January 7, 2004
Gandhi Peace Prize conferred on Mr. Vaclav Havel
Jan 5: President Dr. A.P.J. Kalam conferred the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize on Mr. Vaclav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic, in the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan today for his struggle to uphold human rights in most difficult situations through Gandhian means. Conferring the Award on Mr. Havel, President Dr. Kalam said that Mr. Havel is the torch bearer of Gandhian principles in present time and a great human being fighting for freedom and dignity of his people through non violence means.
Underlining the importance of peace in maintaining stability and dignity, Dy. Prime Minister, Shri L.K. Advani said that Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee's current visit to Islamabad at SAARC might bring major breakthrough for establishment of peace in South Asian Region. He appreciated Mr. Havel's contribution for safeguarding human values.
On the occasion the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Shri Jagmohan said that Mr. Havel through out his eventful life has followed ideals, which are essentially Gandhian in spirit. In the present scientific and technological advance world, increasingly driven by power-drunk people with little regard for principles or morality, who could be a better choice for Gandhian Peace prize than Mr. Vaclav Havel, Shri Jagmohan added.
Accepting the Prize, Mr. Havel said that "each and everyone of us must look within ourselves and however insignificant our influence on the general march of events may seem to be, strive to contend with both seen and unseen threats to the world. This, it seems to me, is the eternally fresh message of Mahatma's lifelong work and activity." He added that we have to seek an improvement of the world first of all in the field of human spirit, of human conscience and, of human responsibility.
The Prize given for outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through Gandhian means, by Government of India, carries an amount of Rs. 1 crore and a citation. The Gandhi Peace Prize has been awarded previously to Dr. Julius K. Nyerere, Former Presidnet of Tanzania, Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, Founder President of Sarvodaya Movement in Sri Lanka, Dr. Grehard Fischer of Germany, Ramakrishna Mission, India, Baba Amte, India, Dr. Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa, Mr. John Hume of Ireland and Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, India.
Born on October, 5, 1936, in Prague, Mr. Vaclav Havel is known for his outstanding contribution for upholding human rights in most difficult situations. In 1951, when Prague Spring Regeneration Process was put to end, Mr. Vaclav Havel continued with his convictions and consequently, a lasting ban was imposed on publication of his plays in Czechoslovakia. His open letter to Dr. Gustav Husak (the then President of Czechoslovakia) in 1975 pointing out the critical condition of the society and the responsibility of the then ruling regime for the condition, became widely known among human rights champions. In 1977 he became one of the co-founders of the charter 77 initiative and also a member of the Committee for the Defence of the unjustly prosecuted. His activities led him to the prison three times and he spent nearly five years in prison. His essays at that time are considered of extraordinary importance. In The Power of the Powerless (1978), he analysed the essence of communist totalitarian oppression and described the means and mechanisms used by the Communist regime in its effort to create a powerless, resigned society consisting of timid and morally corrupt individuals. Against the background of that analysis, he demonstrated the strength of moral resistance of life in truth. The impact of the essay reached beyond the scope of the Czechoslovak dissent, influencing also the opposition movements in other socialist countries. One of the Havel's central principles was to urge people to live in a state of inner freedom, to try to behave as if they lived in freedom. It was a simple idea but a liberating one.
In November 1989, Mr. Vaclav Havel as one of the leading initiators of the Civic Forum, an association uniting opposition civic movements and democratic initiatives, became a key figure of the 'Velvet Revolution' and later presidential candidate of the forum. On December, 29th , 1989 Parliament elected Mr. Vaclav Havel the President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
Mr. Vaclav Havel has been a leading initiator of democratic changes in the administration of the country and other advancement of democracy in society. He has been respected as a non-partisan President and as an essential integrating authority on the political scene and also in matters relating to the Czech-Slovak relationship. Mr. Vaclav Havel resigned from the position of president of the Czechoslovak Republic because he thought that he was not able to fulfill commitments to the Czech and Slovac Republic in a way that would harmonize with his convictions and consciousness. He even left the public life for some time. However, once division became a reality he again entered in the political arena and became this first president of the Czech Republic. -Keralamonitor.com
Shri Bajaj appointed Director (Finance) in NBCC
Jan 5: Shri B.L. Bajaj has been appointed Director (Finance) in the National Buildings Construction Corporation LTD. (NBCC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, for a period of five years. Shri Bajaj was earlier Additional General Manager (Finance) in the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). -Keralamonitor.comIntegrated Rail Bus Transit system connecting Delhi
Jan 5: It is proposed to have an Integrated Rail-cum-Bus Transit (IRBT) system connecting the National Capital Territory of Delhi with Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Sahibabad with an interface with the Delhi Metro Rail.
The estimated cost of the IRBT will be Rs. 2,239 crores. It will include Rs. 665 crore for the Shahdra-Sahibabad-Ghaziabad corridor, Rs. 621 crores for Sahibabad-Tilak Bridge-Minto Bridge section and Rs. 953 crores for Dayabasti-Bijwasan-Gurgaon corridor.
The IRBT system on these corridors will provide two dedicated tracks for commuter traffic.
The IRBT system will interface with the Delhi Metro at four locations of Shahdara, Trinagar/Dayabasti, Barakhamba Road/Shivaji Bridge and Kirti Nagar/New Patel Nagar.
Feasibility study of the project has been conducted. In this connection, a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been circulated to and approved by all stakeholders, except the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
A Steering Committee has also been constituted to monitor the project.
India, UK discuss multilateral and bilateral trade issues
Indo-UK trade crosses US $ 5 billion in 2002-03
Jan 5: India and the United Kingdom (UK) have expressed their keenness to enhance bilateral trade from its current levels, which was in excess of US $ 5 billion in 2002-03. This was indicated by Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Mr. Mike O'Brien, British Trade Minister during discussions here today. The UK is the second largest trading partner of India. During the meeting, both the Ministers also emphasised the need to find a way out of the current impasse in WTO negotiations and to move the multilateral process forward. Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary; Mr. Michael Arthur, the British High Commissioner and other senior representatives from both sides were present at the meeting.
Both the Ministers expressed disappointment at the current stalemate in the negotiations while exchanging views on developments after the Cancun Ministerial Conference. Mr. O'Brien said that it was disappointing not to have made much progress in the WTO General Council meeting in December 2003 and underlined the importance of finding a way out. In the context of agriculture, Shri Jaitley reiterated the sensitivity of the subsidies issue since 650 million people in the country were dependent on it.
Taking up bilateral issues, the British side raised the matter of high tariffs on scotch whisky and requested to abolish additional duties on spirits/wines. The Indian side pointed out the substantial reduction in tariff levels made in recent Budgets and said that the present duty was within the bound levels. Highlighting pharmaceuticals as a growth sector between the two countries, the British side sought some clarifications regarding intellectual property rights issues. They also evinced keen interest in financing of infrastructural projects in the sectors like highways, ports and railways. Shri Jaitley said that the Indian economy was doing well and it offered a large scope for British investment in India. -Keralamonitor.com
Biggest pipeline project in Asia Pacific launched
New Delhi Jan 5: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has launched the biggest pipeline project in Asia Pacific by laying two subsea pipelines in Mumbai High offshore field. The estimated cost of the project is $600 million. The pipe upgrades in the project involved laying two 204-km pipelines - one a 30 inch diameter line for oil and the other a 28-inch gas line. This was done to replace the ageing trunk lines at the Mumbai High offshore field in the Arabian Sea, company sources said. At present crude oil and natural gas produced from various offshore platforms at Bombay High is transported to Uran plant through Bombay High to Uran Trunk (BUT) pipeline system. Recently, there were leaks in the oil trunk pipeline. -Keralamonitor.com
HMIL to invest $220m in Irungattukotai plant
Chennai Jan 5: Hyundai Motor India's (HMIL) is planning to invest a huge amount of $220m in Irungattukotai plant. HMIL has been in an expansion mode. Besides HMIL's $220m expansion, the existing vendors together are investing close to $50m. Even though, the state-owned State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot) is willing to allot additional land required by the vendors, HMIL does not require more land for the current expansion, since it has substantial surplus land already in its possession. Following the huge demand for its 'Santro Xing' in the export market, it is now in the midst of further expanding this capacity to 2.5 lakh units per annum with an additional investment of $220m which is scheduled to be completed by July/August '04 and the total number of employees with HMIL is expected to go up to 3,500 from the present 2,700. -Keralamonitor.com
Lasen&Toubro Ltd bags major order worth 30 million from UAE-based GASCO
Mumbai, Jan 5: Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has bagged an EPC order worth US dollar 30 million for upgrading facilities at the Bu Hasa project of the gas gathering and processing company GASCO at Abu Dhabi, said the company in a release here.The order includes the total engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) involving new compressors and related facilities including hook up to meet additional gas suplies from the Bu Hasa field development.The order had been bagged against competition from international EPC majors including Technip of France, Snam of Italy, Petrofac of UAE and Clough Engineering of Australia. L&T President (operations) K Venkataramanan said that , "the order represented a major breakthrough for L&T in the onshore gas field development sector and would enable the company to demonstrate its competencies in the field," adding that the company was bidding for similar oil and gas projects in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. -Keralamonitor.com
Government disallows return on equity by nationalised banksNew Delhi Jan 5: In an official release, centre today said no to return of equity by nationalised banks. This is because, it will be required to meet tighter prudential norms by them in the medium term. After due consideration, Centre had decided that the nationalised banks need not return equity in anticipation of increased capital requirements due to Basel II Accord, which provides for fulfilling tighter norms by banks. It would necessitate banks to meet international standards and implement best practices. -Keralamonitor.com
TVS launches Centra motor cycle
Chennai Jan 5: India's leading two wheeler company, TVS Motors, today launched a 100 CC four-stroke motor cycle, named 'Centra' with Variable Timing intelligent (VTi) engines, claiming to give more mileage to consumers.It is also called 'fill it once a month bike' and it would be be the most fuel-efficient motor cycle in the country, Chairman and Managing Director of the company Venu Srinivasan told media, here while launching the new product, costing Rs.36,990. He also said nearly Rs.100 crore investment had gone into the launch of 'Centra', including on R and D and plant and machinery. -Keralamonitor.comMTNL and BSNL enter into strategic alliance to work jointly
Mumbai Jan 5: MTNL executive director R L Dube told reporters here today that MTNL and BSNL have entered into a strategic alliance, under which the two public-sector telecom companies will jointly offer their voice and data services and that the alliance would help both the companies have a pan- India presence, with the firms sharing each other's network and putting up a single customer interface window.BSNL has presence in all circles in the country, except in Mumbai and Delhi, while MTNL has its operations only in these two metro cities.The move would enable the emergence of the single largest telephony provider in the country, he said and also added that the alliance was not a prelude to the merger of two companies. -Keralamonitor.com
