October 19, 2003

Self lighting train on Konkan Railway

The Konkan Railway has introduced self lighting train, wherein three footboard lights have been provided on both the sides of coach, which automatically light up when the train halts at a station and switch off automatically when the train leaves the platform.

The self lighting train offers great relief to the passengers, who get sufficient surface illumination where they alight. This also provides safety to the passengers in the event of stopping of a train on out of course like inside a tunnel or a bridge.

At many stations of Konkan Railway, the power supply is not reliable and suffers from frequent interruptions. The Konkan Railway has provided emergency lights on platforms of important stations, which are not sufficient for the entire platform. Arrival of passenger train in such a situation causes problems to the passengers as alighting from the train without light on the platform is hazardous besides being inconvenient. A similar situation is faced when a train has to stop for crossing of another train. The Konkan Railway will extend self lighting system on all trains gradually. -Keralamonitor.com

 

PM's message on the successful launch of PSLV C-5

 

PSLV C-5 was launched successfully from Sriharikota Launch Centre today. The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee watched it 'live' on television at his residence. Immediately after the successful launch, the Prime Minister talked on telephone with Shri G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary, Department of Space and congratulated him and his team for their efforts. In his message on the occasion, the Prime Minister said :

"This launch is yet another demonstration of the technological heights which our space scientists have achieved. Our space programme has placed strong emphasis on harnessing information and communications technologies to the service of development.

India is one of six space-faring nations in the world. In applying space technologies to developmental applications, we are ahead of most of the others."-Keralamonitor.com

 

Three-Day meet of 7th ARF Heads of Defence Universities and Colleges concluded

Three-Day meet of 7th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Heads of Defence Universities and Colleges concluded in New Delhi today. Addressing the concluding session of the meet, Lt Gen SS Chahal Commandant of the National Defence College said that to achieve the objective of ARF it is necessary to foster a dialogue and consultations on security issues of common interest and concerns, to make significant contributions in our efforts towards confidence building in the Asia - Pacific region.

During the discussion on the role of military in providing assistance to the civil administration in times of distress, the meet recommended that we must have a plan especially with the following points in mind. The kind of disaster likely to face, suitable response about the damages and preventive measures regarding warning and the estimated population likely to be evacuated. The meet has recommended that in the event of disaster there should be organisation for immediate assessment of damage, a task force suitably equipped on contingency plans, establish close cooperation between civil administration and military and gradually delink military from relief operations once civil administration regains control.

 

Technology plays an important role in forecasting the disaster and in assessing the damage and meet has recommended that developed countries should assist the developing nations. It was further stated that assistance from neighbouring countries could be of a great help.

During the three-day meet 41 delegates from 18 ARF countries participated. It was decided that the Eight ARF meet of the heads of Defence Universities, Institutions and college will be held in Singapore. -Keralamonitor.com

Indian labour Conference discusses employment and social security issues for unorganised sector

The 39th Indian labour Conference which was formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister yesterday, continued its deliberations today. The discussions were structured around for major themes. These included discussing the report of the Second National Commission on Labour - with emphasis on rationalization of Labour Laws; Commission's Report on Unorganised labour; Employment Generation, employment Protection and Skill Upgradation in the context of S.P Gupta Report, and Social Security issues pertaining to EPF and ESIC. Each Committee consisted of representatives from workers' group, employers' group and State Governments.

 

The Committees held detailed and intensive discussions on the respective themes. There was a general concern about formulating protective and promotional measures for the sprawling unorganized sector which constitutes almost 93 percent of Indian workforce. The need for employment generation in unorganized sector was particularly felt in the context of shrinking employment opportunities in organized sector. There was also an expectation from both EPFO and ESIC to respond to the growing needs of social sector for unorganized sector.

The Committees will finalise their reports by this evening. These reports will be presented in the Plenary Session of the Conference tomorrow morning for adoption. - Keralamonitor.com

 

Prasar Bharati staff urged to improve content quality

 

The Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has called upon the programme staff of the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan to improve the quality of programmes to make them more relevant and interesting. He said, in this age of highly competitive time when a large number of private channels are operating, the staff has to change their mindset. This can only be achieved by becoming more creative and professional, he said.

Inaugurating a Seminar on "Six Years of Prasar Bharati - An Evaluation", organized here today, by the Programme Staff Association of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Shri Prasad said that the programmers should never forget the fundamental principle that it is the good content which drive the broadcasting channels. He asked them to keep pace with the technology and at the same time keep the quality intact. People would see only good programmes, otherwise they would shift to other channels. He said, Doordarshan and AIR have great relevance as public service broadcasters as the private channels are driven only by the commercial considerations and do not have any social obligations. He referred to the monumental change-taking place in the country about which people have to be informed and educated.

The OSD to the Prime Minister, Shri Sudheendra Kulkarni said that it is time to have an honest and objective evaluation of Prasar Bharati. He said a wide ranging debate in the media, political establishment and the general public is required on the relevance of a public service broadcaster in the changed environment with so many private broadcasters in the field. He said, the democratically elected Government requires the public service broadcaster not only to inform and educate the people about its policies and programmes but also to inspire and motivate the people to participate in the cause of nation building. Public service broadcasting is the essence of communication in a democracy, he said. -Keralamonitor.com

Films Division's documentaries to be screened in Mauritius

Films Division, a media unit under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, engaged in producing documentaries, short films and animations since 1948, has gone online at its Film Bazaar stall set up at the ongoing 34th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)-2003. Over 700 films produced by the Division are available on its internet website, www.filmsdivision.org. The stall is humming with activities as curious film buffs are giving an overwhelming response. Two the Division's English films - Uma, a film on famous Kathak dancer, Uma Sharma directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta and "The Eye of Fish", the Kalaris of Kerala directed by Priya Krishnaswamy - are in the Indian Panorama Section (Non-Feature Films) of the Festival.

Adding another cap to its feather Films Division has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mauritius Film Development Corporation during the Festival to conduct an International Film Festival in Mauritius shortly, in which many good films produced by Films Division will be screened. Having already produced over 8,000 films on topics like art and culture, environment, burning issues, harmony etc., Films Division is churning out 80-90 short films and documentaries every year, which are also available in the form of CDs and VHSs and are in great demand.

Director, Shri Sanjay Pattanaik says that Films Division is currently engaged in exploring aggressive markets, strategies to tap global audience apart from market tie-ups so as to establish financial viability. In this direction the Films Division is tying-up with Doordarshan and Discovery Channel for better marketing of its films and earn revenues.

In this era of fast technological advancements, the Films Division has already digitalized over 3,000 films and the rest are been digitalized from the archival library. Films Division is also waiting eagerly for its another gala event-Mumbai Film Festival of India scheduled to take place at Mumbai from February 3 to 9, 2004. Being exclusively organized by the Division, the Festival would screen well-known international films from a number of countries. The event is held once every two years. Last time, 40 countries had participated with 600 films. -Keralamonitor.com

 

No locust activity reported

No locust activity has been reported during the surveys conducted by the Locust Warning Organization in various localities of the Scheduled Desert Area of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Rain-fall has occurred at many places in the Scheduled Desert Area in Jodhpur, Ganganagar, Bikaner and Churu districts of Rajasthan, and Bhuj and Deesa districts of Gujarat. According to the Locust Situation Bulletin, issued by the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage of the Agriculture Ministry, solitary population of locust may appear on a small scale in coming months, as ecological conditions are favourable in almost all the locust prone areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat. -Keralamonitor.com

 

Kashiram Rana leaves for Bangladesh to attend Regional Conference on Sanitation

 

A high-level delegation led by Shri Kashiram Rana, Union Minister for Rural Development is leaving for Bangladesh on Monday to attend Ministerial level Regional Conference on Sanitation at Dhaka from October 21-23, 2003.

The overall goal of the Conference is to accelerate the progress of sanitation and hygiene work in South Asia so as to enhance people's quality of life, in fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals and the commitments made in the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are participating in the Conference with the objective to promote a regional initiative to improve sanitation.

Although much has been achieved in the last decade, the sanitation picture is still dismal in Asia. Only 39% of the population in South Asia, and 48% in East Asia and the Pacific, have adequate sanitation facilities. The event will bring together a number of 'Country Papers' that look at what is being done to counter the problems arising from inadequate sanitation coverage, both in terms of the approaches and the processes being undertaken. Papers will also outline a future Plan of Action that represents a series of stretching, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound commitments to formulating and implementing policy.

The Conference is being organised with financial and technical support of UNICEF and other development partners. -Keralamonitor.com

 

 

India to intensify cultural relations with Croatia-Bhavnaben Chikhalia

India is very keen to have close cultural and economic relations with Croatia and other countries in the region. This was stated by the Minister of State for Tourism and Culture and Parliamentary Affairs, Smt. Bhavnaben Chikhalia in a meeting with Croatian President, Mr. Mesic at Jagreb, Croatia yesterday. Mrs. Chikhalia who is there to attend meeting of cultural Ministers from October 16-19, 2003, said that there is tremendous scope for increase cooperation between the countries in the field of culture, education and high technology. She said besides this India would also like to increase exchange in the field of parliamentary practices being the largest democracy in the world.

President Mesic expressed keen interest in Indian culture. He said that he was looking forward to the visit of Vice-Presidnet of India to Croatia to whom he had extended an invitation recently.

Smt. Chikhalia also called on Mr. Zlatko Tomcic, President of Croatian Parliament, and Dr. Ante Simonic, Vice Prime Minister. Mr. Tomcic expressed satisfaction over the ongoing parliamentary cooperation. He said that parliamentary delegations from Croatia would visit India soon after the parliamentary elections. Dr. Simonic praised the rich and diverse culture of India. -Keralamonitor.com

UK News

Health Minister launches consultation framework for black and ethnic minorities

Government identifies priority areas for improvement over next three
months

Health Minister, Rosie Winterton, today launched the consultation
paper: Delivering Race Equality: A Framework for Action. This will
inform a period of three months consultation on how best to improve
mental health services for Black and minority ethnic communities.

People from Black and minority ethnic communities express lower
satisfaction rates than the general population within the health
service.

Currently:

- Black people constitute 30% of the patient group in medium secure
services and 16% of high secure services.
- Black people are over six times more likely than the majority
population to be detained under the Mental Health Act.
- Women born in India and East Africa have a 40% higher suicide rate
than those born in England and Wales.

The Department of Health has been researching these issues to provide
the framework and will work with the health service, voluntary groups
and local communities to consult properly on how best to:

- improve the provision of services to Black and minority ethnic
communities
- ensure that those communities are informed about and consulted on
services
- ensure they are willing and able to work in partnership with
services.

Rosie Winterton said:

"Delivering race equality and better community relations is vital to
this Government. This consultation will help to deliver better
quality and more intelligently used information, more appropriate and
responsive services, and more effective engagement with BME
communities in mental health.

"To achieve race equality and better community relations, whether in
central government, local government, health services, voluntary
groups or local communities, all of us need to work together to
deliver better services for people from Black and minority ethnic
communities. Services that are informed about their needs, and
appropriate and responsive to those needs.

"We do not underestimate the difficulties we face. But neither do we
underestimate what is at stake. Changing the current situation in
mental health is about a number of key issues. We must make services
equally accessible, offer choice in service provision and create an
NHS that is fair to all and personal to you."

The Department has set a clear target for improvements in services
for people from Black and minority ethnic communities - the
employment of 500 Community Development Workers by 2006. These
workers will play an important part in helping services implement the
framework for action.

To help services achieve improvements, the National Institute for
Mental Health England (NIMHE) is establishing a major implementation
programme headed by Professor Kamlesh Patel OBE. This will start with
high profile consultation events in all NIMHE regions. The programme
will include

- Ambitious series of community based projects to identify the
recruitment pool for the 500 new Workers and increase communities'
engagement with services
- Major national project to improve the quality of data on ethnicity,
in partnership with the inspectorates
- Creation of 9 new senior regional posts within NIMHE to lead on
Race Equality.

Kamlesh Patel OBE, Chair of the Mental Health Act Commission and the
Director of the Centre for Ethnicity and Health at the University of
Central Lancashire, said:

"This is a long-term, whole-system approach designed to gain
commitment and ownership from stakeholders, instill knowledge and
confidence in the workforce and build mutual trust between services
and the communities they serve. I am confident that this holistic,
multi-layered approach will succeed."

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) are also supportive of this
consultation process. Chair of the Commission, Trevor Phillips, said:

"The CRE welcomes the intention of the DoH to address race equality
in this much needed area. We also welcome these steps taken, to
comply with the race equality duty placed upon public bodies to
tackle racial discrimination and promote equal opportunities and good
race relations.

There is an abundance of evidence to show that inequalities exist
among ethnic minority communities both in service delivery and
provision. Action is needed to ensure that services are accessible,
adequate and appropriate to the needs of all users and reflecting
their diverse needs." - Keralamonitor.com

 

New commission to be force for improving social care

Issued on behalf of the Commission for Social Care Inspection

The new Commission for Social Care Inspection will be a real force
for improving social care in England, Denise Platt, Shadow Chair of
CSCI, will announce on Friday, October 17.

Speaking at the National Social Services Conference in Brighton,
Denise Platt will outline the new Commission's vision and values,
explain what new or enhanced responsibilities it has and how it will
do things differently. The CSCI will be a non-departmental public
body and is expected to begin operating in April 2004, subject to the
passage of the Health and Social Care Bill currently before
Parliament.

As part of her presentation, Denise Platt will show a video
commissioned by CSCI which showcases good practice in the delivery of
social care and gives voice to both service users and providers. She
will describe what makes these projects work so well and what lessons
other providers can learn from them.

In her speech, Denise Platt will say:

"The Commission for Social Care Inspection has been created for a
clear purpose - to give a single overall picture of the quality of
our social care services and the performance of local councils in
meeting the social care needs of the population. The Commission will
have a general duty to promote positive service improvement.

"We will always put the people who use social care services first. We
will stand up for the rights of the people who use social care -
whatever their age - to receive a proper standard of care services
when they need them."

She will describe how the new Commission will be more than the sum of
its parts, as it will have a much wider scope across the whole social
care industry.

Denise Platt will say:

"We will be a new, independent body charged with providing an
authoritative and independent assessment of the quality and
efficiency of social care in England, and report on how public funds
are being spent in the service. This Government does not see
delivering improvement in public services as an optional extra.
Investment is being made, and this funding is linked to reform and
improvement. We will have a responsibility to report annually to
Parliament on the state of social care services, including how the
new resources are deployed.

"The Commission is there in the public interest to ensure that the
standards are met, that public money is well spent and that action is
taken to improve poor performance, through intervention or other
enforcement action. And if unsafe services or poor performance
threaten the welfare and rights of those using the service, we will
act.

"We will contribute to the improvement agenda through inspection of
standards, reviewing and reflecting performance and helping the
service to determine an agenda for change. We aim to reward and
promote good practice and we will help the staff in social care to
improve their services. We also want to acknowledge good practice
above the National Minimum Standards."

Denise Platt will describe how the new organisation will operate. She
will also announce how the Commission will develop a new relationship
with local councils and with national providers, both private and in
the voluntary sector. It will work closely in partnership with other
inspectorates to give an integrated view of quality and performance
across different services for both adults and children. - Keralamonitor.com

Drivers warned to expect heavy traffic on M4 and M25 for last flight of Concorde

LONDON -Drivers are warned that traffic on motorways and trunk roads in the
Heathrow area, including the M4 and M25, is likely to be much heavier
than usual on Friday October 24 if sightseers try to visit the area
to view the final commercial flight of Concorde.

The Police and the BAA have warned that viewing facilities at
Heathrow are very limited and that the general public should not turn
up at the airport on the day.

The Highways Agency is advising drivers that the final flight will
coincide with the busy peak Friday travel period on the motorways and
trunk roads. This, combined with extra traffic on the roads during
the school half-term break, could lead to exceptionally heavy traffic
on surrounding roads.

Drivers are advised to avoid the M25 and M4 in the area by using
alternative motorway and trunk road routes if they can, and to vary
the time of their journey if possible.

There is particular concern about travellers trying to connect with
flights at Heathrow airport. Those who have to use road routes
leading to Heathrow, such as the M4 and the M25, are being advised to
leave plenty of time for their journey.

Bill Wadrup, the Highways Agency's Divisional Director for the South
East, said: "Friday afternoons are always extremely busy on the
strategic road network, and the school holidays always add to the
number of vehicles on the road.

"We are advising drivers that the M25, the M4 and other routes could
experience very heavy traffic. People should take time to consider
their journey plans before setting out and avoid the area if
possible.

"Drivers are also reminded that the hard shoulders on motorways are
for emergency use only. The Police will be monitoring the situation
at Heathrow and together with them we will be working to keep the
traffic flowing. "

The Highways Agency has been using its variable message signs and
yellow advisory signs at the roadside to advise road users of the
likelihood of heavy traffic.

Drivers are also advised of the following roadworks, which may affect
their journeys:

- On the M4 at J13, Chieveley, there are carriageway repairs and
resurfacing works on the M4 as well as major road construction on the
A34.

- On the M25 between Junction 26, Waltham Abbey and Junction 27,
Epping- there are major works to resurface the carriageway.

- On the M1 Junction 6a with the M25 Junction 21 there are bridge
parapet works.

- On northbound M11 at Junction 4 Woodford, there will be
carriageway widening and resurfacing.- Keralamonitor.com

Medical device manufacturers' to report adverse incidents On-Line

 

A new on-line reporting system for manufacturers of medical devices
to report adverse incidents and device recalls was launched today by
the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)

The Manufacturers' On-Line Reporting Environment - known as MORE - is
a secure, internet based system, accessible through the MHRA website.
It allows medical device manufacturers to electronically submit full
details of any medical device related adverse incident or device
recall direct to the MHRA Adverse Incident Centre. The information
will then be transferred automatically into the Agency's incident
tracking database.

For medical device manufacturers, as well as the on-line adverse
incident report form, MORE provides a searchable library of all their
MORE-based draft and submitted incident reports.

For the MHRA, MORE is an efficient, time and resource saving system
that will both enhance the adverse incident investigation process and
increase the proportion of Agency business transacted on-line. This
marks a significant step towards the achievement of government
e-business targets.

Work on further development of the system, that will encompass other
aspects of the Agency's interaction with device manufacturers on
adverse incidents, is already under way.

MHRA Chair, Professor Alasdair Breckenridge said:

"This latest project by the MHRA confirms its prominent global
position in the promotion and maintenance of public health. I am
delighted to see the Agency taking the lead with dedicated on- line
adverse incident reporting systems now available to both medical
device manufacturers and users.

Gordon Aylward, Director General of the Association of the British
Healthcare Industry (ABHI) said:

"ABHI welcomes the introduction of MORE. Indications from the pilot
project are that the system is well designed, flexible and simple of
use. We anticipate that it will be a useful tool for medical device
companies and we will encourage our members to use the system and
feed back on their experiences to assist with its development over
time. MHRA is to be congratulated on this initiative."-Keralamonitor.com

 

 

Evidence shows that new deal for lone parents saves £ millions

Research published today shows policies that help people move from
benefit into work can boost output as well as employment.

For lone parents, the research estimates that achieving a 5% cut in
the numbers on Income Support would eventually raise national income
by £600 million in today's terms, raise employment by 20,000 and save
the Government £4,800 per year per person back into work. Savings
build up to £15,500 per person per year after 10 years.

But if these benefits are to continue, savings must continue to be re-
invested back into effective programmes such as New Deal.

DWP research released in the summer showed investment in New Deal for
Lone Parents produced an excellent return in just this way.

By offering information and support, it gave its 397,000 participants
new opportunities and doubled their chances of getting into work. In
2000-01 it produced savings to the economy as a whole of £115 million
(£4,400 per job created), and boosted the Exchequer by £42 million a
year (£1,600 per job created).

Commenting, Work and Pensions Secretary of State Andrew Smith said:

"The evidence is increasingly clear that government investment to
help people back to work gives a good return to society as a whole.
The New Deals help cut the cost of joblessness and boost national
wealth. So, we need to extend such programmes - to expand opportunity
for those who face barriers to work, and to strengthen the economy."-Keralamonitor.com