling and prevention of man-wild animal conflict, constitution of standing committee, setting up of solar telescope, identification and notifying of critical wildlife habitats and strengthening Wildlife Protection Department.

Google to Censor Blogs in India

The trickle-down effect of Kapil Sibal's policy to crack down on 'offensive' content in the Indian websphere has begun to gather steam.

After Google, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, Twitter and several other web companies were directed by the courts to censor the content on their servers as per the regulations of the Indian government, they have begun to toe the line. Last month Twitter made a big splash by announcing it would censor tweets on a country-by-country basis. There was some backlash but, as expected, the twitterati continued to tweet as usual.

Google seems to have anticipated this mild response and has quietly moved all of its blogs from Blogspot.com onto an Indian IP address- Blogspot.in.

If a user earlier had a blog called XYZ.blogspot.com the blog is now redirected to XYZ.blogspot.in.

Here is Google's official explanation for it:

Migrating to localized domains will allow us to continue promoting free expression and responsible publishing while providing greater flexibility in complying with valid removal requests pursuant to local law. By utilizing ccTLDs, content removals can be managed on a per country basis, which will limit their impact to the smallest number of readers. Content removed due to a specific country’s law will only be removed from the relevant ccTLD. This move, while padded with the usual legalese, is essentially the first step in enforcing local censorship laws. Google now can censor its blogs for 'offensive' or 'derogatory' comments. Blogspot.com is a popular blogging platform used by millions of Indians. It was developed by Pyra Labs in 1999 and bought by Google in 2003.

Sikhs may have separate marriage law soon

Sikhs are likely to have a separate marriage law soon with the Ministry of Home Affairs planning to move the Union Cabinet in this regard.

Ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, the Centre has decided to accede to the long-standing demand of the Sikh community for enacting a separate Anand Marriage Act, giving legal sanctity to the marriages under Sikh religion, official sources said.

So far, Sikh marriages are solemnised under Hindu Marriage Act after the annulment of the Sikh Marriage Act in 1955.

Prior to Independence, marriages among Sikhs were held under the Anand Marriage Act in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib and the practice continued till 1955 when the Sikh Marriage Act was replaced and included in the Hindu Marriage Act, clubbing four communities together-- Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain.

The sources said after the Cabinet clears the proposal, a bill in this effect will be tabled in Parliament and once it gets approval, Sikhs can marry under the new law.

However, it is not clear whether the bill would be tabled in the current session of Parliament, they said.Several political, religious groups and individuals, including former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Congress leader R S Jaura, have appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram for enactment of a separate law for solemnising Sikh marriages.

Earlier, a Parliamentary Standing Committee had unanimously approved the creation of the marriage law for Sikhs.

However, the Centre has been refraining from acting on it it apparently apprehending that it could lead to similar demands from other communities covered under the Hindu Marriage Act.

5000 scholarships for JK youth

The Government today approved a special scholarship scheme of Rs 1,200 crore for the Jammu and Kashmir youth to encourage them to pursue higher studies outside the State.

Only those students are eligible for the scholarship who will pass the Class XII or equivalent exam from the J&K Board and pursue general degree courses in engineering, medical studies and other professional courses in Government colleges or other reputed institutes outside the State.

The income ceiling will be Rs 4.5 lakh per annum.

The decision, which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, proposes to provide 5,000 fresh scholarships every year over the next five years.

Out of these, 4,500 scholarships will be for general degree courses, 250 for engineering and 250 for medical studies, said a Government statement.

Every scholar will get upto Rs 30,000 per annum for tuition fees for general degree courses, upto Rs 1.25 lakh per annum for engineering course and upto Rs 3 lakh per annum for medical studies.

In addition to these, hostel fees and incidentals will also be given for all categories of courses upto a ceiling of Rs one lakh per annum, the statement added.

15th August arrangements reviewed

Independence Day  arrangements reviewed

A meeting to review the arrangements of Independence Day 2011 celebrations was held under the Chairmanship of District Development Commissioner, Samba (DDC), Mubarak Singh, wherein the District Officers of all the departments including police, heads of educational institutions and ex-servicemen attended.

DDC directed all the sectoral officers that keeping in view the sanctity of the occasion, all efforts should be put in to make it a grand success.

For the smooth conduct of celebrations of Independence Day, the District Administration has constituted various committees headed by senior District Officers and the jobs assigned to them were discussed threadbare.

The DDC instructed all the conveners of the constituted committees that the arrangements should be in place well before the final dress rehearsal scheduled on 12th of August, 2011.

Additional Deputy Commissioner R.C Sharma, Additional SP, Sanjay Kotwal, Assistant Commissioner Development K.K Sidha, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Bansi Lal Sharma also attended the meeting.

Basantgarh Sub Divisional Magistrate Basantgarh, Amit Sharma on Tuesday convened a meeting to discuss and finalise the arrangements for Independence Day Function 2011 which is to be held at Sub Divisional Headquarters at Basantgarh.

Officers from Police and Para Military Forces, local Sarpanchs and prominent citizens also participated in this meeting in which various important decisions regarding the celebration of Independence Day all across Dudu Basantgarh area were discussed.

It was decided that the main function of the Sub Division shall be held at Government Higher Secondary School, Basantgarh as per past practice in which flag hoisting ceremony shall take place followed by March-past parade and cultural items to be presented by school children and local troupes. It was also decided that an ‘At Home’ shall also be organised on the Sub Divisional Headquarters located at Basantgarh on the evening of I-Day function. Another important decision taken  during the meeting was regarding hoisting of National Flag and illumination of various Government Buildings and markets of entire Dudu Basantgarh in the evenings consecutively for three days i.e, 14th , 15th  and 16th August so that to commemorate the celebrations and exhibit festive atmosphere here during these days. The employees of various departments such as education, health, PDD, PHE and PWD were allocated their roles and they were directed by SDM to perform their respective roles in professional manner so as to ensure a grand success of I-Day function at Basantgarh.

SDM impressed upon the security forces to maintain strict vigil and enhance the level of security arrangements in different nooks and corners under their respective jurisdictions.

It was also decided that a final review meeting regarding these arrangements shall be held on 10th August to check the level of preparedness followed by full dress rehearsal parade on 12th August so as to ensure grand success of Independence Day Function at Sub Division headquarters.

He also directed all Government officers and officials of Sub Division to this function and also requested that the general public to come out in large numbers and participate in this highest level national festival which is always celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety across the nation as it also acts as a tribute to those numerous martyrs who laid down their lives selflessly for achieving the sole objective of independence of the nation.

Aadhaar UIDAI initiative in Jammu and kashmir

PRC linked Smart Cards in offing Omar launches 'Aadhaar' initiative

Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Monday said that Government intends to provide Smart Cards to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir to be linked to the Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) primarily and ration cards, MGNREGA job cards, SKEWPY registration cards, etc secondarily to make the public service delivery hassle free.

"The ultimate linkage of Smart Cards with the Unique Identification Number 'Aadhaar' would undoubtedly ensure timely benefits to the people", he added and said that it would streamline the services and improve the governance.

Rolling out Unique Identification 'Aadhaar' initiative in Jammu and Kashmir at a function at SKICC here, the Chief Minister cautioned the people about the misgivings likely to be created by vested interests regarding Aadhaar. He said that the card is a simple identification number not mandatory or compulsory for the citizens to utilize. "It is an optional facility for valid proof of identification available to the people for obtaining various services promptly," he added.

"You have many cards like passport, driving license, State subject, voter cards, etc and it is up to your own choice to utilize any one of these for identification and residential proofs", he said, adding that Aadhaar is a similar facility available to you to take its full advantage. He said presently even for obtaining a cell phone connection one has to provide various certificates of identification and residence proof. "Similar is the case for getting other services", he said maintaining that Aadhaar would be a valid proof of identification with the card holder.

The Chief Minister said that Aadhaar will also remove the chances of having fake job cards, fake ration cards, false identity cards and even ghost employments on papers.

Omar Abdullah said that Unique Identification Number would prove more efficient in ensuring benefits to the weaker sections of the society under various schemes in the sectors of Rural Development, Social Welfare, Health and Education sectors. He said it will also check the pilferages and protect privacy of the card holders.

Relating the initiative as an important step in the process of e-governance, Omar Abdullah said that Jammu and Kashmir has to move a long way in catching up with other States who have taken various initiatives to make e-governance rule the roast. "Aadhaar is an important initiative in this regard", he said asking the Information Technology Department to put in place many such initiatives for universalizing e-governance in the State.

Speaking on the occasion Minister for Information Technology, Aga Syed Ruhullah elaborated the benefits of Aadhaar and said that this initiative will facilitate weaker sections to a greater extent to get jobs under MGNREGA, obtain ration cards and get benefits of various social welfare schemes speedily.

Deputy Director General, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Keshni Anand Arora said that the Aadhaar was launched in the country by the Prime Minister in September 2010 and so far more than 1.77 crore Aadhaar cards have been provided to the people in the country. She presented resume of the benefits of Aadhaar and said that the UIDAI is entrusted with the stupendous job of providing Unique Identity Numbers to all the Indian residents above the age of 5 years.

The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has been designated as Registrar in the State for Unique Identification Project.

The project is likely to be completed in three years. There will be enrolling agency which will provide application, capture the photo, finger prints, etc of the beneficiary and send the data to the UIDAI for providing Aadhaar Card.

Advisor to the Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul, Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas, Commissioner Secretary, Information Technology Department, M K Dwivedi and various senior Central and State officers were present on the occasion.

KPs protest Indo Pak dialogue

A protest demonstration was staged by Joint Forum of Kashmiri Pandit organizations in front of Press Club here today to protest against the recently held Indo Pak dialogue. The demonstration was led by senior KP leader and president, All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference, (ASKPC) A N Vaishnavi.

The protestors displaying pla-cards and banners raised slogans denouncing the Indo-Pak talks as sham. They said that these talks would prove counter productive and would only encourage Pakistan and secessionist elements in the State.

The Joint Forum leaders who addressed the demonstration included Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo of PK, Rakesh Kaul of Kashmir Samiti Delhi (KSD), H L Chatta, general secretary, ASKPC, R K Raina, senior vice president, ASKPC, D N Kissu, chairman Non Camp and Virender Raina its spokesperson and women leaders Mohni Koul and Phoola Kaul.

They lambasted the Union Government and said that the manner in which the secessionist elements were facilitated to meet the Pakistan Foreign Minister is shameful. This smacks of a deep rooted conspiracy to undermine the position of the Indian nation and harm its vital national interests. The complicity of Pakistan in arranging meeting with these elements who are bent upon to break India has been established and as such the Government of India should have taken strong and appropriate measures, they added.

Instead it seems that the meeting was facilitated by the Government and was held in full glare of the media.

They said it has shaken the nation and created doubts regarding the sincerity and credibility of the Government in context of Kashmir issue. The manner and conduct of the Government gives rise to fears and suspicions that there may be a sell out being worked out at the cost of the nationalist forces in the State.

They said that time and again, the nationalist forces in the country including the Kashmiri Pandits have made it clear that there is no constituency in the country for negotiating or experimenting over the territory and sovereignty of India in J&K. The KPs have asked the Government of India to initiate a comprehensive dialogue process with the representatives of the community that would ultimately lead to the establishment of a separate homeland for seven lakh KPs in Valley, the added.

An Indian tribe are isolated from civilization

The group was located in northern Brazil, and has four cabins with communities as well as corn and banana plantations.

The organization Brazilian National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) has detected a new tribe of Indians in the Javari Valley, a region north of Amazonian Brazil.

Funai, a body within the Brazilian government reported that the community is composed of about 200 Indians, part of the language community called pano, and investigators believe, has not had any contact with civilization.

The coordinator of the Javari Valley, Fabricio Amorim said that members of the Front for the Protection Ethnoenvironmental located three large open areas with four Community herds. In addition, according to Millennium , the community huts appear to be new, and corn plantings were located, like thickets banana and peanuts.

Amorim said that such discoveries require years of systematic and methodical, and documentary research, expeditions and satellite image analysis.

Brazilian authorities want the tribe to continue alone, to avoid threats to native-like spread of infectious diseases. Therefore, the Brazilian government has banned contact with these tribes. Amorim says that the main threats to the integrity of these groups are fishing and illegal hunting, logging, mining, grazing and deforestation. The missionary activities and some border situations, such as drug trafficking and oil exploration, also pose a risk to these communities.

Diabetic Foot project launched

"Diabetes India", an internationally reputed organization of Diabetes professionals, researchers and diabetologists, in collaborations with "Merch Serono", a Multinational Company (MNC), today launched for the first time in India, an All- India project on "Diabetic Foot" which will prepare a detailed guideline document for evaluation and management of diabetes related problems affecting the feet in Indian population.

The project was formally launched by Dr. Jitendra Singh, National Executive Member "Diabetes India" and nationally known Professor cum author of Diabetes, at a press conference in the presence of Merck Regional Sales Manager Anil Dubey and Area Business Manager Manoj Sharma.

In his address, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that there is virtually a diabetes epidemic sweeping the globe and even in Jammu and surrounding areas the prevalence of Diabetes is over 15 percent. The major challenge for the next decade would be diabetes in the young as more and more people in younger age group get afflicted by Diabetes and need to be protected from complications of heart, kidneys and eyes for longer number of years, added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that "Diabetes India" has earned for itself a place in the world arena for having pioneered several diabetes research initiatives in the past and for also starting free insulin schemes for poor children across the country. It was in recognition of Diabetes India's distinguished achievements in the field of diabetes research that Merck Serona, a reputed MNC had come forward to collaborate on an All India Project on "Diabetic Foot", he added.

Highlighting the importance of the project, Dr. Jitendra Singh said it is an irony that the commonest cause of foot amputation in India next to accidents is diabetes although it is a totally preventable cause. Dr. Jitendra Singh said that diabetic neuropathy causing numbness and lack of sensation in feet is as common as over 60 to 70 % in diabetes patients and also constitutes major factor for foot injuries, foot ulcers and foot infections in Diabetes.

Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that in the Diabetic Foot Project, a mass survey will be undertaken across the country to assess the level of diabetic foot problem and the local medical practitioners will be asked to fill a questionnaire which will form basis of treatment guidelines in the Indian setting.

He said a 14 member diabetoligists penal across India has been constituted and he was appointed incharge North India.