New Delhi:

The government will allocate space for a memorial of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and this has been communicated to his family and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Union home ministry said on Friday night.

In a late-night release titled “Facts of the matter regarding memorial for Former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh”, the ministry said the government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for Singh from the Congress chief.

Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Mr Kharge and the family of Manmohan Singh that the government would allocate space for the memorial.

In the meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a Trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it, the home ministry said.

Dr Singh, who headed the Congress-led UPA government and is credited with economic reforms, passed away on Thursday at the age of 92.

He was India’s prime minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014.

The Congress on Friday said that not finding a location for the cremation and memorial of Singh was a deliberate insult to the country’s first Sikh prime minister.

The party raised the issue after the home ministry said Singh’s last rites would be held at New Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat at 11.45 am on Saturday with full state honours.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Online radicalisation has always been a matter of huge concern for India, but the fall of Assad regime in Syria is now acting as a force multiplier, keeping the investigation agencies on their toes. Over the last two weeks, India has re-strategised its approach to Syria.

The Union Home Ministry has asked agencies to depute more people to track the growing traffic online linked to the escalating conflict in West Asia. Data from the ministry shows around 10,000 URLs which had radical content have been blocked by the Centre in the first ten months of this year.

“Various social media handles are anyways scanned by the MHA, as the ministry has been designated as an agency to issue ‘Take Down Notices’ to remove unlawful content. But with recent developments in Syria, monitoring has become more some region centric,” a senior official said.

The Multi Agency Centre which also works under MHA has highlighted that there has been a massive increase in traffic on internet relating videos and literature pertaining to Syria and strikes on Muslims by Israel. MAC has alerted states about these developments.

“The fall of Assad is being cited as a recruitment tool and youngsters are being made to believe that regimes can be overthrown by resistance and violence,” said an official who tracks traffic online.

The Indian connection with Syria is also being projected again in chats which are being monitored.

A few years ago, many youngsters having affiliations with Indian Mujahideen had left for Syria to fight alongside Islamic State. Yasin Bhatkal, who headed the Indian Mujahideen before his arrest, had claimed that he had many friends in Syria who would help him escape. One of his closest aides in Syria was Sultan Armar, who recruited from many states in South India.

The Home Ministry, while providing data on dangers of online radicalisation to Parliament on Wednesday, said extensive use of cyber technology is the way to propagate radical ideology. The cyberspace is being monitored ceaselessly, It said.

Data till October shared by the Ministry shows that Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology or MeitY has issued directions for blocking 9,845 URLs which include radical content.

“The use of more secured messaging application like Signal, Telegram, Viber and dark web apart from WhatsApp with end-to-end encryption by radical elements to connect with other likeminded elements has proved a major challenge for security agencies in its efforts to counter radicalized individuals online,” the home ministry told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

“Cyber patrolling is being done on regular basis to identify and monitor content and entities which are targeting gullible, depressed or alienated youth. Websites and accounts involved in communal and anti-India propaganda affecting sovereignty and integrity of India are being identified and sent to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for taking action,” Nityanand Rai, the junior home minister, said.

Currently, apart from the state police, the NIA is investigating 67 cases relating to online radicalisation, in connection with which 325 people have been arrested, 336 charge-sheeted and 63 convicted so far.
 

New Delhi:

Long hours of duty and sleep deprivation are not only making jawans posted with the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to die by suicide, but also take voluntary retirement before they complete their service. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in data shared with the Rajya Sabha said 730 jawans have died by suicide, and over 55,000 either resigned or took voluntary retirement.

Mainly, death by suicide among jawans is due to personal reasons. The task force that studied reasons for increase in suicide among CAPF personnel said more than 80 per cent of those who died by suicide were reported after they returned home from leave.

“Mainly reasons include the death of a spouse or family member, marital discord or divorce, financial difficulties, and inadequate education opportunities for children,” the report said.

To tackle this, the MHA said it has been ensuring more and more personnel get time to spend with their families.

The MHA in the data shared with the Rajya Sabha said 42,797 jawans used this leave policy.

“This year till October, 6,302 personnel spent 100 days with their family,” Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha. The figure was 8,636 in 2023, and 7,864 in 2021.

The MHA task force has been asked to take steps for remedial measures to prevent suicide and fratricide in the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles.

Regular interaction of officers with troops to find out and redress their grievances. Ensuring adequate rest and relief by regulating duty hours. Improving living conditions for troops, and providing adequate recreations are some of the suggestions the MHA has recommended.

The report highlights suicide triggers can stem from both family and duty-related issues, with smoother experiences on either front significantly reducing stress among jawans. It noted a lower incidence of suicide attempts among female personnel compared to males, attributing male reluctance in sharing problems for fear of ridicule from peers.

While the report flagged professional challenges as potential triggers, a majority of personnel reported it is not the only cause of deaths by suicide.

The report has suggested key recommendations and the way forward in different forces.

“In different forces, so far, the efforts made towards stress management are haphazard, sporadic and generally not carried to their logical conclusions,” the report said.

The task force suggested a transparent leave management system, with leaves reserved at each rank to enable liberal grant of leave. It said a transparent transfer policy is also needed. Inadequate promotional avenues in the service demoralise personnel, and so the promotion policy may be reviewed to boost morale of jawans, the report said.

New Delhi:

Senior IAS officer Govind Mohan on Thursday will take charge as the new Union Home Secretary from Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who completes his five year tenure at the sensitive post, official sources said.

Mohan, a BTech from Banaras Hindu University and PG Diploma from IIM, Ahmedabad, was serving as union culture secretary before his appointment to the top bureaucratic post, next only to the Cabinet Secretary.

A 1989 batch IAS officer of Sikkim cadre, Mohan has already joined the Union Home Ministry as an Officer on Special Duty.

He has a wide experience of serving both the Sikkim and the central governments in various capacities.

Mohan is considered to be one of the brilliant officers presently serving in the government and known for his diligence.

He had earlier served the home ministry as additional secretary handling several key divisions, including Union territories.

A seasoned bureaucrat, Mohan was also the government’s key officer during the COVID-19 pandemic and tasked with overseeing implementation of decisions taken for various protocols and ensuring smooth coordination with states.

The immediate challenge for Mohan after taking over charge is to work in close coordination with the Election Commission to ensure peaceful assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The EC had already announced three-phased polling in the Union Territory beginning September 18.

As Union culture secretary, Mohan has successfully launched two flagship programmes of the Modi government – ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and ‘Har Ghar Tiranga movement’.

The ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ is an initiative to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence of the country and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements.

Hosting of the national flag in every home, ‘Tiranga Yatras’, ‘Tiranga’ rallies and ‘Tiranga’ runs are key initiatives under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga movement’.

After the launch of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga movement’, job opportunities were created for thousands of women associated with self-help groups (SHGs), which have increasingly taken over flag production to meet the massive demand, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

In a significant move, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 enhancing some powers of the Lieutenant Governor of the erstwhile state.

President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval to the amendments in the rule exercising the powers conferred by section 55 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, (34 of 2019) read with the Proclamation dated 31st October 2019 issued under section 73 of the Act, a notification issued by the MHA mentions.

The President made the rules further to amend the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019.

“These rules may be called the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Temtory of Jammu and Kashmir (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024,” reads the notification.

The amendments shall come into force on July 12, the date of the publication in the Official Gazette – a move in anticipation of the speculated assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the principal rules), some rules have been inserted.

As per the inserted sub-rule (2A), “No proposal which requires previous concurrence of the Finance Department with regard to ‘Police’, ‘Public Order’, ‘All India Service’ and ‘Anti Corruption Bureau’ to exercise the discretion of the Lieutenant Governor under the Act shall be concurred or rejected unless it has been placed before the Lieutenant Governor through the Chief Secretary”.

In the principal rules, after rule 42, rule 42A has been inserted pointing, “Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs shall submit the proposal for appointment of Advocate-General and other Law Officers to assist the Advocate-General in the court proceedings, for approval of the Lieutenant Governor through the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister.”

In the inserted rule 42B, “Any proposal regarding grant or refusal of prosecution sanction or filing of an appeal shall be placed before the Lieutenant Governor through the Chief Secretary by the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs”.

In the principal rules, in rule 43, after the third proviso, the notification states that some provisos shall be inserted, focusing on matters connected with Prisons, Directorate of Prosecution and Forensic Science Laboratory, under which “the matters shall be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor by Administrative Secretary, Home Department through the Chief Secretary”.

“Provided also that in respect of matters connected with posting and transfer of Administrative Secretaries and cadre posts of All India Services officers, the proposal shall be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor by the Administrative Secretary, General Administration Department through the Chief Secretary”.

It is pertinent to mention that the principal rules were published in the Gazette of India dated August 27, 2020, and subsequently amended on February 28, 2024.
 

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New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will talk to both Meitei and Kuki communities at the earliest so as to bridge the ethnic divide in Manipur.

Reviewing the security situation in Manipur here, Mr Shah directed that strict action must be taken as per law against the perpetrators of violence in the northeastern state.

The home minister said the central forces deployment will be increased, if required, and that they should be deployed strategically to restore peace and tranquillity in the state, according to an official statement.

Mr Shah also directed to ensure that no further incident of violence take place in the state which has been witnessing ethnic violence for over a year.

The MHA will talk to both the groups, Meiteis and Kukis, so as to bridge the ethnic divide at the earliest, Mr Shah was quoted as saying in the statement.

He also instructed the chief secretary of Manipur to ensure proper health and education facilities for the displaced people and their rehabilitation.

The home minister said that the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fully committed to ensure safety and security of all citizens of the northeastern state.

Mr Shah also reviewed the situation in relief camps, especially in respect of proper availability of food, water, medicines and other basic amenities.

He underscored the importance of coordinated approach to resolve the ongoing ethnic conflict.

The Centre has been actively supporting the Manipur government in strengthening the security situation in the state, the statement said.

Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Since then, over 220 people belonging to both Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Centre on Tuesday banned Tripura-based insurgent groups the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) as well as their associate organisations for five years for their involvement in various subversive activities and threatening the country’s sovereignty and integrity.

In a notification, the Union home ministry said the professed aim of the NLFT and the ATTF is the establishment of an independent nation by the secession of Tripura from India through an armed struggle in alliance with other armed secessionist organisations of the northeastern state and to incite the indigenous people of Tripura for such secession.

The Centre is of the opinion that the NLFT and the ATTF have been engaging in subversive and violent activities, thereby undermining the authority of the government and spreading terror and violence among people for achieving their objectives, the ministry said.

The two groups, in pursuance of their aims and objectives in the recent past, engaged in violent and unlawful activities, “which are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India”, it added.

These groups are also involved in killing civilians and personnel belonging to the police and security forces and engaged in extortion of funds from the public, including businessmen and traders, the notification said.

The NLFT and the ATTF have established and maintained camps in neighbouring countries for the purpose of a safe sanctuary, training, procurement of arms and ammunition etc.

The notification said the Centre is also of the opinion that the aforesaid activities of the NLFT and the ATTF are detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India and that they are unlawful associations.

“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the central government hereby declares the NLFT along with all its factions, wings and front organisations and the ATTF along with all its factions, wings and front organisations as unlawful associations,” the notification said.

The home ministry said the ban will be effective for five years. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)