PM congratulates Dr.Ramakrishnan on Nobel honour for Chemistry

Press Information Bureau Government of India ****** PM congratulates Dr.Ramakrishnan on Nobel honour for Chemistry   New Delhi : October 8, 2009   The Prime Minster, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has congratulated Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan on his being honoured with the Nobel prize for Chemistry. The Prime Minister in his congratulatory message to Dr. Ramakrishnan said that his work in extending the frontiers of Molecular Biology will be an inspiration to thousands of Indian scientists and researchers.   The Prime Minister's message is as follows :   "I warmly congratulate you on the award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009. This high honour is just and due recognition of your exceptional scientific achievements in your chosen field of study. The work done by you and the other prize winners in furthering the scientific understanding of one of life's core processes has major applications in the field of medical science and drug development.   It is a matter of great pride for India that a brilliant scientist, who has gained the highest international recognition, should have done most of his education in India. It is a tribute to the educational system in our country and the dedication of the teaching community that we are able to nurture such international excellence in the sciences. The work that you have done to extend the frontiers of Molecular Biology will be an inspiration to thousands of Indian scientists, researchers and technologists, who strive to follow in your footsteps.   I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours and hope that you will continue to make outstanding contributions to the scientific progress of humankind."   AKT/AD/LV  /spandey     Press Information Bureau Government of India ****** First North East Youth Festival begins at Kohima   New Delhi : October 8, 2009   In a glittering ceremony held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium at Kohima today, the Honorable Chief Minister of Nagaland, Shri Neiphiu Rio declared the First North East Youth Festival open. Thundering applause from thousands of audience, firing of the traditional gun, colorful balloons flying high in the cloudy sky, smiling of the early morning sun in between, traditional music all added a festive look to the stadium. About 1300 youth from all over the country including all the north eastern states are participating in the 3 day North East Youth Festival being organized jointly by the Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India and the Nagaland Government. Majority of the participants are active volunteers of the NYKS and NSS, two field organizations of the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports.   In his inaugural speech, the CM of Nagaland remarked that success at the regional or national level is no longer excellence. He called upon the youth from all over the country to strive to be the best globally, to reach out for international recognition to bring laurels to our people and glory to the country. Youth and Creativity is the theme selected aptly for the first ever North East youth festival being organized in Kohima. The Chief Minister of Nagaland mentioned that the theme is most appropriate for the present time and age as in the past 2 years, the entire world has undergone a time of crisis and economic melt-down. This global recession has put forward several questions, many of which are yet to find complete answer. But, there is one definite answer that is bound to be accepted in every walk of life and that is creativity. Companies, Governments, Entrepreneurs etc. are all looking for creativity and this new creativity will have to emerge from the imagination and the courage of the youth. He urged upon the youth to follow the time honoured mantra of 3Ds i.e., Dedication, Discipline and Determination for success.   Shri B M Lanong, Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya, also addressed the youth and wished the very best.   The inauguration of the festival was followed by cultural performances which included traditional Nagas indigenous sports viz., Naga Wrestling, Taekwondo display by students and other tribal dances. The three day festival will witness a number of competitive events like Rock Band Contest, One Act Play, Folk Dance, Folk Music Classical Dance Competitions etc. for which elaborate arrangements have been made. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangatan has also set up an exhibition displaying various arts and crafts from various parts of the country in the Yuva Kriti. A Convention has also been organized for the NSS students and eminent personalities will address and share their experiences with the students.   The closing ceremony to be held on 10th October 2009 will be graced by Ms. Agatha Sangma, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development.   RM/AS  /spandey     Press Information Bureau Government of India ****** Shri Jena inaugurates National Conference on Medical Devices   New Delhi : October 8, 2009   Shri Srikant Kumar Jena, Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers inaugurated a National Conference on Medical Devices here today. The Conference was organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, NIPER & FICCI. In his inaugural address, he said that the Conference is a landmark to give encouragement to product innovation, development and research in the medical devices sector. He further said the important stakeholders would discuss and debate on what it will take for the medical device industry in India to move up the value chain and work towards a vision of "Made in India" for medical devices. Shri Jena said over the last three decades unprecedented improvement in healthcare has been seen. This progress is primarily due to strides that science and technology has made in-developing an understanding of the causes of diseases; technology that has helped to develop better medicines and devices and improvement in Diagnostics for an early and correct intervention. These developments have therefore offered a possibility for healthcare to be taken closer to the people.   The Minister pointed out that today, in spite of the success and progress of science it is estimated that about one third of the Indian population has little or no access to modern healthcare facilities. This gap needs to be urgently bridged, and our government is committed to come up to the expectation. NHRM is one such programme launched by the UPA Government, which has enabled to a large extent in bridging this gap in Health care. He further said that the Ministry is working with the State Government to initiate special drive to promote the Medical Device Manufacturing in the country. The government has accepted the challenge of making India a manufacturing hub for medical devices to serve the nation. He said there is a need to create infrastructure implying hospitals, trained doctors and support staff and also to look at affordability through innovative financing option for medical device companies to expand operations and activities. There is also need to take a hard look as to why the medical device industry continues to rely on imports, and not really manufacturing except for simple devices in most cases. For manufacturing there has to be robust regulatory system to ensure quality products and patient safety, he added.   PKM/NG  /spandey     Press Information Bureau Government of India ******   Bharat Dynamics Limited pays 23 crore dividend   New Delhi : October 8, 2009   Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Major General (Retd) Ravi Khetarpal presented a dividend cheque of Rs 23 Crore for the financial year 2008-09 to Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in New Delhi, today. The Company has achieved a turnover of Rs 465 crore during the fiscal year.   BDL, a Defence PSU is a Mini-ratna Category - I Company and is amongst a few companies in the world having capabilities to produce state-of-the art guided weapon systems. The Company has been regularly paying dividends to the Govt. of India for over a decade and is poised to scale further heights.   Samir/RAJ  /spandey             Press Information Bureau Government of India ****** Forty nine crore dividend by MDL   New Delhi : October 8, 2009   Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL), a Defence PSU has paid a dividend of Rs. 49.80 crore to the Government of India for the year 2008-09. This works out to 25 % on the equity share capital against 21 % declared in 2007-08. A cheque of this amount was presented to Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in New Delhi, today by Vice Admiral (Retd) HS Malhi, Chairman & Managing Director of the company. MDL has also paid a dividend of Rs. 4.07 crore on its 7 % Preference Shares.   The company has achieved a profit (before tax) of Rs. 397.28 crore for the financial year 2008-09, with a value of production of Rs. 2568.93 crore as against a profit of rs. 380.70 crore (before tax) in the previous year with a value of production of Rs. 2321.69 crore.   The Reserves and Surplus of the Company stood at Rs. 576.90 crore as on March 31, 2009.   Samir/RAJ  /spandey Press Information Bureau Government of India ****** "Investing Out of the Crisis and Attaining International Development Goals": Key note address by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development in the First Ministerial Plenary Forum at the 35th UNESCO General Conference in Paris  New Delhi : October 8, 2009   Following is the text of the key note address of Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, on "Investing Out of the Crisis and Attaining International Development Goals" on 8th October in the First Ministerial Plenary Forum at 35th UNESCO General Conference held in Paris:   1. It is a signal honour for me to be the Keynote Speaker in this august forum. We gather here in the aftermath of the havoc caused by the global economic crisis. Many economies feel that the worst is over; that the signs of revival may soon bring cheer. While there are indications that the global economy is picking up and that the economic downturn may end sooner than later, lives of millions have already been devastated. Those hit hard by the crisis, continue to struggle to lead a life of human dignity and respect. Ironically, those who contributed least to the crisis are the most severely affected. Some warn us of the "lost decades for development" which could have catastrophic consequences for both the rich and the poor.   2. In the wake of the crisis the global economy witnessed unacceptable inflation in food items and commodities. This along with the impact of global warming negatively affected trade. The shrinking demand in the developed world, which continues, has impacted millions dependent on the buoyancy of export markets. Private capital flows to emerging economies are projected this year by the Institute of International Finance, to be down by 82 per cent from the boom year, 2007. The World Bank considered the crisis as a "development emergency", with the developing economies loosing access to $700 billion. The "lost generation," with added deaths of 1.5 to 2.8 million infants by 2015 might be a stark reality. Annually, over a 100 million people are expected to be tipped into extreme poverty for the duration of the crisis. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently warned that the international community, "should not lose sight of the challenges and plight of hundreds and hundreds of million of the poorest people of the developing countries who have been impacted by this crisis." The hardship triggered by the crisis, impacting the least developed, calls for strong public policies and investment programmes.   3. The present economic crisis has further strained the public exchequer in many countries leading to reduced public spending in the social sector adversely effecting on the progress of their development goals. This jeopardizes progress towards the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs), in particular those adopted at the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development and the UN Millennium Summit.   4. As we struggle to survive, the stark reality is that today hundreds of thousands of people, particularly women and children, die of malnutrition and lack of basic health care facilities. Almost a billion people around the world are illiterate; more than a billion struggle to survive on less than a dollar a day; one in five children aged between six and eleven are out of school; one in four children drop out before completing the basic education cycle. The uneven and unjust pattern of development in most nations is not conducive for a prosperous, peaceful and sustainable future. It is here that the United Nations' system and UNESCO in particular, can play a significant role in helping to evolve a more peaceful, just and equitable world order where every human being can live with dignity and respect.   5. Despite the crisis we must continue our efforts towards the MDG's. By now we know what works and what does not. The value of public expenditure and international development aid, though critical, are no longer the determinants in reaching our goals. The uneven progress of developing societies towards the MDG's is not only attributed to the size of physical capital, the quality of natural and human resources and the content of available modern technology; of equal importance is the role of enabling institutions and the existing socio-political climate. The nature and quality of institutions and the level of political commitment play a key role to make development inputs, including public expenditure and international assistance, more efficacious.   6. The world economy has undergone many important changes in the last few decades. The following three realities may be noted :- (a) global economies being truly interdependent; (b) new and more efficient technologies ; (c) need for action on global warming and climate change.   7. The last few decades have demonstrated that global economies are truly interdependent and are becoming increasingly integrated. This is as exemplified by cross-border manufacturing processes, business process outsourcing and international trade in services. Consequently, the impact of change in a country or region has global ramifications. Global integrated economies require globally integrated societies. The 'demographic dividend' in some regions must not be allowed to turn into a 'demographic nightmare'. A globalized world, will ultimately require the outsourcing of human skills in regions which will witness a 'demographic deficit'. Skilled human capital will have to be imported to certain regions to sustain economic growth. In that sense the developed world has a huge stake in ensuring that the human resource available in large numbers in developing economies is adequately empowered by investing in their education and skill development. Education for All(EFA) must become a reality through collaborative efforts.   8. To meet the requirements of EFA and to provide secondary and vocational training to the youth, we require millions of teachers. The young may be hungry for learning, but we may not have quality teachers to ignite their minds. The social order must respect teachers who all play a pivotal role in building a peaceful and just society. I would like to call upon UNESCO to commence a world-wide campaign to restore the respect of a teacher in society. It would be in the fitness of things if we all take up a "Teachers First Campaign" aimed at restoring respect for this noble profession.   9. New technologies have changed the way we live and work. They present real challenges but have enormous potential. Information and communications technologies have transformed the world in the way information can be accessed. Intellectual inputs and knowledge, are available at the students doorstep. ICT can transform societies if used in the field of education and other social sectors. Technology provides us a neutral platform to bridge inequities. In India, technology has been the harbinger of change. The green revolution lead to improved farm productivity and increase in rural incomes in the late sixties. Subsequently, use of modern and appropriate technologies through our national missions for telecommunications, drinking water supply etc. have brought considerable improvement in the lives of the poor and marginalized sections of society. Our "Science for Equity Empowerment and Development (SEED)" programme seeks to provide opportunities to motivated scientists and field level workers, to take up action oriented and location specific projects aiming at socio-economic upliftment of the poor and disadvantaged sections, through appropriate science and technology interventions especially in the rural areas. I would urge UNESCO to start a similar global campaign leveraging scientific knowledge for societal benefit. I am happy to state that we in India have made major progress in ICT and have also developed e-learning materials. We would be glad to share this knowledge with the world community.   10. Now I came to the third important development which needs urgent attention : global warming and climate change. In my view, education, particularly higher education, must inculcate the values of sustainable development in the minds of our youth. While planet earth has provided an average per capita footprint of 1.76 Hc, developed countries have been using a footprint much beyond the above per capita entitlement. It is ironic that both in the past and currently the developed world, with higher human development indexes, had and have unsustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns. Education instead of becoming an instrument of sustainable development, has become a major cause for unsustainable lifestyles. If developing countries adopt and imitate Western styles of production and consumption, it is estimated that we would need four times the resources planet earth provides by the year 2055 to sustain us. It is, therefore, imperative that developing countries adopt, and adapt to, sustainable lifestyles, as they implement their development strategies. Meanwhile, developed countries will have to reduce their carbon footprint while ushering more sustainable life styles.   11. What we need is a drastic change in the development paradigm. The international community must find ways and means to discourage over consumption in general and wastage in particular. Over exploitation of the resources to sustain current patterns of consumption does violence to nature. The Mahatma's messages of non-violence assume relevance even in the area of sustainable development. He said that the earth provides enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed. Considering the significance of his message, I must thank UNESCO and in particular the Director-General, Mr. Matsuura and all his colleagues for their interest in our proposal to set up the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development as a Category – I Institute of UNESCO in India. I hope that this proposal will be approved by the General Conference, for the Institute to spread the message that unsustainable development will breed conflict and that sustainable development is a necessary pre-requisite for peace.   12. The growing recognition of the need for global cooperation to tackle challenges of development and realization of human rights for all, culminated in the conceptualization and adaptation of the UN Millennium Declaration in September 2000 and the Dakar Declaration on Education for All. The global community realized that the challenges of development and the fostering of human rights cannot brook any further delay and that a global commitment was necessary. The Millennium declaration includes eight international development goals that build on agreements made at major UN conferences and represent commitments of both developed and developing countries for promoting the quality of life in our global village. The declaration, endorsed by 189 countries, was then translated into a roadmap setting out goals to be reached by 2015.   13. The first seven goals, as we are aware, focus on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and ensuring environmental sustainability. The eighth goal, perhaps the most critical of all (as it envisages translation of political commitments of both developed and developing nations into action for achieving the first seven goals, as endorsed at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002, and again at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002), calls for the creation of a global partnership for development, with targets for aid, trade, and debt relief. While significant steps have been taken by the international community during the last decade, regions and individual countries have experienced uneven levels of progress towards these goals. What is more disturbing is the fact that some regions and developing countries which began with a large deficit in these goals in 2000 continue to lag far behind others.   14. As we are all aware, at the global level, significant progress has been made towards achieving the millennium development goals, particularly goals related to education (goals 2 & 3). The concern however, is the slow pace of realization in most low-income countries. While most countries in Asia have made headway in reducing extreme poverty and hunger, we see little progress of this in Sub-Saharan Africa. The number of out-of-school children at the primary level fell from 103 million in 1999 to 73 million in 2006. Even in South Asia, nearly 18 million primary school age children are still out-of-school. The Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) at primary level increased from 80% in 2000 to 90% in 2006 in South Asia; 58% to 71% in sub-Saharan Africa and 85% to 88% in Western Asia during the same period. What is interesting to note that while South Asia has been able to address around 50% of the deficit in the NER at the primary level during 2000 and 2006, Western Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa has covered a much smaller proportion of the deficit during the same period, i.e. 20% and 31% respectively.   15. Similarly, during 2000-06, South Asia has made the most progress in gender parity. Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia, which have the largest gender gaps in primary enrolment, have also shown slow progress towards promoting gender equity in secondary enrolment. The number of girls per 100 boys enrolled in primary schools increased from 84 in 2000 to 95 in 2006 in South Asia (a reduction of 69% in the gender equity deficit); 88 to 91 in Western Asia (a reduction of a quarter of the deficit); and 85 to 89 in Sub-Saharan Africa (27% reduction in gender equity deficit). Steady progress in participation in primary education across the globe keeps the hope alive for achieving universal primary education, a pre-condition for improving gender equity in secondary education.   16. As mentioned by me earlier, apart from physical capital, natural and human resources and modern technology, the nature of political commitment and the key role good governance plays in achieving the development goals cannot be minimized. I am happy to inform that a significant initiative reflecting the political commitment of the Government of India to universalize 8 years of schooling, has recently been translated into action by making elementary education a fundamental right of every child in our country. With the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, every child between the ages of 6 to 14 years now has the right to free education. The Act while acknowledging the participation of private education providers seeks to ensure that equity and quality go hand in hand with improved access.   17. Regarding Universal Elementary Education, the Government of India had launched in 2001 its flagship programme Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) which is implemented by the Central Government in partnership with State Governments. The main components of the SSA are : provision of basic minimum conditions- access, physical infrastructure and teachers; training of teachers and strengthening of academic support institutions; defining learning outcomes and assessment/monitoring of students' achievement levels; capacity building for planning, management, monitoring and research/evaluation; education for disadvantaged groups; and social mobilisation and community involvement.   18. Consequent to operationalisation of the Education for All programme named 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' (2001), access has improved significantly. With the opening of more primary and upper primary schools, based on systematic analysis of district level data on access and availability, it has been possible to cover all the hitherto underserved districts with schooling facilities. Consequently, the number of habitations with a primary school within 1 km is 98 per cent at present, and those with an upper primary school within 3 km have increased to 86 per cent. Further, there are a large number of Education Guarantee Centres (EGS) in unserved or underserved areas at primary level. Significant efforts have been made to address the educational aspiration of children with special needs. Resultantly, the enrollment of children with special needs in regular schools is showing a marked upward trend. Home based education is a unique strategy for this group.   19. Some of the major developments in elementary education in our country during the post-Dakar period have been: (a) reduction in the number of out of school children, from about 32 million in 2002-03 to 7.05 million in March 2006; (b) reduction in gender gaps, at the primary stage from 5.5 percentage points in 2002-03 to 4.2 percentage points in 2005-06; and at the upper primary stage, from 10.7 percentage points to 8.8 percentage points. The Gender Parity Index at the primary stage in 2005 was 0.95 while it was 0.88 for the upper primary stage. (c) bridging social disparity - the share of Scheduled Caste students in total enrollment moved up to 20.72 per cent at the primary stage and 19.42 per cent at the upper primary stage. For Scheduled Tribe students, share in total enrollment moved up to 11.75 per cent at the primary stage in 2005-06 and 9.28 per cent at the upper primary stage. (d) drop-out rates at lower primary stage declined from 39.03 per cent in 2001-02 to 28.49 per cent in 2004-05. For girls, it declined from 39.88 per cent to 24.82 per cent – a decline of more than 15 percentage points.   20. India recognizes that the task of nation building, reducing poverty and ensuring education for all, cannot be met without a large stock of human capital equipped with quality knowledge and skills, to foster a knowledge society. Accordingly, universalisation of secondary education and significant expansion of higher education are priority areas for implementation. Plans have been delineated and goals set for growth of high end scientific and technical institutions alongside vocational training to equip our youth meet the challenges of a globally competitive environment.   21. Even with impressive growth in India during the last decade, poverty continues to be concentrated in rural areas and in less developed states. We have targeted to bring down the proportion of population living below the poverty line to 19% by 2015. To address this issue, our Government has enacted the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA) which provides for legal entitlement for 100 days of employment to adult members of any rural household at the statutory minimum wage. The Central Government outlay for the scheme has been enhanced to Rs. 39,100 crores ($ 8 Billion) during 2009-10. The enhanced outlay from Rs. 11,000 crores in 2006-07 to Rs. 39,100 crores during the current year and expansion of the programme to cover 593 districts in the country, shows our commitment and political will to reduce poverty and to ensure means of livelihood for the rural poor.   22. Similarly, our Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) proposes a comprehensive approach to individual healthcare, public health, access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities. There has been increase in budgetary outlays in the critical sector of public health and drinking water. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) aims to provide universal access to affordable and quality healthcare in the rural areas and seeks to achieve the goals set under the National Health Policy and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) based on health insurance and public-private partnership to provide health services to the urban poor is also proposed under the Eleventh Plan. The Government of India is also taking numerous measures for an estimated 2-3 million people living with HIV/AIDS, in the nature of targeted interventions, promotion of awareness and care and support programmes.   23. India has an intensive programme of "Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)" with the objective to improve health and nutritional status of pre-school children in the age group of 0 to 6 years. The aim is to reduce incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition, school-drop outs and help in enhancing the capacity of the mother and the family to look after the development needs of the child. The components of ICDS are : non-formal pre-school education, supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, and nutrition & health education.   24. India has incorporated integrated sustainable development into its planning process. It is based on the appreciation of the close links between poverty and environmental degradation and the harmful effects felt by the poor who depend on land as a means for their livelihood. Sustainable development for India is embarking on a development path that includes making the right choices for sustainability. Mahatma Gandhi, had articulated a similar concern much before the discourse on sustainable development assumed its present relevance. In the late 1920s, he warned, "God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the West…If an entire nation of 300 million took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts".   25. The Constitution of India, enshrines the values of Sustainable Development. Article 48 A clearly mentions that "The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country". Similarly, under the Fundamental Duties enumerated, Article 51A(g) stipulates that it shall be the duty of every citizen "to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures". The Supreme Court of India has been pro-active and rendered several judgments relating to issues of environmental protection and sustainable development including compulsory Environment Education in schools. The National Curriculum Framework, 2005 and National Environment Policy, 2006 reiterate the national commitment for environment protection and sustainable development. 26. While member states undertake to address the challenges of climate change and sustainable development, it is necessary that adequate efforts are made to find appropriate technology responses to some of these issues. The effective use of science and technology for building a Green society and embracing a Green Economy cannot be realized without collective efforts at the global level for development and transfer of appropriate technologies and skills both through North-South and South-South cooperation. Similarly, as mentioned by me earlier, member states also need to seriously address the issues of unsustainable consumption patterns and habits.   27. A major task for all of us is to further improve capacity development and public service delivery mechanisms, at all levels, in order to implement the internationally agreed development goals. We must also work towards social, economic, and political inclusion and reduction of regional disparities. This requires concerted efforts to promote greater access to vulnerable sections for basic services, opportunities for decent work, and participation in decision-making. Commitment of governments for enhanced public expenditure setting up of transparent, accountable structures and ensuring efficiency of institutions, along with use of modern and appropriate technologies combined with partnerships involving the private sector and "not for profit institutions" will help us translate our vision and strategies for achieving the MDGs. The task is incomplete, the journey unfinished.   MV/Hb /spandey   PIB Kolkata