Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, June 17: In a first and significant decision of its kind, from now onwards, no Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government will form part of any delegation going abroad to participate in a conference on science and technology.
This major announcement was made by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences (Independent Charge) and MoS in the PMO, who happened to be the Lok Sabha member from Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat.
“My appetite for foreign travel is already over,” said Dr Singh, adding: “we shall choose scientists who have original presentation for participation in such conferences”.
“Only this month, there were two conferences taking place – one at Santiago and other in Boston.
Making clear the new Government’s plans to bring about a strong work culture in the administration, Singh said that they will not be vindictive with bureaucrats, but they will have to adopt a strong work culture. “When we ourselves sit in office for 12-14 hours a day, they too will have to mend themselves,” said Dr Singh.
Now, in order to have scientists associate with the ministry, they have decided to fill up certain vacant posts from among the scientists.
“We have started getting applications from senior scientists,” he said, adding that they have also started approaching those who had been left out in the past when there used to be an impression that one had to carry a small beard and leaning towards the Left to be a scientist.
“A veteran scientist from Nagpur, who is also the recipient of Padmashree, had approached us and he too has been associated,” said Dr Singh.
Dr Singh said the Government has initiated the process of filling up the vacant positions in various scientific institutes across the country, including for the post of Secretary for the Department for Science and Technology.
“We have initiated the process. We want to be open so that we (the Government) and the scientific fraternity have ample opportunity to look for the right candidate,” Dr Singh told reporters during his visit to National Physical Laboratory (NPL) here.
The NPL is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
He, however, declined to give a specific time frame for the appointments.
After the retirement of Department of Science and Technology Secretary T Ramasami, additional charge has been given to K Vijay Raghavan, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology.
“We are working for over 14 hours a day on this issue. Eminent people will be appointed and decision in the interest of scientific fraternity will be taken. We are looking into it in a phased and structured manner,” he said.
When asked whether Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Science has asked for more funds in the budget this year, Dr Singh said as the Department and research grows, need for funding also rises.
“Innovative work goes on in our laboratories, which require uplift. So the need for more budget also arises,” he said.
The Minister added that as India aspires to be a super power by 2020 science will play a significant role to bring on social transformation in the country.
Dr Singh said in the global world of 21st century, it is difficult for a nation to keep pace with other countries without an optimum progress in the field of science and technology and therefore, in the years to come, not only India will have to give due priority to science and technology but the society as a whole will have to develop a “scientific temper” in order to accomplish the dream of India becoming a world power in 2020.
During his visit to NPL, Dr Singh was accompanied by Dr PS Ahuja, officiating Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof RC Bhudhan, Director NPL, senior Scientists and officers of Science and Technology Department.
Dr Singh said: “we have to break away from the traditional mindset of getting carried away by customs and practices devoid of scientific rationale. For this purpose, what is required is a serious endeavor to use science as an instrument for social transformation”.
He said Science and Technology is an academically rich department with around 38 Regional Research Laboratories spread across the country. He said the posts of Directors which are vacant in around 10 regional laboratories in the country will be filled soon.
In addition, the process has also been started to fill-up the vacant post of Director General, CSIR and to reconstitute the society of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), he added.
In the times to come, Dr Singh said new methods and plans will be contemplated to attract the best talent to work as scientists. “An eminent scientist is an asset for the future of any nation and it is our responsibility to make him comfortable and provide him with congenial working conditions for research and experiment,” he added.

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 17: Though improving vigilance administration encourages culture of honesty and prevents possibilities of corruption, nepotism and maladministration, yet this aspect is not receiving the required attention from majority of the Government departments in Jammu and Kashmir and they are flouting with impunity the directives in this regard issued from time to time by the General Administration Department.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that in order to improve the vigilance administration in the Government departments, the General Administration Department vide its Circular No.28 dated September 27, 2013 issued a set of guidelines and instructions for reducing delays in departmental enquiries.
The objective behind issuance of detailed guidelines was to ensure that the vigilance matters are addressed on top priority and the pending cases of enquiries settled in a time bound manner, they said. The stress was laid on time-bound completion of departmental enquiries as one major source of corruption is that the guilty are not punished adequately and more important they are not punished promptly, sources added.
While issuing these guidelines, the General Administration Department had observed that the departmental response to the communications from the Vigilance Organization/GAD Vigilance for initiation of departmental action by the Administrative departments was abysmally low, sources informed, adding it was further observed by the GAD at that time that the response, whenever shown, was usually inadequate.
In order to ensure that the departments don’t make any excuse, the General Administration Department vide Circular No.36-Vig dated November 28, 2013 issued a proforma for furnishing information of the cases related with departmental action/inquiries against the Government officers/officials at the end of each month for perusal and consideration of the GAD authorities, sources further informed.
“There were two sets of proforma—one for furnishing information regarding all regular departmental action cases/departmental cases referred to various departments by the Vigilance Organization/GAD Vigilance and another in respect of departmental inquiries”, they said. Through these proformas, the information about the nature of complaint, whether preliminary inquiry conducted, whether charge-sheet issued, whether Inquiry Officer appointed, status of inquiry and whether any penalty recommended/imposed was sought by the General Administration Department.
“However, majority of the departments are flouting with impunity the directives of the General Administration Department and are not furnishing monthly data”, sources regretted, adding “the non-compliance of the directives clearly indicates that those at the helm of affairs in such departments don’t want to improve vigilance administration, which otherwise is a major weapon in their hands to prevent possibilities of corruption, nepotism and maladministration”.
“Had there been strict compliance about the directives, the fate of 147 departmental inquiries would have not been hanging in balance”, sources pointed out.
When contacted, a senior officer of the General Administration Department admitted, “the compliance to the directives about improving vigilance administration is not satisfactorily”, adding “we are going to take some more steps in order to streamline the monthly information furnishing system”.
According to the sources, Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, in the past few meetings of the Committee of Secretaries had also laid stress on strict compliance to the instructions regarding improving vigilance administration in the departments.
As per the guidelines, all the departments are required to consolidate the details of the vigilance cases referred to them by the GAD (Vigilance) or Vigilance Organization, from time to time, and prepare a reliable database and the complaints forwarded by the Vigilance Organization/GAD Vigilance should be disposed of within a period of one month. Moreover, in respect of the case referred to by the Vigilance Organization for preliminary enquiries the necessary action is required to be completed within a period of 45 days.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 17: Main opposition, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today announced first list of 28 candidates for the Assembly elections, in which eight sitting MLAs of the party have been repeated.
The list of the candidates was cleared by the PDP’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC).
Eight sitting MLAs, who have been repeated by the party included Abdul Haq Khan (Lolab), Syed Basharat Bukhari (Sangrama), Javed Mustafa Mir (Chadoora), Mushtaq Ahmad Shah (Tral), Zahoor Ahmad Mir (Pampore), Peerzada Mansoor Hussain (Shangus), Rafi Ahmad Mir (Pahalgam) and Choudhary Zulfikar Ali (Darhal).
Other candidates cleared by the PDP included Syed Assad Hussain Shah Bari (Kalakote), Choudhary Qamar (Rajouri), Surindar Choudhary (Nowshera), Shah Mohammad Tantray (Poonch), Ghulam Nabi Panditpuri (Langate), Mohammad Yasir Reshi (Sonawari), Moulvi Imran Raza Ansari, son of sitting MLA and former Minister Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (Zadibal), Mohammad Ashraf Mir (Sonawar), Abdul Majeed Padder (Noorabad), Nazir Ahmad Laway (Kulgam), Dr Abdul Majeed (Inderwal), Mehboob Iqbal (Bhaderwah), Swami Raj Bhagat (Ramban), Bashir Ahmad Runiyal (Banihal), Imtiyaz Hussain Shah (Gool Arnas), Sukhdev (Udhampur), Hans Raj (Chenani), Bharat Mahajan (Jammu East), Bushan Dogra (RS Pura) and Tarlok Singh Bajwa (Suchetgarh).
The second list of candidates will be announced shortly, a party spokesman said.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 17: The National Conference has set the process in motion for finalization of candidates for the Assembly elections.
According to party sources, NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah and working president Omar Abdullah have asked the district presidents to send a panel of three candidates for each Assembly segment in consultations with block presidents and secretaries to the party high command for finalization of the candidates.
Sources said the party Core Group would examine the panel and finalize the candidates in the next 7 to 10 days.
The NC planned to complete the exercise of selection of Assembly candidates soon so that the contests are given enough time to prepare themselves.
The NC wanted to involve district and block level office bearers for finalization of candidates, sources said.
The Assembly elections are due to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in November-December this year.

Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, June 17: The State Government through its contradictory order has blocked the regularization of over 300 Agriculture graduates of the State, more qualified and better skilled, who were engaged as Rehbar-e-Zirats (ReZs) 7 years ago.
The State Government issued regularization order (No. 378-Agri 2013 dated 28/11/2013) of over 2642 ReZs in the State in three phases starting from April 1, 2014, April 1, 2015 and April 1, 2016. The first phase that was to take off in April this year became causality of the contradictory Government order that was challenged in the court of law.
Under the Government order, the State Government was to regularize these ReZs in three phases with 881 each in first two phases and 880 in the third and last phase. The contradictory order reads: “The period spent on study/project shall not be counted while arriving at 7 years of service to make the candidates eligible for regularization irrespective of nature of permission in this regard.”
The order has left over 300 agriculture graduates ineligible for regularization as they were working in Centrally sponsored research projects in SKUAST-J, SKUAST-K, Kashmir University and Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (CITH) and were pursuing higher studies for which they were permitted by the Government.
A circular issued (under order No. Agri/NG/53/2002-Genl dated 18/04/2007) by Government to allow the ReZs to work in research projects reads: “A view has been taken that allowing such graduates to continue to their present assignment would enlarge their experience and learning and would therefore strengthen the human capacity available for horticulture and agriculture sectors. Now, therefore it has been decided that all such agriculture/horticulture graduates in the above mentioned cases (working in research projects and pursing higher studies) be allowed to continue in other organizations/projects/research etc subject to their application in this behalf. They would continue to be registered as ReZ under the scheme but will not be entitled for the monthly stipend for the period such agriculture/horticulture graduates remain on aforementioned engagement.”
It may be mentioned here that Government engaged 2641 unemployed graduates as the ReZs in 2007 under a Cabinet decision (No. 248/14 dated 23-10-2006) and Government order (No. 20-Agri of 2007 dated 06-02-2007) on monthly stipend of Rs 1500. However, there was a rider over their engagement of these agriculture graduates as ReZ. The Government order reads: “Candidates shall execute an agreement with Chief Agriculture Officer stating that they are not performing any Government service whether on contract basis or adhoc.”
After the engagement of the unemployed graduates as ReZs, there was crisis in the Centrally sponsored research projects as majority of the graduates involved in these projects left them halfway. Government issued an order to overcome the crisis and allowed these graduates to work in various departs and pursue research (order No. Agri/NG/53/2002-Genl dated 18/04/2007).
In 2011 Government (Order No. 235-Agri of 2011 dated 10-08-2011) formulated the policy of regularization of the ReTs and created 2642 posts of Village Agriculture Extension Assistants. “Creation of 2642 posts of Village Agriculture Extension Assistants by the Agriculture Production Department…881 in first phase, 881 in second phase and 880 in third and final phase. However, these posts shall be utilized for the regularization of the eligible/selected ReZ candidates with effect from Ist April 2014 (first phase), Ist April 2015 (second phase), Ist April 2016 (third phase),” reads the order.
Even after the issuance of contradictory order making the ReZs working in various research projects as ineligible for regularization, Government issued another order to allow them to work in these research projects.
The permission was issued by the Government in response to the letter written by CITH to the Commissioner Secretary Government Agriculture Production Department (F. No. PA/Dir/655-52 dated 03-09-2013) seeking consideration of registered ReZs to continue in State and national research projects undergoing in Government organizations.
The Government allowed the registered ReZs to work in the research projects till they are regularized. The Government order (No Agri/NG/53/2002/Part-II, Part V dated 24-09-2013) reads: “I am directed to refer your letter No. F. No. PA/Dir/655-52 dated 03-09-2013 regarding the subjected circulated above and to convey the approval of the administrative department for continuation of ReZ working in your institute till they complete their assignments or their absorption in the department whichever is earlier.”

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 17: Pakistan Army and Rangers today violated ceasefire briefly on the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB).
Official sources said Pakistan Army fired a sniper shot and a burst towards an Indian post in Balakote sector of Poonch district at 11.30 am today.
However, there were no casualties or damage on the Indian side. Army spokesman Col Manish Mehta denied any ceasefire violation on the LoC today.
On the IB, Pakistani Rangers fired three to four rounds in Suchetgarh sector of RS Pura tehsil at 1.30 pm.
The BSF retaliated and there was brief exchange of firing. No damage was reported on the Indian side.