Month: July 2023

A bill to allow the private sector to mine six atomic minerals, including lithium, and deep-seated minerals like gold and silver was approved by the Lok Sabha today. The Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 was passed by the Lok Sabha through a voice vote, amid continuous sloganeering by Opposition members over the Manipur issue. The bill seeks to allow the private sector to mine six out of 12 atomic minerals. Under the existing act, all 12 atomic minerals are reserved for mining and exploration by state-owned entities. The atomic minerals which will be opened for private sector exploration are lithium (used in the manufacture of batteries in electric vehicles, and other energy storage devices), beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum, and zirconium. ...

Soon after a case of chickenpox was detected in a Puthwari Nawgam in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district a team of doctors was constituted to monitor the ground situation. Block Medical Officer Langate Dr. Muhammad Hafeez said that initially there were reports that those cases of chickenpox were concentrated in Puthwari Nawgam. In that area, a 9-month-old baby has been detected with chickenpox and has been isolated. Dr Hafeez said that all precautionary measures have been taken up in this regard and the said baby has been kept in isolation at his home. He added that the situation is under control and different teams of doctors have been constituted to check up on children and school-going students. “Close vigil is being kept on the situation and all measures are being taken to avo...

Amid the historic eight Muharram procession taken out in Srinagar, locals as well as religious leaders carried along the copies of Quran with them to express their love and send out message against the burning of the holy book in Sweden. Younis Bashir, a Shia mourner who came to participate in the historical Muharram procession, told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) condemned the unholy act saying the Quran teaches tolerance and brotherhood. “We have to have respect for every religious book, be it ‘Taurat, Injeel, Zuboor or Quran’, but in the case of Sweden I fail to understand what they are doing,” he said. A religious leader, Aga Syed Abid Hussain, said burring of Quran is condemnable, and Muslims should raise their voices against the act. “We should come to the foref...

The people belonging to the weaker sections have complained that they have been struggling for survival due to the government’s “failure” to release Rs 1000 pension to them since February this year. The old-age persons, widows, divorcees, women in distress, transgender people and persons with disabilities (PwDs) said the government was providing Rs 1000 in the name of financial assistance to them through the Social Welfare Department under the Integrated Social Security Scheme for years. “But we were told to apply afresh on the SUGAM portal to get the benefit. Even those who have already applied afresh are also waiting for the pension,” a woman from Srinagar, told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO). Mohammad Maqbool a handicapped person from Pulwama, said that in Septembe...