Shri Madan Lal Khurana, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism has stated that the President has approved the Government's proposal to convene the Winter Session of Parliament from November 30, 1998. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats have accordingly been advised to take further necessary action in the matter for issuing summons to Members.

    The Winter Session scheduled to commence from November 30, 1998 is likely to go on till December 23, 1998. The session will comprise 18 sittings, out of which three sittings will be devoted to Private Member's Business.

    Shri Khurana has addressed letters to all his colleagues in the Council of Ministers to complete all necessary formalities with regard to the new Bills be introduced and to give necessary notices for consideration and passing of pending Bills.

    Shri Madan Lal Khurana has added that the decision to convene the Winter Session from November 30, 1998 has been taken keeping in view the fact that elections to four States Assemblies are scheduled to take place on November 25, 1998.
 
 

    Under a proposal to restructure JRY and EAS, there would be no sectoral earmarking. Instead, systematic registration of wage seekers, issue of family cards and monitoring of employment in terms of the number of people getting jobs would be introduced.

    JRY will continue to be implemented as a poverty alleviation programme with emphasis on wage employment while creating durable community assets and rural infrastructure. The Ministry of Rural Areas & Employment is contemplating the following changes in the guidelines :

• Wage, i.e., either the minimum wages or the higher wages as fixed.
• Funds for administrative and contingency expenses for Gram Panchayats to the extent of Rs.7,500 or 7.5%, whichever is less
• Ehancement of maintenance provision from 10 to 15%.
• Power to Gram Panchayats to sanction works at least upto Rs.20,000,

    Stressing on the role of the Public and the Private Sectors in the economy, Shri Vajpayee said that both the sectors had to work to increase productivity through better utilisation of human potential. He said restructuring of PSUs is a national imperative and the Government was committed to PSUs reforms to safeguard both national and workers interest.

    On the occasion, Labour Minister Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya said that better industrial growth can be achieved only with collective efforts of managements, workers, and Trade Unions. Management has the responsibility for creating an appropriate atmosphere in which workers are able to give their best and contribute to the growth of their organisation.

    While congratulating the awardees, the Labour Minister said that achievements of these workers are examples of successful team work and the right working environment. Shri Jatiya said that optimum utilisation of resources, quantum increase in productivity and efficiency are the pressing demands on the Indian Industry today. Our Industry has also to substantially improve quality of their products so that it can compete globally. Dr. Jatiya stated that these things can be achieved with condusive work culture.

    Highlighting the significance of the awards, Dr. Jatiya said that Prime Minister’s Shram Awards are given every year with a view to recognise excellence in the contribution made by the workmen employed in Departmental undertakings and Public Sector Units of Central and State Governments. These Awards are given to workmen who have a distinguished record of performance, devotion to duty of a high order, specific contribution in the field of productivity, proven innovative abilities, presence of mind and exceptional courage.

    Shram Ratna has been awarded first time since the inception of these Awards. The total number of Awards is only 17 but the number of workmen receiving the prizes is twenty five . Two workmen have been selected for Shram Bhushan, Six for Shram Vir and eight for Shram Shri and Shram Devi.

    Details of the Awards are as follows:

    This is the highest award amongst the Shram Awards and carries a Cash Award of Rs.2 lakhs alongwith a ‘Sanad’. A team of four workmen consisting of S/ Shri Shankar Prasad, Ganpat Ram Sahu, Niranjan Madhukar Muley and Nitin Chandra Bansiyar of Bhilai Steel Plant, Bhilai,Madhya Pradesh have been awarded the Shram Ratna Award jointly.

    Shri B.L. Chouksey of Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. , Bhopal and a team of S/ Shri Ashok Kumar Singh, Sudhir Kumar Biswas, Chindhu Dhote and Rama Shankar Biyar of Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power have been awarded the Shram Bhushan Award carrying a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh and a ‘Sanad’.

    Six workmen received Shram Vir Awards carrying a cash prize of Rs.60,000/- and a ‘Sanad’. The Shram Vir Awardees include Shri Gulab Chand Mahawar, of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, Kota, Rajasthan; Shri G. Murthy of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Ltd. , Bhadadrawati; Shri Pravat Kumar Mohanty of Galvanising Lines Cold Rolling Mills, Rourkela Steel Plant, Rourkela; Shri Shakti Pada Sarkar of Electrical Maintenance Deptt., Indian Iron Steel Co. Ltd., Burnpur.; Shri Golok Chatterjee of Gun and Shell Factory Cossipore, Calcutta and Shri Manoj Baruah of Artificial Lift, Well Service Base, ONGC, Sibsagar.

    Smt. K. Nagarathna and Smt. K. Kalpana of HMT Ltd. Bangalore were awarded Shram Devi Award jointly carrying an amount of Rs. 40,000/- and a ‘Sanad’.

    The Shram Shri Awardees were: Shri Thekkanath Joseph of Cochin Port Trust, Kochi; Shri Guruling Kempanna Walki of Hindustan Latex Ltd. Kanagala, Karnataka; Shri Rabinarayan Mohanty of Defence Research and Development Organisation, Interim Test Range, Chandipur, Balasore; Shri Brajesh Kumar Singh of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Barauni Refinery, Begusarai, Bihar ; Shri Vittala Shettigar M. of Telephones Tool Design, ITI Ltd., Bangalore; Shri Satwant Singh of Hindustan Aeronatice Ltd., Lucknow Shri Kalthireddy Changaiah, and Shri Mohammed Abdul khader both of Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. Hyderabad received the Award jointly.
 
 

    The Union Minister of Environment & Forests Shri Suresh Prabhu is planning to hold a series of meetings with Members of Parliament representing areas covered by the Ganga Action Plan and the Yamuna Action Plan. Attempts will be made to fully involve the representatives of the people for formulating schemes and measures which will substantially improve the implementation of the National River Conservation Programme.

    For enhancing the functional effectiveness of the Ganga Action plan in Bihar the Ministry has issued directions to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Boards in June this year to initiate action against defaulting Government Departments/local bodies for preventing pollution under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Emphasis has been laid on improving the operations and maintenance of all projects under the Ganga Action Plan in Bihar.

    The Cabinet has already accorded approval for the implementation of the Ganga Action Plan Phase-II. Action has been initiated to systematise and to effectively operationalise programmes learning from earlier experience. An objective and constructive analysis is being done to avoid repeating mistakes of the past and to increase the effectiveness of the National River Conservation Programme(NRCP).

    The Ministry has finalised guidelines to enable public participation in river action plans. The guidelines aim at encouraging public involvement at the grass root level thus contributing to the effective implementation of programmes.

    The World Bank has also agreed to provide financial assistance for Conservation and Management of Lakes and Wetlands in Rajasthan and Punjab.
 
 

    Dr. Joshi pointed out that his Ministry has already approved a Distance Education based Certificate Course, in collaboration with ISRO and IGNOU. The Certificate Course with six months duration, which will focus on related training for group formation and women’s empowerment. It is presently in the preparation stage.

    He said that the IMY scheme is an important strategy for empowerment of women and though the Department has trained more than a thousand persons so far, it could not reach the level of supervisors yet. This unique programme will train more than 300 Community Development Programme Operators(CDPOs), Integrated Child Development Scheme(ICDS) Supervisors, Govt. functionaries and NGOs. The Minister said ,this tele-conference will meet the requirements of training for specialised areas particularly in North India and clarify many concepts as it reduces transmission loss enabling immediate action.

    During the course of the training,the CDPOs and supervisors will be informed about the formation of Self Help Groups, the need for such groups, its strengths and activities. This will also include sharing of experience among the participants. The role and achievements of IMY, group mobilisation, interaction with NGOs and community are also on the agenda.

    The 3 day tele-conference training programme is being organised in collaboration with IGNOU and NIPCCD (National Institute for Public Cooperation and Child Development).The ten participating states are Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, J&K, Gujarat, U.P. and Bihar.
 
 

    The Minister said the textile industry is passing through unprecedented financial crisis as there has been a considerable erosion in profitability due to the problem of cost escalation and demand recession. The meltdown of the Russian and East Asian economies has further worsened the situation, he added. This has resulted in closing down of nearly 41 textile mills between July 1997 and July 1998 which is about a fifth of the total units that had shut down before July 1997.The Ministry has taken various initiatives in this regard. The Minister himself and the Secretary (Textiles) have held discussions with the representatives of the textile industry, Financial Institutions (FIs), RBI and Department of Banking to sort out issues relating to debt-equity ratio, margin money, working capital and term loans. The FIs/ Banks have generally agreed for extending a helpful hand to the textile industry for overcoming the crisis, Sh. Rana disclosed.

    The Ministry has been following a judicious policy of balancing the interests of the cotton growers on one hand and those of consumers on the other hand, including the mills and the handloom weavers, he said. The Minister assured that cotton export quotas are released only after proper appraisal of availability of cotton, keeping in mind all the relevant factors, including price. For the cotton year 1998-99(Oct.,98 to Sept.,99) Government has announced the Export quota of 5 lakhs bales of 170 kgs each of raw cotton and 1.27 lakhs bales of cotton waste, he said.

    Sh. Rana also disclosed that Government has already set up an Expert Group under the Chairmanship of Sh. S. R. Sayhyam to inter-alia review and evaluate the impact of the existing textile policy and suggest measures to enable the industry to focus on changes resulting from overall trade policy reforms. The Group would review the measures taken, till now, for tackling sickness in the textile industry and to make suggestions for improving the economic viability of the industry.
 
 

    He pointed out that now there is an increasing awareness amongst the Indian industries about the importance of indigenous research. This alone can boost the morale of the scientists and give the necessary driving force to become internationally competitive. Our industry should remember that the product which are relevant to Indian conditions, useful for our people and eco-friendly, can alone come from indigenous research. He said, we must build India into a major power in terms of science and technology and for this our younger generation must be made science-oriented. Of course, information technology and bio-technology will continue to occupy a very high position in the years to come towards the next millennium, he stated.

    Dr. Joshi congratulated the Om Prakash Bhasin Foundation for rewarding outstanding scientists in recognition of their work, in the fields of agriculture, bio-technology, electronics and communication, energy including atomic power, engineering and transportation, health and medical sciences and space including aero-space.

    In all 19 scientists received the awards, 10 for 1996 and 9 for 1997 in the seven fields. The award carries Rs,.50,000 in cash, a scroll, shield and citation.
 

    "The agenda for the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, that had been set during the tenure of Smt. Sushma Swaraj, shall be vigorously implemented and zealously carried forward", Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting said here, today in a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

    In a meeting called to review Ministry, Shri Naqvi directed the officers to ensure effective implementation of the various issues that had been taken up during the past six months, such as restructuring of Prasar Bharati, uplinking facilities to Indian private channels, grant of industry status to films and Broadcasting Bill.

    Shri Naqvi also asked the officers to abide by the commitments that had been given by the Government in its National Agenda for Governance and the President’s inaugural address to the Parliament on the 25^th March, 1998.

    Shri Naqvi emphasised the need to lay greater stress on giving publicity to the various public interest schemes and programmes that have been started by the Government in various spheres of activity, so that a true picture of the positive work being done by the Government can be carried forward among the people of the country.

    The Meeting was attended by Shri P.G. Mankad, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shri S. Narendra, Principal Information Officer, Government of India, and other senior officials of the Ministry.
 
 

    The visiting Minister thanked Shri Sompal for the support given by India Government in implementing the agriculture development project in his country. India has given assistance worth Rs.15.80 crores to Burkina Faso, under the agricultural assistance project.

    Shri Sompal who is the Co-chairman of the Indo-Burkinabe Joint commission, expressed his desire to convert the friendship between the two countries into a model for South-South cooperation. In the meeting, Mr.Diallo sought Indian assistance for the construction of the Saheil Railway project in his country.

    The visiting Minister conveyed his country’s support for India’s nuclear tests, which he said, were based on India’s security concerns. He also expressed his country’s cooperation with India in international fora. He decried the use of religion as a tool by many countries to achieve political results.
 
 

    The Urban Mapping Scheme envisages development of technical capabilities of the town planning organisations at central and state level to enable updating of the map in a revised cycle. In the first phase, 25 towns from six States were selected on priority basis during the Eighth Plan for coverage under this scheme in consultation with the State Governments by TCPO. National Remote Sensing Agency was assigned the task of supplying aerial photo mosaics for these towns along with line maps after rectification and ground control.

    An amount of Rs. 5.50 crores was allocated for the
Eighth Five Year Plan for the Urban Mapping Scheme. A sum of Rs.7.08 crores was released to TCPO under Urban Mapping Scheme upto 1996-97, out of which, an expenditure of Rs.6.51 crores has been incurred so far towards advance payment to NRSA for the work of aerial photography and base mapping and for upgrading hardware/ software facilities and training of personnel.

    For the second phase of Urban Mapping Scheme, 16 towns have so far been proposed and State Governments in respect of these towns requested to submit technical specifications for taking up aerial survey work. A sum of Rs. 1 crore was released to TCPO during 1996-97 for starting the second phase of Urban Mapping Scheme. During 1997-98, an amount of Rs.1 crore was released to TCPO for the second phase of Urban Mapping Scheme.
 
 

    Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL), with an excellent export performance during 1997-98, has received the status of an "Export House". This status has been conferred on the Public Sector company by the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce in accordance with the Exim Policy of the Government of India.

    During 1997-98, HOCL exported chemicals worth Rs. 20.22 crore, a growth of 187 per cent over the previous year’s export figure of Rs. 7.04 crore.

    A leading organisation in the Indian chemical industry for over three decades, HOCL has now further expanded its horizon by increasing its presence in the international market. During the five year period (1987-1992), its export was worth Rs. 37 crore which went up to Rs. 40 crore during the Eighth Plan period (1992-1997). With a greater thrust on Exports, it is estimated that 25% of the turnvoer will constitute Export earnings by the end of Ninth Plan.

    HOCL’s export performance during 1997-98 was not only phenomenal but also included exports to advanced western countries apart from the developing countries. The countries importing chemicals from HOCL include USA, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, UAE etc. The company has also developed a number of new customers in the international market for its products. These customers include well-known names like ICI Polyurethanes of USA, 3 V Sigma of Spa, Italy and Pt. Sinar Syno Kimai of Indonesia.

    HOCL manufactures and supplies essential basic organic chemicals to industries like pesticides, drugs and pharmaceuticals, dyes and dye intermediates, resins and laminates, rubber chemicals, paints, paper, textile auxiliaries and explosive, touching virtually every facet of everyday human life. The company enjoys 50 to 60 percent market share in the products manufactured by it.

    As a diversification effort, HOCL has already entered trading. It has also developed a cell to produce value added items from its own products for exports. It has started exporting sulpanilic acid developed from Aniline.
 
 

    The Transport Development Council, the apex body which advises Government on Road and Inland Water Transport, also decided that composite fee on national permits should be paid on annual basis and the period of validity of such permits should be reckoned on day -to-day basis from the date of issue of the permits to the operator. State Governments were advised to open bank accounts at each Regional Transport Offices from where the permits are issued so that the composite fee in favour of the State concerned could be deposited in their accounts. Rejecting the demand of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) that the period of one year of driving experience on a light motor vehicle for issue of driving license for heavy motor vehicles should be waived and it should be issued on the basis of learner's license, the Council recommended that the facilities for training of drivers should be improved and the driving standards strictly enforced. Commending the State Government of Uttar Pradesh for strictly unloading over-loaded vehicles on the roads, the Council exhorted all the State Governments to vigourously implement the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act in respect of off-loading excess load and imposing penalties to act as a deterrent to over-loading.

    The meeting agreed to widen the scope of the existing scheme of Central assistance for purchase of pollution testing equipment by providing financial assistance to the States/UTs for procurement of devices for testing fitness of vehicles. The Council also recommended promotion of multi-axle vehicles through fiscal incentives and set up a committee to consider inter -netting of all RTOs in the States and the Ministry of Surface Transport .

    The 28^th meeting of the Council was presided over by the Minister of Surface Transport, Dr. M. Thambi Durai and was attended among others by the Transport Ministers of Assam, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, J&K, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Lt. Governor of Andaman & Nicobar islands.
 
 

    Department of Consumer Affairs while inaugurating the World Standards Day celebrations here today. This year the theme of World Standards Day celebrations is ‘Standards in Daily Life’.

    Shri Mookerjee said that importance of consumer participation was recognised by both the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) which led to the formation of the Committee on Consumer Policy. The Committee was set up with the objective of studying ways and means of assisting consumers to benefit from standardisation and for encouraging their participation in national and international standarisation activities.

    Underlining the need for quality in production for entry into world market Shri Mookerjee said competitive quality had become the prime consideration as far as global markets are concerned. The emphasis is now on quality comprising safety reliablity and acceptability by customers. Viewed on this context the importance of the role and responsibilities of a body like Bureau of Indian Standards and similar organisations becomes clear; the Secretary said. The Bureau of Indian Standards has so far formulated 300 standards pertaining to environmental protection alone. The Bureau has also launched the Environmental Management System Certification Scheme which would help industry demonstrate its commitment to environmental protection and improvement.

    In his welcome speech Shri P.S. Das, Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards said that the Bureau was implementing a number of programmes for promotion and popularisation of standardisation activities. The Bureau has been striving to create awareness about standards since its inception, he said and urged the cooperation of the public in this task so as to make quality a mass movement. Shri Das specially emphasised the vital role the industry has to play in enforcing quality standards.
 
 

    A meeting was convened by the Union Home Minister with the Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan, to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the States and the need to build coordination among the States to tackle problems of terrorism and criminality having inter-state ramifications here today. The meeting was also attended by the Home Minister of J&K and Haryana, alongwith the Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries and Directors General of Police.

    A detailed presentation was made by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the role of being played by Pak agencies and their surrogates in India to destablize the internal security situation. The magnitude and extend of damage caused by Pak ISI sponsored terrorism was explained in detail, which may be seen from the annexed figures. Thus there was an urgent need to prevent further damage and losses to the country. Some particulars of Pak ISI sponsored terrorist modules unearthed in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and in other States are also given in the annexures.

    The Chief Ministers took note of the rapid developments in information and communications technology, which made the operations of criminals easier and quicker. There was a unanimous feeling that police force must be adequately strengthened both through provision of modern weapons and equipment as well as means of faster communication to counter the efforts of criminals more effectively.

    The States welcomed the efforts being made by the Central Government in this regard and requested that this support should be further enhanced.

    The meeting debated in detail and took note of the administrative or legislative measures that may be necessary for effective law-enforcement, besides rationalisation of criminal justice procedures.

1. Special Task Forces should be set up to evolve and implement a plan of action to identify and tackle the problems being created by terrorists and criminal gangs, for co-ordinated operations against inter-state criminals.
2. There should be greater coordination of intelligence and strategy between Central and State Government agencies. Joint action by States would also be very useful, including Joint interrogation by them.
3. A legal backing is essential to tackle criminals and terrorists effectively. Old Laws must be amended to provide effective countering of strategies being adopted by criminals.
4. The criminal justice system should be re-oriented in view of the problems being faced in law enforcement, especially with a view to countering the designs of external agencies. There has to be a speedier disposal of cases. Bail should also be given with due care. Suitable amendments to Motor Vehicles Act, Passport Act and Explosives Substances Act are necessary to make them more stringent.
5. Executive magistrates should be given greater powers under the Cr.P.C. and for trial of minor Acts.
6. Funding to NGO’s through external sources should be carefully audited and the utilisation of funds checked.
7. State Police Forces have to be ade3quately strengthened by modernisation of weapons and equipment and by providing state of the art communications technology. This has become essential because criminals and terrorists have already upgraded their equipment whereas police forces are comparatively worse off.

    Earlier, members cutting across party lines complimented the Minister for his timely assurance soon after his return from Washington that Government fully backs the UTI and unanimously approved the stand taken by the Government with regard to US64.

    Today’s Consultative Committee Meeting discussed the issue of sanction and Government’s response to sanctions. The members were informed that over a period of time the intensity of sanctions had got diluted. There was increasing realisation that those who impose sanctions suffer equally if not more. The Finance Minister informed the Committee members that the foreign debt and direct and portfolio investments had not been affected significantly by the sanctions. The Minister informed the members that the Resurgent India Bonds Scheme which had been floated had had an overwhelming response and had established India’s ability to raise money in the international market at a time when all over the world there was turbulance in the international economy.

    The Minister informed the members about the outcome of his recent visit to Canada and Washington to participate in the commonwealth and IMF World Bank Annual meetings. He told the members that at these meetings he had outlined, a seven point action plan to find solutions to the world’s economic malaise. He also informed the members that India had submitted for consideration a new international financial architecture that would make the world financial system more resilient.

    Shri Sinha told the members that according to the Finance Ministry’s analysis the East Asian crisis was triggered due to excessive cross border borrowing and lending especially of short term loans . He informed the members that there was no such danger in the case of India as over the years the successive Governments had ensured that short term loans and borrowings were kept minimal.

    Members expressed happiness over the fact that the sanctions were slowly wearing off and wanted that the Government to carry on negotiations to blunt the effect of sanctions. They also wanted the Ministry to step up the disbursement rate for loans taken from bilateral and multi-lateral institutions.

    The following members attended the meeting:

    S/Sh. Sartaj Singh, P. Shiv Shankar, M. Sreenivasulu Reddy, Murli S. Deora, Gurudas Kamat, Chinta Mohan, S. Sudhakar Reddy, S. Jaipal Reddy, R. Muthiah, Ramesh Jigajinagi, Bangaru Laxman, K.R. Malkani, Raghavji, K.K. Birla, D. Venkateswara Rao, P. Prabhakar Reddy, Ashok Mitra and Amar Singh.
 
 

ONGC:-

    The highest dividend of Rs. 342.66 crore was paid by the ONGC representing 25% dividend for 1997-98. The paid up capital of the Corporation as on 31^st March,’98 stood at Rs. 1425.92 crore. The corporation has recorded post tax profit of Rs. 2678 crore which represents an increase of 31.67% over previous year. The profit earned by the company is the highest by any corporate body in the country.

HPCL:-

    The HPCL presented a cheque of Rs. 57.75 crore as dividend. The Corporation had declared an equity dividend of 50% for 1997-98. The profit after tax of the company was highest ever at Rs. 701.16 crore against Rs. 612.22 crore during the previous year representing an increase of 14.53%. The corporation achieved sales volume of 16.00 MT during the year reflecting a growth of 3.5% over the previous year.

BPCL:-

    BPCL paid a dividend of Rs. 49.65 crore which represents 50% dividend on its paid up capital of Rs. 150 crore. The Company achieved a net profit of Rs. 532.7 crore representing a growth of 23.1% over the previous year. The earnings per share stood at Rs. 35.51 as against Rs. 28.84 in 96-97. In terms of volume, sales increased by 3.83% during the year as compared to the industry growth rate of 3.57% . Crude throughput for 1997-98 touched an all time high of 7.94 MMT, representing a capacity utilisation of more than 130%.

OIL:-

    The Oil India Limited paid a dividend of Rs. 42 crore. The Company has declared a dividend of 30% for 1997-98. The net profit of the Company after tax was Rs. 288.84 crore. The Company also handed over a cheque of Rs. 10 lakh towards contribution to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

CRL:-

    The Cochin Refineries Limited has paid a dividend of Rs. 12.14 crore at the rate of 32% on its equity shares held by the Government. This is higher than the 28% dividend for the previous year 1996-97. During 1997-98 CRL had achieved a record turnover of Rs. 4374 crore with an increase about 12 per cent over the last year. Profit before tax was Rs. 291.91 crore (PAT Rs.220.41 crore). CRL could surpass the performance targets set for ‘excellent’ grading in the MoU signed with the Govt. of India for the seventh year in succession. The refinery had a record crude throughput of 7.74 million tonnes.
 
 

    Giving away the Shram Awards here today, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for continuous learning at the work place and training, re-training and acquisition of new knowledge as an integral part of the work culture, adding that each and every economic organisation in the country must become a learning organisation and the country – a learning nation.

    The following is the text of the Prime Minister’s speech on the occasion: -

    "I am happy to be amongst you at this important function which honours recipients of the Shram Awards for the year 1997.

    Dear award-winning workers, I congratulate you for your excellent contribution to enhancing productivity of your respective organisations and national productivity. I praise your innovativeness and commitment to quality. I commend you for your presence of mind, courage, and dedication to duty at the work place.

    The nation is proud of you. You are the new role models which India needs today. By honouring you with the Shram Awards, the nation is publicising your shining achievements so that others may emulate you.

    Today we are no doubt praising the most outstanding representatives of our working community. But, by felicitating the winners of the Shram Awards, we are also saluting the entire working community of India – that large population of skilled and not-so-skilled workers, of engineers and technicians, of managers and professionals, of those who work in mines and those who work in markets, of those who work with computers and those who work with ploughs.

    It is you, the working people of India, who keep the wheels of national progress moving. It is your sweat and blood, your knowledge and creativity which helps society to survive and to thrive.

    Without labour, there is no life. Even the Srishtikarta (Creator) never ceases His work of Srishti (Creation). It is, therefore, right to say that work is both the medium and the opportunity to discover how God Himself operates through human mind and human hands to realise divine ends.

    For us in India, recognition of the contribution of labour for individual and national growth is not an imported concept. It did not enter Indian consciousness after some thinkers and parties abroad began to talk of the working class and its liberation. Our culture recognises a worker as Vishwakarma – creator of the universe itself.

    But what is the condition of the Vishwakarma in today’s India? We cannot avoid asking this uncomfortable question. For, as in many other areas of our national life, there is a disturbing dichotomy between our noble cultural and philosophical concepts and the harsh ground reality.

    Capital, technology and human labour are the three pillars on which any economic activity rests. Of these three, labour – which is also rightly called human resources – is the most important because even capital and technology are the creation of labour itself.

    Unfortunately, the two main economic systems of our times – namely, capitalism and communism – have both failed to accord the right role, recognition, and prestige to human resources.

    We in India, therefore, have to evolve an alternative that overcomes the shortcomings of capitalism as well as communism. We have to admit that so far we have not succeeded in the effort.

    As in most other countries, in India too, labour is often treated as a marginal and disposable component.

    Not only are the material needs of workers insufficiently met, but also their needs at the workplace and their role as creative agents in the organisation are generally ignored. As a result, a worker becomes a cog in the huge economic machine, in the working of which he has little control or say.

    Is it not a fact that many of our brilliant workers never get a chance to effectively communicate their ideas to decision-makers in the organisation and participate in the implementation of better work practices?

    Is it not a fact that most of our organisations are highly hierarchical – displaying a kind of rigid caste structure in factories and offices?

    Is it not a fact that there are insufficient incentives for good work and also insufficient disincentives for careless work? By incentives, I don’t only mean material incentives. Even moral incentives like the Shram Awards go a long way in inspiring and motivating workers.

    Friends, if we analyse the causes for many of India’s economic problems, we find that the chief one has been our inability to harness the full creative potential of our working people.

    This is true of both the public sector and the private sector. Both have their own pluses and minuses, although it is the minuses of the public sector which often get highlighted more.

    The challenge before both the public sector and the private sector in India is how to vastly-and quickly-increase productivity through better utilisation of our human potential. In the highly inter-linked global economy that has today come into being, the only guarantor for survival and success is productivity.

    The message of globalisation for each and every economic activity in India is stark: "Become more productive or perish".

    This warning is valid for many of our Public Sector Undertakings, too. India has committed vast amount of national resources to running the PSUs. However, the expectations and promises with which they were set up have been largely belied. The productivity, competitiveness and return on investment of many PSUs give us no cause for satisfaction.

    Restructuring of PSUs has, therefore, become a national imperative. We just cannot afford to have huge national assets to underperform or, worse still, become a drain on scarce budgetary resources. My Government is committed to PSU reforms that will safeguard both national and workers’ interests.

    Friends, making Indian companies and India’s national economy more productive is not going to be an easy or painless task. We must recognise here that capital is scarce and costly – and this is especially so in view of the current downturn in the national and global economy.

    Market conditions have become highly volatile, although we in India can say with some satisfaction that our economy has remained relatively immune to the crisis that has engulfed several countries in South-East Asia and elsewhere.

    In this rapidly changing global scenario, better utilisation of human resources and adoption of more efficient technologies and work practices become all the more important. This places major responsibilities on all of us – on policy makers in the Government, managements, trade unions, R&D institutions, media and, of course, each and every worker.

    In this context, the first thought I would like to put before my countrymen is that productivity enhancement must be given the highest priority in all sectors of the economy.

    The appeal I would like to make to every worker and every organisation is: "WORK FASTER, WORK BETTER, WORK FOR THE NATION".

    Concretely, this would mean that individuals as well as organisations must pay greater attention to cutting costs and boosting the quality of their products and services.

    Both individuals and organisations must give priority to better management of available assets, before drawing up plans for new investments. They must think of ways to save energy and materials in every economic activity.

    Studies have shown that with better technologies and work practices, Indian industry can save up to 30% of the energy which it now consumes and 15-20% of the materials which it now uses.

    The greatest scope for saving, however, is in time, which is also the most precious of all the economic resources. If a certain work can be completed in half the time that it otherwise takes, it not only satisfies the consumer, but, to that extent, also doubles the rate of growth of the organisation.

    I believe that there is a vast scope for both speeding up and improving the work in every office or productive establishment in the country, especially in the Government. I have a specific proposal to translate this potential into reality, which I would like to place before the nation.

    Let every organisation in the country invite ideas and suggestions from its employees at all levels on how it can work faster and better. After selecting the most suitable ideas and suggestions, organisations should draw up concrete, time-bound plans to implement them with the active participation of all their employees. Let us call this the ‘National Work Improvement Campaign’, whose aim is to create a new work culture in India.

    I call upon policy makers in the Government, captains of industry and trade unions and leaders of other concerned organisations to develop this concept further so that we can launch the ‘National Work Improvement Campaign’ in an expeditious and effective manner.

    The cornerstone of the ‘National Work Improvement Campaign’ will have to be an emphasis on teamwork. Excellence in work is rarely the result of individual excellence. Rather, it is the cumulative outcome of the proper management of team talent.

    In order to enrich and activate team talent, we must create organisations that are less hierarchical and more democratic. We must create an environment which accepts creative ideas and initiatives from whichever direction they may come.

    The ‘National Work Improvement Campaign’ must also place high emphasis on continuous learning at the work place. Training, re-training and acquisition of new knowledge should become an integral part of our work culture.

    Let each and every economic organisation in the country become a Learning Organisation and let India itself become a Learning Nation. our efforts to create a new national work culture will bear the desired fruit only if it is rooted in the age-old concept of Seva. Work becomes more than a job – indeed, work becomes worship – only when it is done with the attitude of Samaj Seva and Rashtra Seva.

    Once again I congratulate the Shram Award winners and their managements and express the hope that they will continue to display the qualities that have won them this prestigious national honour.

    Before concluding, let me reiterate my appeal to all my countrymen: Let us together honour Bharat Mata by launching, sincerely and earnestly, the National Work Improvement Campaign with the central appeal: "WORK FASTER. WORK BETTER. WORK FOR THE NATION".

Thank you."