PIB Press Releases


		4th August, 2003


		Prime Minister's Office PM condoles loss of lives in Surat blast The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has condoled the loss of lives in the explosion in Surat. ............................ President's Secretariat Encouraging results of rain water harvesting at Rashtrapati Bhavan Rashtrapati Bhavan, appropriately enough, has initiated concerted efforts to harvest rain water in the Bhavan complex and it has started producing excellent results. ............................ Ministry of Civil Aviation VRS Scheme for Indian Airlines employees Indian Airlines has already circulated its Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for 2003 for its employees on 12.05.2003 which came into effect on 19.5.2003 and remained in force till 17th July, 2003............................ Ministry of Agriculture Progress of monsoon The progress of South-West monsoon during the week ending 30th of last month was satisfactory............................ Ministry of Food Processing Industries Promotion of FPI in Himachal Pradesh According to Indian Horticulture Database 2002 published by National Horticulture Board, production of fruits in Himachal Pradesh in 2000-01 was 4.38 lakhs MT............................ Ministry of Food Processing Industries Subsidy to entrepreneurs for FPI in Tamil Nadu The Ministry of Food Processing Industries under its plan schemes provides financial assistance in the form of grant to Non-Government Organisations............................ Ministry of Food Processing Industries Setting up of food parks The scheme for setting up of food parks is in existence since Eighth Five Year Plan period............................ Ministry of Information & Broadcasting DD News channel Prasar Bharati has informed that the Prasar Bharati Board has decided, in principle, to convert DD Metro into 24 hours News Channel............................ Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Exclusive channel for farmers The Government is considering a proposal to start an exclusive channel for the welfare of the farmers............................ Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Modernization of DD Kendras An amount of Rs. 319 crores has been provided in 10th Plan of Doordarshan for modernization and digitalization of various Doordarshan Kendras in the country............................ Ministry of Shipping Ship service from Allahabad to Farakka The River Ganga from Haldia to Allahabad has been declared as a National Waterway and basic infrastructure facilities such as navigational channel, terminals and navigational aids have been provided............................ Ministry of Shipping Evaluation of maritime security measures The International Maritime Organization adopted new provisions in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974............................ Ministry of Shipping Ban on single hull ships of SCI Entry of single hull ships over 20 years of age have been banned by some European countries from carrying heavy crude and fuel oil in their ports............................ Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Industrial areas in Delhi Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has proposed for in-situ regularization of industries in non-conforming areas where concentration of industry is more than 70%............................ Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Percentage of persons living below the poverty line in urban areas declines The Planning Commission has estimated that the percentage of persons living below the poverty line in Urban areas has declined from 32.36 percent in 1993-94 to 23.62 percent in 1999-2000............................ Ministry of Agriculture Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides The average consumption of fertilizers in the country was 91.49 kg. per hectare and that of pesticides 0.57 kg. per hectare during 2001-02............................ Ministry of Agriculture Availability of mackerel Huge colonies of mackerel have been located in the Bay of Bengal off the Visakhapatnam coast............................ Ministry of Tribal Affairs Scheduled Areas and ST Commission visits Maharashtra The Scheduled and Scheduled Tribe Areas headed by Shri Dileep Singh Bhuria alongwith five other members is visiting the Vidharba region of Maharashtra from 2nd August to 9th August, 2003............................ Ministry of Rural Development Funds released to Tamil Nadu under SGRY Ministry of Rural Development has released an amount of Rs. 58.07 crore as first installment of funds under Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana ............................ Ministry of Rural Development Additional Central assistance to Madhya Pradesh for rural drinking water Ministry of Rural Development has released an amount of Rs. 577 lakh to the State Government of Madhya Pradesh towards additional Central assistance ............................ Ministry of Steel VRS in SAIL The Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), a public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Steel has separated 12,324 employees through voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) during the last three years............................ Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Welfare of minorities in Andhra Pradesh The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing various schemes for welfare of minorities in Andhra Pradesh ............................ Ministry of Steel Steps to produce quality steel The Government has taken several steps to enable steel industry to produce steel of international standard ............................ Ministry of Science & Technology New technique discovered for DNA testing The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad has discovered a new technique for examining DNA ............................ Ministry of Railways New Secretary Railway Board Shri R.R.Bhandari, a member of Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), has taken over as Secretary, Railway Board in the Ministry of Railways ............................ Ministry of Railways Flasher lights in all diesel locomotives The Railways have installed flasher lights in all diesel locomotives to give indication to drivers of trains approaching from the opposite direction in case of mishap for prevention of further accidents............................. Ministry of Railways Coach design for improving safety of train operation The Ministry of Railways has asked the Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd. (RITES) to improve the external crash worthiness of rail coaches to increase safety of train services.............................