DEVELOPMENT DIGEST

VOL.3 1-31 August 2000 NO.5

SAI (Sports Authority of India) has come up with yet another ambitious scheme -- "Centre of Excellence. SAI is in the business of looking ahead and planning accordingly in the best interest of the country's sporting talent. Over the years, failures and discredits have not discouraged SAI from coming up with optimistic schemes aimed at producing champions.

(The Economic Times - 2-08-2000)

Exports during April-June 2000 stood at $10.194 million as compared to $7,

986 million during the first quarter of the previous year, registering a growth of 27.65 per cent. Exports during June 2000 was $3,325 million as compared to $2,607 million during the corresponding month of the previous year, registering a growth of 27.55 per cent.

India is all set to become the number one producer of sugar in the world this year, with sugar output expected to cross the 180 lakh tonne mark pushing Brazil to the second place. Sugar production last year was 155 lakh tonnes, besides which 10 lakh tonnes was imported under Open General Licence (OGL).

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has decided to do away with the requirement for exporters having to seek permission of the Department of Sugar

And Edible Oils under the Ministry of Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs for export. They will now have to only register with the Agriculture Processed Food Export Development Agency to undertake exports.

The Ernakulam district panchayat has made a quiet entry into the IT world by taking up a unique model of e-governance. The Electronics Industrialisation Infrastructure Development (EIID), a scientific society under the district panchayat, is providing guidance to three gram panchayats in the district to establish information networks as part of their plan projects. The EIID is doing all this with software that is freely available with open source codes.

A new software system called "Crime and Criminal Information System" has been put into practice by the National Crime Records Bureau, Delhi, to nab criminals with the help of "brain and technology" rather than with "brawn and infamous third degree methods".

To streamline the computerisation of FIRs, the NCRB has designed and introduced a series of forms known as "Integrated Investigating Forms" providing for collation of every conceivable bit of information relevant to a given crime which eventually provides the data-base at the district, state and central levels.

(Ministry of Information and Broadcasting)

All police stations covered by the programme will also have to transmit the details of criminals suspected to be involved in the FIRs filed with them to the "server" of the District Crime Record Bureau. The information will then be passed to the State Crime Records Bureau and then to the "national machine" of the NCRB.

The CBI has set up a "cyber crime research and development unit" to collect and collate information on cyber crimes reported from different parts of the country. The function of this newly created unit is to liaise with the police forces from the States and collect information on cyber crimes reported for investigation.

The unit will maintain close rapport with the Information Technology Ministry and Interpol headquarters in London for achieving its objectives of giving the much-needed thrust for collection and dissemination of information on cyber crimes.

The Power Grid Corporation of India entered a new era with the commissioning of its Delhi-Chandigarh Optical Fibre Network. The Corporation which is in the business of transmitting power across the country, is making additional use of its existing power transmission lines network for setting up of an Optical Fibre Network across the country. It will entail laying of 52,000 kms of optical fibre including setting up of a number of tele-stations at an estimated cost of about Rs. 5000 crores. This will not only increase the tele-density in the country, but will also accelerate application of information technology in urban and rural areas. It will connect 56 cities including the state capitals by 2002. By next year, it would.connect some of the major cities like Varanasi, Agra, Lucknow, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The Government has announced the appointment of a Task Force on Human Resource Development in Information Technology (IT) . The main job for the Task Force is to prepare a long-term strategy for human resource development in IT.

The government has decided to double the intake of students to study Information Technology in Indian Institutes of Technology, Regional Engineering Colleges , other engineering colleges and educational institutions from the next academic year. The obvious intention is to boost IT expertise in the fastest possible manner.

India has achieved a notable success in getting vital suggestions relating to deletion of some non-tariff barriers to trade accepted in the final draft of ISO 9001 and 9004 quality management standards.

India expressed serious concerns over the proposals from developed countries for inclusion of subjective issues like work environment, work ethics, work norms and ambient working conditions in the ISO standards. These proposals of the developed countries were designed at creating more of non-tariff barriers in world trade. Indian delegation finally succeeded in getting these amendments dropped from the final draft.

The technical committee also accepted India's suggestions regarding mandatory application of statistical techniques pertaining to strengthening of internal audit and verification of product conformity at various stages and more meaningful role of a management representative in operating quality management system. India's suggestion for clubbing of quality documentation requirement was also accepted.

It has been decided that all ISO standards like 9001,9002, and 9003 will now be merged into one standard namely, ISO 9001. ISO 9004 will be adequately revised to give more stress on performance excellence of a

Internet subscriber base in the country has crossed 1.4 million as on June 30. The total number of subscribers as on June 30 stood at 1,407,736. Maharashtra Telecom Circle including Mumbai city was in the first place with the highest number of Internet subscribers at 4.5 lakh connections, while national Capital of Delhi was the next with 2.26 lakh subscribers. Tamil Nadu with 2.14 lakh subscribers and Karnataka with 1.40 lakhs were in the third and fourth slots respectively. Among the poorly -spread internet access bases are Andaman and Nicobar with just 133 connections and North East circle with 902 subscribers.

In an effort to increase its venture capital investments in the infotech sector, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has decided to set up a new venture capital fund subsidiary. This new arm of IDBI would be a 100 per cent subsidiary of the parent institution. This would concentrate only in investments in the IT sector and would have an initial corpus to the tune of Rs 50 crores.

Old Delhi Railway Station, a major transit point for travellers, has gained entry into the prestigious Guinness Book of world Records for acquiring the capability to handle the maximum number of trains at any station in the world with the largest Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) system. Commissioning of RRI with 11,000 relays and 1,112 movements by the Northern Railways at the station besides improving safety and maintainability of the system, also provides additional traffic handling capacity and operational capacity in the yard. GYAN DARSHAN TO PROVIDE COST-FREE TUTORIALS

Gyan Darshan, India's first educational channel, shall provide cost-free tutorials. It is a satellite-based television channel devoted to educational and developmental programming. Launched jointly by Ministry of Human Resource Development and Prasar Bharati, it offers a rich fare benefitting people of all ages and from all walks.

Transmissions by Gyan Darshan are being uplinked form the IGNOU earth station in the Capital and it can be downlinked across the country through INSAT-2B Satellite on C-band. These programmes can be conveniently received by all cable operators anywhere without the need of special equipment like decoders and distributed to the homes along with the existing channels.

HRD PLANS MORE COMMUNITY POLYTECHNICS

There is going to be a massive increase in the number of community polytechnics in the country in the current financial year.

There are at present 516 community polytechnics in the country each training about 500 rural youth every year. The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry plans to extend the community polytechnic scheme to all government and government-aided polytechnics .

A community polytechnic is not a separate polytechnic by itself. It is a wing of an existing polytechic, which undertakes rural and community development activities through the application of science and technology in its proximity using the infrastructure of the polytechnic.

About two lakh persons are trained in various skills by community polytechnics every year. Any person living in a rural area can join the courses; there is no age, qualification or sex bar for admission. The courses run from three to nine months.

K-GANGA LAUNCHED FOR FARMERS' WELFARE

(The Hindu - 8-08-2000)The State Government launched a Karnataka Global Advisory Networking Group on Agriculture (K-GANGA) as a part of its efforts to ensure the welfare of farmers and their families and to boost agricultural production. K-GANGA would include leading agriculture scientists and distinguished technologists from the state who are presently working in the U.S.A.

K-GANGA would offer advice on the latest research in biotechnology to develop new crop varieties and help integrated science and agriculture for the latter's development.

The Indian Agriculture Research Institute has launched an Advance Centre of Plant Virology in the Plant Pathology division which has all modern and other ancillary facilities for molecular research.

The centre is set to strengthen the existing key areas of research with particular reference to molecular plant pathology.

The greater emphasis will be to classify and characterise plant pathogens at biological and molecular levels. It will generate data on key epidemiological parameters of viruses and sub-micro scopic plant pathogens at biological and molecular levels.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced the subject of introductory Information Technology (IT) for classes IX and X from the current academic year.

The subject would be offered to the student in addition to the subjects provided in the national core curriculum. The course has a theory component of 40 marks and a practical component of 60 marks.

Despite predictions of a post y2k slowdown in India's software and services business, the IT

While the domestic market clocked at Rs 17,002 crores, showing a healthy 29 per cent growth, the export segment grew an exponential 49 per cent to clock Rs. 16, 050 crores.

In the largest ever tapping of the Indian capital market by a single agency, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has finalised plans to float highway bonds wroth Rs 12,000 crores for financing its massive highway development programme. The first trauche of Rs 500 crores worth highway bonds will be issued in September this year.

The bond issues would be offered in the market over a period of three years. After the Rs. 500 crores bond issue this year, NHAI will float bonds worth Rs. 3,500 crores to Rs 4000 crores during 2001-2002.

This will be followed by another massive float of over Rs. 5,000 crores during the next fiscal year 2002-2003. The balance of about Rs 2,500 crores would be floated there after.

This would be the largest ever offering by a single agency. Earlier, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had floated bonds worth over Rs 4,000 crores

Bonds issue is a part of the financing formula adopted by NHAI for raising the required Rs 54,000 croress to undertake the four-laning of 13,000 kms of National Highway Development Project (NHDP).

Handicraft exports from India were up 18 per cent at Rs. 1,425 crores during April-

Better distribution of rainfall, more area under crop cultivation and no report of pest attack so far have brightened the prospects of a bumper output during the current kharif season. Monsoon was excess or normal in 74 per cent districts till the first week of August against 68 per cent in the same period last year. It resulted in more areas under cultivation of grains like rice, cereals and oilseeds brightening the prospects of a better crop.

Government has increased the authorised share capital of National Hydeoelectic Power Corporation (NHPC) from Rs 5,000 crores to Rs. 7,000 crores. NHPC has sought increase in the authorised share capital since the paid-up capital of the company as on March-ending 2000 stood at Rs. 4,439.01 crores.

The company has sought increase in its authorised share capital from Rs. 5,000 crores to Rs. 10,000 crores keeping in view the massive expansion programme undertaken , but the government had increased it to Rs. 7,000 crores. With an asset base valued at over Rs 12,000 crores, NHPC ranks among the top 10 companies in the country in terms of investment.

The World Bank launched its website for India to facilitate flow of information and data of the

Bank's operations in India. The website , The World Bank In India, can be accessed at www. Worldbank.org.In.

The website is a part of the Bank's broader efforts to make information about World Bank assisted programmes widely avaiabe to the public and to share knowledge and stimulate debate about development issues in India and around the globe.

(The Hindustan Times - 10-08-2000)

It's not infotech but yoga and ayurveda that is selling at the Indian pavilion the Expo 2000 being held at Hanover in Germany Indian concepts of ayurveda, astrology and medication are really popular.

Although efforts have been made to tell the world about India's recent progress in software and linking it with the discovery of the "Shunya", the therapeutic sessions on yoga, meditation, ayurveda and traditional dances seem to be hogging the limelight.

Global Housing Finance Corporation (GHFC) has been permitted by the Reserve Bank of India to extend housing loans to Non-resident Indians for purchase/construction of houses in India. As per the scheme introduced by the company, NRIs can avail of housing loans from GHFC, repayable over a period of seven years. The rate of interest on such loans will be 13 per cent annually, the same as for resident Indians.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, has asked the nationalised insurance companies to gear up to competition with the expected arrival of new private companies into the insurance business. The new insurance scheme for the weaker sections of society called the Janshree Bima Yojana, targeted at the urban and rural poor who live below the poverty

line or on the margin, has been launched by the Prime Minister.

The premium for the insurance cover for such persons would be Rs. 200 a year, of which 50 per cent would be borne by the Central Government through the newly set-up Social Security fund. The balance premium would have to be paid by the individual or by some nodal agency or by State Governments.

The scheme provides for payment for Rs. 20,000 to the nominee in the event of death of the policy holder due to natural causes.

In case of accidental death or permanent disability, the benefit will be enhanced to Rs. 50,000 and in case of partial disability, the policy holder would get Rs. 25,000.

The scheme will be administered by LIC and will be applicable to a groups of at least 25 members. The groups will be identified and notified by LIC in consultation with the designated nodal agency in specific areas.

The nodal agencies could be panchayats, non-governmental oranisations, self-help groups or any other institutionalised arrangement. Initial estimates suggest that some six crore people would be covered by the scheme.

The Government has approved 38 proposals of foreign direct investment amounting to Rs 952 crores. These include Rs 169 crores fresh FDI into Intel Technology India Pvt. Ltd and Rs 430 crores by Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company of Qatar for setting up of LNG receiving facilities. Vysya Bank has been permitted to bring in FDI upto 30 per cent amounting to Rs. 42.48 crores while Dr Willmar Schwabe of Germany has got the green signal to increase its stake in the Indian subsidiary from 85 per cent to 100 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to sell sugar through on line computerised sale system.

State Minister for cane development and sugar industry inaugurated an "on line computerised sugar sale system" at the sales office of the UP Coorperatitve Sugar Factories Federation.

The on line sugar sales system will now connect the sale officers of the UP Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd and the UP State Sugar Corporation at Lucknow and New Delhi with the respective sugar selling agents.

The Government opened up another area of VSNL monopoly, to private participation by announcing the guidelines for setting up of Submarine Cable Landing Stations (SCLS) for international gateways.

The move supposed to be a key driver for the spread of Internet in the country, is expected to end the shortage of Internet bandwidth as Internet service providers (ISPs) can now use international gateways for Internet traffic using submarine cables.

The guidelines have stressed a great deal on the monitoring aspect so that the landing stations do not become a launch pad for attacking sites within India stations.

The ISPs will have to ensure a good quality intrusion detection system for online and offline (capture, store and retrieve) monitoring of all classes of traffic (Internet, video, audio, etc.)

Domestic servants in Maharashtra can now look forward to a weekly off, leave travel allowance and a month's bonus every Deepawali.

In an effort-- perhaps the first of its kind in the country-- aimed at improving the conditions of domestic helps in the state, Maharashtra government has decided to enforce a code of conduct for employers with immediate effect.

legislation, public policies, programmes and projects.

Chuddies, (Underpants), a word that sparks instant recognition in most Indian languages, has been selected one of the of 67 new entries in the latest edition of the Oxford Compact English Dictionary(OCED). So has hijra or eunuch. The OCED is revised every four years. Other Indian words absorbed into this year's edition are bhaji (fried vegetables), chapati (bread), dal (lentils), ghat (river bank) and lathi (stick). The Oxford team responsible for spoting new words in current usage has taken their cue form the hit TV show Goodness Gracious Me.

A VSNL earth station, linking the north-east region with its Vikram earth station at Arvi near Pune by INTELSAT, was inaugurated by the Union Communications Minister.

The earth station called the International Telecommunications Gateway Centre for the Norht-East, will offer high quality high-speed data transmission and leased Internet access at speeds higher than 64 kbps.

It will link the region to every corner of the world and is expected to increase both domestic and export earnings of the IT industry from the north-east region. The VSNL has so far set up eight gateways and 24 satellite earth stations, connecting 237 international destinations through direct dialing.