India’s Permanent Rep to UN Ruchira Kamboj signs off after almost four decades of service
United Nations, Jun 1: After an illustrious career spanning over 35 years, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, has retired, the senior diplomat said on Saturday.
The first woman diplomat to occupy the prestigious position as the Ambassador of India at the UN, Kamboj – who had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1987 – took to social media to bid goodbye.
“Thank you, Bharat, for the extraordinary years and unforgettable experiences,” the 60-year-old senior diplomat signed off with this message on her X handle.
Kamboj, who was the All India women's topper of the 1987 Civil Services batch and the topper of the 1987 Foreign Service batch, formally assumed the position of Permanent Representative/ Ambassador of India to New York, on August 2, 2022.
A regular on social media X highlighting India’s achievements at the UN, Kamboj’s post announcing her retirement was met with overwhelming response by people from all walks of life – former ambassadors to common citizens.
A typical example was from a social media user Rohit Bansal, who said, “37 years of service, Sheer grace & steel — Your impact shall endure.”
Speaking three languages, Hindi, English and French, Kamboj began her diplomatic journey in Paris as the Third Secretary in the Indian Embassy to France from 1989 to 1991.
After postings at various locations, Kamboj first came here as Counsellor at India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 2002-2005, where she dealt with a wide range of political issues, including UN Peacekeeping, UN Security Council Reform, the Middle East crisis etc, according to the Indian Mission’s website.
She also had a stint as the Deputy Head of the Office of the Secretary-General at the Commonwealth Secretariat London and from 2011-2014, she was India's Chief of Protocol, the first and only lady so far in Government to have held this position.
During her stellar three-year stint at UNESCO, Paris, with many firsts to her credit, in May 2014, the Ministry of External Affairs called her on special assignment to New Delhi to direct the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was marked by the presence of Heads of State and Government from the SAARC countries and Mauritius.
Married to businessman Diwakar Kamboj, they have one daughter.
Thank you, Bharat 🇮🇳, for the extraordinary years and unforgettable experiences. pic.twitter.com/VbkKlW6wOg
— Ruchira Kamboj (@ruchirakamboj) June 1, 2024
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SIT to be set up to identify forest, revenue land as per SC directions: Karnataka Minister Gowda
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday said a SIT will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court.
Speaking after inaugurating the Mulki taluk Administrative Centre 'Praja Soudha' near here, the minister said the long-pending issue of classification of forest and revenue land has caused hardship to farmers and the government is taking steps to resolve it on priority.
Joint surveys are being conducted to demarcate forest and revenue land in areas earlier granted to farmers, he said, adding that instructions have been issued to all deputy commissioners in the state to expedite the process.
Gowda said many farmers had faced problems as land granted to them earlier had not been formally regularised. The government has now taken up the task of completing the process. A special investigation team (SIT) will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court, he added.
ALSO READ: 'Unjust' war imposed on Iran should end: Omar
Between 2018 and 2023, plotting was completed for 1,948 beneficiaries in the district, while in the last two years, plotting under the 1-5 scheme was carried out for 60,943 beneficiaries, he said. Of these, 23,620 farmers have been issued pahani documents.
He said title deeds have been distributed to 2.20 lakh beneficiaries under the regularisation provisions of certain sections relating to house sites.
Under the e-Pouthi campaign, about 60,000 legal heirs have been granted mutation of land records that were earlier in the names of deceased persons, the minister said.
He also said a special drive has reduced cases pending for over two years in Tahsildar courts from 10,774 to 130, while similar cases in Assistant Commissioner courts have been brought down from 73,624 to 2,299.
Land records are now accessible online round-the-clock, eliminating the need for people to visit offices for certified copies, he said, adding that nearly 73 crore pages of revenue records across the state have been scanned at taluk offices in the past two years.
Gowda said taluk administrative offices have been named 'Praja Soudha' to bring governance closer to people. An additional Rs 1.60 crore has been sanctioned for compound construction and other facilities at the Mulki centre.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said efforts are being made to boost investment and tourism in the district.
He said the recent state budget has announced a Global Capability Centre for the district and steps will soon be taken to implement it.
A sum of Rs 70 crore has been sanctioned for a new OPD block at Wenlock District Hospital, while discussions are underway with three private medical colleges to strengthen clinical services at taluk hospitals in Moodbidri, Bantwal, Vitla and Belthangady.
Lok Sabha member Brijesh Chowta urged the revenue minister to resolve forest and revenue land issues in Puttur, Sullia, Kadaba and Belthangady taluks and said approval has been given for development of the national highway from Talapady to Kundapur with service roads on both sides.
