- The Home Ministry has said the Union Cabinet’s ordinance on reservation in Jammu and Kashmir cleared will benefit around 36 lakh people in the State. The Union Cabinet recently approved the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019. It provides for amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.
- The ordinance extends reservation in jobs, promotions and education to people living 10 km from the International Border (IB) in Jammu. Earlier the benefits were only reserved for people living 10 km beyond the Line of Control (LoC) and affected by shelling and firing from across the border
- The India-Pakistan border is divided into three parts: a) International Border (IB), which stretches for approximately 2,400 km from Gujarat to the north banks of Chenab in Akhnoor in Jammu, b) the Line of Control (LoC), which is 740 km long runs from parts of Jammu to parts of Leh, c) Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), divides the current position of Indian and Pakistani troops in the Siachen region.
- The IB is a normal boundary line. It has in place mechanisms to guard the border against illegal trespassing as well as to regulate the legal flow of trade and travel across it. It is guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF). It has land custom stations and immigration check posts to allow entry and exit of passengers and cargo. The administration of IB is the responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
