- Minister Maran to lead Indian Delegation to Doha WTo meet
November 05, 2001
- PM’S THREE-DAY RUSSIA VISIT COMMENCES
Moscow; Indian prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee commenced a State visit to the Russian Federation (November 4 – 7, 2001) from the historic city of St. Petersburg at the invitation of Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation. During the visit, the Prime Minister will visit St. Petersburg and Moscow. In St. Petersburg, the Prime Minister will meet Mr. Vladimir Yakovlev, Governor of St. Petersburg. He will inaugurate an exposition of paintings on India at the Russian Museum. He will also meet Indologists and experts from the School of International Relations.
In Moscow, the Prime Minister, will hold talks with President Putin and meet other prominent Russian personalities. He will also attend a function at the Moscow State University, where he will be conferred an Honorary Doctorate. He will also hold meetings with Indologists and the representatives of the Indian community, including business sector, students and those active in culture.
Prime Minister’s visit to Russia is taking place against the backdrop of the declaration on Strategic Partnership, signed during President Putin’s highly successful landmark visit to India in October last year, which envisaged annual summits to carry forward political dialogue. Prime Minister and President Putin have maintained close contacts through exchange of messages and telephone conversations.
The visit is expected to impart a new impulse, greater depth and content to Indo-Russian relations and consolidate the positive trends that have emerged in recent years. The visit would further accelerate the enhanced tempo in bilateral relations, deepen political understanding and expand the range of economic interactions.
Prime Minister’s discussions with the Russian leadership will cover the entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest.
A major Joint Statement on International Terrorism is expected to be issued by the two leaders. In addition, there would be Joint Statements on bilateral and international issues, strategic issues and on energy security. Agreements to be signed during the Prime Minister’s visit will cover several sectors of our wide-ranging relationship including Atomic Energy, S & T, Commerce, Cultural cooperation, Communications Inter-regional cooperation, communications and educational and academic contacts. They would take forward the process of building a comprehensive legal structure for our relations to facilitate strengthened cooperation in different areas.
India and Russia have a regular exchange of visits in different areas. Since the visit of President Putin to India in October 2000, there have been 14 ministerial-level visits between the two countries in 2001. These included the meeting in January of the Inter-Governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Co-operation in Moscow, co-chaired by Finance Minister, Shri Yashwant Sinha and Deputy Prime Minister, Ilya Klebanov, followed by the Inter-Sessional Review Meeting in Delhi in October; Defence and External Affairs Minister, Shri Jaswant Singh’s visit to Russia for the first meeting of India-Russia Joint Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation in June; Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov’s visit in May to India; Information Technology Minister, Shri Pramod Mahajan’s visit to Russia in September; and Human Resources Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi’s visit to Russia October. Wide ranging contacts at the official and expert levels as well as cultural, academic and people to people exchanges have also been maintained.
Several positive steps have been taken to implement the decisions reached during President Putin’s visit. Prominent among these include: ( i ) Afghanistan: The Joint Working Group has met thrice in November 2000, June 2001 and October 2001; ( ii ) Trade and Economic Cooperation: The 7th Session of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission was held in Moscow on 17 January 2001. Important decisions on expansion and diversification of trade and economic cooperation were taken: ( iii ) Defence: The first meeting of the Ministerial Joint Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation was held in Moscow on 4-6 June 2001: ( iv ) Oil exploration: Agreement on ONGC Videsh’s investment in the Sakhalin-I project was concluded in February 2001: ( v ) Inter-Regional Cooperation: The Inter-Governmental Agreement between on the principles of cooperation between the states and union territories of the republic of India and the Administrations (governments) of the subjects of Russian Federation signed during President Putin’s visit to India has entered into force. The first meeting of the Working Group on cooperation between regions was held in Moscow on 14 December, 2000.
Continuing tradition of high-level exchanges between the two countries is reflective of special and enduring bonds between India and Russia. While there is dynamism and change in the relationship, there is also a remarkable degree of continuity and stability, based on national consensus in both countries as well as mutual goodwill and trust and sensitivity to mutual interests and concern.
November 06, 2001
India, Russia Sign Agreement for setting up an Indian Bank in Moscow
New Delhi; A protocol of Intentions was signed today in Moscow between the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Central Bank of the Russian federation on the setting up of an Indian Bank in Moscow. The Protocol of Intentions marks the first stage clearance from the Russian authorities for the project.
The decision to set up an Indian Bank in Moscow was announced during this visit of the Minister of Finance of India, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, to Moscow for the 7th Session of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological and Cultural Cooperation that was held on January 11-12, 2001. Following this, discussions were held between SBI and Canara Bank, who agreed to form a joint venture for the project with a 60:40 stake in it.
The Commercial Bank of India, as the joint venture will be called, will provide trade finance products such as LC’s, Guarantees, buyers, and suppliers’ credits, settlements, collections and remittances to Russian companies for their India-related business. It is based on the expectation of a robust growth in the economies of India and Russia and consequently, significant acceleration in the pace of economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries.
The opening of the bank, which is expected to be operational in 2002 after completion of all necessary formalities, marks a significant step forward in the development of cooperation between India and Russia in the banking sector. It will also meet a long-standing demand of Indian and Russian businessmen for servicing of trade through a well-established, reliable banking channel between the two countries.
- NON-FILING OF ANNUAL RETURNS BY COMPANIES
New Delhi: The number of companies that filed annual returns during 1999-2000 were 220,370. It were 187,770 companies that did not file their annual returns in 1998-99. Similarly, during 1997-98, 174,444 companies did not file their returns with the Registrars of Companies. The Companies Act, 1956, provides for disqualifying directors of public companies which have not filed the annual accounts and annual returns for any continuous three financial years commencing on and after the first day of April, 1999, from being appointed directors of other public companies for a period of five years.
During 2000, the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) had launched a scheme, the Company Law Settlement Scheme, wherein companies which defaulted in filing documents in the past could come forward and avail of one time declaration and settlement. This amnesty scheme was in operation from June 1, 2000 to September 30, 2000. An amount of Rs.136.83 crores was collected from 1.77 lakh defaulting companies under the Scheme.
November 05, 2001
FM INAUGURATES A WEB CIRCULAR SYSTEM OF CGA
The Union Finance Minister Shri Yashwant Sinha inaugurated a Web Circular System of the Controller General of Accounts here today. The System comprises of two parts; one for ‘Public Domain’ and the other for ‘Intranet Communication’. The ‘Public Domain’ part will be accessible to public at large and would have information on the current financial status of the Government in the form of monthly accounts. It will provide accounting information of previous years in a reader friendly format as ‘Accounts at a Glance’ and in details in the form of ‘Union Finance Accounts’ and ‘Appropriation Accounts’. It would also contain orders on revision of Dearness Allowance (DA) / Dearness Relief (DR) issued by the Government from time to time. The information on Dearness Relief will thus be readily accessible to the pensioners and over thirty thousand branches of Public Sector Banks for prompt payment of such relief in all parts of the country.
The ‘Intranet Communication’ of the system would speed-up the exchange of information between the Controller General of Accounts and its more than three hundred field offices located all over the country resulting in efficient execution of Government transactions.The address of the site is http://www.cgaindia.org.
The wife of the Vice President Smt. Suman Krishan Kant at the ' All India Nature Cure and Yoga Conference on Naturopathy' in New Delhi on November 6, 2001.
November 05, 2001
- Minister Maran to lead Indian Delegation to Doha WTo meet
- FOURTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF WTO FROM NOVEMBER 9 TO 13, 2001
Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, would be leading the Indian delegation to the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 9th to 13th November, 2001. Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry; Shri Prabir Sengupta, Commerce Secretary; Shri Nripendra Misra, Special Secretary (Trade Policy Division), Ministry of Commerce & Industry; and senior representatives of several other Ministries including External Affairs, Agriculture, Information Technology, Environment & Forests and SSI will be accompanying Shri Maran. Representatives from industry associations will be joining the Ministerial delegation in Doha. The Ministerial Conferences are important as they set the future work programme of the WTO, besides giving an opportunity to the Ministers to review the operation and functioning of the multilateral trading system and to make general statements on the same.
The Ministerial Conference is the highest decision making body of the WTO and the Ministerial Conferences of the WTO are mandated to be held once in every two years. The First Ministerial Conference of the WTO (which came into being in January 1995 as a successor to the GATT) was held in Singapore in December 1996; the Second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in May 1998; and the Third Ministerial Conference in Seattle in November-December 1999.
The preparatory process of consultations for the Doha Ministerial Conference has been underway at the General Council of the WTO in Geneva and India has been participating actively in the preparatory process. To move the preparatory process forward for the Fourth Ministerial Conference, the Chairman, General Council of the WTO, released a Draft Ministerial Declaration (DMD) and the Draft Decision on Implementation-related Issues and Concerns on 26th September, 2001. On 27th October, 2001, the revised Draft Ministerial Declaration and a revised Draft Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns was issued by the General Council, along with a Draft Declaration on Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines (Public Health). India favours the strengthening of the rule-based multilateral trading system and believes that the success of the forthcoming Ministerial Conference is of utmost importance in further strengthening the multilateral trading system of the WTO. During the preparatory process, the developed countries have broadly sought to have a comprehensive agenda which would include negotiations on new subjects also. India has been emphasising that implementation issues of concern to the developing countries should be satisfactorily addressed and non-trade related issues should off the agenda for negotiations. The Doha Ministerial Conference should, therefore, address the work of resolution of Implementation-related concerns; assess the progress and give policy directions for the ongoing mandated negotiations on the WTO in agriculture and services and mandated reviews such as Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and take up other stock taking and reviews including review of unfinished built-in agenda items of the Uruguay Round Marrakesh Agreement which had established the WTO.
The government has taken all steps to involve the stakeholders in the WTO negotiations. The Commerce & Industry Minister has held a series of interactive sessions with all major political parties to discuss WTO issues. The state governments were also consulted in formulating India's position in the key areas such as agriculture. A series of Workshops with industry associations have been held to obtain the feedback from time to time. The Advisory Committee on International Trade consisting of experts, representatives of industry and civil society and other concerned Ministries have also met under the Chairmanship of the Minister to advise the government on key WTO issues. In the run up to Doha, India has articulated its concerns in various important fora and Shri Maran participated in the informal WTO Trade Ministers Meeting held in Mexico between 31st August and 1st September and in Singapore between 13th and 14th October, 2001. A number of initiatives have been taken to garner support of other developing and like-minded countries.
COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP ON CANCER AWARENESS DAY
The Minister of State for Communications Shri Tapan Sikdar will release a commemorative postage stamp on Cancer Awareness Day at a function here on 7th November, 2001. Issued by the Department of Posts (DoP), the stamp is in the denomination of Rs.4/-. Cancer, a malignant growth of epithelial cells, is one of the major non-communicable diseases spreading its tentacles all over the world and its growth incidence is a cause for alarm. Cancers in all forms are causing about 12% of deaths throughout the world. It is estimated that there are nearly 15-20 lakhs of cancer cases at any given point of time. Over 7 lakh new cases of cancer and 3 lakhs deaths occur annually due to cancer. Data indicates that the leading sites of cancer have remained unchanged over the years, i.e. oral cavity, lungs, esophagus and stomach amongst men and cervix, breast and oral cavity amongst women. `
Cancer usually occurs in the later years of life and with increase in life expectancy, it is all the more important that people are made aware of the fact that the disease is invariably curable if detected in early stages. National Cancer Control Programme was initiated by the Ministry of Health in 1975 with the objectives of spreading education and awareness, early detection by screening and self examination methods, strengthening of existing treatment facilities, skill upgradation of doctors and paramedical personnel. The First Day Cover alongwith the information sheet will be available on sale at all Philatelic Bureaux/Counters and at selected Post Offices.
