From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Subject: Local Release..............3
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Mines
Minister of Mines Shri B K Handique calls for strengthening of GSI, IBM and State Directorates of Mining and Geology;
Private Sector to be encouraged in Mining Exploration Activity, says Shri Handique;
47th Meeting of Central Geological Programming Board Underway in New Delhi;
Participation of Local communities in Mining activities to be given more importance: S Vijaya Kumar, Secretary, Mines.
New Delhi: August 25, 2010.
Minister of Mines and DONER Shri B K Handique has called for strengthening the Geological survey of India (GSI), Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) and State Directorates of Mining and Geology. He said that there is a need for better synergy among them. He also suggested that they should complement each others' work so that there will be no duplication of efforts.
Shri B K Handique, who was supposed to have inaugurated the meeting and exhibition, was unable to attend because of other unavoidable engagements. His speech was read out by Shri S K Shrivastava, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines. In his speech the Minister stressed the importance given to the encouragement of private sector participation in the National Mineral Policy, 2008. He pointed out that the policy seeks to ensure that the private sector would be the main source of investment in reconnaissance and exploration work. He laid emphasis on the quality of output so that the confidence of investors is built up and maintained.
The 47th meeting of the Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) of the Ministry of Mines began here today morning. An exhibition, showcasing the achievements of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other organizations under the Ministry of Mines has also been organized along with the CGPB meeting. The exhibition and the meeting were inaugurated by Shri S Vijayakumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines. Shri S G Shrivastava, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Shri M K Dutta, DG, GSI and other senior officials of the Ministry of Mines participated in the function.
Shri S Vijayakumar, in his address, pointed out that the Ministry of Mines has issued fresh guidelines for processing cases under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. These guidelines, he said, will envisage enhanced role of state governments in carrying out adequate verification of applicants.
Shri Vijaya Kumar also released the new Annual Report of the Geological Survey of India for the year 2009 – 10.
Later, in an interaction with media, Shri Vijayakumar said that participation of local communities in mining activities will be given more importance in the coming years. He said that that the process of viewing mining as a process that takes into consideration the socio economic back ground of the community is being gradually implemented in the country.
The CGPB is an important platform where the review of the progress of work carried out by GSI till date during the Field Season 2009-10 is being carried out. Discussions with the state governments, PSUs and other stakeholders are also being held. These deliberations will lay the foundation for finalizing the projects that the states and stakeholders would like GSI to take up, either on its own or in a collaborative mode with them, during the next Annual Programme of GSI i.e. FSP-2010-12. During this meeting the Conveners of CGPB Committees (Group I-XII) will present the outcome of the meetings held during June-August 2010.
The exhibition, organized along with the CGPB meeting, showcases the countrywide activities of Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other organizations under the Ministry of Mines. It includes the work done by GSI on the theme of Natural Resource Assessment as well as other activities of GSI and the PSUs of the Ministry of Mines on different aspects of exploration, exploitation of minerals and future strategies for sustainable mineral development in the country.
kp/db/dk/kol/15:58 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Report of Expert Committee on IFFI Presented to Smt. Ambika Soni
Recommendations Aim at Upgrading IFFI to International Standards
New Delhi: August 25, 2010.
The Chairman of the Expert Committee on International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Shri Pritish Nandy, presented the Committee's Report to Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Smt Ambika Soni along with Shri A.K. Bir, Shri Govind Nihalani and Mrs. Kishwar Desai.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt Soni appreciated the good work done by the Committee and thanked the Committee for submitting the report within a short span of time. She further stated that the Ministry would now process the recommendations made by the Committee.
The Committee was constituted at the initiative of Minister for Information & Broadcasting, was mandated to make recommendations regarding upgradation of the International Film Festival of India on the lines of other reputed International Film Festivals and the resultant changes based on the recommendations were to be carried out by amendment in the IFFI Festival regulations. The Committee was also to make recommendations regarding the changes to be made in the selection of Indian Panorama films both feature and non feature categories and the resultant changes were to be carried out by amendment in the Indian Panorama regulations. The key recommendations of the committee submitted for consideration are as under:-
The committee has recommended that the Competition section may be enhanced from its present status of a specialized competition to an international competition open to all. A recommendation has also been made to introduce two new awards- Best Actor and Best Actress. The winner of the award will be given a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh each. The total cash awards would now amount to Rs 90 lakh. The committee has also suggested that the final entries in the International Competition section may be increased from the present 15 to 18. With a view to positioning the festival at par with international standards, the committee has recommended that workshops may be held at IFFI to discuss new technology initiatives and Master Classes should be conducted by eminent people from world cinema.
As part of the exercise, the Committee constituted 4 sub committees to study issues that would enable the upgradation of the festival. The four committees were, Technical Sub-Committee chaired by Shri A.K. Bir, Sponsorship Sub-Committee chaired by Ms. Pooja Shetty Deora, Events Sub-Committee chaired by Shri Govind Nihalani and Structural Reforms Sub-Committee chaired by Shri Pritish Nandy. All the four sub-committees studied the relevant issues in detail and submitted their reports to the Expert Committee.
The Technical Sub-Committee has given a list of technical upgrades required to improve the quality of the viewing experience at IFFI. The Sub-Committee's report along with Mr. Bir's report for IFFI 2009 prepared for the Madgaon auditorium and his 'Future View Point' document for a new auditorium in Goa were also placed before the Expert Committee. The Sponsorship Sub-Committee outlined measures for building brand IFFI internationally.
The Events Sub-Committee has proposed a series of initiatives under the aegis of New Products Platform (NPP). The committee recommended to upgrade the web site for IFFI on the lines of other international film festivals. It also suggested that the Film Market must be developed to international standards and provide business opportunities to Indian film makers. It also felt that International studios and sales agents should be invited for IFFI as per international norms. The Committee also recommended that in the Indian Panorama section, the Jury should not be bound to select 5 films from among 20 recommended by FFI and the Film Producers Guild. Rather, they should be free to select fewer than 5 films, if the standards of excellence were not met in their opinion. To enhance participation, the Committee recommended Q&A sessions to be held post Indian Panorama screenings at IFFI.
The sub committee on Structuring has outlined a roadmap regarding IFFI's future structure keeping in mind its mandate and responsibilities in the future.
The following were the members of the Expert Committee:
Shri Kamal Haasan, Shri Pritish Nandy, Shri Govind Nihalani, Smt Shabana Azmi, Shri Karan Johar, Shri A.K. Bir, Shri Prasoon Joshi, Smt Nandita Das, Smt. Kishwar Desai, Smt Maithili Rao, Shri Lakshmikant Shetgaonkar, Shri C.S. Sapra, Chief Secretary Goa, Director DFF & Joint Secretary (Films) as the Member Secretary.
cp/skt/dk/kol/15:58 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Highest Number of National Highways Constructed During 2009-10
New Delhi: August 25, 2010.
This Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constructed the highest length of National Highways in 2009-10 since the inception of NHDP. It has completed 5010 km at the rate of 13.81km per day. Giving details about the length of National Highways constructed during the last 10 years in Rajya Sabha today, the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shri R.P.N Singh informed the House that since 2000-01 (to 2009-10), 30,412 km of National Highway have been constructed with the maximum length being constructed in the last financial year. While in 2008-09, 4490 km (12.31 km per day) of National Highway was constructed, the same was 3683 km in 2007-08, 2386 km in 2006-07 and 3778 km in 2004-05.
He also informed that the Ministry gives priority for development of roads in the North East region, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand along with other parts of the country. The Government has taken up Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East (SARDP-NE) to upgrade NHs connecting State Capitals to 2/4 lane and to provide connectivity of all District Headquarter towns of North East region (NER) by at least 2-lane NH, State road & General Staff (GS) road.
A special programme has also been taken up for development of roads in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas.
rs: pm/dk/kol/15:59 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Declaration of State Road as a National Highway
New Delhi: August 25, 2010.
The Centre has received 187 proposals from various State Governments for declaring a State road/stretch as National Highway. The highest number of proposals have been received from Karnataka (28 proposals) followed by Rajasthan (25 proposals), Andhra Pradesh (22 proposals), Gujarat (19 proposals) and Maharashtra (17 proposals). The Centre has notified 2 stretches/State roads as National Highway in 2007-08, 16 in 2008-09 and 3 in 2009-10.
An eleven point criteria broadly has been devised for declaring a state road/stretch as a National Highway (NH). Following is the criteria for declaration of National Highways:
1. Roads which run through the length and breadth of the country.
2. Roads connecting adjacent countries.
3. Roads connecting the National Capital with State Capital and roads connecting mutually the State Capitals.
4. Roads connecting major ports, large industrial centers or tourist centers.
5. Roads meeting very important strategic requirements.
6. Arterial roads which enable sizeable reduction in travel distance and achieve substantial economic growth thereby.
7. Roads which help opening up large tracts of backward area and hilly regions.
8. National Highways grid of 100 Km is achieved.
9. The road must be up to the standard laid down for State Highways-both in its technical requirements as well as the land requirements.
10. The road and right of way must be free of any type of encroachment and should be the property of the State Government.
11. The right of way required for the National Highways (preferable 45m, minimum 30m) must be available for acquiring, free of encroachments and the State Government would complete acquiring formalities within six months.
While providing this information to the Rajya Sabha today, the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Shri R.P.N Singh said that expansion of National Highway network is a continuous process and declaration of new National Highway is taken up from time to time depending upon, requirement of connectivity, inter-se priority and availability of funds. No targets have been fixed for developing of State Roads as National Highways during 2010-11.
rs: pm/dk/kol/15:59 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Discussion Paper on Options for Compulsory License
New Delhi: August 25, 2010.
The public concern has been expressed on the availability of low cost medicines in view of recent developments in the pharmaceutical sector. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has prepared a discussion paper on options for Compulsory License under the Patents Act, 1970 as amended in 2005. The discussion paper has been uploaded on www.dipp.nic.in
The views and suggestions backed up by facts, figures and empirical evidence are invited from all the Stakeholders by 30th September, 2010.
rj/dk/kol/16:00 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Shri Salman Khurshid to launch an E-Learning Module on Corporate Governance tomorrow
New Delhi: August 25, 2010.
Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Corporate Affairs, will launch here tomorrow evening an e-learning module on Corporate Governance: Voluntary Guidelines 2009. It will be a joint effort of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Dun & Bradstreet India. The Voluntary Guidelines issued by the Ministry are intended to be adopted by the Corporates so that by virtue of Good Corporate Governance they not only enhance their value but also gain stakeholders' trust thereby leading to robust development of capital market, economy of the country and also help in the evolution of a vibrant and constructive shareholders' activism. By adopting these Voluntary Guidelines, Indian Corporates can set global benchmark for good Corporate Governance. The e-learning module being launched will present these Guidelines in a more interesting, explanatory and interactive way.
Shri R. Bandyopadhyay, Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs, will also be present. Representatives from a number of leading companies will also grace the occasion.
kkp/ska/dk/kol/16:00 hrs.
--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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