Andhra Pradesh Discussions

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/746-freed...99-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: As many as 746 martyrs, who laid down their lives during the freedom struggle, from 1857 (sepoy mutiny) to 1948, were identified in the state by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). The details will be included in the directory of Indian martyrs, which will be compiled and published by� the ICHR.
Andhra Pradesh will be the� fifth state to submit its list of martyrs, after Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. In 2009, ICHR launched the National Register of Martyrs (NRM)� project to identify martyrs in every state across the country. The study began in the state at the AP State Archives and Research Institute, Hyderabad, in� August 2011, with three research scholars and one coordinator, said� Prof Vakulabharanam Ramakrishna, project coordinator in AP.
So for, the study has identified 746 martyrs in the state. Of these, 658 were from Telangana region and 75 percent of them died during the movement to join the Indian Union (1947-48). There were 83 martyrs from coastal Andhra and five from Rayalaseema. The number of martyrs will go up further as scholars are going through the records of the Indian Nation Army (Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauz) and Hyderabad State’s Urdu records to find more martyrs, Prof Ramakrishna said.
“We are going to send the first report of martyrs from AP towards the end of this month. The study will be completed in July,” he said.
The information gathered is from secondary sources like government publications, newspaper reports, pamphlets and books published between 1857 to 1948, and other material published by the government. The ICHR has undertaken the project at the request of the Union ministry of culture.� ‘’This work should have been taken up soon after independence. But it took more than 60 years to launch a study to compile a directory of martyrs,’’ he said.
The Central information commission approached the home ministry to draw up the martyrs’ list for future reference.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/12657233.cms

HYDERABAD: In a major relief to the junior doctors, the state government has agreed to consider their two-month strike period between December 25 and February 14 as casual leave. GO 567 regularising the strike period as casual leave came on Thursday evening, three days ahead of PG medical counselling.

The government in its order regularised the strike period as casual leave if the doctors have casual leave to their credit. In case they have exhausted the casual leave, the period for which casual leave is not available shall be treated as special casual leave without stipend, the order said. Around 500 striking doctors had failed to get internship certificates as they were on strike. The certificate is a must to attend PG counselling and the deadline to submit the certificates had expired long back. After the government order was issued on April 12, instructions were given to all the principals and superintendents to issue the internship completion certificates by the director medical education on Friday. The PG counselling is slated to be held on April 16.

The medicos had gone on strike demanding a hike in their stipend, among other things. The agitation that started at Vizag's Andhra Medical College subsequently spread to other medical colleges and teaching hospitals in the state.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/12657096.cms

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Income Tax (I-T) department has registered a 13% growth in tax collections in the financial year 2011-12. This is close to 3% higher than the national collections that hovered around 10.7% last fiscal.

Announcing this on Friday, G Rajeshwar Rao, chief commissioner-3 (CC-3) of AP, who is currently holding additional charge as CC-1, said that the gross collections in this fiscal (2011-12) shot to Rs 29,497 crore from Rs 25,391 crore registered last year. Refunds too saw a 46% growth, with the total amount increasing from Rs 2,509 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 3,600 crore in 2011-12.

"Due to the substantial increase in refunds, the department's net collection (Rs 25,837 crore) has grown by only 13% despite gross collections seeing a 16% rise," said Rao, adding that the department collected 35% of the taxes in the last quarter alone. But while other sectors contributed significantly towards the I-T coffers, the microfinance institutions (MFI) in AP saw no activity. This segment, that paid a total advance tax of Rs 130 crore in 2010-11, did not add a single rupee to the collections this year, the I-T chief said.

The 72 search and seizure operations conducted by I-T sleuths throughout the year also saw rise in collections. While the total amount seized from the state in 2011-12 touched Rs 52.74 crore (as against Rs 41.84 crore last year), disclosure of unaccounted income by organisations and individuals, totalled up to Rs 818.85 crore. Searches were conducted across several sectors such as infrastructure, real estate, steel, power, oil, bulk drugs and education. Among other achievements, the department auctioned nine attached properties in the state and detained two defaulters.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories was the highest tax payer in the private sector while National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) topped the list among public sector units for 2011-12. Followed by Singareni Collieries Company Limited, Andhra Bank and State Bank of Hyderabad.

Among individual taxpayers, the highest contributions were made by two persons who paid a whopping Rs 3.75 crore each as tax on their income but officials refused to reveal their names for security reasons.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/engineeri...47-60-121.html

HYDERABAD: The engineering colleges in the state have got nearly 40,000 additional engineering and pharmacy (MPC stream) seats this year, taking the total number to 3.5 lakh seats. That means 2.92 lakh students, who have applied for Eamcet-2012 in the MPC stream till now, are going to compete for as many as 3.5 lakh seats.
According to a senior member of Professional Colleges Association of Andhra Pradesh, the All India Council for Technical Education has already sent its approval to 500 colleges which have applied for additional intake. The AICTE will communicate the same to the state government by April 15.
Last year, there were about 3.21 lakh seats for engineering and pharma courses for MPC students, and more than one lakh seats remained vacant after the final phase of counselling. About, 2.78 lakh students had applied under the MPC stream.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/...cle3314237.ece

Society is of the view that there is no voluntary element in the process of exchange

The Indian Red Cross Society AP State Branch has taken a policy decision not to accept replacement blood donation and collect blood exclusively from voluntary donors.

It is of the view that there is no voluntary element in the process of exchange. In replacement donation, there is also an element of duress and sometimes even professional donors are involved.

“Moreover, the blood has to be processed before transfusion,” State secretary of the Red Cross C. Umamaheshwar Rao explained. In 70 countries, across the world, blood donation is only voluntary. “There is a need to encourage people to walk in and donate blood. Only when the donor is known, can we be sure that the blood is disease-free,” Mr. Umamaheshwar Rao added. With 44 blood banks and 81 blood collection centres in the State, the Red Cross contributes between 25 and 30 per cent of the blood collected in the State every year.

“We would like to encourage blood donation with honesty,” Project Director, Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS), C. Parthasarathi said. It is the responsibility of the donor to be honest and declare if they have contracted any disease or are suffering from some infection, he added.

There is a need for more number of individuals donating blood voluntarily and not necessarily an increase in the number of blood banks, he said. There are 241 registered blood banks in the State collecting 7.5 lakh units of blood per year, which have a shelf life of 30 days. The registered blood banks have to supply 30 per cent of their collection to government hospitals, the APSACS Project Director said.

LEAN MONTHS

Since voluntary blood donation by and large depends upon college students, the summer months become lean months for the blood banks, to overcome this. APSACS, Red Cross and other blood banks are focusing on non-student donors like employees of IT companies, among others, during summer months, Mr. Umamaheshwar Rao said.

Further, most hospitals do not take up elective surgery during May, which also reduces the demand for blood during peak summer, Mr. Parthasarathi explained and added that the APSACS was going to start a campaign to encourage voluntary blood donation, across the State.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/...cle3319709.ece

Eligibility relaxation for them in merchant navy courses on the cards

The National Shipping Board, a statutory advisor to the Union government on shipping related matters, is likely to provide relaxation in the eligibility to youth hailing from fishermen community aspiring to join merchant navy.

NSB member Sandeep Chandra mooted the proposal during the recent meeting of the Board in Visakhapatnam suggesting that norms pertaining to examinations be relaxed to enable fishermen youth to take to the courses. People of the community have experience as fishermen but without any certification and this called for some weightage in the form of relaxation in examination pattern.

Can steer better

“They know how to steer the vessel much better than the trained ones. “Some via media solution has to be found as these youth should not be denied opportunity in taking to the courses. They can be trained in handling bigger vessels during the course,” he told The Hindu here on Saturday.

Mr. Sandeep Chandra said a proposal for setting up a principle maritime office and a maritime university at Visakhapatnam was under consideration of the Ministry. “Setting up of the maritime office will reduce financial burden on students seeking certification and it will address language barrier and other issues faced by the aspirants from Andhra Pradesh who are compelled to go to Chennai,” he said.

The Union Ministry encouraged private players in a big way to invest in ports and shipping infrastructure and efforts were underway to streamline operations in ports, public sector as well as those developed under PPP mode. Investors were facing problems on account of the delay in commissioning of these ports as it was a capital intensive industry. “Some penal clauses should be incorporated in the agreements to avoid delays,” he said.

[Gudavalli]

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chann...dous-waste-094

Andhra Pradesh tops the list among the southern states in generating incinerable hazardous waste, around 31,659 metric tonnes annually. The dubious distinction is accorded by the latest report of ministry of Forest and Environment, with Tamil Nadu coming second.

With about 40 contaminated dumpsites identified in the state, environmentalists say the report highlights the grave situation of hazardous waste management here. The report states: “Indiscriminate disposal of hazardous waste may generate contaminated sites, which pose health and environmental risk to surface and groundwater. The list prepared by the Supreme Court monitoring committee was updated by the Central Pollution Control Board.”

As part of pilot project, the Centre is implementing a World Bank-aided project to set right 10 highly polluted sites: two in Andhra Pradesh and eight in West Bengal. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 339.26 crore for five years. Work, though, is yet to start in full swing at contaminated sites in the state.

Environmentalist Devi-das Manghnani says, “Civic bodies have to wake up and deal with hazardous waste water will be contaminated in more areas with new dumping sites.” Another environmentalist, Mr M. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, said: “Industrial units in Medak and Ranga Reddy districts dump huge quantities of hazardous waste. There is no proper check by the Pollution Board authorities. Those industries have to be held liable.”

[Gudavalli]

‘Food prices pushing inflation'

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/...cle3321190.ece

Rangarajan says non-food, manufacturing prices have shown signs of decline

C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister, has said though non-food, manufacturing inflation had shown definite signs of decline, spiralling prices of food items was impacting overall inflation.

On the sidelines of an ITsAP annual industry awards function here on Monday, he said vegetable prices appeared to be on the rise again, including commodities like milk and vegetables, apart from cereals.

DIESEL PRICES

As if this was not enough cause for concern, he said changes were needed to be made as regards diesel prices when asked about its de-regulation.

The point was that since prices of high speed diesel were not adjusted in a long time, the impact of such a move to bring it on a par with international prices could be high if effected at one go. Hence, it would have to be done in phases, he added.

Depending on the monsoon and international markets, a 7.5 per cent growth could surely be expected, he said in reply to a question. Earlier, he said imaginative and innovative use of IT could be the means to take quality education across the country. India's techies needed to focus on education and find solutions. With technology as the driving force for economic growth, he said the world was witnessing a revolution which could be as far-reaching as the first industrial revolution.

POSITIVE IMPACT

IT had a positive impact on payment and settlement systems, he said, adding with path-breaking initiatives, the ‘electronification' of payment system had become the hallmark of the last decade. With a whopping 700 million mobile telephones in place, it would be worthwhile for banks to ride piggyback on the mobile telephony platform to achieve financial inclusion, allowing authentication of identity and transactions through a secured gateway, he said.

The awards were given away in different categories. Verity Knowledge Solutions bagged the Best Start-up Indian company, while Microsemi India, Hyundai Motor India Engineering and Xilinx India Technology Services got the awards for the Best State-Up Off-Shore Development Centre (ODC), Best Indian SME in software development and the Best Established ODC, respectively.

The Tier-2 City Awards were bagged by Mahindra Satyam, PB Systems India, Trewport Techno Consulting and Gajalakshmi Software Systems, named as Best IT Company from Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada and Tirupati, respectively. The ITsAP Green IT Awards went to Infosys, Wells Fargo India solutions and Tata Consultancy Services. In a new category introduced this year, Infosys, Wipro and Mahindra were recognised as top exporters from Andhra Pradesh.

[Gudavalli]

AP to bank on FSRU project to tackle gas crisis

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...ct-tackle.html

Andhra Pradesh government has taken the lead in resolving the gas crisis by planning to set up a floating liquefied natural gas import terminal project on the east coast.

The state government has signed a MoU with the Europe’s largest LNG importer GDF Suex UK to set up a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU).

Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corp (APGDC), a company jointly promoted by GAIL Gas Ltd (GGL) and Andhra Pradesh Gas Infrastructure Corp Pvt Ltd (APGIC) in collaboration with the GDF Suez LNG UK Ltd will set up a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) offshore Andhra Pradesh.

According to Suthirtha Bhattacharya , Infrastructure and investment secretary of AP, the FSRU will have a capacity to produce 15 million standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of natural gas and likely to commence production operations by end of 2013.

About the pricing, the state official said, it may vary from 9 to 10 dollars per Million Metric British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) but the state government is ready to go ahead with the project at any rate. The target sectors were ceramics, fertilizers, power and refineries.

[Gudavalli]

Solar fencing to deter crop-raiding elephants

HYDERABAD: Taking a serious note of the continuous raids by elephants on crops surrounding forest areas in Chittoor and Srikakulam districts, the forest department has come up with a slew of measures to prevent the intrusion of elephants into human habitations.
Special measures have been taken up by the department including construction of check-dams, development of water bodies and� erection of solar power fencing at all vulnerable locations inside the forest to restrict the movements of elephants to the forest areas, said A Shankaran, deputy conservator of forests.
It is the acute shortage of fodder and water in the forests, especially in summer season, that eventually provokes the pachyderms to stray into the� nearby villages. As a curative measure, fodder patches and salt licks are being developed in the forest areas itself so that the animals can get enough feed in their habitat, Shankaran said.
The forest department is going to implement the special measures in the elephant habitations of Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary and Sri Venkateswara Wildlife Sanctuary in Chittoor district,� Barnakonda and Antikonda forest areas in Srikakulam district.
“All these measures have been in place before, but did not translate into action effectively. Now, care is being taken for their effective implementation as the numbers of elephant raids on crop fields have been increased in the recent past,” Shankaran said.
Officials blamed the fast depleting forest areas for the increasing cases of elephant intrusions into the human habitations. “ Putting a curb on the deforestation activities is the answer to elephant menace. The animals would not venture out side if they get a proper habitat,” said V Tirumala Rao, forest range officer.
The elephant menace is not new to Chittoor and Srikakulam districts which has been creating trouble for farmers since the past two decades, ever since herds of the animal had infiltrated the state forests from neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Odisha, he said adding the villagers should not harm the elephants in any form as it is a non-bailable offence.

[Gudavalli]

Anti-corrosive cement developed

Sree Jayajothi Cements Ltd., of Chennai has developed ‘Corrosino', an anti-corrosive cement, which it would shortly introduce into the market, particularly in coastal areas Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and other states.

Informing this to reporters here on Thursday, General Manager (Marketing) of the company G. Ganesh Kumar said the company was producing 3.2 million tonnes of cement a year and the plant was located at Yanakandla village in Banaganapalle mandal of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh.

It was producing slag cement as well as blended cements.

The company has on-line analysers on the production line with auto-correction facility at different stages to produce quality cement, he said. The structures in coastal areas were affected by corrosion reducing their life drastically.

"Corrosion-resistant steel is being produced in some steel plants. But we felt the need for developing anti-corrosive cement as well to enhance the life and quality of structures. We have employed monomolecular layer technology in producing the special cement. It forms a nano passive layer over the steel surface very quickly before the other elements that come into contact with steel could reach the surface. It will deflect chlorides and water molecules causing corrosion," he said.

Mr. Ganesh Kumar said all facilities were ready at the plant for production of the special blended cement. He said some samples had been produced and sent to users. They would first inform the users of the product and release it into the market, he said. Vice-President (commercial) of the company R. Balakrishnan said a technical seminar and demonstration of the eco-friendly product would be held at Grand Bay hotel on Friday at 6 p.m. in which former director of Kalpakkam Atomic Power Station ‘Padmasri' Myneni Hariprasada Rao, experts Kamat and P.S. Rao, besides the managing director of the company T.R. Kannan would speak.

[Gudavalli]

Bulgaria woos Indian firms, tourists

Banks on free trade pact to boost bilateral ties

HYDERABAD, APRIL 22:
Bulgaria has invited Indian companies to make it a home base to tap the European Union and take advantage of its multi-lingual workforce and tax incentives.

Assuring a hassle-free investment opportunity in Bulgaria, its Ambassador to India, Mr Borislav Kostov, said there is immense scope to increase trade ties between India and Bulgaria in the area of IT, hi-tech, pharmaceuticals, food processing and other areas.

Addressing a meeting hosted at the Fapcci, the Ambassador said Bulgaria is keenly looking at the prospect of free trade agreement between India and European Union which will have a positive impact on bilateral trade.

Citing the examples of Elder Pharma's acquisition in Bulgaria and their efforts to increase presence in the region, he felt other companies in drugs and pharma sector could look at tapping the local market.

He said Bulgaria's membership to the EU and potential that India holds for trade could help accelerate the business ties.

TOURISM

Mr. Kostov said that for Bulgaria with a country of 7.3 million already has more than 6 million tourist visitors.

It is one of the most attractive destinations. “We expect the number of tourists to cross the figure of our population this year. As a part of tourist promotion, we are conducting a special programme for Indian travel and tour operations and taking them to Bulgaria,” he said.

WINES & ROSES

“Bulgaria produces some of the finest wines. We are keen that the FTA talks cover this aspect so that Indians could savour them. The Rose Oil, which is priced as much as gold in volume and used in perfumery, is one of the most sought after products from this East European nation,” he said.

[Gudavalli]

AP houses one of world’s largest uranium reserves!

Hyderabad, April 22
The arid and backward Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh may well be sitting over one of the world’s largest uranium reserves.

The uranium reserves in and around Tummalapalle village in Kadapa district were initially estimated at 15,000 tonne, but continuous exploration has shown promise of further reserves. Last year, the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), in its fresh estimate, said the uranium reserves in the district can go up to 1.5 lakh tonne, a 10-fold increase from the original estimate.

“Tummalapalle could become one of the world’s largest uranium deposits and the new facility would provide a major fillip to the country’s nuclear programmes,” Atomic Energy Commission chairman Dr Srikumar Banerjee said.

He was speaking to reporters after commissioning UCIL’s biggest uranium ore mine and processing plant at Tummalapalle, marking a major milestone in the country’s quest for nuclear energy. Banerjee said the mine was of a much bigger magnitude and it required the construction of a second processing plant that would be taken up shortly.

The Rs 1,106-crore Tummalapalle plant is expected to meet the fuel needs of 25 per cent of the country’s nuclear plants. The Department of Atomic Energy secretary said India now had the capability to develop own uranium ore mines instead of depending on imports. The nuclear power generation in the country would reach 60,000 MW by 2050.

The newly commissioned plant has a capacity of mining and processing 3,000-tonne Uranium a day. The second phase of the plant will produce another 1,500 tonne per day.

Local villagers, opposition parties and environmentalists are opposing the plant on the ground that it would play havoc with public health and environment.

However, Banerjee sought to allay such fears by saying that all necessary safety measures had been put in place and that the local people would get employment opportunities in the plant. At present, the UCIL operates six underground mines, one open cast mine and two processing plants, all in Jharkhand.

“This has the potential of making it one of the
most significant uranium reserves in the world,” the official said.

The Thummalapalle mine is by far the most modern underground mine in the country with high level of automation. A processing plant has been constructed next to the mine that will use alkali pressure leaching process to produce sodium di-uranate from the ore.

The Fuel-rich district

n The uranium reserves in and around Tummalapalle village in Kadapa district were initially estimated at 15,000 tonne

n The Uranium Corporation of India Limited , in its fresh estimate, said the reserves can go up to 1.5 lakh tonne, a 10-fold increase from the original estimate

[Gudavalli]

Intermediate second year results 2012: Government college students prove their mettle

HYDERABAD: Government colleges in the state have fared well in Intermediate examinations recording a pass percentage of 62, a few notches higher than the state's average of 58.43%. In most districts, more students from government colleges had cleared the public examination than students from private colleges. The performance of government colleges has improved as the previous year's pass percentage was 56%.

In some districts, the pass percentage of government colleges is higher than that of the overall pass percentage in private colleges. For instance, in Adilabad, while 78% of the students in government colleges cleared the examination, the pass percentage of the district was stuck at 66, 10% lower than its previous year's performance. While government colleges in Medak district scored a pass percentage of 69, the district's overall pass percentage was 51. Government colleges in several other districts, including Chittoor (70%), Visakhapatnam (68%), Srikakulam (63%) and Karimnagar (63%) have fared well in Intermediate examinations this year.

Some of the students who passed out with flying colours from government colleges this year said that they have got good scores as they concentrated more on their syllabus than competitive examinations. "My teachers asked me to concentrate on languages as well as subjects to get good marks. I want to be an engineer and will appear for Eamcet in May," said S N Harsh, a student who scored 953 marks. Some of the students from government junior colleges who did well in the examinations, include Sudha Rani from Srikakulam district who scored 967 marks in MPC and U Srekanya from Nalgonda district who scored 941 marks in BPC.

Government college lecturers said that students have performed well even after facing several odds, including poor infrastructure and a few permanent teachers. Out of the 820 government junior colleges in the state, about 265 do not have permanent buildings. Only around 4,000 permanent lectures are appointed as permanent faculty members in these colleges which require 12,000 faculty members.

"Government colleges in the state cater to the poorest of the poor who cannot afford even the lowest private college fee. The government should take better care in helping such students get good scores in Intermediate examinations. More infrastructure and permanent faculty members should be provided to government colleges," said P Madhusudan Reddy, general secretary, government junior college lecturers' association.

BIE officials blamed private colleges for ignoring students who did not have the potential to become rank holders. "Most private colleges in the state concentrate on students who can bag top ranks for them. Ignoring those who required special care and guidance is not a good education system," said a BIE official.

Taking into consideration the performance of students from government junior colleges, the state government has decided to divert more funds to these colleges. "We had diverted Rs 20 crore for the renovation of some of the government colleges last year. The government has decided to sanction more funds for these colleges," said K Parthasarathy, minister for secondary education.

[Gudavalli]

Government needs to harness IT for innovative agriculture

The model disseminates site specific knowledge at no cost to farmers

There appears to be a general consensus that the country's agriculture sector can do better with some encouragement, motivation to youngsters who are driven with a passion, and a dream to do something for the rural poor.

“Ironically the government which keeps talking about encouraging youth to take up agriculture, does nothing to help us chip in,” says Mr. R.M. Thiruchelvam an IT professional from Alampattu, Sivaganga district Tamil Nadu.

SEVERAL PROBLEMS

Mr. Thiruchelvam left a lucrative job as well as business plans nine years ago to take up the cause of rural development.

With the support of like-minded friends he and his team did four years of intensive study of the social, economic, and administrative problems that are wrecking rural India.

The team designed a comprehensive web system, it-rural.com to provide information and communication to increase the “per capita earning” of villagers.

SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE

“The model disseminates site specific knowledge at the village level at no cost to farmers. It is an employer-employee model. So a local person is not going to own the knowledge centre.

“It is designed to overcome typical constraints such as social, geographical, and commercial barriers that are prevalent across the world in taking technology to the grassroots,” explains Mr. Thiruchelvam

It comprehensively addresses the key components of agricultural sector such as good quality and yield, better price realization to farmers, balanced production and strengthening institutional credit systems.

LACK OF INPUT

“There is no effective input validation available at the grassroots in the present system for rural activities, particularly farming. Information on demand forecast, cultivation procedures, input supply management, disease control, marketing, glut in production, desperate selling, impact of drought and flood are absent,” he says.

The team wanted to showcase the model on a large scale to prove its efficiency. Their hard work yielded results. The Andhra Pradesh

Government provided an opportunity for them to carry out a pilot project in Pulivendala, Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh. About 30 villages, 12 Panchayats, 40,000 people and 20,000 acres of agricultural land benefited.

But the success lasted only for a short while. Sudden developments in the state political scene saw these youngsters grounded due to lack of financial support.

In fact, for the past two years Mr. Thiruchelvan is running from one state to another to meet different officials and experts to explain and showcase his findings.

He believes that this concept can definitely provide a key to unlock different problems in the rural sector. But sadly, he has been ignored or refused an appointment.

IDEAL TOOL

“IT is an ideal tool today for addressing several glitches a farmer faces. We are very eager to get the Government interested in this.

“But sadly we are not able to get any opening in the government circles. Recently I had to keep calling for an appointment with a Secretary to Government and literally begged his secretary to get me an appointment,” he says in a voice chocked with emotion.

The secretary initially granted him 20 minutes but shortened it to 10 minutes and rushed through his concept.

“He asked me to contact the officials in his department but till date they have not responded,” he says with frustration and sadness.

Cant he try to take this concept further with private funding agencies rather than depend on the Government?

SEEMS DAUNTING

“In India, a major part of agriculture activities is still under Government control. To reach out to hundreds of farmers we need the Government's support and funding. Even at the state level we require the local University and the state agriculture departments' support. But getting it seems daunting.

“If any Government is prepared to encourage us we are ready to join hands on a PPP model (public private partnership) as we are sure that this concept will benefit small farmers,” says Mr. Thiruchelvam hopefully.

Despite several attempts by The Hindu, the Agriculture Secretary was not available for his comments on this proposal.

For more details contact Mr. R.M.Thiruchelvam, Originator and Project Director, website: www.it-rural.com, email: thirurm@gmail.com, mobile:9840374266.

[Gudavalli]

Lok Satta chief writes to PM over Govt's farm policies

Hyderabad, Apr 26 (PTI) Lok Satta Party President N Jayaprakash Narayan today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to abandon alleged ad hoc and antediluvian policies in respect of foodgrains, cotton and edible oils, which have let down the farmers and posed long-term dangers to the economy. In a letter to Singh, he said trade in agricultural commodities should be fully and irrevocably liberalised so that farmers get the best prices that markets can offer. Narayan wrote the letter in the context of PM convening a meeting of Agriculture and Food Ministers on April 30 to sort out differences over export of farm produces. He pointed out that although rest of the economy has largely been liberated from the clutches of license-permit -control-quota raj, "thanks largely due to your stewardship of the economy during 1991-96," agriculture is still subject to arbitrary and unjustified controls. The farm sector has been going through a severe crisis with input and labour costs going up significantly and prices of agricultural commodities falling, the bureaucrat-turned- politician said. Narayan maintained that although foodgrain production has been registering growth and per capita consumption falling on account of shift to fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk and meat, the Centre only pursued ad hoc policies on exports. Narayan, who is also an MLA, suggested that trade in farm commodities be fully liberalised. Simultaneously, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism should be continued to act as a safety net to farmers until economic freedom yields satisfactory results, said the former member of Administrative Reforms Commission.

[Gudavalli]

Forest Act blamed for shrinking green cover in Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: Not raging fires or lack of protection, it is tribals' staking claim on forest land that has resulted in the drastic drop in Andhra Pradesh's forest cover. Hitesh Malhotra, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force, AP, said here on Thursday that as much as 1,65,633 claims by tribals (adding up to 4.69 lakh acres of land) had been settled over the last few years under the Recognition of Forest Rights Act (RoFR) of 2006. That apart, a whopping 10,000 hectares of forest area has fallen prey to encroachment.

"The RoFR has spelt doom for AP's forests," Malhotra said. He stressed on how - between 2009 and 2011 - the state had lost 84sq.km of forest cover to this Act. The Act allows tribals who have occupied forest land on or before December 13, 2005 to stake a claim over the plot.

The forest chief also added unregulated grazing and steep rise in the demand for wood pulp among the state's four paper mills to the list of factors responsible for loss of 281sq.km of forest land (as per the State of Forests Report 2011).

These mills, he revealed, consume as much as 22.5 lakh tonnes of pulp annually. He was speaking at an interactive session organized to discuss current developments in forest and wildlife management in the state.

However, forest officials said all possible measures were being taken to safeguard the state's green cover. There are 201 base camps spread across the state along with 86 strike force teams to combat poaching. Also, procurement of vehicles for better mobility and raising of dog squads for Red Sanders areas has been taken up to aid in the effort.

For fires, the department said it had erected close to 30 watchtowers to monitor the forests for signs of crisis. "There are more such watchtowers under construction. Also, fires only deter new growth, they do not result in loss of forest cover," Malhotra explained.

Most of what Malhotra maintains is the case has, however, been vehemently rejected by city environmentalists who complain that the department is using the RoFR Act to "cover up" its shortcomings. They alleged sheer negligence in protection of forest areas by authorities.

Questions on the tiger population in the state had officials struggling to come up with an accurate figure. While chief wildlife warden SV Kumar said that the numbers in 2011 had dropped to 72 from 105 in 2010, Malhotra put the present count in the region of 100.

"The figure, 72, is excluding tiger cubs," Malhotra quickly added. The annual tiger census in the state is likely to begin on May 1.

Further, officials raised serious concern over the widespread poaching of Red Sanders and said that every effort was being made to curb the illegal trade. At present, Kumar revealed, the state government has 8,000 tonnes of Red Sanders in its possession.

[Gudavalli]

Motion picture dist. Association (India) celebrates World IP Day With Indian Film And Creative Communities

Hyderabad: In commemoration of World IP day, the Motion Picture Dist. Association (MPDA- India) joined the FICCI- IPR division, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce and the American Center, New Delhi to raise awareness about intellectual property and increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation across the country.

To mark the day, FICCI’s IPR division in association with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Intellectual Property Office in New Delhi, held a ‘National IP Policy’ conference.
Speaking on the topic of ‘National IP Policy – Intellectual Property Protection and Rights Enforcement’, Mr. Uday Singh, Managing Director MPDA (India) said “In order to promote creativity and innovation, it is of utmost importance for all countries to protect IP through robust legislation and law enforcement tools. Violation of IP affects all industries including the motion picture industry, wherein India ranks in the top ten markets in the world for internet piracy and illegal downloads. We thank the team at FICCI –IPR for creating a platform such as this to bring industry experts on a common platform to protect IP, on World IP day.”
In Mumbai, MPDA-India partnered with the U.S. Consulate General to distribute comic books and other educational material on the on the importance of protecting IP through the U.S. Consulate General English Access Microscholarship Program and the American Library. “The U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai is glad to partner with MPDA (India) to celebrate World IP Day. Whether it is Hollywood or Bollywood, protecting intellectual property is important. We are teaming up with MPDA (India) to increase awareness to protect artists, scientists, and other innovators in India, the United States and around the world.” said Consul General Peter Haas.

In Hyderabad, the Content Protection Alliance (between the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce and MPDA- India) announced a short film competition for students themed “Stop Piracy”, on the occasion of World IP day. Over 50 schools in Andhra Pradesh will participate in the contest. The state’s top film schools, the Ramanaidu Film School and the Annapurna International School of Film and Media will conduct seminars on topics such as the law on copyright, and the importance of intellectual property. The contest will feature eminent jury members comprising film and media personalities and exciting prizes.

Mr. D. Suresh Babu, President of the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) said “Young audiences will be more decisively influencing the future of movie industries across the board. So it is only right that we try and capture their thoughts and hear their voices from time to time on one of the most critical issues for the entertainment industry. This short film contest for young film makers, on the occasion of World IP Day 2012, allows us this opportunity.”

“It is essential that the concerns of the movie industry about content theft, strike a chord with the youth of the society. This short film contest for young film makers by the Content Protection Alliance in association with the Ramanaidu Film School and the Annapurna International School of Film and Media is an effort to understand the youth and be understood by them on the most important issue of movie theft.” said Mr. Rajkumar, Chairman – Governing Council, Anti Video Piracy Cell- APFCC.

The World IP day celebrations by MPDA (India) will also extend into the weekend (28, 29 April 2012) through movie screenings at the American Center, New Delhi. MPDA ( India) along with the American Center, New Delhi will host screenings of four movies “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”, “Money Ball”, “This Means War” and “Safe House” The event will be attended by over 200 guests comprising Government of India officials, the U.S. embassy and students from Delhi University.

On the occasion, Michael Pelletier, the U.S. Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, noted that “Innovation and creativity are the real victims when intellectual property is not protected. I can think of no better way to demonstrate our shared value of protecting intellectual property than partnering with the MPDA (India) to show four of Hollywood’s latest releases at the American Center in New Delhi.”

On launching multiple activities across India on World IP day, Uday Singh, Managing Director, MPDA (India) concluded “The only way to combat content theft is highlighting the issue through strong partnerships and outreach activities that reach audiences across India. There can be no better platform than the World IP day to communicate and contribute to our ongoing efforts to educate and raise awareness on content protection.”

[Gudavalli]

GMR to launch India's first long-term infra bonds in May

HYDERABAD: Indian infrastructure conglomerate GMR group will launch the country's first long-term infrastructure bonds issue next month to raise Rs 360 crore for its highway project through credit enhancement scheme of the state-owned lender India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL).

Towards this, IIFCL would guarantee the bonds issue to the tune of 30% that helps GMR improve credit rating of its highway special purpose vehicle (SPV) enabling it attract long-term funds from insurance companies and pension funds, said IIFCL chairman and managing director SK Goel.

Talking to reporters in Hyderabad on Friday, Goel said GMR was the first among the four credit enhancement schemes that IIFCL is taking up on a pilot basis to channelize the long-term funds towards a robust long-term bonds market in the country.

The other three infrastructure projects that IIFCL will help raise long-term funds include an airport, a seaport and a power project, which in all will raise some Rs 2,000 crore through the bonds issues. The guarantees extended by IIFCL, varying from 30%-50% of the bonds issues, will assist the infrastructure developers improve their credits ratings to reach AA and above to meet the investment requirements of insurance firms and pension funds, he said.

GMR Highways managing director O. Bangaru Raju told ET that their road SPV - GMR Jadcherla Expressways - that became operational in February 2009, will now retire high cost debt of banks with low-cost and fixed rate long-term infrastructure bonds. "The bonds issue also helps us reduce the interest burden as the long-term infrastructure bonds carry fixed rate of around 100 basis points below the bank lending," he said.

GMR had arranged funds for its Farukhnagar-Jadcherala road project on national highway-7 during August 2006. Of the total cost of Rs 471 crore, ICICI Bank led bankers consortium extended Rs 353 crore of debt, while the balance Rs 118 crore was pumped in as equity by the developer.

Assigning a conditional rating of AA (SO) to the proposed issue of debt instruments by GMR, the ICRA managing director Naresh Takkar said the credit enhanced ratings of infra projects not only pave way for insurance companies and pension funds to participate but also help "free up funds for commercial banks, which in turn could be used to finance newer infrastructure projects."

IIFCL's Goel said they would come up with regular long-term infrastructure bonds issue sometime in September after completing all the four pilot projects by June-end or so. "We expect to help infrastructure companies raise at least Rs 5,000 crore in the first year through credit enhancement route."

Further, he said IIFCL is targeting to lend around Rs 18,000 crore afresh to infrastructure projects during the current fiscal, taking the cumulative lending to around Rs 40,000 crore by the fiscal-end.

[Gudavalli]

Boy from Mahimalore navigates his way to success

HYDERABAD: The ICBM test-fired from the Interim Test Range (ITR), Balasore, Orissa on April 19 was on target 5,000-km into the Indian Ocean. The missile's accuracy, which hit within double-digit metres of the target, pleased the defence scientists.

"Advanced countries with a superior technology have reportedly achieved accuracy within three-digit metres but Agni-V has achieved what no other country could do before," a senior DRDO scientist said.

The villagers of Mahimalore in Atmakur mandal of Nellore district have joined the country-wide celebrations of the success, because their boy has made India proud by developing a navigation system that helped Agni-V reach its target.

Soon after the Agni-V test-firing, flexis and posters of Gundra Satheesh Reddy, associate director and outstanding scientist, Research Centre Imarat, appeared in his hometown hailing his achievement. Such honours are generally reserved for filmstars but what Satheesh Reddy and his team achieved was not of the filmi variety but real and rare.

As technology director (Navigation) for Agni-V, Satheesh Reddy provided a navigation system which had very high level reliability. The Ring Laser Gyro-based Navigation System (RINS) and the Micro Navigation System ensured that the missile could simply not fail.

"Em Debba kottinaranna (What a shot that was, brother)," callers from Mahimalore and Atmakur said appreciating Satheesh Reddy after the ICBM's successful launch. They may not know much about the missile but they knew one thing: Gundra Sitarami Reddy and Rangamma's son had done the country proud. The agricultural family had dreamt of Satheesh Reddy becoming an engineer and he realised not just that but a dream of the country to get into the ICBM club.

"Perhaps because of my village background, I developed a fascination for aeroplanes and during the course of time got into missile technology," Satheesh Reddy told STOI. When the DRDO job came his way, he lapped it up. "It was not like any other job right from the beginning. I wanted to do something for the country," Satheesh Reddy said. That was the reason why he stayed on in DRDO while most of his friends left the country for greener pastures. Quite of few of those who joined DRDO along with him may have left the job and gone for what they felt were better opportunities, he decided to stay and be faithful to his calling.

Satheesh Reddy has been involved in the navigation system of all the missiles developed by DRDO and the 'Outstanding Scientist' that he is now, has set his sights on achieving something much higher in the missile technology - all for the country's sake.