Table of Contents
GoI
- The Centre’s Special Representative for Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma met over 2 dozen delegations, including youth today.
- Mr Sharma reached Srinagar from Jammu yesterday on a three-day visit to Kashmir.
- At South Kashmir’s Pulwama district headquarters, he met at least 14 delegations yesterday.
- Dineshwar Sharma described interaction and meetings with various groups and delegations during last two days including youths at south Kashmir’s Pulwama district as unique, positive, fruitful and resultoriented.
- He described granting amnesty to over 4,000 first time stone-pelters as a big Confidence
Building Measure. - Sharma is scheduled to meet youth and other delegations in South Kashmir’s another district Anantnag tomorrow.
- Dineshwar Sharma is optimistic about dawn of peace in Kashmir.
Women and Child Development Ministry
- The Government has said, it will write to all states to prescribe minimum educational
qualification for holding the office of Sarpanch. - Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, all states must follow the
Rajasthan and Haryana governments who amended their Panchayati Raj laws and laid
down minimum educational qualification for contesting panchayat elections. - Rajasthan had done really good thing. They announced that anybody who is less than
12th, will not be allowed to stand for Sarpanch and it should be adopted all over. - It will give women an incentive to study.
President’s Office
- President Ram Nath Kovind has stressed the need to tackle communicable and non-communicable diseases.
- Addressing Medical Officers of Central Health Service at Rashtrapati Bhavan today, Mr Kovind said, the goal of universal health coverage is a priority for the government.
- He said, the implementation of the National Health Mission critically depends on commitment of the medical fraternity.
- This needs effective governance at the community, village and district levels.
MEA and HM
- India and Russia signed an agreement today for cooperation in tackling all forms of terrorism.
- The pact was signed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir
Kolokoltsev in Moscow after wide-ranging talks. - The two strategic partners asserted that there were no good or bad terrorists and the menace should be fought jointly.
- A statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Moscow said, the two ministers emphasized that cooperation in the field of security was an important aspect of the bilateral relationship.
- Indian and Russian representatives also signed a joint action plan for countering the threat posed by narcotics.
- The agreement will provide a legal framework for bilateral cooperation in this field.
Indonesia
- In Indonesia, about one lakh people near Bali’s Mount Agung have been ordered to evacuate as officials fear a major volcanic eruption.
- Indonesian authorities have raised the state of alert to its highest level and expanded the
exclusion zone around the rumbling volcano. - The island’s airport has now closed, leaving thousands stranded in the tourist hotspot.
- Authorities say dark smoke and ash have been billowing up to 11,150 ft. above the mountain’s summit.
- Officials have warned residents to stay away from rock and debris flows known as lahars, which have been spotted flowing down the mountain.
- Mount Agung’s volcanic tremors first began in September.