17-12-04

15 Non-Metro Airports Get Uplift: The government has initiated an exercise to upgrade facilities at a new lot of 15 non-metro airports. The 15 airports listed for modernization this time are Khajuraho, Vishakhapatnam, Trichy, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Patna, Port Blair, Agati, Aurangabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhopal, Indore, Nagpur and Varanasi. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has invited expressions of interest for appointing a global technical advisor (GTA) for the exercise. The GTA will provide technical advisory services, besides submitting an action plan for developing city-side facilities of the 15 non-metro airports. AAI is also planning to appoint an Indian financial consultant (IFC) for the same. Prior to this, AAI had initiated the development exercise for 10 other non-metro airports, including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa and Guwahti. The city-side development consists of facilities and services in the terminal building, services for facilitation of passengers and visitors, cargo and courier terminals and other commercial facilities relating to non aeronautical revenue. These developments would be undertaken through a combination of public and private sector resources, for both domestic and foreign. The GTA will provide technical inputs to the IFC for preparation of a business and financial plan, techno-economic feasibility report specific to each airport. This development exercise is part of the government’s mega plan to modernize 50 airports across the country at a cost of Rs. 40,000 crore.

13-12-04

Vintage IAF Jets For Free: For the first time the Indian Air Force is offering its vintage fighters free of charge to anyone who can preserve and display them at prominent places in their city. The idea was to make the people of this country “air minded,” especially the younger generation. Although they were not able to specify the exact number of old planes currently in IAF. It also includes Hunters, Canberras, Gnats and Vampires which saw glory during the Indo-Chinese and Indo-Pak wars. Those who interested in taking charge of these old aircraft should apply to local Air Force officials, who would evaluate the request and in turn make a recommendation to Air Headquarters in New Delhi. Those who are given an aircraft after completing various formalities would have to provide an undertaking that they would preserve it and not allow it to decay. So a decision has been taken to give them away free to anyone who can guarantee to maintain them.

Rajdhani Now Gets A Halt At Surat: The Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express will now start taking halt at Surat. It is for the first time that the super-fast train will have two stops in one state The Railways has decided to give the train a stop at Surat from December 19. The only other stop for Rajdhani in Gujarat is Vadodara. The decision was taken considering the increasing industrial activity and new business proposals in the South Gujarat belt.

27-11-04

A New Variety Of Paddy: Farmers in the land of Gandhi are now growing Dandi paddy, a salt-resistant variety, which yields a good produce even in saline areas along the coast. This Dandi variety, developed at Ubhrath center, Navsari is called GR8 (Gujarat Rice 8), takes only 75 days to mature, making pest attacks difficult, can withstand harsh soil conditions of the coastal belt. It has gone through stringent tests and was certified for farmer’s use by Delhi-based Central Variety Release Centre (CVRC). It was judged as the best fast-growing variety in IRRI’s collaborative project GR8 from other varieties for its features as - its extra early growth and solvability. It’s a drilled paddy, it’s seed can be sown and need not be transplanted into a field slush with water.

Janasalas A unique Educational Endeavour: Tucked away on the terrains of East Godavari are the ‘Janasala’- the tribal schools. They even have the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) sit up and take note of their unique educational endeavour. As the result it has been listed among the “World’s best educational practices”. Started in 1997-98, they do not boast massive concrete structures. Their learning process unfolds with felicity in the huts constructed by the local tribal community. Teachers are also drawn from the same community. Here the children learn only for four hours a day in the forenoon. Apart from teaching the rudiments, they also serve as preschools to prepare the students for a more formal schooling system. Taking a leap out of the East Godavari experiment, the Janasalas have now been introduced in eight states including Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

Carpet University: The Jammu and Kashmir government plans to set up a carpet university – the first of its kind in India – to enable aspiring students to acquire graduation and masters degrees in crafts and to give a fillip to the world-famous Kashmiri handicrafts. A craft development institute, a satellite centre of the Indian Institute for Carpet Technology (IICT), and a common facility center being set up will be converted into the full-fledged carpet university.

29-06-04

Yogic Treatment Of Coronary Diseases: The Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) at New Delhi claims to have found an effective and safe cure for all kinds of coronary arterial diseases. The treatment is soon to be launched at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi where a separate ward has been provided for this purpose by the hospital authorities. The CCRYN is administered by the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy (AYUSH) and run by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Fruit Harvester Developed: The Anand Agricultural University (AAU) has developed a mechanical elevator platform to harvest fruits like mangoes without damaging them. The World Bank had sanctioned Rs. 4.7 million in 2001 for this project on the post-harvest management of mangoes. The elevator platform enables close aerial access to the fruits, provides better control on the harvesting operation and reduces the damage to the fruits and the tree branches. The equipment can also be used for tree pruning and spraying. A normal elevator costs around Rs. 500,000 whereas the cost of this equipment is around Rs. 45,000. It can be attached to a tractor; which is normally not used during the post-harvesting season in summer. The fruit harvesting capacity is increased to around 70-100 kg per hour, compared to 18 kg per hour by the manual operation.

26-06-04

Kulhars Fail To Click: Indian Railways recently decreed that Kulhars, earthen cups, should replace plastic cups for tea and coffee served on trains and railway platforms. But the idea has not really caught on. Customers are worried on the hygiene front. Besides, they are heavy, prone to breakage and three to four times more expensive. A hundred plastic cups weigh 350 gms, while a single kulhar is 100 gms. Washing and reusing requires a lot of water. There is a doubt too about their safety since chemicals are often used to colour the soil. There is also the question of logistics: to meet the demand 120 million kulhars are required every day. Mixing tea or coffee in a kulhar is rather cumbersome because it often has an unstable base and it rattles when the train moves. It may have been a better idea to insist on paper cups instead.

The Super Rich: There were an estimated 61,000 high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in India at the end of 2003, up 22 per cent compared with the previous year, according to the 2004 World Wealth Report published recently by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini. The total wealth of these HNWIs in India is $267 billion. HNWIs are individuals with financial assets of at least $1 million (around Rs. 4.5 crores), excluding their primary residence.

Parthiv Patel Lands A Job: India's cricket wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel, 19, is now a full-time employee of Reliance Industries Ltd. He is an 'executive, sports and culture' with the company.

24-06-04

Plastic Currency Notes: The Australian polymer currency manufacturer, Securency, which is owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia and Belgian plastics-pharma company UCB, is interested in making plastic currency notes for India. With 40 billion notes in circulation, it seems that India is the world's largest market for currency notes. India issues seven billion Rs. 10 notes in a year! Securency prints notes on a polymer substrate called Guardian. Among the advantages claimed for such notes are:
- They cost 1.5 to two times more than paper notes but are more durable and difficult to counterfeit.
- In India, the velocity of money (the number of times it changes hands) is high, and therefore longevity is essential.
- Low denomination paper currency, such as the Rs. 10 note, survives just six months, whereas the plastic note lasts about four years.
- Polymer notes do not get dirty, tear or crumple, and are seldom rejected by teller machines.
- Brazil uses such notes and a study estimates that in three years its central bank had saved $17 million.

22-06-04

First Woman DGP: Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya took charge recently as Director-General of Police (DGP) of Uttaranchal. The first woman in India to hold such a post, she belongs to the second batch of the India Police Service (IPS) after women were allowed to apply for it. She is from the 1973 batch (the more famous Kiran Bedi, the first to get in, was a batch earlier). Ms Bhattacharya has a Master's degree in English Literature from the University of Delhi and an MBA degree from the University of Wollongong, Australia. Incidentally, her younger sister Kavita Chaudhary had written the script of Udaan, a television serial based on the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer.

Auto-Disposable Syringes: The Indian government plans to use auto-disposable or disabled (AD) syringes across the country. A study by AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) has reported that 65 per cent of the injections in India are unsafe. The Health Ministry is assessing the efficiency of the syringes and is planning to launch them on a pilot basis in some districts of Uttar Pradesh. It has also introduced these syringes under the pilot project of the Hepatitis B immunisation programme going on in 15 cities and 33 districts. The government spends Rs. 330 million every year on glass syringes and their sterilisation and this will go up to Rs. 900 million if AD syringes are introduced. The plastic syringe costs Rs. 1.50 per piece, the AD syringe Rs. 2.50.

Indians In US Universities: Indian students taking admission in different US universities registered a growth of almost 12 percent in 2002-03. According to data released by the American Universities Education Program (AUAP), as many as 74,603 Indian students took admission in American universities in this period. In USA the 38,000 doctors of Indian origin comprise five per cent of all physicians, and their numbers are growing. Also, there are 12,000 medical students of Indian origin, which is over 10 per cent of all medical students in this country. Incidentally, Indian Americans make up about one percent of the US population.

18-06-04

Parliament Canteen: If you want clean and tasty food, served in an exclusive environment and priced to suit the purse of the 'common man', you should visit the Parliament Canteen in New Delhi. Run by Northern Railways for the convenience of our legislators, the canteen has a staff of 300 employees and swallows an annual subsidy of Rs. 30 million, an expenditure that is shared by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats. Take a look at the rates our parliamentarians pay per plate:
… Chicken Biryani: Rs. 30.25
… Tandoori Chicken: Rs. 18.15
… Fish Curry: Rs 15.10
… Chilli Chicken: Rs 24.10
… Chicken Korma: Rs 24.20
… Chicken Cutlets: Rs. 16.95
… South Indian Meal: Rs. 12
… Vegetable Pulao: Rs. 7.25

New Naval Academy: A new naval academy for providing training to all cadres of naval officers and staff is coming up at a cost of Rs. 5 billion at Ezhimala in Kannur district of Kerala. The will train engineers, supply officers and other staff of the Indian Navy. To be completed by 2006-2007, it will be the largest naval academy in Asia and will also offer training to about 900 personnel from friendly foreign countries.

NID's Design Clinic: The National Institute of Design (NID) at Ahmedabad has started a Design Clinic to offer quick solutions to those with specific problems that need designer inputs. The clinic was launched in response to a large number of requests for design assistance and also to create design awareness among small and medium industries. The aim is to improve the quality of products available in the market and also to prove to industry that design costs can indeed be very affordable. The charges are as low as Rs. 500 in many cases.

14-06-04

CISF May Guard National Highways: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) may be assigned the task of protecting India's 14,000-Km network of roads that is being constructed under the National Highways Project. The Rs. 540 billion project covers 20 states and work has already been completed on 5,000 Kms. The responsibilities that may be given to the central paramilitary force include protection of vehicles from highway robbers and guarding the infrastructure. The force may also be asked to ensure that the highways and their flanks are kept free from encroachments. The CISF has already been entrusted with the responsibility for guarding 47 airports and many other sensitive and vital installations across India.

12-06-04

Mobiles Overtake Landlines In Gujarat: The subscriber base of mobile phones (GSM and CDMA) swept past the BSNL landline connections in Gujarat in May. The total number of mobile connections stood at 2.75 million, as against 2.735 million landline connections of BSNL. According to figures from the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) the four GSM operators – Hutch, Airtel, BSNL and Idea – in Gujarat put together had a subscriber base of 2,195,713 and the two CDMA operators – Reliance and Tata Teleservices – had a base of 554, 717 subscribers.

10-06-04

Product Ideas From NID: India's National Institute of Design (NID) at Ahmedabad conducted a search of sorts for new product ideas that needed some formal support in order to take off. Among the innovative ideas that are under active consideration are:
A car umbrella to cool a parked vehicle
Shirts made of soothing 'spiritual' fabric
Foldable eco-friendly paper mugs
Roti Chakla – a device that rotates rotis automatically
Power-friendly streetlights
Affordable playhouses for children in schools with limited space
A creative hub on the Internet
NID is treating the ideas and their creators as incubatees and providing them with infrastructure, monetary support and rented premises to work from. It will also help the designers to market their ideas. The designers pay Rs. 3,000 as rent per month for the amenities provided by NID, which they can use for a maximum of 24 months. They can also utilise NID's contacts and marketing skills. If the incubatees fail to market their ideas within two years, they will have to move out.

Resorts In Andaman & Nicobar Islands: India's Tourism Ministry proposes to throw open the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago on the east coast and the coral lagoons of Lakshadweep Islands on the west coast to private operators to build super resorts and luxury hotels. The ministry has enhanced private investment limits from Rs. 50 million to Rs. 1 billion for the development of each project. The Cabinet still has to approve this proposal.

09-06-04

ISRO To Launch EU Satellite: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has secured a $ 10 million contract to launch a satellite for the European Union. An agreement has already been signed in this respect and the spacecraft will be launched onboard India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) towards the end of next year. ISRO had earlier launched small payloads of foreign players 'piggyback' but this will be the first time it will be using PSLV for the sole purpose of launching an overseas satellite.

Tata Steel's Reputation Capital: Tata Steel has been ranked among global companies in a 2003 survey of the world's most respected companies for corporate social responsibility. The only Indian company to feature in the list, it was ranked 34th in the survey, which was conducted by Financial Times and Price Waterhouse Cooper. The company has also been declared the joint third most respected Indian company with Hindustan Lever and TELCO. The research drew on the views of over 1,000 CEOs across 20 countries and a selected cross-section of fund managers, NGOs and media communicators to determine which companies were setting the pace in building 'reputation capital'.

07-06-04

Reencuentro Con el Destino: The Spanish version of the superhit Hindi movie 'Kaho Na Pyar Hai' will be released this month in Spain and 20 other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. 'Reencuentro Con el Destino' is the title of the dubbed Spanish version of the Bollywood blockbuster, and it will be screened in phases across the Spanish-speaking countries. To begin with, the film will be released in Peru and Colombia. The Spanish version will have only two of the film's seven songs and will be only two hours long (the Hindi film is of three hours' duration). It has been dubbed in Mexico.

29-05-04

Indigenous Civilian Aircraft: The first prototype of the indigenous civilian aircraft 'Saras', designed and developed by India's National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) made its maiden flight from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) airport at Bangalore on 29th May. The twin turboprop 14-seater light transport aircraft was flown by test pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Aircraft and System Test Establishment (ASTE). The prototype, powered by two American Pratt and Whitney engines, weighs 5,118 Kg, about 900 Kg heavier than its desired empty weight of 4,125 Kg. It is equipped with five seats, including one for the pilot and an observer. Saras is designed as a multipurpose aircraft, for executive, transport, light package carrier, remote sensing, Coast Guard and air ambulance use. The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the funding of the Rs. 1,390-million project in 1999. Each aircraft may cost about Rs. 250million, and efforts will be made to find a partner for commercialisation.

25-05-04

Expressway Due To Open: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) now says that the 93-km Ahmedabad-Baroda expressway is likely to be opened to the public around June 7. The expressway, which has been built at a cost of Rs. 1,900 million, will reduce the journey time between Ahmedabad and Baroda to just about an hour. The toll is likely to be Rs. 60.

22-05-04

Fabric That Resists Mustard Gas: A fabric that can protect soldiers during chemical warfare has been developed for the Indian Army by the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA). The fabric can ward off mustard gas too. India used to import suits made from such fabrics. The suit is made of two layers of cotton fabric, the inner permeable to allow ventilation and absorb sweat while the outer is treated to make it impervious to heat, gases and other toxic substances. The outer fabric is coated with active carbon spheres (ACS) to make it resistant to fire, water and oil. Further tests will be conducted by the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE). The fabric fulfills the criteria set by the Indian Standard Tests Methods (ISTM) and the American Association of Textile Chemicals and Colourists (AATCC).

India's Fastest Academic Computer: India's fastest academic computer was commissioned recently at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) in Chennai. In June 2004 it will vie for a ranking in the global 'Top 500' list of the world's fastest supercomputers. The configuration was put together by a team of students and teachers of the institute as well as engineers from two Indian computer companies – Netweb Technologies from New Delhi and Mumbai based Summation Enterprises – and two hardware suppliers – Supermicro and Dolphinics. Stringing together 144 separate computers, the researchers managed to clock up a peak computing speed of 1.382 teraflops (that is 1,382 billion calculations per second). Its creators have named their supercomputer, Kabru, after one of the tall peaks as yet unclimbed in the Himalayas. IMSc, an autonomous institute engaged in doing fundamental research in mathematical sciences, is largely funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). The DAE had made a grant of Rs. 35 million to the institute out of which this cluster was made at a cost of about Rs. 25 million, a fraction of what supercomputers of this pedigree would cost if imported. The top 500 rating will be announced at the International Supercomputer Conference in Heidelberg, Germany, on June 22. If it makes the grade, Kabru will be the third India based supercomputer in the list; 'Param Padma', the supercomputer developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), entered the list at number 258, while Intel's Bangalore based development centre reached the 105th rank with an IBM cluster based on its own Xeon processors.

Ahmedabad - Kuala Lumpur Flights: The Malaysian Airlines plans to operate a direct flight from Ahmedabad to Kuala Lumpur thrice a week. They will use a Boeing 777 with a capacity of 300 passengers. The flights are due to start in September 2004.

21-05-04

India's First Floating Hotel: Kolkata has become India's first city to have a floating hotel. It thus joins the rank of cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, etc., where 'Floatels' are a major tourist and business attraction. The four-storied Floatel in Kolkata has been built according to international four-star standards and was under construction for the past four and a half years at the Kidderpore Docks. The Floatel has a 24-hour coffee shop capable of accommodating 110 guests and a speciality restaurant. It is centrally air-conditioned, with 73 rooms and three suites with attached marble and ceramic bathrooms. The Rs. 310 million Kolkata Floating Hotel Complex is expected to be in operation within the next three to four months at its 'home' opposite Samriddhi Bhawan on Strand Road. Floatel is being given the look of ship and has been under the constant scrutiny of the American Bureau of Shipping, an agency affiliated to the UN's International Maritime Commission that certifies floating structures on the basis of safety and security.

13-05-04

New HIV-Detection Process: Scientists have developed a technology to rapidly detect HIV infection through an assay that does not require any instrument, electricity or water. This simple and rapid test, Whole Blood Agglutination Assay or Naked Eye Visible Agglutination Assay, for the detection of anti-HIV antibodies in the blood can be performed anywhere. The scientists, Professor V K Chaudhary and Dr. Amita Gupta are from the Department of Biochemistry, Delhi University.

04-05-04

Smoking Banned In Public Places: The ban on smoking in public places, including railway premises and in trains, direct or indirect advertising of all tobacco products and their sale came into effect throughout India from 1st May. Restrictions have been laid on products like cigarettes, cigars, cheroots, beedis, cigarette tobacco, pipe tobacco and hookah-tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, pan masala or any chewing material which has tobacco as one of its ingredients; this includes gutkha and tooth powder laced with tobacco. People are not supposed to smoke in public places like auditoriums, hospital buildings, railway waiting rooms, amusement centres, restaurants, public offices, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries and public conveyances which are visited by general public. Any violation will attract a fine of Rs. 200. The sale of cigarette or tobacco products to persons below the age of 18 will not be allowed. Tobacco companies will not be allowed to sponsor sports or cultural events or advertise on television, print media and billboards. All hoardings displaying cigarettes, bidis or other tobacco products will have to be removed. The ban includes surrogate advertisements or advertisements that use the same brand or name on non-tobacco products. As much as Rs. 2,400 million is spent on advertising cigarettes, pan masalas, zardas and gutkhas in the country. The state governments will be responsible for implementing the ban.

Recycled Plastic For Road Construction: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palika (BMP) will soon lay over 500 km of road using bitumen mixed with recycled plastic once its standing committee gives the clearance. K.K. Plastic Waste Management Ltd. has developed the technology that turns plastic waste into a polyblend. About two tonnes of plastic are required for every km of road. With the plastic, the cost of the road will increase marginally, but this is compensated by its durability and 'ecofriendliness'. Bangalore city generates over 300 tonnes of plastic waste every month. The technology has been validated by the Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi. A field test by the Bangalore University shows that the polymer blend increases the fatigue life and the strength of the road by three times.

Prit Piyu Ne Panetar: The Gujarati family drama about a man who lives with his wealthy in-laws – Prit Piyu Ne Panetar – was first staged in 1963 at Ahmedabad. It has now completed 7,000 shows and seven million spectators have seen it in India and abroad. The play's writer and director, Vinod Jani, says that its Kathiawadi dialect, family situation comedy and the language spoken in the Charotar region have contributed to its popularity. It has made no changes to its script or even its sets; in the play messages are still sent through telegrams and there are no telephones to be seen on the sets. Over 350 artistes have worked in it over the years.

29-04-04

DDIT's Rogues Gallery: The Portrait Building System (PBS) software of India's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is being improved. The system, originally developed by the Dharamsinh Desai Institute of Technology (DDIT) at Nadiad in Gujarat, is being upgraded to provide a larger database to develop portraits of suspects in criminal cases. DDIT researchers may now come up with a system where a 100-face data can reconstruct 10 billion different faces. The PBS initially had a gallery of black-and-white images, but it will now be able to include colour images too. With the upgradation, the gallery will have over 10,000 images, including pictures of foreign nationals.

Drug-Coated Stents From Surat: Dhirajlal Kotadia, the head of Surat based Sahajanad Group of Industries, was recently adjudged the 'Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year' by the Federation of Gujarat Industries (FGI). His company is the only Indian manufacturer of drug-coated coronary stents. Starting off in 1991 with just Rs. 100, his is one of the three companies in the world that manufacture drug-coated stents programmed for slow drug release (the other two are US-based Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific). He exports the stents to 16 countries.

26-04-04

Shortage Of Cooks In UK: The Indian food industry in Britain seems to be short of at least 9,000 cooks. This includes both trained chefs and unskilled kitchen helpers. Britain has over 14,000 curry houses, with more than 9,000 in London alone. The industry is worth 2.8 billion pounds per year and is growing at the rate of 15 per cent annually. Most restaurants source their staff from India, but all applicants have to produce a qualification which is comparable to the national vocational qualification, NVQ Level 3, of Britain. However, 98 per cent of the Indian skilled labour force has no formal education at all.

21-04-04

Ahmedabad-Dubai Flight: Air India will introduce a direct flight to Dubai from Ahmedabad every Friday and Sunday from June. The 201-seater aircraft will start from Mumbai, arrive at Ahmedabad and then proceed to Dubai. Also planned is the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Frankfurt-Los Angeles flight which may start from June 11. A 425-seater plane will fly thrice a week to Los Angeles from the city. The airline also plans to start a direct flight to San Francisco by the end of 2004.

17-04-04

Herbal Stress Buster: Scientists at India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed a herbal stress buster using 15 commonly available herbs, including ashwagandha, brahmi and chyawanprash. DRDO has completed extensive drug trials involving over 3,000 soldiers. The trials were conducted by the Defence Institute of Physiological & Allied Sciences (DIPAS) in association with the Army Medical Corps. DRDO scientists had also produced the 'Leh Berry Juice', an extract of the Sea buckthorn fruit. The extract contains Vitamins C, E, beta-carotene and flavonoids that fight problems such as lack of appetite, fatigue and memory loss. It is very effective for personnel deployed at high altitudes.

Car Sales Touch 1.3 Million: Car sales in India touched 1.3 million units during 2003-04, a growth of 32 per cent over the previous year. Sales of passenger cars were at 696,207 units while sales of utility vehicles rose to 144,981 units, according to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

13-04-04

India Attracts E-Publishers: India, the world's No. 3 publisher of English language books (after USA and UK), is now quickly becoming the preferred destination for the e-publishing business. Major international book and journal publishers such as Oxford and Cambridge University Press, Prentice Hall, Macmillan, Elsevier and Springer find it more economical to get typesetting, page making and digitisation done in India. Typically, the salaries of editing staff are 40 % of those in the west. The rich human resource in India, particularly retired graduates and teachers in every possible subject, and the availability of persons with the requisite skills in English help immensely. The e-publishing business potential – worth about Rs. 10 billion annually – has also attracted many smaller players. As the British writer Malcolm Muggeridge once jokingly said, the last Englishman would probably be an Indian.

Courses For Foreign Students: To attract foreign students to pursue higher education in India, Anna University has prepared short-term (4-12 weeks) courses under a Study India Programme (SIP). The university is among 10 institutions identified by India's University Grants Commission (UGC) for promotion of Indian higher education abroad'. Under this programme foreign, PIO or non-resident Indian students may be able to take up courses which cut across disciplines. Some of the course proposed are: temple architecture and conservation of historic towns; ancient Indian science and technology; biodiversity of south India and characterisation of medicinal leads; natural dyes for textiles in India; environment-friendly buildings for the tropics; ethnic fashion technology; health and hygiene – the Indian way; culture-based nutrition and food technology; culture, tradition and Indian heritage; Vedic mathematics and traditional astronomy; yoga, meditation and stress management. The courses will cost about $1,000. The UGC has also enlisted 26 universities to promote their degree programmes abroad.

10-04-04

National Genetic Database: To understand the reasons for several genetic disorders which have affected many families for generations, Indian geneticists have decided to register a 'People's Foundation' to establish a national genetic database, according to an official of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. The Foundation will be registered with the permission of the Indian government. There are 5000 well-defined human population groups in India. There are as many as 5000 genetic disorders in the human species, caused by 5 to 50 mutated genes. The data bank will be based the model which has been established recently in Spain.

07-04-04

Simputer Launched: Simputer, the 'simple computer' made in India, seems to be getting a warm reception locally and in the world market. Within a week of its launch PicoPeta, the manufacturer, has bagged inquiries from 20,000 potential customers. The features include multilingual support, handwriting recognition, free software, pocket size, patent freedom, Internet compatibility and a price range from Rs. 9,500 to Rs. 17,000.

Maharashtra To Restrict Cigarette Ads: Maharashtra has banned the advertisements of cigarettes and other tobacco products from all public places – railway stations, auditoriums, playgrounds – from 1st May. Smoking will be permitted at restaurants only if they provide separate smoking sections for customers. The state has also decided to put restrictions on retail sales. Retailers of tobacco products will not be allowed within 100 metres of educational institutions and government buildings  and they will not be allowed to sell to minors.

05-04-04

Gujarat's Lok Sabha Candidates: For the Lok Sabha election to be conducted in Gujarat on 20th April, 162 candidates remain in the fray for the state's 26 seats. Vadodara has 6 candidates: Jayaben Thakar (BJP); Satyajit Gaekwad Congress); Kalodia Shardaben (Bahujan Samaj Party); Hasmukh Patel (Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha); Tapan Dasgupta (Independent); Jayaprakash Prem (Independent). The district-wise tally of candidates: Godhra (2); Patan (3); Kapadvanj (4); Dahod (4); Kheda (4); Mehsana (4); Sabarkantha (5); Valsad (5); Rajkot (5); Bhavnagar (5); Vadodara (6); Bharuch (6); Amreli (6); Surat (6); Mandvi (6); Banaskantha (6); Porbandar (7); Junagadh (7); Dhandhuka (7); Anand (7); Chhota Udepur (7); Kutch (8); Surendranagar (9); Jamnagar (10); Ahmedabad (10); Gandhinagar (13).

02-04-04

India's First Small Wind Generator: The Department of Physics at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Anand, has developed India's first indigenous Small Wind Generator (SWG) to produce electricity from wind. SWGs are normally imported from USA, UK, Sri Lanka and African countries. The SPU version costs about Rs. 65,000, which is less expensive than the imported unit that costs around Rs. 400,000 and also cheaper than solar power generators. It produces 1800 watts of electricity. It has three fibreglass blades of five feet length and a waterproof five-phase AC generator mounted on a 20-foot pipe. Internationally, the lowest wind speed required for charging the battery is 10 km per hour, but for this generator the minimum wind speed needed is 7.2 kmph. The unit is currently installed on the terrace of a SPU building and provides electricity for three hours. Shreelal Jha, the person who developed the unit, is also the recipient of a national award for inventing a Braille laboratory that can provide mass education to the visually impaired. SPU is also developing a SWG than can run 5-hp water pumps.

30-03-04

India's Electronic Voting Machines: Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used in all the 543 Lok Sabhha constituencies in the forthcoming general elections in India. About 1.1 million EVMs will be installed at polling stations. The EVMs will help save around 800 tonnes of paper which would have been used for printing ballot slips. The machines have been made by Bangalore based Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Hyderabad based Electronic Corporation of India Ltd. This will be the largest deployment of EVMs anywhere in the world. Indian EVMs are completely electronic, compared to the US ones which use paper too.

27-03-04

National Identification Card: The residents of Lakhpat taluka in the district of Kutch in Gujarat may become the first in India to be given a microchip-embedded smart card that will serve as a proof of their citizenship. This multipurpose National Identification Card – similar to the Social Security Number provided to US citizens – will be launched in Lakhpat as part of a pilot project to create a National Citizens Register. The project is being executed by the central and the state government. The smart card will serve as a citizenship document, with complete details about the card-holder, including criminal history if any, employment status and family profile. The card number will also feature on documents such as driving licences, passports, provident fund accounts, etc.

26-03-04

Burglary At Shantiniketan: Burglars have stolen Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize medal (Literature, 1913) and some items from his personal collections and heirlooms from the Rabindra Memorial Museum at Bichitra Bhaban in the Uttarayan complex at Shantiniketan. The theft came to light on 25th March. Among the stolen items was the legendary gold pocket watch which the poet had got as a wedding gift and had later sold in order to raise money to build Shantiniketan. The buyer had subsequently returned the watch, as a gift at the wedding of Tagore's son.

24-03-04

01-03-04

27-02-04

India's Longest Sea Link: The Maharashtra government has invited offers for the design and construction of India's longest sea link between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. It proposes to take up the work of construction of Phase-I of the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project under which it is proposed to construct a 22.5 km long bridge of four-lane dual carriage (width 24 metres) from Sewree on the Mumbai side to Nhava on the Navi Mumbai side. The construction period will be 48 months. The estimated cost of the work is Rs. 18 billion. More details about the project are available on www.msrdc.org

Mumbai-Pune Road Privatised: India's first national highway – NH-4 between Mumbai and Pune – and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway have now been privatised. Ideal Road Builders (IRB) has won the bid to operate and maintain the roads for 15 years. This is the first time that a highway has been privatized in India. IRB bid Rs. 20.6 billion and is expected to take over the roads on March 1, 2004. Two months from that date, the company will have to pay Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) Rs. 9.18 billion as up-front money. IRB will have eventually to pay Rs. 3.6 billion towards construction costs, Rs. 7.54 billion as operating and maintaining costs and Rs. 294 million in other payments to MSRDC. A toll is already being charged on the expressway.

21-02-04

Ahmedabad-Colombo Flights: To tap the growing outbound traffic from Gujarat, Sri Lankan Airlines is planning direct Ahmedabad-Colombo flights from May 2004, making it the first foreign carrier to operate out of Ahmedabad. Presently, Air-India operates flights to USA and Europe and Indian Airlines operates flights to the Middle East from Ahmedabad. The Sri Lankan carrier intends to fly once or twice a week from Ahmedabad during May and June after which it plans to begin regular two to three Ahmedabad- Colombo flight from October 2004. Of the annual traffic to Sri Lanka from Mumbai, almost 25 per cent comes from Gujarat. Travellers from Ahmedabad would reach Colombo in three hours.

PC Sales Jump: Indian companies sold over 6,300 assembled and branded computers a day in India in 2003. As many as 2.3 million PCs were shipped during last year, a massive 32 % growth. A sharp fall in PC prices is what led to the increased sales, particularly in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, homes and in non-metro cities. The average unit price of a PC has come down to just Rs. 38,390 from Rs. 51,580 in 1997. These are the findings of the IT market analysis report – Browser 2003 – that was released by the strategy consulting firm, Skoch Consultancy Services. Also, primarily because of the introduction of sub-$ 1,000 notebooks, the notebook sales registered 78 % growth, to 87,499 units.

World Heritage Status For Bodhgaya: Bodhgaya is now formally 'inscribed' as a World Heritage Site. A site is declared thus by UNESCO after it is found to be of 'outstanding universal value' by a 21-member committee. There are 740 World Heritage Sites. India has 24 of them, including the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Ajanta and Ellora caves and the Darjeeling railway. Once declared a World Heritage Site, it cannot be painted, dug or destroyed. There are periodic reviews done by the World Heritage Committee to ensure its conservation.

Elections In India: Some interesting facts from the last general elections (held in 1999) in India:
- Parliamentary constituency with the largest number of electors: Outer Delhi (2,880,872 electors)
- Parliamentary constituency with the lowest number of electors: Lakshwadeep (35,716 - electors)
- Maximum contestants in a parliamentary constituency: Ongole in Andhra Pradesh (34 candidates)
- Minimum contestants in a parliamentary constituency: 2 candidates each in Anand (Gujarat), Satara (Maharashtra), Nagaland, Lakshwadeep
- Paper used for printing of ballot papers: 7,700 metric tons
- Number of polling stations: 773,667
- Expenditure on elections: Approximately Rs. 6.64 billion

Earnings Of Indian Sportspersons:

Cricketers
Rs. 270,000 per test match
Rs. 221,000 per one-day international match
Rs. 4,000 per day for Ranji Trophy matches

Hockey Players (International Level)
Men: Rs. 25,000 from the national team sponsors, Rs. 25,000 from employers (mainly PSUs), $ 30 daily overseas allowance, no separate fees for playing for India
Women: Rs. 10-15,000 from employers (mainly Indian Railways), $ 30 daily overseas allowance

Footballers
Rs. 10,000 for a home match (plus Rs. 5,000 bonus), Rs. 20,000 for an away match (plus Rs 10,000 bonus), Rs 25-50,000 for a specific tournament (like SAF Games),

Tennis Players
Rs. 700,000 annual earning of men on the local circuit (Indian subcontinent, Gulf countries). Davis Cup fees are based on a system of seniority, involvement in the tie, etc.

18-02-04

Ahmedabad-London Flights: Air-India will launch a direct flight from Ahmedabad to London in March. The direct flight will be a biweekly service. Till now traffic between Ahmedabad and London was routed through Mumbai and Delhi, either through Air-India or British Airways. Part of the traffic also moves through Dubai and certain other points in the Gulf. As of now, Air-India runs 13 flights to London, including three code-shared flights operated by Virgin Atlantic. The number will increase to 15 with the introduction of the two Ahmedabad flights. The new service, scheduled to be inaugurated on March 28, will be operated with a leased Boeing B747-400 aircraft. Introduction of these two flights will enable Air-India to add 100,000 seats per annum on the India-London sector.

09-02-04

Small Arms Factory Proposed: India's Ministry of Defence  may set up a small arms factory in Ahmedabad. The proposal awaits the approval of the Union Cabinet. It will be set up as a joint venture with private sector operators where foreign direct investment of up to 25 per cent is allowed. The factory will cost Rs. 2.5 billion. Its joint venture partner will be decided at a later date. It will be the fourth such factory in India and the first in Gujarat. The arms that will be manufactured include .32 revolvers, .22 revolvers, pistols, 5.56 mm light machine guns, 7.62 mm assault rifles and other weapons in the small arms category.

Mega Weddings In A Business Family: If you have still not heard of the reach and business clout of India's Sahara Parivar, you need not wait long. Sushanto and Seemanto, the two sons of Sahara Group chairman Subrato Roy will be married on 10th and 14th February at Lucknow, and it is certainly not going to be a small, private, family ceremony. Here's a brief glimpse of what may be on the agenda:

* Bollywood stars will be flown in on six special charter aircrafts.
* Film director Raj Kumar Santoshi seems to have been commissioned to 'shoot' what someone has called the 'weddings of the century'.
* Leading business lights will be among the 1,500 VVIP invitees.
* Big-name politicians – including nine chief ministers – will also grace the occasion.
* The guest list includes 10,500 persons.
* The production team involves 7,000 persons, including 4,000 Sahara employees.
* A large team of cooks from the Taj Group of hotels will prepare dishes representing Indian, Mexican, Italian, Mongolian, Lebanese, Chinese and American Cuisine, to be washed down with the 'finest drinks from across the world.'
* Fireworks will be by the Moranis from Mumbai.
* Flowers and silk are being airlifted to the site.
* For the music and dance, there will be Shiamak Davar and his troupe, veejay Sophia, deejay Aqeel, Jassi, and, oh yes, a symphony orchestra being flown in from the UK.

USA's Indian Hoteliers: Immigrants from India – mostly from the state of Gujarat – have, during the last three decades, quietly acquired more than one-third of the 53,000 hotels in the United States, most of them budget and midpriced franchises. … Sociologists call businesses dominated by a single ethnic group, like the diners owned by Koreans, and a nursing profession with an abundance of West Indians and Filipinos, 'ethnic niche businesses'. The Indians' knowledge of English and a commercial savvy prized by their culture gave them a distinct leg up on other immigrants, and they had a network of relatives and close friends to help out. According to Hitesh Bhakta, chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners' Association, the body's 8,400 members own 20,000 hotels worth $37 billion, including half the nation's Days Inns, half its Ramadas and 40 per cent of its Holiday Inns. At Cornell's hotel school, 13 per cent of the graduate students are of Indian origin. … From an article in the New York Times.

07-02-04

Change In Phone Numbers: Beginning February 15, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar will have eight-digit numbers for BSNL telephones. The prefix '2' will be added to each number in these two cities.

05-02-04

Lukewarm NRG Investment: Of the Rs. 187 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) which has come into Gujarat since 1991, the NRI share is just 4 per cent. Gujarat attracted 88 NRI-sponsored FDI projects worth Rs. 7.5 billion, which is roughly 7 per cent of the NRI investment of Rs. 107 billion in the country. Andhra Pradesh tops the list with 190 projects worth Rs. 19 billion. Some other states: Maharashtra with 273 projects worth Rs. 18.9 billion, Karnataka with 163 projects worth Rs. 13 billion, Delhi with 140 projects worth Rs. 9.6 billion and Tamil Nadu with 192 projects worth Rs. 6.8 billion. As far as total FDI is concerned, Gujarat with Rs. 187 billion is 5th in the list. Maharashtra tops the list with Rs. 503 billion, followed by Delhi's Rs. 346 billion, Tamil Nadu's Rs. 247 billion and Karnataka's Rs. 237 billion.