AMRITSAR, Feb 17: Former Army Chief Gen J J Singh today said though a war with China is unlikely in the near future, India must keep modernising and strengthening its defence mechanism as a formidable deterrent.
“India must take up development of border areas and update its intelligence network to deal with neighbours including China and Pakistan,” said Singh, also the Arunachal Pradesh Governor.
Interacting with media persons at the 107th annual Convocation of Khalsa College Amritsar, he said the present century belongs to Asia, and therefore, China and India must work together as most powerful nations of this continent.
“We have shared history of peaceful co-existence despite border tensions in 1960s. There are ample opportunities to resolve pending issues peacefully,” said Singh.
“China and Pakistan must understand that patience of India is not its weakness and it is capable of defending its borders,” he said.
During his convocation address, Singh stressed on modernisation of education and female literacy. (PTI)
Ex-Army Chief for strengthening defence mechanism vigorously
MLA seeks NC, PDP support for return of Guru’s body
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 17: The independent legislator from Langate Assembly constituency, Engineer Abdul Rashid today asked the mainstream political parties to support his resolution seeking to get back the body of Parliament attack convict, Mohammad Afzal Guru who was hanged on February 9 in Tihar Jail.
“All the political parties are demanding the handing over of body of Afzal Guru. This seems to be a common meeting point for all of them. If they are really serious in this issue then they should support my resolution so that we could raise our voice jointly and strongly in this context. There is no politics in this and it is purely a humanitarian issue,” said Engineer Rashid while addressing a press conference here in the afternoon.
Engineer Rashid said that he would also support any member of the Legislative Assembly if he moves a resolution seeking the body of Afzal Guru.
V-Guard Industries Limited officials during dealers meet at Jammu on Sunday.
V-Guard Industries Limited officials during dealers meet at Jammu on Sunday.
Shemrock International School celebrates Annual Function
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 17: Shemrock International School Bantalab, Jammu celebrated Annual Function in the school premises, here today.
The function started with lightening of traditional lamp by the chief guest IGP Farooq Khan, Director, Police Academy and the special guest Padmashree Balwant Thakur, Regional Director, Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
The school premises echoed with “Saraswati Vandana” presented by the girls, who prayed for peace, wisdom and prosperity.
The function was held on the theme “Wow Wednesday” wherein students and teachers came together and shared experiences to learn with fun.
The students performed dances on various songs and dressed in different beautiful colourful dresses they seemed to be happy and joyful to present themselves on the stage. Some sufi songs created “soothing aura” in whole premises of the school.
Karate techniques were also framed in the Annual Showcase especially for girls which make them “street smart” and improve overall personality of a child in general. Impressive skit was played by students on the theme “Save Environment” giving message of “Conserve Natural Resources” which was highly applauded by the audiences.
Chief guest in his address praised the “Shemrock” for giving such a stage exposure to all kids and encouraged staff with his words.
Vote of thanks was presented by Director Shemrock International School Bharti Bhardwaj.
Servant hangs self at employer house
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 17: A servant committed suicide by hanging himself at his employer house in Gandhi Nagar area of the winter capital.
As per reports, 20-year-old Yogesh Singh, son of Krishan Singh of Basholi, was working as a servant in a house at Gandhi Nagar.
In the morning, the employer spotted him hanging and informed the police.
On getting information, police rushed to the spot and shifted the body to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for postmortem.
The body was handed over to family members after completion of legal formalities, while a case has been registered and investigation started.
Deputy CM Tara Chand presenting trophy to winners during Annual Sports Day at KC Gurukul in Udhampur on Sunday.
Deputy CM Tara Chand presenting trophy to winners during Annual Sports Day at KC Gurukul in Udhampur on Sunday.
Moderate quake hits Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Feb 17: A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit Kashmir Valley early this morning, officials said.
The tremor, which created panic among the residents of the the Valley, was recorded at 7:05 am, an official of the MET department said.
There was no report of any damage to property or injuries to any person, the official said.
The epicentre of the tremor was in the Hindukush mountains in Afghanistan at Latitude 36.5 degrees North and Longitude 71.7 degrees East, he said. (AGENCIES)
Cop shoots himself with service pistol in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Feb 17: A police sub-inspector allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service pistol in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district today.
Sub-Inspector Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, who was posted as Station House Officer at Kalamabad Police station, was found dead inside his room in the police station premises this morning, a police spokesman said.
55-year-old Sheikh, a native of Zaloora in Kupwara district, shot himself in the temple with his service pistol, police said.
It was not immediately known why the Sub-Inspector took the extreme step, the spokesman said, adding police have registered a case and started investigations. (AGENCIES)
Budget research and analysis need of the hour: Ansari
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb 17:
Advanced research and training in budget planning will benefit around 2.4 lakh local self-government bodies which are in dire need of better budgetary management for financial viability and sustainability, Vice-President M Hamid Ansari said today.
The importance of research and analysis in the technical and political aspects of budget planning can be gauged from the fact that besides the Centre and state governments, there are around 2.4 lakh local self-government bodies which need better budgetary management, he said.
“They will be important beneficiaries of advanced research and training in this area,” Ansari said inaugurating the Centre For Budget Studies, named after Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, set up by the Cochin University of Science and Technology, here.
Stating that setting up a centre for budget studies is timely and relevant, Ansari said the facility will fill an existing gap in the scientific and technical understanding of budget accounting and analysis, especially at a time when fiscal imbalances in government finances are being globally blamed for most of the ills of national economies.
On the importance of budget making, he said given the finite nature of financial resources, “budget making is an exercise in achieving a fine balance between competing objectives and priorities of the government, within the budgetary constraint”.
Budget is not merely a statement of financial receipts and expenditure of the government, but a significant political statement of government policy and its priorities for the economy, he said.
Congratulating the University for naming the Centre after K M Mani, also the leader of Kerala Congress (M), Ansari said Mani has created history of sorts by presenting ten budgets in his capacity as Finance Minister of Kerala.
On the occasion, Mani said he was honoured that Cochin University established the Centre in his name. He said in his budgets, he had always kept the aspirations and interest of the common man in mind while presenting them.
Union Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V S Achuthanandan were among those spoke on the occasion. (PTI)
Lady Gaga meets sick fan despite own injury
LONDON, Feb 17: Pop sensation Lady Gaga did not let her hip injury get in the way of fulfilling a promise she made to a terminally-ill fan.
Gaga was forced to cancel her “Born This Way Ball” tour earlier this week after she was diagnosed with synovitus, a severe inflammation of the joints, and she is likely to undergo a surgery for it too, reported Daily Express.
However, she made sure not to cancel a scheduled meet-and-greet with five-year-old Kaylee Gurbynski, who has an inoperable heart condition. Gaga flew down to Illinois for a surprise visit.
“She (Gaga) can’t do the show due to joint pain. She can barely walk herself, and in spite of the fact that there’s no show, she made an effort to meet Kaylee. I’ve never seen that happen in my history of being in radio,” said local radio personality Tony Waitekus, who helped arrange the visit.
“It just goes to show that no matter what you say about some of these high-falutin artists, many of them do have huge hearts and put them to good use sometimes, and that happened here. She did the right thing, and she did it because she wanted to do it. I just can’t say enough about her for doing that,” Waitekus added. (PTI)