Patna, November 17
BJP veteran LK Advani sought an immediate response from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the observation of Supreme Court over the undue delay by the PMO in taking a decision on the issue of prosecution sanction against the controversial Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum scam.

Answering queries from the mediapersons here today, Advani said the Prime Minister must respond immediately to the question raised by the apex court in this connection. He was here to campaign for the last phase of Bihar Assembly elections.

Calling it a very serious matter, the former Union Minister of Home Affairs said "I do not remember the Supreme Court having ever raised a question like this to the PMO in 60 years of my parliamentary career".

Reiterating the Opposition's demand for a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) probe into this scam, said to be the biggest so far, Advani said that the government must accept this demand without any further delay. He also advocated that corruption must be rooted out from the country.

The CPM asked the Prime Minister to explain why a probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam was delayed despite repeated demands by it since 2008. "The Prime Minister should explain in Parliament how this murky affair was allowed to go on for so long," the party olitburo said in a statement in New Delhi.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi at an election rally in Bihar on Wednesday. — PTI

New Delhi, November 17
With indications of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holding an upper hand in the Assembly elections emerging from Ground Zero, the Congress, which was seeking a major comeback in the state in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, now appears to have scaled down its expectations.

Earlier hopeful of seeing more than 50 of their candidates making it to the 243-member Assembly and playing the role of a kingmaker, Congress leaders are now anticipating a tally between 15 and 25. However, they also add that the Congress which hit the rock bottom in the state in the past two decades can only go one way from the position and that is up. As the sixth and final phase of polling nears, Congress leaders say the party will definitely improve its tally but admit it is difficult to predict to what extent.

Political observers believe Nitish is likely to ride back to power, a scenario that will mean a setback to the revival efforts of the RJD in Bihar politics. The development factor may end up giving Nitish an edge over “caste politics”, which Lalu is famous for.

The development that caste-ridden Bihar has seen during Nitish’s time has also become a problem for the Congress. Nitish has successfully borrowed the traditional Congress agenda of development. Except for berating the Bihar Chief Minister for not giving due credit to the Centre for release of funds for the state and riding away with all the credit, Congress campaigners have not been able to utilise any other poll plank to discredit him.

There is also a feeling among Bihar Congress leaders that long and tedious spread of elections over a month worked in favour of Nitish. They also say that besides Brahmins, Muslims and Dalits, more attention could have been given to the OBC category, which constitutes a major chunk of population in the state.

Having fielded candidates on almost all seats to prove its presence and show that there has been an improvement in vote percentage since the last time, Congress’ hopes are now largely riding on the anti-incumbency factor against JD(U) and BJP MLAs. For the Congress that just had nine seats in the last Assembly, anything above that would be an improvement.

In the last poll, JD-U won 88 seats, BJP 55 and RJD 54. Party leaders also feel these elections will be a confidence-building exercise for party workers.

Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed, a senior leader from Bihar, continues to be hopeful of party doing “extremely well” in these elections. He says party’s traditional vote base is back after breaking away from Lalu’s RJD.

Patna, November 17
The sixth and final phase of Bihar Assembly elections scheduled on November 20 has put the top leaders of the NDA, the Congress and the RJD-LJP on their toes. Though the polling for 217 seats out of the total 243 has been already held, no political party seems to be taking the campaign for the remaining 26 seats lightly.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party chief Sharad Yadav were the only two leaders of ruling JD(U) to campaign for their party nominees all this while but the party has now pressed into service many of its ministers and state-level leaders to seek votes for their candidates.

The BJP’s style of campaigning for the final round is being termed as “carpet bombing” by the party leaders. All senior leaders, including BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, LK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj, have been asked to campaign in Bihar, said sources. Of the 26 seats going to polls, the BJP is contesting on only 10 seats and its ally JD(U) is in the fray on the remaining 16.

The Congress, which is contesting all the 243 seats of Bihar Assembly on its own after a long gap, is also taking no chances at the fag end. Even though many of the Congress leaders have started admitting that their party was not expected to win many seats this time and it was more of a confidence-building exercise, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to address elections meetings in Bihar on November 17 and 18, respectively.

Rahul Gandhi had addressed many meetings during the last five phases as well. RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his alliance partner Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP are also leaving no stone unturned for the final match. The RJD that has been the main opposition party in Bihar in the outgoing Assembly has put up its candidates on 22 seats and the LJP on four for the final phase.

Both Lalu and Paswan were campaigning separately all this while for their alliance candidates but now they are moving together during the last round.

Chandigarh, November 17
While the non-cooperative attitude of the Ministry of Defence and services is affecting the functioning the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), several drawbacks have been observed in the AFT Act that, which need to be redressed.

“The problem lies with implementation of the Tribunal’s orders. In almost 90 per cent of the cases, the orders are not implemented by the Ministry or the services, requiring persuasion or other follow-on actions,” Justice Ghanshyam Prashad, head, AFT of the Chandigarh bench, said, while speaking to The Tribune on the eve of the bench’s first anniversary.

Justice Prashad said there were several other administrative and functional matters associated with the Tribunal, which were the responsibility of the defence establishment, state governments and local civilian administration, but were not being given due consideration.

About two months ago, the Ministry had cleared the establishment of three transit courts under the Chandigarh Bench at Shimla, Jammu and Srinagar, to hear cases of service personnel located at remote areas. “We have taken up the matter with the army, but nothing has materialised yet,” Justice Prashad said.

Transit benches, which involve a mobile court being set up for a short duration at the aforementioned places, would be convenient for the ex-servicemen residing in remote areas, who would not have to travel all the way to Chandigarh for redressal of their grievances.

Though the Chandigarh Bench has jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir, there are hardly any cases from the state. Except for about half-a-dozen fresh cases over the past year or so, virtually no cases have been transferred from Jammu.

After the Tribunal was set up, all cases pertaining to the military service, pending before the HC, were transferred to the respective AFT benches. The Tribunal is a big boon to the service personnel for speedy redressal of grievances. The Chandigarh bench, over the past year, has disposed-off 2000 cases, with about 150 new cases coming in every month.

Justice Prashad said the powers of the Tribunal, relating to civil contempt, needed a redefinition. “Though the Act has granted full powers for criminal contempt, issues relating to civil contempt are ambiguous,” he said.

He said judicial review of summary court martial, which continues to be with the HC, should be brought under the ambit of the Tribunal, as it offers a broader scope of examination since the Tribunal has the powers to review or reexamine evidence. Summary trials, held by a one-man court constituting the unit’s commanding officer, 
constitute the bulk of trials in military. 

• Of the literate 333 million youth population, just 10% are graduates
• 40% literate youth are OBCs & just 27% are from general category
• Only 5% Indian households have a computer
• 40% literate youth are OBCs & just 27% are from general category

Only 25 per cent Indians read

• The survey shows only 25 pc of all literate Indians read but 74.5 pc literate youth feel reading is more important than watching TV
• More females (27%) read than males (24%) and most readers (42%) like fiction as against non-fiction, 22.8%
• South India has the most young readers

Indian youth trust newspapers more

• Though TV remains the most popular source of news, literate youth trust newspapers more. On exposure to mass media, 77 pc are interested in films and TV, 72 pc in news, 59 pc in religious topics and just 35 pc in science and technology
• 24% households have newspaper subscription
• 25% youth read for pleasure; readership declines with degree of education

New Delhi, November 17
The Indian Air Force would have to wait for another 10 months or a year for the induction of indigenously developed light combat aircraft Tejas, it has been learnt. While earlier the aircraft was slated to be inducted into the IAF by March 2011, now even the clearance to operationally fly the fighter may not be available by this period.

There has been a delay in the completion of the Tejas project and the aircraft was not likely to meet the March 2011 deadline, as had been announced by Defence Minister AK Antony, sources said.

A meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Defence was held yesterday and the members were informed that the LCA (Tejas) was approaching the initial operational clearance scheduled for December, but the final operational clearance — after which it would be inducted into the IAF — may only be possible by next year-end, the sources said.

After the operational clearance, the first lot of fighters would be handed over to the Air Force. Subsequently, a series of tests would be conducted. A review is being conducted by the IAF Chief every quarter to check the progress on Tejas, the sources said.

Notably, a contract for the procurement of 20 Tejas was allotted to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on March 31, 2006. The total contract cost was Rs 2,701 crore. The delay in LCA production was primarily due to refinements carried out in the development phase. A total of Rs 1,712 crore has already been paid to HAL till 2009-end.

The delay in the project was due to certain technical complexities and denial of critical technology, including the fly-by-wire system, that keeps the fighter stable as its takes twists and turns, it has been learnt. The programme was originally envisaged some 25 years ago.

Meanwhile, Antony yesterday told the Parliamentary Consultative Committee that the Ministry would be making all efforts to create an environment for speedy indigenisation of defence systems and platforms. Certain policy decisions were on the anvil to give a big boost to the defence industry and for the production of futuristic weapon systems within the country. The meeting reviewed the performance of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The DRDO is working on various projects like LCA, aero-engine, electronic warfare system, long-range and medium-range missiles, early warning systems, low intensity conflict technologies, radars, armament systems, etc.

Meanwhile, members of Parliament have expressed concern over the cost and time overruns for different projects. The DRDO was asked to come back with the detail of cost and time over-runs for each project and the reasons for the delay, the sources said.

New Delhi, November 17
Sitting on mineral deposits worth nearly $1 trillion, Afghanistan has invited India to participate in the mining sector in the battle-scarred nation. Amid increasing Chinese interest in exploiting the mineral-rich fields of Afghanistan, Afghan Mines Minister Waheedullah Shahrani visited New Delhi last week and formally asked New Delhi to prevail on Indian private companies to take part in the global tender floated by the Hamid Karzai government for allotment of mineral fields. The tender is open till the second week of July.

Minister of Mines B K Handique is believed to have told the Afghan minister that the two countries need to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enable the Indian companies to enter the embattled country for exploiting its mineral wealth. The Afghan minister suggested that New Delhi immediately send a draft proposal to Kabul for the purpose.

According to senior Indian officials, the draft of the MOU will soon be sent to the Afghan government. The proposed MOU will cover a wide range of issues like investment, exploration and capacity-building in the field of geo-sciences.

It has also been agreed that an official delegation from the Mines Ministry would visit Afghanistan in April next year for field visit and discussions on the exploration of mineral reserves in that country. The Afghan side was also keen on Indian sponsorships to Afghan nationals in the fields of geology and mining engineering.

It was in June that the US discovered that the war-ravaged nation was sitting on the world’s largest mineral reserves. The country had mineral deposits far beyond the previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the ongoing war itself.

The previously unknown deposits, including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals, are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centres in the world.

Immediately several countries, particularly those in the neighbourhood like India and China swung into action, establishing contacts with the Afghan authorities. Of course, both India and China are engaged in massive development projects in Afghanistan and are quite keen to increase their influence in the region.

Not only the Karzai government but the people of Afghanistan have also been quite appreciative of the work done by India by pumping in money in development projects to help stabilise the situation in the country. Successive opinion polls in Afghanistan have suggested that India enjoys tremendous goodwill among the ordinary people. New Delhi had been hoping this goodwill could be translated into economic rewards when the time comes for exploiting the mineral assets in Afghanistan.

For its part, China has also made deep inroads into Afghanistan. It certainly has a major advantage over India, having been the first to become a stakeholder in the existing mines in Afghanistan.

The state-owned China Metallurgical Group (CMG) scored the biggest win for China when it won rights to Aynak copper mine in the Logar province with a $ 4 billion bid in 2008.

The apple production in the Himachal Pradesh region has decreased between 1982 and 2005 as increase in maximum temperature has led to a reduction in total chilling hours.

New Delhi, November 17
In the years to come, climate change is expected to impact natural ecosystem, biodiversity and health across the world. Now, an India-specific study on the country’s vast coastlines and mighty Himalayas has come out with specific information on how the rise in temperature will impact key sectors, thus affecting the economy, including agriculture.

Predicting a mixed bag for future for regions in focus, Himalayan, Western Ghats, Coastal Area and North East, the report says irrigated rice in all regions is likely to gain in yield marginally as compared to rain-fed due to warming.

However, with the rise in temperature, there is expected to be an all-round decrease of apples in the Himalayan region, with the line of production shifting to higher altitudes. Maize and sorghum are projected to have reduced yields in all regions while the coconut productivity is projected to rise in the western coast and reduce in the eastern-coastal region.

‘Climate Change and India - An assessment of impact of climate change in 2030s on four key sectors, agriculture, water, natural ecosystems and health, in four climate sensitive regions of India’ show that apple production in the Himachal Pradesh region has decreased between 1982 and 2005 as increase in maximum temperature has led to a reduction in total chilling hours.

There has been a decline of more than 9.1 units per year in the past 23 years. The reduction has been seen more during November and February. With increasing temperatures, Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment scientists, who have prepared this report, anticipate that there may be an all-round decrease in the Himalayan region and the line of production may shift to higher altitudes.

In Himalayan region, minimum temperature is projected to rise by 1°C to 4.5°C and the maximum temperature may rise by 0.5°C to 2.5°C. Mean annual temperature is projected to increase from 0.9°C to 2.6°C in the 2030s, with net increase in temperatures ranging from 1.7°C to 2.2°C with respect to 1970s.

Climate change scenarios for 2030s indicate an overall warming for all the regions in focus. The net increase in annual temperatures in 2030s with respect to 1970s ranges between 1.7°C- 2.2°C, with extreme temperatures increasing by 1-4°C with maximum increase in coastal regions.

Extreme maximum and minimum temperature are also projected to increase in 2030s with respect to 2070s. While all the regions are projected to experience an increase in precipitation, the maximum increase will be in the Himalayan region and minimum in the northeastern region.

INCCA report, which is very specific on agriculture front, says irrigated rice in all regions is likely to gain in yield marginally due to warming as compared to the rain-fed crops as irrigated rice tends to benefit from CO2 ferlilisation effect.

In coastal regions, the yield of irrigated rice is projected to decrease by about 10-20%. However, in some coastal districts of Maharashtra, northern Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, irrigated rice yields are projected to marginally increase by 5% with respect to 1970s.

New Delhi, November 17
India is expected to witness a 1.7-2 degrees Celsius rise in the annual mean surface air temperature by 2030 due to the change in climate conditions, according to a report commissioned by Ministry of Environment and Forests. The report,‘4X4 Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change’ on key sectors and regions of India, has been prepared by 220 scientists from 120 research institutions under the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA).

Released yesterday by newly appointed Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, it is the first assessment report on the impact of climate change on agriculture, health, water and forests in four regions of the country: Himalayas, Western Ghats, Coastal zone and the Northeast in 2030.

It is the first attempt to assess the impact of climate change by the 2030s. Previous assessments have largely made projections for the 2070s and beyond. This is the second major publication on INCCA. In May a report on GHG Emissions 2007 was released, making India first developing country to publish such data. “We must continue this focus on rigorous climate change science,” Ramesh said.

The report says that “Climate change scenarios for 2030 indicate an overall warming over the Indian subcontinent associated with increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. The annual mean surface air temperature is projected to rise by 1.7-2.0 degrees Celsius”.

Ramesh said the preliminary report on the differentiated impact of climate change on various sectors in various regions had some alarming and some positive trends.

Coastal areas are likely to witness maximum increase in temperature while winters are expected to get warmer. India may endure floods 30 per cent more severe in magnitude and heightened drought conditions by 2030, which may affect crop yields, damage dams and harm infrastructure. In fact the report says that frequency of droughts is already increasing, especially in the Himalayan region where the degree of severity had increased by more than 20 per cent since the 1970s.

In fact, as per the Environment Minister, there is no country in the world that is as vulnerable on so many dimensions to climate change as India is.

However changing weather conditions may boost yields of irrigated rice and coconuts while depressing those of corn and sorghum and reducing milk productivity from livestock. On the positive side there may also be increase in the yield of some marine fishes.

What is INCCA ?

• The Indian Network of Climate Change Assessment (INCCA ) under the Ministry of Environment & Forests which prepared this report is a comprehensive network is of 125 research institutions spread across the country with about 250 scientists from various ministries. 
• The report looks at the impact of climate change on four sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, water, natural ecosystems & biodiversity and health in four climate-sensitive regions of India. The regions dealt with are: The Himalayan region, the Western Ghats, the Coastal Area and the North-East
• Climate change scenarios for 2030s indicate an overall warming for all the regions in focus. The net increase in annual temperatures in 2030s with respect to 1970s ranges between 1.7oC - 2.2oC, with extreme temperatures increasing by 1-4oC , with maximum increase in coastal regions.

Hyderabad, November 17
After emerging as a leading destination for information technology and pharmaceutical industries, Andhra Pradesh has now set its eyes on developing Hyderabad as a major aerospace and defence hub.

As a first step towards this goal, the state government has established an exclusive Aerospace Special Economic Zone, the first such SEZ in the country, at Adibhatla near the Hyderabad international airport. The officials hope that the facility, spread over 295 acres, would help attract investments from global players in aerospace and defence sectors.

“With the right infrastructure, policy framework and ideal location, Hyderabad has major advantages. It can be the best destination for aerospace investment,” Principal Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office Sam Bobb said. The presence of a string of defence research laboratories and private companies engaged in the manufacture of defence-related equipment would further boost the investment opportunities, the official said.

The first project to take off from the aerospace SEZ was the helicopter cabin manufacturing unit by Tata Group. India’s first indigenously developed helicopter cabin rolled out of the SEZ on November 7, marking a new phase in the aerospace industry. The first cabin was handed over to Tata Group’s collaborating partner Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, one of the world's largest helicopter manufacturers and a subsidiary of US-based United Technologies Corp.

Giving a boost to the state government’s plans, Ratan Tata had announced that his group would locate all its future aerospace and defence-related projects in Hyderabad. In addition to the 295-acre SEZ, where it is a major investor, the group’s JV with Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) has also asked for 75 acres more in Ibrahimpatnam, near Hyderabad, to make critical defence technologies.

“This is the beginning of the investment. Tata Group has decided that all its activities in aerospace will be centred in Hyderabad. As the private sector enters defence and strategic areas, the activities of Tata Group in the new areas will be centred in Hyderabad,” Tata had said.

The SEZ already has tenants that include diversified manufacturer Punj Lloyd and public sector undertaking Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani). The $7.1-billion Mahindra and Mahindra Group sought 50 acres of land near Ibrahimpatnam for defence projects.

“We are developing the necessary infrastructure exclusively for aerospace and defence sectors which includes providing adequate power, offering a 50 percent value-added tax reimbursement and ensuring fully-developed infrastructure along with complete connectivity, the CMO official said.

The government is going all out to woo Tatas to make major investments in the state and has promised to provide land and other facilities for setting up Tata’s Titanium refinery and other projects.

New Delhi, November 17
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s pet rural healthcare course is not yet on with opposition to its content and intent continuing to pour in from various quarters. The Ministry is now to explain its stand to PM Manmohan Singh, who is slated to take a briefing on the issue shortly.

The development follows strong resistance, which the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare put up to the Health Ministry and Medical Council of India-approved Bachelor of Rural Medicine Course that proposes to train a cadre of rural healthcare providers over a three-year period. Members of the committee, including Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha, have openly opposed the course and are learnt to have petitioned the PM and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi about their concerns. Another senior Congressman, PC Chacko from Kerala, has also voiced apprehensions about the course as have several other MPs cutting across party lines.

Health Secretary Sujatha Rao today downplayed the criticism saying that the government was not seeking to certify quacks as was being alleged but was actually seeking to upgrade ANMs and other rural level healthcare helpers by offering them three years of training instead of the current 18 months.

“Right now, every state has its own process of regularising the same three-year bachelor of rural medicine course. States like Chattisgarh have even passed laws to this effect causing troubles of healthcare standardisation for us. This is a dangerous practice, which will create a rural cadre we will find difficult to contain when the antibiotic policy is enforced, requiring utmost caution with prescriptions. All we are hoping for through this MCI-approved three-year course is standardisation of cadres so they can administer basic rural healthcare where needed. States are free to adopt or not adopt our model,” Health Secretary Sujatha Rao said. The Indian Medical Association and the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have registered their protest to the course, with the Health Ministry saying these states are objecting because they have no rural vacancies.

New Delhi, November 17
Reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, the US on Monday said it was for the two South Asian countries to decide the “character and pace” of negotiations between them.

“It is an internal issue of India…we deeply regret the loss of lives in Kashmir in violence during the past several months,” US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer said avoiding a straight reply when asked for his comment on reports that Jammu and Kashmir had been removed from the UN list of unresolved disputes.

Talking to reporters on the margins of a function held to announce “Maximum India” festival to be held in Washington in March next year, the American envoy said President Barack Obama, during his just concluded visit to India, had encouraged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to engage in conversation with Pakistan. “It is for India and Pakistan to resolve the issues between them,” he added. He recalled that during the last month’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, he was overwhelmed to see how the Indian people greeted the Pakistani contingent at the inaugural ceremony. “There is a reservoir of support for the Pakistanis in India,” he said.

Noting that President Obama had also endorsed India’s candidature for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Roemer said the US administration would now be working with India to take forward discussions on the issue.

Affirming that the US believed in the promise of India, he said Washington would work shoulder to shoulder with New Delhi in areas of critical importance to the two countries. In this connection, he pointed out that cultural diplomacy was part of diplomacy. “There is great excitement for the present and future of the Indo-US global partnership,” he said.

Alicia Adams, vice-president of the John F Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts, Washington, announced that her organisation would present “Maximum India”, an unprecedented celebration of Indian arts and culture, from March 1 to 20 next year. The festival was being presented in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, and the Indian Embassy in Washington.