Dharamsala, December 29, 2012: “Stringent laws should be adopted to prevent crime against women and their honour should be protected at every cost. Criminals committing such barbaric crimes should be brought to the book,” said Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh (HP) Virbhadra Singh

Chief Minister, condoled the death of a 23 year old paramedical student, who was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16, and the incident had triggered nationwide protest. The girl who was initially admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, was shifted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on the December 26, where she breathed her last on Saturday morning.

Singh prayed to the Almighty to give peace to the departed soul and strength to the family members to bear the irreparable loss.

Jalandhar, December 29, 2012: Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda  inaugurated Rezangla War Memorial in Gurgaon today.  

State Government has built this memorial to keep alive the memories of those 114 martyrs, who sacrificed their lives, while safeguarding the 18,000 ft. high Rezangla post during Indo- China war in 1962. 

Hooda said that last year he had laid down its foundation and promised to inaugurate it during the golden jubilee year 2012 of Rezangla war. Our jawans and officers bravely fought the battle under Major Shaitan Singh and pushed back the enemy forces, who wanted to control this post, so that they could capture Ladakh easily.   

He said that this memorial will inspire new generation to imbibe the spirit of patriotism and fulfill the dreams of our martyrs. The nation, which does not remember its martyrs cannot move forward, he said.  Today we are living in peace, because our jawans are safeguarding country’s borders, braving extreme weather conditions. We owe a lot to them for our freedom.

The Haryana CM said that it is a matter of pride for us that in-spite of the fact that the population of Haryana is less than two per cent of the country’s population, but every 10th jawan in the army is from Haryana. State government is doing everything for the ex-servicemen and their families, but it is the duty of the society also to take care of their families, he said. 

Referring to the demands of Rezangla Shaheed Samarak Samiti, put forth by its president Dr T.C. Rao, he announced that the school in Dundhahera village will be named after Shaheed Bharat Singh. The road from Razangla Chowk to Railway Station will be named as Rezangla Marg. The maintenance of the memorial will also be done by  Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). Carterpuri village will also get a basket ball ground and John Hall will be named as Freedom Fighter Hall. A similar Shaheed Samarak will be built by HUDA in Rewari also. He also announced that a Gymkhana Club will be set up in this area.  

Haryana Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav and Sukhbir Kataria, Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjeet Singh, CPS Rao Dan Singh, MLA Rao Dharampal, Ex- Chief-of-Army-Staff General V.K. Singh, 96 years old Colonel H.S. Dhingra, Ex- General Vij, Ex- Air Chief Marshall S.K. Tyagi, Ex-DG A.S. Bhatotia, Major Ved Parkash, besides a number of other Ex-army officers, Freedom fighters and war widows of the area were present on this occasion. 

Haryana Power Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav said that state government has done a praise-worthy job by building a memorial of 114  martyrs, who sacrificed their lives to protect Rezangla post in 1962 war with China.  He said that state government has enhanced the cash incentives for gallantry award winners. The cash incentive for the recipients of Paramvir Chakra and Ashok Chakra has been increased from Rs. 25 lakh to Rs. 31 lakh and that of Mahavir Chakra and Kirti Chakra from Rs. 15 lakh to Rs.21 lakh. 

Haryana Sports Minister, Sukhbir Kataria said that martyrs do not have any caste or religion, except their country. It is our duty that we should give them full honour and take care of their families. 

Gurgaon MP, Rao Inderjeet Singh also paid tributes to the Rezangla martyrs and said that Rezangla battle fought during Indo-China war of 1962 is one of the glorious battles in the history of India, in which the soldiers fought with the motto of ‘last bullet-last man’. “I am sure that in future also soldiers from Haryana would show same level of valour and bring name to the state and the country”, he said.

Haryana Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Rao Dan Singh said that Rezangla martyrs had limited resources and old fashioned weapons, but they fought bravely and saved the Rezangla post from going into the hands of enemy. 

MLA of Badshahpur, Rao Dharampal appreciated the hard work done by the officers of HUDA in accomplishing the work of memorial.  A sum of about Rs. 1.5 crore has been spent on the construction of memorial, he said. He also urged that boundary wall should be constructed around this memorial. 

96 years old Colonel H.S. Dhingra, who could hardly walk, was brought to the function by his daughter Sunita.

Recalling the memories of Rezangla battle,  Col. Dhingra said that he was commanding officer of the 13 Kumaun regiment, whose Charlie company was posted at Rezangla in 1962. The jawans of the company bravely fought the battle under Major Shaitan Singh and succeeded in pushing back the enemy forces. 

On this occasion, the Chief Minister also honoured the freedom fighters and war widows by the giving them mementos.

Hooda also released a souvenir ‘Bravest of the Brave’. 

Earlier, welcoming the Chief Minister the president of Rezangla Shaheed Samarak Samiti Dr T.C. Rao said that it is a matter of pride for Haryana that  40  per cent of the martyrs are from this state. Not only in the battle field, but in the field of sports also youth of Haryana have excelled and brought laurels to the country by winning medals in international events.  

A cheque of Rs. 1.11 lakh was given to the Chief Patron of Rezangla Shaheed Samarak Samiti Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav on behalf of Sainik Welfare Organisation of Lt. Col. Rakesh Rana.

Ludhiana, December 30, 2012: Shahi ImamPunjab Maulana Habib-Ur-Rahman Sani Ludhianvi has sought early trial of the accused involved in the Delhi gang rape case.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said he wanted that the accused should be given punishment as early as possible.

He sought that the accused be buried half in the earth and stoned unto death publically near India Gate.

Further, he said this issue was related to the safety and protection of women across the country.

He told that the tragic incident and barbaric act by the accused had down the Nation’s head with shame across the world.

Dharamsala, December 30, 2012: After the allocation of the Portfolios of the ministers in Himachal Pradesh (HP), the resentment of the public has started in the unrepresented areas where the Congress MLAs had majority to dethrone the BJP government, particularly in districts of Mandi, Kullu and Palampur sub division of the Kangra District.

CM Vir Bhadra Singh has already indicated that, the two vacant posts of the ministers shall be filled soon, probably before four days of assembly session starting on January 8 next at Dharsamsala.

It has been reliably learnt that the two ministers  likely to be inducted are Anil Sharma from Mandi and Karan Singh from Kullu. Besides this, a bunch of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs) and Parliamentary Secretaries (PSs) are likely to be inducted to accommodate newly elected Congress legislators.

But this does not satisfy the public of Palampur area, which has not been given a proper place in the Cabinet. The Congress had won all four seats in the area, which has a population of about 7 lakh. Brij Behari Lal Butail won from Palampur by 9,000 votes, Kishori Lal from Baijnath by 7,000 votes, Yadvender Gomma from Jaisinghpur by 9,400 votes and Jagjivan Pal won from Sullah by 5,000 votes. None of them has been given a Cabinet berth.

Residents are shocked that none of the four legislators have been inducted in the Cabinet despite the big victory of the Congress in the area. Kangra has given 10 Congress legislators out of 15, causing major hurdle in repetition of the Dhumal government. Though three ministers from Kangra District (GS Bali, Sujan Singh Pathania and Sudhir Sharma) were included in the Cabinet, but the non inclusion of six-time legislator BBL Butail in the Cabinet frustrated the public of Palampur. Palampur is the home town of BJP national senior vice president and former HP CM, Shanta Kumar. BJP had three seats from the area including a ministerial birth in the dissolved Assembly while one was with the Congress from this area.

Beside the two vacant posts in the ministry, Dharamsala ‘Vidhan Sabha’s sitting  shall also elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of 12th Vidhan Sabha.  

The Himachal Chief Minister has also hinted that his Cabinet has the representation of all corners with a perfect blend of experience and youth so that young legislators be groomed to take on the responsibility in the near future.

He hinted that he would relinquish the post of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief shortly so that someone else could be given the responsibility of taking care of the party organisation. That means that there is still wide scope for Congress MLAs to get their deserved seats.

Meanwhile the portfolios of the newly inducted ministers was issued and the ministers  Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh Thakur, GS Bali, Sujan Singh Pathania, Thakur Singh Bharmouri, Mukesh Agnihotri, Sudhir Sharma, Prakash Chaudhary, and Dhani Ram Shandil  assumed their work.

New Delhi, December 31, 2012: The Union Public Service Commission will be conducting the Special Class Railway Apprentices’ Examination, 2013 on 20.01.2013 at various centres all over India as per notification.  E-Admission Certificates are available on the Commission’s website http://www.upsc.gov.in. 

Candidates are advised to download and check their e-Admission Certificates carefully and bring discrepancy, if any, to the notice of the Commission immediately.  Rejection letters citing the ground(s) for rejection have been issued through e-mails or speed post and also put on the Union Public Service Commission website http://www.upsc.gov.in. 

In case any difficulty faced by the candidates in downloading e-Admission Certificates, they may contact the UPSC Facilitation Counter on Telephone Nos. 011-23385271, 011-23381125 and 011-23098543 on any working day between 10.00 AM and 5.00 PM.  The candidates can also send Fax message on Fax No. 011-23387310.  No Admission Certificate will be sent by post.
In case the photograph is not printed clear on the e-Admission Certificates, candidates are advised to carry three (3) photographs (one identical photograph for each session) along with proof of identity such as Identity Card or Voter Identity Card or Passport or Driving License and printout of e-Admission Certificate at the venue of the Examination.
MOBILE PHONES BANNED
a) Mobile phones, pagers or any other communication devices are not allowed inside the premises where the examination is being conducted.  Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examination.
b) Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the banned items including mobile phones/pagers to the venue of the examination, as arrangements for their safekeeping cannot be assured. (PIB)
 

New Delhi, December 31, 2012: A decision was taken in the meeting of the National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers held by the Prime Minister that Direct Benefit Transfers will be rolled out from 1 January 2013 in 43 identified districts. The purpose of Direct Benefits Transfer is to ensure that benefits go to individuals bank accounts electronically, cutting down delays and diversions.

This was stated by the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram alongwith the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information and Broadcasting, Manish Tewari while addressing a 'GoM on Media' Press Conference on 'Direct Benefits Transfer', in New Delhi on Monday. The Principal Director General (M&C), Press Information Bureau, Neelam Kapur was also present.

A lot of preparatory has been done and a lot of work is ongoing in connection with the rollout. Secretaries and their officers have visited all 43 districts to assess the preparedness for rollout of Direct Benefits Transfer. A meeting of District Collectors was held on 13 December 2012 to inform them about the steps to be taken for timely rollout of Direct Benefits Transfer. Review meetings have been taken by the Prime Minister to ensure preparations are moving ahead smoothly.

What is Direct Benefits Transfer and what does it cover:

1.      Government will transfer cash benefits like scholarships, pensions, NREGA wages, etc. directly to the Bank or Post Office Accounts of identified beneficiaries under the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme. The shift to this would done in a phased, time-bound manner after ensuring that the necessary systems are in place for Direct Benefits Transfer.

2.      Direct Benefits Transfer will not be a substitute for delivery of public services which would continue to take place as per the normal delivery channels.

3.      Direct Benefits Transfer will not replace food with cash under the Public Distribution System. The Government is committed to legislating the National Food Security Act.

What does Rollout on 1.1.2013 mean in practice:

4.      For the rollout beginning on 1.1.2013, 43 districts in 16 States have been identified for the first round of Direct Benefits Transfer under 26 selected schemes. The selection of 43 districts has been done on the basis of coverage of bank accounts and Aadhaar.

5.      The rollout has been phased based on:

(a)              The next instalment being due either on 1.1.2013 or at a later date.

(b)              The list of beneficiaries being digitized in the district concerned.

(c)              The opening of bank accounts for beneficiaries in the district concerned.

(d)              Enrolment for Aadhaar numbers in the district concerned.

(e)              Seeding of bank accounts with Aadhaar numbers in the district concerned.

(f)               Availability of funds.

6.      Based on the level of preparedness and the ongoing nature of the rollout, Direct Benefits Transfer will begin to take place from 1st January, 2013 as follows:

                    i.            There will be a Direct Benefit Transfer on 1.1.2013 through a cash transfer into beneficiaries' bank accounts in 7 schemes. These schemes are spread over districts as below:

a.Post-matric scholarship for SC students - 7 districts; 48,000 beneficiaries

(Puducherry, Nawanshahr, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Anantpur, East Godavari, Diu)

b.      Pre-matric scholarship for SC students - 1 district; 24,000 beneficiaries

(East Godavari)

c.      Post-matric scholarship for OBC students - 6 districts; 105,000    beneficiaries (Puducherry,Alwar, Anantpur, East Godavari, Daman, North Goa)

d.      Post-matric scholarship for ST students - 3 districts; 4,800 beneficiaries

(Tumkur, Waynad, Harda)

e.      Indira Gandhi Matrutva Sahayata Yojana - 6 districts; 55,000 beneficiaries (Dharwar,Puducherry, NW Delhi, Diu, North Goa, Amaravati)

f.       Dhanalakshmi Scheme - 1 district; 8,000 beneficiaries

(Fatehgarh Sahib)

g.      Stipend to trainees under the scheme of welfare of SC/ST job seekers through Coaching-cum-Guidance and Vocational Training - 10 States, 650 beneficiaries

(Karnataka, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, MP, Rajasthan, AP, Maharashtra, Jharkhand)

On 1.1.2013, over 2 lakh beneficiaries will start receiving benefits through Direct Benefits Transfer.

                 ii.            In 20 of the 43 districts, all future benefits transfers under all the 26 schemes, whenever they are due after 1.1.2013 as per their cycle, will be through Direct Benefits Transfer. There will be some phased rollout in a few schemes in some of these districts. In a sense, these 20 districts go "live" for Direct Benefits Transfer from 1.1.2013.

               iii.            In 11 of the 43 districts, all future benefits transfers under all the 26 schemes, whenever they are due after 1.2.2013 as per their cycle, will be through Direct Benefits Transfer. In a sense, these 11 districts go "live" for Direct Benefits Transfer from 1.2.2013.

               iv.            In the remaining 12 of the 43 districts, all future benefits transfers under all the 26 schemes, whenever they are due after 1.3.2013 as per their cycle,  will be through Direct Benefits Transfer. In a sense, these 12 districts go "live" for Direct Benefits Transfer from 1.3.2013.

                  v.            By 1.3.2013, Phase 1 of Direct benefits Transfer would have rolled out in all 43 districts and all benefits would be flowing electronically to beneficiaries accounts in the 43 districts as and when their payments become due.

7.      It may be the case that not all 26 schemes may be present in all the 43 districts. Further, under some of the 26 schemes, the next installment will be due only next financial year.

Other Arrangements for Direct Benefits Transfer

8.      Direct Benefits Transfer from the Centre will take place either directly to the account of the beneficiary or through the State Government into the account of the beneficiary.

9.  Withdrawal arrangements are being strengthened. Initially beneficiaries will be able to withdraw from their own bank branches or ATMs or Business Correspondents (BCs) wherever they exist. The system of micro-ATMs and multiple BCs will roll out subsequently with full inter-operability gradually. The one lakh Common Service Centers set up by the Department of IT are being engaged to serve as a BC in Gram Panchayats where BCs are not functional today. Banks have also been asked to expand their reach to provide banking services to every 1000-1500 households through a BC or CSC. Work is being done to make the BCs interoperable over a period of time. Banks have floated a tender for 20 lakh Micro-ATMs which will be inter-operable and will have facility for biometric scanning and Aadhaar authentication.

Next Steps in Rollout

10.  Once the programme has stabilized in these 43 districts, it will be rolled out in phases in other parts of the country over 2013 after a careful assessment of readiness.

11.  Direct Transfer of Subsidies for food, fertilizer and kerosene is not being contemplated at present. This will take more time as the issues of entitlement are more complex.

List of districts for roll-out of Direct Benefits Transfer:

Direct Benefits Transfer is being rolled out from 1.1.2013 in the following districts:

S. No.            District          State/UT

1          Tumkur         Karnataka

2          Mysore          Karnataka

3          Dharwar       Karnataka

4          PuducherryPuducherry

5          ChandigarhChandigarh

6          SBS Nagar/Nawanshahar         Punjab

7          North-East Delhi    Delhi

8          North-West Delhi   Delhi

9          Hoshangabad        Madhya Pradesh

10       East Nimar (Khandwa)    Madhya Pradesh

11       Harda            Madhya Pradesh

12       Ajmer            Rajasthan

13       Udaipur        Rajasthan

14       AlwarRajasthan

15       Hyderabad  Andhra Pradesh

16       Anantpur     Andhra Pradesh

17       Chittoor        Andhra Pradesh

18       East Godavari        Andhra Pradesh

19       Diu      Daman and Diu

20       Daman          Daman and Diu

Direct Benefits Transfer is being rolled out from 1.2.2013 in the following districts:

S. No.            District          State

1          Pathanamthitta     Kerala

2          Ambala         Haryana

3          Gurdaspur   Punjab

4          Sikkim West            Sikkim

5          Sikkim EastSikkim

6          Rangareddy            Andhra Pradesh

7          North Goa    Goa

8          Wardha         Maharashtra

9          Amravati      Maharashtra

10       Saraikela – Kharsawan   Jharkhand

11       Ranchi          Jharkhand

Direct Benefits Transfer is being rolled out from 1.3.2013 in the following districts:

S. No.            District          State

1          Wayanad      Kerala

2          Sonepat       Haryana

3          Fatehgarh Sahib   Punjab

4          Khowai         Tripura

5          Tripura West           Tripura

6          Dhalai            Tripura

7          Tripura North         Tripura

8          Mumbai + Suburban         Maharashtra

9          Pune  Maharashtra

10       Nandurbar   Maharashtra

11       Ramgarh      Jharkhand

12       Hazaribag    Jharkhand

Dharamsala, December 31, 2012: Kuldeep Singh Pathania, ex-MLA has been appointed as Chairman Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board in a notification issued today.

Pathania represents the Bhattiyat Assembly Constituency of District Chamba. He was elected as youngest MLA in sixth Assembly in 1985 to 1990. He also remained MLA from 1993 to 1998 and was adjudged with Best Parliamentarian Award.

He remained Chairman of 3rd State Finance Commission in 2003-2007 and again elected as MLA from Bhattiyat Assembly Constituency from 2007 to 2012 and is also the Chief Spokesperson of the Party.

He had served as MLA for four terms and has recently been appointed General Secretary (In-charge Organisation) of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee.

Jalandhar, December 31, 2012: The Special Judge for CBI Cases, Mumbai has convicted  Rajiv Kumar, then Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai and sentenced him to undergo five years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs.30,000 in a bribery case.

A case was registered against the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai on a complaint. The Complainant had alleged that the accused demanded a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh to avoid complications in his income tax matters.  Later on, accused enhanced his demand of bribe from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh.

CBI laid a trap and the accused was caught red handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs.25,000 as a part amount.

After completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed during 2000 before the Special Court, Mumbai.  During the course of trial, accused filed number of Criminal Revision Applications before the Bombay High Court on one or other grounds and reasons.  Finally, prosecution succeeded in securing conviction of the accused.

Jalandhar, December 31, 2012: The Special Judge for CBI case, Mumbai has convicted  Arvind Vijeta Mittal, the then Senior Divisional Engineer Central Railway, Mumbai for amassing huge assets disproportionate to known source of his income and sentenced him to undergo three years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs. 75,000. His wife Anjali Mittal was also sentenced to undergo one year Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs.50,000.

A case was registered on 30.09.2003 against  A. V. Mittal and his wife Anjali Mittal U/s 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (e) of PC Act, 1988 and Section 109 of  IPC on the allegation that he amassed huge assets to the tune of Rs. 12.6 lakh  disproportionate to his known source of income.  

After thorough investigation, charge sheet was filed on 29.09.2005 in the Court of Special Judge for CBI Cases, Mumbai against  A. V. Mittal and his wife Anjali Mittal.

The Trial Court found both the accused guilty and convicted them.

Dharmsala, January 1, 2013: Government of India has sanctioned Rs. 550crore Himachal Pradesh Development Policy Loan for the State.

Out of this fund Rs. 495.37crore (90%) has been released to the State Government as grant by Government of India.

This was revealed by the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh.

Virbhadra Singh said, “ The World Bank Loan has been sanctioned to promote Inclusive Green Growth and Sustainable Development in the state. The loan would be utilised for achieving these objectives in Power, Tourism, Industries and Environment sectors. “

The Chief Minister said that to utilise the loan fully, the Himachal Government had decided to enhance and operationalise the capacities in environment and energy departments for effective coordination, monitoring and evaluation. It was also decided to undertake Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA) studies for Satluj, Beas, Yamuna and Chenab river basis in the State. He said that an integrated catchment area treatment plan for Satluj river basis was being implemented and integrated CAT plans for Chenab river basis were being prepared. Beside this suitable action was also being initiated in Tourism and Industry sectors.

Singh said that by strengthening Power, Tourism, Industries and Environment sectors, more and more employment and self employment avenues would be created for educated unemployed youths of the state.

He said that all these sectors had vast potential for further development and these sectors can also contribute significantly in strengthening the economy of the state.  

Jalandhar, January 1, 2013: The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore (Chennai) has convicted  Srinivasalu Reddy and Sundaram Gopu U/s 120-B r/w 420, 419, 467, 468, 471 of Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to undergo four years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs. 2.25 lakh and Rs. 2.30 lakh respectively in a CBI case.

The investigation revealed that the accused persons availed credit facilities by depositing forged title deeds and fraudulently mortgaging the immovable property offered as collateral security with several banks, causing a loss of Rs.130.71 lakhs and interest thereon to the Bank of India, Chennai Main Branch.

The Court found two accused persons guilty during trial and convicted them.

 Jalandhar, January 1, 2013: The Special Judge for CBI Cases, Chennai convicted R. Chandrasekaran, the then Branch Manager of Indian Bank, Thiruporur Branch (Tamil Nadu) for cheating the bank to the tune of about Rs.21.86 lakh and sentenced him to undergo three years Rigorous Imprisonment with fine of Rs.2.54 lakh.

A case was registered against R. Chandrasekaran, Branch Manager, Indian Bank, Thiruporur Branch on the allegations that while working as Branch Manager, during the period from 13.12.1999 to 29.06.2002, he had abused his official position and cheated Indian Bank & its customers. He had fraudulently issued forged FDR receipts to the customers for the investments made by them, and retained the genuine FDR receipts with him.

Further, he applied for loan on deposits against the genuine FDR receipts retained by him, by forging the signature of the customers and he himself sanctioned the loans as the Branch Manager.  Subsequently, he withdrew the loan amounts for his personal use and purchased shares in his name and in the name of his wife. The accused cheated the Bank and its customers in 9 instances,  causing a total loss of Rs.21,86,326.00 to the bank.

After the investigation, CBI filed separate charge sheets in nine cases against. Chandrasekaran under sections 120-B r/w 420, 468, 468 r/w 471,477 A IPC and section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988 .

On completion of the trial, the Court pronounced judgment convicting R. Chandrasekaranin all the nine cases.

Jalandhar, January 2, 2013: The Army has invited applications for recruitment of Junior Commissioned Officer as Religious Teachers i.e. Pandit,  Maulvi and Padri in the Army. 

Candidates applying for Religious Teachers for above mentioned categories should have passed their graduation in any discipline from a recognised university.

 The age of the candidates should be between 27 to 34 years for civilian candidates and between 25 to 34 years for remustered candidates as on first day of recruitment rally ie  06 Feb 2013 for RRT course ser No – 71.

 All eligible candidates of Punjab and J&K state, those who are applying for the post of JCO (Religious Teacher), should submit their applications to Headquarters Recruiting Zone, Jalandhar Cantt, Pin No – 144005 on or before   12 Jan 2013. 

For detailed information and application form contact your nearest Branch Recruiting Office (BRO).

Chandigarh, January 2, 2013: The state of Punjab has been selected for award of Commendation Award – 2012.

This was revealed today by a Spokesperson of the Agriculture Department, Punjab.

The Spokesperson said that this award is bestowed by the Government of India for achieving record production in agriculture. The state of Punjab has been selected for this award for the year 2012 as it has achieved record production in agriculture.

The spokesman told that under the “Krishi Karman Award” category, this award would be received from the President of India by Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, G. S. Sandhu, Financial Commissioner (Development), Punjab, and Dr. Mangal Singh Sandhu, Director Agriculture, Punjab.

Dharamsala, January 2, 2013: Status-quo as on 30/10/2007 shall be maintained for  PTA teachers in Education Department of the Himachal Pradesh (HP) government.

A decision to this effect was taken by the HP government in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

It was also decided to create a post of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) on contractual basis and co-terminus with Chief Minister, in the office of Chief Minister.

The Cabinet decided to appoint Amit Pal Singh of Bir (Baijnath) in district Kangra, on this post with effect from December 25, 2012.

Approval was granted to create one post of Advisor to the Chief Minister who will coordinate and monitor all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Since there are large number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes covering sectors like Agriculture, Horticulture, Health, Irrigation and Public Health, Rural and Urban Development, Social Security, Tourism, Education, Power etc the Cabinet decided to give Ex-post facto sanction for appointing T.G. Negi IAS (Retd.) on this post with effect from December 25, 2012 on co-terminus basis.

The Cabinet decided to constitute a Sub-Committee of three ministers Kaul Singh Thakur, G.S. Bali and Mukesh Agnihotri for setting up certain guiding principles on policy for regulating transfers of employees of the state government.

The Cabinet also gave its approval to hire Mi-172 Helicopter of M/s Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd for five years w.e.f. 1st January 2013 on Wet Lease by the State Government.

It was decided to create the post of Engineer-in-Chief (Designs and Quality Control) from 1st January to 30th June 2013 and cease the post of Engineer-in-Chief (Projects) from 1st January onwards.

Ludhiana, January 2, 2013: Police have arrested three accused in connection with gang rape with a 13-year-old girl belonging to Talwandi village within jurisdiction of Ladowal police station in Ludhiana district.

Addressing a press conference here this evening, Ishwar Singh, Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana told that the accused had been identified as Shera, Harpal Singh, alias Bhalu, and Vijay Kumar.

He told that the FIR against the accused was registered today, following which the police acted immediately and arrested the accused.

He said the trio accused also belonged to Talwandi village.

Singh told that special teams had been constituted for recording statement of the victim, getting conducted her medical examination and counseling.

He refused to give more details on the plea that further police investigations were on.

Dharamsala, January 4, 2013: Over 700,000 childrenin the age group of 0-5 years will be administered polio drops in a two-round campaign beginning this month in Himachal Pradesh, an official said on Friday at Dharamsala .

He added residents of even snow-bound areas would be covered. It would be mainly booth based activities on first day and House-to House activity on the subsequent days till all the left out children were administered polio drops.

Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Ali R. Rizvi said in a statementthat about 5,853 booths had been planned throughout the state each catering a population of 125 children, for the pulse polio immunization campaign to be carried out Jan 20 and Feb 24.
Special booths would be set up in forest and remote areas too for the children of Gaddi and Gujjar tribes, Rizvi added.

Ludhiana, January 4, 2013: The students, ex-students and former teachers of Ishmeet Singh Music Institute, Ludhiana met Rahul Tewari, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana today.

As per the memorandum, a copy of which is in possession of City Air News, the complainants expressed their displeasure over the functioning of the institute’s director.

The complainants said students are just puppets for beautifying their occasional programmes.

Every student has got his / her own potential for that requires proper personal attention from the faculty as per folk, classical, gazal, jazz,bollywood singing etc., which is totally missing. Just one hour is allotted to class of 10-20 students in Bollywood genre, with an average time allotted comes up to 7-8 minutes per student which is a disaster in itself.

The memorandum further reads; “Auditorium, studio, grooming hall are not available yet as per commitments. So called studio is busy all the time for track making of the daughter of the director.”

Riaz cabin are used for classes instead of proper classrooms.

There is no proper teacher for beginners, Bollywood students. Inspite of several discussion with the 'director each time they were assured of sincerity, proper attention but it ended in vain

as they were being convinced with sweet honey sugar talk, the students apprised the deputy commissioner.

Further, the students informed the DC that Tabla instructor is not available for Bollywood students. There is only one Tabla instructor for classical classes. In the classical classes the teacher is compelled to take the class of 30-40 students all together, resulting in zero output. The institute is defocused regarding career of students and it seems a total time and money wastage.

Purified water is not available and they do not operate generators or inverters, giving them an emotional statements, asking them to do hard work during non-availability of electricity, ignoring the fact that students are coming from far off villages and outskirts, the students further complained. Due to the non-ethical approach of the institute, many students and teachers have already left, they revealed.

The students also informed deputy commissioner that library is not functional. They said they do not have choice of songs to search for. Most of the faculty has left the institute due to non-availability of the instruments, improper management style and director never approved the strategies of the faculty members for betterment of the students. During the summer camp organised at Sutlej Club, faculty was forced to go to take classes and the time of students in the institute was wastage for hours and days. Most of time students are ignored because faculty is forced to give personal attention to the daughter of the director. Many students were coming from outskirts of Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Chandigarh and other far off places but they ended wasting their time and money.

They said during the SDM visit to the institute, students were specially called from their home to sit in the Riaz rooms.

One of the students Henna Singal, in the memorandum, said, “I have paid Rs.15,000 so far to the institute. Still, I am pathless and no vision regarding the music guidelines.”

Other students including Deepika Sharda, Aman Kaur, Vivek Garg, Ashok Kumar and Mandeep Nadha, said in the memorandum that they have wasted time and money while coming to the institute.

They said asserted for cross checking of the funds and financial area of the institute with proper RTI.

The complainants sought intervention of the deputy commissioner in the larger interest of the students and the institute as well.

The deputy commissioner assured to look into the complaint.