INDIA-AFGHANISTAN BILATERAL RELATION

Key points of the bilateral relation between India and Afghanistan

• India and Afghanistan historically have shared close cultural and political ties, and the complexity of their diplomatic history reflects this fact. India supported successive governments in Kabul until the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, and was among the first non-Communist states to recognize the government installed by the Soviet Union after its invasion. But like most countries, India never recognized the Taliban's assumption of power in 1996 (only Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban regime).
• Following the 9/11 attacks and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan that resulted, ties between India and Afghanistan grew strong once again. India has restored full diplomatic relations, and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan's reconstruction and development.
• India has been the largest regional donor of Afghanistan.
• India's first overseas military airbase is in Afghanistan at Farkhor.
• It is no surprise then that Pakistan sees India's growing influence in Afghanistan as a threat.Pakistan's concern is that India is trying to encircle it by gaining influence in Afghanistan.Pakistan's support for the Taliban has led to increased instability in Afghanistan, from the growth of terrorism to increased opium cultivation. But Islamabad denies any support for the Taliban and says it is committed to fighting terrorism.Pakistan also competes with India for access to consumer markets in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan holds strategic importance for India as New Delhi seeks friendly allies in the neighborhood, and because it is a gateway to energy-rich Central Asian states such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.Also, the massive reconstruction plans for the country offer a lot of opportunities for Indian companies.Strategically, an actively pro-Delhi regime in Kabul (at the moment, fierce warlords rule most other parts of the country) would rattle Islamabad, which has traditionally seen Afghanistan as its backyard. Afghanistan, on the other hand, looks to India as "a potential counterweight in its relationship with Pakistan."
• India also supported Afghanistan's bid to become a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
• In August 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited New Delhi. This visit further strengthened bilateral relations, and Prime Minister Singh pledged further aid for Afghanistan
• During the 15th SAARC summit in Colombo, India pledged another USD $450 million along with $750 million already pledged for ongoing and forthcoming projects.
• In January 2009, India handed over to Afghanistan a crucial road link that will give India a trade route to Kabul through Chabahar deep sea port in Iran.
• India would build a dam for the Salam power project.
• India is building a 218 km long Zaranj-Delaram Highway.

Sources:http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/30spec4.htm

http://www.cfr.org/publication/17474/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan%E2%80%93India_relations

Scpectrum's current events review 2009

SOCIAL IMPACTS OF AIDS

AIDS stigma is omnipresent in the world in some form or the other, including ostracism,rejection, prohibition,quarantine of the affected individuals or even physical violence.And that is why social death of the individuals precedes the actual physical death.And very often such stigma works in conjunction with other stigma like promiscuity,perversion,homosexuality,drug abuse.

Such social reaction stems from some wrong preconceived notions and lack of awareness about AIDS and its causes.Number of misconceptions exist regarding how this disease is transmitted.There is a belief that this disease can be transmitted through casual contact.Another is that HIV can infect only homosexuals and drug dabblers.There is a popular belief that it can be cured by sexual contact with a virgin female.All these are wrong and it is only because of the existence of such misconceptions, very little progress has been made in combating this deadly disease or the socio cultural impacts of it.

Education towards responsibility should be the approach of the government to combat the deep soci0-psychological impact that this disease produces.Creation of awareness programs,increased expenditure for health care, active participation of NGOs and private sector, use of celebrities in spreading AIDS awareness,shedding away the prejudices against open discussion of sensitive topics like AIDS, homosexuality in the classrooms are the available options to successfully mitigate the social impacts of AIDS.Rationality must prevail if AIDS has to go.

Indo-China relations: Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin

By Vinod Erat

Facts—Aksai Chin is administered by China as Kargilik County in the Kashgar Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, but India claims it to be a part of J&K. The line that separates Indian-administered areas of Kashmir from the Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Arunachal pradesh-The McMahon Line is a line agreed to by British India and Tibet as part of Simla Accord, a treaty signed in 1914. Although its legal status is disputed, it is the effective boundary between China and India. China rejects the Simla Accord, contending that the Tibetan government was not sovereign and therefore did not have the power to conclude treaties.^[4][5] Chinese maps show some 56,000 square miles (150,000 km²) of territory south of the line as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, popular known as South Tibet in China. Chinese forces briefly occupied this area during the Sino-Indian War of 1962-63.

Issues

1. Chinese claims that the 90,000 sq km tract of land on the eastern wing of the Himalayas, which broadly corresponds to Arunachal Pradesh and which has been under Indian administration since the 1940s
2. China does not recognize the McMahon Line (the British-delineated borderline between India and China)
3. China ready to acknowledge Indian sovereignty in the 'eastern tract' if India would abandon its claim to Aksai Chin, the 38,000 km tract of cold desert in Ladakh in the western Himalayas that China had brought under its control when its army "liberated" Tibet in 1951
4. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Tibet wasn't as well-connected by road-and-rail networks as it is today, control of Aksai Chin was of strategic importance to China in order to establish its authority in the combustible erstwhile kingdom. Likewise, for India, control of the 'eastern tract' was critical for it to maintain its hold on the fissiparous northeastern region
5. But India rejected this 'east-west' swap proposal on the principled ground that Chinese 'concessions' in the eastern tract were not concessions at all since China had never administered this area and had no right over it. And from its perspective, Aksai Chin was Indian territory that had been "illegally occupied" by China
6. Since October 1985, however, China has claimed right over the entire eastern tract, in present-day Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, Chinese negotiators have even turned their original swap proposal on its head, and have subsequently claimed that China would be willing to make concessions in the western tract (that is, Aksai Chin) if India reciprocated by giving up its claims in the eastern tract (that is, Arunachal Pradesh)!
7. In fact, China's about-turn on the east-west swap proposal may be linked to its changed geopolitical needs. With the completion of numerous road and rail links to Lhasa from other parts of China, and the heightened accessibility to Tibetan areas, Aksai Chin doesn't hold the same strategic significance that it did in the 1950s and 1960s.
8. Aksai Chin is the place "where not a blade of grass grows," as Jawaharlal Nehru once dismissively said. In contrast, Arunachal Pradesh has mineral and timber resources, and is also a potential source of hydroelectric power.
9. Recently China denied visas Indian officials from the border state into China.
10. Given its international stature and the economic power, it thinks that it is not compelled by any “compromises” to solveany issues and is ready to play the hard game.

Indo-China relations: Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin

By Vinod Erat

Facts—Aksai Chin is administered by China as Kargilik County in the Kashgar Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, but India claims it to be a part of J&K. The line that separates Indian-administered areas of Kashmir from the Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Arunachal pradesh-The McMahon Line is a line agreed to by British India and Tibet as part of Simla Accord, a treaty signed in 1914. Although its legal status is disputed, it is the effective boundary between China and India. China rejects the Simla Accord, contending that the Tibetan government was not sovereign and therefore did not have the power to conclude treaties.^[4][5] Chinese maps show some 56,000 square miles (150,000 km²) of territory south of the line as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, popular known as South Tibet in China. Chinese forces briefly occupied this area during the Sino-Indian War of 1962-63.

Issues

1. Chinese claims that the 90,000 sq km tract of land on the eastern wing of the Himalayas, which broadly corresponds to Arunachal Pradesh and which has been under Indian administration since the 1940s
2. China does not recognize the McMahon Line (the British-delineated borderline between India and China)
3. China ready to acknowledge Indian sovereignty in the 'eastern tract' if India would abandon its claim to Aksai Chin, the 38,000 km tract of cold desert in Ladakh in the western Himalayas that China had brought under its control when its army "liberated" Tibet in 1951
4. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Tibet wasn't as well-connected by road-and-rail networks as it is today, control of Aksai Chin was of strategic importance to China in order to establish its authority in the combustible erstwhile kingdom. Likewise, for India, control of the 'eastern tract' was critical for it to maintain its hold on the fissiparous northeastern region
5. But India rejected this 'east-west' swap proposal on the principled ground that Chinese 'concessions' in the eastern tract were not concessions at all since China had never administered this area and had no right over it. And from its perspective, Aksai Chin was Indian territory that had been "illegally occupied" by China
6. Since October 1985, however, China has claimed right over the entire eastern tract, in present-day Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, Chinese negotiators have even turned their original swap proposal on its head, and have subsequently claimed that China would be willing to make concessions in the western tract (that is, Aksai Chin) if India reciprocated by giving up its claims in the eastern tract (that is, Arunachal Pradesh)!
7. In fact, China's about-turn on the east-west swap proposal may be linked to its changed geopolitical needs. With the completion of numerous road and rail links to Lhasa from other parts of China, and the heightened accessibility to Tibetan areas, Aksai Chin doesn't hold the same strategic significance that it did in the 1950s and 1960s.
8. Aksai Chin is the place "where not a blade of grass grows," as Jawaharlal Nehru once dismissively said. In contrast, Arunachal Pradesh has mineral and timber resources, and is also a potential source of hydroelectric power.
9. Recently China denied visas Indian officials from the border state into China.
10. Given its international stature and the economic power, it thinks that it is not compelled by any “compromises” to solveany issues and is ready to play the hard game.

GLOBALIZATION AND GROWING INEQUALITY

SANDESH G.NAYAK

World is going through its gravest economic downturn since the great economic downturn of 1930's. The ILO report says that the root of this crisis lies in 1990's economic reforms. Through this reforms, the world economic order took a turn and headed for different direction and is the main reason for contemporary economic inequality, social security concerns and labour relations.

Recent report of ILO clearly highlights the growing inequality among different section of workers and decrease in the unemployment after the globalization. - Main reason is due to the extinction of many domestic industries which are affected by the global factors.

Although the 1990s economic reforms were accompanied by “substantial economic development across most regions" there were variation in labour market performance between and within the countries. Moreover, increase in employment also occurred, alongside a redistribution of income " away from labor".

Statistics indicated the share of wages in National Income declined over the past 2 decades. This means that workers gained very less from the economic growth. The rich poor gap also widened.Nearly two thirds of the countries experienced an increase in income inequalities. Yet another finding is that this rich poor gap is doing so at increased pace.

Financial Globalization has not lived upto its promises. Another problem that it has eroded the Bargaining power of employees and contributed to decline in wage share over and above any effect resulting from trade integration or sectoral change. The continuing economic slowdown coupled with rising food prices will accentuate the income inequality and affect the employment opportunities of low income group..

Although in line with the economic thinking since the advent of globalization, the report argues that income inequalities could be a good thing as it rewards work quality, talent, and innovation. It strikes a serious note of caution that “there are instances where income inequality reaches excessive levels, in that it represents a danger to social stability while also going against economic efficiency considerations.”

JOBLESS GROWTH IN INDIA- SOLUTIONS ARE PLENTY

By Anubhav Srivastava

Though India has maintained a GDP growth of more than 8 per cent for past few years, a vast section of its populace, particularly in the rural areas, still remains jobless. There is thus an urgent need to evolve a model of development that ensures employment growth along with GDP growth. If we look at the Indian scenario, we find that nearly 60 per cent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture and about 12 per cent in manufacturing. Hence government must find ways and means to stimulate growth in these two sectors in order to meet the growing demand of jobs.

To promote agriculture, the government should put irrigation and watershed development high in the list of priorities. Irrigation is vital to the growth of agriculture. It has a cascading effect on all the other activities related to agriculture. Developed irrigation facilities makes farmers less dependent on monsoon and at the same time helps them in increasing the per hectare agricultural production. Efficient irrigation facilities encourage the farmers to opt for high yielding varieties (HVY) and also increases fertilizer consumption. Dams built on rivers help in bringing more and more wasteland under agriculture. This increase in agricultural land, apart from increasing production of food crops, simultaneously increases the production of fodder. This in turn encourages people in the villages to purchase more livestock. Similarly government must encourage setting up of secondary and tertiary sector industries related to agriculture in the rural areas itself so that migration of people to bigger cities in search of jobs can be checked.

On the manufacturing front, the government must promote small-scale industries (SSI). This can be done by imparting vocational training to the people in the rural Areas and providing them micro-credits. To make these small industries competitive vis-à-vis the bigger companies, people in the villages should be promoted to form cooperative bodies. Previously, the government had dereserved some of the small scale sector products and the small industries manufacturing those products failed to compete with the bigger, highly mechanised industries. Many of the people, who had been involved in manufacturing those products and hence had skill-set pertaining to only that particular economic activity, for example cloth weaving, were forced to work as manual labourers. The skills they had acquired were hence rendered useless. Government can even think of once again reserving the manufacturing of certain products to the small scale sector in order to boost employment.

Apart from the above two measures, expansion of social service network can also be taken up by the government in its efforts to boost job creation. There are several areas where there is tremendous scope for expansion and improvement like education and public sector. There is an ever increasing need of primary and secondary schools and also hospitals and dispensaries. Besides a boost to the rural sector infrastructure too helps in generating more jobs. For example, if roads are constructed in any area, it not only increases the value of the nearby land but also promotes economic activities like Dhabas (eating joints) and vehicle repair shops along it.

Emergence of a ''green economy'' is now clearly visible and efforts to tackle climate change could result in millions of ''green jobs'' in India and other countries, says a UN sponsored report.India could generate 900,000 jobs by 2025 in biomass gasification of which 300,000 would be in the manufacturing of stoves and 600,000 in the fuel supply chain and other areas.

US-RUSSIA RELATION-THE KEY FACTORS

This article is presented in points rather than in paragraphs.This might give you some food for thought to ponder over the matter in broader perspective.

• Obama govt has shown some signs of milder attitude towards Russia.This is evident from
  

1. He has hinted that US might not build any missile defense sites in Europe(Earlier there were hints that US might put interceptor missiles into Poland) at all.
2. He has not shown much interest in including Georgia and Ukraine in NATO

Possible reasons behind such change of attitude might be:

1. In Ukraine, the ongoing feud between the President and the Prime Minister might be the main obstacle for its candidacy in NATO whereas in case of Georgia, it might be the antipathy of some of the NATO member towards its President Mikhail Sakaashvili.
2. US might want to placate Russia to secure cooperation in reducing nuclear weapons and in containment of Iran
3. At present another missile defense site may not attract positive reactions from the US taxpayers considering the ongoing recession especially when the other two in Alaska and California are almost non performing.

However considering Russia's own aging arsenal,there might be interest in Kremlin to strike a nuclear arms deal with US and many US officials believe that rather than being in a concessional mood, US should leave the ball in Russia's court.Moreover,considering the May 2009 nuclear test of North Korea, US policy makers are of the view that US should not slow down the process of building a missile defense site in East Europe.The nuclear threat from Iran should be considered as well.

In this context, what seems to be the most determining factor in US-Russia relation is how Russia reacts to US policy on Iran.Russia has recently signed a deal to supply S-300 surface to air missile which is supposed to prevent any air attack on the Iranian nuclear sites.Moreover, as chances of EU enlargement eastward seems very bleak,Russia may continue to enjoy a greater presence in the area with no further expansion of EU or NATO.How US and Russia deal this changing scenario, will determine future relation between them.

SCO AND INDIA

Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a mutual inter governmental security organization founded in 2001 by six nations-Russia,China,Tajikistan,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.The organization is a successor of Shanghai Five formed in 1996 with five nations.Uzbekistan is the latest entrant.India, Pakistan,Iran and Mongolia have been granted Observer status .The Council of the Head of the States is the top decision making body which meets every year during the SCO Summit.
Central Asian security related issues are the major concerns of the organization.However SCO has shown keen interest for better economic and cultural cooperation among the member countries.According to many observers, it was formed to counterpoise the military activities of NATO in the region.This assumption was bolstered by caustic remarks made by some of the top officials of the organization against USA's failure in maintaining peace and prosperity in the region especially countries like Afghanistan.USA even applied for Observer status in 2005 but was denied.However,recent develolpments tell a different story.
The latest summit was held in Yakaterinburg,Russia in June 2009.The main agenda of discussion was the global financial crisis and it was agreed that the situation could be exploited by the organization for promoting better economic growth in the region.The leaders also expressed their concern over rising terrorism in the region and showed determination to wage an effective war on drugs in Afghanistan.Sustainable development was also one of the highlights of the summit.Prior to the conference a Special Conference on Afghanistan was held in Moscow to discuss issues like drug trafficking,taliban resurgence,restructuring the war torn nation etc.
In 2005 India, along with Pakistan and Iran, was granted the status of observer in the regional organization. SCO members have encouraged India to join as a full time member as they see a crucial strategic partner in India.Moreover, India's continuing success as world's largest democracy and her huge domestic market can be instrumental in projecting the role of SCO in the global stage.Moreover India's growing presence in the oil fields of the region is another issue behind her growing importance.India has maintained excellent relation with each of the member nations and a strong and influential foreign policy in the region and worlwide. Not only that, like SCO,India, too has shown great interest in rebuilding Afghanistan and bringing peace back.
However, few issues are stll needed to be sorted out before India can join the regional organization.Her military rivalry with Pakistan,her recent strategic tilt towards USA and growing cooperation between China and Pakistan are some of the thorns in the otherwise rosy picture.If amicable sulutions to such problems can be found,India can play a crucial role in the future developments of the organization.

NEW COMMUNITY IN ORKUT

Join the new community in Orkut for discussions and chat sessions and share your views on topics related to CSE exam.The link is http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=91145207

Thanks.

GLOBALIZATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

By definition, climate change is a global issue. The composition of the atmosphere which surrounds the planet is altering as a result of the emissions of tonnes of polluting gases (called greenhouse gases - GHGs) from industry, transportation, agriculture and consumer practices. With this thickening blanket of gases, the atmosphere is gradually warming. The entire planet will be affected by the climatic changes and impacts which are predicted e.g. increased droughts and floods, rising sea-levels, more extreme temperatures, etc.
The willingness of countries around the world to cooperate in the negotiation of treaties to address this global problem is a positive example of globalization - or perhaps this is better referred to as internationalism.Intensive discussions over an 18-month period before the 1992 Rio Earth Summit led to the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Negotiations have continued subsequently to develop another agreement for more specific emission reduction targets for industrialized countries.
There are many environmental impacts of economic globalization: transnational corporations moving operations to developing countries to avoid the stricter environmental regulations of their home country; free trade agreements which restrict the capacity of national governments to adopt environmental legislation; destruction of southern rain forests to provide exotic timber for northern consumers and to create pasture land for beef for northern hamburgers,oil spills in the seas and oceans destroying oceanic environment because of increasing number of business treaties and increasing shipping are to name a few.
The climate change issue illustrates how inter-related the world is both in terms of the causes of the problem and the options for addressing it.

GOODS AND SERVICES TAX-CONSTRAINTS AND SOLUTIONS

Goods & Services tax is proposed to phase out Central Sales Tax by April 2010 and Indian states and political parties have reached fair amount of consensus on the issues related to the new tax regime.However careful analysis reveals that the route to the new tax regime may not be an easy one.
Firstly, all the states understand that they will gain from the new tax structures and there remains not much ideological problems with its implementation.But the problem is, none of the states will continue to be that much enthusiastic if they suffer revenue losses while phasing out the CST.The empowered committee of the state finance ministers has suggested that the states should be compensated for five years for the revenue losses incurred.However,they are apprehensive about the possibility of full scale compensation because of their claimed bitter experience in this regard earlier.Therefore it is essential to prepare a comprehensive policy for the compensation of the states for the revenue losses, taking into account past experiences.
Moreover, the states are also apprehensive about encroachment upon their fiscal autonomy, i.e, their power to levy taxes.However, the apprehension can be assuaged with the fact that the states will now have the power to levy service taxes hitherto a monopoly of the Central Government.
Under-preparedness of the administrative machinery and the juvenile IT structure might pose a threat to the successful implementation of the new tax structure.The state tax collecting officials who have so far collected only tax on goods will now be given the responsibility to collect taxes on services as well and for that they need thorough training which may take some time.This problem can be sorted out if the Center continues to collect taxes on behalf of the states and give the revenue to the states for the initial 2-3 years till the time the state officials are thoroughly trained.The Tax information exchange system has to scaled up with better IT facilities and educated IT professionals thoroughly educated on the tax structure of the country. The format of the challans for tax payment need to be redesigned and the government may need to allot new unique number under the GST system for better administration of the tax.
Problems are plenty and time is limited.The time frame given for the implementation of the GST is nearing the deadline.It is therefore suggested to delay the process a bit so that both the center and the states have enough time to get accustomed to the new tax structures.A little delay is always better than a premature roll out.

BRIC- A TOUGH CHALLENGE AHEAD

The first BRIC summit held in Yekaterinburg,Russia in June promises a better economic equilibrium in the world,an idea very much consistent with the purpose of the formation of BRIC,an alliance of Brazil,Russia,China and India.So far the activities of BRIC remained within the periphery of discussions and talks.But the recent summit indicates bigger domain of activities and a greater role to play in shaping up a multi polar world.
The First BRIC summit is the manifestation of the determination of the leaders of these nations to make the world feel their presence.The main agenda of the summit was to find out the avenues to tackle the global financial crisis.They also discussed how these countries can work together in a better way to push the financial institutions for better reforms.More they had discussions over the role of other developing nations involved in the global affairs.The leader proposed a "global reserve currency" which would be more stable and predictable to withstand future financial shocks.This is being seen as a frontl attack on "Dollar dominance"of which these nations especially Russia has been critical for a long time.
The idea of BRIC was first floated by Goldman Sachs back in 2001.Their report indicated that these four nations will become the four largest economies by the middle of the present century and surpass the United States in terms of economic parameters.However the idea was embraced by the concerned nations only in last year when their foreign ministers met for the first time in the sidelines of Russia-India-China trilateral meet.
It is widely believed that given their internal differences over wide range of issues,the chances of success of these nations for forming a strong alliance against eco-political giants like US or EU do not seem to be very bright.At the most they can act as a pressure group to influence the policies of the global institutions.
However,the global financial crisis provided a golden opportunity for these nations to tighten their grip on the present state of affairs.Though these nations too suffered from the financial meltdown,it was nowhere near the economic setback of US or EU.China and India even managed to maintain growth rate over 5%.Moreover, with more than 25% of the land mass of the earth,nearly 42% of the total world population and huge markets their presence in the global economic and political scenario can not be ignored.Question remains whether such high sounding claims of unity in diversity will prove to be just paper tigers or they will really keep aside their differences for a better, common cause and throw a challenge to the rival giants for ensuring a multipolar global order.

DECOUPLING THEORY-REALITY CHECK

Decoupling theory, as the name suggests, decouples emerging world markets from US markets. The followers of this theory believe that “because of the strong GDP growth of many developing countries, especially of China and India, their markets will chug along even at the time of USAfter the first symptoms of recession of US stock and other financial markets, many investing firms and funds changed their focus to emerging markets of Europe and Asia. Decoupling theory is postulated in this context for assisting the firms to reap from these emerging markets, but the validity of this theory is arguable.The theory was pretty right till the end of last year, but things have changed considerably in this year. recession.”

Now with the US slowdown spreading across the globe coupled with a declining dollar, advocates of the decoupling theory are debunking their claims.Most Asian markets are now on big recession after the crash of Dow John’s. Indian, Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell considerably in the recent past.In the globalized world no country can remain isolated and hence developments taking place in one part of the world have their repercussions on the other part of the world and capital markets are no exception. The Indian capital market is also showing bearish trends with banking stocks moving down in recent times.

After the first symptoms of recession of US stock and other financial markets, many investing firms and funds changed their focus to emerging markets of Europe and Asia. Decoupling theory is postulated in this context for assisting the firms to reap from these emerging markets, but the validity of this theory is arguable.
The major drawback of Decoupling theory is that it does not consider the multiple economic relationships and globalization trends. Although the trades among Asian countries grown tremendously, the major trading partner for all major Asian countries is still United States and any recession in its economy will lead to recession in all these countries, although the effect may vary.The coupling thus still exists and the same can be said about the near future as well.
Courtesy:1>Dr Salma Rizvi,MBA,PhD,Lecturer(Finance)Amity Business School
2>Amarendra Chowdhury,MBA,Phd,Consultant,Citi-India

UNORGANISED WORKERS' SOCIAL SECURITY BILL

Unorganized workers' Social Security Bill which has recently been passed by the Parliament is an evidence of the government's concern for unorganized workers who constitute a massive 94% of the total work force in the country and contribute to more than 60% of the GDP of India.According to the officials, the scheme will cover 34 crore workers in the next five century including agricultural workers and migrant laborers.This is being seen as one of the most important steps to alleviate the poverty of the workers in India.
Under this scheme each worker will be identified and registered and will be given a unique social security number and a social security card.All of them will be offered a number of social security benefits like health,life and disability insurance,old age pension,group accident scheme, maternity benefits etc.Registration of workers will be through the Worker Facilitation center. which will work through various worker facilitation agencies. Each worker will pay a nominal sum and will obtain an unique social security card and number.The entire scheme will work through Central Social Security Authority.
The Scheme promises to ameliorate the age old pangs of the unorganized workers who even sixty years after independence continue to be oppressed by socio-economic forces.Only time will tell whether it remains a paper tiger or becomes the Saviour of the workers.

INDO-JAPAN RELATION

India and Japan share a relation that has withstood testing times for a long period, latest being the Pokhran nuclear test after which there was a temporary cold phase in their bilateral relation.However the new millennium saw improvement of relation between these two countries with summit level talks and regular visit of dignitaries among the two nations.The situation shows signs of improvement with subsequent visits of the Premiers of both the nations.
India is the largest recipient of Japan's Official Development Assistance.Presently Japan occupies the third position in terms of FDI in India.Japan is the fifth largest trading partner of India and Indo-Japan trade volume has crossed $8 billion mark and the future looks promising in this regard.Japan has been one of the reasons behind phenomenal success of automobile and ancillary industries in India.Such level of cooperation is evident in political field as well with Japan collaborating with India for UN reforms in the recent past.
The recent visit of Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh to Japan in October 2008 was a forward step towards better strategic ties among the nations.A landmark security pact was signed to bolster security cooperation.Though Japan remained non committal on Nuclear Supplier Group Waiver of India and no civilian nuclear agreement is on the cards,considering the size of India's market and her success as a democracy, Japan soon may reconsider its stance on nuclear cooperation with India.
However a landmark development between the two nations was the currency swap deal signed in June 2008, which will allow the two nations to swap yen and rupee against dollar up to a limit of $ 3 billion.
It must be said that there is still enough room for improvement of bilateral relation between the two and both the nations have to try harder to explore the possibilities of better cooperation and strategic ties.

PIRACY IN SOMALIA

Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping and an issue of international concern for over a decade and a half since the beginning of civil war in Somalia.This has increased the cost of shipping and impeded the delivery of shipments.However, in the last year or so, there has been a spurt in the activities of the notorious pirates and this has posed a serious threat to the trade and commerce of many nations as the Gulf of Aden which lies on the Somali coast is one of the busiest shipping channels of the world.
The reasons behind such an alarming increase of piracy in the particular region are many.Somalia with an estimated GDP of $600 per year is one of the poorest countries of the world.Such level of poverty along with the successful hijacking of a number of ships by the pirates have drawn large number of young men toward such gangs of pirates.Clan based social structure of the country,lack of a central government because of the ongoing civil war and its strategic location all have aided in the rise of such activities.Moreover, as there has been absence of coast guards,in the earlier days a number of shipping trawlers of other countries got access into the seawater.Moreover the Somali coast has been used as a dumping ground for toxic and nuclear wastes by many European and Asian countries.This has caused an erosion of fish stock of the Somali coast.With no other options available to protect themselves from such illegal activities, the poor fishermen found hijacking both the cargo ships and passenger ships a good way to sustain themselves.As in most of the cases the ransom was paid, the local warlords found it a lucrative business and began to facilitate pirate activities thus providing a better breeding ground of piracy.The Somali diaspora has aided the pirates by providing valuable informations and funds in return of heavy monetary profit.
There has been a rare show of unity among the nations to combat piracy in that region.Various countries have deployed warships to patrol the area.Many have deployed naval forces to escort their vessels through that region.European Union has started Operation Atlanta to combat piracy in the Gulf Of Aden.India has deployed INS Tavar and INS Mysore to show her eagerness to check piracy.
However, there must be an international effort to strike at the root of the problem.United Nations must strive for restoring peace and law in the nation.Monetary organizations have to increase financial aids to Somalia. Efforts must be guided to end the civil war in the country and bring back the pirates to normal stream of life.Otherwise darker days are looming ahead.

DETERMINANTS OF VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN INDIA

In a multilingual,multi cultural democratic set up like India,voting behaviour is dictated by a plethora of complex issues.From time and again it has been proved that political parties in India can not rely upon any particular factor to win the trust and confidence of the voters.Such is the complex nature of the voting behavior that even the best of the psephologists or social scientists or even genius politicians failed to read public psychology on numerous occasions.Below is a summary of the determinants of such perplexing electoral psychology.
Caste has been an important factor in Indian politics.Though recent trends show that its impact is more prominent in the state level politics,it plays a crucial role in shaping up the policy of the governments.Wooing a specific caste has been the principal agenda of many a politicians.This has been a retrogressive character of Indian politics and has so far been playing a divisive role.
Religion is another pull down factor of Indian electoral politics.Rather than uniting people,religion has mostly divided India into many watertight compartments.Fundamentalists have taken political mileage of the situation by wooing people belonging to a specific religion and infused the poison of communalism in the electoral psychology.
Regionalism has been a key determinant of Indian voting behaviour since 1990s.Demanding separate state,promoting region specific interests have been the strategies of politicians to capture the vote bank.This has bred separatism and endangered intyernal security of the country.
Language is another important factor in this regard.Although its impact is not prominet in state level politics, in the national level it has played a key role.Dividing India into Hindi and non Hindi belts is an unfortunate outcome of this.
Hero worshipping is another popular trend in India psephology.On numerous occasions political parties have tried to capture popular sentiment by using charisma of their leaders.Therefore many political parties of India today are leader based rather than being ideology based.
Ideology has been a key factor in Indian politics.Communism is a glaring example of this and though recent trends show some changes, Bengal,Tripura,Kerala have long been communist strongholds.
Some important or sudden events or incidences can change the voting behavious as well as political equations.The proclaimation of emergency was one such incidence which resulted in the then Congress government being toppled by the Janata Party in 1977.
Development works in the most silent yet the most effective manner in determining the popular mandate in elections in India.Developmental slogans like"Roti,Kapda, Makan" ,"Garibi Hathao","Bijli,Sadak,Pani" have long been used to atrract the attention of the people.
Apart from the above mentioned factors, race,anti incumbency factor,terroriosm etc have been the other determinats.However it must be noted that many a times a number of factors work in tandem to shape up the popular electoral opinion, thus making it further difficult for the politicians to make use of the existing situation and thereby producing unpredictable results as has happened in the national level in 2004 or in several states in the recent Lok Sabha Election.

CREDIT RATING

Credit rating refers to the Credit worthiness of an Individual, Corporation or even of a Country.It is calculated on the basis of credit history,present assets and liabilities.A poor credit rating indicates higher chances of defaulting.
The individual credit rating is important for the banks to estimate the repayment capacity of its borrowers and the individual credit score takes into account the total amount of credit,credit spending pattern,amount of credit used,savings pattern,debt,interest rates etc.Accordingly a three digit credit score is prepared by rating agencies like Fair Isaac Corporation.
Corporate Credit rating is important for potential investors in bonds and debt securities.It is also known as bond rating.Agencies like Moody's,Standard's & Poor's, Fitch Ratings are involved in assigning such credit ratings.Corporate credit ratings are indicated by AAA,AA,A,BBB,BB,B and so on.Any rating below BBB indicates poor credit health of the corporation.
Sovereign credit rating takes into account the investment environment of a country and it includes the political environment as well.Investment friendly government policies ensure better credit rating of the country.Presently countries like Luxemburg's,Norway,Switzerland have very high credit rating.
Apart from the already mentioned credit rating agencies Equifax,CallCredit, Experian,TransUnion are some of the credit rating giants.In India Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd is an individual credit rating agency.CRISIL,ICRA,Credit Registration Office etc engage in corporate credit ratings.
India's credit rating is presently facing growing pressure because of the widening fiscal deficit and the country's increasing dependence on foreign capital inflow.The newly elected government, which won a second five-year term last in May, is planning to borrow a record Rs.363,000 crore ($76 billion) this fiscal. This move is expected to widen the budget deficit to 5.5 percent of the gross domestic products.However due to India's positive credit history the pressure may just last for a temporary period.

NEW WORLD ORDER AND INDIA'S ROLE

Early thinkers believed that history would progress to a new world order through thesis,anti-thesis and synthesis.The twentieth century saw the emergence of a bipolar world with USA and USSR becoming the key players of it.Within few decades history witnessed the fall of USSR.USA then had the responsibility to establish a new democratic world order.It had the strength of emerging as the hub of a new Federal world.Unfortunately the great nation squandered the opportunity because of narrow selfish interests.Its government has failed to protect its own people from exploitation by transnational corporations. These corporations have created a centralized global system through marketing in which profit takes precedence over loyalty to nation as well as over concern for humanity.Many had high hopes on European Union.After all it was the first institutional expression of European cultural oneness and strong leadership would have turned that into a global socio-economic and cultural oneness.But it failed to go beyond Europe to promote the ideas of a democratic world order based on the principles of humanity,cooperation and universal brotherhood.
What USA and EU failed to achieve, their conceptual product Globalisation promises to achieve.It has opened Pandora's box for many upcoming nations- India and China leading the way.China holds over a trillion dollars in hard currency reserves, India's high-tech sector is growing by leaps and bounds, and both countries, already recognized nuclear powers, are developing blue-water navies. The National Intelligence Council, a U.S. government think tank, projects that by 2025, China and India will have the world's second- and fourth-largest economies, respectively. Such growth is opening the way for a multi polar era in world politics.
This tectonic shift will pose a challenge to the U.S.-dominated global institutions that have been in place since the 1940s. At the behest of Washington, these multilateral regimes have promoted trade liberalization, open capital markets, and nuclear nonproliferation, ensuring relative peace and prosperity for six decades -- and untold benefits for the United States. But unless rising powers such as China and India are incorporated into this framework, the future of these international regimes will be uncomfortably uncertain.
Before India can effectively play a global role it must do a lot more than achieve a 10% rate of growth. It must set its house in order.The government needs to prepare a vision document which might serve as a road map for policy in the coming decades. Only after such reform might India look beyond its borders as a global player. Only after a New Asian Order based on democratic federalism becomes a reality might India meaningfully turn its attention to UN reform, disarmament, or reform of world trade. The world now would ridicule the idea of India playing a leading role in shaping the New World Order. They would be mistaken. The world has entered an era in which brains can be more powerful than big bombs and big banks.
While lying in the gutter one can see the stars. One can dream of touching them. Achievement begins with a dream.And India certainly is proving that she has a dream-not of becoming a selfish global superpower like the US but to become an instrument to make the world a federal one and a much better place to live in.

THE TALIBAN RESURGENCE

Penned by SHRI BHARATH VAISHNOV

The Taliban was founded by Mullah Mohammed Omar. It was formed at a time when Afghans were being tormented by the Mujahideen warlords. As a result Taliban enjoyed enormous support among the afghans initially. Taliban managed to alleviate afghans by subduing the influence of Afghan warlords. However they later revised their goals and decided to overthrow the afghan government as they were against the secular nature of the government.

Taliban got a major impetus from US during the cold war era when US used Taliban as a shield to prevent soviet union from occupying Afghanistan. This was the period when Osama bin laden rose in stature. Osama came down from sudan and forged relationship with Omar. Thus Taliban and Al-qaeda came together. US poured funds and arms into Afghanistan and by 1987, 65,000 tons of U.S.-made weapons and ammunition a year were entering the war. With the help of their burgeoning resources thanks to the backing of CIA and ISI they managed to capture Kandahar in 1994 and Kabul in 1996 and thus took control of government in Afghanistan. The Taliban implemented one of the "strictest interpretations of Sharia law ever seen in the Muslim world".

After the cold war, US deserted Taliban and left Taliban to fight out on its own. The aid stopped coming and this irked the leaders of Taliban. They decided to wage war against the western world through al-qaeda. This resulted in attacks on US and various other countries by way of attacking establishments, abduction and execution of citizens. The flash point in US Taliban relationship was when an al-qaeda attack bulldozed world trade centre which was the heart of US business world.

The Taliban refused to extradite Osama Bin Laden who was believed to be the mastermind behind the attack. US along with its allies launched a major offensive against Taliban in 2001. The stated intent of military operations was to remove the Taliban from power because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden for his alleged involvement in the 11 September attacks, and disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations. On 14 October 2001 the Taliban offered to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden to a neutral country if the US halted bombing, but only if the Taliban were given evidence of Bin Laden's involvement in 9/11. The U.S. rejected this offer as an insufficient public relations ploy and continued military operations. The war resulted in decimation of Taliban cadres in Afghanistan and the disappearance of Osama bin laden. Following this war against Taliban , a democratic government was established with Hamid Karzai as the head of government. The strength of Taliban in Afghanistan was reduced drastically.Despite the complete dismantling of terror infrastructure in Afghanistan, Taliban managed to cling on by way of guerilla attacks on various government establishments.

After the invasion, the Taliban managed to regroup by drawing in new recruits from the madrasas in pashtun dominated regions. The Taliban resurgence had begun. This has been confirmed by the ground forces at Afghanistan who claim that they are losing control of their respected areas. The most notable sign was the rioting in May after a street accident in the city of Kabul. The continued support from tribal and other groups in Pakistan, the drug trade and the small number of NATO forces, combined with the long history of resistance and isolation, leads to the observation that Taliban forces and leaders are surviving and will have some influence over the future of Afghanistan.

The pashtun dominated SWAT valley in Pakistan had provided greener pastures for Taliban. The Taliban has managed to groom many terror organizations like Let, Jud which are a major threat for our nation. The complete implementation of Sharia law in SWAT is a sign of the presence of Taliban in Pakistan.

On February 11 2009, the Taliban struck at three government buildings, including that of the Ministry of Justice, in the heart of Kabul, killing 20 persons. More than 50 were injured in the attacks, in which explosives and Kalashnikov rifles were used; eight gunmen were killed by the Afghan security forces. The February 11 attacks, hoodwinking all the security deployment in most of Kabul, cannot be viewed in isolation. There have been indiscriminate kidnapping adventures by the Taliban and its associates in the neighbouring regions of Pakistan, especially in the Swat valley of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which is virtually under militant control despite a huge Pakistani Army presence.

Pakistan has apparently launched an offensive against Taliban in SWAT valley and is believed to have made some progress in SWAT. However these reports can’t be trusted consider the dubious nature of Pakistan. Taliban though had no hard feelings against India in the initial years, the recent suicide attack on Indian embassy shows the growing growing hostility between India and Taliban. It’s time we step up and make ourselves well equipped to fight Taliban as we can’t afford one more Mumbai.

THE END OF LTTE-CHALLENGES AHEAD

The death of Velupillai Prabhakaran signals the end of the civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). For nearly three decades since its formation, the LTTE had relentlessly pursued its aim of achieving a separate state (Eelam) to be carved out of the northern and eastern areas of Sri Lanka. In the course of its single-minded drive to achieve “Eelam”, the organization ruthlessly decimated other militant organizations and voices among the Tamils – many of whom were willing to accept autonomy or federal rights for the Tamils. But by accepting no compromises and by continuing to use tactics such as assassination of perceived “enemies of the cause” and violent retribution, the LTTE brought about its own doom.
The LTTE’s inflexibility and rejection of any compromise, say a federal solution to the conflict, its dwindling legitimacy internationally and the internal split, with the defection of erstwhile eastern commander, Vinayagamurthy Muralidharan,alias Colonel Karuna,were ultimately responsible for its defeat.Far from realising the aspirations of the minority Tamils who aimed for self-rule, the LTTE’s actions have only resulted in a traumatized Tamil population disaffected both by the “Eelam cause” and with the government ruling from Colombo.The LTTE lacked many of the essential characteristics of a liberation movement and had several attributes of a terrorist organization. So it sowed the seeds for its own defeat.
Thousands of Tamil civilians now live in “appalling conditions”– as the visiting UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called them – in internment camps after displacement because of the war. Despite claims by the Lankan government about commitment to “early resettlement”, its actions in restricting access to these camps by humanitarian agencies and its callous treatment of the displaced people in the camps in the name of security do not inspire confidence. These actions in tandem with the triumphalism displayed by the Sri Lankan polity would only make one more sceptical about the Lankan government’s claims of bringing about a democratic solution to the problems of the Tamil minority after the defeat of the “terrorist” LTTE. A lasting peace after the defeat of the outfit would remain a chimera if the Sri Lankan polity refuses to acknowledge the plight of the displaced Vanni residents or indeed of the genuine grievances of the Tamil community.
In the provision of relief to the displaced Tamils and in their resettlement, the international community, through its various humanitarian agencies, must play an important role. Also, the international community must be vigilant and should pressurize the Sri Lankan government to arrive at a political solution to the conflict that takes account of its root causes. In the absence of this, the seeds would be sown for another militant organization – one that would have learnt from the past mistakes of the LTTE – espousing complete separation.
Courtesy: Frontline and Economic & Political Weekly

CARBON TRADING

Hello friends,

Here I take the privilege to introduce Shri Bharath Vaishnov, a 3rd year student ,studying ECE at Amrita School of Engineering,Bangalore as the latest contributor to my, sorry OUR blog.He has presented a nice article on Carbon Trading, which I think is a very impotant topic from both Preliminary and Main Examination point of view and otherwise as well. I sincerely thank Bharath for taking the initiative and encourage others for coming up with such innovative articles.Here it goes.

CARBON TRADING

Bharath Vaishnov

Katrina, Nargis well known pulchritudinous movie stars of Bollywood in India are now better known in the world as the horrendous hurricanes that wreaked havoc in one of the most developed(USA) and under developed regions(Myanmar) respectively .There has been an alarming rise in the GHGs(green house gases) and this has augmented global warming. At this rate snow at the poles will disappear by September 2060 and will submerge all the coastal metropolises.

Come the environment day, all the 24X7 news channels painted green and flashed environment sensuous stories and highlighted the good deeds of the very few Indian environmentalists. Last year, the IIFA selected environment as its theme. The stars were welcomed on to the green carpet replacing the traditional red carpet. But all these superficial acts won’t help save mother nature. What is required is a sincere and dedicated effort.

But a large chunk of world population is self centered. They do acts with the results in mind. Very few people would be ready to do selfless acts. Having realized this, a novel idea was born during world earth summit 1997 at Kyoto , Japan. Ideas like dreams are unbelievably romantic. The idea was “Carbon trading” that lay its foundation on “Earn by giving”.

Unfortunately this idea hasn’t been well received by India. Though this idea was mainly for the developed countries to regulate their GHG emissions, it can help alleviate the problem of poverty in India. Most of you must be wondering how carbon in any way is linked to poverty. Let’s see how carbon trading can be beneficial to India.

First, we need to know what carbon trading is all about. Through carbon trading a firm or individual gets monetary reward for the amount of carbon emissions prevented. Now how can a individual or a firm prevent emissions. It is not something about going about with awareness campaigns and appealing to the public to reduce the usage of automobiles and other things that result in carbon emissions. It’s something that can be done by YOU in your backyard and neighborhood. The best way to prevent carbon emission is plant trees. We all know that it’s the best way but we lack the motivation and dedication to plant and take care of the trees since there is no instant return that one gets for planting a tree. This where carbon trading can play an important role . Carbon trading can provide the motivation for planting trees. As we all know the process of photosynthesis that takes place in plants can absorb certain amount of carbon dioxide in atmosphere and give back oxygen. Hence a plant can reduce carbon emissions. So the more you plant trees the more is the carbon emissions prevented the more you get paid. Some NGOs have been authorized for carbon trading. Each tree’s carbon content is transformed into carbon credits by these NGOs. These credits can be traded in the international market by the owner of the trees. The present rate is 15-20$ per ton of sequestered carbon.

Now the question arises that who will be interested in buying these credits? During the World Earth summit , all the industries in developed countries were told to regulate their carbon emissions to a certain decided level , failing which the defaulting company will have to pay a huge penalty. For example say a power generation company generates 100000 tonnes carbon and approved emission standard is 80000 tonnes of carbon then the company buys the remaining 20000 carbon credits from the international market which allows the company to raise the bar to 100000 tonnes. It is a win-win situation for both the buyer and seller.

A hectare of land under forest cover can generate 300000 US$. This can help the tribal organization to be self sufficient. Even a person in urban area can get 200-300 US $ by planting trees. So start planting and earning. Carbon trading can make our country and lives green. The environment ministry should raise to the occasion and start promoting carbon trading in our country.

BHARATH'S BLOGS-bharathz24.blogspot.com,bharathz24.wordpress.com

SLUMS IN INDIA-AN OVERVIEW

A slum, as defined by the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, one billion people worldwide live in slums and will likely grow to 2 billion by 2030.The characteristics associated with slums vary from place to place. Slums are usually characterized by urban decay, high rates of poverty, and unemployment. They are commonly seen as "breeding grounds" for social problems such as crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, high rates of mental illness, and suicide. In many poor countries they exhibit high rates of disease due to unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care.
For the first time in 2001 Census data was collected for slums. Slum data was collected for cities/towns having 50,000 population or more based on 1991 census.It is unfortunate that the number of people living in slums in India, Asia's fourth largest economy, has more than doubled in the past two decades, the government said on Thursday.According to this population of slums all over India is 40,297,341 (40 million) from the 607 cities/towns reporting slums. This comes to ~4% of total Indian population (assuming Indian population of 1000 million). More interestingly it comes to ~22% of the total population of these cities (178,393,941).This means that almost quarter of Indian cities live in slums. And sadly 5,531,062 (5 million) of this population are young children (0-6 age group). The numbers for the richest state in India, Maharashtra are even worse. Almost 32% of the state's population live in slums. And > 5 million (5,823,510 to be precise) are in the financial capital of India, Mumbai. About 49% of Mumbai's population live in slums.
It is vicious cycle of population growth, opportunities in the cities (leading to migration to the cities), poverty with low incomes, tendency to be closer to work hence occupying any land in the vicinity etc. The key reason out of all is the slow economic progress. After independence in 1947, commercial and industrial activity needed cheap labor in the cities. Plentiful was available in the rural area. They were encouraged to come to cities and work. People, who migrated to the cities and found work, brought their cousins and rest of the families to the cities. Unable to find housing and afford it, they decided to build their shelter closer to work. First, one shelter was built, then two and then two thousand and then ten thousand and on and on.
Poverty, slums and urban squat are not going to go away in next 20 to 25 years. Reversal of this phenomenon will begin after sufficient economic progress had been made. Eight percent GDP growths is a good sign. With quadrupled GDP in 25 years, there is a good chance that the new and upcoming generation may stay away from slum dwelling. It may take another 25 years before the slums are vacated.

NOTICE BOARD

Dear friends,
Many of the followers of this blog are asking me to publish articles on latest topics from main examination point of view.Even I am myself ready with some of the topics to present right now.However after thorough analysis, I have decided that I will be publishing the current topics from August onwards so that you can get a complete package of the important topics to cover.Meanwhile if you want me to publish any article on any topic that you think important, you can mail that to me.

Regards...

ALTERNATE ENERGY SOURCES

Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels.The increased power demand, skyrocketting fuel prices,depleting fossil fuel resources and growing environmental pollution have led the world to think seriously for other alternative sources of energy. Basic concept of alternative energy relates to issues of sustainability, renewability and pollution reduction. In reality alternative energy means anything other than deriving energy via fossil fuel combustion.Various forms of alternative energy sources are solar, wind, biogas/biomass, tidal, geothermal, fuel cell, hydrogen energy, small hydropower,geo thermal energy etc.
Due to limited oil reserves, India has to depend on substantial imports for meeting its present and future requirement. The bulk of demand for oil is from transport sector and in order to reduce the pressure from this sector it is necessary to explore possibilities of developing substitute fuels like biomass and producer gas.
BENEFITS OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OPTIONS:

• Renewable and environment friendly
• Provides sustainable fuel system
• Has the potentials to reduce India's high fuel import cost and thus reduce foreign debt
• Provides local employment opportunities
• Low cost energy supply
  

Solar Energy:Most popular alternate energy source.Solar cells,solar ponds,solar cookers are the devices to trap solar energy.Solar photo voltaic system which uses solar cells to convert solar energy into electrical energy is the most promising and progressive source of it.

Wind energy:It is in the form of kinetic energy.A blade of windmill is moved by blowing winds and can be exploited for doing work.Theoretically around 60% of wind energy can be converted into other forms of energy. Suzlon, an Indian-owned company, emerged on the global scene in the past decade, and by 2006 had captured almost 8 percent of market share in global wind turbine sales.
Geothermal energy:It is also a potential source of energy.However the inner heat of the earth is not available every where which can be commercially exploited.In India, Godavari delta,Pegu valley are the potential sites for such energy.
BioFuel:The popularity of bio fuel is increasing everyday.Plants like Jatropha,Pongomia are being cultivated for such energy.The sugarcane extracts are also being used for this purpose.
Tidal Energy:By using turbine the kinetic energy of tides can be converted into electrical energy.It is popular in the coastal regions.
Importance of Biodiesel
• Environment friendly
• Clean burning
• Renewable fuel
• No engine modification
• Increase in Engine life
• Biodegradable & non toxic
• Easy to handle and store
Biomass energy:It utilizes waste materials and excreta to convert into energy.However due to lack of processing facilities the potential in this sector is still underutilized.

These sorces of alternative enrgy promise a new horizon in sustainable matter and with proper utilization of the available resources, our fuel crisis can be tackled.

CAUSES AND RAMIFICATIONS OF HUNGER IN AFRICA

When the world is marching towards a new horizon with the advancement in science and technology,the African nations are still living in the dark age.Poverty, hunger,malnutrition,illiteracy all these problems make social development virtually impossible in Africa.Even when United Nations aims of a hunger free world,hunger remains an unanswered question in Africa.The reasons behind this menace are many.
Firstly, political instability and lack of democratic institutions are important factors behind hunger in Africa.After the African nations gained independence,dictatorship and military rule have captured the continent.Government atrocities led people to revolt, civil wars began and the question of food security remained unanswered.
The divisions of boundaries according to the convenience of colonial powers led to power struggle among major tribal and ethnic groups in most of the African nations. Power was grabbed by a few using undemocratic means which was to be held by force.

In the process, the common people were left unattended and lack of democratic rights made them vulnerable to poverty, unemployment, malnutrition illiteracy -- all of which led to the creation of vicious circle where hunger was the cause as well as effect of the political instability and lack of good governance. Examples can be seen in Ethiopia, Somalia, Congo, Sudan, and Rwanda – just to name a few.
Almost all the African nations suffer from illiteracy,unemployment and lack of social awareness.Without making progress in these key social issues, achievement of food security seems impossible there.
Other causes include corruption of the officials, failure in exploiting the physical,human and natural resources of the nation,underdeveloped agriculture,absence of an effective distribution system etc.
The ramifications of the problem are listed below.

• It has led to mass migration of the people from drought and strife hit areas to neighboring countries.
• Tribal wars and community clashes for the rights of food,land and water as is happening in Sudan
• Developing countries are keen to provide help only for getting access to their rich mineral resources.
• Waiving loans and debts apart from increasing aid to these countries by G-8 nations
• Hunger has aggravated AIDS problems in Africa which needs to be tackled immediately.

Establishment of democratic rule,UN intervention to stop civil wars,proper utilization of International and domestic resources are the ways and means to combat the menace of hunger in Africa.

INDIA'S MISSILE INITIATIVES

Tracking the history though India perhaps is the first country in the world where missiles were used in war (by Tipu Sultan against the British), India woke up to its missile potential much later.After two failed efforts, i,e Valiant Program and Project Devil to develop ballistic missiles SAM in 1970s,in 1983 India started a missile development program under the aegis of DRDO.National security, threat from China and Pakistan, power balance in the South East Asian region are the main factors behind India's missile initiatives.Under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programmer, started in 1983,Indian Missile development today is under two groups
- Tactical missiles, such as the Brahmos, Astra, LRSAM and the SRSAM
- Strategic missiles such as Agni 3, Agni-5, AAD, AD-1, etc.
One of the earliest missiles is Prithvi, a surface to surface missile with a range of 250 km.Its naval version is Dhanush with a range of 150 km.Nag is a third generation, anti tank missile using fire and forget technology.Agni is a re entry technology demonstrator missile.A-I,II and III are part of the project, with range varying from 500 to 3500km.Astra is air to air targetting missile whereas Brahmos is the latest anti ship cruise missile developed in collaboration with Russia.Shourya is being developed as inter continental ballistic missile.
Some of the future missiles of India's aresenal includes HSTDV,SRSAM,LRSAM etc.
Although India depends on countries like Israel, Russia for the development or import of missiles, it must be noted that within just a quarter century India has made a remarkable progress towards being self sufficient in missile technology.The role of DRDO and the "missile man" Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam's name in this regard hold much significance.