Established in 1958, DRDO is devoted to the design ,development, and integration of state-of-the-art Defence Systems. Main Battle Tank (ARJUN) with superior fire power, mobility, protection and very low silhouette , surface- to -surface missile, PRITHVI with a range of 150 kms for the Army, PRITHVI for the Air Force with range of 250 kms are among the most modern of the defence systems developed by the organisation. The reentry technology demonstrator system AGNI has also been successfully flight tested by DRDO. The development of portable Satellite Communications Terminals, Very Low Frequency (VLF) receivers, Secure Telephone (SECTEL), Night Vision Devices etc. have provided valuable support to the capability of the Services. Indra Radar with pulse compression features for detecting low level aerial targets has been developed for the Air Force.

    DRDO has developed cost effective, high performance 1.7 GFLOPs capacity, parallel processing Super Computer 'Pace Plus' for solving critical computational fluid dynamics problems. Marine acoustic research ship SAGARDHWANI has been developed and is being used for collecting useful ocean data. DRDO has also endeavoured to improve the food quality and living conditions of combat soldier, especially in high altitude, hot deserts and in tropical climates.

    The First Day Cover alongwith the information sheet is available on sale at all Philatelic Bureaux/Counters and at selected Post Offices.
 
 

     Meanwhile, the NBO is building up district level network on proper information base in housing sector with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC).  This has been prompted under the National Housing and Habitat Policy.  This will also help NBO streamline and strengthen the Management Information System of  the NBO. This will also help working out various alternatives for ensuring the regularity and timeliness of collection of data from all over the country.

    The NBO is being linked to different States and to districts   through NICNET by installing V- SAT computer at NBO and at different State Capitals.  This will reduce the time lag in submission of data on housing and building statistics to NBO.
 
 

     The Website will eliminate the need for applicants to run around the Government Offices in an effort to find the status of their cases.  Similarly, the conditions on which these clearances are being given will also be available on the internet so that a watch can be kept on the compliance of these conditions.  The applicants would also get to know the reasons why their projects are pending so that they can submit the necessary of information and clarifications.

     The Website also provides the full text of environmental and forestry clearances issued since November, 1998.  This would enable all those interested in environmental impact of developmental projects to know what specific conditions apply to a given project and help Non-Governmental Organisations and others to monitor the status of compliance.  This step, it is hoped, would promote stricter compliance of environmental safeguards.

    For the benefit of project proponents, the Website also provides the format of application forms and questionnaires on which information is required to be submitted  for environmental/forestry clearance.

    The address of the enlarged Webiste is http./www.nic.in/envfor.
 
 

    Turning to the Delor Commission's Report on education, Dr. Joshi said that it is of seminal importance, for it reflects on education in the 21st century in the global context.  It does not predict what education will be but what education should be.  It is also not an exercise in scenario building.  It is full of imagination and indeed a creative document on education, the minister averred.  He pointed out that the Commission recommended an allocation of 6% of GNP by every nation for education.  He recalled that the Kothari Commission also recommended the same formula as early as in 1966.  We are yet to reach that target.  The commission's views on private and social financing of education needs critical examination.  Below the minimum threshold of development, education has to be supported by the State - not only basic education but also higher education.  The Minister drew the attention of the Conference to another aspect of the recommendations of the Commission relating to education in science and quoted " It is vital that all children wherever they may be, should be able to acquire a knowledge of scientific method in some appropriate form and become "friends of science", for life."  He emphasised that it is not just teaching of science or scientific theories but developing a positive outlook to science as a way of life.
He referred to several other aspects of the Delor Report and said that India is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic society; tension here is not merely between global and local but it is a reality between national and regional and State and the community considerations.  Education is a life long process; it requires a long term perspective and long-term investment by the individual in terms of time and energy for development.  We need to reflect on these concepts of education so that we can derive realistic implications for India and other countries in this part of the world.  Dr. Joshi observed that the shift of emphasis from skill to competence has implication for developing mechanisms for what is known as "Transition to work", since work situation is quite different from the situations occurring in schools and colleges.  The region is yet to give adequate thinking to the concept of the practice of transition to work. He also underscored the need to take a fresh look at curriculum to build in children the right frame of mind so that they grow to life together across the boundaries of the communities, States and even nations.  He urged the conference to get back and reconstruct our educational paradigm and how it is to be done, whether through the kind of curriculum, co-curricular activities, life in schools and colleges, instructional processes and what kind of management.  He expressed the hope that the educationists gathered at the Conference will deliberate and give their suggestions to the Government.

    The Conference Director, Prof. Mukhopadhayay said the meeting will deliberate upon all aspects of the Delor Report and also the present education scenario in India and the Asian region.
The Report of Jacques Delor, who headed the International Commission on Education for the 21st century, has been presented to UNESCO and endorsed by the Commonwealth Education Ministers and the Commonwealth Heads of Government in their meetings in 1994 and 1995.  It brings together all the salient points and critical issues in education that are likely to be faced and addressed to, in the next millennium.

    This two-day Conference has been jointly organised by the Education Department, Ministry of Human Resource Development, NCERT and IGNOU among others.  Educationists from the Asian region are taking part in it.
 
 

    The Powered Hang Glider is fabricated with components like motorcycle engine, scooter tyres, brake shockers, commercial aluminium frames and decorn cloth. The glider can reach speeds of 100 Kms per hour and fly comfortably even at a height of 12,000 feet. The expedition will cover a total distance of 3250 Kms passing through places like Jodhpur, Allahabad , Guwahti and other places.

    Sqdn. Leader B.K Das has a rich experience in sports flying and is the National Champion in microflight flying. He was also awarded the best Sports Pilot trophy in the World Championship held at Poland in1994. A recipient of the National Adventure Award in 1996 Mr. B.K Das and his team comprising Shri. Ibou, Hand Glider Instructor, Shri. J. Sharma, Hand Glider Pilot, Dr.Pujari, Microlight Pilot of Baroda and Shri. Manshoven, Microlight Pilot of Trivandrum plans to complete the expedition within a span of twenty-two days.
 
 

    NSS volunteers have been participating in the Republic Day Parade regularly since 1988 except for three years in between. The month-long camp which began on 1st January, 1999 is being organized by the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, to promote a feeling of National Integration among youth.
 During the camp, NSS volunteers interact with each other and learn each others’ language, culture, religion, customs, etc. Each day in the camp is observed as State Day when students from a particular State present a cultural programme. Through such presentations, volunteers get acquainted with the rich and varied cultural heritage of the country.  The experience brings hundreds of young minds together to think rationally and objectively about the social problems and challenges which our country is facing.

    National Service Scheme was started in the birth centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi in 1969 with the main objective of developing the personality of the students through community service. It is a befitting tribute to the memory of the Father of the Nation, whose dream of building a stronger India included inculcating dignity of labour in the higher education system, and making the students self-reliant, self-confident and self-respecting citizens of the country.

    Starting with merely 40,000 volunteers from 37 universities, NSS has expanded to almost all the universities (175) and 14 schools at +2 level with 1.5 million volunteers in its fold. From its inception, more than 1.52 crore students from universities, colleges and institutions of higher learning  have benefited from the NSS activities, as NSS volunteers. The expenditure on NSS programmes is shared between the Central and State Governments in the ratio of 7:5 except in the case of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territories without legislature, where the entire expenditure is met by the Central Government.

    NSS inculcates the spirit of voluntary work among the students and teachers through sustainable community interaction. It has made significant contribution in the field of environment, literacy, disaster management, health and family welfare, HIV/AIDS education, etc. Realising the vulnerability of HIV/AIDS, NSS launched an innovative educational intervention called “Universities Talk AIDS” (UTA). UTA programme has been internationally acclaimed and NSS is known at the international level as an organization which readily responds to the latest challenges of society.
 
 

    Participating in the discussion, the Members appreciated the government’s efforts in bringing down the inflation rate.   Members, cutting across  party lines called for a national consensus on critical economic issues like cut in subsidies and reduction in interest rates. They called for increase in public investment in the areas of power, roads, irrigation and in the social sector. The members called for simplification, rationalisation and streamlining of tax administration.   Members also stressed on the need to give special attention and protection to small scale industrial sector.  The need for giving a boost to exports was highlighted by many members.

    While expressing concern over the fiscal situation and increasing revenue expenditure, the Members called for a medium term assessment and strategy to deal with the adverse impact on the economy as a result of post Pokharan sanctions and South East Asian crisis.

    Regarding the capital market, some Members felt that there is a need to streamline the operations so that the investors are not put at the mercy of unscrupulous promoters. Suggestions were made to extend incentives to information technology sector which has great potential for the country’s economic development besides creating massive employment opportunities.  Some members suggested that sector specific strategies should be drawn up to arrest the declining trend of industrial production.

    The members who attended the Consultative Committee meeting are –S/Sh. Vijay Kumar Khandelwal, Sartaj Singh, C.P. Radha Krishnan, Murli S. Deora, Gurudas Kamat, Kalp Nath Rai, Mohan Rawale (all Lok Sabha) and S/Sh. Bangaru Laxman, K.R. Malkani, Dina Nath Mishra, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Santosh Bagrodia, P. Prabhakar Reddy, Ashok Mitra, Amar Singh and S.R. Bommai (all Rajya Sabha).