Fwd: Releases..........pt3

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 3:11 PM

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Department of Space                    

Utilization of Satellites

New Delhi: April 21, 2010

 

The satellites of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have contributed in the improvement of telecommunications, distant education, tele-medicines facilities, etc; in the rural and remote areas of the country.

 

The extent to which the improvements brought by the satellite include:

 

(i) Television: Direct to Home (DTH) Satellite Television coverage of 100% area and 100% population;

 

(ii) Tele-communication: About 1.18 lakh VSATs providing applications like data and video connectivity, village telephony, broadband connectivity, ATMs, cellular phone back-haul etc.

 

(iii) Tele-Education: 55,230 classrooms connected through satellite networking of which 51321 are Receive Only Terminals (ROTs) and 3099 are Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs) catering to all the sectors of education from primary to higher and professional education and

 

(iv) Tele-medicine : 59 specialty hospitals connected to 307 remote and rural hospitals and 16 Mobile Vans.

 

(v) The country is likely to get maximum facilities through additional satellites in a phased manner as per utilization study in respect of satellite conducted by the Government.

 

This was stated by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, the Minister of State (I/C) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences in the Lok Sabha today.

 

gg/bs/dk/kol/15:04 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests                     

Growth of Cow Progeny

New Delhi: April 21, 2010

 

All the species on earth play a vital role in protecting the environment, which include cow progeny.  Government has initiated a centrally sponsored scheme namely "National Project for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding" which envisages genetic up-gradation of bovine population and also has focus on development and conservation of indigenous breeds.

 

Letters have been received in the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries from various sources indicating that Vishwa Mangal Gogram Yatra was organized.  The details about the yatra are available on website http://gougram.org/.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply to a question by Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in Lok Sabha today.

 

kp/dk/kol/15:05 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests                     

Contamination of Ground Water

New Delhi: April 21, 2010

 

As reported by Central Ground Water Board, a study has not been conducted on the linkage between hydraulic fracturing and pollution of groundwater of the regions where gas production is common.

 

Further, as informed by Department of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development, no State/UnionTerritory has reported contamination of methane in drinking water sources in the rural areas of the country.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply to a question by Shri J.M. Aaron Rashid in Lok Sabha today.

 

kp/dk/kol/15:05 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Environment and Forests                     

Technology for Bt DNA of Bt Brinjal

New Delhi: April 21, 2010

 

Several public and private institutions in India have facilities, systems and expertise to detect the Bt technology in brinjal. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee is a regulatory body which relies on the data generated by these institutions.

 

Recognizing the new developments in biotechnology, the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology jointly with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had established five project based centres for detection of Genetically Modified (GM) foods with special reference to cotton, soyabean, corn, brinjal, tomato, rice, peanut, mustard, papaya and potato. These projects are implemented at Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, Industrial Toxicological Research Institute, Lucknow, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi and National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. For toxicological analysis of GM crops, a project has also been implemented at Shriram Institute for Industrial Research, New Delhi. In order to facilitate regulation, field testing and validation of transgenic crops developed in public research funded programmes, a Platform for Translational Research on Transgenic Crops has also been established at ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

 

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to regulate genetically modified foods, organic food, functional foods, etc. FSSAI is in the process of putting in place necessary framework and mechanisms to regulate GM foods.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply to a question by Shri Shri M.I. Shanavas in Lok Sabha today.

 

kp/dk/kol/15:05 hrs.

 

--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/