PHF disappointed over India’s refusal to play in Pakistan

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has expressed disappointment after India refused to play a hockey tournament in Pakistan that the former had hoped could revive sporting ties between both sides.

PHF secretary general Mohammad Asif Bajwa said the federation was informed that the government in New Delhi had blocked the visit, The Daily Times reports.

“It is very disappointing that India has refused to send their team, terming the current situation not conducive for the tour,” Bajwa was quoted as saying. The PHF had hoped India`s participation, alongside Pakistan and Malaysia, in the tournament at the National Hockey Stadium between April 9 and 13 could have been the first step towards reviving the bilateral hockey series that have been stalled since 2006.

“We had made top-level security arrangements for the event and had thought that the event would give a new fillip to Indo-Pak hockey as both countries are also participating in London Olympics 2012, but everything is spoiled,” added Bajwa.

India had suspended all bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 killed 166 people.

India thanks B’desh for honouring 1971 heroes

India and thanked Dhaka for its decision to honour Indian nationals and groups for their role in the 1971 war that led to the birth of Bangladesh.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has written to his Bangladeshi counterpart Dipu Moni, expressing the government’s sentiments.

Krishna said the “cause of liberation of Bangladesh has been very close to our hearts, and the government and the people of India have been extremely proud of their association with the historic liberation war”. According to official sources, Krishna said the Bangladeshi initiative would “further strengthen the friendship” between the people of the two countries.

This will also have a significant impact in preserving memories in the mind of the young and in educating future generations, he wrote.

Last year, Bangladesh conferred the Bangladesh Freedom of Honour posthumously on Indira Gandhi, who was prime minister when Pakistan and India fought the 1971 war.

Last week, Bangladesh honoured a host of Indians and Indian organisations for their contribution to the 1971 war which included, among others, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, Lt Gen JFR Jacob and Arundhati Ghose.

Bangladesh celebrated its 41st independence day Monday with rich tributes to war heroes.

On March 26, 1971, the people of then East Pakistan began a military campaign against Pakistani armed forces following largescale killings of civilians opposed to Islamabad.

The civil war led to the eventual India-Pakistan war in December 1971, leading to the break-up of Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh.

On Monday, Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia laid wreaths at the National Monument at Savar, some 30 km north of capital Dhaka.

India UK for quota & governance reforms in IMF

India and Britain pitched for quota and governance reforms in the International Monetary Fund – the IMF. In a joint statement issued in New Delhi yesterday after the meeting between UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the Fifth ministerial level India-UK Economic Financial Dialogue, both countries said the funds of the multilateral lending agency should be adequately increased to help it play a meaningful role in mitigating global economic problems.

Both sides were of the view that quota and governance reforms of the IMF be implemented within the agreed timelines. Mr Mukherjee and Mr. Osborne agreed that while the global economy has stabilised in recent months, growth would remain subdued and at risk from a series of threats. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mr. Mukherjee said that the discussions were fruitful and effective.
Echoing similar sentiments, Mr. Osborne also noted that the two countries are keen to enhance their two-way economic partnership.

Next American President will need to work with India: Expert

Washington: The winner of the 2012 US presidential elections must be prepared to deal with a potential re-emerging crisis between India and Pakistan and engage with New Delhi over its ties with Iran and interests in Afghanistan, an American expert on South Asia has said.

Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, at Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) a Washington-based think-tank said on Friday that the winner of 2012 presidential election must be prepared for “a significant potential of near-term crisis” between India and its historical rival Pakistan.

The US would likely be called upon to play an important mediating role in the event of a “Mumbai-type” terrorist event that would lead India and Pakistan to the brink of war, Markey said in a video message posted on the CFR website as part of the Campaign 2012 effort.

Markey said that the President will also have to engage with India on top foreign policy priorities including Iran’s nuclear programme and the US departure from Afghanistan.

India sees Iran as an important energy supplier and is not eager to enter into an international effort to put pressure on the Iranians, he explained.

The difference between US and Indian interests on Iran “is likely to dog the relationship” and enter into bilateral and multilateral dealings, he said, adding that the President will also have to address Indian concerns over rising Pakistani influence in Afghanistan following a messy US withdrawal.

Markey said he sees opportunities for improved US-India relations following the upcoming leadership change in India.

“The opportunity in US-India relations is really a long-term one,” he says, adding that the US President must not allow near-term irritants to get in the way.

BRICS countries agree to initiate trade in local currencies

The BRICS countries India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa have signed two agreements to push intra-country trade in their local currencies and to set up a development bank.

The five emerging economies agreed on Thursday on a joint working group to set up a development bank that will extend credit facilities to member countries in local currencies. It is aimed at reducing the demand for fully convertible currencies dollar, euro and pound for transactions among BRICS nations. This will also help reduce the transaction costs of intra-BRICS trade.

In a joint media statement after the BRICS Summit, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said the agreements would boost trade among the BRICS countries.

Dr. Singh said all five countries were affected by the global economic slowdown, volatility in food and energy prices, political uncertainty in West Asia and the rise of terrorism and extremism.

In a Joint Delhi Declaration adopted after the summit the leaders underlined that dialogue was the only way to resolve issues related to Iran and Syria. Expressing deep concern over the situation in Syria, the leaders called for an immediate end to all violence and violations of human rights.

On Iran, the BRICS leaders voiced concern over the situation emerging around its nuclear programme and said it cannot be allowed to escalate into conflict as it could have disastrous consequences which will be in no one’s interest.

At their Summit meeting , Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and South African President Jacob Zuma pitched for close coordination among the five leading economies to meet the challenges being witnessed in the global scenario.

Tendulkar is the reason I started playing cricket: Virat

“Sachin Tendulkar is the reason I started playing ” — said India`s most promising batting talent right now, Virat Kohli, as he paid tribute to the senior batsman for completing a century of international hundreds.

At a felicitation function organised by industrialist and IPL team Mumbai Indians` owner Mukesh Ambani, Kohli was asked to give his thoughts on the 39-year-old, who completed the incredible feat during the recent Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

The 23-year-old right-hander, who is in the form of his life having scored three hundreds in his past four one-dayers, said as a child he only dreamed of catching a glimpse of Tendulkar in person.

“He is the reason why I have started playing cricket. Like me I think most of the youngsters in the India started playing cricket because of him,” Virat said as Tendulkar looked back at him smiling.

“Now it is just a great honour to share the same dressing room with him. I remember when I was small, my only dream was to see him in real life and to play with him now is just a great honour for me. I couldn`t have asked for anything more,” he added.

Tendulkar too is quite impressed with the spunky batsman and has stated that he could be the one breaking the 100 centuries record apart from another promising name – Rohit Sharma.

Pirate activity extended to waters off the coast of India: US

Washington: Pirate activities have extended to as far as the waters off the coast of India, making it difficult for patrolling and effective action, a US official has said.

“Pirate activity has even extended as far as the waters off the coast of India. This increase makes it difficult for naval or law enforcement ships and other assets to reach the scene of a pirate attack quickly enough to disrupt an ongoing attack. There is just too much water to patrol,” said the Assistant Secretary of State, Andrew Shapiro.

In his remarks on ‘Piracy Off the Horn of Africa’ at the Center for American Progress- an eminent American think-tank, Shapiro said “in the cat and mouse game” that is modern day piracy, the international community have responded as well.

“Since discovering the use of mother-ships, international navies now seek to identify and interdict mother-ships when possible. These are very delicate engagements, however.

“With hostages on board and with mother-ships sometimes capable of travelling thousands of miles, interdiction and contested boardings of mother-ships by international navies are at times not possible. Yet we are making progress in isolating these vessels when discovered and boarding when necessary,” he said.

Shapiro said the issue of piracy has become a significant component of America’s diplomatic engagement with countries.

“It is a shared challenge that many countries have an interest in seeing addressed. The issue, therefore, has an ancillary diplomatic benefit, as it often proves to be a useful subject for us to discuss with countries with which we are looking to expand our security relationship,” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

India offers help in search of orphan radioactive soucres

Offering assistance through the global nuclear watchdog IAEA, India today said that it can help in search and recovery of orphan radioactive sources in countries that were unable to effectively deal with them.

“India offered assistance through the IAEA for search and recovery of orphan radioactive sources in countries which were unable to effectively deal with them and had sought such assistance,” said the National Progress Report, presented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the second Nuclear Security Summit here.

The report also stresses on minimisation of use of civilian Highly Enriched Uranium, which was the base for the fuel in the Apsara reactor located inside the Bhahba Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.

“…the enriched uranium based fuel in the APSARA reactor was placed in a safeguarded facility in December 2010. APSARA will use indigenous fuel which is not high enriched uranium,” the report said.

However, it noted the growing demand for large-scale production of isotopes for a range of applications — healthcare, industry, food and agriculture.

“India’s three-stage nuclear programme is based on a closed nuclear fuel cycle, the principle of ‘reprocess-to-reuse’ and ensuring control over nuclear material at all stages,” it said. The report lists steps taken by India to secure it nuclear material under eight heads, including signing international legal instruments, support to the International Atomic Energy Agency, UN and other mechanisms, the national legal framework, reduction of nuclear material and international cooperation.

On Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP), being set up on the outskirts of Delhi near Bahadurgarh in Haryana, the report said the Centre is envisioned as an international facility for research and development of systems that are intrinsically safe, secure, proliferation resistant and sustainable.

“The Centre will carry out research and development in radiation monitoring, including development of detectors and nuclear emergency management,” the report said.

It will also have state of the art training facilities for Indian and international participants and research by Indian and visiting international scientists.

On initiatives in this regard, the report states that India had recently developed an Advance Heavy Water Reactor based in low enriched uranium and thorium with new safety and proliferation-resistant features.

“India is party to all the 13 universal instruments accepted as benchmarks for a State’s commitment to combat international terrorism,” the report said.

It said that India was party to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and was amongst the few countries which have also ratified the 2005 amendment to the Convention.

“India looks forward to early entry into force of the 2005 Amendment.” the report said.

India is also Party to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, it said, adding the country supported efforts for promoting the universality of these two Conventions.

On UN efforts, the report said that since 2002, India has piloted a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly on measures to prevent terrorists gaining access to Weapons of Mass Destruction.

“This resolution has been adopted by the General Assembly by consensus,” it noted.

It said India was also a party to Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and has participated in its working groups on nuclear detection, nuclear forensics and response and mitigation.

“While nuclear security is being addressed at different fora, there is need to ensure that these efforts are mutually complementary and reinforce the related activities of the IAEA,” it said.

“We also cooperate with the Interpol’s Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Unit and the World Customs Organisation. India participated in the High Level Meeting called by the UN Secretary General on Nuclear Safety and Security on 22 September 2011,” the report said.

Indian-run NZ firm designs UAV for cloud seeding

An Indian-promoted aviation company in New Zealand is developing what it claims to be the world’s first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for cloud seeding.

Auckland-based Apeiron Aerospace, an innovative aerospace company focussed on delivering technology to the global UAV sector, has designed a tactical UAV system for cloud seeding as the existing process involving manned aircraft endangers the lives of pilots.

“There is a need for UAVs for cloud seeding. It is a question of pilot’s life. It becomes very difficult to control the aircraft in high turbulence,” Sanjeev Rao, director, Apeiron Aerospace, said.

The firm floated by him last year exhibited its model at India Aviation 2012 here recently. Apeiron, which has tied up with Bangalore-based Krishi Air Private Limited, feels there is a market for such UAVs in India. ”Manned aircraft are being used for cloud seeding. The pilot has to agree to go into the clouds which is very dangerous. Usually they don’t want to go,” he said. Rao said the design exhibited at the air show was a robust one. The UAV can fly into the cloud, do the seeding and fly out.

The design was prepared six months ago, but a prototype is expected to be ready in another six to eight months. It will then be flight tested.

Besides India, the company is looking at other Asian, European, American and Australian markets.

The company is also coming out with different variants of tactical UAV system, which can be used for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Apeiron will display its variants for the military at the Defexpo-2012 to be held at Delhi from March 29. He feels there is a huge market for UAVs in India, especially the military market.

“The army, coast guard and the Navy need UAVs. There is definitely a market in India and I am hopeful that we will be able to strike a deal.”

He pointed out that unlike the US and Europe, India has a fewer UAVs, but there is huge requirement of the same in India. He hoped that regulations would be relaxed to facilitate the growth of the UAV sector.

The price of an UAV to be manufactured by Apeiron ranges between $500,000 and $750,000 depending on the requirement of the customer, endurance, range and the propulsion.

The Apeiron UAV system, which includes both hand-launched and rapid response, can be used for applications like pipeline and agriculture monitoring, search and rescue, border and maritime patrol besides meteorological research and practice and defence.

Stay away from South China Sea, India told

Terming the South China Sea as a disputed region, China has warned India to refrain from undertaking oil exploration in the resource-rich Vietnamese blocks in order to ensure “peace and stability” in the area. ”The area is disputed one. So we do not think that it would be good for India to do (explore oil) that,” Deputy Director General of Asian Department in Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong said.

Asking New Delhi not to get involved in the “disputes”, the top Chinese Foreign Ministry official said the sovereignty of the islands in the region was a major issue and India should not carry out oil exploration till resolution of the vexed issue.

“We want common development in the region. We hope Indian side is not involved in those disputes. We hope India would do more to ensure peace and security in the region,” Sun told a group of visiting Indian journalists here.

When reminded about commercial nature of India’s oil exploration in the region having huge oil and gas reserves, Sun said the issue was “very complicated” and China was trying its best to find a peaceful solution to the problem.

Asked why China was objecting to India’s exploration projects in the Vietnamese oil blocs when Chinese companies were involved in carrying out infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the top official in-charge of India affairs said both the issues are “totally different”.

Noting that Chinese companies working in PoK are only focusing on developing the local economy of the area, Sun said there was no change in China’s policy towards resolution of the Kashmir issue.

“I think they (the Chinese companies) are only focused on development of the local economy (in PoK). I do not think it is against anybody… The issue of South China Sea is a very complicated one as many parties are involved in it,” he said.

China has been objecting any activity in South China Sea region including Indian oil exploration as it has territorial disputes with some ASEAN countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines.

Unfazed by Chinese objections, India in October last year had inked an agreement with Vietnam to expand and promote oil exploration in South China Sea.

The pact between the Indian and Vietnamese state-owned oil companies includes new investments and the exploration and supply of oil and gas to the two countries.

The Chinese claim on the South China Sea has been rejected by both India and Vietnam, saying as per the UN, the blocks belong to Vietnam. India has said that its state-owned firm would continue to explore in the South China Sea.

India has already made it clear that the entire Indian Ocean region stretching from East African coast to South China Sea remains crucial to its foreign trade, energy and national security.

India, S Korea to expand security and trade ties

India and South Korea on Sunday decided to expand their political and security cooperation besides upgrading the already booming business ties to achieve an ambitious trade target of USD 40 billion by 2015. During his talks with President Lee Myung-bak, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noted that bilateral trade had risen by 65 percent over the past two years since the two countries implemented the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Since the implementation of CEPA from January 1, 2010, bilateral trade had crossed USD 20 billion mark in 2011. Today’s announcement enhances the trade target set by the leaders to USD 40 billion by 2015 as against USD 30 billion by 2015 as decided earlier.

Responding to Lee’s call, Singh agreed to expand the political and security cooperation between the two countries.

“With this objective in mind, I informed President Lee of India’s decision to position a Defence Attache at our Embassy here in Seoul before the end of the year,” he said.

“India has also offered to launch Korean satellites on Indian space launch vehicles,” Singh said.

Singh and Lee also agreed to enhance cooperation and coordination on regional issues, including in the East Asia Summit process.

Singh arrived here yesterday for a four-day visit to attend a Nuclear Security Summit here. The two-day summit begins tomorrow when world leaders will meet at over dinner.

India joins China in boycott of EU carbon scheme

India joined China in asking its airlines to boycott the European Union’s carbon scheme on Thursday, confirming what a senior Indian government source previously told Reuters and stoking a diplomatic row over the issue.

“Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emissions details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government,” civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Thursday. ”Hence the imposition of a carbon tax does not arise,” Singh told lawmakers in a written reply.

The European Commission was not immediately available to comment.

India’s opposition to the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), a major plank in the bloc’s efforts to curb carbon dioxide emissions and combat global warming, could damage the chances of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) it is negotiating with the EU.

On Monday, a senior government official told Reuters that India would ask local airlines not to buy carbon credits from or share emissions data with the bloc.

Since January this year, all airlines using EU airports start to become liable to pay for carbon emissions, but no carriers will be handed a bill until next year.

Initially, they will also be given free allowances to cover the bulk of the cost.

The March 31 deadline is one of a series for airlines to comply with various EU requirements. Documents seen by Reuters showed that airlines, including from India and China, have previously signed up to become eligible for free allowances.

SOVEREIGNTY

Foreign governments, including the world’s top three carbon emitters – the United States, China and India – say the EU is exceeding its legal jurisdiction by charging for an entire flight, as opposed to just the part covering European airspace.

In a meeting last month in Moscow of the so-called “coalition of the unwilling”, countries opposed to the EU law including India, agreed on retaliatory steps, although it did not agree on enforcing them.

China said in February its airlines were barred from participating in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme unless they gained government approval. Beijing has also suspended the purchase of $14 billion worth of jets from European maker Airbus.

The EU’s Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has said the EU only adopted its current policy because efforts to agree a United Nations scheme to curb rising aviation emissions had failed.

She has repeatedly said the EU will stand by its law unless the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization can come up with a global plan.

The European Parliament has also reiterated support for the carbon charge and officials say it could decide to express its anger at India by blocking the Free Trade Agreement with the country.

“It would probably be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get the FTA through the (European) parliament if India does this (ignores the EU’s ETS aviation law) and India is in the last stage of this negotiation,” said Glyn Ford, a former European lawmaker who now works at Brussels-based consultancy GPlus.

Carbon prices on the EU’s ETS have fallen to levels far below those needed to encourage low-carbon investment.

On Thursday EU carbon permits dropped nearly 9 percent to an intra-day low of 6.70 euros before recovering slightly to close at 6.93 euros.

Traders said part of the reason for the fall was the possibility of weakening demand for permits following India’s statement on the ETS.

India votes against Sri Lanka, UN war crimes resolution adopted

Geneva: The 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with 24 countries voting in favour, 15 against and eight abstaining. India also voted in favour of the US-backed resolution.

The resolution urged Colombo to investigate alleged war crimes during the last stage of its military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The United States, the European Union and India said that an impartial investigation into alleged crimes committed by both the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE would make it clear that Colombo stood for justice and equality.

India had earlier indicated that it would vote in favour of the resolution as the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government was under immense pressure from Tamil Nadu parties on the Sri Lankan war crimes issue.

However, Sri Lanka got the support of 15 countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Russia and China, all of whom voted against the resolution.

Sri Lanka had strongly lobbied against the resolution moved by the US, France and Norway, calling it ‘ill-timed, ill-conceived and borne out of ignorance’. Sri Lankan representative at UNHRC session Bandula Jayasekara appealed to the members not to adopt the resolution as it would help the LTTE undermine democracy.

“We have said that this is very intrusive. We have explained that we are working on this. But this sort of intrusive force would derail the process,” said Bandula Jayasekara.

Suren Surendiran, spokesperson for the London-based Global Tamil Forum, demanded an independent investigation into alleged cases of war crimes by Sri Lanka.

“The resolution should be redrafted. We need an independent investigation… that will be the first time that Sri Lanka’s crimes against humanity will be recognised,” said Surendiran.

India urges Iran to fully cooperate with IAEA

India has urged Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a view to restoring confidence of the international community that its nuclear programme is peaceful in nature. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said India has consistently supported the right of all nations to peaceful uses of nuclear energy in accordance with relevant international treaties to which they are a party. Puri said participating in a UN Security Council briefing in New York on Iran and UN Resolution 1737, which had imposed sanctions against Tehran for failing to stop its uranium enrichment programme. He said India welcomes the recent exchanges between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, expressing hope that the outstanding technical issues concerning the Iranian nuclear programme will be resolved peacefully through Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA. India also welcomes the decision to resume talks between Iran and the P5 + 1 nations – UNSC’s five permanent members and Germany.

Puri further said that India supports the full implementation of relevant resolutions of the Security Council concerning the Iranian nuclear issue. He, however, said while implementing these resolutions, it is necessary that all efforts should be made so that legitimate trade and economic activities do not suffer.

India poised for better role in Afghanistan: US Commander

Washington: India, which is one of the top donors for Afghanistan post 9/11, is poised to play a very important role as the international community prepares to withdraw troops from this war-torn country, a top American commander has told lawmakers.

Testifying before a Congressional Committee, General John Allen, Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan told lawmakers on Tuesday that India is not only a major economic donor but also has offered to support the development of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

“The Indian government, … with whom we have very strong relations, appears to be poised ultimately not just to have a substantial economic interest, perhaps even eclipsing the Chinese interest… but also has long-term ties, very healthy and friendly ties with Afghanistan and, in fact, is offering to support the development of the Afghan National Security Forces,” Allen said in response to a question.

Cheap generics no panacea for India`s poorest: Insight

Mumbai: Cheap generic drugs were meant to change the life of Nandakhu Nissar, whose mouth is swollen by a cancerous tumor. But the cashless and hungry 55-year-old sleeps on a pavement staring up at the windows of Mumbai`s biggest cancer hospital.

“What is a generic drug?” shrugs Nissar, who has travelled over 1,500 km (900 miles) from his home in the hope of treatment.
“I have borrowed money from friends and relatives and it is running out fast,” says Nissar, his pale eyes filling with tears.

A ruling this week that for the first time allowed an Indian drugmaker to make and sell a blockbuster cancer drug at a fraction of the market price has been hailed as a breakthrough by campaigners for cheaper medicine in the emerging economy.

The generic version of the drug, German drugmaker Bayer`s Nexavar, will be produced under what is known as a compulsory license, available to nations to issue in certain cases where life-saving treatments are unaffordable.

Yet no amount of compulsory licenses will help the millions of poor Indians suffering from diseases like cancer, because even the generic version of Nexavar will be priced beyond the reach of India`s poor, experts and medical professionals say.

Increased state spending on free and accessible healthcare and policies to extend insurance cover to its poorest citizens would be far more effective weapons.

“The government has to start taking cancer seriously. They haven`t done anything,” said Dr M. Krishnan Nair, an award-winning Indian oncologist. “Even at generic prices, the drugs are too expensive for the poor. They don`t get anything.”

India allocated 268 billion rupees ($5.4 billion) for healthcare in 2011-12, around a sixth the size of the defense budget. That represents 2.13 percent of total government spending, or $4.50 for each person in the country.

With around 40 percent of the population living below the poverty line, healthcare is an upper-middle-class luxury in much of India where spending in private clinics is four times the amount of that in government hospitals. The poorest would-be patients literally beg for treatment on the outside of a chronically underfunded and overstretched health system.

As chairman of a committee tasked with formulating India`s cancer strategy in the five years to 2012, Nair advocated 23 billion rupees ($460 million) for cancer control. Around $40 million was eventually spent, he says.

AFFORDABILITY

Last Monday, India granted its first ever compulsory license, allowing Natco Pharma to manufacture and sell Nexavar, a liver and kidney cancer drug, inside the country. It effectively ends Bayer`s exclusive rights to the drug in India.

Campaigners for cheaper access to drugs hailed the decision, which was taken after the country`s patent office said Bayer`s Nexavar was not “reasonably affordably priced”.

But the ruling has reignited fears amongst global drugmakers like Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. They see huge potential in rapidly growing economies such as India but are wary of intellectual property protection.

Natco will retail Nexavar at 8,800 rupees ($180) for a monthly dose, a fraction of the 280,000 rupees ($5,600) Bayer`s version cost.

But medical experts say cheaper drugs are just one tiny part of India`s health deficit.

“The compulsory license system might not really work because poor people cannot even afford the discounted price,” said G. Balachandhran, former head of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), India`s drug price watchdog regulator.

“Instead of dealing on a case-to-case basis, India needs to have a policy that will bring more and more people under medical cover … We need to increase the health insurance penetration, so that even poor people can afford treatment,” he added.

Only 15 percent of India`s 1.2 billion population is covered by health insurance, according to business lobby group the Federation of Indian Chambers Commerce & Industry, meaning even at a lower price, Nexavar will be out of reach for many.

Still, the head of Pfizer, the world`s largest drugmaker, told Reuters on March 12 that there were around 100 million people in India with “wealth equivalent to or greater than the average European or American, who don`t pay for innovation”.

Pravin Anand, managing partner at Indian law firm Anand and Anand believes that compulsory licenses should primarily be granted in the case of pandemics, suggesting that affordability is a tricky gauge of necessity.

“Affordability is not an absolute concept; therefore something that is affordable for one individual might not be so for others,” said Anand.

NEWSPAPERS FOR DRUGS

On the congested street in downtown Mumbai, scores of cancer sufferers sit, lie and sleep on the hard concrete pavement outside the Tata Memorial Hospital, clutching X-rays and medical documents and wait to be prescribed drugs they cannot afford.

“Look what has happened to my boy,” said 65-year-old Debiprasad Sharma, wiping his tears as he pointed to the large tumor on the side of his six-year-old grandson Prithvi`s neck.

“We don`t have insurance … and we have spent more than 6,000 rupees already, double our monthly income,” said Sharma, who had travelled from northern India to the Mumbai pavement.

“Hundreds of people come here every day. Whatever money we can collect is spent on their treatment. There is no help from the government,” says H.K. Savla, managing trustee of Jeevan Jyot Cancer Relief & Care Trust.

His charity, run from a cramped office around the corner from the hospital, collects and sells used newspapers and glass bottles to pay for drugs, medical supplies and food for the cancer sufferers who arrive from across the country with little or no money for treatment.

Savla, who has been working for cancer sufferers for 27 years, says he needs 1.5-2 million rupees ($30,000-$40,000) a month to provide basic services to the people who come to him for help. His budget stretches to just $3,000 a month.

Even if all of that money were spent on the generic version of Nexavar, it would buy enough for barely 16 sufferers.

Tata Memorial, which gets government and private funding, performs about 70,000 major and minor cancer surgeries every year and chemotherapy sessions for more than 300 patients a day.

Patients with oxygen tubes in their noses sleep on benches in the corridors and families huddle on the floor of the teeming waiting area for cancer patients. Upstairs the ward is filled to the brim. At night, many will go back to sleep on the roadside or to cheap dormitories that charge 50 rupees a night.

“Here, consultations are free. But drugs are expensive. And so is the cost of an overnight stay,” says Savla, as people queued for bowls of rice from his charity`s pot by the roadside.

“HUGE DEBT”

Natco expects to sell $5-$6 million worth of generic Nexavar a year, its finance chief has said, equivalent to around 2,500 people using the drug for a full 12 months.

India has around 2.5 million people living with cancer, or about one in every 500 people, according to government reports and medical organizations. That figure might be below the mark.

“This is a gross underestimation,” said Nair, who is the country`s only representative on the advisory committee for the World Health Organization`s Director General.

“Suppose someone in a rural area has cancer of the stomach,” Nair explained. “He will have pain for 2-3 months. He will try indigenous medicines. Finally he will die. No one will record his true cause of death.”

There is a growing focus among global healthcare campaigners on the burden in poor countries of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease that kill millions who would survive with Western-style treatment.

The scale of the problem is immense. More than 36 million people die every year from NCDs – 80 percent of them in poor nations where access to diagnosis and treatment is very limited, according to the World Health Organization.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a high-level UN meeting in New York on the subject last September: “NCDs hit the poor and vulnerable particularly hard and drive them deeper into poverty.”

India has joined Thailand as only the second country to grant a compulsory license for a cancer drug, and legal experts say compulsory licensing could follow for other expensive treatments, including the latest types of HIV/AIDS medicines.

A provision of the Indian Patents Act allows for a compulsory license to be awarded after three years of the grant of patent on drugs that are deemed to be too costly.

But in a country where around 65 percent of the population incur lifetime debts as a result of healthcare spending, according to the National Sample Survey Organization, cheap generics might not be the only answer.

“Forget about costly drugs,” says 48-year-old Hasmukh Shah, whose 5,000 rupee wage pales in comparison with the 250,000 rupees ($5,000) he needs to treat his cancer. “I cannot even afford cheap medicines now because I have piled up huge debt.”

Now, an all India guide map on snakes

With 46,900 people in India succumbing to snake bites in a year, an NGO has now come up with the novel ‘All India Snake Guide Map’ to help determine which reptile is poisonous and what is the line of treatment that should be followed.

Designed like a geographical map that can be hung on the wall, the two feet by three feet publication classifies snakes in terms of whether they are venomous or non-venomous and on the basis of”In almost every case of snake bite, the first reaction among the victim and his relatives is that of shock and bewilderment. They cannot decide whether the snake is venomous or not. And this only leads to delayed treatment, which may even lead to death,” said Bijan Bhattacharya, secretary, Canning Juktibadi Sanskritik Sangstha (CJSS), which has published the map.

CJSS is based in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district that houses a part of the world’s largest mangrove forests, the Sundarbans.

“There are 33 varieties of snakes in India. Of them, nine are poisonous – seven of them living on land, and one each in water and trees,” Bhattacharya told IANS.

“Against sketches of each snake, there is a short description listing its identifying marks so that it can be easily recognised by the people, particularly the villagers. Each stage of treatment if bitten by that particular variety is also provided.

“The map tries to shatter prevailing myths about snakes. For instance, many still rely on quacks and treat the wounds with herbs. The map tries to raise awareness about the futility of such measures which can prove even fatal,” he said.

The map also provides details of the varieties of snakes found in a particular state.

“Most of the snake bite deaths are reported from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam,” he said.

This is the third map brought out by CJSS. Earlier, the NGO had published a snake guide map of South 24 Parganas district, and followed it up with a similar effort encompassing the whole of West Bengal.

“We have plans to market the maps commercially,” he added.  where they are found – land, river or trees.

3 Iranian nationals arrested by Delhi Police in Israel Embassy car blast

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday confirmed Iranian link to the Iranian Embassy car attack case. The Delhi Police has identified 3 Iranians who were allegedly involved in the terror attack that left a diplomat’s wife injured.

A court has issued non-bailable warrants against them.

Meanwhile, the only person to be detained, Indian journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi is said to have been a part of the conspiracy since 2011.

He was arrested on March 6 in connection with the February 13 blast. A delegation of MPs led by Trinamool Congress’s Sultan Ahmed had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to demand his release.

The PM assured them that Kazmi would get a fair trial.

On Monday, Israeli National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror met with Home Minister P Chidambaram in connection with the case.

Yuvraj Singh’s chemotherapy ends in four days

Ailing Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing treatment in the US, tweeted on Tuesday that he is in the last stretch of chemotherapy.

“My last stretch 4 mor dys to go Can`t wait fr it to end Set me free dear lord,” Yuvraj tweeted.

The 30-year-old left-hander has been in US since January this year. He has gone bald during the treatment, which will go on till the last week of March before the process of rehabilitation starts in April. He is expected to be back on the field in the first week of May.

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