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Tuesday,
September 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Sinha promises more
bank credit to J&K
Agriculture needs
direction: FM
2 ultras
killed in valley OFC being
laid on Srinagar-Leh route |
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Sinha promises more bank credit to J&K Srinagar, September 3 Announcing the decisions of his meeting with the State Government and heads of financial institutions at a press conference here today, Mr Sinha said that the credit disbursement in the state would increase from Rs 3874 crore in March this year to Rs 5000 crore by March 2002. He said besides Rs 250 crore credit facility would be provided by NABARD under the re-finance infrastructure development fund. Mr Sinha said that the Central Government has decided to set up three task forces permanently to ensure greater and faster credit flow to major sectors of economy. One task force to be headed by the Financial Commissioner, Agriculture, would focus on credit flow to the agriculture sector while the second task force, to be headed by Chairman and Managing Director, Small Scale Development Corporation, Government of India, would deal with the credit requirements for the small scale industrial sector including handicrafts, handlooms and khadi village industry. The third task force would focus on the large and medium industrial sector and industrial infrastructure. These task forces shall have the representatives of the State Government, banks and other financial institutions and would meet regularly. Mr Sinha said the licensed branches of public sector banks closed due to militancy in Kashmir would be re-opened by December 31. He said that the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has assured all help in this regard. The Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, who as a member of a high-level Central team accompanying Mr Sinha, participated in the yesterday’s marathon meeting, has also assured a liberal grant for opening of new branches of the public sector banks. The minister said that public sector banks would launch a recruitment drive to run the re-opened branches and offices. No branch would be allowed to suffer for want of staff as an arrangement had been made to borrow officials from J&K Bank, wherever necessary to meet immediate need. The Finance Minister said that the Kisan Credit Cards would be increased from 13,567 to one lakh by March next year. He said the state government would conduct a quick survey of all families eligible for Kisan Credit Cards and cover those in the next two years. Mr Sinha said that matter regarding the release of loans by the LIC due to some outstanding against the state government has been resolved. The LIC shall now release Rs 189.02 crore allotted by the Planning Commission for the last and current financial years within 45 days of completing formalities. The state government shall also clear its dues of about Rs 3 crore immediately. He said the LIC would consider viable projects from the state in the area of urban renewal. The state government by
November 30 this year shall submit proposals for such projects. The LIC would take the decision on it within two months. He said this would be an ongoing process. The minister said that the LIC would construct a complex at Srinagar to house financial institutions for solving the problems of the entrepreneurs and the state government. He said Chief Minister had agreed to allot free land for the complex. It was also decided to revive the JK ITCO within three months. The emphasis would be on setting up the medium industry in areas like processing of fruit and vegetables, sericulture and floriculture. |
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Agriculture
needs direction: FM Srinagar, September 3 Delivering the convocation address at the third convocation of Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology of Kashmir here this morning, he said that agricultural development has to be regarded as a key factor in economic development and social transformation and must be forward looking. Stressing the need to give a new focus and direction to agriculture, he said that productivity levels needed to be raised in crops other than foodgrains. Even in foodgrains our yield rates were lower. China’s paddy yield per hectare was 6 tonne compared to just 2.9 tonne in India. So productivity would have to remain under constant focus for optimum land use. Besides productivity, we now have to focus on post harvest disposal and two important elements were storage and processing. This model should be the hall-mark of new strategy for a progressive and commercially viable agriculture. He asked private entrepreneurs to come forward and play a greater role as post-harvest disposal, storage, cold chains and processing would require commercial judgement, a vision for global market and investment which the private sector can find attractive. Mr Sinha allayed apprehensions arising out of removal of import restriction under the WTO agreement and said that we need not worry about it. Instead there was a need to draw lessons from the rapidly changing policy framework. He referred to the availability of the USA and New Zealand apples in Delhi and other cities in the lean season at the rate of Rs 90 to Rs 150 per kg. This should not unduly worry us. We should ensure that Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh apples were available throughout the year and not just between August and February. For this, advanced techniques in packaging, transportation, cold chain storage and processing should be thought of and put in place. |
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2 ultras killed in valley Srinagar, September 3 An official spokesman said militants fired upon a Maruti car at Surigam in the frontier district of Kupwara and killed Abdul Gani Mir and Danish, a class X student today. At least two security force personnel were injured when militants attacked a search party at Goripora in uptown this morning. However, the militants managed to escape. Panic gripped the general bus stand at Batmaloo near here when militants shot and wounded police constable Bilal Ahmad today. He was later hospitalised. Troops killed a militant each at Budhabal in Kupwara and Lizen in South Kashmir last evening. Two AK rifles, five magazines, 250 rounds of ammunition and some plastic explosive were seized from them. Two ultras were arrested by security forces at Kangan and Kupwara while two underground hideouts were smashed at Gujarnar hill in North Kashmir. Meanwhile, a civilian was injured when Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked shelling at two different places in the Kargil sector late last night, official sources said today. A house was also damaged in the shelling. BARAMULA:
A woman was killed when a vehicle ran over her after militants hurled a grenade at Khanpora near here this afternoon.
UNI |
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OFC being
laid on Srinagar-Leh route Jammu, September 3 This was stated by the Chief General Manager, Telecommunications, J&K circle, Mr P.C. Chhabra, at a press conference here today. Mr Chhabra said that the BSNL would provide the OFC and other material to the Ministry of Defence which was to lay the cables and erect required structures on the mountain route. He said that the OFC route in the Ladakh region between Leh and Chuglamsar would be commissioned within next 10 days allowing over 2,000 subscribers, waiting for a phone connection, to get the telephone line. These subscribers have been on the waiting list for over three years and all of them would get phones installed by the end of next month. Mr Chhabra disclosed that 20 solar panels for Leh were being installed at a cost of over Rs 2 crore. This would augment power supply in the Ladakh region. He said that the first additional C-1 internet Node in the state was to be commissioned at Srinagar by month-end. Such nodes were also expected to be commissioned in rest of the districts. This scheme would help the BSNL to open cyber cafe in all block headquarters in the state. This scheme was intended to help unemployed youth. Phone connection would be provided to them out of turn. In reply to a question Mr Chhabra said that satellite equipment was being installed in Kishtwar and Bhaderwah to improve communication facilities. In addition to this the WLL equipment was to be provided to the subscribers in Samba, Udhampur, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar, Krishna Ghati in Rajouri, Tral, Badgam, Bandipora and Handwara in Kashmir. |
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