Sofia Qazi, Women entrepreneur interview

Posted on by Editor

Sofia Qazi, Women entrepreneur interview 

Mir Sabeen Gulrez

In the breathtaking city of Srinagar, Kashmir,Sofia Qazi and her Husband co-founded a restaurant namely “Café Tibet”.Being a co founder of a restaurant, Sofia is a talented cook, mother, and businesswoman, who opened Cafe Tibet with her husband. Many people are inspired by their endurance, innovation, and positive impact on the community.The Ambience of the restaurant is the main attraction where you can spend hours with your near one’s forgetting the world aside. 

The desire to cook that Sofia has always had inspired her to seek a profession in the culinary arts. After finishing her education, Sofia got married and wanted to be a self dependent , she honed her abilities and discovered a passion for cooking inventive foods that are also delicious. She had always wanted to create her own restaurant, and with her husband’s help, she was able to do it.

While taking a sigh of relief Sophia said that, “

Looking back 2 years ago we were in the garment business and it was a struggle. The pandemic made it worse and the issues which led to a stressful year. As time passed we needed to bring change. And all we could think of was only the food industry and its importance thanks to the pandemic”.

” Realising our food culture was pretty much the talk of the town and how it was appreciated, it was exactly what we needed”, she further added. 

With its emphasis on Tibetan food and cosy, welcoming ambiance, Cafe Tibet immediately became well-liked in Srinagar. Due to Sofia’s dedication to using only the freshest, highest-quality products and her creative culinary style, Cafe Tibet has become a popular restaurant in the area.

Sofia is committed to her community, but she goes more than that. She is dedicated to providing those in her community who have had trouble finding jobs with employment possibilities. Under her direction, Cafe Tibet has developed into a centre of employment, creating possibilities for numerous locals.

Due to Sofia and her husband’s dedication to diversity and inclusivity, the workplace they have established cherishes its staff members. They offer guidance and assistance, fostering a supportive and upbeat work atmosphere for their employees.

Further Talking to News Kashmir Magazine she further Added, “We decided to take this chance as an opportunity and being located in Lal chowk, just aside from the hotspot near the bund road. The setting was idle for   a cafe and we made a go for it”.

Journalist Mir Sabeen Gulrez, through Sofia Qazi-on-Record answered questions like this, 

Sabeen : where from  you are? 

Sofia:Our origin is from Tibet. And it’s been around 70+ years and counting since our ancestors took refuge in kashmir.

 Sabeen : Does winter sesson hit business in Kashmir?

Sofia :We generally serve Tibetan and Chinese cuisine along with some Indian too.Our speciality would be in momo’s, thukpa’s, fried rice, shafales. 

Sabeen: What  are special things offered there at your restaurant

Sofia : Considering winter and summer season both are lovely as kashmir is a paradise in itself. And the weather here is a bliss.

Sabeen : What has been  inspiration  in your journey?

Sofia :Eversince and before we’d started our food business we have always been reluctant towards our previous business as it wasn’t very favourable. 

The idea of continuing our native cuisine and keeping it alive was what we always considered a better option. Also we are pretty enthusiastic about our food reviews or our service, we strive to bring perfection in what we do and leave no margin for errors.

Sabeen : Your future Goals?

Sofia : We strive to deliver quality over quantity. And our portions are very much worth every rupee. And the locals here fancy tasty food. Hence our food soldiers are hardly concerned with the weather issues. 

Kashmir known as the paradise mostly relies on tourism and during the peak season time in winter and summers, we get only a few outstation tourists.

We need more tax Champions: Dr. RASHMI SINGH, IAS

Posted on by Editor

We need more tax Champions:  Dr. Rashmi Singh, IAS

Dr. Rashmi Singh, IAS, Commissioner State Taxes, J&K is an administrator of par excellence.  In an exclusive interview with News Kashmir she talks to Farzana Mumtaz and Rameez Makhdoomi.

Tell us about your journey ?

My journey actually started in Bihar and at that time in Bihar not many girls were encouraged to pursue higher education.  My parents were encouraging always and seeing my dedication towards education  they took an unconventional choice of sending me outside Bihar for higher studies when I could study in one of India’s premier college for girls ie , Lady Sri Ram College Delhi . 

In my school days . I had studied till 5 th in Delhi and then back in Bihar from 6th to 12 th class. Then I thought of Civil services which was seen as coveted service then as Government sector was first choice due to less developed  private sector those days and the larger impression prevailing that through cracking IAS exam one could have best opportunities for public service 

I have served in Bundelkhand Uttar Pradesh wherein my husband was posted. He is from Uttar Pradesh Cadre of IAS. But then he got posted somewhere else and I too had to join back in Delhi as my parent cadre has been UT. 

I realise that You cant demand so called luxury of living with family all the time if both of you are in civil services.  Before coming here in J and k I was posted in Delhi handling WCD and Social welfare and also served as Secretary Municipal council New  Delhi, secretary in industry dept of Andaman and Nicobar besides also serving inGOI in ministry of WCD 

How is experience of Kashmir different from other places ?

I have served mostly in Social  sector with focus on Child development, women empowerment, and programs related with vulnerable sectors. Now coming here to Jammu and Kashmir first challenge was to understand the socio cultural economic milieu of the place . there has been lot of enigma about the place. I began to understand the local culture more and more especially about a place that is not understood much or even misunderstood. Having been in Social sector I was focusing more on spending for welfare and development of vulnerable section but here as Tax administrator I am dealing with augmenting revenue for the government through tax collection. I have tried to make taxation system more robust out here. I applied my social sector and convergence experience too even in this sector and talked to my officers how we can work more in integrated and united way. I found we can utilize same experience as in social sector in economic sector too as fundamentals of governance are same- that is bridging the gaps and connecting dots. It is not that everybody wants to evade taxes but information gaps and lack of synergy creates problems. 

We have to also understand that Jammu and Kashmir are diverse regions with different set of local contexts even within the two divisions I have also been in Billawar, district Kathua as part of ‘back to village’ initiative of government as a prabhari officer. My focus here has been to facilitate better synergy at grassroots level governance and ensure wheels of development together move for betterment of that place and also catalyse action to ensure that government policy and programs are fully implemented on ground at a GP level

How did you manage to run canteen in Srinagar state tax department complex again?

A good question. The typical tender mode had not fetched any successful bids and our employees had to go outside for food . we roped in NRLM and it is their Women self group are running the canteen now as we reposed faith in them and also mentored the group. 

How far has GST regime enhanced taxation in a place like Jammu and Kashmir?

The taxation system has been revolutionized to a large extent since GST got rolled out in J and K too making this tax reform truly one nation one tax. The kind of jump in terms of revenue through GDT has been very encouraging for our department. We had initially started with just around 2500 crore in 2017 and GST collection now is 7300 crore and initially in 2017 we had just 70000 tax payers now we have more than 1.30 lac tax payers. We have also seen 28 percent jump in tax compliance with 97 percent returns getting filed on time . the process being digital from registration to filling is both efficient and transparent even though it has involved lot of capacity enhancement of our team of officers and tax payers alike . 

Are we are moving towards an era wherein we are viewing tax as word of respect than fear ?

Ÿes by promoting tax paying compliance behsviour we are encouraging people from those in buisness to consumers that they should take pride as they are contributing to development of the country by paying taxes honestly. 

What is being to raise awareness about taxation system ?

See I am talking to you – this is also part of raising awareness . Through our different circles we are reaching out to all important stakeholders like trade associations, bar associations,  buisness chambers, CAs and other important bodies rasing awareness about GST taxation compliance.  We are also providing helping hand wherever people feel difficulty in filling of returns or face any other issue. We are  also using social media to promote awareness.  The days of tax evasion  are coming to an end steadily. 

What is your message ?

My message is that people should become partners in taxation process. We want more tax ambassadors, be it student or traders. We need more tax champions . People are partners in developmental process.

world Haemophilia Day, cover story 17 April 2023

Posted on by Editor

World Haemophilia Day 

April 17, 2023 is World Hemophilia Day. The theme of the event this year is “Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care”. Building on last year’s theme, the call to action for the community in 2023 is to come together and advocate with local policy makers and governments for improved access to treatment and care with an emphasis on better control and prevention of bleeds for all people with bleeding disorders (PWBDs). This means the implementation of home-based treatment as well as prophylactic treatment to help those individuals have a better quality of life.

World Hemophilia Day is a global healthcare event celebrated on the 17th of April every year, started by the World Federation of Haemophilia (WHF) with the intention to raise a call for the government authorities and local policymakers for the provision of a better treatment and care in addition to promote better control and prevention with haemophilia.

A rare severe, inherited haemorrhagic disorder, haemophilia is caused by malfunction of factor VIII and factor IX protein (factors required for blood clotting/ coagulation), leading to an abnormality in blood coagulation. Although people of all races and ethnicities can be diagnosed with haemophilia, men are more likely to be affected because the ailment is connected to the X chromosome. There is a 

50% probability that a boy whose mother carries the haemophilia gene will also be affected by haemophilia, and her daughter being 50% risk of being carrier. Hence, haemophilia is more common in males, despite the fact that it can affect females causing difficulties with menstruation and childbirth.

In 2000, it was estimated that 4 lakh persons, or around 1 in 10,000 live births, were affected by this disorder worldwide, and only 25% of those affected had access to adequate treatment. In 2019, however, a meta-analysis showed that the number of men with the inherited bleeding condition is far higher, at 11.25 lakh. 

Even in high-income nations, only about 15% of the global population, has access to effective treatment for haemophilia. The lack of resources for diagnosis and treatment leads to high mortality and morbidity rates in low- and middle-income countries.

We in Jammu and Kashmir like region should also take pledge to provide best diagnosis, care, drugs and treatment to hundreds of patients facing this Haemophilia disease.

In India, a large  per cent of haemophilia cases are still undiagnosed especially in remote area, and the need of the hour is we pledge to make situations better for Haemophilia disease patients.

Jammu and Kashmir needs an effective policy to tackle Haemophilia as expert pulse is many cases still go undiagnosed.

Crimes against women, cover story 10 April 2023

Posted on by Editor

Crimes against Women

News Kashmir Analysis 

Women are as important as men for taking forward the wheels of human civilization,  but unfortunately often crimes against women are blot on society.

In India too crimes against women are issues of serious nature.

Around 1 crore cases of crimes against women were registered under the national crime records bureau (NCRB) in the last five years, the central government informed Parliament few time back.

The union minister of state for home affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra was replying to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Fauzia Khan who had sought details on the crimes against women and urged the government to shed light on steps it was taking to curb such incidents.

Replying on the same, MoS Mishra said, “The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 mandates completion of investigation and filing of charge sheet in rape cases in 2 months and trials to also be completed in 2 months (Section 173 CrPC). Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched the “National Database on Sexual Offenders” (NDSO) on 20 September, 2018 to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country. MHA has launched an online analytic tool “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Nearly 31,000 complaints of crimes committed against women were received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2022, the highest since 2014. In 2021, the NCW had received 30,864 complaints while in 2022, the number slightly increased to 30,957.

Of the 30,957 complaints, the maximum of 9,710 were related to the right to live with dignity that takes into account the emotional abuse of women, followed by those related to domestic violence at 6,970 and dowry harassment at 4,600, according to NCW data accessed by PTI.

The hope on ground zero is that we all give collective efforts to end crimes against women.

As a matter of fact, In 2021, on an average, there was a case of crime against women registered every 74 seconds in India.

Two minor girls were raped every day in 2021 in the national capital, which was the most unsafe metropolitan city for women across the country, according to the latest report of NCRB.

According to an analysis of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), nearly one in every three reported crimes against a woman from 2016 to 2021 pertained to the “cruelty” of her husband and/or his relatives.

The findings, published in MoSPI’s ‘Women and Men in India 2022’ report, released earlier this month, show that cruelty by husbands and their relatives is the most commonly reported form of violence against women in India.

In Kashmir valley too heinous crimes against women have taken place in recent times which have rattled entire society. The data shows sharp increase in crimes against women in Kashmir. 

Big boost to Rural Development, Editorial 10 April, 2023

Posted on by Editor

Big boost to Rural Development 

Rural Development is the heart of progress of country.

a big boost to rural employment, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) is signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 19 Captive Employers and provide them the target to train and provide gainful employment to 31,067 rural poor youths under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) with minimum salary of 10000/per month for the minimum period of 6 months.

Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh will be the Chief Guest at the MoU signing ceremony in New Delhi tomorrow. On the occasion, he will also distribute appointment letters to few candidates who had got similar training under the DDU-GKY and placed with captive employers.

Based on the direction of Shri Giriraj Singh, MoRD launched the Captive employment Guidelines under DDUGKY to ensure that the candidates are trained as per the industry requirement and employed. The Captive Employment model allows the employer to select the rural youths, skill & deploy them in one of its own establishment/sister-concern/subsidiaries.

The RTD (Recruit, Train & Deploy) model has been developed to address the needs of the Industry on one hand and ensuring sustainable placement for rural youth on the another hand. The model will be a win-win situation for Industry, Government & Rural Poor Youth. Industry will be able to provide more hands-on training at the job site itself as per its requirement while Government will ensure longer placements (Minimum six months) for rural poor youth candidates.

The Captive Employment Guidelines will increase the direct involvement of the industry due to the benefits provided to the industries for encouraging them to participate in the DDU-GKY program thereby ensuring the large quantity employment for rural youths. Few of the Benefits provided to the Captive Employers are: Top Most Priority in target allocation, Waiver of Performance Bank Guarantee, Waiver of Quality Appraisal Process and Fees, Due Diligence of Training Centre and few other mandates of DDU-GKY to ease the operations for industries, MoU with MoRD for the period of 3 Years, Industry to also get Trained Manpower on Work which may reduce wear and tear, better performance, training cost from Government. 

India a nation having most of its population in rural areas this is cherishing Development.

Decline in moral values in Kashmir, Editorial 17 April 2023

Posted on by Editor

Decline in moral values in Kashmir 

Morality is the heartbeat of a lively society. The presence of strong moral values is deemed to prevent that society from series of crimes and shocking episodes. The morale fabric of Kashmir has been dwindling at an fast pace. As a result, drug menace and prostitution like vices are showing an abnormal spurt. 

In another Shocking news, Srinagar Police busted a sex Racket in Nowgam area of central Kashmir’s Srinagar district just few days back .

Police said the racket was busted during the investigation in Chanapora sex racket case. 

“ In continuation of the investigation of the recently unearthed prostitution racket in Bagh- e-Mehtab, the Srinagar police busted another prostitution racket in the Nowgam area, in which three persons running the racket have been arrested on spot including one woman,” a police statement said.

The Police identified the main kingpin as Shabir Mir and his wife Shazia Mir of Charlipora Nowgam, and Adil Gulzar of Soura. 

 One sex worker, a local girl and two clients Nazir Ahmad Malla and Irshad Ahmad Dar- both residents of Narbal, Investigation is on and more such raids are expected to be made in the coming days, Police said in a statement.

The police asked the general public once again to verify the identity of their tenants with the local police station and install CCTVS in their properties.

It requested people should report any immoral & illegal activity notice to the nearest police station or at the women helpline. 

The need of the hour is that both society and Government join hands to arrest the trend of decline in moral values in Kashmir.

LG Manoj Sinha among powerful Indians, News Feature 3 April, 2023 issue.

Posted on by Editor

LG Manoj Sinha among powerful Indians 

News Kashmir Desk 

In a major development, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, living up to his persona of a dynamic and able  administrator with great  fighting spirit against all odds, has retained his slot in the coveted ‘IE 100’ list of national English daily ‘The Indian Express’, figuring at number 24.

Significantly, the ranking of LG Sinha, who has secured a place in the prestigious list of “Most Powerful Indians” consecutively for the third time, has surged from 71 in 2022 to 24 this year.

In 2021, the Lieutenant Governor had secured 25th place in this list.

The prestigious list included the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar occupying top three slots respectively.

While enlisting qualities for placing the Lieutenant Governor of J&K at 24th spot, the national daily mentioned that it was “not easy to run Jammu and Kashmir, especially after the abrogation of its special status in 2019.

While it saw his predecessor being transferred in just a year after revocation of special status, Manoj Sinha has managed to cling on to power for almost three years now. Also at the Centre, the belief is that the dynasty reigns of the Abdullahs and the Muftis are passe and Jammu and Kashmir needs new faces. Sinha has been brought in to identify younger politicians, who can bridge the gap with seniors of the region as well as bring disparate sections of the society together,” the daily specified the rationale behind picking up LG Sinha among the “Most Powerful Indians” of 2023.

As a matter of fact, 

LG Sinha, who thrice served as the Member of Parliament, is the second Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A seasoned politician from Uttar Pradesh, he is a trained Civil Engineer with degrees of B Tech and M Tech from IIT (BHU) Varanasi.

became a Member of Parliament for the first time in 1996 and then in 1999 and 2014. During his third term in 2014, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Railways and in 2016 served as the Union Minister of State (independent charge) of the Ministry of Communication. He took over the charge of the Lieutenant Governor of J&K on August 7, 2020.

Describing his “Power Punch”, the national daily Indian Express pointed out that after a long gap, “Sinha managed to get the first Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Valley.”

“A two-screen cinema multiplex and a big shopping mall, now in the works, are two big visible changes that he is pushing for despite the security challenges. In pushing forward the development agenda, the L-G has always acknowledged that the conflict has scarred both the communities, which adds to his credibility,” it added.

Drug Crimes, Cover Story 3 April 2023 issue.

Posted on by Editor

Drug crimes 

News Kashmir Analysis 

With rising drug addiction the crime graph in Jammu and Kashmir especially the valley of Kashmir is also running north.

Unheard crimes and that of heinous, brutal nature are happening with regular occurrence in Kashmir. 

As a matter of humongous shame,  Matricide is also happening often. 

In a grim episode, drug addict’ son killed his elderly mother in Dangerpora village of Sopore in north Kashmir’s on Wednesday night, 29 March , 2023.

The accused Showket Ahmed who strangulated his mother to death was a chronic drug addict and was taken by police in preventive custody several times owing to his drug addiction. 

“Around 11:30pm, Showket knocked on our door and was carrying an iron rod in his hand. We got panicked especially my wife who had undergone a surgery yesterday. Showket told me there are some unknown men at his home but noticing him under the influence of drugs, I pushed him away and locked the door again,” said Showket’s brother, Mushtaq Ahmed, who resides next to mother’s house told to media outlet.

Confirming the unfortunate incident, a senior police officer said that they have launched a large-scale manhunt to nab the accused.

“We are looking into all possible angles regarding the incident”, the officer said adding, “Once any further details are available, same will be shared accordingly.”

Before it  October last year, a resident of Kehribal in Anantnag killed his own mother only to steal money from the deceased. After the murder, the suspect, along with his friend, created a fake story to mislead the people and the police by blaming his relatives for the crime.

The heinous crimes in Kashmir are linked to rising drug abuse. Kashmir has become epicenter of drug abuse in country.

The National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment India through National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi has said that there are nearly 10 lakh drug addicts in Jammu and Kashmir.

The data was revealed after National Conference Member of Parliament Hasnain Masoodi in Lok Sabha sought details of total number of suspected drug addicts in the union territory.

As per the data, 1,08,000 males and 36,000 females were found using cannabis while 5,34,000 males and 8,000 females were found in the dragnet of opioids and 1,60,000 males and 8,000 females were found using sedatives of different kinds.

One hopes that this dangerous trend of cocktail of drug and crimes in Kashmir is brought to an end. 

Major feat for grasroot governance in JK, Editorial 3 April 2023 issue

Posted on by Editor

Major feat for grasroot governance in JK

Grassroots Government is of vital importance for any place.  Jammu and Kashmir region is seeing grassroots governance in full flow after many years.

In one of the largest reformative measures started few months back, J&K Administration has nearly completed appointing about 10000 educated and young persons belonging to different villages of the UT on the significant grassroots level posts of Lumbedars and Village Guards (Chowkidars).

As a matter of fact, the information was revealed in a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta and attended by DG, CID; Commissioner Secretary GAD; Commissioner Secretary IT & Information; Divisional Commissioners; Secretary PD&MD; Secretary, Revenue and all Deputy Commissioners of the UT either physically or virtually.

Dr Mehta applauded both the Divisional and District Administration for achieving this feat in a record time. He impressed upon the authorities to ensure that a training schedule is framed for these youngsters in order to sensitize them about their vital role as the grassroots level, frontline workers who have to work for the welfare and well-being of their villages.

He enjoined upon them that all these youngsters deserves to be given due respect and recognition as they would act as a bridge between the common masses and higher authorities. He advised them to create a WhatsApp group of these basic workers so that there is continuous communication between them and the District and Divisional Administration.

One hopes grassroots governance in Jammu and Kashmir would continue to thrive.

PARAS HEALTHCARE IS NOW PARAS HEALTH 

Posted on by Editor

WITH A NEW LOGO AND BRAND IDENTITY

PARAS HEALTHCARE IS NOW PARAS HEALTH 

WITH A NEW LOGO AND BRAND IDENTITY

Gurugram: Paras Healthcare has unveiled its new brand identity campaign along with the launch of its new logo which reflects the commitment to building a healthy Bharat. Paras Healthcare is now renamed ‘Paras Health’. The new name represents the commitment to being a true partner in health to their patients and communities. Paras Health’s new visual identity emphasizes its 4 brand values – Compassion, Accessibility, Affordability and Quality that converge to make its vision a reality for all Bhartiyas. Paras Health will continue to focus on its mission of making affordable and quality tertiary health accessible to communities that lack such services. As part of the new initiative, Paras Health has also announced its entry into a new vertical of laboratories, Paras Labs for patients’ clinical testing needs.

The company is a network of 6 hospitals in Northern India that operates 1500 beds as of date. The chain, which started with its first hospital in Gurugram in 2006, has expanded to Patna, Darbhanga, Udaipur, Panchkula, Ranchi and now extending itself to Srinagar & Kanpur. These additions will provide and streamline services providing support to patients. Additionally, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Digital Care Touchpoints will be implemented which will allow patients to access key services from the comfort of their own homes. Digital patient records will be maintained by Paras Health allowing tailored treatments and care for its patients.

Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director, Paras Health, Dr. Dharminder Nagar said, “For the last 17 years, Paras Health has been providing affordable, accessible, and high-quality healthcare services to our patients. The goal has always been to be present in any part of the country where there is a need for high-quality healthcare, and the organization has built a reputation for itself as a trusted healthcare provider that puts the needs of our patients first. Our transformation is not just limited to the change in our name and logo but also keeping in mind the future roadmap of Paras Health, which will encompass curative, preventive, and care from not only the hospital but also in patients’ homes.’’

Interacting with the gathering, Group COO, Paras Health, Dr. Santy Sajan, said “Paras Health’s mission has always been to provide compassionate and quality healthcare services to everyone. We have an exceptional team of people who are passionate about providing the best care for our patients and their families. Our extraordinary team of Doctors, Nurses, and operations team members are our compasses. We strive to improve healthcare services and enhance patient outcomes through Clinical Excellence, empathy, and compassionate care. Our 5 healthcare pillars of Patient-Physician-Process-People-Place will surely continue enhancing trust in our care and commitment to all healthcare needs of our communities.”

Paras Health aspires to be the largest private healthcare provider in North India by 2031 with 9000+ beds under its network. Of this, around 5000 beds will be added by FY 2028 through organic and inorganic expansion. The committed expansion pipeline of 2,000 + beds will be met through expansion at Kanpur, Srinagar, and Panchkula.