The Centre is mulling incentives for private doctors who treat tuberculosis (TB) patients, and financial benefits and free medicines to those visiting them, under its "aggressive" strategy to eliminate the disease.

The draft National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB Elimination (2017-2025), which will be rolled out soon, proposes the benefits which include Rs 2,000 assistance for patients visiting private sector doctors.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda during an event to mark the World TB day on Friday had announced the NSP will be finalised within a month.

TB is India's "severest" health crisis and kills an estimated 1,400 people a day, the NSP draft says.

It says the private sector TB care providers will be given incentives to promote TB case notification, ensure treatment adherence and completion. The incentives will be provided upon notification in the TB reporting software – Nikshay.

The incentives to the private sector TB care provider are: Rs 250 on notification of a TB case diagnosed as per standards for TB Care in India (SCTI), Rs 250 on completion of every month of treatment and Rs 500 on completion of entire course of TB treatment, the draft, accessed by PTI, says.

It also says, for notification and management of a drug- sensitive patient over 6-9 months as per STCI, a private TB care provider will be eligible to receive Rs 2,750.

"For notification and correct management of a drug- resistant case over 24 months as per STCI, a private provider will be eligible to receive Rs 6,750," it says.

India also has more than a million "missing" cases every year that are not notified and most remain either undiagnosed or unaccountably and inadequately diagnosed, and treated in the private sector, the draft document says.

"This tragic loss of life, continued suffering, poverty need to end with concerted efforts from all of us," it says.

The Health Ministry will evolve the scheme which will also have provisions for free-of-cost medicines to TB patients going to private doctors or institutes.

"To address financial and nutritional hardship patient and family undergo due to TB, and to reduce catastrophic cost to patients, cash incentive of Rs 2,000 will be provided for every TB patient through Direct Beneficiary Transfer," the draft said.

In 2015, TB was estimated to have killed 1.8 million people and six countries – India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa – accounted for 60 per cent of the total number of cases of tuberculosis worldwide.

"The Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) notified 17.5 lakh TB patients in 2016, from both public and private sectors, and 33,820 drug-resistant TB patients are notified additionally," the latest TB report released by the government said.

The Centre is mulling incentives for private doctors who treat tuberculosis (TB) patients, and financial benefits and free medicines to those visiting them, under its "aggressive" strategy to eliminate the disease.

The draft National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB Elimination (2017-2025), which will be rolled out soon, proposes the benefits which include Rs 2,000 assistance for patients visiting private sector doctors.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda during an event to mark the World TB day on Friday had announced the NSP will be finalised within a month.

TB is India's "severest" health crisis and kills an estimated 1,400 people a day, the NSP draft says.

It says the private sector TB care providers will be given incentives to promote TB case notification, ensure treatment adherence and completion. The incentives will be provided upon notification in the TB reporting software – Nikshay.

The incentives to the private sector TB care provider are: Rs 250 on notification of a TB case diagnosed as per standards for TB Care in India (SCTI), Rs 250 on completion of every month of treatment and Rs 500 on completion of entire course of TB treatment, the draft, accessed by PTI, says.

It also says, for notification and management of a drug- sensitive patient over 6-9 months as per STCI, a private TB care provider will be eligible to receive Rs 2,750.

"For notification and correct management of a drug- resistant case over 24 months as per STCI, a private provider will be eligible to receive Rs 6,750," it says.

India also has more than a million "missing" cases every year that are not notified and most remain either undiagnosed or unaccountably and inadequately diagnosed, and treated in the private sector, the draft document says.

"This tragic loss of life, continued suffering, poverty need to end with concerted efforts from all of us," it says.

The Health Ministry will evolve the scheme which will also have provisions for free-of-cost medicines to TB patients going to private doctors or institutes.

"To address financial and nutritional hardship patient and family undergo due to TB, and to reduce catastrophic cost to patients, cash incentive of Rs 2,000 will be provided for every TB patient through Direct Beneficiary Transfer," the draft said.

In 2015, TB was estimated to have killed 1.8 million people and six countries – India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa – accounted for 60 per cent of the total number of cases of tuberculosis worldwide.

"The Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) notified 17.5 lakh TB patients in 2016, from both public and private sectors, and 33,820 drug-resistant TB patients are notified additionally," the latest TB report released by the government said.

Disney is already planning sequels to "Star Wars: Episode IX" and has teased that the franchise will go on for 15 more years.

Disney CEO Bob Iger says there is a future for Star Wars beyond 2019, reported Contactmusic.

"We're starting to talk about what could happen after Episode IX. We've got a creative team actually thinking about what could be another decade and a half of Star Wars stories.

It's kind of mind-blowing spending an afternoon with a creative team thinking about that," he says.

Iger adds that the Skywalkers will still feature heavily in "The Last Jedi," despite the fact that General Leia actress Carrie Fisher tragically died last December.

"I've seen (The Last Jedi). It's quite good. It picks up where VII left off. We're really excited about it. I can't disclose much about it because that's not what we do right now – until we're ready," he says.

Disney is already planning sequels to "Star Wars: Episode IX" and has teased that the franchise will go on for 15 more years.

Disney CEO Bob Iger says there is a future for Star Wars beyond 2019, reported Contactmusic.

"We're starting to talk about what could happen after Episode IX. We've got a creative team actually thinking about what could be another decade and a half of Star Wars stories.

It's kind of mind-blowing spending an afternoon with a creative team thinking about that," he says.

Iger adds that the Skywalkers will still feature heavily in "The Last Jedi," despite the fact that General Leia actress Carrie Fisher tragically died last December.

"I've seen (The Last Jedi). It's quite good. It picks up where VII left off. We're really excited about it. I can't disclose much about it because that's not what we do right now – until we're ready," he says.

The Supreme Court has asked automobile companies not to frustrate the government's initiative to check increasing levels of pollution by selling BS-III vehicles which they are holding in stock.

The apex court, which was hearing pleas of automobile manufacturers seeking permission for disposing of around 8.2 lakh BS-III vehicles which are being held in stock, indicated that either it will ban registration of such vehicles or impose costs to compensate for the health hazards created by pollution.

“The Centre had spent thousands of crores of rupees to upgrade technology to produce BS-IV fuel and the companies could not be allowed to frustrate the government's initiative to check increasing pollution levels by selling around 8.2 lakh BS-III vehicles which they are holding in stock,” a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said.

The court will take up the matter again on March 27.

The automobile companies have approached the apex court to dispose of their stock as the Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) emission norms are to come into force from April 1. During the hearing, the bench said three options were available before it.

These were either taking a drastic step to ban registration of BS-III vehicles or allow their registration but ban plying of such vehicles in major cities or ask the companies to pay costs for creating health hazards and reimburse the Centre which spent enormous money in upgrading fuel standard.

The amicus curiae, assisting the court in the matter, urged the bench to ban manufacture and sale of BS-III vehicles as the Centre had spent around Rs.18,000 to 20,000 crore for producing cleaner fuel.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had submitted data on manufacturing and sale of BS-III vehicles on a monthly basis from January 2016 and told the court that the companies were holding stock of around 8.24 lakh such vehicles including 96,000 commercial vehicles, over six lakh two-wheelers and around 40,000 three-wheelers.

The manufacturers told the court that they were allowed to sell their stocks with old emission norms when new technology was brought in force on the previous two occasions at the time the industry had switched to BS-II and BS-III in 2005 and 2010.
They also contended that they had stopped manufacturing BS-III vehicles.
 

The 17-hour state wide strike called by a student organisation to protest the induction of Independent MLA Ashab Uddin as parliamentary secretary partially affected normal life in the state capital on Sunday.

Normal life was partially affected in Imphal and in adjoining areas with less vehicles on the road and many shops closed.
There was no report of any untoward incident, official sources said.
The Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) had called for the 17-hour strike to protest the induction of Independent MLA Ashab Uddin as a parliamentary secretary and the allocation of Education portfolio to him.The strike started from midnight last night. DESAM had alleged that Uddin “is a non-indigenous person” in the state.

Uddin had won from the Jiribam seat. The Jiribam MLA claimed that his family came to the state in 1906.
DESAM president Nameirakpam Edison, on March 24, had maintained that the newly formed BJP coalition government should withdraw the portfolio of Education to Uddin.

He said stronger form of agitation would be taken up after the ongoing Board examination ends, if the N Biren Singh-led government fails to comply with their demand.
The Manipur Chief Secretary, O Nabakishore had on March 25 appealed to DESAM to call off the bandh in the interest of the general public.
In a press release, issued on March 25, Nabakishore reminded that the Supreme Court and High Court have passed judgement declaring bandh as illegal as it infringes upon the fundamental rights of a citizen and is liable for punishment under appropriate laws.
It also maintained that the “state government cannot remain silent spectators” when people are suffering and urged the public to assume their normal activities.
The strike called by DESAM is being strongly opposed by United Muslim Organisation while some other civil bodies have supported it.
The All Manipur Bengali Students Association, Jiribam and All Manipur Muslim Organisation Co-ordinating Committee had asked DESAM to withdraw the boycott imposed against Uddin.

The 17-hour state wide strike called by a student organisation to protest the induction of Independent MLA Ashab Uddin as parliamentary secretary partially affected normal life in the state capital on Sunday.

Normal life was partially affected in Imphal and in adjoining areas with less vehicles on the road and many shops closed.
There was no report of any untoward incident, official sources said.
The Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) had called for the 17-hour strike to protest the induction of Independent MLA Ashab Uddin as a parliamentary secretary and the allocation of Education portfolio to him.The strike started from midnight last night. DESAM had alleged that Uddin “is a non-indigenous person” in the state.

Uddin had won from the Jiribam seat. The Jiribam MLA claimed that his family came to the state in 1906.
DESAM president Nameirakpam Edison, on March 24, had maintained that the newly formed BJP coalition government should withdraw the portfolio of Education to Uddin.

He said stronger form of agitation would be taken up after the ongoing Board examination ends, if the N Biren Singh-led government fails to comply with their demand.
The Manipur Chief Secretary, O Nabakishore had on March 25 appealed to DESAM to call off the bandh in the interest of the general public.
In a press release, issued on March 25, Nabakishore reminded that the Supreme Court and High Court have passed judgement declaring bandh as illegal as it infringes upon the fundamental rights of a citizen and is liable for punishment under appropriate laws.
It also maintained that the “state government cannot remain silent spectators” when people are suffering and urged the public to assume their normal activities.
The strike called by DESAM is being strongly opposed by United Muslim Organisation while some other civil bodies have supported it.
The All Manipur Bengali Students Association, Jiribam and All Manipur Muslim Organisation Co-ordinating Committee had asked DESAM to withdraw the boycott imposed against Uddin.

 Roger Federer survived a brave challenge from American qualifier Frances Tiafoe before emerging with a 7-6 (7/2) 6-3 victory as he got his Miami Open title bid underway.

Tiafoe, ranked 101st in the world, struggled against Federer's serve but was strong on his own and forced a first set tie-break in which the Swiss came out on top yesterday.

The 19-year-old son of immigrants from Sierra Leone then broke Federer's serve in the first game of the second set only for the 18-times Grand Slam winner to break back twice and run out a comfortable winner in the end.

Federer is in fine form having clinched the Australian Open and Indian Wells so far this year and extended his record to 14-1.

The 35-year-old is looking for his third Miami title following wins in 2005 and 2006.

Reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka got off to a solid start, beating Argentina's Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4 at Crandon Park on Saturday.

In the absence of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the top two ranked players in the world, Wawrinka is the number one seed and is fired up after reaching the final at Indian Wells last week, where he was beaten by Federer.

"I'm playing better tennis. I feel that I'm playing good here. I took the confidence from Indian Wells. So let's see…

When I'm playing well, when I am confident with my game, I know I can beat anybody," said Wawrinka, who turns 32 on Tuesday.

"It has been quite tough conditions these last few days here. Raining, really windy today. It's really windy on the court, so it's never easy.

"I'm happy the way I was moving, the way I was playing, and my attitude in general was really positive," added Wawrinka, who next faces Tunisia's Malek Jaziri, a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 winner over Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

 Roger Federer survived a brave challenge from American qualifier Frances Tiafoe before emerging with a 7-6 (7/2) 6-3 victory as he got his Miami Open title bid underway.

Tiafoe, ranked 101st in the world, struggled against Federer's serve but was strong on his own and forced a first set tie-break in which the Swiss came out on top yesterday.

The 19-year-old son of immigrants from Sierra Leone then broke Federer's serve in the first game of the second set only for the 18-times Grand Slam winner to break back twice and run out a comfortable winner in the end.

Federer is in fine form having clinched the Australian Open and Indian Wells so far this year and extended his record to 14-1.

The 35-year-old is looking for his third Miami title following wins in 2005 and 2006.

Reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka got off to a solid start, beating Argentina's Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4 at Crandon Park on Saturday.

In the absence of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the top two ranked players in the world, Wawrinka is the number one seed and is fired up after reaching the final at Indian Wells last week, where he was beaten by Federer.

"I'm playing better tennis. I feel that I'm playing good here. I took the confidence from Indian Wells. So let's see…

When I'm playing well, when I am confident with my game, I know I can beat anybody," said Wawrinka, who turns 32 on Tuesday.

"It has been quite tough conditions these last few days here. Raining, really windy today. It's really windy on the court, so it's never easy.

"I'm happy the way I was moving, the way I was playing, and my attitude in general was really positive," added Wawrinka, who next faces Tunisia's Malek Jaziri, a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 winner over Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

US President Donald Trump promised on Saturday to promote a new healthcare plan once former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act "explodes", a day after the Republican bill to replace that plan was withdrawn before it could be put to the vote by the US House of Representatives.

"ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!" EFE news quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on his personal Twitter account, in a reference to the law Obama enacted in 2010.

The tweet reflected the comments he made on Friday after the Republican plan was withdrawn once it became clear that it lacked the necessary support among his own party to be passed by the House.

"Perhaps the best thing that could happen is exactly what happened today, because we'll end up with a truly great healthcare bill in the future after this mess known as Obamacare explodes," Trump said on Friday in a statement to reporters at the Oval Office.

When the President predicted that Obamacare will "explode", he meant the cost of insurance premiums will soar out of control this year under that law, and trusted that the Democratic opposition would therefore work with him to change the healthcare system.

"We were very close, it was a very tight margin. We had no Democrat support, no votes from the Democrats," Trump said, and calculated that with "10 to 15" more Republican votes, the bill would have been passed by the lower house.

The first vote on the measure was scheduled for last Thursday, but Republicans were forced to postpone it for lack of support among their own party, after which Trump gave them an ultimatum to either hold the vote this Friday or he would leave the current healthcare system in place.

Finally, just before the time to vote rolled around, Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan jumped in to withdraw the bill and avoid it being shot down.

Obamacare, a law designed to improve the quality of healthcare services and make them affordable for low-income citizens, has provided medical coverage for more than 20 million people who were previously uninsured.

The Republican plan dismantled the basic benefits of Obamacare, including subsidies to help people get medical insurance and the expansion of Medicaid, a programme of access to healthcare for low-income families.

Meanwhile, the conservative plan would have put an end to the mandate to buy coverage, which forces those without any kind of insurance to purchase a policy or pay a fine.

US President Donald Trump promised on Saturday to promote a new healthcare plan once former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act "explodes", a day after the Republican bill to replace that plan was withdrawn before it could be put to the vote by the US House of Representatives.

"ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!" EFE news quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on his personal Twitter account, in a reference to the law Obama enacted in 2010.

The tweet reflected the comments he made on Friday after the Republican plan was withdrawn once it became clear that it lacked the necessary support among his own party to be passed by the House.

"Perhaps the best thing that could happen is exactly what happened today, because we'll end up with a truly great healthcare bill in the future after this mess known as Obamacare explodes," Trump said on Friday in a statement to reporters at the Oval Office.

When the President predicted that Obamacare will "explode", he meant the cost of insurance premiums will soar out of control this year under that law, and trusted that the Democratic opposition would therefore work with him to change the healthcare system.

"We were very close, it was a very tight margin. We had no Democrat support, no votes from the Democrats," Trump said, and calculated that with "10 to 15" more Republican votes, the bill would have been passed by the lower house.

The first vote on the measure was scheduled for last Thursday, but Republicans were forced to postpone it for lack of support among their own party, after which Trump gave them an ultimatum to either hold the vote this Friday or he would leave the current healthcare system in place.

Finally, just before the time to vote rolled around, Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan jumped in to withdraw the bill and avoid it being shot down.

Obamacare, a law designed to improve the quality of healthcare services and make them affordable for low-income citizens, has provided medical coverage for more than 20 million people who were previously uninsured.

The Republican plan dismantled the basic benefits of Obamacare, including subsidies to help people get medical insurance and the expansion of Medicaid, a programme of access to healthcare for low-income families.

Meanwhile, the conservative plan would have put an end to the mandate to buy coverage, which forces those without any kind of insurance to purchase a policy or pay a fine.

Poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay claimed on Saturday that Facebook had deleted his controversial poem he had posted on his wall.

"The Facebook authorities have removed the poem which had led to so much controversy in the past few days," said Bandyopadhyay.

A police complaint was lodged against Bandyopadhyay for posting a 12-line poem titled "Abhishaap" ("Curse") on Facebook on March 19, the day Aditya Nath Yogi was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

Complainant Arnab Sarkar – said to be a member of Hindu right wing group – filed a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station of northern West Bengal's Siliguri Police Commissionerate on Monday night, demanding Bandyopadhyay's arrest and exemplary punishment for the post which "hurt Hindu sentiments".

On Thursday evening, Bandyopadhyay and his wife Durba lodged a complaint with the Kolkata Police Cyber Cell of receiving obscene messages on Facebook messenger.

They said they are also receiving "con calls" from unknown numbers.

A case has been lodged under sections 67 of the IT Act and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of his complaint.

The couple have been provided with a bodyguard from the Special Branch of Kolkata Police for security.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stood by the poet.

In a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, she on Thursday said a "certain party engaged in saffronisation" is threatening Bandyopadhyay, and vowed to protect him.

"A particular party, engaged in saffronisation, is giving threats to Srijato on social media. It is unfortunate. It is a political poem. I will take care of the fact that he faces no problem. Let him write poems," she said.

Poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay claimed on Saturday that Facebook had deleted his controversial poem he had posted on his wall.

"The Facebook authorities have removed the poem which had led to so much controversy in the past few days," said Bandyopadhyay.

A police complaint was lodged against Bandyopadhyay for posting a 12-line poem titled "Abhishaap" ("Curse") on Facebook on March 19, the day Aditya Nath Yogi was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

Complainant Arnab Sarkar – said to be a member of Hindu right wing group – filed a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station of northern West Bengal's Siliguri Police Commissionerate on Monday night, demanding Bandyopadhyay's arrest and exemplary punishment for the post which "hurt Hindu sentiments".

On Thursday evening, Bandyopadhyay and his wife Durba lodged a complaint with the Kolkata Police Cyber Cell of receiving obscene messages on Facebook messenger.

They said they are also receiving "con calls" from unknown numbers.

A case has been lodged under sections 67 of the IT Act and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of his complaint.

The couple have been provided with a bodyguard from the Special Branch of Kolkata Police for security.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stood by the poet.

In a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, she on Thursday said a "certain party engaged in saffronisation" is threatening Bandyopadhyay, and vowed to protect him.

"A particular party, engaged in saffronisation, is giving threats to Srijato on social media. It is unfortunate. It is a political poem. I will take care of the fact that he faces no problem. Let him write poems," she said.

 Aiming to provide connectivity in remote areas, Railways will set up Wi-Fi hotspot kiosks at about 500 stations and help people access an array of online services, including various government schemes.

Christened as Railwire Saathi, the Wi-Fi kiosks will function like a PCO for Digital India and enable people to use services like e-commerce, online banking, offer them access to open school/university and insurance schemes, e-ticketing for train and bus services among others.

Automated form filling, mobile and DTH recharge are other services which the Railwire Saathi is expected to provide in areas with limited connectivity.

The Railwire Saathi aims to provide connectivity to the unconnected and at the same time offer jobs opportunities in rural areas, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

While Railways is equipping about 400 stations with free Wi-Fi service in association with Google, this scheme has dual aim – providing jobs as well as connectivity.

He said the scheme is expected to be operational by May.

The Railwire Saathi is a Wi-Fi entrepreneurship model where unemployed youths, preferably women, can be trained and supported to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot and provide a platform to online services which will make the business sustainable, he said.

RailTel, the telecom arm of railways, would execute the scheme across the country.

Though there are various schemes for minorities, farmers, common man and many avenues for completing education, people in remote areas are generally not aware of them or find it difficult to access them, said the official.

Unemployed youth who wants to be RailWire Saathi would have to contact RailTel for necessary training.

The training course will be approved by National Skill Development Council (NSDC). After being trained by RailTel, the youth will get certificate which can be used to get loan under the Mudra scheme, he said.

Using the loan money, they will install and manage the Wi-Fi hotspots as per design provide by RailTel.

Railwire Saathi will help in disseminating information about various government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Atal Pension Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Beema Yojna and Pradhan Mantri Surakhya Beema Yojna among others.

Adding a major milestone to legal education in Assam, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal jointly with Justice J. Chelameswar of the Supreme Court today formally inaugurated the permanent campus of National Law University & Judicial Academy (NLUJA) at Amingaon locality of Kamrup district. Stating that the NLUJA would usher a new era in the domain of legal education in the state, Sonowal vowed to make Guwahati the legal education hub of the region.

Relentless efforts of all stakeholders led to culmination of the NLUJA and I hope that this institution will cater to the need of quality legal education in Assam, said Sonowal,adding that the convergence of technology and the judicial system is the need of the hour. Lauding the role of judiciary in keeping the administrative machinery on right track through various significant pronouncements, he also commented that members of the judiciary must ensure emancipation of last man unto death, which would further entrench people’s faith in the democratic system and immensely help in establishing rule of law. Further stressing on the need to create an environment where citizens are more aware about the legal system and conscious of their rights, the chief minister urged the judicial fraternity to initiate positive steps in the regard.

He also advised the law students to be more abreast with new age crimes such as cyber crime, financial crime etc. and urged them to take the calling seriously and focus more on research in legal education. Sonowal thanked the chief justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Ajit Singh for designating the senior most additional district & sessions judge in the several districts of Assam as Fast Track Court for trial of offences under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Former chief justice of Gauhati High Court and present judge of the Supreme Court Justice Chelameswar, while speaking on the occasion highlighted the background that led to the setting up of NLUJA in Assam.

Indian democracy is in a nascent state and to make people understand the content of constitutional culture, young generation will have to play a significant role, Justice Chelameswar said.

Referring to the legal system as an important constituent of constitutional governance, Justice Chelameswar also advised law students to not be swayed away by precedent culture and to devote quality time on analysing problems. He also advised practising lawyers and judges to improve efficiency to reduce pendency of court cases.

Set up under National Law University & Judicial Academy Act, 2009, the NLUJA is the only national level law university in the region and its permanent campus spread on a sprawling 150 bighas of land houses the administrative bloc, academic bloc, hostel, library and staff quarters. In the second phase, construction of vice-chancellor’s bungalow, registrar bungalow, guest house, faculty residences, post graduate hostel etc would will be taken up.

In view of the country's huge resources and potential to woo not only foreign investors but also tourists to all parts, particularly to the Northeast region, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has called for new measures to boost tourism in the region.

The number of foreign tourists has increased significantly in the past few years, India still lags behind other countries and the figures are not encouraging enough, the minister said while addressing the first Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Conclave. The event was held in the national capital on 24 March by the Arunachal government with the aim to boost tourism in the state.

“Although India has large number of international in-bound visitors, it still stands low in comparison to other countries,” Rijiju said, adding, “We have so many international terminals besides the shipping yards and also opportunities, yet we are unable to reach the nine million mark. The number of visitors are increasing but not encouraging enough".

The minister, who has travelled 154 countries, emphasised on building more tourist attractions in the country.

Meanwhile, Rijiju's home state Arunachal Pradesh, a dream destination in the Northeast, received over 3.5 lakh tourists in 2016, according to a release. The state tourism department is now on a roll to boost domestic and international tourists inflow to the state and promote and assist trade partners.

"Ärunachal Pradesh is investing to become an exotic tourist hub in India. We have been organising theme-based events like the Tawang festival, Ziro Festival of Music, Arunachal Spring Carnival, adventure at Mechuka and the Kameng river festival," said Joram Beda, state Tourism Secretary, who graced the event.

The Ziro Festival of Music, which showcases great musicians, draws music lovers from across India and other countries to the state every year.

"The role of tourism partners in building awareness and encouraging the unique attractions the state offers is paramount," Beda added.

The conclave witnessed a good gathering of stakeholders from across the travel and tourism industry, and while MoU with private companies are signed, the state tourism targets a yearly growth of 20 per cent in the next three years.

Currently, this pristine state has great scope for development of cultural tourism, adventure tourism, historical tourism, wildlife tourism, nature-based tourism and eco-tourism.

India’s bid to build quality all weather roads along its border with China in order to connect remote areas and move military weapons and equipments in the event of an aggression to 'assert' its territorial claims in the region near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), has been compromised due to construction defects and alleged irregularities in border road works.

In the wake of heightened road and track construction work undertaken by China along India’s Northern and Eastern frontiers in 1997, India constituted a China Study Group (CSG) to study the requirement of road communication along the China border for brisk movement of troops in case of any aggression. The idea was to assert the country’s territorial claims and upgrade logistic sustenance capability in these areas.

At the end of its study, the CSG identified 73 strategically important roads along the border as Indo-China Border Roads (ICBRs). The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 1999 had approved the construction of these roads, to be done by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under the Ministry of Defence, and set a tentative target of work between 2003 and 2006. The target was later extended to 2006-2012. But till now the work is far from over.

After more than 15 years since the project for the proposed 73 roads was first sanctioned, the country’s plans to have a network of high quality roads along its border with China remains a pipe dream.

The Indian military establishment which has tested the capability of some of these roads has found them unfit for the movement of heavy military guns like Bofors, Smerch and Pinaka. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of the road works. Of the 73 sanctioned ICBR projects, 61 cover a total length of 3409.27 km (Arunachal Pradesh ~ 1788.24 km; Himachal Pradesh ~ 116.99 km; J&K ~ 1093.14 km; Sikkim ~ 56.10 km; Uttarakhand ~ 354.80 km) scheduled to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 4643.75 crore by 2012. The remaining 12 were to have been completed by local Central PWD, NBCC and state PWDS.

Some of the identified road projects with serious construction defects along the SinoIndian border are: BonaGelling, Harong-Chushul Road, Sasoma-Saserla and Koyal-Photile-Chushmule-Zurasa.

An audit of the project work by CAG has squarely blamed the unsatisfactory quality of work, late completion, poor monitoring of work progress for the slow progress. As of March 2016, a total of 707.24 km as against 3409.27 km of roads at an estimated cost of Rs 4536 crore has been completed. This is only 36 per cent’ of the total project covering only 22 of 61 roads under the project. Of the 24 roads examined in detail 17 were found to be substandard.

Even six roads of length of 197 km which have been completed at a cost of Rs 164 crore were not fit for running of specialised vehicles/equipment due to limitations like steep radiant, less width, inadequate turning radius, effective alignment, etc., the CAG in its report tabled in Lok Sabha on 10 March had alleged.

The DG Border Roads in reply to the charges of various anomalies in the ICBRs projects on 15 July 2016 declined comment but maintained that the Indian Army was associated all along with the BRO.

The central audit body has now proposed a 'Court of Inquiry' expeditiously against the 'erring officials'. It called for proper and timely action to resolve the defects or problems pointed out by the Chief Technical Examiner of the ICBRs project.