PM departs for Copenhagen for Conference on Climate Change

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed for Copenhagen Thursday to take part in the ongoing Conference on Climate Change to keep his promise to US President Barack Obama to help in formulating a pact to combat climate change.

“I am leaving today to attend the 15th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (UNFCCC),” said Dr. Singh.

His departure however delayed by about two and a half hours after a loader vehicle hit the door of the cargo hold of the aircraft, causing minor damage. Sources said that neither the Prime Minister nor any of the other passengers had boarded the Boeing 747-400 aircraft by the time incident occurred.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who rushed to the airport instantly, said later that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident by both Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “A minor damage was caused by the loader vehicle to the cargo door of the aircraft," a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

The UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol embody the international agreed regime for addressing the global challenge of climate change. The UNFCCC is founded on the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. At the 13th Conference of Parties in Bali, the Parties had agreed to launch an Action Plan to enhance the implementation of the UNFCCC. The Bali Action Plan seeks to ensure full, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC through long term cooperative action of the Parties upto and beyond 2012.

It is India’s view that global warming is taking place and its adverse consequences will impact most heavily on developing countries like India. As a responsible member of the international community, India is therefore fully committed to working with the rest of the world to preserve and protect our environment. This is our common heritage, and this is what we must bequeath to our succeeding generations.

At the same time, climate change cannot be addressed by perpetuating the poverty of the developing countries. Every citizen of the globe has equal entitlement of the global atmospheric space. It is in keeping with this principle that I had earlier announced in Heiligendamm in 2007 that we will maintain our per capita emissions at a level lower than the average per capita emissions of developed countries.

We have, as a responsible member of the international community, announced that we will reduce the emissions intensity of our growth by 20-25% in 2020 as compared to 2005. India has also launched a comprehensive Action Plan on Climate Change and the eight National Missions have been set up. We are willing to do more provided there are credible arrangements to provide both additional financial support as well as technological transfers from developed to developing countries.

”I look forward to constructive deliberations in Copenhagen which meet the collective aspirations of all humankind and enable us to move forward in the global efforts to combat climate change,” Dr. Singh said.

India and Russia ink N-deal beyond 123 agreement

The two old friends India and Russia inked the expanded civil nuclear deal and three defence pacts. The nuclear pact between the two countries goes far beyond the 123 agreement that India entered with the US early this year. Both the countries expressed grave concern over the increasing threat of terrorism and pledged to combat the terrorism together. They also cemented ties on a wide range of interest encompassing N-trade, shared Af-pak perceptions and a plan to boost commerce to $20 billion by 2015.

The agreement between the two countries concluded in Moscow on the official visit of the PM Manmohan Singh to Russia at the invitation of Russian President Medvedev for the Annual Summit from Dec 6 to 8, 2009.

The umbrella agreement for expanding civil nuclear cooperation will give New Delhi the right to reprocess spent fuel, taking the pact “far beyond the 123 agreement” inked with the US, official sources commented Sunday.

“Our views are similar on a global issues and our cooperation can extend to cooperation at international level. We will be sharing intelligence and information gathering,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who ends a three-day visit to Moscow on Tuesday, said.

Expressing concern over the "grave challenge of terrorism" the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said, “There is a common threat that India and Russia face. We should consolidate our anti-terror base. We will provide concrete help in anti-terror activities.”

"The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan underlines the importance of this... Terrorism is the biggest evil of current and last century," added Medvedev.

India and Russia pledged to work together for global non-proliferation, stressing that the proliferation of nuclear weapons and its possible link to terrorism poses a threat to international peace and security, undermines security of states, and complicates progress towards nuclear disagreement.

The two countries are convinced that the international community should enhance efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

“Both Sides call upon the international community to comply with the provisions of international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols including the principle, 'either prosecute or extradite', regarding the persons accused of committing acts of terror. The Sides strongly call for an early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. The Sides intend to further develop Indian-Russian bilateral cooperation in combating new challenges and threats, including such cooperation within the framework of the India and Russia Working Group on Combating International Terrorism.”

On UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, India and Russia underscored the urgency of effective international action to combat climate change, and affirmed their readiness to continue to work constructively for the success of the conference in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan.

Highlights of the MOSCOW PACTS:

a) 4 N-reactors to be set up by Russia in Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu); site for fifth identified in Bengal
b) plan to boost trade between both countries to $20 billion by 2015
c) 10-year deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contracts from 2011 to 2020

Independence Day: Salient features of PM's speech

On the auspicious occasion of 63rd Independence Day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoisted the flag on Red Fort and called upon the countrymen to remember the sacrifices of lakhs of Indians to bring us where we are today.

The Prime Minister in his address from the ramparts of Red Fort said the best way of paying homage to those brave sons of our country will be to resolve today that we will always stay committed to strengthening the unity and integrity of our nation. Let us all together take a vow that we will spare no effort to take India to greater heights.

"I wish to assure you on this sacred day that we will work with sincerity and dedication to fulfil the expectation of each and every citizen of India. It will be our effort to ensure that every citizen of India is prosperous and secure and is able to lead a life of dignity and self respect."

Appealing to all businessmen and industrialists to fulfill their social obligations by helping government to tackle the economic crisis, the Prime Minister expected that there would be an improvement in the situation by the end of this year, but till that time we will all have to bear with the fallout of the global economic slow down.

Dr. Singh said, "Our economy grew at a rate of about 9% from the year 2004-05 to the year 2007-08. This growth rate came down to 6.7% in 2008-09 due to the global economic crisis. It is only a result of our policies that the global crisis has affected us to a lesser extent than many other countries. Restoring our growth rate to 9% is the greatest challenge we face." He said that government will make every necessary effort to meet this challenge whether it is for increasing capital flows into the country, or for encouraging exports or for increasing public investment and expenditure.

Here are some salient features of PM's speech

On Farmers:

Underscoring contribution of farmers in India’s development, PM said India’s prosperity is not possible without the prosperity of our farmers. He said our government had waived bank loans of farmers, and now have increased the support prices for agricultural products by far more than ever before. He said deficiency of monsoons this year would definitely have some adverse impact on our crops. But we will provide all possible assistance to our farmers to deal with the drought. In view of the deficiency in the monsoons, we have postponed the date for repayment of bank loans of our farmers. We are also giving additional support to farmers for payment of interest on short term crop loans.

More attention will have to be paid to the needs of those farmers who do not have means for irrigation. The country needs another Green Revolution and we will try our best to make it possible. Our goal is 4% annual growth in agriculture and I am confident that we will be able to achieve this target in the next 5 years.

On Rising Food Grain Prices:

Expressing strong concern over the rising prices of food grains, Dr. Singh said all efforts will be made to control the rising prices of foodgrains, pulses and other goods of daily use. “I appeal to all State governments to exercise their statutory powers to prevent hoarding and black marketing of essential commodities.”

On Food Security Law:

It is our ardent desire that not even a single citizen of India should ever go hungry. This is the reason why we have promised a food security law under which every family living below the poverty line will get a fixed amount of food grains every month at concessional rates. It is also our national resolve to root out malnutrition from our country. In this effort, special care will be taken of the needs of women and children. We will endeavour to extend the benefit of ICDS to every child below the age of six years in the country by March 2012.

On Education: Elementary to Secondary:

Recently enacted the Right to Education Act provides each child of our country the right to elementary education. Funds will not be a constraint as far as education is concerned. We will give special attention to the needs of disabled children. Now we need to pay greater attention to secondary education. Secondary education will be expanded through a programme that will ensure that every child in the country gets its benefit. We will endeavour to provide bank loans and scholarships to the maximum possible number of students to support their education. A new scheme will be started to help students from economically weaker sections of society by way of reduced interest rate on their education loans.

On Swine Flu and Rural Public Health:

The National Rural Health Mission that we have started aims at strengthening the infrastructure for rural public health services. We will expand the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana so as to cover each family below the poverty line.

Some parts of our country have been affected by flu that is spreading owing to the H1N1 virus. The Central Government and the State Governments will together continue to make all necessary efforts to control the spread of this infection.

On Cleaning Ganga and Save Water:

The sacred Ganga is the life source for crores of Indians. We have constituted the National Ganga Authority in which the Central and State Governments will jointly work towards this end. The cooperation of the public is also needed in this effort.

Our natural resources are limited, so we must use them more efficiently. We need to prevent the misuse of water. We will pay more attention to programmes for water collection and storage. "Save Water" should be one of our national slogans.

On Terrorism:

Terrorism has emerged as a threat to peace and harmony in all parts of the world. After the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai in last November, our government has taken many steps against terrorism. To root out terrorist activities, our security forces and intelligence agencies are being constantly upgraded. I am sure that with cooperation from all sections of our society, we will be successful in eliminating terrorism from our country.

On Naxalite Menace:

Some parts of our country continue to be affected by the Naxalite menace. Those who think that they can seize power by recourse to the gun do not understand the strength of our democracy. The Central Government will redouble its efforts to deal with Naxalite activities. We will extend all help to the State Governments to make their police forces more effective. Central forces will be provided wherever they are needed. Simultaneously, we will endeavour to remove those causes of social and economic dissatisfaction which give rise to problems like Naxalism.

On Minority Communities:

People belonging to minority communities are our own brothers and sisters. Taking special care of the deprived sections of the society does not amount to appeasement. We have started many schemes for the welfare of the minorities. These programmes will be taken forward. The funds for the special schemes taken up for the development of minority concentration districts have been enhanced quite substantially this year. Similarly, we have allocated increased funds for scholarship schemes for minorities that the first UPA government had started. A Bill to prevent communal violence has been introduced in Parliament and efforts will be made to convert it into a law as soon as possible.

On Women's Reservation Bill:

Female foeticide is a shame on all of us. We must eliminate it as early as possible. Our government is committed to the early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill. This legislation will provide one-third reservation for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies. We are also working on a legislation to provide 50% reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies. In fact, we should find ways and means to increase the participation of women in all democratic institutions. We have decided to launch a National Female Literacy Mission, through which female illiteracy will be reduced by half in the next three years.