Leh: The Ladakh Food Security Scheme (LFSS) has been launched by the Union Territory administration, officials said.
With the implementation of LFSS, the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme (MMSFES) of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir has been discontinued.
Ladakh was earlier part of Jammu and Kashmir.
The introduction of the scheme will benefit 6,101 beneficiary families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, in addition to 43,916 families covered under the MMSFES.
Srinagar: The Crime Branch Kashmir Friday presented two ‘Challans‘ in Passenger Tax Court Srinagar against five accused.
These accused are Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, Shahnawaz Ahmad Reshi (both residents of Shopian), Abdul Razaq Tantray of Baramulla, Zahid Ilyas Ganie of Ganderbal and Farooq Ahmad Lone of Pattan.
Earlier, Crime Branch, Kashmir received complaint from one Mujeeb Masood Khan through Hon’ble Court of Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar alleging therein that Riyaz Ahmad Bhat and others have deceived the complainant under the garb of providing Government Job and deceived him with an amount of ₹ 2,30,000/= in lieu of fake appointment order.
Enquiry conducted by the Crime Branch, Kashmir reveald that Riyaz Ahmad, Farooq Ahmad , Shahnawaz Ahmad and Abdul Razak Tantray in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy had dishonestly and treacherously duped the complainant under the garb of providing Government Job. In this regard a case was registered against the accused in police station Crime Branch Kashmir.
Subsequently, Crime Branch Kashmir Produced one more challan before the Court of Additional Special Judge Anti Corruption Srinagar related to unfair assistance provided to a student by the supervising staff during an Exam.
The Challan Produced before the Court of Additional Special Judge Anti Corruption Srinagar against the two accused, namely Imtiyaz Asgar, S/o: Mohammad Amin Bijan of Bonpora, Batmaloo, Srinagar and Mehraj Ud Din Zargar, S/o Mohammad Yousuf of Balgarden, Srinagar. (KNT)
Separatist leader appears before court through Video conferencing
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police Friday presented a charge-sheet against separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik in Baramulla District Court in connection with two cases lodged against him in police station Sumbal, Bandipora.
An official told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO that the two cases lodged at Police Station Sumbal under FIR numbers of 260/2008 and 109/ 2010 under Section 13 ULA (P) against Malik in 2008 and 2010, after he was found involved in organizing pro-freedom rallies and gatherings in Sumbal town after which he was booked..
He said Police presented a charge-sheet against Malik in the court of session judge Sanjay Parihar” here at Baramulla District Court through video conferencing. Malik appeared before the Court through video conferencing today and he was also informed about the charge-sheet which has been filed against him in Baramulla Court.
While presenting the charge-sheet, when the judge gave Yasin Malik a chance to choose his lawyer, the separatist leader said that he would follow his own lead. However, the court did not approve his statement and directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide a lawyer for Malik.
The official said told KNO that since Malik is currently in custody outside Jammu and Kashmir. Therefore, he cannot pursue his case. “The District Legal Services Authority of Baramulla should provide him a lawyer after which the matter can be heard,” he said, adding that the next hearing of the case has been fixed for July 21. Notably, Malik is currently lodged at Central Jail Tihar in Delhi under a different case—(KNO)
Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said on Friday that he has tested positive for coronavirus. He added that he has started observing quarantine protocol as well as gone into self-isolation. “By the grace of Allah, I feel strong and energetic. I will continue to carry on my duties from home. Please keep me in your prayers,” he wrote in his tweet.
The foreign minister, also added in the tweet that “This afternoon I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself at home. I have now tested positive for Covid 19.”
Many politicians across the array of political parties have tested positive for Coronavirus.
– Agencies
New Delhi: Paying tributes to the 20 Army men killed in a violent face off with Chinese troops in east Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the bravery shown by the soldiers has sent a message about the strength of India
Addressing Army, Air Force and ITBP personnel during his surprise visit to Ladakh, he said India’s resolve for ‘atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) becomes stronger because of you and your strong resolve
He told the personnel that their will power is as strong and firm as the Himalayas and the whole country is proud of them.
Srinagar: J&K Bank’s one-year performance (FY2019-20) declared on June 29, 2020, registering a whopping net loss of over Rs.1139 crore has exposed decaying key financial ratios of the bank. The stakeholders of the bank constituting customers, employees and the shareholders call the bank as a “sinking ship” because of the cracked fundamentals.
Many reputed customers of the bank while commenting on the falling financials of the bank said, “Dismal financial performance declared by the J&K Bank for the financial year ended March 31, 2020 (FY2019-20) reflects that the bank is in shambles and losing foothold as the premier financial institution of J&K.”
The bank reported a net loss of Rs 1139.41 crore for the financial year ended March, 2020 as compared to net profit of Rs 464.88 crore during the financial year ended March, 2019. For the fourth quarter (Q4) March the bank reported a net loss of Rs 294.10 crore compared with net profit of Rs 214.80 crore in Q4 March 2019.
The total income in the fourth quarter fell 7.9% to Rs 2277 crore from Rs 2473.47 crore in the same period last year.
According to the information on the bank’s website, the audited earnings update presents a shabby outlook of the bank. Almost all the key financial ratios/indicators have gone in negative territory.
Earning per share (EPS) for the financial year ended Mar, 2020 has dropped to Rs -15.97 from Rs 8.35 of the previous financial year. the book value of shares of the bank has fallen from Rs.108 of 2018-19 to Rs.75 at the end of March 2020.
Net profit per branch too has fallen into negative territory where it has fallen from Rs 0.49 Crore to Rs -1.19 Crore. Net profit per employee in FY 2019-20 is down to Rs -9.03 lacs from Rs 3.69 lac of 2018-19.
Though the present management had announced to cut down expenditure, the figure in this aspect speaks a different story. Cost to Income Ratio stood at 65.52% for the quarter ended March, 2020 as compared to 55.01 % for the quarter ended Mar, 2019. There is more than 10 % increase in expenditure. On year to year basis, cost to income ratio has gone up from 59% of the FY 2018-19 to 64% in the FY 2019-20.
Analysts question the nature of expenditure which has increased substantially that too when income of the bank has gone down.
It is to be stated here that cost-to-income ratio is a key financial measure, particularly important in valuing banks. … To get the ratio, divide the operating costs (administrative and fixed costs, such as salaries and property expenses, but not bad debts that have been written off) by operating income.
Return on assets is reported to have gone down in negative territory from 8% of 2018-19 to -20% in the FY 2019-20.
Return on assets is a profitability ratio that provides how much profit a company is able to generate from its assets. In other words, return on assets (ROA) measures how efficient a company’s management is in generating earnings from its economic resources or assets on their balance sheet.
The earnings update states downfall in credit-deposit (CD) ratio though the bank has been beating the drum of extending credit to different economic sectors. During the FY 2019-20, the CD ratio of the bank has gone down from 74% to 65%.
The gross NPA of the bank is up to 11% from 9% of FY 2018-19.
There has been a meagre increase in deposits of the bank which mostly constitute government deposits. While as there has been a decrease of 3% in loans and advances which shows the lackadaisical approach of the top management of the bank.
An increase of 10% has been recorded in the interest earned during the financial year 2019-20 and same 10 per cent increase in the interest paid head, thus raising the question as how cost to income has increased.
Other income of the bank has decreased from Rs.813 crore in 2108-19 to Rs.546 crore on 2109-20 representing nose dive decrease of 33%.
Operating expenses have increased by 10% from 2479 crore in 2018-19 to 2727 crore of 2019-20 when only 21 staff members have been added from 2018-19 and there is no developmental work going on.
These figures have been disappointing for the public and raise serious questions on the management of the bank.
“There is lack of vibrant management in the bank and it is visible that the bank continues to suffer from mis-governance, lack of control over operational level resulting in indiscipline and loss of clientele, nepotism and favoritism,” said traders’ representatives.
Speaking exclusively to KNS, CMD J&K Bank R K Chibber said that he has set out to clean things up and is hopeful of a turnaround in fortunes.
“We have Rs 1525 crore operating profit. It is true the provisions of bad and doubtful debts have gone up. There is Rs 600 crore of provisions of bad and doubtful debts whom in common parlance is called NPAs. In one of those NPAs, ILF account was Rs 1000 crore account. It was already declared NPA. Bank had done only 15 % provision in that account. Recently when RBI declared it unsecured account and directed for securing it 100 %; Rs 800 crore is that account. The reason is some big provisions has happened in past.”
“Now we are working in it, presently we have almost 80% provision coverage ratio. There is not much-unprovsioned ratio left in JK bank balance sheet i.e Rs 2000 crore. This year we have at maximum do Rs 1000 crore provision. Our thrust is on recoveries and NPA which is at present Rs 7600 crore. We have to improve recoveries. NPA is the biggest issue. Our focus is on retail business and recoveries,” he added.
Regarding what action has been taken against those officials who have given loan irresponsibly without proper documents, CMD said, “We ensure staff accountability whenever there are NPA. First of all, we look into it through staff angle accountability and ensure there is no fraud angle.
We try to ascertain whether it is wrongdoing internally or externally. If staff is involved, we fix responsibility. At present we have a robust mechanism in place to ensure no past misdeeds are repeated in the bank.”
He reiterated that goal of J&K bank under his chairmanship is not only to survive but thrive even in present circumstances.
“JK bank has the main role in up-upliftment of J&K economy. It is the top lenders of the state, other banks do not match it anywhere. Their focus in on increasing deposits not lending in J&K.”(KNS)
Srinagar: Member Parliament National Conference Retired Justice Hasnian Masoodi Friday claimed that BJP leaders have realized that nothing has been achieved by August 5 decisions instead the things have gone to the worst.
“BJP leaders at different levels have realized that August 5 decisions were not in the interest of the country or J&K. BJP General Secretary’s statement also reflects that August 5 decisions were not in the interest of the country because nothing has been achieved,” Masoodi told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).
He was reacting to BJP National General Secretary, Ram Madhav, who said that his party supported the idea of restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“We stand for restoration of status which was on August 4, then after to restore autonomy as per Delhi agreement. Statehood is not our aim and objective neither it satisfies political aspiration of people of J&K. BJP has to introspect how things have gone to worst because of misadventure of August 5,” the NC MP claimed.
He said things have gone backwards in Kashmir. “Peace is still an issue. Every day one or two encounters take place, which was not before August 5,” Hasnian added.
Madhav has said, “BJP’s Jammu & Kashmir unit is of the opinion that statehood should be given back when the time is favourable. We want J&K to be restored to a full state’s status. Home Minister Amit Shah himself said while granting UT status that work would be done to get full statehood back very soon. The Assembly is yet to be constituted and delimitation for UT is pending,” he said.(KINS)
Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said fear of getting stigmatised leads to delay in seeking medical help which is the main reason for increase in number of Covid-19 deaths in Kashmir valley.
“Patients arrive at hospitals only when their symptoms worsen,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“Early detection of cases is the key to reduce Covid-19 deaths,” he said.
“But, patients come to hospitals late when their lungs are largely affected which decreases their chances of survival,” he added.
Dr Nisar said instead of making people aware about the disease, an environment of fear and panic has been created.
“Fear and misconceptions about the pandemic have resulted in social stigma for both patients and their families,” he said
Dr Nisar said stigma makes people to hide their illness and keep them away from seeking health care.
“There is an urgent need to scale up awareness among people on Covid and do away with the stigma that has come to surround pandemic,” he said.
Dr Nisar said shifting critically-ill patients who are on life-support from various hospitals to Covid designated hospitals is also contributing to increased mortality.
“Shifting them to dedicated hospitals is leading to interruption and delay in treatment.”
“Most of these Covid death cases have underlying medical conditions which is liable to get neglected in Covid centers for want of specialists and equipments,” he said.
“We need to revisit the existing protocol for shifting critically-ill patients, who test positive for Covid-19 at different hospitals,” he added.
Dr Nisar said another reason for surge in deaths is lack of ECMO machines in Covid centres.
“Most of Covid patients who get placed on conventional ventilators die, but ECMO machine saves patients from the brink of death,” he said.
“While plasma therapy has proved life-saving in critically-ill Covid patients, hospitals in Kahmir have nothing to offer to dying Covid patients,” said Dr Nisar.
New Delhi: National General Secretary Ram Madhav is one of the BJP’s high-profile faces. Since becoming the spokesperson of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 2003, he has subsequently been in the news not only in the country but also in the international media as the face of the saffron party.
At that time, he was also known as something of a global ambassador of the RSS. After spending a long time in the RSS, he was appointed National General Secretary in the BJP in 2014. Since then, he has overseen party activities in from Jammu & Kashmir to northeast affairs.
He is a key strategist who played an important role in BJP’s outreach in the northeast.
It is a result of his efforts that many states in the northeast where BJP did not have a presence, today have BJP governments. Madhav, 56, a native of Andhra Pradesh, had an engineering education before becoming an RSS ‘pracharak’.
In a special interview to IANS on Friday, Madhav spoke openly on issues ranging from Jammu & Kashmir to the China border issue and Nepal.
Madhav, on the question of restoring full statehood to Jammu & Kashmir, said that his party supports it. He said, “BJP’s Jammu & Kashmir unit is of the opinion that statehood should be given back when the time is favourable. We want J&K to be restored to a full state’s status. Home Minister Amit Shah himself said while granting UT status that work would be done to get full statehood back very soon. The Assembly is yet to be constituted and delimitation for UT is pending.”
On the question of restarting political activity in the valley, he said that most of the detained leaders have been released. Madhav said, “BJP wants all leaders to act as bridges between administration and public by participating in political activities, but all big leaders of PDP, National Conference, Congress are sitting inside their houses. Congress leaders are not even arrested so they should answer why they are not taking part in political activities. Political activity will start when Assembly elections are held.”
On the question related to the fear of homecoming among the Kashmiri Pandits after the recent murder of sarpanch Ajay Pandita, Madhav said that the Home Ministry is looking into the entire matter. He said, “Unless we are able to guarantee both security and respect there, it will not be possible for the Kashmiri Pandits to go back to the Valley. Only the formation of colonies cannot lead to the return of the Pandits.”
On the question of why the BJP formed the government in J&K with the PDP, Madhav said that if the BJP had not formed the government, the Assembly election would have had to be held again. However, there were some benefits and some disadvantages of forming a government with the PDP. The government fell three years later after the BJP withdrew support.
Madhav said that after the removal of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, there was very little opposition from the public. He said the people have realised that due to Article 370, the personal prosperity of the Kashmiri leaders only increased, but the public did not benefit. Now the public’s attitude is looking positive.
Veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s resignation was described by Madhav as the result of Hurriyat’s internal politics. He said that Geelani’s resignation will not be able to cover up his political misdeeds of the last 30 years as thousands of youths died in the valley for which Geelani is responsible.
Madhav also spoke on the issue of China. He said that China has an old habit of land grabbing, but the Modi government has given a befitting reply in the last 5 years. After all, what is the solution to the border dispute with China? On this question, Madhav said that the government is working on two fronts in particular.
Emphasis is being laid on proactive diplomacy and strong ground positioning. While there are talks on the military and diplomatic level, the government is also committed to protect every inch of our land. Every possible step is being taken to ensure that the Galwan Valley incident does not recur again.
Madhav said that since the formation of the Modi government, India has been strict regarding the border policy. Regarding the 2017 Doklam incident and the recent Galwan Valley incident, he said, “China was also surprised by our strength in Doklam. China was then trying to get closer to the Chicken’s Neck area, but India gave a befitting reply, and the plot was not allowed to succeed. China wanted us to remove our army, but the Modi government had made it clear that the army would not withdraw until China removed the construction near the border.”
Madhav said that this time also when China tried to enter into LAC, they were physically stopped. It also used rods and stones. “Unfortunately, 20 of our soldiers were martyred. But India has sent a message to China that we will not allow China’s move to occupy the border quietly.”
Why has the friendly country Nepal stood up against India? On this question, Madhav said that even today Nepal may be making some anti-India statements, but this will not affect relations between the two countries.
Although this is not the first time, as such incidents have happened many times since the days of the monarchy in Nepal. He said, “When the king was ruling in Nepal, he used to oppose Nehru. On the basis of past and present experiences, I can say that much of the reason for Nepal’s opposition to India is internal. When there is an internal problem if it happens, then the government there feels it can target India. “
But the BJP general secretary made it clear that relations between India and Nepal will remain as strong as ever.
Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi on Thursday announced that his wife and two daughters have tested negative for coronavirus. Afridi and his family had been diagnosed with COVID-19 last month. Afridi was the second international cricketer from Pakistan to test positive for the novel coronavirus after former batsman Taufeeq Umar.
Afridi had earlier provided an update on his health while he was in self-quarantine at home. In the video shared on Facebook, the former Pakistan captain had said he wanted to address the rumours over his degrading health doing rounds on social media. Afridi had also thanked his fans and followers for their wishes.
On Thursday, he posted a picture with his daughter on Twitter and wrote, “Alhamdulillah, my wife & daughters, Aqsa & Ansha have re-tested after our previously positive results for #COVIDー19, & are now clear. Thanking u all for your continuous well wishes, & may the Almighty bless you and yours. Now back to family time; I’ve missed holding this one.”