Alexander Grothendieck: a visionary who did pioneering work in algebraic geometry

Alexander Grothendieck, one of the greatest mathematical minds of the twentieth century, died on November 13

Alexander Grothendieck, one of the greatest mathematical minds of the twentieth century, died last Thursday (November 13).

A recipient of the most prestigious honour in mathematics, the Fields medal, in 1966, he was a visionary who set up several ideas in algebraic geometry for mathematicians who followed.

Though his early work was on Functional analysis, he became interested in algebraic geometry in the mid-1950s, as did many brilliant minds of that period. “He brought in a completely new universal perspective, a new language and thought, using which he solved existing concrete problems and set up a whole superstructure indispensible for generations to come,” says Prof. V. Balaji, algebraic geometer from Chennai Mathematical Institute.

The Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch theorem was one striking result to emerge in this time. His work laid the foundation for many important results, including the solution of the Weil conjectures and Fermat’s last theorem and applications in diverse fields as robotics and cryptography.

Born in 1928, in Germany, Grothendieck witnessed rebellion early. When he was five, his parents left him with a family in Hamburg and moved to France. In 1942, he attended school, at Collège Cévénol, and then went on to study in Paris. He took up a position at Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifique, near Paris, where he did phenomenal work.

In his own words, taken from his autobiographical work Récoltes et Semailles: “In our acquisition of knowledge of the Universe (whether mathematical or otherwise) that which renovates the quest is nothing more nor less than complete innocence ... Although so often the object of our contempt and of our private fears, it is always in us. It alone can unite humility with boldness so as to allow us to penetrate to the heart of things, or allow things to enter us and take possession of us. This unique power is in no way a privilege given to ‘exceptional talents’ — persons of incredible brain power (for example)... Yet it is not these gifts, nor the most determined ambition combined with irresistible will power that enables one to surmount the ‘invisible yet formidable boundaries’ that encircle our universe. Only innocence can surmount them...”

CO2 emissions must be nil by 2070 to prevent disaster: U.N.

The world must cut CO2 emissions to zero by 2070 at the latest to keep global warming below dangerous levels and prevent a global catastrophe, the U.N. warns.

By 2100, all greenhouse gas emissions — including methane, nitrous oxide and ozone, as well as CO2 — must fall to zero, the United Nationals Environment Programme (UNEP) report says , or the world will face what Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists have described as “severe, widespread and irreversible” effects from climate change.

Finite carbon budget

The UNEP report published on Wednesday is based on the idea that the planet has a finite ‘carbon budget’. Since emissions surged in the late 19th century, some 1,900 Gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 and 1,000 Gt of other greenhouse gases have already been emitted, leaving less than 1,000 Gt of CO2 left to emit before locking the planet in to dangerous temperature rises of more than 2C above pre-industrial levels.

Jacqueline McGlade, UNEP’s chief scientist, told The Guardian that scientific uncertainties about the remaining carbon budget had diminished and the real uncertainty now was whether politicians had the will to act.

“The big uncertainty is whether you can put enough policies in place from 2020-2030 — in the critical window — to allow the least-cost pathways [to lower emissions and temperatures] to still stand a chance of being followed,” she said. “The uncertainties have shifted from the science to the politics.”

All scenarios in the UNEP report now require some degree of ‘negative CO2 emissions’ in the second half of the century, through technologies such as carbon capture and storage or, possibly, controversial, planetary wide engineering of the climate known as geo-engineering. UNEP is “extremely interested” in the subject and is planning a report in the months ahead.

Consideration should also be given to compensatory schemes for investors in fossil fuels companies to address the ‘stranded assets’ issue, Ms. McGlade added.

She acknowledged “donor fatigue” ahead of a pledging conference for the Green Climate Fund on Thursday — which has so far racked up close to $10bn (£6.4bn) — and called for up to 20 per cent of the final money pot to come from citizen bonds for local environment projects, with the remaining 80 per cent split between public and private sources.

Maroš Šefèoviè, the European Commission’s vice-president for energy union told a Brussels press conference that the report would be of use in preparing bloc positions for next month’s Lima climate summit.

The EU has not, however, supported UNEP’s call for zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2100 .

Climate neutrality

Christiana Figueres, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s executive secretary, said: “This important report underscores the reality that at some point in the second half of the century, we need to have achieved climate neutrality — or as some term it zero net or net zero — in terms of overall global emissions.” A key theme in the emissions gap study is the cost-effectiveness of taking early action and the dangers of not doing so

Peace at the WTO

India must now move ahead to reduce food stocks

The deal between India and the United States that appears to have paved the way for reviving the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Doha Round of negotiations is welcome. As this newspaper reports on Thursday, the WTO secretariat is preparing to hold a special general council on November 26 to discuss the stalled issues of a trade-facilitation agreement and norms for food stock holding by member countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government should be commended for eventually taking the long view and recognising that a permanent solution to complaints over the accounting of India’s subsidies to agricultural producers can wait; the agreement on trade facilitation must be signed first. The process of resolving the contentious issue of WTO-compliant farm subsidies can also begin as New Delhi has received an assurance that the United States won’t challenge its food procurement and stock holding policies at the WTO forums. However, it does not automatically deter other countries from doing so unless consensus-based new subsidy norms are incorporated in the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). But given the United States’ clout in the world organisation, it may now be easier to sort out this matter to the satisfaction of India, which currently runs the risk of breaching the current upper limit of such subsidies fixed at 10 per cent of the value of production.

India still faces charges levelled by several countries, including Canada, Australia, Japan and the European Union, of understating its food and agricultural subsidies. Such accusations and disputes can end only when the norms stipulated in the AoA for calculating these subsidies are rationalised and the ceiling on such expenses are revisited. The catch is that the subsidies are calculated on the basis of domestic 1986-88 prices, which were just a fraction of what they are today. India wants either that decades-old benchmark to be revised, or for the currently applicable ceiling on the total cost of subsidies and stockpiling – 10 per cent of the total production – to be permanently relaxed. Of course, the fact that India’s 1986-88 prices for wheat and rice are much lower than prices today is not unrelated to the continual increase in minimum support prices, or MSPs — precisely the behaviour that is arguably in violation of the WTO norms. Other countries are concerned that these subsidies incentivise the over-production of agricultural produce that could then be dumped on the world market and distort global prices.

A permanent solution to this dispute on stock piling and subsidies will continue to be worked towards. In the meantime, an assurance is to be obtained at the forthcoming special general council meeting of the WTO that countries will refrain indefinitely from challenging India’s violation of the 10 per cent limit. There is little doubt that the deal with the United States prior to the WTO meeting is a major breakthrough. However, the tasks before the Modi government are onerous and the opportunity even bigger. The government should use the excuse of a foreign treaty to work on rationalising and revamping its own food management regime to hive off needless costs. Some important steps have been taken in recent months to cut down food procurement and prune food inventories. But more flab must be shed to match food acquisition and stock  holding with genuine needs.

What has PM Modi achieved from his summits? Evaluating Narendra Modi's series of summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long trip to a series of important multilateral meetings - with some bilateral summitsthrown in along the way - is drawing to a close. As with his previous trips, Mr Modi has certainly made an impression, including in the media; it seems he has been able to convey a palpable sense of possibility to India's foreign partners, a sense that was missing for the last few years of the previous government. However, as before, in terms of concrete deliverables it is not fully clear what has been achieved. Moving India's position forward in the multilateral arena is certainly something for the long haul, and real results are unlikely to manifest themselves in the short run. However, this was a major test for Mr Modi in terms of forging relationships with the men and women he will be working with during his time in office - the degree to which he has succeeded will only be learned in time. Of course, as always, he managed to conclusively show - this time in Australia - the power of the Indian diaspora. This will have correspondingly raised India's profile.

One major step forward is that Mr Modi has managed to, while expertly preserving Indian pride, rescue its position at the World Trade Organization by coming to an agreement with the United States. Another major deal that was in India's interest but that it had shied away from signing was the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's financial information-sharing pact. Over 50 countries had signed it in Berlin at the last minute, but India ducked out of doing so; reportedly that impasse, too, has now been overcome, and the G20has also endorsed these financial reporting standards. Meanwhile, thanks to recent leaked information on hundreds of special sweetheart tax deals given to big companies by Luxembourg - now being investigated by several European countries and by the European Union - a specific clause on action against such deals was included in the G20 communique. These may not be the product of specific Indian action or pressure from Mr Modi, but clearly do reflect Indian interests. The G20 has long held a strong view on curbing the tax haven menace, which dovetails well with the domestic Indian political narrative around eliminating black money.

At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-India and the East Asia summits, Mr Modi will have done his best to reassure partners of a continuing Indian interest in the Pacific Rim and the South China Sea. Security concerns, as well as the need for enhancing logistical connections, will have predominated, in the shadow of ever-increasing Chinese power. However, two contemporaneous events will have shown how far ahead of India China is in integrating itself into the multilateral system, and using summits to its advantage. The first was its series of deals with the United States, on intellectual property rights but also - crucially - on climate change. The second was the announcement of a major free-trade deal, a decade in the making, between China and Australia. India is still struggling with ambivalence towards trade deals; the Chinese are marching ahead, and coming to deals even with long-standing strategic partners of India, such as Australia.

Time to step on the gas for effective power generation Reviving stranded gas-based power plants and substituting diesel usage is a clear near-term opportunity

One of the embarrassing and less-discussed aspects of India's power story is that there are over 90,000 megawatt (Mw) of captive generating stations above one Mw capacity. Many of them use diesel. The overall consumption of diesel in the country has almost doubled in the last 10 years from 47 billion litres in 2003-04 to 89 billion litres in 2013-14, showing a growth of seven per cent a year. A significant chunk of this growth is attributable to the use of diesel for power generation. Some of the major diesel-consuming sectors forpower generation are shown in table I.

Consumption of diesel for power generation constitutes about 11 per cent of the total diesel consumption in the country, leading to a spending of Rs 64,200 crore annually. This does not even include the diesel used for power generation for small-sized generators at residences, agricultural usage and commercial establishments, the data for which are not available. The "power-backup" market in India is growing at an annual rate of 10 to 15 per cent due to the rising demand-supply gap, forcing diesel to be used as the primary fuel for this purpose.

Let us turn our attention to gas - liquefied natural gas (LNG) - as an alternative to diesel-based power. There are around 30,000 Mw of gas-based power plants sputtering along or lying completely unutilised. And 19,000 Mw of plants are clearly known to be "stranded" for lack of gas. Not only are they a national waste of ready capital assets but have also contributed in large measure to the non-performing assets (NPAs) stock at banks and financial institutions, and comprehensively stressed out promoter balance sheets.

With much of the hullabaloo about gas-pricing behind us now, it is time to see how making gas available operationally can rev up these assets to provide the much-desired spike in power availability and, more importantly, provide a cleaner and more cost-effective alternative to burgeoning diesel usage.

The use of diesel for power generation is, from all angles, a drag on the economy and environment. The cost of power from a diesel generating (DG) set for non-industry and telecom towers hovers at Rs 24-30/kWh (which includes the cost of amortisation of DG sets over a six to seven year period). The cost for generation in case of industrial captive operations is slightly lower due to the relatively efficient operations and is estimated to be around Rs 15-18/kWh.

On the other hand, LNG-based power can be produced at around Rs 9/kWh based on current LNGprices of about $14/ million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu). LNG power is clean and green. It has a carbon dioxide emission of only 0.55 kg/kWh against 1.06 kg/kWh for diesel. It can also be provided to customers on a 24x7 assured basis as compared to the interrupted and uncertain supplies of wind and solar energy.

With "gas-price-pooling" between domestic and imported sources rightly being taken up as a priority item by the power minister, the challenges to substitute diesel usage are clearly in the arena of "operations" - linkage, transmission and open access. Generating companies and consumers have to comply with the open access regulations of different states, apart from agreeing to respective state load despatch centres and the distribution company's commercial terms for open access.

Apart from this, a key hindrance is the operational feasibility of supplying gas-generated grid power to individual load centres where individual demand may be much less than the minimum threshold of one Mw needed for open access. So, necessary regulatory and policy changes need to be undertaken for:

n Clubbing the demand of various load centres to reach the one Mw threshold limit for open access eligibility, or
n Reducing the threshold demand from one Mw to a reasonable level to allow load centres to be eligible for open access, and
n Enabling "feeders" to be segregated to allow the supply of assured power to these customers.

If all this is addressed energetically in the here and now, over 30,000 Mw of gas-based power plants will immediately be humming with life - a clear demonstration of a quick turnaround effected by the new government as well as a leap forward in the prime minister's vision of "power for all".

It is time to immediately step on the pedal.

कानूनी सेवा और जागरूकता प्रदान करने में राष्‍ट्रीय वैधानिक प्राधिकरण सेवा (नाल्‍सा) की भूमिका

दीपक एक युवक है जो कुल्‍लू में एक स्‍थानीय रेस्‍टोरेंट में बरतन धोने का काम करता है। उसकी आंखों की रोशनी चली गई है। आंखों की जांच के बाद उसे पता चला कि उसकी दृष्टि लौट सकती है, किन्‍तु इसमें हजारों रुपये लग सकते हैं। मण्‍डी जिले के तालीहाद पंचायत के एक अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी मनीष को उसके बारे में पता चला। मनीष ने बताया कि उसे मुख्‍यमंत्री कोष से वित्‍तीय सहायता मिल सकती है। उसने आवेदन तैयार करने में उसकी मदद की। आवेदन को मुख्‍यमंत्री कार्यालय में भेज दिया गया, जहां से उसे सकारात्‍मक ऊत्‍तर मिला। अब दीपक को 40 हज़ार रुपये मिलेंगे जिससे वह अगले माह पीजीआई, चण्‍डीगढ़ में अपना ऑपरेशन कराएगा।

बाजोत गांव के कुछ बच्‍चे स्‍कूल नहीं जा सकते, क्‍योंकि उन्‍हें एक निजी भूमि से होकर जाने की अनुम‍ति नहीं दी गई थी जो एक वरिष्‍ठ माध्‍यमिक विद्यालय तक जाने में उनके रास्‍ते में आती थी। मनीष ने इस मुददे का समाधान निकाला और बच्‍चे फिर से स्‍कूल जाने लगे हैं। एक अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी की सहायता मिलने के कारण दिपक ने 120 से अधिक मामले का समाधान निकालने अथवा मदद करने का संकल्‍प लिया है, जिसमें विभिन्‍न कल्‍याण योजनाओं के बारे में ग्रामीणों को शिक्षित करना और अपने अधिकार के तहत लाभ का दावा करने के लिए आवेदन तैयार करने में उनकी मदद करना तथा विवादों का निपटारा करने में मदद करना शामिल है। राज्‍यों में हजारों अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी हैं, जो अपने अधिकारों, हकों से वंचित ग्रामीणों और विवाद में फंसे लोगों की मदद करते हैं।

वर्ष 2009 में राष्‍ट्रीय वैधानिक सेवा प्राधिकरण (नाल्‍सा) ने अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी योजना तैयार की। इसका उद्देश्‍य जीवन के विभिन्‍न क्षेत्रों के चुनिन्‍दा स्‍वयंसेवियों को वैधानिक प्रशिक्षण प्रदान करना था ताकि इस प्रकार की वैधानिक सेवा संस्‍थाओं तक लोगों के पहुंचने के बजाय लोगों के दरवाजे तक वैधानिक सेवा पहुंचाई जा सके।

अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी, गांव के आम लोगों की बीपीएल कार्ड प्राप्‍त करने, महात्‍मा गांधी नरेगा योजना के अधीन जॉब  कार्ड प्राप्‍त करने, प्रार्थना-पत्र तैयार करके खोये हुए राशन कार्ड आदि बनवाने, आवेदन तैयार करने जैसी समस्‍याओं का समाधान करने में मदद करते हैं। ये मेड़ों, अथवा वृक्ष की शाखाओं के अधिक लटकने, पानी अथवा सिंचाई नहर आदि से जुड़े साधारण विवादों की स्थिति में भी ग्रामीणों की सहायता करते हैं। एक प्रशिक्षित अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी समस्‍याओं के समाधान करने में ग्रामीणों की सहायता कर सकते हैं। आवश्‍यकता पडने पर पेशेवर पैनलबद्ध वकील की सहायता ली जा सकती है। ये अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी जहां काम करते हैं, उसे वैधानिक सहायता क्‍लीनिकों के नाम से जाना जाता है।

प्रत्‍येक वैधानिक स‍हायता क्‍लीनिक में कम-से-कम दो अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी उपलब्‍ध होना चाहिए। वैधानिक सेवा संस्‍था की ओर से वैधानिक सहायता क्‍लीनिकों में प्रशिक्षित अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवी को तैनात किया जा सकता है।

ऐसे क्‍लीनिकों में तैनात अर्द्ध-वैधानिक स्‍वयंसेवियों का काम प्रार्थना-पत्र, आवेदन, दलीलें और अन्‍य वैधानिक दस्‍तावेज तैयार करने में वकीलों की सहायता करना भी है। निकटवर्ती वैधानिक सेवा संस्‍था अपने क्षेत्राधिकार में स्थित वैधानिक सहायता क्‍लीनिक में अपने पैनल के वकीलों अथवा फीस देकर वकीलों को भी तैनात कर सकती है।

नाल्‍सा का अंतिम उद्देश्‍य यह है कि दूरस्‍थ गांव में रहने वाले लोग भी अपने वैधानिक अधिकारों और विभिन्‍न सरकारी योजनाओं के लाभ से वंचित न रहें।

नाल्‍सा/राज्‍य प्राधिकरण/जिला प्राधिकरण द्वारा उपलब्‍ध मुफ्त वैधानिक सेवाएं :-

 मुफ्त वैधानिक सेवाओं के लिए अधिकृत व्‍यक्तियों में शामिल हैं :-

महिलाएं और बच्‍चे, जो;

1.      अजा/जजा के सदस्‍य

2.      औद्योगिक श्रमिक

3.      व्‍यापक आपदा, हिंसा, बाढ, सूखा, भूकम्‍प, औद्योगिक आपदा पीडित  

4.      विकलांग व्‍यक्ति

5.      हिरासत में व्‍यक्ति

6.      एक निर्धारित राशि तक वार्षिक आय पाने वाला व्‍यक्ति।

उपल्‍ब्‍ध सेवाएं:-

1.      न्‍यायलय शुल्‍क, प्रक्रिया शुल्‍क और किसी वैधानिक प्रक्रिया से जुड़े सभी अन्‍य शुल्‍क का भुगतान

2.      वैधानिक प्रक्रिया में अधिवक्‍ता उपलब्‍ध कराना

3.      वैधानिक प्रक्रियाओं के आदेशों और अन्‍य कागजातों की प्रमाणित प्रतियां प्राप्‍त करना और आपूर्ति करना

4.      न्यायिक प्रक्रिया में अपील की तैयारी, पत्र-किताब जिसमें छपाई और दस्तावेजों का अनुवाद शामिल है।

नि:शुल्क  कानूनी सेवाएं यहां से प्राप्त की जा सकती हैं-

5.      सर्वोच्च न्यायालय मामलों के लिए सर्वोच्च न्यायालय कानूनी सेवा समिति, 109, अधिवक्ता परिसंघ, भारतीय सर्वोच्च न्यायालय, नई दिल्ली।

6.      राज्य कानूनी सेवा प्राधिकरण।

7.      उच्च न्यायालय के मामलों के लिए प्रत्येक उच्च न्यायालय परिसर में स्थित उच्च न्यायालय कानूनी समिति।

राष्ट्रीय वैधानिक सेवा प्राधिकरण (नाल्सा) द्वारा ट्रांसजेंड़र (किन्नर) लोगों को कानूनी सेवा देने के लिए नई योजना शुरू की गयी।

इससे पहले इसी साल नाल्सा द्वारा सर्वोच्च न्यायलय में दायर याचिका की सुनवाई करते हुए किन्नर समुदाय को तीसरे लिंग के रूप में मान्यता दी गयी थी।

सर्वोच्च न्यायालय का कहना था कि हमारे संविधान और संसद तथा राज्य विधानसभा द्वारा बनाये गये कानूनों के तहत इस समुदाय के लोगों के अधिकारों की रक्षा के लिए तीसरे लिंग के रूप में व्यवहार किया जाना चाहिए। न्यायपीठ ने केंद्र और राज्य सरकारों को निर्देश दिया था कि उन्हें सामाजिक और शैक्षिक रूप से पिछड़ी जातियों की तरह सुविधांए दी जाएं और शैक्षणिक संस्थानों और सरकारी नौकरियों में आरक्षण दिया जाए।

विभिन्न न्यायालयों में लंबित लाखों मामलों के चलते लोक अदालत कई मामलों को निपटाने में सहायता दे रहा हैं। देश के सभी जिलों में लंबित मामलों और साथ ही साथ अदालत में पहुंचने से पहले ही विवादों के निपटारे के लिए नाल्सा स्थायी तौर पर प्रचलित लोक अदालतों के गठन की जिम्मेदारी निभा रहा है।

(ब) वैधानिक प्राधिकरण और सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र की इकाइयों में लंबित मामलों और साथ ही साथ अदालत में पहुंचने से पहले ही विवादों के निपटारे हेतु सरकारी विभागों के लिए पृथक स्थायी और प्रचलित लोक अदालतों का गठन।

(डी) देश के सभी मजिस्ट्रेट न्यायालयों में कानूनी सहायता परामर्शदाता की नियुक्ति।

कानूनी सहायता योजनाओं के बारे में अभी भी जानकारी का अभाव है और इसलिए नाल्सा कानूनी अज्ञानता दूर करने और कानूनी जागरूकता अभियानों को चलाने पर जोर दे रहा है। नाल्सा कानूनी साक्षरता और कानूनी जागरूकता अभियानों को चलाने के लिए गैर सरकारी संगठन (एनजीओ) के प्रमाणन के लिए भी जिम्मेदार है।

नाल्सा के मुताबिक सभी राज्य वैधानिक सेवा प्राधिकरण देश के पिछडे औऱ दूर-दराज इलाकों में कानूनी जागरूकता अभियानों को चलाने के लिए उपयुक्त और विश्वसनीय गैर-सरकारी संगठन(एनजीओ) की पहचान कर रही है। जरूरतमंद लोगों को वैधानिक सेवा प्राधिकरण अधिनियम के तहत मुफ्त कानूनी सहायता प्रदान किये जाने के उद्देश्य के लोगों को इन योजनाओं की जानकारी प्रदान करने के लिए यह प्रयास किया जा रहा है।

राज्य और जिला स्तर पर आयोजित मेलों में भी नाल्सा की मुफ्त कानूनी सहायता की जानकारी मोबाइल वैन के माध्यम से दी जा रही है।

शिक्षा विभाग की सहायता से सभी राज्यों में नियोजित तरीके से स्कूलों और कॉलेजों में कानूनी जानकारी कार्यक्रम शुरू किये जा रहे हैं।

      युवा पीढ़ी के बीच कानून का पालन और कानूनी नियमों के मनोविज्ञान की जानकारी और कानूनी जागरूकता बढाने के लिए राज्य कानूनी सहायता प्राधिकरण की देख-रेख में सभी उच्च माध्यमिक शिक्षा विद्यालयों में स्कूल लीगल लिटरेसी क्लब बनाये जा रहे हैं।

      लोग नि:शुल्क प्रदान की जाने वाली कानूनी सहायताओं से तभी लाभान्वित हो सकेंगे जब अधिक से अधिक लोगों को योजनाओं की जानकारी होगी।

45th International Film Festival of India 2014

The 45^th International Film Festival of India is organized by the IFFI Secretariat under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Directorate of Film Festivals in collaboration with the Government of Goa and the Indian Film Industry. The festival brings cinema from around the world to the country and presents a boutique of contemporary and classic cinema from India to the world, through a variety of film screening programmes, academic sessions and cultural exchange programmes. It is based on the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is one family). The festival will feature the best of world cinema touching upon nuances of emerging trends in the world of cinema.  This cultural exchange of sensibilities and perspectives, take Indian cinematic sensibilities across the continents. IFFI 2014 would provide opportunities to showcase the variety of the festival in its various formats to facilitate international co-operation in the film sector. China would be the focus country for the festival and the first meeting of the “Indo-China Joint Working Group” would be held on the sidelines of the festival. This partnership provided a platform for opening new avenues for film makers from both the countries by sharing best practices and technologies. Shri Amitabh Bachchan would be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of IFFI scheduled to be held on 20th November 2014.  Shri Rajnikant, popular Tamil actor would be bestowed with Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year and Chinese Film maker Wong KarWai would receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

HIGHLIGHTS
            IFFI 2014 would screen 179 films from 75 countries across different categories which include World Cinema (61 films), Master-strokes (11 films), Festival Kaleidoscope (20 films), Soul of Asia (7 films), Documentaries (6 films), Animated Films (6 films). Besides, Indian Panorama section would include 41 Feature and Non-Feature Films. North-East being the focus region of the festival, IFFI 2014 would be showcasing 7 films from North Eastern part of India. Regional cinema would also be an integral part of the festival. Retrospective sections on Gulzar and JahnuBaruah, Special Homage films on Richard Attenborough, Robin Williams, ZohraSehgal, Suchitra Sen, and special tribute to Farooq Sheikh would be other attractions of this year’s film festival. A special section of films that focus on dance, personality based retrospectives, and Master classes, workshops would also form a part of IFFI 2014. 

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

            The first edition of IFFI was organized by the Films Division, Government of India, with the patronage of the first Prime Minister of India was held in Mumbai from 24 January to 1 February 1952. The Festival was subsequently taken to Madras, Delhi and Calcutta. In all it had about 40 features and 100 short films. In Delhi, the IFFI was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 21 February 1952. Since its beginnings in 1952 the IFFI has been the biggest event of its type in India. Subsequent IFFI’s were held in New Delhi. From the 3rd edition in January 1965, IFFI’s became competitive. In 1975 the Filmotsav was introduced and was later merged in IFFI’s. In 2004 the IFFI was moved to Goa. Since then the IFFI has been an annual event and competitive nature. Goa is permanent venue for IFFI.

The IFFI aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of the film art; contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos; and promoting friendship and cooperation among people of the world. The IFFI’s founding principles centre on discovery, promotion and support of filmmaking of all genres – thus bringing together the diversity of the forms, aesthetics and contents. The Festival is an assembly of people and nations where the world’s greatest film artistes hold hands with emerging talents on an equal footing. It is also a forum for film professionals to communicate face to face with film lovers around the world. IFFI aims to nurture, encourage and inspire Indian cinema and introduce it to the world outside as well as the many audiences that coexist in this vast and diverse country. With rapid technology changes, the importance of this festival will only grow as it will bring viewers and filmmakers together and expose them to emerging technologies and the challenges of the emerging new and social media. New interactions are envisaged; new strategies would be formulated so that with each edition of the IFFI, the viewing experience is enhanced, enlarged and enriched.

DIRECTORATE OF FILM FESTIVALS 

Directorate of Film Festivals organizes the Film Festivals at home and abroad. The Directorate of Film Festivals was set up under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 1973 with the prime objective of promoting good cinema. This is undertaken by organizing a range of activities under many broad categories. The main categories are The International Film Festival of India, The National Film awards and the Dada Saheb Phalke Awards, Cultural exchange programmes and organizing screening of Indian films through the missions abroad, the selection of Indian panorama, participation in international film festivals abroad, special film expositions on behalf of Government of India and print collection and documentations. These activities provide a unique platform for exchange of ideas, culture and experiences between India and other world nations in field of cinema.

THE CENTRAL BOARD OF FILM CERTIFICATION (CBFC)   

 The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), set up under the Cinematographer Act, 1952, certifies films for public exhibitions in India. It consists of a Chairperson and twenty- five other non-official members. The board has its headquarters at Mumbai and nine regional offices. The regional offices are assisted in examination of films by advisory panels consisting of persons from different walks of life.

THE FILMS DIVISION 

The Films Division was constituted in January 1948 by rechristening the erstwhile Information Films of India and the Indian News Parade set up in 1943, primarily for war coverage. The Cinematography Act of 1918 was Indianised in 1952 which made the screening of documentary films compulsory through out the country. Since 1949, Films Division has been releasing a documentary or news-based or an animation films every single Friday for the theatres spread across the country, in 15 national languages.  The aim and objective of the Film Shows focuses on national perspectives (to provide largest publicity platforms to the Plans, Policies, Programmes and Projects of the Government envisaged for the development of the masses), to educate and motivate people in the implementation of national programmes and to project the image of the land and the heritage of the country to Indian and foreign audiences. These film shows are one of the essentials of Films Division. The Film Division of India is undertaking the Digitization and Web Casting of films. Over a period of 60 years, Films Division has became a treasure trove of national history with a collection of more than 8100 films including archival footage, News Reel, New Magazine Documentary, Animation and Short films. Since the filmic materials are fragile and ephemeral, they start decomposing if not stored under ideal condition. Thus, a plan scheme called “Web casting and Digitization of Films Division Films” was envisaged for protection and storation of filmic materials. Films are kept in duly digitalized formats through Telecine Machine after which they will be stored on High Definition Tapes on DG Beta, which are latest technique in the world. Thereafter, Films Division has classified three broad groups, viz. Most precious and precious films are being transferred on High Definition tapes and normal films are being transferred on DG Beta. After Telecine transfer and restoration, films are being authored in DVDs/VCDs for regular use.

THE NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVES OF INDIA            

 The National Film Archives of India in Pune is a rich repository of Indian films. The importance of preserving cinema as an art and historical document has been recognized all over the world. The task of preserving cinema in all its varied expressions and forms is best entrusted to the national organization having adequate resources, a permanent set-up and the confidence of film industry. The National Film Archives of India was established as an independent media unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in February 1964. The aim of National Film Archive of India is to trace, acquire and preserve the heritage of national cinema for posterity and to build up a representative collection of World Cinema. The major functions of this organization are to classify and document data related to film, undertake and encourage research on cinema, their publication and distribution. It also acts as a centre for dissemination of film culture in the country and to ensure the cultural presence of Indian Cinema abroad.

THE NATIONAL FILM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED (NFDC)

The National Films Development Corporation Limited (NFDC), incorporated in 1975, (100 per cent owned by GOI body) was formed by the Government of India with the primary objective of planning and promoting an organized, efficient and integrated development of Indian Film Industry. In recognition of the need for a body that could facilitate the growth of Indian film industry, the Government of India merged the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) and Indian Picture Export Corporation (IMPEC) into NFDC. The NFDC has so far funded and produced over 200 films. These films, in various Indian languages, have been widely acclaimed and have won many national and international awards. 

OPENING AND CLOSING FILMS

Chinese film actress, Zhang Ziyi, Swedish film maker, Jan Troell, and Poland film maker, Krzysztof Zanussi would be the Guests of Honour. The President directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Iran) will be the opening film and The Grandmaster by Wong KarWai (China) would be the closing film of the festival. 

CENTENARY OF INDIAN CINEMA    

            In the centenary of Indian Cinema a special Website was launched on 13.7.2012 with the intention to invite the articles from general public. In order to commemorate, the Indian Cinema Centenary, the first Centenary film festival at state capitals was held with the Government of Puducherry from 24-26 August 2012. In order to commemorate the Centenary of Indian Cinema, NFAI released a DVD of three Indian silent films on 31.8.2012 with specially composed music of the two surviving reels of “Raja Harishchandra” (1913), DG Phalke’s master piece “Kaliya Mardan” (1919) and an excellent comedy film “Jamai Babu” (1931) by Kaliapada Das which is the only Bengali silent film available.

            The Film Institute of India was set up by the Government of India in 1960 under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Following the addition of Television wing in 1974. The Institute was redesigned as Film and Television Institute of India. The Institute became a Society in October 1974 under the Registration of Societies Act 1860. The Society consists of eminent personalities connected with Film, Television, Communication, Culture, Alumni of Institute and Ex-Officio Government members. The Institute is Government by Governing Council, headed by a Chairman. The Film wing and the TV Wing and offers courses in both Film and Television. The three-year Diploma Courses lead to a Post Graduate Diploma in Film Direction, cinematography, Audiography and Film Editing. The Institute also offers a two-year Post Graduate Diploma Course in Acting. Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SFRTI), Kolkata was established by the Government of India as an autonomous educational institute under the administrative control of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and was registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act 1961. Located at Kolkata and named after legendary film maestro Satyajit Ray, SFRTI is the second national level film training institute. The institute offers three-year post-graduate diploma courses in Direction and Screenplay Writing, Cinematography, Editing and Audiography.