President of India Congratulates Amtes for being awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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President of India Congratulates Amtes for being awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil has congratulated Dr. Prakash Amte and his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte for being awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.

In a message to the couple, the President has said, " I am delighted to know that the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award has been jointly awarded to you. Service of the underprivileged is service to God. Your courage to go to an area where very few dared to go has earned love and respect of the people whom you have served. Your philanthropic contribution towards the medical care of the tribals and their education is an inspiration for others."
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Vice President condoles death of Shri Harkishan Singh Surjeet

The Vice President of India Shri Mohd. Hamid Ansari has condoled the sad demise of veteran CPI (M) leader Shri Harkishan Singh Surjeet. Following is the text of Vice President message:

“I am deeply grieved to learn about the sad demise of Shri Harkishan Singh Surjeet, veteran CPI (M) leader.

Shri Surjeet had a glorious record of service to the country and the people during his many years in public life. He always championed the cause of the farmers, poor and the downtrodden and earned the admiration of the people for his dedication and sense of public service. In his death, the country has lost an eminent personality who was always sensitive to the social concerns of our times.

My wife joins me in sending our heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family and the wide circle of his admirers and friends and pray the Almighty to grant them strength to withstand this tragedy”.
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PM condoles the demise of Harkishan Singh Surjeet

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has condoled the passing away of veteran communist leader Sardar Harkishan Singh Surjeet. In his message, the Prime Minister said:

“I was deeply shocked and pained by the news of the passing away of Sardar Harkishan Singh Surjeet. Surjeet Saheb was a great political leader, a true patriot, a man committed to the welfare of the downtrodden, a great Indian and above all a dear friend. I greatly valued his friendship and his guidance. As I said recently in Parliament, he was one of the architects of the United Progressive Alliance.

Sardar Harkishan Singh Surjeet dedicated his entire life to the communist movement in India. He was one of its leading lights in Punjab and for many years an outstanding leader of the communist movement in India. Under his leadership the communist movement came into the national mainstream and contributed to giving a progressive orientation to our social and economic policies. I always valued his advice and reached out to him for support and guidance in managing the UPA Government.

I wish to convey my sincere condolences to all the members of his family, to the millions of his supporters and admirers and to all those who looked up to him for leadership.

I join the people of India in deeply mourning his passing away.”

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Shri R.S. Pandey takes over as New Petroleum Secretary

Shri R.S. Pandey, IAS(1972 Nagaland) has assumed charge as new Petroleum Secretary here today. Shri Pandey was earlier Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India. On assuming charge he called on the Petroleum Minister Shri Murli Deora and Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dinsha Patel.

Shri Pandey took a meeting of the senior officers of the Ministry. He was apprised about the latest issues and challenges in the sector in a presentation made on this occasion. Shri Pandey called for drawing up action points for various critical/important issues facing the sector. Speaking about his challenges in the oil and gas sector, he stated that doing a balancing job in a sector which affects lives of everyone and all sectors of economy was a great challenge in itself. Shri Pandey also said that accelerating domestic exploration and production efforts, ensuring supply of petroleum products alongwith ensuring health of oil PSUs and removing in-efficiencies would be amongst priority areas for him in the sector.

Besides being the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, his key assignments include Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Chief Secretary, Government of Nagaland, etc. Shri Pandey has also served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Education (Ministry of HRD), Govt. of India where his important assignments included being in-charge of District Primary Education Programme(DPEP) and National Programme Director of Basic Education Programme. He was also Joint Secretary in the M/o Welfare, Govt. of India and Secretary, National Council of Education and Research and Training (NCERT). He has also held important positions in his cadre as advisor to Governor of Nagaland, Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Director of Education, etc.

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No Restrictions on release of New LPG Connections

The attention of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has been drawn to reports in a section of media regarding restrictions on releasing new domestic LPG connections by public sector Oil Marketing Companies(OMCs).

The matter was reviewed in the Ministry today and it is hereby clarified that there would be no restrictions in releasing LPG connections by OMCs – IOC, HPCL and BPCL. These OMCs would continue to enrol fresh applications and release the connections.

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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Guidelines for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service licence

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows subscribers to retain their existing telephone number when they switch from one service provider to another or from one technology to another of the same service provider. The Guidelines for grant of MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY (MNP) SERVICE LICENCE in the country was announced today by Thiru A. Raja, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology at a press conference in New Delhi. Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology was also present.

The salient features of these guidelines are as below:

• MNP zones: For the purpose of grant of Licenses for MNP operation in India, the whole country is divided into 2 MNP zones (Zone 1 & zone 2) consisting of 11 Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) each with 2 Metro service areas in each zone. •

• There shall be only one licensee for MNP services in each MNP zone.

• No single company/ legal person / the MNP License applicant or MNP Licensee Company either directly or indirectly will have any equity, in any of the telecom service provider licensee company (Basic service, UAS, CMTS, NLD and/or ILD licensees) and vice-versa. •

• Initially MNP is to be implemented in all Metro and category ‘A’ service areas within 6 month of award of the License for MNP services.

• Direct Solution i.e. All Call Query method be implemented for mobile number portability in India.

• Total time to port should not exceed two working days initially and shall be upgradable to much faster levels. Customer shall approach the recipient operator for porting his/her number.

• Paid up capital: The applicant Company shall have a minimum paid up capital of an amount Rs 10 Crores on the date of the application.

• Networth: The applicant Company and its equity holders shall have a combined net-worth of atleast Rs. 100 Crores (in proportion to their direct equity).

• Foreign equity: FDI shall be subject to extant guidelines and regulations. However, equity of the foreign partner in the company should not be less than 26%.

• Experience: The Applicant / bidder should have implemented and operating successfully NP solution for a mobile subscriber base of not less than 25 million in one or more countries for at least 2 years. Either the applicant Company or its share equity holders having direct equity of 26 % or more in the Company shall have required experience.

• There shall be a lock in period of 3 years for the equity share holders having equity share capital of 26% or more in the MNP Licensee Company.

• Entry Fee: One time, non-refundable, Entry Fee of Rs. 1 (one) Crore is required to be paid for grant of MNP services license.

• License Fees: The Licensee shall also pay License fee annually @ 1 (one) % of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the licensee Company. There shall be a moratorium of license fee payment for first two years from effective date of the license.

• Method of Selection: The pre-qualified applicant(s)/ bidder(s) shall be subjected to a ‘Techno-Economic Evaluation’ for final selection.

• The bid documents containing detailed terms and conditions shall be issued separately.

• Detailed Guidelines for MNP Service License will be available on the website www.dot.gov.in

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Status of Special Incentive Package Scheme

As a follow up of the semiconductor policy (Special Incentive Package Scheme) government has received 12 proposals amounting to a total investment of Rs. 92,915.38 Crores. This was revealed by Thiru A. Raja, Union Minister for Communications & IT at a Press Conference in New Delhi today.

The proposals are from:-


(Rs. Crores)

M/s Videocon Industries Ltd. TFT LCD Flat Panel 8000.00

M/s PV Technologies India Ltd. Solar PV 6000.00

M/s Titan Energy System Ltd. Solar PV, Polysilicon 5880.58

M/s KSK Surya Photovoltaic Ventures (P) Ltd. Solar PV 3211.00

M/s Signet Solar Inc. Solar PV 9672.00

M/s Reliance Industries Ltd. Solar PV, Polysilicon 11631.00

M/s Reliance Industries Ltd. Semiconductor Wafer Fab 18521.00

M/s Phoenix Solar India Ltd. Solar PV 1200.00

M/s Tata BP Solar India Ltd. Solar PV 1692.80

M/s Solar Semiconductor (P) Ltd. Solar PV 11821.00

M/s TF Solar Power (P) Ltd. Solar PV 2348.00

M/s Lanco Solar (P) Ltd. Solar PV, Polysilicon 12938.00

DIT has set up a panel of technical experts to evaluate the proposals.

The promoters will come up to the Appraisal Committee for sanction of subsidy under the scheme once they have reached the threshold limit of investment, as indicated in the guidelines of the Special Incentive Package Scheme.

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Guidelines for 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA)services announced

Thiru A. Raja, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology today announced the detailed guidelines for 3G and BWA services laying down the road map for rolling out these services in the country. The announcement was made at a press conference in New Delhi. Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology was also present.
With the introduction of these services, the quality of voice telephony will be improved as 3G spectrum would enable service providers to provide good quality services to a larger number of subscribers. Further, additional value added services will become widely available to the public. BWA services will ensure quick roll out and enhanced penetration of broadband especially in rural areas, where there is problem of last mile connectivity. It will facilitate availability of e-governance services like tele-medicine, e-medicine, e-ticketing, e-education etc, through broadband to the large section of rural population. Auctioning of 3G and Broadband spectrum will be done through e- auctioning by a specialized agency separately. New players would also be able to bid thus leading to technology innovation, more competition, faster roll out and ultimately greater choice for customers at competitive tariffs.

Guidelines for 3G Services:

System of Allocation
The 3G spectrum would be allocated through a simultaneous, ascending e-auction process, which shall be conducted by a specialised agency. A separate auction would be done for each telecom service area.

Eligibility

Any person

(i) who holds a UAS licence or

(ii) who fulfils the eligibility criteria for obtaining a Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) as per Department of Telecommunications guidelines dated 14.12.2005 and has previous experience of running 3G telecom services

can bid for 3G spectrum.

Spectrum to be Allocated

Spectrum shall be auctioned in blocks of 2x5 MHz in 2.1 GHz band (1920-1980 MHz paired with 2110-2170 MHz). The number of blocks to be auctioned would vary subject to the availability of spectrum in different telecom service areas. In exceptional cases of non-availability, the number of blocks may be less than 5 in a telecom service area. The actual number of blocks to be auctioned in each telecom service area will be announced well before the auction.

Ø Spectrum shall be auctioned in the 450 MHz band, in 800 MHz band for EVDO services, and in 1900 MHz band (1900 – 1910 paired with 1980-1990 MHz) when it becomes available. UASL CDMA telecom service providers may have the option to seek 2x1.25 MHz in 800 MHz band subject to availability at a price equivalent to the highest winning bid in 2.1 GHz auction prorated to a per 2x1.25 MHz price. The seniority for allotment shall be the subscriber base in a telecom service area.

Ø One block shall be allocated to MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai/Metro service Areas and BSNL in other Service Areas at a price equal to the highest bid in the respective service area.

Reserve Price

Ø The ‘Reserve Price’ for a 2 x 5 MHz block of spectrum for each of (i) Mumbai, Delhi Metro and Category ‘A’; (ii) Kolkata Metro & Category ‘B’ and (iii) ‘C’ service areas shall be Rs. 160 cr, Rs. 80 cr and Rs. 30 cr. respectively. This is twice the price recommended by TRAI initially.

Annual Spectrum Usage Charge
Ø No annual spectrum charge shall be payable for 3 G Telecom services in the first year from the date of allotment of spectrum. The licensee will have to pay annual spectrum charge of 1% of AGR after a period of one year.

Roll Out Obligations
Ø There will be roll out obligations to avoid spectrum hoarding. If licensee does not achieve its roll out obligations, it shall be given one year to do so on payment of 2.5 percent of its successful auction bid (i.e. spectrum acquisition price) per quarter or part thereof. If licensee does not complete its roll out obligations even within this one-year, the spectrum assignment shall stand withdrawn.

Guidelines for BWA Services
System of Allocation
Ø The BW licences would be granted through an e-auction, process, which shall be conducted by a specialised agency. Auction of 3G and BWA services would be done separately.

Eligibility

Ø Any person (i) who holds a UAS licence or (ii) any person

Ø who fulfils the criteria for obtaining a UAS licence as per DOT guidelines dated 14.12.2005 and has previous experience; (iii) ‘A’ and ‘B’ category Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can participate in the auction.

Spectrum to be Allocated and Reserve Price
Spectrum shall be auctioned in the 2.5 GHz, and 2.3 GHz bands for data services. Each successful bidder can get 20 MHz in 2.3 and 2.5 GHz bands in a telecom service area. The number of blocks shall be two in 2.3 GHz band and two in 2.5 GHz band. The reserve price per MHz in 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands shall be 25% of the 3G reserve price.
Spectrum in 700 MHz and 3.3-3.6 GHz bands shall be auctioned as and when it becomes available.

Details are available at website of Department of Telecommunications: www.dot.gov.in

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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Food commodities show mixed price trend
1.25 LAKH TONNE PULSES AND 2.6 LT EDIBLE OILS IMPORTED THIS YEAR


Retail prices of farm commodities monitored by the Department of Consumer Affairs at different locations have generally remained steady or shown mixed trend over the week ending July 31, 2008.
Prices of wheat remained steady at all reporting centers except an increase at Hyderabad and decrease at Mumbai and Patna.
Prices of sugar remained steady at all the reporting centers except for an increase at Lucknow, Jaipur, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.
Prices of gram dal remained steady at all the reporting centers except for an increase at Jaipur, Mumbai, Patna and Bangalore and decrease at Chennai.
Prices of tur dal remained steady at all reporting centers except for an increase at Lucknow, Jaipur, Mumbai, Patna and Hyderabad and decrease at Delhi.
In Delhi, prices of gram dal and sugar held steady for one week. Price of rice and vanaspati held steady for one month. Prices of wheat, atta, groundnut oil, milk and salt held steady during the last six months. Prices of mustard oil, potato and onion increased while the prices of tur dal and tea decreased.
Contribution of food commodities to WPI
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based rate of inflation for the week ending 19.7.2008 increased to 11.98% from previous week level of 11.89%. The total contribution of 14 essential commodities, which are having a composite weight of 14.37% in the WPI basket, to the rate of inflation is 7.17% as on 19.7.2008.
The percentage variation in prices of major food commodities over one week is given below: Commodity% variation over one week
Milk 0
Sugar 1.3
Rice 0.2
Wheat 0.1
Vanaspati 0.0
Mustard oil 0.0
Potatoes 1.1
Gram 0.9
Atta 0.0
Groundnut oil-0.6
Tea-0.9
Arhar 2.0
Onions-2.4
Salt 0.0

Imports

PSUs are required to import 1.5 million tonnes of pulses in the current financial year. So far, about 1.25 lakh tonnes have been imported by the PSUs.
PSUs are also required to import one million tonnes of edible oils in the current financial year. Till 30.7.2008, 2.60 lakh tonnes have been imported.
MP: CP: prices (1.8.2008)
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Recd. by.....spandey-dk/kol....(RelSet2_1Aug08)


PIB Kolkata