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RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHMA
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DE RUEHNE #1952/01 2611111
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181111Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8031
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
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RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
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RUETIAA/DIRNSA FT GEORGE G MEADE MD
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMCSUU/HQ USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMCSUU/NGIC INTEL OPS CHARLOTTESVILLE VA
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001952 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/EGC, AND SCA/INS 
STATE FOR STAS 
STATE FOR SECC TODD STERN 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL 
INTERIOR FOR FWS RILEY 
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KSCA KGHG SENV TSPL TBIO TSPA ENRG ECON SOCI IN
SUBJECT: NEW DELHI EST OFFICE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 
14 TO SEPTEMBER 18, 2009. 
 
¶1. Below is a compilation of Environment, Science, and Technology 
highlights from Embassy New Delhi for the week of September 14 to 
September 18, 2009, including the following: 
 
-- India Plans to Reduce Emissions through Legislation 
-- India Starts to Get Serious About Environmental Protection 
-- Lower Temperature Gradient Between Indian Landmass and 
Neighboring Ocean Impacts Monsoon 
-- Nineteen New Species Discovered in Sikkim 
-- ISRO to Launch Oceansat-2 and Six Nanosats on September 23 
-- National Unique Identification Program Creates Excitement in the 
Information, Communication and Technology Industry 
 
------------ 
ENVIRONMENT 
------------ 
 
India Plans to Reduce Emissions through Legislation 
 
¶2.  According to an interview given by MoEF Minister Jairam Ramesh, 
the GOI plans to enact legislation to limit GHG emissions and carry 
forward mitigation steps in five key sectors including:  power, 
infrastructure related industries such as steel and cement, 
transportation, agriculture, and forestry.  Minister Ramesh has said 
that the steps would include mandatory fuel efficiency standards, a 
requirement that all public buildings be energy conservation code 
compliant by 2012, enhanced use of clean coal technology and 
renewable energy sources, and an emissions reduction target for 
¶2030.  These initiatives are clearly geared towards demonstrating at 
Copenhagen that India is proactive on the climate change front. 
Whether the legislation passes, or is even introduced, remains to be 
seen and implementation of such initiatives will be difficult at 
best. 
 
¶3.  Ramesh previewed these initiatives in a September 11 joint 
appearance with Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen at an 
event hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).  He 
emphasized that India would take these steps on a national basis 
and, deflecting the Danish appeal for cooperation at Copenhagen, 
insisted India would not make legally-binding emissions pledges. 
Asked by a reporter what India would seek from the international 
community in return for implementing these mitigation steps, Ramesh 
declared there are "no preconditions" and stated India would take 
these actions because they are in India's interest.  A senior member 
of the Danish delegation told EmbOff that, Ramesh's hard public line 
on COP-15 notwithstanding, private discussions with PM Singh and 
Ramesh had been "reasonably encouraging." 
 
India Starts to Get Serious About Environmental Protection 
 
¶4.  Following up on his declaration to create an Indian 
Environmental Protection Agency modeled somewhat on the U.S. EPA, 
Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Rameshhas released a 
discussion paper for public comment laying out four potential 
options for strengthening environmental protection in India.  The 
options include:  (1) creation of a National Environment Monitoring 
Authority focused on compliance and enforcement which works with the 
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the Central Pollution 
Control Board (CPCB); (2) creation of a full-fledged National 
Environment Protection Authority (NEPA) with powers similar to the 
U.S. EPA whereby the CPCB will be dissolved and subsumed into the 
NEPA; (3) creation of a NEPA where the CPCB remains an independent 
body answering to MoEF; and (4) creation of a NEPA to which the CPCB 
must answer. 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00001952  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶5.  The four options appear to be overlapping and needlessly complex 
but were laid out in such a fashion to promote transparency and 
inclusiveness in the discussion.  There are also political 
consequences to dissolving the CPCB although we suspect that is 
Ramesh's preferred method considering he has indicated a preference 
for Option 2 and the paper supports the creation of a strong NEPA 
devoted to the polluter pays and precautionary principles.  The 
paper itself is refreshingly frank and includes statements critical 
of past government efforts such as "quite clearly, while our 
environmental laws have been progressive, implementation by 
government agencies has left much to be desired."  The paper also 
cites in a positive light a study by an NGO, the Centre for Science 
and Environment, that has been viciously critical of MoEF in the 
past.  The paper appears to be Ramesh's first broadside in the 
battle between development and environmental protection and is a 
welcome change in the hitherto moribund MoEF. 
 
Lower Temperature Gradient Between Indian Landmass and Neighboring 
Ocean Impacts Monsoon 
 
¶6.  A recent study by Dr. Bawiskar of the Indian Institute of 
Tropical Meteorology Pune, suggests that a fall in the temperature 
gradient between the Indian landmass and the surrounding ocean may 
be one of the key reasons for the reduced number of tropical 
depressions and cyclonic storms impacting India as well as the 
increased number of no rain days during the Southwest monsoon and a 
corresponding decrease in rainfall.  The study is titled "Weakening 
of lower tropospheric temperature gradient between Indian landmass 
and neighboring oceans and its impact on Indian monsoon" and was 
published in the August 2009 Journal of Earth System Science.  The 
study tracked the change in the temperature gradient over 60 years 
from 1948 to 2007 and observed that the pre-monsoon gradient has 
been falling at the rate of 0.036 percent per year in the Arabian 
Sea and 0.030 percent per year in the Bay of Bengal.  Dr. Bawiskar 
told ESTFSN that he did not have conclusive evidence as to why the 
sea temperature rose faster than the land mass but suspected it was 
due to increased global warming.  He also expressed a serious 
concern over instances where the measured temperature gradient was 
nearly zero.  He further added this was the first study to establish 
a correlation between the temperature gradient and rainfall. 
 
Nineteen New Species Discovered in Sikkim 
 
¶7.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently released a report titled 
"Eastern Himalayas: Where Worlds Collide" which highlights the 
discovery of over 353 new species of flora and fauna found in the 
Eastern Himalaya region between 1998 and 2008.  Discoveries include 
242 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, two birds, two 
mammals, and over 61 invertebrates.  Of these, 19 new species - 
three fish and 16 plants - were discovered in Sikkim state.  WWF 
reported that Sikkim, which is one of the most biologically diverse 
areas on the planet, is threatened by population pressure, unplanned 
infrastructure growth, illegal logging, hydropower projects, and 
demand for forest commodities in both global and regional markets. 
 
-------------------- 
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 
-------------------- 
 
ISRO to Launch Oceansat-2 and Six Nanosats on September 23 
 
¶8.  The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to launch 
the 960-kg Oceansat-2 and six nanosatellites, including two 8 kg 
satellites and four 1 Kg cubesats, on September 23, 2009 using the 
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.  Oceansat-2 is designed to replace 
 
NEW DELHI 00001952  003 OF 003 
 
 
the ageing Oceansat-1 launched in 1999 and will allow scientists to 
continue the study of ocean-atmosphere interaction, ocean winds, and 
sea surface temperature.  The satellite is also expected to be used 
for identifying schools of fish, predicting the state of the sea, 
monitoring phytoplankton blooms, and studying suspended sediments in 
water.  The two 8 kg satellites are from Luxembourg and Germany 
while the four Cubesats are from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de 
Lausanne in Switzerland, the Technical University of Berlin, the 
University of Wurzburg, and the Istanbul Technical University.  All 
of the six nanosatellites are designed to test nanosatellite 
capabilities. 
 
National Unique Identification Program Creates Excitement in the 
Information, Communication and Technology Industry 
 
¶9.  The GOI's establishment of the Unique Identification Authority 
of India, headed by former Chairman of Infosys, Nandan Nilekani and 
designed to provide every Indian with a unique identification card 
(UID), has created a lot of interest in the semiconductor and 
Information and Communication Technology industry.  This was 
reflected in the recent eSecurity, Smart card and Radio Frequency 
Identification Expo held in Delhi September 10 to 12.  Over 100 
companies participated in the Expo including Texas Instruments, NXP, 
ST Microelectronics, Infineon, Sagem, Base Systems, Bartronics, Lipi 
Data Systems Ltd, HiTi Digital, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), 
Wipro, Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL), and National Informatics 
Centre (NIC).  Notably absent from the conference were the UID 
governmental authorities.  Representatives of companies including 
TCS, NXP and Infineon told ESTFSN that the specifications for the 
UID smartcard project, including memory size, level of encryption 
and access, and which biodata indicators would be utilized, were 
still under discussion. 
 
ROEMER