Analysts Say Fear of India Drives Pakistani Support for Militants

Analysts: Fear of India Drives Pakistani Support for Militants

VOA - Gary Thomas | Washington May 18, 2011

The furor over the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden has again spotlighted charges that Pakistan supports militant groups.  Many analysts say such support is rooted in Pakistan’s concern about what it sees as growing Indian influence in Afghanistan and in U.S. policy circles.

Medical Tourism in Asia - India, South Korea and Thailand Leading the Way

Asia Cashing in on Medical Tourism

Ira Mellman February 28, 2011 - VOA

Much has been reported about the rapidly expanding Asian economy. Perhaps one of the fastest growing aspect of many Asian economies is medical tourism, with India, South Korea and Thailand leading the way.

“Medical tourism is the travel of individuals from a home country like the US, Britain, even Singapore, Thailand in the region to a destination for the primary purpose of seeking medical care," said Glenn Cohen, the Co-Director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at the Harvard University law school.

He said medical tourism comes in what he terms "three flavors".

“The first flavor ,especially in the US, is uninsured or underinsured individuals who are doing price shopping. By one estimate, getting angioplasty out of pocket in the United States would cost about $98,000. If you’re getting it in Thailand or Singapore you’re looking at $13,000. So huge cost saving is one aspect of looking for medical travel abroad. A second group of people are people who have insurance coverage that gives them an incentive to go abroad. We have a little bit of that in the US. And then a third category are individuals who are seeking to avoid domestic prohibition or unavailability of a service. For example, a lot of Irish engage in what could be called “abortion tourism, “people travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide and people travel elsewhere for stem cell therapy and the like, and of course to India for surrogacy tourism and the like," he said.

Cohen says has translated into big businesses around the world..

“Cuba in 2004 made about $20 million on medical tours, Jordan, about $500 million. Its estimated that by 2012, India will be looking at about $2.2 billion in revenue. This is a very fast growing industry and a number of countries are making a very concerted effort to corner at least the regional market. There is some division as to the kind of services they offer. But it’s a very lucrative industry and there are also all kinds of other players who we call intermediaries or facilitators who try to arrange travel for you and kind of act as concierges in some way in the industry," he said.

Asia is a particularly fast growing market for medical tourism. A recent report from the Indian market research company RNCOS predicts a growth rate of over 17 and a half percent in Asia by next year.

Among the leaders in Asian medical tourism are India, South Korea and Thailand. China wants to be part of that group.

According to Dr. David Vequist who heads the Center for Medical Tourism Research in San Antonio, Texas, they are doing just that.

"China is interested in developing a medical tourism specialty and in fact there are efforts going on in places like Shanghai in order to develop a medical hub. It would be similar to what the Koreans have done or the Japanese have done or Thailand, or some of these other countries that have been active in medical tourism, India, for example," he said.

According to Vequist, China, due to its huge population, may have an edge over other countries.

“China, as a country has quite a few people who travel within the country for health care and increasingly have people who travel outside the country for health care. The majority of the health care facilities inside the country don’t necessarily have a great global reputation for health care. Gallup recently released a study that shows that 15 percent of Chinese citizens are travelling within the country to find better health care. And what we’re finding is as Chinese tourism picks up around the world, we’re seeing more and more Chinese nationals going to other countries and receiving surgeries and pharmaceuticals and other types of health care outside of China," he said.

Vequist says a growing medical tourism reputation inside China might lead to those people seeking treatment in their own country.

While the expanding world of medical tourism is undoubtedly good for economies, there are some major concerns that need to be addressed. We will address that in the next report.

Asia Cashing in on Medical Tourism
 Medical Tourism Article from VOA

Valentine's Day Not Loved by Some

 

Valentine's Day Not Loved in Many Areas of the World

Ira Mellman February 13, 2011 - VOA

 

An activist of India's opposition BJP party prepares to burst heart shaped balloon during a protest against Valentine's Day celebrations in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, Feb.13, 2011.

Monday marks the celebration of Valentine’s Day by much of the world. But it is a celebration that is drawing protests in some areas.
In Southern India, members of a Hindu political party recently gathered to burn Valentine’s Day cards.

One protestor said he is against what he called the "cultural exploitation" of the day. He added people sharing sexual greetings with each other in public in the name of Valentine’s Day should be strongly condemned.

Many Islamic nations, including Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, have banned the celebration of Valentine’s Day

In Malaysia, officials have warned Muslims against celebrating something they call "synonymous with vice activities."
That warning follows plans announced last week by several Malaysian states to crack down on "immoral acts" during Valentine's Day as part of a campaign to encourage a sin-free lifestyle.

The head of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department, which oversees the country's Islamic policies, told state media."In reality, as well as historically, the celebration of Valentine's Day is synonymous with vice activities."

Valentine’s Day has been outlawed in Iran as well. Officials say they will take action against those who ignore the ban.

In Dubai, which has traditionally permitted celebration of Valentine’s Day, the tourism authority has banned the sale of alcohol because of the day's proximity of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, which this year falls on Tuesday, February 15.

Valentine's Day Not Loved in Many Areas of the World
Article from VOA

Tidal Power Plant - India

Indian State to Establish Country’s First Tidal Power Plant Anjana Pasricha | New Delhi 21 January 2011 - VOA

India’s western state of Gujarat is establishing a power plant that will utilize the flow of ocean tides to generate electricity.

The agreement between London-based Atlantis Resources Corporation and the Gujarat government was signed earlier this week after a study identified the Gulf of Kutch along India’s western coast as suitable for tidal power generation.

Tidal power uses turbines to harness the energy contained in the flow of ocean tides.

The project - the first of its kind in the country - will generate 50 megawatts of power.  But its capacity can be increased to 250 megawatts.

South Korea is the only other Asian country known to be building a tidal power plant.  If Gujarat’s plant is commissioned earlier, the project will become Asia’s first tidal power project.


Rajkumar Rajsinghani, the official overseeing the tidal power project at Gujarat Power Corporation Limited, says the project will have multiple benefits for the state.
"It will help us in two regards,” Rajsinghani explains. “This technology is not with Asia Pacific countries. That technology will be transferred to the state. And second thing is that since this is a project that can generate power round the clock we are thinking this source will be helpful to give us good, renewable power on a competitive price."

Officials in Gujarat hope the upcoming tidal power facility will be the first of several others because the state’s 1,600-kilometer-long coastline offers good potential for generation of tidal power.

Gujarat is one of India’s most industrialized and economically progressive states, but like the rest of the country, it generates most of its power from fossil fuels. However, in the coming years, the state plans to establish tidal, wind and solar power plants to produce more than 7000 megawatts of power and significantly raise the share of renewable energy sources. 

India's effort to build clean energy sources, including solar energy, comes amid a global focus climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  India is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Worldwide, the generation of tidal power is still small compared to other renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind, but experts say that could change with the rising focus on clean energy sources.

Indian State to Establish Country’s First Tidal Power Plant - article came from VOA

India's Tea - Impacts of Climate Change

Climate Change Impacts India's Tea-Growing Region

Anjana Pasricha | New Delhi - 04 January 2011

The rolling Himalayan hills in India's northeastern state, Assam, are carpeted with lush tea bushes whose leaves produce some of the world's finest teas.In India's main tea-growing region, scientists say tea production is being impacted by climate change. India produces nearly one third of the world's tea.

But there are concerns that rising temperatures may be affecting the tea plantations, resulting in declining productivity of the brew to which millions of people across the world wake up.

The director of the Tea Research Association in Assam, Mridul Hazrika, is studying the impact of climate change on tea production.

"We have observed that minimum temperature has rise[n] by two degrees centigrade and there is a reduction in the rainfall in the last 90 years by around 200 millimeters. And this is very important, very significant from the point of tea as a plantation crop," Hazrika said.

Scientists say rising temperatures can affect the ability of the tea bush to grow. Tea production in the Assam region has declined in recent years, although the area under cultivation has risen.

Erratic rainfall patterns are of particular concern to planters because the tea plant is largely dependent on the weather. They point out that last year there were fewer days with sunshine, resulting in humid conditions which are unfavorable for the growth of the tea plant.

Planters are optimistic that the sturdy tea bush will adapt, but they are looking at ways to combat the impact of climate change.

Arijit Raha is an official with the Indian Tea Association, based in Kolkata.

"The industry has been looking at irrigation as an option, but tea plantations are huge, irrigating 100 percent is a very expensive proposition," Raha said. "One is also looking at other options, drought-resistant plants but those are things which will come in the future."

There have been some reports that the flavor of the Assam tea, known to produce a strong cup of tea, has also been impacted.

But the chairman of the Indian Tea Association, C.S. Bedi, dismisses any link between quality of the tea and climate change. He says other reasons may be responsible for this.

"I belong to a generation which in many ways has systematically gone in for very high fertilization," Bedi said. "That has affected quality I am certain. It's gone in for very high pesticide application, for very high herbicidal application. When you look back in hindsight, these were not really the best environmental friendly operations…Today we are looking at correcting things. We are looking for more organic products, we are looking at organic teas." 

Assam produces more than half of India's tea. India accounts for nearly one-third of the world's tea production.

Climate Change Impacts India's Tea-Growing Region - article came from voanews.com