Production levels of important minerals in December, 1998 are: coal 270 lakh tonnes, petroleum (crude) 29 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilised) 17940 lakh cu.m., iron ore 51 lakh tonnes, lignite 1630 thousand tonnes, manganese ore 132 thousand tonnes, chromite 93 thousand tonnes, bauxite 695 thousand tonnes, copper ore 370 thousand tonnes, gold 153 kg., lead (conc.) 5590 tonnes, zinc (conc.) 31635 tonnes, limestone 87 lakh tonnes, apatite and phosphorite 195 thousand tonnes, dolomite 246 thousand tonnes and magnesite 30 thousand tonnes..

    During December ,1998 production of important minerals has increased in comparison to the previous month. The output of bauxite increased by 132%, lead(conc.) 17%, chromite 16%, zinc (conc.) 10%, petroleum (crude) 9%, lignite 7%, coal, natural gas (utilised), manganese ore and magnesite 5% each, limestone 4% and copper ore 2 percent. The output of gold decreased by 27%, iron ore 10%, apatite & phosphorite 4% and dolomite 1 per cent.

    The index number of mineral production (Base 1993-94=100) in December, 1998 works out to 127 as compared to 120 in November, 1998 showing that the mineral production as a whole in December, 1998 increased by 6% compared to November, 1998.
 
 

    Production at RCF-Thal was affected on account of maintenance shutdown taken by ONGC affecting supply of gas in the Uran region. There was a shortfall in production at Chambal Fertilizers and Tata Chemicals due to equipment problems.

    The cumulative production of fertilizers since April-December 1998 was 78.41 lakh tonnes of nitrogen against the target of 79.57 lakh tonnes and 22.70 lakh tonnes of phosphate as per the target. The cumulative production in the corresponding period last year was 73.60 lakh tonnes of nitrogen and 22.11 lakh tonnes of phosphate.

    The availability of urea during December 1998 has been satisfactory throughout the country. 18.98 lakh tonnes of urea was despatched to the States during the month against the target of 17.50 lakh tonnes. The cumulative availability of urea by the end of December 1998 has been 76.10 lakh tonnes as compared to 73.61 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period of last year. This constitutes 66% of the estimated requirement of 115.77 lakh tonnes for the season.

    The cumulative availability of DAP (25.10 lakh tonnes) and MOP (8.98 lakh tonnes) at the end of December 1998 was higher by 23% and 8% over the availability during the corresponding period of last year which was 20.44 lakh tonnes and 8.32 lakh tonnes, respectively.

    During the month under review, close monitoring coupled with Government’s efforts in arranging DAP despatches on priority both from the plants and Vizag port, helped in redressing the problem of localized shortages in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 1.31 lakh tonnes of DAP was despatched from plants and ports to UP, 0.34 lakh tonnes to Madhya Pradesh and 0.29 lakh tonnes to Rajasthan. The State Governments had confirmed that they had no problem of shortages of DAP & MOP.

    0.32 lakh tonnes of imported urea landed in the country during the month of December, 1998. The cumulative deliveries of urea have been 5.57 lakh tonnes during April-December, 1998. 0.75 lakh tonnes of imported DAP and 4.45 lakh tonnes of MOP were landed during December, 1998. The cumulative arrivals of DAP & MOP during Rabi 1998-99 till 31.12.98 have been 8.21 lakh tonnes and 11.28 lakh tonnes, respectively.

    The average daily loading of fertilizers by rail during December, 1998 was 3895 equivalent BG wagons per day as against 2875 BG wagons per day in the corresponding period of last year.
 
 

    He said that the nation is proud of the achievement. Dr. Joshi also conveyed good wishes for success in the forthcoming Asian Cricket Championship.
 
 

    DG, WIPO said that India is leading in high technology areas, science & technology and software development and related areas. He said that the next millennium would be the age of digital economy where the ideas & Intellectual Property will become most important. He gave the example of intellectual property component on Museum articles, digital image of museum articles could be made available on internet on payment basis.

    The HRD Minister Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi said that not only the developing but also the developed countries need to be educated on the copyright and patent issues. The Intellectual Property comprises of two branches, industrial property, chiefly in inventions, trademarks and copyright chiefly in literary, musical, artistic, photographic and audio-visual works,

    To promote the protection of Intellectual Property throughout the World, WIPO encourages the conlcusion of new International treaties and modernisation of national legislations. It also give technical assistance to developing countries, assemble and disseminate information, maintains services for facilitating the obtaining of protection of inventions, marks, industrial designs for which protection in several countries is desired and promotes other administrative cooperation among member states. India is a member of WIPO since its inception in 1974.
 
 

    The Conference will have four sessions apart from the opening and concluding sessions. The first session is devoted to review the National Programmes of Biogas and Improved Chulha and Integrated Rural Energy Programme. The meeting is expected to discuss measures required for accelerated coverage of the entire country in view of the recent directives of the Prime Minister to lay greater emphasis on the programmes which benefit mainly rural women. The second session will be devoted to a discussion of the revised strategy for solar photovoltaic application in high focus remote rural areas and for niche applications and for discussions on measures required for commercialization of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies for greater quality control and stricter adherence to standards and specifications and performance warranties on the part of manufacturers will also come up for examination.

    Second day's sessions will be devoted to a vigorous examination of all aspects of non-conventional energy policy to evolve the framework of a new policy including small hydro development on a major scale. The kind of problems of acceptance of the MNES guidelines for a uniform Non-Conventional Energy Power Policy by the State Electricity Boards also forms part of the agenda.

    Critical issues relating to announcement of policies by States for renewable energy projects, institutional and infrastructure development, and provision of adequate budgetary resources in their State plans will also be taken up for the discussion at the meeting. The programmes that will be covered include Rural Energy, Solar Energy and Power Generation from Renewables.

    Recently, the mandate of the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources has been enlarged to cover Small Hydro Projects up to 25 MW, which has been increased from 3 MW station capacity. Of special interest to the N.E. Region are small and micro hydel projects, which can supply small quantities of decentralised electricity to meet local requirements. Small Hydro Projects typically have low gestation and are environmentally benign.
 
 

    Speaking on the occasion, Shri Baba Gouda Patil suggested that there should be a quarterly review of the activities of the Ministry through this facility. He said that the effective implementation of the different programmes is crucial for achieving the goal of poverty reduction. He complemented J&K for being the State with the maximum expenditure of 63.84 percent. He said that it has been indicated to all the States that they should send their
second installment claims by the end of December 1998. He stressed that all the districts should claim their second
installment at least now, so that the maximum effort can be made before the end of March 1999. "We need to spend all
the money that is available with us for the benefit of rural poor, and see that the objective of all the programmes are
fully realised" he added.

    In the conference, a number of issues like Below Poverty Line (BPL) survey, appointment of vigilance and monitoring committees at State/District/Block levels, involvement of Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies in the implementation of programmes were discussed. Evaluation mechanism of both physical and financial utilisation for different programmes of the Ministry at State level, working of Panchayati Raj
Institutions, selection of beneficiaries and improving the quality of programmes and release of funds to the State
Governments under various programmes were deliberated upon. The State representatives also elaborated on the
difficulties and problems faced by them which hamper their operational efficiency.

    The officials stressed the need for greater convergence of projects at the field level, proper involvement of people's representatives with adequate training and computerisation of District Rural Development Agencies(DRDAs) . It was suggested to the States to set up a cell for pursuing audit reports and get them settled
 
 

    "I am very pleased to welcome all of you to the second meeting of the Economic Advisory Council. We had last met in October 1998 when it was decided that policy papers will be prepared by the concerned Ministries and other organizations on the following five identified themes :

• Accelerating growth in agriculture;
• Long-term fiscal policy and fiscal viability;
• Monetary policy and price stability;
• Stimulating growth in Industry;
• Balance of payments and management of the external sector.

At today's meeting of the Council, I solicit your views on some issues that are of immediate relevance to us.

    FIRST, as you are all aware, the Finance Ministry is preparing the Budget for the new fiscal year. I felt that it would be useful for Government to have your views on budget-related issues so that they could be given due consideration well before the Budget exercise is completed.

    SECOND, I cannot conceal my concern on the state of finances of the Union and the States as well. Fiscal discipline is at the Centre of any strategy for maintaining macro-economic stability. What are the tangible steps that can be taken in this direction and on which a national consensus can be built? We also need to evolve a mechanism for imposing greater discipline on the use of resources both by the Centre and the States and to prevent diversion of funds to optimize returns on investments.

    THIRD, the Government took some important and difficult decisions recently about subsidies. Containing expenditure on subsidies is crucial for sound fiscal management. At the same time, we need to ensure that the poorer segments of our society are not adversely affected and, while working out transitional arrangements, suitable Social Safety Nets are in place. We need to achieve a broader national consensus on our approach to subsidies, both implicit and explicit, and I solicit your views on how we should deal with this issue.

    FOURTH, while our external reserves have risen over the recent months and the exchange rate has been stable, we need to carefully monitor our medium-term strategy for continued satisfactory management of the balance of payments. Exports, even while becoming positive in the last two months, continues to be sluggish and the trade gap as well as current account deficit for the fiscal year need to be kept under constant review. We also need to consider steps that are necessary to ensure that the external side of our economy remains healthy.

    FIFTH, the Government have taken some important initiatives recently in regard to infrastructure like roads, airports, ports, telecommunications, and the hydrocarbon sector. We have also initiated a number of steps like the constitution of a Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment and restructuring of the working of the Core Group of Secretaries for restructuring Public Sector Enterprises and accelerate our Disinvestment program. Your suggestions both in regard to these initiatives and in other areas that require a fresh look would be useful.

    SIXTH, poverty alleviation will remain at the centre of our economic planning. Our efforts in the past to create productive employment and self-employment opportunities on a massive scale have been inadequate. Similarly, investments designed for social sector development - particularly, areas like education, drinking water, low-cost shelter, sanitation and sewerage, and primary health care have been grossly inadequate. We need to both allocate additional resources and improve the efficiency of existing programs significantly in the critical areas. This requires careful balancing of expenditure policies - sustaining fiscal rectitude with higher expenditure outlays, improving the efficiency of expenditure and re-prioritization of overall expenditure outlays.

    FINALLY, but not the least, are issues which are of global concern. We have made some suggestions for the reform of the Global Financial Architecture. This issue will figure prominently at the forthcoming meeting of the G-15 that I would be attending next week. It is also connected with the on-going debate in the WTO for the next round of negotiations. Your views on the key elements for the reform of the Global Financial System and the contribution that India should make in fostering a wide-ranging consensus-building process would provide important inputs in our thinking process.

    The points that I have raised cover a wide spectrum and I hope the time would permit us to receive your considered suggestions and comments on these issues that are of much concern to us.

Thank you."
 
 

    The human society is presently conducting global experiments on earth's atmosphere. These are increasing worldwide atmospheric concentrations of chlorofluore-carbons, carbon dioxide, methane and several other gases. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that if these trends continue, then the mounting levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may further increase and threaten the Earth's climate and weather leading to substantial adverse impacts in the next century. One such burning case is the threat to ozone layer, which protects us by filtering out dangerous ultraviolet radiation from sun.

    The main objective of the workshop is to share the vision of atmospheric scientists from all over the world for the development and applications of study on long term trends and permanent changes of atmospheric parametres. To develop a scientifically robust and predictive understanding of the earth system such as stress on the development of multidimensional models which treats radiation, dynamics and chemistry interactively and capable of predicting future atmospheric composition up to certain accuracy. It will also emphasise the greenhouse effect on ionosphere, which are so important for TV/radio communications. The human induced perturbations are not only affecting the lower part of the atmosphere but also the upper part of the atmosphere which consequently will have long term impact on us. This later issue has largely been ignored so far. Thrust of this workshop would be to emphasize this aspect and improve our understanding about other potential implications, of global atmospheric changes. This conference would bring together over one hundred researchers from approximately 15 nations.

    The expected outcome of this workshop would be in terms of capacity building in our region, greater co-operation for using the existing long-term data on atmospheric parameters. It would also set the tune for long term future projections in a more precise manner. A specific programme of action is also expected to emerge for implementing the recommendations of the workshop both at national and international levels.
 
 

    Speaking on the occasion Shri Yashwant Sinha said that this is a big leap forward in the direction of greater transparency in Government accounting. The Minister said that the accounts of states should also be brought before the public so that the general people would know about their states’ financial position. He also said that the states will be persuaded to open their accounts to the public scrutiny as in the case of central government. He called for providing more and more information to the people at large who do not have access and opportunities and were exploited by the elite. The Minister, however, cautioned that transparency is a double-edged weapon and those who are using this information should be more responsible.

    The following address : cga.nic.in
    India is a voluntary subscriber to the "Special Data Dissemination Standards" (SDDS) of IMF along with a number of other countries. SDDS is intended to enhance availability of timely and comprehensive statistics to the public and, therefore, contribute to the pursuit of sound macro economic policies, improved functioning of financial markets, easy accessibility to international capital markets, etc. As a part of the SDDS requirements, fiscal sector data on Central Government Operations, need to be released to the public every month. The data for a given month would be released by the end of the following month.

    Accordingly, the Office of Controller General of Accounts, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance would be releasing Monthly Financial Data every month starting from the accounts for the month of December, 1998 on the INTERNET at the web site address : cga.nic.in
 
 
 

    "I will be leaving shortly for the IX G-15 Summit to be held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, I will be paying a brief official visit to Trinidad & Tobago, while on my return I will pay a brief visit to Morocco. I shall return on 14 February 1999.

    The Group of 15 was the result of an initiative taken by India, jointly with other like-minded countries, at the 1989 NAM Summit in Belgrade. Its principal purposes were to promote South-South cooperation, as well as to project the concerns of the developing countries on global economic issues and to engage in a dialogue with the developed countries on these issues. These reflect the priority we attach to economic development and to solidarity with developing countries, commitments which date back to independence. India is among the major contributors to the activity of the G-15 and has been promoting cooperation in the field of Information Technology, Small Scale Industry and Science & Technology, areas of recognised strength in India. At a time of unprecedented economic upheavals in the global economy, particularly affecting the developing countries, greater coordination between G-15 member states can prove to be of mutual benefit and for stabilizing the economies of the affected members, many of whom are members of G-15.

    I shall also have the opportunity of meeting with other Heads of State and Government who will be attending the G-15 Summit and I look forward to substantive engagement with them. We particularly welcome the entry of Sri Lanka into G-15 at the forthcoming Summit. G-15 Summits are held annually. India had been represented at the level of Vice President on the last two occasions.

    With Trinidad & Tobago, we have traditionally friendly ties and had the privilege of welcoming His Excellency Prime Minister Basedeo Pandey as Chief Guest for Public Day in 1997. Trinidad & Tobago is also an important member of the Caribbean community, and a country well-endowed with natural resources, including natural gas. There is also a large Indian community there which I hope to interact with during my visit.

    With Morocco, we have a tradition of friendly exchanges and mutual understanding. It is a pivotal country in the Arab and North African region where India has vital interests. I am looking forward to my discussions with His Majesty King Hassan II and Prime Minister Abderrahmanae El Youssoufi."
 
 

    Shri Advani announced Government’s decision to give 10 free tickets each of Air India and Indian Airlines to Shri Kumble and two of his family Members for visiting anyplace in the country and the world. Shri Advani said that the conduct of this series of cricket matches between India and Pakistan will go a long way in improving the relations between the two countries.

    Beside others, Shri Anshuman Gaekwad (Indian Coach), Shri Kapil Dev and Shri Chetan Chauhan were also present on the occasion.
 
 

    Public hearing on similar lines are being arranged at places visited by the Minister during his tours outside Delhi.
 
 

    The Web Page will have information on projects completed, on-going projects and future projects on Railway electrification. It will facilitate people to know the scope of various projects, their targets, physical progress, their financial aspects, per route kilometre cost, Statewise electricity tarrif being paid by the Railways and the future plans. The "tender section" of the Website will be the main attraction as it will enable a large number of prospective vendors to bid for various projects in order to bring healthy competition. Days are not far ahead when the tender documents will be available on INTERNET on requisite payment, when the cyber laws would be enacted by the Government of India in the near future. Availability of this information globally will also attract oversees vendors for undertaking Indian projects

    The Web-site also highlights history of Railway electrification since its inception in 1925. Some interesting photographs taken during the execution of difficult phases of various projects have also been displayed in the Web Page. The name, designation and E-Mail address of the various heads of Departments as well as Head of projects, who are required to be contacted by the public, has also been included in the Website

    Inaugurating the Website at a programme today, the Member (Electric), Railway Board, Shri S.K.Khanna said that electric traction has brought major financial and economic returns and environmental benefits and has remained the backbone of modernisation in Indian Railways. The electrified traction today carries 60 per cent of freight and 48 per cent of passenger traffic in the country. He said there have been several achievements in electrification sector including the first indigenously built 6000 HP three phase locomotives at CLW making India the first developing country to have acquired this capability. He said that the Website on electrification will be quite useful in meeting information on demand. Shri Khanna also announced a cash award of Rs.25,000 to IRCOT. General Manager (CORE) Shri N.P.Srivastava who was the chief guest said that the website would be regularly updated and strengthened in view of the changing information needs. Shri A.K.Mishra, the Chief Programme Administrator of IRCOT outlined various aspects of the website. Senior Officials from Railway Board, IRCOT and CORE were present on the occasion;