Foreign energy firms make a beeline to reap N-deal benefits

MUMBAI, Nov 12: The civilian nuclear deal with the US is still not through but firms from nuclear suppliers’ group countries are already lining up for a possible share in the sweepstakes in the field of atomic energy in India.

American, French and Canadian industries are showing a lot of interest in making India a hub for light water nuclear-power related material and equipment, according to senior Government officials who are in the know of things.

Officials from foreign energy firms are frequent visitors to Nuclear Power Corporation of India limited here and other Indian industries, as the Indo-US nuclear civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal is expected to come up in the ‘lame-duck’ session of the senate which begins tomorrow.

Light water nuclear power reactors use low enriched uranium as fuel and ordinary (sea) water as the coolant.

India requires at least 25-30 nuclear power plants of 1,000 mw each over the next three decades to meet the target of 65,000 mw of nuclear energy envisaged by the energy committee.

Top officials from American firms like General Electric (GE) and some French and Canadian companies have been visiting India for the past few weeks to explore opportunities and get feedback to make their future strategy anticipating that the deal will come through by Wednesday or Thursday.

NPCIL chairman and managing director S K Jain told

that the industry representatives are also meeting the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board to understand India’s regulatory mechanism.

"They are thinking of making India a hub for nuclear industries’ needs and thus meeting all players related to these areas including the leading private industries who are already in the nuclear business with NPCIL," Jain said.

They are also planning to upgrade their facilities to meet the future needs of India as well as other countries in nuclear energy.

Last week, N D White, Chief of Nuclear Division of General Electric (GE), met Jain and AEC chairman Anil Kakodkar to discuss the possibilities of setting up light water reactors in India.

"However, no discussion on the exact number of plants were discussed at this point," Jain said.

GE had supplied India’s first nuclear power plants —the boiling water units 1 and 2 at Tarapur in late 1960s.

Besides French and US, the Canadian and Japanese industries have also shown interest and "every day at least one foreign company representative comes to meet us," he said.

"There is a continous flow of Foreign Industry visitors," Jain said. Russian nuclear industries are already negotiating with NPCIL for four to six more reactors to be constrtucted at Kudankulam Nuclear Island. These negotiations have been going on for a long time even before the process Indo-US nuclear deal began, he said.

Meanwhile, NPCIL and Aerb are busy in selecting sites on the eastern and western coasts of the country to enable the foreign players to ship-in their heavy nuclear equipment as done by Russia in Kudankulam in the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu. (PTI)

US to take active steps to check Bollywood piracy

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: Even as Hindi film pirates have a field day in India, they may find the going tough in the United States, with the American Justice Department taking active steps to stop the piracy of films and music, including those produced in Bollywood.

According to US Intellectual Property Rights Coordinator Chris Israel, America is concerned about intellectual property enforcement and the Justice Department is taking active steps to stop the piracy of films and music including those produced in Bollywood.

"But to accomplish our end goals and help everyone it is important for the Indian copyright industry to partner with organizations like the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the recording industry association to share information and resources to stop the piracy of their products," he said at a seminar on intellectual property rights here.

The profits generated from an effective anti-piracy campaign, can be used to expand local businesses and further creative endeavors in India, said Israel.

On copyright protection in the digital era, Israel said "we need to encourage India to sign and implement the Wipo internet treaties, which will strengthen protection for digital works and modernize India’s copyright laws."

Additionally, industry’s efforts will be critical in encouraging the Indian Government to adopt an optical disc law to address optical media piracy, Israel said adding "I understand that draft legislation is currently being studied."

"This is an area of concern for both US and Indian industry. An optical disc regime would regulate the production of optical media, which in turn would decrease counterfeiting and piracy and facilitate enforcement efforts," he said.

Agreed hugh stevens, Sr Vice President, Asia Pacific, Time Warner, "India does not have an optical disc law, which is very important to regulate the production of pirated optical discs, a big loss to the entertainment industry."

"If there is a law, and the problem can be regulated upstream, it will lower the cost of handling piracy besides making the system very effective," Stevens said noting countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore have such a law in place India too deserves the same."

The Indian Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce are working on it but "it seems to be taking lot more time," Stevens said.

On how it affects them, Stevens said "we are content providers and produce dvds and videos. It directly affects us. Also the Indian diaspora abroad is very much affected, especially those in the Middle East."

However, Vivek Bharti, Advisor, FICCI, said "the laws on protecting intellectual property and checking piracy are very much in place. What is needed is their implementation."

"The implementing bodies need to be sensitised.What we lack is the capacity of the system to implement the law, which needs to be corrected," he said.

Cable television piracy, both signal theft and content piracy, continues to be a significant problem and requires stepped-up enforcement, Israel said. (PTI)

Sealing issue dominates Delhi Assembly session

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: The sealing issue dominated the ninth session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, which concluded here on Friday.

The issue dominated proceedings of the House whether in the form of the opposition-sponsored no confidence motion against the Sheila Dikshit Government or the resolution brought by the State Government urging the Centre to stop the sealing drive immediately till the finalisation of the Master Plan 2021.

Further, the questions, special mention and other matters raised in the House were related to sealing.

The issue held centrestage right from the opening day of the session on October 30 when leader of the opposition in the House Jagdish Mukhi gave a notice for no confidence motion against the State Government.

The discussion on the motion started on October 30, immediately after obituary references to renowned Shehnai Vadak Ustad Bismillah Khan, former Lt Governor P K Dave and ex-MLA Jagdish Anand, and concluded on November 1 with the defeat of the motion.

It is the first time in the history of the State Legislative Assembly that such a long debate was held on any no confidence motion. About 30 members participated in the discussion.

On November 1, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit moved a resolution in the House urging the Union Government to stop the sealing drive in Delhi till the finalisation of the Master Plan 2021. The resolution also requested the Urban Development Ministry to finalise the Master Plan at the earliest and to move the Supreme Court to suspend operation of its orders till the notification of the Master Plan 2021.

However, subsequent to the introduction of the resolution, the Supreme Court passed an order saying that the sealing will not stop.

In light of the order, the Government resolution further pleaded that a scheme for rehabilitation of traders whose shops were being sealed should be announced by the DDA and the MCD.

"More market areas, including space for hawkers and vendors, should be made available, more parking areas should be made available and for negative traders, special areas should be made available at the earliest,"the Government resolution said.

The resolution was accepted by the House on November 7.

After the November 6 Supreme Court ruling refusing any relief to traders from sealing, the House was adjourned for the day after 45 minutes of functioning to seek appointment of the members with the Prime Minister to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation and seek immediate cessation of the sealing drive.

Even as the opposition raised slogans against the motion, due to non-inclusion in the resolution their demand for a para on bringing an ordinance to stop sealing, the resolution was passed by the Speaker with the Congress ‘ayes’ outnumbering the opposition ‘noes’.

The next day of the session saw the expulsion of the entire BJP members from the House. Soon after leader of the opposition Jagdish Mukhi tabled an adjournment motion in view of the Delhi bandh called by traders on that day and BJP members raised slogans against Government’s inaction, Education Minister Arvinder Singh lovely proposed a motion on the expulsion of the BJP members which was accepted by the Speaker.

The session also saw several legislators expressing apprehensions yesterday in the House over their security in view of the volatile situation following the resumption of the sealing drive, following which the Speaker wrote to the Chief Minister apprising her on the concern of MLAs.

Stating that the legislators’ demands were just and their request for security, like in other states, needed consideration, the Speaker, in his letter, said the members of the Assembly be provided with adequate security for safeguarding their lives and properties. However, the BJP said the security concern was an issue for the Congress and not for them.

The House also passed a resolution moved by MLAs Mukesh Sharma, Tarvinder Singh Marwah and Naseeb Singh requesting the DDA and concerned authorities to send the proposed Master Plan 2021 to the House for the consideration of the elected representatives.

Some of the bills passed during the session included the Delhi Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2006, the members of Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi (salaries, allowances, pensions etc) (amendment) bill, 2006, the ministers of the GNCT of Delhi (salaries, allowances) (amendment) bill, 2006 and the Delhi Value Added Tax (amendment) bill, 2006. (UNI)

SC to hear PIL against Reliance’s Jamnagar Sez today

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: A group of farmers from Gujarat has moved the Supreme Court questioning the acquisition of 10,000 acres of farm land for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd’s proposed Jamnagar Special Economic Zone.

The PIL, listed for hearing tomorrow, has challenged the Gujarat High Court order dismissing their plea against the decision alloting the land to the company in five villages of Jamnagar district.

In a special leave petition filed through advocate Sanjay Kapur, the farmers alleged that of the 10,000 acres of land acquired by State Government, 9,000 acres is farm land.

The land would be utilised by the company for developing an SEZ, which would also house its parent firm Reliance Industries Ltd’s proposed 27 million tonne mega refinery.

Maintaining that the land was acquired for the purpose by violating the provisions meant for developing the SEZ, the farmers cited the recent directives issued by the Ministry of Commerce, which make it clear that only wasteland and non-farm land would be acquired for developing the SEZs.

The PIL also questioned that no time-frame has been fixed for utilization of the land and only 6,000 acres have been earmarked for developing the SEZ in the first phase.

Further, there have been no rehabilitation scheme for the farmers who would lose their land to Reliance, it said.

The PIL would be heard along with another such petition filed by an advocate M L Sharma, challenging the decision of various State Governments to acquire farm land at cheaper rate for giving it to private companies.

In his petition, Sharma has challenged the allocation of 25,000 acres of land to Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries in Haryana and for another SEZ in Maharashtra.

It questioned the allotment of 2,500 acres of land to Anil Ambani group’s Reliance energy at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh for setting up a power project, contending that it was done arbitrarily as the project requires only 700 acres of land.

The two petitions came just a week after the court dismissed a PIL on SEZ, saying that it cannot interfere in Government’s policy decisions. (PTI)

HC reserves order on Anand Margis plea in Justice Ray case

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: Thirty years after the bomb attack on the then Chief Justice of India A N Ray, the Delhi High Court has reserved its order on the plea of the convicted Anand Margis to proceed on a changed statement of the approver in the case.

Vikram, the accused-turned-approver on whose statement the other three accused — Santoshanand Avdhoot, Sudevanand Avdhoot and a lawyer Ranjan Dwivedi — were arrested and convicted, had later told a top police officer in Bihar that his confession was taken under duress.

The three accused, all followers of Anand Marg, have filed appeal against their conviction in 1976.

While Santoshanand and Sudevanand were sentenced to 17 years imprisonment, Dwivedi was awarded a four-year jail term. They were on bail since 1986.

During the pendency of appeal, the trio had moved the application before the High Court claiming that the approver, in a written confession, had changed the statement about their involvement in the case.

They submitted that Vikram, also an Anand Margi, in his statement before the then IG Prison, Bihar, in 1978 had stated that he was made approver under "duress" and was forced to give statement against them.

The verdict was reserved by Justice J M Malik after CBI concluded its arguments opposing their plea to act on the changed statement of the approver saying that it was an "after-thought".

Bombs were hurled at ray, the then CJI, while returning after day’s work at a traffic point near the Supreme Court in March 1975.

CBI alleged that Justice Ray was attacked by the Anand Margis as he had denied bail to them for their alleged involvement in the murder of the then Railway Minister L N Mishra.

The three-accused were held guilty for attempting to eliminate Justice Ray relying on the statement of Vikram.

Advocate M L Lahoty, appearing for the accused, submitted that the court should consider the plea of his clients on the statement of the approver, contending that it should be treated as a piece of evidence.

Lahoty also argued that the court should accept Justice Tarakunde Committee’s Report in which he had given a clean chit to the accused.

Before hearing the arguments on appeal, the court decided to dispose of the present application filed by the accused in 1996. (PTI)

Gandhigiri? Gandhism very much alive without it!

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: An era has passed and perhaps in that sense, Gandhi is dead. But not Gandhism, which is active and vibrant among the young of the country who have taken the Mahatma’s last will and testament seriously, says a new book.

Infact, those proclaiming end of Gandhism do not know where to look for an active and vibrant Gandhism among the young of the country; Among those that have returned to the basics of constructive work in the villages, who have taken the Mahatma’s last will and testament seriously, says the book "Gandhi, Gandhism and the Gandhians" by Thomas Weber.

The old Gandhians ‘who have upheld the tradition’ could step back from their positions of hegemony and assist the young by providing guidance and models for these inexperienced activists.

"After all the future of Indian Gandhism is in their hands", says Weber, who teaches politics and peace studies at Melbourne’s La Trobc University, Researching & Writing on Gandhi.

Who are Gandhians? An outsider would see some figures clad in white khadi and occasionally the "Gandhi cap". Can "institutional Gandhism" represented by the Gandhi Peace Foundation and the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi be seen as part of the Gandhian movement? As globalisaton sweeps India into its orbit the Gandhians are concerned and together with other groups organize protest marches and lecture and write but their effect is minimal.

But, although Gandhian institutions have become museums, Gandhi has become a symbol of defiance of the hollow tyrants and bureaucratic authoritarianism backed by the power of the state and modern technology. This Gandhi is a symbol of those struggling against injustice and cannot be contained by academics and seminar holders. While they discuss their gandhi, this mythic gandhi has moved on to other slums of the world to lead new formations, sometimes against his own erstwhile proteges.

In conclusion it can be stated that there are still many who use the name of Gandhi, even though the ranks of the old guard Gandhians become thinner each year, without constituting one monolithic organization, Weber says.

There seems to be little reasons for the descendents of Gandhi, the ‘irrepressible optimist’ to have any optimism about their future as a force worthy of serious consideration. They are unable to capture the imagination of the populace, their message is considered irrelevant and they have no impact on elections that are dominated by group interests and personalities rather than issues.

The attempts at Gandhian peace and constructive work, even at the height of the gandhian movement, never reached the critical mass necessary to make it self-perpetuating, the author says. However, despite the objective reality of their present weakened position in Indian society, many of the old Gandhians are nevertheless optimistic about the value of Gandhism as a force to be reckoned with, one which can bring about change for the good. They cite the increasing number of social movements around the world now employing Gandhian methods indicating a shift towards a Gandhian outlook, Weber says.

The author quotes studies to say that the average age of "Gandhians" is now above 100 and that of the listeners 85 and this is because of the Gandhians feel that the Indian people have failed Gandhi and there are others who feel that Gandhians have failed the Indian people and Gandhi.

In this respect the book recalls the suggestions that emerged from a meeting of the youth wing of Gandhi peace foundation that felt Gandhians in ashrams should be willing to leave their ashrams and comforts when the need arose. "Instead of merely engaging in intellectual exercises, they should take up issues which affect the people. And if need be, to this end they should be willing to sacrifice their institutions. There is a felt need among many that time has come to reinvigorate the revolution and it will be the youth who will lead the way", the book says.

On how the young are embracing Gandhian ideals, Weber says there are projects by young Gandhians that senior Gandhians can point to with pride. One of these is the Tarun Bharat Sangh known locally as Alwar group, a Rajasthani Voluntary Organization working in irrigation development and afforestation in the drought affected villages of Alwar district. The younger ones who are Gandhi inspired and have devoted themselves to constructive work in the villages are often critical of both the older and the middle generation.

Many of the youngest generation in the Gandhian family see the middle generation as again institution builders for whom chasing grant money becomes an overriding preoccupation. And the benefits of the grant money lead to relatively comfortable lifestyles which isolate them from the people they are working with, weber says. The best of these young do not seek publicity or want public renown and they do not particularly care whether they are labelled as Gandhians, he says.

The author says that after reading a recent book "Gandhi and his ashrams" one can conclude that the ashrams are a catalogue of failures. They have failed to become places of community activism. Sabarmati and Sevagram have become museums and did little for the outside world. Perhaps hope lies with those who have shunned institutions and have gone to do the work Gandhi envisaged for himself when he originally settled in the village of Segaon, later Rechristened Sevagram, the book says.

The book also discusses the historic Dandi March, Gandhism and Gandhians.

In his foreword, Rajmohan Gandhi says that one reason for remembering Gandhi is the glaring failure of violence to achieve results in places like Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya and Sri Lanka. Violence has not only failed to obtain the redress asked for, it has obscured rather than highlighted the issues at stake. (PTI)

IA fined for not allowing persons with valid tickets

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: The Delhi State Consumer Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Indian Airlines for not allowing five passengers, who had valid tickets, to travel in one of its flights.

Terming the incident as an example of "unfair trade practice and deficiency in service", the Commission headed by Justice J D kapoor asked the airliner to pay the amount in a month to one Delhi-based Bhartiya Sanskriti Sansthan (BSS) which, on April 21, 1997, had booked 56 seats to take delegates, including several parliamentarians, to a conference at Port Blair.

The public sector airliner, which is now called Indian, forced two of the dignitaries, who had valid tickets, to get down from the aircraft and did not allow three others to enter the aircraft at the Kolkata Airport.

As a result, the five persons were stranded at the airport and could not attend the conference from April 21 to 24 in 1997.

The five persons were not allowed to travel despite the valid travel documents, BSS alleged.

"However, one fact that irks us is de-boarding of Shri Ramesh Sahu and Shri Praveen Mittal (delegates) which show that they were de-boarded for ulterior reasons," said the Commission allowing the complaint of BSS, which works for promotion of Hindi as official language. (PTI)

Child labour ban hardly implemented in Delhi: NGOs

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: More than a month after the notification on prohibition of child labour in homes and eateries, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in the field claim that the ban has failed to take off in the capital due to inadequate supporting infrastructure.

"The ban has hardly been implemented and the Government is dilly-dallying over rescuing children because they do not have the necessary infrastructure," said R M Prasad of Pratidhi, an NGO working for children, which sought information on implementation of the ban under Right to Information Act.

He cited the reply by the Department of Labour to a question on how Delhi Government planned to provide accommodation to the large number of children who would be rescued in the capital. Prasad said the Government’s reply was "this is a hypothetical question."

The department added that "a large number of children working in Delhi are from other states and they will be rehabilitated in their respective home states."

There are over five lakh working children in the capital, but the Government shelter homes can house not more than 5,000 children, Prasad claimed.

The Delhi Government planned to set up about 60 Transitional Education Centres (TECs) for rehabilitating the children by the end of October 31, a target which still remains a distant reality. Only one TEC has been opened so far in the capital.
Information received under RTI from the Department of Social Welfare of Delhi Government on the role of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in the implementation of child labour ban says "CWCs would provide counselling, shelter, care, protection and rehabilitation." However, an NGO worker says "food, medicine, toiletries, clothes, footwear and security are an urgent need of the children rescued and the CWCs do not even have vehicles to transport these children to the shelter homes, forget about meeting the personal needs of the children." (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: In a ruling with wide ramifications for victims of sexual assault, the Supreme Court has ruled that insisting for corroboration from the victim of the rape or of unnatural sex amounts to adding insult to injury.

"An accused cannot cling to a fossil formula and insist on corroborative evidence, even if taken as a whole, the case spoken to by the victim strikes a judicial mind as probable," a bench, comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Lokeshwar Singh Panta, ruled in judgment.

Allowing the appeal of the state of Kerala against the judgment of the State High Court acquitting Kurissum Moottil Antony, convicted by the trial court for subjecting a 10-year-old girl to unnatural sex, the court has restored the order of conviction and sentence passed by the trial court.

"The judicial response to human rights can not be blunted by legal jugglery. To insist on corroboration, except in the rarest of rare cases is to equate one, who is a victim of lust of another, with an accomplice to a crime and thereby insult womanhood. It would be adding insult to injury to tell a woman that her claim of rape would not be believed unless it is corroborated in material particulars as in the case of an accomplice to a crime," they observed.

Antony was sentenced to a total of sixteen months imprisonment (six months and one year respectively) for the two offences under sections 451 and 377 of the ipc along with a fine of Rs 2000 each for the two offences.

The court noted, with anguish, that it was "unfortunate that respect for womanhood in our country is on the decline and cases of molestation and rape are steadily growing."

"Decency and morality in public and social life can be protected only if courts deal strictly with those who violate social norms. Why should be the evidence of the girl or woman who complains of rape or sexual molestation be viewed with the aid of spectacles fitted with lenses tinged with doubt, disbelief of suspicion," it said, noting that the plea about lack of corroboration has no substance.

The incident took place on November 10, 1986 and the offence was committed in front of the totally paralysed brother of the victim. (UNI)

Court relieves acid attack victim from appearance

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: Shocked on seeing disfigured face of an acid attack victim, a Delhi Court has relieved the girl from any further appearance before it in the case.

The 20-yeard old victim, Renu, had appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Reena Singh Nag, for recording her statement against a youth, who had allegedly thrown acid on her face. Moments after she entered the court room for deposing, the ASJ asked her to show injuries inflicted by the accused and no sooner she lifted the veil, those present in the courtroom, including the Judge, were left numb. Not only the girl has been left defaced but she has also lost her eyes.

Unable to hold back her emotions after seeing the victim, the ASJ had made it clear that she will not be asked to appear in court again and all the proceeding relating to her will be completed in a day.

The court refused to grant any further opportunity to the counsel for the accused to cross-examine her and concluded her testimony. (PTI)

Child labour ban hardly implemented in Delhi: NGOs

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: More than a month after the notification on prohibition of child labour in homes and eateries, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in the field claim that the ban has failed to take off in the capital due to inadequate supporting infrastructure.

"The ban has hardly been implemented and the Government is dilly-dallying over rescuing children because they do not have the necessary infrastructure," said R M Prasad of Pratidhi, an NGO working for children, which sought information on implementation of the ban under Right to Information Act.

He cited the reply by the Department of Labour to a question on how Delhi Government planned to provide accommodation to the large number of children who would be rescued in the capital. Prasad said the Government’s reply was "this is a hypothetical question."

The department added that "a large number of children working in Delhi are from other states and they will be rehabilitated in their respective home states."

There are over five lakh working children in the capital, but the Government shelter homes can house not more than 5,000 children, Prasad claimed.

The Delhi Government planned to set up about 60 Transitional Education Centres (TECs) for rehabilitating the children by the end of October 31, a target which still remains a distant reality. Only one TEC has been opened so far in the capital.
Information received under RTI from the Department of Social Welfare of Delhi Government on the role of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in the implementation of child labour ban says "CWCs would provide counselling, shelter, care, protection and rehabilitation." However, an NGO worker says "food, medicine, toiletries, clothes, footwear and security are an urgent need of the children rescued and the CWCs do not even have vehicles to transport these children to the shelter homes, forget about meeting the personal needs of the children." (PTI)