New Delhi Apr 21 PTI Terrorism is the biggest form of human rights violation and action against terrorism cannot be contradictory to human rights Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on ThursdayAddressing the 13th foundation day of the National Investigation Agency NIA here Shah said strong action has been taken against terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir and against those who had helped terrorism and were living respectfully in societyTerrorism is the biggest curse for the society he said adding that if there is any country which bore the maximum brunt of terrorism it is IndiaI have some differences with human rights organisations Whenever there is an anti-terror action some human rights groups come forward to raise the issue But I strongly believe that there cannot be a bigger human rights violation than terrorism It is the biggest form of human rights violationAction against terrorism cannot be contradictory to human rights It is absolutely necessary to root out terrorism to protect human rights Shah said amid an applause from officers of the NIA and other security organisationsThe home minister said the Narendra Modi government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and was working to root out the menace from IndiaHe said the NIA had registered terror funding cases and these cases helped to a great extent to root out terrorism from Jammu and KashmirShah said that earlier there was no proper action against terror funding In 2018 cases were registered against terror funding for the first time and because of that there is no smooth road for funding terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir he addedIn 2021-22 the NIA registered many cases which helped in destroying sleeper cells in Jammu and Kashmir It has taken strong action against the logistics and supply chain and those who had helped terrorism and were living respectfully in society They were exposed by the NIA and brought to justice This is a big thing he saidIn Jammu and Kashmir fighting against terrorism and terrorists is one thing and action taken to root out terrorism is another thing Shah saidWe have to root out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir So we have to destroy the mechanism of terror funding Because of the terror funding cases of Jammu and Kashmir registered by the NIA it has become very difficult now to provide funds for terror acts there he saidThe home minister said there is a realisation worldwide that without India no goal can be achieved -- be it with regards to environment economic growth equal development or ending terrorismWithout India such goals cannot be achieved and hence it is absolutely necessary to ensure and strengthen the countrys internal security mechanism he saidThe prime minister has set a target of a USD 5 trillion economy for India To achieve this goal it is necessary to ensure the countrys internal security Shah saidThe minister said the 2008 Mumbai terror attack was an incident which necessitated reforms in institutionsThe NIA was formed after the Mumbai attacks and all agencies became active against terror funding There have been positive changes in anti-terror organisations intelligence agencies and intelligence gathering mechanism he saidLauding the NIAs role in the last 13 years the home minister said the agency should take some pledges for the next 25 years Azadi ka Amrit Kaal and efforts should be made so that successes could be achieved on themSuccess is a good thing But it is important how this success takes any organisation forward If success gives encouragement the organisation goes further The NIA must consolidate and institutionalise its successes Unless the successes are consolidated and institutionalised the NIA will not be successful in its mission he saidShah also referred to sporadic protests that erupted in some places after the NIA took action and said that without protests real success cannot be achievedHe also advocated sharing of information intelligence and other data among law enforcement agencies to check terrorism crime and criminals PTI ACB IJT

Kolkata Apr 21 PTI Investment proposals worth Rs 342 lakh crore were received by West Bengal in this years business summit Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on ThursdayAddressing the valedictory session of the Bengal Global Business Summit she said that a total of 137 Memorandum of Understandings MoUs and Letters of Intent LoI were signed for the investmentsAround 40 lakh jobs will be created when these investments are made she saidA task force will be set up under the chief secretary for speedy implementation of these projects she addedSectoral committees for agriculture and allied services MSME exports services sector and tourism were also set up at the summitThese committees co-chaired by industrialists will meet once a month These committees will give policy suggestions to create more jobs and attract investments the chief minister saidThe business summit was attended by 4300 participants from 42 countries she saidThe chief minister announced that the next business summit will be held from February 1 to 3 2023In the last five editions of the summit the state had attracted investment proposals worth Rs 12 lakh crore which are in various stages of progress having the potential to create 15 crore jobs PTI dc BSM SOM SOM

New Delhi Feb 24 PTI Over 590 FIRs were registered 291 persons arrested and Rs 11 crore rupees of defrauded money was frozen by the Delhi Police in the period between April to May during the second wave of COVID-19 when there was a sudden spurt in demand for oxygen cylinders and medicines in the national capital police said on ThursdayAddressing the media at its annual press meet Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said the cheats and scamsters tried to take advantage of the covid situation in the second wave during the peak period between April and May last year According to the data 567 FIRs were registered during April and May in 2021 61 crack teams were formed by the crime branch and special cell to nab such fraudsters Citing the data Asthana said under operation cyber Prahaar during covid wave 2291 persons were arrested 583 bank accounts were blocked 1158 mobile numbers were blocked through DoT 233 mobile were tagged as COVID SCAM through true caller Moreover 11 crore rupees of defrauded money was frozen Asthana stressed on prevention of cyber crime and said in future there is a possibility of increase in cyber related crime and said keeping this factor in mind15 cyber police stations were created in each district with effect from November 17 2021 This was done to exclusively handle cyber complaints so that such cases can be given faster response time which is essential for cyber cheating cases he added A separate number 155260 now 1930 which became operational in April 2021 various awareness campaigns were also initiated to lodge cyber fraud cases online This platform for reporting all major public and private sector banks and is currently being utilized by 28 states and union territories The police chief said the Delhi Police received 115013 calls in 2021 out of which 24219 were related to financial frauds and 54785 were related to other cyber complaintsand Rs 431 crore was frozen by Intelligence Fusion Strategic Operation With this police claimed that there was a drastic reduction in complaints within two weeks Under its operation MASOOM Mitigation of Adolescent Sexually Offensive online Material 187 cases were registered in different police statioj in the national capital in which 127 persons were arrested police said Under this operative police focused on complaints related to pornographic material collected from National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children through National Crime Record Bureau they added PTI AMP AMP RCJ RCJ

New Delhi Jan 27 PTI As many as 9672 Omicron samples were found in January in genome sequencing constituting 75 per cent of the total sequenced samples of COVID-19 a huge rise from the December figure of 1292 the government said on ThursdayAddressing a press conference NCDC Director Dr S K Singh said sub-lineages of Omicron - BA1 and BA2 were found in sequenced samples while BA3 has not been found yetWe were getting more samples of BA1 earlier mostly found in travellers but now we are seeing that BA2 has become more prevalent in the community Singh saidHe further said that a huge rise from December has been seen in the number of Omicron samples in JanuaryIn genome sequencing a huge increase in Omicron samples was seen between December and January he saidIn December only 1292 omicron samples while 17272 samples were of Delta variant and of AY series of COVID-19 in genomic sequencingIn January 9672 omicron samples were found which was about 75 per cent of total sequenced samples and AY lineage was found in 3201 samples and Delta was found in 1578 samples he saidHe further said that Delta variant has been found predominantly in Odisha West Bengal and MaharashtraIt is not that everywhere we are finding only Omicron cases we are also seeing Delta variant cases which shows that Delta variant impact has not completely ended In severity and hospitalisation we can also find delta so it is important we dont look at hospitalised cases unilaterally that it is omicron so it would be mild he said Earlier this weekthe Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia INSACOG said that Omicron is in community transmission stage in India and has become dominant in multiple metros where new cases have been rising exponentially with BA2 lineage an infectious sub-variant of Omicron found in a substantial fraction in the countryPTI UZM PLB ZMN

New Delhi Dec 30 PTI There have been extensive deliberations on whether the precautionary third dose of Covid vaccine for healthcare and frontline workers and citizens above 60 years with comorbidities should be the same as the first two doses and a decision is expected soon the government said on ThursdayAddressing a press conference ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the government will issue clear cut recommendations on this before January 10 when administering of the precautionary dose to healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 years with comorbidities will beginWe are having an extensive debate on which vaccine to be given as a precautionary dose Weve had a series of meetings in NTAGI National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation yesterday the day before and today We are deciding what is the population that will require this vaccine which includes frontline workers healthcare workers and 60 plus with comorbidities What are new vaccines available and which vaccine can be given in terms of safety and in terms of efficacy Bhargava saidSo we are analysing all the data that is available in terms of which vaccine can be givenwhether it is going to be the same one or it is going to be different one Before January 10 we will have to clear cut recommendations on the same The drug controller and the NTAGIare meeting and that decision will be taken he saidAccording to the Guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination of children between 15-18 years and precaution dose to healthcare and frontline workers and 60 years population with comorbidities issued by health ministry prioritisation and sequencing of the precaution dose for them would be based on completion of nine months from the date of administration of second dose which is 39 weeksTheywill be able to access vaccination for the precaution dose through their existing Co-WIN account the guidelines which will come into effect from January 3 statedEligibility for the precaution dose will be based on the date of administration of the second dose as recorded in the Co-WIN system which will send an SMS for availing the precaution dose when it becomes due the guidelines stated PTI PLBUZM ZMN

Srinagar Dec 30 PTI For the first time since insurgency broke out in Kashmir the total number of terrorists active in the valley has fallen below 200 and the recruitment of youngsters by terror outfits has also been kept in check top security officials said on ThursdayAddressing a press conference in the Qazigund area of Anantnag district in south Kashmir Inspector General of Police IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar and General Officer Commanding GoC of the Armys 15 Corps Lieutenant General D P Pandey said the security situation has improved in the valleyMajority of the operations conducted this year were based on human intelligence Lt Gen Pandey said adding that the number of active terrorists in the valley has come down to 180Giving further details Kumar said this is the first time since insurgency broke out that the total number of active terrorists across Kashmir has fallen below the 200-markIt is also for the first time that the number of local terrorists is below 100 -- at 85 or 86 he saidKumar said 128 youngsters have joined the terror ranks so far this year of whom 73 have been killed in encounters and 16 arrestedLt Gen Pandey said compared to the last two years the recruitment of youngsters by terror outfits was down in 2021Last year it was more than 180 It shows that there is an awakening in the civil society People have realised the futility of taking up violence They understand what is happening across the borderWe should look at it positively The civil population is helping us neutralise the terrorists and also enabling us to break the cycle of violence I am sure we will see greater peace and a lesser number of youngsters coming out to join the terror ranks in the next year or so he saidThe GoC said those aged above 20-21 years are not falling prey to the terror outfits plans and thus the latter have started recruiting boys aged 15-16 yearsAlso the second trend which is coming out is that they youngsters are no longer proud of themselves picking up weapons so they are not declaring their names Whosoever is joining is hiding his identity he addedIt was very clear and evident during a recent operation which came into spotlight for various reasons that all the family members belonging to the OGW network or the local terrorists came out in the open and claimed innocenceToday I feel the society does not want to accept OGWs overground workers and terrorists into their houses or in the proximity Lt Gen Pandey said apparently referring to a recent encounter in Hyderpora in which the families of the three victims claimed that the slain men were innocentAsked about the increase in the number of foreign terrorists killed in encounters the GoC said the local terrorists are now refusing to carry out operationsThat is another challenge that they terror outfits are facing and therefore Pakistani terrorists are now coming to the fore to lead operations As they will emerge from the heights from the cover and carry out the operations they will be neutralised he addedKumar said the foreign terrorists were on the higher ridges of the mountains in the summer months but as the winter has arrived they have come down to the plainsSo a foreign terrorist is killed in almost every encounter which is good for us he saidOn a question about the situation along the Line of Control LoC Lt Gen Pandey said it is absolutely fine and the ceasefire is being honouredPeople are going about their routine activities they are pretty happy on either side of the LoC he saidThe GoC however said the terror launchpads across the border continue to be full and there are inputs of attempts to cross over to the Indian side in the winter as wellBut I can assure you that we are fully ready for any such eventuality to ensure that no infiltration takes place If any does take place we will be neutralising them the way the operations are being conducted in the hinterland he saidThe GoC said infiltration will happen but it has been controlledThis year the infiltration numbers are far lesser compared to the previous years he added PTI SSB RC

New Delhi Nov 25 PTI The Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways has identified 101 projects under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan to enhance port connectivity with consumption and production centres Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on ThursdayAddressing an event organised by industry body CII virtually the Ports Shipping and Waterways minister further said as many as 111 waterways spread over 24 states in the country have been declared as national waterwaysLowering logistics costs is critical for India Our government is taking several steps to strengthen the logistics ecosystem across the countryThe Ports Shipping and Waterways ministry has identified 101 projects under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan to enhance port connectivity with consumption and production centres he saidSonowal said the governments infrastructure plans like Sagarmala Bharatmala that aims to lay a grid of highways across India Dedicated Freight Corridor DFC are at various stages of implementationUnder the Sagarmala project the ministry provides financial support to state governments for port infrastructure development and skill development programmesHe said Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month launched Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity to reduce logistics costsSonowal said the Jawaharlal Nehru Port is ready to connect with other Indian ports On October 13 Modi launched a Rs 100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity to develop infrastructure to reduce logistics costs and boost the economySonowal said the countrys maritime sector plays a crucial role in its overall trade and growthOur efforts in the past couple of years have started bringing results the investment in ports have increased over the last five years he saidThe minister said increased efficiency in supply chain and logistics will help achieve the target of USD 5 trillion economy by 2025The government is proactively encouraging private sector participation in development and operation of port infrastructure Investment in ports has touched an all-time high of USD 235 billion by 2020 he added PTI BKS ANU ANU

New Delhi Oct 21 PTI Efforts are being made to promote defence exports to friendly foreign countries and India is open to provide line of credit for those nations which are looking to source defence equipment from the country a senior official said on ThursdayAddressing a conclave held in Delhi via a video link from Bengaluru Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar also said that encouraged by the response of the Lucknow Declaration during DefExpo 2020 it has now been decided to hold regular India Africa Defence Ministers Conclave in all successive DefExpos which take place bienniallyThe next DefExpo is slated to be held in March 2022 in GandhinagarThe first ever India Africa Defence Ministers Conclave was held in Lucknow in conjunction with DefExpo India in 2020 co-organised by the Ministry of Defence This was the first in the series of Pan Africa events at the ministerial level in the run-up to India Africa Forum Summit IVIn his address at the defence conclave Kumar also said that focus here is to see if we can move from single-service exercises to tri-service and joint exercises whichis in line with larger effort of jointness that we are creating within IndiaIt will also allow greater ability for co-ordination and working together interoperability with other friendly countries he saidKumar said efforts were being made to promote defence exports to friendly foreign countriesToday we are open to provide line of credit at many attractive terms for those countries which are looking to source defence equipment from India he saidKumar earlier said that the world is seeing different kinds of pulls and pressures which are resulting into new dynamics that was not witnessed earlierIndia with its belief in rules-based order and inclusive and open society is further enhancing its influence not only in its neighbourhood but in the larger Indian Ocean Region he addedHe also said the number of seats for courses offered by the National Defence College in Delhi for senior officers and others from friendly foreign countries have been expandedHe asserted that the defence sector which was largely dominated by the public sector in the past is seeing change as a mix of public and private sectorsIndia is witnessing huge dynamism in defence sector and I assure you that the kind of equipment and support that our defence industry will be providing will have either equipment which have been tried and tested by armed forces or tested and certified as fit for military use to ensure quality he told a gathering of defence industry leaders PTI KND ZMN