Sharqiya Letter by Madhu Nambiar, Sur
No trace yet about the six missing Keralite fishermen
Sur, Oman; May 27: Search at sea for the six missing Keralite
fishermen in Omani sea is reported in vain.It was on Sunday the 23rd May all the six fishermen hailing from Kollam
District in Kerala set out for fishing in their sponsor’s fishing boat.
They were supposed to return on Monday the 24th May morning, but not
returned.R.O.P. helicopter searched at the sea returned with out any trace of
the missing fishermen.Joboy Paskas, Stalin Alysious, Jesudasan Raju, Vincent Joseph, Antony
Vijayan and Jose Vargies are the missing fishermen.Their friends approached Indian Embassy in Muscat and social workers to
get the search operation further accelerated. Member of Parliament Mr. P.
Rajendran took up the matter at official level.
Body of Keralite died on accident at work site sent homeSur, Oman; May 27: Body of young Keralite employee who died at a work
site in Sur was sent home and buried.Sudhir Kumar (23) of Mavelikkara was working for street light pole
erection on Saturday the 22nd May when he was electrocuted. Gopalakrishnan of
Thrissur who was working with him escaped with burns.The body of Sudhir Kumar was taken to Sur hospital and later to R.O.P.
Mortuary at Muscat from where it was sent home. The deceased Sudhir
Kumar is survived by his father, mother and a sister. It was about six
months ago his elder brother died of heart failure.Gopalakrishnan was immediately admitted to Sur Hospital and is now
discharged.
Condolence Meeting HeldSur, Oman; May 19: Malayalee Community in Sur conducted a condolence
meeting to condole the death of former Chief Minister of Kerala E.K.
Nayanar.The meeting was presided by P.V. Ajith Kumar and Welcome speech
delivered by Ajayan. C. Mohandas, V.P. Ramachandran, Chinnan, Thomas and others
spoke on the occasion.Among others the speakers remembered the initiatives taken by Nayanar
for the welfare of Gulf Malayalees when he was the Chief Minister of
Kerala. It was Nayanar who set up a Norka Cell for the first time. “His death is
a great loss to the socio-political life of Keralites”, they said.
New National Security Advisor
Name : Jyotindra Nath Dixit
Took over as National Security advisor with a rank of MoS in the Union Government on May 27, 2004.
Date of Birth : January 8, 1936
Education : Educated in Central India, Rajasthan & Delhi. Holds BA Honors Degree in Philosophy, Economics and Political Science. A Master’s Degree in International Law and International Relations from Delhi University. Pursued studies for Doctoral Degree at the School of International Studies which is now part of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Professional Experience:
* Joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1958. Served in Vienna. Was India’s first ambassador to Bangladesh after its liberation. Served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassies in Tokyo and Washington. Was Ambassador in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Was Chief administrator of Indian aid in Bhutan.
At Headquarters:
* Was in charge of the Political Desks of Pakistan, China and the United Nations. Was Joint Secretary in-charge of Cultural Affairs and External Publicity. Was spokesman on foreign policy for the foreign office and PMO between 1979 and 1982. Was appointed Foreign secretary of India and Chief of the Foreign service in 1991. Retired from Government service in 1994.
Multilateral Diplomatic Work:
* Represented India in delegations to the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the First, the Second and fifth Committees (Political, Economic, Budget and Finance) of the UN. Was leader of Indian official level delegations to the Commonwealth summit, Non-aligned summits and SAARC Summits.
* Was India’s Alternate Permanent representative and member of the Governing Bodies of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Industrial Development Organisation. Has represented India at the ILO, the international Maritime Organisation the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the UNESCO. Has been member of the Government of India’s experts Committees on Atomic Energy the UNCTAD, the UNESCO – was Director on the governing Board of the Colombo Plan.
Other Professional Activities/Affiliations:
* Former Member – National Security Advisor Board, Government of India – 1998 to 2000.
* Political Columnist, writing in Indian and foreign newspapers and magazines, including newspapers in Hindi, Malayalam and Marathi. Has contributed to academic journals dealing with foreign affairs, defence and security matters.
* Has lectured after retirement at the Delhi University, the JNU, the National Academy of Administration, the National Defence College, the College of combat, the colleges of Naval Warfare and Air Warfare, the National Institute of Defence Management, Administrative Staff College at Hyderabad, and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the Sardar Patel Police Academy, Secundrabad (all Indian/Govt institutions).
* Has been visiting Professor to the Universities of Hull, Manchester Oxford, Heidalburg, La Trobe, Melbourne, the University of Perth, the School of Oriental and African Studies, London and University of Western Cape, South Africa.
* Director Adviser on Foreign corporate Relations to a number of multinational/national companies and investment banks.
* Was the Chairman and Convenor of International Affairs Group of the India International Centre.
* Was the Executive Board of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Academy.
* Member of the Advisory Board of the School of the International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Member of the Executive Council and Executive Board of the United Services Institution of India. Member of the Board of Management of Research projects of the United Services Institution of India Defence Ministry.
* He is on the Advisory Board of the Department of Politics of the University of Hull. He was a Constant to the Defence Planning Staff and the Joint Intelligence Committee of the government of India. He is a resource person and consultant to the institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm, Sweden. He is Professor, Emeritus at the Foreign Service Institute, External Affairs Ministry, Govt of India.
* He is a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.
* Delivered, Keynote Addresses:
1. Admiral Katari-memorial Lecture of the Indian Navy – 1995.
2. Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Lecture of the Indian Army – 1997.
3. 50th Anniversary Comememoraline address – Defence services Staff College Wellington, Tamil Nadu – 1999.
Publications:
1. Collection of Poems titled "Self in Autumn" published in 1982.
2. "Anatomy of a flawed Inheritance" – a survey of Indo-Pak Relations 1970-94. Published by Konark Publishers in June 1995.
3. "My South Block Years", published by UBS publishers, ansari Road, New Delhi in September, 1996 – Transition in India’s Foreign Policies during the ‘period when Shri Dixit was Foreign Secretary.
4. "Assignment Colombo" – Indo-Sri Lanka Relation form 1985-1989, published by Konark Publishers in September 1997.
5. "Across Borders" – A survey of 50 years of India’s foreign Policy, published by PICUS Publishers – September 1998.
6. Liberation and Beyond "Indo-Bangladesh Relations 1971-99" published by Konark Publishers May 1999.
7. "An Afghom" Diary-Zahir Shah to Taliban" published by Konark Publishers, June 2000.
8. "Indian Foreign Policies and its Neighbours" published by Gyan Books, New Delhi, August 2001.
* Shri Dixit is Life Member of the Delhi Gymkhana club, India International Centre at New Delhi and Goa, and the Habitat Centre.
Languages:
* Malayalam (Mother Tongue), Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi and Marathi. English, Spanish.
Nehru Remembered
The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh attends a prayer meeting organized on the occasion of 40th death anniversary of Shri Jawarharlal Nehru at Shantivan in Delhi on May 27, 2004 (Thursday)
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust
Post Box No. 940, Sharjah, UAE
www.pravasibandhu.com
Email: pravasibandhu@hotmail.com
May 26, 2004
Shri Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
New Delhi
Dear Sir,
We extend our greetings to you on assuming the office of the Prime Minister of India. As you have been the architecht of India's economic reforms from 1991, we are sure India will continue to prosper under your leadership. We are writing this letter to draw your attention to certain issues that agitate the minds of three million strong Indian expatriate community in the Gulf.
As you are aware, the Indian expatriate community in the Gulf today come from all the different states of India though a large number of them are from Kerala, Punjab, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Besides 80 per cent of them are semi-skilled or unskilled labour. We would like to present before you the core issues of concern to them.
A Special Investment Scheme for Resettlement of NRIs from GCC Countries
The majority of Indians working in AGCC countries earn less than Dh.1500 (Approximately Rs. 18,800). They landed in these countries by paying hefty service charge to recruiting agents or middlemen by pledging or disposing of whatever little they had. These NRIs sacrifice even basic necessities to save the maximum possible from their meagre earning to look after their dependents. Major portion of their earning have been remitted to the dependents. They have to keep aside 25% of their earning for air ticket and other things to visit their families once in two years. Living alone and away from their dear ones put tremendous pressure on them psychologically. Relatives back home spend their hard-earned money without the knowledge of the hardship and insecurity of their job. This is the case of thousands of workers mainly from Kerala, Punjab, Hariyana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The tiny state of Kerala, received remittance of RS 95, 000 crore in the last 25 years from NRIs. If we could save 10% of that remittance and deploy it for development, Kerala would have been one of the richest states. That has not happened and instead thousands of families back home have got used to a lifestyle, which has no relation to the earning capacity of the breadwinner overseas. What is applicable to Kerala is also relevant for other states.
We conducted a survey among 10,100 NRIs from GCC countries. We found only 5% had necessary resources to live comfortably if they go back for permanent settlement in India. When the NRIs return home without any savings, they will
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust not be in a position to plan their life or maintain the lifestyle of their today they have. This situation leads to socio-economic problems in the society. There have been incidents of those who returned to India after many years of life abroad being compelled to go back to the same country and take up job at lower wages. There are cases of NRIs selling the only house they had built, as they cannot maintain it. Since there is no job security in these countries, rehabilitation of returnees is a serious issue. So, we request the new government to introduce a systematic non-repatriable investment scheme to create wealth for the future resettlement in India.
Please do not tax interest on NRI Deposits:
Non Residents Indians, mainly Indian workers from GCC countries are one of the major sources of foreign currency reserves in India. Last year the NRIs remitted a total of US$ 20 billion, out of that 75% are from Indians working in the GCC countries. During the foreign currency crisis NRIs were extended their full support to the country by investing in India Development Bonds, Resurgent India Bonds and India Millennium Deposits.Now we have very comfortable foreign currency reserves to the tune of US$120 billion. Seeing the current situation, Reserve Bank of India is proposing to tax interest income on NRI deposits. On behalf of Non Resident Indians, Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust appeal to the Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, finance minister Shri P Chidambaram, Minister of Non Resident Indians Shri Jagadish Taitler and Reserve Bank of India not to tax interest income on nri deposits. We hope the new government will not take such a step which will be a major drain on the hard earned savings of the NRIs from the Gulf.
Extend the benefit of double taxation Avoidance Agreement to non resident Indians living in Oman, Qatar and UAE
Oman: As per Article 15(6) of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Oman, the capital gain arising from redemption of units are taxable only in Oman and not in India.
Qatar: As per Article 13(6) of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and the Qatar,the capital gain arising from redemption of units are taxable only in Qatar and not in India.
U A E: As per Article 13(2) of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and UAE, the capital gain arising from redemption of units are taxable only in Qatar and not in India.Since the provisions of these tax treaty are more beneficial, no tax should be deducted at source from the capital gain to residents of Oman.,Qatar and UAE. But the Indian residents residing these countries are not getting the benefit of the treaty.
We request the finance ministry to extent the benefit of double taxation treaty to the Indian residents of these countries. If government extent this benefit it will be a boost to investments in India from this countries.
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare TrustReduce Airfare in Air India and Indian Airlines and Introduce open Air Policy
We the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust appeal to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, to take action urgently to reduce the illogically high air fares charged by the national carriers both Air India and the Indian Airlines in the Gulf Sector. The previous Prime Minister had promised to look into the matter when the Member of Parliament from Kerala Mr. Kodikunnil Suresh submitted a memorandum to him on this issue signed by 100 MPs from various states. We appeal to the new government to fulfil these promises. Reasons why the government should reduce fares to India:
1 India is currently getting only less than one per cent of world tourists mainly because of the high air fare. Recently the Lonely Planet listed India among the five top destinations one should travel. But when countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Cyprus etc offer very attractive packages including air fare and three nights stay, the air fare alone to India is much higher than that. This has been driving away tourists from India. Recently Cyprus Airways had talks with Civil Aviation Ministry for rights to fly to India promising to bring more tourists from Cyprus, Europe and the Middle East but it was not accepted. Promptly the Cyprus Airways went to Colombo which accepted the offer. Now Two way ticket to Colombo costs only Dh 1200 which is much less than the fare to Kochi or Bangalore which is shorter in distance. Two way ticket to Colombo on Air Arabia, which is a budget airline costs only less than Dh 600 compared to Dh 1600 (lowest fare in Air India or Indian Airlines.2 A majority of the 3 million NRIs in the Gulf are from poor circumstances earning less than Rs. 13,000 a month. They are mostly labourers, blue collar workers and unskilled workers of various kinds. These people are not able to return home to visit their spouses, parents and kids for several years. This was clear from the huge rush of people who turned up to sail home in the open deck of a ship in searing heat in summer when a passenger ferry service was introduced to India last year. The people said the fare of only about Dh.500 (Rs 6000) was all that they could afford.
3 The Indian national carriers Air India and Indian Airlines have been following a retrograde policy of overcharging passengers in the Gulf sectors, particularly during summer and during festival seasons when the demand soars, to offset their losses in others. The explanation they have given is that the fares are decided by the Yield Improvement Committee(YIC) which is a body consisting of all airlines operating in the sector. In fact the YIC decision is collective blackmail of the passengers from the Gulf. As the national carriers have enjoyed a near monopoly in direct flights to destinations in India, particularly Kerala, the Gulf NRIs are left to their mercy. National carrier charges Dh. 270 and more for one Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust hour travel by a return ticket to any destination in India where as other airlines originated from Gulf charge only Dh. 135 for one hour travel to some of the destinations permitted. It shows the day light robbery of national airlines compare with other airlines.
4 Air India and Indian Airlines should drastically cut their staff-to-aircraft ratio to reduce operational costs and also cut the hugely discounted tickets allowed to relatives of their employees. It should think up innovative ideas to run their fleet on full capacity and depend on high volumes and small profits to improve margins. The two airlines may be merged to reduce the overheads.
5 It is a specious argument that both are commercial airlines and are out to make money and that is why they hike the fares during summer when the demand is high. How is that only airlines have the privilege to jack up the price which is not available to the Indian Railways? In fact other transport agencies, whether it is bus or railways, operate more services keeping the same fare for the convenience of the user.
6 To highlight the vast difference in tariff, the two way fare of Air Arabia of the UAE to Colombo, which is farther from both Kochi, Bangalore,Hyderabad or Bangalore is less than Dh 600. But the fare to Kerala is anywhere above Dh. 1600 at almost any point of time. The fare to Amritsar is almost double that of fare to Lahore which is only a little distance away. Secondly the fare to London with 8 nights stay thrown in is less than at times that to the fare to the destinations in South India or Calcutta. Travel agents say that a 16 hour round trip to London at Dh. 2450 (Rs. 29400) is cheaper than a seven hour ten minute return trip ( Dh. 2500 or Rs 30,000 peak fare) direct to Kochi.
7 It is said that the state tax on Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) is one of the reasons of high fares. The government of Kerala totally scrapped the tax on ATF. Now, the ministry of aviation must instruct the Air India and Indian Airlines to reduce the fare in the Gulf sector.
8 The proposal to introduce a no-frill budget air line was reportedly shelved by the Civil Aviation Ministry because of opposition from Air India. No frill airlines is a world wide trend and as we mentioned earlier our tourism sector will suffer greatly if we say no to such enterprise. No frill airlines should be introduced to all the major destinations in India from
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust
the Gulf or alternatively Air Arabia, the no frill airline from UAE should be allowed to operate flights to all destinations in India. introduce as early possible to all important destination from Gulf.9 The move to allow air hostesses above 40 years of age is shocking. Air India and the Indian Airlines will be the only major world airlines whose air hostesses will have earned the sobriquet"matrons in the sky". Aged airhostesses will bring down the quality of service and that will not help tourism.
Introduce NRI Identity CardWhen ever we approach the authorities in India for various services the Visa in the passport is not enough to prove that we are NRIs. The proof NRI status required for admission of the children and many things. We request the new Government to introduce a NRI Identity card to all NRIs
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust is charitable organization it is putting all efforts to use non-resident Indian resources for the benefit of the society and the nation. We are teaching middle-income non-resident Indians and their dependents how to control of expenditure and save maximum and invest properly for the creation of assets for the retirement. We motivate people for the optimum utilization of the work culture, experience, expertise, knowledge, know-how and business contacts gained from abroad for the benefit of the country. We also work to develop Indo-Arab friendship
ThanksFor Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust
K V Shamsudheen
ChairmanCc to. Shri P Chidambaram, Minister of Finance
Shri K Natwar Sing, Minister of External Affairs
Shri Praful Patel, Minister of Civil Aviation
Shri Sish Ram Ola, Minister of Labour and Employment
Shri Jagdish Taitler, Minister of NRI Affairs
Shri E Ahammed, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs
Shri H.E. Mr. Sudhir Vyas, Ambassador of India to UAE
Shri Y K Sinha, Consul General of India, Dubai
Press and Media in Indian and abroad
Mani Shankar Aiyer Reiterates the Human Face of Economic Reforms
VOLATILE OIL PRICES A CONCERN FOR ALL
New Delhi - Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj has emphasized the need of human face of economic reforms in the country which should lead to the benefit reach the poorest of the poor. Speaking while giving away National Petroleum Management Awards here today, Shri Aiyar described the volatile oil prices in the international market a matter of concern for all the countries.Following is the uncorrected text of the speech delivered by the Minister on the occasion:
"It gives me great pleasure to be here today to present the National Petroleum Management Programme’s Awards of Excellence. At the outset, I would wish to congratulate the award winning enterprises, teams and individuals on their laudable achievement. As this is my first official function after taking charge of the petroleum sector, my happiness is all the greater at this opportunity to meet the enterprises and persons assembled here because of their recognized excellence.We have come to office on the pledge of "Economic Reforms with a Human Face".
This pledge has been translated into policy in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of our United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It is my task as Minister to ensure in my sector of responsibility the continuation of the reforms process while demonstratively ensuring sensitivity to the human consequences of decisions taken in the name of reforms.
The reform process both generates benefits and imposes burdens. Stakeholders must equitably share in the benefits if they are to be persuaded to bear their due share of the burdens. Only thus can we ensure that vulnerable sections of our society and vulnerable sectors of the economy secure an equitable share of the benefits while being cushioned against having to bear a disproportionately unfair share of the burdens. This is the democratic way.
Therefore, the message I personally get from the recent election result is that while we are all, of course for growth, it is no less important - indeed, much more important - that the less privileged in our nation are rendered the privileged beneficiaries of both the benefit -sharing and burden-sharing consequences of decisions taken in the name of economic reforms.
For my part, my talisman will be Gandhiji's talisman - that when in doubt about the right course to follow, one should summon to one's mind the poorest person one knows and ask oneself which decision will benefit that person the most, or at least, harm him or her the least. Then, Gandhiji said, all doubts will dissolve and the right course of action will stand revealed. Gandhiji called this the worship of Daridranarayana. I would want the presiding deity of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to be Daridranarayana. Of course, Kubera must also be placed in our pantheon but a Kubera whose burgeoning prosperity is always modified by the dominant influence of Daridranarayana.
Our overwhelming concern as we come into office is the relentless rise in international crude prices which we have suffered in recent months and particularly in recent weeks. Brent reached $ 39.36 per barrel while WTI touched $ 41.77 per barrel a few days back. This places a tremendous strain on the economies of all countries, developing and developed, but perhaps most of all on India. For after all, 70% of our oil requirements are met from imports. We have been voicing our concerns in various international fora and are continuously watching developments in the international arena. During the International Energy Forum meeting at Amsterdam earlier this week, we voiced our very serious concerns at the extremely high prices of crude oil. The Oil Ministers and Heads of delegation of a number of consumer countries, particularly Chili, Pakistan and South Africa, joined us in voicing these concerns. Indeed, the USA and OECD countries too voiced their very serious concern on this to OPEC Oil Ministers who were also participating in this Forum. OPEC Oil Ministers themselves expressed their deep concern at the recent spurt in oil prices. While I bring to the attention of this distinguished audience, a report by the Associated Press from Amsterdam, published among other newspapers in the Statesman of 24.5.2004 in which the current OPEC Chairman blamed the current high oil prices on several factors unrelated to OPEC or crude supplies including the bottlenecks in the production of gasoline, geo-political tensions and unexpected strength in demand and heavy speculation on ‘futures markets’.
We have, therefore, decided to take a decision in this matter when OPEC Oil Ministers meet in Beirut on 3rd June 2004. The decisions they take will show whether the recent steep rise in international oil prices is aberrant and transitory. As also whether greater stability at more moderate prices is the more likely immediate prospect. This is such an important parameter for determining our approach to the domestic pricing of sensitive petroleum products that it must needs be taken into account in determining the timing, phasing and content of these decisions. Please also remember that notwithstanding the alleged dismantling of the Administered Pricing Mechanism effective April 2002, the oil marketing companies have been obliged, at the then Government’s behest, to freeze the prices of LPG and kerosene since April 2002, and of petrol and diesel for the last five months.In this context, may I refer to the most recent findings of the 58th Round of the National Sample Survey. The survey is an eye opener in several respects. It has brought to light that notwithstanding 8 crore LPG connections, in the rural areas of the country, firewood and chips are still being used by nearly 75%, 3/4 of rural households as the primary source of energy for cooking. While LPG coverage is less than 9% in our rural areas as of now, happily, it has touched 52% in the urban areas of the country. But you will appreciate that the obverse of coverage reaching 52% is that the coverage is still to reach 48% of the population of our urban areas and 91% of the population of our rural areas. The Survey also shows that kerosene remains the main source for lighting in our rural areas. These too are parameters of decision-making which we must keep in mind.
The Indian economy is changing rapidly in terms of its composition but still over 60% of our population remains dependant upon agriculture and allied primary activities such as fishing and sericulture. This makes it imperative for the government to put in place a mechanism whereby people engaged in these sectors, who are normally economically in the low income groups, are able to get fuels for their energy requirements at affordable prices – for operating pumpsets to irrigate their fields, to run their fishing boats and so on. While it is imperative to efficiently cater to the energy requirements of the economy, it is equally important to insulate to the extent possible, vulnerable sections of society and vulnerable sections of the economy from violent fluctuations in prices of essential petroleum products especially those arising out of exogenous disturbances.
Since our indigenous production of crude meets hardly 30% of our requirements of petroleum products and since as the economy moves to a higher trajectory of GDP growth, the demand for oil is bound to accelerate in coming years. We must take the appropriate steps to ensure that this growth rate is not hampered for want of the required energy inputs, we have to ensure the uninterrupted availability at reasonable prices of oil and gas and the products derived therefrom. With this end in view, several initiatives have been launched in recent years including the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Exploration and production is a sector where involvement of the non-government agencies was minimal till a few years ago. But in the past few years, a lot of ground has been covered quite literally. Newer and newer areas have been carved out and investments from private sector and foreign companies have been pouring in. In the first 4 rounds of NELP, 90 Blocks have been awarded to several companies and this will ensure quick exploration and exploitation of over 1 million Sq. kms. of our territory. Newer gas and oil findings are being reported with increasing frequency, including the massive discovery of gas on eastern offshore in the second half of the year 2002. Recently, several oil finds have been reported in Rajasthan. Encouraged by these happy developments, we are in the process of announcing NELP Round-V within a couple of months.
Ensuring uninterrupted availability of petroleum products to the people of our country requires a widespread and efficient distribution system which should ideally cover every nook and corner of the country. For this we require an adequate length of pipelines and adequate number of retail outlets and LPG distributorships and therefore, we must encourage these to reach different types of petroleum products to different segments of the consumer population. However, the indiscriminate expansion of such facilities may lead to unviable operations and also malpractices along the way. I hope our Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) recognize their great responsibility in this regard. They must guard against malpractices such as adulteration, under-weighment, etc., while ensuring that people everywhere are in a position to access these products. OMCs have taken a number of steps in the recent years with regard to the qualitative aspects of the fuels they supply, including the introduction of branded fuels, certification of dealerships by independent external certifying authorities, etc. When so much investment is being made by the oil companies to upgrade and update fuel specifications in keeping with international standards, care should also be taken to ensure that these efforts are not diluted because of weak links in the chain of supply. This calls for continuous vigilance on the part of oil companies to maintain the integrity of the supply chain. The application of Information Technology and other tools of modern technology will help OMCs a great deal in this regard as I suspect they themselves recognise.
One of the declared policies of our government is not to sell or privatize Public Sector companies just for the sake of privatization or sale but rather to strengthen our Public Sector companies to make them functionally more efficient. The objective is to enable these giants to compete with confidence with the private sector as also with their international counterparts. Moreover, it is not adequate for our oil companies to be competitive locally; they have to be able to compete in the international arena and benchmark themselves against the globally best. Our Public Sector oil companies are doing pretty well in this direction and are measuring up to our expectation and I wish to congratulate them on their very encourage performance. I also wish to assure our Public Sector Oil companies that so long as I am the Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas they will be given the maximum possible autonomy in taking commercial decisions but in return we expect them to set the standard for socially responsible corporate behaviour. I want them to be an example to the Private Sector.
There are several organizations at the global level which provide avenues for interaction between major oil producing countries and between these producer nations and major oil consuming nations. These include the International Energy Agency, the World Energy Forum, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and in particular the International Energy Forum. The International Energy Forum is one of the active Fora which provides some of the major oil producing and oil consuming nations the opportunity of meeting periodically and deliberating on vital issues concerning the oil and gas sector. I am very glad to inform you that after the last meeting of the Executive Board of the IEF Secretariat held in Amsterdam last week, in which our distinguished Secretary led the Indian Delegation, India has been successful in retaining its seat in the 15-member IEFS for another two years and we are likely to remain there for yet another two years as the designated co-host of the Forum in 2008. This gives us a very good opportunity to bringing to the notice of major oil producing nations our concerns. As also of discussing with them possible solutions to these concerns.
May I once again congratulate the award winners. I also convey my best wishes to those who have not been able to make it to the winners’ list this year but who have put in their best efforts. Let us recall that it is more important to participate than to win."
India Retains the membership of the Executive Board of IEF Forum
NEW DELHI - After the 9th International Energy Forum (IEF) meeting in Amsterdam on 24.5.2004, the Executive Board (EB) of International Energy Forum Secretariat (IEFS) decided that India will continue to be a member of the EB of IEFS for a period of 2 more years uptil the next IEF meeting. IEF provides a platform for biennial meetings of the Ministers from the oil producing and consuming countries. The Ministerial dialogue in the IEF has its focus on security of energy supply and demand, as well as on the links between energy, environment and economic development. Representatives from over 60 countries participated in the 9th IEF meeting in Amsterdam between 22nd and 24th May 2004.
The IEFS is coming up in Riyadh to facilitate meaningful IEF meetings and to undertake various studies on energy policy issues affecting the oil producing and consuming countries. The Executive Board of IEFS, set up after the 8th IEF meeting in Osaka in September 2002, has 15 members. India has been one of the members of this EB. As per statute, the EB is to be reconstituted after every biennial IEF meeting. During the IEF meeting in Amsterdam, India successfully presented the perspective of a major oil consuming developing country on issues such as oil and gas pricing and security of supplies. After the meeting, it was decided to retain India as a member on the EB of IEFS. As India is not a member of either IEA or OPEC, major international energy organizations, the EB membership of IEFS provides an opportunity to raise the issues concerning us in an international forum. The other member-countries of EB are China, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Venezuela. Besides these member-countries, IEA and OPEC are also on the EB of IEFS.
The Indian delegation to 9th IEF was led by Mr. B.K. Chaturvedi, Secretary (P&NG). Apart from raising the issue of prevalent excessively high international oil prices and their impact on the Indian economy, the issue of “fair pricing” of oil & gas from a developing country perspective was raised in the meeting. India also participated as a panelist in one of the sessions titled “Oil & Gas Compared” during the meeting. In his presentation, Mr. Chaturvedi presented the position of the existing status of oil & gas demand and supply in the country as also the projections for 2025. Considering the extremely low per capita energy consumption in India, at levels of around 1/5th of world average, the need for providing access to energy at reasonable prices to the masses was stressed. India’s efforts/success in E&P activities, LNG/gas imports, CNG introduction in public transportation and improvement in auto fuel quality were highlighted. As regards the possibilities of gas replacing the other energy sources in India in future, it was brought out that the same would critically depend upon pricing of LNG in international market. On the sidelines of IEF meeting, India also had bilateral meetings with seven countries viz. Iran, Sudan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait and The Netherlands with a view to further hydrocarbon cooperation.
NOTICE INVITING TENDER TOWARDS SUBSIDY SUPPORT FOR RURAL COMMUNITY PHONES PUT ON DOT WEBSITE
The Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) for inviting bids towards subsidy support for provision of Rural Community Phones (RCPs) has been put up on Department of Telecommunication(DoT)’s website www.dotindia.com today i.e., May 27, 2004. As per this NIT, the sale of Tender Document shall start on June 3, 2004. The draft Contract (Agreement) document shall be made available along with clarification on queries to bidders after pre-bid conference. The date for clarifications to queries and other events shall be in accordance with the schedule of important dates as given in the Tender Document.
The Tender Document will be available on website www.dotindia.com with effect from June 3, 2004 for information of all interested parties. The sale of Tender Document closes on June 28, 2004 and last date for submission of bids is 10.30 hrs on June 29,2004.
Earlier, the Draft Tender Document proposed to be used for inviting bids towards subsidy support for provision of Rural Community Phones (RCPs) was put up on DoT website on March 31, 2004 for inviting suggestions/comments from interested parties. The suggestions were to be sent on or before April 12, 2004 to Deputy Administrator (Tech.), Universal Service Obligation Fund, DoT. This date for sending comments/suggestions was subsequently extended to April 22, 2004 on specific request from some parties. The clarifications on comments/suggestions were also put on DoT website on May 6, 2004.
