(Current Affairs) Dialogue India: National - Major Issues 01 to 10 August 2010

National - Social/Political (Major Issues)

Reprocessing accord signed

• India and the U.S. on Friday evening signed the much-debated agreement on modalities for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, under the civilian nuclear deal between the two countries.
• The agreement on arrangements and procedures for reprocessing was signed at a State Department ceremony by Indian ambassador Meera Shankar and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns.
• Pursuant to Article 6(iii) of the bilateral ‘123 Agreement' on civilian nuclear cooperation, the agreement was hailed by the Indian embassy here as “a significant step which highlights the strong relationship and growing cooperation between India and the U.S.” Upon entry into force, it will enable reprocessing by India of United States-obligated nuclear material under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
• The State Department in a statement said that as per the agreement reprocessing would be undertaken at a new, safeguarded national facility to be established by India, and that it would be dedicated solely to this.
• Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Shankar congratulated negotiators on both sides on bringing the agreement to completion well ahead of the stipulated period of one year. “This early completion in some sense reflects how our two countries are increasingly getting into the habit of working together,” she said.
• She reiterated that the government of India had an ambitious programme for development of civil nuclear energy to meet the country's growing energy needs, noting that the target was “to increase our installed capacity more than seven fold to 35,000 MWe by the year 2022, and to 60,000 MWe by 2032.”
• In this context, the government had already designated two sites for nuclear power plants to be established in cooperation with the U.S. and the companies of the two countries were now engaged in discussions, Ms. Shankar noted.
• The State Department corroborated this commitment on the U.S. side, noting that the reprocessing arrangement, negotiated and concluded under President Obama, reflected the administration's “strong commitment to building successfully on the landmark U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative.” It was also a prerequisite for U.S. nuclear fuel suppliers to conduct business with India, a spokesperson noted.
• Officials also sought to underscore the rarity of such agreements between the U.S. and other nations, emphasising that on previous occasions, the U.S. had extended reprocessing consent only to the European Union and Japan.
• Hinting at some of the key factors driving this agreement on the U.S. side, the State Department spokesman said that the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative had facilitated “significant new commercial opportunities across India's multi-billion dollar nuclear energy market, including the designation of two nuclear reactor park sites for U.S. technology in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.”

Jaipur's Jantar Mantar inscribed in the World Heritage List

• The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is now a World Heritage Monument. The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee, presently underway in Brasilia, has inscribed Jantar Mantar in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage List. Thirty-three countries across the world had submitted 32 sites for consideration this year.
• The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur was chosen since ‘it is the most significant and the best preserved of India's historic observatories.'
• The UNESCO website observes that these structures ‘designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, embody several architectural and instrumental innovations.'
• Located outside the city palace, this large stone observatory with its many instruments was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century. It is one of the one of the four existing astronomical observatories in India. The others are located in Varanasi, Delhi and Ujjain. The fifth one built in Mathura is not extant. The Samrat Yantra in Jaipur is one of the largest sundials in the world, with its gnomon raising about 73 feet above its base.
• India had also submitted the Matheran Light Railway line for consideration as an extension of the Mountain Railways of India, which includes the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri railway and Kalka-Shimla Railway that are already inscribed as heritage sites.
• The other international sites added to the list this year include, 11 Australian convict sites, the palace ensemble at ad-Dir'iyah in Saudi Arabia, Tabriz historic bazaar complex in Iran and the natural site of the Central Highlands in Sri Lanka.
• Every year the World Heritage committee reviews sites proposed by various countries and inscribes the selected new ones to the heritage list. It also reviews the state of conservation of the sites already inscribed. So far, about 890 properties are included in the list for their “outstanding universal value.” The committee also oversees the disbursement of about $4 million annually from the World Heritage Fund.

Courtesy: Dialogue India & Career Plus