World Bank indicted for meddling with India's policies
criticism against the World Bank (wb) has just become strident. At a time when India has become the biggest recipient of wb loans, a people's tribunal in Delhi has accused the bank of trying to
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Gas chamber
Industries spew poison unchecked in Chhattisgarh
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Home remedy
A local remedy for controlling a parasitic disease works wonders for sheepbreeders in the Peruvian highlands
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Gas chamber
Industries spew poison unchecked in Chhattisgarh
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Tightening up
To rein in beverages industry
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Stop trade
Soligas harvested forest produce. For them, it was a sustainable business. Then, irrationally, government moved to
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We fought, the government gave in
The Gandhian couple who fought against shrimp farms
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Coasting on unclarity
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 1991: The CRZ area is defined as coastal stretches of seas, bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers, backwaters, all influenced by tidal action (in the landward side). The CRZ area is up to 500 metres from the high tide line and the land between the low tide line and high tide line.
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Biotech for all
Can information sharing make
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Snippets
<font face=arial size=3 color=#CE181E><b>•</b></font> Army contractors halted operations at the Newport Chemical Depot, in western Indiana, as nearly 500 gallons of caustic wastewater containing hydrolysate, leaked into a sealed area at the facility. This plant is used for destroying Cold War era chemical weapon VX.<br>
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Treatment for pesticide poisoning, in Sri Lanka not effective: Clinical study
The standard treatment for patients who have attempted suicide by drinking pesticide -- a major problem in parts of rural South Asia including Sri Lanka -- is essentially useless, according to a study. Activated charcoal, taken orally, has long been prescribed as an antidote for self-inflicted poisoning, as it is thought to absorb toxins in the stomach and prevent them from entering the bloodstream. But a large clinical study of 4,500 patients, published in today's issue of The Lancet, has found that the carbon powder has no discernible effect. A team of researchers led by Michael Eddleston of the Scottish Poisons Information Bureau in Edinburgh compared three different treatments for suicide attempts in rural Sri Lanka in 2002 and 2003. A third of the subjects were given a single, 50-gramme dose of charcoal, and one third were given six 50-gramme doses at four-hour intervals. For the last third, activated charcoal was omitted entirely from the treatment administered, according to the study. Mortality rates for all three groups showed no statistically significant difference, varying by less than one percent. On average, 6.8 percent of the patients died as a result of the poisoning. The percentage needing intubation for breathing, or suffering from seizures, was likewise similar across the three sets of patients, with a slightly lower incidence among those who received multiple doses of charcoal. Just over half -- 51 percent -- of the subjects ingested industrial insecticides and 36 percent swallowed toxic seeds from yellow oleander, a common roadside plant throughout most of south Asia. In 2006, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that nearly 900,000 suicides occurred each year -- more than from homicides and wars combined -- of which 250,000 occurred from poisoning by agricultural chemicals. In China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka between 60 and 90 percent of all suicides were due to ingestion of pesticides and the incidence was rising in many other countries in Asia, it said. Compared to industrialised countries, the mortality rate for attempted suicides is 10-to-50 times higher in the rural developing world. The effectiveness of charcoal has long been debated, and Eddleston's findings will probably not go unchallenged. A previous study, also conducted in Sri Lanka and published in The Lancet in 2003, determined that multiple doses of activated charcoal halved mortality rates compared to a control group. But this apparent breakthrough may have been false, as the earlier trial used large doses of atropine, noted Peter and Florian Eyer, researchers at the University of Munich, in a commentary, also in The Lancet. Atropine is a drug derived from the plant deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) that relieves spasms of the gastrointestinal tract, thus reducing secretions of stomach acid.
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Bata Atha farm a tribute to Ruhuna farmers'
The Bata Atha agro technological farm was set up as a tribute to the farmers of Ruhunu Magam Pattu, said the Minister of Ports and Aviation Chamal Rajapaksa. The Minister was addressing a meeting at Siyabalaheddewa in Weeraketiya DS area that followed the opening of several common amenities including a housing scheme set up by the Southern Development Authority (SDA) under the Jathika Saviya Gama Neguma programme. Rs. 3,197,037.80 were spent for the projects. The Minister said that the farmer community is the lifeblood of the nation and that it is the community that produces the staple food, rice. They are an asset and a legacy for a nation. We provide them necessary facilities and protect them like precious gems. He said the farming community has a lot of things to learn from the agro technology farm at Bata Atha. I request them to visit it in order to learn the latest technology in farming. The Minister said late D. A. Rajapaksa was instrumental in setting up the Chandrikawewa reservoir at Embilipitiya. That was also a tribute for the farming community. He said 4,000 villages are being developed in Sri Lanka under the Jathika Saviya Gama Neguma programme. The SDA has been entrusted with several villages under the programme in Hambantota district. The Minister said President Mahinda Rajapaksa became President in 2005. He is a leader with farsighted policies as such the people decided to elect him President. He said President's farsightedness has brought the NE conflict almost to an end. The cost of living has risen as a result of a colossal sum of money spent in this endeavour. The Minister said the people of Deduru Oya grow gotukola and earn a substantial income from it. They export them to America through an agency. In America they convert gotu kola into powder and tablets and export them to Sri Lanka. Ranjith Gunasekera Chairman and Director General SDA said that the Siyabalaheddewa village is an underdeveloped village which was known to him since 1970. A period of transition has occurred in the village with projects implemented under the Jathika Saviya Maga Neguma programme. He said President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is familiar with the less fortunate downtrodden masses implements development programmes to elevate them to the status of the haves. The Minister said we summoned the Jana Sabha to identify the priorities that need development in the village of Siyabalaheddewa. We as SDA utilised funds provided to us for fruitful purposes and the people reap the benefits of it. The Chief Coordinating Secretary to the President Upul Dissanayaka, Coordinator to the President Wasantha Gunasekera, SPC Minister V. K. Indika and SPC Chairman Somawansa Kodagoda were present.
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Sylhet chamber chooses lands for special economic zone
Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has selected 1,000 acres of land for setting up an special economic zone in order to attract investment especially from the non-resident Sylheties. The special economic zone, adjacent to Fenchuganj-Tamabil Bypass Road Link, will provide land and other infrastructural facilities to the entrepreneurs to set up manufacturing and other industrial units. "We will submit the proposal to the government for acquiring the land,' said SCCI President Junnun Mahmud Khan. He said the chamber has completed a feasibility study on setting up a special economic zone or an industrial park in Sylhet division from where a large number of expatriates are living mainly in the UK and USA. The SCCI has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the British-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BBCCI) in 2006. Under the deal, the BBCCI will bring together the non-resident Sylheties to invest in the economic zone. It is expected that 65 percent land of the zone will be provided to the expatriates. According to the feasibility study, Sylhet has available land, abundant natural and forest resources to set up an economic zone or industrial park. There is an ample scope to increase production of various agricultural commodities. In Sylhet division, there is also scope to increase fish production through undertaking aggressive programmes and activities. Sylhet has economically significant storage of minerals for industrialisation. Natural gas, limestone, sand stone and sand, glass sand and coal are available in this region. Some supports should be provided to the non-resident Sylheties to encourage investment. The supports include investment security, one-stop services cell for registration, licensing and regulatory formalities, prompt and easy access to physical infrastructure like plots and utility connections, access to institutional support for identification of the reliable and good local partners, strong access to business support services such as banks, insurance and shipping, easy access to reliable expert and consulting services, access to amenities and recreation facilities, and cargo shed and jet fueling station in Sylhet airport, the study said. In the economic zone, there will be scope for establishing power plants, agro processing units, re-rolling mills and steel casting mills, said Nasim Hussain, senior vice-president of SCCI. As the seven sister states of India are very near from Sylhet, the entrepreneurs or the investors will have an easy access to the seven sisters to export their products, he said. "We are hoping to get a huge response from the Sylheti expatriates,' he added. Sarwar@thedailystar.net
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Low procurement stares depleted silos
FOOD MANAGEMENT: Foodgrain stock at 19.2 MT on January 1 this year is 4% lower than the buffer norm of 20 MT. The Economic Survey 2007-08 points to the lower than normative foodgrain stocks for the third consecutive year, caused mainly by the decline in procurement of wheat and rice and their increased offtake under the targeted public distribution system. The foodgrain stock stood at 19.2 million tonnes (MT) as on January 1, 2008, comprising 11.5 million tonnes of rice and 7.7 MT of wheat, respectively. This stock is 4 per cent lower than the buffer norm of 20 MT. Last year, only wheat stock was short of buffer norm. While wheat stock of 7.7 MT is 500,000 tonnes lower than the required norm, the rice stock stood at 11.5 MT, that is 300,000 tonnes lower than the norm. According to the survey, the main reason behind the decline in stocks was due to lower procurement in both wheat and rice. The survey attributes the decline in wheat procurement to low production, lower market arrivals, high market ruling prices, negative market sentiments due to low stocks in the central pool, and aggressive purchase by the private traders. It acknowledges that the increase in government procurement price by Rs 150 a quintal during the 2007-08 marketing season helped wheat procurement to a small extent. The procurement rose by 20.65 per cent to 11.1 MT but the government had to contract imports of 1.8 MT at high rates to meet the consumption requirement. This was the second consecutive year of wheat import. However, rice procurement also fell marginally to 26.3 MT during 2006-07 from 26.7 MT during 2005-06. However, in the ongoing 2007-08 season, procurement till December has been marginally better than the previous season's corresponding purchase. The increase in paddy procurement price by Rs 125 a quintal has helped rice availability in the central pool this year. The regulation of rice export by putting a price cap has also contributed. The offtake of both wheat and rice increased marginally in the April-December period of 2007-08. Wheat offtake during the period was 8.2 MT (against 7.7 MT in the previous year's corresponding period) while the rice offtake was 16.7 MT (versus 15.9 MT in the year before).
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Do more for farmers
Union finance minister's Rs 60,000-crore loan waiver in the Union Budget proposals has won kudos for the government and has to some extent queered the pitch for the Opposition on this score. But a lot more needs to be done if the Congress-led UPA government has to regain the confidence of farmers. Bank loan is just one minor part of the problem and concerns only those farmers who take loans from banks. There are millions of farmers who take loans from moneylenders and commission agents at usurious prices. Maybe the government could issue an ordinance to stop payment on these loans, because in most cases the interest amount is more than double the actual loan. Even in the case of the farmers whose loans with banks have been waived, fresh trouble will begin next season. The crux of the problem which any farmer from Hoshiarpur to Wardha or Warangal will tell you, is remunerative price. Unless he gets remunerative prices, he will be in debt to the banks again. And what about corruption? A farmer from Hoshiarpur, for instance, if he wants to buy a tractor which costs say Rs 5-6 lakhs, has to pledge his four acres of land in addition to the ten per cent interest he pays on the loan. When he pledges his land he has to deal with the patwari and senior revenue officials. He has to bribe them to get his work done. Then he has to look for a middleman and pay him to negotiate to get his loan from the bank and finally at the bank he has to grease the palms of officials sanctioning the loans. On Rs 4 lakhs he pays over Rs 4,000 as bribe, and this is the minimum. The other important issue is cost of production. The government gives the farmer what it calls his cost of production. Perhaps the bureaucrats use their own parameters to arrive at the cost of production, but the farmer needs to survive. The businessman, for instance, adds his profits and perks to the cost of the items he produces. Shouldn't the farmer get a reasonable profit? He and his family work 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year on their farm. In Maharashtra, farmers wait all night for power to run his pumps. And yet his cost of production does not take all this into account. This bias against the farmer must be removed.
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A bridge too far gone ...
At this time of year, Jasabi village in Lhuentse is calm and quiet. There is not much activity as farmers serenely prepare for the spring season which heralds yet another busy farming cycle. But the farmers from about 15 households in this village dread summer. They fear summer not because of the drudgery of farm life, but for a common problem they share every summer - the Jasabi bridge. The suspension bridge over the Kurichhu river in Kurtoe gewog, which is a lifeline for the village, is about 23 years old and about to fall apart, according to farmers. Over the years, the river has eaten into the foundation of the bridge, which was built in 1985. "I think the bridge will not survive the swelling river, forget a flood,' said a worried farmer. There is enough reason for concerns. Jasabi is a two- to three-hour walk from the nearest farm road in Dungkhar. It is the only bridge that connects the village to the dzongkhag headquarters, the hospital, and the gup's office. "Even to sell a few village products, we have to cross that bridge,' said another farmer. "If the bridge breaks down, our children will miss one academic session because the school is on the other side of the river.' "We'll be isolated,' said the village tshogpa, Pema Wangchuk. According to him, there is no other means to get to Lhuentse if the bridge is washed away. "During winter, we can wade through but, with the Kurichhu swelling in summer, there's no other way to get across.' However, Dzongkhag officials are aware of the concerns of the Jasabi farmers. According to the dzongkhag engineer, Tshering Chophel, the bridge would be renovated in the first year of the 10th Plan. "The bridge is risky and we've already made plans to renovate it,' said the engineer. "We'll provide protection to the foundation of the bridge, so there's no need for a new bridge,' he said. "The wooden deck will also be repaired.' The Kurtoe gup added that the importance of the bridge was long realized and included in the Plan. Contributed by Tashi Yetsho
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Rising food prices worry Chidambaram
Expressing concern over rising food prices, finance minister P Chidambaram said he had not forgotten the corporate sector and defended the Rs 60,000 crore farm loan waiver on the ground that the money would flow to a distressed segment of the productive sector where the output was either stagnant or falling. "One of the reasons why inflation is still a threat is food prices in India,' Chidambaram said, adding that after a long gap, India has become a marginal importer of foodgrain, which is a dangerous sign. "Because we are dependent on import, we are subject to world prices... No country with as large a population as India can be dependent on imports (of foodgrain),' he said at the postbudget interactive session with industry chambers. Since April 2007, prices of wheat in the global market has risen by 88% and that of rice by 15%, he said. "Taking all this into consideration, we came to the conclusion that farmers' distress called for an unorthodox response... the response was farm loan waiver,' Chidambaram said. The wholesale price-based inflation rose to 4.89% from 4.35% in the previous week. Responding to the issues raised by the corporate sector, he said, "I have not forgotten the corporate sector. Despite the advice given by my chief economic advisor and suggestion from Economic Survey, we accepted your (corporates) demand of retaining peak customs duty rate.' He said excise duty reductions and relief given in personal income tax would help in spurring demand for consumer goods and benefit the industry. Exports grow 20.5% in January India's exports showed a healthy growth of 20.47% in January this fiscal over the same month last year, but expanded by a single digit figure of 7.66% in rupee terms due to pricey domestic currency. Exports increased to $13.14 billion in January 2008 from $10.9 billion a year ago, while imports grew by a huge 63.57% to $22.50 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $9.36 billion. PTI
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Deficit output behind foodgrain price rise
The State Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Dr Nazrul Hussain today told the Assembly that deficit production and increase of price at source due to rising demand were at the root of the price rise in essential commodities, especially foodgrains, in the State. Replying to a question raised by Ananta Deka of CPM during zero hour, Dr Islam said that the current price rise was a national phenomenon and affected Assam and the North-East more because of the transportation costs. The Minister said that his department was coordinating with district and subdivisional administrations for properly monitoring the developments so that unscrupulous elements could not take advantage of the situation. The situation in places like Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, etc., were also kept track of and constantly compared with that of the State. "Deficit production in rice, dal, wheat, mustard, etc., and the lowering of Government subsidies are having an impact on price rise. The recent export of 5 lakh MT rice to Bangladesh has also added to the growing demand in the source States,' Dr Islam said. "Common rice which was sold at Rs 12 a kg in Kolkata on October 8, 2007 shot up to Rs 14 on February 8, 2008. The same rice is being sold in Delhi at Rs 17 a kg. In Guwahati, common rice which fetched Rs 12.50-Rs 14 a kg in October last year, was sold at Rs 14-Rs 16 in January,' he said. The Minister further said that the rise in import prices of various edible oils was contributing to the price rise. "India imports a sizeable quantity of refined vegetable oil and refined rapeseed oil from Malaysia, and recently there has been considerable increase in the their prices. Again, mustard oil produced in the country has also become costlier,' he said. Dr Islam said that the department, during 2007, registered 726 cases regarding the public distribution system (PDS), which "showed that we are taking steps to streamline the system.' Moreover, the Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences (BIEO) has been entrusted with the job of making an inquiry into the PDS scam that rocked the State last year. Dr Islam said that the six per cent railway fare cut for the North-Eastern States would come into effect from April only.
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Loan waiver: Cheer without fear
Holding down inflation and interest rates, energising the production function, pushing investments, saving livelihoods, and raising incomes and consumption became the principal objectives of the Budget. The waiver of farm loans is a means to the accomplishment of these goals. G. Ramachandran First things ought to come first. There is an exaggerated view that the waiver of farm loans is senseless and indefensible. The waiver has been criticised on the grounds that it would vitiate the credit culture and exacerbate moral hazard in banking. The critics have no such views when commercial and industrial loans remain unpaid or are waived and written off. The waiver of farm loans is a wholly sensible and defensible decision. The waiver at its worst estimate is expected to cost the exchequer a big sum of Rs 60,000 crore. But it will most likely trigger an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) of over Rs 3,72,000 crore over the next three years. The exchequer will earn at least Rs 44,000 crore if the tax-to-GDP ratio is 12 per cent. The nominal net loss could at worst be Rs 16,000 crore. But there may be no loss at all. The loss could turn into a sizeable profit. There are three reasons for this optimism. First, the loss to the exchequer would be lower when the other robust stimuli to growth act upon the economy. Second, the waiver would break the logjam in the fallow farmlands. It will put crops back on cultivable lands that have remained fallow. A spurt in output will kill inflation. Third, lower inflation will keep interest rates low. Nonperforming assets of banks will rebound smartly. Therefore, law-abiding taxpayers and conscientious borrowers that repay loans have nothing to fear. Smartly managerial The Finance Minister has acquired a reputation for smart and conscientious fiscal management since 2006. He has managed India's fat fixed costs of running government pragmatically. He has outrun the beastly costs by taking a managerial view of tax revenues. He has stimulated tax inflows by lowering the unit excise duty rates. He has raised the threshold of the service tax. The raising of the personal tax threshold level and the slabs expands incomes that can be allocated to consumption. It expands the size of the indirect tax market as a result. Yet, it ensures that the good times of ordinary people will continue. The cut in excise duties applicable to many consumption goods and consumer durables deserves special attention. Compliant and conscientious The boost to consumption may appear scandalous. But the Finance Minister has stayed steadfastly on course to meet the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA). Ernst & Young, a global accounting confirm, has aptly commented that India has
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Land for SEZ registered: Collector IIN
Land owners who gave away their lands for SEZ were compensated at the rate of Rs three lakh an acre and family members have been assured jobs on the basis of educational qualifications Around 2,100 acres of land, valued at Rs 63 crore, had been registered for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be set up near Perambalur, district Collector Anil Meshram said. Speaking on the development works in the district, the Collector disclosed that land owners who had given away their lands towards SEZ were compensated at the rate of Rs three lakh an acre. Their family members have also been assured of jobs on the basis of educational qualifications. A total of 298 acres of land has been acquired near Naranamangalam for starting MRF tyre factory. The Cauvery Combined Drinking Water Scheme to facilitate 306 residential units and the town panchayats of Arumbavur and Poolambadi are being implemented at Rs 61 crore. The work would be completed by 2009. Underground drainage scheme for Perambalur municipality is to be implemented by TWAD Board at an ried out at an estimated cost of Rs 5.45 crore, which includes the extension of the main roads in Perambalur town. The department of cooperatives had plans to sanction Rs 41.80 crore as loans. So far, Rs 37.81 crore had been disbursed as agricultural loans. Under the Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy maternity assistance scheme, Rs 5.23 crore had been distributed to 6,322 pregnant women and 129 medical camps were organised under the Varumun Kappom scheme, providing medical facilities to more than 1.5 lakh persons, Collector said. Under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), an allocation of Rs 18.94 crore was set apart for implementing special schemes. School drop outs numbering 177 were re-admitted in schools and fitted into the regular scheme. Regular education for 869 differently-abled students is also under implementation. Under the unemployment assistance scheme, Rs 1.90 crore had been distributed to 11,172 youth. More than 1,400 girls had been benefited under the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar memorial marriage assistance scheme totaling Rs 2.11 crore. estimated cost of Rs 20 crore. Five mega road projects are also being car.