Jammu and Kashmir reports 14 new Covid-19 deaths, 824 fresh cases

 Jammu and Kashmir reported 14 more COVID-19 deaths on Monday, taking their number to 1,146 as 824 new cases pushed the Union territory's infection tally to 73,014.

This is the first time in 26 days that the single-day spike of new cases in the UT is less than 1,000.

"The UT recorded 824 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours -- with 540 in Jammu and 284 in the Kashmir Valley," an official said.

The cumulative figure of confirmed cases in Jammu and Kashmir has now risen to 73,014.

Jammu district reported the highest number of 337 new cases, followed by 105 in Srinagar district, officials said.

There are 17,601 active cases of the disease in the Union territory currently, while 54,267 patients have recovered so far, they said.

Of the 14 fresh fatalities reported, 11 were in Jammu and three in the Valley, the officials said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

China objects to J&K's bifurcation into UTs, calls it 'unlawful and void'

China on Thursday objected to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories as "unlawful and void", saying India's decision to "include" some of China's territory into its administrative jurisdiction "challenged" Beijing's sovereignty.
Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated on Thursday into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- in accordance with the Indian government's August 5 announcement revoking the state's special status under Article 370.

China had earlier objected to the Indian government's August 5 order of the revocation of Article 370 and the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory, saying that some of the area involved Chinese territory.
"The Indian government officially announced the establishment of so-called Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Union Territories which included some of China's territory into its administrative jurisdiction," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media here on Thursday.
"China deplores and firmly opposes that. India unilaterally changed its domestic laws and administrative division challenging China's sovereignty," he said replying to a question.
"This is unlawful and void and this is not effective in any way and will not change the fact that the area is under Chinese actual control," he said.
"China urges the Indian side to earnestly respect Chinese territorial sovereignty, abide by our treaties and uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas and create favourable conditions for proper settlement of boundary question," he said.
After the revocation of Article 370, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who visited China in August, informed his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and the sole prerogative of India and it has no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
On the Kashmir issue, Geng said, "China's position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear, this is a dispute left from history and it should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN charter, the relevant UNSC resolutions and other bilateral treaties and relevant sides should resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultations and uphold regional peace and stability."
Since the revocation of Article 370, China, which in the past stated that Kashmir issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan, started referring to the UN charter and UNSC resolutions for a settlement.
China has backed its all-weather ally, Pakistan's attempts to call for an informal meeting of the UN Security Council. However, the informal UNSC meeting, in a rebuff to Beijing and Islamabad, ended without passing a resolution or statement.
A joint statement, issued at the end of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Beijing on October 9, said, "The Chinese side responded that it was paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements".
Khan's visit took place ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Chennai on October 11-12, where he held his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his visit to Beijing in August, Jaishankar defended the government's decision during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang and said that the reason for the change is for better governance and social and economic development in Jammu and Kashmir.
"It has no implications for anybody else. The issue related to changes is a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country," Jaishankar had said.
"The legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development. There was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. India was not raising any additional territorial claims," Jaishankar said.
"The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced," the minister had said, adding that as far as the India-China boundary question was concerned the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles.
The India-China LAC covers 3,488 km and the Special Representatives of both the countries have held 21 rounds of talks to reolve the boundary dispute.

Details of investment in J&K would be available soon: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The details of the government's policy to attract more investments in Jammu and Kashmir would be available very soon, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, listing out the potential the area carries for investors in sectors like tourism, handicrafts, silk, production of saffron and apple.
Sitharaman made the comments while responding to a question during an interactive session with investors at the IMF headquarters here on Wednesday. The event was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and US India Strategic and Partnership Forum.

We have started working in terms of making sure that the full potential of Jammu and Kashmir from various different aspects (is achieved), she said.
The minister listed out the investment possibilities Jammu and Kashmir carries in different sectors like tourism, fine arts, handicrafts, wood work, carpets, silk, production of saffron and apple.
I think sooner the details of it (new policy) will be available, she said.
India on August 5 scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In his address to the nation after revoking the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said state companies as well as private companies will be encouraged to create jobs for the local youth in the region.
So very many things are all being put together to see how best a plan can be done, Sitharaman said.
Sooner, some kind of pattern would be worked out between the union home ministry and finance ministry and announced.
Work is on, she said, while responding to a question from a Dubai-based investor who is trying to mobilise funds to invest in Jammu and Kashmir.
I want to know from your perspective, after the change in this state, is there any special consideration being given to a State that has historically missed out on global and international investments? she was asked.

More relief for J&K: Postpaid mobile services likely to resume from Monday

Postpaid mobile services, which were slated to resume on Saturday in Kashmir, are likely to begin from Monday, a major step towards easing curbs in the state, officials said.
Restrictions were imposed 69 days ago after the Centre abrogated Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

The announcement regarding the postpaid mobile services will be made by the state administration on Saturday, they said.
The administration has been examining various options with regard to suspension of mobile phone services which have come in for severe criticism for causing hardships to about 7 million residents of the Valley.
At one point, it was planned to open only BSNL services followed by allowing activating only incoming calls run by private telecom operators.
However, it has now been decided to go the whole hog by allowing operationalisation of all postpaid phones run by all operators and numbering around 4 million subscriber. This will leave out about 2.6 million prepaid mobile subscribers.
The services were likely to be resumed Saturday but a last minute technical hitch led to postponing of the resumption of services.
The subscribers will have to, however, wait for some more time for the Internet services to resume in the valley, they said.
The move comes barely days after the Centre issued an advisory opening the valley for tourists. Travel association bodies had approached the administration, saying that no tourist would like to come to the valley where no mobile phones working.
The mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir were shut down on August 5 after the Centre announced in New Delhi the abrogation of the special status guaranteed to the state under Article 370 of the Constitution.
Partial fixed line telephony was resumed in the valley on August 17, and by September 4 all landlines, numbering nearly 50,000, were declared operational.
In Jammu, the communication system was restored within days of the blockade and even mobile Internet was started around mid-August. However, after its misuse, the Internet facility on cellular phones was snapped on August 18.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Over 8,600 bunkers constructed along LoC, international border in Jammu

Over 8,600 community and individual bunkers have been constructed along the Line of Control and the International Border in five districts of the Jammu region, an official spokesperson said on Saturday.
The information was given at a meeting, chaired by Divisional Commissioner (DC) of Jammu, Sanjeev Verma, to review the progress of construction of bunkers in Samba, Kathua, Jammu, Poonch and Rajouri districts, he said.

According to the spokesperson, the highest number of 4,431 bunkers has been constructed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, followed by 1,238 in Rajouri.
He said 1,063 bunkers have been constructed along the International Border (IB) in Samba, 1,039 in Kathua and 869 in Jammu.
In December 2017, the Centre had sanctioned construction of 14,460 bunkers at a cost of Rs 415.73 crore for residents of border areas facing Pakistani shelling along the LoC and the IB in Jammu division.
While 7,298 bunkers were sanctioned for the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch along the LoC, 7,162 were sanctioned for residents of areas along the IB in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts.
The spokesperson said the DC directed the deputy commissioners of the border districts to expedite the construction of the remaining bunkers.
He also directed the deputy commissioners to regularly monitor the construction work and set weekly and monthly targets for its completion at the earliest.

SC refers all petitions on Article 370 to 5-judge Constitution Bench

Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday referred all petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, to a five-judge Constitution Bench.
The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and others and said that the five-judge Constitution Bench would hear all the petitions related to abrogation of Article 370 in the first week of October.

Supreme Court issues notice to Centre and others and says that a five-judge Constitution Bench will hear all the petitions related to abrogation of Article 370, in the first week of October. pic.twitter.com/IiJ6vdPr9Q
— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2019
The apex court also issued a notice to the Centre on the plea by Kashmir Times Executive Editor, Anuradha Bhasin, seeking a direction for relaxing restrictions on internet, landline, and other communication channels. The SC sought a detailed response from the Centre within 7 days.
Supreme Court also issued a notice to the Centre on the plea by Kashmir Times Executive Editor, Anuradha Bhasin, seeking a direction for relaxing restrictions on the internet, landline, & other communication channels. SC sought a detailed response from the Centre within 7 days. https://t.co/QnWhasbDpf
— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2019
Further, the Supreme Court refused a request from the Centre to appoint an interlocutor for Jammu & Kashmir.
In another development, the Supreme Court also allowed CPM leader Sitaram Yechury to visit J&K and meet his party leader and former MLA, Yousuf Tarigami.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi said, "We will permit you to go, you are the general secretary of a party. Don't go for anything else." The apex court also said that Yechury's visit should only be to meet Tarigami as a friend, and not for any political purpose.
Supreme Court allows CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury to visit J&K and meet his party leader and former MLA, Yousuf Tarigami. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi said "We will permit you to go, you are the general secretary of a party. Don't go for anything else" https://t.co/Uh0qTNgWvH
— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2019

Unsure of economic revival, says Chris Wood; cuts India exposure

Fading hope of a stimulus by the government amid a tottering economy, sub-par corporate earnings and the sudden focus on Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) that has added an additional negative to the Indian narrative has forced Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies cut his exposure to India by one percentage point (1ppt) and allocate more to Indonesia.
In his weekly note to investors, GREED & fear, Wood says Narendra Modi should not have allowed himself to be distracted by the execution of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) agenda on Kashmir which, like demonetisation, was planned in great secrecy with many cabinet ministers kept in the dark, when all the evidence is that the Indian economy continues to weaken.

“For now, GREED & fear’s view is that the Kashmir aggravation has added an additional negative, since GREED & fear is assuming the security situation will now get significantly worse. GREED & fear is not so sure what Modi can do about the economy in the short-term. Some of this slowdown, particularly in the auto sector, reflects the continuing liquidity squeeze in the NBFC space triggered by the default of formerly Triple-A rated IL&FS a year ago,” he wrote.
Fiscal boost?
Wood is not alone while voicing concerns about the slowdown in the Indian economy and the liquidity crunch plaguing the system. In their recent report, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, too, have stressed the need for a fiscal stimulus.
“Overall, there is a need to ease financial conditions to prevent further deterioration in the economic outlook. The first step in this regard would be to come out with a ‘significant’ fiscal package – one that does not materially disrupt the demand supply math of local currency bonds. The only way to achieve this is by tapping into the global savings which are in massive search for higher yields,” says Rohit Garg, fixed income and currency strategist for Emerging Asia at BofAML.
On its part, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has trimmed growth forecast for the Indian economy for 2019-20 to 6.9 per cent from its June forecast of 7 per cent. On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), too, have revised their estimates downward. The IMF, for instance, expects the Indian economy to grow at 7 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively in 2019-20 (FY20) and FY21.
Market valuation
On market valuations, Wood says India still continues to be expensive despite the sharp correction seen since the presentation of the Budget on July 5. That said, he believes the non-performing loan (NPL) issue with public sector banks (PSBs) should have been addressed by the government on priority, which would have allowed for their ‘recapitalisation and rationalisation’.
"The Nifty50 now trades at 16.7x one-year forward PE, compared with an average of 15.2x since 2008. The bottom line is that equity investors need to see evidence of a cyclical pickup to get excited, since more monetary easing is already assumed, and there will remain legitimate scepticism about the impact of such easing," Wood wrote.
Country MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex-Japan weight (Aug 21, 2019)
China 30.8
Australia 17.4
Korea 11.3
Taiwan 10.8
Hong Kong 9.5
India 8.2
Singapore 3.2
Thailand 2.8
Indonesia 2.1
Malaysia 2.1
Philippines 1.1
New Zealand 0.6
Pakistan 0.03
All figures in %
Source: GREED & fear, Woods weekly note to investors

As Rahul Gandhi-led Oppn group heads to J&K, admin asks them to scrap visit

As a delegation of opposition parties, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is set to visit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday in the wake of abrogation of Article 370, the administration requested them against visiting the state, saying attempts should not be made to disturb the gradual restoration of normal life.
In a series of tweets, the Information and Public Relations Department of the Jammu & Kashmir government said: "At a time when the government is trying to protect the people of Jammu & Kashmir from the threat of cross border terrorism and attacks by militants and separatists and gradually trying to restore public order by controlling miscreants and mischief mongers, attempts should not be made by senior political leaders to disturb the gradual restoration of normal life.

"Political leaders are requested to cooperate and not visit Srinagar as they would be putting other people to inconvenience.
"They would also be violating restrictions that are still there in many areas. Senior leaders should understand that top priority would be given to maintaining peace, order and preventing loss of human lives."
ALSO READ: Kashmir should be settled bilaterally; no place for third party: Macron
A delegation of nine opposition parties led by Gandhi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to meet the people and party leaders in the region where restrictions have been imposed since the abrogation of Article 370.
A senior Congress leader told IANS that "Rahul Gandhi along with senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and leaders from CPI, CPI-M, RJD, DMK and others will be part of the delegation".
Saturday's visit to Srinagar will be Gandhi's first visit since the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party are not part of the delegation, the Congress leader said.
ALSO READ: Normalcy slowly returning to Kashmir as day-time relaxations continue
Earlier, Azad was not allowed to enter Srinagar once and Jammu twice and was sent back to Delhi. Similarly, CPI and CPI-M General Secretaries D Raja and Sitaram Yechury were also not allowed to enter Srinagar and were detained at the airport and then sent back to Delhi.
Earlier this month, Gandhi also had a run-in with Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik on Twitter. The Governor had said that Gandhi was trying to politicise the matter of Jammu and Kashmir and that he should visit the valley if he wants to know the "real ground situation."

National Conference moves SC against Presidential Order on Article 370

The National Conference mounted a legal challenge in the Supreme Court on Saturday to the changes made in the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir, contending that these have taken away rights of its citizens without their mandate.
Arguing that the legislation approved by Parliament and the orders issued by the President subsequently were "unconstitutional", the petition prayed for these to be declared as "void and inoperative".

The petition has been filed by Mohammad AKbar Lone and Justice (rtd) Hasnain Masoodi, both Lok Sabha members belonging to the NC.
Lone is a former Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and Masoodi is a retired judge of Jammu and Kashmir High Court who ruled in 2015 that the Article 370 was a permanent feature of the Constitution.
They have challenged the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 and the Presidential Orders that have followed.
While challenging the Centre's decisions to scrap provisions of the Article 370 that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir and dividing it into two Union Territories, the two MPs have sought a direction to declare the Act and the Presidential Orders as "unconstitutional, void and inoperative".
The petitioners said that the legislation and the Presidential Orders are "illegal and violative" of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The two MPs submitted that the apex court now has to examine whether the Union government can "unilaterally" unravel the unique federal scheme under the cover of President's rule while undermining crucial elements of due process and rule of law.
"This case, therefore, goes to the heart of Indian federalism, democratic processes and the rule of apex court as the guardian of the federal structure," the petition said.
They submitted that Article 370 was extensively considered as carefully drafted in order to ensure the peaceful and democratic accession of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union.
The two parliamentarians from Jammu and Kashmir contended that the Presidential Orders and the new legislation "unconstitutionally undermine the scheme of Article 370.
The first Presidential Order uses Article 370 (1)(d) -- this was meant to apply other provisions of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir -- to alter Article 370 itself and thereby the terms of federal relationship between the J-K and Union of India, they submitted.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday gave assent to a legislation for bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir, and two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh -- will come into existence on October 31.
October 31 happens to be the birth anniversary of the country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was instrumental in the merger of about 565 princely states into the Union of India following Independence.
The Parliament had earlier this week given its nod to the legislation for bifurcating the state, a bold and far-reaching decision that seeks to redraw the map and future of a region at the centre of a protracted militancy movement.

J&K: Army officer killed, soldier injured in IED explosion along LoC

An Army officer was killed and a soldier suffered injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.
The IED was apparently planted by "enemy forces within Indian territory" in Naushera sector and set off when an Army officer, along with his men, was patrolling the area, they said. The blast killed the officer and injured a soldier who was evacuated to hospital, the officials said.

The IED blast came two days after 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist rammed an explosive-laden SUV into a bus carrying them in Pulwama district in south Kashmir.
This was the second IED attack along the LoC in the same sector since January.
On January 11, two Army personnel, including a major, were killed in Naushera sector of Rajouri.

Sajad Lone would have been CM if I had listened to Centre: J&K Governor

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Tuesday said he would have had to let Peoples Conference leader Sajad Lone form a government if he had taken hints from Delhi.
"I want to make it clear once again. If I had looked at Delhi, I would have had to make a government of Lone and I would have been known in the history as a dishonest (beimaan) man," the Governor reportedly said at an event here on November 24.

"That's why I ended the issue. Those who want to abuse me, they will keep abusing. But I am convinced that what I have done was right," Malik said, defending his decision to dissolve the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Later, talking to CNN News 18, Malik said that whatever he did was right.
"Sajad Lone had the numbers, obviously Delhi will push for him," he said, rejecting the claims that Delhi interfered in the decision to dissolve the Assembly.
The Governor claimed that PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah made no "serious" efforts to get in touch with him.
"You can't just fax or tweet and form the government. Why didn't they come to Jammu? Why did they not call me?" he said.
On November 21, the Governor dissolved the Assembly after the PDP staked claim to form a government along with the Congress and with the outside backing of the National Conference.
In no time, Sajad Lone made a counter claim to power with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and rebel Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLAs.

J&K Bank made a public sector unit, brought under purview of RTI, CVC

In a far-reaching decision, the Jammu and Kashmir bank has been brought under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) act, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) guidelines and the State Legislature, an official said Friday.
The State Administrative Council (SAC), which met here Thursday evening under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik approved the proposal for treating the J&K Bank Limited as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), the official said.
The SAC approved that the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009 shall be applicable to the bank like other PSUs. Besides, the bank shall follow CVC guidelines, he added.
The J&K Bank Ltd shall be accountable to the State Legislature like other state PSUs, he said, adding that the Annual Report of the bank shall be placed before the State Legislature through the State Finance Department.
Established in 1938, the J&K Bank Ltd is the only state government promoted bank in the country, with the Jammu and Kashmir government currently holding 59.3 per cent of the shares.
Being the major shareholder, the government felt that the bank should have a character of a PSU which is subject to general supervision and access for enhanced transparency in the transaction of its business to promote public trust, the official said.
The purpose of the SAC's decision was not to question the day to day activities of the bank management but a step towards strengthening better corporate governance, he added.

Malik stands by decision to dissolve J&K Assembly, blasts PDP and Lone

Defending his decision to dissolve the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday claimed "extensive horse-trading" was going on and it would have been impossible for parties with "opposing political ideologies" to form a stable government.
Malik said he had acted in the state's interest and according to its Constitution. He dismissed allegations that he was acting on the Centre's directions and said had this been the case, their side (BJP, People's Conference) would have been called for government formation.

On the Opposition's threat to move court, he said those who wanted to move court, could do so as it was their right.
'No fax operator because of Eid'
Wednesday was Eid, he said when asked about the fax not working in the Raj Bhavan, resulting in his office not receiving the PDP's letter staking claim to form government as well as the NC's letter of support. "Both of them (Mufti and Abdullah) are devout Muslims. They should know offices are closed on Eid. Even my cook was in his house, leave aside the fax operator. There was no system. They should have sent a man with the letter. These are lame excuses," he said.
The governor said even if someone had delivered him the letter, the decision to dissolve the Assembly was his stand.
"I have taken this decision as per the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. There is a mechanism that I do not have to look towards New Delhi or move to Parliament or seek permission from the president. I just had to inform them," he said.
ALSO READ: Horse-trading was on, dissolved assembly in state's interest: J&K Governor
Horse-trading
"For the past 15 to 20 days, I have been getting reports of large-scale horse trading. MLAs are being threatened and several types of underhanded dealings are going on," Malik told reporters at Raj Bhawan here.
"Mehbooba (Mufti) Ji told me a week before that her MLAs were being threatened through the NIA. Another side said MLAs were being lured with large-scale money. Horse trading had started 20 days ago," he claimed.
"Had I given any side opportunity (for government formation), it would have created more mess. The value system of politics would have been destroyed as is been happening in the rest of the states. I could not afford that," the governor said.
'Impossible to form a stable government'
He said it would have been impossible for parties with "opposing political ideologies" to form a stable government. "We would have altered this situation, had we given an unstable government (to the state). An opportunist government would have been the outcome of this process. We never wanted instability in a sensitive state," Malik said.
He said the NC, PDP, Congress would have fought with each other and it would have created a mess. "I have no personal interest and for me the interest of the state is prime. For that, I acted and dissolved the Assembly as per the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the best action as per my wisdom and I have not been partial," he said.

ALSO READ: Mehbooba Mufti stakes claim to form govt in J&K with NC, Congress' help
The governor said when he came to the state he had made his stand clear that he would not be involved in any underhanded dealing or defection and would not approve government formation on the basis of threat. He said he wanted polls to be held and an elected government formed.
Double standards?
He hit out at the PDP and the NC, claiming they had told him that they had a majority but he was not given any proof for it. No list was given and no parade of MLAs took place, Malik said.
Malik said the PDP, NC and Congress staked claim to form government when just one month was left for the governor's rule to end.
"Why did they not act before and why did no one come from their side or the other side. I did not accept the claims of both sides. The decision that was necessary for the state, it was taken by me", he said.
He claimed both Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah wanted dissolution of the Assembly and had been demanding it for the past five months. "Why are they adopting double standards now? They should be happy that it has happened," he said.
He said the Election Commission would decide on the Assembly elections.
ALSO READ: Jammu and Kashmir Governor dissolves Assembly after PDP, Lone stake claim
'Don't tweet, don't see tweets'
Asked about Mufti's letter staking claim that was available on social media, he asked if social media forms the government.
"I neither tweet, nor do I see tweets. Before yesterday, they had time. There are several flights from Srinagar, why did not they sent their man. It is all wrong," he said.
'Wasn't following BJP's instruction'
On another question about allegations that he acted on BJP's instruction, he said, "The NC, PDP and Congress knew what the BJP headquarters wanted."
"The BJP headquarters was one contender. If I followed the BJP's instruction, I would have called their party but I did not call any party. I acted in best interest of the Constitution".
On BJP leader Kavinder Gupta's allegation that the PDP-Congress-NC tie up was formed on the directions of Pakistan, he said he could not comment on it without proof.
"But this grand alliance is opportunistic and they have no understanding between them," he claimed.
The governor abruptly dissolved the state Assembly on Wednesday night, hours after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of rival NC and the Congress.
This was followed by another bid from the two-member People's Conference, which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.

Rapid growth of the shadow banking sector may endanger India's growth story

Manzoor Ahmad lost his job as an electrician and is struggling to make ends meet after a crucial road tunnel project shut down in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state in the north.
Construction of the Z-Morh tunnel came to a halt two months ago after Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), one of India's top infrastructure funding companies which was helping build the project, stopped paying contractors in the face of a severe cash crunch.

"I have no work since work on the project was stopped in July," said Ahmad, 34, who was earning about Rs 30,000 ($413) a month.
Hundreds of other people working on the project are also out of a job because of non-payments by IL&FS. The company has also defaulted on its debt obligations, roiling Indian markets and sparking worries of a credit crunch in the shadow financing sector.
The company's defaults have highlighted the risk of a sharp growth slowdown in the world's fastest growing major economy, as lenders pare their exposure to the shadow banking space, or what are called non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in India.
Shadow banks have played an outsized role in lending growth in India in the last two years, and the sector's loan books have grown at more than double the pace of Indian banks, that are currently saddled with about $150 billion of stressed assets.
"Raising money will become increasingly difficult for NBFCs and that will push up the cost of borrowing for these companies and projects will slow down eventually, leading to a broader slowdown in the economy than is currently priced in," said Ashish Vaidya, executive director and head of trading at DBS Bank in Mumbai.
A fall in economic growth would be a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is already under pressure from protests over rising fuel costs, as they prepare for key state elections in late 2018 and a national election due to be held by next May.
RISING RATES
The stress is evident in short-term interest rates as the Reserve Bank of India's dollar sales to stem the rupee's fall have sucked up rupee liquidity and raised borrowing costs.
One-year commercial paper has risen by 80 basis points to 9.30 per cent since August and the one-year sovereign treasury bill rate is up 60 bps to 7.73 per cent, while the one-year overnight indexed swap rate is at 7.50 per cent, indicating markets are pricing in a 100 basis points hike in the RBI's key repo rate going forward.
The RBI has raised its policy rate by 50 basis points this year to 6.50 per cent and most analysts expect it to raise rates for a third time next week to stem inflationary pressure due to the sharp fall in the rupee.
There are already signs that financing is suffering, and that could hit capital spending.
State-run Power Finance Co, Rural Electrification Corp and North Eastern Electric Power Corp have all scrapped debt issuance plans this month as interest rates have surged.
Higher rates and more risk-aversion among finance companies - especially when combined with rising fuel prices - could also undermine consumer spending with items such as gold jewellery already being hit in the second quarter.
While India posted robust 8.2 per cent growth in the April-June quarter driven by strong consumption demand, it could see growth drop below the RBI's projected 7.2 per cent rate for the fiscal year ending next March as credit conditions tighten, say analysts.
"NBFCs have been a much higher percentage of system credit growth over the last few years, so a slowdown will hurt macro growth and specifically consumption," UBS warned in a note on Tuesday.
IN THE SHADOWS
The NBFCs' loan books grew 21.2 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 2018. In comparison, bank loans grew 10.3 per cent over the same period.
Such rapid growth for the shadow banking sector is fraught with risk, say analysts, especially as many have raised funds via short-term commercial paper that needs to be rolled over.
According to a Credit Suisse note on Monday, 41 percent of borrowings of NBFCs are maturing in the next six months and "any liquidity pressures will only add to the refinancing risk of these instruments."
Credit Suisse analyst Ashish Gupta said that mutual funds now owned an estimated 60 percent of the overall NBFC commercial paper issuance, which could exacerbate pains as redemption pressures at funds could cause yields of NBFC debt to spike further.
To contain ripple effects and ensure financial stability, the RBI may have to open a separate lending window for mutual funds through banks to ease any cash pressures, according to a finance ministry official.
While the RBI assured markets on Thursday of providing durable liquidity, traders were concerned over the extent to which the liquidity deficit could go up to unless the central bank conducted frequent open market bond purchases.
Bond dealers expect the liquidity deficit - the extent to which banks need to borrow from the central bank to fund their own lending - to rise to as much as Rs 3 trillion by March from 1.5 trillion rupees right now, pushing rates higher.
"The RBI should try to cool down interest rates by proactively managing liquidity conditions," said the head of a debt mutual fund who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the comment. "Unless this anomaly is corrected investors will keep panicking and purging NBFC holdings."

Satya Pal Malik new J&K Governor, Lalji Tandon takes his place in Bihar

The Centre on Tuesday appointed Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Malik replaces former bureaucrat N N Vohra, who had been the state's Governor for 10 years since June 2008.
Malik's appointment is significant as Jammu and Kashmir is currently under Governor's Rule. A communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan issued on Tuesday evening said Malik is being transferred as Bihar Governor and appointed the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Centre had been looking for a political replacement to Vohra. Malik, 71, is a late entrant to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With the state under Governor's Rule, Malik would be expected to strike a fine balance between the BJP, which is dominant in Jammu, and the Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has influence in Kashmir. The BJP had parted ways with the PDP in June, leading to Mehbooba quitting as chief minister of the state and Jammu and Kashmir being placed under Governor's Rule.
Incidentally, Malik was a junior member of the V P Singh-led council of ministers in the National Front government of 1989-90. The late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Mehbooba's father, was the home minister in that government.
Malik hails from western Uttar Pradesh and started his political career as a student leader in Meerut. He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 77, and has been a member at different times of Chaudhary Charan Singh-led Bharatiya Lok Dal, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and also the Congress. He is married to noted environmentalist Iqbal Malik.
The Centre also appointed Lal Ji Tandon, senior BJP leader from UP, as Governor of Bihar. Satyadev Narayan Arya, a BJP leader from Bihar and former mining minister in the Nitish Kumar government, replaced Kaptan Singh Solanki as Governor of Haryana.
Solanki has been transferred and appointed Governor of Tripura. Tathagata Roy has been transferred from Tripura and appointed Governor of Meghalaya.
Ganga Prasad has been transferred from Meghalaya to be Sikkim's new Governor. Baby Rani Maurya, BJP leader and former mayor of Agra, replaced former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer K K Paul as Uttarakhand Governor.

Women commandos to deal with women stone-pelters: CRPF readies J&K plan

The incidents of stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir are on a rise with women too joining the pelters.
To tackle the situation, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has prepared a team of lady commandos.

These women commandos have been given rigorous training which includes being blindfolded to deal with night-time deployment and repairing weapons in under a minute in case of any malfunction.
The security forces have been repeatedly challenged by the incidents of stone pelting across the Valley in recent times.
Earlier on May 7, R. Thirumani (22), a tourist from Chennai, died in a hospital after being hit by a stone during clashes in Narbal area.
On May 2, a bus carrying school students was attacked by stone-pelters in Zawoora village of Shopian district. Also, seven tourists were injured when stone-throwers targeted vehicles in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on April 30.

Kathua rape case 'small incident', says J&K Dy CM Kavinder Gupta; updates

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta, state BJP chief Sat Paul Sharma and six others were on Monday sworn in as ministers in the state's PDP-BJP government led by Mehbooba Mufti. The major shake-up of the council of ministers, including six of the BJP and two of the PDP — follows BJP ministers Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga resigning from the cabinet earlier this month after they were criticised for taking part in a rally in support of those accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.
Kavinder Gupta, described as an old RSS hand, will be the new deputy chief minister in place of Nirmal Singh, who submitted his resignation last night, officials said.
Within hours of getting sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Kavinder Gupta today sparked a controversy after he called the incident of rape of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu's Kathua a "small incident". The minister later accused the media of misinterpreting his statement. Speaking to the media, Gupta said that the Kathua rape is a small incident and it should not be given too much importance. "It (Kathua rape and murder) was a small thing. We have to be careful in the future that such incidents are not repeated," Gupta told reporters.
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, who attended the swearing-in ceremony, said today's changes had no connection with the Kathua rape case. "Our government has completed three years in power so we decided to have a reshuffle in the cabinet and give an opportunity to new faces," Madhav said, according to news agency PTI.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti congratulated the newly inducted ministers, who were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor N N Vohra at the Convention Centre in Jammu today. The function was held at the convention centre instead of the Raj Bhavan because the J&K government had already shifted its base to the summer capital of Srinagar as part of its biannual 'darbar move', under which the government functions from the two capital cities of the state for six months each.
Besides Gupta and Sharma, the new BJP faces sworn in as ministers were the MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha, Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal, respectively. The BJP also upgraded Sunil Sharma, at present minister of state for transport, to the rank of a cabinet minister. BJP legislator Shakti Raj took oath as a minister of state.
From the PDP, Pulwama MLA Mohammed Khalil Band and Sonawar MLA Mohammed Ashraf Mir took oath as ministers.
Of the eight, seven are first time ministers. Seven of the eight are cabinet ministers.
While Gupta, Sat Paul Sharma and Sunil Sharma took the oath in Hindi, Mir, Jasrotia, Manyal and Shakti Raj took the oath in English. Band took his oath in Urdu.
Slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" were heard from the audience as Sat Paul Sharma and Shakti Raj took their oath of office.
The BJP has dropped Nirmal Singh, who is likely to be the new speaker, Health Minister Bali Bhagat and minister of state Priya Sethi, the lone woman who was removed, officials said.
Here are the top 10 developments around the Jammu and Kashmir PDP-BJP government Cabinet reshuffle:
1) New Deputy CM Kavinder Gupta terms Kathua incident 'minor incident', clarifies later: Barely hours after he took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Kavinder Gupta triggered a controversy today by terming the Kathua rape and murder case, which had led to nation-wide outrage, as a "small" happening that was hyped.
It (Kathua rape and murder) was a small thing. We have to think over it so that such incidents are not repeated," said, according to news agency ANI.
He was replying to questions on whether the ruling coalition was under pressure in the Kathua rape and murder case.
"Such challenges are faced by the government. It shouldn't have been given all this hype," Gupta said. He added that there was a need to ensure justice to the victim.
"We need to get the girl justice. These are some of the biggest challenges before the government today. We have given undue importance to this case, I feel, he added.
The matter was deliberately hyped, Gupta added. The case is in court, which will decide on it, he said.
An eight-year-old girl was alleged raped and brutally killed in a village in Kathua district. There was outrage and protests across the country over the crime.
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Kathua ka maamla subjudice hai. Ab uspar SC tay karegi, baar baar us issue ko chhedna thik nahi hai. Is maamle ko tul dena acchi baat nahi hai. Maine ye kaha ki is tarah ke kaafi maamle hain, janbhooj kar isko bhadkane ki koshish nahin karni chahiye: Kavinder Gupta, J&K Dy CM
5:32 PM - Apr 30, 2018
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2) Omar Abdullah lashes out at BJP, Mehbooba Mufti: Omar Abdullah said that the BJP and Mehbooba Mufti need to clear their stand on the Kathua rape and murder case. His fresh attack came after an MLA, who had earlier attended a rally in support of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, has now been promoted to a minister. He was referring to Rajiv Jasrotia, according to Times of India. However, Jasrotia denied having attended the rally.

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2 BJP ministers removed in J&K for attending a pro-rapist rally & a MLA who is reported to have attended the same rally is promoted as a minister. Why are the BJP/ @MehboobaMufti confused about where they stand on the #Kathua rape?
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The saffron party had been under pressure ever since two of its ministers – Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga – took part in a rally in support of those accused in the case involving the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua. The two ministers eventually resigned.
3) Kavinder Gupta becomes J&K deputy chief minister: Fifty-eight-year-old Kavinder Gupta, who will take charge as deputy chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir's Mehbooba Mufti government, first stepped into an RSS 'shakha' when in his early teens and for decades has been an active political worker, who even spent 13 months in jail during the emergency.
Dressed in kurta-pyjama and an 'achkan' (a knee-length coat buttoned in front), Kavinder Gupta, who was the J&K Assembly Speaker earlier, was among eight sworn in as ministers in the state government today. RSS veteran Kavinder Gupta took the oath in Hindi.
Kavinder Gupta said his priority will be to ensure that the three regions of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh get justice and equal development.
Born December 2nd, 1959, Gupta is a graduate, who has three children including two daughters. He was secretary of the Punjab Vishav Hindu Parishad in 1978-79. He headed the J&K unit of the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, for two consecutive terms from 1993 till 1998. Gupta has also served as the mayor of Jammu for three terms consecutively from 2005 to 2010, which is a record. He has also been a general secretary of the BJP's state unit.
He was elected as an MLA for the first time in 2014 from the Gandhi Nagar seat where he defeated a sitting Congress minister Raman Bhalla.
He is known for his work for the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden sections of the society as well as efforts to eradicate social evils.
4) Speaker, BJP state chief among eight sworn in as JK ministers: Kavinder Gupta and seven others were on Monday sworn in as ministers in the state's PDP-BJP government led by Mehbooba Mufti. "The new team has young and educated people and I hope they will work better," said Mehbooba Mufti.
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A new team has come. The old team had also done good work. The new team has young and educated people and I hope they will work better: #JammuAndKashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti on J&K Cabinet reshuffle
3:39 PM - Apr 30, 2018
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The new BJP faces sworn in as ministers were the party's state unit chief Satpal Sharma and the MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha, Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal, respectively.
The BJP also upgraded Sunil Sharma, at present minister of state for transport, to the rank of a cabinet minister. BJP MLA from Doda Shakti Raj took oath as a minister of state.
The PDP members included in the cabinet were Mohd Khalil Band, MLA from Pulwama, and Mohd Ashraf Mir, MLA from Sonwar.
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav and Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh attended the event.
5) Nirmal Singh appointed as J-K Assembly speaker: BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav on Monday announced that Nirmal Singh will be the speaker of the State Assembly.
"Dr Nirmal Singh will be the Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly," Madhav said while addressing a press conference here after the swearing-in ceremony of the newly inducted minister.
Singh tendered his resignation on Sunday from the post of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister after a major cabinet reshuffle was made in the Jammu and Kashmir government.
6) BJP says J-K Cabinet rejig not linked to Kathua case: Ram Madhav on Monday said that there was no link between Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet reshuffle and the Kathua rape case.
"The cabinet reshuffle has nothing to do with the Kathua incident. Our government has completed three years and we decided to give a chance to new faces," Madhav said, according to ANI.
Echoing similar sentiments, Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh called the reshuffle a normal thing.
"Cabinet reshuffle takes place depending on circumstances of the past and present and also taking cognizance of the challenges that lie ahead in the future. This is a very normal thing in any democratic setup," Singh said, added ANI.
The reshuffle of Jammu and Kashmir's PDP-BJP coalition government took place on Monday, after Governor Vohra the previous day extended a formal invitation for the event. The swearing-in ceremony was held at 12 noon.
ALSO READ: BJP ministers in J&K asked to resign; reshuffle on cards
7) Deputy CM Nirmal Singh quits Mufti govt: Ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle, J&K Deputy CM Nirmal Singh on Sunday night tendered his resignation to make way for state Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta to take over the post in the Mehbooba Mufti-led state government. "I have resigned from the post to pave the way for a new deputy chief minister in the state," Singh told news agencies.
ALSO READ: 'Criminals have no religion', Nirmal Singh urges to not politicise Kathu rape case
What about the PDP? The PDP saw Pulwama MLA Mohd Khalil Band, and Sonwar MLA Mohd Ashraf Mir joining as Cabinet ministers.
Post vacated by Haseeb Drabu not filled: One ministerial berth that fell vacant after the dropping of Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu from the council of ministers was not filled by the ruling party during the present Cabinet reshuffle.
ALSO READ: PDP sacks finance minister Haseeb Drabu over his remarks on Kashmir
8) Reallocation of portfolios possible: Speaking to news agencies, sources did not rule out minor reallocation of portfolios among the PDP Ministers.
9) What made the J&K govt's Cabinet reshuffle necessary? The Cabinet reshuffle was due ever since two BJP Ministers -- Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga -- were asked to resign due to a controversy over their participation in a Hindu Ekta Manch rally in support of the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case.
ALSO READ: Ex-minister Lal Singh demands CBI probe to clear 'doubts' in Kathua probe
10) All nine BJP ministers moved out of J&K govt: On April 17, the saffron party had asked all its nine ministers in the PDP-BJP government to submit their resignations to make way for new faces in the two-year-old Mehbooba Mufti Cabinet.
A snapshot of Cabinet numbers: The state can have a maximum of 25 ministers, including the chief minister. Of these, 14 portfolios at present are with the PDP and the remaining with the BJP.
With agency inputs

7th Pay Commission: Bonanza for J&K govt employees; April pay to see a jump

As a measure to bring good fortune to over 500,000 state government employees and pensioners, the Mehbooba Mufti-led Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday became the first state in the country to implement the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. This major commitment of state government would lead to an average hike of 20 per cent in the salary of employees, said Finance Minister Mohammad Altaf Bukhari.
The breakthrough decision came at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and attended by both PDP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers. The state government employees can now draw their salary for the month of April in accordance with the revised pay scales. Also, for the purpose of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission Recommendations, basic pay as on December 31, 2015, of employees shall be multiplied by a uniform factor of 2.57 and then adjusted in the matrix recommended by the Pay Committee, said a PTI report.

ALSO READ: J-K approves 7th pay commission, employees to get over 20% hike from next month
Despite the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is reeling with financial constraints and has a lack of resources, the pay commission’s recommendations have been implemented without any agitation and difficulties. J&K Finance Minister Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said, "We don't have resources, but our honourable Chief Minister has made a commitment and we have fulfilled it”.
The financial implications for the implementations of the 7th pay commission recommendations would be around Rs 42.01 billion per year and Rs 74.77 billion in one-time arrears on the exchequer, the finance minister explained.
ALSO READ: J-K approves implementation of 7th pay commission
The benefit of House Rent Allowance on revised pay shall be available from April 2018 and all allowances except Dearness Allowance (DA) shall continue as before while DA from January 2016 onwards shall be paid on revised pay on new rates to be notified by Finance Department, Bukhari added.
According to the pay commission decision, the gratuity shall be increased from the existing limit of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakh) to Rs 2 million (Rs 20 lakh) with effect from January 1, 2016, with a surge in the ceiling on gratuity by 25 per cent whenever Dearness Allowance (DA) rises by 50 per cent as recommended by 7th CPC/ according to the Central Government pattern.
According to a report in Press Trust of India, the pensioners shall be given the option to choose revision of pension by any of the two formulations suggested by the Pay Commission Committee.
Arrears of pensioners shall be paid in cash in three six monthly instalments while arrears of all employees shall be drawn and credited to their GP Fund accounts with a moratorium of 3 years for withdrawal of same, Finance Department said. But there will be no moratorium on withdrawal in case of employees retiring up to March 31, 2021.
The state cabinet has informed that the implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations for public sector undertakings (PSUs) and autonomous organisations will depend on the availability of resources with the respective organisations. The J&K administration also approved various organisational reforms to rationalise the functioning at several levels in the government.
Regarding pay anomalies, the cabinet decided that the existing Pay Committee shall look into and address the issue of anomalies starting with the issue of anomalies of the Clerical Cadre, said a PTI report.