Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday announced a grant of Rs 500 million (Rs.50 crore) for Panjab University in Chandigarh, the alma mater of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"I announce a grant of Rs 50 crore for Panjab University," Mukherjee said in his budget speech.
The university, which is funded by the central and Punjab governments in a 60:40 ratio, will be able to tide over its financial crunch with the latest grant announced by the finance minister.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did his graduation and post-graduation in economics from this university in the 1950s. Later, he joined the university as a lecturer and went on to become a professor at the young age of 32 years.
In recent years, the Punjab government has drastically cut down its share of funding to the university, leading to a major resource crunch for the institution.
The Punjab government, after initially agreeing to let Panjab University become a central university, backed out from the move last year saying that the step would make its claim to Chandigarh weaker.
Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, is a centrally-administered union territory (UT) which Punjab wants that it should be transferred to the state.
Showing posts with label European Union. Show all posts
Showing posts with label European Union. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2009
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Climate experts put EU case to India on emissions trading
Top European Union experts on climate change briefed Indian scientists near Berlin Tuesday on an ambitious programme to "trade" carbon-dioxide emissions round the globe so as to cut the overall pollution level.
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a leading German scientist who works from Potsdam, argued that India would be a beneficiary for decades on end from a fair scheme, since it could earn income by selling the valuable rights.
"But if nations like India or China simply copy the development pattern of Europe, the world will end up with an utterly different climate," Schellnhuber warned after the talks, attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The Indian energy and climate experts travelled to Potsdam, near Berlin to hear more about the EU proposals. Barroso and scientists had a similar meeting in April in Beijing with Chinese scientists.
In carbon trading, rights to pollute are fairly distributed round the world. By freely buying and selling the rights internationally, those who cut emissions obtain a reward by selling their rights, whereas polluters feel the pain financially.
Schellnhuber admitted that factories in India or China, which refused to use modern low-carbon technology, would lose out.
"Companies that refuse to read the signs of the times will end up the losers," said Schellnhuber, who heads the Potsdam Institute for Climate-Impact Research PIK.
After the meeting Barroso opened a two-day meeting organized by PIK and the group Action for a Global Climate Community on ways for India to achieve sustainable economic development that brings prosperity without damaging the climate.
DPA
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a leading German scientist who works from Potsdam, argued that India would be a beneficiary for decades on end from a fair scheme, since it could earn income by selling the valuable rights.
"But if nations like India or China simply copy the development pattern of Europe, the world will end up with an utterly different climate," Schellnhuber warned after the talks, attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The Indian energy and climate experts travelled to Potsdam, near Berlin to hear more about the EU proposals. Barroso and scientists had a similar meeting in April in Beijing with Chinese scientists.
In carbon trading, rights to pollute are fairly distributed round the world. By freely buying and selling the rights internationally, those who cut emissions obtain a reward by selling their rights, whereas polluters feel the pain financially.
Schellnhuber admitted that factories in India or China, which refused to use modern low-carbon technology, would lose out.
"Companies that refuse to read the signs of the times will end up the losers," said Schellnhuber, who heads the Potsdam Institute for Climate-Impact Research PIK.
After the meeting Barroso opened a two-day meeting organized by PIK and the group Action for a Global Climate Community on ways for India to achieve sustainable economic development that brings prosperity without damaging the climate.
DPA
Sunday, April 6, 2008
EU's global development aid drops by two bn euros
Development aid from the European Union to the world has dropped to 46 billion euros (over $72 billion) in 2007, about two billion euros less than what it was in 2006, according to EuAsiaNews.
The European Commission (EC), the EU's executive arm in Brussels, sounded the alarm Friday over a fall in the level of development aid provided by the EU countries.
The global aid provided by the 22 biggest donors in the world, has gone down for the second year in a row. This is putting the UN Millennium Development Goals seriously at risk, according to the EC.
EC president Manuel Barroso said: "We are worried about this trend, because we cannot afford to reduce development aid while trying to achieve the UN Millennium Development goals."
Louis Michel, the commissioner for development and humanitarian aid in the EU, has "strongly urged" the EU countries "to keep their promises and substantially increase aid levels".
Louis Michel pointed out that as the biggest donor in the world, the EU "should set a good example and lead also in attaining higher aid levels, as we pledged in 2005".
Over 1,600 European NGOs united under the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP) and the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development (CONCORD) have also criticised the EU governments for their failure to live up to aid promises.
"European governments' failure to meet aid pledges is nothing short of disgraceful. Europe likes to see itself as a world leader in development assistance but these figures show that governments are taking a step backward on their commitments," said CONCORD director Olivier Consolo.
Under the EU's development assistance programmes for the period from 2007 to 2013, the EU's Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, had proposed an aid package of 470 million euros for India, to be disbursed over the 7-year period.
Some 40 percent of the total development aid was for health and another 22 percent for educational projects. The aim was to help India meet its UN Millennium Development Goals in these two key areas.
Another 38 percent of the total aid package was to help finance the action plan for the pro-poor sector.
In a paper, which it will adopt on April 9, the European Commission will ask every EU country to put forward a multi-annual plan, indicating the increases planned for the coming years.
Indo-Asian News Service
The European Commission (EC), the EU's executive arm in Brussels, sounded the alarm Friday over a fall in the level of development aid provided by the EU countries.
The global aid provided by the 22 biggest donors in the world, has gone down for the second year in a row. This is putting the UN Millennium Development Goals seriously at risk, according to the EC.
EC president Manuel Barroso said: "We are worried about this trend, because we cannot afford to reduce development aid while trying to achieve the UN Millennium Development goals."
Louis Michel, the commissioner for development and humanitarian aid in the EU, has "strongly urged" the EU countries "to keep their promises and substantially increase aid levels".
Louis Michel pointed out that as the biggest donor in the world, the EU "should set a good example and lead also in attaining higher aid levels, as we pledged in 2005".
Over 1,600 European NGOs united under the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP) and the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development (CONCORD) have also criticised the EU governments for their failure to live up to aid promises.
"European governments' failure to meet aid pledges is nothing short of disgraceful. Europe likes to see itself as a world leader in development assistance but these figures show that governments are taking a step backward on their commitments," said CONCORD director Olivier Consolo.
Under the EU's development assistance programmes for the period from 2007 to 2013, the EU's Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, had proposed an aid package of 470 million euros for India, to be disbursed over the 7-year period.
Some 40 percent of the total development aid was for health and another 22 percent for educational projects. The aim was to help India meet its UN Millennium Development Goals in these two key areas.
Another 38 percent of the total aid package was to help finance the action plan for the pro-poor sector.
In a paper, which it will adopt on April 9, the European Commission will ask every EU country to put forward a multi-annual plan, indicating the increases planned for the coming years.
Indo-Asian News Service
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