Ordinance for death penalty for rape of children approved

Washington, Jan 12: The US State Department has described the recent visit of envoys of 15 countries to Jammu and Kashmir as an "important step" but expressed concern over the continued detention of political leaders and restrictions on internet in the region.

Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, tweeted on Saturday that she was "closely following" the visit of the envoys to Kashmir, describing it an "important step".

Wells, who will be visiting India this week, added: "We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy."

The group of diplomats made a two-day visit to the Union Territory on Thursday and Friday to see the conditions thereafter Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status was removed last August.

While some US politicians and media have criticised the action by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, the US has officially appeared to support the abrogation of the Constitution's Article 370 on the special status.

Last October, Wells told the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific that the State Department supported the objectives behind it, while not directly mentioning the abrogation.

"The Indian government has argued that its decision on Article 370 was driven by a desire to increase economic development, reduce corruption, and uniformly apply all national laws in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in regard to women and minorities.

"While we support these objectives, the Department remains concerned about the situation in the Kashmir Valley, where daily life for the nearly eight million residents has been severely impacted since August 5," she had said.

Washington has banked on India's democratic institutions - the judiciary and public debates - being able to steer the country.

Bearing this out, the Supreme Court last week ordered the government to review its decision to shut down the internet in Kashmir, which it declared was a fundamental right, thus taking a step to address Wells's concern.

Chennai, Mar 25: Tamil Nadu reported its first Covid-19 death at the Rajaji Government Hospital in Madurai this morning. The 54-year-old man from Madurai had no history of travel to any coronavirus-affected state or country.

However, he did have contact with two Thai nationals who had tested positive for Covid-19 and are undergoing treatment in isolation in Erode.

"Despite our best efforts, the #COVID-19 +ve Pt at MDU, #RajajiHospital, passed away few minutes back. He had medical history of prolonged illness with steroid-dependent COPD, uncontrolled Diabetes with Hypertension,” Tamil Nadu health minister C. Vijayabaskar tweeted.

The patient tested positive for the coronavirus on March 23. Yesterday the minister had disclosed that the patient had not responded well to treatment due to his medical condition. “He has a medical history of prolonged illness with steroid dependent COPD, uncontrolled diabetes with hypertension,” he said.

As of Wednesday morning, the total number of Covid-19 infected patients in Tamil Nadu was 18, including one patient who has recovered.

The latest patients include a 65-year-old man who returned from New Zealand and is currently in isolation at a private hospital, a 55-year-old woman from Saidapet who is currently in quarantine Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, and a 25-year-old who returned from London and is undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.

New Delhi, Feb 11: The government has decided to rename National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad, as Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Set up in 1993 as a registered society under the Department of Expenditure, NIFM trains officers of Finance and Accounts Services recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as also officers of Indian Cost Accounts Service. The Union Finance Minister is the President of the NIFM Society.

"Aligning the vision and aspiration of the Institute for the future with the vision and contribution of late Arun Jaitley, the Government has decided to rename National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) as the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management(AJNIFM)," the statement said.

NIFM has become a premier resource centre to meet the training needs of the central government for senior and middle level of management in the fields of public policy, financial management, public procurement and other governance issues for promoting highest standards of professional competence and practice.

Padma Vibhushan awardee Jaitley was the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs during May 26, 2014 to May 30, 2019.