India Tells Pak to Uphold Sanctity of LoC

India has told Pakistan, to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003.
Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary on Tuesday said ceasefire violation is taken up with Pakistani authorities through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings as well as talks between the Directorate Generals of Military Operations.
"Government has repeatedly emphasised, including at the highest level, the need for Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the LoC and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003 along the IB and LoC in Jammu and Kashmir," he said in Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The minister said there were 253 instances of ceasefire violation along the IB in 2015, 430 in 2014 and 148 in 2013. Chaudhary said there were 121 infiltration attempts along the border in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015 of which 33 were successful. However, 46 terrorists were killed by security forces.
He said in 2014, there were 222 infiltration attempts in the state of which 65 were successful. A total of 52 terrorists were killed by the security forces that year. The minister noted that 208 terror incidents took place in the Valley in 2015 in which 39 security personnel and 17 civilians were killed.
There were 222 terrorist incidents in J-K in 2014 in which 47 security personnel and 28 civilians were killed, he added.

NGT Issues Notices to 13 Cement Companies

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday issued notices to thirteen cement companies over gross violation of its orders, environmental norms and provisions of Motor Vehicles Act for causing air pollution.
The cement companies, which Shree Cement and JK Cement as well, have been accused of overloading their trucks with cement and clinkers in order to save toll tax.
The cement companies in spite of having their own private independent railway siding, have been transporting cement by road in order to save cost thereby showing no concern for rising level of air pollution in NCR.
The Tribunal while hearing the OA 84/2016 titled Neena Pradeep v Union of India Ors, took cognizance of the illegal activities being carried out by cement manufacturers and issued notice to all 13 cement companies.
The Union of India, Delhi Government, DPCC, CPCB and Ministry of Transport, appearing on advance notice sought time to file reply to the OA. Counsel for the applicant, Advocate Abhishek Vikram, highlighted the violation by JK Cement, Shree Cement in particular having overloaded the trucks to the tune of 200-250 percent.

Candidates to Appear for Army Recruitment Exam in 'Underwear'

In a bizarre and shocking incident, candidates were made to sit in underwear for the Army recruitment exam in Bihar's Muzaffarpur District. They were asked to do so reportedly in a bid to prevent any cheating, reports said.
According to report, more than 1,150 aspirants sat on an open ground (Chakkar Maidan) in Muzaffarpur on Sunday, shockingly only wearing their underwears.
Around 775 candidates appeared for the general duty category, 211 for clerical and 173 in technical category. They were not even provided a desk to write the exam.
"We had no option but to comply with the instructions even though it felt odd," a candidate was quoted as saying by a national daily.
Meanwhile, after the images were circulated across the media, the Defence Ministry has reportedly asked Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhaag to explain.