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India Reboots Ties with North Korea. Here's Why It Matters  Vantage with Palki Sharma

India Reboots Ties with North Korea. Here's Why It Matters Vantage with Palki Sharma

First Post5 hours ago

India Reboots Ties with North Korea. Here's Why It Matters | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G
India Reboots Ties with North Korea. Here's Why It Matters | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G
India and North Korea might seem like unlikely partners—but their ties run deep. From mediating the Korean War in the 1950s to joining hands in the Non-Aligned Movement, New Delhi and Pyongyang have shared decades of quiet diplomacy. Trade flourished, high-level visits took place, and goodwill endured—until sanctions froze the momentum. Now, India is back, appointing a new ambassador after a four-year gap. Aliawati Longkumer, who is currently the Charge d'affaires of the Embassy of India in Paraguay, has been named as the next Indian Ambassador to North Korea. Why? Palki Sharma tells you.
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Revalidate documents for vends or face licence cancellation: Excise dept to 4 corporations in Delhi
Revalidate documents for vends or face licence cancellation: Excise dept to 4 corporations in Delhi

Indian Express

time29 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Revalidate documents for vends or face licence cancellation: Excise dept to 4 corporations in Delhi

In a bid to verify the number of vends operating on the ground, the Excise Department in Delhi has sought the revalidation of the documents for L-6 (retail vend of Indian liquor/beer) and L-10 (retail vend of Indian and foreign liquor in shopping malls or airport) vends. The department will not renew the license of non-validated shops, if the details are not submitted by June 30, said officials. At present, the Capital only has government liquor shops run by four corporations — Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (DSCSC), and Delhi Consumers' Co-operative Wholesale Store Ltd (DCCWS). There are a total of 792 vends in Delhi, according to the Excise Department's website. Of these, 166 are under DCCWS, 187 are under DSCSC, 206 are under DSIIDC, and 233 are under DTTDC. 'But on the ground, only around 650 of 792 shops are being operated. This happens sometimes when the retailer takes a licence to open a shop, but they face property-related issues. For instance, if a property is already facing any litigation, or other hurdles over land or property… Most of the shops are located in private areas, as these corporations do not have government lands to set up vends…,' said a senior official. Under the revalidation process, the official said, the four corporations have been asked to submit the details regarding the number of liquor shops, how many of them are operational, and whether they are operating on government or private land. A meeting was held earlier this month where the corporations were asked to carry out the validation of documents. 'It is yet to be done. The department issued another reminder last week, asking them to do it before June 30…,' the official said. 'The corporations will have to submit a copy of lease deed or rent agreement, ownership or conveyance deed of business premises (site documents), affidavit on stamp paper confirming ward, actual possession of the premises, no suit/ court case pending/non conviction/civil/ electric work completed and an NOC (no objection certificate) in revoking the licence if required,' the official added. Other documents like measurement of the total carpet area of the premise, personal documents like a copy of PAN Card, ID proof, along with a photograph, and address proof of the leaseholder/owner of the premises are also to be submitted. Also, officials said, currently, the documentation process of opening a shop happens manually. But to bring in transparency and avoid irregularities on the ground, the Excise Department now plans to go online. '…All the corporations were directed to carry out the activity of document validation of all L-6/L-10 vends functioning under their purview before June 30. In this regard, you are, once again, requested to initiate the said process on priority, failing which the renewal of licence of non-validated shops shall not be undertaken by the department,' reads a letter written by the department to the corporations recently.

TMC accuses Centre of not releasing funds for Ghatal flood management plan
TMC accuses Centre of not releasing funds for Ghatal flood management plan

The Hindu

timean hour ago

  • The Hindu

TMC accuses Centre of not releasing funds for Ghatal flood management plan

As several wards of Ghatal municipality in Paschim Medinipur lay submerged due to excessive rainfall in the last several days, the West Bengal Government blamed the Union Government for not releasing funds for the Ghatal Master Plan. The Ghatal Master Plan is a comprehensive flood management scheme by the West Bengal government, aimed particularly at the flood-prone areas in Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur. The Detailed Project Report was sent to the Ganga Flood Control Commission under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti in December 2014, according to the West Bengal government. The project remains incomplete. Meanwhile, like most years, this year too, places including Ghatal and Garbeta in Paschim Midnapore district, and certain areas of Bankura, Hooghly, and Howrah districts have been flooded due to excessive rain and the release of water from reservoirs, leading to a surge in local rivers. Despite extensive relief efforts by the West Bengal government, including rescue operations and flood shelters, two people reportedly lost their lives due to drowning in the flood-hit Ghatal area last week. Thousands had to be evacuated from their homes, and considerable damage has been incurred in agricultural lands, homes, and roads. Amidst the ongoing flood crisis, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) waged a war of words over who was to be held accountable for the severe floods. Former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee took to social media on Sunday (June 22, 2025) and posted a video, reportedly from the Ghatal floods. 'The Ghatal Master Plan was supposed to be implemented by December 31, 2024. The image of 2025 is before the whole of West Bengal, including Ghatal,' Ms. Chatterjee said. A few days earlier, the BJP's State unit had also accused the Trinamool MP from Ghatal, Dev Adhikari, of being an 'absentee representative' in the face of the perpetual flooding crises. On Monday (June 23, 2025), the State government sharply retorted to Ms. Chatterjee's post alleging that the Union government had not sanctioned any funds for the Ghatal Master Plan till date, despite the State sending a formal proposal of inclusion under the Central Flood Management and Border Area Programme funding scheme in June 2022. 'In 2014, the Indian government came under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Ms. Chatterjee, you were also an MP. But did you appeal to the Union government or to the Prime Minister to provide money for the Ghatal Master Plan, along with your party MPs? You did not,' Manas Ranjan Bhuiyan, West Bengal Minister for the Irrigation and Waterways Department, said on Monday (June 23, 2025). He added that in the State Budget for the 2025-26 financial year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had approved the Ghatal Master Plan project of ₹1,500 crore, of which ₹500 crore had been allocated this time. Meanwhile, State authorities, in an official statement from the Irrigation and Waterways Department on Monday (June 23, 2025), said that work was in progress for the Ghatal Master Plan and that it was expected to be completed by March 2027. 'The work of construction of five sluices has already started in the field from February, 2025 with the current progress at around 60-70%. The dredging of Chandreswar Khal is almost completed. The works of two pump houses in Ghatal [Municipality] is going to start soon as work orders have been issued. The tenders for dredging of Silabati river, Old Cossye, Tamal, Parang, Buri Ganga, Solatopa, Old Solatopa channels of total length around 75 km have been floated,' the Irrigation and Waterways Department's statement said.

Shimla farmers slam Modi Govt for yielding to US pressure on apple imports
Shimla farmers slam Modi Govt for yielding to US pressure on apple imports

United News of India

timean hour ago

  • United News of India

Shimla farmers slam Modi Govt for yielding to US pressure on apple imports

Shimla, July 23 (UNI) Hundreds of apple growers and activists on Monday raised strong objections to the eviction of small farmers under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) and the central government's decision to reduce import tariffs on foreign apples under alleged US pressure. The meeting, addressed by former Himachal MLA and AFFI co-convener Rakesh Singha and CPI(M) legislator from Jammu and Kashmir Yusuf Tarigami, criticised the Indian government for 'succumbing to imperial diktats' that threaten the livelihoods of fruit growers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Tarigami accused the Modi government of bowing before the Trump administration's push to reduce import duties on apples from 50% to as low as 15–30%, calling it 'a betrayal of India's farmers.' He warned that the decision would devastate local markets already suffering from low prices and high production costs. 'This is not just economic pressure; it's part of a larger imperial design to dominate developing nations by destroying their self-reliance,' he said, urging farmers across the country to unite for the nationwide protest scheduled on July 8–9. Rakesh Singha, while highlighting the deepening agricultural crisis, said about 10 lakh families in Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir depend on apple and off-season vegetable farming. 'This sector is under threat not just from imports but also from the systematic eviction of farmers through encroachment drives under the FCA. While developed countries have ravaged their own ecosystems, they now force India to implement laws in the name of conservation that end up dispossessing its poorest cultivators,' he said. Speakers emphasised that these policies are pushing hill farmers—who have long preserved nature through traditional land use—into destitution and are a direct continuation of anti-people, anti-farmer colonial mindsets masked as global cooperation. During the meeting speaker also raised the issue of failing of Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government to press centre to increase import duty on the apple and promise made by Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Education Minister Rohit Thakur at Vidhan Sabha Apple growers rally during Budget session at Shimla. "We apple growers are being ignored by Congress and BJP Government at centre as both couldn't keep promises" Convenor of AFFI Sohan Thakur said in the meet. The meeting concluded with a call for mass mobilisation and policy reversal to protect local agriculture and uphold land rights of marginal farmers. UNI ML SSP

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