President of India attends Valedictory Function of 89thFoundation Course at LBSNNA

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the Valedictory Function of 89th Foundation Course for Civil Services at the LalBahadurShastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie today (December 12, 2014). Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the young officer-trainees and said that they have entered the All India Services and Central Civil Services after clearing the Civil Services Examination, which is one of the toughest examinations in the country. He stated that these young officers of the nation, are going to work in various sectors of administration, furthering the cause of the nation in different spheres. He asked officers to remember that in whatever branch they are engaged in they should never lose sight of the pan-India perception which is welfare of the people and progress of the nation. The President said that the provisions of the Constitution of India have taken care of the evolving needs of our growing democracy. Adhering to our Constitutional charter, India’s governance framework has been geared towards upholding our democratic structure. The role of the civil service has to be perceived in the context of preserving these values. He said that good governance is the exercise of power, within the framework of the Constitution, for efficient and effective management of our economic and social resources for the well-being of the people, through the institutions of state. ‘Good governance’, as a concept, has been in vogue since the ancient times. Kautilya had mentioned about the inseparable link between the happiness of a king and that of his subjects. Good governance stands for a framework that has the singular agenda of well-being of the people. The President stated that Public administration plays a pivotal role in our polity. He advised the young officers that they should always be responsive to the needs of the public. They should adopt a rational approach while performing their duties.

The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report

India’s economic growth is expected to improve to 6.3 per cent in 2016 with the country leading economic recovery in South Asia, according to a United Nations report.

The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report, launched on 10 December 2014, also said India is likely to make progress in implementing economic policy reforms and help provide support to business and consumer confidence.

It said global economic growth is forecast to continue increasing over the next two years, despite legacies from the financial crisis continuing to weigh on growth, and the emergence of new challenges, including geopolitical conflicts such as in Ukraine, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The global economy is expected to grow 3.1 per cent in 2015 and 3.3 per cent in 2016, compared with an estimated growth of 2.6 per cent for 2014, when the pace of expansion has been moderate and uneven.

It said India, which is estimated to record a 5.4 per cent economic growth in 2014, will see GDP growth improving to 5.9 per cent next year and 6.3 per cent in 2016.

Economic growth in South Asia is also set to gradually pick up from an estimated 4.9 per cent in 2014 to 5.4 per cent in 2015 and 5.7 per cent in 2016.

“While the recovery will be led by India, which accounts for about 70 per cent of regional output, other economies such as Bangladesh and Iran are also projected to see stronger growth in the forecast period,” the report said.

The about six per cent growth projected for India in 2016 will be the highest since the 2008-2011 period when it had grown at about 7.3 per cent.

Economic growth had slowed to 4.7 per cent in 2012, according to the UN report.

During 2014, East Asia, including China, managed to register relatively robust growth, while India led South Asia to a moderate strengthening.

Developing countries as a group are expected to grow at 4.8 per cent in 2015 and 5.1 per cent in 2016, up from the 4.3 per cent estimated for 2014.

The report added that along with robust external demand, growth is expected to be underpinned by a moderate strengthening of domestic consumption and investment as countries benefit from improved macroeconomic conditions.

“Several countries, notably India, are likely to make progress in implementing economic policy reforms, thus providing support to business and consumer confidence,” it said.

The report, however, warned of significant downside risks for the South Asian region due to the continuing fragility of the global economy and considerable country-specific weaknesses, including political instability and the agricultural dependency on the monsoon.

Average inflation for developing economies will also fall slowly over the outlook period.

While inflation for East Asia will stay around the recent levels of 2-3 per cent over the outlook period, a pronounced decrease is forecast for South Asia due to falling inflation in almost all countries, especially in India and Iran.

Regional average inflation for South Asia is projected to decrease gradually from 14.7 per cent in 2013 to 7.2 per cent in 2016.

Apart from India, the baseline forecast projects a moderate growth recovery in 2015 and 2016 for almost all emerging economies, including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Turkey.

“While some economic indicators are positive and moving in the right direction which points to the potential for a gradual return to consistent economic growth, many risks and uncertainties could dash efforts to get the global economy on track and moving forward,” Director of the Development and Policy Analysis Division for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Pingfan Hong said.

The US economy is expected to improve in 2015-2016, with GDP projected to expand by 2.8 and 3.1 per cent, respectively.

The forthcoming further normalization of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy posed significant risks and uncertainties for the global economic outlook, depending on the timing and strategy of the monetary tightening, as well as the response by financial markets, the report said.

Only a slight improvement in growth is expected in Western Europe from 1.7 per cent in 2015 to two per cent in 2016.

The region is held back by the travails of the euro area, where the level of GDP has yet to regain its pre-recession peak. To reduce risks and meet challenges, the report says, it is imperative to strengthen international policy coordination.

In particular, macroeconomic policies worldwide should be aligned toward supporting robust and balanced growth, creating productive jobs, and maintaining long-term economic and financial stability

Ebola fighters named `TIME’s Person of the year 2014`

Washington: The TIME magazine has announced its decision to honour the “unprecedented numbers” of doctors and nurses, who responded when Ebola hit an already-weak public health infrastructure, as “Time’s Person of the Year.”

Terming the epidemic a “war and a warning,” Editor Nancy Gibbs explained how the governments were poorly equipped to respond to the outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was in denial and “snarled in red tape” and the first responders were accused of “crying wolf as the disease spread,” reported the CNN.

She added that the world could sleep at night because a group of men and women were willing to stand up and fight. “For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time’s 2014 Person of the Year,” she said.

The TIME magazine’s cover will feature five Ebola fighters including, 37-year-old ambulance driver, Foday Gallah, who contracted Ebola while trying to comfort an infected child, Dr. Jerry Brown, a Liberian surgeon who converted his hospital’s chapel into one of the country’s first treatment centers, Salome Karwah, an Ebola survivor who lost both parents to the disease and undertook the task of counseling patients in Liberia, Ella Watson-Stryker, a Doctors Without Borders health promoter and Dr. Kent Brantly who became the first American to contract Ebola while running a treatment center in Monrovia.

According to WHO estimates, about 6,300 people were killed in the epidemic in West Africa. Almost 11,000 confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone while, 6,000 suspected and probable cases loom, the UN agency said.

Mountains of plastic waste afloat in the oceans

Believe it or not, nearly 269,000 tonnes of plastic comprising an estimated 5.25 trillion plastic particles are floating in the world’s oceans, including the Bay of Bengal. This estimate does not take into account the amount of plastic waste found in the shorelines, on the seabed, suspended in the water column and that consumed by marine organisms.

The plastic particles are found in three size ranges — microplastic (less than 4.75 mm), mesoplastic (4.75-200 mm) and macroplastic (above 200 mm). The microplastic particles alone are in two size classes — 0.33-1.00 mm and 1.01-4.75 mm.

Of the 269,000 tonnes of floating plastic waste, the larger plastic items are predominant (an estimated 233,000 tonnes).

The results of a study by Marcus Eriksen (the first author) from the Five Gyres Institute, California, are published today (December 11) in the journal PLOS ONE. The results are based on 24 expeditions undertaken between 2007 and 2013 across all the five sub-tropical gyres — North and South Pacific Oceans, North and South Atlantic Oceans and the Indian Ocean — coastal Australia, Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean Sea.

With nearly 38 per cent of plastic particles and 35.8 per cent of plastic mass, the North Pacific Ocean is the most polluted ocean in the world. The two northern hemisphere oceans (North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans) together account for 55.6 per cent of plastic particles and 56.8 per cent of plastic mass found in all oceans.

In the southern oceans, the Indian Ocean has far more plastic particles and mass than the South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans put together.

The expeditions collected the particles using 680 net tows and also undertook visual surveys of large plastic debris.

Since the amount of plastic in shorelines, ocean bottom and suspended in the water column and consumed by marine animals was not taken into account, the authors state: “We stress that our estimates are highly conservative, and may be considered minimum estimates.”

If plastic waste discarded on land causes several problems including death of cattle due to plastic ingestion, the outcome is worse in the case of the marine organisms.

Plastic debris found in oceans has greater potential to degrade into smaller particles (through the action of light and weathering processes) and spread from the point of origin. Marine organisms and sea birds consume the small plastic particles.

According to the paper, since plastic has a greater propensity to adsorb persistent organic pollutants, organisms that consume the plastic particles end up consuming the pollutants, as well. The amount of microplastic in the oceans was estimated to be nearly 36,000 tonnes.

Compared to earlier studies, the scientists found the amount of microplastic floating in the oceans was far less. According to the authors, there is a 100-fold discrepancy in microplastic weight between this study and the earlier ones.

Missing small particles

The relatively smaller quantities of microplastic on the ocean surface reflect its loss or systematic removal. According to them, UV degradation, biodegradation by bacteria and other microorgansims, ingestion by marine organisms and settling to the ocean bottom due to increased weight may be some of the processes by which microplastic particles are removed from the sea surface.

Though the exact contribution from these removal processes is not known, one thing has become increasingly clear. Contrary to the earlier notion, many more marine organisms have been found to consume microplastic particles.

This could be either from direct ingestion of the particles or by preying on smaller organisms that have already consumed the plastic waste. This could lead to bioaccumulation of plastic in bigger marine animals and sea birds.

Unlike in the case of larger plastic waste floating in the oceans, removing the microsized ones that have settled to the ocean bottom is not feasible. This “reinforces the need for pre-consumer and post-consumer waste stream solutions to reverse this growing environmental problem,” they warn.

Satellites to assess coral reef health

High-end satellite technology is coming to the aid of protecting earth’s largest biological structures — the coral reefs which have taken millions of years to form and are declining at alarming rates worldwide.

Coral bleaching is one of the main reasons for increased deterioration of reef health. Corals are sensitive to changes in temperature and this aspect has come in handy for scientists to forewarn about the possibility of coral bleaching. When exposed to higher temperatures over an extended period of four to five weeks, the corals bleach and this in turn affects the marine ecosystem.    Scientists at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) are using satellite technology to glean data on Sea Surface Temperatures (SST). Based on an average temperature for a particular period, they assess if the coral reefs are facing thermal stress  and forewarn about the probability of bleaching.

Once they start bleaching, the corals expel the symbiotic organism (zooxanthellae) from which they derive food and die as a result. “Corals act as breeding and feeding ground for a variety of fishes. Corals are the forests of oceans,” said Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar, Head of the advisory service and satellite oceanography group.

Exploiting the potential of satellite technology, INCOIS has started the Coral Bleaching Alert System (CBAS) for Indian coral reefs located in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and elsewhere in India.

It is also issuing coral bleaching advisories regularly on a bi-weekly basis and hosting the information on its website, besides providing it to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and other coastal authorities.

According to R.S. Mahendra, scientist at INCOIS, coral reef ecosystems have been declining at an alarming rate worldwide in recent decades. He said various parameters like SST climatology, bleaching HotSpot (HS) and Degree of Heating Weeks (DHWs) are used to generate the data by using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor on-board National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites.

Dr. Mahendra said continuous monitoring through the advisories issued by INCOIS would enable the authorities to prepare bleaching response plans and also better manage interactions leading to coral bleaching.

According to Dr. Kumar, satellite data on ocean colour and sediment deposits were also being used to monitor the health of corals. 

INCOIS in collaboration with Space Application Centre carried out mapping of the coral reefs of India. Eco-morphological zonation of coral reefs has been generated using Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite data on 1:25000 scales for Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Kachchh, Malvan and Gulf of Mannar. 

These maps provide baseline information on coral area and eco-morphological diversity

Prime Minister and Russian President inaugurate ‘World Diamond Conference’

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, jointly inaugurated the World Diamond Conference, here today. Speaking at the inauguration, the Prime Minister said that “India is the natural venue for this conference. For one, it is generally believed that diamond is India`s gift to the world. More than two thousand years ago, diamond was deeply valued in India. It was even traded with China over the Silk Route. Till about the 18th century, India was considered to the only source of diamond.” The Prime Minister said that he has laid three proposals to President Putin. “First, I would like ALROSA to have direct long term contracts with more Indian companies. I am pleased to know that they are moving in that direction. Second, I want ALROSA and others to trade directly on our bourse. We have decided to create a Special Notified Zone, in which major mining companies can import rough diamonds on a consignment basis and re-export unsold ones. This is going to benefit Indian diamond industry and create more jobs for our youth. Third, I asked President Putin to reform regulations so that Russian jewellery makers can send their rough diamond to India and re-import polished diamond without paying duty. This will give a boost to our diamond industry. These measures will also boost India-Russia economic ties.” The Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Ministry has “supported and promoted this (diamond) sector in its initial phases wherein, the imports of rough diamonds to India were eased which in itself provided a smooth take-off for this industry.” She further added that “since then the growth in the diamond sector and progressive improvement in the value addition chain have been contributing in the nation’s industrial development.” Smt. Sitharaman underlined the fact that the Ministry has “supported the cause of eradication of conflict diamonds in India and worldwide by being a founder member of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.” She also added that India “still has tremendous potential, not yet exploited, for diamond sector exports. India has currently, largest number of artisans for making jewellery in the world. Practically, every village boasts of a family of artisans, having a very long tradition of jewellery making.” The diamond industry, the Minister said, “is an ideal example of “Make in India”, which is the vision of our honourable Prime Minister. We have achieved the number one position in the world for manufacturing of diamonds.” Smt. Sitharaman further added that her Ministry “realizes that the sector has been experiencing a weakening demand and that the consumer demand for diamonds need a tremendous boost. Through this conference, we aim to address the most urgent issues being faced by the diamond industry at present- the revival of consumer enthusiasm for diamonds and the consequent increase of market share for diamond jewellery in the luxury sector.” India’s diamond sector has established itself as the world’s largest manufacturing centre of cut and polished diamonds for the last many years, contributing 70% of the world’s supply in terms of value, 85% in terms of volume and 92% in terms of pieces. Surat along with Navsari, Bhavnagar, Amreli are known as the diamond manufacturing/processing hub whereas Mumbai is the diamond trading hub. On the sidelines Of World Diamond Conference, ALROSA, the largest rough diamond supplying company of Russia, signed agreements for direct sale of rough diamonds with 12 Indian companies. Under these agreements, over the next three years, USD 2.1 billion worth of rough diamonds would be supplied to India at the rate of USD 700 million per year. The Conference has attracted major mining companies, retailers and diamond cutting industries.

Prime Minister’s Media Statement during the Official Visit of the President of Russian Federation to India

President Vladimir Putin and members of the media, It is truly a great pleasure to welcome President Putin to India. We have met twice at the opposite ends of the world - in Brazil and Australia. I am honoured to host him in Delhi for the annual Summit. Since the turn of the century, he has been a key architect of our partnership. President Putin and Prime Minister Vajpayee launched the annual Summit process in 2000. When Prime Minister Vajpayee held the first of summits in Moscow in November 2001, I was there to sign the sister-state agreement between Gujarat and Astrakhan. President Putin is a leader of a great nation with which we have a friendship of unmatched mutual confidence, trust and goodwill. We have a Strategic Partnership that is incomparable in content. The steadfast support of the people of Russia for India has been there even at difficult moments in our history. It has been a pillar of strength for India`s development, security and international relations. India, too, has always stood with Russia through its own challenges. The character of global politics and international relations is changing. However, the importance of this relationship and its unique place in India`s foreign policy will not change. In many ways, its significance to both countries will grow further in the future. Russia has been India`s foremost defence partner through decades. My first visit outside Delhi as Prime Minister was to our new aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya. It sails our seas as a great symbol of our defence cooperation. Even as India`s options have increased today, Russia will remain our most important defence partner. We have conducted joint exercises across all three wings of the Armed Forces in the last six months. President Putin and I discussed a broad range of new defence projects. We also discussed how to align our defence relations to India`s own priorities, including Make in India. I am pleased that Russia has offered to fully manufacture in India one of its most advanced helicopters. It includes the possibility of exports from India. It can be used for both military and civilian use. We will follow up on this quickly. I also proposed that Russia should locate manufacturing facilities in India for spares and components for Russian defence equipment in India. He responded very positively to my request. Energy security is critical for India`s economic development and creating jobs for our youth. Russia is also a key partner in this area. I am pleased that the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is on stream. It has added 20% to the existing capacity for nuclear power in India. We are on course for installing the next three units of 1000 MW each. Today, we have outlined an ambitious vision for nuclear energy of at least ten more reactors. It will have the highest standards of safety in the world. It will also include manufacture of equipment and components in India. This also supports our Make in India policy. Russia is the world`s top source for hydrocarbon resources; and, India one of the world`s largest importers. Yet, despite our close friendship, our collaboration in this sector has been disappointing. Today, we have made a new start with a few important agreements. But, we will set an ambitious agenda for partnership in oil and natural gas. Today we have taken a number of decisions and signed several agreements. They also reflect our shared belief that in today`s world, vibrant economic relations constitute a key pillar of a strong strategic partnership. Similarly, closer contacts between people and in areas like education, culture and tourism are important. I thank President Putin for his support for India`s closer relations with Eurasian Economic Union. The International North South Transport Corridor will connect us better. And, today, we will jointly visit the World Diamond Conference. This highlights our new innovative approaches to strengthening economic relations. President Putin and I agreed that this is a challenging moment in the world. Our partnership and the strong sensitivity that we have always had for each other`s interests will be a source of strength to both countries. I conveyed my deepest condolences for the loss of lives in the terrorist attack in Chechnya. This also reflects our many shared challenges. Our areas of priority for our cooperation include combating terrorism and extremism; advancing peace and stability in Afghanistan; working together for a stable, balanced, peaceful and prosperous Asia Pacific; and, cooperating for development in other countries. Institutions like BRICS, East Asia Summit and G 20 have also widened our framework of engagement. This is President Putin`s eleventh Annual Summit and my first. This Summit reinforced my conviction in the extraordinary value and strength of this partnership. I am confident that our bilateral cooperation and international partnership will acquire new vigour and scale new heights in the years ahead.