Jamia improves position in Asia University rankings

13 performance indicators/ parameters as the THE World University Rankings, but they were recalibrated to reflect the attributes of Asia's institutions.

The universities were judged across all their core missions -- teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook -- to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available.

Patna June 22 (IANS) West Bengal

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that RJD leader Lalu Prasad is still "strong enough" to fight the BJP.

Trinamool Congress chief Banerjee made the remarks immediately after her meeting with Lalu Prasad in Patna. Banerjee arrived here at around 4 p.m. on Thursday and reached directly to 5 Desh Ratna Marg

"Lalu Ji is a very senior leader in the country and I respect him a lot. He stayed in jail for a long time. Due to illness, he also stayed in hospital for a long time.

I am very happy after seeing him healthy. He is a very strong man who will fight with the BJP," Banerjee said.

"We will participate in the opposition unity meeting on Friday and will contest together. We will brief you after that meeting," she told reporters.

Oppn meet: Omar accuses BJP of breaking the country

country where democracy has been murdered. There was a discussion about democracy in the White House yesterday. But why does this democracy doesn't reach Jammu and Kashmir?"

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) Jamia

Millia Islamia (JMI) has achieved another milestone by entering into the top 10 institutions of the country in the London-based Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings-2023. The university has moved upward to 128th rank in Asia and remarkably improved its position from 160th rank last year. With an improvement of 32 ranks, JMI is one of the very few institutions of the country which has performed exceptionally well in the ranking.

The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings assessed performance of 669 universities from 31 countries on the same

The Jamia administration said that JMI has been consistently maintaining its rank in THE World University Rankings also. It was ranked at 601-800 in the recently declared THE World University Rankings- 2021.

Elated over the performance

JMI Vice Chancellor Prof. Najma Akhtar said, "It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction for the whole Jamia fraternity as this achievement reflects the hard work put in by teachers, non-teaching staff and other stakeholders of the university. Our efforts have been recognized internationally and I hope that the university will continue its endeavours to improve its performance further in coming years."

It is worth mentioning that JMI has been continuously improving its national and international ranking over the last few years. The university not only maintained 3rd rank among universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) - India Rankings-2023 released by the Ministry of Education (MoE) but improved its performance by 13 positions to 12 in overall category, she added.

JMI also improved its position in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings-2023 released in October, 2022.

Globally, JMI moved to the 501600 ranking band from 601- 800 in previous year ranking. The university also improved its position in QS Asia University Rankings- 2022 released by the London-based QS University Rankings Agency where it was ranked at 186th improving its position from 203 last year, Jamia VC said.

Maharashtra to cover entire population under Rs 5 lakh health insurance

Mumbai, June 28 (IANS) In a major public healthcare initiative, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced that its flagship health insurance scheme will now cover the entire 12.50 crore population in the state.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said after a Cabinet meeting that the government has decided to hike the premium of the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) from the existing Rs 150,000 to Rs 500,000, and the scheme will now be applicable all the people in the state.

Until now, the MJPJAY benefits were available only to certain categories of ration card holders or farmers from 14 distressed districts and some other sections.

“This health insurance scheme will now cover and benefit all the 12.50 crore people in the state,” Shinde told media persons.

Patna, June 23 (IANS) National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah on Friday accused the BJP government at the Centre for breaking the country and asked why democracy does not reach Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking after the mega opposition unity meeting in Patna, for J&K CM Abdullah said, "We met to save the country from devastation and to bring back democracy. Me and Mehbooba Mufti belong to that part of the

Another former J&K Cm and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti said: "Whatever is happening in our country is an attack on democracy, the Constitution and secularism."

She also said that Jammu and Kashmir has become a laboratory for such an experiment.

"It was started in J&K and replicated in the rest of the country. J&K has only 5-6 Lok Sabha seats, but it reflects the idea of India. Our aim is to not to let Gandhi's India turn into Godse's India," she said.

Ten US students arrive in Lucknow University to learn Urdu, Persian

said, that in line with this collaboration, Lucknow University is offering a short-term course spanning eight weeks to teach Urdu and Persian to American students.

Lucknow, June 21 (IANS) Ten American students have arrived at the Lucknow University (LU) to learn Urdu and Persian during their eight-week stay in the city. The university will hold classes for them twice a week and will also acquaint them with Indian culture and ethos.

These students already have a knowledge of these two languages and have come here to hone their skills and diction.

This development is a result of an MoU signed between the University of Lucknow and the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), New Delhi.

Prof RP Singh, director, international collaboration,

Julia Norman from Los Angeles says they are fortunate to have been given the opportunity to study Urdu in Lucknow. Julia hopes to develop language skills here at LU. "This city's rich culture and vibrant history makes this an ideal place," she said.

Meredith Church from the University of Colorado says they are fascinated by the history and confluence of culture in Lucknow. "Honoured to have the opportunity to learn Urdu here," she said.

Nikash Harapanahalli from the US state of Texas said that the opportunity to learn Urdu in Lucknow is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Lawrence Bishnoi sought ‘Mahagathbandhan’ with gangs: NIA charge sheet

New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) The NIA has mentioned in its charge sheet that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi had proposed an idea of forming alliances with other gangs, a 'Mahagathbandhan' to confront rivals and expand terror network.

The NIA states that Bishnoi utilised social media tools and various websites to reach a wider audience.

"The accused, Lawrence Bishnoi is the mastermind behind this syndicate, orchestrating the dangerous concept of forging alliances with gangs in almost all states of northern India, except Punjab.

"He formed alliances with Sandeep alias Kala Jatheri and Virender Pratap alias Kala Rana in Haryana, Jitender Maan Gogi in Delhi, Anandpal in Rajasthan, and later his protege, Anuradha Choudhary alias Revolver Rani, also joined this terror syndicate. These alliances significantly augmented Lawrence Bishnoi's influence as a gangster," stated the charge sheet.

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), after establishing these alliances, Bishnoi was able to operate even from jail. The profits from targeted killings and extortion were shared among all members, including Rajesh Kumar alias Raju Mota, Kala Rana, Dalip Bishnoi, Surender Singh alias Chiku, and others, to support the foot soldiers and invest in properties.

The NIA investigation also revealed that Bishnoi aimed to reach a larger audience, prompting him to employ various social media tools and platforms to showcase his terror network.

"Bishnoi gained notoriety by exploiting Facebook and YouTube to his gang's advantage, promoting all their terror activities through these platforms. From sharing pictures of his court appearances while in custody to ensuring widespread coverage on social media, Bishnoi used Instagram and YouTube to amplify the slogan 'Jai Balkari ji,' which became synonymous with him.

"The hundreds of thousands of views boosted his image and facilitated more extortion demands. Inspired by his tactics, gangsters in Delhi and Haryana also became active on social media. In addition to social media, news articles and stories in TV and print media satisfied the syndicate's thirst for publicity, particularly Lawrence Bishnoi," the charge sheet said.