The Committee on Solid Waste Management in Class-I Cities in India have suggested simple technologies and easily achievable standards with liberal timeframe knowing the limitation of urban local bodies and their institutional capability. The timeframe recommended for an efficient solid waste management is three years. Thereafter, the Committee hopes that the standards can be raised to reach higher level of services. The Committee has also suggested minimum standards for the local bodies in consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board for disposal of wastes.

    The Committee has recommended different stages of solid waste management services and laid down the minimum level of services the local bodies must provide in a given timeframe. The Committee has suggested various technological options which urban local bodies may consider and chose the ones suited most to its local conditions.

    The Committee has suggested amendments in State Laws needed to make solid waste management practices effective. It has suggested to the Government of India to keep solid waste management services outside the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 to enable public-private partnerships and private participation in selected areas of solid waste management for improving the quality of life in urban areas. It has also suggested that the supervisory staff of solid waste management services in the country be kept out of the perview of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to enable the supervisory staff to oversee the work of street sweepers and the labour force employed in collection , transportation, processing and disposal of wastes fearlessly and effectively. The Committee has also made recommendations, which the State and Central Governments may consider, to improve the finances of urban local bodies and to boost the composting of waste and recycling industry in this field.

    The Committee has recommended constitution of a Technology Mission for solid waste management at the National Level by the Ministry of Urban Development for a period of five years to monitor, guide and support the implementation of its recommendations effectively. This has been suggested in view of the vastness of the country and lack of technical know-how in the urban local bodies.

    The overall implementation of the Committee Report will be set in motion by the Government of India , States and Union Territories following the final judgement of the Supreme Court in the impugned public interest Writ Petition.

    Indian cities and towns generate about 80,000 metric tonnes of municipal solid wastes everyday and it is estimated that about 25 million tonnes of such wastes is generated annually. However, on an average, only 60 per cent of solid wastes is collected in urban areas leaving the balance 40 per cent of the urban wastes unattended to. This gives rise to the insanitary conditions and diseases, especially among the urban poor who constitute 40 per cent of urban population.
 
 
 

    The Website contains information relating to income tax provisions in simplified, easy to understand language. For a person who is filing its return for the first time the Website will not only provide information on the address and the telephone number of his assessing officer but also will help him to understand the finer points of computation of income, exemptions and deductions available to him. Also it will provide him the dates by which the return is to be filed and the rates on which the tax is applicable.

    The major feature of this Website is that all the statutory and non-statutory forms can be downloaded by the user in A4 size paper. The Website also has a format for grievance mailing which can be sent to the concerned commissioner of income tax for prompt redressal.
 
 

    The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 1993-94 for the month of March, 1999 have been released by the Central Statistical organisation. Thej General Index stands at 156.0 which is higher by 2.5% compared to the month of March, 1998.

    The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for the month of March, 1999 stand at 135.0, 159.2 and 152.2 respectively, with the corresponding growths of –4.0%, 2.8% and 6.0% compared to the month of March, 1998. The cumulative growths during April-March, 1998-99 over the corresponding period of 1997-98 in the three sectors have been –1.7%, 4.1% and 6.5% respectively, with the overall growth in the general index being 3.8%

    Ten out of seventeen two-digit industry groups have shown positive growth during the month of March, 1999 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. Non-metallic Mineral Products have shown the highest growth of 17.1% followed by 16.4% for Beverages, Tobacco and related Products and 15.3% in rubber, Plastic, Petroleum and Coal Products. On the other hand Manufacture of Jute and other vegetable fibre textiles (except cotton) have shown a growth of –27.2% followed by a growth of –15.0 % in Wood and Wood Products; Furniture and Fixtures and –8.6% in Other Manufacturing Industries.

    As per Use-based classification, the growth in March, 1999 as compared to March, 1998 is 5.3% in Intermediate goods, 1.9% in the Capital goods and 1.0% in Basic goods. The Consumer durables and Consumer non-durables have recorded growth of 5.6% and 1.1% respectively, with the overall growth in Consumer goods being 2.0%.
 
 

    The Secretary, Power, Shri V.K. Pandit, informed that the cooperation agreement signed between IEA and the Government of India includes the cooperation in the areas of energy information & statistics; energy supply security, energy efficiency, energy & environment and energy pricing. CEA,Chairman, Shri R.N. Srivastava, said CEA studies have clearly indicated that fossil fuels would continue to be the main source of power generation in the coming decade also. He added that the data collected in India in various aspects of energy management are enormous requiring too much time in compilation thereby creating whole lot of delay in making available the data for policy decisions.

    Dr. E.A.S. Sarma, Expenditure Secretary, in his key note address expressed happiness that India would make significant progress in improving the data position for better decisions on the scene of energy policy in association with International Energy Association. Mr. John Ferriter, Dy. Executive Director, IEA-Paris, presented another key note address wherein the IEA expertise and significant progress made by them on the subject of energy-environment modelling was summarised.

    Experts from various organisations will participate in the Workshop organised by the Central Electricity Authority in association with NTPC, PGCIL, PFC, NHPC and REC. The Workshop is an outcome of the MOU between Government of India and International Energy Agency Paris for cooperation in the field of energy.
 
 

    Commending the initiatives and achievements of the Department, Shri Jagmohan called upon the officials to keep pace with the fast-changing world trends in Information Technology and telecom sector. He said that the crucial challenge to the administrator in India today is the seven-'Cs' -- to be creative, contemplative, constructive, compassionate, committed, courteous and to change with the changing times. He stated that progress can only be made when content is imparted to the administration and the officers work with dedication and devotion. Shri Jagmohan said that alongwith the upgradation of the technology there should also be upgradation of mind. The Minister said that the productive channels of work must be strengthened to extend the benefits at the field level.

    Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Minister of State for Communications, Shri Kabindra Purkayastha lauded the efforts of the Department in meeting the existing targets of the Direct Exchange Lines (DELs) during 1998-99. He exhorted the senior officers to start implementation of the National Telecom Policy in right earnestness and added that there is large disparity in the tele-density between rural and urban areas for which care should be taken to bridge the gap. The Minister emphasised that steps are required to meet the shortage of telecom equipment by having smooth and efficient procurement and transportation of equipment system.

    In his welcome address, Chairman, Telecom Commission, Shri Anil Kumar stated that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has become a large organisation requiring systems improvement in order to meet the challenges of growth and providing connectivity throughout the country. He stressed upon the need to develop new work culture for sustainable growth in the prevailing competitive environment.

    Organised by DoT the Conference is being attended by the Chief General Managers (CGMs) of all Telecom Circles from all over the country. Besides, the participants also include representatives from the Hindustan Teleprinters Limited (HTL), the Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) Limited, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), the Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limted (VSNL), the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and other experts.

    The agenda for the two-day Conference includes, among others, Direct Exchange Lines (DELs) Programme for 1999-2000, procurement of telecom equipment, Village Public Telephones (VPTs) introduction of Wireless Loop Line (WLL) equipment and tariff revision. Issues related with introduction of new services such as the Internet, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Intelligent Network (IN) would also be discussed at the meeting. Besides, matters concerned with customer care services such as opening of Customer Service Centres, printing of telephone directories and holding of 'Adalats' and 'Open House Sessions' would also form part of the discussion.
 
 
 

    Earlier, the Mauritius Industry and Commerce Minister, Shri Sathiamoorthy Sunassee said that Mauritius was a bridge between India and other African nations and the concept of regional cooperation between the two nations vis-à-vis Africa was ever deepening. Shri Sathiamoorthy invited the Indian Industry Minister to visit his country, which he accepted. The meeting lasted for about half an hour and was held in most cordial atmosphere.
 
 

    Shri Sathiamoorthy Sunassee also showed keen interest in the working of the institutions of consumer protection and price monitoring in India and suggested that India should provide guidance in developing effective consumer protection mechanism for Mauritius. He requested Shri Barnala to depute officials from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to Mauritius for developing suitable organisation for ensuring consumer protection in that country.
 

    The site will feature general topics covering news-updates, weather etc. There is also special interest sections like sports, technology, trade and business, travel and tourism, entertainment, health, and a host of other interactive facilities like discussion panels, on-line chat available to the Net users free of charge.

    The live coverage on portal site of World Cup 1999 was launched by the Minister of State for Communications, Shri Kabindra Purkayastha. The site will provide live coverage of the World Cup 1999 (starting on 14.05.1999 and continuing upto 20.06.1999), on-line as a curtain raiser. The site not only offers a ball-to-ball commentary of the ongoing matches, but also includes interesting features like history of all six World Cups held in the past and records made during past World Cups and one day-internationals. It also contains interesting sections like schedule of the World Cup matches, card-file of all the competing teams with detailed profiles of the top players who are expected to create waves in the World Cup '99.

    The site will also provide information on the momentous history of World-Cup venues and the list of trophies and prizes to be awarded during the World-Cup.
 
 

    It is wrong to reduce the intake of water during diarrhoea in the belief that this would increase loose motions and it is wrong to reduce food during diarrhoea, thinking that it will not be able to digest.

    Management of a case of diarrhoea must begin at home and as soon as the child passes the first loose motion, give increased quantities of fluids available at home. Continue feeding the child during diarrhoea.
 
 

    Apart from this, Rs.50 crore has been allocated for training and Rs.82.30 crore has been earmarked for IEC activities.
 
 

    The Ministry of Rural Development, in declaring 1999-2000 as the year of the Gram Sabha aims at quickening of the process of democratic decentralisation. The States have been requested to take a number of steps for vesting the gram sabhas with suitable powers. These include:

• Each habitation or a group of habitations may be designated as a ‘village’ for the purposes of constituting Gram Sabha. This alone can enable the people to interact in a face-to-face situation with clear understanding of the issues involved. The Gram Panchayat may, therefore, have one or more Gram Sabhas for the area under its jurisdiction.
• The relationship between the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat may be the same as between the Legislature and the Government. The panchayat should be accountable to the Gram Sabha in unequivocal terms. The members of the panchayat should hold office only so long as they enjoy the confidence of Gram Sabha.
• The Gram Sabha should have full powers for determining the priorities for various programmes in the village and approval of budget. Prior approval of Gram Sabha should be made mandatory for taking up any programme in the village. Certification of expenditure and also about proprietary in financial dealings should be made mandatory responsibility of the Gram Sabha.
• The management of natural resource including land, water and forest by any authority whatsoever should be made subject to the concurrence of the Gram Sabha. In particular consultation with the Gram Sabha should be made mandatory before acquisition of land for public purpose and other forms of land transfer.
• The Gram Sabha should be vested with full authority to manage all affairs concerning intoxicants including their manufacture, sale, transport and consumption of intoxicants and also enforcement of total prohibition, if the Gram Sabha so desires.
• Participation of women, SC and ST members in the Gram Sabha should be made mandatory with suitable provisions for their presence in the quorum of Gram Sabha meetings.
• The Gram Sabha should have the power to evolve its own procedure for conducting its business including decision-making following the principles of natural justice. The rules and regulations which may be issued by the Government in this regard from time to time should be deemed to be as guidelines.

    The members nominated are Prof. M.K. Behura, Retd. Prof. of Anthropology, Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa; Prof. S.K. Pandey, Rock Art Specialist in Sagar University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh; Dr. S.P. Gupta, Retd. ADG, ASI and Chairman, National Archaeological Society, B-17, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi; Smt. Subha Prasad Vaidya, Eminent Artist, Rama Narain, 280 Lok Manya Marg, Indore, Madhya Pradesh; Prof. V.N. Mishra, Director, Deccan College, Pune, Maharashtra; Ms. Sudha Mallaya, Publisher & Writer, Vasudha Publication Pvt. Ltd., 115/38, Shivaji Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; Prof. B.B. Lal, Former Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi and Shri Virendra Pandey, 210/6, Valabha Nagar, Raipur-492 001, Madhya Pradesh.
 
 

    The meeting also decided that State Governments will be requested to concentrate on steps to be taken at their level for preventing wastage at post-harvest stage and send a report on the action proposed to be taken by them. Further, it has been decided that broad financial implications of the suggestions made in the draft report may be worked out and allocated between the different agencies of the central government and the states. Response from private sector about its possible participation and the means of achieving it at best will also be awaited.

    The Steering Committee submitted its recommendations last year. A Task Force was constituted in the Department with a view to coordinate the implementation of recommendations of the Steering Committee in an integrated manner and to formulate a draft grain handling policy for the country. It was agreed in the first meeting of the Task Force that the recommendations would be divided into three categories namely: (i) action to be taken for minimising the losses at the farm level which need to be done mainly at the level of State Government: (ii) action to be taken for creation of necessary infrastructure at the national level for technology upgradation of existing storage methods and facilities as well as encouragement of bulk handling which need to be done at the level of Central Government and its agencies and (iii) participation of private sector in the programme of upgradation of infrastructure. Secretary (Food and Civil Supplies) has already written to different Apex bodies of industries inviting their comments on the involvement of private sector in this task.

    The main recommendations of the Steering Committee included mechanisation of harvesting process, introduction of community storage practices and upgradation of technology for bulk storage and transportation of foodgrains.