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HIV/AIDS patients NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Despite more than three lakh people being infected with HIV/AIDS during the past one year in India and international......more CESS
raps reforms in HYDERABAD, Dec 1: The much-touted ongoing reforms in Andhra Pradesh, got a jolt when the Centre for Economic .....more BSF-BDR
to undertake AGARTALA,
Dec 1: The
Border Security Force (BSF) and the Bangladesh Rifles
(BDR) Portugal
HC orders NEW DELHI, Dec 1: In a major success for the Central Bureau of Investigation,...more |
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EVMs snags cause NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Even though the use of electronic voting machines for the Delhi assembly polls today made the job of the officials and voters ...more Damaging
earthquakes NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Three leading American seismologists have cautioned that future damaging eartquakes can occur in central India where no quakes ....more Our
foreign policy says Sinha NEW DELHI, Dec 1: External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha has scoffed at suggestions that India’s foreign policy had become Pakistan .....more A
new twist in SILIGURI, Dec 1: The controversy surrounding the Rumtek monastery has deepened with a youth claiming that he was ......more |
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did injustice to me: Bhattal... India, Brazil sign defence cooperation deal ..... Speaker hosts dinner for all political parties .....
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HIV/AIDS patients facing stigma, discrimination NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Despite more than three lakh people being infected with HIV/AIDS during the past one year in India and international organisations taking up initiative to provide prevention and treatment programmes, the lot of people suffering from the dreaded disease was deplorable with most of them being left to die in miserable conditions. The recent case of a woman in Kammam district of Andhra Pradesh who was left to die in deplorable and inhuman condition had brought the plight of such victims in the country to the fore. The incident had forced the National Commission for Women to take up the matter and issue directions so that such incidents were not repeated in future. Similar was the situation of two kids in Kerala who were forced to leave their schools as parents of the other kids objected to their education in the same school. After much persuation and appeals at the highest level, the two children were again readmitted to the same school. A village in Haryana being banned by a community once a case of HIV/AIDS came to light a few years back and people cancelling marriage with residents of that village are still fresh in the minds of people infected with the dreaded virus. "Once the diagnosis of a HIV positive person is done, it appears that this is the end. Nothing can be done. Then starts a constant stuggle as people discriminate due to lack of awareness about the disease, there was absolute lack of medical facilities for such patients," said Anandi Yuvraj of AIDS alliance. "Once a person is identified as HIV/AIDS patient not only his family and community abandon him but he is forced to quit his job. Most of the time doctors are afraid to provide treatment to such patients. Many a time HIV/AIDS patients are forced to leave their residence as the landlord do not want them to have them as tenants," Mr Purshottam Mulloli of the jack India, an NGO working in the field of HIV/AIDS, told UNI. The incidents of denial of treatement to HIV/AIDS patients are rampant with doctors hesitating to take up these cases. The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that the National Human Rights Commission’s intervention was required to make an AIDS patient treatment available at a Delhi hospital. Even the UN AIDS has been forced to acknowledge that the AIDS patients are stigmatised and ostrdecized by their loved ones, their families and communities and discriminated against individually as well as institutionally. In fact, UN AIDS has said in its report aids epidemic update-2003 that stigma and discrimination being faced by such patients has fuelled the global AIDS epidemic and it has launched a campaign, ‘live and let live’ this year to provide help reduce stigma and discrimination faced by them. This was more significant in view of the serious AIDS epidemic in many states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Manipur, there was not much persuasive evidence that epidemic was being curbed in the country. The ‘AIDS epidemic update 2003’ said the HIV/AIDS picture in south Asia remained dominated by the "epidemic in India" where between 3.82 to 4.58 million people were infected by the end of 2002. "In the past year, at least 300,000 people aquired HIV, and serious epidemics are now underway in several states—including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (where HIV prevalence of over 50 per cent has been found in sex workers in some cities), and in Manipur (with HIV prevalence among injecting drug users ranging 60 per cent to 75 per cent)," it stated. According to the report, the HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland has crossed the one per cent threshhold limit while in Gujarat and Goa, the HIV prevalence among population with high risk behaviour was above five per cent. "Worryingly not enough is known about HIV spread in the vast populous interiors of Uttar Pradesh and other northern Indian states, where current hiv surveillance is providing an incomplete picture of the epidemic," the UN AIDS said. Expressing concern that the disease was now not confined to vulnerable groups or urban areas but was spreading into the rural areas and wider population, UN AIDS said there was not much persuasive evidence that the epidemic was being curbed in individual states let alone in the country as a whole. The report said the global AIDS epidemic has shown no sign of abating with five million people becoming infected with HIV worldwide and three million, the highest ever, died this year alone. An estimated 40 million (between 34 to 46 million) people were living with HIV worldwide, including 2.5 million children under the age of 15. (UNI) |
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CESS raps reforms in Andhra Pradesh on poverty employment HYDERABAD, Dec 1: The much-touted ongoing reforms in Andhra Pradesh, got a jolt when the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) here flayed it for poverty, slow capital formations, low employment and human development. Contrary to the hype, a 22-paper volume edited by CESS chairman Ch Hanumantha Rao and director S Mahendra Dev, has expressed concern at a steep rise in the state debit-GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) ratio in the last five years, expected to touch 31 per cent of GSDP in the post-reforms period. Though the fiscal deficit rose to 4.5 per cent in 2001-02 from three per cent of the GSDP in 1995-96, there has been a distinct improvement in the quality of public expenditure in Andhra Pradesh in the post-reforms period, especially when compared to other states, according to the book "Andhra Pradesh Development-Economic Reforms and Challenges Ahead" released here today by RBI Governor Y Venugopala Reddy. While the level of per-capita income in the state has always been lower than that of all-India, the gap had widened in 1990s between the state and all-India as well as fast-growing states despite an improvement in the per-capita SDP growth from 3.3 per cent to four per cent because of the rapid decline in the population growth in 1990s. The unsatisfactory level of social and economic infrastructure in the pre-reforms period and partly in the slow rate of capital formation, physical as well as human, in the post-reforms period, was the main reason,’’ it said. Andhra Pradesh has been vigorously pursuing economic reforms since the mid 1990s for stepping up the GSDP growth rate and alleviating poverty, while protecting the environment, the volume which examines the development experience of Andhra Pradesh with emphasis on economic reforms and challenges ahead, said. The CESS said the official poverty ratios, based on the Lakdawala Committee methodology, showing very low levels of rural poverty (11 per cent) and high levels of urban poverty (26.6 percent) for the state as compared to the all-India figure (27 per cent and 23.6 per cent respectively) for 1999-2000 was in contrast to the alternative estimates by scholars like Angus Deaton and Jean Dreze which showed that the poverty ratios in the state were closer to the all-India pattern of 26 per cent for rural areas and 12 per cent for urban areas. Nonetheless, both estimates showed significant decline in poverty in Andhra Pradesh in the 1980s and 1990s, the decline being slower in the 1990s as compared to other south Indian states. On infrastructure, it said reforms were underway in the power and irrigation sectors for expanding their capacity by improving efficiency and cost-recovery and added there was a breakthrough in the introduction of Information Technology. About industry, the report said there had been some slow down in the growth rate of GSDP from industry in the state from 7.36 per cent to 6.2 per cent between the eighties and the post-liberalisation period (1993-94 to 2000-01). Though the share of the industrial sector in the state domestic product had increased somewhat in the nineties, this had not been accompanied by the increase in its share in employment. On employment, it said the employment growth recorded a drastic decline during 1993-94 to 1999-2000 as compared to the period 1983-84 to 1993-94. "Thus the expectations of increasing employment opportunities due to economic reforms have not materialised," it said. The growth of real wages declined significantly in the 1990s. On regional disparities, it said they, in the levels of socio-economic development in the state, had come down over the last 50 years. "The development experience of Andhra Pradesh clearly brings out that stepping up public investment in physical and social infrastructure in backward regions of Telangana and Rayalaseema has an immense potential for reducing regional disparities in the levels of development," it added. On education, the report said literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh has been much below the all India level during the last four decades. However, the gap between the two has narrowed down during the 1990s, as the rate of increase in literacy rate during this period in the state was one of the highest in the country. However, dropouts continue to be a problem. About the health front, the report said indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality showed that the performance of the state is lower as compared to the rest of the southern states. Surveys on medical facilities in the state indicate the predominance of private sector in health care and its rapid growth. Referring to agriculture, it said agriculture and allied sector in the state registered a growth rate of 2.21 per cent in the 1980s and its performance was only marginally better in the post-reform period of 1990s (2.47 per cent), despite allied sectors like dairy, animal husbandry and poultry showing high growth. "The overall performance of agriculture in the last two decades has remained poor and much below its potential," it said. On demography, it said there had been significant decline in population growth in Andhra Pradesh in the 1990s. On decentralisation, it said the actual performance so far in terms of genuine decentralisation/devolution of functions, funds and functionaries to the local bodies was far from satisfactory. "There has been a significant fiscal correction in the past seven years, it said. The IT industry has immense potential in the state. Significant strides have been made in respect of participatory management of land, water and forest resources through the watershed development committees, water users’ associations and joint forest management. Women’s self-help groups are a success story in the state and have formed a central element in the strategy for poverty eradication through social mobilisation, community empowerment and capacity building.(UNI) |
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BSF-BDR to undertake joint patrolling along Indo-Bangla border AGARTALA, Dec 1: The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) are working out modalities to undertake joint patrolling along the Indo-Bangla Border, BSF (TCM) Inspector General Alexander Daniel has said. Mr Daniel said there were programmes to modernise and strengthen the force by deploying more personnel to check trans-border movements of militants, border crimes and infiltration. Keeping in view the changing security scenario along the border, technical gadgets like thermal imagers, ultra-violate detector would be provided to the forces, besides deploying more BSF personnel. The BSF’s communication scheme was also under modernisation for enhancing the reliability and speed of communication, upgrading of communication security, strengthening of intelligence gathering tools and electronic counter measures, he said. The BSF personnel were also being trained in modern technology and equipments like grenade simulator, video presentation system and electronic control target system, the IG said. At present 15 battalions of BSF were deployed in the TCM frontier to guard the 1,333.5-Km Indo-Bangla border with Tripura, Cachar and Mizoram (TCM), out of which eleven battalions were deployed along the Tripura border, he said. The IG added that two more BSF battalion would be deployed along the Tripura border to check trans-border movement of militants, border crimes and infiltration. At present the distance between two Border Out Posts(BOP) is approximately six to seven Km and after the deployment of two more BSF battalion, the distance will further come down. "Some more new bops will be set up in addition to the existing 147 BOPs to increase vigil along the border," Mr Daniel said. The BSF IG said to further tighten surveillance along the Indo-Bangla border, the Union Government had sanctioned 736-Km border fencing in Tripura, 141.168-Km fencing in Cachar and 400-Km fencing along the border with Mizoram. The 11.5-Km of fencing along Tripura and the 68.25-Km fencing along Cachar had been completed, while work for barbed wire fencing was now under progress in the remaining border on a war footing, he said. The entire border fencing works will be completed by 2007, he added. For better patrolling and surveillance along the border, over 900-Km border road was constructed in the TCM frontier, Mr Daniel said, adding that the construction of border road would not only facilitate movements of BSF but also provide an opportunity for the economic development of the people living in the border and far-flung areas of the region. The BSF had seized contraband goods worth Rs four crore and apprehended 852 smugglers and illegal entrants during this year in the TCM frontier, he said. The BSF have also apprehended 41 hardcore militants and collaborators, while 13 tribal guerrillas surrendered to the para-military force during this year in Tripura. Mr Daniel was speaking on the occassion of BSF’s 38th raising day, (UNI) |
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Our foreign policy not Pak-centric, says Sinha NEW DELHI, Dec 1: External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha has scoffed at suggestions that India’s foreign policy had become Pakistan centric and made it absolutely clear that any formal talks with the neighbouring country will begin at the lower level and not at the summit level. "Pakistan is not the touch-stone of India’s foreign policy," he asserted in an interview to Aaj Tak television news channel. Confirming that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would travel to Islamabad for the SAARC summit in January, Mr Sinha, however, ruled out any formal dialogue between Mr Vajpayee and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. "They may discuss weather, food or other things but there will be no formal dialogue. We will not start the dialogue at the highest level...It will begin at the lower level," he said. "Whenever we begin talks with Pakistan, we will be speaking from a position of strength." Asked if there was any point in holding talks with Mr Jamali, who is considerd a dummy premier, Mr Sinha said he would not like to get into any argument on this issue. Mr Sinha denied that India was working under pressure from any quarter in pursuing its foreign policy goals. "We don’t work under any pressure and this was reflected in the role we played at the United Nations General Assembly session," he added. He said there had been progress on the argument being advanced by India and some other countries that the UN system needed reforms and restructuring. Along with India, he noted that Germany and Japan were also vying for a permanent place in the UN Security Council. (UNI) |
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A new twist in Karmapa controversy SILIGURI, Dec 1: The controversy surrounding the Rumtek monastery has deepened with a youth claiming that he was the "real incarnate" of the 16th Karmapa. Dawa Sangpo Dorje has requested Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to allow him to prove his "supernatural power", along with two other claimnants for the throne of the Dharma Chakra centre, the headquarters of the Kagupa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "I’m the real Karmapa and if the Gelupa sect head, the Dalai Lama, has recognised Tibet-born Ugyen Trinley Dorje as the 17th incarnate, the former should allow him to show his supernatural power with two other claimants to prove who is the real incarnate of the 16th Karmapa", the 27-year-old told a news conference here last evening. While Ugyen Trinley Dorje was recognised by two Rumtek’s regents — Tai Situ Rimpoche and Gyaltsab Rimpoche — in 1992 and approved by the Dalai Lama, another regent Shamar Rimpoche of Rumtek defied this and projected Thinley Tai Dorjee of Kalingpong monastery as the real inheritor of Rumtek. However, the youth from Sikkim has now added a new dimension to the controversy. Sangpo Dorje was born in Mangan in north Sikkim in 1977 and is now residing in Damthang in south Sikkim. The 16th Karmapa, Rang Jung Rigpe Dorje, founded the Rumtek monastery in the early sixties in east Sikkim, he died in 1981 in Amer. The controversy has been raging since 1991 in the Kagupa sect after one of the regents, Kongtrul Rimpoche, died in a mysterious car accident near Salugora in Siliguri. The 16th Karmapa before his death had made a will and formed a four-regent trust to look after the Kagupa sect and Rumtek monastery till his new incarnate was born. However, majority of the followers of the Kagupa sect believed that Ugyen Trinley Dorje, who now stays at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh after fleeing from Tibet in 2000, was the real incarnate since the Dalai Lama had approved of his seal. The Sikkimese youth now claimed that the lineage of Karmapa was senior to the Dalai Lama’s lineage Gelugpa sect and he had no right to interfere in the affairs of Kagupa sect. "Since the Dalai Lama has intervened, he should now solve the problem by putting three claimants in a place and allow them to prove who has more supernatural power," Dawa Sangpo Dorjee said. "Since I am from the Sherpa community and hail from Sikkim, majority of the Tibetan Buddhists did not like to seat on the throne of the Dharma Chakra centre," he said. Stating that the controversy had been damaging not only the Kagupa sect but also Buddhism globally, he said, "if the Dalai Lama fails to solve the controversy then the Indian Government should intervene to end the imapasse as the controversy will hamper the Indo-China relationship," he added. The Dalai Lama is expected here tomorrow for a seven-day visit to Darjeeling and Dawa will like to seek an audience with him on the issue. "I tried thrice to meet the Dalai Lama but all the time I was refused since 1992," he said. (UNI) Amarinder did injustice to me: Bhattal CHANDIGARH, Dec 1: In a significant development, Punjab Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today said it was she who brought Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to the forefront of the Congress and now the same Amarinder Singh Government had re-opened the corruption case against her. Ms Bhattal, an accused in a corruption case filed against her by the State Vigilance Department, told reporters after the hearing into the case outside the local Court complex that Capt Amarinder Singh had called her up for joining the Congress and that she only helped him join the party. "Today, his (Amarinder’s) own Government has re-opened an old case against her through the Vigilance Bureau," she said. "I even helped Amarinder Singh in getting the party ticket for the state assembly election but now I am being harassed in the regime of the same person," Ms Bhattal told reporters. "I fail to understand what grudge the Chief Minister has against me," she said. When asked whether the State Government was now helping her in the case against her, Ms Bhattal said, "how could the Government help me as it has already re-opened the case against me through the State Vigilance Bureau". The case against her was clearly the state versus Ms Bhattal, she pointed out. Responding to another question, Ms Bhattal said State Government should listen to the vows of the people at large. "People must be right in what they are complaining against the Government," she added. When asked whether there would be any change in the state party leadership, Ms Bhattal said the party high command had been informed about the present political situation. "Time will tell everything," she added. (UNI) India, Brazil sign defence cooperation deal NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Close on the heels of a major defence deal for the sale to New Delhi of six embarer executive jets, India and Brazil today signed a wide-ranging defence cooperation deal to explore possibilities of cooperating in future aviation programmes in air surveillance systems. Besides, air surveillance systems the agreement also visualises exploring co-production and co-development of aircraft, warship building and sub systems such as software avionics and ordnance. Brazil, besides, US, France, Russia and Israel is the only country to boast of a well established air surveillance platform, which it had earlier offered to India. But New Delhi opted for the Israeli Phalcon Radar to be mounted on Russian IL-76 frame for its airborne early warning and control system. Fernandes during the course of talks repeatedly pointed to the Brazilian delegation India’s emerging aviation potential in the shape of its light combat aircraft, the advanced light helicopter as well as intermediate jet trainer. Fernandes invited Brazil to participate in the forthcoming India Defence Expo to be held here in February. (PTI) Speaker hosts dinner for all political parties NEW DELHI, Dec 1: On the eve of winter session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi tonight hosted a dinner for leaders of all political parties which was also attended by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and leader of opposition Sonia Gandhi. The dinner meeting was described as "customary" to discuss the smooth conduct of the proceedings in both houses, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj saying that the business of the house would be discussed by the business advisory committee of the house. She said the Women’s Reservation Bill is not likely to figure in the session due to paucity of time and both houses would pay tributes to the martyrs of December 13 attack on Parliament on December 12 since the date of the attack falls on a Saturday. Swaraj said the house would pay floral tributes to those who laid down their lives on December 13. Swaraj said both houses would adjourn tomorrow after paying tributes to Union Minister Murasoli Maran who died during the inter-session period. The dinner which was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Congressmen P R Dasmunsi and Shivraj Patil, Somnath Chatterjee, Ram Vilas Paswan and Raghuvans Prasad Singh, provided the leaders an opportunity to exchange views on how to ensure that listed business is completed in the short time that the house would be meeting. She said the session is expected to legislate on the seven ordinances that were promulgated during the inter-session period and these included Indian Telegraph Act, amendment of Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) under which decisions of review committees on complaints lodged by those charged under POTA would be binding on State Governments. (PTI) "Standard"
presented to 2 elite Armoured Regiments PATHANKOT, Dec 1: Maintaining that the modernisation drive of the armed forces would be carried out at full pace, President A P J Abdul Kalam today said India has always taken initiative for peace so that nations of the region could accelerate the pace of development. "We have offered a hand of friendship to Pakistan to ensure that India and Pakistan which both had ample resources should jointly make efforts for development of the region," the President said in his brief speech after presenting prestigious "Standard" to Army’s two elite Armoured Regiments the 69th somewhere in the Northern Sector and to 86th Regiment at Mamoon Cantonment near here. The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces told an impressive turned out parades at the two Cantonments that Government had recently taken a number of steps to enhance the combat capabilities of the forces specially those engaged in checking cross-border infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir and those engaged in anti-militancy operations. "Government wants that the Army units engaged in challenging tasks of fighting terrorists to be equipped with state of art weaponry", he said. Recalling the yeoman service of the two Regiments in 1971 war and in operations like Trident, Vijay and Parakaram, he said the country’s armed forces had always come victorious with tasks assigned to them and appreciated the effort of the soldiers in carrying out humanitarian tasks during natural calamities. "Government is also striving hard to improve conditions for troops in the peace time by increasing the married accommodation and providing better education facilities for their children", he said. Before presenting colours to the Regiment, Kalam reviewed a mounted parade of tanks and released a first day cover to commemorate the historic occasion for the Regiments. The 86th Armoured Regiment raised from a mixed class composition at Ahmednagar in March 1977, now is armed with the T-72 tanks and forms part of White Tiger Armoured Division. The Regiment has distinction of serving in all theatres of operation and recently made history by deploying tanks at a height of over 14,500 metres in the eastern sector. During the past six years, the Regiment has had the distinction of participating in counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir under the elite Northern Command during which four brave sons of the Regiment achieved martyrdom. The efforts of 86th Armoured Regiment both in war and peace have fructified with the award of two Param Vishist Seva Medals, one Ati Vishst Seva Medal, two Chief of Army Staff Commendation Cards and seven General Officer Commanding in Chief Commendation Cards to the brave and dedicated soldiers of the Regiment. While, presenting Colours to the 69th Regiment here, President recalled the Regiments glorious tryst with destiny in the 1971 conflict when equipped with amphibious Russian PT-76 tanks, it led the assault on Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. The regiment won the battle honours for East Pakistan and has converted to T-72 tanks in 1989-90. The Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen B S Takhar is a Colonel of the Regiment having commanded it earlier. Earlier the President was received by the Colonel of the Regiment Lt Gen K Davar, who was the third Commandant of the Regiment. The Parade was commanded by Col R S Malve, the 12th Commandant of the Regiment. Lieutenant Inderjot Singh Mann received the "Standard" on behalf of the Regiment. Others who attended the ceremony included Governor of Punjab Justice O P Verma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command Lt Gen Hari Prasad, GOC 16 Corps Lt Gen Ashok Kapur. Prominent amongst veterans were Lt Gen (retd) Niranjan Singh Malik and Major General (retd) Narinder SIngh. Later, at a function of the signing of memorandum of association between the Punjab Technical University and Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology, the President stressed the need to bring excellence in the quality management education in order to enable country’s industrialists, business and management executives to compete globally in the changed economic scenario. Recalling his past experience in many space and defence programmes, Dr Kalam emphasised that design was the most critical and important aspect of any quality product and exhorted the entrepreneurs and top managers to excel in the arena of conceptualization of the design. Referring to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s announcement on Independence Day regarding a rural development programme called PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas), he said it involved identification of rural clusters with growth potential and creating physical connectivity, electronic connectivity and knowledge connectivity. |
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