Out of these 65 reservoirs there are presently only 23 reservoirs where this year’s capacity is less by 20 per cent or more than the average of previous years.

    Basin-wise storage position in the Tapi, Mahi, Godavari and West- flowing rivers of South is better than average of previous years.

    Storage position in Ganga, Narmada, Krishna, and Cauvery and neighbouring East-flowing rivers is less than 20 per cent of average of previous years.

    Storage position in the Indus, Sabarmati, Rivers of Kutch, Mahanadi and neighbouring East-flowing rivers is less by 20 per cent or more than the average of the previous years.

    In order to derive the best possible benefits from the available water, Central Water Commission is keeping in touch with the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and providing information on the weekly storage position to the Crop Weather Watch Group for evolving suitable crop strategies and also apprising the situation to various Departments and Ministries involved in water resources planning.
 
  

    There will be three National Awards, one Special Award for SC/ST Entrepreneur and one for Women Entrepreneur besides an Award to one entrepreneur from each State and Union Territory.

    National Awards for Quality Products will be given in 17 selected product groups of consumer interest. All Small Scale Units, which are permanently registered with the State Directorate of Industries and have been in production for a minimum period of four years, are eligible to apply.

    In the case of outstanding Small Scale Entrepreneurs, all Small Scale Industries, tiny and ancillary units registered with the State Directorate of Industries on and after January 1, 1990 and in production for atleast four years are eligible to apply.

    Each Award will have a cash prize and a trophy, memento in addition to certificate.

    Application forms can be had from Small Industries Service Institutes, State Directorate of Industries and District Industries Centres.

    Awards have been sponsored by Small Industries Development Organization, Office of the Development Commissioner, in the Union Ministry of Industry, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi.
 
  

    Till such time, an Advisory Committee is constituted, the standards of accounting specified by the Institute of Charted Accountants of India shall be deemed to be accounting standards. This will continue to be until the time new accounting standards are prescribed by the Central Government.

    The proposed accounting standards will be in tune with the emerging globalisation and competitiveness of Indian economy.
 
  

    This was disclosed by Shri Shyamal Ghosh, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, here today, while inaugurating the 23^rd India International Garment Fair (IIGF), which is being organised by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles from August 06 – 08,1999 in the Capital . The Secretary also gave away Annual Export Awards to 23 garment exporters on the occasion.

    EPIP is centrally sponsored scheme of the Government which was introduced in 1993-94 with a view to involve the State Governments in the creation of infrastructural facilities for export oriented production. The Scheme provides that 75 per cent of the capital expenditure incurred towards the creation of such facilities, ordinarily limited to Rs. 10 crores in each case, will be met from a central grant to the State Governments.

    The Secretary emphasised that the exporters should make greater use of the OPT (Outward Processing Traffic) facility so as to give a boost to textiles exports from the country. Mexico, he cited, had utilised this facility to their advantage under the NAFTA Agreement which resulted in revitalisation of the entire textile sector in that country. Under the OPT facility, exporters can import fabric from the EU countries and export it back after value addition. This export is not debited to the quota allotted to us. Thus our exporters can, in effect, export even a greater quantity than our allocated quota.

    Referring to the advent of the Euro, Shri Ghosh called upon the exporters to forge strategic alliances with outfits in the European Union (EU) countries so that they can also benefit from the financial integration in the EU countries, just as a member of the Union. Stating that more than half of our garment exports were to quota countries, which were being governed by the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) regime, Shri Ghosh, urged the exporters to look out towards the markets in non-quota countries where our share was about 45 per cent only.

    The Secretary stated that garment exports had gone up by nearly 10 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year and attributed this growth entirely to the efforts the exporters. However, he added, there was no room for complacency as the new millennium posed an enormous challenge for the entire textile sector as we continue to have a limited product range and our unit value realisation was also quite low. Technology, he said, was going to be a critical factor in the third millennium and the Government on its part has already launched the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme(TUFS) which provides for an interest reimbursement of 5 per cent for units going in for technology upgradation. The initial response to the scheme has been quite encouraging as already, till mid –July, 90 applications have been received with project cost over Rs. 7000 crores, he said .

    Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri R.B.Goenka , acting Chairman AEPC, stated that there has been encouraging response to the Fair this year as over 175 exporters are participating as against 130 last year. He urged the Secretary to look into some of the demands of the industry such as bringing down the threshold limit of Rs. 1 crore applicable in case of garment industry under the EPCG Scheme for import of machinery of zero rate of duty to Rs. 50 lakhs; support for setting up of modernise processing unit such as incentives in the form of 100 per cent depreciation for the first year of setting up of such units; liberalised import of raw material and duty free import of fabrics and trimmings/embellishments for export production.
 
 

    The Centre has also asked the State Governments to send proposals for training their analysts and chemists so that appropriate action could be taken on these proposals.

    The Central Government has further impressed upon the State Governments the need to take effective steps in checking the menace of adulteration of milk by strengthening the existing laws and to adopt more stringent measures wherever the State Governments consider appropriate to do so.
 
 

    "I am grieved to learn of the demise of your husband, Shri Kalpnath Rai.

    An eminent parliamentarian, who served three terms in Rajya Sabha and four in Lok Sabha, he served the nation well in important portfolios in the Union Government. Throughout his life he remained a committed social worker and will be remembered for his contributions to rural reconstruction.

    Please accept my heartfelt condolences on your tragic personal loss."
 
 

    Inspector, Geeta Manral of the CRPF won 4 gold medals (800 M run, 1500 M run, 5000 M run and 4X400 M relay) and 1 silver medal in 4X100 M relay.

    Inspector, Kailash Nath of the CRPF bag 3 gold medals in Swimming events (Open Water 3200 M, 1500M & 400 M FreeStyle) and 2 bronze medals in 4X50 M Medley relay and 4X50 M FreeStyle relay.

    Women weightlifters earned 2 medals each in Weightlifting and Powerlifting. Out of the 7 wrestlers in different weight categories, 6 wrestlers won the gold medal in their respective weight categories of FreeStyle Wrestling, 2 wrestlers also won one gold and one silver medal in Greco-Roman style Wrestling.

    The Indian Police contingent was selected from the State Police forces and the Central Para-military forces by the All India Police Sports Control Board on the basis of their performances in the All India Police Games and the Open National Championships. The 33 participating members included 10 women police sportspersons and were drawn from Punjab Police (10), 7 each from BSF, CRPF, CISF and one each from Bihar and Haryana police. The events in which the contingent participated included Track & Field events, Swimming, Wrestling and Weightlifting.
 
 

    During the first quarter (April-June 1999) according to the provisional data available from DGCI&S, Calcutta, India’s exports at US $ 7.9 billion have been 6.50% higher than the level of exports in April-June 1998. Exports during the month of June 1999 were valued at US $ 2.6 billion which was 11.14% higher than the level of US $ 2.3 billion in June 1998.
 
 

    A new dimension to SAARC cooperation was added last year with the decision of the SAARC Commerce Ministers, at their Second Meeting in Islamabad in April 1998, to consult each other on issues on international trade which would have a vital impact on the region and affect the lives of future generations. The SAARC Commerce Ministers met in Geneva on 17^th May, 1998 on the eve of the second WTO Ministerial Conference and issued a Joint Declaration emphasising the need for the international trading system to be more responsive to the needs of the developing countries. At the Tenth SAARC Summit in Colombo in July 1998, SAARC leaders had welcomed this development and also called upon the SAARC Commerce Ministers to work closely, in view of the forthcoming Third WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled to be held in USA in November, 1999. At the Third Meeting of the SAARC Commerce Ministers in Dhaka in February 1999, it was agreed to intensify the consultation process in a time bound manner, to consider and act together on the various issues that would come up for discussions at the Third WTO Ministerial Conference at Seattle.

    The SAARC Commerce Secretaries in their First Consultative Meeting on WTO issues in New Delhi in May, 1999 undertook an in-depth assessment of existing WTO regimes and their impact on the economies of SAARC countries, with a view to identifying those issues on which the Commerce Ministers of the SAARC region, during their forthcoming meting at Male, could take a common stand. Commerce Secretaries, in the forthcoming meeting at Maldives would be further fine-tuning the SAARC position. Their recommendations would enable the SAARC Commerce Ministers to take stock and prioritise various issues under consideration and to consolidate positions and strategies.

    The preparatory process leading to the next Ministerial Conference is governed by the mandate of the Geneva Ministerial Declaration (GMC) (1998). The agenda for the meeting of SAARC Commerce Secretaries and Ministers is, therefore, structured to reflect the priorities contained in the operational paras of the GMC Declaration.
 
 

    Congratulating the award winning scientists & technocrats, the Prime Minister called for a national movement with consortium of laboratory, academy and industry to meet such challenges in a time-bound manner so as to make India a self-reliant and secure nation.

    Pointing out that in the name of dual use technology, many technologies had been denied to us, the Prime Minister said that in spite of denials, our scientists had proved that India is competent to develop and demonstrate capabilities to produce high tech systems, comparable to the international standards.

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

    "I am indeed proud and happy to be among you during the 24^th Conference of DRDO Directors. I would like to congratulate the DRDO award winners for their excellent performance and contribution towards self-reliance in defence technologies. From the award function, I can see intense partnership of multiple institutions.

    This conference is taking place at a very important moment in the history of India's national security, perhaps a turning point in our destiny as a free nation. DRDO is working on a range of disciplines ranging from missiles, electronics, aircraft, tanks, armaments, ship-related technologies and life support systems. The indigenously developed systems are making me confident about the guaranteed technological support available from our laboratories to the armed forces. In addition, technology needed for mountain warfare is to be given the highest priority by DRDO.

    In 1998, India became a nuclear weapon state. The partnership of DRDO and the Department of Atomic Energy has made this mission possible. It was indeed an impressive performance. In April 1999 AGNI missile system was operationalised. These two events have historical, technological and strategic significance, thereby making the country self-reliant in the strategic sector. I would like to congratulate the DRDO directors, scientists, technologists, technicians and their partners for this accomplishment.

    DRDO's spectrum of technologies are varied, some of them are highly strategic in nature and I recognize the pioneering work being done by the team members who are involved in this, they have to work in very difficult conditions. I would like to tell the Directors that the nation acknowledges the team's hard work and is grateful to them.

    Information Technology heralds the dawn of a new era to change the quality of life for humans. Conscious of this emerging facet, a Task Force on IT was constituted and the recommendations were far reaching. The implementation of these recommendations would lead to industrial progress as well as generating wealth for the nation. It is here the DRDO has a leading role to play in generating technologies and secured systems. In this direction, DRDO has taken the initiative to start a centre for Information Sciences, with academy partnership.

    It is heartening to know that the development of critical components and devices that have come out of our own foundries which are the backbone to the State-of-the-art electronic; systems. The availability of these devices have ensured that our efforts in realising complex systems have not been jeopoardised by the technology denials and control regimes enforced by the developed world. DRDO's culture of intense partnership with R&D establishments, academic institutions and industries has enabled to overcome this problem.

    You have proved that in spite of the denials the nation is competent to develop and demonstrate to the world our capabilities to produce high-tech systems, comparable to the international standards. Such actions will provide strength to our political system to conduct an independent foreign policy, derived from the ability of the nation to underpin self-reliance in defence systems.

    We should bear in mind that the nation's prosperity and security and all round will being of its citizens, depends crucially on its indigenous strength in science and technology. Some countries have joined together and proclaimed technology denials for various political and commercial reasons. In the name of dual-use technology, there are many technologies denied to our civilian sector industries. It is indeed a challenge for the science and technology community of India.

    A national movement with consortium of laboratory, academy and industry should meet such challenges in a time bound manner.

    I am confident that you can spearhead this movement to make India a self-reliant and secure Nation.

    Thank you "
 
 

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    Either personally or through their family members or through District Ex-Servicemen Board.
 
 

    The excise revenue collection upto the end of July, 1999 is Rs.17,241 crore. This is higher by Rs.3,077 crore, compared to the revenue collection upto July last year. The total excise collection is thus higher by 21.72%. The customs revenue collection upto the end of July, 1999 is Rs.14, 232 crore. This is higher by Rs.1,409 crore than the collection upto July last year, indicating a growth of 10.99%.

    The income-tax collection upto July, 1999 is Rs.5,133 crore as against collection of Rs.4,224 crore upto July last year. This represents an increase in collection of income-tax this year by 21.52%. The collection of corporation tax upto July, 1999 is Rs.2,402 crore as compared to collection of Rs.4,129 crore during the same period last year, indicating a decline of 41.39%.

    Total collection of direct taxes, including taxes other than corporation and income-tax, are Rs.7,311 crore as against Rs.8,483 crore during the corresponding period last year.

    Aggregate revenue collection, including both direct and indirect taxes, upto July, 1999 have amounted to Rs.39,665 crore, as compared to the aggregate collection of Rs.36,384 crore upto July last year, registering an increase of 9.02%.
 
 

    To facilitate payment of the said loans on the due dates, the holders may tender the securities duly discharged at the Public Debt Offices, Treasuries/Sub-Treasuries and branches of State Bank of India and its associate Banks (at which they are enfaced/registered for payment of interest) 20 days in advance of the due dates for payment of loans.

    Full details of the procedure for receiving the discharge value may be obtained from any of the aforesaid paying offices.