Leak fuels fears over India's ID project Nov 20, 2009
It will be interesting, for instance, to see how a UIDAI missionary preaches the good word about biometric identity numbers to the fiercely shy Sentinelese and Shompen tribes in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands. The government is pushing ahead with the project without much public, media or even parliamentary discussion. (Asia Times Online)
RIL to join hunt for shale gas Nov 16, 2009
Mr Kelkar had floated a paper on how such non-conventional possibilities existed in gas hydrates deposits in sea near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. RIL, which has used advanced technology in its exploration projects in the Krishna-Godavari basin, is betting on its expertise in technology to tap unconventional energy sources in the energy value chain. (India Times)
Ambani Gas Row May Deter Explorers From Bids in Biggest Indian Oil Auction Oct 12, 2009
The government has said it wants to explore for oil and gas in in the Krishna-Godavari river basin in the Bay of Bengal and the coast off the Andaman and Nicobar islands to meet demand in the worlds second-fastest growing major economy. India needs majors such as Exxon as they will bring in the technology needed for drilling in deeper waters, said , who advises oil and gas companies as a partner at Ernst & Young Pvt. (Bloomberg -- Asia)
Aryan-Dravidian divide a myth: Study Sep 25, 2009
Researchers say their study of the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar islands using complete mitochondrial DNA sequences and its comparison those of world populations has led to the theory of a ``southern coastal route'' of migration from East Africa through India. This finding is against the prevailing view of a northern route of migration via Middle East, Europe, south-east Asia, Australia and then to India. (India Times, India)
Is the Red Dragon snarling again? Sep 17, 2009
There also appears to be some fresh thinking on developing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a strategic post, as indicated by PMs special envoy Shyam Saran, which would take care of the Chinese threat in Myanmar. On the Himalayan heights, however, the reality is very different. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Timeline: India Sep 3, 2009
2004 December - Thousands are killed when tidal waves, caused by a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian coast, devastate coastal communities in the south and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 2005 7 April - Bus services, the first in 60 years, operate between Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir and Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Now, a 'suspicious' ship off Karnataka Aug 26, 2009
NEW DELHI: Even as the security and intelligence agencies were probing the strange case of the North Korean ship, MV Mu San, found anchored near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, another "suspicious" ship was detected off Karwar in Karnataka recently. Officials said the ship, MV Shahin, was detected after it was found anchored off Karwar, where Navy's new strategic deep sea base is coming up, a few days ago. (India Times, India)
Wary India frisks North Korean freighter Aug 21, 2009
Another North Korean vessel, the Mu San, is currently in the custody of Indian authorities after it dropped anchor without permission at Hut Bay, the entry point to India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands on August 6 ... These Islands are an ideal location for China to monitor Indian naval and missile launch facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as the Indian Navy's maneuvers throughout the eastern Indian Ocean. (Asia Times Online)
Sugar deal lured North Korean ship to India Aug 18, 2009
At this point, the charter offered Yong $7,000 for every day that he delayed the consignment, and asked him to drop anchor somewhere off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. "We suspect the ship must have dropped anchor off Hut Bay on August 3," the source said. (India Times, India)
India says no nuclear cargo on North Korean ship Aug 14, 2009
The North Korean ship MV Musan is seen anchored near Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar islands, August 9, 2009 ... "We have not found any nuclear material on board the ship," Ashok Chand, a senior police officer, told Reuters from Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
India seizes, searches North Korean ship Aug 12, 2009
The ship anchored without authorization in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a territory of India in the Bay of Bengal, last week, according to the Indian military ... Ashok Chand, a senior police officer in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, told Reuters that further tests were being conducted. (Boston Globe)
India experts search N Korea ship Aug 11, 2009
Mr Chand said the ship, which was escorted to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, was carrying a huge consignment of sugar ... The Andaman and Nicobar islands, India's easternmost territory, are located in the Bay of Bengal very close to the Burmese coast. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Big quake hits off India's Andamans, no tsunami Aug 11, 2009
"People are calling each other out of their homes and everyone is huddled together outside," Paul said from Diglipur, about 300 km (185 miles) north of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The small chain of islands lie hundreds of miles east of India in the Indian Ocean. (AlertNet)
Tsunami alert after huge quake off India Aug 11, 2009
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of India's most eastern pieces of territory. More than 350,000 people live in the territory flanked by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and it comprises about 572 islands. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
NKorean ship's China trips under lens Aug 9, 2009
CHENNAI: North Korean ship MV Mu San, now detained at 00004000 Port Blair for unauthorised anchoring off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Wednesday, had made several voyages between North Korea and China without maintaining proper records, investigators have found. ( ). (India Times, India -- Community News)
* Indian coast guard detains suspicious North Korean ship Aug 9, 2009
The ship was escorted to Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. A preliminary search by the coast guard revealed the ship was carrying sugar and had 39 people on board. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
North Korean ship detained off Andaman Aug 8, 2009
CHENNAI: The Coast Guard on Thursday detained a ``suspicious'' North Korean ship, which had dropped anchor off Hut Bay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, after more than six hours of high drama that ended with Indian sailors firing in the air. Officials of Army intelligence, Intelligence Bureau and other agencies are set to inspect the ship and interrogate its occupants. (India Times, India)
I-cards for 9 coastal states, 4 UTs by March 2010: Chidambaram Jul 8, 2009
The ID cards would be issued in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry. "The scheme will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, 3,331 villages will be covered during 2009-10," he said adding about 1. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Donor fatigue hard to measure for local charities Jul 6, 2009
Her latest trip was her third journey to South Asia since the disaster, which led her to volunteer and shoot pictures in Sri Lanka, Indonesia's Banda Aceh and throughout India, including on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. "People are living in a foot and a half of water," she said of families she saw on her recent trip. (Santa Barbara News-Press)
Monsoon about to reach Andaman sea May 20, 2009
Rain and thundershowers are expected at many places over Andaman and Nicobar islands during next 48 hours and at most places thereafter, as per the India Meteorological Department's forecast for the coming five days. India's monsoon rains, crucial for crops such as sugarcane and rice, are expected to hit the southern coast on May 26, five days ahead of the normal date, it said last week. (India Times)
Jobless Andaman tuskers set out for Kanha May 10, 2009
PORT BLAIR: Four elephants have started their voyage by ship from Bay Islands in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Madhya Pradesh's Kanha National Park after they were rendered jobless here ... He said these elephants have become jobless since Supreme Court banned felling of trees in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2001 and were putting a burden on the exchequer for their salary and perks. (India Times)
India's first seaplane to take off in Oct May 6, 2009
NEW DELHI: For the first time in India's aviation history, seaplane operations are likely to begin in Andaman and Nicobar islands in October this year, with state-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) planning to launch its services. "We plan to launch seaplane operations by October 15," PHHL CMD R K Tyagi said at a seminar on helicopter operations here, adding that the operations would be launched jointly by the public sector chopper firm and the island administration to operate sorties... (India Times)
Lalu, Yashwant, Tharoor in fray for first phase Apr 16, 2009
The lone seats in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Mizoram and Nagaland are also covered in the first phase. Prominent among those seeking elections to the lower house of Parliament are Union ministers Praful Patel, Renuka Chowdhury, D Purandeswari, Santosh Mohan Dev, Meira Kumar, Rameshwar Oraon and E Ahamed and BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former UN Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor and south Indian actress Vijaya Shanti. (India Times, India)
Millions of Indians go to polls Apr 16, 2009
States where voting takes place are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Lakshwadeep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. More than two million security personnel have been deployed, many of them in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, which is voting for both national and state assembly representatives. (BBC News -- South Asia)
In first phase of LS polls, 1,715 candidates will try their luck Apr 9, 2009
As many as 11 candidates are in the fray in the lone constituency in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and four candidates in Lakshadweep seat while in one constituency in Manipur, there are nine candidates in the fray. Text. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Indian elections battleground map Apr 1, 2009
16 April: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshwadeep. Total constituencies: 124. (BBC News -- South Asia)
1st woman co-pilot to fly largest IAF aircraft Mar 5, 2009
Saharan has done sorties over Jammu and Kashmir, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the northeastern sector. "This (the aircraft squadron) is the elite group of aircraft and is an asset for the IAF. For induction the pilot has to meet certain qualifications. And it feels good that I have met all the requirements," she added. (India Times)
