Star News Agency

New Delhi. The Income Tax department has issued a detailed notice today (comprising 531 pages along with annexure running into 1901 pages) under section 201(1) and 201(1A) of the IT Act 1961 to Vodafone International Holdings BV(VIH BV) requiring it to show cause as to why it should not be held that the Department has competent jurisdiction to proceed against it for the default of non-deduction of tax at source from the payment of USD 11.2 billion made on 8th May 2007 to Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL) for transfer of interest in the Indian company Hutch Essar Ltd (HEL).

An earlier notice issued in the matter to VIH BV was challenged before the Hon’ble High Court of Bombay in a writ petition, which was dismissed with costs on 3rd December 2008. VIH BV filed a special leave petition before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India against the order of the High Court. On 23rd January 2009, the apex court dismissed the appeal of VIH BV with the direction that they should subject themselves to the jurisdiction of the assessing officer with the liberty to “Question the decision of the authority on the preliminary issue before the High Court, in the event the same is decided against it ”. The date fixed for compliance of the notice is 16th November 2009.

News Agency

New Delhi. Inhaling diesel exhaust fumes causes changes in the body that may make people more prone to heart attack or stroke, said Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India.

In a study European scientists have shown that blood clots are more likely to form in otherwise healthy people exposed to relatively high amounts of diesel engine exhaust fumes for a short time. This could cause a blocked vessel, heart attack or stroke.

Diesel engines spew many times more fine pollutant particles than gasoline engines. People with heart and artery disease should stay away from traffic congestion to avoid the effects of this pollution. The study involved 20 healthy men, aged 21 to 44 years. They breathed filtered air and also diluted diesel exhaust at a level approximating curbside exposure on a busy road.

Compared to breathing filtered air, breathing air with the diesel exhaust fumes increased clot formation by roughly 20 - 25 percent in the hours after exposure. The researchers also found an increase in platelet activation in the blood. Platelets play a major role in clotting.

The same group reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that heart attack victims showed clear differences when breathing diesel fumes. They found that the hearts of heart attack survivors were far more likely to be starved of oxygen when exercising while breathing in such fumes than when exercising in clear air.

Ashok Handoo

The recently concluded International Conference held in Srinagar on Kashmir Hangul, the only surviving species of the Red Deer family, in Kashmir, expressed serious concern over the fast dwindling number of this rare variety. Considering the seriousness of the issue, the concern is well placed and needs to be addressed.

A look at the figures gives an Idea of the magnitude. Forget about the times when the number of Hangul in Kashmir was stated to be in thousands. Just at the beginning of the 20th century, their number was 5,000. By the time militancy broke out in the state in late 80’s, it had come down to 900. Last year it touched a low of 117 to 180, according to a census. But, since then it has risen to about 230, thanks to some renewed conservation efforts. With the help of WWF, ‘Project Hangul’ was started in Kashmir in the 70’s which resulted in the number of Hangul going up to 340 by the eighties. But that was short lived. The latest census of 2008 puts the figure at 150 to 160.

Kashmir Hangul is one of the proud possessions of Kashmir. It is also the state animal of Kashmir. Its extinction will surely be a matter of concern. The wake up call by the conservationists and environmentalists, to all the stake holders, is something that can be ignored only at great risk.

“We will not let the Hangul go extinct”. That is how the J&K Chief Minister Shri Omar Obdullah expressed his determination to save the rare animal. The State Governor Shri N.N.Vohra, too, was emphatic in his remarks even as he blamed human biotic interference for the fast depleting number of the species.

It is not the Hangul alone that is meeting this fate. Markhur, Himalayan Bear and the Musk deer, too, are becoming endangered species due to melting glaciers, depleting forest cover and water bodies. And as Mr. Vohra pointed out, if this trend is not reversed the very survival of mankind could be in danger.

Experts blame extensive human encroachment as a major cause for extinction of wild life. Poaching, indeed, leads the list. Poachers do so to make a quick money as the skin and magnificent antlers of Hangul fetch them a very high price Internationally. In case of tigers and leopards poachers look for their medicinal values. The tiger, too, is thus disappearing fast despite the ‘Project Tiger’ launched by the Government long ago. The latest tiger census counted just 1,411 big cats, down from 3,642 in 2002 and around 40,000 a century ago.

The Dachigam sanctuary on the outskirts of Srinagar, spread over an area of 140 sq. km., which is home to the Kashmir Hangul, came under the sway of the Militants. They killed the animal for its meat as well. For well over a decade, the area was out of bounds for even the security forces. Besides Dachigam, Kashmir Hangul is also seen in Wadwan valley, Bhaderwah, Kishtwar and Tilel regions of the State. The male deer has impressive antlers whereas the female has no antlers. Hangul has a red brownish coat and that is why it is also called red deer. The colour, however, changes with every season and age. The male Hangul has long hair along its neck while the female has none.

Destruction of natural habitats, overgrazing by domestic live stock and deforestation are other forms of human interference that has led to this tragic situation. Forests are disappearing as trees are felled illegally for both firewood and timber, most of which is smuggled. This paves the way for the grazing areas extending deep into the jungles leading to destruction of the natural habitats.

The State Government, too, charged with having neglected the environment and wildlife in the state and ignoring the need for protecting the rare species. Surely, the State Government, too, has a responsibility to protect the animal from becoming extinct.

Critical environmental issues like ozone depletion, global warming and climate change are also responsible for the present situation. This explains the need for swift and long term action in dealing with global warming which the world is facing now.

There is, however, some hope for the future. The latest census has shown improvement in the female-fawn ratio which indicates a possibility of a sustained growth in the future. Apart from that, there is also a need for effective implementation of conservation plans. Along with punitive measures against those who violate laws, the people need to be sensitized by launching massive awareness campaigns. All the stakeholders need to come together to preserve, conserve and sustain environment, ecology, fauna and flora of the state. The joint effort will surely go a long way in helping in protecting the world famous Hangul in the State.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today announced a quantum jump in the number of Indian Coast Guard personnel to make it a potent force to counter terrorism from the sea. Addressing the 28th Coast Guard Commanders’ Conference here, he said the Government has sanctioned nearly 3,000 additional personnel at various levels and this needs to be filled up on priority. Shri Antony said the concept of ‘security’ has changed in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack and the spectrum and nature of duties of Indian Coast Guard have undergone a sea-change. He said the Government is making all out efforts to help Indian Coast Guard become one of the finest Coast Guards in the world in a couple of years.

“The modern day dynamics of security and geopolitics mean that the Coast Guard cannot rest on past laurels and can ill-afford to be complacent. The responsibilities on Coast Guard have been increasing. The terror attacks on Mumbai last year have resulted only in a bigger role for the Indian Coast Guard”.

Shri Antony said additional responsibility of coastal surveillance has been given to the Coast Guard and for the efficient discharge of their responsibilities the Government has approved a vast array of ships, aircraft, equipment with manpower and development of support infrastructure. He said the Coast Guard is in the process of acquiring 20 Fast Patrol Vehicles (OPVs), 41 Interceptor Boats, 12 Coastal Surveillance Aircraft(Dorniers) and 7 off-shore Patrol Vehicles(OPVs). He also said work is in progress to put in place a chain of 46 Coastal Radars spanning 9 Coastal Stations across the country. Moreover, 9 new Coast Guard Station have been approved. "These need to be established early", the Defence Minister said.

Referring to the progress made in the production of indigenous vessels, Shri Antony said, presently 50 ships are being constructed at various Indian shipyards.

'These projects must be monitored carefully to ensure that these platforms are delivered on time, with requisite quality. The growth of the Coast Guard fleet over the next five years makes it essential that it plans the expansion meticulously, so that trained manpower and shore infrastructure are available to operate the assets at optimum levels in the future.'

Shri Antony said recently a new Regional Headquarters has been set up at Gandhinagar. 'This will facilitate synergy between the Coast Guard, State Government and other Central Government Organisations in a critical area of our coast. Measures are also being taken to enhance the efficacy of Coast Guard surveillance and Search and Rescue operations'.

Shri Antony asked the Coast Guard top brass to explore innovative ways to develop infrastructure support for the Coast Guard fleet in the days to come.

'Since its inception, Coast Guard has maintained its fleet with minimal shore infrastructure. You have been managing the fleet through outsourcing repairs & refit. However, the massive expansion being charted through ship acquisition will significantly develop the shore infrastructure.'

Star News Agency

News Delhi. The Centre has urged the State Governments to expedite and effectively implement Economic and Social Empowerment Schemes for the Women. Important legislations on women should be closely monitored and efforts should be made for improvement in the schemes, if required. Inaugurating the State Ministers’ meet to review women and child development programmes here today, Union Minister for Women & Child Development, Smt. Smt.Krishna Tirath said that women and children issues are being given top priority by the Government. Several programmes for women are being implemented to address their varied needs, schemes to provide skill development for income generation, micro-credit and awareness generation and child protection is on the top of the agenda of the Government.

Highlighting the role of women in society, Smt.Krishna Tirath said that protection of women from domestic violence is very important to ensure her contribution to the progress of the nation. The Prevention from Domestic Violence Act should be implemented with the same intention and spirit in which it was enacted. Expressing concern over declining female sex ratio, she said it is leading to imbalance feature. Hence there is need for strict and effective implementation of PNDT Act. The high rate of infant mortality in the country needs to be attended with top most priority and practices for safe delivery and medical care of infants should be promoted, she added.

Stressing the need of nutrition support for the children, Smt. Krishna Tirath said that the Ministry is in the process of launching new schemes like Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Conditional Maternity benefit Scheme for women. The Schemes are named as ‘Sabla’ and ‘Indira Gandhi Matratava Sehyog Yojana’ respectively. The Sabla is aimed at empowering adolescent girls alongwith improvement in the nutritional and health status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills. While ‘Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme’ is to support pregnant women belonging to poor and economically weaker sections of the society.

Smt. Tirath said that efforts are being made to reach rural women through Swayamsiddha and Rashtriya Mahila Kosh. Formation of Self Help Groups under Swayamsiddha and providing Credit facilities to rural women folk under Rashtriya Mahila Kosh helps in our aim of economic empowerment of women. Efforts are also being made to set up National Mission for Empowerment of Women.

Urging States to expedite universalisation of ‘Integrated Child Development Services’ (ICDS), the Minister said the Centre has expanded the scheme by bringing the number of Anganwadis to 14 lakhs with enhanced budget, increased honoraria for Anganwadi workers and improved financial norms. The States should ensure good quality hot cooked meals through the scheme to improve nutritional status of the children, she added.

Ministry of WCD has recently launched a new centrally sponsored scheme Integrated Child Protection Scheme with the objective of providing safe and secure environment to the children who are in need of care and protection. The Scheme for “Street Children”, “Working Children” and “Shishu Greh” have been merged with the new Scheme to serve the under privileged children in a more focused manner. State Governments of Orissa, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh Nagaland and Madhya Pradesh have signed Memorandum of Understand under the Scheme. The Minister requested the other States to sign the MOU expeditiously and set up the State Commissions for Protection of Child.

The day long meeting is being attended by the Minister of Incharge of Women & Child Development from the States, Senior Officials of various Central ministries, National Women’s Commission, Child Rights Commission and other bodies related with the Women & Child Development programmes.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. The Commission has taken into consideration representations received from different political parties and also inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and the State Government of Jharkhand with regard to the date of first phase of polling in General Election to Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. After due consideration, the Commission has decided that the polls for the first phase of election to Jharkhand Legislative Assembly shall be taken on 25th November, 2009 instead of 27th November, 2009 as earlier communicated vide Commission’s Press Note ECI/PN/58/2009 dated 23rd October, 2009. The new schedule for the first phase of election to Jharkhand Legislative Assembly will now be as under: -

1st Phase

Date of Issue of Notification 31. 10.2009 (Saturday)

Last date for making nominations 7-11-2009 (Saturday)

Date for scrutiny of nominations 9.11.2009 (Monday)

Last date for withdrawal of candidatures 11.11.2009 (Wednesday)

Date of Poll, if necessary 2511.2009 (Wednesday)

Date before which the election shall be completed 31-12-2009 (Wednesday)

Hours of poll: 7 AM to 3 PM

Counting shall be held, on 23-12-2009 (Wednesday)

Polling for 30ACs will be held in the first phase on 25.11.2009 (Wednesday)

The schedule for election in the remaining four phases shall remain unchanged.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has issued following advisories to fish farmers in flood affected states of Andhra and Karnataka:

Fish Farms situated in the upland areas that are not washed totally need to prevent loss of crop by erecting elongated fencing made by stripe bamboos or any other available fencing material with a layer of net material all along the periphery of pond. Bamboo / nylon mesh screens should be erected at the inlets and outlets to prevent loss and entry of unwanted fish. The farmers also need to salvage fish, particularly Brood stock from inundated ponds and tanks and transfer to safer places either in cages or in ponds. Breaches should be blocked and drainage of pond repaired.

After flood recedes, fish pond should be drained completely to drain weed fishes wherever possible and lime @ 200kg/ha/pond applied to accelerate mineralization of detritus. Mahua oil cake @ 1000kg/ha/pond for every meter depth need to be applied to remove unwanted fishes wherever draining is not possible. Repeated netting is also desired to remove unwanted fishes. Grow-out ponds need to be restocked with fingerlings.

Shrimp crop in the affected areas is 30-40 DOC and as such harvesting is not advisable, instead crop should be salvaged and stored in hatcheries wherever feasible. After water level recedes apply lime between300-500kg/ha to keep contusive pH.

Farmers should be vigilant for outbreak of any disease caused due to decrease in salinity due to high rains/floods. In this eventuality they are advised to apply alky-dimethyl-benzyl ammonium chloride @3ppm as disinfectant.

As bio-security measures taking water from outside should be avoided, water in reservoir ponds need to be chlorinated before letting in emergency conditions and farm implements washed in Potassium permanganate before use in each pond.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. In a bid to improve road connectivity to places of tourist interest, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Kamal Nath has assured to provide Rs. 50 crore for development of such roads to state governments under the Central Road Fund. Speaking at the “Emerging for Future” an annual conference organized by the World Travel & Tourism Council, Shri Nath assured full support to any such initiative of the state governments. He said that the states should prioritize and send their proposals to the Ministry, which will provide all its support. As per the CRF Rules, 2007, the central government provides funds to state government for development of state roads. Under this, there is provision for development of connecting roads to national highways from places of tourist importance.

Talking about the multiplier effect of tourism he said that tourism creates economic activity and youth should partake in this. The Minister also said that his ministry is working with the ministry of tourism on a pilot project to provide seamless travel on the golden triangle tourist circuit (Jaipur-Delhi-Agra) from 1st December 2009, and also developing wayside amenities on PPP basis along the national highways. The Minister also suggested a Cabinet Committee on Tourism to resolve Inter- Ministerial issues affecting the tourism sector.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. In recent weeks, several queries have been raised about the type of Visas issued by India to foreigners for work related visits. The Foreigners’ Division in MHA has clarified that basically there are two types of work related Visas, namely, Business Visa designated as ‘B’ Visa and Employment Visa designated as ‘E’ Visa.

MHA has come out with detailed queries in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQ) for the information, guidance and compliance of all concerned. The major clarifications relate to the eligibility criteria, duration of visa and documents that are required to be submitted by the applicants while tendering their visa applications. The clarifications also deal with issues related to foreign nationals who come to India to execute projects and those concerning visa for the families of such foreign nationals.

The detailed FAQ are available on MHA website www.mha.nic.in.

Star News Agency

Anantnag (Kashmir). The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, dedicated to the nation the newly constructed 18 km long rail line between Anantnag and Quazigund, the last stretch of the railway line in the Kashmir Valley, at a function at Anantnag today. In October 2008 and February 2009, the railway lines from Anantnag to Mazhom (66 km) and Mazhom to Baramulla (35 km) were inaugurated by the Prime Minister. The 101 km railway line which is already operational from Anantnag to Baramulla has proved to be very popular with more than 5000 passengers traveling on it every day. The additional railway line between Anantnag & Quazigund pressed into service will also benefit the residents of the Valley in a similar manner substantially. With the inauguration of this stretch, the entire 119 km long rail line from Baramulla to Quazigund in the valley has now become operational covering important stations like Sopore, Hamre, Pattan, Mazhom, Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipura, Panjgam, Bijbiara, Anantnag and Sadura in both the directions. The Prime Minister also flagged off a train from Anantnag to Quazigund on the occasion.

Also present on the occasion were the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee, the Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Shri Farooq Abdullah, Governor of J&K, Shri N.N. Vohra, Chief Minister of J&K, Shri Omar Abdullah, Chairperson, UPA, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri S. S. Khurana and others. The Prime Minster also flagged off Anantnag-Quazigund train on the occasion.

With a view to provide an alternative reliable, all weathers, transportation system and to connect the State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) with the rest of the country through railway network, Ministry of Railways planned a 345 km long railway line connecting Jammu to Baramulla via Udhampur, Katra, Reasi, Sangaldan, Banihal, Quazigund, Anantnag and Srinagar. The project is of national importance. Due to this reason, part of the project from Udhampur to Baramulla has been declared as a ‘National Project’.

The railway line from Jammu to Damper was completed and dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister on April 13, 2005. This section lies in the sub-mountainous region. It is 53 km long and has 10 km length of tunnels, 36 major bridges and 122 minor bridges. The completion cost of this stretch is Rs. 522 crore. This is also the only mountain railway in India to be built on Broad Gauge. This is in keeping with the unigauge policy of Indian Railways, which will enable instant connectivity with the remaining Indian Railway network once the construction of this project is complete.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. It is common for people to go into depression in the winter. It is also called winter blue, winter depression or seasonal affective disorder, said Dr. KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.

During winter, there is an imbalance of melatonin and seratonin leading to early morning depression. The common symptoms are unwillingness to get out of woollen rajai and early morning lethargies.

Most often, the effected persons are obese, diabetic females. Another characteristic of SAD is craving for eating salt, sweet or sour food which can result in the associated uncontrolled diabetes and blood pressure.

The treatment is to adopt to Dadima’s advice of knitting woolen sweater in day sunlight. Exposure to sunlight or adequate room light are the only answers.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. The Union Home Minister Shri P. Chidambaram has said that massive expansion of Central Para-Military Forces is indicative of inadequacies of State Police. He was speaking here yesterday at a meeting of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs. The topic of the discussion was “National Police Mission”. The Home Minister said that the strength of Central Para-Military Forces is above 8 lakhs. Pointing out that a large number of vacancies exist in state police at lower as well as higher levels , Shri Chidambaram said that the police-population ratio in the country is much lower than the desired level of 220 and there is also wide variation among the States. He also drew the attention to other problems like outdated equipment and lack of training. He said that inadequacies of police in the States and their over-dependence on the Central Para- Military Forces is not a good sign for the federal structure. The States are now realizing the gravity of the situation and concentrating on recruitment, training and modernization of their police forces. Shri Chidambaram stated that policing in the country has long been neglected and urgent reforms are needed in the state police system.

The Union Home Minister informed the meeting that four projects submitted by the Micro Missions, set up under the National Police Mission have been approved for implementation throughout the country. These are :- (1) Community Counselling Centres, which will aim at facilitating an integrated approach towards resolution of conflicts, affecting women, children and other vulnerable sections of the society; (2) Soft Skill Training Module for police personnel for improving the attitude and behavior of police personnel to make them citizen-friendly and service- oriented; (3) Transparent Recruitment Process for ensuring fair, impartial, transparent, objective, tamper-proof, scientific and merit-based recruitment process and (4) Dial 100, which aims at providing prompt and effective incident response management system.

Stating that these projects are to be rolled out throughout the country, the Home Minister sought co-operation of the members in persuading the State Governments to implement them. He said that all political parties have to join hands in reinventing the police force in the country.

Participating in the discussion, the members welcomed the projects approved by the Centre and expressed hope that these would contribute significantly to improving the policing in the country. They also stressed the need to equip the police force with modern weapons and impart them the necessary training to take up the challenges of the 21st Century. Members stressed the need to ensure provision of basic amenities including housing to all policemen in the country, establish cordial relations between policemen and the community, prescribe higher qualifications for recruitment of constables and remove political interference in the working of the police.

The members who attended the meeting included Dr. K. Malaisamy, Dr. K. Keshava Rao, S/Shri Mahmood A. Madani, Raj Mohinder Singh Majitha, Rishang Keishing and Mohd. Ali Khan from the Rajya Sabha and Dr. Thokchom Meinya, Dr. Monazir Hassan, Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala and S/Shri Khagen Das, S. Alagiri, D.B. Chandre Gowda, Yogi Adityanath, Kalyan Banerjee, M. Venugopala Reddy, J.P. Aggarwal, Sheesh Ram Ola, Ismail Hussain and Mahabal Mishra from the Lok Sabha. Ministers of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri Mullappally Ramachandran and Shri Ajay Maken, Union Home Secretary, Secretary Border Management and Director General of Bureau of Police Research & Development were also among those present at the meeting.

Star News Agency

Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu). The Union Minister of Labour & Employment, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge has appealed to the employers of Beedi Workers to register them under the ESI Scheme so that the Beedi Workers get all the unlimited benefits being provided by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. He was speaking on the occasion of foundation stone laying ceremony of ESI Hospital at Tirunelveli today.

Shri Kharge also appealed the Tamil Nadu Government for participating in RASHTRIYA SWASTHYA BEEMA YOJANA being run by the Union Labour Ministry for benefits of un-organized sector workers.

The establishment of ESI Hospital at Tirunelveli has great importance as it will cater to the needs of the large workforce of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari areas. This hospital will be fully air conditioned and constructed in 2.15 acres of land. It will have the state of the art equipment and will provide good quality health care to the insured persons. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs. 49.91 crore and will be completed in 18 months.

The Minister of Labour & Employment informed that in the recent past, the ESI Corporation has started the process of upgrading of ESIC Hospitals for providing better medical services to the beneficiaries such as Computerization of all Model Hospitals and Regional Offices, setting up & starting of Medical Colleges, Nursing Colleges, Dental Colleges and other para-medical schools in ESI Hospitals.

The Employees State Insurance Corporation runs a unique social security scheme which has the feature of an insurance organization as well as service provider for health related needs of the insured persons under the scheme. The Corporation has the largest team of medical and para-medical personnel in India and also has one of the largest medical infrastructures in the world. It has huge infrastructure of 144 Hospitals, 42 Hospitals Annexes, 1397 ESI Dispensaries, 1753 Panel Clinics, 795 Branch/Pay Offices and 51 Regional/Sub-Regional/Divisional Offices. The ESI Corporation has also approved formation of Hospital Development Committee for each hospital, which will look after up-gradation of hospital facilities and its attached dispensaries. They have been delegated with financial power.

The Ceremony was attended by Shri T.M. Anbarasan, Minister of Labour and Shri T.P.M. Mohideen Khan, Minister of Enviornment, Government of Tamil Nadu.

Firdaus Khan

Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) continue to pose a serious threat to the health, well being, economic productivity and advancement of several hundred million people worldwide. People living in iodine deficient environment suffer from reduced mental and physical abilities, cretinism, deaf-mutism, squint, still-birth, abortion, goitre of all ages, neuro-motor defects, etc. Even when born normal, young children whose diets are low in iodine have their lives trapped in mental dullness and apathy. IDD preys upon poor, pregnant women and preschool children, posing serious public health problems in more than hundred developing countries. Iodine deficiency was once considered a minor problem, causing goiter, it is now known that it affects developing brain much deadlier and thereby, constituting a threat to the social and economic development of many countries.

The magnitude of the IDD problem is quite high. This has led to an International focus on elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and October 21 is observed as the Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day to create awareness towards this problem.

Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones which are needed for optimal mental and physical development and regulation of body metabolism. Therefore, in iodine deficiency populations, it is critical to have effective universal salt iodisation.

Iodine, a chemical element like carbon, oxygen or iron, is available in fairly constant amounts in seawater while it is found in an uneven distribution over land and fresh water. It is an essential part of the chemical structure of thyroid hormones. It makes two hormones - thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The thyroid hormones act in target organs by influencing many different chemical reactions, usually involving manufacture of key proteins. The body must have proper levels of thyroid hormone to work well.

Recommended daily intake of iodine varies with age. To meet iodine requirements, the recommended daily intakes are - 50 micrograms for infants (first 12 months of age), 90 mg for children (2-6 years of age) 120 mg for school children (7-12 years of age), 150 mg for adults (beyond 12 years of age) and 200 mg for pregnant and lactating women. Most of it comes from what we eat and drink. Seafood is usually a good source because the ocean contains considerable iodine. Freshwater fish reflect the iodine content of the water where they swim. Iodine contents in other foods vary depending on their source. Plants grown in iodine-deficient soil do not have much iodine, nor do meat or other products from animals fed on iodine-deficient plants. Iodized salt is a special case. With only a few isolated exceptions, edible salt (sodium chloride) does not naturally contain iodine. Iodine is added deliberately as one of the most efficient ways of improving iodine nutrition. Iodine exposure can come from many other sources too, for example certain food colorings (erythrosine), skin disinfectants, such as povidone iodine, is absorbed and reaches the bloodstream, health foods – certain types of kelp, dyes and medicines. People also get iodine from its use in farm animals, for cleansing udders or as part of iodine-containing medicines. Iodate has been used as a bread stabilizer in commercial baking, although this practice is less common now.

Though iodine deficiency has terrific negative effects, its excess can play havoc too. The excess of it causes thyroid under activity. Iodised and uniodised salt are sold simultaneously in the country. But the awareness of the health priority aspect of iodised salt among the public has resulted in the creation of a significant consumer demand for iodised salt.

The World over, including China and the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand, etc., are implementing compulsory salt iodisation for human consumption. Globally iodated salt is recognized as the cheapest and most sustainable way to prevent and control Iodine Deficiency Disorders. Except few types of goiter, most of the iodine deficiency disorders are irreversible and permanent in nature, but they can be easily prevented by regular consumption of iodated salt daily.

Realizing the magnitude of the problem, the Government launched a 100 per cent centrally assisted National Goitre Control Programme (NGCP) in 1962. In August 1992, the National Goitre Control Programme (NGCP) was renamed as National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme (NIDDCP) with a view to cover a wide spectrum of Iodine Deficiency Disorders.

The Government’s goal of NIDDCP is to reduce the prevalence of Iodine deficiency disorders below 10 per cent in the entire country by 2012 A.D. RTS/VN

Star News Agency

Chandigarh. The magic of Cultural diversity of Jammu and Kashmir today fascinated thousands of spectators assembled at Kalagram here on the inaugural ceremony of 10 day long National Crafts Festival. The Jammu and Kashmir is the theme State in this first ever National event designed on patron of world famous Surajkund Mela, was inaugurated by General Dr. S.F. Rodrigues, PVSM VSM (Retd.), Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh here this morning.

The event has been jointly organized by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages , North Zone Cultural Centre and Chandighar Administration. Around 100 artists from Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh performed at the inaugural ceremony and around 150 artists would perform at the main venue from 6 to 11 pm this evening. Strongly advocating the need for a well structured coordinated plan for strengthening linkages of composite Indian culture, the Dr. S.F. Rodrigues, called for adopting a holistic approach for the preservation and promotion of our inherited values.

He said the main objective of organizing this event is to built understanding between various Cultural groups of India. He said he had served in Jammu and Kashmir for several year. He congratulated the J&K artist, J&K Cultural Academy, NZCC for holding of extraordinary programme .

Speking about the heritage, he said , it is, therefore, imperative to create a responsive mechanism for generating awareness among our people to respect our traditions & the customs of different regions. He directed the NZCC to preserve the dying arts for researchers and all generations to come.

Earlier the Governor called the J&K group incharge and Deputy Secretary Cultural Academy ,Dr. Javaid Rahi and directed him continued here to be an active partner of this festival and resolve all the issue with NZCC and Chandighar Administration. Earlier a day before its start, the national crafts mela courted controversy as Jammu and Kashmir had threatened to pull out of it on variouse issues.

The main attraction of today’s venture includes Kashmiri Rouf Dance , Chajja Dance (Dogri), Bhand , Kashmiri Folk Theatre performance by Gulmarg folk theatre group , Bagston Tses by Ladakhi group, Gojri Folk Music, Pahari Folk Music & Dance, Chakri (Kashmiri Music) Haran Dance (Dogri) , Purgi Dance by Kargili Grpoup, Bachnagma by , Kud Dance (Dogri) , Dhamali Dance .

The mela is expected to give a boost to the Arts and crafts of J&K and other States of India as well and will boost business and inflow of tourists from both within and outside the country. Around 3 lakh visitors are expected to come to this National Festival during these 10 days from the neighbouring states and also from abroad. The closing ceremony will take place on Nov 2 and Kumari Selja will be the chief guest. She will also give away 3 prizes each in the category of crafts and handlooms titled as Kala Mani, Kala Nidhi and Kala Giri. A prize will also be given to the best crafts man. The closing ceremony will also have a medley of folk dances by NZCC artists.

Firdaus Khan

O loss of sight, of thee I most complain!….

Blind among enemies, O worse than chains, dungeon or beggary, or decrepit age! Light, the prime work of God, to me is extinct, and all her various objects of delight annulled, which might in part my grief have eased. Inferior to the vilest now become of man or worm; the vilest here excel me, they creep, yet see; I, dark in light, exposed to daily fraud...

-John Milton

Milton was expressing a primal sentiment as ability to see is critical for realization of human potential. This sentiment is shared by at least 12 million people in India who fall in the category of blind (visual acuity less than 6/60). In many cases this fate is totally avoidable or can be corrected by simple interventions. For example, in the year 2008-09, the country performed nearly 5.8 million cataract surgeries with 94% inter-ocular lens (IOL) implantation. In layman terms this means blindness was either prevented or corrected in 5.4 million people in one year. This was one of the activities of National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) which has made a commendable progress in terms of Cataract Surgical Rate and the momentum thus generated would continue in future also.

The Programme

National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) is now more than thirty years old, launched in 1976 as 100% centrally sponsored scheme has the professed goal of reducing blindness prevalence to 0.3% by the year 2020. Blindness prevalence stood at 1% in 2006-07, down from 1.1% in the year 2001-02. Refractive errors are other important cause of vision impairment and are being addressed effectively through institutional and outreach activities. School Eye Screening is an important strategy wherein eyes of children studying in schools are screened for vision impairment and glasses distributed free of cost to students from poor socio-economic strata. Corneal blindness is being addressed through eye banking activities and a new thrust has been given for eye donation and corneal transplantation.

With the approval of Rs 1250 crores and implementation of Eleventh Plan (2007-12) the programme has taken a lead in addressing other issues of blindness in a comprehensive manner. These include Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma, Childhood blindness, Low Vision and ocular injuries in a mission mode through successful Public Private Partnership. The endeavor of the programme is to eliminate all causes of avoidable blindness and to reach a sustainable level where-in all people have access to level appropriate eye care service. Tele-ophthalmology a new information technology tool has been introduced under the programme for reaching the undeserved population in rural & tribal areas. The results are very encouraging and being scaled up in a phase manner.

NRHM Push

The programme has been fully integrated under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to enhance the reach and coverage including utilization of services of community link worker like Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers. State Blindness Control Societies and District Blindness Control Societies have been merged State Health Societies and District State Societies formed under the NRHM umbrella. Under NRHM facility for IOL implantation are to expanded to at least Taluka level.

Other new initiatives include funding for construction of eye wards and dedicate eye OT especially in North East State and Hilly/underdeveloped States and appointment of eye surgeons, eye donation counselors and Para-Medical Ophthalmic Assistant (PMOA) especially for the new or district where there are none. The recurring expenditure of such workforce will be borne by Government of India till the term of eleventh plan period and thereafter it would be taken up by respective State/UTs. Funding for provision of latest equipment and instruments for establishing & strengthening eye care services in government institutions i.e. vision centre at Primary Health Centre (PHC), Community Health Centre (CHC) through district hospital and medical colleges are being developed into centre of excellence for providing pediatric ophthalmology retina units/low vision units.

Non-governmental sector providing free services to needy population are being supported through recurring and non-recurring grant as per the approved schemes. Capacity building of health personnel is another important strategy for improving their skills and updating them on issues relevant to the programme for delivery of eye care services. The Government coordinates the in-service training of eye surgeons working in public sector and provides funding to States/UTs for other health care staff including medical officers, paramedical and community link workers. Advocacy and social mobilization including Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities have made a impetus in improving community awareness.

Encouraging Response

Funds utilization is an indicator for planned activities being under taken and during last five years utilization has been to the tune of nearly 100% of the allocation. National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB), through State/UTs and all other stakeholders and partners are consistently moving forward in advancement of comprehensive eye care services and hopefully would be able to bring the level of blindness in the country from current status of 1.0% to 0.3% by the year 2020.

Star News Agency

New Delhi. A growing number of Indians have chronic kidney disease, but most remain unaware of it, hampering efforts to prevent irreversible kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, said Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India.

In the recently concluded MTNL Perfect Health Mela it was found that over 90% of people with mild CKD with kidney functions ranging between 40-60% did not know about the illness.

As per data in the USA about 13 percent of the population — now have chronic kidney disease. Increase in diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and the aging explain at least some of the increase in kidney diseases.

Kidney function can be estimated with a formula that considers the amount of creatinine in a blood sample, along with age and gender.

Creatinine is a waste product created by normal breakdown of muscle cells during activity. When kidneys are ailing, creatinine builds up in the blood. Also damaged kidneys may persistently leak albumin from the blood into the urine, sometimes even when kidney function appears normal.

In a JAMA international study only 11.6 percent of men and 5.5 percent of women with moderate (stage 3) kidney disease knew it. Awareness increased to 22.8 percent among participants with stage 3 disease and albumin in the urine. Awareness was highest among people with severe (stage 4) kidney disease, only 42 percent of them knew that they had the condition. Stage 5 is kidney failure.

Kidney disease is often silent until late stages, but if we can find it early we can do a lot to prevent kidney failure. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney problems you are at risk and should be screened for kidney damage with routine blood and urine tests.

To help protect the kidneys' small blood vessels, carefully control high blood pressure, and blood sugar if you're diabetic, and ask your doctor if you should take an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker.

Kidney disease raises the risk of early death, heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure; causes anemia, bone disease and malnutrition; and can lead to kidney failure.

M.L.Dhar

“The place (Kashmir) is more beautiful than the heaven and is the benefactor of supreme bliss and happiness. It seems to me that I am taking a bath in the lake of nectar here,” wrote Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Sir Walter Lawrence on visiting Kashmir was compelled to write; “The valley is an emerald set in pearls; a land of lakes, clear streams, green turf, magnificent trees and mighty mountains where the air is cool, and the water sweet …”.

Kashmir is endowed with some large pristine lakes and wetlands besides the river Jehlum and its tributaries that make the valley a lively hydraulic society. They include Asia’s largest freshwater lake – the Wullar and India’s most beautiful lake - the Dal. The livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in tourism trade, fisheries, agriculture etc. depends on these water bodies. They are also major source of water for drinking and other purposes. They also support a rich bio-diversity. But, unfortunately these water bodies are shrinking fast due to ecological degradation caused by human interference.

The ecological degradation of the water bodies has in recent years reached to crisis magnitude and caused loss of sustainability. Human settlements in and around the lakes and associated commercial activities along their shores have reached to alarming proportions. The farming activities in the catchment areas have considerably increased causing heavy nutrient pollution load and silting into the lake waters.

Wullar Lake

Located 60 kilometers from Srinagar at the basin of the Jhelum River, Wullar lake plays a very important role in maintaining the Valley’s hydrographic system. Being a huge absorption basin for floodwaters, it regulates the water regime of the region. The lake meets about 60 percent of the valley’s fish demand. It is also a major source of water borne products like water chestnut and lotus-stem locally known as ‘Nadru’, one of the major local vegetables. Wullar sustains a number of endangered and endemic species of flora and fauna and along with its satellite wetlands it is a favourite winter abode of a number of migratory birds including the common pochard, pintail, common teal, shoveller, mallard and many other species. Wullar has also been a favorite haunt for visitors especially foreign tourists.

But all these activities have been adversely affected as the lake has been reduced to less than 70 sq. kms. A century ago, Wullar extended up to almost 190 sq kms and would spread to over 270 sq kms during floods. Human encroachments into the lake, particularly into the associated wet lands, are the chief reason for the lake’s shrinking. According to official estimates over sixty-nine thousand kanals of the lake area have been converted into land and occupied illegally by locals. Environmentalists hold partly government sponsored programmes for agricultural development responsible for shrinking of the lake’s area and changing its ecological character. They allege that parts of wetlands were drained and embankments built to protect settlements as well as crops. A survey conducted in 2006 under court orders revealed that 60,000 kanals area in the lake have been encroached mainly by raising plantations under social forestry programmes of the Forest Department. Experts say that due to it Wullar has lost its capacity to regulate water flows leading to increased floods and droughts in the Valley.

In addition, the sewage from Srinagar and other towns upstream passing into the River Jehlum that flows through Wullar has degraded the lake’s water quality. It has led to increased euthrophication resulting in growth of aquatic weeds that damage local flora and fauna and clogging of its fresh water arteries. This has caused sharp decline in the yield of fish and water borne products in the lake. Records for last 50 years reveal that the fish catch has declined from 10,544 metric tons to 1,476 metric tons per annum. This has endangered the livelihood of more than 8,000 fishermen who depend on Wullar Lake.

For its unique hydrological and socio-economic values, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests included Wullar Lake in its Wetlands Programme as a Wetland of National Importance in 1986. Subsequently, the lake was designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1990.

Dal Lake

The jewel in Kashmir’s splendid beauty, Dal Lake too has suffered from devastating impact of human greed and negligence. Located in Srinagar, Dal lake has considerably shrank and its crystal clear serene waters are polluted. The lake is now ranked among 100 most polluted water bodies globally. From 75 sq kms nine centuries ago the lake had reportedly shrunk to 25 sq kms two decades ago and is today confined to mere 11 sq kms. It has also become shallower at least by four meters due to silting and accumulation of remains from sewage flowing into it. Like Wullar, it too has suffered due to euthrophication process with weeds chocking the lake and adversely affecting its flora and fauna. Here too annual fish yields have significantly reduced.

The lake’s unparalleled spectacular beauty is the main tourist attraction in the valley. Living in the Victorian-era houseboats and enjoying ‘Shikara’ ( small boat) rides in the lake is a life-time experience. Moghul emperors were so overwhelmed by the lake’s beauty that they set up huge gardens on its banks that continue to be favourite of tourists and locals even today. Around 1,200 houseboats, which were first introduced in 1888, are moored year-round in and around the lake. Enjoying huge popularity since their inception, the houseboats in recent years have been in focus for wrong reasons. Local officials say that the houseboats contribute thousands of liters of untreated human waste into lake waters. This has been contested by the houseboat owners association which claims that waste from houseboats account for just 3% of Dal’s pollution. They hold the untreated city sewage flowing into Dal and blocking of the lake’s water circulation canals responsible for degradation of its water quality.

While the blame game goes on, Dal suffers. The state government stopped making of new houseboats in 1991 and subsequently ordered a ban on them. But houseboats continue to moore in its waters without any structural changes ordered by the High Court.

Manasbal

Valley’s deepest lake, Manasbal, located about 30 kms from Srinagar city, is spring-fed like the Dal and other lakes of Kashmir Valley. It harbours rich quantity of water chestnuts, lotus stem and fish specie including Schizothorax, Common Carp and Mirror Carp. It too has suffered from pollution, siltation and encroachments with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warning in 1997 that the lake would be lost to posterity in absence of immediate conservation measures. The government response came in 2006 with the setting up of the Wullar-Manasbal Development Authority (WMDA). But by that time the lake had shrunk to less than 7 sq kms as more than 4 sq kms had turned into marsh.

With community participation, WMDA turned the corner and partly restored the Lake’s health. The quarrying and lime extraction in the vicinity of Mansbal had completely chocked around 1200 springs, which are its main water source, making the lake to stink. The quarries were closed and lime extraction stopped, which proved an important conservation measure in restoration of lake’s springs. Encroachments in the lake’s peripheral areas were, despite stiff resistance, removed and a pedestrian walkway constructed to demarcate the lake’s periphery. With sustained dredging and de-weeding by the WMDA, the lake’s area increased by one-and-a-half sq kms. WMDA’s success in restoring Manasbal led the environmentalists to say that it should serve as a role model for conservation of Valley’s other water bodies.

Conservation

The Government has been making efforts to save the water bodies which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed as ‘icons of our heritage, for which the entire people of the state feel concerned.’ A number of reports and action plans have appeared in recent years to come to terms with the problem of these lakes. These include IIT Roorkee report and comprehensive report of House Committee of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for conservation of the Dal (2002), the Study of Wullar Lake, Soil Conservation Scheme for Catchment Area of Wullar Lake, Wullar Wetland Conservation Project (1993), WWF - India funded the Wullar Lake study (1994) and the Ecological Restoration Plan for Erin Watershed of Wullar Catchment (1988) besides studies by Kashmir University and S.P. College, Srinagar on different aspects of various lakes and their satellite wetlands.

Environment Committee of the state Assembly recently stressed the need for a well knit policy for conservation and protection of water bodies. The Chief Minister conceded during Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Shri Jairam Ramesh’s visit to the valley in June that although various steps have been taken to protect the water-bodies, particularly Dal Lake, an intensified programme is required to be launched to protect the water bodies.

Several authorities namely the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), the Wullar Manasbal Development Authority etc. have been set up to clean and conserve the lakes. About Rs.79 crore have so far been spent by LAWDA on different schemes to conserve Dal Lake. These include setting up of sewage treatment plants, solid waste management, hydraulic works, catchment management works, awareness programme and acquisition of land and structures. The Authority has also relocated about 1,400 families out of 10,000 families living in the lake area. Three Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have been constructed to stop unchecked flow of sewage in the Dal waters, but experts say that atleast a dozen big and small STPs are needed to completely check the sewage flow.

Central Government’s Support

The centrally sponsored National Lake Conservation Action Plan initiated in 2001 covers only one water body from Kashmir, the Dal lake. After personally surveying along with the Chief Minister some of the lakes and water bodies of the valley this summer, Shri Jairam Ramesh assured that the entire Rs.1,100 crore comprehensive state plan for Dal cleaning would be funded by the Centre out of which Rs.300 crore have already been allocated. He said, “We need to find the remaining Rs 800 crore for resettlement and rehabilitation of the Dal dwellers.” He also promised liberal funding for other projects. Extending support for restoration of Wullar Lake, Shri Jairam Ramesh said that Rs.386 crore Wullar project would be expedited and Rs.250 crore cleaning project of the Jhelum river, the lifeline of Kashmir, would be taken up on the pattern of Ganga-Yamuna conservation plan. Under it sewage treatment plants in Srinagar city and at Annantnag, Sopore and Baramullah towns located on the Jehlum would be set up.

The Government says that 40 percent of work on the Dal project, scheduled to be completed by 2010, has been completed and the rest would be finished in the next two years. Relocation and rehabilitation of people is always slow who need to be assured of proper and suitable rehabilitation packages and that is bound to speed up reclaiming of encroached areas of the water bodies.

There has to be a holistic approach in protecting and rehabilitating the water bodies to almost their pristine glory in which peoples’ active participation is a crucial factor. For this mass awareness has got to be generated so that the common man becomes the custodian of the eco safety of the water bodies. That would be the best insurance against the ‘slow death’ of Kashmir lakess

Surinder Sud

“Achieving food security in times of crisis”. This is the theme for this year’s World Food Day being celebrated on October 16. This is as aptly relevant for India, grappling with drought this year, as for the world reeling under economic crisis that has hit the poor harder than the rich, jeopardising their livelihood and food security.

India has, no doubt, won the battle against famines and starvation deaths, which have become the thing of the past, thanks to spectacular upswing in foodgrain production since the green revolution of the late 1960s. The country’s grain coffers are brimming over, holding nearly 53 million tonnes of wheat and rice on July 1, 2009, as a result of consistent rise in foodgrain output in past few years. The food output has grown annually, on an average, by 1.98 per cent between 2004-05 and 2008-09, which is higher than the estimated population growth of 1.5 per cent during this period. Yet, there is rampant disguised hunger and malnutrition. More than one-fifth of the country’s population is reckoned to be undernourished in terms of energy and protein intake.

Globally, too, the picture is not too different. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reckons that nearly 105 million people have been added to the list of hungry in 2009 itself, swelling the total number of malnourished people in the world to whopping 1.02 billion. Simply stated, this means that almost one-sixth of all humanity is suffering from hunger.

This is the state of food intake alone. But the modern concept of food security goes far beyond the availability and accessibility of staple food. It includes the man’s need for safe drinking water, clean surrounding environment and health cover. Livelihood security, essential for ensuring economic access to food, is intricately related to food security. Sanitation and shelter are also part of the broad new concept of food security.

The widely accepted definition of food security in the modern context is: ‘physical, economical, social and environmental access to balanced diet and clean drinking water for all and forever’. This is slightly different from classical concept of food security which, in simple terms, deems it a situation where all people at all times have sufficient food to meet their dietary and nutritional needs to lead a healthy and productive life. This makes it imperative to ensure food security at least at three levels – national level (macro level food security), household level and individual level (micro level food security to facilitate equal access to food to women, especially pregnant women, and young girls).

Where macro level food security is concerned, India is well protected. While the country’s population has nearly doubled between the initial years of the 1970s (when the fruits of the green revolution had begun to accrue) and now, the foodgrain production has increased more than that – from about 90 million tonnes then to nearly 134 million tonnes now.

This has transformed the country from a net food importer to an occasional food exporter. More importantly, this has increased the per capita availability of foodgrains – from 183 kg in 1971-1975 to 193 kg in 2006-07 – despite the increase in the population.

What is highly significant here is that the output of relatively more nutritious food items, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, milk, meat and eggs, has risen faster than that of staple foods. This has implications for nutrition security. Reduction in poverty and improvement in income levels have, together, made food economically accessible to more people. This is reflected in decrease in the per capita consumption of cereals and increase in that of non-cereal foods like fruits, vegetables, fish and animal products. The bitter truth, however, is that neither poverty has totally been eliminated nor food could be made economically accessible to all. As a result, ensuring food security to all is still a challenge.

Fortunately, the need for enhancing food security has seldom been lost sight of by successive Governments in India ever since Independence. This has been sought to be achieved through several policy initiatives and administrative measures. Besides consistent efforts to boost foodgrain production and augment food availability through imports, when necessary, a massive public food distribution system (PDS) has been created to provide physical access to food throughout the country. Massive subsidies are given on food items for different classes of people, depending on their income level to make the food economically affordable for them.

Moreover, social welfare schemes, involving food as a component of assistance, and food-for-work kind of programmes are launched with the dual objective of providing food and alleviating poverty. The most significant recent initiatives in this direction that have attracted attention worldwide are the passage of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and proposal to pass a similar law for guaranteeing statutory right to food. Such measures can potentially take care of both food security and livelihood security. Presently, over half of the country’s population is covered by one or the other scheme in which subsidized food is made available to the beneficiaries.

Another significant recent measure is the setting up of a National Food Security Mission (NFSM) which essentially aims at boosting the production of foodgrains like rice, wheat and pulses. This mission already seems to have made an impact on the output of rice and wheat though the production of pulses still continues to fluctuate widely from year to year.

However, there are several formidable threats to food security. The physical health of soil, including its fertility, is deteriorating due to extraction of more nutrients from it than are added to it annually. The carbon content of the soils is decreasing due to lesser than required application of organic manures. Several micronutrients, vital for getting good crop yields, are becoming deficient. The yields of several key food crops are tending to reach the plateau. Water is also becoming scarce. Achieving a quantum jump in food production is difficult under such circumstances.

The biggest challenge to food security has been posed by the global warming and the resultant climate change. The studies conducted by the New Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) have indicated the possibility of around 4 to 5 million tonnes loss in the country’s overall annual wheat production with every rise of 1 degree Celsius in temperature. The output of other food crops is also likely to be hit by the climate change-induced erratic weather, more frequent droughts and floods and other stresses caused to the food crops.

Though the climate change has begun to create problems for food production all over the world, but the developing countries, especially of South Asia, are believed to be the most vulnerable to its adverse affects. A recent comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on agriculture, made by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), has indicated that the yield of wheat may drop by as much as 50 per cent by 2050 from 2000 levels in South Asia. The productivity of rice is projected to dip by 17 per cent and that of maize by 6 per cent by that time. This study has also indicated that the prices of food crops like wheat, rice, maize and others will rise by between 121 per cent and 194 per cent by 2050 due to factors related to climate change. This, coupled with decreased yields of these crops, will threaten food security of some 1.6 billion people in South Asia and render 25 million more children malnourished world wide by 2050.

Calculations by the FAO have indicated that agriculture in developing countries would need an investment of around US $ 30 billion to achieve the goal, set by the World Food Summit in 1996, of reducing the number of hungry people by half by 2015. However, the FAO has also said in a statement on the occasion of the World Food Day 2009 that the world has the ability to find money to solve problems if these problems are considered important. “Let us work together to make sure hunger is recognised as a critical problem, and solve it,” the global food body has asserted.

Alkesh Tyagi

For over 150 years post offices have been the most visible and popular face of the Indian Government throughout the country. The concept of e-governance i.e Government at your desktop being advocated and promoted today can trace its genesis in services rendered by Post Offices, when the Postman was the only person delivering mail personally at the doorstep of the people. Now India Post is gearing up to play more comprehensive role by reorienting itself to meet the expectations of future generations.

The Indian economy has scaled new height over the last few years and is still in acceleration mode. Emergence of several significant trends such as: liberalisation and globalisation; demographic shift towards urbanisation leading to increasing internal and external migration requiring to be serviced; monetisation of the economy especially the agricultural sector giving rise to a corresponding demand for financial services by all sections of the population; and government policy to increase funding for weaker section programs has necessitated changes in postal framework.

Services

The four main areas of services offered by India Post are- Communication Services- Delivering letters, post card etc; Transportation Services- Transporting parcels, logistics etc; Financial Services- Facilitating saving bank, money order, insurance etc and Value added Services- Providing speed post service, business post, direct post etc.

Transmission and delivery of mail is India Post’s core business so far. Post Office Savings Bank is the oldest and largest banking institution in the country. Transmission of funds by postal order/money order has been the traditional way of money transfer. Since 1884 onwards Postal Life Insurance (PLI) has been providing life insurance coverage, initially to employees of P&T Department and subsequently to all Government employees. Since 1995 PLI has been extended to the rural population of the country under a new scheme Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI).

Responsibilities

Globalization and the deepening of market mechanism in India have brought forward the concept of self sufficiency and social service going hand in hand. India Post is committed to fulfil the Universal Service Obligation for providing basic postal service throughout the country, irrespective of terrain, at an affordable price. India Post fulfils this obligation through the largest postal network of 1, 55,035 Post Offices (as on 31.3.08) in the world. Of these 1, 25, 489 Branch Post Offices cater exclusively to rural areas.  Besides new responsibility of facilitating applications under Right to Information is being shouldered by the post offices.

New Initiatives

To meet the challenges posed by ever changing communication technology especially mobile telephony and World Wide Web, Department of Post is attempting to transform it, striking a balance between its objectives and outcomes of transformation. As the transformation is a multi dimensional process attempt is being made to change the Department at multiple levels.

In order to provide better, faster and satisfactory services to its customers, India Post is focusing on few key areas. Pick up mail facility, electronically enabled services, a dedicated freighter services, the instant money order, and many other similar initiatives have been undertaken to reorient the services for providing greater satisfaction to its customer. At the same time, for self sufficiency, India Post is exploring the role of business facilitator for other organisations.

Dedicated Freighter Service

In an effort to deliver the mail, parcel, speed post and the logistic consignments by the next day in major cities, India Post has added two more aircrafts bringing the total number to three and the process to acquire the fourth is in pipeline. These three aircrafts dedicated to carry only postal cargo touch nine cities every night making possible faster delivery in major cities and their peripheral areas.

Project Arrow

An initiative to transform India Post into a vibrant and responsive organisation is going on under the ‘Project Arrow’. Under the Project 50 Post Offices were modernized in the first phase and 450 in the second phase. Now the third phase is under process for transforming 500 post offices. Selected post offices are undergoing complete overhaul in their look and feel as well as in their core functions and operations. Systematic transformation of post offices in a phased manner will revitalise India Post.

The new logo of India Post reflects this change. The straight lines have been replaced by bold strokes retaining the ‘wings’ element. There is an element of modernity with a conscious effort to maintain an element of continuity. Red and Yellow colours used in its logo convey passion, power and commitment with a pinch of hope, joy and happiness.

IT leads Initiatives

Efforts are on to equip post offices with latest communication means. All the post offices in the country will be computerised during the current five year plan. Major 25,000 post offices have already been computerized and the remaining branch post offices will be taken care during rest of the period. This will make the delivery of information and money order faster.

Recognition

Nation Wide reach of India Post has attracted many private partners. Be it Mutual funds or money transfer business. Since 2001 DOP has been making select mutual fund product available through post offices. Five years ago UTI Mutual Fund and Department of Post joined hands to bring capital markets closer to common man in semi urban and rural areas. India Post provides penetration to the remotest corners of India making mutual fund popular.  Recognising the crucial role, India Post was facilitated on 24th September 2009 with UTI-CNBC special commendation award in the form of “Financial Advisor Awards 08-09” trophy for effectively utilizing its network to promote financial inclusion in smaller places.

An efficient and reliable communication network is the lifeline of the nation and plays a crucial role in socio-economic development and the integration of the country. For nearly a century and half the Postal System has been the main component of the communication infrastructure for the country. Given the need for a strong communication and financial infrastructure, India Post is preparing to meet both challenges and avail of the opportunities presented by current market conditions. With its efforts India Post will make social, commercial and industrial life possible in the remotest parts of India. Though, traditionally India Post have been the courier of peoples’ emotions and trust but changing with times will make India Post even more attractive and useful because of its reach and credibility.

*Deputy Director (M&C), PIB, New Delhi

R.C. Rajamani

“Let’s us annihilate the universe if even a single individual is denied food,” said the Tamil revolutionary poet Subramania Bharati a century ago. The Vedas and Hindu scriptures speak about the importance of food and its sacred nature. “Annadhan” (Giving food to the hungry) is regarded as the greatest of all charity as food sustains life on earth.

The World Food Day falls on October 16, the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. And the theme for this year’s World Food Day is “Ensuring food security in times of crisis,” which is most appropriate as the world grapples with the problem of hunger across nations.

Climate change and bio-energy are the focus of this year’s World Food Day activities. ‘Global warming is already under way and adaptation strategies are now a matter of urgency, especially for the most vulnerable poor countries. Hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers, fishermen and forest-dependent people will be worst-hit by climate change,’ said Alexander Mueller, FAO assistant director-general for Natural Resources Management and Environment Department.

He further adds ‘Adaptation strategies, especially for the most vulnerable poor countries, where most of the over 920 million hungry people live, need to be urgently developed, reviewing land use plans, food security programmes, fisheries and forestry policies to protect the poor from climate change’.

Almost one billion people experience the hardship that hunger imposes, a figure which continues to rise. Despite the political commitment to reduce world hunger, the number of people lacking access to a minimum diet has risen from 824 million in the baseline year 1990 to 963 million in 2008. A further 750 million are assessed to be at risk.

Climate change due to global warming and the bio fuel boom are threatening to push the number of hungry even higher in times to come. In South and East Asia, the retreat of Himalayan glaciers and disruption to the stable monsoon pattern threaten the critical water cycle around which rice production in particular has evolved.

Ensuring food security to feed a fast growing population in the last couple of centuries has become a major challenge for governments the world over. Famine caused a large number of deaths in the 19th century and the early decades in the following century, due largely to spells of drought as well as low productivity in the absence of modern methods of agriculture. The later part of the 20th century posed another problem – population. As of first week of October 2009, Earth’s population as estimated by the United States Census Bureau is to be 6.8 billion. It is expected to reach about 9 billion by the year 2040.

India may be one of the world’s key emerging economies, but it is finding itself under increasing pressure from food security issues. As much as two-thirds of the country’s 1.1 billion inhabitants rely on farming as their main source of income, but 21 per cent less land is under cultivation in August 2009, than during the same period in August 2008. This is due to a reduction in the availability of water resources for agricultural purposes, deforestation and an uneven monsoon, which caused widespread flooding and droughts.

The theme of Food Security is a major preoccupation with agriculture scientists and policy makers as the UN observes the World Food Day. Rarely has this day assumed greater meaning than in present times as there is a strong need to expand global awareness to reduce the effect of severe climate patterns on agriculture and the impact of bio fuels on food production.

And any thought on the subject leads one to the name of Dr Norman Borlaug who died on September 12. His name is truly synonymous with food. No other scientist has contributed more than him towards higher food production and removing hunger from many parts of the world. As long time fellow scientist and friend Dr M.S. Swaminathan said, Borlaug burst on the scene at the appropriate time in history. “He was a bright, affirming flame in the midst of a sea of despair then prevailing. He was a man of extraordinary humanism, commitment to a hunger-free world and knew no nationality.”

With only 3% of the land area, India feeds 17% of (global) people. At the time of Independence, India’s wheat and rice yield was less than one metric tonne per hectare. It saw an increase in the area under the crops from 1947 to 1960. But there was no significant increase in production. “It was at that time he came to India. My association with him started when we started to work on how to achieve a yield breakthrough in wheat. He is the greatest hunger-fighter for all time. His contribution was multi-dimensional – scientific, political and humanistic,” says Dr Swaminathan.

It is appropriate to note that the Government is devoting time and energy to the subject of food security. It is proposing to bring in legislation, to be known as Food Security Act, to ensure a hunger-free nation. Implementation of various pro-poor legislations such as NERGA, also reflect the government’s commitment to remove hunger. There are also some important food-based interventions like the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS).