Spain debt costs to leap at bond auction

May 17, 2012

FRANKFURT/ATHENS, May 17: The European Central Bank has stopped offering liquidity to some Greek banks it does not consider solvent, and international concern about the euro zone rose as Athens called new elections that look set to be won by parties opposing austerity measures.
Fears that Athens is on the brink of crashing out of the euro zone and igniting a renewed financial crisis have rattled global markets and alarmed world leaders, with Greece set to figure high on the agenda at a G8 summit later this week.
The risk of the contagion spreading to bigger European economies that are vulnerable due to high debt or weak banks has sent stocks and commodities tumbling, and driven Europe’s single currency towards its lowest levels this year.
“The core question will be not Greece, but Spain and Italy,” World Bank President Robert Zoellick said yesterday. If Greece left the euro zone, the ripple effects could be very damaging and reminiscent of when Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed in 2008, spreading panic on global financial markets.
Recession-hit Spain, which faces deep concerns over the health of its banks, is set to see its medium-term borrowing costs rise sharply at an auction today of 1.5-2.5 billion euros of bonds expiring in 2015 and 2016.
FRAGILE BANKING SYSTEM
Highlighting the fragile state of Greece’s banking system, the ECB said yesterday it had stopped providing liquidity to some lenders because their capital was too depleted, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.
“As recapitalisation wasn’t in place, the ECB stopped monetary policy operations,” a euro zone central bank source told Reuters, declining to be identified.
That meant the affected banks can no longer offer assets to the ECB as collateral for loans, and would have to seek costlier emergency financing from the Bank of Greece.
It was not immediately clear which banks, or how many of them, were affected. One person familiar with the matter said the capital of four Greek banks was so low they were operating with negative equity.
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned of “extremely expensive” consequences were Greece to leave the euro zone, a once taboo possibility that European leaders have now begun to discuss openly.
Echoing Zoellick’s comments, Lagarde told Dutch television any Greek departure from the euro “would be extremely expensive and hard, and not just for Greece”.

(AGENCIES)

Fugitive penguin 337 spotted alive in Tokyo Bay

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

TOKYO, May 17: After Penguin Number 337 made a daring bid for freedom from a Tokyo aquarium and vanished into the waters of Tokyo Bay two months ago, many feared the worst for the adventurous feathered fugitive.
But the one-year-old Humboldt penguin has now popped up on video footage in a different part of the bay, frolicking in the water and apparently healthy.
The penguin, still too young to determine whether it is male or female and thus known only by a number, scaled a rock wall four metres high and squeezed through a barbed wire fence to escape its harbourside aquarium in March.
“You can see it’s got the same ring around its flipper and identical facial patterns,” said Kazuhiro Sakamoto, deputy director of the Tokyo Sea Life Park, when shown footage of the tubby escapee taken by Japan’s Coast Guard.
“It didn’t look like it has gotten thinner over the past two months, or been without food. It doesn’t seem to be any weaker. So it looks as if it’s been living quite happily in the middle of Tokyo Bay.”
Penguin 337 was filmed earlier this month near Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge.
In the days following the penguin’s escape, the aquarium launched a city-wide appeal for tips on its whereabouts and sent keepers on daily penguin-hunts throughout the bay area.
They received hundreds of sighting reports, some from as far away as western Japan, but Sakamoto said most had probably mistaken cormorants for the flightless penguin. Only about 30 of the reports were thought genuine.
Tokyo Bay is a crowded and busy body of water bordering the densely-populated city, and the area around the aquarium consists of high-rise apartment buildings and concrete.
Many people had worried that the water was too dirty for the bird to stay healthy. More recently, reports of rising radiation levels in the bay have prompted concern.
“They say there’s radiation in there, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that it can live in Tokyo Bay safely,” said local resident Tateki Futagami.
The bird is probably gorging on small fish in the bay during daylight hours and returning to the shore at night to rest somewhere along the bay, keepers said.
The penguin, hatched in 2011, had shared life in a rocky outdoor enclosure at the aquarium with 135 other Humboldts and a number of other penguins prior to its escape. Sakamoto attributed its flight to a sense of adventure.
(AGENCIES)

US lowers threshold for lead poisoning in children

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

ATLANTA, May 17: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut its threshold level for defining lead poisoning in children to 5 micrograms per deciliter from 10, marking the first such reduction in 20 years.
“The recommendation was based on a growing number of scientific studies showing that even low blood lead levels can cause lifelong health effects,” the CDC said, in adopting the recommendation of an advisory committee yesterday. “Today, CDC is officially announcing our agreement with that recommendation.”
The new “reference value” for lead poisoning was based on
the population of US children aged 1 to 5 years whose blood lead levels are in the highest 2.5 per cent of children tested, the agency said.
About 450,000 US children aged 1 to 5 have blood lead levels above the new standard, up from 250,000 with lead levels greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood under the previous threshold, according to the CDC.
High levels of lead in a child’s blood can cause coma, convulsions and death, and even low levels can cause decreased intelligence and impaired hearing, the agency said.
The leading sources of lead exposure to US children are lead-based paint, which was banned for use in housing in 1978, and lead-contaminated dust, the CDC said.
Despite the new guidelines, the CDC has no money to pay for expanded programs to fight lead poisoning, Christopher Portier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, told Reuters.
In the 2012 fiscal year, Congress cut funding for the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to 2 million dollars from 29.2 million dollars, he said. But the agency can still work with public health departments, schools and other partners to help combat lead poisoning, Portier said.
“Parents can act without the CDC being there,” Portier said, suggesting they could contact local health departments for testing of paint and dust to detect high lead levels.
The CDC also recommends parents regularly wash children’s
hands and toys, and wet-mop floors and windowsills, in addition to preventing children from playing in bare soil.

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(AGENCIES)

Data suggests drug treatment can lower U.S. Crime * Cocaine use declining since 2003

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

WASHINGTON, May 17: US crime statistics show illegal drugs play a central role in criminal acts, providing new evidence that tackling drugs as a public health issue could offer a powerful tool for lowering national crime rates, officials said today.
An annual drug monitoring report, released by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, also showed a decline in the use of cocaine since 2003, a sign that drug-interdiction efforts and public education campaigns may be curtailing the use of the drug’s powder and crack forms.
The rate of overall illegal drug use in the United States has declined by roughly 30 per cent since 1979.
But today’s report, based on thousands of arrestee interviews and drug tests, showed that on average 71 per cent of men arrested in 10 US metropolitan areas last year tested positive for an illegal substance at the time they were taken into custody.
The figures ranged from 64 percent of arrests in Atlanta to 81 per cent in Sacramento, California, and were higher for nearly half of the collection sites since 2007.
US officials held up the data as evidence to support President Barack Obama’s strategy aimed at breaking the cycle of drugs and crime by attacking substance abuse with treatment rather than jail for nonviolent offenders.
“Tackling the drug issue could go a long way in reducing our crime issues,” Gil Kerlikowske, head of the office that issued the report, told Reuters in an interview.
“These data confirm that we must address our drug problem as a public health issue, not just a criminal justice issue.”
The arrest figures included men taken into custody on more than one charge as well as those arrested in drug busts.
The data showed that on average about 23 percent of violent crimes and property crimes, including home burglaries, were committed by people who tested positive for at least one of 10 illegal drugs including marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines.
Charlotte, North Carolina, had the highest proportion of drug-related violent crime offenses at 29 per cent, while New York City had the highest for drug-related property crimes at 32 per cent.
DECLINE IN COCAINE USE
Cocaine was the second-most common drug found among arrestees after marijuana. But the report said cocaine use, with crack the most popular form, has declined significantly since a decade ago, dropping by half in major cities like New York and Chicago between 2000 and 2011.
The report said methamphetamine use was strongest in the West Coast cities of Sacramento and Portland, Oregon, with no evidence that its use has grown appreciably in areas east of the Mississippi River.
U.S. Health officials says the link between drugs and crime is socially complex. But the effect drugs have on human behavior can seem more straightforward.
“Drugs impact things like inhibitory control. And our ability to weigh risks and consequences of certain behaviors is severely effected by drug abuse,” said Dr. Redonna Chandler of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Drug enforcement experts say the evidence strongly supports wider use of drug courts, which seek to impose treatment regimens instead of prison sentences on repeat criminals that are dependent on illegal drugs.
West Huddleston, of the Alexandria, Virginia-based National Association of Drug Court Professionals, said a convicted criminal who successfully completes a court-imposed treatment regimen is nearly 60 per cent less likely to return to crime than those who go untreated.
There are more than 2,600 drug courts operating in the United States. But they reach only a fraction of drug-addicted offenders.
According to Chandler, 5 million of an estimated 7 million Americans who live under criminal justice supervision would benefit from drug treatment intervention. But only 7.6 percent actually receive treatment.

(AGENCIES)

North Korea resumes work on nuclear reactor-report

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

SEOUL, May 17: North Korea has resumed construction work on an experimental light water reactor (ELWR) in a move that could extend its capacity to produce more material for nuclear weapons, website 38North reported today.
Based on April 30 satellite images, work halted in December at the reactor had now re-started, said the website (http://38north.Org), run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University and former US State Department official Joel Wit.
The construction activity comes as Pyongyang has stepped up progress towards conducting a third nuclear test, perhaps using highly enriched uranium for the first time, despite warnings from the United States and China.
“Pyongyang’s construction of an ELWR – which the North Koreans have indicated is the prototype for additional reactors – as well as a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon, is an important indication of the North’s intention to move forward with the expansion of its nuclear weapons stockpile in the future,” 38North said.
It said the reactor could be operational in 1-2 years and that North Korea had almost completed the reactor containment building, based on the satellite images.
North Korea says it needs nuclear power to provide electricity, but has also boasted of its nuclear deterrence capacity and has traded nuclear technology with Syria, Libya and likely Myanmar and Pakistan.
It became the first country to withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has denied international inspectors access to its nuclear facilities, reneging on a February. 29 deal to do so after it announced plans to launch a long range rocket, in defiance of UK Security Council resolutions.
TWO PATHS TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS
North Korea is not presently making any plutonium, but may be producing highly enriched uranium, according to nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, who was shown centrifuges for use in an enrichment programme by North Korea in 2010.
38North said the new ELWR, when operational, could produce enough material for an additional nuclear bomb each
year.
A highly enriched uranium programme running alongside this could allow North Korea to significantly increase the number of nuclear devices it could produce, giving it a dual track to nuclear weapons as the country has big reserves of uranium.
Hopes for a rapprochement between North Korea, under its new leader Kim Jong-un, and Washington were dashed by the April rocket launch, which Washington says was aimed at developing technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile.
Key to whether North Korea presses ahead with a third nuclear test is China, the main economic and political backer for the isolated state that is one of the most sanctioned in the world.
China chided North Korea over the rocket launch and has warned of the consequences of a third test, but unless it chooses to cut off economic aid and trade it has little leverage.
It condemned North Korea’s first nuclear test in October 2006, carried out in defiance of China’s public pleas, and it supported a U.N. Resolution that authorised sanctions. It backed sanctions again after the North’s second test in May 2009.
In 2003, China briefly cut off fuel to North Korea after a missile test, but it cited technical problems.
The timing of any third test is not yet clear, but satellite images have shown tunnelling at the site of previous tests.
A senior official with close ties to both Pyongyang and Beijing recently told Reuters that the test could be readied soon.
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(AGENCIES)

Narendra Modi to address NRIs in US

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

NEW YORK, May 17: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address thousands of US-based Indians in a live video-conference this weekend, according to Jagdish Sewhani, one of the chief organisers of the event in the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The event, part of some 10 others, is scheduled for May 19 evening at Secaucus in neighboring New Jersey, Mr Sewhani said.
Atlanta, Houston, Chicago and Toronto are among the other North American cities where the gatherings – Gujaratis and other Indians – would be addressed by the Chief Minister simultaneously.
Apart from Gujarati, Mr Modi is likely to deliver his 45-minute address in English and Hindi. An estimated 8,000 people were expected to watch and listen to the live speech of Mr Modi.
Last month, the US State Department announced that it would not issue a visa for Mr Modi because of his alleged serious violation of religious freedoms in his state. On a few other occasions also, it was reported that the US administration under former President George W Bush and current President Barack Obama have declined visa requests from the Chief Minister.
Asked why Mr Modi was addressing the conference from India, instead of visiting the US, Mr Sewhani noted that the Chief Minister has never applied for a US visa and hence the question of rejection of the visa request does not arise at all. “In fact, in my recent interaction with Mr Modi in Gandhinagar he told me this thing,” he said.
Though Mr Modi has not visited the US after becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr Sewhani recalled that he had earlier visited the US on at least two occasions as a BJP representative.
Mr Sewhani said, though Mr Modi’s speech is expected to focus on Gujarat’s developmental work in areas such as industrial production and power generation, and his government’s other achievements for the last 10 years, he may refer to some national issues also. “We expect him and requested him to play a prominent role on the national stage, but he said as of now his focus is on Gujarat,” Mr Sewhani stated.
Mr Sewhani is a co-founder of Overseas Friends of BJP in the US. He is currently the president of America-India Public Affairs Committee, a non-partisan body that is promoting bilateral relations in various spheres.
In his AIPAC capacity, Mr Sewhani recently met in Washington with the new US ambassador to India Nancy Powell shortly before she took up her post in New Delhi.
(UNI)

Cabinet accepts recommendations on streamlining education system, recruitment process

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

Criterion laid down for validity of Distance Mode degrees
Mohinder Verma

JAMMU, May 16: In a decision of far reaching consequences, the State Government has accepted the recommendations of Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, headed committee on streamlining of education system, bringing transparency in the recruitment process and validity of degrees obtained through distance mode of education.
Authoritative sources told EXCELSIOR after the State Government declared 146 institutions unauthorized last year while exercising powers conferred under Jammu and Kashmir Private Colleges Rules, 2005, the recruiting agencies stopped accepting the forms of the students receiving degrees in Distance Mode from such institutions and this led to number of litigations against the Higher education Department as well as recruiting agencies.
Separately, a number of representations started pouring in from different quarters mentioning that those students who get degrees from private colleges/ universities though recognized by the UGC get higher merit than those of the State Universities thereby putting them in disadvantageous position at the time of recruitment as the recruiting agencies give weightage to the merit in academic qualification.
Since a number of issues across various departments were involved, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, constituted a Committee headed by Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, for examining the issues relating to streamlining the education system in the State besides bringing transparency in the recruitment system and for introduction of State Eligibility Test for various recruitments on the pattern of NET/SLET/SET in the State.
The Committee, in its very first meeting, decided to constitute a Sub-Committee comprising Administrative Secretaries of General Administration Department, Higher Education Department and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department to examine the issue from legal point of view before taking a final decision, sources said, adding as desired by the Sub-Committee, a team of officers of Higher Education Department visited Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and obtained the mechanism adopted by these States.
Later, the Committee headed by Chief Secretary endorsed the recommendations of the Sub-Committee and placed the report before the State Cabinet, which gave its nod today. The Cabinet has also accorded approval to carry out necessary changes in the Recruitment Rules to be affected by all the Departments.
“The present system of screening for the purpose of short listing being adopted by the recruiting agencies wherein recruitment is made by giving weightage to the performance in the academic examinations should be dispensed with and Service Selection Board or any other authority including Public Service Commission should hold a uniform written test for all the eligible aspirants for advertised posts”, the recommendations of the Committee said.
“The marks obtained in the written examination should be taken into account for making selections. Where the response to an advertisement notice is enormous, the recruiting agencies should go in for a uniform screening test to shortlist the candidates for the written examination and subsequently make the selections”, the committee said, adding “the candidates having qualified NET/SLET or having acquired PhD should be exempted from appearing in screening test and written test where qualification prescribed is NET/SLET or PhD”.
The Committee has also suggested that the recommendations should be incorporated in the relevant recruitment rules by the administrative department and the examination rules by the PSC/ other recruiting agencies, adding “the changes in the Recruitment Rules will obviate the possibility of litigations”.
“For the purpose of granting promotions to the in-service candidates on the basis of additional qualifications acquired through distance mode of education, the Administrative Departments should put in place a mechanism to assess the standards of the degrees so obtained in order to treat them equivalent to the degrees awarded by the Universities through regular mode of education”, the Committee said, adding “the mechanism can be akin to the written test that has been decided to be conducted by the recruiting agencies in respect of eligible aspirants to the advertised posts”.
The Committee has recommended that degrees obtained through distance education mode from off-campuses, which have been established by the State Universities beyond their territorial jurisdiction, should not be recognized. However, the degrees obtained through distance education mode, which have been approved by the Distance Education Council and awarded from their headquarters by UGC recognized Universities, established by an Act of State Legislature, may be recognized for the purpose of employment as it is the prerogative of the employer to prescribe the eligibility for any post or service, the Committee added.
It has also recommended that the degree awarded through Distance Mode by the Central Universities, established under the Act of Parliament and having jurisdiction to extend their activities in the entire country may also be recognized.
Referring to the Sub-Rule (3) of the Rule 20 of the Rules notified Vide-SRO 339 of 2005, the Committee has mentioned that all those who had acquired their degrees prior to coming into force of the rules and those allowed to continue their studies till the conclusion of their academic session should be considered for being recognized with necessary amendments in the law.
The M Phill and PhD degrees obtained through distance mode should not be recognized as equivalent to the regular M Phill and PhD degrees awarded by any of the Universities as has been prescribed by the UGC vide its notifications issued from time to time, the Committee said, adding the degrees awarded by the Universities, whether situated within or outside the State through distance mode in the subjects falling in Science Stream, where practicals are part of the curriculum, should not considered as equivalent to the corresponding degrees awarded through regular mode by the State Universities.
However, the degrees in such of the DEC approved Science subjects where practicals are part of the curriculum and are conducted from within the respective campuses of the UGC recognized universities, established by an Act of the Parliament or the State Legislature, may be recognized.
“The courses in the streams of Information Technology, Computer Sciences and Management, which are approved by the Distance Education Council and AICTE and Degrees are awarded by the UGC recognized Universities, established by an Act of Parliament from within the territorial jurisdiction of these Universities may also be recognized”, the Committee said.

DCs among 21 officers transferred by Cabinet

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, May 16: The State Cabinet today ordered transfer and posting of 21 officers. The transferred officers included some Deputy Commissioners.
The Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, kept in abeyance the order relating to posting of Mohammad Akram Malik as Managing Director, J&K Agro Industries Development Corporation, till further orders.
An official handout said Shagufta Parveen, Director School Education, Kashmir has been transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Public Enterprises Department while Mohammad Shafi Rather, Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara was been transferred and posted as Director School Education, Kashmir.
Ramesh Kumar Koul, Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Jammu has been transferred and posted as Director Estates in place of Khurshid Ahmad Shah, who has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Budgam.
Mohammad Sharif Sood, Deputy Commissioner, Shopian has been transferred and posted as Director Horticulture, Planning and Marketing while Yasha Mudgal, Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will be new Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara.
T. Ashok Kumar, IFS, Special Secretary (Technical), Forest Department has been transferred and posted as Secretary, J&K Public Service Commission while Saleem Mohammad, Settlement Officer, Jammu was transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar.
Hilal Ahmad Parray, Director Social Welfare, Kashmir has been transferred and posted as Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Kifayat Hussain Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag has been transferred and posted as Commissioner, Commercial Taxes. Farooq Ahmad Renzu, awaiting orders of adjustment in the General Administration Department has been posted as Vice Chairman, Srinagar Development Authority (SDA).
Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism, Kashmir has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag while Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla would be new Director Social Welfare, Kashmir.
Farooq Ahmad Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam has been transferred and posted as Special Secretary to Government, Finance Department while Ghulam Ahmad Khwaja, Special Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development Department has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla.
Mohammad Hussain Malik, Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar has been transferred and posted as Special Secretary to Government Planning and Development Department while Mohammad Javed Khan, Director, Horticulture, Planning and Marketing was transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Shopian.
Jehangir Mir, Director Rural Development Department, Kashmir has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam while Talat Parvez, Managing Director, J&K Cable Car Corporation has been transferred and posted as Director Tourism, Kashmir. He will also hold the additional charge of the post of Managing Director, J&K Cable Car Corporation, till further orders.
Mir Altaf Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Development Authority, Pahalgam has been transferred and posted as Director Rural Development Department, Kashmir. He will also hold the additional charge of the post of Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Development Authority, Pahalgam, till further orders.
Dalip Thusoo, Managing Director, J&K Housing Board will report to GAD for further order. Chief Engineer, Public Works (R&B), Jammu shall hold the additional charge of the post of Managing Director, J&K Housing Board, till further orders.
Meanwhile, Jagdev Singh Manhas, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kathua has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner (Central) in the office of Financial Commissioner Revenue against an available vacancy.
The Government has ordered that Deepika Kumari Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Office of Resident Commissioner, J&K Government, New Delhi shall hold the additional charge of the post of Deputy Labour Commissioner, New Delhi, till further orders.

HS meets Guv, CM; discuss AFSPA, Rehab Policy

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

*Singh to visit cross-LoC trade points today
Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, May 16: Internal security scenario including arrangements for Amarnath yatra, border management, partial revocation of Armed Force Special Powers Act (AFSPA), recommendations of the Interlocutors and Rehabilitation policy for the militants came under a high level review at two separate meetings Union Home Secretary R K Singh had with Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah separately in Srinagar this evening.
Mr Singh had dinner meeting with Mr Vohra that lasted more than an hour at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State.
Official sources said Mr Vohra and the Union Home Secretary had a detailed discussion on security scenario in the State. Both shared their perception of the situation. Arrangements for annual Amarnath pilgrimage beginning on June 25 were also discussed, they added.
The Union Home Ministry has agreed to provide 74 additional companies of para-military for deployment during Amarnath yatra.
The issues pertaining to partial revocation of AFSPA from Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Srinagar and Budgam districts as demanded by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also came for a detailed discussion during the meetings.
While the Governor gave his perception on the demand, Omar Abdullah stressed for revocation of the Act.
The Rehabilitation Policy for Kashmiri militants, who were now returning from Pakistan and PoK via Nepal route, lands and buildings occupied by Army and security forces, trans-LoC trade and training programme for police personnel besides counter-terrorism operations were discussed by Mr Vohra and Mr Singh at their dinner meeting.
Sources said the Chief Minister also touched almost the similar issues like removal of some CRPF bunkers from Srinagar City, partial withdrawal of AFSPA and Rehabilitation Policy with the Home Secretary.
Law and order situation and security scenario also figured in the meeting between Omar and Mr Singh that lasted about 40 minutes.
Omar and Mr Singh also discussed summer strategy for Kashmir, sources said, adding that the Kashmir Valley was expecting heavy influx of tourists and Amarnath yatris this year.
Union Home Secretary R K Singh, who reached Srinagar, the summer capital of the State this evening, would be visiting both cross-LoC points of Chakan-Da-Bagh on Poonch-Rawlakote route and Salamabad on Uri-Muzaffarabad route tomorrow morning to hold a high level review of steps required to boost the trade.
Mr Singh would be holding separate meetings with the traders, dealing with cross-LoC business between two parts of divided State, and officers of different departments associated with the business at both the places.
The meeting of the Union Home Secretary assumed significance as he was scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad, Pakistan on May 24 and 25 to discuss Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), cross-border terrorism and steps required to boost trade on two cross-LoC points in Jammu and Kashmir and Wagah International Border in Amritsar district of Punjab. Prior to his Jammu and Kashmir visit, Mr Singh had visited Wagah border to acquaint himself with problems of the traders and steps needed to boost the trade.
Mr Singh would reach Poonch from Srinagar at 7.15 am and drove to Chakan-Da-Bagh for meetings with the traders and officers. He would fly to Salamabad from Poonch at 9.30 am.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Mr Singh would fly to Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch district from Srinagar tomorrow morning and hold two separate high level meetings with traders and officers at the zero line dividing Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Eleven traders at both Chakan-Da-Bagh and Salamabad would meet the Home Secretary and submit him memorandum enlisting their demands. On the eve of Mr Singh’s visit, traders of two parts of the divided State had floated a 44 members Cross-LoC Traders Federation. It comprised 11 members each from Poonch and other parts of Jammu, Rawlakote and surrounding belts, Uri and other parts of Kashmir and Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.
Pawan Anand, one of the members of Cross-LoC Traders Federation, told the Excelsior from Poonch that the traders would urge the Home Secretary to issue negative list of the items, which can’t be exported to other side of the LoC and allow rest all other items for export instead of confining the trade to just 21 items, most of which items have been banned frequently by the two sides for import-export.
Mr Anand said the cross-LoC trade can’t survive on just red chilly and both Government of India and Pakistan should allow free trade on Poonch-Rawlakote and Uri-Muzaffarabad routes. “Instead of confining the trade to 21 items, the two Government should issue one negative list of items and allow rest all items for import-export on two cross-LoC routes”, he added.
Sources said the traders would also like the Government to lift the limit of trucks, which could cross-LoC on one day of four days trade in a week. They added that if the Government really wanted to give a boost to the cross-LoC trade it should lift the limit of 25 trucks per day for crossing over to other side of the LoC.
Presently, 50 trucks can cross to PoK every day from Uri and 25 trucks from Poonch. First four days of the week have been fixed for the trade from the two sides.
The traders would demand setting up of whole body scanner for early clearance of trucks and ensure fool-proof security at the trade centre.
Sources said besides meeting the traders, the Home Secretary would review steps for boosting cross-LoC trade with all local officials including that of Customs, Immigration, civil administration, police, Intelligence agencies and all other officers engaged with cross-LoC trade.
Two other major demands of the cross-LoC traders, which have also been backed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, included opening of banking channels on either side of cross-LoC routes to end barter system of business between two parts of divided State and communication system. They would take up the demands with the Union Home Secretary.
The issue of communication channels and currency system for the trade was expected to figure during the Home Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan later this month.
Sources said the Union Government wanted to take up the issue of converting cross-LoC trade from barter system to currency based. The ways and means for switching over to new system would first be discussed with civil and police administration besides Intelligence and other agencies engaged with conducting cross-LoC trade followed by representatives of the State Government before the Home Secretary took up the issue with his counterpart of Pakistan in Islamabad.
In the present barter system of trade, the businessmen had been facing a lot of problems to maintain their accounts and currency of both the countries keep on fluctuating.
The lack of communication system between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) was another issue, which was being discussed by the Union Government on the request of the State Government. It may be mentioned here that ISD link from J&K to any part of Pakistan besides PoK has been barred for past quite a long time as a security reason following apprehensions by security agencies that the militants could misuse the communication facility.
Sources said upgradation of infrastructure at Trade Facilitation Centres at Poonch and Salamabad including installation of full truck scanners and providing other facilities to the businessmen was also under consideration of the Centre Government. Increase in number of items from present list of 21 for trade between two parts of the divided State was also on agenda of the Union Government.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had recently said in the Legislative Assembly that the Union Government should open the banking system for the trade instead of present barter system and facilitate communication channels to boost the trade.
Sources said representatives of the State Government, civil and police administration and other agencies connected with the trade besides the businessmen dealing with cross-LoC trade would take up the demand for increasing number of 21 items to 50 for the trade besides facilitation of banking system and opening up communication channels.
Terming cross-LoC trade as a major confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan, sources said there was a need to further ease it so that its benefits trickle down to the trading partners.
“There is a need for restoration of telephonic links between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and putting in place a proper institutional arrangement by replacing the current barter system of trade which will also address the security concerns,” they said.
They said the Union Government was required to take up the matter with the Ministries concerned so that the trade can flourish in real terms.
The cross-LoC trade on Uri-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawlakote had recently been increased from twice a week (Tuesday and Wednesday) to four days (Tuesday to Friday). However, in the absence of increase in number of items and use of currency, the trade had not been picking up, sources said.
It may be mentioned here that the trade between India and Pakistan through the land route has soared by 44 per cent in 2011-12 to Rs 2,341 crore from Attari-Wagah route.
Though the balance of trade is still in India’s favour, the import from Pakistan through land route rose by over 100 per cent to Rs 965 crore in 2011-12 against Rs 453 crore in the previous fiscal.

Cabinet nod to upgradation of infrastructure at Industrial Estates

Daily Excelsior

May 17, 2012

Compensation issue of CU resolved
Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 16: State Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, at summer capital of the State this afternoon, accorded administrative approval for the up-gradation of infrastructure facilities at Industrial Estates, Gangyal and Bari-Brahamana.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the infrastructure facilities at Industrial Estate, Gangyal, where around 335 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units are generating employment opportunities for about 7000 persons, would be upgraded at the cost of Rs 9.84 crore.
Similarly, an amount of Rs 11.08 crore would be spent for the up-gradation of infrastructure at Industrial Estate, Bari Brahamana, which is having 608 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units and generating employment opportunities for about 18,500 persons.
The up-gradation of infrastructure at both the Industrial Estates is one of the recommendations of the Special Task Force for Jammu, which was set up by the Central Government, to assess the special developmental needs of the region.
For the up-gradation of infrastructure facilities at Industrial Estate, Gangyal, under the Centrally sponsored Scheme “Cluster Development Programme”, an amount of Rs 4.98 crore will be provided by the Union Government while as the balance amount of Rs 4.86 crore will be provided by the State Government.
The up-gradation of infrastructure at Industrial Estate Gangyal includes improvement of condition of roads, drainage works, construction of main entrance gate, street lighting, up-gradation of water and power supply schemes.
Similarly, for up-gradation of infrastructure at Industrial Estates Bari Brahamana, expenditure of Rs 5.40 crore would be borne by the Union Government and Rs 5.68 crore by the State Government. By utilizing this amount, the roads, water supply schemes, street-lights and administrative block would be up-graded.
Moreover, up-gradation of infrastructure also includes flood protection work and development of green belt.
“The project cost of both the Industrial Estates has been vetted by the State Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI)”, sources said, adding “the Planning and Finance Departments have already conveyed their concurrence and today the Cabinet has accorded administrative approval for the up-gradation of infrastructure facilities at both the Industrial Estates”.
The Cabinet also accorded approval to the payment of compensation to the Kamas of the land belonging to Rakhs and Farms Wing of Agriculture Production Department being utilized for establishment of Central University Kashmir at Ganderbal.
“By way of this decision, village Tulmulla of tehsil Ganderbal and village Zarigund of tehsil Lar have been brought under the purview of the Government order of November 2011 for payment of crop compensation, improvement and developmental charges to the Kamas of land belonging to Rakhs and Farms Wing of the Agriculture Production Department falling in these villages and utilized for establishment of varsity”, sources said.

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