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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (5270)	7/26/1999 8:42:00 AM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

India expels 'last of Kashmir infiltrators' - Reports BBC India says it has dislodged the last Pakistani-backed infiltrators from its side of the Line of Control in the disputed territory of Kashmir. "Three pockets of intrusion in Drass, Batalik and Mushkoh have been evicted. There is no Pakistani presence on Indian territory," Lieutenant-General NC Vij, head of military operations, told a news conference in Delhi. General Vij said that Indian and Pakistani troops were now occupying key positions along the Line of Control, which divides the region between the two countries. The BBC's Daniel Lak in Delihi: "Overall conflict has gone for now" The announcement effectively marks the end of the 10-week conflict in the region between Indian forces and intruders that India said were largely regular Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan insisted that the infiltrators were Kashmiris fighting against Indian rule. Pilgrimage security increased India has stepped up security for the Amarnath pilgrimage Meanwhile, the Indian authorities have stepped up security in Jammu and Kashmir for the annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Amarnath temple, south of Srinagar. The move follows a call by the militant Harakat ul-Mujahideen group for the pilgrimage to be ended. The pilgrimage began on Saturday. Similar threats in past years have led to landmine explosions and grenade attacks along the 345km pilgrimage route. Cool response to inquiry There has been a sceptical reaction to the Indian Government's announcement of an inquiry into the events surrounding the infiltration of large numbers of Pakistani-backed forces in Kashmir. A four-member committee was appointed following a special cabinet meeting on Saturday. The Times of India said the public had "every right to be cynical" about the inquiry. It added: "Generally speaking, official committees in India have not succeeded in shedding much light on the subject of their enquiry." The Hindu newspaper commented that the cabinet decision to set up the committee seemed "to be calculated more at silencing the opposition and taking the wind out of its sails" than getting to the truth. However, the Indian Express said the probe was "intrinsically good news." The committee is meant to submit its findings in three months. The Hindu noted that this meant that the findings would be only be known after voting was over in the forthcoming elections. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has already dismissed suggestions that there was a breakdown in intelligence gathering or communication that led to the military being rudely surprised by the infiltration. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (5270)	7/26/1999 9:00:00 AM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12475

Putting a little spice into life in the world-Indian Spices 'Steady rise in productivity' indianspices.com Spice Plantations indianspices.com Know your spice indianspices.com Our Bureau MYSORE, July 25 THE Director (Development) of Spices Board, Mr. Koshy John, has said there has been a dramatic increase in cardamom productivity in India in the last 10 years. Mr. John, whose office is headquartered in Kochi, is a frequent visitor to Karnataka, which accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the cardamom production. He said in the 1980s, the productivity was hardly 65 kg per hectare which had increased to 180 kg. A private cultivator had even increased it to an incredible 1,900 kg, with a variety called Nallani Cream and Gold, developed by him. The total production has increased from 4,500 tonnes to the present 7,000 tonnes. The Spices Board had released high-yielding varieties such as ICRI 1,2,3 and 4 and had provided incentives by way of subsidies to cardamom farmers, he said. Scientific research at Appangala, Mudigere, and other places has no doubt helped to improve production, but the main thrust has been on motivating farmers to adopt new varieties and methods, where the Spices Board has been quite active. Both Appangala and Mudigere has released high-yielding varieties. Since 1996, the air freight subsidy and reduction in cess had resulted in a subsidy of Rs. 60 per kg of cardamom to encourage exports. With 90 per cent of the production being consumed domestically, the only way to meet the demand was to increase the productivity. The subsidy for improving irrigation facilities for cardamom had been the most effective tool to increase productivity, Mr. John said. He said diseases such as katte and kokke kandu had badly affected the production in Karnataka, which had 32 per cent of the total acreage under cardamom. But productivity as such was increasing both in Kerala, the major producer and in Karnataka. Mr. John expects a much better crop next September, which falls under the 1999-2000 year. (The Hindu Business Line)