#SRINAGAR: To mark the ceremonial beginning of the Annual Shri #Amarnath Ji Yatra, LG Manoj Sinha today attended Pratham Puja via video conferencing. For millions of devotees all over the world pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Baba Amarnath is a cherished life-long dream.
Yatra will be started from 1 July.
#SRINAGAR: As a significant step towards strengthening public healthcare scenario in J&K, 12 more seats have been sanctioned by National Board of Examinations in Medical Science (NBEMS) under DNB for the public institutions of J&K. These seats shall be in addition to the earlier granted 270 DNB seats.
As per detailed breakup, Srinagar Hospital received approval for 2 seats in Orthopedics; GMC Rajouri for 2 seats in Paediatrics; DH Poonch for 2 seats in Surgery, DH Reasi 2 seats in General Medicine and Department of Anesthesiology GMC Baramulla given accreditation for starting DNB courses with intake of 4 PGs, 2 primary DNB and 2 Secondary DNB seats per year.
Secretary Health & Medical Education Department, Bhupinder Kumar, congratulated the entire health and medical education department for this achievement. He expressed happiness over the fact that even far-flung facilities like DH Poonch and DH Reasi have been able to start Post Graduate Courses in these hospitals.
Ayushi Sudan, Mission Director, NHM J&K, while giving details about the development, said that implementation of DNB courses at the district level in J&K has been termed as a best practice in the Country. Under DNB programme in the UT, a total of 270 seats were granted to the accredited departments during session 2022 and start of 2023 consequent to the concerted efforts and hard work of the administrative department H&ME J&K, NHM J&K and the team of health institutions being monitored by Bhupinder Kumar, Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department.
All the efforts are being made to scale up the DNB courses in all the District Hospitals and potential CHCs of J&K. During upcoming session, J&K is planning to submit more than 30 application in all District Hospitals”, she added.
Earlier in the month of March, 20 seats were approved in the UT of J&K in which Government Medical College Srinagar received approval for 2 seats in FNB Paediatric Anesthesia. JLNM Hospital, Srinagar received 3 Post MBBS DNB seats in General Surgery, DH Udhampur received a sanction of 5 seats under Pediatrics, General Medicine and Orthopedics. DH Poonch received 2 seats in General Medicine. DH Ganderbal got a sanction of 2 seats each in DNB General Medicine & Diploma Pediatrics. DH Kulgam received 2 seats in Family Medicine and CHC Kupwara got 2 seats in Diploma Pediatrics.
Pertinent to mention that the DNB (Diplomate of National Board) courses have been introduced in the District Hospitals and new Government Medical Colleges besides old GMCs and SKIMS in order to strengthen the institutions, decongest the Govt. Medical Colleges and to address the shortage of specialists in the UT of J&K.
Implementation of DNB courses has led to an equitable distribution of health care services and manpower especially in far flung and hard to reach areas and beneficial to the population which have very meagre access to health care services in their areas, leading to low referrals from DNB institutions to Tertiary care institutions thereby further decreasing the Out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) of the patients.
#SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta today stressed on making the issuance of ‘Life Certificate’ online and bringing all other eligible services under the Auto-appeal system by 15th of June.
Dr Mehta made these remarks while launching new online services of H&UDD pertaining to application for license by Architects and Draftsmen in Municipal Corporations of Jammu/Srinagar and all other Municipal bodies across J&K.
On the occasion Principal Secretary, H&UDD; Commissioner Secretary, GAD; Commissioner Secretary, IT, Commissioner, JMC; CEO, JaKeGA; Scientists from NIC besides other concerned officers were present.
The Chief Secretary appreciated the efforts of the IT Department and NIC for in-house development of all these services. He said that the performance of the Department has been excellent in promoting digital J&K.
He advised the concerned to further expedite the process of incorporation of auto appeal feature in Service plus platform. He asked them to onboard atleast 100 services on this portal by next week and all the other eligible services under the Auto-appeal system by 15th of next month.
He also directed incorporating of all the required improvements relating to the departmental websites by upgrading their content so as to make them compliant with the standards set under National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA).
The Commissioner Secretary, IT, Prerna Puri informed the meeting that by launching these 6 services of H&UDD today, the number of online services offered by the UT has risen to 480 today. She apprised that all these services have been linked with payment and SMS gateways for ease of applicants.
She further added that soon more services would be made online and the number of such services is going to touch 500 mark soon.
During the meeting the Chief Secretary also reviewed the progress made in development of services like online FIR registration, online billing of water connections besides others. He enjoined upon the officers that by offering services online and bringing them into the ambit of Auto-appeal system is ensuring their timely delivery and weeding out corruption. He observed that with the system of auto-escalation under PSGA in place both the quality and delivery of services to public would improve a lot as is reflected from the statistics of services brought under this prudent system during the past year.
#RAMBAN: Deputy Commissioner, Mussarat Islam today inaugurated a startup-Dayal House Bakery, established by a young entrepreneur in the main market of Ramban town by availing benefit of government’s self-employment scheme.
The Deputy Commissioner congratulated the owner for opening the Bakery shop with all varieties of bakery. He wished him best of luck for his future endeavours. He advised the start up owner to maintain high standards of quality, hygiene, punctuality and discipline for achieving greater success in the business.
Prominent civil society members and a large number of the general public attended the function.
The Deputy Commissioner highlighted the success of the centrally sponsored schemes and urged the unemployed youth to avail the benefit of these schemes to establish start up in potential sectors and live with dignity.
“The Government is very keen to solve the unemployment problem by offering a range of employment generation schemes to tap the available potential in different sectors,” he said.
He said that the procedure to apply for the schemes is paperless and hassle free and include expert guidance and skill training to the beneficiary.
The DC further said that the youngsters of Ramban are talented and can excel in any field, if given an opportunity. He said a platform is needed for them to take a leap and PMEGP, KVIB are one of these platforms available to them.
NEW DELHI: Senior IPS officer Praveen #Sood took over as the new CBI director on Thursday and he will be in the post for two years, officials said.
On his last working day, the outgoing director, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, handed Sood the charge of the agency at its headquarters, they said.
Sood is a 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Karnataka cadre and was the state’s director general of police. He is the senior-most IPS officer in the country after Jaiswal.
Sood’s name was cleared in a meeting of a high-powered committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Chowdhury, a Congress leader, had reportedly given a dissent note on the selection of Sood as the next CBI director In an order, the department of personnel and training had said.
#SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited Jhelum Rajbagh Riverfront today and spent a few memorable moments with the people.
At the Riverfront, the Lt Governor enquired about the works and directed the CEO, Srinagar Smart City to establish a visiting room and other facilities like Library and reading room for the students.
“The Jhelum Riverfront captures the grandeur of the city, the river, joy & enthusiasm of the people, and the walk along the river is rejuvenating and an experience not to be missed,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor praised the vibrant ambience and commendable work done by the Srinagar Smart City Limited.
“In the coming days, the Jhelum Riverfront will attract more visitors and provide a high quality of life for citizens. Other development works are also tapping the vast potential and vitality of Srinagar city,” he observed.
The Lt Governor also told the officials that the collective effort should be to make the city come alive and improve infrastructure for people.
“Our prime objective is to restore the historical glory of the city, create infrastructure that improves quality of living for all the citizens and to provide better and improved urban services,” the Lt Governor said.
Sh Athar Amir Khan, Commissioner SMC and CEO Srinagar Smart City briefed the Lt Governor on the works for the development of the Jhelum Riverfront.
Pertinently, Jhelum Rajbagh Riverfront stretch, under Srinagar Smart City, has been transformed into a world-class public space with facilities like walkways, cycling, green space, free wifi, universal access and numerous activities. Hashtag art along with other artifacts have also been installed on the Riverfront.
Shri Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and other senior officers accompanied the Lt Governor.
#JAMMU: Nearly sixteen candidates from Jammu and Kashmir have cracked the prestigious Union Public Service Commission (#UPSC) examination, the results of which were announced on Tuesday.
The candidates who cracked the exams include Waseem Ahmad Bhat (rank 07) Parsenjeet Kaur (rank 11), Nittin Singh (rank 32), Naveed Ahsan Bhat (rank 84), Ambika Raina (rank 164), Navneet Singh (rank 191), Manan Bhat (rank 231), Arjun Gupta (rank 228), Manil Bejotra (rank 314), Dwarika Gandhi (rank 505), Irfan Choudhary (rank 476), Anjeet Singh (rank 565), Abhinandan Singh (rank 749), Nimranshu Hans (rank 811), Iram Choudhary (rank 852) and Aadesh Basnotra (rank 888).
“Jammu Kashmir is witnessing a new era that has opened limitless possibilities of growth and peace”
#SRINAGAR: The Lieutenant Governor, Shri Manoj Sinha addressed the meeting of the 3rd Tourism Working Group (TWG) of G20, today.
Addressing the gathering, the Lt Governor underlined why J&K was selected by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for G20 meeting. He explained that Jammu Kashmir is witnessing a new era under the leadership of Hon’ble PM and it has opened up limitless possibilities of growth and peace.
“Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji through development schemes that empowers masses and Union Territory’s effective administration isolated the terror eco-system which thrived with the support from across the border. Now even foreign investments are also coming into Jammu and Kashmir, green shoots of better times people are anxiously looking up to,” the Lt Governor said.
He also said that tourism in Jammu Kashmir is also a reflection of multi-religious and multi-cultural ethos of India.
The Lt Governor underlined the importance of peace for growth and tourism.
“Tourism cannot grow in isolation. The economics of it is fine, that tourism needs good infrastructure, sound policies and effective and responsive administration. No less fundamental to me is the fact that only peace and happiness of people can bring warmth in the hospitality, we Indians eternally enjoy,” the Lt Governor said.
He said today, Jammu Kashmir stands among the developed regions of India on some measurable milestones, and the administration is committed for people’s prosperity both economically and socially.
“Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi Ji has completely eliminated injustice, exploitation and discrimination which several sections of society faced for seven long decades owing to circumstances that evolved mostly because of orchestration from abroad. We are ensuring social equality and equal economic opportunity to all citizens, which is also enabling them to contribute to the nation building,” the Lt Governor said.
Throwing light on the transformation of Jammu Kashmir, the Lt Governor said that the grass root democracy has been strengthened; new industries are coming up, rapid agricultural growth is making our villages prosperous, new institutions have been opened up in higher education, youths are being trained for Industry 4.0 technologies, infrastructure development is progressing rapidly and our emphasis on technology is transforming Jammu Kashmir into a digital society. He said in the past 4 years, the ranking of Jammu Kashmir on the various parameters of sustainable development goals have gone up, thanks to visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi Ji.
“The world can see that entire society, especially the young generation is scripting a bright future for themselves and the nation. The speed and scale of rapid development in Jammu Kashmir are awe-inspiring. Our speed to execute infrastructure projects has gone up almost 10 times,” the Lt Governor said.
Acknowledging the impact of covid pandemic on the tourism and world, the Lt Governor said, Covid pandemic made the world realize the hard way the virtues of traveller’s well-being and also the values of a shared vision One earth, One family and One future.
“The paradigm shift towards sustainable living, inclusive and sustainable development is also an opportunity to provide new impetus to sustainable tourism. I am truly delighted that under India’s G20 Presidency, the G20 Tourism Working Group is focusing on five inter-connected priority areas. Green tourism, digitalization, skills, tourism MSMEs and destination management will provide a roadmap for tourism as a tool for achieving sustainable development goals,” the Lt Governor remarked as he noted that Jammu and Kashmir is already working on a few of the priority areas identified by the G20 Tourism Working Group like on Green Tourism, Skills, Tourism MSMEs and Digitalization.
He emphasised that in the post-pandemic era five key building blocks will promote environmental awareness, protect the ecology and improve the economy and livelihoods of communities and inclusive growth of stakeholders.
Underlining that the G20 TWG meeting is taking place in the land of majestic peaks, crystal-clear lakes and serene green landscape, the Lt Governor said, Jammu Kashmir is more than a tourism destination.
“It is a poetry. It’s a land of realisation. It is an energy field vibrating with the ageless Indian cultural values. Under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi Ji, we have ensured that the transition in tourism sector in the backdrop of pandemic focuses on needs of travellers, interests of industry stakeholders, creates employment opportunities and promote environmental awareness,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor noted that a record number of 18 million tourists visited Jammu Kashmir And, the last year, the tourism sector made 7% contribution to Jammu Kashmir GDP. We have identified 300 new destinations to promote green tourism, small & medium enterprises, youth and women entrepreneurs and involve local communities to support the sustainable tourism.
“Tourism sector in Jammu Kashmir has been accorded the status of Industry and all fiscal incentives as per our Industrial Policy and I can tell you, we are receiving massive investment proposals from the industries in hospitality sector,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor said that after a long pause of almost 4-decades, J&K UT administration has revived the relationship with Bollywood and launched a film policy in 2021 to attract more investment into film sector. He also said that more than 300 movies were filmed in the region last year and such enthusiasm is bringing about a qualitative change in the lives of people.
“Our aim is to make the countryside and popular destinations more sustainable and preserve the beauty of fascinating heritage sites. I am confident, under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Jammu Kashmir will soon find its place in the top 50 destinations in the world and it will be on the travel bucket list of global travellers,” the Lt Governor observed.
During the inaugural session Union Tourism Minister, Sh. G. Kishan Reddy; Union MoS Dr. Jitendra Singh; Union MoS Sh Ajay Bhatt; G20 Sherpa, Sh. Amitabh Kant; G20 Chief Coordinator, Harsh Vardhan Shringla; delegates of G20 nations, invitees from observer countries and representatives from various multi-lateral organisations were present.
#SRINAGAR: The ‘Third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting’, will be held from 22nd to 24th May 2023 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. This was informed by Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Arvind Singh while addressing a press conference at SKICC Srinagar today.
Giving details, Arvind Singh said, the stage is set for discussions and deliberations on final deliverables and there are two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group, which include GOA Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and G20 Tourism Ministers’ Declaration.
This is the only working group meeting taking place in Srinagar as part of G20 effort with excellent response from all the member countries, all the invited countries and the international organisations, having the highest participation registered compared to the first two Tourism Working Group Meetings at Rann of Kutch and Siliguri.
Arvind Singh further said, G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organizations will give valuable inputs and feedback on these two draft documents and after negotiations with G20 Member Countries on these drafts, final versions will be placed in the ‘Fourth Tourism Working Group Meeting’.
Singh informed, the ‘3rd Tourism Working Group Meeting’ will deliberate on the five key priority areas namely Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, MSMEs and Destination Management. These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieve the targets for 2030 SDGs.
Arvind Singh said that a side event on ‘Film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation’ will be organized on 22nd and 23rd May 2023, focusing on strategies to promote film tourism in J&K. The event will witness the participation of G20 member countries, invited countries, international organizations, and industry stakeholders. He also said that a draft ‘National Strategy on Film Tourism’ will be unveiled to provide a roadmap for harnessing the role of films in promoting tourist destinations.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator G20 said, that it is the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi that the message of India’s G20 Presidency is taken to the grassroot level through active Jan Bhagidari . Shri Shringla appreciated the efforts of Jammu and Kashmir Government to sensitise the people about goals and purpose of G20 through multiple public activities.
Chief Secretary J&K, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta said, the change in J&K is evident on ground with the arrival of highest number of tourists (18.8 million) in 2022.
300 new tourist destinations will come come up in Jammu and Kashmir seeing the influx of tourists with each destination providing enough to the tourists, said Dr. Mehta.
Dr. Mehta further said, the influx of highest number of foreign tourists to Jammu and Kashmir is a healthy sign for tourism in J&K.
During the 3rd Tourism Working Group meeting, the delegates will also visit the Art and Craft Bazaar organized by the State Government showcasing local handicrafts, work of artisans, signifying the importance of community participation. The delegates will also have ‘hands-on’ experience through DIY Activities at the Craft Bazaar.
During the press conference, it was also informed that the Ministry of Tourism is also promoting local products of Jammu and Kashmir by handing below souvenirs to delegates from ODOP like Paper Mache Box, Saffron from Pampore, Kawa Cups and Brass Spoon, Walnuts from Anantnag, Shopian and Kupwara.
This G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar aims to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, welcomes the participation of delegates from G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organizations to collectively work towards advancing the tourism sector and achieving the UN sustainable development goals 2030.
The G20 event presents a unique opportunity to highlight the tourism potential and cultural richness of the region. A detailed presentation about the event was also made by Additional Secretary, Rakesh Verma, Additional Director General PIB Region, Rajinder Chaudhry and Secretary Tourism J&K, Syed Aabid Rasheed Shah were also present at the media briefing.
