. |
. |
Dr Swaminathan CHENNAI, Oct 8: Synergy between public policy and technological development, together with public understanding will help attain sustainable .....more NICED scientists expect KOLKATA, Oct 8: The National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) scientists are expecting a major break-through in formulating an ...more Children all set to grab the stage with Jashn-e-Bachpan NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Bringing alive the magic of story telling on stage, the national school of ...more Check dam commissioned to ensure canal water SONIPAT, Oct 8: To supply canal water throughout the year for irrigation purposes to the farmers ....more |
|
14-day theatre festival NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Aiming to "showcase a wide spectrum of Indian theatre," the Sangeet Natak Akademi would organise a 14-day theatre festival .....more HIV
positive people in BANGKOK, Oct 8: In a strong plea against the routine testing of people for HIV till a back-up counselling mechanism is put in place, a research study ......more IAF’s Hasimara station being upgraded HASIMARA (WB), Oct 8: The Indian Air Force is upgrading its strategic air base here keeping in mind China’s ‘designs’ in gaining presence in the Indian ...more Kerala
cabinet clears THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 8: The Kerala cabinet today issued the green signal for the rehabilitation of 400-odd minority community families to .....more |
 |
||
Bharati, Katiyar challenge Rae Bareli order .... Flood claims seven in Orissa ..... Assistant driver charred to death .... Transparency requires in WTO decision making process: India .....
|
Dr Swaminathan calls for evergreen revolution CHENNAI, Oct 8: Synergy between public policy and technological development, together with public understanding will help attain sustainable agricultural development leading to an evergreen revolution, M S Swaminathan research foundation chairman M S Swaminathan has said. Addressing a seminar organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry here yesterday, he said the pace of agricultural development had to match with the pace of public understanding. He quoted the national debate on Genetically Modified (GM) crops in the United Kingdom, in which over 22,000 respondents exercised their rights and stopped the GM crops entering their markets. Dr Swaminathan said India had been concentrating on the number of meetings and the list of negotiations to be made at the WTO forums. However, not much effort had been exerted to strengthen business competitiveness. Though India was the largest producer of milk in the world, her quality standards were not good enough to export, he lamented. In agriculture, the major problem was in relation to the small size of the holdings. "We have lost all advantages of scale that any other western country enjoys," he said. Dr Swaminathan observed that the cooperative mode set through the Self Help Group (SHG) model could be a solution to attack the scale problem. But efforts of the SHG would yield results only when they were assured of a market, he remarked. Dr Swaminathan said there had to be a conscious migration of on-farm workers to non-farm activities. Strict legislation should be passed to ensure the use of agricultural land for cultivation alone and also for effective water management strategies. Tamil Nadu Agriculture Secretary T S Shridhar observed that the share of agriculture in the state’s GDP was falling and at 17 per cent was much lower than the national average. Agro tech foods president Utpal Sen Gupta said one per cent growth in agriculture resulted in a two per cent growth in the manufacturing and service sectors. Noting that the cost of transporting sunflower oil from Argentina to Chennai costed 45 US dollar per MT as against 55 dollar per MT when transported from Punjab to Chennai, Mr Gupta said the country had to concentrate on improving the logistics infrastructure. (UNI) |
|
NICED scientists expect major breakthrough in AIDS vaccine KOLKATA, Oct 8: The National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) scientists are expecting a major break-through in formulating an indigenous AIDS vaccine with the laboratory tests almost over and the results being "very encouraging". "If everything goes rights, we are targeting to have human trials of the vaccine by the beginning of next year," NICED Deputy Director Shekhar Chakrabarti told UNI here today. "We have done the toxicological tests on mice and the test on rabbit is on. The result of the test on mice has been very encouraging and there was no toxic effect on the animal," he said. Asked whether the toxic effect could vary in human beings, Dr Chakrabarti said, "normally it does not happen. The toxicity factor remains the same among all animals. Some more results are yet to come. But encouraged by the test reports that we have already got, we may go in for the first phase of human trial among 25 people of the high risk group at pune in early 2004. There will be trials in three phases." The NICED project started in December, 2000, following an agreement with the Union Ministry of Health, the Indian Council of Medicine and Research (ICMR) and the International AIDS Vaccination Initiative (IAVI). Dr Chakrabarti has been engaged in AIDS research since the early 1980s and had even worked with the renowned American scientist Robert C Gallo, who had discovered that the HIV virus caused AIDS. Lavi, an international NGO based in New York, is working towards a global vaccine of the deadly disease and has set up an advisory committee for the purpose comprising, among others, Kapil Sibal and Shabana Azmi. Talking about the virus, Dr Chakrabarti said, "it is called the Indian virus as all the strains that we have used were from the country only. Furthermore, the virus of the disease varies from nation to nation. The Constitutions of Indians are more likely to be near the people of bordering nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal among others," he said. "Research work of the vaccine is almost over at the laboratory level. Now it is up for work at the clinical and the production levels. To set up the laboratory for the human trial and production of the vaccine, the US-based therion biology has been roped in by the IAVI," he added. About the chances of failure of the vaccine, the NICD Deputy Director said, "in any research work chances of failure are always there. And there is always more to learn from the failures. But research work cannot come to a halt for fear of failure." On the condition of the disease in the country as well as in West Bengal, Dr Chakrabarti said, "there is a serious need of a specific baseline data. I met the President in December last and even he had asked me about the number of the HIV positive people. There should be a systematic survey among different risk people. After all, to contain the disease, there has to be a coordinated effort from all sections. "Combating AIDS is not only possible from laboratories alone. There has to be efforts from different levels," he added. "The state should organise a coordinated and systematic survey on its own. Recently the NACO had appreciated the Sonagachhi project (at the city’s largest red light zone) and one should think how this project could be implemented at other places," he said. "Besides, there cannot be any place of complacency for the state for the fact that the number of AIDS patients or even the HIV positive people were less compared to other states. After all, the trend is also increasing here. Among the commercial sex workers here, about six to eight per cent of them were HIV positive in 1996-1997. However, in 1999-2000, the percentage increased to 10 to 12, Dr Chakrabarti said. (UNI) |
|
Children all set to grab the stage with Jashn-e-Bachpan NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Bringing alive the magic of story telling on stage, the national school of drama’s fifth edition of the national theatre festival for children Jashn-e-Bachpan commences here tomorrow. Organised in November 1998 for the first time by NSD’s Sanskar Rang Toli, Jashn-e-Bachpan aims not only to showcase the talent of about 90 children in the age group of six to 17, but also provide a platform for young actors to get social messages across in an innovative manner. The festival, which will continue till October 19, brings together children’s troupes from all over the country in an effort to provide impetus to the children’s theatre movement and work towards better, meaningful and educative theatre for children. The festival opens with the Toli’s own play ‘Premchand Ke Saath Rang’, based on short stories by Premchand, which focuses on finding hope in an era of depression, corruption and deteriorating values. Other plays lined up for the festival include ‘Chor Chakor’ - which incorporates children’s games, folk lore and Malwi dance drama mach - a modernised story of a prince with a moral presented in ‘Raaj Kumar Aur Poloo’, a Manipuri play based on the Grandma and Mud series and an ingenious adaptation of Alibaba and forty thieves in ‘Baghdad Mein Aaye Chor’. Children’s favourite fairy tale character red riding hood is brought alive in ‘Choti Lal Koshi’, while Panchatantra tales influence ‘Raja Ki Khoj’, a musical rendered in Kathavachak style. ‘Charandas Chor’, based on a Rajasthani folk tale, is peppered with satire and comedy, while ‘Gadbad Jhala’ highlights the creative use of rhymes. Works of noted playwrights Sharad Joshi and Bharatendu Harishchandra also find a place in the festival with ‘Ek tha Gadha’ and ‘Andher Nagri Choupat Raja’. The organisers say the focus is on quality while selecting the plays for the festival. "We also try to give chance to new talent and prefer selecting groups that have been regularly working with children," according to Vibha Chibber, one of the organisers. Coinciding with Jashn-e-Bachpan, a confluence of traditional folk and performing arts ‘Bal Sangam’ would be held from October 15 to 19. Aiming to acquaint the children with the rich and varied cultural heritage of the country and to preserve and nurture traditional art forms, the festival would include Yakshagana from Karnataka, Gotipua from Orissa, Raas from Uttar Pradesh, Mangniyar from Rajasthan, and Thang-Ta, Pung Chalom and Lai Haraopa from Manipur. The highlight of Bal Sangam would be workshops on tribal paintings, paper Mache, Madhubani paintings, puppet making, craft work on supari and origami. Ms Chibber said invitations had been sent out to schools and posters had been put up to invite children to the festival. However, the target audience included people from all age groups as theatre transended all age boundaries, she added. (UNI) |
|
|
|
|
IAF’s Hasimara station being upgraded HASIMARA (WB), Oct 8: The Indian Air Force is upgrading its strategic air base here keeping in mind China’s ‘designs’ in gaining presence in the Indian Ocean region and its increasing friendliness with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar for that purpose. "The Chinese have said on various occasions that the Indian Ocean is not India’s Ocean. Nearly 80 per cent of the world trade is carried out through this region. China wants a presence in that region with some say in the world trade," Air Officer Commanding of the Hasimara Air Force Station Air Commodore K K Nohwar told reporters here yesterday. Stating that China was increasing its relations with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar with this end in view, he said, "this is a long-term design of China. It is a matter of concern for us." Asked what steps the IAF was taking in this situation for a forward air base like Hasimara which is close to the borders with China and Bangladesh, he said moves are afoot to install ‘pre-vision radars,’ for enhanced surveillance and physical infrastructure like security wall were being ‘steadily’ built up. "This is being done in consonance with the plans of the eastern air command. Security is being given priority," he said. "Besides, in a matter of time, we will be able to accomodate all kinds of advanced fighter aircraft and deploy them at various locations as and where necessary," Nowhar told reporters visiting Hasimara Air Force Station on the occasion of IAF’s 71st anniversary. According to Chief Operations Officer Group Captain R S Randhawa, Hasimara has within its air power several Chinese military camps, such as Gordong, Hopang, Donzong and Nagchuka, mainly in the Tibetan autonomous region. Operations from Hasimara could involve flying and engaging targets in varied terrain such as tropical jungles, steep mountains and over the Tibetan plateau, he said. "Compared to the plains of Assam and North Bengal, the Chinese airfields located in the Tibetan plateau impose restrictions on their aircraft operations owing to high altitude, averaging three kilometres," Randhawa said. Pointing out that high elevation on the Chinese side resulted in their aircraft requiring longer runways, he said those aircraft, therefore, were forced to carry lesser loads and fuel, affecting their operational capability. "Besides, the Chinese air force is dependent upon a long logistics chain from mainland China for air operations. The severe winter weather also hampers operations from the Chinese airfields located in the Tibetan plateau. This is especially with regard to the older generation aircraft," he said. The Chinese presently operated A-5, F-7, F-8, J-6, JH-7, and Su-27 aircraft, besides inducting air-to-air refuellers and the older version of the Russian AWACS, the a-50. While Hasimara presently has two squadrons of MIG-27 aircraft, fighters like Mirage 2000, Su-30 and MIG-21 can also be operated as and when required, he said. "Hasimara is also a strategic location with relation to the North-East and the Chicken neck corridor (linking North and South Bengal). Also, in case of future conflict, it is to be used both for offensive and air-defence purposes," Air Commodore Nowhar said. (PTI) |
|
||
Kerala cabinet clears Marad rehabilitation THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 8: The Kerala cabinet today issued the green signal for the rehabilitation of 400-odd minority community families to the violence-hit Marad region, as per the recent accord between Hindu and Muslim organisations, while seeking further legal opinion on the contentious issue of referring the may two massacre case to the CBI. Briefing newspersons here after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister A K Antony said the police and the District Administration had been issued necessary directions to rehabilitate the families which had been staying in relief camps for the past five months. "The rehabilitation will start any moment. The authorities will take appropriate steps at the right time and it has no connection with the question of CBI inquiry," he added. The cabinet approved a package for the overall development of the region. It had also enhanced the Solatium for the families of those who were massacred to Rs 10 lakh from Rs one lakh. Similarly, those seriously injured would be given Rs five lakh and other injured would be given Rs three lakh. One dependent of each of those killed would be given Government jobs. The Sangh Parivar outfits were preventing the rehabilitation of minority community families on the ground that a CBI inquiry should be ordered into the incident to bring out the inter-state and terrorist links of the accused in the case. However, Hindu and Muslim organisations reached an agreement here on Sunday, under which the Government would seek legal opinion on whether a partial CBI probe was possible in a case in which the Crime-Branch had already filed a chargesheet in the Court. Stating that the cabinet had approved all the conditions in the pact, Mr Antony said the amicable settlement reached by the two communities was a model for the entire country. He said general administration department Secretary Vijayakumar had been authorised to implement the agreement in a time-bound manner. Water Resources Minister T M Jacob, Electricity Minister Kadavoor Sivadasan, Health Minister P Sankaran and PWD Minister M K Muneer would coordinate the implementation of the development package for the region. (UNI) Bharati, Katiyar challenge Rae Bareli order LUCKNOW, Oct 8: BJP leaders Uma Bharati and Vinay Katiyar and VHP leaders Ashok Singhal, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, V H Dalmiya and Sadhvi Rithambhara today filed a petition in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court challenging the Rae Bareli Court’s decision to frame charges against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Their petitions are likely to come up for hearing before a single judge bench tomorrow. Another accused in the case HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi got a reprieve last week in a High Court order which stayed the Rae Bareli Court’s decision to frame charges against him. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani was discharged by the trial Court in the case earlier. (PTI) BHUBANESWAR, Oct 8: The floods, caused due to heavy rain have so far claimed seven lives and marooned hundreds of villages in seven districts of the state. Officials sources here said, according to latest reports received at the state headquarters here about five people lost their lives in Ganjam and two in Kendrapara districts. Reports are awaited from other districts. While two people died in Kabisuryanagar, one each died in Seraghara, Hinjli and Digapahandi area of the Ganjam districts. Earlier, reports said one died in a house collapse in Singri village of Aul police station. One old man of Mandia village under Patkura Police Station in Kendrapra district was drowned in the Chatrapala river. Almost all the major rivers of Ganjam, Rayagada, Gajapati, Balasore, Mayurbhanja, Bhadrakh and Jajpur district were in spate following the unprecedented incessant rain that had been lashing the coastal and the southern Orissa for the last five days. The Budhabalanga, the Baitarani, the Vansdhara and the Rushikulya were flowing above the danger level. According to official sources, Budhabalanga was flowing above the danger level at Govindpur, Baitarani at Akhuapada, Bansdhara at Kasinagar and Rusikulya at Purusottampur. Budhabalanga was flowing at 8.54 metres at Govindapur against its danger level of 9.13 metre, Baitarani was flowing at 18.13 metre at Akhuapada while the danger level was 17.83, Vansdhara was flowing at 54.65 metre at Kasinagar while the danger level was 54.60 metre and Rushikulya was flowing around two metres above the danger level of 6.83 at Purusottampur. The other rivers —Ghodahada, Bahuda in Ganjam were also in spate though they were flowing below the danger level. State Revenue Minister Biswa Bhushan Harichandan yesterday said as many as 1.48 lakh people in 223 villages of Ganjam district were affected by the flood and around 55,000 peiople in 67 villages were marooned in Ganjam district alone. The Government had ordered three-day emergency relief to the flood victims. A report from Baripada said besides, Budhabalanga, Salindi Kalo, Khair, east and west Deo and Ganghara rivers were in spate. The road network inside the similipal tiger reserves was badly damanged, its Director Debrata Swain, said. Irrigation department sources said two sluice gates of sunei medium irrigation projects and one sluice gates of kalo medium irrigation projects in Mayurbhanja district were opened to ensure the safety of the reservoirs. Many blocks in Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur districts were also inundated following the rain. (UNI) Assistant driver charred to death MADURAI, Oct 8: An assistant driver of the Kollam-Madurai passenger train was charred to death and 27 others injured, when the engine of the train caught fire and derailed along with three coaches after colliding with a trailor lorry at a level crossing at Munneerpallam near Tirunelveli in the wee hours today, Railway sources said here. The trailor lorry got stuck in the middle of the track even as the gate-keeper was closing one side of the gate, leading to the accident, the sources said. The diesel engine of the train, which caught fire in the impact was totally gutted. However, the fire was put out before spreading to the coaches. The trailor lorry laden with a big crane, which got entangled with the bumper of the train was also gutted in the fire, the sources said. Two general second class coaches and a break-van-cum passenger coach were derailed in the accident. The condition of the injured, including the engine driver, was stated not to be serious and all of them were admitted to a hospital in Tirunelveli. Traffic in Tirunelveli-Nagercoil sector, now disrupted, was expected to be restored by evening, Railway sources said. The southern Railway General Manager and Divisional Railway Manager had rushed to the spot. Meanwhile, a southern Railway press release in Chennai said the gate keeper at the level crossing tried to show ‘hand danger signal’ towards the fast approaching train and ran in that direction, but could not prevent the accident. Under the impact, the train engine caught fire and the assistant driver, Santosh Varghese, was burnt alive inside the engine itself. The driver, however, escaped with simple injuries. The 27 injured, including three Railway employees who were injured grievously, have been admitted to the Government hospital in Tirunelveli. On hearing about the accident, the Minister of State for Railways, A K Moorthy, cut short his tour of North India and rushed to the accident spot along with the General Manager, Southern Railways, V Anand and other top officials. Tamil Nadu Minister for Forests and Environment, R Vaithilingam, visited the hospital in Tirunelveli to console the injured.(PTI) Transparency requires in WTO decision making process: India NEW DELHI, Oct 8: India today said developed and developing countries should now "close their differences" and move forward after the Cancun debacle but felt more "transparency" in decision-making process was needed at the wto to help towards this end. "The WTO decision making process should now become more transparent and inclusive to prevent failures like that of Cancun," Special Secretary in Commerce Ministry S N Menon told a conference on Cancun ministerial. Since everybody knows the divergences after the collapse of Cancun ministerial, he said it would now be easier to close them and move forward as bilateral and regional trade agreements were no substitue for rule-based multilateral trading system. Though Cancun ministerial might have collapsed, one important thing that has emerged out of it was that the developing countries’ trade concerns could no longer be ignored, he said adding if EU and US had its way on their pro-developed proposal on agriculture, then rest of the member-countries would have been isolated. Former Indian Ambassador to WTO’s Narayanan, who also spoke at the conference jointly organised by EU and Administrative Staff College of India said he did not agree with the view that there should be any change in the decision making process of WTO in the face of frequent failures of the ministrials. "The present approach of decision making through consensus is no doubt slow and tortuous but it is time-tested and only practical way," he said. EU Ambassador Michel Caillouet was critical of Indian media for having described the "failure as a success" after the Cancun ministerial. "Nothing can be more farther from the truth and it is to my mind about time we tell the truth, however bitter that may be," he said warning that the consequences of Cancun breakdown will be particularly grave for developing countries. Narayanan however countered this argument saying that whether one sees Cancun as a failure or success depended upon from which side of the fence one sees. Former Planning Commission member Arjun Sengupta however towed the EU line saying that India should not oppose Singapore issues as it stood to gain from multilateral investment rules and competition policy by attracting more foreign direct investment. He also had diametrically opposition view on agriculure and said it was time India opened up its farm sector. There was no justification for the kind of protectionism practised by India which had perhaps one of highest tariffs on farm products, he said adding reeled out statistics to say even China had much lower tariffs on agriculture than India. He felt that issues like labour standards and environment were bogeys and wondered how could they harm country like India which already had one of best laws on labour standards. If there was one lesson from Ccancun, it was that the old system was not working, he said adding both EU and India move towards free trade agreement just as it was being done in other regions. (PTI) |
||
|
||
|
| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports | |
