The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — The government on Friday appointed Dr Minu Mahajan (Rtd. Principal) as Chairperson, Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (JKBOPEE).

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 4 read with Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination Act, 2002, the Lieutenant Governor of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is pleased to appoint Dr Minu Mahajan (Rtd. Principal), as Chairperson, Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination,” reads the government order.

The order further stated, “She shall hold the position of the Chairperson, Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination for a period of two years or until she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Her appointment shall take effect from the date she assumes the office.”

JAMMU — The Administrative Council (AC) under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has sanctioned the establishment of five Special Courts, along with necessary infrastructure and staffing, for the trial of offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a meeting attended by prominent officials including Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, and Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary, the AC ratified the creation of these courts, with one each designated for the districts of Anantnag, Baramulla, Jammu, Pulwama, and Srinagar.

The decision comes in response to directives from the High Court, following cases titled Thana Singh vs Central Bureau of Narcotics and Arshad Ahmad Allaie vs UT of J&K, which emphasized the need for dedicated courts to address the rising number of NDPS-related cases.

According to recommendations by the Committee of Judges of J&K High Court, Special Courts are deemed necessary in districts where the backlog of NDPS cases exceeds 500. This initiative, approved by the Chief Justice, is expected to have an annual financial implication of Rs. 4.65 Crore for the Union Territory.

Additionally, the AC endorsed the filling of remaining vacancies in paramedical institutions after centralized counselling by the Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE). The decision also includes the allocation of leftover seats for admission to various nursing and paramedical courses in government and private institutions based on merit, in line with government-defined eligibility criteria and Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs).

The move comes following representations from institutions regarding the high number of unfilled seats despite admissions facilitated by BOPEE. The decision to allow institutions to fill these vacancies independently was made after studying models implemented in other states, including Punjab.

The Health and Medical Education Department, in collaboration with relevant authorities, has been tasked with formulating the necessary SoPs to facilitate this process effectively.

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to contribute 15 per cent of medical seats for the All India Quota from the ongoing year.

According to the news agency KNO, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (JKBOPEE) has said that the National Testing Agency (NTA), New Delhi conducted NEET-UG 2022 for admission to Under-Graduate Medical Courses on 17-07-2022 and declared the result of the said test on 07-09-2022.

“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has provided the result of candidates belonging to the Union Territories (UTs) of JK and Ladakh, who have appeared in the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), to the Board on 26th of September 2022,” it reads.

BOPEE has further informed the eligible candidates that “from current year that is 2022, the government of J&K has decided to contribute 15 percent seats for All India Quota as per the instructions.”

The Board has further said that it will notify the schedule for online or offline registration of eligible candidates separately and the eligible or the willing candidates in their own interest are advised to remain in touch with the JKBOPEE website for daily updates and keep all the relevant documents or certificates ready for registration as and when asked for the same.

“Moreover, the candidates who have appeared in NEET-UG-2022 from other states or UTs and whose roll numbers do not figure in the list of JKBOPEE but claim to belong to the UTs of J&K and Ladakh shall have to submit all relevant documents at BOPEE Office Jammu or Srinagar physically up to October 03, 2022,” it reads.