PSLV-C19 SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES RISAT-1

The PSLV-C19, the newest in the series of polar satellite launch vehicles of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), burst off the launch-pads of Sriharikota in the wee hours of April 26 on its space mission of placing indigenously developed Radar Imaging Satellite the RISAT-1 in a polar circular orbit.

After a customarily tense countdown at the ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, at precisely 5.47 a.m., the launch vehicle’s core stage igniters and set of six strap-on motors ignited within seconds of each to signal the successful lift-off of the PSLV-C19 with the RISAT -1 firmly docked inside its metal frames. 

The RISAT-1 with a payload of 1858 kg, the heaviest satellite being launched yet by the PSLV, is a state-of-the-art Active Microwave Remote Sensing Satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload that will operate in the C-band. In simpler terms, the RISAT-1 can beam back imaging of the earth surface features during day and night and under all imagined weather conditions. The SAR which gives the RISAT-1 its magic lens also makes it superior to the generation of optical remote sensing satellites in terms of clearer imaging at all times and under any condition.

Once the PSLV-C19 successfully completed each of the four stages of its flight in a span of 18 minutes and reported normal parameters, congratulatory scenes broke out at the Mission Directorate at Sriharikota. 

According to ISRO scientists, once the satellite onboard propulsion system will raise the orbital altitude to 536 km with orbital inclination of approximately 97 degrees to place the RISAT-1 into a polar sun-synchronous orbit, the satellite will begin its daily routine of 14 orbits with a of 25 days. During its mission life of five years, RISAT-1 will use its active microwave remote sensing capability for cloud penetration and day-night imaging of the earth surface and provide critical data inputs for a range of applications.

The satellite’s applications will range across agriculture — paddy monitoring in the kharif season — and management of natural disasters like flood and cyclone and could greatly assist food security planning in India.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 21st flight (PSLV-C19), launches India’s first Radar Imaging Satellite – RISAT-1 into a Polar Circular Orbit with an altitude of 480 km (+ 40.5 km) and orbital inclination of 97.552 (+ 0.2). RISAT-1 weighing 1858 kg is the heaviest satellite being launched by PSLV.

This is the third flight of the high end version (PSLV-XL) with six extended strap-on motors, each carrying 12 tonnes of solid propellant. (The two earlier flights of PSLV-XL were used to launch Chandrayaan-1 and GSAT-12 Communication Satellite) 

 RISAT-1

Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a state of the art Microwave Remote Sensing Satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Reader (SAR) Payload operating in C-band (5.35 GHz), which enables imaging of the surface features during both day and night under all weather conditions. 

Lift-off Mass	1858 kg
Orbit	Circular Polar Sun Synchronous
Orbit Altitude	536 km
Orbit Inclination	97.552o
Orbit Period	95.49 min
Number of Orbits per day	14
Local Time of Equator Crossing	6:00 am / 6:00 pm
Power	Solar Array generating 2200 W and one 70 AH Ni-H2 battery
Repetivity	25 days
Attitude and Orbit Control	3-axis body stabilised using Reaction Wheels, Magnetic Torquers and Hydrazine Thrusters
Nominal Mission Life	5 years
Launch date	April 26, 2012
Launch site	SDSC SHAR Centre, Sriharikota, India
Launch vehicle	PSLV- C19

Sikkim won the Best State Award for Strengthening the Panchayati Raj Institutions

Sikkim, on 24 April 2012, won the best state award for strengthening its panchayati raj institutions. The north-eastern state bagged the five prestigious national awards worth of 1.36 crore rupees, at a Panchayat Raj Day function held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh and Union minister of panchayati raj and tribal development V Kishore Chandra Deo presented the 2011-12 Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) award to Sikkim's rural management and development minister CB Karki.

The Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) is a Central Sector Plan Scheme which is being implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj since 2005-06.  The scheme had an allocation of 5 crore for 2005-06, which was raised to 10 crore  rupees for the subsequent years.

Study found Arctic Ocean As A Significant Contributor of Methane in the Atmosphere

According to a study report published in the journal Nature Geoscience on 22 April 2012, the Arctic Ocean could be a significant contributor of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Researchers carried out five flights in 2009 and 2010 to measure atmospheric methane in latitudes as high as 82 degrees north.
They found concentrations of the gas close to the ocean surface, especially in areas where sea ice had cracked or broken up.
The scientists are now concerned over the fact that the new disturbing mechanism could accelerate global warming.
The scientists involved in the study opined that the surface waters of the Arctic Ocean represent a potentially important source of methane, which could prove sensitive to changes in sea-ice cover.
Levels of methane in the atmosphere are relatively low, but the gas is 20 times more effective that carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping solar heat.
Scientists have been struggling to understand the movements of the methane curve.

Diversity helped Mammals to Survive During Climate Change

A study published in the journal Public Library of Science One on 23 April 2012, described that the diversity is the mammal's best defense when it comes to adapting climatic changes.
In one of the conclusions of the first study of how mammals in North America adapted to climate change the researchers found that diversity helped them to sustain in the changing climate.
The role of diversity in mammalian adaptation is specifically important given the fact that mammal species have been going extinct in record numbers for the past 400 years. In a 2008 report, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature predicted that one in four species of land mammals in the world faces extinction. As a result, the diversity of mammalian families is declining at a time when they need it the most to cope with a rapidly changing climate.
Larisa R. G. DeSantis, the assistant professor of earth and environmental studies at Vanderbilt directed the study, while it was co-authored by Rachel A. Beavins Tracy, Cassandra S. Koontz, John C. Roseberry and Matthew C. Velasco. The project was supported by funds from Vanderbilt University.

3rd National Panchayati Raj Day

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be holding a day long National conference on the occasion of the 3rdNational Panchayati Raj Day at VigyanBhawan, New Delhi, on April 24. On the occasion, best performing Gram Panchayats would be conferred with” Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Purskar, 2012, while another 170 Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) comprising of three –tier Panchayats would be facilitated with Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for their exemplary work under the Panchayat Empowerment Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS ).

During the conference, the five different groups of delegates would be discussing the topics such as (i) Gram Sabha and People’s Participation, (ii) Devolution of 3Fs i.e Funds, Functions and Functionaries (iii) Issues related to Women (iv) Agriculture, Rural Development and Livelihood and (v) Management of Forest Produce/Natural Resources.

Approximately 1500 delegates such as State Ministers for Panchayati Raj, Senior officials from State Government Panchayati Raj Departments, States elected representatives (ERs) from the three tiers of PRIs, the national award winning Panchayats as well as representatives from SCs/STs and Women would attend the National Conference.

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24th April, 1993 has institutionalized Panchayati Raj through the Village, Intermediate and District levels Panchayats. This date thus marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. The impact of the 73rd Amendment in rural India is very visible as it has changed power equations irreversibly. Accordingly, the Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th April as National Panchayati Raj Day. Ministry of Panchayati Raj organises National Conference on 24th April every year to commemorate the National Panchayati Raj Diwas.

International Sugar Council meets at Delhi to discuss Sugar Scenario

India is hosting the 41st Session of the International Sugar Council from 24th to 26th April 2012 at New Delhi. Briefing the media persons about the significance of the meet, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Prof. K.V. Thomas said that the meet will provide an opportunity to Indian Sugar sector to apprise itself of the latest developments in sugar industry across the world. It will also be an occasion to showcase the Indian sugar sector before the world.

Delegates from 32 countries and EU have confirmed their participation at the session being held under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.C. Gupta, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance, Shri Sharad Pawar, Minister for Agriculture & Cooperation and Food Processing Industry and Shri K.V. Thomas, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution will address the opening session on the morning of the 24th of April 2012. The first day of the three-day session will be devoted to a workshop with the theme “India-Key player in the world sugar economy”. The scientific advances in sugarcane development and utilization, cooperatives as a model for the sugar industry and new trends in the global market will be discussed. A panel of discussion on key improvements/ innovations undertaken in the Indian sugar industry has also been planned.

Addressing the media person Executive Director of ISO, Dr. Peter Baron said that India by its sheer size the Indian sugar industry is one of the powers in the world sugar economy. Over the last ten years Indian was on average the world’s biggest consumer of sugar and the second largest single producer. He said that due to significant India is at the same time is a market maker.

Reports of the Market Evaluation, Consumption and Statistics Committee (MECAS) of the ISO covering Alternative Sweeteners, Outlook for Sugar and Ethanol Production in Brazil and Sugar Market Development and Drivers in the Former Soviet Union States are scheduled to be presented on the 2nd day of the session.

The first day of the session is also open to participants from the Indian sugar industry. The members from the Indian Sugar Mills Association and National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories shall be present for the day-long workshop.

Health Ministry Signs MoU with Government of Kuwait on Medical Cooperation

The Union Health Secretary Shri P.K. Pradhan on behalf of Government of India signed an MoU on April 23 with the State of Kuwait on Medical Cooperation. Dr. Ibrahim Alabdelhadi signed the MoU on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Government of Kuwait.

Indian doctors and nurses are employed in large numbers in Kuwaiti hospitals. Recognising the long standing and friendly cooperation and common desire to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and desiring to lay down institutional framework for developing medical cooperation between the two countries, the MoU signed on April 23 inter alia provides for : degree & other qualifications issued by Institutions in respect of medicine (including traditional medicine), nursing, medical technicians & paramedical recognized by Government Bodies will be treated at par by the Ministry of Health of Kuwait for appropriate job placements & benefits; appropriate training to Kuwait doctors in centers of excellence in the field of traditional and modern medicine and allied health specialities in India; provisions for treatment of Kuwaiti patients in the approved specialized Indian hospitals and to encourage medical tourism; and set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) to further elaborate the details of cooperation and to oversee the implementation of this MoU. The JWG will meet not more than once a year or as agreed upon.

Improving Energy Efficiency

Energy is one of the most sought after things in the present scenario and the same is true for India too. Nationally as well as internationally, keeping in mind the growing energy needs not only there is a need for resource augmentation but also concerted step needs to be taken to conserve energy. Energy conservation is also being encouraged at governmental levels as India is part of the consortium of nations trying to act against the threat of climate change and reducing the carbon footprint.  As a step towards this end, the Government of India has enacted the Energy Conservation Act in 2001. Over the past one decade, energy efficiency in India has been increasing at a good pace and energy intensity declined by about 20-25%. Yet, there are places where energy efficiency opportunities exist and hence can be implemented.

The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 is the most important multi-sectoral legislation in India and is intended to promote efficient use of energy in India. The Act specifies energy consumption standards for equipment and appliances, prescribes energy consumption norms and standards for consumers, prescribes energy conservation building codes for commercial buildings and establishes a compliance mechanism for energy consumption norms and standards.

In order to implement the various provisions of the EC Act, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was operationalised with effect from 1^st March, 2002. The EC Act provides a legal framework for energy efficiency initiatives in the country.  The Act has mandatory as well as promotional initiatives. The Bureau is spearheading the task of improving the energy efficiency in various sectors of the economy through regulatory and promotional mechanism. The primary objective of BEE is to reduce energy intensity in the Indian economy. This is to be demonstrated by providing policy framework as well as through public-private partnership.

During the 11^th Plan Period, the Government of India initiated a number of programmes to promote energy efficiency. This has resulted in avoided generation capacity of 10,000 MW in the last five years. Some of the principal programmes launched included Standards and Labeling of Equipment and Appliances, Energy Conservation Building Code, Energy Efficiency in Industry and Residential Lighting.

Standards and Labeling of Equipment and Appliances

Labeling has been introduced for 16 major energy consuming appliances, providing users with information on the energy use of a model and its relative efficiency. Labeling has been mandatory for 4 products- air conditioners, refrigerators, distribution transformers and tube lights. This programme in 2010-11 has led to saving of 3718 million units of electricity equivalent to avoided capacity generation of 2162MW. With the market for star-rated labeled products growing, there is now a move towards making appliances super efficient i.e. appliances that save as much as 30-50% energy than the most energy efficient versions available in the market. To accelerate this shift and make such appliances affordable, BEE is in the process of launching the Super Energy Efficient Program (SEEP) that would provide manufacturers incentives to produce super efficient appliances. It forms a part of Market Transformation for Energy Efficiency (MTEE) initiative, one of the four initiatives of the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency. Super efficient appliances have a high cost of production as well as uncertainty of demand. The program envisions that incremental cost can be compensated by incentives on one hand and cost reduction due to economy of scale on the other.

Energy Conservation Building Code

A National Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) has been prepared for the design of new commercial buildings. Over 700 ECBC compliant buildings are at various stages of construction. In addition, performance contracting through Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) is being promoted to enable the retrofit of existing buildings so as to reduce their energy consumption. It has resulted in electricity saving of 22.45 million units in 2010-11 which is equivalent to avoided capacity generation of 4.27 MW.

Energy Efficiency in Industry

The Government has notified the energy efficieny improvement targets for the 478 most energy intensive industrial units in 8 sectors. Together, they account for about one third of the total energy consumption in India. Issued under the Energy Conservation Act, 2011 the targets are  to be achieved by 2014-15. Overall, industrial units used 166 million tonnes of oil equivalent energy in 2009-10, which has to be reduced by 6.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent in the target year. The targets, however, are not defined in terms of absolute energy use reduction, but in terms of the amount of energy used to produce a unit of the product. The sectors covered by the notification are iron and steel, cement, fertilizers, aluminum, pulp and paper, chlor-alkali, textiles and thermal power stations. Within each sector, only plants using more than a specified amount of energy are included in the targeted list. An interesting feature of the programme is that these units which are able to achieve greater energy efficiency improvements within the specified targets can capture the excess savings through the issuance of Energy Saving Certificates. These certificates can be traded and bought by other units covered by the programme who may find it expensive to meet their targets through their own actions. Units which are unable to meet their target, either through their own action or through purchase of certificates will be liable for repayment of penalty. The penalty will be related to shortfall in target achievement. A penalty of Rs.10,154 will be levied for shortfall of 1 tonne of oil equivalent in the achievement of the target.

Residential Lighting

The Bachat Lamp Yojana (BLY) provides energy-efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) to households at the cost of incandescent bulbs as the former are expensive and hence not able to penetrate in the domestic sector. Over 20 million CFLs have already been distributed under the BLY programme. The scheme targets to replace 400 million bulbs leading to a possible reduction of 6000MW and about 24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Besides, the Government is also promoting innovative schemes like Energy Conservation Awards etc. In order to accelerate Demand Side Management measures in agricultural sector, BEE has initiated an Ag DSM programme in which pump set efficiency upgradation would be carried out through Public-Private Partnership mode. The BEE has also registered a country-wide Programme of Activities (POA) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which enables quick registration of each investor led project as a CDM project under the POAs.

S&T Minister Visits King’s College London

The Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh visited King`s College in London. The King`s College is the 4th oldest University in UK.

The King’s College has recently established King`s India Institute, which was formally launched on the Republic Day early this year. The institute will host a number of visiting fellowships for academics and practitioners in different fields. Members of the institute are actively engaged in dialogue and debate with government, policy-makers, media and industry in India, the UK and beyond. Institute has relationships with a number of universities and research organisations in India. This includes the strategic partnership between King’s College, London and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. The Institute will also be the location for the Tagore Centre for Global Thought, funded by the Government of India. The India Institute directs a number of research and teaching programmes including the flagship MA Modern India, PhD Contemporary India Research and other joint MA programmes.

During his visit the Minister gave assurance for support for regular interaction with Indian policy makers, academicians and other concerned workers. He appreciated the Institute`s work on History of Development of Science in Modern India and encouraged them to work with their Indian partners and to compare the progress in India with other developing economies. Shri Deshmukh also gave in principle consent to examine a proposal to establish Professor Satish Dhawan chair to study space policy research.

Sangeet Natak Akademi announces Tagore Samman

To commemorate the 150^th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous body of the Union Ministry of Culture has instituted a one-time honour to 100 artists called the ‘Tagore Samman’ (50 Tagore Ratna and 50 Tagore Puraskar) to persons of the age of 75 years and above, who have made a significant contribution in the field of performing arts.

The Governor of West Bengal, Shri M.K. Narayanan will confer the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Fellowships and Tagore Awards at a special ceremony on 25^th April 2012 in Kolkata.  Twenty nine eminent personalities & scholars will be conferred Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Fellowships and thirty four art practitioners & gurus in the field of Dance, Drama & Music will receive the Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Awards in Kolkata.

In the second ceremony in Chennai, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr K Rosaiah will confer the Akademi’s Tagore Fellowships to 20 eminent personalities of performing arts including scholars and Tagore Awards to eighteen eminent personalities on 2^nd May 2012 in Chennai.

Altogether 100 Sammans will be conferred, out of which 50 are Fellows with purse money of Rs. 3 Lakh, a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram and remaining 50 Sammans are awards with purse money of Rs. 1 Lakh, a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram.    

Click here to see List of Tagore Samman Recipients

India overtakes Japan to become third-largest economy in purchasing power parity

Its economy may be in the grips of a slowdown, its polity paralysed and markets morose, but all this hasn't prevented India from overtaking Japan to become the world's third-largest economy in purchasing power terms.

Data just released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that India's gross domestic product in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms stood at $4.46 trillion in 2011, marginally higher than Japan's $4.44 trillion, making it the third-biggest economy after the United States and China.

India's share in world GDP in terms of PPP, a measure of relative consumer prices across countries, stood at 5.65% in 2011 against Japan's 5.63%, with the gap expected to widen significantly by 2017. In five years, the IMF estimates the share of India's GDP in PPP terms would grow to 8.09% compared with 4.8% for Japan.

  "This shows that India is no longer an emerging economy. It has already emerged. But beyond that there are not many conclusions one can take from the data." The PPP system allows GDP comparisons to be made by asking how much money would be needed to purchase the same goods and services in two countries and using that to calculate an implicit foreign exchange rate.

Under this method, a dollar should be able to buy the same amount of goods anywhere in the world and exchange rates should adjust accordingly. It also strips away distortions that come with market exchange rates, which are often volatile, affected by political and financial factors that do not lead to immediate changes in income and tend to understate the standard of living in poor countries.

The Economist magazine's proprietary Big Mac Index, which takes the price of a McDonald burger across 120 countries to calculate the 'real' price of their currencies, is another crude way to measure PPP. India was included in the index recently. It showed that the Indian rupee was undervalued by 62% against the US dollar in January.

PPP methods help adjust income to prices for a meaningful comparison on quality of life in countries with widely different prices and incomes.

"The PPP comparison is more useful while comparing the standards of living between countries," said Ulrich Bartsch, a senior macroeconomist in the World Bank's India office, adding that while the per capita GDP in PPP terms shows that India still has some distance to go to reach Japanese levels, "the difference is less than the comparison of per capita GDP in nominal dollar terms would indicate".

Karakoram glaciers bucking global warming trend and ‘putting on mass’

Some glaciers on Asia’s Karakoram mountains, which is home to K2, are defying the global trend and getting thicker, a new study has claimed.

For the study, a French team used satellite data to show that glaciers in part of the Karakoram range, to the west of the Himalayan region, are putting on mass.

The reason is unclear, as glaciers in other parts of the Himalayas are losing mass, which also is the global trend.

The region’s glaciers are poorly studied, yet provide a vital water source for more than a billion people.

The response of Himalayan glaciers to global warming has been a hot topic ever since the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which contained the erroneous claim that ice from most of the region could disappear by 2035.

Although often regarded as part of the Himalayas, the Karakoram range is technically a separate chain that includes K2, the world’s second-highest peak.

Much of the region is inaccessible, and there has been a general recognition that observations need to be stepped up in order to clarify what is going on.

“It could be due to a very specific regional climate over Karakoram,” the BBC quoted Julie Gardelle, CNRS-Grenoble as saying.

The French scientists, from the National Centre for Scientific Research and the University of Grenoble, compared two models of land surface elevation derived from satellite observations, for 1999 and 2008.

The method has been used before in other mountain ranges, but it is not as straightforward as it might sound.

"It’s not been used more because these elevation models are quite difficult to acquire -- you need clear sky conditions and reduced snow cover,” Gardelle, the lead researcher, said.

Other factors that can change the height of the ice surface, other than changes to the ice itself, also need to be accounted for.

Having done all these calculations, the team found that between 1999 and 2008 the mass of the glaciers in this 5,615 sq km (2,168 sq miles) region of the Karakoram increased marginally, although there were wide variations between individual glaciers.

Why this should be is not clear, though it is well known from studies in other parts of the world that climate change can cause extra precipitation into cold regions, which if they are cold enough, gets added to the existing mass of ice.

“We don’t really know the reason.

“Right now we believe that it could be due to a very specific regional climate over Karakoram because there have been meteorological measurements showing increased winter precipitation; but that’s just a guess at this stage,” she said.

Whatever the region, it is clear that the trend contrasts with other parts of the wider Himalayas-Hindu Kush region, home to an estimated 210 million people and where glaciers act as fresh water stores for about 1.3 billion living in river basins below.

The study has been published in the Nature Geoscience journal.

India Successfully test-fired Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Agni-V

India on 19 April 2012 successfully test-fired its maiden nuclear-tipped inter-continental ballistic missile ( ICBM) Agni-V. The missile successfully struck its target ranging 5000 km away from its launching point. It was test-fired from a mobile launcher at the Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.

India by the successful launch of Agni-V has entered into an elite group of nations which owes such technology.

With Agni- V’s 5000 km-range India has acquired the capability to hit targets in China, including Beijing, Eastern Europe, east Africa and the Australian coast.


Indigenously built the Agni-V is 17.5m tall, solid-fuelled, three-stage missile with a launch weight of 50 tons, which includes a 1.5 tonne warhead.

The defence Scientists began to work over Agni-V three years ago. This was the first testing of the missile.

World it Forum Conference to Focus on ICT for Sustainable Development

India is all set to host World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) 2012 tomorrow in Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi . The fifth edition of the coveted event is being organised by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), in partnership with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DEITy), Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India.

The Forum opens tomorrow with the inaugural address by Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and IT & HRD, Government of India. Other key speakers at the inaugural function are Mr. Janis Karklins, Assistant Director General, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO, Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and IT, Government of India, Mr Leon Strous, President, IFIP and Shri J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India

WITFOR will focus, on use of ICT in agriculture, education, health and e-Governance, within the overall theme of ‘ICT for Sustainable Human Development’. Representatives from over 30 countries will share their knowledge, views and best practices in the use of IT for governance and delivery of key public services, brought together on a common platform that will allow them to showcase successful, working models of the use of ICT for development.

WITFOR was born out of the need for emerging economies and developed countries to collaborate and harness the potential for digital technologies for sustainable development. Since its inception in 2003, World IT Forums have been held four times–in Vietnam (2009), Ethiopia (2007), Botswana (2005) and Lithuania (2003). The activities of the Forum are broadly guided by the World Summit on the Information Society`s (WSIS) Plan of Action, in order to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The participation in WITFOR has risen from 600 to 1,500 in six years, bearing testimony to its robust content and the diversity of attendees. The WITFOR conferences help bring together a variety of stakeholders to discuss, debate and analyse ways in which ICT is powering the engine of growth and development in the emerging economies for policymakers and practitioners to share knowledge on ‘ICT for development’ with their international counterparts who are facing similar challenges in their countries.

With over 80 speakers from around the world, WITFOR 2012 aims to bring together a unique mix of policymakers and political leaders, social entrepreneurs, academic researchers, practitioners and executives, both from the private and public sector. Leaders from multilateral organisations like UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank and from regional bodies like the West African Health Organisation will share their experiences in meeting the challenges of globalisation and sustainable development.

Other attendees include high-level dignitaries from the governments of Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Moldova, Paraguay, as well as senior members of academia and from across South Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. The Forum, aimed primarily at fostering an informed debate among policymakers, will also bring together senior bureaucrats and technologists from South Korea, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia, Estonia, Moldova and Secretaries to the Government of India – both from the Centre and the states.

WITFOR is an important international event that places the host country on an international platform to showcase its achievements. So far, India has hosted only regional ICT/e-Governance international events and partnering in WITFOR 2012 will give Indian Policy Makers as well as Industry and opportunity not only to learn from other countries but will also open avenues for further cooperation and business development especially for innovative products such as Aakash and value added services delivered on Mobile Platforms. Also, WITFOR 2012 will give Indian States an opportunity to showcase their premier e-Governance projects and give international delegates an opportunity to visit such projects across India

The Forum will discuss the role of IT interventions in bringing about greater transparency in governance, issues of privacy and security while dealing with public databases, financial inclusion and ways of leveraging wireless technologies. It will also debate challenges related to the training of health workers, capacity building, evidence-based decision making to improve health outcomes, the role of government in primary healthcare, and the role of ICT in creating digital content, bridging the skills gap and the digital divide, as well as improving productivity, food security, knowledge transfer in the agriculture sector.

As a country with enormous ICT capabilities and equally immense socio-economic development challenges, India attracts significant international attention for its efforts to exploit the developmental potential of ICT. At the same time, Indian policymakers and practitioners can learn from the experiences of other countries. WITFOR 2012 will provide a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge on mobilising ICT for development, among a diverse range of professionals engaging in this effort in many countries with a variety of development challenges. WITFOR 2012 will provide a valuable forum for understanding how the power of ICT can be harnessed for sustainable development.

With nearly 1200 registrations , delegates are drawn from the public and private sectors across India, as well as from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia, including participants from Greece, Poland, Finland, Croatia, Paraguay, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. Indian delegates include senior government officials from various states, public enterprises, private sector and academia, from all across the country, as well as independent researchers, ICT enthusiasts, students, entrepreneurs and members of the academia and development practitioners.
WITFOR 2013 will be held in Paraguay.

Highlights of Achievements of Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2011-2012

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has released approximately 97% of the sanctioned grant of Rs. 16,100 crores to States/UTs and various agencies for the programmes and schemes aiming at holistic development of women and children, in 2011-2012.

The flagship programme of ICDS has reached about 10 crore beneficiaries. These include 4.37 crore children of age 6 months-3 yrs, 3.5 crore children within 3-6 yrs, and 1.81 crore pregnant and lactating women. Total of 6900 projects out of sanctioned 7076 are operational. Furthermore, around 12.04 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)/Mini-Anganwadi Centres are operational of the sanctioned number of 13.70 lakh. Moreover, 61 projects were sanctioned and 57 projects were operationalised, and 3942 AWCs was sanctioned and 41033 AWCs were operationalised in 2011-2012.

The Ministry has also initiated Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) format in order to improve the planning and programme implementation. The draft Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy along with curricular framework and standards have been uploaded on the website of the Ministry for comments and views from public organizations etc.

Under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme introduced in 2009-2010 for the welfare and rehabilitation of children in conflict with law as well as children in need of care and protection, statutory structures have been established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The number of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) has more than doubled from 240 and 211 to 548 and 561, respectively. As a result of the support provided, 26 State Child Protection Societies, 24 State Project Support Units, 20 State Adoption Resource Agency and 438 District Child protection units, have been established to work exclusively for child protection, employing approximately 4500 dedicated and trained staff. In the year 2011-2012, 8 state child protection societies, 4 state project units,112 district child protection units were established. Moreover, the provision of Emergency Outreach Services for children in distress, through a 24 hour helpline (1098), has more than doubled; from 83 in 2007-2008, it is spread to 202 locations in 2011-2012. Also, childline was extended to 94 new locations.

Under the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls, ‘Sabla’, launched in November 2010, around 84.4 lakh girls have been covered in the nutrition segment, while around 21.42 lakh girls have benefitted in the non-nutrition segment, in 2011-2012. Sabla is a comprehensive intervention for adolescent girls in the age-group of 11-18, with a focus on out-of-school girls, and is being implemented in 200 districts of the country on a pilot basis.

Around 1.77 lakh pregnant and lactating (P&L) women have benefitted under the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahayog Yojana (IGMSY), a scheme that aims at improving the health and nutrition status of P&L women. The scheme envisages providing cash directly to P&L women during pregnancy and lactation, through bank/post office accounts in response to the individual fulfilling specific conditions. It addresses short-term income support objectives with long term objective of behaviour and attitudinal change.

Furthermore, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) scheme of the WCD Ministry has benefitted 6,94,415 needy women at the grassroots levels. As on 31.12.2011, cumulative loan of Rs. 315.32 crores was sanctioned. Against this, Rs 259.32 crores was disbursed. The scheme, launched in 1993, aims to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women. It extends micro-finance services to poor women to credit is provided through Intermediary Microfinancing Organisations (IMOs) working at the grassroots level, such as NGOs, Women Federations, Co-operatives etc.

Also, 322 Swadhar homes are operational across the country as on 20.1.2012. Against an allocation of Rs. 30 crores in 2011-2012, a budgetary provision of Rs.100 crores has been kept in BE-2012-13. In addition, about 29650 beneficiaries have been covered under the Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) scheme, which provides training for skill upgradation to poor and assetless women in ten traditional and two non-traditional sectors. Also, 188 projects including 96 rehabilitation homes, have been sanctioned under the Ujjawala scheme, a comprehensive scheme to combat trafficking of women and children.

In view of increasing incidents of assault on women from North Eastern States, the Ministry has established a Working Women Hostel, at Jasola, exclusively for working women of North Eastern States in 2011-2012.

RBI cuts lending rate, loans to become cheaper

After a gap of three years, Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao on April 17  slashed short term lending rate by 0.50 per cent to 8 per cent, a move that will reduce the cost of home, auto and corporate loans.

The reduction in the repo rate at which RBI lends to banks, has been prompted by deceleration in growth and softening of inflation.

The cut is aimed at spurring growth to 9 per cent levels, seen before the global financial crisis that began in 2008, Mr. Subbarao said while unveiling the annual credit policy in Mumbai.

“The reduction in the repo rate is based on an assessment of growth having slowed below its post-crisis trend rate, which, in turn, is contributing to the moderation in core inflation,” the Governor said.

RBI has pegged the GDP growth rate for 2012-13 at 7.3 per cent. It is expected to be 6.9 per cent in 2011-12.

After two consecutive cuts since January, the Governor, however, retained the cash reserve ratio at 4.75 per cent.

Mr. Subbarao, however, ruled out further reduction in policy rate in the immediate future citing persistent upside risks to inflation and possible fiscal slippages driven by higher oil subsidies. It expects the inflation to be around 6.5 per cent by March 2013.

“It must be emphasised that the deviation of growth from trend is modest. At the same time, upside risks to inflation persist. These considerations inherently limit the space for further reduction in policy rates,” he said.

The decision is likely to prompt the banks to cut lending rates for home, auto and corporate loans, experts said.

The RBI has raised lending rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 to contain inflation that had been hovering near double-digit.

This had led to clamour by industry to cut rates and spur industrial and economic growth that has slowed down considerably during the past few quarters.

In order to ease tight liquidity situation, Mr. Subbarao announced doubling the borrowing under the Marginal Standing Facility for banks to 2 per cent of their deposits with immediate effect. It also permitted banks to borrow under the MSF even if they have excess government securities holdings.

On the growth front, RBI expects FY’13 to be moderately better than the fiscal gone by. It has pegged GDP growth at 7.3 per cent, which is 0.3 per cent lower than the government projection for 2012-13. Growth in 2011-12 is seen at a 3-year low of 6.9 per cent.

Even though spurring growth has taken the priority at the Mint Road, the RBI continues to be worried about the inflation scenario, calling it as “challenging” due to the sharp spikes in crude prices and food articles in the recent months.

Noting the moderation in manufacturing inflation, the Governor pegged the annual overall inflation target at 6.5 per cent for FY’13 (which is 0.5 per cent lower than its projection for FY’12), saying the price rise will be range-bound through the year.

Inflation was the key driver that guided the Reserve Bank to tighten money supply, and later hold rates during the past 36 months.

The period also saw it inflicting 13 simultaneous hikes, by 3.75 per cent in repo rates over the 19-month period, making it one of the most aggressive central banks in the world.

Apart from hurting investment activity, the rate hikes severely hurt the retail borrowers as higher loan repayments put household budgets for a toss.

The RBI made a conscious effort at placating this class by reiterating that banks should not charge prepayment penalties from home loan borrowers. It also announced to set up a working group to assess the possibility of having long-term fixed interest products which will not be exposed to interest rate changes.

Pulitzer prizes awarded for famine, Muslim spying coverage

Jeffrey Gettleman of The New York Times took the top Pulitzer Prize for international affairs coverage, for his reporting on famine and conflict in East Africa, Columbia University said. The New York Times won two Pulitzers, for explanatory and international reporting.

The prize for investigative reporting went to Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of The Associated Press for spotlighting of the New York Police Department’s clandestine spying on Muslim communities in the city. As a result, the U.S. Congress had called for a federal investigation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for its “exploration of pervasive violence in the city’s schools.” The committee cited the newspaper’s “powerful” narratives and videos to illuminate crimes committed by children against children.

The Times staff were also finalists for a Pulitzer Prize for its “powerful exploration” of Japanese authorities’ concealed mistakes after the giant tsunami caused a nuclear disaster in Fukushima last year.

The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, won for local reporting for breaking the Penn State sexual abuse scandal that eventually brought down legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

A second Pulitzer for investigative reporting went to The Seattle Times for a series about accidental methadone overdoses among patients with chronic pain.

The Huffington Post received its first Pulitzer, in national reporting, for its exploration of the challenges facing American veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A year after the Pulitzer judges passed on awarding any prize for breaking news, the staff of The Tuscaloosa News of Alabama won the award for coverage of a deadly tornado. By blending traditional reporting with the use of social media, the newspaper provided real-time updates and helped locate missing people, while still producing in-depth print coverage despite a power outage that forced the paper to publish at a plant 50 miles away.

The judges declined to award a prize for editorial writing.

The Pulitzers are given out annually by Columbia University on the recommendation of a board of journalists and others. Each award carries a $10,000 prize except for the public service award, which is a gold medal.

An unsung ‘akhara' prepares to enter its centenary year

Few would have heard of an akhara in this small Maharashtra town that was endorsed by none other than Mahatma Gandhi for its commitment to physical health. Hanuman Vyayam Prasark Mandal has stood the test of time, acting as a premier institute of physical education and sports.

However, despite its place in history, the institute founded in 1914 lies unsung as it prepares to celebrate its centenary next year. Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated the main building, built later in 1926, and commended the institute both for its commitment to physical health and the communal harmony it exhibited on the campus. Then a touring team from the akhara, which showcased India's traditional physical activities on its Berlin Olympics visit in 1936, received the Hitler's Medal.

The institute was established as ‘Hanuman Akhara' by the Vaidaya brothers — Anant Krishna and Ambadas Krishna — drawing inspiration from the Maharashtrian patriot, Veer Vamanrao Joshi.

The institute takes pride in its association with some of the most famous luminaries. “Apart from Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, legendary Olympics administrator Carl Diem also paid a visit to this institute,” says its treasurer S.H. Deshpande.

Freak phenomenon along the southern coast of India

With memories of the 2004 tsunami still fresh in the minds of people, the event sparked alarm all along the coast. As many as 12,000 people were affected as the tidal swell slammed the coastal belt, from Adimalathura to Pozhiyoor.

Residents fled their waterlogged houses; boats and fishing equipment were damaged. “It took several days for the situation to return to normality,” remembers Mr. Peter, president of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, who was at the forefront of relief operations.

Baffled by the freak phenomenon, scientists initially attributed it to an intensive pre-monsoon swell. The Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) later conducted a detailed study, which traced the origin of the swell to a cyclonic storm off the west coast of Australia.

The project, which involved tsunami expert Tad Murty of Canada, established that swells generated in the southern Indian Ocean by storms near Antarctica could propagate northward, to the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

“Travelling thousands of kilometres across the entire ocean basins, the swell gets amplified when it encounters a coastal current directed southward, resulting in increased wave setup, a phenomenon referred to as remote forcing,” says Director of CESS N.P. Kurian, who was part of the study.

‘Kallakkadal,' the term used to name the freak flooding, was borrowed from the parlance of fishermen. “In local parlance, it means the sea that arrives like a thief, unannounced,” says Dr. Kurian.

In February this year, UNESCO formally accepted the term to explain the freak occurrence. Earlier, the World Meteorological Organisation and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission too recognised the terminology. “The formal recognition could perhaps pave the way for the term to be included in subsequent editions of dictionaries,” Dr. Kurian says.

Mr. Peter said the adoption of the term by the U.N. represented a marriage of conventional wisdom and scientific endeavour. “It calls for further studies to be taken up for hazard assessment and disaster mitigation.”

‘Kallakkadal' is known to occur along the southern coast of India, mainly during the pre-monsoon period, in April and May, marked by clear weather. The flooding turns severe on the days of spring tide. Though not well documented in scientific literature, the swells occur almost every year with varying intensity. They are characterised by long-period waves, with frequency of more than 15 seconds.

“The study highlights need for regular monitoring of Antarctic storms. A global database on storm surges will be a critical input for a numerical model that could help to predict the swell waves and coastal flooding,” says Dr. Kurian.

US records warmest March since 1895

The US in 2012 has recorded the warmest March ever since the country started record-keeping in 1895, with more than 15,000 warm temperature records broken, America's weather monitoring agency has said.
The average temperature of 51.1°F in March 2012 was 8.6 degrees above the 20th century average for March and 0.5°F warmer than the previous warmest March in 1910, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.
More than 15,000 warm temperature records were broken during the month, it added, as record and near-record breaking temperatures dominated the eastern two-thirds of the nation.
Of the more than 1,400 months (117+ years) that have passed since the US climate record began, only one month, January 2006, has seen a larger departure from its average temperature than March 2012, it said.
The US this year has recorded the warmest March ever since the it started record-keeping in 1895.
According to preliminary data, NOAA said there were as many as 15,272 warm temperature records broken (7,755 daytime records, 7,517 nighttime records).
Hundreds of locations across the country broke their all-time March records. There were 21 instances of the nighttime temperatures being as warm, or warmer, than the existing record daytime temperature for a given date, it said.
Warmer-than-average conditions across the eastern US also created an environment favorable for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, there were 223 preliminary tornado reports during March, a month that averages 80 tornadoes annually.
The majority of the tornadoes occurred during the March 2nd-3rd outbreak across the Ohio Valley and Southeast, which caused 40 fatalities. Total losses from this event are estimated to exceed USD 1.5 billion dollars, making this the first event of 2012 to exceed one billion dollars in damages and losses, it said.

Borge Ousland-Helge, first ever couple to wed at North Pole

Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland and his bride Helge became the first couple ever to get married at the North Pole. According to Russian expedition Barneo-2012, the couple, accompanied by a pastor and around 30 guests, arrived at the Russian Barneo ice base on board an Antonov An-74 aircraft and then took a helicopter to reach the North Pole on April 13.

The wedding ceremony was held in accordance with all traditions. There were lit candles, dressed up bridesmaid and bestman, and the bride dressed in a silk white wedding dress. But the Cross was made of a couple of crossed skis. The ceremony ended with champagne and fireworks. The unique event, however, took an unscheduled turn when British explorer Mark Wood crashed the wedding.

Wood was solo-skiing to the North Pole as part of an expedition to raise awareness on climate change. In January, he completed a 985 km skiing trek to the South Pole and on April 11 completed the 222 km distance from the Russian ice station to the North Pole."At the South Pole, there's an American base, but at the North there's just ice," the 45-year-old explorer told BBC. "But when I arrived, Borge Ousland was getting married. He had 20 or 30 people at the North Pole, flown in by helicopter."

North Korea tests long-range missile

North Korea has been developing a new long-range ballistic missile in a separate programme from the one that led to a failed rocket launch this week, a South Korean TV station stated on April14.
   
YTN quoted an intelligence source as saying the communist state carried out four tests over 16 weeks until early this year to develop an inter-continental missile at a test facility at Musudan-ri on the northeastern coast.
   
The tests were aimed at improving engines and propellant fuel for the missile, code-named KN-08, the source said. The experiments took place amid ongoing talks with the United States that resulted in a February deal under which the North agreed to freeze its nuclear and long-range missile tests in return for food aid, YTN said.
   
AFP was unable immediately to confirm the story independently. North Korea, which admitted its long-range rocket launch failed , has been developing missiles for decades both for what it terms self-defence and as a lucrative export commodity.
   
Its launch was aimed at putting a peaceful satellite in orbit. But the United States and its allies condemned what they see as an apparent disguised test of ballistic missile technology in defiance of UN resolutions. Washington has halted plans to send food aid to Pyongyang.

UP Govt to set up farmers’ commission

With a view to redress the grievances of farmers, the Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to constitute a special commission for them.

The announcement in this regard was made by the Agriculture Minister, Mr Anand Singh, yesterday while directing officers to prepare a plan in this regard.

Claiming that the State Government will give special attention to bio-agriculture, the Minister said an action plan in this regard is being prepared and officials have been directed in this regard.

About the commission, the Minister said that it would redress the grievances of farmers besides looking into the problems being faced by them due to bad weather and other such conditions.

Earthquake strikes Indonesia: No sign of major tsunami in Indian Ocean

A massive earthquake off Indonesia's western coast triggered a tsunami watch for countries across the Indian Ocean on April 11, clogging streets with traffic as residents fled to high ground in cars and on the backs of motorcycles.

Two hours after the quake hit, however, there was no sign of the feared wave. Damage also appeared to be minimal.

The US Geological Survey said the 8.6-magnitude quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor around 269 miles (434 kilometers) from Aceh province.

``It wasn't the strongest quake I've felt,'' said 22-year-old Tuti Rahmi, while trying to reach her brother by phone from Banda Aceh, people around her crying and screaming as they poured from their homes.

``But it seemed to last forever,'' she said, adding the ground shook for nearly four minutes.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore.

But hours later, the threat appeared to have passed.

Roger Musson, seismologist at the British geological survey who has studied Sumatra's fault lines, says the temblor was a strike-slip quake, not a thrust quake, which causes the sea bed to flip up.

``When I first saw this was an 8.7 near Sumatra, I was fearing the worst,'' he said, noting one of the initial reported magnitudes for the quake. ``But as soon as I discovered what type of earthquake it was, then I felt a lot better.''

The tremor was felt in Malaysia, where it caused high-rise buildings to shake for about a minute, and in Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh and India.

There was chaos in the streets of Aceh, where memories of a 2004 tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province alone, are still raw.

India, Qatar sign pact to boost coop in oil & gas sector

A pact to enhance cooperation in the key sector of oil and gas exploration is among the six agreements inked between India and Qatar on April 9, which has the world's third-largest natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran.
 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani held comprehensive talks on a whole gamut of bilateral ties, including boosting trade as well as energy cooperation and welfare of Indian workers.

There are around 500,000 Indians in the Gulf country. After the talks, Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy and Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh al-Sada signed an MoU to establish a cooperative framework to facilitate and to enhance bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector for mutual benefit.

It envisages cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas activities.

It is expected to encourage and promote investment and cooperation between two ministries of oil and gas and through affiliated companies.

Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India, which buys 7.5 million tonnes/per year of LNG from it. India wants to have huge additional supply of oil and LNG from Qatar but pricing is an issue.

Other pacts are in the areas of educational exchanges, cultural contacts, promoting tourism and cooperation in legal affairs.

An MoU was also signed between the Reserve Bank of India and Qatar Central Bank for sharing of supervisory information and enhancing cooperation in the area of banking supervision.

Over 55 lakh pre-matric scholarships for minorities

Over 50 lakh students from minority communities, more than half of them girls, have been awarded scholarships for pursuing studies from Class I to X, the govt has said.
 

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has offered the benefit under the Pre-matric Scholarship Scheme for students belonging to minority communities from class I to class X, an official release said on Monday.

"The ministry distributed a total of 55.28 lakh scholarships during the last financial year 2011-12 that ended on March 31 as against a target of 34 lakh scholarships," it said.

For distributing these scholarships, the ministry released an amount of Rs 615.47 crore during 2011-12.

"51.01 per cent scholarships went to girl students," the release said.

The Pre-matric Scholarship Scheme was started in 2008-09 and a cumulative total of over 1.22 crore scholarships have been awarded till 31^st March.

The Pre-matric Scholarship Scheme is one of the three such initiatives of the Ministry of Minority Affairs included under the Prime Minister's New 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities.

Suu Kyi wins seat in Myanmar parliament

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has won her first-ever seat in parliament, state media confirmed on March 31.
 

The Nobel laureate's National League for Democracy has so far won 40 of the 44 seats it contested in Sunday’s by-elections, including in Suu Kyi's constituency, according to partial official results announced on television.

Aung San Suu Kyi has claimed victory in Myanmar's historic by-election, saying she hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era for the long-repressed country.

Suu Kyi spoke to thousands of cheering supporters who gathered outside her opposition party headquarters a day after her party claimed she had won a parliamentary seat in the closely watched vote.

"The success we are having is the success of the people," Suu Kyi said.

"It is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people who have decided that they have to be involved in the political process in this country."

"We hope this will be the beginning of a new era," she said, as supporters chanted her name and thrust their hands into the air to flash "V" for victory signs.

The election sets the stage for the former political prisoner to take public office for the first time and lead a small bloc of opposition lawmakers in Myanmar's military-dominated Parliament.

Official results are expected within the next few days.

If confirmed, the victory would mark a major milestone in the Southeast Asian nation that is emerging from a ruthless era of military rule and also an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world's most prominent prisoners of conscience.

The former junta had kept Suu Kyi imprisoned in her lakeside home for the better part of two decades.

When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a general election that was deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would so quickly make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official - opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015. (ST-02/04)

Myanmar's Suu Kyi hails 'victory of the people'

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi hailed a "victory of the people" after her National League for Democracy (NLD) party declared she had won a seat in parliament for the first time.

"It's usual that NLD members and supporters are happy at this moment," she said in a statement.

"But words, behaviour and actions that can harm and sadden other parties and people must be avoided completely. I would like all NLD members to ensure that the victory of the people is a dignified victory," she added.

If confirmed, the win would mark a dramatic reversal in the political fortunes of the veteran activist, who was locked up by the former junta for most of the past 22 years.

Official results were expected within a week. Observers says Myanmar's quasi-civilian government needs Suu Kyi to take a place in parliament to bolster the legitimacy of its political system and spur an easing of Western sanctions against the regime.

But even if her party were to win all 44 seats it contested in Sunday's by-elections, it would not tip the balance of power in a parliament dominated by the military and its political allies.

Women's reservation in local bodies in India impressive: US

The United States has hailed the measures taken by India to include women in governance by giving them reservation in local bodies. 
 

"I was impressed at the measures taken by the Government of India to include women in governance through requirements for one-third representation of women in the legislature and one-half representation in their local governing bodies, panchayats," said Reta Lewis, Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs.

Women's issues, she said, were being integrated in Strategic Dialogues with China, India, and Pakistan, and through efforts such as the Community of Democracies, the Iraqi Women's Democracy Initiative, and bilateral and multilateral outreach, US was working to ensure women's voices were heard in emerging democracies and governments, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"As a follow-up to Secretary Clinton's participation in the 2011 US-India Strategic Dialogue, I travelled throughout India to promote US-India state-to-state partnerships essential to building bilateral ties between the United States and the world's largest democracy," Lewis said in her remarks to the US Mint Federal Observance of Women's History Month.

Referring to her India visit, Lewis said she interacted with numerous women business, state, and local leaders who were empowering women through Self-Help Groups, and using their leadership to highlight women's issues, such as cervical cancer.

"I met with Chief Minister Jayalalitha of Tamil Nadu who was very supportive of our efforts to connect Indian state leaders with their US counterparts," Lewis said.

Women will be important drivers of China's entrepreneurial class, which will spur more job growth and lead to more balanced economic output than China is enjoying today, she said.

Another effort to support the role of women in the global economy debuted at the recent APEC Women and the Economy Summit. The US is working with all Asian/Pacific economies to remove barriers to women's economic participation.

"The 21 economies of APEC are among the most dynamic in the world. Together, we represent more than half of total economic global output, and more than 60 percent of women in the APEC economies are part of our formal workforces," she added.

Asia's largest tulip garden now opens to visitors

Asia's largest tulip garden on the banks of Dal Lake in Kashmir was thrown open to visitors on March 29th  by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. 
 

Accompanied by his mother Molly Abdullah, the Chief Minister formally opened the garden to visitors.

"The impact of this garden on tourism is evident from the fact that we have been forced to open it a week to 10 days ahead of schedule,".

He said tourists were so keen to visit the garden that they could have broken in without waiting for the inauguration.

"The Tulip garden has succeeded in bringing forward the tourist season in Kashmir by two months. Our season has already begun," he said.

Although the tulips are yet to reach full bloom, the floriculture department has planted 20 lakh bulbs over an area of 12 hectares with eight new varieties of the flower added this year.

Formerly known as Siraj Bagh, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden was the brainchild of then chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The garden was developed with to provide tourists with an added incentive to visit the Valley.

Tulip cultivation has since been started on a commercial scale.

The delicate flowers in different hues and colours are sent to markets across the country including Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad.