The chief secretary extended an invitation to the delegates to come and explore vast investment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir. He urged them to support J&K administration in its efforts to transform the Union Territory (UT) through growth and prosperity.

In "Naya Jammu and Kashmir" employees do not have to run from one office to another with their applications to get their simple works done. This has improved their performance and productivity.

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 16 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday said that the decision to declare the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh as a public holiday was taken respecting the sentiments of the local people.

Jammu Apr 19 PTI Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Tuesday launched e-Kitab Kosh an online library initiative of the information technology department for providing access to a repository of learning resources in five languagesThe online library can be accessed at wwwelibraryjkgovinThe e-Kitab Kosh is envisioned for providing access to a virtual repository of learning resources in five languages of English Hindi Urdu Dogri and Kashmiri an official spokesman saidThe chief secretary directed the department to make available all e-books of JK-BOSE and NCERT on the website for assisting students with learning material in the spirit of the digital India mission PTI AB AB ANB ANB

Jammu Mar 30 PTI The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday urged banks to ramp up lending for increased economic activity in the Union Territory The credit contraction is a big drag on a growing economy like in Jammu and Kashmir Banks must ramp up lending to enable Jammu and Kashmir to keep up the ongoing growth momentum Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta said while speaking in a meeting here While appreciating the JK Bank for launching a portal for real-time tracking of credit applications under government sponsored schemes he informed that a common portal for receiving and processing applications under all such schemes will soon be developed and integrated with banks operating in JK He said This will resolve all the concerns relating to delays in the processing of loan applications by different banks Mehta directed officials to prepare an actionable export and financial road map for the one district - one product scheme by April 15 PTI AB AB ANB ANB

Jammu Mar 25 PTIJammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Friday pitched for 100 per cent Aadhaar penetration in the Union Territory saying it will facilitate effective and efficient provision of public services to the peopleHe said there is a need to specifically target the population in the age group of 0-5 years by holding special camps in anganwari centres across Jammu and KashmirThe chief secretary also laid emphasis on making Aadhaar saturation a part of the awareness campaign to be run by the IT department and directed that all pending notifications of all the schemes in which expenditure is made from consolidated funds of India and consolidated funds of JK should be issued within 15 daysHe directed for immediate upscaling of Aadhar enrolment in hospitals and schools According to Bhawna Garg Deputy Director General Unique Identification Authority of India 7276 per cent Aadhaar penetration has been done in the age group of 0-5 years till February 28In the 5-18 years and above 18 years categories 8368 per cent and 8729 per cent Aadhaar enrolment has been doneIt was further informed that Ganderbal Kulgam Samba Shopian districts have to redouble their efforts in improving Aadhaar enrolmentsGarg said IPPB and BSNL also need to ensure that their non-functional Aadhaar centres become functional on priority so that the process of Aadhaar penetration is expeditedMore than 4 lakh Aadhaar cards have been generated by anganwari workers and an amount of Rs 63 lakh between 2018-2019 and 46 lakhs between 2020-2021 has been distributed to them Garg said PTI AB RHL

Srinagar Mar 23 PTI Asias largest tulip garden overlooking the famous Dal Lake here was thrown open to the public on Wednesday marking the beginning of the new tourism season in the Kashmir Valley The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden formerly known as Siraj Bagh was opened in 2008 by then chief minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state Ghulam Nabi Azad The idea of the garden spread over 30 hectares in the foothills of the snow-clad Zabarwan range was conceived to advance the tourism season in the valley by two months The garden was thrown open to the public by J-K chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Wednesday Speaking to reporters Mehta said the last six months have seen the highest-ever tourist footfall in the valley He said the tourism has been revived and people are not getting rooms as hotels in the valley are fully booked He said the administration was working on opening and promoting 75 new tourist destinations This year the garden houses 15 million flowers of tulips daffodils hyacinths and muscari The flowers include 68 varieties of tulips In-charge of Tulip Garden Inam Rehman Sofi said He said the visitors will be able to see six new varieties of tulips Sofi said last year 225 lakh people visited the garden and this year we expect more Most of the visitors today were from outside the UT which is a good signal The garden pre-pones our tourist season and I think this is a good omen for this years tourist season Sofi said This year the department has made provisions for online ticket sales as well to avoid the rush at the ticket counter The average lifespan of tulip flowers is three to four weeks but heavy rains or too much heat can destroy them The Floriculture Department plants tulip bulbs in a phased manner so that the flowers remain in the garden for a month or more It feels so good to be here We are seeing unbelievable flowers the beauty of Kashmir a tourist from Gujarat Nehal Mehta said Another tourist Viranshi also from Gujarat said I had seen flowers in bouquets only so far This is the first time I am seeing such a vast variety of flowers in a garden in so many colours This is beautiful and mesmerising We have had so many wonderful moments in Kashmir like a Shikara ride and playing in snow which is a dream come true But this Tulip garden is a cherry on top she added PTI SSB SSB AQS AQS

Jammu Feb 25 PTI The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday approved setting up of infrastructure for women battalions at several places in the union territory officials said The Administrative Council AC which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha accorded administrative approval for construction work for women battalions at Sopore Baramulla and Pargalta Jammu an official spokesman said Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar advisors to the Lt Governor Arun Kumar Mehta Chief Secretary and Nitishwar Kumar Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor attended the meeting he said The construction work will be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore at each battalion and it will include administration blocks residential accommodation and hostels and office building among others the spokesman said Earlier to check the rise in crime against women the administration had raised two women battalions by sanctioning 2014 posts for recruiting women officers and officials of various ranks he said The recruitment of these posts is underway he added PTI AB AQS AQS

Jammu Jan 25 PTI Over 15 lakh new eligible voters have been added to the electoral roll in Jammu and Kashmir and 12000 voters in Ladakh since 2019 an official said On account of the 12th National Voters Day Jammu and Kashmirs election department had on Tuesday organised an event at Nirvachan Bhawan in Jammu during which Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta virtually administered the pledge to all administrative secretaries divisional commissioners district election officers electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers besides other officials This years National Voters Day is celebrated on the theme Making elections inclusive accessible and participative Chief Electoral Officer Jammu and Kashmir Hirdesh Kumar said the health of electoral rolls for Ladakh has tremendously been improved after the culmination of the summary revision with 06 Elector Population ratio 9422 Elector Photo Identity Cards EPIC percentage and 1000 987 gender ratio As for Jammu and Kashmir more than 15 lakh new eligible voters were added during the continuous updation of electoral rolls since the last Special Summary Revision from 01-01-2019 as the qualifying date Kumar said He said the need of the hour is to educate voters about the ethical and qualitative participation in the electoral process as the theme for this years National Voters Day focuses on the Election Commission of Indias ECI commitment to facilitate the active participation of voters during the elections and to make the complete process hassle-free The chief secretary said the ECIs main focus this year is to encourage all segments of electorates including persons with disabilities youth women and senior citizens besides ensuring that all citizens are registered He also highlighted the importance of online facilities provided by the ECI such as the voter portal httpwwwnvspin and voter helpline mobile app and urged the people to utilize these digital platforms fully PTI AB CJ CJ

Jammu Jan 20 PTI Taking cognisance of the rising COVID-19 cases in the union territory Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Thursday impressed upon all departments to permit a suitable percentage of the workforce to work from home Mehta gave this direction during a meeting of the COVID task force to review the rising coronavirus cases in Jammu and Kashmir He directed the strict implementation of the CAB and set protocols to break the chain of transmission The chief secretary appealed to the public to remain indoors and avoid visiting crowded places besides urging them to voluntarily declare micro-containment zones in the areas that are seeing a large number of positive cases He said symptomatic people can avail of medical assistance and testing information by dialling the COVID emergency helpline number 104 The meeting was apprised that although the Omicron variant is maintaining a high transmission rate -- raising the weekly positivity rate from 05 per cent to 54 per cent over the previous fortnight -- the oxygen bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy are at a comfortable level of 77 per cent and 140 per cent respectively Healthcare facilities have been ramped up and are in a state of readiness to cater to any eventualities the officials said In comparison to the second wave Jammu and Kashmir has doubled its testing capacity to over 80000 daily tests which is also being reflected in the higher number of daily reported cases they said Although the number of daily reported cases has crossed the number recorded during the peak of the second wave the comparative peak positivity rate and bed occupancy rate currently remains low at 7 per cent and 62 per cent viz-a-viz the second waves 109 per cent and 608 per cent respectively they said Jammu and Kashmir is also having a lower positivity rate compared to the national average of about 17 per cent PTI AB CJ CJ