Practical - 2

News Bulletin

Tough to go back on N-deal, say Experts

Is it possible for the government to freeze the operationalisation of the India-US civilian nuclear deal at this stage, as the Left wants it to?

It is going to be very difficult, say top officials involved in the negotiations. We are simply too far gone with the deal to go back on it. And, as the Prime Minister has said, it would be akin to reneging on an international commitment.

"The term 'operationalise' has no legal standing," a top official said. "Until the Left explains what it means, it is not possible to see how to deal with or work around their objections," he added.

Before India can begin nuclear commerce with the rest of the world, it has two more stages to cross.

One, an India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Two, a nod from the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Negotiations at both places are in highly advanced stages.

Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar travels to Vienna in September to attend a scheduled IAEA meeting.

And the PM's special envoy on the deal Shyam Saran is currently touring major NSG countries including Russia, Germany and Brazil, to seek their support for an unconditional waiver for India to trade in N-goods.

The Left wants the government not to go ahead at NSG and IAEA. Technically, negotiations can perhaps be put on hold for a brief while. But the US administration will be seriously into election mode by end-2007, and as that time approaches, the pressure to seal the deal will intensify. And India does need energy desperately.

INSAT – 3C Launched Successfully

The launch of INSAT-3C on January 24 signifies an important stage in the evolution of India's space technology programme.

On August 20, after a last-minute hitch, INSAT-3C, the second in the INSAT-3 series of satellites built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was launched successfully by the Ariane 4 launch vehicle of Arianespace at 23:47 hrs Greenwich Mean Time (5-17 a.m. Indian Standard Time).

Twenty-one minutes after lift-off, the satellite was injected into the elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from where a sequence of maneuvers would bring it to its designated slot in the circular geosynchronous or geostationary orbit (GSO) 36,000 km above the equator.

Blueline Kills One More: Toll-72

One man was killed and another critically injured when their motorcycle was hit by a Blueline bus near the Akshardham temple in east Delhi on Saturday, as the toll of accidents involving privately operated buses in the capital rose to 72 this year.

The mishap occurred at around 8.40 am when the bus, plying on Route No 469 between Ambedkar Nagar and Anand Vihar, hit the motorcycle from behind near the Akshardham temple, close to the Mayur Vihar area flyover.

Bike rider Rizawan, 24, died on the spot, while pillion rider Tarik Malik, 24, was injured and rushed to a private hospital in Ghaziabad. His condition was said to be critical.

Police said driver of the bus managed to flee the spot.

According to an eyewitness, the driver lost control of the bus, possibly due to brake failure, and hit the bike. The bus dragged the motorbike rider for a few metres after he came under the wheels.

"Some commuters sitting in the bus also received minor injuries, but they were treated on the spot and discharged," he said.

Many of the bus passengers suspected the driver was drunk and not fit to be at the wheels. After the accident police found some beer bottles in the bus.

There are some 4,000 privately operated Blueline buses in the capital, forming a crucial part of its public transport.

However, with little regard for passenger safety, over-speeding, and untrained staff, many of them have been involved in fatal accidents and they have earned the epithet of "killer buses".

These buses were responsible for 100 deaths last year while the toll this year has risen to 72 even as public uproar two months ago prompted the government to screen such buses for fitness.