The total authorised capital of the 26 public limited companies was Rs.1,309 lakhs and 301 private limited and other companies Rs.6,203 lakhs.

    The Government realised Rs.42.32 lakhs as registration fees from the total 327 registered companies and Rs.1.39 lakhs as filing fees.

    During the month under report, 11520 companies filed their Balance Sheets with the Registrars of Companies in the Eastern Region. Of these, 6472 companies were in West Bengal followed by 4459 companies in Bihar, 186 companies in Orissa and 403 companies in the North Eastern Region.

    A total of 13,929 companies failed to file their Balance Sheets. Of these, 7437 companies were in West Bengal followed by 3992 companies in Bihar, 1863 companies in Orissa and 637 companies in the North Eastern Region.

    The Joint Secretary , Ministry of Steel, Shri S. Manoharan is the convener of the Group. The Group will function till March 31, 2000 and suggest measures for early completion of the on-going Iron and Steel Projects. It will also address the problems of the existing as well as newly commissioned Iron and Steel Plants on demand generation, Customs and Excise duty, rationalisation, availability of power at reasonable prices, the measures to boost exports and measures to restrict imports of steel.

    Setting up of such a Committee was recommended by the Captains of industries, Apex Industries Associations, Chambers of Commerce, financial institutions, leading consultants and experts, in the ‘Round Table on Steel’ held in October, 1999.

    Earlier, welcoming the delegation, Shri Sikdar said that India is keen to increase its tele-density from the present 2.4 per 100 population to 7 by 2005 and 15 by 2010. He said that rural telephony in India has to pick up and the Department is making all efforts to provide village public telephones in all the villages by 2002. The Minister stated that Canadian experience of expertise in this respect is welcome.

    A MoU was signed between Ministry of Communications, Government of India, and Department of Industry, Government of Canada in January 1996 for enhancing and facilitating various scientific, technical and managerial components in the sector of Telecommunications. The cooperation is foreseen in the use of wide range of technologies and services like rural telephony, wireless and mobile satellite services, Value Added Services, various technologies relating to optical fibre cable systems, satellite systems, ATM and other aspects of planning and operations of the telecom services. It also pertained to exchange of knowledge and information regarding regulations, accounting rates and tariffs.

    Subsequent to follow-up of this broad umbrella of MoU, two agreements were signed on March 30, 1998 between the Minster of Finance, Government of India and Minister of Revenue, Government of Canada; one on Telecommunication framework envisaging 7.5 million canadian dollar contribution from CEDA and Rs.2.2 crore Indian Rupees for regulation process of standardization and spectrum management and the second agreement relates to telecommunication operations project for rural telecommunications with CEDA support amounting to 4.5 million canadian dollars.

    The Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley has said that the benefits of technological advancement in broadcasting must percolate to the lowest strata of society. He said, at present only seven per cent of population in India owns colour TV sets and another 22 per cent own black and white TV sets, leaving the bulk of over 70 per cent outside this system.

    Inaugurating the BES EXPO’ 2000 - International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting, organized by the Broadcast Engineering Society (India) here today, Shri Jaitley said that while the world looks on us as Information Technology super power, we have to strengthen our own system so that we are able to live up to the expectations and aspirations of our people.

    In his keynote address, the Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K. Kasturirangan said that the Broadcasting industry is going through a metamorphism in the infrastructure for producing, transmitting and displaying television programming. The programme should address the social and economic issues, mobilize the community to work in a cooperative manner, educate the community about their rights and responsibilities, inculcate respect for law, act a as a channel of communication between the people and the decision makers, promote scientific temper and most importantly promote a national spirit, he said.

    Dr. Kasturirangan said that 65 per cent of the rural population, which is poor, illiterate and does not constitute a significant ‘Market’ has to be reached with information and has to be reached fast. He said private broadcasters should join hands with Government and the NGO sector should assist in the setting up and operationalisation of a system that reaches out to the lower strata of the rural society.

    In his address, the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Y.N. Chaturvedi said that we are in the middle of a technical revolution in the area of broadcasting. He said AIR is fast expanding its FM network and already has one hundred FM Stations and another one hundred will come soon. He said with DTH knocking at the door, country is poised for large change in the coming years in the field of broadcasting.

    Addressing the gathering the CEO, Prasar Bharati, Shri R.R. Shah stressed the need for deploying digital technology in broadcasting and said that four metropolitan cities, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Calcutta will have digital TV transmission from this year. He said the entire analogue transmission will be phased out by 2012. He said that Doordarshan will soon have various kinds of specialized channels including sports, education, news and entertainment etc.

    BES EXPO – 2000 is the sixth in the series of exhibitions organized by the Broadcasting Engineering Society (India). Over 50 manufacturers, dealers, distributors and suppliers of products, equipment and systems related to broadcasting are participating.

    Prof. (Dr.) M. Mustafa Chowdhury , Chairman, Bangladesh Public Service Commission called on the Chairman, Union Public Service Commission, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Surendernath here today.

    Dr. Chowdhury took keen interest in the examination system, recruitment system and the assessment system in the Confidential Wing of UPSC. Among the issues which were discussed included the latest development recently introduced in the UPSC in tune with modernisation and technical upgradation like setting up of the UPSC’s Website and introduction of new procedure for the Examination Wing using optical scanning and intelligent mark readers technology. The Chairman also discussed the constitutional role and functions of the Chairman and Members of the PSC in both the countries.

    During his three day visit to UPSC from 31^st January 2000 to 2^nd February, 2000 the Chairman Bangladesh PSC also met the Members of the UPSC. He visited Library, Computer Centre and new Receipt Section of the Commission where newly introduced application forms are being received. Dr. Chowdhury also met the Secretary and other senior officers of the Commission.

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    The list of 1429 tariff lines on which quantitative restrictions (QRs) are maintained by India on balance of payments grounds is available on the websites of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, including the website of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The list can be accessed on the following addresses:

1. http://www.nic.in/eximpol
2. http://commin.nic.in
3. http://commin.nic.in/doc

    It may be recalled that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 as well as GATT 1994 (which was signed as part of the Uruguay Round Agreement in 1994) stipulated that no prohibitions or restrictions (including quantitative restrictions) by way of quotas, import or export licences, or other such measures shall be maintained by any member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO); only tariffs are allowed. However, under the exceptional provisions of Article XVIII of the GATT, India had maintained some QRs on imports for balance of payments purposes. The US had filed a dispute against India in the WTO for maintaining QRs on imports on balance of payments grounds. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO on 22^nd September 1999 had adopted both the Panel Report of 6^th April, 1999 and the subsequent Appellate Body Report of 23^rd August, 1999, which ruled that India was not justified in maintaining QR on BoP grounds and requested India to bring its measures in conformity with its WTO obligations. Pursuant to this, the Indo-US bilateral agreement of December 28, 1999 envisaged that out of the 1429 tariff lines as on date on which QRs are still being maintained by India on BoP grounds, QRs on 714 tariff lines would be removed by 1.4.2000 and the remaining 715 tariff lines by 1.4.2001.

'16'

    Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, will lay the foundation stone of the Chennai Trade Centre – a 20-acre permanent exhibition complex – at Chennai on the 30^th of this month. The MOU for setting up of this complex was earlier signed by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and the Government of Tamil Nadu. As per the MOU, the Government of Tamil Nadu would provide 20 acres of developed land with proper infrastructure and access facilities while the Government of India, through ITPO, will arrange for construction of the Chennai Trade Centre. It is proposed that the Complex will have 20,000 sq. mts. of covered area equipped with all infrastructural facilities like parking, warehousing, administrative block, power and water. In the first phase, it is proposed to construct 5000 sq. mts. covered area.

    During his visit to Chennai, the Minister will also be participating in the pre-Exim Policy interactive session with the Chairmen of the Export Promotion Councils of the Southern Region on January 31, which is being organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO). This forms a part of the consultation process initiated by Shri Maran before the announcement of the revised Exim Policy. Later, Shri Maran would be inaugurating the 15^th India International Leather Fair at Chennai on the same day. The 5-day (31^st January to 4^th February) Fair is being organised by the Council for Leather Exports. The Minister will also inaugurate the Computerised Facilitation Counter for exporters at the office of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in Chennai.

'16'

    The government has decided to place all items under the automatic route for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/Non-Resident Indian (NRI) and OCB investment except for a small negative list, with a view to increasing the present inflows of FDI into India to an annual figure of US $ 10 billion, which would imply a jump of nearly two-and-half times from the present level of FDI inflows, Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry has said. FDI inflows into India have crossed the figure of US $ 4 billion during 1999 and are estimated at $ 4.02 billion during January-December, 1999. Hoping for a rush of investment into India as a result of the latest FDI Policy initiatives, Shri Maran wondered why India, which provided the largest market after China in the developing world, had so far been unable to attract substantial volumes of FDI given its superior conditions in many sectors and pointed out that while China achieved actual FDI inflows of around US $ 45.3 billion in 1997, in India it had been hovering in the region of $ 3 to 3.5 billion.

    The Minister further announced that the government had decided to constitute a Group of Ministers to review existing sectoral policies and sectoral equity caps with a view to continuously reviewing and liberalising the FDI regime. Shri Maran said that the Group of Ministers, would comprise the Ministers of Commerce & Industry, Finance, External Affairs, Telecommunications, Chemicals & Fertilisers and Small Scale Industries (SSIs). Similarly, the government aims to harmonise sectoral policy with the overall FDI policy. Hence, future changes in policy will be effected only after the Group of Ministers examines proposals for changes in sectoral policies, Shri Maran said.

    Shri Maran said at a news conference here today that the decision of the government to announce a small negative list was in fulfilment of the government’s commitment to early implementation of the second phase of economic reforms and to the further unshackling of Indian industry from the rigours of approvals and controls. He said the decision represented a major step towards dispensing with the present mechanism of consideration of proposals on a case-to-case basis and would lend greater transparency to the process of foreign direct investment into India and inspire more confidence in the foreign investors. The Minister further said that the Foreign Investment Implementation Agency (FIIA) would be enlarged to provide for a mechanism of single window clearance so that the gap between approvals and inflows could be speedily bridged.

    The present decision provides for a small negative list consisting of the following:

1. All proposals which require an Industrial Licence on account of (i) the item requiring an Industrial Licence under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951; (ii) foreign investment being more than 24% in the equity capital of units manufacturing items reserved for small scale industries; and (iii) all items which require an Industrial Licence in terms of the locational policy notified by government under the New Industrial Policy of 1991.
2. All proposals in which the foreign collaborator has a previous venture/tie-up in India.
3. All proposals relating to acquisition of shares in an existing Indian company in favour of a foreign/NRI/OCB investor.
4. All proposals falling outside notified sectoral policy/caps or under sectors in which FDI is not permitted and/or whenever any investor chooses to make an application to the FIPB and not to avail of the automatic route.

    Henceforth, subject to sectoral policies and sectoral caps, the automatic route would be available to all foreign and NRI investors with the facility to bring in 100% FDI/NRI/OCB investment. All proposals for investment in public sector units, as also for Export Oriented Unit (EOU)/Export Processing Zones (EPZ)/Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP)/Software Technology Park (STP) units would qualify for automatic approval subject to the aforesaid parameters. The modalities and procedure for the automatic route would remain the same and RBI would continue to the concerned agency as earlier.

'16'

    Shri Kashiram Rana, Union Minister for Textiles, today approved an amendment to an order issued by the Jute Commissioner under Section 3 (1) of the Jute (Licensing and Control) Order 1961, keeping in view the provisions of the Jute Packaging Materials (compulsory use in packing commodities) Act.

    Licensing requirements under the Jute (Licensing and Control) Order were earlier not made applicable to certain categories of jute traders. By an amendment to the earlier notification dated 1.2.1978 this exemption is now restricted to jute and jute products of Indian origin only.

    The Jute Packaging Materials (compulsory use in packing commodities) Act was formulated to serve the interests of the domestic jute farmers, the workers and others engaged in the domestic jute sector and also the domestic consumers. This implies that imported jute and jute products are not to be used for meeting the requirement of mandatory packaging.

    The Minister clarified that the issue of this order will not affect import of jute goods but will ensure submission of statutory returns to the Jute Commissioner so as to ensure that the provisions of mandatory packaging Act and other regulations are not violated.

PANT TO HEAD RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE

    The Planning Commission has reconstituted the Research Advisory Committee. The Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shri K.C. Pant will be the Chairman of the 10 member committee. The other members of the committee include Prof. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Dr. Homi N. Sethna, Dr. P.K. Iyenger, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Dr. R.S. Paroda, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Shri Ashok Parthasarthy and Dr. S.R. Hashim. Shri N.C. Saxena, Secretary, Planning Commission will be the Member-Convenor of the Committee.

    The Committee will assess and advise on the future directions of social, economic and industrial development of the country. For this purpose, the Committee will deliberate upon the current and future technological aids and options of the nation for all spheres of economic activities. It will also provide agenda for research & development and technological acquisition by the government and industry.

'31'

    Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Shri N.T.Shanmugam has said that the Government of India has given priority for the development of nursing services by allocating a sum of Rs.42 crore during the 9^th Plan towards development of nursing services which is five times more than the allocation made during the 8^th Plan period.

    In his address at the Golden Jubilee celebration of Indian Nursing Council here today, the Minister has said that the proposal of the Indian Nursing Council for strengthening will be given priority by the Ministry since its work load has increased considerably in terms of number of educational institutions and other related issues with regard to nursing education.

    He underlined the need to review the existing nurse patient ratio as against the ideal 1:3 doctor nurse ratio. Today a doctor nurse ratio of 1:1.5 is available in our country.

    There is a need to consider change in scope of nursing practices keeping in mind the needs of the health care system.

    The Minister has expressed his hope that Indian Nursing Council’s initiative to start on experimental basis for the development of specialised midwifery programme will contribute to reduce the maternal mortality rate in rural and tribal areas.

    Office bearers of the Indian Nursing Council have also addressed the Golden Jubilee celebrations of their Council.

'39'

    Government has not restored the system of additional allotments of sugar for releases in free sale to sugar mills. Only advance allotments are being made in certain exceptional cases. This clarification has been issued by the Department of Sugar and Edible Oils in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution in response to an item appearing in a section of the press about 'discretionary allotments' of sugar to mills. It has also been clarified that it is the sugar industry represented by Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills Limited (NFCSFL) who have been advocating caution on total decontrol which Government is more than willing to consider at the present juncture.

    Government has done away with ad-hoc allotment of additional quantities of sugar to sugar mills on purely discretionary basis, over and above the pro-rata allotment to sugar mills out of their monthly releases of sugar in the free sale. This new policy has come into effect from 1^st January, 2000. However, certain sugar mills represented to Government that on account of non-sanction of working capital by banks, they are having problems in settling the dues to the farmers especially during the peak crushing season. Farmers in these areas have been agitated over non-payment of their dues while sugar mills have been producing sugar and stocking them. Taking into account these practical problems, Government have decided to make exceptions in a very few cases to make advance additional allotments during the crushing season to such mills within their over-all yearly entitlement for release.

    Clear guidelines have been laid down to restrict the number to a few mills who have genuine problems of working capital. Also it has been decided to make these advance releases only for a few months during the crushing season and are spread over both free-sale and levy entitlements. This disbursement of money to the farmers towards cane price dues from the realisation and sale of these additional quantities will also be monitored on month-to-month basis. The advance releases will also be adjusted at the same rate immediately after the crushing season. It is to be noted that advance allotments are made during the season when prices in the open market are under control and the mills do not have any undue advantage over other mills. The actual allotment of sugar will be made by the Department of Sugar and Edible Oils on examination of respresentations received from sugar mills.

SHRI ANANTH KUMAR CONGRATULATES INDIAN UNDER 19 CRICKET TEAM

    The Minister of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Ananth Kumar has congratulated the Under 19 Indian Cricket Team for winning the Junior World Cup Tournament. In a message the Minister said that the entire team has done a commendable job and has brought laurels to our country. Shri Ananth Kumar said the victory is an auspicious one as it comes at the beginning of the new millennium and he hoped that it will boost the morale of thousands of young players of our country.

'42'

WEBSITES OF DEPARTMENTS OF FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS & PETROCHEMICALS INAUGURATED

    The Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Websites of Departments of Fertilizers and Chemicals & Petrochemicals, here today. Shri Prabhu while inaugurating the Websites said this is a part of the policy of transparency of the Government so that no information is shrouded in secrecy.

    The Website of the Department of Fertilizers is available at the address www.fert.nic.in. The Website covers the list of subjects allocated to the Department, Organisational Setup, Fertilizer Companies under the administrative control of the department. It includes Fertilizer Company Profiles and incorporates the E-mail Addresses/Website links to these companies. The features of the existing policy are also included in the Website. The Site covers procedure for Import of Urea, Guidelines for Export of Single Superphosphate, Annual Report of the Department, Statistical Data pertaining to Prices, Fertilizer Production, Movement, Consumption and Imports. The Site also gives the useful links related to the fertilizer sector including the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Secretariat for Parliament Questions.

    Special feature of the Home Page is its linkage to the Hindi Website of the Ministry.

    The Website of the Ministry will be updated periodically to help the persons, institutions engaged in the activities of the fertilizer sector to have access to latest information on opportunities in the sector.

    The Website of the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals focuses on Organisational Setup to facilitate familiarization for the common man, information dissemination, investment opportunities in the chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors etc. A special feature of the Home Page is its linkage to Hindi Website of the Department.

    The Website has useful information on the three sectors, the products manufactured, the policies of the Government in the three sectors, perspective planning and investment opportunities. The Website also contains linkages to the different PSUs and organisations under the administrative control of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.

    The Website address of the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals is http://www.nic.in/cpc.

    In a determined bid to accelerate the socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes, the Government of India set up in October, 1999, an exclusive Ministry for Tribal Affairs under the charge of a full fledged Cabinet rank Minister. It is, indeed, a land mark step and marks the beginning of more focussed approach to the development of tribals of this country who constitute 8.08 per cent of the country’s total population. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is all set to be actively engaged in welfare, planning, evaluation, promotion and development efforts in a vast gamut of tribal affairs. It will monitor the implementation of various programmes/schemes which are being implemented at the field level by the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations in their respective jurisdiction.

    A two-day convention of Members of Parliament belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes was organized from December 5-6, 1999 for eliciting their constructive suggestions to streamline and update the programmes and policies being implemented for these categories so as to establish a social order that is based on "Samajik Samata" (social equality) and "Social Samarasata" (social harmony).

    Two conferences, one at Delhi on November 20, 1999 and another at Guwahati on November 26-27, 1999 of State Secretaries in charge of Tribal Development under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Tribal Affairs were organized to discuss the implementation of the programmes and policies of tribal development so as to make them more effective.

    Senior officers of the Ministry visit States and Union Territories from time to time to interact with concerned State Governments, UT Administrations, field level implementing agencies and non governmental organizations (NGOs) to resolve the pending issues and take remedial measures for effective implementation of the programmes and also to ensure that funds given to these agencies are utilized purposefully.

    Solar Energy will be used to mitigate some of the hardships faced by our jawans in the Kargil region. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has gifted ten Solar Lanterns and six Solar Cookers for use by an Army Unit guarding the icy heights of Kargil. The items were handed over today by Shri N.N. Mookerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources on behalf of IREDA to Lt. General C.R. Sampath Kumar, Director General (Welfare), Army Headquarters. Senior officers of the Army, MNES and IREDA were present on the occasion.

    The Solar Cookers have been especially designed to function in the high altitude and low temperature conditions of Kargil. The Cooker boxes are made out of light-stabilised polyster resin reinforced with fibre glass and provided with an extra thick insulation. Special rubber and silicon sealants have been used to withstand extremely low temperatures. This is likely to be the first time anywhere in the world that Solar Cookers will be deployed at such altitudes. The electronic components used in the Solar Lanterns have also been especially designed.

    Solar Cookers and Solar Lanterns can help save kerosene, which has to be transported over great distances. The Cookers can be used to prepare a variety of dishes or even simply to melt ice for use as water. The Solar Lanterns provide far superior lighting compared to kerosene lamps. Both items are environment friendly and do not cause any pollution in the mountains. Successful evaluation of these items in Kargil may encourage the Army to deploy them in large numbers all along the border. These items will also be beneficial to personnel of para-military forces such as the BSF and ITBP.

    The Solar Energy Centre, Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources will be observing its Annual Open Days from 3 to 5 February, 2000 at its Campus near village Gwalpahari on Gurgaon – Faridabad Road. The Open Days provide an opportunity to the public and school children to have - first hand experience of renewable energy technologies. During these days, the facilities at the Centre are opened to all visitors. A simultaneous exhibition by leading manufacturers of renewable energy devices is also organised. The exhibition enables visitors to see commercially available renewable energy devices and to book orders.

    As part of the Open Days on February 4, a workshop on "Solar energy use in industries for oil conservation" is being organised specially for energy consultants/auditors. The highlight of the workshop is a presentation on possible industrial use of established solar technologies.

    Annual Open Days of the Solar Energy Centre are now eagerly awaited by school children, the general public and renewable energy/environment enthusiasts. As an additional effort for creation of awareness regarding renewable energy and protection of environment amongst school children and teachers, a National Essay Competition is also organised by the Centre every year. The Centre will also be open to public and schools as part of the celebrations of "National Science Day" on February 28, 2000. An on the spot painting competition for school children will be held on that day at the Solar Energy Centre.

    Solar Energy Centre bus service would be available between village Mandi and the Centre. The timings for the visit will be from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

    Bus service will also be available from Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources, Block No. 14, CGO Complex at 9.00 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. The bus will return at 1230 hrs. from Centre to CGO complex.

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    The Minister for Human Resource Development and Science and Technology Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi has urged the scientific community to look back into centuries old Indian technologies and derive inspiration from them, also popularise the same. He said, whatever we have taken from the West were already there years ago in our system and we have only failed in taking note of them. He also disputed the notion that experimental science has come from the West. He said science is ingrained in social activity and we should teach our younger generation about our ancient scientists and their works and discoveries. He pointed out that centuries ago Indian steel was very much in demand worldwide for making swords. This indicates that our technologies were well developed even in the earliest times. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi was inaugurating here today a five-day Swadeshi Vigyan Mela organised by the Centre for Bhartiya Marketing Development.

    Dr. Joshi expressed the opinion that India has the capability to match any western technology and we should stop henceforth merely aping the West. The Western technology has only contributed to increasing consumerism and materialism. But India should innovate, lead and contribute to world progress besides its own, he said.

    In his Presidential address, the Minister for Rural Development Shri Sunder Lal Patwa said India has been the home of many basic scientific discoveries and there is a need to fall back on them. He said, we must ask ourselves as to how much of modern science we should have and how progressive it should be. He pointed out that science should be re-oriented towards building a self-sustaining India.

    The Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar addressing the inaugural session said while keeping pace with modern science we should encourage and preserve our centuries old traditional technologies. In fact, there should be a confluence of the two, to put the country on the path of economic progress. The children should be given the right education at the right age to produce more brilliant scientists, he said.

    The Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs Shri Ram Jethmalani released a commemorative edition of the Constitution of India on its fifty years at a function here this evening. Compiled by Dr. Subhash C. Jain, Member Secretary, Law Commission of India and ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India, over 1000 pages book contains the text of the Constitution of India as amended to-date, excerpts from the Constitution formation debate in the Constituent Assembly and many current issues.

    Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ram Jethmalani congratulated Dr. S.C. Jain for his onerous work and hoped that the commemorative book on the Constitution of India would be of immense use and guidance to the policy makers, legal professionals, judiciary, academics and the general public during the Golden Jubilee year of the Republic of India. The Minister said that the Constitution of India was an excellent Principal Law Book of India guiding the destiny of the nation. It has had stood the test of time and was resilient to meet the challenges of the future while maintaining its basic features.

    In his book, Dr. Jain deals with several current issues of national importance such as reservations for women in employment, minority educational institutions, need for inclusion of a new Directive Principle to promote small family norm, caretaker government and its functions pending elections, feasibility of abolishing President/Governor’s address, office of profit, removal of judges, conflict between legislatures and judiciary, doctrine of separation of powers and national government. The study also includes overview of constitutional amendments including those still pending in the Houses of Parliament. Dr. Jain’s work, which has a foreword by Shri Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, retired judge of the Supreme Court and presently Chairman of the Law Commission of india, falls apart from usual commentaries on the Constitution of India and gives perceptions of the author on several current importance.

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