India has taken a strong note of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's recent rally in Lahore on the occasion of so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' and sent a note verbale to Pakistan in protest against the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief's gathering, sources said on Friday.

Sources added that India registered a strong protest against the continued use of Pakistani soil by extremist and terrorist elements to freely propagate and promote violence against New Delhi.

They further said that the Indian government once again called upon the Pakistani government to fulfill its international obligations and abide by it bilateral commitment to not allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, in any manner.

On February 5, Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, had taken part in the rally in Lahore as part of the so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day.'

India, has, time and again, protested against Pakistan for harbouring Saeed, who is widely believed to have plotted the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. New Delhi's stand on Saeed has been supported by the international community.

The Election Commission has launched a Voter Verification and Information Programme (VVIP)  for verifications of voters' names, new registrations, changes or corrections in the Voter Id Cards for the upcoming General Elections.

According to an official release, the Commission has also set up Contact centres in all the districts and the Voter Helpline number is 1950. The VVIP Programme was launched during the two-day intensive Training-cum-Workshop on the use of Information and  Communication Technology for General Elections in New Delhi.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said technology is indeed a major game changer. A ‘PwD App’ to enable Divyangs for new registration, change in address and others details was also launched.

Ladakh region has woken up this morning with an accomplishment - cherishing the long pending dream of Divisional Status.
While exercising powers conferred in Section 5 of Land Revenue Act, the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir issued a notification of creation of Ladakh as 3rd Division in the state.

The notification has come just after the PM Mr Narendra Modi visit to Leh on 3rd February. While greeting the audience he said in local language that he brought so many gifts for Ladakhis. However, for technical reasons the notification came on Friday evening.

Divisional status would facilitate this region in a great way to progress.  Routine administrative clearances for Leh and Kargil can be obtained at Divisional headquarters in Leh.

Apart from that, new Division also brings opportunities of employment of different levels in various departments for the locals.

Our Leh Correspondent Ramesh Chandra reports that for almost three decades, Ladakh region is demanding for Union Territory status with Legislation.

Vastly spread Ladakh has two Hill Councils in Leh and Kargil for their Administration. The Divisional Status is considered as a step ahead towards the dream of Union Territory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch various development projects in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura today.
Mr Modi arrived in Guwahati yesterday evening on a two-day visit to North East. Prime Minister will reach Itanagar from Guwahati this morning and unveil a series of development projects at IG Park.

Mr Modi will lay the foundation stone for the construction of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi. The strategically important airport will boost the economic growth of the region.

Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh. It will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang Valley for civilians as well as security forces throughout the year. The tunnel will reduce travel time to Tawang by an hour and boost tourism and related economic activities in the region.

Mr Modi will also dedicate a new TV Channel DD Arun Prabha for Arunachal Pradesh at Itanagar. The channel will be the 24th channel operated by Doordarshan.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of a permanent campus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) at Arunachal Pradesh. This is the third Film and Television Institute of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the first two being FTII Pune and SRFTI Kolkata. It said this institute will provide a boost to the talented youngsters of the North-East in film and television sector.

An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 3.9 struck Haryana on Friday afternoon. According to IMD, the epicentre of the quake was Mahendragarh district in Haryana and occurred around 1.53 pm. No loss of life or damage to property has been reported so far.

Mild tremors were felt in and around Delhi-NCR.
Two days ago, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck Jammu and Kashmir. The earthquake struck at 10.17 pm and lasted several seconds as people ran out of their homes, fearing for their safety, officials said. The epicentre of the quake was at a depth of 40 kilometres in northwestern Kashmir, 118 kilometres from Srinagar.

Earlier this week, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit Pakistan, tremors of which were felt in several parts of North India, including the national capital.

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday declared Ladakh as the third administrative and revenue division for the state. The division will comprise the two districts of Leh and Kargil. The posts of Divisional Commissioner (Ladakh) and Inspector General of Police (Ladakh) have also been approved. The new division will be headquartered in Leh.

At present, the region is part of the Kashmir division and is administratively managed through the Leh and Kargil Autonomous Hill Councils.

The demand for a separate division of Ladakh has been longstanding. In December, councillors of both Hill councils had signed resolutions demanding a separate division for Ladakh seeking “complete autonomy” from the Kashmir administrative set-up.

“This decision of the Government goes a long way in fulfilling the governance and development aspirations of the people of Ladakh region. The issue has been discussed at various fora and there has been a persistent demand for the creation of Division for Ladakh from many organizations including the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC) Leh and Kargil.”

India has climbed eight places to rank 36th in the latest annual International Intellectual Property (IP) Index released by the US Chambers of Commerce which said the improvement is a "real accomplishment" but substantial challenges persist, particularly regarding the country's patenting and IP enforcement environments.

In 2018 International Intellectual Property Index, India was ranked 44 out of 50 countries.

The increase in India's ranking is a result of specific reforms that better align India's IP environment with the international IP system, including its accession to the WIPO Internet Treaties, the agreement to initiate a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with Japan, a dedicated set of IP incentives for small business, and administrative reforms to address the patent backlog, said the report.

In the first edition of the report in 2014, which is prepared by Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) of the US Chambers of Commerce, India had ranked last in the ranking of 25 countries.

In 2017, India ranked 43 out of 45 countries. In the last two years, US Chambers of Commerce has increased its comparative study to 50 economies, contributing over 90 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product.

In Udhampur, 92 army men were awarded Sena medals yesterday at an investiture ceremony for their gallantary and distinguised services. 

Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, GOC-in-C of Northern Command presented 76 medals for gallatry services, 7 medals for distinguised services and 8 for Vishist Seva. 

Lance Naik Nazir Ahmed Wani, a recepient of Ashok Chakra was also awarded Bar to Sena Medal poshthumously which was received by his wife.

Twenty units of the army were also awarded appreciation for their outstanding performance in the Command Theatre in 2018.

In the first set of bilateral meetings on activating the Kartarpur corridor, a Pakistani delegation will visit India on March 13 to discuss the modalities for the cross-border pilgrimage. Pakistan has also proposed a reciprocal visit by an Indian delegation 15 days later to “finalise the draft agreement”.

The meetings will be held to facilitate the travel of Sikh pilgrims to Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Gurudwara in Narowal, nearly 4 km from the Gurdaspur border.

“In a spirit of constructive engagement #Pakistan has proposed to India that the Pakistan delegation may visit #India on 13 March followed by the return visit of the Indian delegation to Pakistan on 28 March to finalise the draft agreement for the #kartarpur corridor,” Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal posted on Twitter.

Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar posted on Twitter: “We welcome the visit of #Pakistan team to discuss and finalise modalities for facilitating visit of pilgrims through #Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on 13 March 2019 to India. Follow up meeting can be held in Pakistan, as required.”

India has also asked Pakistan to hold “technical level discussions between engineers on both sides without waiting for discussion on the modalities”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that crores of new jobs have been created in the country in formal and unorganised sectors including transport, hotels and infrastructure. 

Replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Mr Modi rejected the opposition's allegations of rising unemployment. He said, jobs have been created both in informal and formal sectors in last four and half years. 

He said, informal sector accounts for 85 to 90 per cent while the formal sector provides only 10 to 15 per cent employment in the country. The Prime Minister said in 15 months till November 2018, 1.8 crore people got enrolled in the Employees Provident Fund for the first time. 

Of these 64 per cent were below 28 years of age. He said, about 6 lakh 35 thousand new professionals have filed income tax returns in the last four years. Mr Modi said, the government has launched several initiatives like Skill India, Stand-Up India and Digital India aimed at promoting self employment in the country.

Taking on Congress over its criticism on Rafale deal, Mr Modi said, the opposition party does not want the Air Force to be strong and questioned whether it was bidding for a company. 

He said, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has answered all questions on Rafale deal but the Congress is still misleading the nation. Mr Modi also accused the Congress of rendering the Army handicapped. 

The Prime Minister said that the armed forces were adversely affected due to delay in procurements under the Congress rule and its personnel did not have bullet-proof jackets, proper shoes, communication equipment or even helmets. 

He wondered why advanced jets were not procured for 30 years when India's neighbours were equipping themselves with latest weaponry. He said, the nation will not forgive the Congress party for this sin. 

Taking a swipe, Mr Modi said, Congress party is surprised that there can be a defence deal without kickbacks. He said, they assume that a defence deal cannot happen without commission.