• India Leader of Asia-Pacific Bloc
• Canada Gets Second Indo-Canadian Attorney General
• Developed Nations Lag Behind India in terrorism Cover

• India, 4 Non-Kyoto Nations in Climate Pact
• Andhra Becomes First Sate to Provide Reservation to Muslims

Asia-Pacific nations, including India, came together today to unveil a landmark partnership aimed at developing cleaner energy technologies for reducing global warming. Described as complementary to the Kyoto protocol, the partnership between India, USA, Japan, Australia, South Korea and China on "Clean Development and Climate", envisages a combined effort towards development, deployment and transfer of cleaner and more efficient technologies, consistent with the principles of the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change. Minister of state for external affairs Mr Rao Inderjeet Singh announced the adoption of a "Vision Statement" for the partnership, adding that despite progress at many levels, 43 per cent of Indian households still did not have electricity. "With growing economy, India's energy needs are going to increase in the future. We need to develop in a balanced manner and have taken steps at the national level to achieve energy efficiency," he told reporters at the Asia-Pacific security conference here. Mr Singh was here in place of the external affairs minister, Mr Natwar Singh, to attend the conference. The landmark partnership envisages a collaboration among the six countries to promote and create an enabling environment for the development, diffusion, deployment and transfer of existing and emerging, cost-effective and cleaner technologies and practices. The five founding members has made it clear that the partnership would not compete with the Kyoto agreement but would rather endeavour to be complementary to it. "Kyoto protocol could do with a bit of complementariness," Austalian foreign minister Mr Alexander Downer told press. "It is not a competitor to the Kyoto protocol and will not try to undermine the protocol," he said, adding: "We are not trying to detract from the Kyoto protocol in anyway. We are complementing it". Mr Singh said that the "Vision Statement" was referred to in the Delhi declaration, which has made significant departure from the previous declarations by stressing on the importance of sustainable development and the need for considering any climatic changes that might be engendered in the process. India also welcomes newer technologies like nano-technology, advanced biotechnology, next generation nuclear fission and fusion technology - all of which has been included in the "Vision Statement", the minister said.

Courtesy: The Statesman, July 29, 2005

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India along with Australia, the US, China and South Korea are getting together to develop technologies that would help curb greenhouse-gas emissions, officials in Canberra said on Wednesday.The countries linked in an as-yet unannounced initiative that is called the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate account for more than 40 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, Environment Minister Ian Campbell said."By moving more and more towards renewable energy such as solar and wind and a whole range of technologies that we can develop here in Australia and ultimately export to places like China and India, building partnerships with these countries is going to be the solution," Campbell said.Australia and the US are the only two rich countries that have refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that sets binding targets for reducing the emissions of carbon monoxide and other gases that are blamed for global warming and climate change.Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed to join the US initiative when he met President George W Bush in Washington last week. Howard also held a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was also visiting the US capital last week.Australia - on a per capita basis the world's worst polluter - won't sign the Kyoto Protocol because it wants to continue to rely on its large coal reserves for most of its electricity generation.Canberra also has argued that poor countries like China and India that are big polluters as well should also participate in international efforts to slow climate change. Instead, they have won reprieves because their economies are still developing.The Australian government has set no targets for shifting away from its reliance on coal for power generation.The Labour Party's Anthony Albanese, the opposition environmental spokesmen in parliament, said the Howard government would sign on to the Kyoto Protocol if it were serious about fighting climate change.The international environmental organisation Greenpeace also denounced what would only be a voluntary programme, arguing that Canberra should embrace the discipline of Kyoto along with other rich countries.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, July 27, 2005

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Wally Oppal has been named Canada's attorney general, the second Indo-Canadian to bag the post. The 65-year-old attorney, who was the first Canadia-born Indian to become a Supreme Court judge, has also been appointed the minister for multiculturalism. The first attorney general was Ujjal Dosanjh, the current health minister and former premier of British Columbia, served as attorney general from August 1995 to February 2000. "Oppal has dedicated his entire working life improving social justice and community safety," an official statement said. Oppal was born in 1940 in the Vancouver-Fraserview neighbourhood from where he was elected in provincial general election in May as a Liberal Party representative. Upon winning the seat, he said in an open letter to the community members: "I have studied and practiced in the Canadian legal system for many years and am confident that together we will create a safer community for our children." His appointment as attorney general brings to focus the gang violence that has rocked the Indo-Canadian community, which has lost nearly 100 youths.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, July 17, 2005

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India has an edge over developed countries when it comes to terrorism insurance. The Indian general insurance industry had set up its own independent terrorism pool after the 9/11 attacks on the US. In contrast, the developed world had to rely on individual governments to establish a separate terrorism pool to take care of probable contingencies. The terrorism pool is essentially a corpus of funds collected from all insurers to offset possible future losses arising out of such violence. This became imperative, when such risk cover was excluded globally by insurers. Today, the country's terrorism pool has increased the coverage from Rs 300 crore per risk in 2001 to Rs 500 crore as on February 2005. With the growing occurrence of terrorist attacks globally, international insurance players feel the dire need for 'private and public partnership in financing risk'. According to a report released by the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), there has been an increase of around 274 per cent in terrorist attacks worldwide. In 2001, post the attacks on the US, terrorism cover was no longer available internationally. Each country set its wheels in motion to protect their assets. India, decided to set up its own terrorism insurance pool, pricing the risk cover at 50 paise for every Rs 1,000 sum assured (that is value of the property), in the case of industrial risks and 30 paise for every Rs 1,000 sum assured in the case of non-industrial risks.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, July 11, 2005

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Andhra Pradesh has become the first state to categorize Muslims among backward classes and provide five per cent reservation to them in government jobs and educational institutions. However, the move has triggered a political storm and hit a legal hurdle with the opposition BJP and other Sangh Parivar organizations raising objection to "religion-based reservations" and warning that it could lead to "communal tensions". While the BJP termed the decision as "yet another reflection of vote bank politics and appeasement of minorities," ruling Congress said it has fulfilled one of its key poll promises and the move would go a long way in addressing the socio-economic problems faced by the minorities. "It is clear that Muslims are lagging behind socially, economically and educationally. Providing reservations is the surest way to ensure justice," the Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy said. Overcoming an initial legal setback, the Congress government has finally come out with quota system for Muslims who constitute 9.2 per cent of the state's total population of 7.5 crore. However, the creamy layer among Muslims, with an annual income above Rs 2.5 lakh, will be excluded from the purview of reservations. The state cabinet had last month approved a report of the Backward Classes Commission which had recommended inclusion of Muslims in the list of Backward Classes by creating a separate category and providing five per cent reservation in jobs and education. Muslims in Andhra Pradesh will now be treated as BCE category for the purpose of reservations in employment and admissions into educational institutions. With this, the total percentage of reservations in the state has gone up to 51, exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling suggested by the Supreme Court. The Congress government, however, justified the quota exceeding 50 per cent on the ground that scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and Muslims together accounted for 77 per cent of the state's population and deserved affirmative action by way of 51 per cent reservation. "The apex court had allowed reservations beyond 50 per cent ceiling in case of extraordinary circumstances which exist in the state," the Chief Minister said. The quota move has set off fears of possible dilution of existing reservations for Backward Classes. The Chief Minister, however, said the existing 25 per cent reservation for Backward Classes, who constitute 45 per cent of the state's population, would not be reduced.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, July 09, 2005

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