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“We are only Indians”
institution campuses in
World Championships, Ma- administrative power by dis-
laysian Open, Denmark eyes on him I knew he was someone special - he had such solving the Parliament and
India Open, French Super Series,
Swiss Open, Indian Open
a cheeky smile and mischievous personality, you couldn’t
help but be charmed by him,” said Craig Glenday,
returning power to the
people, a protest leader,
Government approved a bill to allow foreign educa- and Singapore Open in Guinness World Records editor-in-chief. He Pingping Veera Musikapong, told a
tion providers to set up campuses in India and offer de- 2009. She won the officially became the world’s shortest man in 2008. “For sea of red-shirted followers.
grees. The Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Phillippines Open in 2006 such a small man, he made a huge impact around the
Entry and Operation) Bill, was cleared yesterday by the and won the Yonex Chinese world,” he added. India-Germany
Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Taipei Open in 2008 as well. Mr He was in the Italian capital to take part in the agree to launch
Singh . Our correspondent reports that the bill after recti- In the men's rankings, filming of a television programme called The Record Show.
Chetan Anand dropped a technology centre
fication by Parliament will benefit a large number of In- According to the TV production company
dian students who head abroad to study. Our correspon-
rung to 10th but P Kashyap Europroduzione, he had already filmed two episodes of in New Delhi
gained one spot to be 29th. the programme when he complained of feeling unwell.
dent reports that India and Germany have
Arvind Bhat remained static
“He started to feel slightly ill and we decided to take agreed to launch soon a
at 36th but Anup Sridhar
The Human Resource Development Minister has him to hospital. He entered hospital two weeks ago and technology centre in New
slipped to 40th, a loss of one
rightly put it that it is a milestone which will enhance position.
had all kinds of tests, being a very special person he had Delhi for carrying out re-
choices, increase competition and benchmark quality. It In the mixed doubles to go though all sorts of tests. He went into intensive care search development
provides for an eight month time bound format for grant- rankings, Jwala Gutta and three days after he was admitted,” said Marco Fernandez projects. The two countries
ing an institute approval to set up a campus in India. V Diju's pair slipped one de Araoz, communications director for Europroduzione. have agreed to provide five
Observers point out that this will go along with in ad- spot to 10th in the latest A Nepalese man who is only 56cm (22in) tall is travel- million dollors each annu-
dressing the deficit of qualified graduates as analysts list. ling to Europe in a bid to be recognised officially as the ally for the centre for five
project shortfall of over half a million graduates over the world’s shortest living person. Khagendra Thapa Magar years. The objective of set-
next five years. The reforms in higher education sector Baba Ramdev is flying with his father and a supporter to Italy, where ting up this centre is to
they plan to file a claim with London-based Guinness bring about synergy among
have been put on fast track in the UPA-2 with Mr. Kapil launches political the scientists of the two
Sibla heading the HRD ministry. The Right to Education World Records. His family initially applied when he was
has already been notified and setting up of an Accredita-
party named 14, but it was rejected as there was a chance that he might countries in advance re-
Bharat grow more. The current record was held by China’s He search.
tion Council is on the anvil to further improve the quality
of education at par with the international standards. The Swabhiman Pingping, who was 73cm (29in) tall. India suspends
step assumes significance specially after signing of the
Washington Accord which makes Indian degrees inter- Yoga guru Baba Civil Liability for Nuclear ‘obscene’ Fashion
nationally valid. Ramdev on March 16, 2010
announced his entry into
Damage Bill TV channel
Govt planning to launch politics by naming his party, The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill seeks to India suspends Fashion
TV (FTV) for 10 days for
Gandhi Heritage Sites the Bharat Swabhiman, but
insisted he won’t contest
burden the Indian taxpayer and encumber the rights of
victims of any potential radioactive release from a for- showing topless models
Mission elections. “I will join politics
to cleanse the system,”
eign-built plant. during a show last year. Of-
ficials said that FTV had vio-
The government has finally released the text of its con-
The Culture Ministry is planning to launch a ‘Gandhi Ramdev said. troversial nuclear-accident liability Bill. The text not only lated several provisions of
Heritage Sites Mission’ under which more than 2,000 Ramdev, whose real confirms the concerns expressed earlier over key elements the Cable Television Net-
places visited by Mahatma Gandhi will be conserved and name is Ramkishan Yadav, works rules by showing
of the proposed law, but also raises additional issues of
protected. said his party would field women in an “obscene”
worry.
The over 2,000 lesser-known places across India be- candidates in all the 543 manner. In 2007, FTV was
Lok Sabha seats in a bid to
What stands out in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Dam-
ginning from Aat village in Gujarat to Zulifur in Bihar age Bill is the extent to which it goes to aid the business suspended for two months
will sport a new look and host tourists from across the build a corruption-free India. for showing skimpily-clad
“We will have 7-10 lakh interests of the foreign reactor builders. In the process, the
world if the proposal sees the light of the day. Bill seeks to financially burden the Indian taxpayer and models in the “Midnight Hot”
The sites, most of which are in a dilapidated condi- members in every district in show. The prohibition was
a year or two,” he said, add- encumber the rights of victims of any potential radioac-
tion, have been identified in a report submitted by a sub- tive release from a foreign-built plant. revoked less than a month
ing, “I will never contest
group of the Gandhi Heritage Committee headed by A special Indian law limiting liability in amount and later after the channel of-
elections and never take up
Gandhi’s grandson and former West Bengal Governor in time has been sought by Washington for its nuclear- fered an apology and prom-
any political position.” He
Gopalkrishna Gandhi. said the next general elec- exporting firms, with the largest two, Westinghouse and ised not to broadcast such
“On the recommendations of the Panel, a proposal is tion would be a watershed General Electric (GE), set to win multibillion-dollar con- material again. The latest
under consideration to establish Gandhi Heritage Sites event, “when all the corrupt tracts to build several commercial nuclear power reac- ban is for a programme
Mission for the tangible and intangible heritage of politicians will be wiped out” tors. To forestall lawsuits filed against American suppli- aired in September 2009
Gandhiji,” the Lok Sabha was informed recently. once the Bharat Swabhiman ers in U.S. courts by victims of a nuclear catastrophe, when the channel showed
“The Mission’s main job will be to renovate the sites, andolan becomes a force to Washington has also pressed for exclusive jurisdiction “women with nude upper
paint the buildings and put proper signages and lighting reckon with. for Indian courts so that there will be no repeat of what body which was offending
arrangements so that visitors can identify the sites.” “One of the main objec- happened after the Bhopal gas disaster. The Bill seeks to against good taste and de-
He said the sites will also be documented for future tives of the movement is to help out the U.S. firms on these counts, going at times cency”, the ministry said in
purpose. end corruption and to bring a statement. “The visuals
even beyond what American law provides.
The Government moves comes after demand from vari- back more than Rs300 lakh were found to be obscene,
Under the Bill, the foreign reactor builder — however
ous quarters to conserve and protect the sites visited by crore of black money from denigrating women and
abroad for the country’s de-
culpable it is for a nuclear accident — will be completely
Mahatma Gandhi. immune from any victim-initiated civil suit or criminal were not suitable for chil-
The committee headed by Gopalkrishna Gandhi has velopment,” he said. Baba
proceedings in an Indian court or in a court in its home dren and unrestricted pub-
submitted a voluminous book to the Government detail- Ramdev said the recent ar-
country. The Bill actually turns the legal liability of a for- lic exhibition,” the statement
ing how and why the sites are associated with the apostle rests of self-claimed spiri-
eign reactor supplier for an accident into mere financial added.
tual gurus on criminal
of peace. compensation — that too, pegged at a pittance and routed
charges were “a very big World Consumer
Almost all the sites were visited by Gandhi during the through the Indian state operator of the plant. Foreign
conspiracy” even if some of
freedom struggle. suppliers will have no direct accident-related liability. Rights Day
them were indeed guilty.
The Culture Ministry appointed the committee in April The foreign builders will bask under legal immunity
2006 for identifying and documenting sites associated Anti-government This year’s theme is
because the Bill channels all legal liability to the Central “Our Money, Our Rights.” In
with Mahatma Gandhi, with a view to strengthening their
upkeep and conservation for posterity.
‘Red Shirts’ pro- Government. Clause 7 states the “Central Government 1983, the Consumers Inter-
shall be liable for nuclear damage in respect of a nuclear national set March 15 the
The official said the sites are located in almost all parts test in Bangkok incident” when such liability exceeds the Rs.500-crore World Consumer Rights
of the country, including in north-eastern states, and the Around 100,000 protest- liability limit of the operator or where the accident occurs Day, stipulating that con-
committee had done extensive research to collect details ers converged in Bangkok “in a nuclear installation owned by it [the Indian govern- sumers are entitled to en-
from various sources. to give Thailand’s military- ment].” The Union government will own all foreign-built joy the rights of safety pro-
“Some of the sources are Gandhi Smriti, biographies backed government an ulti- reactors. tection, obtaining correct
written by various people on Gandhi. The committee had matum: either call elections Indeed, the Bill creates a specious distinction between data of products, free deci-
also travelled to some of these places,” he said. or face more pro-democ- the operator and the government when both are fused in sion to choose and the right
The book has every detail about the sites like how and racy demonstrations over the Indian context. After all, it is the Indian state which to claim for compensation
why Gandhi visited the place and so on, a senior official the coming week. The dem- will run all foreign-built plants through its operator, the and the right to have a sound
said. onstrators, popularly known Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Yet, healthy environment. Since
government
Germany Sayasone Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
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Georgia
Prime Minister Stephen Harper Namibia Feb, 2010)
DEVELOP INDIA
have specialized Environment Year 2, Vol. 1, Issue - 84th, March 14-21, 2010
(Sunday)
Courts
Chitra Singh Rajput
Cartagena Protocol on
In the context of envi- from the point of view of taken River cleaning is relatively new field, in Biosafety
ronmental Audit, the Min- expenditure, but also trying programme. CAG has done India. We need to pay The Earth's biological resources are vital to humanity's
istry of Environment and to rope in non-governmen- the expenditure Audit of greater attention to than we economic and social development. As a result, there is a
Forests is engaged with tal organisations to provide the First and Second Ganga paid in the past." This will growing recognition that biological diversity is a global as-
looking at innovation in a larger perspective on is- Action Plan (GAP-I and be a very innovative exer- set of tremendous value to present and future generations.
governance since the past sue of social audit." GAP-II) audits in the mid At the same time, the threat to species and ecosystems
cise on opening up of the has never been so great as it is today. Species extinction
few months. Two very im- Regarding NEPA he 1980s.Despite this, we see audit process. caused by human activities continues at an alarming rate.
portant initiatives are ongo- said, "We are taking steps a patch between Kannauj to Earlier Shri Vinod Rai, In response, the United Nations Environment
ing, namely the National to establish a National En- Varanasi in the river Ganga Programme (UNEP) convened the Ad Hoc Working Group
C&AG of India said, "The
Green Tribunal (NGT) with vironment Protection Au- which is very dirty. Now of Experts on Biological Diversity in November 1988 to ex-
world today faces diverse plore the need for an international convention on biological
a network of specialized thority (NEPA). NEPA's we have established Na-
challenges to environment. diversity. Soon after, in May 1989, it established the Ad Hoc
Environment Courts and core mandate will be to en- tional Ganga River Basin Working Group of Technical and Legal Experts to prepare
National Environment Pro- sure that the standards and In India particularly, the
Authority. This is a struc- an international legal instrument for the conservation and
tection Authority (NEPA). stipulation under which concerns fan across our sustainable use of biological diversity. The experts were to
ture to ensure cleaning river
Delivering a key note ad- environmental approvals natural resources. Major take into account "the need to share costs and benefits
Ganga. Considering three
dress at the two day con- are granted are actually portion of India's surface between developed and developing countries" as well as
points, population pres- "ways and means to support innovation by local people".
ference on a 'Environment adhered to. CPCB and water and groundwater re-
sure, experience of GAP I By February 1991, the Ad Hoc Working Group had be-
Audit - Concerns about SPCBs will work under one serves are contaminated come known as the Intergovernmental Negotiating Com-
and GAP II and usage of
Water Pollution in India' umbrella of NEPA. Soon all thus impinging on our wa- mittee. Its work culminated on 22 May 1992 with the Nairobi
water for irrigation and
organized by the Comp- the licensing functions of ter security. Violation of Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Con-
hydel power projects, we vention on Biological Diversity.
troller and Auditor-Gen- the Ministry will be trans- National Ambient Air Qual-
will be able to ensure imple- The Convention was opened for signature on 5 June
eral of India here today, Shri ferred to NEPA. So MOEF ity Standards is a concern 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment
Jairam Ramesh, Minister of becomes a policy making mentation of cleaning
with high levels of concen- and Development (the Rio "Earth Summit"). It remained
State for Environment and body, and the actual ap- programmes effectively open for signature until 4 June 1993, by which time it had
trations of carbon dioxide
Forests (I/C) said the NGT provals or rejections, even with aviral and nirmal received 168 signatures.
and methane in the air. Our
will give the Indian citizen of clearances, would be the dhara. On 29 January 2000, the Conference of the Parties to
rich bio-diversity is being the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a supple-
first time judicial remedy as responsibility of this inde- Inviting CAG to carry
out performance audit of threatened as 44 plant spe- mentary agreement to the Convention known as the
far as environmental dam- pendent professional orga- Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Protocol seeks to
major programmes of the cies and 18 animal species
ages are concerned. India nization. It will have pow- protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed
would be the first country ers to ensure compliance. It Ministry like water man- stand critically endangered. by living modified organisms resulting from modern bio-
in the world to have such will also have the mecha- agement programmes, river These statistics serve as a technology. It establishes an advance informed agreement
wake-up call to us. Our (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided
an extensive network of nism for monitoring com- conservation programme, with the information necessary to make informed decisions
specialized environment pliance. The NEPA will the Minister said, "We need ways and patterns of living before agreeing to the import of such organisms into their
courts. Shri Jairam ex- work on the 'polluter-pays' concurrent audit. Audit are degrading the environ- territory. The Protocol contains reference to aprecautionary
pressed the view that envi- and 'precautionary' prin- should go along the pro- ment with serious long term approach and reaffirms the precaution language in Prin-
ronment is still seen not as ciples on all matters related ciple 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Devel-
cesses of implementation so consequences. It is time that opment. The Protocol also establishes a Biosafety Clear-
an essential function such to environment in India, that there is real chance to we collectively took action ing-House to facilitate the exchange of information on liv-
as economic activity, but as essentially project clear- redesign programmes at to address this concern and ing modified organisms and to assist countries in the
an additional cost that has ances and enforcement of implementation of the Protocol.
appropriate time and their move towards patterns of
to be borne. Unless and un- environment laws. The To date, 157 instruments of ratification or accession
implementation can be consumption which are
til, we internalize issues re- Central Pollution Control have been deposited with the UN Secretary-General from
made very effective. The util- more environmentally re- the following Parties to the Convention on Biological Diver-
lating to environment as Board and the state regula-
ity will certainly be en- sponsible. We feel that gov- sity:
part of normal process of tors will report to the au-
economic decision making, thority. While NEPA will hanced by this step. The ernmental interventions Africa (AFR): Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso,
performance audit is much can slow or even reverse Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Repub-
we will not get the kind of carry out monitoring and lic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
seriousness on matters re- compliance, the NGT will more complicated than just these ominous trends. I
Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,
lating to environments. settle disputes. looking at project mile- recognise the fact that we as
Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab
Welcoming CAG's Giving details of river stones, original project ap- public auditors have to also Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
move, Shri Jairam said, "It cleaning programmes of the proach and what is being play an important role not Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
is an encouraging move of Ministry, Shri Jairam said, actual achievement. You only with timely, relevant Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo,
CAG from credit transac- "We have water pollution are getting into certain ba- and evidenced reporting Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia,
tion audit to a performance control programmes, Cess sic issues how you value but also with constructive Zimbabwe (45 Countries)
Asia and Pacific (AP): Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambo-
audit. CAG is looking at laws are in existence for environmental costs and suggestions which enable
dia, China, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Ko-
performance audit not just over 30 years and we have environmental benefit. This public administration." rea, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ja-
pan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands,