India News Clips
 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is worried about rain Http://Www.Asianage.Com/Presentation/Leftnavigation/News/India/Manmohan.Aspx Amit Agnihotri | New Delhi June 23: Concerned over the likely impact of delayed monsoon on the agriculture sector and thereby on the economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked key government secretaries to keep a watch on the situation. Keeping their fingers crossed over the expected revival of the south-west monsoon, delayed by around 20 days, sources in the government said any adverse impact on the agriculture sector has the potential to affect the targeted 7-8 per cent economic growth this financial year. The sector employs over 50 per cent of the population and contributes around 19 per cent to the country’s GDP. The PM has already stated that any dip the in economic growth projections may result in financial crunch for the flagship social welfare schemes, which are in priority list for the UPA government. "At the moment, we are watching the situation closely. We hope the monsoon to revive by June 25 as projected by the MeT department. If it doesn’t, it should be a cause of concern," said a senior official in the agriculture ministry. As part of plan B, in case the monsoon gets delayed beyond June 25, the ministry will issue revised advisories to the state governments suggesting delaying sowing for the rabi crop, focusing on water conservation methods and use of drought resistance seeds, said officials.

World Council of Churches asks Indian churches to fight caste discrimination http://www.indiancatholic.in/news/storydetails.php/Indian-churches-discrimination Indian Catholic | June 24 2009 UTRECHT (NETHERLANDS): An international conference held in Doorn on anti racism has asked the Indian churches to fight caste discrimination and to tirelessly work towards empowering the Dalits. Organized by the World Council of Churches with the Council of Churches in Netherlands, there were around 50 church leaders from various denominations including theologians and activists committed to tackle racism in a concerted effort. “WCC is to urge the Indian Churches to address the issue of caste discrimination as a key priority,” says the joint statement issued by the delegates from the conference. The conference condemned ‘Dalits’ being treated as ‘untouchables’ in India. It also asked the WCC to “renew and refocus its priorities so as to initiate a new churches' to set a new beginning to Churches’ movement to address the issues related to ‘racism, casteism and related forms of exclusion in the new context of global economic and environmental crisis, and also resurgent nationalism." According to Bishop Dr. Vedanayagam Devasahayam of the Church of South India some churches in India practice discrimination of Dalits. He said, "We want the Indian church to declare its identity as the church of and for the Dalits, in order to work towards their liberation. We also want the Indian church to encourage the expression of the Dalits' culture in church life, worship and theology."

India home to 25 pc of wealthiest expats: Survey http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/india_home_to_25_pc_of_wealthiest_expats_survey.php Press Trust of India, | June 25, 2009, New Delhi Asian countries are home to some of the wealthiest expatriates in the world and about 25 per cent of the highest paid foreign assignees' prefer to live in India, a report has said. According to the 2009 Expat Explorer Survey by HSBC Bank International, the highest paid expats in the world prefer living in Asia, while their lowest paid counterparts go for Australia and Western Europe. The highest proportion of expats, earning more than $250,000, are in Hong Kong (27 per cent), Japan (26 per cent) and India (25 per cent) compared with a global average of 16 per cent. Further, about 30 per cent of high-salaried expats live in Russia and 25 per cent in Switzerland, it added. The survey revealed that Asian countries were among the cheapest for accommodation, with expats in India, Malaysia and China finding accommodation much cheaper than they did living in their countries of origin. About 43 per cent of the expats surveyed find accommodation cheaper in India and allocating much less of their income towards accommodation, compared with expats globally, it said. The report said that the lowest-paid expats live in Australia and Belgium, with the majority (63 per cent and 61 per cent versus 35 per cent overall) of expats earning under $100,000.

'80% babus don't use computers' http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_80pct-babus-don-t-use-computers_1268887 Surendra Gangan / DNA | Saturday, June 27, 2009 Mumbai: Chief minister Ashok Chavan was shocked when he learnt that nearly 80% of the secretaries and top officials do not follow the online procedure using the computer and laptops given to them. Chavan had directed all officials to minimise manual communication and resort to the online mechanism for internal communication within the administration. Chavan, during a review meeting of the use of information technology on Thursday, was told that IT facilities were not being used effectively by the administration. All government officials have been provided with personal computers and laptops, which are hardly used by them hampering speedy dissemination of work. This has led to delayed response to the complaints received, Chavan was told.

Pakistan Treads Warily as New Fight Looms Preliminary Efforts Against Fighters in Tribal Waziristan Yield Mixed Results http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/28/AR2009062802921.html By Pamela Constable | Washington Post Foreign Service | Monday, June 29, 2009 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 28 -- More than 70 years ago, the British army went to war against tribal forces loyal to a charismatic religious figure in what is now the Pakistani region of Waziristan. The ensuing guerrilla conflict lasted more than a decade. The British troops, though far more numerous and better armed, never captured the renegade leader and finally withdrew from the region. Today, the Pakistani army is preparing to launch a major operation against another warrior in Waziristan, the ruthless Islamist commander Baitullah Mehsud. Taking a lesson from history and its own recent failures, the army is attempting to isolate and weaken Mehsud before sending its troops into battle. Every day for the past two weeks, Pakistani bombers have crisscrossed Mehsud's territory, pounding his suspected hideouts and killing dozens of his fighters, including 16 who officials said died in bombing raids Saturday. Military forces have also surrounded the region to choke off Mehsud's access to weapons and fuel from outside. "We are trying to shape the environment before we move in for the fight," Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the chief military spokesman, said in an interview. "We are also trying to minimize the loss of life. Ours is the only institution that can stand up to the militants, but public support is crucial. When we do move in, it must only be against Baitullah and his group. We cannot afford to provoke a tribal uprising." So far, the effort has produced mixed results. On Tuesday, a Mehsud loyalist assassinated a key pro-government tribal leader in South Waziristan, and U.S. drone strikes killed 46 people at the funeral of a slain Mehsud commander, muddying the waters of tribal loyalties and antipathies. "It is now clear that any tribals who side with the army will be violently suppressed," said Rifaat Hussain, a professor of defense studies at Quaid-i-Azam University here. "They may tacitly support the state, but they will not dare actively support it." He also noted that many army officers are from the same ethnic Pashtun group as Mehsud, making them reluctant to take him on. As the days pass without the launch of a full-scale operation, experts said Mehsud -- who army officials estimate commands about 10,000 tribal fighters -- has had the time to gather support from sympathizers in other areas of Pakistan and abroad. Since April, the army has enjoyed unprecedented public backing for a series of anti-militant operations, because of a mixture of high-profile terrorist bombings and revelations of cruel excesses by Taliban forces in the northwestern Swat Valley. But lately, some Pakistani commentators have cast doubt on the wisdom of taking on Mehsud's fanatical hordes. "The decision to launch a military operation in this highly sensitive border region is ill-conceived, ill-advised, ill-timed," Roedad Khan, a retired government official, wrote Friday in The News International newspaper. Khan recalled the 1930s operation in which 40,000 British and Indian forces failed to crush Mirza Ali Khan, known as the Fakir of Ipi, a religious and tribal leader in North Waziristan. The retired official warned that by attacking next-door South Waziristan, the army could open a "massive, self-inflicted wound." Sources close to the armed forces said there were concerns that the military was being pushed into the new campaign by Pakistan and U.S. officials too soon after taking on thousands of Taliban fighters in Swat. The operation there sent more than 2 million people fleeing and used up military resources. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivity, said there was also concern in the military that the continuing U.S. drone attacks were doing more harm than good, killing a few important militant figures but stoking anti-American sentiment throughout the tribal region. "The drone attacks have a short-term positive impact, but their long-term effect is to create public hostility," one military source said. "People see them as a breach of sovereignty and think the state is leaving its own citizens at their mercy." Abbas said he could not comment on the drone issue, and he would not say how soon the ground operation in Waziristan would begin. However, he said that although the army was prepared to go after Mehsud and the fighters, "we are dealing with a lot of complexities and constraints. We can only go so far without hurting our long-term interests." Abbas acknowledged that the government had decided to withdraw the army from South Waziristan in January after a brief effort to attack Mehsud, but he said the military was in a far better political position today to go after the militants, because it enjoys strong public support while Mehsud, once seen as a Robin Hood figure by many Pakistanis, has become a ruthless criminal in the public's eye. Abbas also took issue with observers who suggest that South Waziristan is going to be a far tougher fight than Swat. He said Swat was an "ideal territory for guerrilla fighters" because it is mountainous, forested and heavily populated. In contrast, he said, South Waziristan is barren and sparsely populated, with few places for insurgents to hide. Still, Abbas said that even if Mehsud is captured or killed and his movement crushed, the problems that spawned it will not vanish overnight. "The tribal areas have been neglected for 50 years," the spokesman said. "We will do our part, but there has to be follow-up by the civilian administration, better governance, more development. This is going to be a long haul."