NEW DELHI, Nov 13: Leading global defence planners and financial managers today said India would continue to be major arms purchaser but needed to streamline arms spending and procedures to catch up with new trends. Gathering for the first time on the Indian soil, defence economists, policy makers and leading strategists suggested that India had to frame policies to benefit from spinoffs from arms acquisition.

The spinoffs would come in the form of frontline technology transfers, a better maintenance system in the form of life-cycle support system of armament platforms and flow of offests to both the country’s still fledgling defence industry and to social sector.

The platform for the defence spending planners and economists was provided by the holding of first-ever international seminar on defence finance and economics by the Ministry of Defence.

Throwing open the three-day seminar which will focus on issues like international military manpower trends, policy of offsets in arms puchases, life cycle support systems for armament systems, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the delibrations would trigger "globalisation of strategic thinking".

Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his special address visualised a greater role for the private sector in defence production and made it clear that loss making defence public sector undertakings could not not keep on depending on Government bailouts. Noting that "warfare is becoming more and more technology driven with rising costs of weapon acquisitions and manpower training and development", Chidambaram told country’s defence planners that what the country needed was an effective defence financial management system.

"The country’s security requires the best with little room for error and slippages", he said adding that some of the best practices and innoviations in financial management had come out from the defence sector.

Advocating greater private sector role in arms industry, the Finance Minister said policy changes to allow them to play such a role had been put in practice and this private-public sector linkages should enable scale up of defence production. These spinoffs could see defence emerging as one of the key growth drivers in the country, he said.

Finance Minister also called for enforcing cash management system already prevalent in civil ministries in the defence sector too as it would lead to reduction of bunching of expenditure towards the end of the financial year and eliminate wastage and inefficency.

"Knowledge of latest procedures, negotiation strategies, contract management and project management practices must percolate down to field level to shift from transaction based system to an integrated system that uses latest technology," he said.

Altogether 475 delegates from 28 countries including from the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden are participating in the seminar.

As a sign of warming up of relations between the two giant neighbours, China has for the first time been invited to attend the high level defence seminar.

Country’s top defence officials, scientists, defence economists and think tanks would be taking part in the deliberations.

The seminar would take up major issues like global trends in military expenditure, trends in Defence Industry, Defence Planning and Budget, optimizing defence expenditure, dimensions of defence acquisitions, offsets and trends towards downsizing manpower in armed forces besides others. Another topic in focus would be transparency in arms sales and audit and accountability in defence expenditure and procurement.

"It will be a major exposure and learning experience for the Indian defence officials as they would come to know international trends in defence spending and about the new policy of offsets," Mukherjee, whose brainchild the seminar is, said. (PTI)

Delhi Metro proposes to connect CP with Badarpur

NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Government is considering a long standing demand to link central business district of Connaught Place with Badarpur, in the city’s south east.

Central and Delhi Governments were studying pros and cons of the detailed project report submitted by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which was cleared by the DMRC’s Board of Directors on October 30, metro sources told UNI. The about 20 km line - partly underground (about five km) and partly elevated (15 km) - would have 14 stations.

The proposed stations were Central Secretariat, Khan Market, Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand, Kailash Colony, Nehru Place, Kalkaji, Okhla, Jasola, Sarita Vihar, Mohan state, Tughlakabad and Badarpur. This line could later also be extended to go to Faridabad in Haryana. (UNI)

Kuwait Airways flight moves towards no-fly zone

NEW DELHI, Nov 13: A Kuwaiti Airways aircraft today inadvertently deviated from its flight path after take-off from the IGI Airport here and moved towards the no-fly zone, causing scare among the securty establishment as the plane approached the Prime Minister’s house.

However, the pilot soon corrected course following warnings by the Air Traffic Control, official sources said, adding that the airline had tendered an apology for the "inadvertent mistake".

The sources said the aircraft, which took off at 0615 hours, turned left instead of right which was its scheduled flight path.

"The chapter is closed", the sources said, adding that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would enquire into the matter. The diversion of the Kuwait Airlines flight caused scare among the security agencies as it followed number of recent warnings received by aviation and security agencies about possible terrorist attacks on vital installations including airports as well as threats of hijack.

This is the second such instance of an aircraft entering the no-fly zone in the past few months.

The DGCA has only yesterday sent an urgent advisory to put all airports in the country on high alert following a warning from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that flights from the country to the United States or Europe could be the targets of terrorists. The FBI alert came days after an anonymous letter in Tiruchirapalli Airport recently that warned of terror attacks on airports in south India.

The FBI had received an e-mail alert from an internet centre in Chennai that a flight emanating from India, bound for either Europe or the US, might be hijacked. Indian airports have been on alert since the serial Mumbai train blasts in July.

The FBI asked Indian authorities for a thorough profiling of passengers bound for the US besides increased baggage and personal checks and extra apron security. (PTI)

Railways accept NGO recommendation on coaches for disabled

LUCKNOW, Nov 13: The Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of the Indian Railways have accepted the recommendations of a Delhi-based NGO for change dimensions of railway coaches for the convenience of disabled passengers.

In a letter sent to Samarthya, RDSO director (standards/ carriage) Adarsh Khare said, in the new coaches, the berth space has been changed to 900 mm in a bid to optimise the space requirements for compartment for physically challanged passengers. The RDSO, a city based organisation, said the new dimensions would minimise the loss of passenger space.The future build of coaches would now have toilet space of 1750 mm by 1550 mm with the toilet seat against a 1550 mm wall for the ease of the user.

The RDSO decided to follow the new dimensions after a meeting with NGO representatives in the National Capital in April, 2006. However, the decision to incorporate the new dimensions was reached recently.In the third meeting of the sub-group on ‘Barrier free environment and social awareness’ held last month, the NGO had recommended that a minimum of one toilet compartment should have enough floor space for wheel chair users to enter and exit.Demanding a clear floor space of 2000 mm by 1750 mm, it said a door with clear opening of at least 900 mm was required. It said a sliding or a folding door was preferred. (UNI)

Pakistan would not scale down ‘aggressive’ ritual at Wagah

ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: Notwithstanding the peace overtures, Pakistan has said it would not stop or scale down the "aggressive" ritual by its border guards to mark the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border everyday.

Jawans of the Pakistan Rangers will keep their traditional style of the drill at the Wagah border crossing even though India has decided to tone down the aggressive posturing on its side, Lt Gen Hussain Mehdi, Director General of Pakistan Rangers, Punjab, has said.

The Pakistani decision was reportedly conveyed last week to BSF officials at the border point, a Pakistani Ranger official was quoted as saying by local newspaper ‘Daily Times’ today.

Officials here said that the issue could informally figure in tomorrow’s talks between foreign secretaries of both the countries in New Delhi.

The flag lowering exercise performed by Pakistan Rangers and BSF soldiers at the check post every evening is considered as a show of "force and farce" with hundreds of people on both sides witnessing the belligerent gestures by them.

Pakistan has marked the event as one of its major tourist attractions and built a large infrastructure of tourism around the place.

Both Pakistan Rangers and the BSF officials during their meeting in March 2004 had reportedly agreed to abandon aggressive posturing during the ritual following the peace process but the agreement was not implemented, the newspaper said. (PTI)

Mahant shot dead at Haridwar

DEHRADUN, Nov 13: Mahant Niveshacharya of Archarya Bela Indian Temple Ashram was allegedly shot dead by three persons at Haridwar early this morning.

According to Haridwar Kotwali police sources, Mahant Niveshacharya 40 was allegedly shot by Satyaprakash, who was staying in the Ashram, at around 0800 hrs at Ashram premises.

Police have arrested Satyaprakash and his other two friends in this connection. Police did not rule out possibility of personal enmity behind his killing. (UNI)

NEW DELHI, Nov 13: An inexpensive technique to remove arsenic from drinking water has been developed, a finding that could be of help to millions of people living in india and other developing countries.

It is through nanotechnology — the manipulation of materials so tiny that they are measured in nanometers or one billionth of a metre — that the hazardous elements in drinking water could be removed.

This discovery of ultra-small specks of rust or crystals of magnetite by scientists at rice university Centre for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) in Houston has been described in the journal ‘science’ where it has been mentioned that thousands of cases of arsenic poisoning each year are linked to posioned wells.

The researchers said arsenic contamination in drinking water is a global problem and while there are other ways to remove arsenic, they require extensive hardware and high-pressure pumps than run on electricity.

Scientists said their approach involves nanoparticles of iron oxide that can be produced cheaply by heating mixture of rust and vegetable oil.

Iron can bond with arsenic and hence could help remove arsenic from drinking water by simply adding rusty and then removing the bonded partciles with a magnet.

After making crystals of magnetite, they found that when they were smaller than 12 nanometers, 5,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, they were 100 or 1,000 times more effective at removing toxic contaminants like arsenic from water than existing filters.

According to Vicki Colvin, the center director and the lead author of the study, magnetic particles this small were thought to only interact with a strong magnetic field.

"Because we had figured out how to make these particles in different sizes, we decided to study how big magnetic field we needed to pull the particles out of suspension. We were surprised to find that even hand-held magnets could move the nanoparticles," he said.

In an effort to find out the risks of the arsenic residue being consumed, scientists also plan to undertake field tests. (PTI)

Threat to blow up SBI office turns hoax

KOZHIKODE, Nov 13: A letter, received by post at the State Bank of India’s main branch here this morning, threatening to blow up the bank premises in the heart of the city, turned out to be hoax following a thorough search, police said.

The letter, addressed to SBI Assistant General Manager, threatened to blow up the premises if the bank authorities failed to explain within 24 hours as to how the bank operated its accounts concerning utilisation of funds,the sources said.

Bank authorities informed the police about the letter, after which a thorough search was carried out in the premises which yielded nothing.

Later, the bank operations continued as usual, police added. (PTI)

AIZAWL, Nov 18: The Mizoram Government has made various plan to introduce employment oriented policy for eleventh five year plan from the next fiscal.

Talking to newspersons here today, State’s Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel said a multi- dimentional employment policy would be introduced to eradicate unemployment in the state.

Mr Hauzel said high-tech jobs in agriculture and horticulture sectore along with other employment generation schemes would be implemented from 2007-08.

"Plans have been made where the educated unemployed would feel at home as there is a scope of agriculture and horticulture going high-tech," he stated.

He also informed that business avenues were being explored and banks could come forward in financing entrepreneurships for educated youths to encourage trade.

"A high level committee has been constituted to provide benefits from banks to 37,534 educated unemployed youths registered under the Employment Department in the state," Mr Hauzel added. (UNI)

Bill to cancel entrance exams in coming Assembly session

CHENNAI, Nov 13: The Tamil Nadu Government will introduce a bill during the coming Assembly session to cancel entrance examinations for professional courses, based on the recommendations of the expert committee headed by Dr M Ananthakrishnan.

An official press release said the committee submitted its recommendations to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today.

During the Governor’s address, the Government had promised to appoint a committee to examine cancellation of entrance examinations to professional courses. It said the entrance examinations were causing mental stress to students, besides leading to considerable financial burden.

The Government said rural people and poor were deprived of equal opportunities during entrance examinations.

The Government constituted an experts committee on July 7 under M Ananthakrishnan, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, to examine the issue and give its recommendations.

The next Assembly session will begin on December 4. (PTI)

‘Property statements of public figures can be made available’

THRISSUR, Nov 13: Property statements of public figures, filed with the government, can be made available to the public under the provisions of the Right to Information Act, Chief Information Commissioner, Palat Mohandas, said today.

Speaking to reporters after a sitting at the collectorate here, Mohandas said this information was not being given to the public earlier. Information on the Marad Inquiry Commission report could not be given to the public as an appeal from the State Government was pending before the High Court, he said.

Information which fell under the purview of sections 8 and 24 of the RTI Act could not be disclosed to the public as it could affect the country’s sovereignty and integrity, he added. In all 400 complaints and 150 appeals have been received by the Commission till October this year. (PTI)