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Published by the Press, Information & Culture Wing, Embassy of India |
Opinion: Warning from NATO Feature: Interview with Prime Minister Vajpayee
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US AND EUROPEAN COMMISSION COMMEND In a statement made before the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO today in Geneva, the US delegation at the WTO has acknowledged that "our consultations with the Government of India over the past three months have been productive" and further that "we are pleased to conclude that no further action by the United States or the DSB is appropriate at this time". The US delegation has also thanked the Government of India for its "cooperative and constructive approach towards addressing our concerns". The European Commission(EC) has also filed a statement expressing "…appreciation and respect for the way the Government of India succeeded in completing a full legislative procedure on a complex, technical matter as Patent Law within a relatively short period". The EC has also expressed its "satisfaction with the high quality of the legislation produced". It will be recalled that in the matter before the DSB of the WTO relating to Patent Protection for Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Chemical Products, India had undertaken to implement the recommendations of the DSB and to meet its obligations under the WTO by 19 April 1999. The issue related to implementation of India’s obligations under Article 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement, that is, obligations relating to setting up a "mailbox" system as also a mechanism for grant of Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMRs) in respect of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products. The Patents(Amendment) Act 1999 was passed in the Budget Session of Parliament and notified, after receiving the assent of the President on 26 March 1999. With these amendments, the facilities for "mailbox" and EMR have been provided and India has fully complied with the recommendations of the DSB in the matter. The Department of Industrial Development(Ministry of Industry) and the Indian Ambassador to the WTO have had a long series of negotiations and consultations with the US over three months and have successfully secured acceptance and appreciation of the Indian position within the framework of its international obligations. INDIAN
RAILWAYS ACQUIRE THE MOST In a major milestone on the modernisation path, Indian Railways last week acquired 20 state-of-the-art 4000 HP diesel locomotives from M/S General Motors, USA, one of the world leaders in the diesel locomotives technology. It is hailed as a giant stride into the next millennium and is expected to renew our thrust in infrastructural development of the country. Under the Agreement, the General Motors would also effect transfer of technology enabling India to manufacture these engines indigenously from December 1999. It is a significant breakthrough in view of the fact that it is the first ever transfer of technology of diesel engine by M/S General Motors outside USA. Besides this, General Motors are also providing training to Indian Railway personnel to improve their skills. The induction of these modern locomotives, will give a boost in a big way to Indian railway’s diesel traction, the preferred mode of rail traction due to low investment, economical running and high operational flexibility. The contract with M/S General Motors was signed by Indian Railways in 1995 for import of locomotives and also for transfer of technology for indigenous manufacture at the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi. The new freight locomotives, christened GT46 MAC by General Motors and WDG4 by Indian Railways, have been especially designed by M/s General Motors to meet the high traction needs of Indian Railways. Each WDG4 locomotive is capable of releasing two conventional diesel locomotives. Their balancing speed with heavy trains is also much higher apart from nearly double tractive effort. Induction of these fuel-efficient, microprocessor controlled locomotives will result in enormous savings in the fuel and maintenance expenses of the Indian Railways. These 4000 HP locos with 3-phase AC traction require very little maintenance. In fact they can run for as much as 92 days without any maintenance attention as compared to 7 to 10 days for current fleet of diesel locomotives. With the indigenous manufacture of these new design, high capacity locomotives from December’99, DLW will have potential for export also besides meeting the domestic requirements. Moreover, DLW will also emerge as the only locomotive manufacturer in the world to have the capability to manufacture both ALCO (American Locomotive Company) and GM locomotives. The present acquisition of 20 diesel locos include 12 complete locomotives and 8 partially assembled locos. The partially assembled locos will be fully assembled, tested and commissioned at DLW. Ten more high horse power locos fit for a speed of 160 km per hour are expected to be supplied in next year. |
