Monday, July 16, 2001		Newsscape

A number of IAS officers have been short-listed for appointment as president of Nasscom, a post left vacant due to the untimely demise of Dewang Mehta, The Economic Times reported. The information technology secretary of Karnataka, the former information technology secretary of Andhra Pradesh, the former executive director of Andhra Pradesh Technology Services, the chief executive of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and Mr G.S. Pirzadha, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer posted in Punjab are among those in the reckoning for the plum job. Apart from bureaucrats some other persons have also been short-listed. Nasscom’s executive council is expected to take a final decision by the end of this month, according to the daily.

Malaysia will not permit Muslim men to divorce their wives through text messages on mobile telephones, the Star newspaper quoted a religious adviser to the government as saying. A Reuters report quoted Hamid Othman, adviser to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, as saying that although Sharia might permit divorce using SMS — or short messaging service, by which mobile phone users send each other brief bursts of text — the government would not accept it. "We have adequate laws to curb rash moves by Muslim men to divorce their wives without justification," the newspaper said. Local women's groups have condemned the idea since a local religious leader said last week the practice was allowed under Sharia (Islamic) law. Divorce using SMS was first attempted in Dubai, but failed because the husband did not follow other requirements set by Islamic law. In Singapore, the Registrar of the city state's Sharia court left no doubt he regarded the practice as flippant and morally reprehensible.

Adobe Systems India is hoping to capitalise on the government’s thrust on e-governance, according to Hindustan Times. The newspaper report said that the company is especially looking at the efforts of the various state governments in this direction and hopes to start making presentations soon. The report said that Adobe had already started making presentations to various public sector enterprises for the use of their technology and added that the company is building a seven-storied development centre at Noida, near Delhi.

Hewlett Packard India and Intel have jointly rolled out the first portfolio of itanium processor family (IPF)-based systems, services and solutions for domestic market, according to a PTI report. HP, co-developer of itanium processor-based servers with Intel, announced that HP workstation I2000 with up to two processors, HP servers Rx4610 with up to four processors and HP server Rx9610 with up to 16 processors, will now be available in the country.

Innovation is now more than the latest civil servant buzzword, says The Straits Times. A virtual resource centre on innovation - www.theinnovationstore.gov.sg - was launched on the Government Intranet last week, featuring guides to innovation, case studies and monthly features.Innovative products and services suggested and implemented by the various government agencies will also be showcased online. In addition, a discussion forum will be added to allow civil servants an opportunity to network and exchange ideas in a few months' time.The new portal, developed by a group of PS21 officers, was unveiled at the PS21, or Public Service for the 21st century, 6th anniversary celebrations last week.