TRAI Releases 3G Roadmap
(September 29, 2006)
Breaking the suspense, the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
announced a roadmap for third
generation (3G) mobile services to
start next June, but Minister for
Telecommunication Dayanidhi Maran
said that he will formalize a report
in 3 months.<More>
Reliance Opposes Open Bidding for
Gas
(September 29, 2006)
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has
petitioned the Government not to
institute competitive bidding for
the valuation or sale of gas to
avoid “inherent problems” and has
instead asked for a crude-oil linked
pricing along the lines that Iran
had proposed to India.<More>
An Ultra Mega Power Project in Jharkhand
(September 29, 2006)
A 4000 megawatt (MW) ultra mega
project will be set up in Jharkhand
making it the 9th of a series of
such projects throughout the nation
rising from the original 5—Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh (AP),
and
Tamil Nadu (TN)
wanted one each and got it.<More>
Tiger Skin Trade Flourishing in China
(September 29, 2006)
Two non-Governmental organizations asserted that despite
international condemnation and demands, trade in tiger
and derivative products continue unabated and overtly in
China for costumes and medicines and suppliers are
mostly Indian poachers.<More>
LTTE Agrees to Talks
(September 28, 2006)
Responding to calls from many
parties and despite afterthought
caveats introduced by the Sri Lankan
Government (SLG), the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said
that his organization is ready to
resume stalled talks on a peaceful
future in the island.<More>
Maldives Opposition Wants India to
Facilitate
(September 28, 2006)
Maldives opposition Maldivian
Democratic Party (MDP) wants India
to stop arming the island Government
as the threat perceptions and
rationale for spending 8% of its
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on
defense is unclear.<More>
SC Allows Haj Subsidy for This Year
(September 28, 2006)
While allowing the Government to
continue with its Haj plans for
lakhs of Muslim pilgrims this year,
the Supreme Court (SC) questioned
the Government’s continued
“largesse” to one community while
denying others of similar
facilities.<More>
NHPC to Start Inter-State Power
Trading
(September 28, 2006)
With plans to become a 10,000
megawatt (MW) company by 2010 from
current 3750 MW, the National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC)
plans to start coal-fired units,
inter-state trading of electricity,
and revive proposals for units in
Nepal and Bhutan.<More>
Commies Blocking Labor Reforms
(September 27, 2006)
Often portrayed as a capitalist
communist of the modern Chinese
variety, West Bengal Chief Minister
Buddhadev Bhattacharjee conceded
that “globalization is inescapable”
but told Industry representatives
that major labor reforms are
unnecessary.<More>
Poultry Broiler Set to Grow
(September 27, 2006)
The US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) predicted that India’s
poultry broiler meat productions is
likely to grow by 10% to 2.2 million
tons (mt) in 2007 because of strong
domestic demand and the nation is
free from Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza (HPAI).<More>
SC Halts Genetic Foods
(September 27, 2006)
The Supreme Court (SC) asked the Genetic Engineering
Approval Committee (GEAC) to halt approvals to
genetically modified products till it can determine that
these foods have been sufficiently tested and safe for
human consumption. <More>
China ’s Aging Population Plan
(September 27, 2006)
Thanks to its disastrous and draconian one-child policy,
China is set to have an “irreversible” ageing society in
the 21st Century but the country seems to have devised a
broad-based plan to address economic and social
pressures from the ageing population.<More>
Russia-US Relations Set to Worsen
(September 27, 2006)
A Russian Parliamentary report alerted
policy makers that the US will continue to
pursue a hostile policy towards Moscow
regardless of political affiliations or
incumbent in the White House as they
struggle for influence over world energy,
power, and politics.<More>
Torture, Censorship, and Repression in ‘Azad’ Kashmir
(September 26, 2006)
Human Rights groups say that in so-called ‘Azad’ (free)
Kashmir , largely closed to international and
independent scrutiny, the Pakistani Government represses
democratic freedom, stymies the press and media, and
uses torture as instrument of administration.<More>
Army Restarts War on ULFA
(September 26, 2006)
India called off its truce with the United
Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) moving several
Army columns to re-launch anti-militant
operations in Tinsukia and Jorhat districts in
upper Assam and in Nagaon, Barpeta, and Darrang
districts in lower Assam.<More>
Iraq War “Spawned new Terror”
(September 26, 2006)
A classified report by US Intelligence found
that the war in Iraq has “spawned new terror”
activity and a new generation of Islamic
radicalism and that the overall terror threat
has grown significantly since September 11, 2001.<More>
Pak Delays F-16 Deal
(September 26, 2006)
Accusing the US of stripping down the F-16s to
less than effective and imposing unacceptable
conditions for usage, Pakistan has delayed
signing the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) for the
USD 3 billion deal till December 31, 2006.<More>
Indian ‘No’ to TNA Team, ‘Yes’ to Others
(September 26, 2006)
Affirming its policy of separating the rights of the Sri
Lankan Tamils from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), India refused to entertain members of the Sri
Lankan Tamil National Alliance (TNA) but has invited
other parties for consultations.<More>
Hezbollah Refuses to Disarm
(September 26, 2006)
In his first public appearance Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed before a
massive 500,000-rally that his cadre will
not disarm and claimed a “divine, historic
and strategic victory” even as Israeli
troops withdrew and UN peacekeepers
deployment was on track.<More>
New Polio Campaign in UP
(September 23, 2006)
Facing sharp criticisms
from all quarters on
failure to curb spread
of polio in
Uttar Pradesh (UP), the Health
Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss now says that it “will
launch a massive campaign” to “win the battle with the
virus.<More>
Military Coup in Thailand
(September 22, 2006)
The Thai Army took over administration from to break
deadlock and stop “rampant corruption” in the 74 year
old democracy but promised to return “power to the
people” as soon as possible but after cleaning the
political system.<More>
Diplomatic Pressure on LTTE
(September 22, 2006)
The new US Ambassador to Sri Lanka espoused the Sri
Lankan Government (SLG) line claiming that there is
intense diplomatic pressure on the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to offer “credible guarantees” not to
rearm while negotiating. <More>
Maoists Force Children to March for Peace
(September 22, 2006)
Maoist guerrillas and their once-banned ultra-leftist
student union forced children, some as young as 10, to
attend a 5-hour rally under scorching sun listening to
diatribe against US imperialism and Indian expansionism.
<More>
India Claims to be Yaws-Free
(September 22, 2006)
India ’s Health Minister Anbumani Ramdoss claimed that
Yaws, a common chronic infectious disease occurring
mostly in the warm humid topical regions, has now been
eliminated from India but eradication will take another
two years.<More>
Child Labor Targets Missed, Enforcement Tightened
(September 22, 2006)
Karnataka,
home to India’s Silicon Valley, has said that it will most likely miss child
labor targets but has promised that the
new federal law aiming to curtail this inhuman
practice will be enforced strictly and more vigor<More>
ONGC’s Mangalore SEZ
(September 22, 2006)
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) will invest Rs. 35,000 crore
(USD 7.6 billion) in the Special
Economic Zone at Mangalore to house
a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant,
a 15 million ton (mt) refinery,
petrochemical plant, and power
plant.<More>
UN Treaty Seeks to Curb Arms Trade
(September 20, 2006)
A draft resolution for an international arms
trade treaty is being floated by Britain,
Finland, Japan, Argentina, Australia, Costa
Rica, and Kenya in the UN seeking to reduce
human rights, limit the spread of terrorism,
and reduce unintended suffering of millions.<More>
Satyam Looking for Japanese Acquisitions
(September 20, 2006)
Satyam Computers Services Limited revealed
that it was actively seeking to acquire many
Japanese companies and that it has already
short-listed four to five companies and will
close the deals soon.<More>
New Life to IPI Project?
(September 20, 2006)
After meeting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on
the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Havana
summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he is willing
to rework the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline once
the feasibility study is complete.<More>
US to Convince China
(September 20, 2006)
After the passage of the Indo-US civilian
nuclear deal through the Senate, the US will
work on China to obtain its support to the deal
in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) where it is
bound to raise many questions about the deal and
link it to Pakistan.<More>
OECD Asks India to Overhaul
Regulations
(September 20, 2006)
An influential international body
advised India to overhaul its
outdated business regulations such
as reservations for small firms,
tariff structures, and labor laws
for large companies to derive
benefits from global economy such as
investments and technology.<More>
India Disagrees with IMF Quotas
(September 19, 2006)
India, Brazil, Argentina, and Egypt
vociferously objected to International
Monetary Fund’s (IMF) “quota calculation
formula” as it “is opaque and flawed” and
“reforms are possible only if” the “final
outcome” is defined “followed by genuine
consultations.”.<More>
India , China Asian Economic Growth
Engines
(September 19, 2006)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
projected India ’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth at 8.3% this
year and 7.3% in 2007 but but
cautioned financial managers on
inflation due to oil prices and
strong domestic demand and budget
deficit.<More>
Iran Complains of US Negative Role
(September 19, 2006)
Signaling its willingness to temporarily suspend its
controversial nuclear enrichment program, Iran
complained of US’s negative role through its “unfounded
accusations” even as UN bodies protested parts of a
Congressional report as “outrageous and dishonest.”<More>
IBSA Sets Goals
(September 19, 2006)
With the end of the India-Brazil-South
Africa (IBSA) first summit in Brazil , the
world’s largest democracies in developing
countries set common goals in the world’s
political, economic, and social forums and
promised better calibration of policy
making..<More>
Lanka Says Willing to Talk Peace
(September 18, 2006)
At sharp variance with international
mediators, Sri Lanka denied agreeing
to hold unconditional talks with
Tamil rebels but said it was
committed to peace and negotiated
settlement provided there is “a
comprehensive and verifiable
cessation of hostilities.”<More>
Women CRPF for Liberian Peacekeeping
(September 18, 2006)
An all women Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) contingent with 125
officers are being deployed as part
of the UN Formed Police Unit (FPU)
to train Liberian National Police,
participate in joint patrolling, and
perform riot control duties. This is
the first time, an all woman
continent is being sent as part of a
UN mission.<More>
18 Nuclear Emergency Response
Centers
(September 18, 2006)
India has set up 18 emergency
response centers that will augment
existing emergency preparedness
capacities to deal with
nuclear-related emergencies that
could be triggered by terrorism,
nuclear attacks, transportation, or
accidents.<More>
Industrial Growth Fastest in Decade
(September 18, 2006)
The Central Statistical Organization
announced that the index of
industrial production (IIP) showed
that industrial production grew the
fastest in a decade at 12.4% in
July, output in all sectors
including manufacturing showed
impressive growth.<More>
US Says Reforms Stalled, Growth Up
(September 15, 2006)
The US Ambassador to India David
Mulford voiced concerns of the
investment community that the
coalition politics has caused a “a
pause in the reform process” and
warned of “serious economic costs to
any loss of momentum on the reform
front.”<More>
SAIL Top Dog in Steel
(September 15, 2006)
Well executed capacity expansion
plans and good earnings growth has
propelled public sector utility
company Steel Authority of India Ltd
(SAIL) to outpace its rivals
including private players such as
Tata Steel and Hindustan Zinc.<More>
Fastest Mobile Growth as Margins
Drop
(September 15, 2006)
India raced past the capture the
fastest growing mobile market in the
world but operators say that the
average revenue per user (ARPU) has
steadily fallen correlating to steep
declines in tariffs because of
intense competition and cheaper
short-message service.<More>
Forests Threatened by Elephant Training Camps
(September 15, 2006)
Environmentalists say that while elephant training camps
brings eco-tourism, they also increase population around
these camps, create a shortage of fodder, and
compromised the well being of elephants who are now
unemployed because of mechanization.<More>
Polio Back Again
(September 15, 2006)
The number of polio cases reported in the first 8 months
of this year was 283 compared to 66 for 2005 with most
from
Uttar Pradesh and 69% of the victims being
Muslims even as UN Secretary General warned that India
is inadvertently exporting the virus.<More>
Complaints about AP Uranium Hearing
(September 15, 2006)
The Movement Against Uranium Project (MAUP) has faulted
Andhra Pradesh (AP) Pollution Board (APPB) hearing on
uranium mining in the state as a “mockery” through a
“private rather than a public meaning.”<More>
