From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 5:02 PM
Subject: Releases...................pt2
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Financial assistance to Decorated Soldiers
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
The gallantry awards to armed forces personnel are given by the Central Government. Apart from certain facilities which are allowed in kind to such awardees, they are also paid Monetary Allowance by the Government in the following manner:-
| Sl No. | Gallantry Award | Rate of Monetary Allowance (Rs per month) |
| 1. | Param Vir Chakra | 3000 |
| 2. | Ashok Chakra | 2800 |
| 3. | Maha Vir Chakra | 2400 |
| 4. | Kirti Chakra | 2100 |
| 5. | Vir Chakra | 1700 |
| 6. | Shaurya Chakra | 1500 |
| 7. | Sena/Nau Sena/Vayu Sena Medal | 500 |
Over 10,000 gallantry awards have been conferred to the soldiers of three Services since Independence. As per the existing procedure, brief citations of the awardees of the Chakra series of awards and the names of the recipients of Sena/Nau Sena/Vayu Sena Medals are published in the Gazette of India.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri Tarun Vijay in Rajya Sabha today.
dm / raj/dk/kol/16:56 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Water Resources
Command Area Development and Water Management
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
145 projects are on-going under Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) Programme in the country. The Government has launched a 'Reclamation of Water-Logged Area Scheme' under the programme. So far, 579 proposals of 'Reclamation of Water-Logged Area Scheme' have been approved. The details of approved schemes are at given below. At present, no proposal is pending with the Ministry of Water Resources for approval.
| Sl.No. | State | No. of Schemes | Area Proposed to be reclaimed (in ha.) | Estimated cost (Rs. In lakhs) |
| 1 | Bihar | 81 | 15667.73 | 409.05 |
| 2 | Gujarat | 7 | 1290.00 | 136.70 |
| 3 | Jammu & Kashmir | 4 | 9684.00 | 283.87 |
| 4 | Karnataka | 161 | 20745.47 | 4989.54 |
| 5 | Kerala | 265 | 20819.78 | 2315.40 |
| 6 | Madhya Pradesh | 6 | 1437.00 | 172.44 |
| 7 | Maharashtra | 24 | 2709.82 | 569.21 |
| 8 | Orissa | 19 | 1132.99 | 124.14 |
| 9 | Uttar Pradesh | 12 | 5321.00 | 645.23 |
| Grand Total | 579 | 78807.79 | 9645.58 | |
The funds released to the States during the last three years and the current year, State-wise under 'Reclamation of Water-Logged Area Scheme' are given at as follows :- .
| Name of State | Funds released during 2007-08 | Funds released during 2008-09 | Funds released during 2009-10 | Funds released during 2010-11 |
| Bihar | 0 | 64.80 | 23.10 | 0 |
| Haryana | 37.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Karnataka | 72.545 | 55.800 | 43.800 | 0 |
| Maharastra | 26.94 | 31.68 | 0 | 0 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 0 | 0 | 74.50 | 0 |
This information was given by the Minister of State for Water Resources, Shri Vincent H. Pala in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
sk/rs/dk/kol/16:57 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Finance
Government Targets 41 Lakh Crore Investment in Infrastructure in the 12TH Plan Period
FM Calls for Regulatory Changes for Channelizing Greater Amounts of Foreign Capital into
Indian Infrastructure to Bridge the Large Financing Gap
Parliamentary Consultative Committee of Finance Ministry Meets
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has said that Infrastructure is the key to sustaining India's aggressive economic growth. The challenge of successful leaping the "double digit growth barrier" and, ensuring that the growth is tempered with inclusiveness, equity and concern for the "aam admi" can be met only through sustained investment in infrastructure. He was addressing the meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry, here yesterday, on "Infrastructure Financing". "While I am hopeful of meeting the total target for XI Plan investment in infrastructure, as per our preliminary estimates, there may be a substantial gap of upto 30 per cent in financing the even more ambitious target of 41 lakh crore of investment in infrastructure for the XII Plan period", stated the Finance Minister.
Shri Mukherjee mentioned that the investment in infrastructure in the first 3 years of the Eleventh Plan Period has well exceeded the target of 9,81,119 crore. The actual investment was 10,65,828 crore, which is 7.1 per cent of the GDP and 109 per cent of the targeted expenditure. Investments in sectors such as electricity, telecommunications, irrigation and oil and gas pipelines have exceeded the target during this period.
Mentioning the measures initiated by UPA Government to enable greater flow of funds into infrastructure, he highlighted the initiatives taken by him as the Finance Minister , such as the "takeout financing" scheme of the India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL); separate classification of infrastructure non-banking finance companies (NBFCs); and, long-term infrastructure bonds with tax exemption upto 20,000 for individual investors. As a result of these measures, the total bank lending to infrastructure has gone up from 8.68 per cent of total bank credit as at end-March 2008 to 10.8 per cent by end-March, 2010. The bond issuances by infrastructure companies have grown by 6.9 times between 2007-08 and 2009-10. IIFCL has taken up for active consideration, a large number of projects, under the "take-out financing scheme" which has the potential to release significant balance sheet space of commercial banks, stated the Finance Minister.
He noted that the fundamental constraint in infrastructure financing relates to the limits on banks' lending to infrastructure sector in view of their asset liability mismatch (ALM) and concentration risk concerns. Increasingly, therefore, we would need to rely upon intermediating greater amounts of insurance and pension funds into infrastructure, subject, of course, to the overriding concern of safeguarding the interests of the policyholders and pensioners, he stated. Shri Mukherjee emphasized the need to strengthen the corporate bond market and develop credit enhancement mechanisms to enable infrastructure projects, typically non-recourse Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), to access long tenor funds available with insurance and pension funds. He also highlighted the need for suitable regulatory changes for channelizing greater amounts of foreign capital, especially debt capital, into Indian infrastructure to bridge the large financing gap in infrastructure sector in India.
The Members congratulated the Finance Minister for the various initiatives taken by the Government for infrastructure development in the country and gave various suggestions on meeting the urgent and strategic challenges in infrastructure financing. These include, policy on infrastructure financing, regulation of PPP projects by Parliament Act, creation of food chains from producers to consumers, developing credit rating agencies, increasing limit of investment in infrastructure bonds for the purpose of income tax exemption, monitoring of funds being spent for infrastructure development and development of infrastructure in rural areas among others.
Minister of State for Finance Shri Namo Narain Meena and Shri S.S. Palanimanickam were present in the meeting which was attended by S/Shri Mukesh B. Gadhvi, Neeraj Shekhar, Partap singh Bajwa, Prabhatsinh Chauhan, S.P.Y. Reddy Singh, Vijay Inder Singla, W. Bhausaheb Rajaram, M.S. Reddy and Smt. Rajkumari Ratna all Members of Lok Sabha and Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Mukut Mithi, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajeev Shukla, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Shantaram Naik and Dr. Ashok Sekhar Ganguly all Members from Rajya Sabha. Finance Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Expenditure Secretary, Secretary, Disinvestment and Secretary, Financial Services alongwith other senior officers of the ministry also attended the meeting.
dsm/by/gn-281/10/dk/kol/16:58 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Civil Aviation
Domestic Passengers Carried by Indian Scheduled Airlines in the Month of July 2010
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
The total domestic passengers carried by the Scheduled Airlines of India in the month of July, 2010 were 40.84 lakhs. It may be recalled that the total domestic passengers carried by the Scheduled Airlines of India in the month of June, 2010 were 45.04 lakhs and 134.77 lakhs in the second quarter (April to June, 2010).
The break-up for the month of July, 2010 is as follows:
Air India (Domestic) – 7.08 lakhs, Jet Airways –7.82 lakhs, Jet Lite – 3.08 lakhs, Kingfisher – 8.15 lakhs, Spice Jet – 5.40 lakhs, Paramount – 0.12 lakhs, Go Air – 2.28 lakhs, IndiGo –6.91 lakhs.
The percentage share of the carriers in the month of July, 2010 is as follows:
Air India (Domestic) – 17.3%, Jet Airways – 19.1%, Jet Lite – 7.5%, Kingfisher – 20.0%, Spice Jet – 13.2%, Paramount – 0.3%, Go Air – 5.6 % and IndiGo – 16.9%.
The seat factor of the domestic airlines in the month of July, 2010 was:
Air India (Domestic) – 62.5%, Jet Airways – 73.8%, JetLite – 76.6%, Kingfisher Airlines – 79.3%, Spice Jet – 76.8%, Paramount Airways – 86.9%, Go Air –71.3% and IndiGo – 80.2%.
mc/mk/dk/kol/16:58 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Indigenous Production of Critical Defence Armament
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
Indigenous production of critical defence armament like weapon system and platforms required for nation's security is continuously being enhanced. However, in many cases, Defence equipment, particularly hi-tech and advanced weapons, are being imported to ensure that requisite capabilities are available with the Defence Forces.
The long term perspective plans of Army, Navy and Air Force are continuously examined to identify the systems that can be manufactured within the country.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in written reply to Shri Vijay Jawaharlal Darda in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/16:58 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Defence Technology Commission
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
The role of Defence Technology Commission (DTC) will be to issue policy guidelines for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with an aim to enhance self-reliance in Defence preparedness. DRDO will provide inputs on issues related to the technologies and systems through Secretary, Department of Defence R&D. The Secretariat of DTC will be run by the DRDO.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri RC Singh in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/16:59 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Kelkar Committee Report
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
Out of total 40 recommendations made in the Kelkar Committee Report on private participation in Defence production, 26 recommendations were accepted for implementation, eight were accepted for implementation with certain modification and the remaining six recommendations required further deliberations. So far 30 recommendations have been implemented and one recommendation was dropped with the approval of competent authority. The remaining recommendations are presently at various stages of processing as per decisions taken thereon.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in written reply to Shri Prakash Javadekar in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/16:59 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Modernisation of Fighter Planes SU-30
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
There is proposal to upgrade the SU-30 MKI aircraft of the Indian Air Force by M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with the support of the Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer.
The current estimated cost is Rs. 10920 crores and the aircraft are likely to be upgraded in a phased manner from year 2012 onwards.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri Brijlal Khabri in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/16:59 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Defence University for Study of Security Challenges
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
The Union Cabinet, in its meeting held on May 13, 2010, has accorded 'in-principle' approval to setting up the Indian National Defence University (INDU) at Binola in District Gurgaon (Haryana). One of the basic objectives for establishing INDU is to assist national security leaders in assessing strategic security challenges holistically and to formulate policies based on researched and informed inputs.
National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi; College of Defence Management (CDM), Secunderabad; National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla; and Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington are proposed to be brought under the ambit of INDU without diluting their individual powers or autonomy.
INDU would educate national security leaders on all aspects of national security and create synergy between the academic community and Government functionaries. It would also encourage awareness of national security issues by reaching out to scholars and an audience beyond the official machinery.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri RC Singh in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/17:00 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Higher Specification image Intensifiers for Defence Forces
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
Bharat Electronics Limited has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in December 2006 to Vendors, for the procurement of 30,634 Image Intensifier based Passive Night Vision Devices (PNVD) with Transfer of Technology (ToT).
After completion of technical evaluation of the bids received from various Vendors, the sample PNVDs of technically qualified Vendors have been field evaluated by Users (Indian Army). The evaluation of sample Image Intensifier Tubes has been completed by Directorate General Quality Assurance (DGQA), Ministry of Defence. The procurement of Image Intensifier Tubes have been discussed in the Ministry and a decision taken to continue with procurement of Image Intensifier Tubes.
ToT agreement against this requirement in the event of acceptance of offered PNVDs/I.I. Tubes will enable manufacture and supply of PNVDs with Higher specification Image Intensifier Tubes.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri Prakash Javadekar in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/17:00 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Suicide by Soldiers
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
111 suicide cases by Armed Forces personnel were reported in 2009 while, till July 2010, 59 cases have been reported. The Government has been continuously taking measures for reducing suicides by soldiers. Some of the steps taken are:-
(i) Counselling on stress management by trained and qualified Psychiatrists Psychiatric Nursing Assistants.
(ii) Stress related issues are being addressed by the Commanders through Group Discussions/Workshops/Counselling sessions/Stress management courses.
(iii) Utilisation of religious teachers to counsel troops.
(iv) Leave Policy has been liberalized.
(v) All personnel returning to unit after leave are interviewed and medically examined by the Regimental Medical Officer. Any stress marker is looked for and motivational talk is rendered.
(vi) The Training capsules on relaxation techniques including Yoga and Pranayam have been introduced.
(vii) Quality of food, clothing and availability of married accommodations has been improved.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri P Rajeeve in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/17:00 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Defence
Shortage of Submarines
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
Government constantly reviews the security environment and accordingly decide induction of appropriate equipment and platforms including submarines for security of our maritime interest. It will not be in the interest of national security to disclose the exact number of the submarines.
A programme for construction of six submarines is currently underway at M/s Mazagon Dock Limited. In addition, modernisation/upgradation with the state-of-the-art weapon and sensor-fit on the existing submarines is undertaken to enhance their combat worthiness. The primary role of the submarines is for sea denial. There are other platforms viz. Destroyers, Frigates, Corvettes, Offshore Patrol Vessels, Fast Interceptor Crafts, Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles which are used for overall maritime security including coastal security.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri N Balaganga in Rajya Sabha today.
dm/raj/dk/kol/17:01 hrs.
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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Ministry of Minority Affairs
Socio-Economic Conditions of Muslims
New Delhi: August 18, 2010.
The Government has said that the report of 64th Round (2007-08) of National Sample Survey (NSS) indicates that Muslims enrolled at secondary level of education from among those in education system is 10.2% which is higher than 9.8% for Scheduled Tribes (ST). The enrollment at secondary level of education for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) is 11.3% and 12.5% respectively. Muslims currently attending educational institutions at secondary level are 5.0% in urban area and this is higher than 4.5% for Muslims in rural area. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Minority Affairs, said that Sachar Committee had used, inter-alia, data of 55th Round (1999-2000) and 61st Round (2004-05) of National Sample Survey (NSS); and the Ranganath Mishra Commission had used, inter-alia, data of 55th Round (1999-2000) and 2001 Census.
In this context, Shri Khurshid informed the House that the Government has taken a number of steps for the welfare of minorities and these include, the Prime Minister's New 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities which was announced in June, 2006. It promotes inclusive development by ensuring that a certain proportion of development projects are located in minority concentration areas and, wherever possible, 15% of targets and outlays under various schemes included in the programme are earmarked for minorities. It also provides for programme specific interventions for the welfare of minorities through introduction of new schemes. Three scholarship schemes are implemented and 37.14 lakh scholarships have been awarded to the students belonging to minority communities since 2007-08. A special area development programme called Multi-sectoral Development Programme is implemented in 90 minority concentration districts. Under this programme 6749 additional class rooms and 559 school buildings have been approved for these districts. The Government has taken several decisions on the follow-up action on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee and these include several initiatives for improving the conditions of minorities including Muslims.
kkp/ska/dk/kol/17:01 hrs.
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Palash Biswas
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