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LG participates in 6th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog

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Government aims to take J&K export worth from Rs 1400 cr to Rs 5000 cr in next two years, says the LG

(Asian News Hub) – Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today participated in the 6th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, through virtual mode.

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During the meeting, the Lt Governor highlighted major reformative measures taken by the UT Governor, besides apprising the meeting about the new trajectory that the UT has undertaken in the past 17 months.  

At the outset, the Lt Governor, on behalf of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, expressed gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for his unstinting support in accelerating the pace of development in the UT.

“After 5th August 2019, Jammu & Kashmir got new opportunities of socio-economic development that were not there for many decades.  J&K is passing through a period of transition for development, peace and prosperity.

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Today, among the people of Jammu & Kashmir, there is an outlook of hopeful optimism”, remarked the Lt Governor.

While making suggestions for giving further push to the developmental process in Jammu and Kashmir, the Lt Governor requested the Government of India for considering the demand for setting up of Dry Port in J&K with a customs clearance facility to increase the trade within and outside the Country.

 To give a boost to tourism and trade in J&K, the Lt Governor requested that Srinagar and Jammu be opened to regular commercial International flights.

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The Lt Governor observed that the UT Government is aiming to take J&K export worth from Rs 1400 cr to Rs 5000 cr in the next two years. Air Cargo capacity for J&K needs to be enhanced to enable easy transportation of perishable items, he added.

He requested for simplification of certain permissions under Water Act and Air Act, 1981 along with clearances and reduction of time period from 4 months to 30 days so that clearances can be obtained easily and in a short time for setting up industrial units.

The Lt Governor suggested for setting up Regional Office of MoEF in J&K for speedy disposal of Environment Clearances cases for larger projects.

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He also suggested that the Government of India may consider specific product based funding programs. National Saffron Mission has succeeded because of it focus on one product, he added.

Infrastructural projects need to be devised considering the needs of 20-25 years from now. New road construction technology like cold mix plant and use of pre-fabricated bridges could be promoted to reduce the construction time-period, suggested the Lt Governor.

Speaking on the Economic reforms, the Lt Governor observed that the existing industrial landscape is being transformed into futuristic, profitable and sustainable ecosystem, leading to livelihood generation, better education, skill development and better quality of life.

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“From job creation to entrepreneurship, we are going to make J&K a model of Industry 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Government is working on promoting institutional readiness, increasing entrepreneurship and attracting investments. The multiplier effect of industrial transformation will be felt across the entire length and breadth of the UT”, said the Lt Governor.

New Industrial Development Scheme, with an outlay of Rs.28,400 Crore, has been approved by the Government of India for encouraging investment in manufacturing and service sectors in J&K, which will help in stepping up economic development in Jammu & Kashmir, the Lt Governor affirmed.

Underscoring  the important interventions made by the UT Government for execution for the languishing projects, the Lt Governor said that JKIDFC, a model which NITI Aayog has commended as a best practice, has approved 2367 projects worth Rs. 7125.49 crore so far.

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On health sector, the Lt Governor observed that J&K Government is spending 2.86 % of its budget in the Health sector which is more than the national average. Upgradation of health infrastructure and  improving healthcare services has led to an overall improvement in the key health indicators in J&K, he added.

Speaking on priority sectors, the Lt Governor observed that J&K is heavily relied on agriculture sector and tourism sector. We plan to introduce automation IOTs, cloud computing to create smart factories to supplement existing trades, imaging sensors in orchards, smart logistics for improved margins and smart manufacturing for increased revenue making opportunities, the Lt Governor maintained.

On Education sector, the Lt Governor said that from this session, education will be imparted in all 5 official languages, besides Bridge course is being initiated to meet the study loss due to COVID pandemic.

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Translation of local folklores and those of other states for cultural exchange and understanding is being done, he added.

The Lt Governor also spoke on AB-PMJAY SEHAT Scheme, J&K’s performance in Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), G.I. tagging of Kashmiri Saffron, promotion of Basmati Rice, High Density Plantation and Aspirational Blocks in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Lt Governor also thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister for announcing a new Gas Pipeline Project in Budget 2021 for the development of J&K.

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With the efforts of Central Government under the guidance and leadership of Prime Minister, the country has been transformed into hub of Start-ups and innovation. I strive to bring the same development in J&K, the Lt Governor maintained.

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Future ready governance: LG chairs high-level meeting

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Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today chaired a high-level meeting and discussed the key issues related to ‘Future-Ready Governance’, at Raj Bhawan.

Also Read: PCCF J&K reviews working of Forest dept in Awantipora, Lidder

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The meeting was attended by Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Anurag Goel, former Union Secretary; Prof. Umesh Rai, Vice Chancellor Jammu University; Prof. Nilofer Khan, VC Kashmir University; Dr Nazir A. Ganai, VC SKUAST Kashmir; Dr BN Tripathi, VC SKUAST Jammu; Anurag Goyal, Advisor, NITI Aayog; Shaleen Kabra, Additional Chief Secretary Jal Shakti Department; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Administrative Secretaries; HoDs and Senior officers.

The prime objective of the workshop conducted earlier and today’s meeting organized by the Planning Development & Monitoring Department was to draw a roadmap integrating technological advancements into the system to create more values through good governance.

“Change is the only constant and every sector has to imagine a future in the backdrop of increasing role of humans and machines and their collective strength for growth,” the Lt Governor said.

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He underlined the need for integration of Artificial Intelligence and new technological tools to plan schemes more effectively and to make public services more efficient.

Technological adoption and increased human & machine collaboration will also enable informed decision making, improve policy making processes, target resources and services urgently required for quality living of citizens and speedy implementation of projects, he said.

The Lt Governor emphasized on adopting strategic and integrated approach to effectively tackle the various growing challenges like climate change, cyber threat and issues in health, education and agriculture.

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The Lt Governor asked the Planning Development & Monitoring Department to prepare for the significant shift to maximize the benefits of government schemes for the citizens and minimize the risk and loss.

Besides improving policy performance, managing the complex challenges of the future and addressing disruptive changes that will occur in the future, the integrated approach will help us to develop a system of Citizen-Driven Policies, he said.

In order to achieve the vision of developed J&K and India by 2047, first we need to set the goals for the next 3 years with Agriculture and Education as two priority sectors. I am confident that we will be able to bring transformation in the coming years, the Lt Governor added

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Sh Anurag Goel, former Union Secretary and Advisor IIT Jodhpur gave a detailed presentation on ‘Future-Ready Governance’.

The meeting also discussed the establishment of a nodal cell in the Planning Department.

Dr Raghav Langer, Secretary Planning Development & Monitoring Department briefed the meeting on the proposed initiatives and the future strategy.

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PCCF J&K reviews working of Forest dept in Awantipora, Lidder

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The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force, Jammu and Kashmir, Roshan Jaggi, inspected Lidder and Awantipora Forest Divisions and reviewed working of the Forest Department there. He also reviewed the ongoing developmental works being executed in these Forest Divisions.

He informed that under flagship Green J&K Drive programme, the plantation target of 1.75 crores will be achieved this year in J&K. He said planting target of  15 lacs has been set up for this year for South Forest Circle. The PCCF  stressed on Chinar planting and low-cost greening initiatives. The PCCF informed that  South Forest Circle achieved  plantation target of 14.00 lacs last year.He directed for  greening initiatives to be  accelerated for rehabilitation of degraded forests here. He directed for greening of all barren slopes in all forest divisions of South Forest Circle  through suitable forestry interventions.

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During the tour,PCCF inspected various ongoing development works in both the divisions including Shade Net Structure for Pampore Nursery. He also laid foundation stones of Block officers hut at Gossanard Pampore, New Forest Control Room building at Awantipora and of New Range office building in Bijbehara. The newly renovated range office Pampore was also thrown open to public services by the PCCF. An information brochure on forest fire management in Awantipora Division was also released on the occasion.

PCCF visited Central forest nursery, Bijbehara where he gave directions for effective nursery management, increasing medicinal plant cultivation, biodiversity conservation by involving local people. He directed that nursery management works should target locals to generate livelihood for them. PCCF also directed for quality plant production on scientific lines and improvement of nursery based infrastructure as well. He also directed for quality seed collection from plus tree and utilisation of same for new nursery  raisings.

During the inspection the PCCF & HoFF,J&K was accompanied by Conservator of Forests South Forest Circle Irfan Ali Shah, Divisional Forest Officer Awantipora Forest Division Waseem Farooq Mir, Divisional Forest officer Lidder Forest Division Sheikh Mehraj, DFO Anantnag Mohammad Ramzaan, District level officers of Forest Protection Force, Range Forest officers and other Forest officials.

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High-valued narcotics worth Rs 100 crore seized in Ramban, two arrested: Police

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Police on Sunday said they seized high-valued narcotics worth Rs 100 crore in Banihal area of Ramban district and arrested two persons in this regard.

Also Read: 17 residential sheds gutted in Parimpora blaze

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A police official told that Ramban police intercepted an Innova vehicle at the railway chowk in Banihal, apprehending two individuals associated with large-scale narcotics.

The vehicle, travelling from Kashmir towards Jammu, was found to be concealing a substantial quantity of high-valued narcotics, he said.

During a thorough search, the police made a startling discovery, saying they recovered approximately 30 kilograms of a heroin-like substance from hidden compartments within the vehicle.

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The international market value of the seized drugs is estimated to be around Rs 100 crores, according to the official.

The arrested persons are currently in police custody, and further investigations are underway to ascertain the source and destination of this illicit substance, the official said.

He added that authorities are also actively pursuing leads to identify potential links to larger drug trafficking networks. KNO

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