• According to a recent study by the Pune-based National AIDS Research Institute, measures to control the malady have proved futile in India. The report states 10.2 per cent of those who tested negative for HIV became positive after a year's counseling. This projection is higher than the incidence rates in Zaire and Uganda where AIDS is endemic.

• Over 500 leading cardiologists from all over the world participated in a cardiology conference held in Rajkot, Gujarat, in December 1996, to exchange information on latest research and developments.

• T R Baalu, minister for petro-leum and natural gas, inaugurated a Rs 47 crore natural gas plant at the Mathura Refinery (MR) on December 30. Natural gas, a cleaner fuel, is expected to help reduce sulphur dioxide emission from the MR by about 100 kg per hour, thereby controlling pollution in the Taj trapezium zone.

• Six rice hybrids, developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, have been released for cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The types developed are all high-yielding varieties (HYV), slated to yield one to 1.5 tonne more per ha compared to the best HYVs currently under cultivation.

• In end December, 1996, the Mizoram government decided in favour of according highest priority to the state's decades-old water crisis and initiate an ambitious plan to solve the problem. Already, three major water supply schemes are underway in Mizoram following a Rs 61,000-crore grant announced by the Centre in late 1996.

• In end December, a flight test of Trishul, India's latest surface-to-air missile, was carried out successfully at Chandipur-on-sea near Balasore, Orissa. Trishul has a triple battle-field role for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

• The Centre may shelve the 710-MW Koel-Karo project in Bihar. This recent decision came 16 years after sanctioning of the project. During this period, the project's cost has escalated to a whopping Rs 439 crore. Official sources state the project had been suffering from fund constraints and non-availability of land.