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  • Sorry State of Affairs: JK’s Education deptt has over 2000 untrained teachers for Hr Sec Schools

    Srinagar: Puncturing the tall claims of the government about quality education in the government-run schools, the Jammu and Kashmir’s School Education department has over 2000 untrained teachers, who are teaching the students of higher classes in various schools, an official data has revealed.

    Official data has revealed that there were at least 2061 untrained teachers in the School Education department.

    The official documents, available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) reads, “There are 2061 untrained teachers in Government Secondary Schools based on Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2018-19 who do not meet the requisite professional qualifications.”

    According to the documents, the Government of India (GoI) has said, “Union Territory (UT) is to roll out a policy to enroll such teachers in Teacher’s Educational Institutions to complete the professional course who are without having minimum qualification.”

    The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has directed the concerned authorities to provide professional training to the untrained teachers.

    “All the untrained teachers need to be professionally trained so as to be compliant with National Council for Teachers Training (NCTE) regulations,” it reads.

    The MHRD officials said that a total of 23,137 KRPs and SRPs and 16,999,31 School heads and teachers have been trained under NISHTHA in 2019-20.

    “In this regard given the positive feedback received from the States and UTs regarding the effectiveness of the NISHTHA training programme at the elementary level particularly in terms of effective transition of comprehensive and well defined modules covering various aspects teaching learning processes,” the official said.

    The official further said that it has been decided to launch NISHTHA Phase-II at the secondary level in order to have a coordinated and learning outcome based training programme.

    “Teachers, headmasters, principals of Government and Government aided schools at secondary level will be covered in NISHTHA Phase-II,” the official added—(KNO)

  • Six J&K parties forge alliance to fight for pre-August 5 position

    Srinagar: For the first time after over a year of stripping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, regional parties, including the National Conference (NC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the Congress, the J&K Peoples Conference (PC), the CPI(M) and the Awani National Conference (ANC), on Saturday announced that they would continue to fight for the restoration of Article 370.

    “We all reiterate that we are bound, wholly, by the contents of the Gupkar Declaration and will unwaveringly adhere to it. We are committed to strive for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, the Constitution of J&K and the restoration of the State and any division of the State is unacceptable to us. We unanimously reiterate that there can be ‘nothing about us without us’,” said a joint statement of these parties as per news agency KINS.

    The statement was jointly issued by NC’s Dr. Farooq Abdullah, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, Congress’ G.A. Mir, CPI (M) M.Y. Tarigami, PC’s Sajad Gani Lone, ANC’s Muzaffar Shah.

    “The signatories to the Gupkar Declaration of August 4, 2019, have barely managed to establish a basic level of communication with each other in the face of a series of prohibitive and punitive curbs imposed by the government, aimed at impeding all social and political interactions. The limited confabulations held within the constraints imposed have resulted in this unanimous resolution. The unfortunate events of August 5, 2019, have unrecognisably changed the relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi,” the statement reads.
    “In a spitefully short-sighted and unconstitutional move, Articles 370 and 35A were abrogated and the state was bifurcated and relegated to the status of two Union Territories and its Constitution tried to be made unenforceable. The series of measures undertaken on August 5, 2019, were grossly unconstitutional and in reality measures of disempowerment and a challenge to the basic identity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

    The measures attempt to redefine who we are. These changes were accompanied by repressive measures meant to silence people and coerce them into submission, and continue unabated,” the statement added.

    Prior to stripping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the leaders had met at the Gupkar residence of Abdullah here and drafted the Gupkar declaration.

    Earlier on August 20, Abdullah had told reporters that he was in constant touch with Mehbooba and that they stood by the Gupkar declaration.

    Asserting that these were “testing times and times of pain for the peace-loving people of Jammu and Kashmir”, the joint statement said: “We all reiterate our commitment to collectively fight to restore the Special Status of J-K as guaranteed under the Constitution and the commitments made from time to time. There is unanimity amongst us that collective institutions are the effective way to fight for these rights and tirelessly struggle to get back the special status and restore the Constitutional guarantees forcibly taken away, against our will. We want to assure the people that all our political activities will be subservient to the sacred goal of reverting to the status of J-K as it existed on August 4, 2019.”

    “We all reiterate that we are bound, wholly, by the contents of the Gupkar declaration and will unwaveringly adhere to it. We are committed to strive for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and the restoration of the state and any division of the state is unacceptable to us. We unanimously reiterate that there can be ‘nothing about us without us”, the statement added.

  • North Kashmir: Top LeT commander killed in Baramulla : IGP

    Srinagar: A Top commander of Lashkar Toiba was killed in an encounter in Saloosa area of Kreeri of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday.

    Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Vijay Kumar told GNS that top commander of LeT was killed in an encounter at Saloosa. He identified the slain militant as Anees Alias Chota Sultan from Pakistan.

    Sultan was active since 2018 and was operating in Sopore, Zangeer and Bandipore areas.

    01 AK-47 and 5 magazine were recovered from the slain militant, the official said.

    Pertinently, this is second encounter in Baramulla district this week. 03 militants, 02 Army soldiers, 02 CRPF and 01 SPO of J&K police was killed in previous encounter at Kreeri.(GNS)

  • 20 private hospitals including 10 from Srinagar without registration certificates, RTI reveals

    Srinagar: At least twenty private hospitals/nursing homes across Valley among ten are functioning alone from Srinagar including Noora Hospital, Zainakote and Florence Hospital, Chanapora are carrying its healthcare operations without holding proper medical registrations certificates, an RTI has revealed.

    According to Kashmir News Service (KNS), a shocking revelation has surfaced that twenty private hospitals-cum-nursing homes are functioning without having valid documents across Kashmir Valley. Among un-valid health centers, ten belongs to only central Kashmir’s Srinagar district, said Siraj-ud-din an RTI activist who has sought information from DHSK.

    Providing details, Director Health Services of Kashmir (DHSK) has in its reply said that there are forty-five private hospitals/nursing homes functioning across J&K including three from Ladakh Union Territory.

    The information received under Right to Information Act (RTI) 2009, reads that there are at least twenty hospitals/nursing homes whose registration has been expired years before.

    In Srinagar district there are ten hospitals/nursing homes whose registration certificates had been expired years before but the administration of the concerned have not approached yet to renew the validity of their institutions.

    Those functioning without valid registration in Srinagar includes Care Hospital Bemina (13.11.2009), Florence Hospital Chanapora (13.01.2020), New City Hospital Tengpora (23.03.2020), Noora Hospital Zainakote (24.01.2020), Safa Marwah Medical Centre 90 Ft Road Soura (09.06.2020), Star Hospital Sanantnagar (26.10.2018), Mubarak Hospital Hyderpora (02.08.2009), Al-Ameen Charitable Trust Hyderpora (02.08.2014), Classic Hospital Hyderpora (02.08.2009) and Imam Hussain (AS) Foundation Hospital Bemina (23.01.2012).

    However those belong to other parts of Valley includes Life Long Nursing Home, Beehama, Ganderbal (26.12.2019), Zenith Nursing Home, Exchange Road, Dangerpora Pulwama (21.02.2019), Kong Posh Nursing Home Pampore (28.03.2016), Hakim Sana-ullah Special Hospital & Cancer Centre, Sopore (26.07.2015), Dr Altaf Nursing Home Baramulla (28.08.2018), Sopore Nursing Home, Sopore (16.08.2018), St Joseph’s Hospital, Baramulla (28.03.2017), Al-Hayat Maternity & Laparoscopic Hospital, Janglat Mandi Anantnag (20.02.2020), Waseem Memorial Nursing Home, Handwara, Kupwara (02.03.2020) and Quality Health Care Centre, Bramri, Kupwara (10.07.2019).

    In the document provided by the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir (DHSK), it has been surfaced that Noora Hospital Srinagar is refusing to provide treatment having golden cards issued under Ayushman Bharat by Government of India. However the applicant has been asked to sought information from CMO Srinagar.

    Meanwhile sources told KNS that Directorate of Health Services Kashmir has failed to take legal actions against such medical centers who are running its business on the cost of lives of common people. They said despite these hospitals are charging hefty amounts from patients but have failed to renew their registration certificates which is mandatory for continuing health care services. (KNS)

  • COVID-19: India records highest single-day spike of 69,874 cases; tally rises to 29,75,701

    PTI

    New Delhi: With a record spike of 69,874 infections in a day, India’s COVID-19 tally increased to 29,75,701, while the recoveries rose to 22,22,577 pushing the recovery rate to 74.69 per cent on Saturday, according to the Union health ministry data.

    The death toll climbed to 55,794 with 945 fatalities being reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    The COVID-19 case fatality rate has declined to 1.87 per cent, it said.

    There are 6,97,330 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 23.43 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7.

    A cumulative total of 3,44,91,073 samples have been tested up to August 21 with 10,23,836 samples being tested on Friday, the highest done in a day so far, Lokesh Sharma, scientist and media coordinator at ICMR said.

  • Pakistan violates ceasefire along IB in Kathua

    PTI

    Jammu: Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling along the International Border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.

    The ceasefire violation in the Border Out Post Karol Mathna area of Hiranagar sector started at 11.30 pm on Friday, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Border Security Force (BSF), they said.

    The cross-border firing between the two sides continued throughout the night and ended at 4.40 am on Saturday, officials said.

    There was no report of any casualty or damage on the Indian side, they said.

    However, the firing caused panic among border residents who were forced to spend the night in underground bunkers for their safety.

    Pakistan has been frequently targeting forward posts and villages in Hiranagar sector of Jammu and Kashmir to stall the construction work being undertaken by BSF to strengthen the counter-infiltration grid, officials added.

  • An unidentified militant killed in Chek-e-Saloosa Kreeri, Baramulla

    One militant killed, Gunfight continues

    Srinagar: One militant has been killed in ongoing encounter between militants and security forces in saloosa area of Kreeri of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday.

    Offcial sources told GNS that, one militant has been killed in ongoing operation, however his identity couldn’t be ascertained yet.

    Pertinently, this is second encounter in Baramulla district this week. 03 militants, 02 Army soldiers, 02 CRPF and 01 SPO of J&K police was killed in previous encounter at Kreeri.

    Earlier, A senior Police officer told GNS that on specific information A joint team of Police, Army’s 52RR and 176BN of CRPF launched cordon and search Operation in the Saloosa.

    As the joint team of forces approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon the party triggering off an encounter.

    As per the sources two to three militants are believed to be trapped.(GNS)

    This is a developing story.

    Further details awaited.

  • Income Tax refunds worth ₹88,652 cr issued to 24.64 lakh taxpayers

    PTI

    The Union govt. has emphasised on providing tax related services to taxpayers without any hassles during COVID-19 pandemic and to that end has been clearing up pending tax refunds.

    The Central Board of Direct Taxes is the apex decision-making body in direct tax matters, administers personal income tax and corporate tax. Photograph used for representational purposes onlyThe Central Board of Direct Taxes is the apex decision-making body in direct tax matters, administers personal income tax and corporate tax. Photograph used for representational purposes only

    The Income Tax department on Friday said it has issued refunds worth ₹88,652 crore to over 24 lakh taxpayers so far this fiscal.

    The government has emphasised on providing tax related services to taxpayers without any hassles during COVID-19 pandemic and to that end has been clearing up pending tax refunds.

    This include personal income tax (PIT) refunds amounting to ₹28,180 crore issued to over 23.05 lakh taxpayers and corporate tax refunds amounting to ₹60,472 crore to over 1.58 lakh taxpayers during this period.

    “CBDT has, so far, issued refunds of over ₹88,652 crore to more than 24.64 lakh taxpayers from 1st April, 2020 onwards. Income tax refunds of ₹28,180 crore have been issued in 23,05,726 cases & corporate tax refunds of ₹60,472 crore have been issued in 1,58,280 cases,” the Income Tax department tweeted.

    The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the apex decision-making body in direct tax matters, administers personal income tax and corporate tax.

  • State-run banks stare at capital shortage again, warns Moody’s

    Asset quality to deteriorate, driven by non-performing loans of MSMEs.

    A sharp slowdown in India’s economic growth exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak will hurt public sector banks’ (PSBs) asset quality, and result in sharp increases in credit costs, hurting profitability, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

    Red flag: NPLs and credit costs will rise in the next two years, depleting PSBs’ capital buffers.Red flag: NPLs and credit costs will rise in the next two years, depleting PSBs’ capital buffers. | Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

    This will lead to a depletion of the already weak capital buffers of the PSBs, it wrote in a report.

    “We estimate the PSBs will need ₹1.9-₹2.1 trillion ($25-$28 billion) in external capital over the next two years to restore their loss- absorbing buffers. The most likely source of capital to plug the capital shortfalls will be government support, despite the completion of a large recapitalisation by the government several months ago,” it said. The banks’ asset quality will deteriorate, led by retail and small business loans. “We expect the Indian economy will contract sharply in fiscal year ending March 2021 before returning to growth, though modestly, in the next fiscal,” it said.

    As a result, formation of new non-performing loans (NPLs) will accelerate substantially, driven by retail and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) segments.

    Although the one-time loan restructuring allowed by the RBI will prevent a sudden rise in NPLs, NPLs and credit costs will increase in the next two years, hurting PSBs’ already weak profitability and depleting their capitalisation, it said. It said the banks will face large capital shortfalls again as credit costs will rise. Of the estimated about ₹2.0 trillion required in the next two years, PSBs will need about ₹1.0 trillion to build loan-loss provisions to about 70% of NPLs, which will leave them with enough capacity to grow loans at 8%-10% annually, faster than the 4% in March 2021.

    With a capital infusion of this magnitude, banks would also be able to maintain capitalization at levels comparable to those of similarly rated peers globally, with Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratios of at least 10%, it said.

    Moody’s said to ensure financial stability, the government will continue to provide capital support for PSBs.

    Stating that uncertainty surrounding India’s economic recovery as well as the ongoing clean-up of balance sheets were making it difficult for most PSBs to raise equity capital from markets, Moody’s said adding the PSBs will continue to need support from the government to plug their capital shortfalls.

    “We expect the government to infuse fresh funds into them as it has done in the past. If PSBs”, which dominate the banking system, in India, fail to function properly in the absence of state capital support, India the country will face a deepening credit crunch, hampering its economic recovery,” Moody’s added.

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • ‘RBI at end of rate-cut cycle, fiscal steps must for recovery’

    High inflation unlikely to decline materially: SBI economists

    PTI

    The Reserve Bank is at the end of its rate-cut cycle as inflation is unlikely to decline materially from the current level, and the onus of economic recovery has now shifted to the government, economists at SBI said.

    The comments come a day after the release of the minutes of the latest meeting of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee, where high inflation was cited as the prime reason for the unanimous decision to hold rates. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had cut rates by 1.15% in two moves since the onset of the pandemic in March this year in order to push economic growth, but surprised many by holding rates at the August review as inflation overshot its target.

    “Fiscal policy should play a decisive role, if we have to nurture any hopes of a fast-paced recovery,” economists at the SBI said.

    “We now believe that we are at the end of the rate-cut cycle and expectations of large rate cuts must be anchored as inflation is unlikely to decline materially from current level,” the SBI economists said, hinting at best there can be a 0.25% more of rate cuts in the offing.

    If RBI continues with unconventional policy measures, it would help the financial markets because it has been significantly able to reduce the long and variable lags of monetary policy through successes like fastest rate transmission and restoring financial stability, it said.

    With no rate cuts on the table, the other monetary policy alternative could be to reduce the width of the asymmetric policy corridor or increase in reverse repo rate when the pandemic subsides, they opined.

    The economists said they feel inflation — which came at 6.9% for July — could be sticky because their estimates show the large procurement by the government may have resulted in 0.35-0.40% upward impact.

    The supply chain disruptions are showing no signs of abating and have played a spoilsport across several states, they added.

    The economists also endorsed the Monetary Policy Committee’s call for a change in computing inflation to a practice adopted by developed markets.

    “We plead with the National Statistical Office (NSO) to fix the broken CPI methodology that is playing havoc with policy decisions.

    “The minutes of the MPC meeting make a forceful case for shifting to a chain-based price index for measuring price level, as is the practice in most developed countries given the change in consumer preferences,” they said.