The Minister for Human Resource Development and Science and Technology Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi has called for putting traditional knowledge to optimal productive-use, as India has a vast, rich repository of the same. Hence it is the bounden duty of our technologists to convert this potential into a dynamic producer of goods and services. Dr. Joshi was addressing the 12^th Convocation of the Goa University at Panaji, today.

    Turning to new technologies Dr. Joshi said, they have a remarkable potential but we have to remain vigilant about its social consequences. Technology has often led to wide-spread destruction of environment and depletion of limited natural resources. Technological skills have also failed to provide effective solutions to many of global problems, especially mass poverty, starvation and international conflict, he said.

    Referring to developments in Information Technology particularly miniaturisation technology and network ability, he said these enable us to get greater control over production processes. Problems of social control, ethical regulation, innovative management and protection of traditional knowledge systems now form the central issues for technology governance. Dr. Joshi appealed to the future technologists to grapple with these fundamental issues. Touching upon IT explosion the Minister added that "Information and Technology" are in themselves meaningless unless they get converted to knowledge.

    The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has expressed deep grief over the passing away of noted Rabindra Sangeet exponent Kanika Bandyopadhyay in Calcutta on April 5, 2000. In a condolence message, Shri Vajpayee has said:

    "Kanika Bandyopadhyay, one of the few surviving disciples of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, was among the best exponents of Rabindra Sangeet. Generations of music lovers were charmed by her golden voice. It was her passionate rendition of Tagore's 'Amar Sonar Bangla' which inspired the freedom fighters of Bangladesh during the liberation struggle. Her students and admirers are spread all over the world. She will be remembered by generations to come. Her passing away is a loss to the world of Indian Music and culture."

    Air Services Agreement between India and Bahrain was signed here today. The agreement was signed by the Union Civil Aviation Minister Shri Sharad Yadav on behalf of Government of India and the Minister for Transportation of Bahrain H.E. H.H.Sheikh Ali Bin Kalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, on behalf of the State of Bahrain.

    The Agreement has the following features:-

• Each side can designate upto two airlines.
• The designated airline of India can operate to Bahrain via any intermediate point in Asia excluding points in the UAE, Oman and Qatar and go beyond to any point in Europe, North America and Asia excluding points in the UAE, Oman and Qatar.
• The designated airline of Bahrain can operate to Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai and Trivandrum via Doha, Muscat and points in the UAE. There are no traffic rights to beyond points.

    The operations between India and Bahrain are regulated by a joint entitlement between India on the one hand and the four Gulf Air owning States of Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and UAE on the other. The joint entitlement is presently fixed at 9000 seats per week with a flexibility of 1 %.

    The capacity under the joint entitlement is being fully utilised by both sides.

    Gulf Air is operating 17 services per week accounting for 2183 seats (11 services to Mumbai and 2 each to Delhi, Chennai and Trivandrum).

    Indian Airlines is operating 4 services from Mumbai. The total utilisation of seats by the Indian carriers is about 1000 seats per week.

    The Central Ground Water Board has explored high-yielding aquifers in Maharashtra and Karnataka State. The exploratory borewell drilled at Unkhed Village, Akola District, down to a depth of 92.75 m bgl gave a discharge of 730 litre per minute (1pm). An observation well drilled down to 111 m bgl also encountered the same zone and gave the similar yield. It can meet out the drinking water needs of 10,000 people. Two exploratory bore holes drilled in hard rock terrain at Ajjampura and Sannaqubbi area of Chickmagalur and Haveri District met with fractures at 102 and 152 m bgl respectively. The wells gave yield of 600 and 720 lpm, respectively.

    CGWB has undertaken this programme under its scientific exploratory drilling programme, based on Hydrgeological survey and utilising remote sensing and geophysical techniques.

    The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee released a special commemorative postage stamp on the completion of 125 years of Arya Samaj and in honour of the invaluable services rendered by it at a function here today. Issued by the Department of Posts (DoP) the stamp is in the denomination of Rs.3/-.

    Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister described Arya Samaj as a national movement which needs to be strengthened further. Stating that the social reforms which we talk of today were pioneered by Swami Dayananda and Arya Samaj, Shri Vajpayee called for intensification of efforts to put an end to untouchability which is still there today. He said that Arya Samaj can play an important role in this direction. The Prime Minister recalled the Samaj's contribution in creating a new awakening about India's time tested values when attempts were being made to tarnish our glorious past.

    Earlier, in his address, the Minister of Communications, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan lauded the invaluable role played by Arya Samaj in fighting social evils within our society. He said that the philosophy preached by Swami Dayananda must be utilised for building a healthy society. The Minister also presented an Album and First Day Cover to the Prime Minister.

    The Arya Samaj was founded by Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati on April 7, 1875 in Bombay with ten fundamental principles of universal character to revive and propagate the Vedic way of life. As enshrined in these principles, the Arya Samaj is a world movement. It exhorts all to accept truth and renounce untruth. Its prime object is to do good to the world, making people physically strong, spiritually enlightened and socially uplifted. It preaches love, justice and righteousness towards all without distinction of race, cast or creed.

    The Arya Samaj considered the caste system, untouchability, child marriages and unequal status of women as inhuman, and drawing strength from the Vedas, fought a social battle successfully against them. The Arya Samaj has supported the spirit of "Swadeshi" i.e. self-reliance of the economy as the primary strategy for driving away poverty. However, the Samaj also lays emphasis on establishing economic and political links with other countries in continuation of the teachings of Swami Dayananda. The role played by the Samaj in the national awakening of the late 19^th and early 20^th century was of great significance.

    The First Day Cover alongwith the information sheet is available on sale at all Philatelic Bureaux/Counters and at selected Post Offices.

    According to the Annual Report of the Department of Mines for the year 1999-2000, the steps taken after changes in the National Mineral Policy in 1993 were continued during the year to consolidate the ongoing process of achieving its objectives. These initiatives have attracted many multinational companies for investment in exploration of base metals, noble metals and other scarce minerals. Sixty-five proposals including 17 during April 1999-December 1999 period for prospecting in pursuance of the guidelines issued by the Department of Mines in October, 1996 covering an area of 90,142.625 sq. km in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have been cleared. Prospecting licenses have been granted in favour of Indian subsidiaries of well known international mining companies. These include CRA Exploration India Pvt. Ltd., Metmin Finance and Holding Ltd., BHP Minerals India Pvt. Ltd., Meridian Minerals India Pvt. Ltd., RBW Minerals Industries Ltd., WSIL Minerals Sands India Pvt. Ltd., Phelps Dodge Exploration India Pvt. Ltd., etc., besides one public sector company, viz., Hindustan Zinc Limited.

    The index of mineral production (base 1993-94=100) for the year 1999-2000 is estimated to be 121.15 as compared to 120.54 for 1998-99, showing a marginal growth of 0.5 per cent. The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic minerals) during 1999-2000 is estimated to be Rs. 41,052 crore, which shows an increase of 1 per cent over that of the previous year. During 1999-2000, fuel minerals have accounted for Rs. 33,678 crore or 82 per cent, metallic mineral Rs, 2,976 crore or 7 per cent, non-metallic minerals (including minor minerals) Rs. 4,398 crore or 11 per cent of the total value.

    During the year the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 was amended to delegate more powers to the State Governments as well as to bring the provisions for grant of mineral concessions on par with the major mineral producing countries in the world. The amended Act renamed as Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 provides greater delegation of powers to State Governments and has brought about major procedural simplifications.

    The first meeting of the reconstituted Mineral Advisory Council was held in 1999 to discuss various issues regarding mineral policy and legislation, exploration of minerals in land and off-shore areas, production and internal distribution of minerals, human resource development in the mineral sector, export/import of minerals, fiscal issues, etc. The recommendations of the Mineral Advisory Council have been considered for evolving the policy initiatives in the mineral sector during 1999-2000.

    In recognition of a long-standing demand from the Industry that there should be a common and unified legislation for granite, a minor mineral, the Government has notified Granite Conservation and Development Rules, 1999 on the 1^st June, 1999 for ensuring systematic development and conservation of valuable granite areas of the country. The fourth meeting of the reconstituted Granite Development Council was held in 1999.

    The Annual Report further states that an Expert Committee constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department of the State Government of Andhra Pradesh had recommended upper ceilings for rates of royalty and dead rent for granite according to classification of granite deposits in order to bring in uniformity in royalty rates and dead rent all over the country. Granite Development Council has approved these recommendations. The State Governments have been requested to incorporate these rates in their respective Minor Mineral Concession Rules.

    To fulfil a felt need of the marble industry, the Department of Mines has constituted a Group on Marble Development in September, 1999 to look into the various problems related to mining, value addition and exports, etc. of marble and to suggest appropriate measures to overcome the bottlenecks affecting this industry. This Group will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Granite Development Council.

    An exploratory borewell was drilled by the Central Ground Water Board at Gamnewala, Jaisalmer district. Preliminary yield test was conducted which revealed static water level of 63.30 m and well discharge of 60 lpm. Drilling of Pilot borehole for construction of an exploratory well was completed for 137 m depth at Ghotaru, Jaisalmer District.

    This has been undertaken by the Centre with the objective to reconstruct the palaeo-drainage of the ancient river Saraswati and to ascertain groundwater potentials in the Thar desert of Rajasthan.

    The Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Suresh Prabhu has emphasised the necessity of increasing the expenditure on Research & Development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical sector to intensify efforts for coping with the scenario emerging with the advent of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. Shri Prabhu was addressing the captains of the pharmaceutical industry in an interactive session here yesterday evening. The interactive session was organised by the three pharmaceutical associations in the country namely the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) and the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) with the Finance Minister, Shri Yashwant Sinha, at the initiative of Shri Prabhu. The Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers mentioned that the new regime, while posing a number of challenges for the industry, also presented a number of opportunities, which could be exploited with concerted and focused efforts. He expressed concern over the low levels of expenditure presently on this activity in India and said that R&D was the soul of this industry and it was expected of the industry to put in a pro-active effort to ensure growth in the investments in R&D. He mentioned that quality, affordability and availability were the three hall marks of our pharmaceutical policy and to sustain these, intensive R&D efforts were required to be made.

    Responding to the suggestions made during the session, the Finance Minister, Shri Yashwant Sinha indicated that the Government would be inclined to consider making available about Rs. 150 crore from the Budget for promoting R&D in pharmaceutical sector. He mentioned that the commitment of the Government to the growth of this industry was total and unquestioned. The Finance Minister assured the industry that their proposals would receive due consideration by the Government.

    The session was also attended by Secretary level officials of the concerned Departments.

    The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Arun Jaitley has deeply condoled the death of Smt. Kanika Bandopadhaya, a great exponent of Rabindra Sangeet. In his message, Shri Jaitley said "Smt. Bandopadhaya was amongst the last generation of singers who got their training from Gurudev Tagore. She was a great singer and it was always pleasant listening to her. It is a great loss not only to her family but also to our country. I express my heartfelt condolences for the bereaved family".

    Acting on complaints about corrupt practices by Railway staff in Parcel/Luggage offices of stations in Delhi area, three teams of Railway Board Vigilance Wing conducted simultaneous surprise checks at New Delhi, Delhi and Nizamuddin stations in the capital on April 3,2000.

    A member of Railway Staff of New Delhi station and two Railway employees of Nizamuddin station were caught red-handed while accepting bribes from decoy customers. They have been suspended and departmental action is being taken against them. At Old Delhi railway station a tout was caught while accepting money for facilitating booking of luggage. He was handed over to the Railway Police.

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  The Transport Minister of Bahrain H.E. Mr. Ali Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa called on the Minister of Communications, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan here today. Both leaders discussed matters of mutual interest and cooperation in the telecom sector. Shri Paswan apprised the Bahrain Minister on issues related to basic, cellular and other value added services besides regulation matters in India. The delegation from Bahrain evinced keen interest in the telecom projects in India.

     India already has overseas communication links with Bahrain through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL). Direct telephone service with Bahrain was introduced on 16^th October 1973. International Subscriber Dialing Service was introduced on 14^th August on 1987 and Home Country Direct Service was introduced on 23^rd July 1997. Prepaid service was introduced on 28^th January 1998 between India and Bahrain. India Direct Service from Bahrain was introduced on 15^th July 1998.

     There is a proposal for increasing the existing 158 circuits to 251 circuits between VSNL India and Bahrain.

      The Chief Minister of Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik met Environment and Forests Minister, Shri T.R. Baalu, here today, to discuss the issue of afforestation of cyclone affected coastal districts of Orissa. During the meeting, Shri Baalu reiterated Government’s commitment to extend all possible help to Orissa to rehabilitate its forests, mangroves, sanctuaries and national parks.

     The Minister emphasised the need for rehabilitation of the mangroves and shelterbed along the coastline of Orissa so that the severity of any future cyclone could be lessened to some extent. For this purpose, Centre will extend financial assistance to Orissa to build back shelterbed on 18,000 hectares of land along the coastline which got destroyed in the cyclone. The Minister further stated that Rs. 2.21 crores has been released to Orissa under Integrated Afforestation & Eco-Development Project Scheme for afforestation of cyclone affected districts of Orissa.

     On the subject of rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneshwar, Shri Baalu said that Rs. 60 lakh has already been given to the Government of Orissa and more financial assistance would be given after its utilisation. In order to build up further capacities in sanctuaries namely Sunabeda, Kuldiha, Chandaka, Chilka, Bhitarkanika and Gahiramatha and one national park i.e. Bhitarkanika National Park, Rs. 94 lakhs have already been made available to Orissa, Shri Baalu added.

     Expressing his concern over the huge quantities of fallen trees in the wake of cyclone, Shri Baalu stressed the need for their proper salvage operation so that in the coming hot weather, incidence of fire could be minimised. He said that Centre has already released Rs. 1.8 crores for this purpose. If the logs are properly salvaged and put on sale, this alone would fetch over Rs. 100 crore. The money thus earned should be ploughed back for the purpose of afforestation and protection of wildlife and sanctuaries.

     Shri Baalu informed Shri Patnaik that a high level team from the Centre led by Additional Inspector General of Forests, Shri M.K. Sharma will visit Orissa in the third week of April to advise the State Government about the afforestation of cyclone affected areas.

'15'

    The Standing Committee of State Finance Ministers headed by Shri Asim Dasgupta met today to review the progress of implementation of the decisions to implement the uniform floor rates of sales-tax and withdrawal of sales tax related incentives to industries. It was decided in this meeting that the States and Union Territories who have not fully implemented these decisions should complete their process of notifications by 1^st May, 2000. Regarding discontinuance of sales-tax related incentives, necessary orders by the few remaining States should be issued latest by 1^st May, 2000. It was also decided that the next meeting of the Standing Committee will be held on 4^th May, 2000 to review the progress of sales-tax reforms. All the Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories will also be invited to this meeting.

    It may be recalled that during the conference of Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of all states and union territories on the 16^th November, 1999, it was unanimously decided to implement uniform floor rates of sales tax and to withdraw sales tax related incentives to industry. The Standing Committee of State Finance Ministers to monitor sales-tax reform was set up by the government of India comprising of the Finance Ministers of Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.