PIB Press Releases


		8th April, 2003


		Ministry of Railways Innovative rail coaches The Railways have introduced refrigerated vans on Mail and Express trains for quicker movement of perishable commodities......................... Ministry of Railways Railway Week from April 10 The 48th Railway Week will be celebrated all over the country from April 10 to 16, 2003 , to mark the advent of first train in India on April 16, 1853 from Boribundar to Thane on 34 kilometre long route......................... Ministry of Commerce & Industry Measures to boost project exports under consideration Government had constituted a Task Force under the Chairmanship of the Joint Secretary (Foreign Trade & Investment) in the Department of Economic Affairs to give recommendations on export promotion of project exports......................... Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Public private partnership essential for good urban governance - Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan Minister of State for Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan inaugurated an exhibition and conference on "Good Urban Governance - Making Cities Work" here today......................... Ministry of Human Resource Development New Delhi declared World Book Capital for 2003 New Delhi, the capital of India, has been declared as the World Book Capital for the year 2003.......................... Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Quality control in the physical mixtures of fertilizers The quality of all fertilizers including physical mixtures are ensured under the provisions of Fertilizer Control Order (1985), which strictly prohibits the manufacture and sale of any fertilizer ......................... Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Chemicals and fertilizers plants in the country Setting up of fertilizer plants and of most chemical plants is not subject to licensing requirements and entrepreneurs can set up manufacturing facilities after filing an Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) ......................... Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Mining work in coal mines To sustain coal production level of 2006-07 for another 30 years, 275 blocks have been identified to be retained by Coal India Limited & its subsidiaries ......................... Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers R&D in drug industry In February, 2002, the Government have announed the 'Pharmaceutical Policy - 2002', which includes in principle approval to the establishment of the Pharmaceutical Research & Development Support fund (PRDSF) ......................... Ministry of Mines Air survey for mineral exploration Airborne Geophysical Surveys in the country are carried out as an aid to mineral exploration and related geological studies......................... Ministry of Mines Copper production in India Installed capacity of primary copper in the country was 3.47 lakh tonnes in 2001-02. The total production was 3.36 lakh tonnes with a capacity utilization of 96.70 per cent......................... Ministry of Mines Mineral Concession Rules Under Rule 22(4A) of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, State Governments have been empowered to approve mining plan of open cast mines ......................... Ministry of Mines Judicious use of natural minerals The Section 18 of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, inter-alia, enjoins upon the Central Government to take all such steps as may be necessary for the conservation and systematic development of minerals in India ......................... Ministry of Food Processing Industries Improvement in marketing, transport and communication system April 08, 2003 The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, through its plan schemes provides financial assistance for the development of processed food sect ......................... Ministry of Civil Aviation Guidlelines on ground handling at Airports On account of security considerations and in order to streamline the policy on ground handling services so as to achieve world class standards and to minimize the number of agencies performing ground handling operations at airports ......................... Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation 25,536 flats allotted by DDA Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has constructed 20,682 flats of different categories during the last three years (2000-01 to 2002-03). ......................... Ministry of Commece & Industry India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement - Declaration of intent to be signed today A Declaration of Intent for the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is scheduled to be signed later this evening by Shri Arun Jaitley......................... Ministry of Tribal Affairs Inclusion of Koch Rajbonshis under ST category Procedure approved for deciding claims for inclusion, exclusion and other modifications in the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Koch Rajbonshi community of Assam has not yet become eligible for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes. ......................... Ministry of Water Resources Revision of Indus Water Treaty Agreement Government of Gujarat has submitted proposals for allocation of the waters of the Western Rivers of Indus basin to the Kutch region of Gujarat on the plea that it is a part of this Western Rivers of Indus basin to the Kutch region of Gujarat on the plea that it is a part of this basin. ......................... Ministry of Water Resources Clearance to Bateshwar Sthan Pump Canal Scheme The Government of Bihar submitted "Bateshwar Sthan Pump Canal Pump Scheme" for Central Loan Assistance (CLA) under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) for Rs. 103.10 crore for the year 2002-03 to the Field Office of Central Water Commission at Patna. ......................... Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Increase in LPG demand There has been a continuous increase in the demand for LPG during the last few years in the country.. ......................... Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Prices of Petrol & Diesel in the post-APM period The Administered Pricing Mechansim for the petroleum sector was dismantled effective 1st April, 2002.. ......................... Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Impact of Iraq war on crude oil import During the year 2002-03 (upto February, 2003) 75.736 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil was imported, out of which 50.775 MMT (67%) came from the Gulf region.. ......................... Ministry of Communications & Information Technology DoT to seek legal opinion on TDSAT orders The Government is studying the Telecom Dispute Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)'s Order asking Department of Telecom (DoT) to submit correspondence between the DoT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) .. ......................... Ministry of Finance & Company Affairs Repayment of Central Government Loans The outstanding balance of the following Central Government Loans are repayable at par on the respective dates mentioned there against.. ......................... Ministry of Communications, IT & Disinvestment Singapore business delegation calls on Shri Arun Shourie The Singapore Business delegation today called on the Communications, IT and Disinvestment Minister, Shri Arun Shourie. The 26 Member visting delegation led by Mr. Stephen Lee.. ......................... Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution EC Act Amendment to strengthen Sugar release mechanism The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2003 was passed by Rajya Sabha today paving the way for strengthening the Regulatoed Release mechanism for supply of free sale sugar. Shri Sharad Yadav, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.. ......................... Ministry of Home Affairs Border disputes The Lok Samba was informed that there have been border disputes mostly out of claims and counter claims between Bihar-Uttar Pradesh; ......................... Ministry of Home Affairs Revamping of CISF The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was originally constituted for better protection and security of Industrial Undertakings owned by the Central Government ......................... UPSC No change in Personality Test of Civil Service (Main) Examination The Government has declared April 14, 2003 as a Gazetted Holiday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti. ......................... Ministry of Home Affairs Transfers and postings of senior officers The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following postings and transfers of senior officers: ......................... Ministry of Home Affairs Terrorist activities in the North-East There has been a decrease in the number of violent incidents in North-Eastern States in the year 2002 as compared to 2001. .........................