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India, US ink key health and education pacts
Team up for evergreen revolution
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India, US agree on homeland security
Curbs on technology transfer go
Maoist bandh leaves 8 dead Soon, a panel to address grievances of armed forces
Police reforms
SC allows extension to Jagir Kaur trial
We want to see CVC appointment file: SC
Maharashtra civic poll results to change political equations in state
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India, US ink key health and education pacts
Three US representatives were also finalised for the joint working group on Monday. They are senior US Embassy officials. As for the Indo-US Higher Education Summit next year, it will be led by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal on the Indian side and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the American side.
New Delhi, November 8 On the health front, Obama and PM Manmohan Singh announced the setting up of the Global Disease Detection India Centre to come up under the MoU between the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta. The Tribune was the first to report the inking of this MoU between the two sides. On the education front, the two sides committed themselves to a higher education summit in New Delhi next year to develop “collaborations” in the area. Importantly, Obama, even in his address to the Members of Parliament this evening, referred specifically to the Indo-US partnerships in health and education sectors. Parliamentarians in attendance, he promised to keep supporting India’s efforts against tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, besides contributing to global health by preventing the spread of pandemic flu. The US President also proclaimed from the Central Hall of Parliament the significance of knowledge society and the need for India and the US to forge exchanges between students, colleges and universities, which he described as “the best in the world”, underlining the emergence of the two nations as equal partners. A joint working group under the Singh-Obama initiative was set up today to work out the modalities of higher education summit next year. Obama, following his meeting with the PM at Hyderabad House this afternoon, also made a public statement that the 21st Century Singh-Obama Knowledge Initiative (announced last year and formalised with the India-Yale Leadership Initiative on the eve of Obama visit to India) would be further strengthened. Money has been pumped into the Initiative to raise the monetary ceiling for Fulbright Scholarships, which more people can now take. Sibal was part of the delegation-level talks between India and US leaders at Hyderabad House this morning. As for Obama, the important suggestion he made to India was the lifting of barriers for foreign investment, which includes US investment in education in India. In the health sector, the MoU between the NCDC and the CDC, Atlanta, will be valid for five years and will involve sharing of research and technical expertise in public health to develop human resources, both in epidemiology and laboratory. It will, through the Global Disease Control Centre, entail sharing of the best practices for detection and response to emerging infections like H1N1. The CDC, Atlanta, is already helping China with disease control. India, reeling under multiple infections and diseases (both communicable and non-communicable) would also get advanced training for its experts in the field of epidemiology to track infections better. The MoU is significant as it will help improve the Indian surveillance for emerging infectious diseases besides providing mentoring for India’s public health professionals. Building lab capacity at home for diagnoses of emerging infectious diseases using well characterised reference materials and advanced technology transfer that meets CDC and global standards will be the other major takeaways from today’s health
MoU.
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Team up for evergreen revolution
Pact promises
to...
New Delhi, November 8 “Building on Indian and American agriculture collaboration, like that of the Green Revolution, we are launching a new partnership for an Evergreen Revolution that improves food security around the world,” US President Barack Obama said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Obama said like the earlier collaboration between two countries in agriculture that ushered in ‘Green Revolution’ in India, he expected the ‘Evergreen Revolution’ to enhance food security for the world. Agriculture and food security were also taken up by President Obama during his address at the Central Hall later in the evening. “Today, India is a leader in using technology to empower farmers, like those I met yesterday who get free updates on market and weather conditions on their cellphones. And the United States is a leader in agricultural productivity and research. Now, as farmers and rural areas face the effects of climate change and drought, we’ll work together to spark a second, more sustainable Evergreen Revolution.” As part of the food security initiative, India’s expertise will be shared with farmers in Africa. “This is an indication of India’s rise — that we can now export hard-earned expertise to countries that see India as a model for agricultural development. And that’s another powerful example of how American and Indian partnership can address an urgent global challenge,” the US president said. India also reached an agreement with the US for maximum cooperation on weather and crop forecast under an agreement for “technical cooperation for study of dynamical seasonal prediction of Indian summer monsoon rainfall”. “We aim to help millions of Indian farming households save water and increase productivity; improve food processing so crops don’t spoil on the way to market; and enhance climate and crop forecasting to avoid losses that cripple communities and drive up food prices,” Obama said. Under the agreement, weather forecasting systems in India will be improved before the next monsoon season. The cooperation will give a boost to agromet services of the IMD and also help scientists formulate their weekly predictions and medium-term forecast of the rainfall season. Aimed at developing a fuller understanding of crucial weather phenomenon and associated precipitation characteristics, a “monsoon desk” will be set up at National Centers for Environmental Prediction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to focus on and coordinate all activities for India’s monsoon-related work, including the “Monsoon Mission”. Meanwhile, the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center will be tasked with the responsibility of conducting joint research and development and deployment for clean energy technologies. Initial priority areas to be addressed would be solar energy, second-generation bio-fuels and building efficiency. The center will involve active participation of academic and private sectors of both countries. The consortia will leverage existing resources and physical infrastructure and bring together talent from both countries.
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India, US agree on homeland security
New Delhi, November 8 The new security apparatus will primarily be aimed at ensuring that people like Headley, who planned the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, do not go undetected. Headley had visited India several times before and after the attacks. Union Home Secretary GK Piillai had accused the US of not sharing his name despite he being under watch in the US. Addressing a joint Press conference here today, US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the plan. “India and the US have decided to start a new homeland security dialogue to deepen their cooperation,” said Manmohan Singh. Obama on his part said this would increase security at our ports, airports and borders. He said cooperation between India and US intelligence agencies has been established, it was the time to take it to the next level. Manmohan Singh conveyed to Obama India’s “gratitude” for the help the US provided in counter-terrorism measures after the Mumbai terror attack of 2008. The Prime Minister termed it as “a historic and bold bilateral initiative.” The two leaders had a detailed discussion on East Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and West Asia. Sources said the new homeland security framework would include a high-level dialogue on homeland security that will cover critical technology and infrastructure capacity to screen visitors coming in and going out. On its own, India has already started total computerisation of the immigration systems covering all Indian missions aboard and linking the database of visas with immigration counters at airports, sea ports and land borders. Already the Home Ministry screens visa applications of people of Pakistani origin. The framework of the dialogue will be decided in March next year when US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visits India. The dialogue will be a level up from the counter-terrorism cooperation initiative signed between the two countries last July. This will not change the operational relationship shared by the intelligence agencies of the two countries on the counter-terrorism front. India is looking to have joint working groups on each security concept with one main group giving policy directions.
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Obama offers help ease Indo-Pak tension New Delhi, November 8 But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke tough on Pakistan, bluntly telling the American leader that India was not afraid of discussing the ‘K’ word (Kashmir) with Islamabad while making it clear that the neighbouring country must stay away from using terror to coerce India to start a dialogue. The two leaders this morning held detailed talks on a whole range of bilateral issues as well as global issues of mutual concern. They held a one-on-one meeting lasting about 45 minutes before going into delegation-level talks. There was a free and frank exchange of views between the two sides on all issues, officials said. Later at their joint press conference, Obama was asked by an American journalist to elaborate his administration’s policy on Kashmir, which had become a flashpoint between India and Pakistan. Describing Kashmir as a long-standing dispute, he said he believed India and Pakistan had an interest in reducing tensions between them. “The US can’t impose a solution… we are happy to play any role the two parties may want to reduce tensions between the two countries.” He was hopeful that conversation would take place between the two countries. “It may not start with that particular flashpoint (Kashmir),’’ he underlined, while recalling that the Indian PM had consistently spoken about his personal commitment to reduce tensions with Pakistan. Obama’s statement is almost in line with the position that India has taken over the dialogue process with Pakistan. While Pakistan has been insisting that the two countries discuss the ‘core issue of Kashmir’ first, New Delhi’s contention has been that they should first concentrate on resolving the less controversial issues and then consider controversial ones for settlement. Even in Islamabad in mid-July, the talks between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan failed because of Pakistan’s defiant attitude on Kashmir. Obama said he was convinced that the PM was sincere and relentless in his desire for peace. He was also hopeful that in the coming months and years India and Pakistan would find appropriate mechanisms to work out very difficult issues. For his part, the PM said a strong, peaceful and moderate Pakistan was in the interest of India, South Asia and the world as a whole. “We are committed to engage Pakistan on all issues, including the word ‘K’…we are not afraid of that.” However, Islamabad must understand that the two countries can’t talk while at the same time the terror-machine remains as active as before. Once ‘terror-induced coercion’ ends, India would be happy to hold dialogue to resolve all issues.”
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Curbs on technology transfer go New Delhi, November 8 The decision to remove the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the state-owned defence firm Bharat Dynamics from the “entities list” will pave the way for greater cooperation between the two countries in the areas of missile and satellite development and other high-end areas. On the downside, however, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) continues to be on the US blacklist as the two countries remain deadlocked over the end-user verification clause. Viewed as a natural culmination of the Indo-US civil-nuclear deal which was negotiated during former US president George Bush’s tenure, Obama’s move will allow India to access US dual-use technology and equipment which had been denied to New Delhi for the past three decades following its nuclear tests and its persistent refusal to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It is one of the major takeaways for India from this visit which has, otherwise, been dominated by trade and commerce deals, all aimed at boosting the sagging US economy through the creation of more jobs, a fact admitted to by president Obama. By taking the India-US nuclear deal to the next level, the Obama administration has shown that this agreement enjoys bipartisan support in Washington. India has been pressing the US for easing its export control on high-end technology ever since the two countries inked the civil-nuclear agreement. New Delhi has argued that there was no justification in continuing with the ban as the two countries had elevated their relationship to a “strategic partnership”. While New Delhi has reason to be pleased with the US decision to remove ISRO and the DRDO from the banned entity list, what has really brought cheer to the Indian camp is Washington’s support for its membership of the NSG and other export-control regimes like Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australian Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. Membership to these groups, which control the export of dual-use technology, will enable India to access these technologies and give it a say in defining its rules. That India has been promised this without having to fulfil the key precondition to sign the NPT is a matter of great personal satisfaction for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had doggedly pursued the Indo-US civil-nuclear agreement in the teeth of stiff domestic opposition.
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Ultras gun down 19 in Assam Guwahati, November 8 Six of the incidents occurred in North Assam’s Sonitpur, Bagsa and Udalguri districts. DIG (northern range) SN Singh, confirming involvement of the NDFB militants in the bloodbath, informed that most of the slain persons were Hindi-speaking. The first incident occurred at near Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary when a group of 10-12 NDFB ultras stopped a private bus travelling from Boimara in Sonitpur district in Assam to Sijutsa in Arunachal Pradesh at around 4.30 pm and commandeered eight Hindi-speaking male passengers out of it before gunning them down. The police later recovered the bodies from nearby jungle along the road. All slain persons were employees of the Arunachal Pradesh Government that has issued a statement condemning the dastardly incident. In another incident, NDFB ultras shot dead five Hindi-speaking people from a family near Belsiri Railway Station at Dhekiajuli town in Sonitpur district at around 4.30 pm today. The deceased included a couple. An Assamese-speaking person was killed and two others were injured when NDFB ultras opened fire at Kekerikuchi in Bagsa district around same time this afternoon, while a woman was shot dead by the ultras at Hograjuli near Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district. The marauding NDFB ultras gunned down two more Bihari settlers at Dokmoka in Karbi Anglong hill district in Central Assam and two Nepali-speaking persons at Mazbat in Udalguri district of North Assam. Two persons were injured when ultras opened fire at Batasipur in Sonitpur district. The NDB ultras had issued a statement on November 1 last threatening to kill at least 20 ‘Indians’ against one NDFB cadre or Bodo tribe person killed by security forces in ‘fake encounters’. It may be mentioned that the security forces killed one NDFB cadre near Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district in the wee hours today and the killing of innocent civilians was an obvious retaliation by the outfit.
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Patna/Bhubaneswar, November 8 While four persons fell to the bullets of Naxals in West Bengal, two each were gunned down in Bihar and Orissa. In Bihar, two bomb-disposal squad personnel of the Bihar Military Police were killed and four others injured when an explosive planted by the Maoists at Bankebazar in Gaya district went off. In Orissa, the Maoists shot dead two persons in Nabarangpur district and demolished a school building in Malkangiri district. — PTI
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Soon, a panel to address grievances of armed forces New Delhi, November 8 “We are setting out the proposed terms of reference” of the commission, Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told a Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra. The SG, however, indicated that the commission would not cover personnel in all areas of the armed forces. “It may not be necessary for some areas as the government has taken positive decisions in these areas,” he said without giving details. The SG sought a week’s time for providing the details of the proposed commission. The move could not be finalised before today’s hearing due to the intervening Divali holidays, he said. Allowing his plea, the Bench posted the next hearing for November 15. On September 8 this year, the Bench had passed an order asking the government to consider setting up an independent commission headed by a retired SC Judge “for looking into all the grievances of the serving and former members of the armed forces. We feel this is necessary as the armed forces personnel have many grievances which they feel are not being properly addressed by the Union Government.” Pointing out that the widow of a war veteran had approached the SC questioning the logic of paying her a meagre pension of Rs 70 against her claim of Rs 27,000, the Bench said this was the treatment meted out to highly decorated officers. “It is shameful” that the government had allowed such cases to come to the Supreme Court. “Does it require a case? What are you people up to? It is very demoralising for the armed forces,” the Bench told the Solicitor General. The SG assured the Bench that such grievances would also be addressed by the proposed commission. The court was hearing a petition filed by some serving and retired army officers, challenging the government’s refusal to accord them enhanced rank pay as recommended by the Fourth Pay Commission.
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Police reforms
New Delhi, November 8 A three-member Bench, headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia, directed that the chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka, besides Maharashtra, to appear in court on December 6 with their affidavits giving the reasons for not implementing the September 22, 2006 order on six-point reforms. The Justice K T Thomas committee, appointed by the apex court for monitoring the progress on implementation of the police reforms, had taken up the four states as a test case. In its report, the committee said the implementation was “dismal” in almost all the states.The Bench, which included Justices Aftab Alam and KS Radhakrishnan, also asked the other states to depute their law officers for the December 6 hearing. Virk, who had also headed the Punjab police, could complete only a few months as DGP of Maharashtra despite his plea to the state government and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for letting him remain in the post for two years. He had also filed a petition in the SC, but he withdrew it subsequently as it had become infructuous upon his retirement. The six-point reforms also included minimum tenures for IG and other officers below, separation of investigation from law and order and setting up of Police Establishment Boards and Police Complaint Authorities. "We regret to say that most of the directions given by the court remain non-complaint. The (Thomas) committee has given a chart indicating non-compliance, partial compliance, marginal compliance and paper complice. None of the states has issued any notification for the implementation," the apex court said in today’s order.
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SC allows extension to Jagir Kaur trial
New Delhi, November 8 A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma granted more time as a number of witnesses was yet to be examined. On January 8 this year, the SC had directed the Patiala Sessions Court to expedite the trial and complete it in six months. In February this year, the complainant and Harpreet’s husband Kamaljit Singh had turned hostile. He had argued in the trial court that his marriage with Harpreet was “not real and it was mainly to manipulate things.”
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We want to see CVC appointment file: SC
New Delhi, November 8 “Please show us the file,” a three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia told Attorney General GE Vahanvati during arguments on the two PILs that have challenged the appointment, ignoring charges against Thomas in the Rs 1.4 lakh crore 2G spectrum scam and in the irregularities in the import of palm oil. Counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, expressed dismay over the appointment despite the pending chargesheet against Thomas in the oil import case when he was a Secretary with the Kerala government. The government had also brushed aside the negative opinion expressed by Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and a member of the three-member CVC selection committee. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram are the other members of the committee. In the wake of the 1990’s Hawala case, the Supreme Court had asked the government to set up the CVC to monitor the functioning of the CBI so that the CBI could function without any political interference. In doing so, the SC had made it clear that the CVC chief should be chosen by the committee from among a panel of outstanding civil servants with impeccable integrity. Bhushan said the government had given a goby to the apex court ruling in all the three aspects. While the selection committee’s opinion was not unanimous, the new CVC was far from being outstanding or a person of integrity. The AG, however, contended that Bhushan was reading out the chargesheet against Thomas in the palm oil case as if it was the gospel truth. The allegations in the PILs were baseless, he said. The CJI did not seem convinced. He wanted to know if the CVC could be treated as an outstanding civil servant in view of the chargesheet. The AG responded, contending that even outstanding civil servants could face allegations. The CJI persisted, “Please indicate that he has an outstanding service and whether the committee has considered the issues.” Pointing out the adverse findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) against Thomas in the 2G scam, Bhushan wanted to know how such a civil servant could head an apex anti-corruption body. The Bench has given two weeks time to the AG to submit the file.
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Maharashtra civic poll results to change political equations in state
Mumbai, November 8 No party has bagged a majority in the 107-member House with the Shiv Sena bagging 31 seats, BJP nine, NCP 14, Cong 15, MNS 28 and others 10. The tally of MNS increased today after one Independent, Saroj Bhoir, joined the party's ranks of elected representatives. The NCP's leaders here are calling the opportunistic alliance a replication of the Pune pattern where the regional party allied with the two national parties in the city despite supporting the governments in Maharashtra and the Centre. As per the deal, the Shiv Sena-BJP leaders in control of this town will fund the projects eyed by the elected representatives of the NCP. Senior Congress leaders who were trying to persuade Sharad Pawar's party not to back the saffron parties have now decided to give up, sources said. Meanwhile, with no party willing to join hands with MNS, it has decided to go it alone in Kalyan-Dombivli. "We have decided to sit in the Opposition. We will abstain from voting on the mayoral elections," MNS chief Raj Thackeray said here today. The MNS played the role of a spoiler by eating into the votes of the BJP, Congress and the NCP. The Shiv Sena gained two seats despite a high-pitched attack on it by the MNS leadership.
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