VZCZCXRO2666
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHHM RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHNEH
RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNE #0775/01 1071432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171432Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6240
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 1745
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUETIAA/DIRNSA FT GEORGE G MEADE MD
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUEAEPA/EPA WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/HQ USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/NGIC INTEL OPS CHARLOTTESVILLE VA
RUCPDC/NOAA NMFS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 000775 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/EGC, AND SCA/INS 
STATE FOR STAS 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL 
INTERIOR FOR FWS RILEY 
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV TSPL TBIO KSCA TRGY IN
SUBJECT: NEW DELHI EST OFFICE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEKS OF APRIL 6 TO 
APRIL 17, 2009. 
 
REF: UNVIE 0155 
¶1. (U) Below is a compilation of environment, science, and 
technology highlights from Embassy New Delhi for the weeks of April 
06-17, 2009, including the following: 
 
-- New Protocols for Tiger Relocations in National Parks 
-- Poll Indicates Political Parties Unconcerned About the 
Environment 
-- TERI to Study Impact of Climate Change on Himalayan Glaciers 
-- GOI Plans to Add New Biotechnology Regulatory Structure 
-- Russia offers India Investment Opportunity in International 
Uranium Enrichment Center 
-- BrahMos Missile to Become Hypersonic 
-- Treating Brain Tumors with a Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery 
System 
 
------------ 
ENVIRONMENT 
------------ 
 
New Protocols for Tiger Relocations in National Parks 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ministry of Environment and Forest's National Tiger 
Conservation Authority (NTCA) is preparing detailed protocols for 
tiger relocations, and has told the media that until they are 
published, there will be no further tiger relocations between parks. 
 The decision came in response to a March 2009 letter to the Prime 
Minister's office by wildlife experts alleging that the Madhya 
Pradesh forest department overlooked basic norms while shifting two 
female tigers from Bandhavgarh National Park to Panna National Park 
(PNP).  PNP is notorious for inept management and a failure to curb 
wildlife poaching which has led to what could be a complete loss of 
its tiger population.  Despite the publicly reported nationwide NTCA 
mandate prohibiting relocations, EST section contact and prominent 
wildlife lawyer Sudhir Mishra suspects the protocol is being 
prepared specifically for PNP and will not be a standard guideline 
for all tiger relocations in India.  Mishra noted that forests are 
managed by states and state governments cannot be forced to follow 
central government protocols.  Speaking from past experience, Mishra 
said that state governments from the same party as the central 
government will be inclined to follow the protocols while those that 
are not will move forward with their relocation plans regardless. 
 
Poll Indicates Political Parties Unconcerned About the Environment 
 
¶3.  (U) The Times of India recently analyzed the environmental 
performance of the two main coalition parties in India, the United 
Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance, and found 
that neither grouping followed existing environmental regulations 
and both sought out workarounds in order to benefit their 
constituencies.  In a ten-city survey, forty-three percent of the 
respondents believed that as a nation, India was not doing enough to 
address environmental concerns.  Respondents listed deforestation, 
species extinction and pollution as their three foremost environment 
concerns.  Eighty-one percent of the respondents believed that 
politicians colluded with the timber mafia and poachers, and were 
thoroughly uninformed about the extent of environmental damage in 
India.  Sixty-three percent of respondents felt strict 
administration and policing would help tackle problems of 
deforestation, pollution, and poaching. 
 
TERI to Study Impact of Climate Change on Himalayan Glaciers 
 
¶4.  (U) The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) began a scientific 
 
NEW DELHI 00000775  002 OF 003 
 
 
study to assess the impact of global warming on receding Himalayan 
glaciers.  The study is being led by EST section contact and 
glaciologist Dr. Syed Iqbal Hasnain who noted research will be done 
in collaboration with local universities and academic institutes and 
focus initially on the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh 
and Sikkim.  The study will later expand its scope to the remaining 
states making up the Indian Himalayan region.  TERI signed an MoU 
with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation to train its scientists in 
basic and advanced mountaineering skills in preparation for the 
study. 
 
-------- 
SCIENCE 
-------- 
 
GOI Plans to Add New Biotechnology Regulatory Structure 
 
¶5.  (U) A contact within the Ministry of Science and Technology's 
(MoST) Department of Biotechnology (DBT) informed the EST section 
the Government of India was planning to implement regulations for 
developing gene-based therapies and drugs or vaccines derived from 
natural sources such as humans, animals, and microorganisms.  The 
biotechnology regulation landscape in India currently suffers from a 
haphazard array of competing government organizations, particularly 
the DBT and Ministry of Health (MOH), that have claimed authority 
over segments of the industry but failed to publish formal 
guidelines or coordinate them with other agencies.  The MoST's 
proposed National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA) bill, 
originally intended to be introduced in the February parliament 
session but now delayed until after the Indian parliamentary 
elections, seeks to create a single-window biotechnology regulatory 
agency.  The bill has strong support from Rajya Sabha (upper house 
of parliament) member and eminent scientist Dr. MS Swaminathan and 
most commentators believe it is likely to pass. 
 
Russia offers India Investment Opportunity in International Uranium 
Enrichment Center 
 
¶6. (U) During a recent visit to Moscow, Russia presented a visiting 
Indian nuclear delegation comprised of Department of Atomic Energy 
(DAE) Chairman Anil Kakodkar, Nuclear Power Corporation of India 
Limited (NPCIL) Chairman and Managing Director SK Jain, and Uranium 
Corporation of India Chief R Gupta, an offer to invest in its 
International Uranium Enrichment Center (IUEC) at Angarsk in east 
Siberia, according to press reporting.  IUEC suggested the 
investment would take the place of payments for assured low-enriched 
uranium fuel for Russian-built reactors in India supplied under 
established bilateral agreements.  While the Russians have also 
proposed IUEC as part of the IAEA-safeguarded Reliable Access to 
Nuclear Fuel (RANF) program, which provides assured nuclear fuel and 
limits proliferation of enrichment technology (reftel), it appears 
their offer to India may fall outside the scope of RANF.  The Indian 
delegation's response to this proposal is not yet known.  Although 
India is shopping for international fuel sources to alleviate 
shortages (most reactors operate at an estimated 50% of capacity due 
to fuel shortages) it also has a strong focus on nuclear 
self-reliance and a voracious appetite for nuclear technology, both 
of which would conflict with investment in a fuel facility that will 
not provide access to enrichment or fabrication technology. 
 
----------- 
TECHNOLOGY 
----------- 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00000775  003 OF 003 
 
 
BrahMos Missile to Become Hypersonic 
 
¶7.  (U) Media reports BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint 
venture, plans to develop a hypersonic version of the BrahMos 
missile, according to the company's CEO Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai. 
Using a combination of atmospheric air dissolved in aviation 
kerosene, the missile is projected to reach speeds between Mach 5 
and 7, in contrast to the current supersonic version in use by the 
Indian army which has a speed of Mach 2.8.  Dr. Pillai said the 
components are undergoing laboratory tests and he expects the full 
prototype to be ready for flight testing by 2010. 
 
Treating Brain Tumors with a Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery 
System 
 
¶8.  (U) A team from the Indian National Chemical Laboratory located 
in Pune reported in "Chemistry; European Journal" that a medication 
delivered by gellan gum-stabilized gold nanoparticles was effective 
against brain tumors in preliminary in-vitro tests.  Gellan gum 
reduced gold nanoparticles are reported to have superior stability 
to electrolyte additions and pH changes as compared to traditional 
citrate and borohydride reduced nanoparticles.  The 
antibiotic-loaded particles exhibited enhanced cytotoxic effects 
against the human glioma (brain tumor) cell lines LN-18 and LN-229 
as compared to the same concentrations of pure antibiotic.  In 
addition, the compound also demonstrated a longer period of 
effectiveness and enhanced ability to cross the blood brain barrier 
- a major problem faced by cancer drugs. 
 
BURLEIGH