Jaipur: Jaipur’s historic Rambagh Palace has been ranked amongst “50 Best Hotels & Resorts in the world in the prestigious Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2017”.

The hotel has ranked 25^th in the global rating and 2^nd best in India with a total score of 98.38 out of 100 marks.

More than 3,00,000 travellers took part in the 30th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey.  Millions of ratings and more than 100,000 comments were used. The data was then analyzed to create a list of winning favourites that are shaping travel across different categories that include castles, safari camps, hotels, river cruises, and islands, among others. The list features the top-rated newcomers and stalwarts known for providing authentic, personalized and unexpected experiences for their travellers.

Among the hotels, the Palace has been rated highly for its commitment to quality across facilities, location, service, food, and overall value for money.

The General Manager, Rambagh Palace, Mr. Manish Gupta said that Rambagh Palace has always been a consistent testimony of trust among its guests. “We thank all of them who voted for us. This award will further inspire the iconic hotel to reach new milestones,’’ he added.

It is to be noted that this year Rambagh Palace had also rated amongst top 100 hotels in the world by ‘Travel + Leisure Readers Travel Awards 2017’. The Palace also ranked 16 in India in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards and was rated amongst top 10 Heritage Hotels in the world by Travel Weekly, UK for the year 2017.

Rambagh Palace is a living legend in Jaipur. Originally built in 1835, Rambagh Palace has stepped gracefully through many royal transitions. In the finest tradition of Rajput hospitality, the Rambagh Palace offers its guests a taste of royal living – a luxury and extravagance that was once the sole preserve of kings. It’s elegantly done rooms, marbled corridors and majestic gardens echo with history.

NEW DELHI: Former Intelligence Bureau Chief Dineshwar Sharma will be the Centre’s Special Representative for initiating sustained dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The government has decided to hold a sustained dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir. As a former IB chief, Mr. Sharma is well versed with the State and he will hold talks with elected representatives, political parties, and different organizations and understand their aspirations,’’ Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced at a hurriedly called press conference here on Monday.

The Home Minister said the government has not set any time frame for Mr. Sharma to submit his report. “He may take three, six or eight months. The government is not putting any condition on him,’’ Mr. Singh said while replying to a query if separatists and their organizations like Hurriyat Conference would be invited for dialogue with the Centre’s interlocutor on J&K.

Mr. Singh said that he had visited the border State last month and as many as 87 delegations had met him. “The government’s policy and intention is clear. We want a solution to the problem,’’ he said.

The Home Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given an indication in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort when he had declared that it was time for embracing the people of Kashmir as the solution would not be found either through bullets or abuses.

Pointing out that the government’s Special Representative would focus mainly on initiating a dialogue with the youth to understand their aspirations, Mr. Singh said that the effort would be to talk to all sections of the people in J&K.

Mr. Sharma belongs to Kerala cadre of the 1979 batch of the IPS and retired as Director of the Intelligence Bureau on December 31 last year after serving a two-year tenure. He has also been an interlocutor of the government  in talking to various groups in the North-East and with the latest appointment, he would fully devote his energies to the new assignment in J&K. He will enjoy the status of Cabinet Secretary.

The UPA Government had also appointed a team of interlocutors on J&K, headed by former veteran journalist and editor Dileep Padgaonkar, who had submitted its report to the then Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram but its recommendations remained in the government files. 

Earlier, the Vajpayee government had also appointed the then Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson K C Pant as its interlocutor on J&K but its report was also confined to the archives of the government

In his tweet, former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said: “Centre announces an interlocutor to engage with stake holders in J&K. Will keep an open mind & wait to see results of the dialogue process.’’  

After receiving flak across the country on making the national anthem mandatory in cinema halls, a bench of Supreme Court has signalled to make amendments in the status quo. The centre had pleaded the Apex Court to not mend the existing rule on national anthem which was enforced on 30th November 2016.

The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud has hinted that the court might reconsider the existing order of playing the national anthem before the screening in the cinema halls and also asked the government to frame appropriate rules and regulations without making the national anthem mandatory.

“Why do we have to wear patriotism on our sleeves? People go to cinema for undiluted entertainment. Tomorrow someone may say people should not come in shorts and t-shirts in cinema halls as the national anthem is played there. Where then do we draw the line. Where (will) this moral policing would stop?” Justice Chandrachud said.  

He reiterated that a movie hall is a place for entertainment and the government has the power to change the law as the issue falls under the executive. “Do not put the burden on the SC. Why don’t you (centre) do it?”

The bench also believed that not singing the national anthem in the theatres cannot be the hallmark of a citizen’s patriotism and  one shouldn’t be judged on this ground which reflects moral policing. “It’s wrong to give anyone the badge of anti-national or ‘unpatriotic’ as he is unwilling to stand for the national anthem. Why do I need to stand for the national anthem to prove my patriotism or nationalism?”

The next hearing will be conducted on 9th January. The bench has directed the Attorney General KK Venugopal for a response on this matter by the centre. 

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has requested Phillippines to allow it to question the Karen Aisha Hamidon, believed to be a recruiter for the Islamic State terror group.She has been arrested in Manila. 

Sources said that NIA had already sent a Letter Rogatory last year over Karen Aisha Hamidon. She had reportedly played a key role in radicalising youth and alluring them, mainly through social media like Instagram and Whatsapp, for recruitment in the IS. She was believed to be in touch with two of the arrested IS terror suspects Mohd. Sirajuddin and Mohd. Naseer, sources said, 

Her name figures in two chargesheets filed by the NIA. While Sirajuddin was an Indian Oil employee and was arrested from Jaipur, Naseer was a computer engineer from Tamil Nadu who was recently deported from Sudan. 

Karen Aisha Hamidon’s network is believed to be spread far and wide as she was looking for recruits to the IS in countries from Europe as well as from Australia,Argentina, U.S. and Bangladesh. 

New Delhi : Reserve Bank of India today said biometric identity number Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts is mandatory. RBI said that anti-money laundering rules announced in June 2017 have “statutory force” and banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions.

The RBI clarification followed media reports quoting a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application which suggested the apex bank has not issued any order for mandatory Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts. 

But the Reserve Bank, in a statement, clarified that linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules. 

It said, these rules have been published in the Official Gazette on 1st of June this year. 

It also said, these rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions.

The Supreme Court in August had said that privacy is a fundamental right and the verdict was expected to complicate efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to make linking of the ID card numbers with bank accounts, telephone numbers, etc.

New Delhi : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has approached the government to reconsider its earlier decision and allow the agency to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court in the Bofors Scam Case.

The agency has written a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training conveying that it wants to file the SLP challenging the Delhi High Court order in 2005 quashing all charges against Hinduja brothers in the case. 

Government officials said the CBI was in favour of filing the SLP in 2005 but the then UPA government did not give its nod.

If accepted now, this would reopen the probe into the scam.

Legal experts feel that the agency will have to do a lot of explanation for condoning the lapsed time period of over 12 years.

The CBI’s move comes days after its statement that the investigating agency will look into the facts and circumstances of the scam mentioned by private detective Michael Hershman, who alleged that the then Congress government had sabotaged his investigation in the case. 

Hershman, who is the President of the US-based private detective firm Fairfax, claimed in television interviews recently that the bribe money of the Bofors gun scandal had been parked in the Swiss account and he was offered bribe and was threatened to stop investigating in the case.

On May 31, 2005, Justice R S Sodhi had quashed all charges against the Hinduja brothers —Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand — and the Bofors company and pulled up the CBI for its handling of the case.

NEW DELHI: Recalling the natural calamity of 2013 that had wreaked destruction in and around the shrine of Kedarnath in the snowy Himalayan heights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his offer for reconstruction effort as Gujarat Chief Minister had failed to elicit any response from the Congress government. 

Mr. Modi visited Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Friday and offered prayers at the Kedarnath Temple. He also laid the Foundation Stone for five infrastructure and development projects. 

These include the development of retaining wall and ghat on the Mandakini River; development of retaining wall and ghat on Saraswati River; construction of main approach to Kedarnath Temple; development of Shankaracharya Kutir and Shankaracharya Museum; and development of houses for Kedarnath Purohits. The Prime Minister was briefed on the Kedarpuri Reconstruction Project.

Addressing a gathering, the Prime Minister pledged to devote himself fully to realising the dream of a developed India, by 2022. He  said that as Chief Minister of Gujarat, he had come to do all that he could for the victims; and offered support from the State of Gujarat for the reconstruction effort.

The Prime Minister said the infrastructure being developed in Kedarnath would be of good quality, adding that it would be modern, but would preserve the traditional ethos, and ensure that the environment is not damaged.

Mr. Modi said that the Himalayas have much to offer for spiritualism, adventure and tourism, and for the nature lover. He invited everyone to come and explore the Himalayas.

Governor of Uttarakhand, Dr. K.K. Paul, and Chief Minister of UttarakhandT rivendra Singh Rawat, were present on the occasion. 

New Delhi : All who have been enjoying cleaner ghats at Varanasi would also soon bask in the pollution-free waters of the Ganges flowing by the spiritual city. Under Namami Gange programme, an all-encompassing approach has been employed to arrest pollution flowing into the river and ensure clean ghats. From sewage treatment plants to ghat improvement to river surface cleaning, several steps in a time-bound manner are being taken in Varanasi by National Mission for Clean Ganga to rid the city of river pollution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi will soon get two sewage treatment plants, STPs as part of the government’s bid to curb Ganga water pollution. 

In a statement, Water resource Ministry has said, the treatment plants, having a total 260 million litres daily (MLD) capacity will be commissioned at Varanasi’s Dinapur and Goitha before March next year. 

On the sewage management front, Varanasi town currently generates an estimated 300 MLD of sewage, which is expected to increase to 390 MLD by 2030. From the current capacity of three existing sewage treatment plants – Dinapur, Bhagwanpur and DLW, only 102 MLD of sewage is being treated while the remaining flows directly into river Ganga through Varuna and Assi rivers. To bridge this gap, a 140 MLD STP at Dinapur and a 120 MLD STP at Goitha are being constructed under Japan International co-operation Agency (JICA) assisted project and JNNURM scheme respectively. These projects are at advanced stage of construction and will be commissioned before March 2018. Apart from this, a 50 MLD STP at Ramana has also been awarded under Hybrid Annuity based PPP model to exclusively address the sewage treatment requirements of Assi BHU area. Concession agreement for this project has already been signed. Together, these STPs will create sewage treatment capacity of 412 MLD, adequate to meet the sewage treatment demands of the town till 2035.

The government had recently awarded contract for constructing 50 MLD capacity sewage treatment plants at Ramana in Varanasi. 

The Ministry said, these treatment plant will together create a total sewage treatment capacity of 412 MLD. It also said, to address the concerns of floating waste on the river, a trash skimmer is operational in Varanasi since April 2017 under river surface cleaning component. A cleaner Ganga would be incomplete without equally cleaner surroundings. Acknowledging this, the Government of India last year initiated cleaning works at 84 iconic and heritage ghats of Varanasi under Namami Gange programme which has shown positive results.

The Ministry said, the pollution from cloth washing activities on ghats, four dhobi ghats – Pandeypur, Nadesar, Bhavania Pokhran and Konia have already been renovated. 

The construction of three others at Bazardiha, Machodari slaughter house and Bhawania Pokhri is underway. 

It said, several members of the dhobi community have shifted to the new ghats, with many more being pursued for the same.

NEW DELHI : Every day in 2016, 15000 children died before their fifth birthday, 46% of them – or 7000 babies – died in the first 28 days of life, according to a new UN report.

Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2017, reveals that although the number of children dying before the age of five is at a new low– 5.6 million in 2016, compared with nearly 9.9 million in 2000 – the proportion of under-five deaths in the newborn period has increased from 41% to 46% during the same period.

“The lives of 50 million children under-five have been saved since 2000, a testament to the serious commitment by governments and development partners to tackle preventable child deaths,” said UNICEF Chief of Health, Stefan Swartling Peterson. “But unless we do more to stop babies from dying the day they are born, or days after their birth, this progress will remain incomplete. We have the knowledge and technologies that are required – we just need to take them where they are most needed.”

At current trends, 60 million children will die before their fifth birthday between 2017 and 2030, half of them newborns, according to the report released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the Population Division of UNDESA which make up the Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME).

Most newborn deaths occurred in two regions: Southern Asia (39%) and sub-Saharan Africa (38%). Five countries accounted for half of all new-born deaths: India (24%), Pakistan (10%), Nigeria (9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4%) and Ethiopia (3%).

“To achieve universal health coverage and ensure more newborns survive and thrive, we must serve marginalized families,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director-General for Family, Women’s and Children’s Health at WHO. “To prevent illness, families require financial power, their voices to be heard and access to quality care. Improving quality of services and timely care during and after childbirth must be prioritized.”

The report notes that many lives can be saved if global inequities are reduced. If all countries achieved the average mortality of high-income countries, 87% of under-five deaths could have been averted and almost 5 million lives could have been saved in 2016.

“It is unconscionable that in 2017, pregnancy and child birth are still life-threatening conditions for women, and that 7000 newborns die daily,” said Tim Evans, Senior Director of Health Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group. “The best measure of success for Universal Health Coverage is that every mother should not only be able to access health care easily, but that it should be quality, affordable care that will ensure a healthy and productive life for her children and family. We are committed to scaling up our financing to support country demand in this area, including through innovative mechanisms like the Global Financing Facility (GFF). ”

Pneumonia and diarrhea top the list of infectious diseases which claim the lives of millions of children under-five globally, accounting for 16% and 8% of deaths, respectively. Preterm birth complications and complications during labour or child birth were the causes of 30% of newborn deaths in 2016. In addition to the 5.6 million under-5 deaths, 2.6 million babies are stillborn each year, the majority of which could be prevented.

Ending preventable child deaths can be achieved by improving access to skilled health-professionals during pregnancy and at the time of birth; lifesaving interventions, such as immunization, breastfeeding and inexpensive medicines; and increasing access to water and sanitation, that are currently beyond the reach of the world’s poorest communities.

For the first time, mortality data for older children age 5 to 14 was included in the report, capturing other causes of death such as accidents and injuries. Approximately 1 million children aged 5 to 14 died in 2016.

“This new report highlights the remarkable progress since 2000 in reducing mortality among children under age 5,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Mr. LIU Zhenmin. “Despite this progress, large disparities in child survival still exist across regions and countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet many deaths at these ages are easily preventable through simple, cost-effective interventions administered before, during and immediately after birth. Reducing inequities and reaching the most vulnerable newborns, children and mothers are essential for achieving the SDG target on ending preventable childhood deaths and for ensuring that no one will be left behind.”

Kashmir : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today celebrated Diwali with the jawans of Indian Army and BSF, in the Gurez Valley, near the Line of Control, in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the fourth successive Diwali that the Prime Minister has celebrated with jawans on the border.

Addressing the jawans PM, said that like everyone else, he too wishes to spend Diwali with his family. Therefore, he said, he had come among the jawans of the Armed Forces, whom he considers to be “his family.”

The Prime Minister said he gets new energy when he spends time among the jawans and soldiers of the Armed Forces. He appreciated their penance and sacrifice, amid harsh conditions.

He said that he had been told that the jawans present at the gathering regularly practice Yoga. He said that this would definitely enhance their abilities, and give them a sense of calm.

PM spoke of the new resolve that each Indian citizen must make for 2022, the 75th anniversary of independence. He also encouraged the jawans to innovate, so that their routine tasks and duties become easier and safer. 

Prime Minister said that the Union Government is committed to the welfare and the betterment of the Armed Forces, in every way possible. In this regard, he mentioned the implementation of One Rank, One Pension, which had been pending for decades.

“Protecting the Motherland, far from your loved ones, displaying the highest traditions of sacrifice, all soldiers at the nation’s borders, are symbols of bravery and dedication. I have an opportunity to spend the festival of Diwali with you. The presence of brave soldiers at the border, on this festive occasion, lights the lamp of hope, and generates new energy among crores of Indians. To accomplish the dream of “New India,” this is a golden opportunity for all of us to work together. The Army too is a part of it.” PM Modi wrote in the visitors book.