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  • Altaf Bukhari censures violation of Domicile Law in JK Bank

    Urges Home Minister to revoke CFO’s appointment, declare results of banking associates and POs

    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Saturday took a strong exception to procedure and criteria adopted for appointment of people to the top posts in J&K Bank. He said there seems to be a sinister design to dilute J&K Bank’s functional autonomy.

    In a statement issued here, Bukhari described a recent order by virtue of which a non-domicile of J&K has been appointed to the post of Chief Financial Officer of the J&K Bank, an unprecedented move aimed at playing with the economic aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir.

    “I am told that the government at helm in J&K has clandestinely amended the recruitment rules after August 5, 2019 and has created a window for the appointment of non residents of J&K especially to the top posts of J&K Bank. This is totally unacceptable because any such recruitment is illegal and in violation of Domicile law for J&K,” Bukhari said and demanded immediate revocation of the order issued on April 23, 2020 by virtue of which a non domicile of J&K has been appointed to a top post of the Bank.

    The JKAP president remarked that there seems to be a pattern to appoint and promote people to the top posts while discarding the requirements of Domicile Law for such appointments in the J&K Bank. “I call upon the union home minister to intervene into the matter and take cognizance of how the post of CFO was advertized and later filled up throwing the Domicile Law to winds,” Bukhari pleaded.

    He averred that it has happened for the first time that ‘officiating’ executive presidents in J&K Bank have been designated and that too without informing or seeking consent from the RBI.

    “For appointment of Executive Presidents the government had to go by merit including interviews and seniority but I am told that all the eligible candidates for these posts were not called for the interview. This is totally illegal,” he said, and demanded the designations of three executive presidents should now be confirmed by the RBI.

    Bukhari also demanded that the JK Bank should declare results of over 150000 aspirants who had appeared for examination for the posts of banking associates and probationary officers but are waiting for the results for the last over two years. “Two years after a three-phase-examination process conducted in Governor S.P Malik’s tenure, which drove lakhs of qualified aspirants to examination centres, the present dispensation is unnecessarily delaying its results,” Bukhari remarked.

    The JKAP president opined that the JK Bank, as a pristine financial institution had assumed tremendous significance and the people from all regions of Jammu and Kashmir were proud of it.

    “But sadly there is an unwarranted and extra ordinary interference which has limited the functioning of this prestigious bank to a government treasury. This illegal interference has caused immense sufferings to the people especially the farmers, horticulturists, traders, businessmen, hoteliers, restaurant owners, houseboat owners, gold associations, transporters, manufacturers, small, medium and big industrial units and other allied sectors of trade and commerce who are the basic pillars of economy of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bukhari said.

    Bukhari said that Jammu and Kashmir Bank is one of the most iconic institutions nurtured by sons of the soil whose legend in financial matters and contribution in its phenomenal growth was acknowledged by the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and late finance minister Shri. Arun Jaitely, at various occasions.

    “Regrettably, with unwanted meddling, this Bank has now adopted a bureaucratic approach which is continuing to plague its’ functioning. Hasty declaration of Non Performing Assets (NPAs), stopping settlement process, halting advances and above all persecution and harassment of its clients are few consequences of an intrusive approach of people at the helms of its affairs. This scenario needs to be changed. More so, if the present dispensation is serious in revival of shattered economy of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bukhari observed.

    Bukhari said that the RBI had also allowed the banks to go for restructuring and rehabilitation of stress accounts to save them from turning into non performing assets. “Unfortunately, this has also turned out to be a half-hearted exercise by the J&K Bank. The business community is a worst hit sector in J&K, and concrete steps are required for revival of this sector,” he advocated.

    Bukhari also emphasized on the need to run J&K Bank professionally and all its decisions be taken by the professionals only rather than the bureaucrats who disappointingly don’t see a reason to empathize with the suffering masses of the region.

  • DAK appeals recovered coronavirus patients to donate plasma

    “People who have recovered from the disease would be saving lives by donating their plasma,”

    Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Saturday appealed recovered coronavirus patients to donate plasma that can be used to treat serious cases of COVID-19.

    “People who have recovered from the disease would be saving lives by donating their plasma,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
    “Plasma therapy involves the transfusion of plasma from a recovered patient to a critical patient,” he said.

    “The therapy is based on the premise that blood of a patient who has recovered from COVID-19 contains antibodies with the specific ability to fight the novel virus and help the critical patient to recover,” he added.
    Dr Nisar said convalescent plasma therapy is showing promising results and has become a ray of hope in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

    “Citing a study from China, he said plasma therapy was given to ten COVID-19 patients and the results were promising.

    “Countries like US, Iran and UK are already using plasma therapy with success,” he added.

    He further said plasma therapy has shown encouraging results on four coronavirus patients in Delhi.
    Dr Nisar said the process of donating plasma is similar to donating blood and takes about an hour.

    “The donor is connected to a cell-separating machine, also called apheresis machine that removes plasma, while simultaneously returning the remaining components (red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets) to the donor,” he said.

    “Both SMHS and SKIMS hospitals have these machines in place,” he added.
    Dr Nisar said plasma can be donated more frequently as compared to blood. It can be donated as often as twice a week.

    “Plasma from one person can be used in recovering two infected persons,” he said.

    Dr Nisar said an antibody titer of at least 1:160 in the plasma of a donor is considered to be adequate for transfusion.

    “The number of the helpful antibodies rise steadily in the bloodstream of a recovered patient and peaks between 21 and 28 days after recovery,” he said.

  • Tata, Jindal among players seeking postponement in payment of loans from their banks

    ICRA list names 328 such entities

    Several large industrial houses, including groups like Tata and Jindal, have sought moratorium on loan repayment from their banks.

    Rating agency ICRA has compiled a list of 328 entities that have sought to defer loan repayment for three months.

    The list includes Tata Power, Jindal Power, Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Steel, Tata Power Renewable Energy, Piramal Enterprise, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Kalyan Jewellers, TV Sundaram Iyengar and Sons, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd., Jay Shree Tea, Bharat Aluminium and Indian Terrain Fashions, among others.

    ICRA said the list was not a comprehensive one, as information about some rated entities was not readily available as of now.

    “It may be noted that for the entities that are yet to receive an approval for the moratorium from their lending institutions, if the same is not received in due course, ICRA would review its stance on default recognition,” ICRA said.

    Following the nationwide economic lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to extend the repayment moratorium for three months on term loans. Banks are not allowed to change the asset classification status of the loan even if a customer had applied for loan moratorium. However, it is the discretion of banks whether to allow the moratorium to their customers.

    Among non-banking finance companies, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited, has applied for moratorium. A few micro- finance institutions have also applied for the moratorium.

    Most banks have so far denied any loan moratorium to non-banking finance companies, including housing finance companies.

    With inputs from The Hindu

    (Except for the headlines, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • Kashmir reports 40 fresh cases, J&K’s COVID-19 tally rises to 494

    Srinagar: In biggest single day spike, Kashmir Valley recorded 40 fresh cases in last 24 hours, officials said.

    A senior government officer told GNS that 14 cases were confirmed at Viral Diagnostic Lab at SKIMS and 26 others at Chest Disease Hospital Dalgate.

    Among the fresh cases include:

    21 from Anantnag, 05 from Srinagar, 07 from Bandipora, 03 each from Baramulla and Shopian while one is from Kupwara.

    With these fresh cases, the total number of cases has risen to 494 in Jammu and Kashmir.

    6 of them have died including a 72-year old man today.

    109 cases have also recovered.

    (GNS)

  • J&K govt revokes PSA of 28 people

    PTI

    Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government has revoked the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against 28 people lodged in jails within and outside the Union territory, officials said on Saturday.

    A prominent name to figure in the list is Mohammad Yasin Khan, head of the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturing Federation (KTMF) and the Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), they added.

    Hundreds of people, including mainstream leaders, were detained and booked under the PSA after August 5 last year when the Centre revoked the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into Union territories.

    Several of them, including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, were recently released.

    However, other mainstream leaders who continue to be in detention include former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and former minister Naeem Akhtar.

  • Amid Covid-19 Scare; Mega-sized locust expected to attack India this summer

    It has the potential to cause a food security issue, say officials

    Atul Aneja

    Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s response to natural disasters is expected to be tested again this summer when a giant locust storm from the Horn of Africa is expected to attack farmlands in South Asia.

    Official sources told The Hindu that the government was preparing for a “two-front war”— one, which was ongoing against the COVID-19 infections and another to ensure food security — in anticipation of the locust attack on farms.

    “We are preparing for a worst-case scenario. Starting from the Horn of Africa, and joined by desert locusts from breeding grounds en route, one locust stream can travel over a land corridor passing over Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India, impacting farmlands in Punjab, Haryana and the Indo-Gangetic plain. But another stream passing over the Indian Ocean can directly attack farms in peninsular India, and then head towards Bangladesh. Together, this can cause a serious food security issue,” the source said.

    Destructive power

    The destructive power of a typical locust swarm, which can vary from less than one square kilometre to several hundred square kilometres, is enormous, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on its website. A one square kilometre swarm, containing about 40 million locusts, can in a day eat as much food as 35,000 people, assuming that each individual consumes 2.3 kg of food per day.

    An FAO situation update of April 21 paints a grim picture. It spotlights that desert locusts, which are breeding this spring in East Africa, Yemen and southern Iran, will gravely heighten the threat to food security in the Afro-Asian region.

    In Iran, locust swarms could be forming near Jask — a port city on the Gulf of Oman, as well the Sistan-Baluchistan province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, opening two trajectories of movement. In Pakistan, breeding grounds have been detected in Balochistan, the Indus Valley as well as Punjab. Besides, limited breeding has also been spotted near the Indian border. “We are hoping that the Pakistani side will take active measures to contain the crisis in their country, which can minimise the impact on India and beyond,” the source said.

    Most countries combating locust swarms are mainly relying on organophosphate chemicals, which are applied in small concentrated doses by vehicle-mounted and aerial sprayers.

    The looming locust attack, which could undermine food security in the Afro-Asian region, follows the economic devastation, and the savaging of incomes, by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a briefing to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, warned that the pandemic could now be fusing into a “hunger pandemic”.

    “Lockdowns and economic recession are expected to lead to a major loss of income among the working poor… The loss of tourism receipts will damage countries such as Ethiopia, where it accounts for 47% of total exports. The collapsing oil prices in lower-income countries like South Sudan will have an impact significantly, where oil accounts for 98.8% of total exports. And, of course, when donor countries’ revenues are down, how much impact will this have on life saving foreign aid?” he observed.

    Mr. Beasley estimated that COVID-19 would push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation, bringing the global total of those facing extreme hunger to 265 million.

    With inputs from The Hindu

    (Except for the headlines, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • 23 militants killed in 24 days of ongoing month

    Srinagar: On an average a militant was killed every day in Jammu and Kashmir in the first three weeks of current April month.

    From past 24 days, 23 militants have been killed in erstwhile state.
    These militants were killed in Kharbatapora Kulgam, Keran, Armpora Sopore, Keegam and Melhora Shopian, Dachen Kishtwar, Kharpora Bijbehara and Goripora Pulwama. Some of the militants killed were top Commanders.

    April witnessed the highest number of militant casualties. The number stands at 23. In January 17 militants were killed while 8 were neutralized in February and 7 in March.

    “On an average a militant was killed every day in Valley this month. We neutralized 23 militant this month and it is really a big success. Besides, large number militant sympathizers have been apprehended,” said a police official to KNT.

    The ongoing month witnessed 41 casualties. “Besides 23 militants, 11 government forces personnel including 5 soldiers, 4 troopers and 2 policemen and 7 civilians were killed in first three week of the ongoing month.

    Among the 7 civilians killed this month, three became prey of cross border shelling. (KNT)

  • China approves third COVID-19 vaccine for clinical trials

    China has approved three coronavirus vaccines, including the one developed by Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for clinical trials

    PTI

    China has approved its third coronavirus vaccine for the second phase of clinical trials as it reported 12 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 82,816.

    China has approved three coronavirus vaccines, including the one developed by Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for clinical trials.

    An “inactivated” vaccine developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) started its clinical trials, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

    An “inactivated” vaccine consists of virus particles, bacteria, or other pathogens that have been grown in culture and then lose disease producing capacity. In contrast, live vaccines use pathogens that are still alive.

    WIV has been in the eye of the storm in recent weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump and top American officials alleged that the coronavirus may have escaped from there and demanded a probe into it. An official of the WIV denied it, terming the allegation “entirely based on speculation”.

    A total of 96 persons in three age groups have received the vaccine in the first phase of clinical trial as of April 23. The vaccine has shown good safety results so far and vaccine receivers are still under observation, said the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

    The randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of the inactivated vaccine are conducted in Jiaozuo, central China’s Henan Province, and the second phase of clinical trial will focus on the vaccination procedure, it said.

    The vaccine will also go through the third phase of the clinical trial, and it may take about one year to complete the clinical trial before finally reaching the conclusion on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, it said.

    China has approved three COVID-19 vaccine candidates for clinical trials.

    An adenovirus vector vaccine, developed by Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, was the first to be approved to enter a clinical trial.

    The first phase of the clinical trial was completed at the end of March, and the second phase started on April 12.

    Meanwhile China’s National Health Commission, (NHC) said on Saturday that 12 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the country on Friday, of which 11 were imported.

    The other one was domestically transmitted in Heilongjiang Province bordering Russia.

    The death toll in the country remained at 4,632 people as no fatalities were reported due to coronavirus on Friday, it said.

    The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,816 by Friday, including 838 patients who were still being treated and 77,346 people discharged after treatment.

    The total number of imported cases of the coronavirus in China increased to 1,629 on Friday, of this 909 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 720 were being treated with 25 in severe conditions, it said.

    Also on Friday, 29 asymptomatic cases were reported. So far, 983 suspected asymptomatic cases, including 150 from abroad, were still under medical observation, it said.

    Coronavirus’ first epicentres Hubei and its capital Wuhan had 553 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

    The asymptomatic cases were a cause of concern as the government has lifted over two-month lockdown in Hubei and Wuhan after cases abated.

    Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. They are infectious and pose a risk of spreading to others.

  • Elderly man from Tangmarg dies of Covid-19, Toll 6

    Srinagar: The death toll due to novel coronavirus or Covid-19 rose to six in Jammu and Kashmir after one more patient died of the infection on Saturday morning.

    Coordinator for Coronavirus at JVC SKIMS Bemina, Dr Nouman Nazir told KNT that an elderly man from Tangmarg area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district Covid-19 positive patient died at JVC SKIMS hospital in Srinagar on Saturday morning. He said the patient had admitted in the hospital on 13 April this month.

    As per the details, the patient belonged to Tangmarg area of North Kashmir and was tested positive for Covid-19.

    Jammu and Kashmir had recorded first death due to Covid-19 on March 25 when a 65-year-old Tableegi preacher from Hyderpora succumbed to the novel coronavirus infection at CD hospital.

    Then, on March 29, a 50-year-old man from Tangmarg area had passed away at CD hospital.

    Earlier this month, a 54-year-old Covid-19 patient, from Bandipora, had died at SMHS hospital.

    Later on April 8, a 61-year-old lady from Udhampur died at GMC, Jammu.

    Then a 70 year old man from Armpora Sopore died at Chest Disease hospital.

    The number of Covid-19 positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir has now surged past 400-mark with five deaths reported so far. (KNT)

  • Serum Institute eyes COVID-19 vaccine by October

    It is being developed by University of Oxford; clinical trials in India soon, says CEO.

    City-based Serum Institute of India has said that it expects the vaccine for coronavirus (COVID-19) developed by the University of Oxford in the market by October or November provided the safety and efficacy of the product is established during trials.

    The institute has partnered with the Oxford vaccine project as one of the seven global institutions that will manufacture the vaccine.

    “In around two weeks, we can produce five million doses a month and scale that up to 10 million after six months while typically producing a vaccine takes a long time,” SII CEO Adar Poonawala told CNBC-TV18.

    Observing that there were a lot of people who thought that they would have a vaccine in a few months, Mr. Poonawalla said there was, however, a strong caveat.

    “If the vaccine works in the U.K. trial and we do another trial in India, which we are hoping to start shortly, in safety and efficacy, only then will it be available by October or November and that is only if we start producing at our personal cost in risk by the end of this month,” he said.

    Further, he said the institute would be using one of the existing facilities for manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine, “However, it will take over two years to set up new manufacturing facility for COVID-19 vaccine,” he added.

    “Typically vaccines take many years but with the regulatory approvals in India that have been very carefully changed for this product development, we are very pleased to announce that we will be able to do it by the end of this year,” Mr. Poonawalla said.

    SII is currently looking at 4-5 million doses monthly and would start manufacturing early to save time in the hope that the trial would be successful. “So, we hope to build up 20-40 million doses by September-October in the hope that if the trial works, then we will have this product,” he said.

    Mr. Poonawalla said SII would be partnering with ICMR for the clinical trials and that he was in touch with the Department of Biotechnology.

    Talking about the decision and the risks involved, Mr. Poonawala said: “We are not a listed company and we are not accountable for our actions to investors in terms of pure profits and returns. So, I was able to make this decision and take this risk on at the cost of our other vaccines that we are putting aside temporarily so that we can build up the scale here.”

    Mr. Poonawalla said that the manufacturing plant in Pune would have an investment of ₹500-600 crore.

    With inputs from The Hindu

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed)