Pricing issue of Gorshkov brought to a successful conclusion: MEA

By Naveen Kapoor

Moscow, Dec.8 (ANI): After years and months of frantic negotiations, the pricing of the naval aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov has been finally resolved.

Although Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not disclose or mention exact details of the complex defence deal during their joint press conference at the Kremlin on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that the pricing and technical issues have been resolved, and added that both sides have reached a final settlement.

According to the official spokesperson of the ministry, both leaders discussed the issue and noted the excellent progress in negotiations on the pricing and technical issues.

The final price was not revealed, but sources said it is somewhere near 2.2 billion dollars.

The Admiral Gorshkov was gifted to India for free in 2004 and under a contract signed in January 2004.

Russia''s Rosoboronexport was to deliver the 44,570-tonne aircraft carrier to India in 2008. The 1.5 billion dollars contract earmarked 964 billion dollars for the refurbishment of Admiral Gorshkov and 536 million dollars for a complement of 16 MiG-29K fighter aircraft onboard.

In early 2008, Russia claimed it underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization, and said it would not be in a position to deliver the ship before 2012 and at an additional cost of 1.2 billion dollars.

India termed the cost escalation exorbitant. After protracted negotiations, in February 2008, India agreed to pay an additional 800 million dollars for the retrofit.

In November 2008, shortly after the Russian nuclear submarine Nerpa met with an accident, Russia demanded an additional two billion dollars for the ship, instead of 1.2 billion dollars.

The Admiral Gorshkov is to be inducted into the Indian Navy as the INS Vikramaditya, as a replacement for India''s INS Viraat, which is now 50-years-old.

The contract covers the complete overhaul of the ship, which had remained docked at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia for the past 12 years

Construction of the ship will be completed in 2010 and tests will start in 2011. It will be transferred to the Indian Navy in 2012, said the director of the Sevmash shipyard, Nikolai Kalistratov.

Sources told ANI that the agreement would be formally sealed in March when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to visit New Delhi on the invitation of Dr. Manmohan Singh (ANI)

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Tata’s revolutionary 10-pound water purifier to benefit billions across India, developing worl

London, Dec. 8 (ANI): The Tata Group has come up with a 10-pound filter that promises to provide purified water matching strict US standards, may come as a boon to millions of underprivileged people in India, and billions across the developing world.

Resembling a water cooler, Tata Swach has not been designed for posh offices, but for cramped village huts and tiny city slum shacks.

The germ-laden water is poured into the top, and the clear liquid that emerges meets the latest American regulations on water purification standards, The Times reports.

The 2ft purifier, named after the Hindi word for clean, is priced within reach of poor Indians, and does not need a source of running water or electricity — key factors in a country where 400 million people are not connected to the national grid.

The potential market is vast: across the developing world one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.

“This opens up a complete new market. It doesn’t compete with any existing product,” said R. Mukundan, an executive of Tata, which owns Jaguar Land Rover in Britain.

The key component is a replaceable filter that uses rice husk ash as a matrix, to which microscopic particles of silver are attached to kill the bacteria that cause waterborne diseases.

The filter can be used to purify 3,000 litres before it needs to be replaced — enough to last the average Indian family 200 days, Tata said. (ANI)

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Two ULFA militants surrender

Two ULFA militants belonging to the outfit's 28th battalion surrendered before the Lakhimpur district Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday.

Self-styled Lance corporals Budheswar Dutta (26) and Debashish Bhuyan (27), who had been trained at Kachin in Myanmar, surrendered before DC Jayanta Narlikar at his office premises, officials said.

Asked by newsmen whether they surrendered because their chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa had been arrested, Dutta and Bhuyan said, "Even if Rajkhowa was still at large we would have come out of ULFA as we were disillusioned with it".

ULFA today has no relation with its intentions of 30 years ago". The duo said they were under the direct control of 28th battalion's area commander Rajib Das and had fled from the outfit's Majuli camp in Jorhat district when they were 'on duty'.

An India-made 9mm pistol with 10 rounds of live cartridges and a magazine as well as an Italy-made 7.65mm pistol with seven rounds of cartridges and a magazine were deposited by them, the officials said.

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Assam plan to save 3,513 wetlands

landless, mostly alleged Bangladeshis, on protected areas, the Assam government has laid out a plan to conserve 3,513 wetlands in the State.

The plan has been dovetailed with a Google-aided satellite tracking programme involving migratory birds for studying the connection between wetlands and avian influenza.

Placing a statement in the 126-member Assembly on Tuesday, Assam Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain scotched allegations that protected areas across the State were falling victims to a “populist project” to rehabilitate landless and BPL people in low-lying wetlands and river sandbars (known as chars in Assamese).

From January 2005 to November 1 this year, 11,666 people have been given settlement in 19 of Assam’s 27 districts.

“There is no encroachment in the 410 hectare Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary,” Hussain said, adding 15 more wetlands are proposed for inclusion in the National Wetland Conservation Programme.

Deepor Beel, on the western edge of this State capital, is a Ramsar Site. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in February this year. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and Bombay Natural History Society had chosen Deepor Beel and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary for satellite tracking of migratory birds.

Pobitora, some 60 km east of Guwahati, is often referred to as the ‘showroom’ of Kaziranga, sited further east. Measuring 39 sq km, it has the highest concentration of one-horned rhinos in the world.

“It is more or less established bird flu does not ride migratory birds, but 20 species of such species in Deepor Beel and Pobitora have been targeted for satellite tracking,” said ornithologist Parimal Bhattacharjee. “These birds including pintail, mallard duck, pochard, ruddy shellduck, shoveller and gargeni have been fitted with PTT transmitters for tracking via Google.”

A recent survey of wetlands has revealed Assam has 3,513 wetlands covering a total area of 101,231.6 hectares. Of these, 3,388 wetlands are natural with a total area of 98,819.6 hectares.

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Ulfa leaders’ children speak Bengali, not Assamese

The children of Ulfa chairman Aravinda Rajkhowa, who supposedly fought all his life for establishing an identity for his people, do not even know that they are Assamese.

Born in Bangladesh, they are not even aware that their father is a dreaded rebel leader wanted in India for terror activities. They think he is a businessman, a little different, though.

The story is similar when it comes to the children of other two leaders of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom, who officially surrendered to the Indian authorities in Meghalaya last Friday along with Rajkhowa — deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua and ‘foreign secretary’ Sashadhar Choudhury.

Rajkhowa’s children know him by his ‘Bangladeshi identity’ — Mijanur Rahman Choudhury. Barua’s daughter knows her father as Anees Ahmed, while Shishirkana thinks her father Sashadhar Choudhury is actually Rafiqul Islam.

The children, however, will have to unravel many deceptions. For, the person who is now known as Aravinda Rajkhowa was Rajib Rajkonwar in his earlier life, while Hitesh Kalita turned into Raju Barua and Palash Phukan became Raja Bora.

While the three leaders surrendered, they had three women and four children with them. The women are Rajkhowa’s wife and head of Ulfa’s women’s wing Kaveri Kachari (42), ‘foreign secretary’ Choudhury’s wife Runima Chetia (41) and Raju Barua’s wife Nirola Neog (30).

The wives and the children — Rajkhowa’s daughter Khonsang Bohagi (13) and son Gadadhar (10), Choudhury’s daughter Shishirkana (8) and Barua’s daughter Pragati (10) —are being kept in a guesthouse of the Assam Police here.

“The children know each other and are used to being called by their Muslim names,” said Inspector General of Police (Special Branch) Khagen Sarma, “They speak Bengali and are not aware that they are Assamese. They are also not aware they are Hindus.”

“The children are convinced they are Bangladeshis. This shows the level of indoctrination by the ISI of Pakistan and the jihadi groups, which have been controlling the Ulfa and its subversive operations,” said an intelligence official on condition of anonymity.

The Assam Police have assigned Bengali-speaking officers to communicate with the rebels’ families.

On Monday, Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate Robin Phukan sent Ulfa ‘foreign secretary’ Sashadhar Choudhury and ‘finance secretary’ Chitrabon Hazarika to Guwahati jail. The Border Security Force arrested the two near the Indo-Bangladesh border in Tripura last month.

Choudhury and Hazarika will have three fellow Ulfa leaders for company in the jail — vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi, publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary and cultural secretary Pranati Deka.

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