Friday, November 19, 1999
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PM: harness space
technology for peace |
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 Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee inaugurates the second ministerial conference on “Space Application for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific” on Thursday. — Photo by Vijender Tyagi.
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Govt justifies
Rajiv’s name in charge sheet Jaswant to visit UK in Jan BJP president from south likely China offers to launch satellites Rescued vessel to be brought to
Mumbai Around 5,000 tigers left in the
world War memorial unveiled |
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PM: harness space technology
for peace NEW DELHI, Nov 18 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said that greater regional cooperation in space technology applications was necessary for better disaster management and prevention of devastation as caused by the supercyclone in Orissa recently. "Disaster management is an area that is crying for regional and global cooperation. We must use our satellite networks in the best possible way so that every country in the region has the most comprehensive early warning available to it irrespective of whether it has its own satellites or not", Mr Vajpayee said while inaugurating the Second Ministerial conference on "Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific" here. The six-day conference has been organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). Technology denials and other negative practices were "anathema" to space research and its applications for sustainable development, the Prime Minister said, adding that the high cost of space research made it imperative for pooling of resources by different countries. Stating that India had developed a robust and versatile space infrastructure, he said: "India is ready to share its experience and expertise with the countries in the region and work jointly towards achieving a sustainable living for people". Mr Vajpayee said the countries in the Asia-Pacific region had many common challenges, especially in the areas of food security, water conservation, environment protection, disaster management, education and health care. "We should harness the great potential of space technology to create large-scale employment in newer and more efficient areas of development, the Prime Minister observed, pointing out that space technology could be harnessed for better water management which was fast emerging as a major problem in most countries. Mr Vajpayee said efforts should be made to ensure that the benefits of new satellite and Internet technologies reached the disadvantaged sections of society. Earlier, the Union
Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Murli Manohar
Joshi, called for a holistic action of integrating
scientific tools, local administration and self-help
through education to minimise damage caused by
calamities. |
Sonia not to resign from IGNCA NEW DELHI, Nov 18 — The Congress today said that Mrs Sonia Gandhi would not resign from the Indira Gandhi Centre for Arts (IGNCA), which is in the centre of a controversy. Replying to a question here whether Mrs Gandhi, who is the president of the trust, would step down in the wake of the resignation of former President R. Venkataraman, who is also a trustee on the Board, party spokesman Ajit Jogi said "No". According to reports, Mr Venkataraman had put in his papers recently. To another question if the Congress considered the amendment of the original trust deed correct, Mr Jogi said whatever was done was to promote and encourage art and culture and Indian heritage. It may be recalled that the IGNCA original trust deed was amended in 1995 during the Narasimha Rao government converting the 10-term of trustees on the governing board to life-time. Mrs Gandhi is the chairperson and the board has others like Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, Mr R. Venkataraman, Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr H.Y. Sharada Prasad among others. The party also refused to comment on the high court verdict on the matter permitting the government to act in the matter. The BJP-led government last year made a move to cancel the amendment to the original trust deed that was carried out through an executive order. The government’s
contention was that since the trust was being funded by
the government, the alteration to the trust deed altered
the character of the IGNCA and had been converted into a
private trust. |
Govt justifies Rajiv’s
name in NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (UNI) — The government said today that there was nothing unusual in late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s name appearing in the Bofors charge sheet filed on October 22 by the CBI. The Additional Solicitor-General of India, Mr S.B. Jaisinghani, said Gandhi’s name would have appeared in column one of the charge sheet which lists those to be sent up for trial, whether arrested or not, if he was alive. Mr Jaisinghani said the former Prime Minister had been listed as an accused in the Rs 64-crore scandal. He was appearing before the Delhi High Court which was hearing a petition filed by the Rajiv Gandhi Ekta Samiti seeking deletion of Gandhi’s name as there was no provision of posthumous trial in the Code of Criminal Procedure. "There is no
provision in law prevailing in India for filing of a
charge sheet against a dead person," said
samiti’s counsel Vijay Shukla. The government had
set up a special court for the case being investigated by
the CBI. |
Jaswant to visit UK in Jan NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (PTI) — External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh will visit the United Kingdom in January to make efforts at strengthening bilateral ties. This was announced by Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja after wide-ranging discussions with visiting British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Peter Hain. Mr Hain said UK shared
India’s concerns over the developments in Pakistan,
asserting that "there is no such thing as good
military coup". |
Indo-US ties get a fillip NEW DELHI, Nov 18 — With the US House of Representatives urging President Bill Clinton to forge a "strategic partnership" with India, the bilateral ties are poised to enter a significant phase in the new millennium. Armed with domestic support, Mr Clinton’s visit to New Delhi early next year would prepare a routemap for the Indo-US multifaceted relations. In a significant development, the US House of Representatives, by an almost unanimous resolution, hailed India’s democratic electoral process and urged the US President to broaden the USA’s "special relationship with India into a strategic partnership". The resolution congratulated the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee on his re-election and the people of India on the successful conclusion of their recent general election. The US lower House called on Mr Clinton to "travel to India as part of a trip to South Asia". When asked, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said the resolution "reflects an assessment of the House of Representatives of the strong democratic traditions of India and the need for both India and the USA to work together in addressing contemporary challenges before the international community". While officially, neither New Delhi nor Washington, has yet confirmed Mr Clinton’s visit but preparations for the visit have begun in full swing. If nothing unprecedented happens, the US President’s visit is due to take place early next year. Mr Clinton would be the first US President to visit South Asia in two decades. The former US President, Mr Jimmy Carter, was the last US Head of State to undertake a trip to the region in January, 1978. Even the joint statement, issued yesterday in London on the conclusion of the ninth round of the Indo-US bilateral talks, expressed the hope that a "visit of the President of the USA to India in the coming year would provide the occasion to significantly improve mutual understanding and cooperation". Immediately after the nuclear tests, both India and the USA had decided to undertake a major exercise to repair the damage to their relations with the two major democracies entering into a dialogue which came to be known as Jaswant Singh-Strobe Talbott talks. The External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh and the US Deputy, Secretary of State, Mr Strobe Talbott, held eight rounds of talks between them for "harmonising" ties between New Delhi and Washington. The ninth round of talks between Mr Jaswant Singh and Mr Talbott has covered issues of international security including the CTBT. While the joint statement, issued after the conclusion of the talks, does not mention in any concrete terms the progress registered during the deliberations, sources said that the very fact that the two sides were talking of a visit of the US President was reflective of "growing understanding between the two democracies". The spokesman said: the objective of the talks was not in a nature of negotiations but to "harmonise views of the two countries on various issues". The joint statement said "The two sides also agreed that the purpose of the talks is to lay the foundation of a broad-based forward looking relationship" is a "definitive" pointer towards the intensification of the bilateral ties. The recent visit of the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen V.P. Malik, to the USA has not taken place in vacuum, the sources pointed out, saying that the bilateral ties in the vital defence sector were also being forged. Issues like terrorism,
democracy and energy security were bringing New Delhi and
Washington closer, an official said. |
BJP president from south likely NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (UNI) — The BJP, now on an expansionist drive south of the Vindhyas, is likely to elect a leader from the south as its next President. So far all the past presidents of the erstwhile Jana Sangh and the BJP had been from the north. The party constitution is also being amended to make the President’s term in office as "a one time three years" without retrospective effect. Thus the present first term tenure of Mr Kushabhau Thakre of two years will end in May. As Mr Thakre has expressed his inability to shoulder the burden any longer on health grounds, a new President will be elected in May. As per existing rules, the President’s term is for two terms of two years each. Before that, the elections from district-level Presidents to state-level will have to be completed. The national executive meeting at Chennai on December 27 will decide whether to continue with the enrolment drive or not. Normally, 20 per cent new members are to be enrolled before the electoral college is constituted to elect the new President. Since the present executive has completed its two-year term, a new executive has to be elected as per the constitution of the party. The question of its continuation will also be decided at the Chennai meeting. BJP Senior Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthy will present his proposals on constitutional amendments to the party President by the end of this month. Mr Thakre will place the suggestions for approval before the executive. These will be finally ratified by the national council meeting at the same venue for the next two days. The new constitution will come into force from the beginning of the new millennium setting the process of presidential elections on the roll. The BJP, which has for long been identified as a party of the Hindi belt wants to shed this image. That is the reason why it is considering installing a southerner as its President for the first time. Among other names, Mr Jana Krishnamurthy figures prominently. Senior functionaries
dismiss as irrelevant the "handicap" of this
Senior Vice-President — that he is not fluent in
Hindi. "With his broken Hindi, he has been
addressing party workers," one leader pointed out.
With a little bit more of practice, he could address
public meetings as well. |
China offers to launch satellites NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (PTI) — In a bid to forge closer space cooperation with India, China has offered to launch India’s INSAT-3 satellites on its Long March rockets at a competitive price. Mr Liu Zhixiong, vice-president of the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) in Beijing, said in an interview that his company could provide launching service at a price cheaper than that of Europe’s Arianespace. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) paid $ 69 million for the INSAT-2E launched seven months ago by Ariane, about $ 20 million more than what it spent on building it. The CGWIC, the marketing arm of the China Aerospace Corporation is holding its first exhibition in India as part of the ongoing UN conference on space applications here and, as Mr LIU remarked, "to explore business opportunities in India." Till now, all of India’s eight communications satellites were launched by Arianespace. ISRO has already signed the contracts with Arianespace for launch of INSAT-3A and 3B, two of the five third generation satellites that ISRO has proposed to launch in the next five years. Mr Liu said his company would offer to launch the other three satellites in the INSAT-3 series (INSAT-3C, 3D, and 3E) using Long March. Describing Long March as a highly reliable launch vehicle he said, "We have had 16 consecutive successful launches while others, including Arianespace, had problems." Twelve of these launches were for foreign customers, including the USA, he said. China entered the international launch market with its long March series in 1985. Mr Liu said its latest version LM-3B could launch satellites weighing 5300 kg against 2500 kg by the geostationary satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) that ISRO is developing. China has three launch sites and the one at Xichang at 23 degrees latitude is the closest to the Equator. Mr Liu said there was a plan to set up another launch complex at Hainan Island which is still closer to the Equator and more ideal for launching geostationary satellites. "Our two countries
belong to the same Asia-Pacific region and we can
strengthen ourselves through space collaboration,"
Mr Liu said. He indicated the possibility of his company
also entering into collaborations with ISRO in areas
other than launch service. |
Rescued vessel to be brought to
Mumbai NEW DELHI, Nov 18 — MV Alondro Rainbow, the pirated vessel which was rescued by Indian warships off the coast of Goa on Tuesday morning, is to be brought to Mumbai. The Navy and the Coast Guard repair teams, which were at work on the pirated vessel have succeeded in carrying out repairs in the engine and managed to keep it afloat. The pirates had set the engine room ablaze in an attempt to destroy evidence. As a result, the ship had began to sink after three-fourths of the engine room was flooded. An official note today said the repair teams from naval ships, "Delhi" and "Gomati", and the Coast Guard ship, "Veera", battled the flooding in the engine room of the rescued vessel over the past two days and repaired it. The vessel was now under tow by "Veera" and was being escorted by "Gomati". It was expected to arrive in Mumbai on Saturday morning. Additional pumps and salvage equipment had been embarked on board the vessel by the escorting ships to assist the salvage teams. The 8900-tonne vessel, Alondro Rainbow, was carrying 7000 tonnes of aluminium ingots from Kuala Tanjung in Indonesia to Milke in Japan when it lost radio contact on October 22 after being hijacked by a 10-member gang of Indonesian pirates who diverted it to the Arabian Sea. On Saturday, the Coast
Guard received a message from the merchant vessel, MV Al
Shuadda, through the piracy reporting centre in Kuala
Lumpur. Alondra Rainbow had been signed 60 miles
southwest of Kanyakumari, moving in a northwestern
direction. |
Around 5,000 tigers left in the
world CALCUTTA, Nov 18 — The world-famous Royal Bengal tiger of the Sunderbans is on the verge of extinction. Similar is the fate of various other species of the tiger all over the world. Official records of the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Society say that the total number of tigers in the world has come down to around 5,000 only from 100,000 odd a century ago. Tiger experts of the world fear that in the 21st century the tiger will be totally wiped out and it will have its place in museums and not in the Sunderbans or any zoos. Tiger experts of the world will meet in Calcutta on November 20 to discuss the problem and find out how the species could be saved from extinction. The experts will participate in a seminar, "The Royal Bengal tiger in the 21st century". According to a 1999 census, the total number of tigers in the world stands at 7,277 of which the Royal Bengal tigers are 1,556. Of the eight different species of the tigers in the world, three, namely the Bali tiger, the Java tiger and the Caspian tiger have already been declared extinct. The remaining five — The Siberian tiger, the Sumatra tiger, the South China tiger, the Indo-China tiger and the Bengal tiger — are also declining in number. Tiger bones are in great
demand in China for producing rare medicines that have a
ready market in the USA, Australia, European countries
and East Asia. This, along with a demand for tiger skin,
has resulted in the hunting of the animal almost
everywhere. |
War memorial unveiled NEW DELHI, Nov 18 — A war memorial to pay homage to the 114 martyrs of 13 Kumaon, who laid down their lives at Rezang La on this day in 1962, was dedicated to their bravery at Rewari, 80 km from here today. Resembling the "Sudarshan Chakra" this memorial has been raised by "Rezang La Shourya Samiti" of Rewari. Made of bronze and situated in the heart of the city, the memorial has names and addresses of all martyrs engraved on it. Most of the jawans of 13 Kumaon, who made the supreme sacrifice at Rezang La belonged to this area. Brig Jagjit Singh officiating General-Officer-Commanding of Ram Formation of the Army unveiled the memorial. Wreaths were laid by Col Rao Ram Singh (retd), chief patron of the samiti and former central minister, senior civil officials and members of the Haryana Rajya Sainik Board. Apart from a three-day
Medical camp, a rally of ex-servicemen was also organised
in which the widows of the Rezang La martyrs were
honoured. |
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| Chief Justice of Orissa
HC sworn in CUTTACK: Mr Justice Bishwanath Agrawal, a Judge of Patna High Court, was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court here on Thursday. Governor M.M. Rajendran administered the oath of office to Mr Justice Agrawal. The function held at the high court lawn, was attended among others by Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, all high court judges and State Advocate General Jagannath Patnaik. — UNI Film producer enters
Guinness book Buddha
inscriptions found in TN ‘Scientist
century’ award Katarniaghat
‘protected area’ Militants kidnap
4 in Tripura Intelligent
wheelchair Tourist killed
in tusker attack Producer’s
plea ‘not maintainable’ Bank guard kills
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