President Kovind Embarks On 7-Day Visit To Philippines, Japan.

Source – businessworld.in

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday departed for an official seven-day visit to the Philippines and Japan with an aim to expand the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The highlights of the visit would be the President attending the enthronement ceremony of new Japanese Emperor Naruhito and unveiling the bust of Mahatama Gandhi at the Center of peace education at a college in Philippines’ capital Manila. Kovind will arrive in Manila on the first leg of the tour. The five-day-long visit has been organised at the invitation of Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and will carry forward the high-level engagements between the two countries.

The relations of New Delhi with Manila have been friendly. The economic relationship between the two countries has been growing and trade stands at USD 2.3 billion dollars.

Kovind will receive a ceremonial guard of honour at Malacanang Palace. The President will lay a wreath at a memorial of Jose Rizal, who is the national hero of the Philippines.

The one-to-one talks between Kovind and Duterte will be followed by delegation-level talks.

The President will address the plenary meetings of Indo-Philippine business conclave and fourth ASEAN India business summit.

Kovind will also unveil the bust of Mahatama Gandhi at the Centre of peace education at Marian College in Manila. He will interact with the Indian community on the penultimate day of his visit to the Philippines.

The President will head to Tokyo on October 21. He will attend various ceremonies related to the Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement and also take part in a banquet hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The ceremony will be attended by leaders from all parts of the world.

Along with participating in a community event, the President will visit a Buddhist temple and plant a sapling from the sacred Bodhi Tree in Gaya to highlight India and Japan’s historical and cultural linkages based on Buddhism.

Kovind will take one of the superfast trains to visit the Kakegawa city on the forenoon of October 23. He will participate in the foundation laying ceremony of ‘shoni seto’ which is to be developed as a temple and a place for meditation and yoga to highlight Indian culture. 

JPSC 2019 Engineering Recruitment: Application process for mechanical/Civil vacancies to begin today.

Source – scroll.in

Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) is expected to being the recruitment process for 637 vacant engineer positions today, 15th October, 2019. The recruitment drive is being conduced to hire 542 Civil Engineers and 95 Mechanical Engineers. The application process will begin on the official website, jpsc.gov.in.

The application window will remain open online at the official website from October 15th to November 11th, 2019. Candidates can check the notification at the official website.

The candidates who are interested in applying for the position should not be above the age of 35 years with relaxation for candidates who are from the reserved categories. The candidate must hold an engineering degree in the relevant engineering branch to be eligible to apply for the recruitment drive.

The candidates must clear three stages of recruitment process before the final selection. The first stage is preliminary stage followed by a Main exam in which candidates who have cleared the Preliminary exam will be eligible to participate. The final round will be a personality test.

Candidates are advised to go through the official notification for more details on eligibility, qualification, reservation policy, exam pattern, exam syllabus, application process among other details.



Railways’ Buddhist Circuit train covering sites in India, Nepal to run from October 19-26

Source: thehindu.com

The Railways will run its first Buddhist Circuit train from this Saturday to October 26 covering sites related to Gautam Buddha in India and Nepal.

IRCTC will run the train covering destinations like Lumbini, where Buddha was born; Bodhgaya, where he gained enlightenment; Sarnath, where he gave his first sermon; and Kushinagar, where he attained nirvana, the Railways said in a statement.

“The significance of these destinations can be seen in the Mahaparinirvana sutra, wherein the Lord Buddha tells his followers that they can attain merit and a noble rebirth by going on pilgrimage to these places,” the statement said.

The package will cost Indians ₹1,23,900 per couple in AC first class and ₹1,01,430 per couple for AC two tier.

It will include road transport by AC deluxe coaches for the Nepal tour, visits to monuments and locations, accommodation, meals, services of tour manager, guides, entrance fees and travel insurance.

However, passengers will have to pay their visa fee for the Nepal leg of the journey and any other expenditure like laundry and other services.

The train will have four first AC coaches with 96 seats, two second AC coaches with 60 seats, two exclusive dining cars with a capacity of 64 guest in each and a pantry car.

It will be covered with unique vinyl wrap promoting Incredible India and is also equipped with personal digital lockers, cubicles shower, foot massagers, separate sitting area with single seated sofas.

Private security guards will be deployed in each coach, the railways said.

Protesting Bihar Politician Takes Waste-filled Tractor to Minister’s Door Step, Fined for Driving Sans Licence

Source: news18.com

Patna: Maverick politician Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav was fined on Thursday for driving without a valid licence a tractor-trolley full of garbage that he threatened to dump in front of a state minister’s residence in Patna, police said.

Yadav, a controversial former MP who has floated the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), said he did this in protest against the state government’s “failure” to check the outbreak of dengue, which has afflicted more than 200 people in the city since the beginning of this month when heavy rain had left many pockets water-logged for several days.

The police said he was stopped and fined Rs 5,000 as he was carrying a licence to drive light motor vehicles, which expired in 2017, and not one to drive heavy vehicles.

“I have been deprived of my fundamental right to register a protest. I have a licence but they have come up with the challan on a flimsy ground that the one I possess did not qualify me for driving a heavy vehicle,” Yadav said.

The JAP leader who hogged the limelight when he moved on boats through the water-logged streets distributing food, drinking water, clothes and money a fortnight ago, collected trash from densely-populated localities and loaded it in the tractor-trolley with the help of his supporters.

Yadav also sprinkled bleaching powder at garbage dumps after collecting the waste to underscore that the authorities concerned were not doing enough to control the outbreak of vector-borne diseases.

He was, however, stopped a few kilometres ahead of the residence of Urban Development Minister Suresh Sharma by the police.

The men in uniform asked the former MP to furnish his driving licence and handed over a challan to him after he failed to produce a valid one, police said.

“I would have derived no pleasure out of throwing dirt at the doorstep of the minister. But I did want him to have a feel of the hellish condition in which the people of the city are living,” said Yadav, claiming it was a ploy to deter him from lending his voice to the people of Patna who have been suffering.

“This government has skewed priorities. It splurges billions of rupees on publicity while hospitals lack the kit used to transfuse platelets for want of funds,” he alleged.

“I will, however, keep raising my voice against the government’s insensitivity in whatever way it is possible. I shall also purchase a platelet transfusion kit from my own resources and donate it to the IGIMS (Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences) hospital here,” he said.

President Kovind Embarks On 7-Day Visit To Philippines, Japan

Source: businessworld.in

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday departed for an official seven-day visit to the Philippines and Japan with an aim to expand the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The highlights of the visit would be the President attending the enthronement ceremony of new Japanese Emperor Naruhito and unveiling the bust of Mahatama Gandhi at the Center of peace education at a college in Philippines’ capital Manila. Kovind will arrive in Manila on the first leg of the tour. The five-day-long visit has been organised at the invitation of Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and will carry forward the high-level engagements between the two countries.

The relations of New Delhi with Manila have been friendly. The economic relationship between the two countries has been growing and trade stands at USD 2.3 billion dollars.

Kovind will receive a ceremonial guard of honour at Malacanang Palace. The President will lay a wreath at a memorial of Jose Rizal, who is the national hero of the Philippines.

The one-to-one talks between Kovind and Duterte will be followed by delegation-level talks.

The President will address the plenary meetings of Indo-Philippine business conclave and fourth ASEAN India business summit.

Kovind will also unveil the bust of Mahatama Gandhi at the Centre of peace education at Marian College in Manila. He will interact with the Indian community on the penultimate day of his visit to the Philippines.

The President will head to Tokyo on October 21. He will attend various ceremonies related to the Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement and also take part in a banquet hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The ceremony will be attended by leaders from all parts of the world.

Along with participating in a community event, the President will visit a Buddhist temple and plant a sapling from the sacred Bodhi Tree in Gaya to highlight India and Japan’s historical and cultural linkages based on Buddhism.

Kovind will take one of the superfast trains to visit the Kakegawa city on the forenoon of October 23. He will participate in the foundation laying ceremony of ‘shoni seto’ which is to be developed as a temple and a place for meditation and yoga to highlight Indian culture.

Ajoy Kumar, former Jharkhand Congress chief, may join Aam Aadmi Party

Source: hindustantimes.com

Former Jharkhand Congress chief Ajoy Kumar is set to quit the grand old party and join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday, about three weeks after he was removed from the post.

Kumar was on August 26 replaced by former union minister and tribal leader Rameshwar Oraon the new Congress chief in poll-bound Jharkhand.Oraon, a 1972 batch retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was 14 years senior in service to Kumar who resigned from the post on a bitter note.

In his August 9 resignation letter, 57-year-old Kumar, a 1986 batch IPS officer and once considered close to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, had levelled serious allegations against his senior party colleagues, including Oraon, Subodh Kant Sahay, Pradeep Balmuchu and Furqan Ansari.

He had accused them of placing “personal interests” above the party and “indulging in corrupt” practices. A former Lok Sabha MP from Jamsedhpur, Kumar was appointed the Jharkhand Congress chief in November 2017.

The Congress in Jharkhand is a divided house with factionalism taking a heavy toll on the party in the recent national elections, winning just one of the total 14 Lok Sabha seats from the state. Its alliance partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) also managed to bag just one seat.

Though the Congress is likely to continue its alliance with the JMM for the assembly polls too, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on a strong wicket following its stupendous performance in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 11 seats. Its ally AJSU Party secured one seat.

Kumar will be tasked with the responsibility of expanding the AAP base in the tribal-dominated state.

Amit Shah Ends Speculation Over Who Will Lead Bihar Poll Campaign

Source: ndtv.com

PATNA: Nitish Kumar will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar after the 2020 assembly election, which the BJP will fight under his leadership, the party’s national chief Amit Shah has said. “The Janata Dal (United) and the BJP will go to polls together and we will fight polls under the leadership of Nitish ji. This is absolutely clear,” the Union Home Minister said in an interview to News18 on Wednesday.

Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United and the BJP are in a coalition government in Bihar. Leaders from both sides have often aired passive aggressive views over who would lead the election battle formation in the eastern state. Amit Shah’s assertion is likely to put to rest any speculation over who will lead the alliance campaign.

Mr Shah admitted there were some differences over who would lead the campaign. But he added that in collation politics, differences are signs of a healthy relationship and there should be no “manbhed” (argument) on this.

Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister from the BJP, Sushil Kumar Modi, has already said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will contest under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. But until now, there was no official word from the BJP’s leadership.

Mr Shah’s comment has come as a big relief for all those working behind the scenes to ensure the alliance remains intact, especially after relentless attacks on Nitish Kumar by Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who criticised the Chief Minister almost every day after heavy rain led to unprecedented flooding in state capital Patna earlier this month.

When no BJP leader or MLA showed up for a Dussehra event in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan attended by Nitish Kumar, it was read as a sign of a widening rift between the allies.

Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaisawal has said Giriraj Singh’s comments cannot be seen as the party’s official line. “He (Mr Singh) speaks in his personal capacity. Only a statement by the party’s spokesperson should be treated as official,” Mr Jaisawal said.

The Bihar assembly election is due next year.

Complaint Against Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi Over Patna Floods

Source: ndtv.com

PATNA: 

A complaint was filed against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, several ministers and Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials seeking action against them over the recent Patna floods.

The complaint was filed in the court of Patna Chief Judicial Magistrate under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 302 (murder) and (120B) criminal conspiracy.

Bihar Cabinet minister Suresh Kumar Sharma, PMC Mayor Sita Sahu, Commissioner Amit Kumar Pandey, Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited Managing Director Amrendra Prasad Singh, Ex-UDD principal secretary Chaitanya Prasad and Ex-Patna Commissioner Anand Kishor were also named in the complaint.

The complaint urged the court to look into the matter, take cognizance against the accused in the given sections and suitably punish them.

The complaint, filed by an advocate, alleged that the lives of several people were lost and government and private property worth over Rs. 100 crore was affected due to the “man-made” floods, caused “due to the non-maintenance of the drainage system” and the failure of the government machinery.

It said that even after 18-20 days, some of the affected areas were water-logged.

Over 73 people died in the floods in several parts of the state.

Bullet flies in Ranchi again

Source: telegraphindia.com

Gun attacks are taking place in the heart of the capital city with an alarming regularity.

A 42-year-old man was shot at by an unidentified person near his house at Site-5 of HEC Township under Jagannathpur police station on Wednesday night, barely two days after five men fired at two owners of a jewellery store in Lalpur.

Anuj Sinha, who used to work as a driver in the excise department office on Kanke Road, was shot at around 11.30pm on Wednesday about 500 metres away from his house.

“As soon as Sinha’s car reached Sardar Patel School, a bike overtook the car and came close to window on the driver’s side. A man riding pillion on the bike whipped out a gun, shot at Sinha and sped away,” a local resident said on the condition of anonymity.

Sinha, who slumped in his car, was first rushed to Gurunanak Hospital and then to RIMS by local residents.

Officer-in-charge of Jagannathpur police station, Anup Kumar Karmakar, said prima facie the matter appeared to be a case of personal rivalry.

“If the attacker wanted to loot the victim, his car would have been intercepted in an isolated place between Kanke Road and HEC Township. It seemed that the attacker was following the victim’s car and opened fire as soon as he got the opportunity,” Kumar said.

A RIMS doctor said the condition of the victim was stable after the bullet, which got stuck between his spinal cord and kidney, was removed after a two-hour operation.

Bihar: Man arrested for extortion in name of Naxal organisations

Source: asianage.com

Patna: A person was arrested by the security forces for allegedly extorting money in the name of Naxal organisations from the residents of an area in Bihar’s Gaya.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Gaya, Rajeev Mishra said that a team of the Rampur police station, working along with CRPF and COBRA nabbed the accused identified as Vikas Kumar on Wednesday from the area.

“We had received the info that people working with Naxals were coming to take levy from a contractor. A CRPF, Cobra and Rampur police team carried out the operation in which a person named Vikas Kumar was arrested, and Rs 1.98 lakh was recovered from him, as against the amount of Rs 2.10 lakh given by the contractor,” Mishra told reporters here yesterday.

The SSP added that after the arrest it had come to light that a separate ring which was involved in extortion in the name of Naxal organisations was active in the area.

“However, after the arrest, it came to notice that one person named Mandeep, who is a sub-Zonal commander, had been extorting money by forming his own chain of command separate from the Naxals. The prime Naxal organisation had no idea of the levy being taken from contractors or businessmen,” Mishra said.

The police official added that the parallel gang which was involved in the business of extorting money from businessmen had been active in the region since long. Further investigations are underway.