Govt to rope in private players to build roads, hospitals

Government will rope in private players to develop the infrastructure in the state including the roads and hospitals due to the shortage of funds. In reply to question of CPI (M) MLA, M Y Tarigami, which was asked by NC legislator Devinder Singh Rana in Tarigami’s absence, Finance Minister, Haseeb Drabu, said the government has already sanctioned the policy to implement projects in nine sectors including roads and health in the private public partnership (PPP) mode. He said vide government order no 238-F of 2015 dated December 8 2015, the…

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Bandh on Saturday if taxes not rolled back : Trade bodies

Entertainment duty of Rs.50/- per connection on satellite and cable TV which will directly affect the common man. Various trade bodies on Saturday urged the business establishments to down their shutters on Saturday, June 4 to protest against the budget proposals in case government failed to roll back the taxes. A Joint meeting of The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCC&I), Kashmir Economic Alliance(KEA), Kashmir Traders & Manufacturers Federation(KTMF), Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) was held today to discuss the 2016-17 State budget presented by the Finance Minister.…

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Petrol price up by Rs 2.58, diesel by Rs 2.26

Petrol price was on Tuesday hiked by Rs 2.58 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.26 per litre, the second increase in rates this month. Petrol will cost Rs 65.60 per litre in Delhi after the increase while diesel will cost Rs 53.93/litre. Prices were last hiked on May 17. “The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and INR-USD exchange rate warrant increase in price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” said Indian…

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Budget 2016-17 Highlights

This budget, the first of this new PDP-BJP Government, has been formulated as a tribute to Jenab Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, said Drabu. Finance minister Haseeb Drabu on Monday presented the budget for 2016-17 in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly. This budget, the first of this new PDP-BJP Government, has been formulated as a tribute to Jenab Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, said Drabu. “Having had the privilege of being his Finance Minister, I have, in this budget, attempted to put into a framework the “Mufti Model of Governance”,” he said. Here…

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Some Hits, Some Misses, feels Kashmir Inc

The state Budget 2016-17 drew mixed reactions from Kashmir Inc and stakeholders in the Valley’s tourism sector. Even as sops for development of industry and handicraft sectors were welcomed, leaders of business bodies said they were expecting more incentives for the tourism sector and immediate relief for traders. “Announcements for the handicraft sector, industry and initiatives for women are welcome. During pre-Budget deliberations, we had pointed out that the handicraft sector was suffering. However, we were expecting more sops for the tourism sector,” said Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry…

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Kashmir Inc expects sops for handicraft, tourism sectors

Youths seek development of higher education, job opportunities Kashmir Inc is expecting major sops for the tourism, horticulture, power and handicraft sectors in the annual Budget which is to be presented in the Assembly tomorrow. Youths too are hoping for sops for development of entrepreneurial ventures as unemployment remains a major concern in the state. “The tourism sector was hit hard after September, 2014, floods and major concessions should be announced for its revival. We are especially hopeful of service tax and value added tax (VAT) exemption on food items.…

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Tosa Maidan thrown open to public

The picturesque Tosa Maidan meadow in Budgam district, vacated by army in 2014, was today officially opened to public by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The Chief Minister declared it open with the inauguration of a 3-day ‘Tosa Maidan Festival’ in the midst of the sprawling pasture circled by sky-touching Deodars. During the festival,activities like horse riding, trekking and mountaineering will be organised to promote the area as an adventure tourism destination. Speaking on the occasion, Mehbooba said Tosa Maidan will be brought on the tourist map of the state without…

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Ghai initiates ‘Great Indian Film and literature Festival’ in J&K

The legendary filmmaker Subhash Ghai recently visited the Raj Bhavan to meet Mr. NN Vohra, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to discuss a new festival – Great Indian Film and literature Festival – in the state and also seeked support for TV, film, theatre and literature artists. Ghai headed a delegation of White Walls Media with Karan Kukreja, Kumar Amit Sinha and Divank Rastogi, onr of the founders of the fest in attendance. The delegation explained the Governor of their fest’s Kashmir edition to be held at Srinagar. The governor…

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Airlines hike fares as 115 trains cancelled

Taking advantage of the cancellation of trains and heavy rush of tourists and pilgrims in the state, the airlines have hiked the airfare to make more profit. The Jammu-Delhi ticket is costing Rs 7,000-8,000. However, the Jammu-Srinagar ticket is costing more than Rs 14,000 per passenger. The Railways has cancelled 115 trains on the route from May 24 to 31 for completion of double- laning of track from Suchi Pind to Jalandhar Cantonment, which led to cancellation of thousands of tickets. Out of 115 cancelled trains, 19 were Jammu-bound. The…

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Azmi shoots in Kashmir after 32 years

The veteran actress is working on a project based on Premchand’s popular short story ‘Idgah’ Veteran actress Shabana Azmi is shooting in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir after 32 years. Azmi, 65, is working on a project based on the legendary Hindi writer Premchand’s short story Idgah. The Neerja actress took to Twitter to share the experience of coming back to Kashmir. “Time was when we shot in Kashmir every year. Now going to be shooting there for the first time after 1984. Happy times place teeming…

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