INDIA PREPARES TO SLOW DOWN ITS POPULATION GROWTH
Lalit Sethi*
16:1 IST
India faces a grim reality, a rapidly rising population. If family planning efforts are not stepped up with missionary zeal, the present population of 1.3 billion could double in 22 years. This means by the year 2026, there could be 2.6 billion Indians; possibly more Indians than even the Chinese, who now count as the largest single ethnic entity on the globe. Could it spell a near catastrophe? It is not just a question of feeding more than two and a half billion people in an over-crowded country. Even to slake their thirst with diminishing water resources would be far from easy, assuming that there would be a manifold increase in desalination of seawater. Would it endanger more and more lives as the years go by? That conclusion might well be inescapable. The entire resources for sheer survival of Indians growing in numbers would be under grave pressure. Housing, food, water, medical aid, roads, railways and all conceivable life-supporting systems would be much scarcer than now, no matter how rapid the development process. Tensions of all sorts would increase as man would fight man for his own rights. Would India become one great slum? Would rivers, canals, lakes, ponds and all sorts of water bodies including groundwater as well as the air be polluted beyond remedy? Would India warm up much faster than the rest of the world? Would summers be elongated and winters shortened?Why is the population rising so fast? The simple answer is that it has been rising at a breakneck speed throughout the 20th century and even in the new millennium in large parts of the world, especially Asia and Africa as well as the Americas. Only in Europe the people are ageing faster than elsewhere in the world. Traditionally, people all over the world have favoured large families as even the survival of the fittest was not guaranteed and death rates were high. So survivors were needed to support the rest of the family. Old age required young sons because daughters were generally married off and went to make up other families. The gender prejudice against girls continues as daughters are generally given away in marriage at much or great expense and sons carry forward the name of the family. While the educated or wealthy families may welcome daughters equally as they do the sons, the less affluent and the poor or traditionalists favour sons. The fastest increase in population has been noticed in the northern and eastern States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
July 11 was Population Day around the world and the global population is already 6 billion and rising all the time. India hopes to bring down its birth rate to 21 per thousand and death rate to nine per thousand. If this is achieved by governmental and people’s own efforts by adopting family planning, India’s population is expected to stabilize by the year 2050. The Government of India is concerned over the unprecedented rise in the country’s population and as an emergency measure, the Health Ministry has prepared a list of 150 high fertility districts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Rajasthan. The Centre launched a focused programme on July 11 on family planning projects. This year’s Union Budget has also projected the 150 most backward districts all over India where steps would be taken to provide adequate health services as an emergency measure. It is expected that this two-pronged strategy would give a fillip to the family planning drive. The Health Ministry has requested the aforesaid States to actively involve its officials and health workers in promoting the family welfare programme to ensure its success. The Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. A. Ramdoss is personally overseeing the programme. While health is a State subject and it is the States’ responsibility to promote family planning, it is appreciated that the Centre and non-governmental organizations have a key role in it. The Common Minimum Programme which lays emphasis on better health care of the people is expected to be invoked to promote family planning as a key component of better health of the people, especially women and children. The Ministry of Women and Child Welfare and similar departments in the States could be strengthened to give a push to family planning.
The States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Gujarat have been criticized by international agencies for their dismal ratios of females to males. Nationwide, the ratio is 960 females to 1,000 males. In these four States, the ratio fell to less than 800 girls for 1,000 boys in 2001. In Punjab, the decline was in 10 of its 17 districts. But in Haryana all districts recorded fewer than 850 births of girls for 1,000 boys. Female infanticide continues in the face of grim poverty in the severely drought-prone or flood-prone areas. India’s per capita income has been calculated at Rs 18,400 per annum. But in effect the poorest of the poor do not even earn Rs 1,000 per month per family.
There is a view that the burgeoning population of India is a vast human resource which can be used for development. It is suggested that India should learn from China where the zero growth has disturbed gender equation in the light of the one child norm. But the counterpoint is that India has not adopted the one child per family norm, nor any coercive measures to curb population. India is a democracy and the stress in this country is promotion of family welfare through persuasion and incentives and disincentives rather than the use of force.
*Senior Journalist
CRICKET IN INDIA
M.K. Dharmaraja*
14:16 ISTThe premier national championship in Cricket for the Ranji Trophy was instituted in 1934 to commemorate K.S. Ranjitsinhji – subsequently the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. Years later, the stamp issued on the occasion of his centenary depicted Ranji playing the leg-glance(glide), the dainty stroke patented by him.
At about the time when Ranji was polishing his cricket strokes in England, the game had become quite popular in India. We have an account of a school-boy cricketer in Rajkot. Mohandas Gandhi (destined to be Mahatma) as a keen cricketer. His classmate Ratilal Chelabhai Mehta has recalled that "Mohandas was a dashing cricketer, good at batting and bowling". About half a century later when Douglas Jardine’s England team came to India in 1933-34, Gandhiji wrote ‘I am your 13th man’ on their bat, presented for his autograph.
It was against Jardine’s team that Lala Amarnath entered the Test arena as India’s first cricketer to score a century on debut. His astounding innings of 117 runs made in less than two hours was scored against the pace attack of Nichols and Clarke, followed by the redoubtable spin maestro H.Verity. Amarnath was a versatile cricketer who led the first Indian team to Australia in 1946-47 against the all-conquering outfit of Don Bradman. Amarnath was an exceptionally gifted all-rounder who in a match against the visiting West Indies also donned the wicket-keeper’s gloves replacing the injured Koko Sen and accounted for four dismissals. It was only the umpire’s hasty action of terminating the match before time that robbed India of a certain victory against the Caribbeans who had the famous three W’s – Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell in their ranks. Amarnath at one time had been toasted as "India’s reposte to England’s Hammond and Australia’s Bradman!" But the Second World War had intervened cutting short their playing careers at a time when a much lesser number of Tests were played.
Not only Amarnath but Vijay Hazare and the best all-rounder of the time, Vinoo Mankad, also had their playing careers similarly curtailed. Hazare’s feat of scoring a century in each innings in the Adelaide Test during India’s 1946-47 tour was recalled in memorable words years later by the then Australian captain, Sir Donald Bradman. In his foreword to Hazare’s memoirs, he said, "A century in each innings is a rare and invariably a great performance. But to perform the feat when your team is beaten by an innings takes outstanding skill and courage. Hazare was one of the most graceful batsmen it was my pleasure to see. And, perhaps the best compliment I can pay him is to say that his batting more closely resembled that of the great West Indian star, Sir Frank Worrell, than anyone I can remember".
Other notable Indian cricketers of the time included Mushtaq Ali of the buccaneering bat who could smash the most formidable bowling attack to smithereens. His opening partner, Vijay Merchant who went on the 1936 and 1946 England tour was a proflific scorer even on the wet wickets there. Vinoo Mankad covered himself with glory by scoring 72 and 184 runs in his two innings besides capturing 5 wickets in England’s only innings at Lords. "Mankad’s Test" was the tag on that encounter.
India’s twin-triumph against the West Indies on their soil in 1971 is a matter of contemporary cricket history. Victory against the West Indies was significant since their team had the world’s all-rounder Garfield Sobers and powerful batsmen like Rohan Kanhai. India’s win against such a powerful combination was due to the mesmerizing spin bowling of the quartet – E.A.S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi, B.S. Chandrashekar and S. Venkataraghavan.
This saga of triumphs was climaxed by India’s astounding feat of lifting the Prudential World Cup in 1983. "Rags to riches" was the caption on the sports pages when "Kapil’s devils", as they were called, dislodged West Indies, "the invincible" defending champions.
For a number of years thereafter, the Indian duo of Kapildev Nikhanj and Sunil Gavaskar were the proud possessors of the ‘Tests’ records in bowling and batting. While the bowling record of 434 ‘Tests’ wickets was subsequently overtaken. Gavaskar’s record of 34 ‘Test’ hundreds remains un-assailed. The batsman to clamber closest to the figure is Sachin Tendulkar with only a century less than the un-eclipsed record.
*Sports Writer
$10 Billion in Potential Business Opportunities to be Explored at July 14-15 Libya-U.S. Enterprise Conference
Washington, DC -- July 07, 2004 -- With little more than a week remaining until the opening of the Libya-U.S. Enterprise Conference in Washington, officials from New Fields Exhibitions expressed optimism today about the potentially lucrative opportunities available for U.S. companies in Libya. A Libyan delegation from the largest civil engineering project in the world, the GMRP, will discuss business opportunities that are available to foreign companies and worth a total of $10 billion.
Libya’s government has allocated $10 billion over the next four years to the GMRP, which will cover engineering, construction, building materials, and other needs. In addition to the GMRP, private sector speakers with firsthand knowledge of the Libyan economy will address opportunities available in other emerging sectors, including agriculture and education.
Other highlights of the two day event in Washington DC will include a major address by Assistant Secretary of Commerce William Lash, whose mission to Libya on June 2-3 made him the highest level U.S. trade official to visit Libya in a quarter century. Experts on Libyan law, economics, and politics will present detailed advice on the opportunities and risks involved in the Libyan market.
“The restoration of relations between the United States and Libya is becoming one of the great diplomatic success stories of this decade,” said Samir Farajallah, President and CEO of New Fields. “The success story is likely to continue into the realm of business, and we are proud to help American companies to take their first steps into Libya by providing them with information on some of the most important opportunities available there.”
The conference will be held at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Washington. Following July’s event, New Fields plans to hold a second conference on Libya in late September.
Additionally, on October 10-13, the company will hold NEFEXPO.04 in Libya’s capital, Tripoli. NEFEXPO.04 will feature buyers and distributors from throughout Libya seeking American products.
For an agenda and registration information, please visit: http://www.new-fields.com/libyaforum/index.htm
New Fields Exhibitions, Inc.CISCO ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF
NETWORK ADMISSION CONTROL SOLUTIONS
Offers support on access and midrange Cisco IOS routers, broadens vendor integration program and delivers advanced NAC implementation servicesCisco Systems, Inc., today announced the availability of solutions delivered through its Network Admission Control (NAC) program, which help customers extend their existing network systems to defend against viruses and worms. Combined with a broadened vendor integration program and new Advanced Services for NAC implementations, customers will be able to more quickly deploy these threat-defense capabilities into their networks.
The NAC program, which was first announced in November 2003, now supports the Cisco® 830 Series to Cisco 7200 Series access and midrange Cisco IOS® Software-based routing platforms as well as Cisco network security management and access products (see "Pricing and Availability" section below), to help enforce network access privileges based on endpoint security information. A key component of the NAC program is the Cisco Trust Agent software, which resides on desktop and server endpoints and collects security state information from multiple third-party security software clients such as antivirus clients. The Cisco Trust Agent software communicates this information to the Cisco network where network-access-control decisions are made and enforced. To facilitate deployment, Cisco Trust Agent software is available integrated with the Cisco Security Agent, an endpoint security solution to prevent day-zero and other attacks, to help ensure endpoint-operating-system patch compliance.
"Complex and ever-changing security threats require a systems-level approach and industry collaboration to dynamically protect networked business-critical resources," said Ken Kucera, senior vice president of First National Bank. "The Cisco Network Admission Control program lets us use the network in our endpoint-validation efforts to audit and enforce our endpoint-security policies, and reduce our risk to potential damages caused by worms and viruses."
Cisco Systems® has defined the architecture and specifications of the NAC program in collaboration with leading antivirus software companies including Network Associates, Symantec and Trend Micro, as well as leading network- and system-management vendors such as IBM. Cisco is licensing its Cisco Trust Agent technology to NAC co-sponsors Antivirus products that include support for Cisco Trust Agent include Network Associates' McAfee® VirusScan® Enterprise 8.0i and McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 7.x, upcoming versions of Symantec Client Security and Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition, and the Trend Micro OfficeScan Corporate Edition v6.5.
Cisco is also introducing a NAC vendor integration program, to help provide broader third-party participation in the NAC program, along with a set of advanced NAC implementation consulting services to assist customer deployments of NAC technologies in their networks.
The NAC vendor integration program is designed to foster further industry collaboration, and includes the availability of select NAC technology application programming interfaces (APIs), including an API for Cisco Trust Agent, to third-party vendors for product integration, testing and certification. The goal of creating this broad vendor program is to dramatically increase the range of solutions that will be NAC-enabled, including security and patch management software.
The Advanced Services NAC implementation consulting services are an integrated set of planning, design and implementation offerings to help customers deploy a reliable, efficient and scalable NAC solution. These include:
" NAC Readiness Assessment: Assess the network infrastructure to determine NAC readiness
" NAC Limited Deployment: Install a limited NAC deployment to test features and gain experience
" NAC Design Development: Develop a NAC design specification for a corporate-wide deployment
" NAC Implementation Engineering: Deliver onsite installation, configuration, testing and tuning of NAC componentsCisco plans to extend NAC support to additional Cisco platforms including its switching and remote access virtual private network (VPN) solutions, support for the 802.1x security protocol, and expanded Cisco Trust Agent operating system (OS) support including Windows 2003, Linux and Solaris. NAC support in the switching infrastructure will help enable customers to ensure endpoint compliance with corporate security policies before obtaining local-area-network (LAN) access.Today's announcement underscores Cisco's continued leadership in the network security market, and is a key component of Cisco's Self-Defending Network security strategy to help customers build networks that can identify, respond and adapt to security threats.
Pricing and Availability
All components of the first release of NAC are now available at no additional charge to customers with the corresponding product support contracts. These include Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3(8)T using the Advanced Security image or higher feature set on Cisco 830 Series to Cisco 7200 Series routers, Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) version 3.3, Cisco Security Agent version 4.0.2, and CiscoWorks Security Information Management Solution (SIMS) version 3.2. The Cisco Trust Agent version 1.0 is now available at no charge as well. The NAC vendor integration program is scheduled to be available in the third quarter of calendar year 2004. The Cisco Advanced Services NAC implementation consulting services are now available.