I was very surprised by the amount of Hindi literature that is
available on the net. This is a collection of some of best Hindi poems:

http://www.geeta-kavita.com/article.asp?article=list_poems

This link is to the various blogs in Hindi:

http://www.kafila.org/2007/03/12/the-relief-of-blogistan/

Inspired, even I ended up writing a blog in Hindi.

gandhimaidan.blogspot.com


--
Thakur Vikas Sinha
1bihar.blogspot.com

Off the Beaten Track: Bringing Relevant Technology to Rural Areas

(ASSODIGITALE.IT) Agricultural workers in China climb aboard high-tech
InfoWagons as Microsoft launches rural-computing pilot programs in China and
India intended to fuel social and economic empowerment for the world’s
underserved populations.



    Bipin Mishra, a kiosk operator in rural Madhubani, Bihar State, India,
facilitated a videoconferencing session for Lalita Devi with a doctor in the
city of Patna, India.


    Bachcho Devi of Jitwarpur village explains: “I have been painting for the
last 40 years. But I have never received so many orders within such a short
period as I have done since I registered with Drishtee. In two months, I sold 12
paintings and earned 10,000 rupees. I have never been able to earn such a big
amount within 60 days before.”
May Read the whole story on:
http://www.assodigitale.it/NEWS_SITO/DTT/Off_the_Beaten_Track:_Bringing_Relevant\
_Technology_to_Rural_Areas_200704237871/


Lt. Col. (Retd.) Bajrang Bihari Singh
Sec-5, Plot - 452
Vaishali, Ghaziabad
U.P.
Phone- 0120-2772949

---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is a must read for all concerned with developments in Bihar.

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/19sl6.htm

I quote "I don't eat anything during lunch because I am not eligible
for the mid day meal scheme (the free lunch given to children up to
Class V), so I stay hungry till I get back for dinner."

In case it is misunderstood, the article is not about poverty but the
indomitable human spirit which always strives to improve its lot
against the heaviest odd. The very next line says

"I like the freestyle best but do the breast stroke too and am
learning the butterfly stroke. The three of us want to grow up and be
able to study and swim. We hope we can become very good swimmers one day."

The article also talks about some of the good work being done by Bihar
Education Project of the Govt of Bihar under the scholarly Anjani
Kumar Singh or Anjani Babu, as he is affectionately called.

All in all, a fabulous coverage of a wonderful development. Absolutely
fantastic.

Gandhi Setu unsafe for heavy vehicles
Madhuri Kumar
[ 5 Apr, 2007 0303hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

PATNA: Mahatma Gandhi Setu — Asia's longest road bridge— is under
heavy stress and has become unsafe for heavy vehicles. The continuous
wear and tear of the 5-km-long bridge now threatens to snap the vital
road link between Patna and north Bihar.

Strangely enough — while cracks have already developed on some of its
pillars — the state government refuses to admit that plying of heavy
vehicles may cause further damage to the bridge.

Traffic on the western flank of the bridge was stopped long back after
several of its piers were damaged due to de-stressing. This often
leads to traffic snarls. Even before the damaged piers could be fully
repaired, the eastern flank developed similar problem. Worse still,
hinge bearings of the bridge also wore out, compounding the problem.
Road construction department (RCD) secretary R K Singh said about 33
hinge bearings of the bridge have worn out and are virtually
non-functional. "While orders to replace 13 of them have been placed,
replacement of more hinges may become necessary when the repair work
actually begins," he said.

According to Singh, external pre-stressing is the only solution to
prolong the life of the bridge. "While external pre-stressing has been
done on some of the spams, work is on for four others," he added.
However, pre-stressing on all the spams of the bridge costs a
substantial amount.

For, an amount of Rs 1.25 crore is needed to pre-stress one spam alone.

On his part, RCD minister Nand Kishore Yadav said the Bihar government
has decided to start repair of the bridge on its own. "Though we sent
a detailed proposal to the Centre showing an estimated expenditure of
Rs 52 crore, the Union government has so far sanctioned only Rs 5
crore," he said.

Singh admitted the state government cannot wait any longer to repair
this all-important bridge. "The work will be taken up on a priority
basis," he said.

Commissioned in 1982, this balance cantilever bridge built by Gammon
India Ltd with pre-stress technology developed problems in barely two
decades.

Several other bridges across the country, built with the same design
but with slight modifications, are also reported to have developed
cracks. In fact, the Mandovi river bridge in Goa built with the same
technology collapsed 16 years into its commission while two other
bridges on the Zuari and Borim rivers, also in Goa, are reported to
have developed problems and have been closed for heavy traffic.

Bihar amends sugar Act to boost ethanol output
Business Standard
Ajay Modi / New Delhi April 06, 2007

The Bihar government has decided to allow production of ethanol
directly from sugarcane juice instead of the normal Indian practice of
processing sugarcane to produce sugar and using the molasses (a
byproduct) to produce ethanol.

"We have amended the Bihar Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and
Purchase) Act, 1981, in March-end and now sugarcane juice can be
directly used for producing ethanol or rectified spirit and for
cogeneration", said Nitish Mishra, minister of state, cane
development.

The amendment also enables government to modify or alter the reserved
sugarcane area according to sugar mills' requirement. Further, payment
of cane to farmers has been made mandatory via cheques with the latest
amendment.

As sugar prices are unstable and the country is likely to face an
oversupply situation in sugar in the coming years, investors seem to
be shying away from new investments. They are finding it safer to
invest in distillery to produce ethanol or alcohol, Mishra added.

Bihar had a flourishing sugar industry some decades ago, but the
deteriorating law and order situation saw many companies pulling out
of the state. However, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been trying to
attract sugar companies to the state ever since he came to power.

The state has already bagged investments worth Rs 15,000 crore in
ethanol distillery and another Rs 4,500 crore in sugar since the state
government announced a new sugar-cum-ethanol policy for the state in
early 2006.

Leading sugar companies like Dhampur Sugar and Rajshree Sugar have
announced investments in the state. Mishra also said the Narkatiaganj
unit of C S Nopany's Oudh

Sugar has bagged orders for supplying 36,000 kilolitres of ethanol to
oil marketing companies for ethanol-blended programme in the state.

The Union ministry of petroleum has initiated a national programme for
5 per cent ethanol-blended petrol and is planning to increase it to 10
per cent.

Now, Bihar on Stanford University radar
Faizan Ahmad
[ 6 Apr, 2007 0233hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


PATNA: The famed Stanford University of the US and the Bihar
government have come together to discuss the changing policy matrix of
a state long known for poor development and bad governance.

Experts attending the two-day meet, named the Mirror Conference, are
of the view that the deliberations would go a long way in making Bihar
part of discussions in national and international academic circles.

For, the outcome of the conference here — being attended by luminaries
of Stanford University namely Professor Nicholas Hope, Anjini Kochar,
Ward Hanson and Jessica Wallack — will be mirrored in the next annual
conference of Stanford in June next.

Inaugurating the conference here on Thursday, chief minister Nitish
Kumar said during last one year Bihar has grappled with its
development matrix which has helped in bringing about far-reaching
policy changes in almost every segment of activity.

Nitish said in a state where the per capita income is one-third of the
national average, efforts are being made to grow at an average of 8.5
per cent GDP per annum. This, he said, will be a quantum jump from
past trend.

"We expect public outlay of about Rs 59,000 crore and private outlay
of Rs 1,08,000 crore during the 11th Plan. This means encouraging
public-private partnerships and further improving the climate for
private investment," the CM said.

He also took pride in telling participants that in the last year of
tenth Plan and last fiscal which ended on March 31, the performance of
the state showed dramatic improvement. "Against a Plan outlay of Rs
8,250 crore, our
expenditure has been Rs 8,646 crore exceeding the daunting target," he said.

Continuing in the same vein, he said: "For the first fiscal year of
eleventh Plan which began on April 1, the Planning Commission approved
an outlay of over Rs 10,000 crore. Going by our performance in the
last financial year, there will be a need to further enhance this
target."

Earlier, Prof Nicholas Hope, eminent economist T N Srinivasan and
Ramesh Yadav of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) threw light on the
importance of the Mirror Conference.

Bihar chief secretary A K Choudhary referred to the major decisions
taken by the state government. A power-point presentation was also
made detailing the achievements and plans of the government.

State Planning Board deputy chairman N K Singh said the initiatives
taken in Bihar in recent times caught the attention of Stanford
University. "Bihar lost two developmental decades and had been at the
receiving end of regional disparity and divide," he said.

ADRI member secretary Shaibal Gupta said an authentic sub-national
government is here which encompasses not only subaltern but also the
elite who had earlier abandoned Bihar.

"The chief minister is not scripting a sanitised resurgence but a
democratic-inclusive resurgence by making fundamental changes in the
present structure and institutions," he added.

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, several ministers and top bureaucrats
were also present.

Prof Hope, on his part, renewed his invitation to the chief minister
to attend the June conference.

Hi,

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http://www.Bhojpuria.com
Phone: 09431111776, 09931182544






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Hon'ble CM of Bihar!
Sir,Let us pray that with sincere efforts being made by the Govt. of Bihar there
is no one like Jawahar Manjhi  remaining exploited. News item on the subject is
being reproduces for  kind attention please.
Indian endures 27 years labour for 40kg rice     Reuters | Wednesday, 28 March
2007

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/4007669a12.html
  NEW DELHI: A villager in eastern India has been repaying a loan of 40 kg of
rice with 27 years of bonded labour, a newspaper reported.

Jawahar Manjhi, from the impoverished state of Bihar, took the rice from a
lender for a family wedding in exchange for him working in the lender's field.
It was agreed Manjhi, 45, would pay off one kg of rice for each day he worked.
But since then, Manjhi has taken more loans of rice and now has no idea how much
he has repaid.
"Originally the loan was about 40 kg," Manjhi was quoted as saying in the Times
of India. "Twenty-seven years on, I don't know how much have I repaid and how
much more I owe the lender."
Living in a one-room mud house with his wife and four children, the poor
labourer says he has no idea how the interest on the rice loan was calculated
and does not know how he will repay the entire loan in one lifetime.
He was told he would be freed from his bond if he paid 5000 rupees ($NZ161) – an
amount far beyond his reach.
Manjhi said there were "many more like me" in the area, but Bihar's labour
minister told the newspaper that the government was not aware of any bonded
labour in Bihar.
According to the government, around 20 per cent of India's billion-plus
population live below the poverty line and while strong economic growth has made
millions in the cities richer, it has bypassed many people living in rural
areas.
In recent years, there has been a spate of suicides by poverty-stricken farmers
unable to repay loans borrowed from village moneylenders at interest rates as
high as 60 per cent a month.


Lt. Col. (Retd.) Bajrang Bihari Singh
Sec-5, Plot - 452
Vaishali, Ghaziabad
U.P.
Phone- 0120-2772949

---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Atul Kumar <atul.kr@...> wrote: Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:32:10 +0530
From: "Atul Kumar" <atul.kr@...>

  People are willing to work hard and looking for opportunities. Infrastructure
is improving in correct way. All Roads in Patna are getting Pucca Nullahs to 
avoid waterlogging during rainy seasons. For the change, anywhere you go, there
is optimism around.

Roads are clean. Clean & small City buses are available everywhere. Bandhs &
hartal are not everyday affairs. Even villages are getting electricity for 6-7
hours from Bhutan and that too at good voltage during day time. During night, it
is almost uninterrupted.
  It was after a long time that I have not heard of any major kidnapping
demanding ransom in crores while being there. BPSC just conducted some major
interviews. Talk in the town is that it was most fair interview without money
changing hands. People are getting recruited, but in contractual positions, so
they will not be lethargic & corrupt. I felt it from the moment I landed in
Patna and kept it confirming throughout my vacations from other sources. You can
feel changed air very much.

Bihar & Jharkhand now have seven mobile operators (Airtel, Aircel, Reliance GSM,
Reliance CDMA, BSNL GSM, BSNL CDMA, Tata Indicom) providing their services with
Airtel, BSNL & Reliance having almost 100% coverage.

  Now, what is needed is some good industrialization & job creation. Momentum has
started, but it cannot be sustained till there is job-creation in private
sector, strictly not in Govt. Also, too many educational opportunities will add
just noise. What we need is job for everyone, not for educated elites only.

  On different note, we should pray that CPM & Budhadeb bhattachaya are able to
drive the industrialization in Bengal. We are too far from Delhi, which allowed
NCR to develop and consequently other adjoining states. We are far away from any
port in absolute land-locked, flood-ravaged region. The nearest sea-port which
connects Bihar to Global Village is in Kolkata and if Bengal develops, Bihar too
will develop under "Hinterland effect".







Lt. Col. (Retd.) Bajrang Bihari Singh
Sec-5, Plot - 452
Vaishali, Ghaziabad
U.P.
Phone- 0120-2772949

---------------------------------
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Hi,

Six Hindi-speaking people were killed and 18 wounded
in two different separatist attacks, including a
powerful bomb explosion, in India's northeastern
states of Manipur and Assam, officials said on Friday.

Five people were killed in Manipur when armed
militants entered a bakery at Ningthoukhong village,
about 40 km south of Imphal, and opened fire at the
workers late on Thursday.

You may read more at
http://www.bhojpuria.com/samachar/news.php?a=2726

You may read one relavant story in Bhojpuri, about
Biharis in Assam, Maharastra and other states, at

http://www.bhojpuria.com/goto.php?page=sahitya/assam21feb7.htm

If you want to read about a story related to the
positive side of Bihar and its development, click here

http://www.bhojpuria.com/goto.php?page=sahitya/bihar21feb7.htm

Let all of us unite to criticise the killing of our
own people.

Parnaam,
Sudhir Kumar
http://www.bhojpuria.com
Phone: 09931182544, 09431111776





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In Bihar, cops herding kids to school
Radhika D Srivastava
[ 7 Mar, 2007 0138hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates


PATNA: With National Democratic Alliance in the saddle in Bihar, times
are changing in the state. And for a change, the men-in-khaki have
picked up slates and chalks. Not for studying themselves, but for
herding all out-of-school children to school.

The state is home to around 24 lakh children between six and 14 years
who do not go to school. In its effort to increase school enrolment,
the state government has hit upon a novel idea to use the police for
spreading the importance of education.

Local police constables now move around in neighbourhood villages
looking for children who should be in school. They also visit homes
and check out commercial establishments to locate child labourers.

The campaign has been on for about a month now and 20,000-odd new
students have already been added to the rolls of government primary
schools.

Preliminary reports say children feel very important to have policemen
requesting them to attend school. Policemen, on the other hand, are
enjoying their new role which allows them to break out of their
stereotypical "tough" image. Additional DG (HQ) Abhayanand said the
campaign has evoked good results.

"In the past one month, the task has not been very difficult. But now
our people will have to exert even more to keep the new enrolments
going," he said.

Among the families that do not send their children to school, a large
number are averse to school education. These are the people who need
counselling and coaxing the most. "We do not have a set method. We
have asked our district forces to innovate. They are using their own
ways to convince such families," the ADG said.

But there is no use of force. No threat.

The policemen have been asked to motivate both children and parents.
More than half of the children who do not study are believed to be
working as child labourers. "Our men visit shops and dhabas to see if
children have been employed there. These children are then enrolled in
schools," he said.

Abhayanand admitted the bigger challenge will be to ensure the newly-
enrolled children do not drop out. "We will tackle the qualitative
issues at a later stage. As of now, we want full enrolment," he said,
adding the education department would later have to step in to ensure
the schools function properly.

Govt dissolves inter-varsity board
[ 6 Mar, 2007 0238hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates


PATNA: The state government has dissolved the Bihar Inter-University
Board in order to grant complete autonomy to the state universities on
the pattern of Central universities.

The board had been set up to monitor development of universities and
regulate teaching and research in institutions of higher education in
the state.

Set up during the Emergency in 1975 by then CM Jagannath Mishra, the
board was also empowered to suggest ways for improving academic
standards, implement various examination reform measures and
development schemes of universities and to ensure uniform regulations
and statutes for all the universities.

But it was found that the board had miserably failed to preform the
tasks assigned to it. The Administrative Reforms Commission had also
recommended dissolution of the board.

The services of the employees of the board would be accommodated as
per provisions of the Bihar State Agricultural Marketing Board
(Dissolution) Bill, 2006.

Bihar's 'first' Economic Survey Report tabled
[ 7 Mar, 2007 0209hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


PATNA: For the first time in the annals of Bihar legislature, the
state government on Tuesday tabled the Status Report on Economic
Survey of Bihar 2006-07 in the Legislative Assembly.

Never before did any state government come out with the survey
document which contains factual information about the state's economy.

"Such a paper would also pave way for a public dialogue for attaining
the goal of good governance," deputy CM and state finance minister
Sushil K Modi said, adding it would now onwards be an annual exercise
ahead of the presentation of state budget.

The 2006-07 report indicates Bihar has lagged behind other states on
all the developmental indices. The state ranks at the bottom with
respect to Human Development Indicator (HDI) with the HDI for Bihar
being about 20 per cent lower than the national HDI.

The survey noted the market size in Bihar is estimated to be worth Rs
1,03,600 crore or 4.8 per cent of the country's market size. It has a
lower CD ratio than the national average, and despite some improvement
it is still one of the lowest in the country. A highly disadvantaged
economy is a general phenomenon in Bihar although it is not equally
present in all the districts, the report said. The per capita income
varies widely between Rs 6,958 (in Patna) to Rs 2,219 (in Sheohar).

Having an estimated 90.2 million population (83 million as per 2001
census), the state has 536.91 lakh people living below poverty line
(BPL). This when the number of BPL families has reduced at the
national level with the national BPL percentage being 19.34 only.

The state's total debt, about Rs 42,000 crore, constitutes 71 per cent
of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). The revenue account had a
deficit during the three years between 2001-02 and 2003-04, implying
that the funds meant for capital expenditure had to be diverted to the
revenue account. However, this deficit turned into surplus from
2004-05 onwards.

Similarly, the Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD) has been consistently high
in recent years. In recent years, the state government's internal
market borrowings financed its GFD apart from the Public Accounts
receipts. The state's development expenditure constituted an average
of about 60 per cent of its total expenditure, but its share has
declined from 67 per cent in 2001-02 to 56 per cent in 2006-07. The
state's own revenue, both tax and non-tax, barely meets 20 per cent of
its total expenditure and the rest has to come from the Centre.

The state has a workforce of 4,35,394 as against the sanctioned
strength of 5,71,722. One fifth are grade IV and three fourth are
grade III employees. The salary and pension constitute the two most
important expenditure items. The total expenditure on salary and
allowances of these employees was Rs 5,783.35 crore which is projected
to go up to Rs 7,800 crore during 2006-07. The government spends 46
per cent of its total resources on salary and pension alone.

Interestingly, Bihar is among the best paymasters. The average annual
salary of a state government employee is Rs 1.8 lakh as against the
average Rs 1.21 lakh of a Central government employee. Even
"developed" states in the country pay less than what Bihar pays, the
report noted.

Bihar agri sector on downslide, services up: survey

newkerala.com

Patna, Mar 6: Despite agriculture being the mainstay of Bihar's
economy, it has grown by just 3.5 to 4.5 per cent since 2000-01, while
manufacturing and industry witnessed a decline from 6.59 per cent in
2000-01 to 4.17 per cent in 2004-05, but the services sector posted a
consistently high growth rate between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent.

The share of agriculture in the state's economy has fallen from 48.8
per cent from 1993-94 to 42 per cent in 2004-05, that of manufacturing
sector remained unaltered at nine per cent and services registered a
handsome growth from 41.3 to 49 per cent, according to the economic
survey 2006-07 presented in the Bihar assembly today by Deputy Chief
Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

The survey, the first presented in the Bihar legislature, said the
total flood-prone area in the state was 73.06 per cent of its
geographical area and 17.2 per cent of the total flood-prone area in
the country.

Identifying recurrent floods as a major roadblock in agricultural
development, it suggested construction of dams in upper catchment
areas of Kosi, Gandak, Bagmati and Mahanananda rivers to fight the
menance in the long run. In the short term it suggested construction
and maintenance of embankments along the rivers.

Stating that tubewells accounted for 63 per cent of created irrigation
capacity in the state, the survey said a very high dependence on
irrigation by tubewells and operation of diesel tubewells due to lack
of power infrastructure in rural areas translated into high cost and
inefficient irrigation.

--- PTI

IITs coming up in Bihar, Rajasthan, AP
ibnlive.com

Posted Tuesday , March 06, 2007 at 14:45


NEW PLANS IN THE OFFING: Government has decided to set up three new
IITs during 11th Five Year Plan.

New Delhi: The Government has decided to set up three new Indian
Institutes of Technology (IITs) during 11th Five Year Plan, Rajya
Sabha was informed on Tuesday.


The premier institutes will be set up in Bihar in East, Rajasthan in
West and Andhra Pradesh in South, said Minister of State for Human
Resource Development D Purandeswari.


The minister said that the government has received a proposal from
Kerala to set up an IIT there but Scientific Advisory Committee to the
Prime Minister recommended that these should be set up in three states
in separate regions.


In another reply, the minister said the government is taking serious
note of the reported suicides incidents at various IITs. The
authorities at IIT campuses have decided to go for counselling,
seminars, helplines and modification of examination schemes to help
students during the examinations.


The performance of students is also being monitored every semester and
mechanisms are being set up so that the families are well informed
about the students' performance, the minister said.


With PTI inputs

Bihar to spend more

[ 7 Mar, 2007 0209hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


PATNA: For the first time in Bihar, the state will end up spending
more than its annual plan allocation for the current fiscal.

Deputy CM and state finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi, while replying
to the debate on the budget presented for the year 2007-08, informed
the state Assembly that the state was poised to cross the expenditure
of its state plan size of Rs 8,250 crore for the fiscal 2006-07.

"We aim at spending Rs 8,670 crore by the end of this fiscal," Modi
said amidst thumping of desks by NDA benches. The state has had a
track record of not being able to spend its plan funds in the past.
Modi, however, said the NDA government would not allow funds to lapse.

Modi's reply to the debate, which focussed on "15 years of RJD rule
versus 15 months of NDA rule", took a dig at the RJD benches for
'financial mismanagement' and for shedding crocodile tears for the
poor during its rule.

RJD, CPI, CPM and Congress MLAs staged a walkout.

Ridiculing opposition charges that the NDA government has been unable
to spend, Modi said till January this year, most of the major
departments had spent a major portion of the funds allocated to them.
"The cooperatives have spent 99 per cent of their funds, health 78 per
cent, medical education 70 per cent, human resources 61 per cent,
industry 98 per cent, REO 95 per cent and the primary education
department has spent 84 per cent," he added.

The deputy CM also gave the expenditures of state plan during
Lalu-Rabri regime. "Your expenditure from 1993 to 2005 ranged from Rs
750 crore to Rs 3,124 crore," he told the RJD bench and alleged the
RJD was interested only in keeping people poor and organising 'Gareeb'
rallies. He criticised the previous regime for not presenting a full
budget and always resorting to vote on account.

Modi promised the NDA's record on this count would improve in coming
years. "We have finally got contractors. Also, our engineers, who
during the RJD regime did not know how to prepare a detailed project
report, have now learnt to prepare DPR," he said.

Modi also refuted opposition criticism of reduction in sales taxes on
150 items. "We followed the rule of bringing taxes at par with
neighbouring states because if our taxes remain high, we cannot stop
tax evasion," he said, adding collection of commercial tax and excise
has increased. He also said the reversal of the previous regime's
decision on road tax hike has actually led to the revival of transport
industry. He quoted figures, indicating a 25 per cent rise in sales of
various vehicles in the state.
Modi also refuted the opposition charge that there was nothing for the
poor and farmers in the state budget. In this regard, he cited several
new schemes like uniforms for girl students, cycles to 1.87 lakh girl
students and policy for compensations to BPL families and migrant
labourers.

Modi said though NDA's 15-month regime does not claim to have
transformed Bihar into a heaven, the process of reopening closed units
has started.

Several MLAs, including Vinod Narayan Jha (BJP), Ram Das Rai (RJD),
Ram Dev Verma (CPM) and Lallan Paswan (JD-U), participated in the
four-hour-long debate.

Women become force to reckon with in panchayats
March 07, 2007 12:36 IST
Last Updated: March 07, 2007 13:27 IST
rediffmail.com

Women panchayat leaders have succeeded in enlarging their
representation beyond the 33 per cent seats reserved for them in the
local bodies with Bihar leading with over 54 per cent representation
of women in the village bodies.

As International Women's Day celebrations focus on the issue of
empowerment of women, according to latest statistics, the fairer sex
has increased its involvement in decision-making at the village level
with 9.7 lakh of the 28 lakh elected panchayat representatives being
women.

A total of 36.7 per cent of the panchayat representatives are women,
according to `The State of the Panchayats,' a mid-term review and
appraisal of the panchayati raj system.

Bihar has the highest number of women panchayat leaders at 54.1 per
cent, followed by Karnataka where 42.9 per cent of the elected
representatives at the village level are women, as on December 1,
2006.

In all states except Goa, where the percentage of women panchayat
leaders was recorded at 30.2 per cent, women formed more than 33 per
cent of the elected representatives in the villages.

"With every succeeding panchayat election, women have been able to
considerably enlarge their representation beyond the minimum 33 per
cent prescribed by the Constitution," the report said even as the Bill
for 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in Lok Sabha and Vidhan
Sabhas has been hanging fire.

The report said while earlier reservations for women were a matter of
ridicule, now stories of women being puppets in the hands of male
relatives and similar anecdotal accounts have become rare.

"Women have begun to take full charge of their official
responsibilities in panchayats," it said.

The selected women representatives have been increasingly ensuring
their effective participation in budget preparation and the
identification of criteria to guide panchayats to specially prepare
gender-sensitive budgets.

"In several states, the impact of two parallel developments, that is,
the political representation of women in panchayats and the women's
self-help group movement, have dramatically altered gender equations
and given women a new sense of self-confidence and self-worth," the
report said.

Bihar MLAs deplore 'non-cooperation' of banks in funding SJGRY

newkerala.com

Patna, Mar 7: Bihar legislators today expressed concern in the
assembly over the "non-cooperation" by public sector banks in funding
the Swarna Jayanti Gramin Rojgar Yojana (SJGRY).

The government then assured the house that it will take up the matter
with the union Finance Minister.

The matter was raised through a short notice question of LJP's
Maheshwar Singh who wanted to know why only Rs 72 crore of the Rs 364
crore meant for funding the Self Help Groups and individuals under
SJGRY during 2006-07 had been spent so far.

Replying to the question, Rural Development minister Baidyanath Prasad
Mahato disputed the member's figure, saying Rs 117.74 crore, around 37
per cent of the target, had been spent, but admitted that the banks
were not adequately cooperating in disbursing the funds.

He said 9728 SHGS and 40,831 individuals had benefited from the scheme.

"The government has warned the banks that if they do not make adequate
advance, the government will stop depositing development funds with
them," he said.

RJD's Ramchandra Purve deplored the "non-cooperation" of the banks and
wanted to know if the government intended to get the matter probed by
an independent agency or a committee of the house.

Ramdev Verma (CPI-M) suggested an inquiry by the state police into the
matter, alleging the banks had "vested interest" in not extending
sufficient advances to the rural poor.

--- PTI

Bihar agri sector on downslide, services up: survey
  newkerala.com

Patna, Mar 6: Despite agriculture being the mainstay of Bihar's
economy, it has grown by just 3.5 to 4.5 per cent since 2000-01, while
manufacturing and industry witnessed a decline from 6.59 per cent in
2000-01 to 4.17 per cent in 2004-05, but the services sector posted a
consistently high growth rate between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent.

The share of agriculture in the state's economy has fallen from 48.8
per cent from 1993-94 to 42 per cent in 2004-05, that of manufacturing
sector remained unaltered at nine per cent and services registered a
handsome growth from 41.3 to 49 per cent, according to the economic
survey 2006-07 presented in the Bihar assembly today by Deputy Chief
Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

The survey, the first presented in the Bihar legislature, said the
total flood-prone area in the state was 73.06 per cent of its
geographical area and 17.2 per cent of the total flood-prone area in
the country.

Identifying recurrent floods as a major roadblock in agricultural
development, it suggested construction of dams in upper catchment
areas of Kosi, Gandak, Bagmati and Mahanananda rivers to fight the
menance in the long run. In the short term it suggested construction
and maintenance of embankments along the rivers.

Stating that tubewells accounted for 63 per cent of created irrigation
capacity in the state, the survey said a very high dependence on
irrigation by tubewells and operation of diesel tubewells due to lack
of power infrastructure in rural areas translated into high cost and
inefficient irrigation.

--- PTI

Reproduced below is an opening on the subject "Orphan Schooling" by an IIT-ian
crusader Abhishek Prabhat.


  It may be acknowledged that the highest index of merit of childhood is
orphanage - a gift of the Almighty to the child who should be listed first among
the most deserving ones.

Abhishek is in the process of building the  contents for a full scale
presentation.


Let all friends who wish to contribute by thoughts, affirmation and
participation say YES to Abhishek.





Contents
      TOC \o \h \z Investing in Education..  PAGEREF _Toc160695978 \h 2 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900370038000000
   Welfare state..  PAGEREF _Toc160695979 \h 2 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900370039000000
   Target Group.  PAGEREF _Toc160695980 \h 3 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380030000000
   The Plan..  PAGEREF _Toc160695981 \h 3 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380031000000
   Go Rural.  PAGEREF _Toc160695982 \h 3 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380032000000
   Teachers.  PAGEREF _Toc160695983 \h 3 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380033000000
   Warden.  PAGEREF _Toc160695984 \h 4 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380034000000
   Medium of Education.  PAGEREF _Toc160695985 \h 4 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380035000000
   Multi-dimensional Development.  PAGEREF _Toc160695986 \h 4 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380036000000
   Initial Phase.  PAGEREF _Toc160695987 \h 4 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380037000000
   Funds.  PAGEREF _Toc160695988 \h 4 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380038000000
   Challenges.  PAGEREF _Toc160695989 \h 5 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900380039000000
   Conclusion..  PAGEREF _Toc160695990 \h 5 
08D0C9EA79F9BACE118C8200AA004BA90B02000000080000000E0000005F0054006F006300310036\
0030003600390035003900390030000000
                           Investing in Education    It is an accepted fact that
investment in education is in general a fruitful venture. This is even truer for
developing nations. In a country where the only thing in abundance is human
population we should strive to convert this liability into strength. India is
plagued with disguised unemployment. We keep on producing more and more people
with fewer assets and skills. In a sense the country can be visualized as a
family. Just as a family with little land (and other resource) is less likely to
have a good standard of living similarly a country with little small per capita
land may not be well off. However such families can also prosper provided the
members are highly skilled namely doctors, engineers, technician, etc. In fact
countries with better human resource are far more prosperous than countries with
mere better natural resources.

   Consider for a moment a thought experiment wherein all the beggars in India
are made to vanish. Would there be a class of people (excepting the beggars and
their dear ones) who would mind their absence? In other words materially this
should be a favorable deal  though ethically it may be a colossal crime against
humanity. The same thing cannot said about doctors, bus drivers, shop keepers,
and other productive professions. Similarly petty hawkers, rikshaw pullers,
manual labors are in supply far excess than their demand. This never-ending
supply feeds on the fact that unproductive people produce even greater number of
unproductive people in their next generation.

   Productiveness is not a genetic phenomenon. It is partly innate and partly
result of environment and training. Distribution of talent as such is much the
same across countries and races. That is, roughly the same fraction of
population would qualify for being ‘gifted’ whether we do the survey in Japan,
Germany, England, Somalia, Bihar or anywhere else. Similarly we have no reason
to infer that manual labors are so because of their inferior reasoning. In other
words the pool of talent lurks everywhere, even in the dark. What is responsible
for the plight of daily wage earners is not their inherent inability but lack of
training.

   Welfare state
   All governments realize the above fact and consequently strive to provide free
education. The state tries to do it the following way.

    Tax      and borrow money from the people.
    Provide      free education.
    Earn      higher revenues from the highly productive workforce and pay off
the      loans.

   However it must be emphasized that quality of education makes immense
difference in the quality of product. So though India may have improved upon
literacy rates the quality of our graduates has not been up to mark. Also poor
schooling breaks the jinx of illiteracy but it does not result in marked
improvement in income of the investor (namely the student and his/her family).
This further demoralizes other potential school goers.

   The objective behind the current effort is to follow similar strategy but to
do it in a responsible and cost effective manner so as to sustain it in the long
run.
      Target Group  There has been an increase in the parent’s tendency to send
their wards to better schools. However a huge majority of Indian population
cannot afford schools let alone better schools. The govt. schools available (if
at all) are not inspirable. Still in absence of better alternatives most of the
upcoming population receive some elementary education. However there is sizable
number of children who do not avail even this minimal opportunity, namely the
orphan. Most of them lack a home and guardian. In a sense they are the most
deprived of the lot. However this disadvantage can be converted to advantage.
Orphans are easy to relocate. Orphan education can be developed as a
commercially feasible activity.

   The Plan
   Choose Orphans
   Orphans are easy to relocate. Since there are no strings attached, an orphan
can be easily moved to another city (or state). Thus the problem that good
schools and the deprived exist in mutually exclusive locations is eliminated.
Secondly, the institution itself becomes the home for student. The affection and
commitment of the resident student for the institution would be unprecedented.
Consequently the payback would be higher compared to the case where the primary
concern of the alumnus is his immediate family.

   Go Rural  Education is a footloose industry. In urban areas schools are
already over crowded. The growing middle class sector in cities (both big and
small) itself faces high competition for admissions in school. Moreover real
estate and operational costs in city school is high enough to make it well
beyond the reach of slum dwellers. In a residential school where the students
are not drawn from the locality, the cheapest place where a school can be run
should be chosen. Small townships and villages can be potential sites. Such
school can also incidentally serve the local village population. Labor, food
grains, vegetable would be cheaply available. It will also generate limited
employment and provide educated youth a chance to work in their native place.

   Teachers  The single most important requirement for a good school is presence
of good teachers. Indian universities, especially in tier II cities produce
adequate number of science and art graduates who go un-rewarded. With
respectable salaries, it may not be difficult to attract grade one teachers.
Moreover good teachers are not born, they are made.

   Warden  The hostel need not be a hostel in the canonical sense. It will be a
home and not hostel for the orphans. Therefore the concept of warden needs
evolution in our case. Caring and sincere middle-aged couples can be employed to
look after the residence. In fact many of the teachers can function as full time
participants in the school. The entire school, including the residential and
academic block will be a single unit for the residents. The wardens have to be
the guardian and abundant caution needs to be exercised in grooming the kids.
      Medium of Education  ENGLISH! It is true that local languages represent our
rich cultural background but when it comes to being professionally productive no
language can beat English in the current times. In fact good command over the
English language is sometimes sufficient to secure reasonable livelihood. Thus
English should be chosen as the preferred medium of communication even in the
hostel. Command over English language would also greatly improve the reach over
print and Internet media. It makes perfect sense to create scholars who are
blend of ‘Bhojpuri’ and ‘British English’.

   Uni-dimensional Development  All around development does not necessarily
require expensive equipment and rich infrastructure. Sports activity should
include easily manageable games like football, basketball etc. Similarly
sophisticated labs are not required at an early stage. There should be close
association with the local village population and this itself can bring
awareness in the localites and also serve as a source of extracurricular
activity for the students. The focus should be on studies and therefore the
development can be loosely said to be uni-dimensional. However in reality there
can be multi faceted development even with scarce resources.

   Initial Phase  There is no need for complete infrastructure and resource to
start the project. In the beginning a house can be rented and the project can
take off with the help of few caretakers (as a private hostel) and a tie up with
an existing school. Gradually the school and teaching faculty can also be
arranged. Even in the case when the school is started and affiliation from the
board not received, studies till class VIII (or XI) can be imparted within the
institute and the last year can be enrolled at an affiliated school.

   Funds  The organization has to start with funds donated by motivated
individuals. However larger public participation can be drawn by transparent and
up to date publication of balance sheet on the Internet. Thus donations to the
organization would not amount to donation to the black hole. The day-to-day
requirement, surplus and expenditure in the various heads would be available for
public viewing.

   Alternatively long-term bonds (or promissory Notes) can be issued and the
returns linked to the profit of the organization. Thus instead of making it a
purely charity based activity it can be developed as a charity-cum-investment
opportunity.

   Still further, a Public Private Partnership can also be forged. In principle
the state should find it favorable that the underprivileged are educated by a
third party and the increased revenue be shared between the two. Assuming that
un-educated deprived population does not contribute to the state as a tax payer
it makes sense for the state to promise a share in the future revenues to the
organization responsible for the increase. This requires a statute to be passed
from the legislature and is therefore more likely possible only as long-term
relief measure.

   Challenges
    Identification      of bright orphans.
    Recruitment      of hostel attendants and warden.
    Co-ed      or not
    Collaboration      with existing schools.
    Cost      cutting

   Conclusion  An organized effort can dramatically change the lives of the
abandoned kids who cease to live a human life. An organization, which intends to
survive long, cannot do it on state and private charity. There is no source of
perpetual donation. Family system survives because parents invest in their
children and reap the benefits in the later stage. A schooling system can also
be similarly modeled. There are bright kids near trashcans waiting to be taken
to school. There are sincere graduates looking forward to livelihood opportunity
in their small town. There are educated and settled couples looking for
‘meaning’ in the second half of their lives. There are plenty who can pledge
their nickel if it doesn’t goes down the drain. The task ahead is to assemble
the components, which lie scattered in the society and form a living body.


Lt. Col. (Retd.) Bajrang Bihari Singh
Sec-5, Plot - 452
Vaishali, Ghaziabad
U.P.
Phone- 0120-2772949

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It is being increasingly realized that embankment on rivers cause more
problems than provide solutions.

Floods in Bihar, since ancient times have been more of a boon than curse.

Friends and well wishers of farmers of Bihar plains may like to read an article
by Dinesh Mishra an IIT-ian activist on:
http://www.himalmag.com/2007/march/analysis2.htm
The Bagmati’s final sealing
                    The middle section                      of the Bagmati River
in Bihar is too unstable for embanking,                      but the Patna
government is attempting to push through an                      INR 8 billion
project to do just that.
"Farmers welcome floods because silt contained in floodwaters
provides the fields with an annual supplement of nutrients.                     
Embanking rivers causes that silt to be trapped within the                     
embankments, both depriving farmers of its benefits and causing
the level of the riverbed to rise. While engineers must then
keep raising the embankments in order to keep pace with the                     
rising bed of the river, there is also a limit to which embankments
can be raised and maintained. Will embanking the entire length
of the river do away with this problem? Will it prevent seepage
through the embankments into the surrounding land? These are
issues planners in Patna must think about."


Lt. Col. (Retd.) Bajrang Bihari Singh
Sec-5, Plot - 452
Vaishali, Ghaziabad
U.P.
Phone- 0120-2772949

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Yes, it sounds unbelievable, but it's true. Andhra
Pradesh Government, also known as one of the most
technically advanced Government in the country, had
enlisted Bhojpuria.com as the only cultural portal in
India, whose success formulae can be adopted while
implementing e-Governance.

While Bhojpuria.com managed to be the only portal
Cultural section, there are a few other websites in
Health, Agriculture, Governance, Environment,
Communications, Law, Education and services section.

The DOST (District Online Smart Transactions) scheme
was launched by IT & Communications Department (Andhra
Pradesh government), earlier this year to promote the
websites, which are doing good to promote IT in rural
areas.

The DOST Catalogue, released on a CD-ROM by Andhra
Pradesh Government, introduces Bhojpuria.com in these
words "Bhojpuria.com provides a platform to the
worldwide Bhojpuri-speaking population. The aim is to
connect the young generation from the 34 crore strong
Bhojpuria community worldwide through its language,
Bhojpuri. Bhojpuria.com is not just a website, it's a
way of life."

"I don't have words to express my feelings. It’s an
honour for over 34 Crore Bhojpuri-speaking people
across the Globe. The best part is, it is being done
by Andhra Pradesh Government, a state, where very few
people understand our language," Sudhir Kumar,
director, Bhojpuria.com said.

you may read more at

http://www.bhojpuria.com/samachar/news.php?a=2571








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Something to celebrate

Raghav FM turns ICT Entrepreneur
By Pritam Sinha
Mansoorpur, Vaishali, Bihar


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.1&attid=0.5&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] After a lot of media blitz, the popular FM Radio
Mansoorpur got shut down one sad day, last year. It meant a lot for the
two young men Raghav Mahto and his DJ friend Sambhu who pioneered and
popularized the community radio in a small village hamlet in Vaishali
district. In fact, the entire villages of Mansoorpur along with its
neighbouring villages whose life around music was synonymous with Raghav
FM Radio went into mourning.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.2&attid=0.11&disp=emb&view=at\
t&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] For Raghav, it meant the end of not their only
source of livelihood; the closure also gravely affected their enthusiasm
to do something new in life. After all, it was such a novel invention
that people were made to sit up and take notice far and wide than the
radius of the FM they were transmitting. Although Raghav's FM radio
never tried or made money through broadcasting, but because of its
popularity, his electronics shop was a center booming business for
anything and everything related to electronics, repairs, and so on.

In came Digital Empowerment Foundation to their support. The Delhi based
organization had visited the place just days before its inevitable
closure. Being an organization with a focus on ICT for empowerment at
the grassroots level, it decided to support the ingenious minds by
giving them support at various level. For example, computers to explore
and 'experiment' in the hope that the young man might make something out
of this electronic gadget out of the ordinary the way he transformed the
simple radio.

Perhaps Raghav's wish that he would like to experiment with the VCD one
day and make the video seen in neighbouring areas without the use of the
cable was stuck somewhere in DEF's think-tank (Please see DEF's
exhaustive report on Raghav FM before it got closed down at
www.defindia.net <http://www.defindia.net/> ). As everybody knows, a PC
usually has the CD drive attached to it. But, all experiments need time
and the immediate future of the boys had to be addressed immediately.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.3&attid=0.3&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Formation of Raghav Samaj Kalyan Sansthan
DEF suggested to Raghav to form a social forum and also gave him some
financial help to start afresh in life post Raghav Radio FM. Thus
"Raghav Samaj Kalyan Sansthan' was born on 6th Aug '06 with 22 members
and one computer. One of the first things that came to the members' mind
was the lack of a computer education centre and the urgent need and
utility of one such thing for the village children.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.4&attid=0.6&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Sensing a business opportunity, Raghav quickly
hired a two room block in front of his old Priya Electronics shop and
started Community Information Resource Centre (CIRC) supported by
Digital Empowerment Foundation, New Delhi. He invited the local village
children to learn the nuances of a tin box look like thing with a TV
like face attached to it. Being an illiterate person himself, he quickly
went in search and found one computer teacher who had done some basic
computer diploma course from nearby Hajipur.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.5&attid=0.8&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Thus, slowly but surely the computer bug hit the
village folk. Children immediately took to the computer and started
exploring simple computer peripherals like CPU, Monitor, Keyboard,
Mouse, Printer etc. Gradually, everybody took a fancy to PaintBrush and
the word of the mouth spread quickly, particularly among school going
children. Soon Raghav could not cope with the rush on a single machine.
He needed another one and DEF provided him with two machines to further
his ambition of making Mansoorpur computer savvy. A laptop was also
given in time to make the centre look modern. With every parcel DEF gave
him other supports in terms capacity and so on. The centre boasts of a
roaster full of 30 names.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.6&attid=0.9&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Day-to-day bottlenecks
Electricity in a typical Bihar village is something of a luxury at best
of times. So, Raghav purchased a generator set with the money to make
regular computer learning possible. There is an interesting story behind
being enabled to buy the generator. Late last year, through DEF, Raghav
got a chance to set-up closed circuit FM transmission for an ICT
Consultation by Nasscom Foundation, where the purpose was to make the
invitees and practioners who had come from villages to listen the
proceedings in their own language. So, from the interpretation box,
Raghav connected its equipment and broadcasted the Hindi version which
could be heard through cheap FM receivers given to each one of the
invitees. For doing this, Raghav got Rs. 10,000 and he put the entire
money in procuring generator.

Of course, the generator needs diesel which costs money. So, a token
amount of Rs. 50 is being charged per student to take care of this
running cost. Also, the computer teacher needed some incentive read
money to sustain his family. As of now, he is charging nothing and
giving his time and knowledge for free. But for how long can he sustain
his enthusiasm is a point to ponder. During the visit, in a brief
felicitation ceremony, in fact, this point was raised albeit in a hushed
tone.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.7&attid=0.1&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] What's happening at CIRC?
CIRC at Mansoorpur provided by DEF to pursue the entrepreneurship in
Raghva, is showing great results. There is a buzz in the village, and
kids are the biggest attraction for the CIRC. Instead of painting in
their notebooks, small children see it taking shape on a computer
screen. They are also enamored by typing on MS Word or Excel and PPT.
Perhaps to teach them from the very beginning that nothing comes in life
absolutely free, Raghav & his friend Sambhu charges a nominal amount
i.e. Rs. 50 per student.

These small acts of children are revolutionizing the way village
children see the world outside of their own. They punctually come here
at the designated time to learn computer. For this initialization to the
peripherals is a fascinating opportunity for them to try and widen their
worldview. In small twinkling eyes we could definitely see the hope of a
better tomorrow where they are able to find computer related jobs in big
cities. Perhaps for them, there are so few opportunities available to
grow that they want to outclass the others in whatever manner possible.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.8&attid=0.4&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] The Road Ahead: Internet, English & Community
Radio
Apart from this business of running a computer teaching centre, Raghav
finds time to engage his creative mind in his first love Radio.
Constantly experimenting with his tape recorder to record short plays
based on such important issues as AIDS awareness using local writer and
voices, the zeal to do something out of the ordinary seems Raghav's
mission in life. He gave to DEF, one tape containing a short play
wherein message was loud and clear that how tattoos, ever popular with
women in villages whose husbands are far off in cities making both ends
meet, can cause AIDS with a multiple used needle. We don't hear such
types of messages played across in the cities, but the concept and the
relevance of it for the village populace was something noteworthy.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.9&attid=0.7&disp=emb&view=att\
&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Also, villagers surely have heard about the global
village called internet but it remains out of reach for them. Raghav's
CIRC plans to have some facility whereby they bring the internet to
Mansoorpur. Of course, with the Kiosks being set up everywhere in the
country thick and fast, the word surf will come into everyday village
parlance not only when referring to a popular detergent brand only. We
could sense the excitement among the village folk whenever the word
internet was mentioned. Perhaps one day, Raghav's CIRC would be the
place where all ICT activities of the village will take place as is
being witnessed in so many small villages across India.

The hut would become a virtual hub. Or may be Mansoorpur could be one of
Bihar's first English Relay Programme (ERP) centres where children would
be taught Basic English language. When DEF spoke with a soon to retire
school headmaster, he was more than keen to take up the responsibility
to run an ERP centre.

Perhaps, he envisioned himself working for a noble cause post retirement
having been active all throughout his life. Like computers & internet,
English being the lingua franca that it still is, holds the key to a
better tomorrow for a small village like Mansoorpur.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.10&attid=0.10&disp=emb&view=a\
tt&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Moreover, to learn computers and for internet
too, English is a must. So, the possibilities are immense to empower and
enlighten the downtrodden of a far flung corner of India. Perhaps herein
lays the challenge for Raghav and his welfare organisation to try and
mould the village mindset. Make them look beyond their landscape from
the very beginning to a world where in they are compatible with the rest
of the world as far as access to knowledge is concerned. The world
outside their view is changing so fast that they better keep pace with
it or lest they will be left far far behind.

Or a community radio could be started under the aegis of CIRC. DEF is
also keen to be of any help to them in this regard. The government
guidelines in this regard have to be followed. A case has to be put up
citing Raghav's prior experience in the field of radio transmission. As
soon as the forms for opening the community radio station would be
available, the plan is to immediately apply for one and get the Raghav
Radio back in the ears of Mansoorpur.

Village trepreneurship

[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.11&attid=0.12&disp=emb&view=a\
tt&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] Raghav certainly is a fine example of a village
entrepreneur. His business sense could be gauged from the fact that when
armed with one computer it was him who first struck upon the idea to put
the machine to a commercial use. That his centre is running in debt is
another matter. He had left no stone unturned in his capacity to make
the centre commercially viable could be concluded from the fact that
when he got Rs. 10,000/- from setting up a Radio system in a Delhi
conference, he promptly bought an used generator for Rs. 8000/- to
ensure regular electric supply for his learning centre. So, he is not at
all lacking in ideas. Jugarus as most Biharis are, they have a knack of
finding ways around things howsoever bleak the environment may be.

The latest news is that at the DEF supported CIRC at Mansoorpur, run by
Raghva, he has added sewing classes as another activity for the girls
and women of the village. DEF has provided the seed money for buying at
least two sewing machines so that the start off could be strong and
should result in good revenues for Raghav to sustain the CIRC.


[https://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=0.12&attid=0.2&disp=emb&view=at\
t&th=110a72bd3c5e1af3] In the next few months, Raghav has planned to
equip the CIRC with digital camera, scanner, printer, and Internet. DEF
has asked Raghav to make the existing infrastructure sustainable first
before the next level of supports could be provided – this is in the
interest of Raghav and CIRC's interest only.

Pritam Sinha is a research associate with Digital Empowerment
Foundation. He can be reached at defindia@...
<mailto:defindia@...>



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Development index puts bihar at the bottom, kerala at the top

Special Correspondent

Hindu, Feb.2, 2007

# Top rankers include Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnataka
# Report prepared by NUEPA

NEW DELHI: Kerala ranks first and Bihar brings up the rear in the
first attempt by the Government to prepare a Composite Education
Development Index to track the progress of States towards providing
universal elementary education.

The report has been prepared by the National University of Educational
Planning and Administration (NUEPA).

While the index does not spring many surprises, West Bengal has been
pushed to the bottom with a ranking of 32 in a list of 35 States and
Union Territories.

Rajasthan, MP out of BIMARU.

In fact, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — which together with Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar were given the acronym BIMARU in the 1980s for
performing badly on all developmental fronts — have broken free from
this club to move up the ladder.

Rajasthan ranks 19 and Madhya Pradesh 29. The worst performers are
Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and
Assam.

Among the top rankers are Kerala, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry,
Chandigarh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram and
Lakshadweep.

Now that NUEPA has taken this first tentative step towards ranking
States on the basis of their performance at the primary and upper
primary levels vis-à-vis access, infrastructure, teachers and
outcomes, plans are on the anvil to make this an annual exercise to
facilitate a more targeted approach in educational planning.

Also, NUEPA has plans to rank districts similarly.

Bihar staff to get 15-day paternity leave
Faizan Ahmad
[ 2 Feb, 2007 0233hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


PATNA: There's some good news for expecting fathers, and mothers too,
if they are on the payrolls of Bihar government.

The state government has decided to grant 15 days' paternity leave to
its employees while the maternity leave entitlement would be extended
from 90 days to 135 days.

There is a rider, however. The largesse would be for the first two
children only, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi told TOI on Thursday.

He said the decision would be formally approved by the state cabinet
soon. In fact, such a provision was recommended by Justice (retired)
Sarwar Ali Commission on pay anomalies as early as 1999.

The very next year the cabinet committee on economic affairs gave its
approval to the recommendations.

Modi admitted the matter was first raised during the tenure of Lalu
Prasad as Bihar CM. But the file remained in abeyance even during the
tenure of his successor and wife Rabri Devi. "Now, it will see the
light of the day," he added.

When the matter came up in the State Legislative Council in March
2003, the then minister, Jagadanand Singh, assured the House that the
government was serious and a decision would be taken soon, the deputy
CM recalled, adding he stumbled upon the file while reviewing old
issues.

There is no adverse financial implications of the proposed provision,
Modi said and added there will be loss of mandays though.

He said the government has more plans up its sleeves for female
workers engaged in physical labour.

Women labourers would also be provided some relief under the Rozgar
Guarantee Yojana. "The volume of work will be lessened for them but
the payment will remain the same," Modi, who also holds the finance
portfolio, said.

Racist attack makes Indians flee Nepal
Prabhakar Kumar
CNN-IBN
Posted Saturday , February 03, 2007 at 09:18

BURNING ISSUE: Trucks with Indian registration number and shops of
people of Indian origin are being openly targeted.


New Delhi: Nepal is burning and Indians facing racist attacks are
fleeing. Trucks with Indian registration number and shops of people of
Indian origin are being openly targeted, right in front of policemen.

For the past 13 days, curfew has been on in Biratnagar, Birganj,
Nepalganj, Rajbiraj, Mahendra Nagar and Janakpur areas of Southern
Nepal. The impact of the violence is being felt along the border in
Bihar.

"When we say we are Indians, they ask us to go back," victim Suresh Ram says.

"A mob of 500 broke the screen of my truck," said Bihari Truck Driver.

The entire Terai belt-bordering India is burning as Nepali paharis and
those of Indian origin, called Madhesis, are at loggerheads.

The entire conflict has been triggered by Madhesis demanding greater
say in various aspects of public life. "Madesh contributes 80 per cent
to Nepal's economy but only 15 per cent is spent on it," says Madheshi
leader Santosh Kumar.

The pressure is being felt on this side of the border as well. The
Indian government is distributing pamphlets asking for restraint.

"All our police station across the border have been strengthen with
more staff & officers. We have issued appeal and we have distributed
pamphlet among people that we must not violate the sanctity of the
International border. Its a internal problem of Nepal & we must
respect that," Afzal Ammanullah, Home Secretary, Bihar.

While it will be sometime before peace returns to southern Nepal, the
fierce instability in India's neighbourhood is, no doubt, cause for
worry.

CCEA nod for NTPC-Railways joint venture

Our Bureau

Hindu Businessline,

New Delhi Feb. 2 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved a joint venture between NTPC Ltd and the Indian Railways for
setting up a Rs 5,352-crore thermal power plant at Nabinagar in Bihar
to meet the requirements of the rail network across the country.

The joint venture company, Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company, will execute
the 1000 MW plant with NTPC holding 74 per cent equity while the
Railways the balance.

"Since the project capacity is 1000 MW and power will be supplied to
more than one State, the financial concessions and benefits available
to mega projects by way of custom and excise duty exemption, will be
extended," the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said after the
meeting.

The company will have a seed capital of Rs 10 crore and an authorised
capital of Rs 1,605.75 crore. NTPC will make an investment of Rs
1,188.26 crore while the Railways will chip in with Rs 417.50 crore
toward the equity.

Cost of power

Mr Chidambaram said the cost of power would work out to about Rs 2.51
per unit and 10 per cent power would be given to Bihar. "However, if
the project is accorded mega status, then the cost of power would go
down to Rs 2.39 per unit," he added. The Railways currently shells out
Rs 4.22 per unit (average all-India) for its traction needs. The joint
venture company would be headquartered in Delhi and will be managed by
NTPC, whose nominee will be heading the new entity.

Rs 5600-cr Japan grant for state's Buddhist circuit
Pranava K Chaudhary
[ 31 Jan, 2007 0223hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


PATNA: Japan has agreed to offer a grant to the tune of Rs 5,600 crore
for infrastructure development of Buddhist circuit in Bihar. These
include landscaping, solid waste management and improvement of
existing drains and electrification.

The Rs 5600-crore grant to be given by the Japan Bank of International
Cooperation (JBIC) will also fund construction of four-lane roads as
part of the infrastructure development in the state's Buddhist
circuit. A total 481.20-km stretch of roads will be covered under the
project. The existing 275-km stretch of the
Bakhtiarpur-Biharsharif-Nalanda-Rajgir-Hisua-Gaya-Bodh Gaya route will
be fully upgraded under the project.Bihar road construction secretary
R K Singh will submit the feasibility report on the identified roads
to JBIC latest by February 15. Buddhist circuit roads will be
developed on a par with international standard.

Similarly, it is understood Japan has also expressed it eagerness in
developing water supply scheme, sewerage project, solid waste
management and improvement of existing drains and construction of new
drains and electrification at Bodh Gaya. A sum of Rs 50 crore would be
spent on the landscaping and flood protection measures at Bodh Gaya.

JBIC has also extended financial assistance in developing basic
facilities like drinking water, electricity and sewerage system at
Nalanda, Vaishali, Rajgir, Kesariya, Areraj and Mangalgarh.

Moreover, the famous tourist spot at Barabar Cave located on the
Patna-Gaya route will also be developed.
Under the destination development plan, access ways, toilet
facilities, reception centre and landscape development around the
existing lake would be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore.
Bihar's resident commissioner in New Delhi C K Mishra told TOI that
the project was finalised at a high-level meeting held in New Delhi
recently.

Additional director general in Union ministry of tourism Sanjay
Kothari, joint secretary in Union ministry of tourism Amitabh Kant,
JBIC representative Mitsunari Sayato, Bihar tourism secretary R S
Tiwary, besides Mishra attended the meeting.Japan has also expressed
interest in the construction of greenfield airport in Patna with all
modern facilities. In this regard, the Centre has directed the Bihar
government to prepare a preliminary site selection report in
collaboration with the National Airport Authority of India.

The JBIC has also agreed to grant a sum of Rs 600 crore for the
construction of control tower, technical block, fire station,
strengthening and extension of runway, land acquisition, provision of
runway associated systems and diversion of roads and power lines at
Bodh Gaya airport.

Kidnapping industry continues to thrive
Dipak Mishra
[ 1 Feb, 2007 0244hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


PATNA: Contrary to claims made by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government
in Bihar that the law and order situation has improved, the kidnapping
industry continues to thrive in the state.

Figures received by the Patna High Court from district judges indicate
that there were about 1800 cases of kidnappings registered in Bihar in
2006 against 1697 kidnapping cases recorded in 2005.

Not surprisingly, the state Opposition parties have begun gunning for
the Nitish government. "During our regime, there were talks about a
nexus between kidnappers and politicians. The numbers have actually
increased. I wonder what leaders like deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who
accused us of having a nexus with kidnappers, have to say about the
rise,"said RJD national general secretary Shyam Rajak.

Predictably, the government is on the defensive. "There are several
types of kidnappings such as kidnapping for murder and kidnapping for
forceful marriage. Despite this, there has been a definite down slide
in kidnapping for ransom. Previously a lot of cases were not
registered at police stations. Now nothing can be hidden,"said ADG
(HQs) Abhyanand.

Other senior police officers insist that the police reaction has also
to be taken into account. "We traced out two children in Khagaria
within two days of their kidnapping,"said a senior police official
while insisting that earlier the police rarely made any effort to
rescue kidnapped persons.

However, the people who have lost their near and dear ones due to
kidnapping appear to be losing their faith in the the men in khaki.

"Even in sushasan (good governance) one should expect the worst
whenever a kidnapping takes place,"said Usha Devi whose son Deepak, a
student of Central School in Patna, was kidnapped. Deepak's skeleton
was later recovered from the jungles of Koderma in Jharkhand.

"At times I feel like taking a gun and going out in search for the
kidnappers of my son myself,"said RAF jawan Arun Kumar.

Kumar's son Mukesh was kidnapped from Gaya last year. Despite paying
Rs one lakh as ransom money and even putting his case before the CM at
'Janata ka durbar', there has been no trace of the kidnapped Mukesh
yet.

A list of such harried parents is endless. A widow in Danapur too has
been petitioning various authorities for the safe return of her
kidnapped son.

"The police apparently have not done enough to trace and rescue
kidnapped persons. In the Nithari case also cases were registered but
the police failed to react. A similar situation exists in Bihar
too,"said M P Gupta, a lawyer who filed the PIL based on which the
Patna High Court asked for statistics from district judges.

The state government is now facing the heat as the high court has
asked it to recover 143 children and 581 women who are reported
missing in the state.

The court has also sough details of 44 kidnapped persons who have been
killed by their abductors so that a ompensation can be paid to their
kin.