August 17, 2002. KERALAMONITOR.COM
Home Ministry and the UN to make coordinated effort for Asia Regional Disaster Assessment -Indian troops have best AIDS awareness records -DR. Joshi to chair National Institute of Technology - Nigeria : Oil transnational faces fresh protests by women -Blue Dart strengthens its network in the East Adds two new locations in Orissa. -Vajpayee to inaugurate Global Investor Meet - NRK Pension Scheme Agreement Signed-Minister requests early resolution of issues-The NRK Project Initiative Fund-U.S.Robotics’ New 5 Port Switch Makes Networking Easy And Affordable For Small Companies and Homes Embedded ViaVoice powers navigation system in up-coming Honda Accords-Kenya : 1.1 million HIV/AIDS orphans-HLL shareholders approve bonus debenture scheme by 99.99% majority -Philips launches the world class Eye-Fi technology, based on an consumer insight, in its colour televisions range.
New UNDP strategy to create jobs in Iran
Friday, August 2002: The Government of Iran is working on a new strategy with UNDP and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to create more jobs in the country.According to Yasuyuki Nodera, ILO's Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, the strategy that will help reduce poverty and boost economic growth.
"Unemployment, especially among youth is one of this country's biggest concerns. The Government appreciates the assistance of UNDP and ILO in this first step in addressing the issue," said Dr. Sadegh Bakhtiari, Deputy Minister for Labour. Unemployment in Iran stands at 16 per cent, with approximately 800,000 young people entering the job market each year. The Government will have to double its job creation efforts to meet this demand. Doing so will require heavy investment and a growth rate of more than six per cent per year.
"UNDP sees job creation as major means of poverty alleviation," said Haoliang Xu, UNDP's Resident Representative ad interim. "This project is an important starting point, and we hope it will have a concrete outcome." The main objective is to develop national policies that will encourage employment-friendly investment with special emphasis on encouraging private sector expansion The project will also design strategies to promote the growth of small and medium-scale businesses, particularly in rural areas.
The initiative will in addition concentrate on developing policies to boost the employability of women and youth. It will assess existing vocational training programmes to see if job seekers are getting the skills and training they require. It will also identify the major constraints young entrepreneurs face when starting their own businesses.
Another objective is to assess the social security scheme and its ability to protect vulnerable groups. The initiative will also try to promote social dialogue on labour laws.For more information please contact Zenab Bagha, UNDP Iran, or Trygve Olfarnes, UNDP Communications Office.
First Convictions under UK terrorism Act 2000.
In a landmark judgement a court in Kent (UK) has sentenced two Germany based members of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), Avtar Singh Hundal and Kesar Singh Dhaliwal to 30 months of imprisonment for being members of a proscribed organization under the UK Terrorism Act, 2000.
While delivering the judgement, Judge Andrew Patience, QC observed, "The evidence is overwhelming. To be a member of a terrorist organization in this country is a grave offence."
Avtar Singh Hundal and Kesar Singh Dhaliwal were detained on arrival in Dover by Ferry from Germany in January 2002. They were found carrying membership cards for the ISYF. British police believe the men had arrived in the UK to raise funds for the ISYF, which has been proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. A third individual Paramjit Singh who had been arrested along with them continues to be detained under the Anti-Terrorism Act and charges have not yet been framed against him.
Dhaliwal’s wife and son live in the UK and he had been a frequent visitor to the country. He was also reportedly involved in illegal human trafficking.
The detainees did not receive any support from the local Sikhs or groups linked with the proscribed organization apparently with a view to disowning any relationship with such organizations in Europe.
These first convictions under the UK Terrorism Act, 2000 are very significant and shall have far reaching consequences. These would go a long way in deterring terrorist organizations and their supporters from using UK as a base for planning; organizing and funding terrorist acts against India.
India has been receiving excellent cooperation from UK in its war against terrorism. UK has itself been at the forefront of war against global terrorism. It was one of the first countries to proscribe organizations involved in terrorism in India. Six organization involved in terrorism in India have been proscribed under UK Anti Terrorism Act, 2000. These are Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen (HUM), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minster is writing to Mr. John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister, UK appreciating the action taken by UK Government against members of terrorist organizations. -keralamonitor.com
President approves Insurance Bill,
The President has given his assent to the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Bill, 2002, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Validation of Electricity Tax) Act and Other Laws (Repeal) Bill, 2002 and the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2002. With this, these three Bills, which were passed by the Parliament during its Monsoon Session ending August 12, 2002, have been notified in the Gazette of India as Act Nos. 40,41 and 42 respectively of the year 2002.
The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Act, 2002, which amends the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Act, 1972, seeks to delink the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) from its four subsidiaries of the National Insurance Company Limited, the New India Assurance Company Limited, the Oriental Insurance Company Limited and the United India Insurance Company Limited and provides the GIC to carry on re-insurance business. This also provides that the delinked four acquiring companies will do general insurance business. The Central Government acquires the authority to increase or reduce the authorized capital of GIC and four other Insurance Companies. Besides, the GIC will cease to carry general insurance business and the four acquiring insurance companies will carry on general insurance business. The Act will come into force on a date to be notified by the Ministry of Finance in the Gazette of India.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Validation of Electricity Tax) Act and Other Laws (Repeal) Act, 2002, seeks to repeal the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Validation of Electricity Tax) Act, 1966, the Goa, Daman and Diu (Opinion Poll) Act, 1966, the Punjab Pre-emption (Chandigarh and Delhi Repeal) Act, 1989 and 19 other enactments which are in force in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. This follows recommendations of P.C. Jain Commission on Review of Administrative Laws and an internal committee in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs having suggested repealing of 22 Acts from the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Goa Daman and Diu and the State of Punjab, which have been in force in the Union Territory of Chandirarh and have outlived their relevance now.
The Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2002, seeks to amend the Insurance Act, 1938 to provide for Insurance Cooperative Society registered sunder the Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 having a minimum paid up capital, excluding the deposits under Section 7, of Rs. 100 crore. It also enables Insurance Cooperative Society to carry on any class of insurance business in India. It also seeks to bring the insurance business subject to regulations of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). The balance sheet format under the Act, besides, the First Schedule, the Second Schedule, the Third Schedule and the Fourth Schedule to the principal Act are omitted. Under the amended Act, every Insurance Cooperative Society will be deemed to be an insurer. The Act will be enforced on a date to be notified in the Gazette of India by the Government in the Ministry of Finance. -keralamonitor.com
Indian troops have best AIDS awareness records
Indian troops have the best awareness records of the HIV/AIDS diseases in the world says Dr. David Miller, Country Programme Advisor UN AIDS India. Addressing the National Cadet Corps (NCC) at the National Integration Camp in Delhi Cantt today, he complimented the Indian Armed Forces for their excellent work to create awareness among the troops. He said that out of 40 million HIV positive cases in the world about 4 million are in India. Dr. Miller said that this disease is spreading very fast therefore, a lot needs to be done immediately to create awareness amongst the general public to control it. The most effected state in the country is Maharastra. He said that the main reason for more cases in state is due to the migration of people in search of employment. Dr. Miller said that the other effected states are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur.
Dr. Miller appealed to the NCC cadets to spread awareness amongst the masses about the disease. He said in order to control this disease it is necessary to create awareness among the youth below twenty years of age. He added that as the young ambassadors of the country, the cadets must help in this noble cause.
NCC has taken up the awareness programme for HIV / AIDS through their cadets for the first time. The camp at Delhi Cantt has been organized for this purpose and over 600 cadets from all over the country are participating. The cadets in the camp will be trained as resource persons. These cadets will further train the other cadets when they will go back to their states. NCC has over 12 lakh cadets all over the country. -keralamonitor.com
Home Ministry and the UN to make coordinated effort for Asia Regional Disaster Assessment
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, is with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs jointly sponsoring a training course on United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination from 18-30 August 2002 at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad. This is the first such course in Asia and has as participants, senior emergency managers from Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, Philippines, Tonga, and Viet Nam as well as UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, HABITAT, ECHO and the office for the Co-ordination of Human Affairs.
In September 2001, the Government of India became a formal member of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system. The UNDAC system is designed to assist the disaster affected country and the United Nations in meeting international needs for early and qualified information during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency and in the coordination of incoming international relief at national level and/or at the site of emergency. It is designed to deploy at very short notice (12-24 hours) to the field anywhere in the world. It also aims at strengthening national and regional disaster response capacity. Since 1993, the UNDAC Team has deployed 97 times in 61 countries in response to emergencies.
Two senior Indian officials have already been trained by the UNDAC system in May 2001 in Switzerland. The UNDAC Team has 164 emergency managers from 64 countries as members now.
By hosting the first UNDAC Course in India for the Asia Team, India provides a signal to governments in the Asia region and beyond that it is taking a lead role in disaster response. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which is now the focal point in the Government of India for disaster management, feels that such a regional initiative will go a long way towards self reliance, both in India and the region. -keralamonitor.com
DR. Joshi to chair National Institute of Technology
A Council of National Institutes of Technology(NIT) is to be established in pursuance of the conversion of RECs(Regional engineering Colleges) into NITs. The Council will be chaired by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi. The general duty of the Council will be to coordinate the activities all the Institutes. The Council will also advise on the matters relating to duration of the courses, the degrees, other academic distinctions to be conferred by the Institutes, admission standards and other academic matters. Besides, the Council will advise the Central Government on policy matters regarding cadres, methods of recruitment and conditions of service of employees, institution of scholarships and freeships, levying of fees and other matters of common interest. The Council will also perform any other functions as assigned to it time to time by the Central Government or under the provision of MOA/Rules.
10 RECs have been converted into NITs by the Government. These are REC Allahabad, REC Bhopal, REC Calicut, REC Silchar, REC Jaipur, REC Kurukshetra, REC Nagpur, REC Rourkela, REC Hamirpur and REC Surathkal. The other 7 RECs i.e. Durgapur, Jalandhar, Jamshedpur, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirapalli and Warangal are also likely to be converted as NITs shortly. The NITs will be developed as autonomous and flexible academic institutions of excellence. This is being done to enable them to function more effectively through responsive and relevant academic programmes, in the light of sweeping changes taking place in the industrial environment in post liberalised India and also the rapidly changing scene of technical education globally.-keralamonitor.com
NIGERIA: Oil transnational faces fresh protests by women
LAGOS, 16 August (IRIN) - Women protesters in Nigeria have again occupied an oil facility belonging to ChevronTexaco to back demands for amenities and jobs, company officials said on Friday. A similar round of protests had affected several facilities of the company in July.
Scores of half-naked, middle-aged women in about 15 boats arrived on Wednesday at ChevronTexaco’s Ewan oilfield, in the western reaches of the Niger Delta, the officials said. Their presence has disrupted oil operations, forcing the company to evacuate its employees from the facility. "The women are not violent but we have taken the precautionary measure of evacuating our staff," a ChevronTexaco official told IRIN in Lagos.
The protesters from the nearby Ilaje community of Ondo State were said to have brought samples of damaged fishing nets and polluted waters, accusing the oil transnational of ruining their livelihoods and polluting their environment.
"Our fishing lines and waterways have been destroyed, and our commercial trees, straw-mat farms are all dead as a result of gas flaring and oil spillage," Ibimisan Ebiwonjuni, a spokesperson for the protesters, told reporters in Akure, the Ondo capital.
The protesters want an agreement with ChevronTexaco that will oblige the company to clean up the environment, and provide amenities and jobs for the inhabitants of the area.
In July groups of women protesters with similar demands took over ChevronTexaco’s Escravos oil export terminal and several other facilities. The company later signed agreements with the women from the Ugborodo and Gbaramatu communities, from which the protesters came. Under the agreements it promised amenities such as electricity and potable water, and micro-credit facilities.
Oil operations are often disrupted in Nigeria’s southern oil region, where poverty-stricken communities accuse the government and oil transnationals of degrading their environment and depriving them of the wealth derived from the oil mined on their land. -keralamonitor.com
Blue Dart strengthens its network in the East Adds two new locations in Orissa.
August 16, 2002, Mumbai: Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's leading express company, today announced commencement of its services in Angul and Behrampur in Orissa. Through its newly appointed service participants, Space Equator in Angul and Raj Associates in Behrampur, Blue Dart will offer its Domestic Priority product to all its customers in the region.Making the announcement, Amod Dasgupta, Vice President, East, Blue Dart said, "This is another move towards enhancing our network capabilities in the East. Angul and Behrampur provide us with an opportunity to extend our services to some of the country's renowned blue chip companies. There is great potential in this market and, through our newly appointed regional service participants, we aim to fulfil the increasing demand in the region."
Angul, with a population of over 9,60,000 known for its lush green forests and rich wildlife is home to industry giants like NALCO, the blue chip company in the Aluminium sector, NTPC, India's leader in power generation, Mahanadi coal Field Limited in Talcher, 20 kms from Angul, The Fertilizer Coroporation of india and Talcher Thermal Power Station, one of the Orissa governments' oldest power generation plants.
Behrampur, the largest trading centre in Orissa, after Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack, is situated in the southern end of the state. A haven for cashew nuts, handicrafts, silk fabrics, brass work and coir mats; Behrampur is close to exotic tourist locations such as Gopalpur, Aryapalli, Taptapani and Mahendragiri.--keralamonitor.com
NRK Pension Scheme Agreement Signed.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the ROOTS-NRK Development Initiative, a company under incorporation promoted by the Government of Kerala under its Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for the purpose of formulating and implementing various welfare measures, including Pension and Insurance Schemes, for the benefit of Non-Resident Keralites. The MoU is the culmination of in-depth negotiations between the officials of NORKA Department and LIC, including at the level of the Minister, NORKA, and the Chairman, LIC.
The MoU was signed by Sri. Satish Nambudiripad, Chief Executive Officer, on behalf of ROOTS-NRK Development Initiative and Sri. K.Vaidyalingam, Zonal Manager, LIC of India, Chennai. Minister for NORKA, Sri.M.M.Hassan, Secretary, NORKA, Sri. Jiji Thomson and senior officials from NORKA Department and LIC were present on the occasion held on Monday, August 12, at the Durbar Hall of State Secretariat, at Thiruvananthapuram. (Roots-NRK Development initiative is the new company being incorporated in place of NORKWA, which has been dissolved recently).
As per the MoU, the new company can, “subject to the issuance and continuance of approvals and licence by the Government/RBI/Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), act as a corporate agent of LIC”. Thereafter, the Company, in association with LIC will implement various pension and insurance related schemes.
It has been a prime concern for the Government of Kerala to provide a pension scheme for the non-resident Malayalees, who on their return to the State after long years of toiling outside, are faced with an uncertain future due to sudden stoppage of regular income. Demand for such a scheme has been very strong from those working in unorganized sectors, especially in the Gulf, and self-employed people who do not enjoy pensionary benefits. While the ideal thing would be the Government taking over the entire social security of such people, the Government is well aware of its limitations given the huge financial commitment involved and various other logistical constraints. The Government, therefore, embarked on the next option of facilitating the formulation of a scheme, which would enable people to draw a comfortable pension through savings made during their working life. Signing of the Memorandum with LIC, is the precursor to such a scheme, which is all set for implementation.
Salient features of the scheme are as follows:-
1. Basically it is designed as a welfare scheme to meet a long-standing demand of the people, especially those in the unorganised sector who are not covered under any Pension Scheme.
2. There will be different types of pension schemes for people with different requirements and varying paying capacities. Care has been taken to include the entire spectrums of people, starting from those with meagre paying capacity to those in the high-income group.
3. Different kinds of annuity options are also available. They can decide the exact nature of annuity six months before the date of vesting.
4. Interest of Gulf returnees has been especially looked after. There are low-premium endowment schemes for the Gulf returnees.
5. Interest of those who cannot pass a medical test has been protected. There are both Life Insurance Cover and Non-life Cover polices, which do not insist on stringent medical examination as a precondition to join.
It will be the endeavour of the Government to provide various welfare measures and subsidies to those enrolling in the scheme. Details regarding the scheme and the modalities of implementation will be announced after seeking Cabinet clearance. The scheme will be implemented once the proposed company is constituted, procedures of which are nearing completion.The State Government has finalized a pension scheme for Non-Resident Indians of Kerala origin. A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between NORKA and the Life Insurance Corporation. The scheme is the fruition of the 10-month-long discussions the NORKA Minister, Mr. M.M Hassan, had with different insurance companies, the Gulf Returnees Forum and other organisations of Keralites based abroad. The self-financing scheme would be two-pronged – one, for those still employed abroad and the other, for returnees. The minimum age requirement is 35 years. For those employed abroad the scheme projects an annual contribution of Rs.20,000 for five years, following which one who joins the scheme would be entitled to a life-long monthly pension of Rs.750. The calculation is that the member contribution plus the interest would work out to Rs.1,25,000 in five years. In case a contributor dies before the five-year period, his or her dependant would get Rs.2 lakh and the same figure would be applicable in the event of a contributor’s death after becoming eligible for pension after the five-year period.
Minister requests early resolution of issues
In a meeting held between senior functionaries of the Government of Kerala, and Mr. Roy Paul, Secretary, Civil Aviation, Mr. M. M. Hassan, Minister for Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA), requested the Union Secretary for an early resolution of a number of issues concerning the Air passengers from Kerala, especially those to the Gulf countries. Mr. Roy Paul who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, was in Thiruvananthapuram in the fist week of August in connection with the meeting of Thiruvananthapuram Airport Development Authority and his meeting with the NORKA Minister was held on Monday, August 5. Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. A.K.Antony, Finance Minister, Mr. K.Sankaranarayanan and Chief Secretary, Mr. V. Krishnamoorthy, were also present on the occasion.
In the memorandum given to Mr. Roy Paul, the Minister said that with the airlines resorting to frequent hikes in fares, people, especially in the low-income group, find it unaffordable to travel home even once in two or three years. He pointed out that airfares should be just, fair and non-exploitative as a matter of principle and not dictated by marketing strategies or the advertisement-war game. Airfares by Air India and Indian Airlines from the Gulf to airports in Kerala and other destinations in South India should be rationalized, he said.
The Minister pointed out that the huge expense for sending a dead body and also the air travel for one accompanying person becomes a major burden to a poor family. In order to tide over this, he requested Air India to formulate a scheme, by which assistance could be extended for the transportation of the dead body along with one accompanying person.
The Minister also invited positive intervention from the Centre and requested that concerned officials be directed to provide alternate arrangements for stranded passengers in case of cancellation of flight schedules. If due to reasons beyond control, the airlines cannot arrange for an alternate flight, a tie-up with other air carriers may be thought of to take passengers to their destinations.
The Government receives a number of complaints from passengers that their luggage are found missing from the flights during travel, especially from the Gulf. The Minister requested that adequate safety measures be put into place to prevent recurrence of such unfortunate incidents.
The Minister also suggested that Kozhikode Airport, which does not have the required facilities to manage the current inflow of air carriers, be given the status of international airport and to modernize it with night landing facilities. In the case of Thiruvananthapuram Airport, there is a pressing demand for an additional terminal, the expansion of certain other facilities and restoration of certain flights that have been shifted from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Kochi, he said. (COURTESY -NORKA NEWS)
The NRK Project Initiative Fund
The Government has issued orders renaming the Infrastructure Initiative Fund as NRK Project Initiative Fund. The criteria fixed earlier have also been liberalised. The fund would now be utilised for the feasibility study of infrastructural, industrial or any other commercially viable projects to be implemented in the State of Kerala rather than restricting it for infrastructure projects alone. The promoter of the projects should be a NRK.
The study should be for the preparation of techno-economic feasibility project report for the consideration of a financial institution for providing financial assistance. The proposed study should be recommended by at least one state financial institution and the institution should be prepared to finance the project subject to establishment of techno-economic viability. The maximum amount of fee payable for a study will be 1% of the project costs as per the preliminary estimate approved by the financial institution subject to a maximum of Rs.5 lakh. The amount that can be sanctioned from the NRK Project Initiate Fund is only 90% of the fee payable. Balance 10% has to be met by the promoter. The sanctioned amount from the Project Initiative Fund will be taken as an item in the project cost and the same would be refunded to NORKA from the first installment of disbursement of term loan from the financial institution. The promoter has to make an undertaking that the project would be implemented subject to the techno-economic viability of term loan, failing which the entire amount obtained from NORKA will be refunded by him.
A high power committee consisting of Secretary, NORKA, Secretary, Finance, and Secretary, Planning, would be responsible for prioritising the projects seeking assistance from the fund. The I-KIN would be the strategic consultant to NORKA. The application for assistance from the fund has to be submitted to the Secretary, NORKA, who can sanction assistance to the eligible NRKs based on the recommendations of the high power committee. The amount sanctioned would be disbursed directly to the consultancy organisation in suitable instalments.
The earlier Infrastructure Initiative Fund was initiated in March 2000 with a corpus of Rs.50 lakh. Amount earmarked for 2000-2001 was Rs.30 lakh and 2002-2003 was Rs.25 lakh respectively. Due to the stringency in modality no amount could be utilised for this fund during previous years. It was in view of the above, the conditions have been liberalised.(COURTESY -NORKA NEWS)
Vajpayee to inaugurate Global Investor Meet
Prime Minister Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee will inaugurate the Global Investor Meet to be held at Kochi on January 18 & 19, 2003. Mr. Vajpayee accepted the invitation when the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr. A. K. Antony called on him recently. Originally the GIM was scheduled to be held in November, 2002. The Prime Minister has also agreed to increase the unallocated share of power to Kerala from 16 MW to 100 MW. The Chief Minister has requested the Centre for a grant of Rs 500 crore to meet the situation caused by monsoon failure. Mr. Antony also told media persons that negotiations regarding the proposed LNG project in Kochi were over and a final decision would be taken by November. (COURTESY -NORKA NEWS)
U.S.Robotics’ New 5 Port Switch Makes Networking Easy And Affordable For Small Companies and Homes
New addition to U.S. Robotics’ family of networking products caters to users
growing need to share bandwidth and files.Dubai,15 August 2002 keralamonitor.com
U.S. Robotics today announced the availability of its 5-Port 10/100 Ethernet
Switch in the Middle East market, the newest addition to its existing line
of networking products in the region. This card uses U.S.Robotics’ renowned
Plug and Play capabilities to enable homes and small offices to easily link
their standalone computers into an efficient high speed network, to share
files, a printer and broadband connection.“Today more than ever before, computer users want to be interconnected in
order to share information and files amongst each other, and one of
U.S.Robotics’ main objectives is to ensure that we give our users in small
to medium businesses and homes cost effective and easy to use solutions that
will optimize their technology resources,” said Yusuf Syed, U.S.Robotics’s
sales manger for the Middle East and SAARC Countries. “That is why
networking is a new focus for us, and the 5 port switch complements our
offering in this domain”The 5-port switch is an affordable, compact switching hub, it is ideal for
segmenting a network in smaller workgroups and providing improved
performance for high bandwidth applications such as new media and
traditional desktop and video publishing. It is capable of boosting network
bandwidth performance and manages network traffic more efficiently than a
simple hub. With a networked environment, users can print from any computer
to a single printer, and share the same files. For home users, this also
sharing the same MP3 or digital video files and playing sports and action
games with as many players as you have computers.“Over the years, U.S.Robotics has established a relationship with its users
that is based on trust in our products and our ability to put the latest
connectivity technologies at the reach of computer users in homes and small
companies. The 5-Port Ethernet switch availability in the region represents
a welcomed addition to our wired networking solutions offering in the Middle
East, giving users the flexibility of a hassle-free option to add more
computers to their network and share the Internet experience at minimal
cost” said Mahmoud Samy, U.S.Robotics’ regional sales manager for the
Levant, Egypt and North Africa.The 5-Port Ethernet switch enables users to share large data files, MP3s,
photographs, video files, more effectively and easily. The networked
environment allows the easy transfer of files and backup data from computer
to computer without the need for stacks of floppy disks. Users can play
head-to-head video games across their home network against real opponents on
multiple computers. The U.S. Robotics 5-Port 10/100 Ethernet Switch is both
PC and Macintosh compatible and is designed to work with any computer that
has an Ethernet adapter (Network Interface Card). The switch offers data
speeds up to 200 Mbps and with no software to configure, with installation
taking only seconds. (Retail price of $49.99)
IBM Technology Gives New Hondas a Voice
Embedded ViaVoice powers navigation system in up-coming Honda Accords
Dubai, UAE – August 15, 2002 -- IBM has announced it has provided enhanced
voice recognition technology for a revolutionary new navigation system that
will be a feature in select 2003 model Honda Accords. With this system,
drivers can ask for directions and hear responses over the existing car
audio system, allowing them to easily and efficiently reach their
destinations without having to look at maps or stop and ask for directions.This announcement is a real-world demonstration of the kinds of technology
that IBM presented at GITEX Dubai last year, and again at COMDEX and GITEX
in Saudi Arabia.The new Accord, completely redesigned, will include the "Touch by Voice"
navigation system powered by IBM's Embedded ViaVoice technology and software
developed jointly by IBM and Honda R&D. This latest in a series of deals for
IBM in pervasive computing and Telematics represents IBM's ongoing
commitment to deliver products that meet customer expectations in a wireless
world. The new system has a vocabulary of approximately 150 English-language
commands and can recognize a range of accents.To get directions, the driver uses the "talk" button, located on the
steering wheel. The system can recognize commands such as "find nearest gas
station," "find nearest ATM" or "find nearest Italian restaurant." It also
provides driving directions to and from any specified address or location.The technology is integrated into the car's audio system, so driving
instructions can be heard over the speakers. The Touch by Voice human voice
recognition system is designed to minimize need for keyboard entry. The
system also links to climate control systems for added driver convenience.
“The car of the future needs to be smarter, assisting the motorist in
intelligent ways. It’s critical that the ‘smart car’ does not distract the
driver, however. The telematics technology we showed to our Middle East
customers at GITEX and Comdex is the first step –IBM’s ViaVoice technology
takes smart car systems to a whole new level, where the driver can keep his
attention on the road when interacting with the new generation of smart
cars,” said Farid Metwaly, General Manager of IBM MEEP.The Honda Accord is all new for the 2003 model year and adds new style,
performance and sophistication to the lineup."With this system, drivers can gain access to a range of services without
taking their hands off the wheel," said Robert Bienenfeld, senior manager of
product planning for American Honda. "It's more advanced than anything else
in the market today. IBM has over 25 years of experience in voice
recognition technology, and we're delighted to be working with the
forerunners in this area."IBM Embedded ViaVoice delivers IBM speech technology to mobile devices such
as smart phones, handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs), and automobile
components. It supports a variety of real-time operating systems and
microprocessors. The Touch by Voice system uses IBM speech technology in its
command and control form of Automatic Speech Recognition that uses human
speech to input commands into a mobile device. In other applications, IBM
speech technology also operates in text-to-speech mode, using synthesized
human speech to output text and other information from a mobile device."With Telematics, the car becomes part of the seamless user environment. We
estimate that this sector generated US$7.2billion in telematics service and
equipment revenues in the US, W. Europe and Japan in 2001, and by 2007 is
expected to reach over US$23billion for Terminals shipments and services
combined," said Joanne Downie, Director of Strategy Analytics In-vehicle
Telematics and Multimedia Service."Computing is entering a phase that goes beyond the PC and into devices and
places not normally associated with heavy computing power. This innovative
navigation system, jointly developed by Honda and IBM, is just one example
of how IBM works with our industry partners to push the envelope in the
emerging area of pervasive, wireless and mobile computing," said Raj Desai,
Director, Global Automotive and Telematics Solutions."IBM is helping companies in the petroleum, insurance, telecommunications,
heavy equipment and transportation companies, as well as governments around
the world, take advantage of the new capabilities Telematics technologies
offer. From hardware to software solutions to consulting expertise that can
align business processes for greater efficiency and profitability, IBM is
helping world-class customers like Honda break new ground.-keralamonitor.comKenya : 1.1 million HIV/AIDS orphans
NAIROBI, 14 August (IRIN) - The official figure for numbers of HIV/AIDS orphans in Kenya is now 1.1 million, Kenneth Chebet, the head of the National AIDS Control Council told IRIN on Wednesday. The figure had been arrived at by the Ministry for Health, NGOs and the Bureau of Statistics, he said.
Speaking about the high numbers, Kenyan Health Minister Sam Ongeri said on Tuesday that the figure could triple "if further preventive measure are not emphasised," the East African Standard reported.
Chebet said between 40 and 50 percent of Kenya's hospital beds, excluding those in maternity wards, were currently occupied by patients with HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.
In 2001, a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Kenyan government of failing to take responsibility for the estimated million children who had been orphaned by the virus. "The rights of children have been the missing piece of the AIDS crisis," said Joanne Csete, a researcher with the rights advocacy group. "If their parents had died in any other way, these children would have been at the top of the agenda. But because the parents died of AIDS, with all of the stigma that implies, they're at the bottom."
HRW reported that many such orphans - unable to inherit property to which they were entitled due to cumbersome legal processes - were being forced to leave school early to become breadwinners, and subsequently exploited by having to engage in potentially dangerous labour inappropriate to their age.-keralamonitor.com
HLL shareholders approve bonus debenture scheme by 99.99% majority
The shareholders of Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) have by an overwhelming majority approved the company's revised Bonus Debenture Scheme.August 16, 2002, Mumbai: HLL shareholders present and voting at the Bombay High Court-convened meeting on August 9, 2002, supported the proposed bonus debenture scheme as follows: the bonus debenture scheme was approved by shareholders, representing 430 of the shareholders present and voting at the meeting and holding 1260985339 shares, representing 99.9994% of the value of shares on which the poll was held. The scheme will now be submitted to the Bombay High Court. The company will also seek other statutory approvals.
As per the Scheme, in addition to a Bonus Debenture of Rs.6 each per share, HLL will also pay a Special Dividend of Rs.2.76 per share as part of the Scheme. The entire tax on Bonus Debentures and Special Dividend will be deducted out of the Rs.2.76 Special Dividend, ensuring that the face value of the Bonus Debenture is uniform at Rs.6. Both the Bonus Debenture and the Special Dividend will be payable by reference to the same Record Date as may be fixed for allotment of Bonus Debenture. The interest on the Bonus Debentures, redeemable after a period of 18 months from the record date, will be 9%.
After their issuance, HLL has offered to buy back the debentures -- less than 1000 debentures per original debenture holder and upto a limit of Rs.100 crores on a first-come-first-serve basis during the first 12 months commencing from the date of issue of debentures. A consortium, led by HSBC, will also offer a scheme to buy back the Debentures at a rate determined by the consortium.
HLL had originally proposed the Bonus Debenture Scheme in 2001, entailing issuance of one Bonus Debenture of the face value of Rs.6 per share of Re.1, and this scheme had been approved by the shareholders on December 12, 2001.
Before the Scheme could be implemented, the Government changed taxation laws, as per the Finance Act 2002, making dividend taxable in the hands of the shareholders.
HLL therefore revised its Bonus Debenture Scheme to make the Scheme self-financing such that shareholders, even at the highest tax bracket, do not have to pay tax on these Bonus Debentures (construed as deemed dividend) out of their own pocket. It is this revised Bonus Debenture Scheme which shareholders approved on August 9, 2002.
The Scheme now includes Clause 4A which authorises the HLL Board to make necessary changes in the Scheme, within the existing financial parameters, should any changes be required due to any changes in the taxation laws, before the Scheme is implemented, in a manner which ensures equity amongst all shareholders. The Clause provides that, while implementing such changes, the withdrawals from the General Reserves and withdrawals from the Profit & Loss Account will not exceed Rs.1321 crores and Rs.608 crores respectively, as provided for in the Scheme. The Clause also mentions that in case the Dividend Distribution Tax or any such tax is reintroduced, HLL can adjust the resultant amount from the Special Dividend to release funds for meeting obligations arising from reimposition of such taxation.-keralamonitor.com
Philips now aims to be a leader in Eye-fi too
Philips launches the world class Eye-Fi technology, based on an consumer insight, in its colour televisions range.
August 16, 2002, New Delhi: Philips India Ltd (www.philips.com), a subsidiary of the Netherlands based Royal Philips Electronics, today launched its range of Colour Televisions, with Eye-Fi technology, for the first time in India. With the launch of the Eye-fi technology, Philips - the Hi-fi Audio leader, is now aiming at a leadership position in Colour Televisions as well. The introduction of the Eye-fi technology, in its Colour Televisions range, is based on a valuable consumer insight derived through research. The research indicated that consumers want superlative picture quality, without having to make manual-tuning adjustments, even under weak cable signal conditions. The Eye-fi (Eye-Fidelity) technology aims at giving the consumer the best possible picture performance, at the touch of a button, under all signal conditions.The Eye-fi series, a range of five colour televisions, is another world-class innovation introduced by Philips to provide an enriched viewing experience to the consumers. The Eye-Fi feature, working together with Intelligent TV, changes several picture parameters by sensing the incoming signal at the antenna input of your TV. The total effect of Eye-Fi can be seen in the screen by simply changing channels with the Eye-Fi feature in 'Display On' mode or by going to Menu and switching between Eye-Fi Off/On.
The Eye-fi feature essentially adjusts picture parameters such as brightness, contrast, sharpness, DigiContrast, Digi-Picture automatically and activates Intelligent TV. It enhances and improves the picture performance from a weak picture source, to give the best possible viewing experience. Also, Intelligent TV detects the strength and signal to noise ratio of the incoming signal and automatically boosts the signal, if weak.
DigiSignal meter is another unique feature available in the Eye-Fi range of Philips Colour Televisions. This feature measures the signal strength of the antenna input through a complex digital algorithm patented by Philips. The unique benefit of the DigiSignal meter is to enable the roof top aerial to be perfectly aligned for maximum signal reception strength.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajeev Karwal, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Division, Philips India Limited said, "At Philips, it has always been our constant endeavor to aggressively introduce new technology products in the Indian markets, at affordable prices. Philips - the undisputed leader in Audio Hi-fi technology, is now keenly targeting the number one position in CTV category, with the launch of its Eye-fi colour Telvision series. Philips Eye-fi is a revolutionary technology, giving the consumer, a superlative viewing experience and we believe it will generate a tremendous response from the market."
Mr. Suresh Sukumaran, Senior General Manager - Marketing (Television), Consumer Electronics Division, Philips India Limited said, "We have always believed in fulfilling the needs and desires of the Indian consumer.
Consumer research indicated a need to be satisfied in terms of providing the consumer the best possible picture, under any cable signal condition, and that too, at the click of a button. We understand the importance of good audio-visual experience, and have therefore developed an intelligent Television set that will improve picture performance, from a weak picture source."
The market for Colour Televisions is estimated at 6 million units in volume terms, for the year 2002. As per the latest ORG-GFK report, Philips is steadily consolidating its market share position, and is among the top 5 Colour Telvision brands as per valuewise brand listing, with a value market share of 7%, for the month of June 2002.
Philips India Limited, a subsidiary of the Netherlands based Royal Philips Electronics N. V., is a leader in Lighting, Consumer Electronics, Components, Semiconductors, Domestic Appliances & Personal Care with an unmatched range of internationally current products backed by superior design and technology. It also has an excellent distribution and after-sales service network. Philips has been operating in India for over 70 years. The company's turnover in 2001 was over Rs. 15 billion and it employs around 4000 employees in its 6 factories (including it's subsidiary company) and in several sales offices around the country. Philips India Limited shares are listed on Bombay and Calcutta Stock Exchanges.-keralamonitor.com
