- About 26% of our people live below poverty line today who do not have enough money to buy essential food items, often not even for the first meal .
- One of the main reasons why food security has become an important issue today is the
burgeoning population in India. India's present population in 1.3 billion. In terms of
annual household demand, India can see a surge from 168.3 million metric tonnes in 1991 to 343 million metric tonnes in the year 2020. To be able to feed such a huge population, India needs to quickly augment its production and productivity. - Furthermore, India seems to have entered a high growth trajectory in the recent times. For the past four years, Inida witnessed a growth rate of over 9%. As the economy grows, people earn more and one major consequence will be rise in consumption. This increased rate of consumtion usually gets confined to some pockets which lead the emergence of non inclusive consumption trends.
- In india, nearly 70% of the net cultivable land areas are rainfed and these have not
benefited from Green Revolution of 1960's . Of this 70%, about 30% area is under dryland
agriculture where the annual rainfall is upto 40cm. To achieve food security keeping in mind challenges of tommorow, there is a need to bring more and more areas under irrigation. - To meet the growing demand from the bloating population, India needs to adopt a broad
based approach. Areas under productio will have to be increased. This maybe done by
implementing measures like rainwater harvesting, watershed development alongside improvement in irrigation facilities. Adoption of hybrid varieties , especially of transgenic variety of crops may lead to incresed production and productivity.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
European Union set to send fleet to battle Somali pirates
December 3rd 2008
BRUSSELS,Belgiu - A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, the EU's foreign policy chief said Wednesday.
The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of October.
Although the NATO ships have successfully delivered nearly 30,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the impoverished nation, they have not been able to stem the upsurge in pirate attacks on foreign shipping in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
Foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the EU warships will arrive Monday, and the hand-over with the NATO force will take place Dec. 15.
Officials said France, Greece, Germany and Britain will provide ships for the naval contingent, and France and Italy will provide patrol aircraft.
The task force - codenamed Operation Atalanta - will be the EU's first naval operation. It will have the same duties as the NATO mission, including escorting cargo vessels, protecting merchant ships and deterring pirate attacks.
"These tasks will be done with very robust rules of engagement," Solana told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
The ministers agreed on Monday to ask the U.N. Security Council to clarify the legal issues involved in the anti-piracy effort. They will discuss on Wednesday whether to deploy a follow-up anti-piracy mission to assist the EU ships.
Under the U.N. mandate, the international fleet operating off the Horn of Africa has not been able to board ships seized by the pirates in order to free their hostages.
German Forieign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the EU deployment.
"I think this is necessary, and the past days have shown that the presence on the African coast has already saved a few ships from being hijacked," he said as he arrived for the NATO meeting.
On Tuesday, NATO reported that an Italian destroyer, Luigi Durand de la Penne, prevented the hijacking of five merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. The destroyer positioned itself between the small pirate boats trying to board the cargo ships and used its helicopter to repel them.
Besides the NATO ships, 10 other warships from United States, India, Russia and Malaysia are patrolling the region at present.
Pirates have attacked 32 vessels and hijacked 12 of them since the NATO operation was launched on Oct. 24. About 50 cargo ships transit daily through the Gulf of Aden, a waterway that links the Indian with the Suex Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.
BRUSSELS,Belgiu - A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, the EU's foreign policy chief said Wednesday.
The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of October.
Although the NATO ships have successfully delivered nearly 30,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the impoverished nation, they have not been able to stem the upsurge in pirate attacks on foreign shipping in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
Foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the EU warships will arrive Monday, and the hand-over with the NATO force will take place Dec. 15.
Officials said France, Greece, Germany and Britain will provide ships for the naval contingent, and France and Italy will provide patrol aircraft.
The task force - codenamed Operation Atalanta - will be the EU's first naval operation. It will have the same duties as the NATO mission, including escorting cargo vessels, protecting merchant ships and deterring pirate attacks.
"These tasks will be done with very robust rules of engagement," Solana told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
The ministers agreed on Monday to ask the U.N. Security Council to clarify the legal issues involved in the anti-piracy effort. They will discuss on Wednesday whether to deploy a follow-up anti-piracy mission to assist the EU ships.
Under the U.N. mandate, the international fleet operating off the Horn of Africa has not been able to board ships seized by the pirates in order to free their hostages.
German Forieign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the EU deployment.
"I think this is necessary, and the past days have shown that the presence on the African coast has already saved a few ships from being hijacked," he said as he arrived for the NATO meeting.
On Tuesday, NATO reported that an Italian destroyer, Luigi Durand de la Penne, prevented the hijacking of five merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. The destroyer positioned itself between the small pirate boats trying to board the cargo ships and used its helicopter to repel them.
Besides the NATO ships, 10 other warships from United States, India, Russia and Malaysia are patrolling the region at present.
Pirates have attacked 32 vessels and hijacked 12 of them since the NATO operation was launched on Oct. 24. About 50 cargo ships transit daily through the Gulf of Aden, a waterway that links the Indian with the Suex Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.
It's about Pakistan's commitment: India
December 22, 2008
India is hardening its stand vis-a-vis Pakistan nearly four weeks after the Mumbai attacks.
"Everything with Pakistan is on pause," a senior official in the Government of India said on Monday.
The Indian government is more or less convinced that the Mumbai attacks have been carried out by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba , which cannot function without the help of Pakistan's establishment.
However, India will wait for the investigations to be completed before making any charges against the Pakistan , the Inter Services Intelligence or elements in the ISI.
In the hardest reaction since the Mumbai attacks, a source told the media that India wants Masood Azhar, head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and others to subject to the Indian judicial system.
The benchmark is being fixed in the form of a firm demand to hand over these terrorists to India.
"Let us see what Pakistan is capable of doing," the official said.
A source said, "Actually, it is not even about Masood Azhar, it is about the commitment of Pakistan. It is about accepting the principle about handing them over to India."
"India's policy is two-fold," he added. "India wants to prevent the reoccurrence of such attacks and two; India wants punishment for the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and previous attacks. Let us see what Pakistan does, we will do what we have to do."
India is hardening its stand vis-a-vis Pakistan nearly four weeks after the Mumbai attacks.
"Everything with Pakistan is on pause," a senior official in the Government of India said on Monday.
The Indian government is more or less convinced that the Mumbai attacks have been carried out by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba , which cannot function without the help of Pakistan's establishment.
However, India will wait for the investigations to be completed before making any charges against the Pakistan , the Inter Services Intelligence or elements in the ISI.
In the hardest reaction since the Mumbai attacks, a source told the media that India wants Masood Azhar, head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and others to subject to the Indian judicial system.
The benchmark is being fixed in the form of a firm demand to hand over these terrorists to India.
"Let us see what Pakistan is capable of doing," the official said.
A source said, "Actually, it is not even about Masood Azhar, it is about the commitment of Pakistan. It is about accepting the principle about handing them over to India."
"India's policy is two-fold," he added. "India wants to prevent the reoccurrence of such attacks and two; India wants punishment for the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and previous attacks. Let us see what Pakistan does, we will do what we have to do."
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Satyam's buyback plan is a ploy to take away funds: Upaid
20 Dec 2008
MUMBAI
Ramalinga Raju’s problems just don’t seem to end. After the unprecedented furore over Satyam Computers’ aborted plan to buy into Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties — controlled by the Raju family — for a whopping $1.6 billion, the UK-based Upaid Systems has alleged that Satyam’s buyback proposal is yet another ploy to divert resources out of the company. Upaid, a UK-based mobile services payment company with 40 employees and 1,000 patents, has already filed a motion in the Texas district court, seeking depositions of top Satyam officials in connection with the Maytas deal. Upaid and Satyam are locked in a two-pronged legal battle. One, a forgery case filed by Upaid against the Satyam management seeking damages of over $1 billion; second, a disparagement case levelled by Satyam against the little-known British company for allegedly besmirching its reputation. “The manoeuvrings by the Satyam management this week has been outrageous. I would say that any action by the Satyam management which takes cash out of the company is a cause of concern for us,” Simon Joyce, CEO and founder, Upaid, told ET. “As per Satyam policy, we will not comment since the matter is sub-judice,” said a Satyam spokesperson. The fresh set of allegations clearly weighed on investor sentiments as the stock fell 4%, giving up half the gains that it made after the share buyback proposal was announced on Thursday. Analysts feel that Upaid’s motion is clearly aimed at weakening Satyam’s case as disgorgement, now that their conduct — especially relating to the related-party transaction in the Maytas deal where bulk of Satyam’s reserves would have been transferred to promoters — has come under severe criticism from investors and industry leaders alike.
Some are also questioning why Satyam has not provided for any contingent liability, although the charges in the fraud case — in case it goes against them — could add up to a huge liability for the country’s fourth-largest IT company. The next hearing for the case is scheduled in June 2009. “I am astonished that no such provision has been made in this regard,” Mr Joyce said. Some legal experts, however, say that it’s up to the Satyam auditors — PricewaterhouseCoopers in this case — to take a call on the need for a provision for contingent liability on the forgery case, depending on when the liability could arise. The forgery case, it may be mentioned here, dates back to early 2000, when Satyam was working on a contract job for Upaid. Upaid says that it ran into problems with Qualcomm and Verizon and had to settle the case with them under grossly unfavourable terms, what it describes as forgery by Satyam officials. “We lost out on a huge opportunity, which is in excess of a billion dollars,” Mr Joyce claims. However, what’s interesting is that Satyam Computers was a shareholder in Upaid, holding around 25% some eight years ago. Although the parting was “cordial”, the two erstwhile partners are surely in for some ‘not so cordial’ times ahead.
MUMBAI
Ramalinga Raju’s problems just don’t seem to end. After the unprecedented furore over Satyam Computers’ aborted plan to buy into Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties — controlled by the Raju family — for a whopping $1.6 billion, the UK-based Upaid Systems has alleged that Satyam’s buyback proposal is yet another ploy to divert resources out of the company. Upaid, a UK-based mobile services payment company with 40 employees and 1,000 patents, has already filed a motion in the Texas district court, seeking depositions of top Satyam officials in connection with the Maytas deal. Upaid and Satyam are locked in a two-pronged legal battle. One, a forgery case filed by Upaid against the Satyam management seeking damages of over $1 billion; second, a disparagement case levelled by Satyam against the little-known British company for allegedly besmirching its reputation. “The manoeuvrings by the Satyam management this week has been outrageous. I would say that any action by the Satyam management which takes cash out of the company is a cause of concern for us,” Simon Joyce, CEO and founder, Upaid, told ET. “As per Satyam policy, we will not comment since the matter is sub-judice,” said a Satyam spokesperson. The fresh set of allegations clearly weighed on investor sentiments as the stock fell 4%, giving up half the gains that it made after the share buyback proposal was announced on Thursday. Analysts feel that Upaid’s motion is clearly aimed at weakening Satyam’s case as disgorgement, now that their conduct — especially relating to the related-party transaction in the Maytas deal where bulk of Satyam’s reserves would have been transferred to promoters — has come under severe criticism from investors and industry leaders alike.
Some are also questioning why Satyam has not provided for any contingent liability, although the charges in the fraud case — in case it goes against them — could add up to a huge liability for the country’s fourth-largest IT company. The next hearing for the case is scheduled in June 2009. “I am astonished that no such provision has been made in this regard,” Mr Joyce said. Some legal experts, however, say that it’s up to the Satyam auditors — PricewaterhouseCoopers in this case — to take a call on the need for a provision for contingent liability on the forgery case, depending on when the liability could arise. The forgery case, it may be mentioned here, dates back to early 2000, when Satyam was working on a contract job for Upaid. Upaid says that it ran into problems with Qualcomm and Verizon and had to settle the case with them under grossly unfavourable terms, what it describes as forgery by Satyam officials. “We lost out on a huge opportunity, which is in excess of a billion dollars,” Mr Joyce claims. However, what’s interesting is that Satyam Computers was a shareholder in Upaid, holding around 25% some eight years ago. Although the parting was “cordial”, the two erstwhile partners are surely in for some ‘not so cordial’ times ahead.
DDA not to deduct Rs 5,000 from deposit
Sat, Dec 20 12:20 AM
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Friday clarified no money would be deducted from the Rs 1.50 lakh deposited by applicants as registration money for its 2008 housing scheme."There is no provision of deduction by DDA and all efforts are being made to refund the amount by 30th December 2008," the DDA said in a release.
The release was issued on the directions of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission before which an NGO had filed a complaint based on a news report that said DDA was to deduct Rs 5,000 each from the registration money.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Friday clarified no money would be deducted from the Rs 1.50 lakh deposited by applicants as registration money for its 2008 housing scheme."There is no provision of deduction by DDA and all efforts are being made to refund the amount by 30th December 2008," the DDA said in a release.
The release was issued on the directions of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission before which an NGO had filed a complaint based on a news report that said DDA was to deduct Rs 5,000 each from the registration money.
NGO challenges DDA decision to deduct Rs 5,000 from applicants
Barely two days after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) announced the results of latest housing scheme offering 5238 flats, an NGO on Thursday challenged its reported decision to deduct Rs 5,000 from the amount to be refunded to unsuccessful applicants. Society of Catalysts moved the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, drawing its attention to a report published in an English daily, which said the DDA would refund the money of unsuccessful applicants only after deducting Rs 5,000.
The Society said, "The proposed deduction of Rs 5,000 is against original condition on which the application was invited." The total amount withheld from the 5.50 lakh applicants would be more than half of the total value of all the flats allotted, it said.
The Commission has already issued notice to the DDA on an earlier complaint filed by the same NGO, accusing it of practising "restrictive" and "unfair" trade practices by imposing certain "pre-conditions" on the applicants. The complainant NGO, headed by former Delhi Chief Secretary Omesh Saigal, had alleged that forcing the applicants to pay for the right to participate in the draw for allotment of flats amounted to "restrictive trade practices".
More than 8.64 lakh forms were sold for Rs 100 each and an additional four lakh downloaded from DDA website. A total of 5.12 lakh people submitted the forms along with a bank draft of Rs 1.5 lakh each and finally 5,238 lucky people were chosen for allotment of flats by a draw of lots on December 16.
In its complaint filed in November 2008, the NGO had alleged the applicants had to bear a cost of about Rs 333 crore as interest paid to banks. Terming it as "restrictive and unfair trade practice", Saigal had said that against the flats worth Rs 500 crore DDA has collected a whopping Rs 7,800 crore and was earning interest on applicants' money.
The NGO's plea for an order to the DDA to refund an amount of Rs 6,600 each to the applicants, which they paid for form (Rs 100) and as interest to bank on the Rs 1.5 lakh demand draft (Rs 6,500) and impose punitive damages on the DDA is already pending before the Commission.
The Society said, "The proposed deduction of Rs 5,000 is against original condition on which the application was invited." The total amount withheld from the 5.50 lakh applicants would be more than half of the total value of all the flats allotted, it said.
The Commission has already issued notice to the DDA on an earlier complaint filed by the same NGO, accusing it of practising "restrictive" and "unfair" trade practices by imposing certain "pre-conditions" on the applicants. The complainant NGO, headed by former Delhi Chief Secretary Omesh Saigal, had alleged that forcing the applicants to pay for the right to participate in the draw for allotment of flats amounted to "restrictive trade practices".
More than 8.64 lakh forms were sold for Rs 100 each and an additional four lakh downloaded from DDA website. A total of 5.12 lakh people submitted the forms along with a bank draft of Rs 1.5 lakh each and finally 5,238 lucky people were chosen for allotment of flats by a draw of lots on December 16.
In its complaint filed in November 2008, the NGO had alleged the applicants had to bear a cost of about Rs 333 crore as interest paid to banks. Terming it as "restrictive and unfair trade practice", Saigal had said that against the flats worth Rs 500 crore DDA has collected a whopping Rs 7,800 crore and was earning interest on applicants' money.
The NGO's plea for an order to the DDA to refund an amount of Rs 6,600 each to the applicants, which they paid for form (Rs 100) and as interest to bank on the Rs 1.5 lakh demand draft (Rs 6,500) and impose punitive damages on the DDA is already pending before the Commission.
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