China muscling India
by Reshma Patil, Hindustan Times
China's recent 'muscular diplomacy' with India reflects a broader trend of Beijing asserting its territorial claims, says a Washington think-tank in a report urging the US to boost strategic ties with India. Sino-Indian tensions are driven largely by 'China's concern with an emergent India and Beijing's desire to consolidate its Tibet position' said analysts Dean Cheng and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation. They advised the US to work with India, especially to match increased Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean and 'signal Beijing that its moves will be matched jointly by New Delhi and Washington.'
The authors noted that Chinese soldiers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are likely helping build transportation links to China from Gwadar port.
The paper estimated that India would deal with Chinese backtracking on Kashmir by increasingly questioning Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. Ruling out a military conflict between India and China, the paper warns that rising Chinese assertiveness is backed by rising military capabilities.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
NEDFi will have a much bigger presence in Sikkim: BK Handique
DoNER Ministry serious on Buddhist circuit between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
source;sikkim express
GANGTOK, September 9: DoNER minister BK Handique today assured the State government that the North East Development Financial Corporation (NEDFi) will have a ‘much bigger presence’ in Sikkim for providing financial support to enterprising Sikkimese youth.
“From now on, NEDFi will have a much larger presence and bigger role to play in Sikkim. Once we show the way, other financial institutions will also come”, said the DoNER minister during the inaugural session of a seminar on ‘Development of Manufacturing and Services Sector in NER’ organized by NEDFi here at Gangtok.
Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, industries minister Neeru Sewa, chief secretary TT Dorji, senior government officials and representatives from financial institutions and entrepreneurs from Sikkim and other NE States attended the function.
The Chief Minister in his address had asserted the NEDFi needs to be more visible and aggressive in promoting the interest of the local people. He had urged the NEDFi to upgrade and increase the funds to its office here at Gangtok.
Chamling also presented six issues specific to Sikkim and requested the personal intervention of the DoNER minister for their speeding solution. He requested a one time grant of Rs. 50 crores for acquisition of land in Sikkim so that the State government is able to provide land to investors on lease basis.
“If we are successful in this effort, we can expect investment over Rs. 5000 crores which will create employment opportunities to our people”.
The Chief Minister also demanded revision of trade items for the Nathu La border trade between Sikkim and Tibet Autonomous Region. He further demanded a Central Public Sector Undertaking in Sikkim and financial assistance for training facilities at Directorate of Handlooms & Handicrafts.
Another demand placed by Chamling was a one-time financial assistance and scientific and technological support for rejuvenation and re-plantation of cardamom and orange in Sikkim.
Responding to the demands, the DoNER minister assured all possible help to Sikkim in fields of floriculture, horticulture and tourism.
“I will discuss with Centre to see whether a Central Public Sector Undertaking can be set up here”, said Handique.
Regarding the one-time grant of Rs. 50 crores demanded by the Chief Minister for land acquisition for industrialization, the DoNER minister later told reporters that he has to go back and look into the demand more carefully. “I have to go back and see. As per rules we cannot give but we will see and find out a way because other Northeastern States are also making similar demands. We will soon take a call on yes or no”, he said.
Handique also assured to look into demand of revision of Nathu La trade items.
In his interaction with media, the DoNER minister laid stress on promotion of Buddhist circuit between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast with the adjoining Southeast Asian nations.
“I was toying with this idea for some time. I have already talked with both Myanmar and Thailand governments”, said Handique. His idea of Buddhist circuit was ‘Sky to Earth’.
“Tawang has the highest monastery and from there, tourists can drop down to other monasteries in the Northeast. Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are Buddhist pilgrimage destinations on their own right and only thing that is required is air connectivity”, said the DoNER minister. He said that he has already taken up the issue of inter-connectivity in Northeast region through air with the Indian Airlines.
“Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are bit detached from Northeast region. I am suggesting air connectivity between these two States with Guwahati being a halting point for the easy accessibility for tourists”, said Handique.
The DoNER minister also disbursed loans to small scale entrepreneurs from Sikkim on the occasion.
NEDFi chief managing director B Paul Muktieh and DoNER joint secretary Dr JP Sharma also addressed the gathering.
Earlier in the morning, the DoNER minister called on the Chief Minister at his official residence Mintokgang.
An IPR release informs that Handique expressed utmost satisfaction on how Sikkim has made tremendous progress in various sectors and also appreciated the city of Gangtok commenting it as one of the cleanest cities he has ever seen.
The Union Minister also felt need of having intra air connectivity in the North Eastern Region in order to develop the region as the potential tourist destination while assuring to help to improve border trade in the region.
The Chief Minister expressed his hope to get full support and cooperation from DoNER Ministry in order to usher Sikkim into the horizon of development and also felt need to revise the current list of border trade goods in order to get the border trade into over drive.
State development commissioner-additional chief secretary Karma Gyatso was also present during meeting.
DoNER Ministry serious on Buddhist circuit between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
source;sikkim express
GANGTOK, September 9: DoNER minister BK Handique today assured the State government that the North East Development Financial Corporation (NEDFi) will have a ‘much bigger presence’ in Sikkim for providing financial support to enterprising Sikkimese youth.
“From now on, NEDFi will have a much larger presence and bigger role to play in Sikkim. Once we show the way, other financial institutions will also come”, said the DoNER minister during the inaugural session of a seminar on ‘Development of Manufacturing and Services Sector in NER’ organized by NEDFi here at Gangtok.
Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, industries minister Neeru Sewa, chief secretary TT Dorji, senior government officials and representatives from financial institutions and entrepreneurs from Sikkim and other NE States attended the function.
The Chief Minister in his address had asserted the NEDFi needs to be more visible and aggressive in promoting the interest of the local people. He had urged the NEDFi to upgrade and increase the funds to its office here at Gangtok.
Chamling also presented six issues specific to Sikkim and requested the personal intervention of the DoNER minister for their speeding solution. He requested a one time grant of Rs. 50 crores for acquisition of land in Sikkim so that the State government is able to provide land to investors on lease basis.
“If we are successful in this effort, we can expect investment over Rs. 5000 crores which will create employment opportunities to our people”.
The Chief Minister also demanded revision of trade items for the Nathu La border trade between Sikkim and Tibet Autonomous Region. He further demanded a Central Public Sector Undertaking in Sikkim and financial assistance for training facilities at Directorate of Handlooms & Handicrafts.
Another demand placed by Chamling was a one-time financial assistance and scientific and technological support for rejuvenation and re-plantation of cardamom and orange in Sikkim.
Responding to the demands, the DoNER minister assured all possible help to Sikkim in fields of floriculture, horticulture and tourism.
“I will discuss with Centre to see whether a Central Public Sector Undertaking can be set up here”, said Handique.
Regarding the one-time grant of Rs. 50 crores demanded by the Chief Minister for land acquisition for industrialization, the DoNER minister later told reporters that he has to go back and look into the demand more carefully. “I have to go back and see. As per rules we cannot give but we will see and find out a way because other Northeastern States are also making similar demands. We will soon take a call on yes or no”, he said.
Handique also assured to look into demand of revision of Nathu La trade items.
In his interaction with media, the DoNER minister laid stress on promotion of Buddhist circuit between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast with the adjoining Southeast Asian nations.
“I was toying with this idea for some time. I have already talked with both Myanmar and Thailand governments”, said Handique. His idea of Buddhist circuit was ‘Sky to Earth’.
“Tawang has the highest monastery and from there, tourists can drop down to other monasteries in the Northeast. Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are Buddhist pilgrimage destinations on their own right and only thing that is required is air connectivity”, said the DoNER minister. He said that he has already taken up the issue of inter-connectivity in Northeast region through air with the Indian Airlines.
“Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are bit detached from Northeast region. I am suggesting air connectivity between these two States with Guwahati being a halting point for the easy accessibility for tourists”, said Handique.
The DoNER minister also disbursed loans to small scale entrepreneurs from Sikkim on the occasion.
NEDFi chief managing director B Paul Muktieh and DoNER joint secretary Dr JP Sharma also addressed the gathering.
Earlier in the morning, the DoNER minister called on the Chief Minister at his official residence Mintokgang.
An IPR release informs that Handique expressed utmost satisfaction on how Sikkim has made tremendous progress in various sectors and also appreciated the city of Gangtok commenting it as one of the cleanest cities he has ever seen.
The Union Minister also felt need of having intra air connectivity in the North Eastern Region in order to develop the region as the potential tourist destination while assuring to help to improve border trade in the region.
The Chief Minister expressed his hope to get full support and cooperation from DoNER Ministry in order to usher Sikkim into the horizon of development and also felt need to revise the current list of border trade goods in order to get the border trade into over drive.
State development commissioner-additional chief secretary Karma Gyatso was also present during meeting.
Can vitamin B really defend you from Alzheimer's?
ANI
Experts have cast doubts on a new study, which says that vitamin B could prove to be a revolutionary weapon against Alzheimer’s disease. David Smith and colleagues at the University of Oxford say that high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of the disease.
The team instructed a group of 168 people over the age of 70 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to take a 2 year course of either daily vitamin B supplements or placebo pills. The vitamins included folic acid, B6 and B12. Each person had an fMRI brain scan at the start and end of the study, in order to compare how their brains had atrophied or shrunk over the period.
While the brains of the placebo group shrunk by an average of 1.08 per cent per year, those taking vitamin B supplements experienced an average atrophy of “only” 0.76 per cent per year.
However, Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Previous studies looking at B vitamins have been very disappointing and we wouldn’t want to raise people’s expectations yet,” reports New Scientist. Chris Kennard, chair of the Medical Research Council’s Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, told the BBC: “We must be cautious when recommending supplements like vitamin B as there are separate health risks if taken in too high doses,” Kennard said.
ANI
Experts have cast doubts on a new study, which says that vitamin B could prove to be a revolutionary weapon against Alzheimer’s disease. David Smith and colleagues at the University of Oxford say that high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of the disease.
The team instructed a group of 168 people over the age of 70 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to take a 2 year course of either daily vitamin B supplements or placebo pills. The vitamins included folic acid, B6 and B12. Each person had an fMRI brain scan at the start and end of the study, in order to compare how their brains had atrophied or shrunk over the period.
While the brains of the placebo group shrunk by an average of 1.08 per cent per year, those taking vitamin B supplements experienced an average atrophy of “only” 0.76 per cent per year.
However, Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Previous studies looking at B vitamins have been very disappointing and we wouldn’t want to raise people’s expectations yet,” reports New Scientist. Chris Kennard, chair of the Medical Research Council’s Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, told the BBC: “We must be cautious when recommending supplements like vitamin B as there are separate health risks if taken in too high doses,” Kennard said.
Meet held on receiving Dalai Lama
Pravin Rai
(source:Voice of Sikkim)
Gangtok, 10 September: A coordination meet was conducted in the capital by the State Ecclesiastical Department to discuss over issue of visit of HH Dalai lama to Sikkim during December this year.
Mr Tenzing Gelek, Secretary, Ecclesiastical department said that the visit of Dalai Lama is totally organized by the state government and this is his fourth visit to Sikkim during the present government.
Routines have been scheduled and Dalai lama would arrive in the state on 15 December and will be visiting to various monasteries and even perform a public teaching.
Dalai Lama will also head the seminar with various learned scholars on the theme ‘Science and Buddhism’. The retreat center for Dalai Lama has been fixed as Tashiding, West Sikkim, which is under preparation and the same center will be turned into museum in the coming years, it was informed.
It has been learnt that Dalai Lama’s visit has been planned and scheduled for nine days in the state and on 23rd of December his holiness would return.
During the meeting, a total of 8 Buddhist organization form across the state were present to highlight the preparation for receiving Dalai Lama.
Pravin Rai
(source:Voice of Sikkim)
Gangtok, 10 September: A coordination meet was conducted in the capital by the State Ecclesiastical Department to discuss over issue of visit of HH Dalai lama to Sikkim during December this year.
Mr Tenzing Gelek, Secretary, Ecclesiastical department said that the visit of Dalai Lama is totally organized by the state government and this is his fourth visit to Sikkim during the present government.
Routines have been scheduled and Dalai lama would arrive in the state on 15 December and will be visiting to various monasteries and even perform a public teaching.
Dalai Lama will also head the seminar with various learned scholars on the theme ‘Science and Buddhism’. The retreat center for Dalai Lama has been fixed as Tashiding, West Sikkim, which is under preparation and the same center will be turned into museum in the coming years, it was informed.
It has been learnt that Dalai Lama’s visit has been planned and scheduled for nine days in the state and on 23rd of December his holiness would return.
During the meeting, a total of 8 Buddhist organization form across the state were present to highlight the preparation for receiving Dalai Lama.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Assistance to Tourism Sector from Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided the following Technical Assistance (TA)/ Projects Preparatory Technical Assistance (PPTA)/ Regional Economic Technical Assistance (RETA) during the last three years and the current year:
§ PPTA of US $ 0.5 million has been provided on grant basis for Project Processing and capacity Development for nation wide study.
§ PPTA of US $ 1.0 million on grant basis for Inclusive Tourism Infrastructure Development Project for the states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
§ RETA of US $ 2.0 million on grant basis for Improving Connectivity and Destination Management of Natural and Cultural Resources in the South Asia Sub-region for the state of Sikkim.
Further a loan assistance of US $ 20.0 million from ADB has been negotiated for South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project for the state of Sikkim.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided the following Technical Assistance (TA)/ Projects Preparatory Technical Assistance (PPTA)/ Regional Economic Technical Assistance (RETA) during the last three years and the current year:
§ PPTA of US $ 0.5 million has been provided on grant basis for Project Processing and capacity Development for nation wide study.
§ PPTA of US $ 1.0 million on grant basis for Inclusive Tourism Infrastructure Development Project for the states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
§ RETA of US $ 2.0 million on grant basis for Improving Connectivity and Destination Management of Natural and Cultural Resources in the South Asia Sub-region for the state of Sikkim.
Further a loan assistance of US $ 20.0 million from ADB has been negotiated for South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project for the state of Sikkim.
Taxpayers Filing I-T Returns Electronically are Required to Mail ITR-V for AY 2009-10 To CPC Bengaluru by 31st December, 2010
The Central Board of Direct Taxes have extended the time limit for filing ITR-V forms relating to income tax returns filed electronically (without digital signature) for the assessment year (AY) 2009-10 up to 31st December 2010, or 120 days from the date of filing, whichever is later.
Many taxpayers have either not filed their ITR-V or have filed it with the local Income Tax office. ITR-V is accepted only at the Centralized Processing Center (CPC) of the Income Tax Department at Bengaluru by ordinary or speed post. Therefore, this final opportunity is being given to such taxpayers to regularize their income tax returns.
Taxpayers who have filed their returns electronically for AY 2009-10 on or after 1st April 2009 and have not filed the ITR-V to the CPC may mail it by ordinary post or speed post at Post Bag No.1, Electronic City Post Office, Bengaluru – 560100 (Karnataka). Taxpayers who have filed their ITR-V with the local Income Tax office may again mail their ITR-V to the CPC. Those taxpayers who have earlier mailed their ITR-V, but have not received the acknowledgement e-mail from the CPC, may re-mail their ITR-V to the CPC.
The ITR-V form should be mailed to the CPC only at the above address by ordinary post or speed post. Taxpayers may note that no other place or form of delivery will be accepted.
Taxpayers may also note that without acknowledgement of the ITR-V from the CPC it would not be possible for the Income Tax Department to process the income tax returns or issue any refunds there from, as these would be treated as not having been filed with the Department.
DSM/BY/S
(Release ID :65647)
The Central Board of Direct Taxes have extended the time limit for filing ITR-V forms relating to income tax returns filed electronically (without digital signature) for the assessment year (AY) 2009-10 up to 31st December 2010, or 120 days from the date of filing, whichever is later.
Many taxpayers have either not filed their ITR-V or have filed it with the local Income Tax office. ITR-V is accepted only at the Centralized Processing Center (CPC) of the Income Tax Department at Bengaluru by ordinary or speed post. Therefore, this final opportunity is being given to such taxpayers to regularize their income tax returns.
Taxpayers who have filed their returns electronically for AY 2009-10 on or after 1st April 2009 and have not filed the ITR-V to the CPC may mail it by ordinary post or speed post at Post Bag No.1, Electronic City Post Office, Bengaluru – 560100 (Karnataka). Taxpayers who have filed their ITR-V with the local Income Tax office may again mail their ITR-V to the CPC. Those taxpayers who have earlier mailed their ITR-V, but have not received the acknowledgement e-mail from the CPC, may re-mail their ITR-V to the CPC.
The ITR-V form should be mailed to the CPC only at the above address by ordinary post or speed post. Taxpayers may note that no other place or form of delivery will be accepted.
Taxpayers may also note that without acknowledgement of the ITR-V from the CPC it would not be possible for the Income Tax Department to process the income tax returns or issue any refunds there from, as these would be treated as not having been filed with the Department.
DSM/BY/S
(Release ID :65647)
Enumeration of Castes other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
The Union Cabinet considered the recommendations of the GoM and decided as follows:
a) ‘Caste’ of all persons as returned by them would be canvassed.
b) The caste enumeration would be conducted as a separate exercise from the month of June 2011 and completed in a phased manner by September 2011 after the Population Enumeration phase (to be conducted in February-March 2011) of the Census 2011 is over.
c) A suitable legal regime for collection of data on Castes would be formulated in consultation with the Ministry of Law & Justice.
d) The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner India would conduct the field operations of the caste enumeration. The Government of India would constitute an Expert Group to classify the caste/tribe returns after the enumeration is completed. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner India would hand over the details of the castes/tribes returned in the enumeration to the proposed Expert Group.
Caste-wise enumeration had been given up as a matter of policy after independence. The last Census when caste-wise data was collected, tabulated and published in detail was the 1931 Census.
In response to the demands for enumerating castes other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Census 2011 raised inside Parliament as well as by various groups outside, the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted a note to the Union Cabinet in May 2010 pertaining to this issue. The Union Cabinet in its meeting held in May 2010 decided that ‘the matter would require further examination’.
The Ministry of Home Affairs submitted a fresh note on this subject in May 2010. The Union Cabinet discussed the matter in its meeting held in May 2010 and decided that, “the matter may, in the first instance, be considered by a Group of Ministers”.
Accordingly, a Group of Ministers (GoM) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The GoM deliberated on the matter in three meetings and gave its recommendations to the Union Cabinet.
The Union Cabinet considered the recommendations of the GoM and decided as follows:
a) ‘Caste’ of all persons as returned by them would be canvassed.
b) The caste enumeration would be conducted as a separate exercise from the month of June 2011 and completed in a phased manner by September 2011 after the Population Enumeration phase (to be conducted in February-March 2011) of the Census 2011 is over.
c) A suitable legal regime for collection of data on Castes would be formulated in consultation with the Ministry of Law & Justice.
d) The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner India would conduct the field operations of the caste enumeration. The Government of India would constitute an Expert Group to classify the caste/tribe returns after the enumeration is completed. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner India would hand over the details of the castes/tribes returned in the enumeration to the proposed Expert Group.
Caste-wise enumeration had been given up as a matter of policy after independence. The last Census when caste-wise data was collected, tabulated and published in detail was the 1931 Census.
In response to the demands for enumerating castes other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Census 2011 raised inside Parliament as well as by various groups outside, the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted a note to the Union Cabinet in May 2010 pertaining to this issue. The Union Cabinet in its meeting held in May 2010 decided that ‘the matter would require further examination’.
The Ministry of Home Affairs submitted a fresh note on this subject in May 2010. The Union Cabinet discussed the matter in its meeting held in May 2010 and decided that, “the matter may, in the first instance, be considered by a Group of Ministers”.
Accordingly, a Group of Ministers (GoM) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The GoM deliberated on the matter in three meetings and gave its recommendations to the Union Cabinet.
Swiss Institute signs MoU with Sikkim on organic farming
source; sikkim reporter
Gangtok: Director FIBL Institute of Organic Research Centre of Switzerland Dr Urs Niggli along with Minister for Agriculture, Government of Sikkim, Mr. D.N. Takarpa, Secretary Mr. Vishal Chauhan, Principal Director Mr. K.K Singh and other officials called on Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling at his official residence Mintokgang here in the capital on September 7.
Dr. Niggli was all praise for the kind of work being done by the Chief Minister in making Sikkim an organic state. He also added that though it’s a challenging task but very much possible to achieve with the kind of enthusiasm and sincerity with which Sikkim has been working towards the objective of going organic.
The Director who had earlier visited a village in Kitam, South Sikkim, was very impressed by the farmers for their commitment towards organic farming.
“With the ever growing demand for organic products in the market, if Sikkim can manage to go organic then it will not only yield a great deal of profit and recognition worldwide but will also be an example for others to emulate”, he opined.
Dr. Chamling, on the other hand, hoped to get all possible technical support from Dr. Niggli and his institute to turn the state into fully organic, which will be the first one to achieve this recognition in India.
“Though the task ahead is challenging we are absolutely committed to go total organic by 2015”, Chief Minister affirmed. He added, Sikkim needs all necessary technical know-how, help and support from Dr. Niggli and his institute to make the mission of going organic a reality within the next three years. On the occasion a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Dr. Urs Niggli and Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Sikkim, Mr. Vishal Chauhan, for a long term partnership in which the department will get all possible technical support from the institute on research and training and other related knowledge of organic farming. Calling it “a historic occasion”, Chief Minister hoped that “this partnership will have a lasting and positive effect on achieving the target. (With IPR input)
source; sikkim reporter
Gangtok: Director FIBL Institute of Organic Research Centre of Switzerland Dr Urs Niggli along with Minister for Agriculture, Government of Sikkim, Mr. D.N. Takarpa, Secretary Mr. Vishal Chauhan, Principal Director Mr. K.K Singh and other officials called on Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling at his official residence Mintokgang here in the capital on September 7.
Dr. Niggli was all praise for the kind of work being done by the Chief Minister in making Sikkim an organic state. He also added that though it’s a challenging task but very much possible to achieve with the kind of enthusiasm and sincerity with which Sikkim has been working towards the objective of going organic.
The Director who had earlier visited a village in Kitam, South Sikkim, was very impressed by the farmers for their commitment towards organic farming.
“With the ever growing demand for organic products in the market, if Sikkim can manage to go organic then it will not only yield a great deal of profit and recognition worldwide but will also be an example for others to emulate”, he opined.
Dr. Chamling, on the other hand, hoped to get all possible technical support from Dr. Niggli and his institute to turn the state into fully organic, which will be the first one to achieve this recognition in India.
“Though the task ahead is challenging we are absolutely committed to go total organic by 2015”, Chief Minister affirmed. He added, Sikkim needs all necessary technical know-how, help and support from Dr. Niggli and his institute to make the mission of going organic a reality within the next three years. On the occasion a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Dr. Urs Niggli and Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Sikkim, Mr. Vishal Chauhan, for a long term partnership in which the department will get all possible technical support from the institute on research and training and other related knowledge of organic farming. Calling it “a historic occasion”, Chief Minister hoped that “this partnership will have a lasting and positive effect on achieving the target. (With IPR input)
SSSBS opposes demand of ‘Daughters of the soil of Sikkim’
SE Report
GANGTOK, September 8: Sikkim Sachet Swarojgar Birojgar Sangathang (SSSBS) has opposed the demand for inheritance rights placed by a group of Sikkimese women married to non-locals.
“We strongly object their approach and rather suggest them to think about the interest of more than 5 lakhs Sikkimese people. They have acted in interest of few persons and if the government accepts their proposal, we shall stand against the government”, said the SSSBS in a press statement today.
It may be recalled that a section of Sikkimese women married to non-locals under the banner of under ‘Daughters of the soil of Sikkim’ had on September 6 submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister requesting that lands inherited or bought by them be registered in the names of their legal heirs.
According to the existing government rules, the property inherited by Sikkimese women married to non Sikkim Subject Holders cannot be registered in their names or their sons or daughters.
Opposing the demand, the SSBS said that if such practice is allowed to take place, Sikkim will be ‘occupied by outsiders’ only.
SE Report
GANGTOK, September 8: Sikkim Sachet Swarojgar Birojgar Sangathang (SSSBS) has opposed the demand for inheritance rights placed by a group of Sikkimese women married to non-locals.
“We strongly object their approach and rather suggest them to think about the interest of more than 5 lakhs Sikkimese people. They have acted in interest of few persons and if the government accepts their proposal, we shall stand against the government”, said the SSSBS in a press statement today.
It may be recalled that a section of Sikkimese women married to non-locals under the banner of under ‘Daughters of the soil of Sikkim’ had on September 6 submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister requesting that lands inherited or bought by them be registered in the names of their legal heirs.
According to the existing government rules, the property inherited by Sikkimese women married to non Sikkim Subject Holders cannot be registered in their names or their sons or daughters.
Opposing the demand, the SSBS said that if such practice is allowed to take place, Sikkim will be ‘occupied by outsiders’ only.
The 100/0 Principle
by Al Ritter
What is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others? It's The 100/0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.
Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.
The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.
STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.
STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.
STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the bait.
STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.
At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When this occurs, you need to avoid being the "Knower" and shift to being the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like "that won't work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll teach you," "that's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I know," etc.
Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like "Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc. In other words, as a Learner, be curious!
Principle Paradox
This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.
by Al Ritter
What is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others? It's The 100/0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.
Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.
The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.
STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.
STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.
STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the bait.
STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.
At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When this occurs, you need to avoid being the "Knower" and shift to being the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like "that won't work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll teach you," "that's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I know," etc.
Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like "Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc. In other words, as a Learner, be curious!
Principle Paradox
This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.
External affairs ministry official to study progress of Nathula trade
Sep 9, 2010,
An official of the ministry of external affairs is in Gangtok to study the progress of the Nathula border trade, official sources said today.
Under-secretary in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) China desk, Gitika Srivastav is in Gangtok to study the progress of the border trade between Indian and China through Nathula, the sources said.
Srivastav is in Sikkim to take stock of the progress of the border trade, interact with officials, traders and the administration and report back to the MEA to enable it to take decision about the future course of action.
While exports have been steadily flowing out from Sikkim into Tibet, there have been virtually no official imports.
Import figures for this fifth season stands at zero. This was also brought to the notice of the under-secretary, sources said..
Sources said Srivastav was told of the long pending demand of the traders for revision of the list of items of trade, especially the items allowed for import which were obsolete and due to which there was no import for the past two years.
source;PTI/ NOW/
Sep 9, 2010,
An official of the ministry of external affairs is in Gangtok to study the progress of the Nathula border trade, official sources said today.
Under-secretary in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) China desk, Gitika Srivastav is in Gangtok to study the progress of the border trade between Indian and China through Nathula, the sources said.
Srivastav is in Sikkim to take stock of the progress of the border trade, interact with officials, traders and the administration and report back to the MEA to enable it to take decision about the future course of action.
While exports have been steadily flowing out from Sikkim into Tibet, there have been virtually no official imports.
Import figures for this fifth season stands at zero. This was also brought to the notice of the under-secretary, sources said..
Sources said Srivastav was told of the long pending demand of the traders for revision of the list of items of trade, especially the items allowed for import which were obsolete and due to which there was no import for the past two years.
source;PTI/ NOW/
Seminar on Development of Manufacturing and Services Sector in the North Eastern Region
Gangtok September 9: Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Mr. B.K Handique attended a day long seminar on “Development of Manufacturing and Services Sector in the North Eastern Region” was organized by the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) and sponsored by the Ministry of DoNER at a local hotel here in the capital.
During his inaugural address the Chief Guest Minister Mr. Handique stated that Sikkim is a unique State in the nation with its tranquil and peaceful environment and with its development which is on over drive. He also assured all possible help from his Ministry to Sikkim especially in the sector of Floriculture, Horticulture and Tourism. The Minister also felt the need of much bigger numbers of NEDFi in the state to attract the younger generations towards establishing small scale industries. Small scale industries is something which can really flourish in the region, he informed
Further he informed that with better connectivity Centre want to put Sikkim in the forefront in tourism sector not only in the region but also in the country.
Information Technology has a great future in the North Easter region he added and also advocated about promoting it aggressively in the region. Mr. Handique also assured to give all possible help to the state and also incorporate the road map which the Chief Minister has made to take Sikkim into the path of development.
On the other hand Guest of Honour for the inaugural secession, Chief Minister, Mr. Pawan Chamling, in his address, expressed his hope to get all the possible help and support from the Ministry to have an overall development in the region and also informed that the peaceful and tranquil environment which has been prevailing in the State with his government’s good governance was the reflection of the total commitment of Sikkim towards the nation.
Mr. Chamling also informed about how the State has been able to come a long way in the field of energy and power generation and also about the head way Sikkim has made in various other fields. The Chief Minister drew the attention of the Union Minister for about having Central Public Sector Undertaking in the State.
The inaugural secession also saw disbursement of loans to small entrepreneurs from Sikkim from the Chief Guest and the Chief Minister.
The function was also addressed by the Joint Secretary DoNER, Mr. J.P Sharma, who gave opening remarks on the seminar.
In the afternoon secession of the seminar various presentations were made on Industrial Scenario & Opportunities in NER by NEDFi, Banking issues in the NER by Reserve Bank of India , Sikkim Entrepreneurs Association, which was followed by interactive secession between the officials and the stake holders.
The inaugural secession was attended by the Minister for Commerce & Industries, Government of Sikkim, Ms Neeru Sewa, Depurty Chairman, State Planning Commission, Mr. S.M Limboo, Chief Secretary, Mr. T.T Dorji, Development Commissioner cum Addl Chief Secretary Mr. Karma Gayatso, Commissioner cum Secretary Industries along with host of other dignitaries.
Earlier Minister DoNER Mr. B.K Handique called on the Chief Minister Mr. Pawan Chamling at his official residence Mintokgang. During the meeting, Mr. Handique expressed utmost satisfaction on how Sikkim has made tremendous progress in various sectors and also appreciated the city of Gangtok and commented it as one of the cleanest cities he has ever seen. The Union Minister also felt need of having intra air connectivity in the North Eastern Region in order to develop the region as the potential tourist destination while assuring to help to improve border trade in the region.
The Chief Minister, on other hand, expressed his hope to get full support and cooperation from his Ministry in order to usher Sikkim into the horizon of development, and also felt need to revise the current list of border trade goods in order to get the border trade into over drive.
Development Commissioner cum Addl. Chief Secretary, Mr. Karma Gyatso was also present during meeting
source;IPR-sikkim
Gangtok September 9: Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Mr. B.K Handique attended a day long seminar on “Development of Manufacturing and Services Sector in the North Eastern Region” was organized by the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) and sponsored by the Ministry of DoNER at a local hotel here in the capital.
During his inaugural address the Chief Guest Minister Mr. Handique stated that Sikkim is a unique State in the nation with its tranquil and peaceful environment and with its development which is on over drive. He also assured all possible help from his Ministry to Sikkim especially in the sector of Floriculture, Horticulture and Tourism. The Minister also felt the need of much bigger numbers of NEDFi in the state to attract the younger generations towards establishing small scale industries. Small scale industries is something which can really flourish in the region, he informed
Further he informed that with better connectivity Centre want to put Sikkim in the forefront in tourism sector not only in the region but also in the country.
Information Technology has a great future in the North Easter region he added and also advocated about promoting it aggressively in the region. Mr. Handique also assured to give all possible help to the state and also incorporate the road map which the Chief Minister has made to take Sikkim into the path of development.
On the other hand Guest of Honour for the inaugural secession, Chief Minister, Mr. Pawan Chamling, in his address, expressed his hope to get all the possible help and support from the Ministry to have an overall development in the region and also informed that the peaceful and tranquil environment which has been prevailing in the State with his government’s good governance was the reflection of the total commitment of Sikkim towards the nation.
Mr. Chamling also informed about how the State has been able to come a long way in the field of energy and power generation and also about the head way Sikkim has made in various other fields. The Chief Minister drew the attention of the Union Minister for about having Central Public Sector Undertaking in the State.
The inaugural secession also saw disbursement of loans to small entrepreneurs from Sikkim from the Chief Guest and the Chief Minister.
The function was also addressed by the Joint Secretary DoNER, Mr. J.P Sharma, who gave opening remarks on the seminar.
In the afternoon secession of the seminar various presentations were made on Industrial Scenario & Opportunities in NER by NEDFi, Banking issues in the NER by Reserve Bank of India , Sikkim Entrepreneurs Association, which was followed by interactive secession between the officials and the stake holders.
The inaugural secession was attended by the Minister for Commerce & Industries, Government of Sikkim, Ms Neeru Sewa, Depurty Chairman, State Planning Commission, Mr. S.M Limboo, Chief Secretary, Mr. T.T Dorji, Development Commissioner cum Addl Chief Secretary Mr. Karma Gayatso, Commissioner cum Secretary Industries along with host of other dignitaries.
Earlier Minister DoNER Mr. B.K Handique called on the Chief Minister Mr. Pawan Chamling at his official residence Mintokgang. During the meeting, Mr. Handique expressed utmost satisfaction on how Sikkim has made tremendous progress in various sectors and also appreciated the city of Gangtok and commented it as one of the cleanest cities he has ever seen. The Union Minister also felt need of having intra air connectivity in the North Eastern Region in order to develop the region as the potential tourist destination while assuring to help to improve border trade in the region.
The Chief Minister, on other hand, expressed his hope to get full support and cooperation from his Ministry in order to usher Sikkim into the horizon of development, and also felt need to revise the current list of border trade goods in order to get the border trade into over drive.
Development Commissioner cum Addl. Chief Secretary, Mr. Karma Gyatso was also present during meeting
source;IPR-sikkim
Gains After Pains
By Dhirendra Kumar
Have the abolition of commissions and the tightening of new fund issues started showing a shift towards long-term and more stable investments? In other words, have mutual funds reforms that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) unleashed last year actually started giving the desired result? There is probably not enough hard data yet, but if one looks at the way funds are being sold and the changed approach of many fund distributors and fund companies, then that may well be the case.
The biggest indicator of the shift is the renewed emphasis on systematic investment plans (SIPs). A number of fund companies have observed that investors are starting SIPs in larger numbers, and for greater amounts. The rate at which SIPs lapse is also now lower than it has historically been in similar phases of the stock markets. SIPs are a critical indicator of how investors will invest for the long term, whether they will continue investing when the markets are weak and most importantly, whether they will get converted to long-term believers by making money through good times and bad.
The emphasis on SIPs can be seen clearly in the advertising and marketing campaigns that many fund companies are running. Most people in the fund industry can see that in terms of bang for their marketing buck (that is AUM for effort), SIPs are the best options. Unlike earlier, when fund sales were focused only on new funds, many fund companies are running ad campaigns that are solely meant to convince investors about the idea of SIPs.
The other big factor that is aiding this shift is the changed attitude of fund distributors. High commissions of the old days are gone, but it is clear that convincing an investor to start an SIP is much better than convincing him to invest a lump sum. Systematic investments eventually lead to larger investments and thus higher commissions. More importantly, it also leads to higher returns and thus, a happier investor who is likely to invest more.
All in all, after a period of turmoil when fund companies and distributors were reconfiguring their businesses, mutual fund investing is emerging into a post-reforms phase, and the long-hoped shift to stable, long-term investing may actually be working out.
By Dhirendra Kumar
Have the abolition of commissions and the tightening of new fund issues started showing a shift towards long-term and more stable investments? In other words, have mutual funds reforms that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) unleashed last year actually started giving the desired result? There is probably not enough hard data yet, but if one looks at the way funds are being sold and the changed approach of many fund distributors and fund companies, then that may well be the case.
The biggest indicator of the shift is the renewed emphasis on systematic investment plans (SIPs). A number of fund companies have observed that investors are starting SIPs in larger numbers, and for greater amounts. The rate at which SIPs lapse is also now lower than it has historically been in similar phases of the stock markets. SIPs are a critical indicator of how investors will invest for the long term, whether they will continue investing when the markets are weak and most importantly, whether they will get converted to long-term believers by making money through good times and bad.
The emphasis on SIPs can be seen clearly in the advertising and marketing campaigns that many fund companies are running. Most people in the fund industry can see that in terms of bang for their marketing buck (that is AUM for effort), SIPs are the best options. Unlike earlier, when fund sales were focused only on new funds, many fund companies are running ad campaigns that are solely meant to convince investors about the idea of SIPs.
The other big factor that is aiding this shift is the changed attitude of fund distributors. High commissions of the old days are gone, but it is clear that convincing an investor to start an SIP is much better than convincing him to invest a lump sum. Systematic investments eventually lead to larger investments and thus higher commissions. More importantly, it also leads to higher returns and thus, a happier investor who is likely to invest more.
All in all, after a period of turmoil when fund companies and distributors were reconfiguring their businesses, mutual fund investing is emerging into a post-reforms phase, and the long-hoped shift to stable, long-term investing may actually be working out.
German team meets Sikkim CM
Gangtok, Sept 8 :PTI: A team experts of the German Agency of Technical Cooperation Appraisal Mission on Climate Change Adaptation in the North Eastern region met Sikkim Chief Minister P K Chamling today and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government. The team led by Hans Helmrich, expressed happiness over the awareness among the people of the state about the problem of climate change and of the efforts made by the government to address the issue, official sources said. The team also praised the chief minister for the efforts intiated by the government to protect the environment in the Himalayan state. The German mission will work with five NE states and give technical support to Sikkim and Nagaland. Chamling expressed his concern over climate change and global warming and asked the team to provide technical and expert support to the state assuring them of cooperation. State Minister for Science and Technology Bhim Dhungel accompanied the team, the sources added.
Gangtok, Sept 8 :PTI: A team experts of the German Agency of Technical Cooperation Appraisal Mission on Climate Change Adaptation in the North Eastern region met Sikkim Chief Minister P K Chamling today and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government. The team led by Hans Helmrich, expressed happiness over the awareness among the people of the state about the problem of climate change and of the efforts made by the government to address the issue, official sources said. The team also praised the chief minister for the efforts intiated by the government to protect the environment in the Himalayan state. The German mission will work with five NE states and give technical support to Sikkim and Nagaland. Chamling expressed his concern over climate change and global warming and asked the team to provide technical and expert support to the state assuring them of cooperation. State Minister for Science and Technology Bhim Dhungel accompanied the team, the sources added.
Swallowed nano-diamonds could illuminate your ailments
ANI
Nano-diamonds can be coated with special proteins to attach themselves to special cells in the body. File photo
Swallowing a diamond could soon tell what disease you are suffering from, thanks to a new technology developed by scientists from Taiwan.
The researchers have developed nanodiamonds that, when swallowed, harmlessly coat the digestive track. When coated with special sugars or proteins, the nanodiamonds are absorbed into the body and attach themselves to specific cells. The study, which is currently limited to animals, could eventually diagnose and eventually treat diseases in humans. “This research work demonstrates that nanodiamonds are non-toxic in both cellular and organismic levels,” Discovery News quoted Yi-Chun Wu, a co-author of the study, as saying.
The nanodiamonds the scientists from Taiwan used absorb yellow light and emit violet light.
Next, the scientists fed two types of nanodiamonds to the round worm C. elegans. The first batch of nanodiamonds were uncoated, just pure carbon with a few nitrogen atoms. Those nanodiamonds coated the digestive tract of the transparent roundworm.
The second batch of nanodiaonds the roundworms ate were coated with a special sugar. Once inside the roundworm, the nanodiamonds passed through the digestive tract and into the body of the worm, congregating at various points inside the body. Both the coated and uncoated nanodiamonds glowed purple when yellow light was shined onto the roundworms, revealing their location inside the worm. The scientists fed the nanodiamonds to the worms just to measure their toxicity and to see where the diamonds ended up.
More specific functions will come soon though, said Vadym Mochalin, a scientist at Drexel University who uses nanodiamonds in his own research. Virtually any kind of protein or chemical can coat nanodiamonds. When placed into the body, those coated nanodiamonds could seek out and attach themselves to cancer cells, immune cells, pathogens and other cells.
At first, coated and glowing nanodiamonds will likely help doctors and scientists find and map cancers and other entities that harm humans. After that nanodiamonds will likely be used to deliver low doses of powerful drugs to help treat those diseases.
Some researchers are most excited about using nanodiamonds to track stem cells, which could jump-start immune responses, help repair nerve damage, and potentially even regenerate entire organs if the research pans out. The study has been published in the journal ACS Nano Letters.
ANI
Nano-diamonds can be coated with special proteins to attach themselves to special cells in the body. File photo
Swallowing a diamond could soon tell what disease you are suffering from, thanks to a new technology developed by scientists from Taiwan.
The researchers have developed nanodiamonds that, when swallowed, harmlessly coat the digestive track. When coated with special sugars or proteins, the nanodiamonds are absorbed into the body and attach themselves to specific cells. The study, which is currently limited to animals, could eventually diagnose and eventually treat diseases in humans. “This research work demonstrates that nanodiamonds are non-toxic in both cellular and organismic levels,” Discovery News quoted Yi-Chun Wu, a co-author of the study, as saying.
The nanodiamonds the scientists from Taiwan used absorb yellow light and emit violet light.
Next, the scientists fed two types of nanodiamonds to the round worm C. elegans. The first batch of nanodiamonds were uncoated, just pure carbon with a few nitrogen atoms. Those nanodiamonds coated the digestive tract of the transparent roundworm.
The second batch of nanodiaonds the roundworms ate were coated with a special sugar. Once inside the roundworm, the nanodiamonds passed through the digestive tract and into the body of the worm, congregating at various points inside the body. Both the coated and uncoated nanodiamonds glowed purple when yellow light was shined onto the roundworms, revealing their location inside the worm. The scientists fed the nanodiamonds to the worms just to measure their toxicity and to see where the diamonds ended up.
More specific functions will come soon though, said Vadym Mochalin, a scientist at Drexel University who uses nanodiamonds in his own research. Virtually any kind of protein or chemical can coat nanodiamonds. When placed into the body, those coated nanodiamonds could seek out and attach themselves to cancer cells, immune cells, pathogens and other cells.
At first, coated and glowing nanodiamonds will likely help doctors and scientists find and map cancers and other entities that harm humans. After that nanodiamonds will likely be used to deliver low doses of powerful drugs to help treat those diseases.
Some researchers are most excited about using nanodiamonds to track stem cells, which could jump-start immune responses, help repair nerve damage, and potentially even regenerate entire organs if the research pans out. The study has been published in the journal ACS Nano Letters.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Sikkim becomes the first State to hold the Ist Awareness camp on GST (Goods & Services Tax) when Sikkim Chamber of Commerce organized such camp in association with the Commercial tax Division of Government of Sikkim on 7th Sept 2010 at Gangtok’s renowned hotel Hotel Tashi Delek.
The Camp which was attended by more than 300 representatives from trade,commerce, industry and hotel business from all over Sikkim was inaugurated by Shri H B Rai, Special Secretary, Commercial taxes Department, Government of Sikkim by lighting of lamps. It was followed by the Keynote address by
S.K.Sarda, President, Sikkim Chamber of Commerce.
Shri H B Rai as Chief Guest congratulated the business fraternity for organizing such a grand awareness camp on GST. He gave brief history of the different tax systems that we were following since inception. The Sales tax Act, then the Value added tax and now the Goods & Services tax are all reforms that would
ultimately tend to lower consumer prices by removal of various cascading effects and also to improve the revenue by a more systematic and logical approach by making it IT based to save valuable time and efforts at both the administrator and the dealers’ end. He revealed that several taxes like Excise duty, Customs
duty, Environment Cess, CST, and Vat will all be subsumed in GST and will make the collection process simpler for the State.
Earlier in His keynote address S K Sarda, President of Sikkim Chamber of Commerce dealt at length on Tax reforms in India in general and Sikkim in particular.
“ With the introduction of GST the target of making the whole country as one market will be completed. The movement of goods from production centre to Consuming centre will be fast and tax efficient. Besides, exports will not carry the burden of national taxes thus making it competitive in the international
arena.
In Sikkim, we are proud that our visionary leader Dr Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister is on a reform rally in all sectors of the economy namely Tourism, agriculture, flower culture, industry, hotel business, trade and commerce which all are now flourishing.
The State Commercial Tax Department in tune with national agenda on tax reforms desires to move to GST system with effect from 1.4.2011. This awareness camp is the first awareness camp on the subject through out the country and it is sincerely hoped that all present here today shall immensely benefit from this
workshop and take home food for thought to actively participate in the growth of Sikkim and the Nation.”
“Here, I would like to put on record that in Sikkim, save and except a few recent pharma industries, the bulk of the economic activity is run by petty to medium traders who cater to day to day needs of the local populace and are mostly miniscule in trade volumes compared to national scale and mostly are one
or two men enterprises.
They have to follow many regulations like Trade licence, PFA, Health License,Labor licence, Pollution license, Drug License, Cess, Vat, Income Tax, professional tax and many such other laws.”
“ We fully understand the need for such taxes, but it would have been better if the procedure of paying fees and getting licenses are made under one roof, so that the usual 30 to 40 days which are lost annually to renew these licenses and completing their formalities and returns are reduced and life made simpler.
We are happy to know that our Hon’ble Chief Minister has recently impressed such need at a meeting with Heads of Government departments.”
Then there were Power Point Presentations with elaborate explanations by the experts from the Commercial taxes Department.
Shri Bikas Diyali, Asst Director, Computer Cell, Commercial Taxes Department through his power point dealt in length on the E services which the department proposes to introduce like downloading of Way Bills/ C forms/filing returns and Payment of Taxes easy for the dealer thru Internet system.
Shri M N Dahal, Deputy commissioner, Environment Cess, CTD through his power point presentation discussed in length the need for the protection of environment and assured that the contribution of the environment cess made by dealers will go in for a good purpose of protecting the fragile ecology system
of the State which will ultimately benefit the residents of the State.
Shri Manoj Rai, Deputy Commissoner, Commercial taxes Department then took Power
Presentation on Goods and Services tax (GST) in detail. He informed the elite gathering converged from all over Sikkim on the process and procedure which is likely to be followed under GST. He apprised the gathering that in the present VAT system only VAT portion charged by the preceeding dealer is allowed to be set off while computing taxes, whereas under the proposed GST regime all other
hidden costs like excise duty, service tax, etc shall also be allowed to be taken credit of, thereby infact lessening the dealers’ cost and offering lower consumer prices.
There was an active interaction between the audience and the officials and sought many clarifications on the GST, Environment Cess and E services.
Mementoes were presented to the guest speakers and officials of CTD department
and vote of thanks was presented by Shri Suresh Agarwal, General Secretary,Sikkim Chamber of Commerce. The whole programme was anchored by Shri Ramesh Periwal
Single window concept suggested for tourism stakeholders
GANGTOK, September 7: The State government has given its agreement for establishing a single window system for providing licenses to hotels and restaurants in Sikkim.
This agreement in principle was reached during meeting at Tashiling secretariat chaired by Tourism minister Bhim Dhungel and participated by chief secretary TT Dorji, departmental heads and representatives from Sikkim Hotel & Restaurant Association.
During the meeting, the chief secretary suggested a single window system for licensing which was agreed to by the departmental heads who will be working to bring the proposed system in place, informs a SHRA press note.
Minister Dhungel said also supported the concept of single window so that the tourism stakeholders will not face problems in getting clearances from different agencies.
SHRA president Bhanu Pratap Rasaily highlighted that the hotel and restaurant sector in Sikkim is at its infancy and called for support to ensure a growth of this sector with less complicated rules and taxes. Generous support from the State government will encourage more local youths to join tourism sector for self-employment, he argued.
Rasaily also pointed out issues faced by hotels and restaurants in Sikkim regarding labour laws. He also apprised the State government about the excessive fees charged by the State Pollution Control Board from the tourism stakeholders
source;sikkim express
GANGTOK, September 7: The State government has given its agreement for establishing a single window system for providing licenses to hotels and restaurants in Sikkim.
This agreement in principle was reached during meeting at Tashiling secretariat chaired by Tourism minister Bhim Dhungel and participated by chief secretary TT Dorji, departmental heads and representatives from Sikkim Hotel & Restaurant Association.
During the meeting, the chief secretary suggested a single window system for licensing which was agreed to by the departmental heads who will be working to bring the proposed system in place, informs a SHRA press note.
Minister Dhungel said also supported the concept of single window so that the tourism stakeholders will not face problems in getting clearances from different agencies.
SHRA president Bhanu Pratap Rasaily highlighted that the hotel and restaurant sector in Sikkim is at its infancy and called for support to ensure a growth of this sector with less complicated rules and taxes. Generous support from the State government will encourage more local youths to join tourism sector for self-employment, he argued.
Rasaily also pointed out issues faced by hotels and restaurants in Sikkim regarding labour laws. He also apprised the State government about the excessive fees charged by the State Pollution Control Board from the tourism stakeholders
source;sikkim express
MUTUAL FUNDS - Soon, transfer demat MF units freely
by Y K AYEZAD E . A DAJANIA
On 6 September, the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi), Funds of India (Amfi), the mutual fund (MF) industry body, wrote to the capital mar- ket regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), requesting the regula- tor to postpone the date of im- plementation for a recent Sebi ruling that mandates all asset management companies (AMCs) to allow investors to freely transfer their de- materialized MF units.
In a circular that Sebi issued a couple of weeks back, it had made it man- datory for all AMCs to im- plement the rule by 1 Oc- tober. As per the new rul- ing, you will be able to transfer your MF units, held in demat form, to your spouse, parents, children or even near and dear ones directly from one demat account to another.
Boosting MFs' stock exchange platform It's been nine months since Sebi al- lowed MF units to be traded on the stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), but the move hasn't yet taken off.
Less than 0.01% of the total inflows into MF schemes come through stock exchanges.
Apart from getting stock brokers to sell MFs--in the ab- sence of entry loads against equity shares that fetch them upfront bro- kerage--experts cite lack of aware- ness and the risks that brokers carry as the key reasons why the stock exchange plat- forms haven't yet taken off.
Time and again, Sebi has been taking steps to popularize the stock exchange platform.
Some months back, Sebi allowed Na- tional Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) and Cen- tral Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL) to convert existing physical MF units into dematerial- ized form so that they are transact- ed on the stock exchange. Now, Sebi has allowed these units to be transferrable. Some news reports say that Sebi also intends to make listing of all MF schemes on stock ex- changes compulsory soon. soon.
Sebi is expected to bring trad- ing on MF units on a par with share trading. At present, MF units directly reach the investor's account; the second phase will see units reaching the broker's pool account first. Only when the client's cheque gets cleared will the broker release the units from his pool account. As of now, since the units reach the client's account directly, (but the broker initially pays out of his own pocket since the MF has to re- ceive money on the day after punching the buy order), the broker stands to lose money if the client's cheque (that takes about a couple of days to clear) bounces.
“Once the second phase kicks in, brokers will get units in their pool account. They will, therefore, transfer it to the unit holder's account only af- ter the money is realized. This should be a major boost to the MF trading platform on the stock exchanges,“ says Rakesh Goyal, senior vice-president, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd, a Mum- bai-based financial services company. Cyrus Khambata, se- nior vice-president, CDSL, said that the second phase will start in about two months.
What this means If you hold shares in demat form, you can transfer them to whosoever you want, provided the receiver, too, has a demat account. At present, you can either sell the shares on the stock exchange during market hours or can trans- fer to someone during off- market hours as part of an off-market transaction (a buy-sell transaction not routed through the stock exchange).
Transfer of MF units has been a grey area until now. Though the Securities and Exchange Board of In- dia (Mutual Funds) Reg- ulations, 1996, permit MFs to allow investors to trans- fer their existing MF units, fund houses have not allowed all unit holders to transfer their units, en masse.
Since fresh units are contin- uously created, a transfer facility is not really merit- ed. Only in select cases, for instance a unit holder's death, have they allowed nits to get transferred.
In this case, the MF units get transferred to the second holder or the nominee. Or, say, you pledged your MF units to a bank for a loan and you default on the loan, the units get trans- ferred to the bank.
How to transfer MF units When you buy and sell MFs, you essen- tially transact with the fund house. If you wish to give your MF units to somebody else, the easiest--and the only--way to do it is to re- deem your units and gift the money.
After 1 October, you won't have to redeem your MF units and will al instead be able to enter into an off-market transaction directly with the person you wish to transfer your units to. On the other hand, when you sell your shares or MF units on the stock ex- change, you don't know who buys them.
An off-market transfer gets done through a spe- cial procedure. However, these are early days and it's unclear as to how transfer of MF units will take place in an off-market transaction.
For instance, most bro- kerages mandate cus- tomers to fill up a power of attorney (PoA) at the time of opening an account. A PoA restricts transfer of shares through off-market transac- tions; you can only transfer shares to a demat account in which the sequence of account holders is exactly the same as the account from which you T are transferring your shares. In other words, you can only transfer to your own account, elsewhere.
Market experts say that to ef- fect an off-market transfer, you will need to revoke the PoA, fill up the delivery instruction slip and submit it to your deposito- ry participant. There's a cost attached--about 0.04% or about `15-25.
Who pays the exit load?
Among a few key issues is how would the MF industry charge exit loads. Many equity funds levy an exit load for pre- mature withdrawal. Debt funds, too, levy exit loads to discour- age premature withdrawals.
First, off-market transfer need not happen at the market price, though experts say that in many cases it happens close to the market price. Second, when unit holders redeem their units, the fund house de- ducts the load amount from the redemption value and re- turns the rest to the unit hold- ers. However, when you trans- fer MF units (off-market trans- fer), MFs do not have a way to find out whether or not you pay the exit load.
“At present, the fund house deducts exit loads, which are used to meet costs incurred by the fund house. Once investors start transferring their units di- rectly to other investors, who will remind the buyer to de- duct exit load from the pur- chase price,“ says a chief exec- utive officer of an AMC who did not want to be named.
Some fund houses have a different view. The head of op- erations of a Mumbai-based fund house said that perhaps the industry may take a view to exempt transfer of units from exit loads. “Exit loads are lev- ied on the units redeemed. In case of off-market transfers, MF units are not getting redeemed. They are in perpetual existence. Hence, the MF in- dustry may come to a consen- sus to waive off exit loads in such cases.“
While this may ease opera- tional issues, it could create a disparity between different classes of investors--those who hold physical units and those who hold demat units.
That apart, the rationale of exit loads--to deter premature withdrawals--might get lost.
Further, in an industry that is still reeling under the removal of entry loads, this may only add to the present worries.
Can costs rise?
When off-market transfers start, MFs would need to track them as and when they hap- pen; practically, every day.
This is mainly to distribute dividends, if any, to the correct unit holder. This could be a problem if too many investors change hands and the fund house declares dividends in the interim.
At present, for units that get traded on the stock exchange MF platforms, the two main de- positories, NSDL and CDSL, send regular information to all MFs' registrars and transfer agents (such as Computer Age Management Systems and Karvy Computershare Pvt. Ltd). Called benpos, or beneficiary position, this gives information about the unit balance as on that day and the name of the unit holders who hold these units. While CDSL gives benpos on a daily basis--only to MFs--NSDL gives it once a week. Anything extra comes at a cost.
“If MFs were to take benpos daily, it could incur huge costs to the MFs. As the total ex- penses that we charge to inves- tors on an annual basis are capped, the AMC will have to bear the cost,“ said a chief of another fund house, who also did not want to be identified as the matter involves the regula- tor. Added work at the regis- trar's end may also lead to an increase in their charges, which would further burden the fund houses, he added.
Who'll deduct tax at source?
When non-resident Indians sell MF schemes, they pay tax deducted at source (TDS). For equity funds sold before a year, you pay 15% short-term gains tax. On other MFs, you pay 30% TDS if you sell before a year. You pay 20% TDS if you sell after a year. Since this is TDS, the MF deducts it and re- deems the balance to a non- resident Indian (NRI) who submits a redemption request.
Once units get freely trans- ferable, it's unclear as to how the MF will recover this TDS from the NRI. As of now, there seems to be no mechanism that ensures this.
Sebi's latest move seems to have caught the MF industry off-guard. Although some fund houses privately admit there's a lot of work to be done, many fund houses are hopeful of finding a solution. “Clearly, not doing anything is not the answer,“ said an MF official, who heads operations in a bank-sponsored MF. He ex- pressed confidence that a rea- sonable solution will be found.
Hoshang N. Sinor, chief execu- tive, Amfi says: “It is a good idea, but there are operational challenges in implementing this. We find that it will not be possible to implement this by 1 October. The matter doesn't just involve MFs and their agents, but also depositories like NSDL and CDSL, and stock exchanges. All will get impacted and it bodes well for the system if all players con- cerned get elevated and bene- fit from this move.“
source:livemint.com
by Y K AYEZAD E . A DAJANIA
On 6 September, the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi), Funds of India (Amfi), the mutual fund (MF) industry body, wrote to the capital mar- ket regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), requesting the regula- tor to postpone the date of im- plementation for a recent Sebi ruling that mandates all asset management companies (AMCs) to allow investors to freely transfer their de- materialized MF units.
In a circular that Sebi issued a couple of weeks back, it had made it man- datory for all AMCs to im- plement the rule by 1 Oc- tober. As per the new rul- ing, you will be able to transfer your MF units, held in demat form, to your spouse, parents, children or even near and dear ones directly from one demat account to another.
Boosting MFs' stock exchange platform It's been nine months since Sebi al- lowed MF units to be traded on the stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), but the move hasn't yet taken off.
Less than 0.01% of the total inflows into MF schemes come through stock exchanges.
Apart from getting stock brokers to sell MFs--in the ab- sence of entry loads against equity shares that fetch them upfront bro- kerage--experts cite lack of aware- ness and the risks that brokers carry as the key reasons why the stock exchange plat- forms haven't yet taken off.
Time and again, Sebi has been taking steps to popularize the stock exchange platform.
Some months back, Sebi allowed Na- tional Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) and Cen- tral Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL) to convert existing physical MF units into dematerial- ized form so that they are transact- ed on the stock exchange. Now, Sebi has allowed these units to be transferrable. Some news reports say that Sebi also intends to make listing of all MF schemes on stock ex- changes compulsory soon. soon.
Sebi is expected to bring trad- ing on MF units on a par with share trading. At present, MF units directly reach the investor's account; the second phase will see units reaching the broker's pool account first. Only when the client's cheque gets cleared will the broker release the units from his pool account. As of now, since the units reach the client's account directly, (but the broker initially pays out of his own pocket since the MF has to re- ceive money on the day after punching the buy order), the broker stands to lose money if the client's cheque (that takes about a couple of days to clear) bounces.
“Once the second phase kicks in, brokers will get units in their pool account. They will, therefore, transfer it to the unit holder's account only af- ter the money is realized. This should be a major boost to the MF trading platform on the stock exchanges,“ says Rakesh Goyal, senior vice-president, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd, a Mum- bai-based financial services company. Cyrus Khambata, se- nior vice-president, CDSL, said that the second phase will start in about two months.
What this means If you hold shares in demat form, you can transfer them to whosoever you want, provided the receiver, too, has a demat account. At present, you can either sell the shares on the stock exchange during market hours or can trans- fer to someone during off- market hours as part of an off-market transaction (a buy-sell transaction not routed through the stock exchange).
Transfer of MF units has been a grey area until now. Though the Securities and Exchange Board of In- dia (Mutual Funds) Reg- ulations, 1996, permit MFs to allow investors to trans- fer their existing MF units, fund houses have not allowed all unit holders to transfer their units, en masse.
Since fresh units are contin- uously created, a transfer facility is not really merit- ed. Only in select cases, for instance a unit holder's death, have they allowed nits to get transferred.
In this case, the MF units get transferred to the second holder or the nominee. Or, say, you pledged your MF units to a bank for a loan and you default on the loan, the units get trans- ferred to the bank.
How to transfer MF units When you buy and sell MFs, you essen- tially transact with the fund house. If you wish to give your MF units to somebody else, the easiest--and the only--way to do it is to re- deem your units and gift the money.
After 1 October, you won't have to redeem your MF units and will al instead be able to enter into an off-market transaction directly with the person you wish to transfer your units to. On the other hand, when you sell your shares or MF units on the stock ex- change, you don't know who buys them.
An off-market transfer gets done through a spe- cial procedure. However, these are early days and it's unclear as to how transfer of MF units will take place in an off-market transaction.
For instance, most bro- kerages mandate cus- tomers to fill up a power of attorney (PoA) at the time of opening an account. A PoA restricts transfer of shares through off-market transac- tions; you can only transfer shares to a demat account in which the sequence of account holders is exactly the same as the account from which you T are transferring your shares. In other words, you can only transfer to your own account, elsewhere.
Market experts say that to ef- fect an off-market transfer, you will need to revoke the PoA, fill up the delivery instruction slip and submit it to your deposito- ry participant. There's a cost attached--about 0.04% or about `15-25.
Who pays the exit load?
Among a few key issues is how would the MF industry charge exit loads. Many equity funds levy an exit load for pre- mature withdrawal. Debt funds, too, levy exit loads to discour- age premature withdrawals.
First, off-market transfer need not happen at the market price, though experts say that in many cases it happens close to the market price. Second, when unit holders redeem their units, the fund house de- ducts the load amount from the redemption value and re- turns the rest to the unit hold- ers. However, when you trans- fer MF units (off-market trans- fer), MFs do not have a way to find out whether or not you pay the exit load.
“At present, the fund house deducts exit loads, which are used to meet costs incurred by the fund house. Once investors start transferring their units di- rectly to other investors, who will remind the buyer to de- duct exit load from the pur- chase price,“ says a chief exec- utive officer of an AMC who did not want to be named.
Some fund houses have a different view. The head of op- erations of a Mumbai-based fund house said that perhaps the industry may take a view to exempt transfer of units from exit loads. “Exit loads are lev- ied on the units redeemed. In case of off-market transfers, MF units are not getting redeemed. They are in perpetual existence. Hence, the MF in- dustry may come to a consen- sus to waive off exit loads in such cases.“
While this may ease opera- tional issues, it could create a disparity between different classes of investors--those who hold physical units and those who hold demat units.
That apart, the rationale of exit loads--to deter premature withdrawals--might get lost.
Further, in an industry that is still reeling under the removal of entry loads, this may only add to the present worries.
Can costs rise?
When off-market transfers start, MFs would need to track them as and when they hap- pen; practically, every day.
This is mainly to distribute dividends, if any, to the correct unit holder. This could be a problem if too many investors change hands and the fund house declares dividends in the interim.
At present, for units that get traded on the stock exchange MF platforms, the two main de- positories, NSDL and CDSL, send regular information to all MFs' registrars and transfer agents (such as Computer Age Management Systems and Karvy Computershare Pvt. Ltd). Called benpos, or beneficiary position, this gives information about the unit balance as on that day and the name of the unit holders who hold these units. While CDSL gives benpos on a daily basis--only to MFs--NSDL gives it once a week. Anything extra comes at a cost.
“If MFs were to take benpos daily, it could incur huge costs to the MFs. As the total ex- penses that we charge to inves- tors on an annual basis are capped, the AMC will have to bear the cost,“ said a chief of another fund house, who also did not want to be identified as the matter involves the regula- tor. Added work at the regis- trar's end may also lead to an increase in their charges, which would further burden the fund houses, he added.
Who'll deduct tax at source?
When non-resident Indians sell MF schemes, they pay tax deducted at source (TDS). For equity funds sold before a year, you pay 15% short-term gains tax. On other MFs, you pay 30% TDS if you sell before a year. You pay 20% TDS if you sell after a year. Since this is TDS, the MF deducts it and re- deems the balance to a non- resident Indian (NRI) who submits a redemption request.
Once units get freely trans- ferable, it's unclear as to how the MF will recover this TDS from the NRI. As of now, there seems to be no mechanism that ensures this.
Sebi's latest move seems to have caught the MF industry off-guard. Although some fund houses privately admit there's a lot of work to be done, many fund houses are hopeful of finding a solution. “Clearly, not doing anything is not the answer,“ said an MF official, who heads operations in a bank-sponsored MF. He ex- pressed confidence that a rea- sonable solution will be found.
Hoshang N. Sinor, chief execu- tive, Amfi says: “It is a good idea, but there are operational challenges in implementing this. We find that it will not be possible to implement this by 1 October. The matter doesn't just involve MFs and their agents, but also depositories like NSDL and CDSL, and stock exchanges. All will get impacted and it bodes well for the system if all players con- cerned get elevated and bene- fit from this move.“
source:livemint.com
RMD Minister inaugurates first Water Testing Lab of the State
by PRAKASH CHETTRI
Namchi: Mr. C. B. Karki, Minister for Rural Management and Development (RMD), on Monday inaugurated the first Water Testing Laboratory of Sikkim at SIRD, Karfectar, Jorethang, South Sikkim. He was chief guest of the inaugural function and also a valedictory function of the training programme on water quality analysis for the engineers of RMDD. Area MLA, Mr. Madan Cintury was guest of honour.
After inaugurating the laboratory, the Minister in his address said that the testing lab was among the important needs of the state and its establishment has fulfilled a long felt need of the state. He said the water from different sources of Sikkim is not 100% safe for drinking, adding, in physical and chemical test results of the water of some sources is satisfying but in bacteriological test it has been found that the water of our local sources is not safe for drinking. The trained engineers will now make the people of Sikkim aware in this matter, especially in the rural areas.
Stating that “this testing laboratory is of world class”, the Minister said that the training to the RMDD engineers of Sikkim was just a basic training in this field but if any individual engineer be willing to learn more then the Government will provide more advanced training. He requested the participating engineers of RMDD, especially the young engineers to upgrade themselves in their profession. Minister urged them to inculcate more information in their way of working and profession. Let this laboratory be functional, he said.
MLA Mr. Cintury iterated that the knowledge of safe drinking water has to reach the people of Sikkim, especially the rural people. He asked the engineers to fulfill their responsibility (Contd. in page 5)
source;sikkim reporter
by PRAKASH CHETTRI
Namchi: Mr. C. B. Karki, Minister for Rural Management and Development (RMD), on Monday inaugurated the first Water Testing Laboratory of Sikkim at SIRD, Karfectar, Jorethang, South Sikkim. He was chief guest of the inaugural function and also a valedictory function of the training programme on water quality analysis for the engineers of RMDD. Area MLA, Mr. Madan Cintury was guest of honour.
After inaugurating the laboratory, the Minister in his address said that the testing lab was among the important needs of the state and its establishment has fulfilled a long felt need of the state. He said the water from different sources of Sikkim is not 100% safe for drinking, adding, in physical and chemical test results of the water of some sources is satisfying but in bacteriological test it has been found that the water of our local sources is not safe for drinking. The trained engineers will now make the people of Sikkim aware in this matter, especially in the rural areas.
Stating that “this testing laboratory is of world class”, the Minister said that the training to the RMDD engineers of Sikkim was just a basic training in this field but if any individual engineer be willing to learn more then the Government will provide more advanced training. He requested the participating engineers of RMDD, especially the young engineers to upgrade themselves in their profession. Minister urged them to inculcate more information in their way of working and profession. Let this laboratory be functional, he said.
MLA Mr. Cintury iterated that the knowledge of safe drinking water has to reach the people of Sikkim, especially the rural people. He asked the engineers to fulfill their responsibility (Contd. in page 5)
source;sikkim reporter
CM visits site for proposed 575-bedded multi-specialty Hospital
GANGTOK, September 6 (IPR): Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today visited the site for proposed 575-bedded multi-specialty Hospital at Sochyagang, Sichey, East Sikkim. He was accompanied by the State Health Minister DN Thakarpa, State Housing and Building Minister Tilu Gurung, Zilla Adhakshya, East, Mayor, Gangtok Municipality Corporation and members of GMC along with the Secretary, Health and Secretary, Building and Housing Department.
During the visit, the Chief Minister was shown entire site plan of the project through power presentation by the Architect, Civil Engineers Enterprise Private Limited, Kolkata. He also presented the detailed project report of the Hospital having facilities of each and every requirement like emergency block, outpatient block, isolation ward, X-Ray and other technical blocks, ICCU, VIP and VVIP Block, Guest House, Hostel for ANM and GNM, Doctors and staff quarters, Conference hall, alternative medicine treatment block, prayers hall for every religion, car parking, administrative and technical block of all faculties and auditorium with the capacity of 300 seats. According to them the whole area was under the sensitive security by setting up with camera of close circuit television.
Principal Director Health, Superintendent STNM Hospital, Officers and Doctors of concern department, engineers from Building Department were also present during the visit.
GANGTOK, September 6 (IPR): Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today visited the site for proposed 575-bedded multi-specialty Hospital at Sochyagang, Sichey, East Sikkim. He was accompanied by the State Health Minister DN Thakarpa, State Housing and Building Minister Tilu Gurung, Zilla Adhakshya, East, Mayor, Gangtok Municipality Corporation and members of GMC along with the Secretary, Health and Secretary, Building and Housing Department.
During the visit, the Chief Minister was shown entire site plan of the project through power presentation by the Architect, Civil Engineers Enterprise Private Limited, Kolkata. He also presented the detailed project report of the Hospital having facilities of each and every requirement like emergency block, outpatient block, isolation ward, X-Ray and other technical blocks, ICCU, VIP and VVIP Block, Guest House, Hostel for ANM and GNM, Doctors and staff quarters, Conference hall, alternative medicine treatment block, prayers hall for every religion, car parking, administrative and technical block of all faculties and auditorium with the capacity of 300 seats. According to them the whole area was under the sensitive security by setting up with camera of close circuit television.
Principal Director Health, Superintendent STNM Hospital, Officers and Doctors of concern department, engineers from Building Department were also present during the visit.
Eight remote villages to be promoted as New Destinations
TAAS adopts unexplored areas, State Govt to give matching support
GANGTOK, September 6: Eight remote but naturally blessed areas in the State have now come under the patronage of Travel Agents Association of Sikkim (TAAS), the apex body of tour operators in the region.
With select destinations in the State swamped by tourists during peak seasons, the relatively virgin areas selected by TAAS should be able to decongest the choking tourism traffic and ensure fair distribution of tourists and accompanying benefits to grassroot levels.
The areas selected by TAAS for adoption in North Sikkim are Dzongu in North Sikkim for tourism promotion based on organic farming and culture of indigenous Lepcha tribal community and Lachen for promotion of Green Lake trekking.
In South Sikkim, TAAS is interested in entering into areas of Sumbuk and Kitam villages for wellness tourism, Borong village for adventure tourism and Yangyang village for nature and cultural tourism. Submuk and Kitam villages are located along the Rangit river and near the Kitam Bird Sanctuary.
Melli Aching village in West Sikkim which is the gateway to the newly notified Pangmelung Singalila trekking trail has also been adopted by TAAS for adventure tourism promotion.
The Rhenock-Rongli-Aritar-Lingtam axis in East Sikkim has also been adopted by TAAS for culture and nature based tourism. This axis consists of the exotic route to Nathu La from Rongli and is nearby the Fhabonglo Wildlife Sanctuary.
All these areas are relatively unexplored from the tourism point of view and after two-years of study of all potential village tourism areas in Sikkim, we in consultation with State government had stepped in to take up these eight areas for tourism promotion, said TAAS president Lukendra Rasaily during a function held here at Janta Bhavan.
The MoUs for adoption for a two-year period were handed over to respective tourism development committees of these eight unexplored areas during the function.
Representatives from most of the selected areas had attended the function.
“The tourism development committees will be analyzing the MoU and a formal agreement with TAAS will be reached within a week”, said TAAS president Lukendra Rasaily.
“There has been a lot of talk about village tourism over the years. We discussed with the State government and interacted with the villagers in the past two years and we concluded that these eight areas should be taken up for quality tourism promotion by TAAS with support from State government”, said Rasaily.
The TAAS will be promoting and marketing the above mentioned eight destinations for a period of two years besides giving training to the local villagers and to protect the ethnicity of village, culture, environment and people including tourists.
Our role will be to bring tourists, facilitate and coordinate with government and other support agencies and to train the local people, said Rasaily. The creation of new destinations will also ensure that the peak tourism season is dispersed to these new areas, he said. He added that TAAS will not encourage man made tourist spots in these pristine areas.
At the same time, Rasaily told the representatives coming from the selected areas that the TAAS is not doing social service by promoting the new destinations. “We do not want the people to get the impression that we are doing social service in this particular project. We are creating new markets to do more business and let us work together that everyone especially the villagers are benefited”, he said. The development of homestays and providing good service to tourists will be responsibility of the respective tourism development committees while the State government will be creating the required infrastructure.
State tourism secretary SBS Bhaduaria said that the State government is committed to village tourism. We have already prepared a detailed project report for village tourism promotion and within one year, works will begin at ground levels for construction of approach roads and tourism related infrastructure in the areas adopted by TAAS, he said.
The function was also addressed by Bali Bhadra Gurung, panchayat secretary from Khechupalri village and TAAS functionaries, Karma Bhutia, SK Pradhan and Satish Bardewa.
Sikkim Hotel and Restaurant Association president Bhanu Pratap Rasaily was also present during the function.
source;sikkim express
TAAS adopts unexplored areas, State Govt to give matching support
GANGTOK, September 6: Eight remote but naturally blessed areas in the State have now come under the patronage of Travel Agents Association of Sikkim (TAAS), the apex body of tour operators in the region.
With select destinations in the State swamped by tourists during peak seasons, the relatively virgin areas selected by TAAS should be able to decongest the choking tourism traffic and ensure fair distribution of tourists and accompanying benefits to grassroot levels.
The areas selected by TAAS for adoption in North Sikkim are Dzongu in North Sikkim for tourism promotion based on organic farming and culture of indigenous Lepcha tribal community and Lachen for promotion of Green Lake trekking.
In South Sikkim, TAAS is interested in entering into areas of Sumbuk and Kitam villages for wellness tourism, Borong village for adventure tourism and Yangyang village for nature and cultural tourism. Submuk and Kitam villages are located along the Rangit river and near the Kitam Bird Sanctuary.
Melli Aching village in West Sikkim which is the gateway to the newly notified Pangmelung Singalila trekking trail has also been adopted by TAAS for adventure tourism promotion.
The Rhenock-Rongli-Aritar-Lingtam axis in East Sikkim has also been adopted by TAAS for culture and nature based tourism. This axis consists of the exotic route to Nathu La from Rongli and is nearby the Fhabonglo Wildlife Sanctuary.
All these areas are relatively unexplored from the tourism point of view and after two-years of study of all potential village tourism areas in Sikkim, we in consultation with State government had stepped in to take up these eight areas for tourism promotion, said TAAS president Lukendra Rasaily during a function held here at Janta Bhavan.
The MoUs for adoption for a two-year period were handed over to respective tourism development committees of these eight unexplored areas during the function.
Representatives from most of the selected areas had attended the function.
“The tourism development committees will be analyzing the MoU and a formal agreement with TAAS will be reached within a week”, said TAAS president Lukendra Rasaily.
“There has been a lot of talk about village tourism over the years. We discussed with the State government and interacted with the villagers in the past two years and we concluded that these eight areas should be taken up for quality tourism promotion by TAAS with support from State government”, said Rasaily.
The TAAS will be promoting and marketing the above mentioned eight destinations for a period of two years besides giving training to the local villagers and to protect the ethnicity of village, culture, environment and people including tourists.
Our role will be to bring tourists, facilitate and coordinate with government and other support agencies and to train the local people, said Rasaily. The creation of new destinations will also ensure that the peak tourism season is dispersed to these new areas, he said. He added that TAAS will not encourage man made tourist spots in these pristine areas.
At the same time, Rasaily told the representatives coming from the selected areas that the TAAS is not doing social service by promoting the new destinations. “We do not want the people to get the impression that we are doing social service in this particular project. We are creating new markets to do more business and let us work together that everyone especially the villagers are benefited”, he said. The development of homestays and providing good service to tourists will be responsibility of the respective tourism development committees while the State government will be creating the required infrastructure.
State tourism secretary SBS Bhaduaria said that the State government is committed to village tourism. We have already prepared a detailed project report for village tourism promotion and within one year, works will begin at ground levels for construction of approach roads and tourism related infrastructure in the areas adopted by TAAS, he said.
The function was also addressed by Bali Bhadra Gurung, panchayat secretary from Khechupalri village and TAAS functionaries, Karma Bhutia, SK Pradhan and Satish Bardewa.
Sikkim Hotel and Restaurant Association president Bhanu Pratap Rasaily was also present during the function.
source;sikkim express
Sikkimese married women seek equitable inheritance right of property
Daughters of Sikkim soil petitions CM to retain their legal status
GANGTOK, September 6: A representation has been submitted to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling by Sikkimese women requesting equitable inheritance right of property at par with their male counterparts irrespective of their martial status.
A total of 58 local women under the banner of 'Daughters of the soil of Sikkim' today placed their collective grievance before the Chief Minister at Samman Bhavan and sought his intervention on the gender equality issue faced by married women of Sikkim.
"We are grateful to the government for extending property rights to women. But due to the prevailing laws handed down from feudal times, we are not able to fully enjoy our rights in this regard", said the petitioners.
The 'Daughters of the soil of Sikkim' pointed out to the Chief Minister that immovable property inherited, gifted or purchased by them cannot be transferred and registered in the names of local Sikkimese women after marriage. The immovable assets are also not registered or transferred to the legal heirs and children of Sikkimese women if their husbands happen to be non-locals.
"This is very demoralizing to us. Many of us have developed the assets gifted to us by our family by investing all our life's earnings and savings. It is but natural that as mothers we would like to see our children enjoy the fruits of our labour. However, under the existing laws, this is not possible. Such gender blind policies are discriminator", said the women group.
In their petition, the aggrieved Sikkimese women have requested the Chief Minister to come with dynamic gender friendly policies as provided under the Constitution as laid down in Articles 14, 15, 15(3), 16, 19 and 21 and 'set a model for the whole country'.
The memorandum also highlighted a legal judgement delivered by High Court of Sikkim in the case of Padma Ganeshan that the notification number 1962 concerning the married woman's property regulation was never enforced by the Maharaja of Sikkim. But even now, the registration authorities in a democratic setup follow this invalid notification, it claimed.
"The problem has been further compounded by the mandatory requirement for a Sikkimese woman to submit an 'unmarried certificate in all government procedures'. Even for matters like issue of employment card a Sikkimese woman has to prove her identity every six months which is highly unjust and biased", the memorandum states.
It was also pointed out to the Chief Minister that the Hindu Succession Act 1956 has been amended across the country allowing both sons and daughters equal share of their ancestral property. Women now have absolute rights to deal with their resources in whichever manner they desire and can transfer and buy property irrespective of their martial status, the petitioners said.
In their conclusion, the aggrieved lot expressed hopes that the Chief Minister would consider their grievances and treat the daughters of the soil at par with sons of the soil by restoring their rights under the Indian Constitution.
"The State must protect our children against all forms of discrimination. It is with belief in your benevolent justice that we, on behalf of all women similarly circumstanced, pray for your sympathetic consideration for framing laws protecting our rights", the Sikkimese women group said.
It was informed that the Chief Minister has given positive assurances that their grievances would be sympathetically looked into. He also informed the delegation that the Sikkim Democratic Front government has always given justice to all sections of society especially women.
(source;sikkim express)
Daughters of Sikkim soil petitions CM to retain their legal status
GANGTOK, September 6: A representation has been submitted to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling by Sikkimese women requesting equitable inheritance right of property at par with their male counterparts irrespective of their martial status.
A total of 58 local women under the banner of 'Daughters of the soil of Sikkim' today placed their collective grievance before the Chief Minister at Samman Bhavan and sought his intervention on the gender equality issue faced by married women of Sikkim.
"We are grateful to the government for extending property rights to women. But due to the prevailing laws handed down from feudal times, we are not able to fully enjoy our rights in this regard", said the petitioners.
The 'Daughters of the soil of Sikkim' pointed out to the Chief Minister that immovable property inherited, gifted or purchased by them cannot be transferred and registered in the names of local Sikkimese women after marriage. The immovable assets are also not registered or transferred to the legal heirs and children of Sikkimese women if their husbands happen to be non-locals.
"This is very demoralizing to us. Many of us have developed the assets gifted to us by our family by investing all our life's earnings and savings. It is but natural that as mothers we would like to see our children enjoy the fruits of our labour. However, under the existing laws, this is not possible. Such gender blind policies are discriminator", said the women group.
In their petition, the aggrieved Sikkimese women have requested the Chief Minister to come with dynamic gender friendly policies as provided under the Constitution as laid down in Articles 14, 15, 15(3), 16, 19 and 21 and 'set a model for the whole country'.
The memorandum also highlighted a legal judgement delivered by High Court of Sikkim in the case of Padma Ganeshan that the notification number 1962 concerning the married woman's property regulation was never enforced by the Maharaja of Sikkim. But even now, the registration authorities in a democratic setup follow this invalid notification, it claimed.
"The problem has been further compounded by the mandatory requirement for a Sikkimese woman to submit an 'unmarried certificate in all government procedures'. Even for matters like issue of employment card a Sikkimese woman has to prove her identity every six months which is highly unjust and biased", the memorandum states.
It was also pointed out to the Chief Minister that the Hindu Succession Act 1956 has been amended across the country allowing both sons and daughters equal share of their ancestral property. Women now have absolute rights to deal with their resources in whichever manner they desire and can transfer and buy property irrespective of their martial status, the petitioners said.
In their conclusion, the aggrieved lot expressed hopes that the Chief Minister would consider their grievances and treat the daughters of the soil at par with sons of the soil by restoring their rights under the Indian Constitution.
"The State must protect our children against all forms of discrimination. It is with belief in your benevolent justice that we, on behalf of all women similarly circumstanced, pray for your sympathetic consideration for framing laws protecting our rights", the Sikkimese women group said.
It was informed that the Chief Minister has given positive assurances that their grievances would be sympathetically looked into. He also informed the delegation that the Sikkim Democratic Front government has always given justice to all sections of society especially women.
(source;sikkim express)
Nathu-la Day
Siliguri:
A wreath laying ceremony was held at the Sukna war memorial on Monday to commemorate Nathu-la Day. The wreath was laid by Lt Gen. D.S. Sidhu, the GOC of Trishakti Corps, in the presence of officers and jawans from Trishakti Corps headquarters and all station units of Sukna, Bengdubi, Siliguri and Sevoke. The ceremony was held to honour the sacrifices of officers and jawans of the Indian army during the skirmish with Chinese soldiers at Nathu-la in 1967.
source; telegraph
Siliguri:
A wreath laying ceremony was held at the Sukna war memorial on Monday to commemorate Nathu-la Day. The wreath was laid by Lt Gen. D.S. Sidhu, the GOC of Trishakti Corps, in the presence of officers and jawans from Trishakti Corps headquarters and all station units of Sukna, Bengdubi, Siliguri and Sevoke. The ceremony was held to honour the sacrifices of officers and jawans of the Indian army during the skirmish with Chinese soldiers at Nathu-la in 1967.
source; telegraph
India-based multinationals nominated for U.S. award
by Narayan Lakshman
General Electric Company (India) and PepsiCo (India) are among twelve finalists selected for the United States Secretary of State’s prestigious 2010 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE).
The companies were chosen from a “record number” of 78 nominations submitted by American ambassadors around the world, a primary qualification for nomination being the requirement that the companies were international business leaders who recognised the role of U.S. businesses abroad as good corporate citizens.
Regarding the nomination of GE in India the State Department said that it had been nominated for fostering of local partnerships and volunteerism, supporting health, education, innovation and disaster recovery projects across India; and for “exemplary” employment practices and the promotion of cleaner, more energy efficient products.
PepsiCo India, officials said, had furthered the cause of environmental sustainability through water conservation efforts that had benefited small and marginal farmers. It was also nominated for supporting the health and well-being of local communities and providing important employment opportunities through training with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
Other U.S. based companies with operations abroad were nominated too, including Alta Ventures in Mexico, Cisco in Israel Coca-Cola in Swaziland, Denimatrix in Guatemala Fiji Water in Fiji, Intel in Costa Rica, Mars, Inc. in Ghana, Qualcomm in China, Synopsys in Armenia, and Tang Energy in China.
The State Department noted that the Secretary of State had awarded the ACE since 1999 to commemorate U.S. businesses abroad for not only good corporate citizenship, but also innovation, and democratic principles.
The 2010 ACE winners will be announced at the annual ceremony hosted by the Secretary of State later this fall, officials said.
by Narayan Lakshman
General Electric Company (India) and PepsiCo (India) are among twelve finalists selected for the United States Secretary of State’s prestigious 2010 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE).
The companies were chosen from a “record number” of 78 nominations submitted by American ambassadors around the world, a primary qualification for nomination being the requirement that the companies were international business leaders who recognised the role of U.S. businesses abroad as good corporate citizens.
Regarding the nomination of GE in India the State Department said that it had been nominated for fostering of local partnerships and volunteerism, supporting health, education, innovation and disaster recovery projects across India; and for “exemplary” employment practices and the promotion of cleaner, more energy efficient products.
PepsiCo India, officials said, had furthered the cause of environmental sustainability through water conservation efforts that had benefited small and marginal farmers. It was also nominated for supporting the health and well-being of local communities and providing important employment opportunities through training with a focus on diversity and inclusion.
Other U.S. based companies with operations abroad were nominated too, including Alta Ventures in Mexico, Cisco in Israel Coca-Cola in Swaziland, Denimatrix in Guatemala Fiji Water in Fiji, Intel in Costa Rica, Mars, Inc. in Ghana, Qualcomm in China, Synopsys in Armenia, and Tang Energy in China.
The State Department noted that the Secretary of State had awarded the ACE since 1999 to commemorate U.S. businesses abroad for not only good corporate citizenship, but also innovation, and democratic principles.
The 2010 ACE winners will be announced at the annual ceremony hosted by the Secretary of State later this fall, officials said.
Sound sleep insures against obesity among kids
IANS
Sound sleep very early in life is the best insurance against obesity, a research has found.
Babies, toddlers and pre-school children sleeping less than 10 hours a night are more likely to be overweight as they age.
Experts believe that lack of sleep causes one to feel hunger and crave calorie-rich snacks during the day, reports Daily Mail.
Previous research has linked sleep deprivation with obesity in adults and teenagers, but this is one of the first to look at very small children, says the journal Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Researchers from the Universities of Washington and California examined sleeping habits of almost 1,000 children less than five years old.
They found that those who sleep less than 10 hours were twice as likely to be overweight five years later with some even clinically obese.
The study also looked at children aged five to 13 but did not find any significant trends.
And around 10 percent of six year olds are obese -- with rates predicted to rise significantly over the next few years.
Last year, Chinese researchers looked at more than 5,000 youngsters and found that those who were able to catch up on sleep at the weekend were far less likely to pile on the pounds.
Scientists have also found a link between lack of sleep and Type-2 diabetes.
IANS
Sound sleep very early in life is the best insurance against obesity, a research has found.
Babies, toddlers and pre-school children sleeping less than 10 hours a night are more likely to be overweight as they age.
Experts believe that lack of sleep causes one to feel hunger and crave calorie-rich snacks during the day, reports Daily Mail.
Previous research has linked sleep deprivation with obesity in adults and teenagers, but this is one of the first to look at very small children, says the journal Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Researchers from the Universities of Washington and California examined sleeping habits of almost 1,000 children less than five years old.
They found that those who sleep less than 10 hours were twice as likely to be overweight five years later with some even clinically obese.
The study also looked at children aged five to 13 but did not find any significant trends.
And around 10 percent of six year olds are obese -- with rates predicted to rise significantly over the next few years.
Last year, Chinese researchers looked at more than 5,000 youngsters and found that those who were able to catch up on sleep at the weekend were far less likely to pile on the pounds.
Scientists have also found a link between lack of sleep and Type-2 diabetes.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sport as a natural high blood pressure blocker
DPA
High blood pressure is a significant factor in cardiovascular disease such as stroke or heart attack.
Sport can reduce the risk because, along with a healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption, non-drug therapy includes vigorous physical activity, according to Sven Fikenzer from the German Highschool of Health Management in Saarbrucken. “Between 30 and 60 minutes of sporting activity a day can be very effective.”
“A medical study here in Germany has shown that a quarter of all Germans between 20- and 30-years-old are affected by high blood pressure. In many cases they are not even aware of this,” says Fikenzer. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, sport endurance can significantly reduce blood pressure levels. Among the best sports are cycling, low impact aerobics, jogging and walking.
If a parent or grandparent has had high blood pressure, your risk of contracting the condition is higher. Fikenzer advises getting your blood pressure checked one or two times a year if this is the case.
If you have high blood pressure and you are receiving the correct drug therapy, there is no need to avoid engaging in sport. However, if you are taking beta blockers you should get a physical performance check-up from a cardiologist or sports doctor.
DPA
High blood pressure is a significant factor in cardiovascular disease such as stroke or heart attack.
Sport can reduce the risk because, along with a healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption, non-drug therapy includes vigorous physical activity, according to Sven Fikenzer from the German Highschool of Health Management in Saarbrucken. “Between 30 and 60 minutes of sporting activity a day can be very effective.”
“A medical study here in Germany has shown that a quarter of all Germans between 20- and 30-years-old are affected by high blood pressure. In many cases they are not even aware of this,” says Fikenzer. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, sport endurance can significantly reduce blood pressure levels. Among the best sports are cycling, low impact aerobics, jogging and walking.
If a parent or grandparent has had high blood pressure, your risk of contracting the condition is higher. Fikenzer advises getting your blood pressure checked one or two times a year if this is the case.
If you have high blood pressure and you are receiving the correct drug therapy, there is no need to avoid engaging in sport. However, if you are taking beta blockers you should get a physical performance check-up from a cardiologist or sports doctor.
Biopiracy is biggest concern, says Jairam Ramesh
IANS
Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh: “Bio-piracy is one of the biggest threats and concerns for India. Recently the U.S. tried to get the patent of our basmati rice with a different name. There are many other products of neem and haldi, of immense value, facing similar threats."
Biopiracy, which is gradually robbing India of its precious assets and rich bio-diversity, has emerged as one of the biggest concerns before the union environment and forests ministry.
“Biopiracy is one of the biggest threats and concerns for India. Recently the U.S. tried to get the patent of our basmati rice with a different name. There are many other products of neem and haldi, of immense value, facing similar threats,” said Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh while addressing a convention on bio-diversity here on Monday.
“Every year hundreds of patents are being granted in the U.S. and in Europe. Therefore, to save our original products, we had established ‘traditional knowledge digital library. We have also signed agreements with the U.S. and European patent offices to save our intellectual property rights,” he said.
Mr. Ramesh was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the sixth edition of three-day national meeting of state bio-diversity boards that began on Monday.
Mr. Ramesh said the authorities concerned are also promoting “people bio-diversity registration” to protect the bio-resources.
“Indian culture is not written, it is in an oral form that is conveyed from one generation to another. But modern society is based on written form. Therefore, to avoid various violations, we have started writing down what is called people bio-diversity register. States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already started it,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Mr. Ramesh said that his ministry was not following an approach of prohibition and favoured a regulatory approach in the field of bio-diversity. “We would allow the usage of our bio-diversity resources in a very sustainable manner,” he pointed out.
Talking about unexplored area of marine bio-diversity, Mr. Ramesh said, “We have to admit that we have neglected the area of marine bio-diversity. If we compare it with forests or agro-diversity, then we have paid somewhat less attention towards this.”
“India has a long coastline of 7,500 km. There is a strong interaction between land and oceans that brings rain. So, we have to move our attention towards it. Besides, we are also worried about avian bio-diversity,” he said.
The minister announced that India will host an international convention on bio-diversity in Oct 2012 in New Delhi and representatives from nearly 194 countries will attend it.
“I hope this convention will be less controversial and more productive than the Commonwealth Games. We are among very few countries that have the privilege of having a National Bio-diversity Act, 2002, and the National Bio-diversity Authority, 2003,” said the minister.
IANS
Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh: “Bio-piracy is one of the biggest threats and concerns for India. Recently the U.S. tried to get the patent of our basmati rice with a different name. There are many other products of neem and haldi, of immense value, facing similar threats."
Biopiracy, which is gradually robbing India of its precious assets and rich bio-diversity, has emerged as one of the biggest concerns before the union environment and forests ministry.
“Biopiracy is one of the biggest threats and concerns for India. Recently the U.S. tried to get the patent of our basmati rice with a different name. There are many other products of neem and haldi, of immense value, facing similar threats,” said Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh while addressing a convention on bio-diversity here on Monday.
“Every year hundreds of patents are being granted in the U.S. and in Europe. Therefore, to save our original products, we had established ‘traditional knowledge digital library. We have also signed agreements with the U.S. and European patent offices to save our intellectual property rights,” he said.
Mr. Ramesh was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the sixth edition of three-day national meeting of state bio-diversity boards that began on Monday.
Mr. Ramesh said the authorities concerned are also promoting “people bio-diversity registration” to protect the bio-resources.
“Indian culture is not written, it is in an oral form that is conveyed from one generation to another. But modern society is based on written form. Therefore, to avoid various violations, we have started writing down what is called people bio-diversity register. States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already started it,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Mr. Ramesh said that his ministry was not following an approach of prohibition and favoured a regulatory approach in the field of bio-diversity. “We would allow the usage of our bio-diversity resources in a very sustainable manner,” he pointed out.
Talking about unexplored area of marine bio-diversity, Mr. Ramesh said, “We have to admit that we have neglected the area of marine bio-diversity. If we compare it with forests or agro-diversity, then we have paid somewhat less attention towards this.”
“India has a long coastline of 7,500 km. There is a strong interaction between land and oceans that brings rain. So, we have to move our attention towards it. Besides, we are also worried about avian bio-diversity,” he said.
The minister announced that India will host an international convention on bio-diversity in Oct 2012 in New Delhi and representatives from nearly 194 countries will attend it.
“I hope this convention will be less controversial and more productive than the Commonwealth Games. We are among very few countries that have the privilege of having a National Bio-diversity Act, 2002, and the National Bio-diversity Authority, 2003,” said the minister.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Dalai Lama to bless Sikkim Conference on Science and Spiritualism
NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY TO BRING TOGETHER LEADING THINKERS OF MODERN COGNITIVE SCIENCES AND EASTERN CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS
GANGTOK, 06 September 2010
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has accepted the invitation of the Government of Sikkim to inaugurate and participate in a 4-day conference - “Brain and Mind, Our Potential for Change: Modern Cognitive Sciences and Eastern Contemplative Traditions” - being organised by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. The conference, a first of its kind for Sikkim, will be held from 20 to 23 December 2010 in Gangtok, and is expected to lay the foundations for Sikkim’s efforts to formally introduce concepts of morals and ethics to its school curriculum.
The inauguration of the conference by His Holiness is apt because he has always evinced a keen interest in science, and drawing from his advanced understanding of theosophical matters, often commented that science and spiritualism are not contradictory to each other and could in fact collaborate to explain things more completely. He is a leading proponent of Mind & Life Sciences and has consistently reiterated that complete education requires a sound rooting of students in spiritualism and the concepts of morality and ethics.
The proposed conference, which will be attended by leading academics, scientists, thinkers and religious leaders, will begin by attempting to understand the power of the brain and mind from both, the scientific and religious angles and invest the exploration into the potential of the human mind with cross-disciplinary deliberations which will make the concept accessible, interesting and useful for both professionals and the public. What is expected to emerge is a clearer understanding on how we should teach future generations, manage organisations and maintain individual and community well-being.
The Chief Minister of Sikkim, Dr. Pawan Chamling, in his letter to His Holiness thanking him for accepting the State Government’s request to visit Sikkim for the Conference, has conveyed that the Govt of Sikkim intends to follow up the Conference proceedings by introducing moral ethics in Sikkim’s schools and colleges. The letter seeks His Holiness’s guidance in this regard as well.
In fact, one of the reasons which convinced His Holiness to make time to visit Sikkim for the Conference was the State Government’s interest to implement the findings of the Conference to schools in Sikkim. When a delegation from Sikkim had called on the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala with the request to bless the Conference with his presence and participation, he had commented that a conference by itself was of limited use; if its findings were to implemented in a substantial way, then he would definitely be interested to participate, he had said. This undertaking has now been made by the State Government and His Holiness will be in Sikkim to launch what should be a new approach to education in Sikkim.
The conference, one may add here, is not exclusively about deliberations between scientists and religious leaders and these discussions in fact are expected to introduce lay persons to the power of the human mind and the strength of moral and ethical virtues and how these reinforce each other. The young, if introduced to these concepts through a scientific and structured curriculum will grow up with better emotional regulation, improved attention, increased calm and resilience, better stress management and coping skills and with refined compassion and empathy.
These are always welcome virtues and specially so in these increasingly disquieting times of runaway addiction, suicides and other social maladjustment issues among the young. In fact, it was during contemplations on how this complicated and vexed social challenge could be best addressed that the idea for a Conference on the potential of the brain and mind to effect positive change was born. The idea kept growing from thereon and following the Chief Minister’s insistence that the Dalai Lama be invited for the Conference and upon His Holiness accepting the invitation, the event has increased substantially in significance and in the range of participants who will be joining the deliberations. A handsome number of academics and religious leaders have already communicated their confirmation and a detailed list of the participants will be released gradually.
Pema Wangchuk Dorjee
Media Consultant to Namgyal Institute of Tibetology for the “Brain and Mind, Our Potential for Change: Modern Cognitive Sciences and Eastern Contemplative Traditions” Conference.
NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY TO BRING TOGETHER LEADING THINKERS OF MODERN COGNITIVE SCIENCES AND EASTERN CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS
GANGTOK, 06 September 2010
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has accepted the invitation of the Government of Sikkim to inaugurate and participate in a 4-day conference - “Brain and Mind, Our Potential for Change: Modern Cognitive Sciences and Eastern Contemplative Traditions” - being organised by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. The conference, a first of its kind for Sikkim, will be held from 20 to 23 December 2010 in Gangtok, and is expected to lay the foundations for Sikkim’s efforts to formally introduce concepts of morals and ethics to its school curriculum.
The inauguration of the conference by His Holiness is apt because he has always evinced a keen interest in science, and drawing from his advanced understanding of theosophical matters, often commented that science and spiritualism are not contradictory to each other and could in fact collaborate to explain things more completely. He is a leading proponent of Mind & Life Sciences and has consistently reiterated that complete education requires a sound rooting of students in spiritualism and the concepts of morality and ethics.
The proposed conference, which will be attended by leading academics, scientists, thinkers and religious leaders, will begin by attempting to understand the power of the brain and mind from both, the scientific and religious angles and invest the exploration into the potential of the human mind with cross-disciplinary deliberations which will make the concept accessible, interesting and useful for both professionals and the public. What is expected to emerge is a clearer understanding on how we should teach future generations, manage organisations and maintain individual and community well-being.
The Chief Minister of Sikkim, Dr. Pawan Chamling, in his letter to His Holiness thanking him for accepting the State Government’s request to visit Sikkim for the Conference, has conveyed that the Govt of Sikkim intends to follow up the Conference proceedings by introducing moral ethics in Sikkim’s schools and colleges. The letter seeks His Holiness’s guidance in this regard as well.
In fact, one of the reasons which convinced His Holiness to make time to visit Sikkim for the Conference was the State Government’s interest to implement the findings of the Conference to schools in Sikkim. When a delegation from Sikkim had called on the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala with the request to bless the Conference with his presence and participation, he had commented that a conference by itself was of limited use; if its findings were to implemented in a substantial way, then he would definitely be interested to participate, he had said. This undertaking has now been made by the State Government and His Holiness will be in Sikkim to launch what should be a new approach to education in Sikkim.
The conference, one may add here, is not exclusively about deliberations between scientists and religious leaders and these discussions in fact are expected to introduce lay persons to the power of the human mind and the strength of moral and ethical virtues and how these reinforce each other. The young, if introduced to these concepts through a scientific and structured curriculum will grow up with better emotional regulation, improved attention, increased calm and resilience, better stress management and coping skills and with refined compassion and empathy.
These are always welcome virtues and specially so in these increasingly disquieting times of runaway addiction, suicides and other social maladjustment issues among the young. In fact, it was during contemplations on how this complicated and vexed social challenge could be best addressed that the idea for a Conference on the potential of the brain and mind to effect positive change was born. The idea kept growing from thereon and following the Chief Minister’s insistence that the Dalai Lama be invited for the Conference and upon His Holiness accepting the invitation, the event has increased substantially in significance and in the range of participants who will be joining the deliberations. A handsome number of academics and religious leaders have already communicated their confirmation and a detailed list of the participants will be released gradually.
Pema Wangchuk Dorjee
Media Consultant to Namgyal Institute of Tibetology for the “Brain and Mind, Our Potential for Change: Modern Cognitive Sciences and Eastern Contemplative Traditions” Conference.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
The Law of Karma- to go beyond all sorrows
(ACTION)
by Swami Avdhutananda
Ex Acharya,Chinmaya Mission-sikkim
Every religion has got a fundamental doctrine or a set of doctrines on which the edifice of the whole religion and its philosophy is built up. In the case of Sanaatana Dharma (wrongly known as Hinduism, a word coined by the foreigners) there are two such fundamental doctrines which are the corner stones of Sanaatana Dharma. They are: - (1) The doctrine of Karma and (2) The doctrine of Re-incarnation.
Both these doctrines are inseparably intertwined. It can be seen that they are the only reasonable and logical explanations of the facts of life, powers, justice and mercy of the Supreme Cosmic Intelligence which is commonly known as “God”.
Life can be understood only on the assumption that each existence is bearing the penalty or enjoying the fruits, of vice or virtue, earned to our debit or credit in some former period or prior existence and that is the only logical explanation for the disparity between man and man, his environments and his experiences. No deed small or great, good or bad can be without effect: this is the Law of Karma; the Law of Deed, the Law of Causality, Compensation and Retribution, in the spiritual world.
One man is born a prince, while another is born a pauper. One is strong while another is a weakling. One is handsome and attractive, while another is ugly and repulsive. One is saintly while another is satanic. One lives up to a hundred years, while another faces death in the prime of life or even in infancy. One rolls in luxury throughout his life, while the other drags on a miserable existence from the womb to the tomb. One is loved by all while another is hated by millions. One meets with a happy and natural death surrounded by his near and dear ones who bestow all love and care on him, while another dies despised as a criminal on the scaffold. The whole nation mourns the death of one man, while another dies unknown, unwept, unhonoured and unsung. One baby has a perfect physique, while another is sadly deformed at birth. Why all this disparity? Is God partial to one and prejudiced to another? We cannot attribute motives or qualities to God. If so, He is no God at all, as partiality, prejudice, anger or any other quality are imperfections and cannot exist in Perfection itself, which is God. If so, what can be the cause? Each man gets what he has asked for, by his own actions and thoughts. The past has decided the present.
If it is conceded that the present is the effect of the cause that was the past, it necessarily follows by the same logic, that the past and the present together decide the future. The past has already been lived and therefore cannot be unlived, but the effect can be exhausted without accumulating further causes which may produce undesirable effects in the future. To that limited extent, may be our future can be said to be in our own hands.
The Law of Karma says: “As you sow, so you reap.” Then there must have been a period when the seed was sown, even before this existence started as the very present existence starts with the disparities mentioned above, which conclusively proves that we had a past. This takes us to the doctrine of Re-incarnation. So, one doctrine necessarily follows the other.
The mind may be considered as constituted of two distinct sides—one facing the world of stimuli that reach it from the objects of the world and the other facing the “within” which reacts to the stimuli received. The outer mind facing the object is called the objective mind—in Sanskrta we call it the manas and the inner mind is called the subjective mind—in Sanskrta, the buddhi.
At every moment, man meets with different patterns of stimuli and thus constantly gathers new impressions in the ‘subjective mind’. Every set of impulses reaching it not only adds to the existing layers of impressions already in it, but also gets coloured by the quality of these vaasanaa-s* (*the compelling deep-urges in us, gathered in our past fields of action—that now determine our present emotional profile, are the vaasanaa-s / impressions / tendencies) stored within. When these are translated into action, the actions carry a flavour of the existing vaasanaa-s in the ‘subjective mind’.
The ‘subjective mind’ gets increasingly granulated by overlapping signatures of our past moments. These granulations make the ‘subjective mind’ dull and opaque and form, as it were, an impregnable wall between ourselves and the spiritual Divinity that shines eternally as pure Objectless Awareness in all of us deep within the core of our personality.
The theory of Vedaanta repeats that reduction of the vaasanaa-s is the means of volatalising the mind. When one looks into a mirror and do not see one’s face in it, it is not because the mirror is not reflecting the object in front of it, but because the reflected image is not perceptible to one’s vision due to, perhaps a thick layer of dust on the mirror. With a duster, when one cleans the mirror, the act of cleaning does not create the reflection of the face, but it only unveils the reflection which was already there. Similarly, man is not aware today of his divine spiritual nature because the ‘subjective mind’ reflecting it is thickly coated with dull vaasanaa-s gathered by it during its ego-centric, passionate existence in the world.
To bring the subjective and the objective aspects of the mind together into a happy union where the ‘objective mind’ is well-disciplined to act faithfully as per the guidance of the ‘subjective mind’, is the yoga pointed in the Geetaa. This is accomplished only by the removal of the dividing factor—the ego-centric desires. Through intelligent action, an individual can exhaust his existing impressions and ultimately redeem his ‘subjective mind’ from the granulations and make it more clear and crystalline. Selfless activity, performed in a spirit of egoless adoration and reverence to the divine ideal, would ultimately result in inner purification.
The ‘subjective mind’ is thus a secret weapon in man to be used as an outlet for the existing impressions that have come to be stored up in it. But the tragedy is that an average man, in his ignorance, misuses the dangerous weapon and brings about his own destruction. He uses it as an inlet and creates, during his selfish activities performed with low motives, a new stock of mental impressions. In order to exhaust them, nature provides new equipments (bodies), in which the same ego comes to live, repeatedly life after life. This creates karma bandhana (kaarmik bondage).
We have karma bandhana with all the people who come into our lives. They may be parents, siblings, spouse, relatives, friends and foes, neighbours, school and college batchmates, colleagues, strangers etc. We have some some kind of ‘give and take’ with these people, which we need to exhaust. This ‘give and take’ may be in terms of wealth, sevaa (service), emotions and feelings and knowledge. We need to make our ‘give and take’ accounts with these people ZERO and at the same time not create new karma bandhana. Moreover we also need to eliminate the existing vaasana-s without creating new ones. The saadhana for accomplishing this is viveka (discrimination between real and the unreal), vairaagya (dispassion) and nishkaama karmayoga (selfless activities).
No one can live without engaging in some kind of activities. Even to keep the body alive one has to act. We perform innumerable actions from birth to death. Every action produces result. Actions are of three types, depending on the fruits they yield at different periods of time. According to Tattva Bodhah: “karmaani katividhaani santeeti chet aagaamisanchitapraarabdhabhedena trividhaani santi” (“If it is asked—how many kinds of karma-s are there, (the reply is) there are three kinds of karma-s viz. aagaami, sanchita and praarabdha”).
Aagaami Karma: “jnanotpattyanantaram jnaanidehakrtam punyapaaparoopam karma yadasti tadaagaameetyabhidheeyate” (“The results of actions, good or bad performed by the body of the realized soul (jnaani) after the dawn of knowledge is known as aagaami.”).
As we sow, so we reap. What we sow today, we reap tomorrow. The fruits of what we do today come as aagaami in the future. The results of our actions may bear fruit immediately, after a period of time or in a future life. The fruits of actions follow the doer of actions. To a lay person, it may appear that one acts, while someone else enjoys or suffers the fruits of one’s past actions.
Animals are also identified with the body, but perform actions without doership notion. They act according to instincts, programmed by what one may call nature or God. We are identified with our body, act with doership notion and seem to have some limited choice in action. We may act, may not act or act otherwise. A jnaani (Self-realized Master) is not identified with his body and therefore has no doership notion, yet he may appear to be performing actions through his body. As far as he is concerned he is the pure Self, free from doership notion and therefore the fruits of action. An action in itself is neutral—neither good nor bad. The fruits of actions depend primarily on the motive behind the action. A positive motive results in merit (punya) and a negative one in sin (paapa). Those actions which result in sorrow, misery, tension, stress, guilt or regret is papa (sin), while those which give joy, happiness, contentment and a feeling of fulfillment is punya (meritorious). That action which springs from selflessness, with a concern and love for others and is one’s own dharma (duty) is punya. Those actions, which spring from selfish or malicious motives and are prohibited is paapa. Whether an action is paapa or punya, also depends on time, place, person, situation, circumstance and environment, besides the most important one—the motive. So an action which may appear as punya at a particular time, place and environment and performed by a particular person may appear as paapa at a different time, place and situation and performed by the same person or another person and vice versa. Therefore one must always be aware and perform only meritorious deeds if one wishes to live peacefully. Since a jnaani has no doership notion, there are no good or bad actions for him.
Sanchita Karma: “anantakotijanmanaam beejabhutam sat yatkarmajaatam poorvaarjitam tishthati tat sanchitam jneyam” (“The result of actions performed in (all) previous births which are in seed form to give rise to endless millions of births (in future) is called sanchita (accumulated) karma.”).
The word ‘sanchita’ is from the verbal root ‘chi’ which means to collect. Sanchita is that which is well collected. The jiva (individual) from beginingless time has taken innumerable births in a variety of bodies. In these bodies he exhausts his stock of karma-s, but does not create any new karma-s. In human form, he not only exhausts karma-s done in the past but also creates new karma-s. Actions done in the present are accumulated in our account, whose fruits are to be experienced in future births are known as sanchita karma. Every one of us already has a good stock of karma-s and we keep continuously adding to it. This stock of karma-s is enough to give us millions and millions of birth in a variety of bodies.
If we learn the right way of performing karma-s, we would be able to exhaust our karma-s without creating new ones for future experience. If we are accumulating karma-s we should accumulate only those that would give us happiness in the future and lead us to higher spiritual evolutionary level.
Praarabdha Karma: “idam shareeramutpaadya iha lokay eva sukhadhukhaadipradam yatkarma tatpraarabdham bhogena nashtam bhavati praarabdha karmanaam bhogaadeva kshaya iti” (“Having given birth to this body, the actions which give result in this very world, in the form of happiness or misery and which can be destroyed only by enjoying or suffering them is called praarabdha karma.”).
That which has started well is praarabdha. From the total stock of sanchita karma, those karma-s which have fructified to give us the present birth and the experiences in it are praarabdha karma. Praarabdha decides our parents, time and place of our birth, gender, the type of body mind and intellect equipment we get, the environment in which we live, the quota of joyful and sorrowful experiences, our life span etc. It is commonly known as destiny, fate or luck. The Padma Puraana (one of the texts of Sanaatana Dharma) says that the fate of five things in one's life is already decided at the time of one's conception in the womb—education, one's occupation, the aggregate wealth one will acquire, lifespan, and when, where and how one’s body will drop or disintegrate, or in more common parlance “die”. Happenings associated with these five are preordained and will come to pass, no matter what, and can be termed one's destiny. One's character, moulded by one's samskara-s, will then make one act in such a manner that events play out as destined. One should not consider praarabdha with a negative attitude such as—‘Maybe God decided my fate. Now I am helpless. I will have to experience it. There is no use in doing anything, everything is decided, we can’t change.’ In fact by understanding that ‘what I get now is because of what I have done in the past’, I stop blaming one and all for it and take full responsibility for my life and experiences. Understanding that I deserve what I get, I strive to deserve better. I have chosen what I got with my karma. Now I should have the right attitude with which I receive it and in what I do with what I get. Param Pujya Gurudev Svaami Chinmayanandaji said, “What I get is His gift to me, what I do with what I get is my gift to Him.”
The enjoyment of pleasure and the suffering of pain (bhoga) in this physical body—the Hall-of-experience—is determined by our past karma-s. Thought by thought, action by action, we have demanded the present body, mind and intellect equipment. In fact even while we are alive and acting here, now, we order the shape of the future life to be. Unless we conquer the bad vaasana-s by right conduct, and practice systematically the righteous values of life, we do not come to live in an atmosphere in which our thoughts and actions are sufficiently divine and to be directly helpful for our own evolution on the spiritual path. It, therefore, now rests with us to make or mar our progress to get a better life with plenty of opportunities in which we can slowly and steadily go forward and ultimately come to realize the Absolute Truth, or get a wicked one in which we can dive ourselves into a greater gloom. With our own actions we give a blue-print to the Supreme Cosmic Intelligence, commonly known as God, ordering the exact shape of our destiny, and according to the specifications given, the body, the hall-of-experience, is built and handed over to each one of us by the All-merciful, Omnipotent, Divine Creator.
A growing fruit reaches its full maturity and then disintegrates. An arrow that has been shot from the bow, reaches its target to exhaust its momentum. It cannot be withdrawn half way. Similarly, those karma-s which have started fructifying can be exhausted only by experiencing their results. One has to experience the fruits of one’s actions, whether one likes it or not. These results come to us as favorable or unfavorable situations. A jnaani too has taken birth in his body due to praarabdha. At the time of birth he had not realized the Self. Even after realizing the pure Self, the praarabdha of the body continues. Therefore we see that even a jnaani may get cancer or heart disease. Great Masters, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Nisargadatta Maharaj both suffered from throat cancer. As far as a jnaani is concerned, he doesn’t have doership or experiencership notion. But from the standpoint of the ignorant he too is seen to undergo various positive and negative experiences of joys and sorrows. A jnaani and an ignorant person both suffer. When miseries come an ignorant person becomes miserable, but a jnaani doesn’t become miserable because he has no identification with the body. He revels in the bliss of pure Self. The body of the ignorant as well as that of the jnaani is ultimately destroyed.
Freedom from the Bondage of Karma: “sanchita karma brahmaivaahamiti nishayaatmakajnaanena nashyati” (“sanchita karma is destroyed by the firm knowledge, ‘I am Brahman alone’.”).
A person commits many crimes and is therefore wanted by the law. There are many criminal cases pending in the courts. But when he dies, the entire file is closed. The one who committed those crimes is no more available to be punished. Similarly, the jiva is a finite entity which identifies with the body, owns all its actions and accumulates its results to be experienced in the present and future births. This feeling of finitude is born from the ignorance of one’s true Self. On gaining the knowledge, ‘I am the infinite Consciousness’, the false notion that I am the finite, changing, suffering entity is destroyed. There remains no individuality / ego that owns karma-s or identifies with the body to enjoy or suffer them.
Therefore the entire stock of karma-s becomes null and void. It cannot fructify anymore. It can be compared to roasted seeds. Once roasted, they can no longer sprout.
The gross body of the ignorant and that of the jnaani at death disintegrate to merge with the five gross elements here itself. The subtle body (the mind-intellect equipment) of the ignorant man, propelled by the causal body (ignorance) takes up a new body according to the fruits of karma-s that have fructified. The subtle body of the jnaani merges with the tanmatra-s (the natural state of five elements) as there is no propelling force to give it direction or hold it together. The causal body, the cause of the gross and subtle bodies of the jnaani, is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self. There is no more birth for him. Space appears conditioned by a pot. Once the pot breaks, the pot space merges with the total space. There is no actual merging. The space was always one and all-pervading even when the pot existed.
“aagaami karma api jnaanena nashyati kincha aagaami-karmanaam nalineedalagatajalavat jnaaninaam sambandho naasti” (“The aagaami karma is also destroyed by knowledge and the wise man is not affected by it—as a lotus leaf is not affected by the water on it (padma patra ivaambhasa)”). The jnaani takes no more birth. The praarabdha karma too does not affect him, as he has no identification with the body. After realization, while exhausting his praarabdha karma, a jnaani continues performing actions in the present. Since the very notion of doership dies, there remains none to experience the results of actions done by him in the present. Remaining in the midst of actions, a jnaani is untouched by them like the lotus leaf in water. The lotus leaf remains in water yet it never gets wet.
Once Buddha was abused as he was asking for alms. The disciple got angry and said, “Shall I give him a piece of my mind?” Buddha said, “If you have taken anything, you have to return it. Since I have not taken anything, I do not feel the need to give anything back.”
But karma-s performed by the jnaani must also give results. If they do not go to the jnaani, to whom will it go to?
“kincha ye jnaaninam stuvanti bhajanti archayanti taanprati jnaanikrtam aagaami punyam gacchati / ye jnaaninaam nindanti dvishanti dukhapradaanam kurvanti taanprati jnaanikrtam sarvamaagaami kriyamaanam yadavaachyam karma paapaatmakam tadgacchati / suhrdah punyakrtyam durhrdah paapakrtyam grhnanti” (“Further, to those who praise, serve and worship the wise man, go the results of good actions done by the wise man. To those who criticize, hate or cause pain to the wise man go the results of all unpraiseworthy and sinful actions done by the wise man.”).
Every karma has two sides—if its good effects by far outweigh the bad, we call it a good karma. The surgeon performs surgery on the patient and causes him pain and his relatives, tension, yet it is a good karma. When bad effects dominate, it is a bad karma. The jnaani’s karma-s always spring from good motives, but they may appear to have bad effects also. Since the jnaani is not the enjoyer or sufferer of good or bad results of the karma-s performed through his body (due to non-doership and non-identification with his body, mind and intellect—BMI), whom do the results of his karma go to? It is said that the good results go to those who love, serve, praise and worship the jnaani and the bad ones go to those who criticize, hate or cause pain to him. The jnaani himself has no likes and dislikes, friends and foes. He sees everyone as his own Self; therefore, he does not will that the fruits of his karma should go to any particular person. The karma-s done by him are the will and demand of the Totality. The results are therefore distributed according to the will of the Totality. The mind of the one who loves, serves and worships the jnaani is purified and therefore attracts the fruits of his good karma-s. The mind of the one who criticizes and hates the jnaani is negative and therefore attracts the results of his negative karma-s.
Those who have value for knowledge and ideals, whose mind is pure and subtle, recognize the greatness of the jnaani. They revere and serve him not for getting merits but for the supreme knowledge or out of gratitude for having received it or out of gratitude for the transformation in their lives. Some look at the jnaani from the standpoint of their ignorance and superimpose their own prejudices on him. Some go to him with expectations and if they are not fulfilled, criticize him. Some with evil minds hate anyone who is good and even try to harm them. The jnaani however is equal towards both—the one who loves him and the one who hates him.
If one is not able to see greatness in the jnaani and is not able to love, serve and revere him, one must stay away from him and not criticize him or create hatred or dislike for him. Otherwise one brings about one’s own downfall through that. The examples of Raavana, Kamsa etc. are well known in Hindu mythology.
When the true Self is not known due to the veiling layers of ignorance, the misapprehensions of the Self, as the various matter envelopments (body, senses, mind and intellect) start. Identifying with these layers the delusory sense of individuality arises and this ego suffers the pains and agonies of samsaara (the entire limited realm of time, space, objects and causation). If the mere non-apprehension doesn’t create any misapprehension, then it is a condition of relative joy.
“tathaa chaatmavitsamsaaram teertvaa brahmaanandamihaiva praapnoti / tarati shokamaatmavit iti shruteh”
The knower of the Self, having crossed samsaara, attains supreme, infinite Bliss here itself. Limitations cause sorrow. The knower of the Self goes beyond the limitations of time, space, objects and causation and therefore goes beyond all sorrows.
by Swami Avdhutananda
Ex Acharya,Chinmaya Mission-sikkim
Every religion has got a fundamental doctrine or a set of doctrines on which the edifice of the whole religion and its philosophy is built up. In the case of Sanaatana Dharma (wrongly known as Hinduism, a word coined by the foreigners) there are two such fundamental doctrines which are the corner stones of Sanaatana Dharma. They are: - (1) The doctrine of Karma and (2) The doctrine of Re-incarnation.
Both these doctrines are inseparably intertwined. It can be seen that they are the only reasonable and logical explanations of the facts of life, powers, justice and mercy of the Supreme Cosmic Intelligence which is commonly known as “God”.
Life can be understood only on the assumption that each existence is bearing the penalty or enjoying the fruits, of vice or virtue, earned to our debit or credit in some former period or prior existence and that is the only logical explanation for the disparity between man and man, his environments and his experiences. No deed small or great, good or bad can be without effect: this is the Law of Karma; the Law of Deed, the Law of Causality, Compensation and Retribution, in the spiritual world.
One man is born a prince, while another is born a pauper. One is strong while another is a weakling. One is handsome and attractive, while another is ugly and repulsive. One is saintly while another is satanic. One lives up to a hundred years, while another faces death in the prime of life or even in infancy. One rolls in luxury throughout his life, while the other drags on a miserable existence from the womb to the tomb. One is loved by all while another is hated by millions. One meets with a happy and natural death surrounded by his near and dear ones who bestow all love and care on him, while another dies despised as a criminal on the scaffold. The whole nation mourns the death of one man, while another dies unknown, unwept, unhonoured and unsung. One baby has a perfect physique, while another is sadly deformed at birth. Why all this disparity? Is God partial to one and prejudiced to another? We cannot attribute motives or qualities to God. If so, He is no God at all, as partiality, prejudice, anger or any other quality are imperfections and cannot exist in Perfection itself, which is God. If so, what can be the cause? Each man gets what he has asked for, by his own actions and thoughts. The past has decided the present.
If it is conceded that the present is the effect of the cause that was the past, it necessarily follows by the same logic, that the past and the present together decide the future. The past has already been lived and therefore cannot be unlived, but the effect can be exhausted without accumulating further causes which may produce undesirable effects in the future. To that limited extent, may be our future can be said to be in our own hands.
The Law of Karma says: “As you sow, so you reap.” Then there must have been a period when the seed was sown, even before this existence started as the very present existence starts with the disparities mentioned above, which conclusively proves that we had a past. This takes us to the doctrine of Re-incarnation. So, one doctrine necessarily follows the other.
The mind may be considered as constituted of two distinct sides—one facing the world of stimuli that reach it from the objects of the world and the other facing the “within” which reacts to the stimuli received. The outer mind facing the object is called the objective mind—in Sanskrta we call it the manas and the inner mind is called the subjective mind—in Sanskrta, the buddhi.
At every moment, man meets with different patterns of stimuli and thus constantly gathers new impressions in the ‘subjective mind’. Every set of impulses reaching it not only adds to the existing layers of impressions already in it, but also gets coloured by the quality of these vaasanaa-s* (*the compelling deep-urges in us, gathered in our past fields of action—that now determine our present emotional profile, are the vaasanaa-s / impressions / tendencies) stored within. When these are translated into action, the actions carry a flavour of the existing vaasanaa-s in the ‘subjective mind’.
The ‘subjective mind’ gets increasingly granulated by overlapping signatures of our past moments. These granulations make the ‘subjective mind’ dull and opaque and form, as it were, an impregnable wall between ourselves and the spiritual Divinity that shines eternally as pure Objectless Awareness in all of us deep within the core of our personality.
The theory of Vedaanta repeats that reduction of the vaasanaa-s is the means of volatalising the mind. When one looks into a mirror and do not see one’s face in it, it is not because the mirror is not reflecting the object in front of it, but because the reflected image is not perceptible to one’s vision due to, perhaps a thick layer of dust on the mirror. With a duster, when one cleans the mirror, the act of cleaning does not create the reflection of the face, but it only unveils the reflection which was already there. Similarly, man is not aware today of his divine spiritual nature because the ‘subjective mind’ reflecting it is thickly coated with dull vaasanaa-s gathered by it during its ego-centric, passionate existence in the world.
To bring the subjective and the objective aspects of the mind together into a happy union where the ‘objective mind’ is well-disciplined to act faithfully as per the guidance of the ‘subjective mind’, is the yoga pointed in the Geetaa. This is accomplished only by the removal of the dividing factor—the ego-centric desires. Through intelligent action, an individual can exhaust his existing impressions and ultimately redeem his ‘subjective mind’ from the granulations and make it more clear and crystalline. Selfless activity, performed in a spirit of egoless adoration and reverence to the divine ideal, would ultimately result in inner purification.
The ‘subjective mind’ is thus a secret weapon in man to be used as an outlet for the existing impressions that have come to be stored up in it. But the tragedy is that an average man, in his ignorance, misuses the dangerous weapon and brings about his own destruction. He uses it as an inlet and creates, during his selfish activities performed with low motives, a new stock of mental impressions. In order to exhaust them, nature provides new equipments (bodies), in which the same ego comes to live, repeatedly life after life. This creates karma bandhana (kaarmik bondage).
We have karma bandhana with all the people who come into our lives. They may be parents, siblings, spouse, relatives, friends and foes, neighbours, school and college batchmates, colleagues, strangers etc. We have some some kind of ‘give and take’ with these people, which we need to exhaust. This ‘give and take’ may be in terms of wealth, sevaa (service), emotions and feelings and knowledge. We need to make our ‘give and take’ accounts with these people ZERO and at the same time not create new karma bandhana. Moreover we also need to eliminate the existing vaasana-s without creating new ones. The saadhana for accomplishing this is viveka (discrimination between real and the unreal), vairaagya (dispassion) and nishkaama karmayoga (selfless activities).
No one can live without engaging in some kind of activities. Even to keep the body alive one has to act. We perform innumerable actions from birth to death. Every action produces result. Actions are of three types, depending on the fruits they yield at different periods of time. According to Tattva Bodhah: “karmaani katividhaani santeeti chet aagaamisanchitapraarabdhabhedena trividhaani santi” (“If it is asked—how many kinds of karma-s are there, (the reply is) there are three kinds of karma-s viz. aagaami, sanchita and praarabdha”).
Aagaami Karma: “jnanotpattyanantaram jnaanidehakrtam punyapaaparoopam karma yadasti tadaagaameetyabhidheeyate” (“The results of actions, good or bad performed by the body of the realized soul (jnaani) after the dawn of knowledge is known as aagaami.”).
As we sow, so we reap. What we sow today, we reap tomorrow. The fruits of what we do today come as aagaami in the future. The results of our actions may bear fruit immediately, after a period of time or in a future life. The fruits of actions follow the doer of actions. To a lay person, it may appear that one acts, while someone else enjoys or suffers the fruits of one’s past actions.
Animals are also identified with the body, but perform actions without doership notion. They act according to instincts, programmed by what one may call nature or God. We are identified with our body, act with doership notion and seem to have some limited choice in action. We may act, may not act or act otherwise. A jnaani (Self-realized Master) is not identified with his body and therefore has no doership notion, yet he may appear to be performing actions through his body. As far as he is concerned he is the pure Self, free from doership notion and therefore the fruits of action. An action in itself is neutral—neither good nor bad. The fruits of actions depend primarily on the motive behind the action. A positive motive results in merit (punya) and a negative one in sin (paapa). Those actions which result in sorrow, misery, tension, stress, guilt or regret is papa (sin), while those which give joy, happiness, contentment and a feeling of fulfillment is punya (meritorious). That action which springs from selflessness, with a concern and love for others and is one’s own dharma (duty) is punya. Those actions, which spring from selfish or malicious motives and are prohibited is paapa. Whether an action is paapa or punya, also depends on time, place, person, situation, circumstance and environment, besides the most important one—the motive. So an action which may appear as punya at a particular time, place and environment and performed by a particular person may appear as paapa at a different time, place and situation and performed by the same person or another person and vice versa. Therefore one must always be aware and perform only meritorious deeds if one wishes to live peacefully. Since a jnaani has no doership notion, there are no good or bad actions for him.
Sanchita Karma: “anantakotijanmanaam beejabhutam sat yatkarmajaatam poorvaarjitam tishthati tat sanchitam jneyam” (“The result of actions performed in (all) previous births which are in seed form to give rise to endless millions of births (in future) is called sanchita (accumulated) karma.”).
The word ‘sanchita’ is from the verbal root ‘chi’ which means to collect. Sanchita is that which is well collected. The jiva (individual) from beginingless time has taken innumerable births in a variety of bodies. In these bodies he exhausts his stock of karma-s, but does not create any new karma-s. In human form, he not only exhausts karma-s done in the past but also creates new karma-s. Actions done in the present are accumulated in our account, whose fruits are to be experienced in future births are known as sanchita karma. Every one of us already has a good stock of karma-s and we keep continuously adding to it. This stock of karma-s is enough to give us millions and millions of birth in a variety of bodies.
If we learn the right way of performing karma-s, we would be able to exhaust our karma-s without creating new ones for future experience. If we are accumulating karma-s we should accumulate only those that would give us happiness in the future and lead us to higher spiritual evolutionary level.
Praarabdha Karma: “idam shareeramutpaadya iha lokay eva sukhadhukhaadipradam yatkarma tatpraarabdham bhogena nashtam bhavati praarabdha karmanaam bhogaadeva kshaya iti” (“Having given birth to this body, the actions which give result in this very world, in the form of happiness or misery and which can be destroyed only by enjoying or suffering them is called praarabdha karma.”).
That which has started well is praarabdha. From the total stock of sanchita karma, those karma-s which have fructified to give us the present birth and the experiences in it are praarabdha karma. Praarabdha decides our parents, time and place of our birth, gender, the type of body mind and intellect equipment we get, the environment in which we live, the quota of joyful and sorrowful experiences, our life span etc. It is commonly known as destiny, fate or luck. The Padma Puraana (one of the texts of Sanaatana Dharma) says that the fate of five things in one's life is already decided at the time of one's conception in the womb—education, one's occupation, the aggregate wealth one will acquire, lifespan, and when, where and how one’s body will drop or disintegrate, or in more common parlance “die”. Happenings associated with these five are preordained and will come to pass, no matter what, and can be termed one's destiny. One's character, moulded by one's samskara-s, will then make one act in such a manner that events play out as destined. One should not consider praarabdha with a negative attitude such as—‘Maybe God decided my fate. Now I am helpless. I will have to experience it. There is no use in doing anything, everything is decided, we can’t change.’ In fact by understanding that ‘what I get now is because of what I have done in the past’, I stop blaming one and all for it and take full responsibility for my life and experiences. Understanding that I deserve what I get, I strive to deserve better. I have chosen what I got with my karma. Now I should have the right attitude with which I receive it and in what I do with what I get. Param Pujya Gurudev Svaami Chinmayanandaji said, “What I get is His gift to me, what I do with what I get is my gift to Him.”
The enjoyment of pleasure and the suffering of pain (bhoga) in this physical body—the Hall-of-experience—is determined by our past karma-s. Thought by thought, action by action, we have demanded the present body, mind and intellect equipment. In fact even while we are alive and acting here, now, we order the shape of the future life to be. Unless we conquer the bad vaasana-s by right conduct, and practice systematically the righteous values of life, we do not come to live in an atmosphere in which our thoughts and actions are sufficiently divine and to be directly helpful for our own evolution on the spiritual path. It, therefore, now rests with us to make or mar our progress to get a better life with plenty of opportunities in which we can slowly and steadily go forward and ultimately come to realize the Absolute Truth, or get a wicked one in which we can dive ourselves into a greater gloom. With our own actions we give a blue-print to the Supreme Cosmic Intelligence, commonly known as God, ordering the exact shape of our destiny, and according to the specifications given, the body, the hall-of-experience, is built and handed over to each one of us by the All-merciful, Omnipotent, Divine Creator.
A growing fruit reaches its full maturity and then disintegrates. An arrow that has been shot from the bow, reaches its target to exhaust its momentum. It cannot be withdrawn half way. Similarly, those karma-s which have started fructifying can be exhausted only by experiencing their results. One has to experience the fruits of one’s actions, whether one likes it or not. These results come to us as favorable or unfavorable situations. A jnaani too has taken birth in his body due to praarabdha. At the time of birth he had not realized the Self. Even after realizing the pure Self, the praarabdha of the body continues. Therefore we see that even a jnaani may get cancer or heart disease. Great Masters, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Nisargadatta Maharaj both suffered from throat cancer. As far as a jnaani is concerned, he doesn’t have doership or experiencership notion. But from the standpoint of the ignorant he too is seen to undergo various positive and negative experiences of joys and sorrows. A jnaani and an ignorant person both suffer. When miseries come an ignorant person becomes miserable, but a jnaani doesn’t become miserable because he has no identification with the body. He revels in the bliss of pure Self. The body of the ignorant as well as that of the jnaani is ultimately destroyed.
Freedom from the Bondage of Karma: “sanchita karma brahmaivaahamiti nishayaatmakajnaanena nashyati” (“sanchita karma is destroyed by the firm knowledge, ‘I am Brahman alone’.”).
A person commits many crimes and is therefore wanted by the law. There are many criminal cases pending in the courts. But when he dies, the entire file is closed. The one who committed those crimes is no more available to be punished. Similarly, the jiva is a finite entity which identifies with the body, owns all its actions and accumulates its results to be experienced in the present and future births. This feeling of finitude is born from the ignorance of one’s true Self. On gaining the knowledge, ‘I am the infinite Consciousness’, the false notion that I am the finite, changing, suffering entity is destroyed. There remains no individuality / ego that owns karma-s or identifies with the body to enjoy or suffer them.
Therefore the entire stock of karma-s becomes null and void. It cannot fructify anymore. It can be compared to roasted seeds. Once roasted, they can no longer sprout.
The gross body of the ignorant and that of the jnaani at death disintegrate to merge with the five gross elements here itself. The subtle body (the mind-intellect equipment) of the ignorant man, propelled by the causal body (ignorance) takes up a new body according to the fruits of karma-s that have fructified. The subtle body of the jnaani merges with the tanmatra-s (the natural state of five elements) as there is no propelling force to give it direction or hold it together. The causal body, the cause of the gross and subtle bodies of the jnaani, is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self. There is no more birth for him. Space appears conditioned by a pot. Once the pot breaks, the pot space merges with the total space. There is no actual merging. The space was always one and all-pervading even when the pot existed.
“aagaami karma api jnaanena nashyati kincha aagaami-karmanaam nalineedalagatajalavat jnaaninaam sambandho naasti” (“The aagaami karma is also destroyed by knowledge and the wise man is not affected by it—as a lotus leaf is not affected by the water on it (padma patra ivaambhasa)”). The jnaani takes no more birth. The praarabdha karma too does not affect him, as he has no identification with the body. After realization, while exhausting his praarabdha karma, a jnaani continues performing actions in the present. Since the very notion of doership dies, there remains none to experience the results of actions done by him in the present. Remaining in the midst of actions, a jnaani is untouched by them like the lotus leaf in water. The lotus leaf remains in water yet it never gets wet.
Once Buddha was abused as he was asking for alms. The disciple got angry and said, “Shall I give him a piece of my mind?” Buddha said, “If you have taken anything, you have to return it. Since I have not taken anything, I do not feel the need to give anything back.”
But karma-s performed by the jnaani must also give results. If they do not go to the jnaani, to whom will it go to?
“kincha ye jnaaninam stuvanti bhajanti archayanti taanprati jnaanikrtam aagaami punyam gacchati / ye jnaaninaam nindanti dvishanti dukhapradaanam kurvanti taanprati jnaanikrtam sarvamaagaami kriyamaanam yadavaachyam karma paapaatmakam tadgacchati / suhrdah punyakrtyam durhrdah paapakrtyam grhnanti” (“Further, to those who praise, serve and worship the wise man, go the results of good actions done by the wise man. To those who criticize, hate or cause pain to the wise man go the results of all unpraiseworthy and sinful actions done by the wise man.”).
Every karma has two sides—if its good effects by far outweigh the bad, we call it a good karma. The surgeon performs surgery on the patient and causes him pain and his relatives, tension, yet it is a good karma. When bad effects dominate, it is a bad karma. The jnaani’s karma-s always spring from good motives, but they may appear to have bad effects also. Since the jnaani is not the enjoyer or sufferer of good or bad results of the karma-s performed through his body (due to non-doership and non-identification with his body, mind and intellect—BMI), whom do the results of his karma go to? It is said that the good results go to those who love, serve, praise and worship the jnaani and the bad ones go to those who criticize, hate or cause pain to him. The jnaani himself has no likes and dislikes, friends and foes. He sees everyone as his own Self; therefore, he does not will that the fruits of his karma should go to any particular person. The karma-s done by him are the will and demand of the Totality. The results are therefore distributed according to the will of the Totality. The mind of the one who loves, serves and worships the jnaani is purified and therefore attracts the fruits of his good karma-s. The mind of the one who criticizes and hates the jnaani is negative and therefore attracts the results of his negative karma-s.
Those who have value for knowledge and ideals, whose mind is pure and subtle, recognize the greatness of the jnaani. They revere and serve him not for getting merits but for the supreme knowledge or out of gratitude for having received it or out of gratitude for the transformation in their lives. Some look at the jnaani from the standpoint of their ignorance and superimpose their own prejudices on him. Some go to him with expectations and if they are not fulfilled, criticize him. Some with evil minds hate anyone who is good and even try to harm them. The jnaani however is equal towards both—the one who loves him and the one who hates him.
If one is not able to see greatness in the jnaani and is not able to love, serve and revere him, one must stay away from him and not criticize him or create hatred or dislike for him. Otherwise one brings about one’s own downfall through that. The examples of Raavana, Kamsa etc. are well known in Hindu mythology.
When the true Self is not known due to the veiling layers of ignorance, the misapprehensions of the Self, as the various matter envelopments (body, senses, mind and intellect) start. Identifying with these layers the delusory sense of individuality arises and this ego suffers the pains and agonies of samsaara (the entire limited realm of time, space, objects and causation). If the mere non-apprehension doesn’t create any misapprehension, then it is a condition of relative joy.
“tathaa chaatmavitsamsaaram teertvaa brahmaanandamihaiva praapnoti / tarati shokamaatmavit iti shruteh”
The knower of the Self, having crossed samsaara, attains supreme, infinite Bliss here itself. Limitations cause sorrow. The knower of the Self goes beyond the limitations of time, space, objects and causation and therefore goes beyond all sorrows.
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