Articles by "Dr Haseeb Drabu"
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Hello Jammu News at 5:37:00 PM 0


Srinagar, Mar 13: National Conference (NC) President and MP Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took the right decision to sack Dr Haseeb Drabu from the state cabinet after his comment that ‘Kashmir is not a political issue’.
“All political parties in the valley, besides civil society and common masses rejected the statement made by Dr Drabu… and because of this pressure the ruling party sacked Dr Drabu,” Mr Abdullah said.
“It is the internal matter of PDP, so I can’t say much about it. But, I think it was the right decision taken by them (PDP),” he said.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday removed Dr Drabu from her cabinet for his remarks that Kashmir is not a political issue. Education Minister Altaf Bukhari has been given additional charge of Finance, Labour and Employment departments.
The statement by Dr Drabu created a political storm in the valley and had drawn criticism from the ruling PDP, opposition and separatists alike. The decision by Mehbooba-led government came at a time when the PDP and its coalition partner, the BJP, are at loggerheads on a range of issues, including over rape and murder case of Asifa Bano in Kathua in Jammu region.
“Don’t see J&K as a conflict state and a political issue. It is a society which has social issues right now. We are trying to find our own space and we are going through a process which many other countries are also going through,” Dr Drabu had said at an event ‘Kashmir: The Way Forward’, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry at New Delhi.
“It (J&K) is not a political issue as far as I can see. They have been barking up the wrong tree for the last 50 or 70 years by talking about the politics of it, that the political situation has never improved. We seriously need to look at in terms of how it is a society that is in search for itself,” he had said.
The PDP had on Sunday demanded an explanation from Dr Drabu and asked him to retract his statement immediately as it was contradictory to their stand.
The NC had also demanded explanation from the Chief Minister on the statement of Drabu and questioned PDP's stand on Kashmir issue, including 'Self Rule'. Separatist organisations had also reacted sharply against Drabu's statement. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 5:30:00 PM 0



Jammu, Mar 12: A day after PDP MLC Surinder Choudhary tendered his resignation over demand of appointment of ADC for Sunderbani Constituency, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday removed Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu from her cabinet for his remarks on Kashmir.
Dr Drabu recently during his visit to the national capital has allegedly said that Kashmir is not a political but social issue.
"Post his Kashmir remarks, Ms Mufti in a major development has removed the state Finance Minister from her cabinet," party sources here told.
They said that the statement of Dr Drabu had triggered a controvesry in the state especially in the Kashmir valley as the issue is said to be political and needed to be resolved "politically".
"On continuing into the party the decision on Dr Drabu is yet to be taken," sources added.
They said that Ms Mufti, who is also PDP Head may take a call on this soon.
Dr Drabu was also the Finance Minister in late chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed headed government when PDP formed coalition with the BJP.
Meanwhile on Mr Surinder Choudhary's resignation, party sources said, "the resignation tendered by the party MLC is with the chief minister and she will take a decision soon."
The MLC had resigned from his post and the party in support of protests triggered in Sunderbani Constituency over demand of appointment of separate Additional Deputy Commissioner. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 8:34:00 PM 0



JV will immensely improve quality, structure of local economy: Dr Drabu

Jammu: The PHD Chamber Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI)-J&K Chapter held an impressive function at Hotel Radisson Blu wherein the Finance Minister, Dr Haseeb A Drabu was honoured for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai Ports World for building two dry ports in Srinagar and Jammu besides presenting an industry and people friendly Budget.    
Minister for Education Altaf Bukhari, Minister for Horticulture Basharat Bukhari and Minister for Industries & Commerce were special guests on the occasion. The function was attended by several other legislators and top officials besides members of the business fraternity from Jammu as well as Kashmir.
Dr Drabu was presented with a shawl and PHD Plate for doing great job in the society. The other cabinet ministers were also honored.
While speaking on the occasion, the chairmen of PHDCCI Jammu and Kashmir chapters hailed the role played by Finance Minister in boosting the economy of the state and expressed that decision to build two dry ports in Jammu and Kashmir is a step in right direction.
They said the need of creating such a facility in the state was most essential element of logistics required to enhance the scope for growth of our export oriented business, be that the export of handicraft, horticulture, agriculture, floriculture or any other allied product worldwide.
Dr Drabu expressed gratitude to PHDCCI J&K for supporting the government in its endeavors and expressed that Dry Ports to be established by the Dubai Ports World and the J&K Government through Joint Venture at Jammu and Srinagar will immensely improve the quality and structure of the local economy.
“The proposed Multi Modal Logistics Parks (Dry Ports) will facilitate faster movement of local produce to the processing centres and the markets outside. This will raise the income of farmers, industrialists, traders and businessmen and create a large number of jobs,” Dr Drabu said.
He also expressed gratitude to his Cabinet colleagues present on the occasion in facilitating people and industry Budget. He also expressed that in this year government would be able to spend available funds to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore.

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Hello Jammu News at 7:23:00 PM 0

JAMMU, JANUARY 23: The Government today constituted a high level committee headed by Finance Minister, Dr Haseeb Drabu to monitor the functioning of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura.
The members of the committee include Dr Pawan Kotwal, Principal Secretary to the Government, Health and Medical Education Department, Prof Samia Rashid, Principal Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Omar Javid Shah, Director SKIMS and Dr Ghulam Nabi Yatoo, Professor and Head Department of Gastroenterology SKIMS.

According to a Government Order issued in this regard, the Committee would recommend measures to be taken from time to time to improve overall functioning of the institute. The Committee would also concretize the steps for appointment of full-time director for SKIMS.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:06:00 PM 0

Hails measures taken by JK Govt for workers’ welfare

JAMMU, JANUARY 23:  V Sreenivas Naidu, Chairman, Central Building and Other Construction Workers Advisory Board (CBOCWAB) called on the Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment, Dr Haseeb Drabu here today to discuss the measures taken by the State Government for the workers in unorganized sector.
Mr Naidu hailed the pioneering measures taken by the State Government, on the initiative of Dr Drabu, to ensure socio-economic security of the workers in the State’s unorganized sector.
He also appreciated the State Government’s decision to have a uniform code for the workers by merging hundreds of redundant labour laws.
Dr Drabu informed the Chairman, Central Building and Other Construction Workers Advisory Board that the State Government has recently launched “Muhafiz” scheme for providing a security net to the workers in the unorganized sector.
He said that there are around 3 lakh workers registered with Jammu and Kashmir Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (JKBOCWWB) who will be covered under accidental, life and disability insurance besides providing educational scholarships to their children under Muhafiz scheme.
The scheme also envisages extending micro-credit facility to such workers and facilitating their registration through online and other modes.

Dr Drabu said the building and other construction workers are one of the most numerous and vulnerable segments of the unorganised labour and unfortunately till now there was no institutionalized mechanism in place in J&K for their on-the-job safety and socio-economic security.
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Hello Jammu News at 6:34:00 PM 0

Projects taken up under package at different stages of implementation
JAMMU, JANUARY 16:  Minister for Finance, Dr Haseeb A Drabu informed the House that as on date the estimated size of the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) is Rs 82453 crore and the projects instituted under this package are at different stages of execution.
The Minister was replying to a question by Mr Rajiv Jasrotia. He said the package aims at overall development of the State and cannot be segregated at regional, sub-regional or district levels.
Dr Drabu further informed that there is no timeline prescribed for spending, but it depends on our capacity to spend. He added that a number of steps have been taken to implement the projects under the package in a time bound manner which include inter-alia, finalization of location and scoping of individual projects, formulation of Preliminary Project Reports (PPRs) and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and concretising financing of the projects particularly in view of requirement of State share and resources for development of infrastructure concomitant to the main project for speedy and time bound implementation of the specific projects
. He added that nearly all   the projects have been taken up and are at different stages of contracting and or execution.

  Mian Altaf Ahmad, Shakti Raj Parihar and Er Rashid raised supplementary questions to the main question.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:10:00 PM 0



JAMMU, JANUARY 15:- Vice Chairperson J&K Minerals Ltd. Syed Attahullah Simnani has expressed gratitude to Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti for having picked up a real gem for Finance Ministry.
Simnani, while describing the budget as a visionary document, said that "This year’s budget is a new landmark in the history of the State which has taken due care of people of all regions of the State with maximum focus on capital expenditure to boost the overall economic status of the State,".
The VC appreciated Finance Minister, Dr. Haseeb Drabu for his bold and revolutionary step on abolishing the Toll Tax on export of Gypsum outside the state. "This decision has given a new lease of life to survival of JKML, he added.
The Corporation has ambitious plan of excavation of huge gypsum mineral estimated at 7.00 million tonnes in the next seven years," he said. He said in view of the demand of gypsum in the State is limited, the Toll Tax was a big hurdle in promoting the gypsum business outside  the state. Now by abolishing the toll a business opportunity of about 1000 crore has been thrown open for the Corporation.
The VC assured that the Industries & Commerce department and management of the Corporation shall optimally utilize this opportunity in the best interest of its employees and improving the financial health of the Corporation.

He added that the steps taken by Dr. Drabu shall go a long way in paving the way for materialization of dreams of our great leader and statesman Late Mufti Mohammad Syed, to ensure development of the state and people.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:32:00 PM 0



SRINAGAR, DECEMBER 23: The office bearers of Kashmir Press Club called on the Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment, Dr Haseeb Drabu here today to discuss the issues confronting the media fraternity in the Valley.
The Press Club delegation was led by its President M Saleem Pandit. It also included Vice-President Shuja-ul-Haq and Secretary Administration Asif Qureshi. 
The officer bearers of the Press Club Kashmir demanded immediate handing over of the 9-HB building at Polo View Srinagar to the PCK so that it is made functional as maiden Aiwan-e-Sahafat in the summer capital.
They also demanded speedy operationalization of the J&K Journalists’ Welfare Scheme, for which the Government has already earmarked a corpus fund of Rs 2 crore.
The Finance Minister assured the Press Club office bearers to support the journalistic fraternity in their endeavour and get the needful done regarding handing over of the identified building at Polo View and its refurbishing for setting up the Aiwan-e-Sahafat Srinagar.

Dr Drabu also agreed to consider the demand of the working journalists for extending national pension scheme and health insurance cover to the accredited journalists of J&K.
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Hello Jammu News at 6:40:00 PM 0

‘FinMin consults Kashmir Inc, other stakeholders in run-up to Budget 2018-19’


SRINAGAR, DECEMBER 23: Ahead of the presentation of Budget for fiscal 2018-19 in the state legislature, Minister for Finance and Labour and Employment, Dr Haseeb A Drabu today held extensive deliberations with the Kashmir Inc at the Excise and Taxation Complex here.
Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Parvaiz Iqbal Khateeb, Excise Commissioner, Mohammad Javed Khan, Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Dr Shamim Ahmad Wani and other officers of the Finance Department were present during pre-budget consultations.
Representatives of Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, Kashmir Economic Alliance, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation Chambers of Industries Kashmir, PHD Chamber Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation and Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Associations, Kashmir Economic Forum, Federation Chambers of Industries, All Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union Kashmir, Transporters Unions and Office Bearers of Kashmir Press Club also participated in the discussions.
During the meetings, Dr Drabu invited suggestions from the trade leaders that could be incorporated into the upcoming budget for reviving the economy of Jammu and Kashmir which has suffered immensely due to the natural disaster of 2014 and unfavourable socio-political atmosphere last year.
The Kashmir Inc urged the Finance Minister to take immediate measures keeping in view the September 2014 Floods and the 2016 situation which had a debilitating impact on the business community, especially small traders, and overall economy of the Kashmir Valley.
“Due to the situation of 2016 and the negative propaganda by New Delhi-based news channels, the trade in Kashmir, particularly the tourism sector and various other industries, have suffered badly. But we are taking corrective measures and some announcements will be made in the budget to address these issues,” Dr Drabu said.
Appreciating the role of the Finance Minister for announcing a slew of measures, including tax waivers for the business community, the trade leaders said the Goods and Services Tax regime has brought a positive change and reduced corruption while easing the system of filing returns.
However, they said, the Tax Department must organise more awareness programs and training camps so that small traders are acquainted with the system. Commissioner Commercial Tax, Parvaiz Khateeb assured them that the Department will be organising such programs in coming days.
The Finance Minister underlined that many interventions carried out by the state government in various areas and the announcements made for sectors such as Walnut industry in last budget, have not been followed up by the industry leaders, resulting in wastage of funds.
“The Government will leave no stone unturned in reviving important sectors like Horticulture, Handicrafts, Tourism, and industries which are the backbone of the state economy. This year, there will be major intervention in power sector which will address a lot of issues faced by various industries,” Dr Drabu said. 

The office bearers of Press Club Srinagar demanded immediate handing over of the 9-HB Polo View building to the body so that the Press Club is made be functional at the earliest. They also demanded operationalization of the Journalists Welfare Scheme for which the Government has earmarked a corpus fund of Rs 2 crore.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:53:00 PM 0


19th ICOMOS General Assembly concludes at New Delhi
‘We have to take advantage of all credible forums to rediscover our historical linkages’
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 14: Minister for Finance, Dr Haseeb Drabu and Mr Tassaduq Mufti, Coordinator, J&K Chief Minister’s Grievance today visited the Heritage Exhibition organized by the Department of Archeology, Archives & Museums, J&K Govton the sidelines of the 19th General Assembly of ICOMOS at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road here.
It is for the first time that ICOMOS (International Council of Monuments and Sites) General Assembly is being held in India. The objective of the event was to provide an opportunity to promote international cooperation for creating a robust ecosystem for heritage conservation.
Dr Drabu visited various stalls established by the Department of Archeology, Archives & Museums and expressed satisfaction over showcasing of the heritage and archaeological treasure of the state at the international level through ICOMOS.
He said such initiatives would go a long way in rediscovering J&K’s traditional linkages and promoting heritage tourism in the state. “We shall have to take advantage of all the forums to showcase our treasured heritage and ICOMOS is one such credible forum,” he said.
Pertinently, Dr Drabu had earlier unveiled the J&K pavilion at the event on 12 December 2017.
J&K’s distinct pluralistic heritage and culture was displayed through artefacts, pictures and models at the exhibition.
Documentary films on SPS Museum, Dogra Art Museum, Mubark Mandi Heritage Complex and Cultural Tourism Potential of J&K were also shown during the 3-day exhibition.
Other Departments from J&K, who participated in this international event include Tourism and Handlooms and Handicrafts.
Director Archives, Archaeology & Museums, M S Zahid briefed the Finance Minister about various activities undertaken by the Department during the international event.
He said the Department also participated in the scientific symposium on the themes ‘Heritage as Peace Builder’, ‘Tying and Benefiting’,‘Heritage as Victim’, ‘Heritage and Democracy’ and ‘Documenting India’s Vernacular Heritage’ organized on the sidelines of the event.
Earlier, Mr Tassaduq Mufti, Coordinator, J&K Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell also visited the exhibition and appreciated the efforts of the Department of Archeology, Archives & Museums for projecting the State’s rich heritage at the international fora.
During the event, renowned heritage professionals from diverse cultural backgrounds including archaeologists, architects, urban planners, engineers, curators, building conservation professionals and art historians shares and exchanged views and ideas on issues of Integrating Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development by Engaging Diverse Communities, Role of Cultural Heritage in Building Peace and Reconciliation, Protecting and Interpreting Cultural Heritage in the Age of Digital Empowerment; Culture-Nature Journey, exploring the Complexities of Human Relationships with Natural and Cultural Places under the overarching theme of 'Heritage and Democracy'.
The speakers also stressed upon the need of incorporating heritage related curriculum in schools, colleges and universities besides involving public private partnership and assistance of volunteers in such activities.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:49:00 PM 0


Come, invest & engage with JK: Dr Drabu tells India Inc
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 14: Minister for Finance, Dr Haseeb Drabu today called for proactive engagement of major corporate houses from across the country with Jammu and Kashmir to channelize substantive investment to the State.
“There is tremendous scope for investment in potential sectors of strength like energy, horticulture, handloom and handicrafts, biotechnology, food processing, tourism, information technology, education, skill development and sports in J&K which have strong inter-linkages with the other sectors,” Dr Drabu said while addressing the 90th Annual General Meeting of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here this morning.
He said J&K also has potential for becoming a Special Educational Zone for foreign universities and Special Economic Zone for exquisite Handicrafts and Sports Goods besides attracting investment for setting up a Dry Port and Cold Chain.
“I would request you to start engaging with J&K and its people, to help us put the State on a faster path of development and growth,” Dr Drabu told the business tycoons from India Inc present at the meeting.
He said FICCI can help in tourism promotion in the State by organizing various high-profile events and also facilitate building physical and digital connectivity and market linkages. “Given its network, FICCI can also help the state to strategize connectivity and infrastructure development for creation of wealth in the areas of social, economic and ecological enterprises in J&K,” he said.
Dr Drabu said given its geographical location, Jammu and Kashmir could become a hub for forging a new economic linkage in the region between the South and the Central Asia. “There is a convergence of views on varied issues and interests between the Central Asian Republics and India, including promoting economic, scientific and cultural cooperation in the region,” Dr Drabu said adding that given its historic links with Central Asia, J&K can become a surface transport passage for reviving traditional economic linkages in the region.
Referring to implementation of GST, Dr Drabu said there may be operational and technical issues involved in the implementation of the new tax regime, but it has federalized the Indian economy and has transformed the business ethics in the country.
He called for doing away with the MRP (maximum retail price) under the GST regime.“MRP is from a pre-liberalized era. We need to now abolish MRP as it has become redundant under GST regime,” Dr Drabu said.
He also suggested that composition scheme for small businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1 crore should be tweaked to allow some input tax credit. “Larger companies are not buying from small businesses due to lack of input tax credit,” he noted.
He also called for bringing back the reverse charge mechanism under GST that has been deferred till March.
Pertinently, besides Dr Haseeb Drabu, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Modi, Finance Minister of West Bengal, Dr Amit Mitra and Finance Minister of Kerala Dr T M Thomas Isaac were specially invited to address the 2-day Annual General Meeting of FICCI which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi here yesterday.
President FICCI, Rahesh C Shah and FICCI General Secretary, Dr Sanjay Baru also addressed the session.
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Hello Jammu News at 7:48:00 PM 0


DLR organizes Counselling &Guidance Programme at KU 
‘Libraries should become knowledge hub for people to engage socially, intellectually’
SRINAGAR, DECEMBER 07: Minister for Finance and Labour & Employment, Dr Haseeb A Drabu, today advised students to see their career as an instrument of empowerment rather than a tool for just landing in a job.
“Career is not limited to just having a job and earning some income. It also means pursuing growth and better positions deserving of your education, experience and effort,” Dr Drabu said.
He said career is more relevant and empowering than a job. “I was inspired to become a lawyer, studied to be a doctor, applied for a teacher’s job, worked as an economist, edited a newspaper and ended up as a politician. In the end, it all ends well,” he said, to a thunderous applause from the students.
The Minister was speaking at ‘Career Counselling and Guidance Programme’ organized by the Department of Libraries and Research in collaboration with the University of Kashmir and Indian Public Library Movement, Mindler Delhi and Plancess Mumbai.
The function was also attended by Commissioner Secretary, Culture, Dilshad Khan, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Khursheed Iqbal Andrabi, Director, Libraries and Research, Mukhtar-ul-Aziz and other dignitaries.
Dr Drabu said libraries in J&K should become knowledge hubs which attract people from all shades and ages. “In this digital age, my idea was to leverage libraries as places where people can engage intellectually and socially. I am happy that the idea has got ahead well,” he said.
The Finance Minister said counselling students is not a sufficient condition to get a good job since the idea of counselling has evolved over the years, “There has to be a real change in mindset. All of you must be looking for good jobs and not careers. But a job is not what you want. You must have a good career. You can have a good career without having a job,” he said.
Underlining the changes required for grooming J&K as a hub of intellectualism, Dr Drabu said the civil society of the state has to come forward in addressing the social issues facing the state, “As a society, we make social choices, that the best and brightest choose medicine followed by engineers. When we try and understand when a society makes a choice to put best and brightest in a particular field, what is the policy choice government makes?” he said.
The Finance Minister said the policy choice of the governments across the developing world are different from social choices made by the society, “If our best boys and girls become doctors, it must be the most lucrative profession, which unfortunately it isn’t because we are not providing the right kind of environment for the talent to flourish. In our part of the world, students are ill-equipped to handle the stress they face outside. How they can overcome it is the real challenge,” he said.
Earlier, Director Libraries, Mukhtar-ul-Aziz presented a detailed resume of the ‘Career Counseling and Guidance Programme’ organized by his Department. 
Hundreds of students from various parts of the Valley joined the special career counseling programme where the counseling of students and parents was done by IIT toppers including Prateek Bhargav, CEO Mindler, PrikshitDanda, a leading Professional Career Counselor in the country trained from Harvard University, SupriyaDhanda, Anoop Panday, CEO Plances) and Ranjit Gakaray, Professional Counselor for IIT and Medical Aspirants.
The students introduced to latest job-oriented and rewarding courses available in various institutions. They were also counseled about the colleges, procedure for admission and other related issues while planning for future studies.
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Hello Jammu News at 12:21:00 PM 0


Srinagar, Dec 7: Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Finance and Labour & Employment, Dr Haseeb A Drabu has said that schools in the Valley should become centres for change in addressing the social disorder and chaos in society.
“No human being is born with the innate desire for ferment. We grew up in a normal environment but today, it’s an abnormal situation. Schools are the best places to understand and effect the change we require to make J&K a peaceful and prosperous state,” he said here on Wednesday.
“Schools must take cognizance of the situation around and train students to face the real world, not just for landing good jobs. Give them (students) tools to understand the situation. Once they deal with it, they will be able to change it,” he said.
The Minister was speaking at a felicitation ceremony organised by Doon International School here for its two students, Moomina Manzoor and Mehsood Fatima, and their coach, Umar Akbar, who won gold and silver medals at a Taekwondo championship held at Macau, China last month.
Congratulating the students, Dr Drabu said they have brought laurels for J&K and the entire country, “I am amazed by the kind of talent we have in Kashmir. You need nurturing and caring and I am sure you will continue to scale newer heights,” he said.
Regretting the systemic erosion of societal values in Kashmir, the Finance Minister said Jammu and Kashmir used to be a diverse, liberal and emancipated society, “Globally, there has been a rise to dominance of illiberalism and J&K is no exception but no culture is richer than J&K as regards our diversity. And our future lies in going to past to discover our liberal moorings,” he said.
Dr Drabu said schools should evolve as per the cultural context in which they are situated, “Every school has a culture around it and it should adapt some of its teachings. We must spend time to venture into troubled societies and bring sensitivity among the students which will also help in chalking out long term solution to our problems,” he said.
Exhorting the students to enjoy life to the fullest, Dr Drabu advised them to stop worrying about future, “It is important to be a good human being rather than being an out-performer. Imbibe education as a way of living life and make sure everybody around you is happy and not just yourself. Build relationships and try create an enclave of peace prosperity and happiness. You must create a world that you aspire to live in,” he said. UNI 
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Hello Jammu News at 5:35:00 PM 0

New system to simplify process of govt payments


JAMMU, NOVEMBER 22: Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment Dr Haseeb A Drabu today reviewed the progress made on replacement of existing Treasury system to Pay and Accounts Office (PAO) system in a meeting convened, here today.
Principal Secretary, Finance Navin Kumar Choudhary, Director General Accounts & Treasuries Altaf Hussain Mirza, Director Codes Mohammad Rafi Andrabi and other senior officers of the Finance Department were present at the meeting.
While reviewing the progress, Finance Minister asked the concerned officers to expedite the process so that PAO system can be launched in the state by January 18. He said that the Finance department has a huge public interface and this new system would surely help in simplifying the whole process of government payments.
During the meeting, a detailed presentation was made by concerned officer about the proposed organizational set up and functioning of this new system.
Speaking to the officers, the Minister asked them to ensure that everyone working with this new system should be assigned with a meaningful role for better delivery of services. He said that the operational staff should lay focus on streamlining the payment system and to ensure payments in a specified period.
Dr Drabu said that there is a need to design the system in such a way that it meets the future requirements and should be functionally aligned rather than geographically demarcated. He said that he will personally review the progress twice a week so that the required changes in the draft model including administrative reforms would be made before finally switching to the PAO system.

It was informed in the meeting that this system is being integrated with Budget Estimation, Allocation & Monitoring System (BEAMS) for better check of budgetary allocation and authorized expenditure.
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Hello Jammu News at 6:14:00 PM 0

JAMMU, NOVEMBER 21: The Singapore Government has offered technical support to J&K Government for capacity building in three key areas of Skill Development, Riverfront Development and Water Management.
This was revealed by the Minister for Finance, Dr Haseeb Drabu on his return from 3-day official visit to Singapore.
Dr Drabu said during his visit, he held extensive deliberations with the Ministers, government officials and experts in Singapore on how best the expertise of that country could be utilized for capacity building in some critical areas in J&K.
He said the three key areas identified for collaboration include Skill Development, Riverfront Development and Water Management for which the Singapore Government will be extending technical expertise to J&K.
The Finance Minister said after follow-up discussions at the official level, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the concerned authorities in Singapore and the J&K Government to kick-start the collaborative mechanism in the identified areas.
He said the Singapore Government has already established a Skill Development Centre in Assam and has also signed an MoU with Odisha Government in this regard.
“A similar collaboration between J&K Government and Singapore will certainly step up the quality of our skilled youth,” Dr Drabu said and added that as the J&K Government is in the process of developing human and social capital for enhancing the capabilities of its youth this partnership will go a long way in fulfilling this objective.

He said similarly Singapore has made he strides in Riverfront Development and Water Management under the country’s Waterfront Rejuvenation programme and replication of such a programme could help J&K in speedy restoration and revival of its waterfronts. “Singapore as a separate Master Plan for Water-based Activities in the country and a similar concept could be implemented in J&K for rejuvenation of waterways and water resources,” he said.
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