M A I N   N E W S

Use Net to uplift poor: Clinton

HYDERABAD, March 24 (UNI, PTI) — The US President, Mr Bill Clinton, said even as the information technology revolution was creating 25-year-old millionaires, life should not be governed by higher profits but by higher purpose.

Addressing a meeting at the hi-tech city organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr Clinton said getting people connected to fresh water supply was as important as getting connected to the Net.

He said the newest discoveries were the best weapons to fight poverty and that no other generation had these opportunities to fight poverty.

Mr Clinton said the true test for information technology was not how big the feast was but how many could sit at the table and share the benefits.

He called for a partnership in extending the internet to the undeserved rural areas of the world. He said if the Net was extended, then overnight the poorest places in the world could have access to the same educational material as the richest schools.

The US President said the Internet could be used to simultaneously reinforce the cultural distinctiveness and the oneness of human kind.

He hoped that the Green Business Centre that he had inaugurated at the hi-tech city would pay attention to environmental issues like global warming and climate change. He said the need of the hour was energy efficient and clean manufacturing processes as we had to preserve the environment and not destroy it.

Referring to his visit yesterday to the wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan, he said while he was happy to have seen the endangered tigers, he was sad to learn that in the past year at least 20 tigers had been poached. He said the income of the people should be such that they did not resort to poaching animals and instead wished to preserve their heritage, which included animals for posterity.

He said two leading associations — the US India Business Council and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry — would launch a dialogue to take infotech trade to new heights to create more jobs and opportunities for both nations.

Mr Clinton had a glimpse of India’s software prowess in information technology at an exhibition organised at the hi-tech city here.

Earlier, Mr Clinton and his daughter Chelsea were given a red-carpet welcome on their arrival to the historic city today for a four-hour visit.

Mr Clinton was received at the Hyderabad Airport by Andhra Pradesh Governor C.Rangarajan, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Minister of State for Railways Bangaru Laxman, besides other officials and US Ambassador to India Richard Celeste.

While the state government rolled out a red carpet to Mr Clinton, the Left parties staged a protest rally in other parts of the city denouncing the visit.

Meanwhile, Mr Clinton today announced a $ 5 million aid to India to undertake projects to fight the dreaded AIDS and TB diseases.

Addressing a select gathering at the Mahavir Hospital and Research Centre here after administering the last dose of medicine to three TB patients and declaring them cured of the disease, Mr Clinton said of the amount, $ 4 million would be for fighting AIDS and $ 1 million for undertaking research on TB.

India’s gigantic efforts to eradicate polio today received a special word of praise from Mr Bill Clinton, who said the “whole world admires greatly what you have achieved.”

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee too was complimented for his efforts to focus attention on AIDs for which there is no cure yet.

He also praised Indian scientists, research in vaccine development and TB treatment, dedication of its health workers and commitment of its elected representatives in tackling health problems.