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| USAID sanctions 2.2 mn dollars for Gujarat NEW DELHI, Feb 6: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) today sanctioned 2.2 million dollars to a Non-Government Organistion ......more NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Silver prices plunged on the bullion market today on reduced offtake......more Delhi, Pondicherry NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Union Cabinet today decided to amend the Government of National......more DPC invokes GOI’s MUMBAI, Feb 6: The Enron-promoted Dabhol Power Company (DPC) today invoked the Government of......more |
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Agriculture
should move to genetic modification for food security NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Faced with the daunting task of feeding a burgeoning population in the new...more DHVBN plans to HISAR, Feb 6: The Dakahin Haryana Bijli Vitron Nigam (DHBVN) plans to renovate and augument....more Gujarat to announce AHMEDABAD, Feb 6: Gujarat Government would soon announce a housing policy for......more Japan to provide NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Japan today decided to provide about 316 million yen as additional....more |
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USAID sanctions 2.2 mn dollars for Gujarat NEW DELHI, Feb 6: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) today sanctioned 2.2 million dollars to a Non-Government Organistion, Care, and the United Nations development programme for projects aimed at providing relief to victims of the Gujarat earthquake. Care will receive almost 1.8 million dollars to provide food and materials for temporary community shelters for about 50,000 people in two badly hit blocks of Anjar and Bachau in Kutch district. It will also distribute survival kits, which include blankets, plastic sheets, clothing, personal hygiene kits, floor mats and lanterns, a press release from the USAID said. The release said USAID would provide UNDP 400,000 dollars to distribute food, shelter material, water and essential household items to quake victims in Bhuj, Patan and Surendranagar. (PTI) |
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NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Silver prices plunged on the bullion market today on reduced offtake in view of stockists selling and closed with heavy losses. Gold also rolled back sharply along with the bearish trend in view of a fall in demand following off-marriage season coupled with a weak trend in overseas market. Marketmen said silver suffered the most on stockists selling while gold stepped down on lack of buying due to off-marriage and festival season. They said gold prices in international market declined in one of the quietest days on record and settled at 265.30 US dollar an ounce. Silver ready dropped by Rs.95 at Rs.7650 per kilo and weekly based delivery by Rs.90 at Rs.7660 per kilo. Silver coins were traded at Rs.11,000/11,100 per 100 pieces against previous level of Rs.11,000/11,200. Standard gold and ornaments declined by Rs.20 each at Rs.4440 and Rs.4290 per ten gram respectively. Sovereign held at last level of Rs.3750 per piece of eight gram. The following were today’s quotations: Silver ready 7650 and delivery 7660. Silver coins buyer 11,000 and seller 11,100 standard gold 4440, ornaments 4290 and sovereign 3750. (PTI) |
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Delhi, Pondicherry allowed to borrow from market NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Union Cabinet today decided to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, allowing Delhi and Pondicherry to raise resources from the market against security of their consolidated fund. The amendment would also allow Union Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry to have public accounts of their own and enable maintaining separate cash balance with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters after the cabinet meeting here. The amendment is being carried out to provide for borrowing from the market, Mahajan said adding that this would also provide for giving of guarantees by the Government of India as well as lt. Governor or Administrator of Delhi and Pondicherry upon the security of the consolidated funds of the concerned Union Territories. This would enable Delhi and Pondicherry to borrow against the security of the consolidated funds of these states, he said. This decision would enhance the liquidity of the said Union Territories which were till now allowed market borrowing but not against security of their consolidated funds, he added. (PTI) |
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DPC invokes GOI’s guarantee following MSEB fails to pay MUMBAI, Feb 6: The Enron-promoted Dabhol Power Company (DPC) today invoked the Government of India’s counter-guarantee following the Maharashtra State Electricity Board’s failure to clear its outstanding bill of Rs 79 crore (about US dollar 17 million) for November 2000. The Maharashtra Government has also failed to pay the amount after its guarantee in favour of DPC had been invoked, DPC said in a statement here. In addition, an amount of Rs 152 crore (approximately USD 33 million) under the December bill is also overdue, and therefore DPC decided to once again invoke the Government guarantee to cover the December payment, DPC said. DPC president Neil McGregor said ‘we are disappointed that this decision had to be taken’. Maharashtra Energy Minister Padaminh Patil when contacted told PTI that the state would approach the Centre for further action and the Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh would write to the Prime Minister and the Union Power Minister on the counter-guarantee issue and the DPC project in toto. This issue would be discussed at tomorrow’s state cabinet meeting. ‘We have every intention to pay the dues, but there is a fund crunch’, the minister said adding that MSEB had last week paid Rs 10 crore towards part payment of the November bill (total paid in phases amounted to Rs 69 crore) out of Rs 148 crore. The Union Power Minister Suresh Prabhu had on January 13 stated that the Centre would offer assistance to Maharashtra only if it approaches it for solving the impasse between MSEB and the US multinational Enron. McGregor said ‘given our understanding of MSEB’s financial challenges, DPC and its partners have consistently exercised restraint, despite repeated delays in payment from the board for the past several months’. Since the outstanding of Rs 79 crore for November bill is now overdue by 42 days as well as the December bill by 12 days, ‘we have little choice but to invoke the Centre’s guarantee to cover the November bill and the State Government guarantee to cover the December bill’. (PTI) |
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Agriculture should move to
genetic modification NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Faced with the daunting task of feeding a burgeoning population in the new millennium world over agriculture should move towards genetic modification technology to attain food security for the 8 billion people estimated to populate the earth by the year 2030. According to report prepared under the auspices of Royal Society of London, US National Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Chinese Academy of Science, Mexican Academy of Science and the third world Academy of Science, humankind will be confronted with an extraordinary set of challenge to feed 2 billion additional people from the current levelby increasing the amount of available land without any serious impact on the environment. "A major challenge before humankind today is how to increase world food production without further depleting the non-renewable resources" the report said expressing concern over the decline in food production during the last decade compared to 70s. Rate of increase of world food production decreased from 3 per cent in 1970s to 1 per cent in the 90s, it pointed out. There have been heavy losses of crops due to biotic and abiotic stress. Additionally genetic diversity of some crops has also decreased and there are species without wild relatives to cross-breed with. In this scenario, the report said, "there are fewer options available than earlier to address current problems through traditional technology and advocated the use of genetic modification technology to increase food crop production. Research on transgenic crops, the report clarified, aims selectively to alter add or remove a character of choice in a plant bearing in mind regional needs and opportunities. It offers possibility of not only bringing in desirable characteristics from other varieties but also of adding characteristics from other unrelated varieties, the report pointed out. Nicknamed GM technology it has the potential to address micro-nutrient deficiencies and thereby reduce national expenditure by eliminating the need for current supplementation programmes. On development of resistance to viral, bacterial and fungal diseases, tolerance to salinity and drought production of plant based renewable fuel and use of transgenic biomass for sustainable fuel source. Flexibility in crop management decreased dependence on chemical insecticides, enhanced yields and easier harvesting and tradeable crop surplus are the other possible benefits being explored. We conclude that steps must be taken to meet urgent need for sustainable practices in world agriculture and gm technology coupled with other improvements should be used to increase production of main food staples and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. (UNI) |
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DHVBN plans to renovate power distribution HISAR, Feb 6: The Dakahin Haryana Bijli Vitron Nigam (DHBVN) plans to renovate and augument power distribution system in Faridabad at a cost of Rs.109.61 crore. Under the comprehensive plan, the power distribution system in Faridabad, Palwal, Hathin and model towns would be completely modernised. Fifteen feeders of 11 kv level in rural areas namely Dater, Allawalpur, Mehna, Kurali, Baroli, Ghori, Prithla, Bata, Tigaon and Manjhawal would be rehabilitated right from their emanating points to the consumer end. Seven feeders of 11 kv level had already been refurbished by the Nigam at a cost of Rs.4.81 crore in the district, an official spokesman said here today. The DHBVN plans to erect 114 kilometre long new 11 kv lines and augument the capacity of about 750 km long 11 kv lines by replacing the conductor. About 1350 new transformers ranging from the level of 110 kva to 1000 kva would be added to the existing network. Besides this, all the damaged transformers in the district would be replaced under this plan. About 4600 distribution transformers would be provided low tension capicitors for improving reliability of power and voltage, he added. In addition, Haryana power utilities plans to strengthen power transmission system in the district by setting up seven sub-stations of 66 kv level and augment capacity of a numbers of existing sub-stations at a cost of about Rs 45 crore. With the completion of the plans for strengthening power transmission and distribution systems in district Faridabad, over one lakh consumers of different categories would get benefit of improved voltage and regular power supply, the spokesman said. (UNI) |
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Gujarat to announce housing policy for quake affected AHMEDABAD, Feb 6: Gujarat Government would soon announce a housing policy for the quake affected people in the Kutch, Rajkot and Sundernagar districts and give financial assistance for this purpose from the consolidated earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction fund. "A policy on the housing front would soon be announced and financial assistance would be provided by the Government, which wants the NGOs to take a lead role in this regard," Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya told PTI. A team of World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) would visit the devastated villages in the middle of this month and were expected to announce grant of huge soft loans to the state for the reconstruction purpose, he said. "The WB and ADB teams would arrive here on March 12 and visit the affected areas of the state to assess the financial assistance needed by the state for the reconstruction purpose," Pandya said. "They have jointly promised to advance 500 million dollars even before they undertake the preliminary damage assessment of the affected areas," he said. The State Government was creating a consolidated fund from the financial assistance received from the Central and State Governments, foreign countries and various NGOs, which would be utilised to re-build the destroyed villages and towns, the minister said. Terming the work performed by several NGOs in the affected areas as "exemplary", Pandya said in the reconstruction activity "the NGOs will be given a primary role while the Government will assume a supporting role". "The priority is to build tent cities, where the people could be sheltered," he said adding that the affected areas still needed over 1,50,000 tents urgently. Pandya said the preliminary rescue operation is almost complete in the majority of the quake affected areas and added the toll would be somewhere between 30-35,000. Asked how long it would take for the Government to provide the remaining required tents, he said "we will be able to provide tents for all in another 15 days time." "We have even sent officials to the Kumbh Mela site at Allahabad to get the tents used by the pilgrims and the response from there was overwhelming," he said. Outlining the enormity of the rehabilitation task, the minister said apart from providing shelter to the people, "the Government has to build schools, colleges, its own offices, streamline the derailed PDS system, hospitals and other public utility services." "Total estimated area to be reconstructed is two crore square feet," he said, adding if one takes the prevailing market rate of construction, this alone would cost the Government nothing less than Rs 1,000 crore. (PTI) |
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Japan to provide another $ 2.3 mln for quake relief NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Japan today decided to provide about 316 million yen as additional emergency grant aid to help the relief efforts in earthquake-hit Gujarat, taking the total quantum of assistance to 420 million Japanese yen (about Rs 17 crore). This decision was taken at a meeting of the Japanese cabinet this morning in view of the "rare magnitude" of the calamity and the increasing number of casualties and displaced people, the Japan Cultural and Information Centre here said. The additional assistance is to be disbursed to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. On January 27, a day after the killer earthquake devastated parts of Gujarat, the Japanese Government announced emergency assistance amounting to about 104 million Japanese yen (about Rs four crore), consisting of contribution to the PM National Relief Fund and emergency relief goods such as 440 tents and 4,400 blankets. On January 29, a Japanese disaster relief team was sent to Bhuj for medical relief in two nearby villages. (UNI) |
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