Bihar left behind in race for SEZs
  New Delhi October 02, 2006
Business Standard, Oct.2, 2006

Though Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given a thumbs-down to
the SEZ bandwagon, the fact is that only one company, Gremach
Infrastructure Equipment and Projects Ltd, has applied for setting up
of a steel zone over 100 hectares of land in Patna.

Mineral-heavy Jharkhand is slightly better off: it has one approved
automobile zone in Adityapur. The Gremach application will come up for
consideration at the next Board Of Approval meeting on October 4.
Proposals of another 66 companies spread across Gujarat, Haryana and
Uttar Pradesh are also slated to be discussed at the meeting.

The applicants and the zones which they have sought reveal some
interesting trends. For starters, there seems to be a huge rush to set
up information technology (IT) and information technology-enabled
services (ITES) zones.

As many as 33 of the 66 companies want to set up such zones, most of
them in Haryana. The Gurgaon-Manesar belt is the focus area, with
other locations, including Dharuhera in Rewari district (that borders
Rajasthan), Palwal, Ambala and Panipat.

The IT and ITES companies are also interested in Uttar Pradesh with
seven of the 10 companies seeking permission to set up units there.
There is one proposal for a free trade warehousing zone.

The mix of zones is slightly better in Gujarat, which has proposals to
set up an agro-based chemicals zone, many multi-product zones, gems
and jewellery, power, pharma, steel, textiles, apparels and
biotechnology zones.

Many of the companies are associated with the real estate industry.
They include Shashwat Homes Pvt Ltd, Calica Constructions, Kalpataru
Properties, Shivganga Real Estate Holders Pvt Ltd, Gaurinandan
Property Holders Pvt Ltd, City Gold Realty Pvt Ltd, Adani Townships
and Real Estate, Aaloulik Constructions and Aakarshna Estates. Better
known realty companies like Ansal, DLF, Unitech and Parsvnath are also
in the fray.

YES, ACTION IS THE FIRST STEP WITH A QUESTION: WHO TAKES THE FIRST STEP?

     ANY NEWS OR EVENT THAT GIVES SOME HOPE TO BIHAR' S FUTURE MAY BE AS MUCH OF
CONCERN FOR MANY AS  OTHER MATTERS FOR SOME.

   LET  US HOPE THAT AMONG OTHER MATTERS MENTORSHIP IS THE FIRST STEP ANCHORED 
AND CENTRED WITH THE PROPOSERS AND FOLLOWERS/ VOLUNTEERS. THE BLUE  PRINT SHOULD
BE WORKED OUT BY SOMEONE OUT OF US.

   ONE AND ALL RESPONDENTS  MAY LIKE  TO BE IN TOUCH WITH VIBHUTI JHA ON
MENTORSHIP-MENTEE IDEA WITH  REFERENCE TO THE FOLLOWING MAIL :-

   From: Biharibabu@... [mailto:Biharibabu@...]
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 2:52 AM
To:   hagrawal@...; poornashram@...;   skhetan@...
Subject: Antyakhsari


   Dear Bajrang   ji

   Very well done indeed -   the enthusiasm , the dedication , the execution and
the quick turnaround with   phtographs and video -  And on top of it the
publication of the two volumes   ! That is truly outstanding,  what in US is
called " awesome "!

   I will be in India   shortly - will probably come to Delhi as well - will
certainly connect with you   - I am also very happy to see that several people
have responded very   positively to the Mentor - mentee idea.

   Please let me know your   telephone numbers so that I can speak with you in
the next few   days.

   here is mine for your   record

   Vibhuti Jha
   Managing   Director
   Global Capital Services   Group
   www.gcaps.com
   cell :   1-516-603-5610
   home:   1-516-883-0692


Ashish Kumar <ash4jha@...> wrote:  Why should we worry about Bihar or
Vihar? Shouldn't we use our  time and energy, if we could spare some, on
constructive and doable  ideas like - how to develop a good alumni mentorship
program in  Netarhat.

   Well, if one visit of Tata, Mahindra and some Ganguli can make  Bihar
industrially developed, imagine how many year it will take Bihar  to catch up
with Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore etc.. They literally live  there. Let me point out
few reasons why Bihar will fail, miserably:

   > Every one thinks of oneself as some intellectual messiah,  capable of
solving all the world problem with unworldly mental  capacity. We see that a lot
on this group too. But very little to show  for when it comes to some real
action. Think of stupid but rich  Gujratis and Punjabis ..

   > Biharis do not take risk.

   > Some one said no labor problem in Bihar. NarayanMurthy would  not open a
small centre in Bihar because people are not docile enough..

   I would not even go to the social problems.

   All this investment conferences are useless. N.K. Singh is a  learned man and
understands some economics. Therefore, I have some hope  that this govt. would
do well on the policy side. But how much of that  will be implemented will
depend on broader governance of the state.  And I just don;t see state having
enough human capital to be able  to do that. I saw chief scretary G.S. Kumg and
others when they visited  Stanford with N.K.Singh to attend the seminar. First
of all, this  conference was hyped as an investement conference, but it was an 
academic conference. N.K. Singh is plugged into academics in US and he  brought
these guys along with him. Not to their fault, but they just do  not know how to
interact with the investment community.They do not know  the language. That is
why I said that these conferences do not  help at all.

    My point was to give more importance to 'action'.

   Thanks.
   -Ashish








   On 9/28/06, Singh Bajrang <poornashram@...> wrote:    The crucial theme
in 'Bihar' should  be 'Vihar'. A distortion that occurred during the 600 years
long  period of alien rule which in its fission reaction shattered our  Bihar's
cultural landscape by a single stroke deleting "Vi" to "Bi". It  should now be
corrected.


   The highest precedence, therefore, must be Education Emergency in the state to
revert the intellect bank from displacement from villages and townships. Bihar's
s  ocial networking within the country and the  globe should get on to a group
mail to pioneer newer initiatives in  taking knowledge dissemination almost free
to the masses at affordable  costs with returns to flow after placement of the
trainees - the best  possible industry by creating other SEZs (SPECIAL 
EDUCATION   ZONES).

MAY LIKE TO READ THE ARTICLE
   Is Bihar Today Investors' 'Preferred Destination'?
WRITTEN BY

           by Indra
   Sept. 28, 2006

   ON

   http://www.patnadaily.com/readerswrite/2006/sep/indra37.html

   After  many years, there is some good news about Bihar that gives some hope of
resurgence. Bihar has recently played host to a number of big names of 
corporate India, like Ratan Tata of the Tata group, Max Healthcare  Chairman
Analjit Singh and Ashok Ganguly of ICICI. OneSource.






Lt. Col. (Retd.) Bajrang Bihari Singh
Sec-5, Plot - 452
Vaishali, Ghaziabad
U.P.
Phone- 0120-2772949
---------------------------------
   All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done
faster.






--
Ashish Kumar

1989-93, Vikram Ashram



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

---------------------------------
Why keep checking for Mail? The all-new Yahoo! Mail shows you when there are new
messages.

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

Industrial policy opposed
ARUN KUMAR

Times of India, Sept. 30, 2006

PATNA: Former commissioner of scheduled castes/tribes, government of
India, and convener of Bharat Ka Lok Janvadi Morcha (BKLJM) B D Sharma
feels Nitish government's policy on industrialisation of Bihar is
anti-farmer hence should be opposed tooth and nail.

In an exclusive interview to TOI, Sharma said over emphasis on
industry would further impoverish the farmers. Development of Bihar
cannot be planned without giving farmers their "due" as without it the
industrialisation of the state would not be nothing, but a farce, said
Sharma.

BKLJM leader said he was in favour of strong farmers' movement in the
state. In this regard, he also held a meeting at Jehanabad on
September 27.

He said business houses were making beeline in Bihar to capture
farmers' lands in the name of setting up of industries. He said the
new "kisan vidroh" (farmers' revolt) programme aims at seeking skilled
labour status to the farmers.

At present, the government has wrongfully categorised farming as an
unskilled work. "This was the reason as to why the principle of one
person earning for the whole family has been applied in case of
determination of wages for organised sector workers whereas in case of
determination of wage of farmers it was not followed," Sharma added.
He wondered while two different yardsticks was being applied for
determination of wages in the country — one for the organised sector
and the other for the unorganised sector. It is patent unjust, said
Sharma.

He said agricultural subsidies was farce. Whereas other states have
mixed economy, industries on the fallow land whereas agriculture on
the fertile land, both Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have agricultural
economy, he added.

Almost 70 per cent population of the country was dependent on
agriculture in 1950 having 63 per cent share in the GDP, whereas,
according to the Agriculture Commission report, it has come down to 65
per cent dependence on agriculture with only 25 per cent share in GDP
at present, Sharma said.

It is estimated that by the year 2020 dependence on agriculture would
come down to further 60 per cent with mere six per cent share in GDP.

Is  our state truly determined to transform itself into a truely democratic 
entity? May like to read a  narrative on the state's present  puicture in the
following artilce:

  
http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu4&subLeft=\
2&autono=260132&tab=r


   His new republic of Bihar

   This is Nitish Kumar’s Janata Durbar, held at his residence twice a  week.
People spread their gamchhas under the trees outside the CM’s  residence and
sleep there to ensure they can meet Kumar the following  morning.
   Usually, their problems relate to unemployment, ex gratia  medical relief,
poverty, transfers and postings, police brutality and  oppression...all the
existential problems of any villager, all  resolvable at the district level but
imported to the Patna because of a  dormant administration.
   A young woman tugs at a security official’s sleeve. “I don’t  have a
petition,” she says, on the verge of hysterical tears. “I paid  Re 1 to someone
to write out my petition but he took my money and  walked off.”
   An officer is summoned and an application is written on her  behalf. This will
be entered in a data base designed by Tata  Consultancy Services to enable the
CM’s secretariat to track the  complaint and redress it if the district
administration doesn’t act on  it.
   Nitish Kumar arrives at the meeting with a cavalcade of  bureaucrats. Every
application is entered in the data base, and when  the CM gets it, he hands out
redressal on the spot.
   “Get me the Muzaffarpur SP,” he demands. A woman weeps in  front of him. “This
woman is a Dalit. Her children have been killed.  Why isn’t the thana
registering an FIR?” he yells on the mobile.
   “There is no such thing as a ‘little’ height,” he tells a  young man pleading
with him to use his influence and get him admitted  to the police overlooking a
“small problem” — his height.


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

---------------------------------
Want to be your own boss? Learn how on  Yahoo! Small Business.

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

His new republic of Bihar
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi September 30, 2006
Business Standard, Sept. 30, 2006

Nitish Kumar
Aditi Phadnis journeys to the badlands of Lalu Prasad's former
fiefdom, and comes away impressed by Nitish Kumar's initiatives.

The foetid smell of sweat, raw onions, garlic and mustard oil rises in
the still, humid air of 1, Anne Marg as thousands collect in the
sweltering heat to meet the chief minister of Bihar.

This is Nitish Kumar's Janata Durbar, held at his residence twice a
week. People spread their gamchhas under the trees outside the CM's
residence and sleep there to ensure they can meet Kumar the following
morning.

Usually, their problems relate to unemployment, ex gratia medical
relief, poverty, transfers and postings, police brutality and
oppression...all the existential problems of any villager, all
resolvable at the district level but imported to the Patna because of
a dormant administration.

A young woman tugs at a security official's sleeve. "I don't have a
petition," she says, on the verge of hysterical tears. "I paid Re 1 to
someone to write out my petition but he took my money and walked off."

An officer is summoned and an application is written on her behalf.
This will be entered in a data base designed by Tata Consultancy
Services to enable the CM's secretariat to track the complaint and
redress it if the district administration doesn't act on it.

Nitish Kumar arrives at the meeting with a cavalcade of bureaucrats.
Every application is entered in the data base, and when the CM gets
it, he hands out redressal on the spot.

"Get me the Muzaffarpur SP," he demands. A woman weeps in front of
him. "This woman is a Dalit. Her children have been killed. Why isn't
the thana registering an FIR?" he yells on the mobile.

"There is no such thing as a 'little' height," he tells a young man
pleading with him to use his influence and get him admitted to the
police overlooking a "small problem" — his height.

The scenes are not peculiar to Bihar. Every chief minister encounters
them though Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi never felt the need for such an
exercise in their 15 years in office. Kumar is trying to bring
governance back to Bihar after a long absence. Advocate general P K
Shahi recalls the way the change in the state was relayed to him.

"It was the day after the election results and Nitish Kumar was to
take oath. The chief minister told me to make preparations for the
panchayat elections. I explained that the matter was before the
Supreme Court in the form of a Special Leave Petition. He said, 'Do
what you want. I want the elections'."

Within a day of assuming office, Kumar held a meeting with his
bureaucrats and explained how he wanted things run.

For the first time in its history, the police in the state were asked
to prioritise their job. Two problems were identified: one,
gunslingers involved in extortion, intimidation and sometimes
abduction by "bahubalis" (mafia lords). Second, abductions as an
industry. Cases were divided into two categories based on their
primacy and how recent they were. And then the Bihar police got down
to the painful task of solving them.

"The challenge was obvious. The older the case, the harder it was to
get evidence. Alongside, we also wanted to make an example of recent
crimes. The message we wanted to send was: 'Don't think you can commit
a crime and get away with it. Because you can't, not now," says
additional DG of police (operations) Anil Sinha.

Once the police understood that criminals were going to get no
political protection, they decided to go after them. The Arms Act is
beautiful in its simplicity.

Nothing more than a sub inspector's testimony is required to prosecute
a criminal, so reports of arrests from districts began pouring in. The
criminals were chargesheeted in three days, brought before a fast
track trial court and convicted even before they could ask for bail.

In other states these incidents would be commonplace; in Bihar they
are unbelievable. Now the second phase of operations has started: the
arrest of those against whom FIRs have been lodged.

When arrest orders against minor "bahubalis" Sunil Pandey and Anant
were issued, Bihar was in a state of shock. Both were sitting MLAs
from the Janata Dal U, Nitish Kumar's party.

Uncertain of their fate, the police went to Pande's home, and though
they knew he was inside, did not arrest him, merely pasted the
proclamation on his door and returned. Inside, Pande granted
interviews to television channels. When this was brought to Kumar's
notice, he publicly reprimanded the police brass.

The result of these moves has been nothing short of dramatic. Where
earlier Patna cinema halls never screened evening and night shows, now
they are sending cash registers ringing hysterically. Retail sales are
up — people who used to visit shops only during the festive and
marriage season are crowding shopping centres like Mauryalok.

Young people can be spotted waiting for a table in the swisher
restaurants of the capital. Shops are open till 9 pm. Young women
think nothing of going for a morning jog at Gandhi Maidan, the
sprawling park in the centre of Patna.

Says principal secretary to the chief minister, R C P Singh: "Last
month we logged 27 convictions a day. Of these, eight per day were for
life imprisonment. In September we expect this to go up. In the last
eight months we have convicted around 3,000 people in cases of heinous
crime — murder, kidnapping and murder — and 2,000 people have been
convicted in other crimes."

The gain? "Once convicted, the person cannot get any government
contract. Nor can he contest elections," says a police officer.

Can the government sustain the momentum? Apart from an inefficient,
corrupt and demoralised force, there are objective problems: lack of
training and manpower shortages.

But the Bihar government has hit on a unique scheme that the President
of India commended when he visited the state. It has already recruited
5,000 retired soldiers who have been banded as the Special Auxiliary
Police for constabulary and cordon and search operations.

Therefore, when you have an incident like the Jehanabad jailbreak
case, or where the local police is suspected to be either involved or
frightened of acting (and this happens a lot in Bihar), this force
will be used.

The Bihar government is also, for the first time in many years,
actually spending the money given to it for modernisation — buildings,
secure communication, and brand new computer systems to replace the
aged 486 and Pentium II systems they had earlier.

Under another novel initiative, 50 officers have been headhunted in
the CBI for vigilance functions. Beginning November, these officials
will be tasked with handling cases relating to disproportionate
assets, and entrapment.

It is not just on the law and order front that the state government
has moved. A Single Window Act, 2006 seeks to cut red tape for
industry wanting to invest in the state.

There are new rules for infrastructure development, the Rent Control
Act has been abolished, stamp duty has been cut for better compliance,
the Agricultural Produce Marketing Control Act used to force farmers
to sell only at designated mandis has been abolished, the power sector
has been unbundled into eight new entities, Bihar has a new sugarcane
policy...

"Bihar is going to spend Rs 17,000 crore over three years just on
roads. Apart from unbundling the power sector, we are going to
franchise distribution," says N K Singh, newly appointed vice chairman
of the state's Investment Board.

A 180-acre tourism complex has been envisaged in Bodh
Gaya-Rajgir-Nalanda that will combine spa and health tourism. A golf
course-multiplex-shopping mall-luxury hotel complex is to be set up
here.

The project cost will be anywhere between Rs 850-1,000 crore. At the
invitation of the Bihar government, a representative of the World
Tourism Organisation and UN expert on regional planning, James
Esserman is currently touring this area.

"The Nalanda University was world famous. We want to develop it into a
modern world-class educational centre," Nitish Kumar says. Singapore
senior state minister for external affairs Balaji Sadashivan was in
Patna earlier this week and he has promised Singapore's support for
the project.

Seductive as all this sounds, Kumar and his colleagues are acutely
conscious that they need to have their feet firmly planted on the
ground. Health is a formidable challenge with immunisation figures at
a mere 11 per cent — against a national average of 54 per cent.

In January 2006, average patients per primary health centre (PHC) was
39 with 85 per cent or more patients going to doctors in the private
sector.

In the last eight months, Rs 222 crore has already been spent on the
health sector and the outlay in next year's budget could be Rs 400
crore (it used to be Rs 100 crore before 2005).

"We want the doctors to be free from the management of support
services so that they can concentrate on providing the specialised
services they are meant for," said Deepak Kumar, state health
secretary.

Pathology services, radiology services, hospital maintenance,
ambulance services and mobile medical unit services have all been
outsourced.

Pathology services, for instance, are available at PHCs; the labs pay
rent to the state government which makes no investment. Government
patients are charged rates fixed after consultation between the
government and the labs, on the understanding that the labs are free
to use the premises and charge non-government patients market rates.

For those registered with PHCs, the charges are low. Ambulances are
available at every hospital. But what has increased footfalls in PHCs
is that 13 essential outpatient drugs and 24 essential inpatient drugs
are provided free. From November, all medicines for indoor patients
will be free.

Deepak Kumar concedes that absenteeism was a serious problem but there
was not a lot the state government could do about it.

"Most doctors never viewed suspension as a punishment — it left them
free for private practice. But we have tried to see the problem from
their eyes: to see patients but neither be able to prescribe them
medicines nor send them for an x-ray. Now that we've redressed this,
the doctors are enjoying their job."

A similar initiative in education has been planned. Nearly 2,40,000
teachers will be recruited over the next two years but the charge of
managing them will be given to the panchayats.

As 58 per cent of the panchayats in Bihar are manned by women, Nitish
Kumar says this will work beautifully. "There is no one who wants a
child to study more than a mother, no matter how poor the family might
be," he says.

To correct the discrepancy between the quality of education in state
run and private schools, a committee headed by former foreign
secretary Muchkund Dubey is studying the issue.

Prem Shankar Mani, an MLC and Janata Dal U ideologue, says, "We
believe the ends of social justice will be served only when children
from lower castes get access to English education."

Mani says declassing children is an important element in education for
a state as poor as Bihar. "Talk to a child in a public school and ask
him about hunger. He will describe it as appetite. But he has to learn
the meaning of hunger as well from his low caste classmate."

World Bank lead economist Dipak Dasgupta says health and education
reforms by the government are steps in the right direction. "But," he
adds cautiously, "we need to know more about evaluation and
monitoring." Nitish Kumar smiles wryly at this. "They are right," he
says, "the programmes need to be monitored every day, every week."

And this is the downside. In order to reform the Public Distribution
System, the state government asked all district magistrates to collect
figures of families Below the Poverty Line. One deadline has already
been missed and a second one advanced.

Last week, at a videoconference with DMs, the chief minister lost his
temper. The supply side story is that one block development officer
complained he could not collect these figures because of threats by a
"bahubali" and requested an NGO to conduct the survey. The NGO
countered this by saying they would be subject to the same threat. The
net result is that the figures are yet to come.

Nitish Kumar made the somewhat rash promise that all districts would
be covered by the rural employment guarantees programme.

He told Business Standard that every district had reported that job
cards were being handed out. But at a recent Jan Sunwai in Jehanabad,
several women complained to the Land Reforms Commission's D
Bandopadhyaya that they had asked for work but had been denied cards.

This is the problem everywhere. There is one Nitish Kumar, a handful
of officers by his side, battling the state of mind that is Bihar. His
ministers, even if they are honest good men, don't know how to be
ministers.

When industries minister Gautam Singh was invited by the Bihar
Industries Association along with the US Consul General in Kolkata,
who speaks fluent Bengali, instead of discussing plans to encourage
investment to Bihar, Singh spent the better part of an hour with the
US envoy teaching him the Bhojpuri equivalent of Bengali words.

Ask Nitish Kumar and he will explain why he wants to encourage sugar
mills to set up integrated sugar complexes in Bihar — ethanol, alcohol
and suage plants — but when the government announced the new sugarcane
policy, the minister in charge, Nitish Mishra cried off from an
industry-government meet confessing he was yet to understand the
policy.

State finance minister Sushil Modi was not even present at the press
conference with Investment Commission chief Ratan Tata. Like a
cuckolded husband, he is always the last to know when it comes to
events in his department.

Understandably, big business is wary about investing in Bihar, though
the state government is trying to make sure it doesn't turn away for
lack of a policy and legal architecture.

Although the chief minister says FDI worth Rs 14,000 crore has been
approved for the state, the real bucks have come in only to set up 14
sugar mills. The chief minister is clear what he doesn't want: "We
will not be joining the race to set up Special Economic Zones in
Bihar," he says. "They are controversial and we can't spare
agricultural land."

The Union government is holding out a helping hand. Thanks to a Patna
visit by P Chidambaram earlier this year, bank CMDs are burning the
tarmac at Patna airport. They are coming to Bihar in droves. What this
activity yields is another matter. Last week, bids were opened for
roadbuilding in Patna. The contract has gone to the Tantia group.

If words don't match deeds, the Bihar elite, whom Kumar has kept
engaged so far, will lose patience. But the World Bank says everything
Kumar is doing is "exactly right".

"In principal, Bihar should be growing twice as fast as the the
national average if the government continues its reforms process.
That's the potential of the state," says Dipak Dasgupta. But adds his
associate, Mandakini Kaul, "Expectation management is a big issue."

That is the challenge for the new republic that is Bihar.

Global meet for a resurgent Bihar
IANS, Sept. 29, 2006

Patna, Sep 28 : Over 500 eminent people from across the world,
including non-resident Indians (NRIs), are expected to participate in
a global meet to be held here in January to discuss development
strategies for a resurgent Bihar.

The global meet is being organised in Patna Jan 19-21, Deputy Chief
Minister Sushil Kumar Modi announced here Thursday evening.

Experts and investors from around the world who are concerned with the
development of Bihar are expected to participate in the meet that
intends to repackage the state as a favourable investment destination.

The meet, first of its kind in the state, is jointly organised by
Bihartimes.com, a Patna-based news portal and the New Delhi-based
Institute of Human Development with support from the state government.

Ajay Kumar, chief editor and CEO of portal, said the global meet would
provide a platform to discuss and deliberate on development ideas that
can put the state on a path of vibrant socio-economic progress.

It will also help to foster personal and professional contacts among
non-resident Biharis (NRBs) and others interested in the state's
development.

"It will also enable Bihar to acquire a positive brand name which can
be helpful in forging links with the outside world and to contribute
towards cultural and educational resurgence of Bihar," Ajay Kumar
said.

Bihar is keen to attract foreign investment in agriculture, health, IT
and tourism.

State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has agreed to be the chief patron of the meet.

"Nitish Kumar showed keen interest on hosting the meet and assured to
make it a big success," Ajay Kumar said.

Modi said that he had already organised two high-level meetings to
work out the details and preparation for the global meet.

The deputy chief minister, who visited Britain, Italy and Canada to
market Bihar as a favourable investment destination two months ago,
has proposed to set up an NRI cell in the state government to
facilitate investments.

"The NRI cell will be established by early next year," Modi said.

--- IANS

More  than ten years ago,  honouring the solemn advice of His Excellency  Shri
AR Kidwai, the then Governor of Bihar in All India Meet organised  by NOBA
Ranchi, a  group of  alumni of Netarhat opened Vidya  Vihar Resdential School -
VVRS (www.vidyavihar.org) with the help of  Shriman KN Vasudevanji, ex-principal
of Netarhat Vidyalaya.

   The performance of the school,  the result of the shool over the last 5 years
in particular of class X for the year 2006 as compared with  Amity School Saket
New Delhi, a well known model of excellence gives  the imppression that VVRS may
be deemed to be the best in India among  the CBSE affilaited schools at
secondary level.

  The  Netarhat  experiment of promotion of excellence in education has  been
carried forward  with private initiative and a sense of  venture and viability,
which need to be steered far ahead. The school  is further expected to host at
10+2 level by July 2007.

   Selected aumni of Netrahat School in Bihar and  professional  associates have
raised a promoting body "Vidya Vihar Educational Trust"  under the enterneuship
of Shri Ramesh Chandra Mishra (1964 batch entry)  who with his farsightedness
and  business acumen has moved ahead  to seek 10 acres of land, possession
alraedy handed over on September  22, 2006 at BIHAR INDUSTRIAL AREA DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY (BIADA)  GROWTH  CENTRE, VILLAGE:MARANGA, NEAR PURNIA -  a project 
which calls for an investment of minimumr Rs. 5 crores over the next  two years
expected to become operational by the year 2008.

   The Govt. of Bihar, the CM Secretariat and Department of Industries has  been
extremely forthright in implementing their resolution no. 129  dated January 16,
2006.

  On behalf of the promoting body   the alumni fraternity and all friends of the
State are invited/  requested to come forward with views and suggestions with
regard to  its  form and  faculty development so that the institution  may truly
become a pride of the State and the Nation in its domain.




   http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/dec/27iit.htm

   New IITs: A report card

Yogesh K Upadhyaya |    December  27, 2005

         The  author is a chemical engineering graduate from IT-BHU and an MS
from  Rutgers University, New Jersey. He has interacted with the HRD  ministry,
the IIT board, and the IIT Selection Committee at length.
---------------------------------

   The seven colleges  in the race for the potential upgradation to the status of
an Indian  Institute of Technology are constantly in news. The colleges, visited
by the three-member panel from ministry of human resources development  (MHRD)
are:

    Aligarh Muslim University-Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and
Technology, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh;
    Andhra University -College of Engineering, Visakhapatanam, Andhra Pradesh;
    Banaras Hindu University-Institute of Technology (IT-BHU), Varanasi, Uttar
Pradesh;
    Bengal Engineering College, Howrah, West Bengal;
    Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi, Kerala;
    Jadavpur University's Engineering and Technology Departments, Calcutta, West
Bengal; and
    Osmania University-College of Engineering and College of Technology,
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
   Earlier,  each college had submitted a 10-year vision document (Vision 2015)
to  the HRD ministry. The documents broadly outlined what steps each  institute
will take to help it in upgrading to potential IIT status.
   It  was more like a wish list, stating what each college will do if it gets  a
large amount of central funding in a few years. After scrutinising  them, the
MHRD forwarded a detailed questionnaire (pro forma) to all  the colleges and
asked them to reply by October end.
   The questionnaire asked details of engineering faculty:

    Academic programmes  (undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programmes)
for the last  five years, indicating sanctioned capacity/actual
enrollment/graduation  rate;
    Faculty situation,  including year-wise and department-wise faculty strength,
regular and  contract/visiting faculty, student/faculty ratio, bio-data of each 
faculty, etc.
    Details for Support Staff; Vacancies of staff for the year 2004-05.
    On Infrastructure,  details were asked for academic buildings, lecture hall
sizes, library,  sports complex, computer center, laboratories, communication 
facilities, hostels, staff housing, shopping/school facilities, etc.
    Also included were all-important questions of Finances (plan/non-plan grant,
expenditure); Proposed Additional Finances (on upgradation);
    Governance, and
    International eminence.
   Visit of the MHRD panel
   The  panel visited the colleges, beginning with IT-BHU, Varanasi, on  November
16 and ending with CUSAT on December 12, 2005. The members of  the panel are:

    Dr M  Anandakrishnan: Currently, Chairman of Madras Institute of Development 
Studies; former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, and ex-Professor of  Civil
Engineering at IIT Kanpur.
    Dr D V Singh: Former Vice Chancellor of Roorkee University.
    Dr  Amitabha Ghosh: Currently, Professor Emeritus at IIT-Kanpur,  ex-Director
of IIT Kharagpur and ex-Professor of Bengal Engineering  College.
   The team wanted to  ascertain the facts stated by each college. During the
daylong meeting  with each college, the team interacted with director/vice
chancellor of  the institute, senior faculty and even with students.
   There  was excitement in the air since this was the best chance for the 
college to put forward its case. The team was given a red carpet  welcome and
was shown around the facilities. During the meeting, heads  of departments and
senior faculty members helped the college authority  to arrange the PowerPoint
presentation to the team and to help answer  some departmental and academic
questions.
   The panel particularly wanted to know the interest shown by the college and
the steps being taken to improve the quality.
   It  also inquired about administrative structure of the college, any  problem
from university or state government for separating the  institute, willingness
to accept national level entrance exams,  timeframe for improvement, funding
requirements, etc.
   Hierarchy of the institutes
   On  the recommendation of the panel and considering other factors, the 
central government will shortly issue its report cards for the  colleges. There
will be no pass or fail grades, as each college is  assured of an INI (Institute
of National Importance) status. The only  grades will be IITs, Deemed-IITs and
INIs. Once awarded, the grades  will be final.
   INI: After  Independence, India felt the need for advanced institutes in
science,  technology and other areas. Hence the central government decided to
set  up new institutes or designate the existing such institutes as  Institutes
of National Importance.
   INIs  were leaders in their chosen fields and had national and international 
standing. They were established as autonomous institutes, enacted by  the Act of
Parliament and funded by the central government, to which  they were
accountable.
   They  helped the country in the initial stages to become technologically 
self-reliant and to train future manpower needs. By definition, all  IITs and
NITs are INIs. There are over 40 INIs in the field of science  and technology
(including IISc, IITs, INIs, NITIE, ISI, ISM-Dhanbad,  and several other
scientific and research institutes).
   Deemed-IITs: The  government is thinking of establishing a new category called
Deemed-IITs (almost like IITs). It may be given some exotic name, such  as
Advanced Institute of Technology or the National Academy of Science  and
Technology. It is not known how many colleges will be accorded such  a
designation or whether it can be converted into a full-fledged IIT at  a later
date.
   Thus, the new  hierarchy of the institutes will be: IITs, Deemed-IITs, NITs
(National  Institutes of Technology) and plain INIs -- in that order.
   Deemed-IITs  shall have choice of IIT-JEE (encouraged) or AIEEE as entrance
exams.  It will have a curriculum similar to IITs, but will offer its own 
degree. It can exchange faculty with the IITs, but it will have its own 
executive council, separate from IIT board.
   Table: Comparison of different categories of Institutes
     Type
IIT (New)
Deemed-IIT (New)
NIT
INI (New)
Initial funding
(Rs crore)
300
300
100
300
Annual funding
(Rs crore)
100
100 (?)
30
40
Entrance exam
IIT-JEE
IIT-JEE or AIEEE
100% AIEEE
50% AIEEE
�(at least)
Curriculum level
IIT
IIT
NIT
Own
Degree from
IIT
Own
NIT
Own
Executive council, part of
IIT Board
Own
NIT Council
Own
Fully under central govt. control?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Admissions through national level exams only?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
     Note:

    1.  The current annual funding of Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) for each NIT 
will be increased in near future. NIT Council is pushing for higher  status,
increased funding and more recognition from the government.
    2. IITs will also receive additional annual funding of Rs. 20-40 crore (Rs
200-400 million) for research.
    3. Annual funding of Deemed-IITs is yet to be finalised, but is likely to be
similar to that of IITs.
   New IITs to be declared soon?
   Informed sources say a decision to announce the new IITs is just around the
corner.
   The  MHRD panel will submit its evaluation report to the ministry by January 
2006. After going through the report, consulting with IIT Board (an  apex
council of all IITs), the state governments, and discussing with  political
allies, the government will declare its final decision around  February/March,
2006.
   The  colleges declared for upgradation to IIT shall be asked to take  students
through IIT-JEE; those with Deemed-IITs status can admit  students through
IIT-JEE or AIEEE as per their choice; while new INIs  will be asked to take at
least half of the students through AIEEE.
   All  the colleges will have to take students from the respective competitive 
exams form next year-2006. This will be of great help to students  appearing in
national level exams.
   For  example, for IIT-JEE candidates, the number of available seats will 
increase from 5,000 at present to about 7,000 to 8,000 next year,  partly due to
more colleges joining the exam and also due to additional  seats made available
at the existing IITs.
   The  colleges will receive their initial funding over next 2-3 years. Their 
quality will be judged periodically and they will have to come up to  their
intended (IIT, Deemed-IIT or INI) standards, after which they  will be conferred
official status.
   A  few months ago, it was decided to grant 4-5 colleges the status of  IITs,
and the remaining as INIs. Now there will be a mix of IITs,  Deemed-IITs and
INIs, although the exact composition is not known yet.
   Funding requirement
   As  the government has promised, each college (irrespective of its ultimate 
status) will receive one-time (initial) funding of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3  billion)
to improve its decades-old infrastructure. For that purpose, a  provision of Rs
2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) is being made in the  current Five-Year Plan (10th
Plan, 2002-2007) and in the next Plan.
   Half  of the amount will be disbursed in the next financial year. However, 
the increased annual funding will be granted only after the college is  given
official status in next 2-3 years. The annual funding will be  different for
different categories as explained in the Table.
   For Deemed-IITs, the exact amount for yearly funding has yet to be decided.
   The  increased funding will help the colleges to a great extent in improving 
their infrastructure, hiring new faculty, starting new programmes, etc.  At
present, there is a large gap between the budget of an IIT and a  non-IIT.
   Take for example, the  funding of two premier institutes in West Bengal.
IIT-Kharagpur (with  the current undergraduate intake capacity of 780 per year)
has an  annual budget of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), which it fully deserves 
as a premier institute.
   On the  other hand, the Bengal Engineering College at Howrah, which (with an 
intake capacity for 560 students per year) is celebrating 150th anniversary next
year, has an annual budget of less than Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million)!
   Problems ahead
   Despite  the best intentions of the central government, the conversion of 
colleges to IIT/INI status will not be very smooth. There are problems  ahead,
some from the stand taken by state governments, some by the  universities, of
which the colleges are part of, and some from the  colleges themselves.
   The speed and category of final status will be defined by three criteria:

    Quality,
    Compatibility, and
    Politics.
   The quality will depend upon how fast the college can turn around and improve
its value.
   Compatibility  means the college culture, academic discipline, ease of
separation from  the parent university, willingness to accept students from
national  level exam, and willingness of state government to lose control over 
the college.
   Politics, which is always an integral part of setting up an institute of
higher learning in our country, is explained next.
   It  is strange that states that were bending over backwards a while ago to 
grab an IIT for their backyard, are now imposing conditions, which are 
difficult to comply with for the central government.
   For  example, the West Bengal government, which has its representatives in 
the executive council of the colleges, wants to continue its hold. This  is
naturally not acceptable to the central government as IITs are  autonomous
institutes under the control of the HRD ministry, and the  ministry directly
selects all the board members.
   Moreover,  the director is the ultimate in-charge of an IIT. In contrast, a
state  college is controlled by a committee whose members are elected through  a
voting process. Different IITs cannot have different sets of rules,  hence came
the idea of Deemed-IIT status. In that case, IIT status  cannot be granted to
otherwise qualified colleges, since similar demand  will also rise from the
states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
   This  is also testimony to the fact that state governments failed to develop 
engineering colleges (except one or two) as premier colleges. In order  for the
colleges to avail this once in a lifetime opportunity and to  plan their better
future, they should be granted full autonomy.
   We hope that better sense will prevail and that the deserving colleges will be
spared the traumatic experience.
   There  is also the problem of separating an engineering college from the rest 
of its parent university. In most cases, both share the same  facilities, and
there is no physically congruous area that can be  demarked by constructing a
wall around.
   Some colleges hope to overcome this by moving to new spacious premises. Apart
from that, the question of separating from the common administration (registrar,
security, maintenance, etc.), common facility (library, computer center, banks,
post office, etc.), common recreational complex (sports center, swimming pool,
auditorium, etc.) and common housing (hostels, staff quarters, etc.) is to be
addressed.
   Also,  various university Acts (Such as the AMU Act and the BHU Act) have to 
be amended by Parliament before officially separating the college and  granting
a new status.
   Colleges  have taken the recommendation from the HRD ministry to improve their
faculty very seriously. They have started recruiting faculty on a mass  scale
and have begun to post employment notices through the� year  (similar to IITs)
on their Web sites, started sending staff to IIT/IISc  under the quality
improvement programme, asking non-PhD staff to enroll  in doctoral studies,
regularized contract/temporary faculty into  permanent positions, etc. IT-BHU
has advertised for recruitment of over  100 teaching positions.
   Role of politics
   Politics  will have major influence on the outcome of such grand nature. The 
moment the panel submits its report to the government, horse-trading by 
different political lobbies will begin behind the screens.
   Recently,  everyone (including the MHRD, the panel members, the college 
authorities and the state governments) is coming out with his or her  version in
the media. The aim behind issuing confusing public  statements seems to be to
send a message to other parties and to mask  their own decision-making process.
   Lately,  some vested interest groups have aired the view that none of the 
colleges meets the criteria for an IIT status. But is not precisely for  this
reason (to upgrade their quality, infrastructure and image) that  these colleges
are seeking IIT status?
   The  central government is willing to set up an IIT in the state of West 
Bengal, but it may be difficult for the state to select a college from  the
equally prestigious Jadavpur University and Bengal Engineering  College. A
section of the government of Andhra Pradesh recently  expressed concern over the
state's students losing their quota once  Osmania University and Andhra
University start taking students through  the national level exams.
   Not to  be left behind, each of the seven colleges has mustered the support of
at least a dozen Members of Parliament, who are sympathetic to their  cause.
Even the alumni and faculty have joined the race, to help their  alma mater.
   For example, IT-BHU  alumni association led by Arvind Gupta submitted a signed
mass petition  to HRD ministry three years ago for conversion of the college
into an  IIT, when there was not even the talk about the subject. Similarly, the
BEC alumni association, led by Swapan Saha, has started a media  campaign to
advocate its cause.
   The  BEC faculty has together submitted a petition to the state government, 
the central government and other concerned authorities on the issue.  The
Jadavpur alumni association, led by Arun Palit, is in touch with  university
authorities to address the problem of improving  infrastructure and campus
atmosphere.
   In conclusion
   Hopefully  the suspense over the subject will be over in a few months.
Whatever  may be the outcome, our country will benefit, as we badly need few
more  world-class institutes to continue our economic growth.
   It  is hoped that the quality of the colleges will be given due weightage 
during selection and the outcome will be of satisfaction to all the  parties
concerned.


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]

The crucial theme in   'Bihar' should be 'Vihar'. A   distortion that occurred
during the 600 years long period of alien   rule which in its fission reaction
shattered our Bihar's cultural landscape by a single   stroke deleting "Vi" to
"Bi". It should now be corrected.


     The highest precedence,   therefore, must be Education   Emergency in the
state to revert the intellect bank from displacement from   villages and
townships. Bihar's social  networking within the country and the globe should
get on to a group  mail to pioneer newer initiatives in taking knowledge
dissemination  almost free to the masses at affordable costs with returns to
flow  after placement of the trainees - the best possible industry by  creating
other SEZs (SPECIAL  EDUCATION  ZONES).

   MAY LIKE TO READ THE ARTICLE
             Is Bihar Today Investors' 'Preferred           Destination'?
     WRITTEN BY

     by Indra
           Sept. 28, 2006

         ON

         http://www.patnadaily.com/readerswrite/2006/sep/indra37.html

         After           many years, there is some good news about Bihar
that gives some hope of resurgence. Bihar has           recently played host to
a number of big names of           corporate India, like Ratan Tata of the Tata
group, Max Healthcare Chairman Analjit Singh and           Ashok Ganguly of
ICICI. OneSource.






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]

Bihar govt slow in implementing NREGA, says Centre
newkerala.com

New Delhi, Sep 26: The Centre today pulled up Bihar government for the
"slow" implementation of the rural job guarantee programme and
rejected the "lame excuses" forwarded by the NDA-ruled state for it.

"The implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(NREGA) in Bihar is slow and the state government reasons for this are
lame excuses," Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad
Singh said at a press conference here.

Taking a serious note of the pace of implementatin of the NREGA in
Bihar, he took the opportunity to laud some other states for the
progress made by them in the matter.

Singh, who reviewed the performance of states in the northern and
western regions, made a special mention of Bihar though it was not on
today's agenda.

"UP started it very late but has picked up well. But, Bihar and to
some extent Punjab have been very passive," he said.

Under NREGA, which was launched in 200 selected districts of the
country in February this year, over 90 lakh rural households have been
provided with employment entailing an expenditure of over Rs 2,000
crore.

Asserting that every eligible applicant has been provided job within
the stipulated time frame, he said there has been no such occasion so
far to pay unemployment allowance.

With a view to giving a push to the ambitious programme, the Minister
said it was proposed to give incentives to states performing well.

Kerala and some northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya
and Sikkim are yet to start the programme.

--- PTI

Nitish revamps Dussehra clebrations
Press Trust Of India
Posted Thursday , September 28, 2006 at 15:16
CNN IBN,

PARTY TIME: Nitish Kumar will inaugurate the cultural show in the
presence of Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.

Patna: In keeping with its aim to show a change in the political
climate in Bihar with the change of guard, the Nitish Kumar government
has decided to revive a cultural programme on the occasion of Dussehra
— a tradition which had stopped for over a decade in Patna.

The two-day cultural programme beginning on Friday at the historic
Gandhi Maidan being organised at the initiative of the Chief Minister,
will see a host of prominent artistes from across the country regaling
the audience, Minister for Culture Janardan Singh Sigriwal said.

Three prominent Bollywood personalities hailing from Bihar —
Shatrughan Sinha, Shekhar Suman and Prakash Jha — would grace the
inaugural function, Sigriwal said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would inaugurate the cultural show in the
presence of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, he added.

Sigriwal said the programme dedicated to late shehnai maestro Ustad
Bismillah Khan intended to show a change in climate in the state with
NDA assuming power last year.

Noted Kathak dancer Shobhna Narayan, vocalists Rajan and Sajan Mishra,
folk singer Sharda Sinha and Manoj Tiwari are among the artistes who
would delight the audience for two days.

On the occassion, the people of Patna fondly remembered legendary
singer Mukhesh, Mohammad Rafi and others who had performed in the city
on Dussehra in the past.

Probe into antique statues theft
IANS

Patna, Sep 26 The Bihar Government today asked the CBI to probe the
theft of 18 priceless statues of the 8th and 9th century from Patna
museum, official sources said.

Indian embassies across the world and the Interpol have been informed
of the theft of the statues belonging to the period of the Pala
dynasty that ruled Bihar and Bengal.

The central investigation agency has been asked to take over the case
keeping in mind the national and international ramifications, he said.

The theft, which occurred on Sunday night, came to light when the
museum staff opened the gallery yesterday for public viewing. The
museum staff found to their dismay that 18 'ashtadhatu' (alloy of
eight metals) statues were missing from the first floor 'Bronze
Gallery' of the museum.

According to officials of the museum, statues were missing from the
first floor gallery of the museum.

Anjani Kumar Singh, secretary of arts and culture, said a high level
probe has been ordered. "It is a matter of concern for us."

Poverty, apathy make Bihar a kala azar den


Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Sep 28 (IANS) Twenty-eight of Bihar's 32
districts are infected with kala azar, the deadly black fever, as
poverty, unhygienic lifestyle and government apathy make the disease
endemic to the region.

Experts running kala azar research centres in collaboration with the
World Health Organisation (WHO) and working to develop affordable
drugs said the entire Gangetic plains of the state are infected with
kala azar.

"It's affecting the poor people in villages who can't afford
treatment. The geographic location, poverty, bad hygiene and lack of a
definite plan by the government are contributing heavily to the growth
of the disease," said T.K. Jha, medical director of one of the two
kala azar research centres here.

"Though the government claims that Bihar is home to only 23,000
patients, our estimate is 230,000. The living conditions of villagers
are perfect breeding ground for sand flies, the carrier of the
disease, and the government seems to be doing almost nothing to
improve them," Jha told a visiting IANS correspondent.

Kala azar - medically known as Visceral Leishmaniasis - is a
vector-born disease and is characterised by fever, weight loss,
swelling of spleen and liver and anaemia that could lead to
cardiovascular complications.

The parasite attacks bone marrow and weakens the immune system leading
to increased vulnerability to infections and diseases. Black fever is
also the second-largest parasitic killer in the world after malaria.

The sand flies multiply in cow-dung that villagers use as fuel or to
plaster their shanties with. The flies survive on the sap in banana
groves, bamboo stands and decomposed cow-dung and thrive in thatches
used to make tiny houses.

Flies that have bitten infected humans also transmit the disease when
they bite another person.

Jha, who is the principal investigator of a United Nations Development
Programme-WHO project on kala azar, said in the pre-independence era,
the parasite came to the state from Assam via West Bengal.

"But things have changed and Bihar is now the source of all kala azar
cases. People migrate from here to Delhi or West Bengal and spread the
disease there, too," he added.

He said the disease came to Bihar in late 1930s and was there till
1950 and later disappeared from the state due to malaria eradication
efforts. "But it came back in 1970 and the mortality rate was 30
percent."

"Now the disease is spreading from west Bihar to east Uttar Pradesh,
east Bihar to north of Bengal and north Bihar to Nepal," Jha added.

Kala azar currently occurs in 62 countries, primarily in the
developing world. Around 90 percent of world cases are found in India,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and northeast Brazil. Experts say over 60
percent of the cases in the five states are found in Bihar alone.

Treatment of the disease currently costs over Rs.12,000.

"When our income is less than Rs.1,500 a month, how can we afford
treatment that costs us over Rs.12,000. Since it is affecting hundreds
of thousands of people in the state, the government must give free
treatment," said Sevati Devi, a resident of Bishonpur, a village
around 15 km from this rural town.

Like Sevati, there are thousands who seek government intervention to
fight the disease.

"For the last two months, I have been suffering but the district
healthcare service providers could not diagnose the problem. They
neither have the expertise nor infrastructure to cure patients," said
Mohammad Idris from Motihari district.

"The socio-economic status of these villagers does not allow them
treatment. Here the government needs to step in. At least the
government must club the intervention programme with the revised
tuberculosis programme in the state," said Shyam Sunder, who runs a
kala azar research centre and a clinic in Muzaffarpur.

However, he was optimistic about a new drug developed by the Institute
of One World Health, a non-profit pharmaceutical company in the US.

"The drug has already got a nod from the WHO and the Drug Controller
General of India (DCGI). The clinical trials are over and a
Hyderabad-based company will produce the oral pills in India," he
said.

"Since the cost will be around $15 (about Rs.700), the villagers can
now afford treatment," he added.

Sunder, also a professor of medicine at the Banaras Hindu University,
said: "The state government had set up a committee to suggest ways to
deal with the health menace. We had given them a number of
suggestions, including spraying of DDT at least twice a year.

"As experts we can only suggest ways, but the government seems to lag
in implementation."

He said the Bihar government had provided free medicine to medical
colleges but "how many villagers go to medical colleges? Free and
efficient treatment must be given at primary healthcare centres".

Dear Friends from Bihar/Jharkhand,

Flying to India with wife this friday, 29th Sept from NYC. Will be visting
India after la ong 3+ years (with associated side effect like like loss of
hair but no financial gain, lot of  increase in weight but no health. And
lot of nostalgia about the "Rising Bihar, Shining India, Incredible India,
Delhi ka Metro, Jaipur ke tourist, Mumbai ka Nariman Point, Hyd without
Naidu etc. Hence taking this liberty of updating all. Also hoping to discuss
some of the projects have been discussing via various forums, groups.

Tentative Plan: Mumbai - 1-4 Oct, Delhi/Guragon - 5-8Oct, Jaipur 9-15,
Delhi/Ggn-16-18,Hyd-19-21,Patna-22-29, Delhi-30-2
Flying back from Delhi to NYC , reaching 3rdNov to Danbury. Will let you
know India numbers as soon as reach there

"Kaafi dino baad ghar aa rahe hain .. subse milna chahte hain .. ho sake to
jawab dijiye hamare personal id pe apne ata-pata ke sath. Sub logon ko yeh
blanket mail ke liye maafi/kshma bhi maang rahe hain. Patna/Chapra mein
rahenge Diwali aur chath ke samay. Baaki jagha to sarkari kaam (official
trip) hai but doston se milna chahenge isliye is blanket mail ke liya phir
se maafi"

For friends in US, let me know if could help with anything while am in India
.

atultech@... and work id,
atul.kumar@...

--
Atul Kumar,
Jampot,Ranchi, Patna,Tilaiya,Delhi,Ahd,Hyd, Danbury
US Number: +1 203 837 0894
India Number: TBD
http://www.linkedin.com/in/atulkumar


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

To start with, we need a futuristic national education policy�one that is
based on a  scientific forecast of various skill sets needed in India (for India
and for opportunities outside India) over at least the next 25 years.  The
document has to be arrived at with the active involvement of  eminent
educationalists, economists, demographers, business leaders,  and thought
leaders. Demand-supply gaps have to be clearly articulated,  and then a
conducive environment made to attract both public and  private investment (from
within India and overseas). The brightest of  bureaucrats, and the most
enlightened of politicians should be given  the responsibility of giving a
direction to the education and human  resource development sector.
   LET US READ & THINK MORE ON THE TOPIC IF YOU WISH TO BY VISITONG THE SITE:
  
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=259910&leftnm=4&sub\
Left=0&chkFlg

       Arvind Singhal: Educating the educators

   MARKETMIND

   Arvind Singhal / New Delhi September  28, 2006

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

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Centre's move places education at risk

Anil Sadgopal
The Hindu, 26 Sept. 2006

Allocation for education as a percentage of the GDP has been steadily
declining since the promulgation of the New Economic Policy.

PARLIAMENT'S LAST session saw three mass protests against the Centre's
decision to wash its hands off the Right to Education Bill. This Bill
had become the Centre's obligation under Article 21(A) four years ago
with the 86th Constitutional Amendment. Two of these protests were
held on the opening day of the monsoon session itself — one at Delhi's
Jantar Mantar, under the banner of the People's Campaign for Common
School System, and the other at Bangalore, under the leadership of
U.R. Ananthamurthy, the renowned Kannada litterateur. The people
demanded that the Centre bring a pro-people Bill in the Parliament
rather than pass this off to the State governments, as it did in June
by sending them a much-diluted Model Bill. The Centre's attempt to
abdicate its obligation was seen as being unconstitutional in the
light of the concurrent status of education.

The Delhi and Bangalore declarations alike asked the Centre to include
in the Right to Education Bill the agenda of reconstructing the
present multi-layered school system into a Common School System.
Without this, a majority of India's children would continue to be
denied their right to elementary education of equitable quality. The
claim of India Inc. to turn India into the third largest knowledge
economy and a "superpower" by 2020 would be a shambles, the government
was warned. The Karnataka citizens contended that "only then India
will be able to expand its knowledge base and harness the potential
talent and merit of more than two-thirds of our people."

The third protest during the Parliament session by the All India
Secondary Teachers Federation resolved to build a nationwide movement
on the twin issues of Right to Education and Common School System.

The long-standing people's aspiration, "Nirdhan Ho Ya Dhanwan, Sab Ko
Shiksha Ek Saman" (Poor or rich, all have a right to equitable
education), acquired a new meaning with the 1986 policy resolve to
take "effective measures ... in the direction of the Common School
System." This alone can enable all children, irrespective of their
social or economic status, to study together under a common roof in
Neighbourhood Schools. The relationship between the Right to Education
and the Kothari Commission's concept of a Common School System is a
recent construction in public discourse.

The Central Advisory Board of Education constituted the Kapil Sibal
Committee two years ago to draft the required legislation. Apart from
suffering from several lacunae, the Committee's draft Bill attempted
to promote the falsehood that provision of 25 per cent free seats in
private unaided schools to poor children from the neighbourhood was
equivalent to moving towards a Common School System. This was paraded
by some of its members as a great progressive measure. This deliberate
confusion helped divert the debate away from the issue of Fundamental
Rights to that of the discomfort (and loss of profit) the "25 per cent
idea" would cause to the powerful private school lobby and the global
market forces.

What is worse is the Centre's cynical use of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA) to twist arms. It says the States that adopt the Model Bill in
toto "should continue to be provided funding under SSA on a 75:25
basis." But the States that decide to take a different path will "be
entitled to funds under SSA on a 50:50 basis only." What would be the
Centre's stance if a State government decides to dismantle the Model
Bill's pro-privatisation, pro-laissez faire, and anti-poor fabric? It
is not such an unlikely scenario. The Bihar government has already
taken a decisive step in this direction by constituting a Common
School System Commission that would require the private unaided
schools to be its integral part and to fulfil their constitutional
obligation flowing out of Article 21(A). Would this make Bihar
ineligible for SSA funding on a 75:25 basis? Indeed, the Model Bill's
attempt to equate the lofty notion of Fundamental Rights with a
questionable scheme such as the SSA amounts to reductionism of the
worst kind.

The Centre's stand is exposed by its own formulation in the Model
Bill. Clause No. 5 (1) requires of the State government that "the
first charge on its revenues, next only to law and order, shall be
that of the matters related to free and compulsory elementary
education." Applying this logic in reverse, for the Central government
revenue too, elementary education must be the first charge next only
to defence and internal security.

A delegation from the Delhi dharna was told by the PMO's mandarin in
charge of education that the recent reservation debate had shifted the
entire focus to provision of increased seats in professional
institutions. This, according to the PMO, would lead to a two-fold
increase in allocations for higher education. Where would these
additional resources come from? Implicitly, by diverting them from
elementary education and diluting or shelving the Right to Education.
Would the "Youth for Equality," leading the anti-reservation stir, now
take out a candlelight march to India Gate to halt this diversion of
resources from India's poor?

The Central government's Tapas Majumdar Committee Report (November
2005) recommended that the allocation for education needed to be
raised to 6 per cent of the GDP by the beginning of the 11th Plan and
then continually raised to cross the level of 10 per cent of the GDP
by 2014-15. Going beyond 6 per cent becomes necessary in order to fill
up the cumulative gap that had been building up as a consequence of
under-investment year after year since Independence.

Of the 6 per cent of the GDP allocated to education, 3 per cent should
go to elementary education (i.e. for implementing the Right to
Education Bill), 1.5 per cent to secondary education, 1 per cent to
higher education, and 0.5 per cent to technical education. If this was
done, the proposed increase in seats of professional institutions
could be effected without diverting resources away from elementary
education. Juxtaposing elementary education against secondary or
higher education, as is the emerging policy perception, is detrimental
to national interest since India needs a balanced development of all
sectors of education.

Where are the resources? The Tapas Majumdar Committee provided at
least a partial answer. It stated that the "government's resource base
can be increased by improving the system of taxation ... Presently,
the tax/GDP ratio is around 15 per cent (2003-04), almost same as in
1990-91 ... In many developed countries, the corresponding ratio ...
is much higher: 24 per cent in Australia, 27 per cent in UK."

Also, the Centre cannot continue to feign as if the 86th Amendment has
never taken place. With elevation of elementary education as a
Fundamental Right, no expenditure can be incurred by the State, by
superseding elementary education, on a cause that is not a Fundamental
Right. The same government that claims lack of resources for the Right
to Education has no qualms in liberally providing resources for
staging the Commonwealth games in 2010 — the cost is estimated to
cross Rs.80,000 crore. Further, according to the Non-Performing Assets
Report of the Reserve Bank of India, the Centre wrote off bank loans
worth tens of thousands of crores owed by corporate houses. Neither
the Commonwealth Games nor writing off loans given to corporate houses
constitutes a Fundamental Right of India Inc.

The real issue is not one of lack of public resources but of the
relative priorities of the national economy. Yet, the allocation for
education as a percentage of the GDP has been steadily declining since
the promulgation of the New Economic Policy. This investment has
continued to decline during the United Progressive Alliance rule as
well in spite of the levy of the 2 per cent Education Cess and a
substantial portion of the SSA funds coming from international
agencies. The present level of investment is as low as the level
achieved 20 years ago — 3.5 per cent of the GDP. The political will to
mobilise adequate public resources for education has reached a low ebb
and, with the push towards privatisation of everything under the sun,
is likely to decline further. The Model Bill is designed to legitimise
this decline, deny the Right to Education, and promote privatisation.
All this flows from the market dogma of viewing education as a
commodity, rather than as a Fundamental Right. The Eleventh Plan's
Approach Paper extends this dogma by proposing a voucher system as a
method of demolition of the government school system and the backdoor
funding of private schools.

Yet, there are those who pretend that there is nothing like a "ruling
elite," which dominates policy making. Denial of the conflict of class
interests in education must be seen as a design to depoliticise the
issue. This definitely places education and, therefore, the entire
nation at great risk.

(The writer is Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.)

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Mahindra to enter Bihar with a bang
BS Reporters / New Delhi/Patna September 26, 2006
The Mahindra group today announced a slew of investments in Bihar.
Business Standard,


The proposals include a satellite assembling plant in Patna similar to
its units in Rudrapur and Jaipur, an investment business to tap rural
savings, an agro-processing unit for lichis and mangoes of Bihar,
investments in IT, a Mahindra resort in Bodh Gaya and Rajgir and
investment in a non-polluting transport system.

Managing Director Anand Mahindra, who visited the state with five
members of his core team today, said he would nominate executives from
all the group companies, who would band themselves under Mahindra
Group for Bihar Opportunities and look for ways in which they could
invest in the state.

Mahindra, who met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna said, "We are a
big group and when we will arrive in the state, it will be in a big
way."

Mahindra said his company was keen on availing of the "growth
opportunity" the state presents.

When asked if Bihar had become a tourist destination for the captains
of industry, Kumar said it was not a tourist destination but a
"preferred destination."

Those who accompanied Mahindra are Ramesh Aiyar, (Mahindra and
Mahindra Financial Services Limited), Prachi Mukherjee (Corporate HR),
AK Mukherjee (Farm equipment), Vineet Nayyar (CEO, Tech Mahindra)and V
Suresh (COO, Mahindra Acres).

The visitors appreciated that the legislative and policy scenario in
Bihar had been transformed and said they would discuss with the
directors of their companies how these proposals could be concertised.

Kumar said investment proposals worth Rs 14,000 crore had been
endorsed by the state government. He said the state government would
do everything possible to make it easier for investors to set up units
in the state.

To achieve a turnaround in Bihar

Shaibal Gupta
Hindu Businessline, 26th Sept. 2006

Historical disadvantages, limited post-Independence development
strategies, and the vivisection of the State, have crippled the public
financial and economic structure of Bihar.


THE BIHAR Chief Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar.

The stock of a Chief Minister is measured by the number of visits to
his State by high-profile dignitaries from the Central Government. By
that reckoning, Maharashtra is possibly at the top; be it the
unprecedented rain leading to floods in Mumbai or the farmer suicides
in the Vidarbha region or the handing over living quarters to the
women beedi workers in Solapur, the Prime Minister has been a regular
visitor to the State.

By this parameter, the record of Mr Nitish Kumar, who has completed
ten months as the Chief Minister of Bihar, is wanting. Even though a
drought devastated Bihar, the Prime Minister did not visit the State.
Mr Nitish Kumar did ensure the visit of the President and the
Vice-President. While these visits are a matter of prestige and
honour, in terms of tangible resource devolution, they are of little
significance. However, Mr Nitish Kumar literally accomplished a
`political coup' by ensuring the visit of the Finance Minister, Mr P.
Chidambaram, to Patna. The visit was important because not only has
the Minister the ability to set the economic agenda, but can also
implement it. Thus, the visit should not be measured in terms of the
financial package announced, but in terms of its symbolic
significance. Is economically resurgent India looking for a turn
around in Bihar in the near future?

Three key aspects

Mr Chidambaram's visit should be assessed along three parameters.
First, he warned the commercial banks to improve their performance and
internal governance. If the target, set by Mr Chidambaram, to devolve
an additional Rs 10,000 crore in the agricultural credit plan to the
State in the current financial year is achieved, it will bridge
significantly the mismatch between the savings and the investment rate
in the resource-starved State. That 37 blocks of the State are still
outside its pale, 800 branches are manned by only one officer, and 700
branches have not devolved any credit in their area reflect a dismal
state of performance of the banks.

It is ironic that Bihar generates a sizeable deposit of Rs 46,134
crore, but Rs 31,326 crore of it is transferred from the State to rest
of India through the machinery of banks. If Mr Chidambaram is able to
provide the promised good performance of the Centre's own
institutions, it will be of great service to Bihar.

Second, Mr Chidambaram's chiding of the poor quality of governance in
the State should not be ignored. The image of Bihar as the most
corrupt State continues.. The fiction of the Appleby Report of the
1950s about Bihar's good governance was created in spite of the fact
that nowhere in it was there any mention of good governance in Bihar.
Unless the systematic siphoning off of resources is stopped, Bihar
cannot hope for better governance.

Historical disadvantage

Finally, the visit of Mr Chidambaram will ensure that he takes
cognisance of the historically disabling factors that are inhibiting
growth in some of the peripheral regions of India. Bihar has
historical disadvantages. Not only did the colonial rulers leave the
indigenous artisans and traders devastated, their tenurial system of
`permanent settlement' spelt doom for the State in the matter of
generation and appropriation of surplus and, in turn, investment and
per capita expenditure.

Long before Independence, in 1930, the Memorandum for the Indian
Statutory Commission on the Working of the Reforms by Bihar and Orissa
indicated that expenditure in administration, education, health and
police was the lowest in the country. It identified the `permanent
settlement' to be the main cause of limited resource generation and
limited administrative expenditure. The `permanent settlement' also
stood in the way of regular survey and settlement operations, as in
the Ryotwari areas, which form the `sun rise' States.

There is historical absence of governance at the lowest levels of the
State, where social arbitration is still being done by the feudal
lords or by the mafia. In areas with militant agrarian struggles, this
role is also played by radical organisations.

The post-Independence development strategies did not make any serious
effort to reverse this disadvantage. The vivisection of the State, in
November 2000, into Bihar and Jharkhand further crippled the public
financial and economic structure. Since Independence, not only has
Bihar the lowest per-capita Plan expenditure, but also the lowest
non-Plan expenditure.

In an interactive session with the developmental specialists and
agencies, Mr Chidambaram mentioned that there is a substantial jump in
the Twelfth Finance Commission award for Bihar. But even after that,
the per-capita allocation for the State remains the lowest, though the
Finance Commission grants are expected to be `equalisation' grants. It
is not often realised that the quality of governance in a State where
the capacity for internal resource generation is limited the Finance
Commission grant is extremely important.

The whole edifice of the State and its civil service is kept smoothly
functioning with the non-Plan grant of the Finance Commission. Even
for meeting the matching grant of the Planning Commission or servicing
the debt, the Finance Commission award is necessary.

The way ahead

If the writ of the state has to be made all pervasive in Bihar, not
only does the non-Plan expenditure need to be increased in
administration, but some parts of the state structure also has to be
dismantled.

If fiscal management is followed by debt reduction, as exhorted by Mr
Chidambaram, the proportion of third and fourth grade employees, who
do not contribute to productive governance, should not only be
reduced, even in the matter of pay structure, but also rationalised.

Incidentally, the annual per-capita expenditure on State government
employees is the highest in the country (Rs 1.5 lakh); the national
average is Rs 82,000.

In the absence of such understanding about historical disability, one
will not be able to appreciate the reasons for debt accumulation over
the years. If the government of I. K. Gujral could write off the debt
of Punjab, one of the richest States, why cannot this favour be
extended to Bihar as well?

In any case, without expanding the market and strengthening the
entrepreneurial base, resources cannot be devolved through market
related route.

(The author is Member-Secretary of the Patna-based Asian Development
Research Institute.)

More Stories on : Economy | Other States

A K Choudhary to be new chief secretary of Bihar
newkerala.com
26th Sept. 2006


Patna, Sept 26: A K Choudhary will be the new chief secretary of Bihar
taking over from incumbent G S Kang who retires on September 30,
official sources said today.

The notification from personnel department appointing Choudhary as the
chief secretary was issued late last night after approval of Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar, they said.

Choudhary, an IAS officer of 1972 batch, is currently posted as
development commissioner. He would have a tenure of 10 months and will
retire on July 31 next year.

Several names were doing the rounds for the top post, including those
of K D Sinha, member, Board of Revenue, R C Vaish, Chairman of Bureau
of Public Enterprises and R J M Pillai, principal secretary to
Governor R S Gavai.

While Sinha and Vaish belong to 1972 batch, Pillai is a 1973 batch IAS officer.

--- PTI
****************************
A K Chaudhary to be new state chief Secreatry

Times of India, 26 Sept. 2006


PATNA: The suspense over who will succeed state chief secretary G S
Kang came to an end on Monday with the state government appointing
Ashok Kumar Chaudhary, a 1972-batch IAS officer, as the new chief
secretary.

A resident of Bhagalpur and currently the development commissioner,
Chaudhary will assume charge of his new assignment on the retirement
of Kang on September 30.

Chaudhary, who was once considered close to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad,
managed to get the top post under the new regime mainly due to his
efficiency, feel officials. He will retire from the service on August
31 next year.

Chaudhary has served several departments, including health and family
welfare, personnel and administrative reforms and welfare besides the
bureau of public enterprises. He was also the director general of
administrative training institute.

The Centre cleared his Central deputation only recently but the state
government rejected his application.
*********

India's elderly are safe in Bihar
Sumit Pande
CNN-IBN
Sept. 25, 2006

  SAFETY AT STAKE: There is an average 6 pc per year increase in crimes
against elderly in India.

New Delhi: According to the alarming data pouring in from states, the
countrywide crime on the elderly in India is rising by over five per
cent.

"We are concerned about the elderly. We have been working on the Old
Age Bill," said Social Justice Minister Meira Kumar.

The Old Age Bill is aimed at to give protection to the elderly and the
Government is working on it for quite some time.

But the latest statistics on crime against the old age people made
available to the Ministry of Social Justice has set the alarm bells
ringing.

The data has been sent by the National Crime Record Bureau under the
home ministry records an average 6 per cent per year increase in
heinous crimes like murder, abduction and rape against citizen more
that 50 years in age in the last two years.

Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest crime against the elderly, but
its neighbour Bihar is not even in the top five.


Although abduction and kidnapping in Bihar is still high but the along
with Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, crime against the elderly in the
state has come down by more than 15 percent.

To curb the worrying social phenomenon, the step Government could take
is an early introduction of the Old Age Bill in the coming winter
session of parliament.

Over 20 dead in rain-hit Bihar


Patna, Sep 26 (IANS) More than 20 people have died in rain-lashed
Bihar since last week with most deaths occurring due to collapse of
walls or houses, while the meteorological department here Tuesday
predicted no more heavy downpours.

In Muzaffarpur district, seven people including four rickshaw pullers
died when the walls of their garage collapsed.

Similarly, in Katihar district, four children were killed after the
walls of their house caved in.

Death of at least one or two people each due to collapse of mud walls
at different places in Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon, Lakhisarai, Khagaria,
Saharsa and Aurangabad districts was also reported.

Only two days ago, six of a family died when their house made of clay
and mud gave in following incessant rains in Biharsharif, district
headquarters of Nalanda.

Most rivers including the Ganga, Punpun, Bagmati, Gandak, Kosi,
Mahananda and Adhwara were maintaining a rising trend because of
continuous rains.

A flood-like situation was reported from several districts but worst
affected were Bhagalpur, Banka, Nalanda, Sheohar, Samastipur,
Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur. A large part of Bhagalpur was cut off. All
the schools in the district were closed.

The road link between Patna and Gaya was snapped after the swollen
Darda river in Dhanaruwa washed out the diversion built for the
under-construction bridge.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar directed all district magistrates to
remain alert and extend relief to the flood victims. He also promised
to provide concrete houses, social security pension and expenses for
medical treatment to all victims.

In the state capital, the schools were closed Monday in view of the
havoc created by the rains. Many localities in the city were
waterlogged.

States like Bihar now top India Inc's priority
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Posted online: Monday, September 25, 2006 at 1237 hours IST
Financial Expres,


NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 25:  India Inc is rearranging its investment
itinerary with little known investment destinations like Bihar, Assam,
West Bengal and Orissa gaining a place on the country's economic
roadmap.

An analysis of the recent investments made by big business houses
reveal that corporates are getting attracted to these states, long
known to have unrealised potential like abundant minerals, sufficient
green cover and skilled and cost effective manpower but lagging behind
on the investment scene.

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However, the recently acquired investor-friendly attitude of the state
governments, availability of resources, better accessibility and tax
incentives are driving capital investments to these states.

Bihar could be a striking example of this shift in the investment
paradigm after remaining out of the ambit of the corporates'
investment radar for a long time, due to factors like socio-economic
backwardness and infrastructure-related issues.

However, Bihar has recently played host to a number of big brothers of
corporate India, like Ratan Tata of the Tata group, Max Healthcare
Chairman Analjit Singh and Ashok Ganguly of call centre firm ICICI
OneSource, while others like Mahindra and Mahindra's Anand Mahindra
and Singapore's foreign affairs minister slated to visit the state
soon.

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, who also holds the position of
Investment Commission Chairman, said during his recent visit to Patna
that the state offered great opportunities in areas of infrastructure,
health, tourism, education, urban development and agriculture.

Given the huge potential in the tourism sector, the Tata group is also
believed to be exploring the possibility of launching a range of
low-cost hotels in the state.

M&M Vice Chairman Anand Mahindra is also scheduled to visit the state
soon and is said to be mulling over the possibility of a tractor
production plant in Bihar. Max Healthcare too is looking to set up a
super-specialty healthcare centre and hospital in the state.

The Max Healthcare proposal holds significant promise since more than
50 per cent of the patients coming to New Delhi's All India Institute
of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are

said to be from Bihar.

The state, which is under a rebuilding phase, promises lots in terms
of profit for corporate houses with cheap real estate prices, limited
labour-related issues and a large educated manpower at nearly
one-third the cost in cities like Bangalore or Chennai, experts
believe.

However, Bihar may have to fight challenges like huge infrastructural
requirements and socio-economic backwardness, law and order,
over-population and poverty.

Bihar, accounting for a seventh of the country's population below the
poverty line, also has problems like low investment rates, weak
transport system, lack of water management and fragmentation of land
holdings to resolve.

The state was ranked the third worst performer in terms of investments
made by corporate houses in the June-August period in a recent study
conducted by industry body Assocham.

The state, which was listed as a poor performing state in the study,
attracted an investment of Rs 740 crore during the period under review
as against a huge investment of Rs 63,000 crore attracted by the top
performer Karnataka.

India Inc has made investment announcements of over Rs 6,72,000 crore
across the country in two and half months till August 31, with states
like Bihar, Assam and Himachal Pradesh getting a total investment
commitment of about Rs 1,600 crore only, the Assocham study shows.

While states like Orissa and Chhatisgarh have already started emerging
on the investment landscape, with investment proposals worth between
Rs 33,000 crore to Rs 47,000 crore, states like Bihar, Assam and
Himachal are still trotting around to get actual investment
commitments.

West Bengal has also started attracting huge investments from
corporate majors like DLF, Reliance Industries Limited, Tata, Monnet
Ispat Industries. In order to improve its image as a preferred
investment destination, the West Bengal government has already
announced incentive schemes like subsidies on capital investment,
interest payments and waiver of duties and fees.

West Bengal's neighbouring state Orissa is also emerging as a major
investment hotspot in sectors ranging from IT, power, hospitality and
healthcare, while grabbing attention of

industry giants like Mittal, Posco, Jindal Steel, Essar, TCS and Infosys.

In the healthcare sector, Apollo Hospital and Asian Heart Hospital are
also looking to invest in Orissa while in the hospitality industry,
Oberoi, Hyatt, Sinclair's and Best

Western are looking at expanding their base in the state.

 
Dear Dinesh ji,
How are you? I hope you rememer me, we met during the screening of your film on
flood. An NGO has started working in my area, that is flood prone area of
Katihar. In this context your help is needed. It has been working on an idea of
development plan for flood prone area.
I will get back to you soon. Kindly confirm the mail by replying.
manindra

On Fri, 02 Jun 2006 Dinesh Kumar Mishra wrote :
>
>Kindly go to attachments.
>
>Dinesh Mishra
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>To upload file to the group please send file to the moderator:
kjrajesh@...
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>


Residence:
Manindra N.Thakur
SRA-152, Shipra Riviera, Indirapuram
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Pin-201010


Office:
Manindra N. Thakur
Associate Professor
Centre for Political Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi

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

13 Districts, 457 Villages Drown in Flood in Bihar
Tuesday Sep 19 2006,

http://www.indiadaily.org/entry/13-districts-457-villages-drown-in-flood-in-biha\
r/

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has presented a repor
on the flood situation in Bihar. The flood means nothing new in north
Bihar as it happens every year with or without rains.

This time this is the flood without rain in Bihar. The floodwater
comes from the upside valley of Nepal. Like every year, the river
Bagmati is flowing at High Flood Level at tirhut region in Bihar.

The Muzaffarpur –Sitamarhi National highway is in extremely bad
condition. The HFL has gone up to 49.61m and the danger level is
48.68m.


There are 457 villages in 13 districts of north Bihar are currently
flood-affected area in Bihar. The crop area of 75,000 hectares in
these agricultural-based regions has been completely damaged.

Muzzafarpur, Supaul, Darbhanga, Madhubani,Sitamarhi, Kishanganj, East
Champaran, West Chamaparan, Katihar, Bhagalpur,Samastipur , Madheura
and Saharsa are the worst affected districts.

Because of flood some 1129 houses got completely damaged more than
3500 houses are damaged to some extent. Six people died in Bhagalpur,
seven died in Muzzafarpur and one in Sitamarhi.

The government has started administrative measures to evacuate people
safely from those flood-affected villages. More than two thousand
people are safely evacuated until now.

There are 27 boats deployed in Muzzafarpur, 7 boats in Supaul, 16
boats in Darbhanga, 59 boats in Madhubani, 40 boats in Sitamarhi, 24
boats in Kishanganj, 23 boats in East Champaran, 8 boats in West
Chamaparan, 19 boats in Katihar, 27 boats in Bhagalpur, 5 in
Samastipur, and 24 boats in Madhepura are working to evacuate people
to safe places.
*************

RJD spokesman slams party chief Lalu, praises Nitish
zeenews, Sept 24, 2006

Patna, Sept 24: Accusing his party chief Lalu Prasad of nepotism, RJD
national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari on Sunday asked the Union Railway
Minister to get rid of his two brothers-in-law to revive the outfit in
Bihar.

Tiwari, a senior minister in the previous Rabri Devi government, was
surprisingly all praise for Bihar's NDA chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a
bete noire of Lalu Prasad.

The RJD spokesman said Lalu had always favoured his family members. He
said he had objected to Rabri Devi's appointment as leader of the
opposition and suggested a Muslim MLA be given the post, "but he
(Lalu) could not muster courage to think beyond his wife and family".

Asking Lalu to get rid of his brothers-in-law Sadhu and Subhas -- both
members of Parliament -- to revive the RJD in Bihar, Tiwari said that
"the entire party is annoyed with the activities of the two".

On Lalu's alleged remarks recently that the Nitish Kumar government
would soon fall like Arjun Munda regime in Jharkhand, Tiwari said the
RJD chief was "daydreaming".

"I do not find any reason why Nitish government will fall. Unlike
Jharkhand, Bihar's NDA government enjoys a comfortable majority. By
providing reservation to EBCs and women in Panchayat bodies, the CM
has gained popularity," he said.

Bureau Report


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Incessant rains cause flood in Bihar
Hindu, Sept.24, 2006

Patna, Sept 24. (PTI): Rains for the past four days have severely
affected the normal life in Bihar and caused floods in northern
districts.

Many villages in Bhagalpur and Banka districts have been flooded and
the administration has sounded alert and was making relief
arrangements, official sources said today.

Sources in the flood control cell said that Chandan river in Bhagalpur
was overflowing and the district authorities have ordered shifting of
people living in low-lying areas.

In neighbouring Banka district, flood water entered many villages
prompting the district administration to sound an alert. The Banka
district authorities have asked the State Government for helicopters
to carry out relief work.

Telephone services in Bhagalpur was badly effected and rail links
between Bhagalpur and Banka were disrupted.

Rain water also created a flood like situation in many areas in
Nalanda district. Links between pilgrim town Rajgir and district
headquarters were snapped.

According to the Met office, Patna recorded 54 mm rain in the past 24
hours, Gaya (59 mm) and Bhagalpur (224 mm). The met office predicted
no no change in the rain condition in the next 48 hours.

Interlinking of rivers in 10-15 years: President Kalam
Zee News, Sept.24, 2006

Thanjavur (TN), Sept 24: The programme of linking major rivers in the
country would be completed in 10-15 years, President A P J Abdul Kalam
on Sunday said.

In the first phase, linking of rivers in southern states could be
taken up, he suggested while delivering the valedictory address of the
silver jubilee celebrations of Tamil University here.

Kalam also launched the website of the Tamil University and received a
book on the university`s vision for the next decade.

Pointing out that Tamil was a very rich and one of the oldest
languages, he said the university could publish Tamil version of
science books from other languages every year.

Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala presided over the function.

Earlier, dedicating the centre for nanotechnology and advanced
bio-materials and launching the five-year integrated MSc, bed and MCom
courses at the sastra deemed university near here, the President
called for commercialisation of nanotechnology.

He spoke at length about the importance of science and technology for
the country`s development.

Kalam also participated at a function organised by the Periyar
Maniammai Educational Trust on PURA activities in the Muthuveeran
Kandiyanpatti village near here.

Bureau Report

Max group of hospitals to invest in health sector in Bihar
newkerala.com
21 Sept. 2006

Patna, Sept 20: Inspired by 'positive changes' in Bihar, top class Max
group of hospitals today annonced plans to invest in the health sector
either in partnership with the state or alone.

Chairman of the Max group of hospitals Analjit Singh met Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar at his residence to discuss the plans.

"We had decided to expand outside the national capital territory (NCR)
after five years of inception and the group has choosen two states,
including Bihar," he told newsmen after the meeting.

Asked the reason behind choosing Bihar, Singh, who was accompanied by
his advisors Suhail Seth and K K Ramsundar, listed positive changes in
terms of law and order situation and great investment potential in
health sector in the state due to poor medicare facilities.

Asked which would be the second state where the group would set up its
operations, he said, "We have yet not decided." Kumar thanked Max
group for agreeing to invest in Bihar and said the association of Max
group with Bihar would not only be confined to opening a few
hospitals, but they would also be associated with developmental
planning for the state by making them member of the health committee
under the state planning commission.

He told reporters that he has asked the group to send a team of
experts to the state to make a detailed survey including in the
Buddhist circuit linking Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and Rajgir.

Chief Secretary G S Kang and Health Secretary Deepak Kumar were
present at the meeting.

--- PTI

Bihar to be made seat of learning: Nitish

Patna, Sept 21: The Bihar government was committed to regain the old
glory of the state as a 'seat of learning' and many top class
educational institutions have already been set up and many more are in
the pipeline, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today.

"My government wishes to regain the old image of Bihar as a seat of
learning. For this many top level educational institutions have
already been opened and many more are in the pipeline," Kumar said
addressing a function after inaugurating the patna branch of Birla
Institute of Technology, Mesra (BIT).

"Biharis have always been very talented but because of unfavourable
conditions it was going waste. My government wish to provide better
opportunities to students of the state so that they can carve their
names at international level", he said.

An international standard university would be built at Nalanda while
Chankya Law University has already started functioning, he said adding
many more are in the pipeline.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi stressed on the need to set up
more professional institutions in Bihar to provide opportunity to
students here to compete with students of other states.

Minister of state for Science and Technology Anil Kumar said another
branch of BIT, Mesra would be opened at Gaya soon.

Altogether 120 students have taken admission in electrical, computer
and electronics courses offered by the institute that would formally
start functioning from tomorrow.

--- PTI

Bihar cabinet approves Rs 2500 cr prject by Tamil Nadu-based firm
newkerala.com
Sept.23, 2006

Patna, Sep 22: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar today gave its nod
to a proposal by a Tamil Nadu-based firm, M/S Indian Gasohol Limited
for setting up four maize-based industrial units in Bhagalpur,
Muzaffarpur, Begusarai and Vaishali on which Rs 2,500 crore was
estimated to be spent.

The cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
approved the proposal of the firm to manufacture ten maize-based
products.

Later, talking to reporters, state cabinet secretary-cum-commissioner
A K chouhan said Indian Gasohol Limited would produce ethanol,
alcohol, extra neutral alcohol and other maize-based products by
setting up units at four places.

Necessary steps were being taken for acquisition of land for the
company, he said.

Chouhan said the cabinet also approved a proposal of the Home (Police)
department to raise one battalion of women armed police on the pattern
of Bihar Military police to deal with women involved in criminal
activities.

The cabinet also sanctioned Rs 20 crore for payment of salary to
special auxiliary police comprising ex-armymen for the year 2006-07,
Chouhan added.

--- PTI

Economist to head Bihar farming panel
Hindu, Sept.24, 2006

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The Bihar Government has appointed noted Jaipur-based
economist V.S. Vyas as Chairman of its Steering Group on Agriculture
to formulate a medium-term perspective and an action plan for the
agriculture sector in the State during the 11th Five Year Plan.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in a communication addressed to
Prof. Vyas, said the steering groups on agriculture and other sectors
would set the benchmarks for key development imperatives and help
enhance the quality of public expenditure in the State.

Mr. Kumar said even as the preparations for the 11th Plan had begun,
the high poverty ratio and low human indicators as well as low per
capita consumption of energy in Bihar had invested urgency to the
State Government's efforts. The Commissioner and Secretary of
Agriculture Department will be the Member-Secretary of the Task Force.

Prof. Vyas, a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, is presently the Chairman
of the Planning Commission's working group on agriculture and crop
production.

He was earlier the Director of the Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, for nearly a decade.