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EDITORIAL J&K Government has announced steep hikes in the administered prices of foodgrains supplied through Public Distribution System outlets. Increase has been justified on the ground that issue prices for supply to the State stand enhanced by FCI and if the Government had not increased the prices it would have to incur additional burden of about Rs 70 crore annually. A resource Starved state obviously cannot bear such burden and so it has no option but to let the hapless consumers pay through the nose.....more Reserve Bank has announced reduction in Bank Rate by 1% i.e. from present 8% to 7%. It has as well reduced interest on savings deposit account by half percent from 4.5 to 4%. There is also the slashing of Cash Reserve Ratio by one percent. This indicates lower interest rate as also lover lending rates regime gaining further momentum. Strictly in econmic terminology such reduction has been long overdue but RBI has been watching .......more |
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HERE AND THERE Will Kashmiris spurn No soft options, By Padma Waheed Psychic warfare : Military exploitation of paranormal By Gurmeet Kanwal |
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EDITORIAL J&K Government has announced steep hikes in the administered prices of foodgrains supplied through Public Distribution System outlets. Increase has been justified on the ground that issue prices for supply to the State stand enhanced by FCI and if the Government had not increased the prices it would have to incur additional burden of about Rs 70 crore annually. A resource Starved state obviously cannot bear such burden and so it has no option but to let the hapless consumers pay through the nose. Earlier to this sugar prices were enhanced. While Centre justifies reduction in subsidies in foodgrains as an economic necessity, the State Government tends to attribute it to what the Centre has done leaving no option whatsoever. In the process not only middle class but also those living below the poverty line are squeezed. Token or minor increase is alright but when the increase in one go is more than 30%, it calls for critical comments. In many cases the items supplied through ration outlets are now priced higher than the prevailing market prices. For instance price of atta has been fixed at Rs 10.75 per kg while in the open market it can be had in retail at Rs 8.25. Quality-wise, weight-wise and otherwise, open-market atta is definitely better than what is retailed in PDS shops. With this substantial price difference one wonders who would buy the atta from ration shops and what for large establishment is created for the public distribution system. Controlled ration concept was initiated in the State in early forties in the wake of 'roti agitation' that took a heavy toll of 9 innocent lives in police firing. In fact, J&K happens to be the first State in India to introduce this concept of supplying foodgrains to the people at reasonable prices. It is interesting to elaborate the concept in that in the post-partition era even pure desi-ghee was supplied through ration shops at fixed prices due to dislocation in supplies from traditional channels. Further, the necessity for putting desi ghee on the controlled commodity arose because import of vanaspati ghee (Dalda) was banned in the State. The concept thus has its origin in the welfare of the people of this State. Further, it is to be noted that there was a time when foodgrains were heavily subsidised in this State so much so nowhere else in the world these items could be had at such low administered rates. It was during the stewardship of the tallest man Sheikh Sahib that such subsidy was withdrawn or diluted because according to him it affected dignity of the people of this State to have such 'cheap ration' doles. The people readily responded and there were only muted and hush-hush protests. But now the concept stands totally vitiated in that the prices stand increased more than the prevailing market prices thereby making a mockery of rationing system maintained at huge cost to the exchequer. One begins to wonder if the system has outlived its utility and the time for scrapping the same lock, stock and barrel has come. Another factors that warrants rationing system relates to disciplining the market. With present hikes open market is being helped openly by diverting customers which traditionally purchased their requirements from the ration outlets. Market discipline is relevant only if market prices are more than the rationed priced. Right now it is the other way round as far as rationees above poverty line are concerned (APL). It is to be noted that even those Below Poverty Line have not been spared. They too have to pay almost double the price of what they have been paying till recently. BPL are those whose monthly income is less than Rs 1500. Ascertaining of this income and endorsement of ration cards thereof has been left to the 'discretion' of F&S Inspectors and there is no denying the fact that the game and assessment of BPL has not been fair. To that extent even bonafides stand denied while those having income much more than 1500 continue to get rations at highly subsidised rate. The only consolation is that instead of 10 kg per card BPL category can now draw 20 kg per card but have to pay double the earlier price. All this and much more indicates that Government has not applied its mind constructively by announcing such indiscriminate increases which are well above the market prices. It indeed makes mockery of the system in vogue that fails to subserve the interests of the hapless consumers. It is the Government that has enhanced gas and kerosene prices. It is the Government that has increased sugar prices. It is the Government that has hiked foodgrain prices now. Obviously, it is mandatory and obligatory on the Government not to grudge increase in dearness allowance to its employees whenever it falls due. Reserve Bank has announced reduction in Bank Rate by 1% i.e. from present 8% to 7%. It has as well reduced interest on savings deposit account by half percent from 4.5 to 4%. There is also the slashing of Cash Reserve Ratio by one percent. This indicates lower interest rate as also lover lending rates regime gaining further momentum. Strictly in econmic terminology such reduction has been long overdue but RBI has been watching the situation before making the announcement. To be precise, one could expect further reduction if inflation rate remains below 5%. God forbids, if inflation shoots up due to various hikes effected in the administered prices of various essential commodities, Government would be compelled to enhance interest rates again. Bank Rate in any case is Government by rate of inflation. Lower the inflation, lower is the bank rate and vice versa. It may be mentioned that rates of interest for fixed term deposits is left to the discretion of individual banks. Same is true of Prime lending Rate (PLR). Lower PLR means industry, including agriculture, gets credit cheap. It also reduces interest burden of the banks and the Government alike. Cheap credit is a boost to all commercial, housing and agricultural activities. To that extent it indicates good health of the economy. Its impact is however viewed differently by the investors and retirees who get lower return for their savings. Bank Deposit thus becomes unattractive for them and they could be seeking diversion of their funds to high-return mutual funds and other instruments. Exim Policy recently announced necessitates more demand for money and the maximum source happens to be Banks. They shall have to maintain momentum of deposits to meet the growing market demand. As an immediate measure RBI has announced cut in CRR which puts around Rs 7000 crore more at the disposal of banks for lending and meeting demand from the customers. This means inter-bank call rate which has shown marked increase will go down to reasonable level. Industry is thus sure of getting cheap credit for boosting production. Same is true of agriculture and other activities. Banks themselves however will have to reduce their servicing expenses because reduction in interests is bound to put additional burden on banks. As aptly advised by Finance Minister they must improve efficiency, go for better financial management techniques to correspond to international level and they must urgently address to the ever mounting Non-Performing Assets which have already made three nationalised banks sick. NPAs remain the major villain in banking industry with habitual defaulters playing havoc and recoveries accumulating. Banks shall have to streamline the entire financial management to bring down the level of NPAs. Small investors and retirees however should prepare themselves for further reduction in interest in about six month time. |
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HERE
AND THERE United Airlines. Its employee, Jim Webb, has created history of sorts. He did not care if he became a big joke after he went public last year with his wish to have an artificial dog testicles implanted in his body. And he placed himself on record by saying: "I have a serious problem that thousands of other men share". Jim Webb suffered from a severe, nagging infection. After years of crippling pain, in 1988, doctors removed his left testicles. He felt better, but deformed and embarrassed in intimate situations. "It is ridiculous how all plastic surgeons are willing to do penis enlargement and plastic surgery. All I want is reconstructive surgery to look normal", he has been quoted as saying. Last fall, when Webb contacted the makers of Neuticles-artificial testicles for dogs, cats and other animals-he knew he would become a media sensation. "I was prepared to achieve freak-of-the-weak status", he says. An estimated 8,000 men lose one or both of their testicles each other because of cancer, injuries or other misfortunes. Until the mid-1990s, testicular implants were available. But several years after the public scare involving silicone breast implants, the Food and Drug Administration, according to ABC news, halted the manufacture of prosthetic testicles until they could be proven safe. ABC news has reported that while Webb was searching for answers to his problem, business was booming for Gregg Miller, the inventor of Neuticles. Since the mid-1990s, more than 36,000 animals, mostly dogs, can now hold their shaggy heads high-and so can their owners, who often feel "pot traumatic stress" from neutering their pets, Miller says. Now an interesting piece of information from Chigao. DPA, a news agency, stated in a news item circulated by it recently that on October 8, 1871, a cow kicked over an oil lamp in its shed on the O’Leary farm in Chicago and unwittingly opened the way forward for the construction of the world’s first skyscraper. The shed caught fire. And soon afterwards half of the city was in flames. About 18,000 of the Chicago’s wooden houses were destroyed in the enormous blaze which ensued. The ashed scattered around and soon fell under the feet of construction engineers with grand plans for the first block of flats. According to the news item, William le Baron Jenney was responsible for the construction in 1879 of the seven-storey, 40-metre-high building, the first building in the world to be constructed using a steel skeleton.This construction system meant that the walls no longer acted as load-bearing components but rather the foundation as support system. According to Architecture and Living, a magazine published in Hamburg, Elisha Otis invented, in the second half of the 19th century, the elevator, thus saving people the burden of clambering up multiple flights of stairs. It was another milestone on the way up. Following the Chicago sky-scraper, architects in the United States competed with each other for the tallest. The Empire State building was the tallest sky-scrapper by the end of the 19th century. |
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No soft options, but key factor is oil By Padma Waheed The Union Budget 2000-2001 is a harsh one, but the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, had cautioned us against soft options. If he has not gone the whole hog in privatisation of, say, the banks, despite lowering Government equity to 33%, it is explained by the constraints of democracy, world's largest, with a vast population base which is 70% illiterate, and the terrifying sceptre of retrenchment and unemployment. Even then, half-hearted measures spell doom; cut in fertiliser subsidy has brought the Haryana Chief Minister, O. P. Chautala, on the side of Punjab in protests evoking apprehension of an increase in the price of the daily bread. The big fiscal deficit will necessitate more market borrowings, enhancing the public debt and interest payment liability. The small man, the pensioner, is bewildered. Instead of increasing interest rates on postal deposits, these are going down - forcing the hapless pensioner and the small man to equity risks. Government has not grown out of its predilections in favour of public sector, otherwise how can one explain HMT watches of Rs 500 and below becoming cheaper and energy efficient pressure cookers going up in costs. The hefty and an all-time high hike in defence allocation does not seem adequate enough without a defence plan perspective and change in the system of placing orders and subsequent with hunting, going by the comment of General Raghavan, prominent defence analyst, and even the Army Chief. I am not unhappy because reading between the lines, it is Pax Vajpayeeiana policy of keeping the powder dry while resolving all disputes with our intractable neighbour Pakistan through discussion and peaceful means. Thus, India is not at war, and the Budget is only directed to defend the country. Finance Minister lays store by token provisions. Where is one such for the population policy just announced ? No sooner that the Soviet Union broke up, Russia and its other constituent units gave short shrift to the monopoly of public sector in petroleum, assigning a free hand to the multi-nationals for exploration of crude oil and natural gas. However, the tattered legacy remains intact in India even as the import bill on account of deficit crude and petroleum products is poised to cross the Rs 60,000 crore per annum mark. Custom and excise relief postpones the evil day of price enhancement just for a while. Thus, the Finance Minister will not either strike or draw blood in so far as Petroleum Sector is concerned. But why blame him alone. P. Chidambaram, who vaxed eloquent on the subject of expenditure control as an expenditure commission galvanised throwing good money after bad in exploration, refining, and pipe-laying, declared these white elephants as ‘navratnas’, and gave them vast powers of financial inputs. His policy has failed because crude oil production has declined. This declining trend can only be arrested by parcelling out blocks of 500 sq. kms or less in prospective areas to multinationals for exploration with no conditions except the rider to produce crude oil to the extent of gas availed of, so that we also make a beginning in the redemption of nearly a billion cubic metres of gas being flared at our oilfields day in and day out. To me, the silver lining to the cloud is the exemption of tax on donations to Sports - Let us gear ourselves up to bid and win the 2006 international Olympics event for India. Several sites like Lakshedweep Islands, coastal Kerala, Port Blair, Chandigarh come to mind. However, going by the manifesto of the Haryana Congress Committee, one could develop a site like the Gurgaon - Pataudi - Jaipur highway; Faridabad - Ballabhgarh - Palwal belt, which could later serve as the capital of Haryana. This will kill two birds with one stone; assure Punjab that Haryana will no tread on their toes and tender corns in Chandigarh, and at the same time go closer to the Capital and reap benefits of the revolution in Information Technology and cyberspace. - CNF Service |
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Psychic warfare : Military exploitation of paranormal By Gurmeet Kanwal Imagine psychic intelligence agents capable of remotely reading top secret files and visualising the exact layout of military installations thousands of kilometres away, reading the minds of the enemy's civilian and military leaders and altering their thought processes, even killing them through psychic attacks. This is not a science-fiction scenario conjured up by the fertile imagination of an Isaac Asimov or an Arthur C. Clark, but research being conducted in the intelligence laboratories of several countries. The Orwellian prophecy has finally come true, ‘No matter where you hide, Big Brother is watching’. In a book entitled, ‘remote viewing’, Tim Rifat has revealed for the first time how, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in exploring paranormal phenomena in a search for developing new intelligence technologies and psychic weapons. Thus, began the relatively little known ‘inner-space’ arms race between the two superpowers, based on bio-physical and ‘psychotronic’ weapons, which had the potential to drive mad and even kill entire populations. Scientists in Russia have studied parapsychology since the early 1920s. Though Stalin had banned research into the paranormal on the grounds that it smacked of superstition, the taboo was lifted in 1960 and a scientific exploration of the potential of psychic energy (PSI) was undertaken. A nation-wide search was carried out to spot talented psychics. Mystics with extra sensory perception (ESP) capabilities were rounded up from Siberia. Soviet cosmonauts were trained to receive coded telepathic messages and experiments were undertaken to establish telepathic communications with submarines under the Arctic ice pack. The study of psychic phenomena was expected to lead the Soviet Union towards knowledge of the mysteries of the human mind, which were then planned to be exploited to gain mastery over the world. Funds in excess of 20 million roubles were earmarked for research into developing psychotronic weapons in 1973. The author estimates that by 1992, funding from the Military-Industrial Commission and the KGB had grown to 500 million roubles. According to U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Soviet research into parapsychology was aimed at, "Remotely viewing the contents of top secret U.S. documents, monitoring the movement of troops and ships, ‘moulding’ the thoughts of key U.S. military and civilian leaders, causing the instant death of any U.S. official and disabling U.S. military equipment, including space craft." Much of the Soviet effort involved attempts to gain mastery over the processes of controlling people's minds through an ‘amalgam of psychic force and electronics’. Research revealed that naturally gifted clairvoyants changed the magnetic fields around them during a trance. If trained psychics could remotely influence the energy field around targeted people, it would be possible to discern their thoughts as well as attach a harmful energy field to them to make them ill or ‘infect’ them with subliminal commands. The Soviets also carried out extensive research into out-of-the-body phenomenon in Yogis to develop the ability for a psychic agent to transport his ‘energy body’ to a remote site and abduct and transfer an actual object to friendly territory. Objects so picked up are known as ‘apports’ and this science is called ‘telekinesis’ or ‘psychokinesis’. It has been conjectured that such ‘energy bodies’ could be employed to disable military equipment and even to kill military and civilian officials. Psychotronic generators were developed to influence individuals or even a whole crowd of people to affect their psyche so as to cause mental disorientation, physical fatigue and alter their behaviour. Psychotronic warfare could be used to charge water with negative psi energy that could shrivel plants and cause cancer. U.S. subjects were allegedly given this negatively charged water in their drinks at State functions. U.S. paranormal warfare experts are reported to have paid back in the same coin. Former KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin revealed in an ABC TV interview that remote influencing had been used against President Boris Yeltsin to undermine his health. Initial psi-warfare efforts in U.S. focussed on the use of remote viewing as an intelligence gathering tool to examine a selection of Soviet and Chinese military bases under projects ‘Star Gate’ and ‘Grill Flame’. Only after some notable successes were achieved, was U.S. military establishment convinced of the efficacy of utilising parapsychology as a tool to further national security interests. Former President Jimmy Carter has described a remote viewing success story as the ‘single most memorable event of his presidency’. A psychic was consulted by the CIA to locate a missing plane when all other efforts had failed. The psychic went into a trance and gave some latitude and longitude figures. We focussed our satellite cameras on that point and the plane was there. Among other publicly known success stories are the accurate prediction of an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and the hijacking of a U.S. airliner by Islamic terrorists. In Britain, a great deal of work was done on the application of microwave technology to mind control. British researchers discovered that the Soviet Union had been bombarding many parts of the world with extremely low frequency (ELF) transmitters. The sustained use of ELF waves by the Russians was reportedly the cause of terminal diseases in three U.S. ambassadors in Moscow. ELF waves were found to be capable of inducing behavioural modifications. ELF signals are psychoactive and are said to be capable of causing mental depression at 6.66 Hertz (Hz). At 11 Hz, these can lead to manic and riotous behaviour in humans. Prolonged exposure to ELF can alter the human brain's neural wiring circuit and can stimulate abnormal behaviour and emotions. The transmission of ELC signals can give a Government the ability to mind-control the population, if it so desires - a chilling prospect. Though remote viewing appears to be a dangerous cocktail of hitherto unexplained natural psychic clairvoyance and induced paranormal capabilities, researchers the world over are now endeavouring to rationalise a scientific understanding of the phenomenon. Even the average, not naturally gifted person, can be trained in the art of remote viewing. Tim Rifat has listed seven stages of remote viewing and his book contains several appendices of original DIA documents regarding Soviet and other Warsaw Pact countries' research into remote viewing. It would be interesting to see similar KGB documents detailing U.S. and other Western countries' research and learn how they have employed psychotronic weapons to target their enemies. The art and science of remote viewing is a revelation about the devious extent to which human beings can go to harm other human beings for the sake of national security. It is clear that eventual mastery over this new frontier would be too dangerous for research in it to be allowed to proliferate unchecked and unsafeguarded. Perhaps the time has come for a United Nations protocol to regulate research into remote viewing and psychic targeting, if these paranormal processes that are clearly violative of human rights cannot be banned completely. PTI Feature |
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