New Delhi Mar 30 PTI Employees of Chandigarh Union Territory administration will get same pay and other benefits as those working under the central government following an approval by the Ministry of Home AffairsThe home ministry issued rules in this effect last night two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the service conditions of employees of the Chandigarh administration will be aligned to that of the central civil services and this will benefit them in a big wayAccording to the Union territory of Chandigarh Employees Conditions of Service Rules 2022 which will come into effect from April 1 the conditions of service of persons appointed to services and posts in Group A Group B and Group C in Chandigarh administration will be the same as the conditions of service of the persons appointed to corresponding services and posts in central civil services of the government of IndiaGroup D posts of the union territory of Chandigarh shall be the same as the conditions of the service of the persons appointed to the corresponding Group C posts in central civil services of the government of India and shall be governed by the same rules and orders as are applicable to the latter category of personsThe rules say that for those employees under the administrative control of the union territory of Chandigarh who were earlier drawing scales of pay on par with their counterparts in Punjab it shall be competent for the administrator of the union territory to revise their scales of pay from time to time so as to bring them on par with the scales of pay which may be sanctioned by the government of India from time to time to the corresponding categories of its employeesIn case of a teaching faculty of a technical university or institution which is governed by the All India Council for Technical Education or Council of Architecture and a higher educational university or institutions which is governed by the University Grants Commission through regulations as made by such councils or commission as the case may be under any law for the time being in force as applicable shall be such as specified in the said regulationsBesides the rules say that a person appointed to the services and posts under the administrative control of the administrator of the UT Chandigarh shall be subject to transfer from one department to another department so long as such transfer does not adversely affect the pay and allowances seniority or promotion and all other financial benefits as applicable to such persons PTI ACB ZMN

New Delhi Mar 23 PTI Assam and Meghalaya have agreed for permanent settlement of their inter-state boundary dispute in six of the 12 areas of difference Rajya Sabha was informed on WednesdayUnion Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said discussions have been going on at various levels between the governments of Assam and Meghalaya to arrive at an amicable solution to the border issueAs a result of these discussions the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya have agreed for permanent settlement of the inter-state boundary in respect of six areas of difference out of total 12 areas of difference between the states of Assam and Meghalaya he said in a written reply to a questionThe minister said the approach of the central government has consistently been that inter-state boundary issues can be resolved only with the cooperation of the state governments concerned and that the central government acts as a facilitator for amicable settlement of the boundary issue in the spirit of mutual co-operation and understanding PTI ACB ZMN

New Delhi Mar 22 PTI A significant number of terrorists remain present in various launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir Union minister Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha on TuesdayRai however said there is a decrease in the number of infiltration from across the border -- 34 in 2021 as compared to 51 in 2020 138 in 2019 and 143 in 2018Pakistan and India have been observing a ceasefire along the Line of Control LoC for over a year nowWhen asked about whether Pakistan has built infrastructure along the LoC and whether terrorists have tried to infiltrate from the launch pads from across the border the union minister of state for home said information sought to be a sensitive operational matter concerning national security and cannot be divulged in the interest of national security Rai however said the central government regularly reviews the security situation along the LoC and takes precautionary measures for thwarting any move by threat elements including terrorists PTI ACB ZMN

New Delhi Jan 22 PTI Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held after completion of the ongoing delimitation process and statehood will be restored once situation in the union territory becomes normal Home Minister Amit Shah said on SaturdayVirtually releasing Indias first District Good Governance Index he said Jammu and Kashmir is a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and multipronged efforts are being made for the all round development of the union territoryAs far as the democratic process is concerned the delimitation process has started After its completion we will hold the assembly electionsSome people have said many things but I want to tell you that I had given assurance in Parliament that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored Once situation in Jammu and Kashmir becomes normal the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored he saidShah said some people want to create confusion in the minds of the people of the valley and he wants to request everyone not to fall into their trapHe said democracy has reached the lowest level of the society after implementation of the panchayati raj system and that is why some people are worriedHe said Jammu and Kashmir can be developed only through democracy and people can be happy and youths can get jobs also through democracyBut to sustain the democracy peace is necessary in Jammu and Kashmir I want to appeal to the youths of Jammu and Kashmir not to get instigated by the statements of vested interests I want to tell the youths to have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi have faith in Jammu and Kashmir administration he saidShah said some people were spreading lies for their narrow political interestsI want to appeal to everyone especially the youths to ask these people some questions Those who are saying that the valleys land will be usurped they should be asked whose land has been taken away so far By spreading such lies they are trying to put barrier in the development of Jammu and KashmirThose who were saying that violence will enhance They should be asked whether violence has gone up or reduced They had said no investment will come but the fact is that already Rs 12000 crore investment has come Tourists arrivals have also gone up and Jammu and Kashmir is matching towards development he saidShah said many changes have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir under the initiative of the local administration and the guidance of the prime ministerI want to tell everyone especially youths youths of the valley to give attention towards development be part of the development process he saidThe home minister said till August 2019 when the Article 370 was abrogated Jammu and Kashmir was electing 87 MLAs and 6 MPs and only three families were ruling the erstwhile stateNow 30000 peoples representatives panchayat members are serving the peopleThe benefits of the implementation of Panchayati Raj Act is before the people of Jammu and Kashmir There has been speedy development after the implementation of the act he saidThe home minister said some political parties were hurt that the panchayati raj system has been implemented and these people have said that law and order situation has deteriorated after the abrogation of Article 370Some people have gone to even to the extreme and said that until the Article 370 is restored law and order in Jammu and Kashmir can never be good he saidI want to tell all of them that there has been 40 per cent reduction in terror related incidents and 57 per cent reduction in deaths since Article 370 was abrogated It shows that peace has no connection with the change Peace has connection with the administration When people get good administration people get involved with the administration he saidLauding the Jammu and Kashmir administrations efforts Shah said that the union territory stood within the fifth rank among all states and union territories in implementing central government development schemes like providing electricity LPG gas connections toilets 100 per cent vaccination oxygen supply setting up oxygen plantsPeople are getting direct benefits Therefore naturally middle men are upset Modi is clear that people of Jammu and Kashmir should get clean administration without any intervention of the middle men he saidShah said Jammu and Kashmir has tremendous potential for tourismBut the way some leaders are making statements it shows that they dont want the growth of the tourismI want to tell them there is no impact from your statements In this winter there has been record tourists arrivals in Jammu and Kashmir This number will keep growing in the coming days he saidThe home minister said everyone knows that tourism has direct connection with the employment but by making such statements a conspiracy has been hatched so that there is less tourists arrivals and the youths get less employment opportunitiesI want to tell those people who had to go to Pakistan or other foreign countries for study medicine that since independence till 2014 Jammu and Kashmir had just four medical colleges with 500 seats Now nine medical colleges were built 15 nursing colleges were set up 1100 MBBS seats and 600 paramedical seats are available he saidShah said there was just Rs 12000 crore investment in Jammu and Kashmir in 70 years But in just one year Rs12000 crore investment has come and Rs 2000 crore ground breaking has been done so far All together Rs 50000 crore investment will comeHe said that budget of Jammu and Kashmir has been increased from Rs 9000 crore to Rs 21000 crore No other state has got such two and half time more budget It shows that Jammu and Kashmir is a priority for Modi he said PTI ACB ZMN

New Delhi Jan 21 PTI Arms manufacturers will henceforth be allowed to enhance annual production of firearms and ammunition which will mostly cater to the 35 lakh private gun licence holdersAcording to the latest Arms Amendment Rules 2022 the arms manufacturers however will have to submit online every month details of the firearms manufactured sold or transferred or consumed for the monthThe home ministry issued the new rules through a gazette notification on ThursdayThe manufacturer who has been issued licence in Form VII under these rules shall be permitted to have enhanced annual production of firearms or ammunition or caliber wise revision of his licensed capacity by giving intimation to the licensing authority and also to the state government concerned within ninety days from the end of the financial year and for which no further endorsement on the licence as to capacity shall be required the notification saidWhile applying the manufacturer has to submit detailed proposal for enhancement of manufacturing capacity or caliber wise revision of licenced capacity project outlays means of finance and justification for economic viability and market demand projections duly certified by the authorised signatory of the companyMonthly online returns detailing the production sold transfer and consumed shall be submitted by the manufacturer by close of business hours of the last day of the month the notification saidPrior approval of the licensing authority will be mandatory for any change in control either directly or indirectly of the company or in case of any change in shareholding or beneficial interest in the shareholding resulting into dilution of promoters shareholding below 10 per centHowever prior approval will not be required if there is increase in shareholding of a shareholder who held less than 10 per cent in the share capital of the company to 10 per cent or more provided that for transfer of share holding between the two promoters which is already approved by the licensing authorityIf any circumstances occur which prevent a licensee to submit online returns the local licensing authority shall be informed immediately in order to establish alternative means to submit the monthly returns it saidAccording to an estimate India has a total of around 35 lakh gun licencesThirteen lakh people have licences to carry weapons in Uttar Pradesh followed by militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir where 37 lakh people possess arms licences most of which were taken in the name of personal securityPunjab which witnessed terrorism in 1980s and 1990s has around 36 lakh active gun licences most of which were issued during the two decades wherein militancy had engulfed the stateThe data shows that a total of 94400 arms licences were renewed with all India permission between January 2018 and December 2020 of which 19238 were in Uttar Pradesh followed by Jammu and Kashmir 14172 gun licences and Haryana 12230 gun licences PTI ACB ZMN

New Delhi Jan 21 PTI Attacking Communists Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said violence perpetrated against its political rivals is the hallmark Left ruleAddressing a function through video conference on the occasion of Tripura Statehood Day he said the BJP government which came to power in 2018 in the state has restored peace and brought all round development for all sections of the peopleViolence against political rivals is the hallmark of Communists Many BJP workers were killed many houses were destroyed and many of our workers could not go home for years during the communist rule in Tripura he saidThe home minister said it was due to the sacrifice and dedication of scores of party workers that the BJP could come to power in Tripura after overthrowing the Left front governmentThe Left front ruled Tripura from 1978 to 1988 and again from 1993 to 2018The Biplab Kumar Deb-led BJP government came to power in 2018The BJP has on many occasions in the past claimed that many of its workers were killed or maimed in Kerala also ruled by a Left governmentPraising the state government Shah said law and order situation in Tripura has improved significantly connectivity has been improved tremendously while farmers income has become doubleHe lauded the strong steps taken by the Deb government to eradicate the drug menace and said that the tribal community is the biggest beneficiary of the curbs on narcoticsThe home minister said the per capita income of the residents of Tripura has gone up to by 30 per cent in just three years -- from Rs 1 lakh in 2017 to Rs 130 lakh in 2020He said over 100 companies have come to Tripura in last four years with an investment of Rs 2000 crore thanks to the numerous steps taken by the BJP governmentShah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi since the beginning has tried to reduce the distance between the Northeast and Delhi and ensured that at least one Union minister visits the region every fortnight in last seven yearsHe said the Northeast used to be known as the den of corruption and very little development was witnessed over the yearsEver since the Modi government came to power in 2014 all funds sent to the Northeast is being utilised and all round development is witnessed everywhere in the region he said PTI ACB ZMN

New Delhi Jan 18 PTI Ahead of Republic Day the Centre has highlighted a perceptible lack of awareness among government organisations agencies and people about the laws practices and conventions that apply to display of the national flag and asked states to ensure that the tricolour is not dishonouredIn a communication to all states and union territories the home ministry said that action must be taken to ensure that only paper flags are used by the public while attending cultural and sports events and such flags are disposed of in private consistent with its dignityThe ministry said the national flag represents hopes and aspirations of the people of the country and hence should occupy a position of honour and there is universal affection and respect for and loyalty to the flagYet a perceptible lack of awareness is often noticed amongst people as well as organisations or agencies of the government in regard to laws practices and conventions that apply to display of the national flag it saidAccording to the Flag Code of India the national flag made of paper may be waved by public on occasions of important national cultural and sports eventsYou are requested to ensure that on the occasions of important national cultural and sports events flags made of paper only are used by the public and such paper flags are not discarded or thrown on the ground after the event Such flags are to be disposed of in private consistent with the dignity of the flag the communication saidThe home ministry also asked the states and union territories to undertake mass awareness programme in this regard and also to give it wide publicity through advertisements in the electronic and print mediaThe copy of The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971 and Flag Code of India 2002 as amended in 2021 which governs display of National Flag are available on this ministrys website it saidLast year before Independence Day the home ministry had asked the states to ensure that people do not use national flags made of plastic as they do not get decomposed easilyIt had also sought appropriate disposal of the tricolour made of non-biodegradable item commensurate with the dignity of the flag PTI ACB ZMN