New Delhi, 2 April 2012: Approximately 142 million people or 8% of the population of WHO’s
South-East Asia Region are above the age of 60 years. The number of aged people will double
by 2025 and triple by 2050 compared to 2000. The average life expectancy in most countries in
the Region will be above 75 year by 2050. On World Health Day, 7 April 2012, WHO will draw
global attention to ageing and health to highlight ageing as a rapidly emerging priority that most
countries in the Region have yet to address adequately.
National policies to promote healthy ageing exist in Bangladesh, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia,
Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There is an urgent need to focus attention
on issues such as economic effects of ageing on health care system; ways of ensuring
independence in old age, quality of life; striking a balance between the role of family and the
State in providing care to older people who need assistance; humanitarian crises and older
population, and health problems of elderly females and very old persons.
“Older women outnumber and outlive older men. Gender discrimination and widowhood has a
considerable impact on health of elderly women” said Dr. Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO’s
Regional Director for South-East Asia. ”Poor nutrition in the womb leads to disease in
adulthood. Preventing diseases through immunization, good nutrition, and healthy lifestyles will
result in an elderly population that is a rich resource for families, communities and nations” he
added.
Smoking, alcohol consumption, poor diet, sedentary lifestyles and exposure to toxic substances
at work also influence health outcomes in old age. With nuclear families replacing joint families
and large rural-to-urban migrations, the old and the infirm are often left at home. These
changing patterns of society are now affecting the care of the old and very old persons at home.
Healthy ageing requires a significant paradigm shift in providing care to the elderly. Age-friendly
primary health care minimizes the consequences of noncommunicable or chronic diseases by
early detection, prevention, quality of care and by providing long-term palliative care for those
with advanced disease. Such interventions need to be supplemented by affordable long-term
care for those who can no longer retain their independence.
…………2/-
- 2 -
Several countries in the Region have introduced age-friendly policies and plans of action. For
instance, Indonesia’s law to help the elderly population access basic social and health care
services. In Sri Lanka, the National Council for Elders and the National Secretariat for the
Elders, which operate under the Ministry of Social Services, are dedicated to serve the elderly.
As part of this initiative, the Elders’ Maintenance Board can initiate action against children or
relatives in case of neglect of the elderly. The national authorities are also taking steps to
regulate and register ‘old-age homes’ in Sri Lanka. India enacted the Maintenance and Welfare
of Parents and Senior Citizens Act in 2007 to provide legal strength to old age care and ensure
that family members take care of their older relatives. Thailand has also adopted a holistic
approach to provide social, health and economic security to its senior citizens. This approach
has contributed to Thailand’s success in providing long term care to seniors through family,
community and institutional-based interventions.
Building an age-friendly society needs actions from sectors other than health such as education,
employment, labour, finance, social security, transportation, justice, housing and rural-urban
development. On World Health Day, WHO is urging policy-makers and partners to pay urgent
attention to ageing and health.
###
WHO South-East Asia Region comprises of following eleven countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR
Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste
For more information please contact:
Ms Vismita Gupta-Smith, Public Information and Advocacy Officer, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office
(SEARO), New Delhi, Tel: 91-11-23309401, mobile + 91 9871329861,
e-mail: guptasmithv@searo.who.int

Meeting with Pakistan Business Delegation

10th April 2012, Federation House, New Delhi

Dear Sir / Madam,

We are delighted to inform you that a business delegation from Pakistan is visiting India in April 2012. On this occasion FICCI is organizing business to business meetings with the visiting delegation as per the following schedule:

Date: April 10, 2012

Time: 14:45 p.m. to 16:30 p.m.

Venue: Federation House, New Delhi

The Business Delegation is drawn from the Sectors like: Textiles, Yarn, Garments, Grey Cloth, Textiles Made-ups, Textiles Packages, Chemical & Dyes,  Pharmaceuticals, Energy, General Store Items, Gems & Jewellery, Fitness & Gymnasium Machinery, Agriculture Equipment & Machinery, Architecture & Interior Designing, PVC Pipes trading etc.

Kindly log on to http://www.ficci-b2b.com/forthcoming.asp and register your name ONLINE. The composition of the Business Delegation can be accessed using the above-mentioned link.

There is a registration fee of Rs.500/- to attend the meeting. There is no registration fee for FICCI B2B Portal subscribers.

  Burma's key political parties

National League for Democracy:

Aung San Suu Kyi's party was founded in 1988 after a popular uprising
Won the 1990 parliamentary elections in a landslide but results never recognized by the military regime
Boycotted 2010 elections and was stripped of legal party status; Contesting 44 seats

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Union Solidarity and Development Party:

Current ruling party
Formed by current President Thein Sein and other members of military junta
Won vast majority in 2010 election
Contesting all 45 seats
It will retain its majority in parliament regardless of the results

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National Democratic Force

Formed by breakaway NLD members
Won several seats in the 2010 election
Contesting about 10 seats

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Shan Nationalities League for Democracy

The second largest winning party in the 1990 elections
Boycotted the 2010 elections
Often sides with Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party

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Shan Nationalities Democratic Party

Widely known as the White Tiger Party
Won 57 seats in the 2010 elections
Contesting seats in only a handful of constituencies

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National Unity Party

Formed bythe military junta and members of the former Burma Socialist Program Party
Defeated badly by the NLD in 1990 elections
Fielded the second highest number of candidates in the 2010 election but defeated badly again

By-elections don’t mean Burma is free

Sunday, 01 April 2012 12:54 Zoya Phan

(Commentary) – People talk a lot about changes happening in my country. There are many welcome developments. Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed, some freedom of speech is now being tolerated, and there is more media freedom.

Burma Campaign UK official Zoya Phan at a demonstration in London. Photo: Burma Campaign UK

Some of the unfair electoral laws have been reformed to allow the NLD to register as a political party and take part in by-elections. Although the run up to the by elections hasn’t been a free and fair process, there are hopes that a combination of the overwhelming support for the NLD, and relatively fair counting of votes, mean the NLD could win many of the 45 available seats.

A few days after the by-elections a delegation from the Karen National Union will visit Rangoon to discuss a permanent ceasefire, and some ceasefires have already been signed with other armed ethnic political parties.

On the face of it things are looking more positive than they have for a long time. Certainly that is the picture that most media are presenting. And many governments are saying the same as well.

But take a more careful look at was is happening, go into the detail, and there are also reasons to be cautious, and even very concerned.

Hundreds of political prisoners have been released, but hundreds remain in jail. None of the laws that allowed them to be jailed have been repealed. Many of those released have only had their sentences suspended. There has been no pardon, no apology, no acknowledgement that they should never have been in jail in the first place.

While some unfair electoral rules designed to stop the NLD taking part in elections in 2010 have been repealed, allowing the NLD to take part in by-elections, many other unfair rules remain, including the government deciding if parties can register, having a say over who party candidates are, and there are very high fees for registering and standing candidates. This especially disadvantages small and ethnic parties.

Combined with censorship and security laws which have not been repealed, it means it is impossible for the by-elections to be free and fair.

While ceasefires now being signed with armed ethnic political parties, there are also many problems. So far the government is only talking about ceasefires, not the root causes of why there is conflict. They are not addressing the political root causes of the problem, which is the failure of central governments ever since independence to recognise the rights and aspirations of the ethnic people of Burma, who make up 40 per cent of the population of the country. This is what happened 20 years ago when the government signed ceasefires with 17 different groups. They promised political dialogue at a later date, but it never came.

It is the government of Burma which has broken three ceasefire agreements since the election in November 2010. Ethnic people know from experience that a ceasefire without addressing the political problems is just pressing a pause button, not a stop button. Already the new ceasefires have been broken by the Burmese Army on more than a dozen occasions.

This is why the main Kachin political party, the Kachin Independence Organisation, is insisting on political dialogue, they know from 17 years’ experience that a ceasefire alone doesn’t solve the problem.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that these three areas, political prisoners, by-elections and ceasefires, where the government has been seen to take the most action, are the three main benchmarks set by the EU and USA before they will lift sanctions.  For all those who say international pressure doesn’t work, here is the evidence that is does. Yet just as sanctions are shown to be working, some EU governments rush to want to lift them prematurely.

Two main problems remain with these benchmarks, first is that none have been met, the second is that even if they were met, none address the root causes of the problems in Burma.  The benchmarks set by the EU don’t require a political settlement with ethnic people, they don’t require any legal or constitutional changes that remove any power from the government or military, or guarantee any rights. They only address the symptoms, not the causes.

Burma’s constitution is the foundation of Burma, and it is a constitution which hands ultimate power to the military.  Many people focus on the  25 percent of seats reserved for the military in the Parliament, but that is only a small part of the problem. Parliament is almost powerless. Above Parliament is a President who is not accountable to Parliament, and who must have military experience. He appoints the government and ministers are accountable to him. Almost all the ministers in the new government were also ministers under the military government. Above the President is a National Defence and Security Council. 10 of its 11 members are military or ex-military.

Above the National Defence and Security Council is the military, not accountable to anyone, and constitutionally able to veto anything the president or Parliament does.

What is taking place in Burma is not a normal transition to democracy or process of reconciliation. As Aung san Suu Kyi has said, no reconciliation process has even started. Instead there is a top-down process where the President alone decides what concessions he will or will not make to the people and to the intentional community. There is no dialogue, no process of negotiation. All the changes are gifts from the President, and we are supposed to be grateful.

One fact, the most important fact about Burma, is never mentioned by governments or the media. Human rights abuses in Burma have increased in the past year.

In Rangoon there might be film festivals, but in ethnic states, especially Shan State and Kachin State, the Burmese Army broke ceasefires and attacked civilians.  In the past year more than 150,000 people fled conflict and human rights abuses, and are now internally displaced in Burma. That is more than twice as many people as the year before.

The Burmese Army has been raping, killing, torturing, looting, shooting farmers in their fields. And they are still recruiting child soldiers. One 12 year old boy had to dig his mother out of a pit latrine toilet where Burmese Army soldiers dumped her body after shooting her in her front garden. She was just a poor single mother, her only crime was to be ethnic Kachin.

If these kind of abuses were taking place in and around Rangoon there would be international outrage. No-one would be talking about lifting sanctions. But they happen to ethnic people, out of sight in distant mountains, and so the government gets away with it.

I have been called cynical. I have been told I should be glad about the changes and new freedoms in my country. I am glad for the changes that have taken place, but we have to be realistic, my country isn’t free, not even close to being free. I don’t want to be told by foreign governments that just because I am from Burma 20 percent freedom is better than what we had before, so it is good enough for me. I don’t want to be told that 20 percent freedom justifies lifting sanctions. I have a right to 100 percent freedom.

If an EU member had 25 percent of seats in its Parliament reserved for the military it would be expelled from the EU. But the EU seems to think its good enough for the people of Burma, and they can lift sanctions. I don’t accept this.

Aung San Suu Kyi keeps talking about how there is still a long way to go before Burma is free and democratic. People should pay attention to this. In the past we always thought Aung San Suu Kyi being in Parliament would be the final step on our road to democracy. Instead, it will be one of the first steps.

Nelson Mandela once talked about the long walk to freedom. If anything in Burma has changed it is that we may now have started that long walk. There is still a long, long way to go.

NLD supporters at headquarters to celebrate

NLD poised to win 44 constituencies

 Late Sunday night, NLD officials were cautiously jubilant, saying they are poised for  won 44 constituencies in the historic by-election that places Aung San Suu Kyi in the center of opposition politics in Burma. Their forecast was based on unofficial results.

Early Sunday morning candidate Aung San Suu Kyi visited several villages and greeted voters in Kawhmu Township, where she stayed overnight prior to election day. She left the township to return to her home in Rangoon around 10:30 a.m.

Aung San Suu Kyi issued a National League for Democracy (NLD) note for all NLD candidates to be gracious in victory, and to be prepared to work with other opposition parties and the ruling government.  Union Election Commission said the official results would be certified in about one week.
NLD further said its candidates did well in Naypyitaw, the seat of the government-backed United Solidarity and Development Party.

Reports said voting may have occurred in some of the areas in Kachin State where authorities said polling would be postponed because of security concerns.

National League for Democracy (NLD) candidate Sai Myint Maung told Mizzima that voting in polling stations in downtown Lashio Township in Kachin State was going smoothly. Voting may also be going on in some areas where voting was postponed for security reasons, he said. Security guards are posted at the polling stations, he said.  Lashio Township NLD electoral campaign official Than Htay told Mizzima Sai Myint Maung is leading in the constituency with more than 7,000 votes.

 
“The latest information we had is that there would be no polling station in the 11 villages in Tangyang. But, the commission said that they would try to hold the by-elections in those locations. They said they would try it against all odds,” Sai Myint Maung said.

Based on unofficial results, the NLD said the vote count at polling station number 3 in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township constituency indicated Phyu Phyu Thin easily won and will go to Parliament. Phyu Phyu Thin heads the NLD's volunteer HIV/AIDS relief center in Rangoon.

An interesting sidelight: Former chief of Military Intelligence and former Primer Minister Khin Nyunt teased reporters on Sunday, saying that he cast his ballot for a party that is supported by many people.

Khin Nyunt, along with his wife and son, went to a polling station at Ward No. 7 in Mayangon Township, Rangoon, about 9 a.m, said reporter Lin Bo Bo. Journalists asked him which party he favored, and he said a party that is popular.

His son, Zaw Naing Oo, said that he personally voted for the “Fighting Peacock” [the NLD].

President Thein Sein cast his ballot in the Zabuthiri constituency in Naypyitaw on Sunday morning. Observers said the government-backed ruling party candidates would do well around Naypyitaw, the home of many state employees. When reporters asked the president about the election, he said: "Everything is fine." However, the NLD late Sunday night was close to claiming at least one of its candidates was doing well in that area.

Many Burma observers were holding their breath about voting irregularities, hoping a 2010-like rigged election could be avoided. While it's still very early, many observers and international reporters are commenting on the relatively minor irregularities and voting abuses in the by-election so far.

88-Generation Student leader Ko Ko Gyi 

When compared to many Asian countries where voting is accompanied by murders, attacks by thugs, rampant, massive vote buying, shameless stuffing of ballots (that could still happen) and other serious, organized abuses, the Burmese by-election may just possibly go down as fairly clean by the standards of the Asian region. But reports over the next few days will be critical to confirm that

However, if the NLD candidates post a clear victory, it will be hard to claim a rigged election. Campaign abuses, yes; problems with voting rolls, yes; abuses by local polling officials, yes; but outright stealing of the election: that would be hard to claim in face of what looks like the anticipated NLD victory that many Burma observers predicted. While the Union Election Commission members may stumble on procedures and organization, and local EC officials may show favoritism and abuse the process, the same type of lapses occur in all countries.

The most organized abuse seems to be the waxing of ballots, making it difficult for voters to record a vote for the NLD.A typical example of voting irregularities from our reporter in Rangoon: Kyaw Swe, one of a five-member family based in the Thone Gwa township in Rangoon Division, said all of the family were left off the voter list. “Even though I reported to the township’s election commission, the office was unable to organize an arrangement for the family to participate in voting,” said Kyaw Swe, adding that his family planned to vote for the National League for Democracy (NLD). That was a common case in many constituencies in Yangon, said leading political activist Ko Ko Gyi, especially in Dagon Seikkan and Mayan Gone townships. Ko Ko Gyi is a member of the 88-Generation students who are monitoring the election.
“We have found many complaints from those eligible to vote, who have not been listed to vote, despite that fact that they have national ID cards and are listed in the official census,” Ko Ko Gyi told Mizzima News.

A 35-year-old voter from Yangon Division’s Hlegu Township said she could not write down a clear tick mark on her ballot. “Probably, the card was covered with a plastic-like thing [wax],” the woman said.

Dear NK Sagar,

Greetings from Maitri.
It gives me immense pleasure to invite you to a workshop on Violence against women: Policy perspectives on domestic violence in India. The workshop is scheduled to be held on April 5, 2012 at Indian International Centre in New Delhi. Please find the Background Note attached.
We look forward to your participation to make the workshop meaningful and productive.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us in case of any questions or clarifications.
Kindly acknowledge.

Best Regards,

Suu Kyi win with 82 percent of vote in Kawhmu

Hundreds of people cheered as a giant screen outside National League for Democracy (NLD) party headquarters in Yangon announced a big by-election win for Suu Kyi, who was locked up by the junta for most of the past 22 years.The Nobel peace laureate took an estimated 82 percent of the vote in Kawhmu constituency, said NLD senior member Tin Oo, based on the party's own unofficial tally. Official results were expected within a week.The party also claimed it had won at least 10 of the other 45 seats at stake in the vote, which cannot threaten the army-backed ruling party's majority.
"We are so happy and waiting for the other results," said NLD senior member Mwint Mwint Win.
Observers believe Myanmar's new quasi-civilian government wants Suu Kyi to win a place in parliament to burnish its reform credentials and smooth the way for an easing of Western sanctions.
 NLD along with  sixteen opposition parties taking part in Sunday's election. Myanmar offers  fraction of seats are up for grabs and the military-backed party will still dominate.Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, 66, was standing for a lower house seat in the Kawhmu Township constituency, outside Rangoon.
Today Sunday, she visited polling stations in Kawhmu before heading back to Rangoon.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi had describe this year's election campaign as not ''genuinely free and fair" and warned that reforms were "not irreversible".She add, NLD did not regret taking part.
"Still we are determined to go forward because this is what our people want," she said.
A small number of representatives from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), along with the EU and US, have been invited to observe polling. European Union hinted that it could ease some sanctions if the vote went smoothly.

With the Kawhmu result close to a foregone conclusion, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi .
Myanmar people  have their eyes on the much greater prize, the general election of 2015.
"The army has changed and are now more lenient," said NLD official Myo Win. "So there is more of a possibility that Aung San Suu Kyi can become president in 2015."

"We hope the whole day can be run in a peaceful way and we'll make an evaluation later on the basis of all the polling sessions that we will be seeing," EU observer Ivo Belet said.

NLD party says based on the voting in various constituencies it believes it has achieved victory in the following townships so far:
Kawhmu
Pale
Dagon Seikkan
Kyunsu
Hlegu
Mayangon
Mingalar Taung Nyunt
Pyin Oo Lwin
Pwint Phyu
Khayan Thongwa
Maha Aung Myay (Mandalay)
Kalaw

$300b South Asia Power grid

One of your great admirer and water expert Mr. Arshad H. Abbasi informed me of the High Civilian Award ‘Nishan-i-Imtiaz’ has been conferred on you – Congratulations!!

During Honorable Mr. Anand Sharma, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister visit to Pakistan the idea of ‘$300b South Asia Power Grid’ was planted.

South Asia population is to exceed 2000 million in few years, cooperation among South Asian Nations could accelerate our economic progress, we could be largest common market in the world soon in terms of consumers, mouths to feed and jobs to be created.

South Asians could be developing our own technologies and Intellectual Property for our own people and for Exports than ‘Dividedly importing over $1 Trillion/year worth foreign manufactured goods by 2020.’

It requires just 80 days of South Asia GDP to develop over 200,000 MW of Hydro Power to provide Clean Energy to our people. This shall also provide 500 BCM of storage and Flood Protection to over 60 million hectares of fertile and most valuable land. Storage Dams also provides other benefits also.

Competition and Economic gains realized by ASIAN, North America FTZ, EU etc shall be Duplicated on Bigger Scale in South Asia.

SA Common Economic Zone Shall Have –

1.  Fully Developed Hydro Power and Water Resources for Flood Control, Municipal Supplies and other benefits.

2.  International Highways, Railways, Electricity, Oil & Gas, Networks for Efficient Transport of Energy, Goods, Raw Materials and People.

3.  100,000 MWe of Nuclear Power at safe sites Jointly Monitored by SA Experts in addition to International Agencies by 2030.

4.  SA Patent Office for protection of SA Intellectual Property – China is to file 2 million patents in 2015 – SA presently has ZERO IPR footprint filing mostly BOGUS patents.

5.  Strategically located Industries and Common ‘SA Standards’ shall boost SA internal Industrial Production & Consumption and exports manifold. (Presently SA Countries neglect Quality Standards thus we have poor export performance compared to China.)

6.  SA Security Collaboration would Jointly Address SA Terrorism and Insurgency threats and our people shall be safe and secure and unlawful elements shall not take advantage of our present Non Cooperating Law Enforcement.

7.  SA Services Sector booming in all our countries shall get more COMPETITIVE.

8. SA to have Common Currency this shall ensure greater stability in internal SA economic cooperation.

9. $100b to $200b annual SA internal and external FDI in South Asia Common Economic Zone shall alone be Big Boost to our region where $m creates over 100-1000 jobs presently.

10.  In the attached presentation yesterday – it is evident that Dams India has built are absolutely useless, very costly. In winter when Electricity demand is highest and unit cost almost Rs.4 to Rs.10 Run of The River projects produces little power and demand is low but operate at maximum power in Monsoon Months when Demand is lowest and unit cost around 0.50p to Rs.1.

11. My comments at FICCI on June26, 2008 ‘If India builds 20 maf storage dams in Indian Kashmir, India get only power -Pakistan will get 20 maf of additional storage Free of cost, Flood Protection to 5 million hectares Free of Cost, Additional regulated irrigation releases of 20 maf during monsoon, Free of Cost, Clean blue water releases of Indus Waters to Pakistan Free of Cost, Double or Triple the life of Mangla and Tarbela Dams, generate 30% to 40% more power in downstream dams in Pakistan - Pakistan will get everything Free.’

Ø      I had been telling Pakistan delegation that Pakistan has too little Dam storage and vulnerable to Floods since 2008. Economic losses of 2010 floods were more than cost of building all the dams in Pakistan. It was also found India contributed to 2,50,000 cusecs of around 800,000 cusecs Average Floods Flows. Had India built 20 maf Dam Storage in Kashmir – 2010 Floods could have been largely contained.

12. Sir, clearly Indus Water Treaty has hindered ‘Hydro Power Development’ in South Asia – South Asia with substantial water resources is Floods cum Draught Prone and lose over 1000 BCM of water to sea annual average. Columbia Basin Treaty between USA and Canada is ideal for ‘Optimum Management of Water Resources.’

Thank you,

Ravinder Singh,

Inventor & Consultant

INNOVATIVE TECHNONLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Voting in Myanmar by-elections

Voters in Myanmar are lining  to polling stations in parliamentary by-elections,the country's democratic reforms are on watch.More than 6,000 polling stations opened on Sunday morning. 45 seats in the 2 chambers of parliament and regional assembles are being contested.Business city, Yangon,  where voters waited for polling stations to open.A man said it's a historic day for Myanmar's democratic movement.

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is running for a Lower House seat, visited polling stations in her constituency in the south and was briefed by electoral officials.The election is seen as a test of whether Myanmar can hold a free and fair election, which the international community has been calling for.

The focus is now on how many votes the opposition National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi can garner and whether it can gain a foothold in national politics. The party is fielding candidates for most of the constituencies.Polling stations will be open until 4 PM and vote-counting starts shortly afterward.

CBI probes Tatra truck deal;

CBI probes Tatra truck deal;

CBI probes Tatra truck deal; conducts search at four places

Launching its probe into Army Chief Gen V K Singh's allegation of having been offered bribe by an equipment lobbyist, CBI on Friday registered a case for alleged irregularities in supply of all-terrain Tatra trucks through state-owned BEML to the Army.

After registering a case against unnamed officials of the Defence Ministry, Army, BEML and Vectra for alleged criminal conspiracy to cheat and indulge in corrupt practices, CBI officials carried out searches at four places in Delhi, Noida and Bangalore.

The FIR also names Vectra group Chairman Ravi Rishi, who is a majority stake holder in Tatra, and the agency is looking into purchases from 1997 onwards.

CBI sources said British national Rishi, who is in the national capital for the Defence Expo, was called for questioning in connection with the alleged irregularities in the deal.

As CBI teams began with the searches, the Defence Minsitry came out with a statement saying the Defence Minister accorded his sanction for a CBI investigation on February 21, 2012, much before the case hit the headlines in the media.

A day after receiving a letter from Ghulam Nabi Azad, on October five, 2009, forwarding the complaints of D Hanumanthappa, addressed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on BEML, Defence Minister A K Antony had asked the Secretary (Defence Production) to look into the various issues raised in the complaint.

"Records show that the vigilance wings of MoD and BEML are examining the matter and there are also correspondence between CBI and Chief Vigilance Officer of BEML on these allegations," the Defence Ministry statement said.

The deal came to limelight again as the Army chief alleged he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe to clear a file related to purchase of trucks.

Reacting to alleged involvement of agents and lobbyists in placement of orders for the Tatra trucks, state-owned BEML chief V R S Natarajan has said "in the last 26 years, from 1986 onwards, BEML assembled manufactured, supplied 7,000 Tatra trucks. All of them have been done on single nomination basis, single inquiry basis.

"This type of equipment nobody in the world makes, because of its superior technological features. When I am the single vendor and there is no competition, there is no influence required," he said.

The names of Tatra and Bharat Earth Movers Limited were taken by the Army in a press release issued by it on March 5, alleging that retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had offered a bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Limited.