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Headlines
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News:
India terms as absurd Pak claims of having killed 114 soldiers
Hume to be honoured with Indian peace prize
Musharraf accuses Vajpayee of "brinkmanship"
Indo-Pak border tension may be easing: Blackwill
Microsoft 'remaps' India, opens window to dispute
IOC buys IBP for Rs 1551.25 a share; Tatas take VSNL at Rs 202
VRS for Central government employees
US aid to India increased as frontline state against terrorism
ADB considering $2 bn annual assistance to India
BSE: Equities resume on a subdued note
IBP shines in a dull and subdued market
India Unveils World's Highest Observatory
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Markets:
Sensex: 3311.73, -5.28
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Forex, Metals and
Weather below
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News
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India terms as absurd Pak claims of having killed 114 soldiers
New Delhi,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: India today dismissed as "absurd and figment of imagination" Pakistan army claims of having killed 114 Indian soldiers during the past two months in retliatory fire acorss the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reacting to claims made by a Pakistani army spokesman in Islamabad, a Defence Ministry spokesman described these reports as "concocted".
He said 21 security forces personnel including 13 armymen and 8 para-military forces men had been killed in trans Line of Control firing in Jammu and Kashmir in the past two months as Pakistani forces had indulged in unprovoked firing and in attempts to give covering fire to push in armed mercernaries.
In addition to these casualties on the border, the spokesman said 35 army personnel had made the supreme sacrifice in ongoing counter insurgency operations in the period under reference.
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Hume to be honoured with Indian peace prize
Nobel Laureate John Hume is to be recognised by the Indian government tomorrow for his 'outstanding' contribution to peace in the north.
He will become the eighth recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize when Indian prime minister Shri Atal Begari Vajpayee presents him with the accolade at the president's residence in Delhi tomorrow.
The Indian government established the award in 1995 on the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, to recognise world figures who embraced Gandhi's non-violent methods.
Mr Hume - who jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize with UUP leader David Trimble in 1998 - was the unanimous choice of the five-member panel, which included present and former presidents and prime ministers of India.
Former ANC leader and South African president Nelson Mandela and Dr Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania, are past recipients of the award.
A spokesman for India's ministry of culture last night described Mr Hume as the main architect of the peace process in the north.
'As a leader of the civil rights movement, he provided vision and a philosophy of peace making which involved reaching out across religious and political barriers to build trust, while working for economic and social development,' he said.
The spokesman said Mr Hume had extended the hand of peace to former men of violence and brought them into the peace process. The current peace, he added, was an 'enduring monument' to Mr Hume's efforts.
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Musharraf accuses Vajpayee of "brinkmanship"
Islamabad,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: Striking a confrontationist posture, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today accused Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of "brinkmanship" and asked him to accept his offer of dialogue for peaceful resolution of Kashmir and other issues.
In a speech full of rhetoric laced with the usual barbs at India made to the Assembly in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) to mark the observance of "Kashmir Day", he charged India with carrying on a "sinister worldwide campaign to denigrate and malign the Kashmiri freedom movement" by accusing Pakistan of sponsoring cross border terrorism in Kashmir.
Pledging continued political, moral and diplomatic support, Musharraf appealed to the international community to come forward in the interest of peace in the region and between the two countries to mediate and facilitate a solution to the long-standing dispute.
"Instead of engaging in brinkmanship, Prime Minister Vajpayee should accept my offer of a dialogue.
"Instead of responding positively to the hand of reconciliation extended by me, the Indian leadership has continued with its threatening noises and persists with its massive deployment of troops.....which have brought the two countries to a position of eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation", Musharraf said in a no-holds-barred speech. "This is brinkmanship at its most dangerous," he said adding "If a war is imposed on Pakistan, we will defend every inch of our soil with all the means at our disposal and the last drop of our blood. Let there be no no underestimation of our resolve.".
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Indo-Pak border tension may be easing: Blackwill
Chennai,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: The US Ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, today said the tension along the Line of Control might have started easing especially after India had made it clear that it prefered a diplomatic solution to the border issue.
Addressing a press conference here today, he said the US was genuinely concerned and was ready to assist both the countries in whatever possible manner to ease the tension and withdrawal of troops.
He said his impression is that President Pervez Musharaff's speech asserting that his Government would not allow terrorism to emanate from the Pak territory, the Indian response to the same and the recent visit of US Secretary of State to both the countries could be helpful in easing tension.
'We are hopeful of an early solution', he said adding it is also a fact that patience is not an indefinite thing.
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Microsoft 'remaps' India, opens window to dispute
(Indian Express)
ometimes, even the biggest make mistakes. In its new business software, computer giant Microsoft has distorted the map of India, showing Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as "disputed'' areas. And even as an Indian e-activist in the US has launched a signature campaign on the Net, Microsoft officials acknowledge they've received complaints which they are treating "seriously''.
The error occurs in MapPoint 2002, an elaborate, detailed software guide to geographic and demographic information. Introduced last year at a price of $249, it is reported to have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in the US and Europe. The maps for Europe and North America demarcate even streets within cities but it is more broad-based for other areas, including for India.
Interestingly, the controversial map on India appears only from the second usage onwards; when a user opens it for the first time, the correct map of India is displayed.
When contacted at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft's International Public Relations Manager Helen Aaricke said the company was aware of complaints against the map and was taking it seriously. It had begun investigations, she added.
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IOC buys IBP for Rs 1551.25 a share; Tatas take VSNL at Rs 202
New Delhi,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has bought the majority stake in petro retailer IBP Co Ltd for Rs 1551.25 per share while Tatas have acquired the majority stake in telecom company VSNL at Rs 202 a share.
IOC quoted a price of Rs 1153.68 crore for acquiring 33.58 per cent government equity (7437053 shares), a price which is more than two times the closing price of Rs 717.45 of IBP scrip at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) yesterday.
Tatas put in Rs 1439.25 crore for taking 25 per cent (71250000 shares) government stake and management control in VSNL, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie told reporters after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD), chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here.
The big ticket disinvestment of the two companies would help government mop up Rs 2,592.93 crore.
Government had fixed a reserve price of Rs 337 crore for IBP, which has a market share of over 5 per cent in retail petro product. The reserve price for VSNL, the international long distance telecom player, was put at Rs 595 crore, he added.
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VRS for Central government employees
New Delhi,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: In a bid to trim bureaucracy, the Union Cabinet today approved a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for its ''surplus'' employees with a threat of retrenchment for those not opting for it at the end of redeployment and re-training period.
Under the proposal, approved by the cabinet, permanent government employees rendered surplus will be eligible for the VRS and will be offered an ex-gratia amount equivalent to emoluments, i.e basic pay and Dearness Allowance of 35 days for each completed year of service and 25 days for each year of the balance of service left until superannuation.
Surplus employees who do not opt for VRS will be retrained and redeployed, it said.
According to the decision, the surplus employees who neither opt for VRS nor could be re-deployed within a period of one year from the date on which they are declared surplus ''may be retrenched'' from service at the end of that period and will be given retrenchment benefits as per the norms laid down in the rules.
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US aid to India increased as frontline state against terrorism
Washington,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: US has proposed a 151.185 million dollar aid for New Delhi in President Bush's budget for fiscal 2003, while officials said India was now treated as a "frontline State" in its war against terrorism.
India is now treated as a "frontline state" with other countries like Pakistan and Jordan, US officials said in a press conference.
Pakistan gets 305 million dollars, more than double the amount to India, presumably because of its economic condition and for the expenditure incurred providing base and other facilities to the US-led anti-terror war.
The aid to India has been increased and the proposed 151.185 million dollars comes under various heads apart from the programmes handled by the Agriculture Department this year.
The Administration has proposed for India 75.185 million dollars in development assistance, child survival and health progrmames for fiscal 2003, beginning October 1, 2002, against an estimated 70.878 million in 2002 and an actual of 53.398 million in fiscal 2001.
A 50 million dollar under the Foreign Military Financing scheme has been allocated for India to fight terrorism besides one million for International Military Education and Training.
The budget has proposed another 25 million dollars from the Economic Support Fund to promote energy efficiency, strengthen local governance, enhance openness in India's merging market economy, and improve disaster preparedness.
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ADB considering $2 bn annual assistance to India
New Delhi,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering hiking annual assistance to India by more than 50 per cent to 2.0 billion dollars but asked the government to step up reforms in power, agriculture and financial sectors.
"We will seriously consider enhancing annual assistance to India to two billion dollars a year. We have various expecations of the reform efforts. It's a necessity but not a pre-condition," ADB President Tadao Chino said on the sidelines of an interactive session hosted by FICCI here today.
While lending, the bank wanted to make sure that the loans were used efficiently, he said, stressing on the reforms.
According to official estimates, India needs 5.0 billion dollars from multilateral agencies in the coming years to ensure a higher growth rate. Government has sought 2.0 billion dollars from ADB, of the total 5.0 billion dollars.
ADB Director General (South Asia), Y Iwasaki, said the hike in loan amount to 2.0 billion dollars from the present 1.2-1.3 billion dollars would depend on India's absorptive capacity, debt management and portfolio performance.
"These issues will be examined in the new Country Strategy Programme to be developed by mid-2002," he said.
ADB has provided a total 10.3 billion dollars for 52 projects since 1986. Currently loans totalling 5.4 billion dollars are being utilised in 24 projects.
The Manila-based bank, in which India is the fourth largest shareholder, has also provided 285 million dollars to the private sector and about 71.3 million dollars worth of technical assistance to Indian corporates.
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BSE: Equities resume on a subdued note
Mumbai,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: Share values opened subdued on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today due to speculative selling following a sharp fall in Wall Street Monday night.
While select Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) like IBP and VSNL continued their upward march on expectation of favourable decision on disinvestment in today's meeting of Cabinet Committee of Disinvestment (CCD).
However, other PSU counters declined on profit-selling.
Software stocks displayed a mixed trend on alternate bouts of buying and selling. On the Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped sharply by 220.17 points and 55.71 points Monday night respectively. The BSE-30 share Sensitive Index resumed barely steady at 3316.42 from yesterday's close of 3317.01 and was trapped in a narrow range of 3322.43 and 3297.42 before being quoted at 3317.72 at 10.50 am. Among major gainers, Indianoil rose by 15.23 per cent, Kodak Ind by 6.77 per cent, Hugesoft by 6.51 per cent, Gillett by 6.23 per cent and Arvindmill by 4.07 per cent. However, Bharatpetro declined by 4.12 per cent, shipping Corporation by 3.44 per cent, BHEL by 3.37 per cent, SARE Ind by 3.02 per cent and TataTea by 2.85 per cent.
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IBP shines in a dull and subdued market
Mumbai,Tuesday, February 05, 2002: Led by IBP, petro shares flared up on the Bombay Stock Exchange today following heavy buying generated by Government's privatisation of the two public sector undertakings, IBP and VSNL.
However, select old-economy shares like RIL, RPL, HLL, BHEL, Telco and Tisco met with selling pressure which forced the sensex to close in negative territory at 3311.73, down by 5.28 points.
IOC acquired 33.58 per cent government equity at Rs 1551.25 a share which is more than two times the closing price of Rs 717.45 at BSE yesterday, while Tatas took 25 per cent government stake and management control in VSNL at a price of Rs 202 a share.
IBP touched a 20 per cent circuit as trading closed up by 19.76 per cent while VSNL edged up by 0.24 per cent.
Reflecting the mood, the BSE-30 share sensitive index opened barely steady at 3316.42 and immediately touched a high of 3322.43. Later it dipped to a low of 3290.00 before closing at 3311.73 as against yesterday's close of 3317.01.
The BSE-100 index, however, improved further by 11.20 points to 1616.02 from 1604.82 previously.
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India Unveils World's Highest Observatory
(Pallava Bagla for National Geographic News)
The latest hot spot for international astronomers is perched on a lonely peak in the western Himalayas. The Indian Astronomical Observatory, sitting 14,800 feet (4,517 meters) above sea level in the village of Hanle, India, is the world's highest astronomy observatory.
The Hanle telescope is located 660 feet (200 meters) higher than the Meyer-Womble Observatory, operated by the University of Denver deep in the Rocky Mountains, which until now held the distinction of being the world's highest observatory.
A local Buddhist priest holds his prayer wheel in the rocks above the Hanle Observatory, deep in the mountains of the Himalayas.
The U.S. $8 million observatory, which became operational in the summer of 2001, is the most advanced astronomy facility in Asia. Managed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore, the observatory is expected to become an international gathering point for astronomers.
Astronomers always try to locate their telescopes in areas with low population densities to reduce the visibility problems caused by light pollution. Hanle Observatory on Mount Saraswati is in the cold, barren desert of Ladakh, where few people venture.
It takes a good ten hours of steady driving from Leh, the district capital of Ladakh, to reach the facility in the vast Nilamkhul Plain of Changthang Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir State, very close to the Chinese border.
The cloudless skies and low water vapor levels of the dry, cold desert make it an excellent site for optical, infrared, sub-millimeter, and millimeter wavelength astronomy.
The observatory's telescope was christened the "Chandra" in honor of the India-born astrophysicist and Nobel laureate S. Chandrashekhar.
The Chandra telescope has a mirror a little over two meters (6.5 feet) large. The larger the mirror the better, as it allows a telescope to view more distant stars and galaxies.
Officials at IAO say the Chandra is the most sophisticated telescope in the eastern hemisphere and will provide the best coverage for half the globe, from the Canary Islands to Eastern Australia.
American, Japanese, and French scientists are lining up to make use of India's state-of-the-art facility. In addition to astronomers, atmospheric scientists, Earth scientists, and even wildlife biologists want to take advantage of the remote high-altitude observatory.
If the dreams of Indian astronomers come to fruition, the facility could house a giant six- to eight-meter (20- to 26-foot) binocular telescope by 2010. A U.S. $100 million project is also under consideration by the Indian government.
Despite a raft of pesky issues—delays in obtaining visas to visit Jammu and Kashmir, and a 37-mile (60-kilometer) stretch of unpaved road on the final approach to the observatory—the Indian astronomy community has been able to facilitate site visits by more than two dozen overseas astronomers, opening the floodgates to international collaboration.
Japan has installed $250,000 worth of equipment as part of a preliminary effort to build a multimillion-dollar radio telescope array close to the Hanle facility. U.S. astronomers are financing a twin half-meter telescope; one will be housed at Hanle and the other at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
These twin scopes will operate in tandem so that once a star sets over Indian skies, scientists in the U.S. can begin to track it as it rises in the Western Hemisphere, thanks to the 12-hour time difference. This unique pair of telescopes will enable astronomers to study stars called "blazers," which change their appearance literally by the hour.
The Hanle telescope can also be operated by off-site astronomers using a dedicated satellite hotline.
"The telescope can be fully operated remotely from Hoskote and all observational data can be transmitted online to astronomers sitting more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away," said B.C. Bhatt, Hanle Observatory's lead astronomer.
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Sensex: 3311.73, -5.28
The sensex closed at 3311.73, down 5.28
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Forex
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1 U.S. $ = 48.59 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.36 INR
1 British Pound = 69.07 INR
1 Canadian $ = 30.41 INR
1 Singapore $ = 26.49 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.23 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 12.96 INR
1 Euro = 42.23 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.34 INR
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Metals
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No data
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Weather
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Temperature: 75 F / 24 C
Humidity: 50%
Dewpoint: 55 F / 13 C
Wind
NNW at 5 mph / 8.0 km/h
Pressure: 29.91 in / 1013 hPa
Conditions
Smoke
Clouds
Clear (SKC)
Sunrise : 07:10 AM (IST)
Sunset : 06:31 PM (IST)
Moon Rise : 02:07 AM (IST)
Moon Set : 12:48 PM (IST)
Tonight : Low: 68 F / 20 C Scattered Clouds
Wednesday : High: 75 F / 24 C Scattered Clouds
Wednesday Night : Low: 64 F / 18 C Scattered Clouds
Thursday : High: 71 F / 22 C Scattered Clouds
Thursday Night : Low: 62 F / 17 C Scattered Clouds
Friday : High: 73 F / 23 C Scattered Clouds
Friday Night : Low: 62 F / 17 C Scattered Clouds
Saturday : High: 73 F / 23 C Clear
Saturday Night : Low: 64 F / 18 C Clear
Sunday : High: 75 F / 24 C Scattered Clouds
Sunday Night : Low: 64 F / 18 C Clear
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Admin Message
Today's newsletter has a very interesting news article about the world's highest observatory in Ladakh.
Another news article has the details on the sale of VSNL and IBP. BusinessWeek has an article analysing the impact of this and future sales of PSUs at:
http://www.mumbai-central.com/bw
Regards,
Harshal
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