P.C. Thomas in Cabinet belying doom predictions

Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 Though many predicted political doom for Mr P C Thomas after he left the Kerala Congress (Mani) two years ago, he weathered the storms with his political acumen and patiently waited till he got a berth in the Union Council of ministers today after missing it twice before.

Mr Thomas was holding almost the second position in the Kerala Congress (Mani), on whose ticket he represented Muvattupuzha constitutency in the Lok Sabha five times continuously since 1989, till he parted ways with party supremo K M Mani in early 2001 over the issue of the latter trying to promote his son Jose K Mani. Mr Thomas is the son of the legendary P T Chacko, the founder of the undivided Kerala Congress.

When 52-year-old Thomas left the Kerala Congress (M), many predicted his political doom but he belied the predictions and floated a party, Indian Federal Democratic Party (IFDP), by enlisting the support of a few MPs from North India. Headed by Mr Thomas as its chairman, the IFDP now claims to have the support of six MPs from other states.

When his party gained entry in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), his name was considered for a place in the Union Council of Ministers during the two previous reshuffles. Though he did not make it, he did not oppose the NDA but kept his cool.

Though the ministerial berth came belatedly to Mr P C Thomas, it is a great achievement for him as he is the second minister from Kerala, where the BJP has not so far opened its account in the Lok Sabha.

Mr Thomas, who was General Secretary of the Kerala Congress (Mani) for ten years from 1987, has been known as a political leader with a soft corner for farmers,having always fought for their rights. A section within the Kerala unit of the BJP favoured his induction on the ground that it would further the party's political interests in the rubber belts of Kottayam and Ernakulam.

New Reshuffle in BJP Government

The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed the following allocation of portfolios to the new Ministers and changes in the existing allocation of portfolios among Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers:

CABINET MINISTERS

1. Shri Ananth Kumar - Minister of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation

2. Shri Syed Shahnawaz Hussain - Minister of Textiles

3. Maj Gen. (Retd.) B.C. Khanduri - Minister of Road Transport & Highways

4. Shri Subodh Mohite - Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises

5. Shri Kashi Ram Rana - Minister of Rural Development

6. Shri Rajnath Singh - Minister of Agriculture

 

MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

 

1. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy - Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation

 

MINISTERS OF STATE

 

1. Shri Swami Chinmayanand - Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs

2. Shri Santosh Gangwar - Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

3. Shri Vijay Goel - Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports

4. Smt. Sumitra Mahajan - Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas

5. Shri Kailash Meghwal - Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

6. Shri Nagmani - Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

7. Shri Shripad Yasoo Naik - Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

8. Dr. Sanjay Paswan - Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development

9. Shri Prahlad Singh Patel - Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal

10. Shri Ashok Pradhan - Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology

11. Shri P.C. Thomas - Minister of State in the Ministry of Law & Justice

 

LG ELECTRONICS OPENS MID EAST'S FIRST A/C ACADEMY


US$500,000 STATE-OF-THE-ART DUBAI FACILITY ONE OF ONLY FOUR IN THE WORLD

 



Dubai 24 May 2003

 

LG Electronics has established the first large-scale Air Conditioning Academy in the Middle East to train and inform its growing customer portfolio on LG AC products. The 600 square metre LG AC Academy in Al Twar, Dubai is the fourth of its kind in the world after similar facilities in Italy, Korea and China. LG's state-of-the-art academy represents an initial capital investment of US $500,000. The global and regional digital leader aims to provide training each year for up to 1000 technicians, regional dealers, contractors and public works officials from the Middle East and Africa.

 

"LG is now the largest air conditioning supplier in the world and the company is committed regionally to ensure clients get the best of training and after-sales service," said M.B. Shin, President, LG Electronics Middle East and Africa. "This investment is a clear indication of our intention to grow this market, to be a key sector player and raise the benchmark for customer service."

Courses lasting three to five days will be undertaken at the Academy, which will also act as an information resource centre for LG AC products. LG's AC Academy aims to effectively manage the expansion of the Korean giant's commercial air conditioner business in the Middle East market.



"The focus of the Academy's education lies in generating experts in LG's commercial air conditioning products," said Shin. "The courses are designed for the entire spectrum of professionals involved in the selling, specifying, installing, commissioning and maintenance of a/cs. "To keep the world's leading position not only in product technology but also in installation and service technology, we will spare no effort and investment in education and training." Global digital leader LG Electronics (LGE) has retained its ranking as the world's leading air conditioner supplier for the third year in a row. The ranking follows a worldwide survey by the Japanese Air Conditioning Journal (JARN), one of the world's leading trade magazines for the a/c sector and Fuji-Keiai, one of Japan's leading market research firms. It puts LG's 2002 room air conditioners global sales tally at 6.7 million units. "LG now has 14.3% of the global room air conditioning market," said Mr. K. S. Hwang, Vice President AC and Compressor Overseas Sales, LG Electronics Inc. "This means that one out of every seven air conditioners sold around the world last year was made by LG.




"Until the mid 1990s, the world air conditioner market was led by Japanese companies owing to the high demand in Japan, a country which, at that time, accounted for a quarter of global demand, amounting to seven million units. But LGE has now achieved significant international a/c sales in the USA, the Middle East and Europe and emerged as the world's leading supply three years ago, a position it still retains."

 

According to the JARN/Fuji-Keiai survey, LGE is now the best-selling a/c across 41 countries - 11 of which are in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. "This is a rare achievement in the cut-throat competitive world of global home appliances," said Hwang. "LGE will continue to lead the industry with world-beating technologies, products and training."

After recording total a/c sales of US $2.2 billion last year, LGE plans to aggressively target the premium air conditioning market to increase sales to US $3.5 billion by 2005. The company has conducted detailed consumer and market surveys to develop products tailored to local consumer requirements as part of its marketing strategy. In the Middle East, known as a tough market for foreign brands, LGE has implemented customer-oriented marketing including an enhanced focus on its distribution network.




"We have organised dealer conventions and participated in regional trade exhibitions to ensure we are instantly recognised on the market," said Shin. "Now, with the first AC Academy in the Middle East, LG is bringing the future of commercial air-conditioning technology to the region now. "Our goal is to be the number one supplier across all a/c sectors in the Middle East by 2005. We will achieve this by staying ahead of the curve in technological development and by continuing to deliver excellence of service placing us first on customer service indices."

 

UAE Ministry of Information & Culture raids a training centre using illegal pirated software in Dubai

 

May 24, 2003


As part of their continuous efforts to fight against the use of illegal software and violation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), the UAE Ministry of Information and Culture recently raided a training centre in Dubai using illegal pirated software on 24 personal computers. The authorities also seized 13 copies of Microsoft MOC. "UAE is one of the leading Arab countries that has taken determined steps to protect intellectual property rights. The UAE Ministry of Information and Culture cooperates with the Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance in this issue of IPR protection which ensures the right economic environment and supports the national economy besides attracting foreign investment," said Scott Butler, CEO of the Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAA).

 

Butler emphasised the importance of boosting the legal and commercial awareness in all end-user sectors and economic segments. He also underlined the importance of using original software in increasing the benefits of technological investments. Original software can be upgraded in the future in contrast to illegal software.

 

"Copying software has become easy so we have to be vigilant and monitor the market to seize violators. We cannot achieve this aim without the joint efforts between the affected parties and government departments. The UAE Ministry of Information and Culture is taking great efforts in its support for IPR issues in keeping with its commitment to launch awareness campaigns in all IT sectors to ensure the implementation of IPR laws. Besides it gives a lot of importance to software piracy through raids conducted on those companies that trade in illegal software and users who violate the IPR laws by using these software programmes," Butler added.

 

UAE is one of the most active countries that is firmly cracking down on software piracy by tracking resellers responsible for peddling illegal software products as well as end users who are infringing the copyright laws in the country. The UAE laws prohibit using illegal software in IT applications and forces companies to provide adequate proofs that on the usage of original software.

 

"The UAE government's seriousness in dealing with the issues of IPR protection aids our strategy that aims to protect the interests of software companies. The recent raids by the authorities are an effective tool to stop this dangerous activity which can cause great harm to the IT sector," Butler added.