The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has clarified that the appointment of Shri B.N. Som, IPoS (64) as Secretary, Department of Posts, notified earlier would be subject to final outcome in OA No. 1324/2000. P. Bhagawan Das Vs Union of India, pending in the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi.

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SHRI R.N.GOYAL TAKES OVER AS SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TELECOM OPERATIONS

   Shri R.N.Goyal, 1963 batch of Indian Telecom Service (ITS) has taken over as the Secretary, Department of Telecom Operations (DTO). Prior to his new assignment, he was Member (Production) in the Telecom Commission, the charge of which he will continue to hold during his new tenure. He was also the Chief General Manager of North-East Telecom Circle, Satellite Project Circle, Madhya Pradesh Telecom Circle and Adviser Human Resource Development and Operations. Shri Goyal has made unique contribution in the field of telecommunication by setting up National Telecom Museum at Bhopal.

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RAJYA SABHA

DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN NORTH-EASTERN REGION

    The Department of Tourism has taken the following steps to promote and develop tourism in the North Eastern region which also includes the travel circuit: Guwahati-Kaziranga-Shillong-Tawant.

• 10 per cent of the plan budget of the Department of Tourism has been earmerked for development of North East region.

• The Department of Tourism has set up a Task Force on the North East and the recommendations of the Task Force are being followed up for development of tourism in these areas.

• A chapter of Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management has recently been opened at Guwahati.

• A full-fledged Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology has been set up at Shillong.

• A video film on tourist attractions for North East has been produced by Ministry of Tourism in order to give wide publicity to the region. This is being screened by Air India in their flights.

• North Eastern States are given a free booth in the World's largest tourism fair ITB Berlin.
• Financial Assistance for promotion of Fairs and Festivals is also being provided to North Eastern States every year on continuing basis.
• North Eastern States are given a special focus in the Marketing Conference kof Overseas Offices of the Ministry and all the overseas offices are giving due publicity to the North East States for the promotion of tourism in the region.

    Besides this, during the first three years of the Ninth Plan i.e. 1997-2000, the Department of Tourism has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 4874.33 lakhs for 230 projects in consultation with State Governments in North Eastern region including Sikkim.

    This information was given by the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Shri Ananth Kumar, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

    India has achieved self reliance in the manufacture of high-tech Rare Earth Magnets (elements) which have wide-spread applications not only in the industrial sector but also in strategic areas. The advanced technology for its production, available hitherto with only a few countries in the world has been indigenously developed and also successfully transferred to Industry for commercial production, with the active support of the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of the Department of Science and Technology.

    The technology transfer document relating to this was formally handed over last week to Mishra Dhatu Nigam, (MIDHANI) a Hyderabad based Defence public sector unit, for commercial production.

    Rare Earths comprise a group of 17 elements, scandium (Atomic No.21) to Lactecium (Atomic No. 71) which have assumed considerable significance in the light of rapid technological developments in the last three decades. Neodymium is an important rare earth element and high energy magnets developed with it by Japan and the US has lead to drastic miniaturization, opening up new areas of applications in medical, automation, automobiles, watches, instrumentation and computers etc. Neodymium based magnets are the strongest and have the highest energy density among commercially available permanent magnets till date.

    According to a study conducted by the Gorham Advanced Materials Institute of America, India enjoys an advantageous position with regard to natural availability of rare earths, next only to China and USA. China today is the single largest producer, dominating the world market in rare earth materials.

    The Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratories, (DMRL), a part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has pioneered the development of rare earth magnets in India. Subsequently, the MIDHANI engaged in the manufacture of hi-tech special metals and alloys worked together with DMRL to develop production technology of the magnets on a commercial scale. The magnets so developed have been successfully used among others by the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre and the National Institute of Ocean Technology.

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    The Government has taken a number of steps to provide adequate bandwidth as it is a pre-requisite for reliable Internet facilities. These are :

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    According to National Telecom Policy-1999 (NTP-99) Internet Telephony shall not be permitted at this stage. However, Government will continue to monitor the technological innovations and their impact on national development and review this at appropriate time.

'16'

    Shri Omar Abdullah, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry has said that India and Syria need to strive for expanding bilateral trade to a respectable level of at least US $ 200 million in the coming two years. While inaugurating the Fourth Session of the Indo-Syria Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), here today, he said that India’s exports to Syria have grown by over 104 per cent in the past 5 years and Syrian exports to India have increased by 22 per cent. However, the Minister expressed concern over the fact that the bilateral trade has been around US $ 75 million only which, he said, was too meagre considering the potential of the two countries. The JCM, which is taking place after more than six years, has been organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Dr. Khaled Raad, Deputy Prime Minister of Syria along with his other Ministerial colleagues was also present at the inaugural session.

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    His Excellency, Mr. Jose Serra, Hon'ble Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Brazil has called on Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. C.P.Thakur and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prof. Rita Verma, here today. A ten-member delegation representing the Brazil's Pharmaceutical Industry and Public Health, and Brazil's Ambassador to India, Mrs. B.B.Machado have accompanied the visiting Minister.

    The Ministry of Rural Development implements the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS), Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) as programmes for generation of employment and development in rural areas all over the country.

    The amount allocated and physical achievement under these schemes during 1999-2000 are as follows :-

    This information was given by the Minister of Rural Development, Shri Sundarlal Patwa in a written reply to question of Shri Ramdas Athawale in Lok Sabha today.

    Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has issued an advertisement inviting "Expression of Interest" (EOI) for joint venture participation in its subsidiary Company Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO). The last date for receiving the EOI is 31^st August, 2000. Conversion of IISCO into a joint venture is planned to be completed by June, 2001. Quantum of investment would be known at the time of finalisation of joint venture.

    The Government have introduced a new initiative viz., Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) in order to achieve the objective of sustainable human development and improve the basic amenities at the village level. PMGY envisages allocation of Additional Central Assistance (ACA) to the tune of Rs.5000 crore to the States and UTs during 2000-2001. PMGY has two components, namely, rural roads with an allocation of Rs.2500 crore of Additional Central Assistance and other programmes, namely, primary health, primary education, rural shelter, rural drinking water and nutrition with an allocation of another Rs. 2500 crore.

    No criteria has been fixed for the distribution of funds to the States under the Rural Roads component, as the proposal is presently under formulation. For the other progammes of PMGY the Planning Commission has allocated funds to the States on the basis of relative performance/achievements in the Basic Minimum Services of the State. As per this criteria, the States which are relatively less developed in terms of the provisions of the Basic Minimum Services are allocated relatively more Additional Central Assistance (ACA) under PMGY. As per the PMGY guidelines, every State has to provide a minimum 15% of their allocation to each of the five sectors of the Other Programmes of PMGY. As regards the resideual 25% of the allocation for PMGY, the State Governments could allocate to any of the five sectors as per their own priorities and discretion. Under the State-wise allocation of funds made by the Planning Commission for the Other Programmes of PMGY, for the year 2000-2001, Rs.1725.64 crore are to be distributed among the 15 non-special category states. The highest allocation of Rs. 348.91 crore is for Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rs.287.25 crore for Bihar, Rs.167.82 crore for West Bengal, Rs.142.06 crore for Andhra Pradesh and Rs.113.77 crore for Madhya Pradesh.

    The ten special category States get Rs.739.56 crores with highest allocation of Rs. 179.57 crore to Assam, followed by Rs. 171.58 crore to Jammu & Kashmir, Rs.70.61 crore to Himachal Pradesh, Rs.68.17 crore to Arunachal Pradesh and Rs.50.83 crore to Tripura.

    The seven Union Territories have an allocation of Rs. 34.80 crores.

    This information was given by the Minister of Rural Development, Shri Sundarlal Patwa in a written reply to the question by Shri Brijlal Khabri in Lok Sabha today.

    All States except Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Pondicherry and NCT of Delhi have held the first round of Panchayat Elections. As regards the Panchayat Elections in Schedule V areas, the first round of elections have been held in all the States except Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. NCT Delhi and Arunachal Pradesh have also not set up State Finance Commissions while the report from Bihar’s Finance Commission is awaited. All other states have submitted their State Finance Commission Reports.

    The Constitution (73^rd Amendment) Act, 1992 and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas), Act, 1996 (Act 40 of 1996) provide for administrative and financial powers to Panchayats.

    This information was given by the Minister of Rural Development, Shri Sundarlal Patwa in a written reply to a question by Shri Rajesh Ranjan Pappu Yadav in Lok Sabha today.

    The Central budget allocation for the rural sanitation programme has been increased from Rs.110 crores to Rs.140 crores during the current financial year. The rural sanitation coverage in the country is estimated as 16 to 20 per cent of the total rural households. The Planning Commission has suggested the target of 25% of rural sanitation coverage by the end of the Ninth Plan period. The Central Rural Sanitation Programme was initially started in 1986. Keeping in view the past experience, this Programme has been restructured w.e.f. 1^st April, 1999. The Restructured Programme moves away from the principle of State-wise allocations primarily based on poverty criteria to a "demand-driven" approach. It is community-led and people centred. In the Restructured Programme, the Total Sanitation Campaign is being implemented in ‘project mode’ in identified 58 pilot districts in the country. The Total Sanitation Campaign lays stress on Information, Education and Communication, School Sanitation, Alternate Delivery Mechanism, Individual household latrines and Sanitary Complex for women along with the different technological options as per the local requirements.

    This information was given by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri A. Raja in a written reply to a question by Shri A. Brahmanaiah in Lok Sabha today.

    All State/UT Panchayati Raj Acts have provision for reservation for women in Panchayats, barring States such as Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland (where 73^rd Amendment Act is not application), Jammu & Kashmir to which this Act has not been extended and National Territory of Delhi. As per Article 243-D of the Constitution of India, not less than one-third of the total number of seats of Panchayats are reserved for women.

    The Government of India has also written to all State/UT Governments to issue necessary guidelines to Panchayats at all levels to ensure that women members of Panchayati Raj Institutions are not figure-heads/proxies and other persons do not attend meetings in their stead.

    This information was given by the Minister of Rural Development, Shri Sundarlal Patwa in a written reply to a question by Shri Jai Bhadra Singh and Shri Dalpat Singh Parste in Lok Sabha today.

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    Geological Survey of India has estimated the total coal reserves of the country (at the depth of 1200 m) at 2,11,594 million tonnes as on 1.1.2000.

    The Pellet Plant commissioned by Kudremudh Iron and Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) at Mangalore had 110 per cent capacity utilisation during 1999-2000. This was 84 and 97 per cent respectively during 1998-99 and 1997-98. The company exported 3.235 million tonnes of pellets worth Rs. 413.5 crores during 1999-2000. It exported 2.650 million tonnes and 2.830 million tonnes of pellets respectively during the previous two years.

    The Expert Group set up to study the Service Tax structure and administration in the country in its first meeting held yesterday has started the task of conducting a complete review of the tax system and decided to call for suggestions and recommendations from the public/trade. The committee is in the process of finalizing a broad questionnaire which would cover all aspects of Service Tax structure and administration to ascertain the views of service associations as well as the public. The questionnaire can be accessed at dgst@servicetax.gov.in which will operational within a couple of days. Representations can be sent to the committee by email on this web address. The first meeting of the committee yesterday was addressed by the Finance Secretary, Shri P.G. Mankad who asked for the completion of the task of the committee within the specified time frame.

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INTERIM REPORT ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLANS PRESENTED TO AGRICULTURE MINISTER

    Union Minister for Agriculture, Shri Nitish Kumar was presented an interim report on Disaster Management here today by Shri J.C. Pant, Chairman, High Powered Committee on Disaster Management Plans.

    The need for an effective Disaster Management strategy to lessen disaster impact was increasingly being felt in many quarters. Hence, a High Powered Committee (HPC) for preparation of Disaster Management Plans at National, State and District level was constituted at the behest of Prime Minister by the Ministry of Agriculture under the Chairmanship of Shri J.C. Pant, former Secretary to the Government of India on August 29, 1999. The HPC was constituted of 21 members besides the Chairman and Member Secretary which included Administrators, Educationists, Scientists and Meteorological Experts.

    The original mandate of the HPC was confined to preparation of management plans for natural disasters only. The terms of reference were enhanced to include review of existing arrangements for preparedness and mitigation of natural and man-made disasters including industrial, nuclear, biological and chemical disasters; measures for strengthening organisational structures and to recommend a comprehensive model plan for management of these disasters at the National, State and District levels.

    In making the recommendations, the HPC was asked to consider aspects like forecasting and warning systems, response mechanism, development programme, development of human resources, public awareness, protective measures, information technology, networking / coordination, periodic updating, structural measures and state-of-the-art control rooms.

    Broad heads of disasters identified by the High Powered Committee are: Water and Climate related Disasters, Geologically related Disasters, Biologically related Disasters, Chemical, Industrial and Nuclear related Disasters and accident related disasters.

    The Manisana Wage Board for Journalists and non-Journalists submitted its final report to the Government here this evening. The Chairman of the Wage Board Justice Rajkumar Manisana Singh submitted the report to the Labour Minister Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya. The Labour Ministry after studying the Report will seek comments from the concerned ministries. It will then submit the Report along with its proposals/ recommendations to the Cabinet for final decision.

‘10-A’

    The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had purely on its own initiative, organized a one day Seminar on 22^nd December,1999, in New Delhi. The theme of the Seminar was Rural India Marketing and Industrialization. The aim of the Seminar was to promote marketing and Industrialization in rural and tribal areas so as to see how the untrapped potential in these areas may be fully exploited and to share experiences to understand the rural mind, innovative communication approaches and a creative media mix. The Seminar basically recommended creation of employment opportunities, raising rural incomes, strengthening agriculture industry linkages, formulation of IT policy, education, training and skill building, facilitation of consumer group formation and designing products to suit needs of rural tribals and pockets.

    As far as the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is concerned, a package of measures through specific programmes and schemes, is already being implemented to upgrade the social, educational and economic status of the tribals, to bring them on par with other cross sections of the society.

    This information was given by Shri Jual Oram, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, in a written reply to a question from Shri Vilas Muttemwar, in the Lok Sabha today.

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    Government of Tripura had submitted a proposal during August, 1999 consisting a list of anti erosion schemes near Indo-Bangladesh border in the form of a concept paper amounting to Rs. 20 crores seeking Central Assistance. After examination of proposal, Centre has advised the state Government to supplement the proposal with detailed project report duly approved by State Technical Advisory Committee/State Flood Control Board.

    A Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, "Flood Control Scheme in Brahmaputra and Barak Basin in North Eastern State has been formulated to assist the States including Tripura in taking up flood control and anti erosion schemes in the Ninth Plan. The Scheme has been cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee in its recent meeting on July 12,2000.

    This information was given by Union Minister of Water Resources, Shri Arjun Charan Sethi in reply to a question from Shri Khagen Das in the Rajya Sabha today.

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    The revised draft National Water Policy was considered in the 4^th meeting of National Water Resoruces Council held on 7^th July, 2000 under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister for finalisation.

    The deliberations established a broad consensus among the states on most of the issues contained in the proposed policy. However, some areas of differences still remain. In order to achieve greater convergence and agreement on these issues it has been decided to constitute a Working Group of Ministers of all the States/UTs chaired by the Minister of Water Resources.

    This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Smt. Bijoya Chakravarty, in a written reply to a question from Shri Amar Singh, in the Rajya Sabha today.

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    No study to ascertain the extent of straying of river Ganga from its traditional course has been carried out. However, the river Ganga attempts to stray from its traditional course due to its meandering nature in alluvial reach depending upon water discharge, sediment load and slope of the river bed.

    It is not true that Farakkha Barrage is seriously impending the flow of water of river Ganga and causing massive silting.

    Flood Management Works including desilting of rivers is a state Subject and as such these works are planned, executed and maintained by the respective States out of their own State Plan funds according the priorites fixed by them. Central Government as per existing procedure provides technical advice and conducts appraisal of schemes when referred by the State Governments for clearance. No proposal/scheme for removal of silt and to take further steps to restore the purity of the river Ganga has been received in this Ministry. However, Ministry of Environment and Forest operates a project namely, Ganga Action Plan to restore the purity of Ganga.

    This information was given by Smt. Bijoya Chakravarty, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, in a written reply to a question from Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, in the Rajya Sabha today.

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    The Government of Andhra Pradesh has not intimated the present estimated cost of Telugu Ganga Project. However, according to the review report of September, 1997, the estimated cost of the Project was Rs. 2470.00 crore against the initial estimated cost of Rs. 637.00 crore in 1983 as reported by Andhra Pradesh Government. The Project is likely to be completed beyond Ninth Plan.

    This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Smt. Bijoya Chakravarty, in a written reply to a question from Dr. Y. Lakshmi Prasad, in the Rajya Sabha today.