Ramu invites Bihar CM to his film premiere

Patna, Aug 31: Noted Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma on Thurdsay invited Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to watch his forthcoming film `Shiva` at a special show here sometime in the second week of September. The director of hit films like `Sarkar`, `Satya` and `Rangeela` was here to promote `Shiva`. He called on Nitish Kumar at his One Anne Marg residence and invited him. "My perception of Bihar has changed. The state has changed and it looks different now.... I was on a courtsey call and had come to invite the Chief Minister to the premiere of my film," Varma told reporters at the CM`s residence. Kumar said he accepted the invitation.

Plan to install hi-tech devices at railway stations

PATNA: The East Central Railway (ECR) plans to install a sophisticated gadget — data logger, a la black boxes in aeroplanes — at each station under the Danapur division. The move is aimed at ensuring safety in the division, Danapur DRM Pankaj Jain said on Tuesday. The DRM said that each data logger costs Rs 4 lakh. The railways have decided to install the device at each station on the mainline section, right from Mughalsarai to Jhajha and on the Patna-Gaya route. The new device will connect each station of the division with the Danapur control room through a computerised link service. Besides monitoring the movement of trains, the data loggers would keep giving round-the-clock information to the Danapur control room about the position of trains running in the division, he said. The DRM said that the new technology would help controllers in keeping a track on the movement of trains. In case of any fault, the new device will transmit data which would be automatically displayed on computer screens at the control room. The data loggers will also record the information exchanged between the controllers and station masters while giving clearance to each passing trains at different stations in the division. In case of any mishap, the data loggers would also throw light on the lapses committed by the staff concerned, the DRM said. According to senior divisional telecom and signalling engineer Rajesh Kumar, this ambitious project would cost the railways a whopping Rs 3.25 crore. The railways plan to install data loggers on all the 53 railway stations on the mainline section, besides the 11 railway stations on the Patna-Gaya route. The data loggers would be installed at 64 railway stations. So far, data loggers have been installed at 25 railway stations on the mainline section and seven railway stations on the Patna-Gaya route, he said. The DRM further said that a new inquiry system would be introduced in the Danapur division soon. Passengers can seek information about the position of trains passing through the division by simply sending an SMS through their cellphones. The new inquiry system envisages installation of a device on the top of the railway engines. This device will transmit information regarding the position of trains via satellite. A trial demonstration of this device was successfully carried out on Monday, the DRM said. The railways also plan to introduce a new facility — voice recognising system — for the benefit of passengers. The voice recognising system will be directly linked with the Patna call centre of the railways whose telephone number is 139. The new system will enable passengers to inquire about the movement of any train in any part of the country, the DRM said.

Satellite imagery work on Nalanda ruins begins

Space scientists began fieldwork for satellite imagery exploration in and around the ruins of the ancient Nalanda University in Bihar.

A two-member team of senior space scientists from Hyderabad based National Remote Sensing Agency are currently in Nalanda, about 100 km from here, for the field study. 'The scientists are camping in Nalanda for a field study since Monday to collect data on site settlements and water bodies around the ruins of Nalanda University,' an official said.In April, union Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni during her visit to Nalanda mooted a plan to use satellite imagery for exploration in the area. An expert on Nalanda said the current extent of the more than 2,500-year-old Nalanda ruins is 1.6 square kilometres. The oldest university in the world is believed to have been spread over a radius of 16 km earlier.The satellite imagery would help to explore the unexplored part of Nalanda ruins, an expert said.

Bihar to get Rs 550cr sugar complex

The Bihar government on August 17 approved a proposal from Glucon Limited for setting up Rs 550-crore sugar complex at Rasoolpur in Saran district.

The state cabinet recently cleared the proposal.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi and several of their cabinet colleagues attended the meeting.

The meeting also cleared a proposal from the agriculture department to provide Rs 10 as subsidy on purchase of a litre of diesel by farmers in light of the drought-like situation over a vast area in the state due to scanty rains, Cabinet Secretary A K Chouhan told reporters after the meeting.

Kumar had made an announcement about the subsidy while addressing a gathering on Independence Day.

The cabinet sanctioned a sum of Rs 49.50 crore for providing the subsidy to farmers through gram sabhas, he said.

Chouhan said the cabinet sanctioned Rs 7.41 crore for reconstituting industrial centres at all district headquarters, besides regularising the temporary appointment of 238 employees in the planning department.

The cabinet also decided to entrust the home department the task of undertaking the construction of walls in graveyards across the state.

Shekhar Suman to gift PATNA : paediatrics HEART HOSPITAL

Yesterday afternoon Amitabh Bachchan of TV Sri Shekhar Suman met Bihar CM sri Nitish Kumar along with his father Dr Phani Bhusan Prasad . Its a well known fact that Sri Shekhar Suman wants to dedicate a SUPER SPECIALITY PAEDIATRICs HEART HOSPITAL for PATNA Children in the memory of his first son who died a few years back . Sri Nitish Kumar assured Sri Shekhar Suman to help him at every stage and even called health Secretary Deepak Kumar and Development Secretary A K Chaudhary and directed them to assist SHEKHAR .

Thanks Shekhar !! You are a true BIHARI , We all saluate you .

Ranjan Rituraj Sinh , NOIDA

Mahila Udyog Mela: State shedding 'untouchable' tag

PATNA: It appears Bihar is no longer feared. The message has gone out across the country that a visitor can not only survive in Bihar but can also do brisk business. No wonder then that the 11th Bihar Mahila Udyog Mela, which is run solely by women entrepreneurs, is getting business inquiries from states which never participated in any business fair in this state before. The September 14-to-18 fair is likely to see participation from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra this year. "This is unprecedented. Till now our participants would be mainly from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. But this year we have been flooded with inquiries from other states," said Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh president Pushpa Chopra. She said entrepreneurs from Patiala, Haryana, Delhi, Lucknow, Pune, Kolkata and Andhra Pradesh have confirmed their participation. They have also booked stalls at the fair. "It is not just about an individual's enterprise. But these states would be sending clusters of women accompanied by a staff of the government as well," Chopra said. From Andhra Pradesh, an entire team of lace makers would come. The number of participants from West Bengal is expected to go up this year. A woman entrepreneur said, "Till now women from other states were afraid of visiting Bihar. They often told us that they had heard all kinds of stories and would rather stay away. But this year there is a sense of confidence among the same people. They are now willing to come and showcase their products."....

So this year apart from the usual saris, kurtas, bed covers and handicraft items, visitors can also purchase original phulkari embroidery from the Patiala stalls, and admire the handicraft of Maharashtra. However, the limited space inside the Miller School ground, the fair venue, is set to be a dampener. Though the number of participants is set to increase, the organisers have not been able to majorly increase the number of stalls. Said Chopra, "We would urge the government to join hands with us and help us organise the fair on a larger scale from next year onwards."

Ex-queen bid to keep raj memories alive

PATNA: Maharani Kamasundari Devi, the lone surviving member of the erstwhile Darbhanga raj, has created Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh Kalyani Foundation for the protection and development of the literary and cultural traditions of Mithila. Now 75, Kamasundari is the second wife of the last king of Darbhanga estate, Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh, who died in 1962. His first wife died in 1976. Maharani Kamasundari does not have any issue. The first wife of the Maharaja too didn't have an issue. Kamasundari has gifted her late husband's personal library of about 15,000 books, manuscripts and encyclopaedia to the foundation. Besides, rare paintings belonging to the 15th century and a mango orchard spread in 30 bighas have also been donated to the foundation. "Thousands of rare gramophone records, including the speeches of Pt Madan Mohan Malviya and Sarojini Naidu and the coronation of King George V, are now the prized possessions of the foundation," its managing trustee Hetukar Jha said. Around 12,000 photographs, several hundred manuscripts and films on the visits of viceroys and governors of Bihar to Darbhanga between 1930 and 1948 include the rare collections which have now been donated to the foundation. The foundation will release two rare books in November this year ahead of the beginning of the year-long centenary year celebration of the Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh. One of the books will be "Bhagalpur Darpan, "which was written by Jharkhandi Jha in 1930 but which is now out of print. The other will be a book on the paintings on Bihar by artists of the colonial era. The foundation will also publish a book on the raj's contribution to the socio-economic and political developments in Bihar. The book, in three series besides a pictorial biographical collection, will be out sometime next year, Jha said.

PU may finally get Central varsity status

DARBHANGA HOUSE , PATNA UNIVERSITY

PATNA: The Centre has decided to open an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bihar besides an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT). It has also decided to accord Central university status to one of the universities in the state, preferably Patna Univeristy. The announcements were made by Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi at the inaugural ceremony of a new experiment of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) called "On Demand Examination" here on Monday. Fatmi said, "The proposal for one IIT for Bihar and two for Orissa and one Western Indian state besides one IIIT to Bihar will be included in 11th Five Year Plan". He said that five universities were being upgraded as Central universities of which one will be from Bihar. "The process for the upgrade has already started," he said. The Union junior minister further said that Institute of Science are going to be opened in Kolkata, Pune and Punjab. In Kolkata, the foundation has already been laid, he added. A bit critical of the state government, Fatmi said the Centre has allotted Rs 2400 crore under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). "Kasturba Gandhi Residential Schools for girls were sanctioned for 128 blocks of Bihar but so far only 62 have been established. A huge fund of Rs 1300 crore for construction of school buildings under SSA is lying with the state government," he said. "The Centre is releasing funds in the name of SSA but the state government has changed the name of the scheme to Mukhyamantri Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan," he said adding they were not authorised to change the name. Similarly, funds have been provided for 4000 madarsas of Bihar under the innovative education scheme but only 400 have got the money so far, he said...
The "Jab Chaho Pariksha" scheme was formally inaugurated by railway minister Lalu Prasad, who said Patna is the third place where this scheme has been launched after Delhi and Pune. Under this scheme the children who could not appear in regular examinations and those who have failed can apply for examinations which would be arranged for them within 10 days. About 550 such centres would be opened in the country and in Bihar it would be implemented even in the interiors. The HRD minister also announced that four new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) would be opened in Madhubani, Sheohar, Supaul and Araria. As many as 13 KVs are already functioning in Bihar. Lalu said Kasturba Gandhi Residential School Scheme is meant for girls belonging to minorities, Dalits and backwards where they are given stipends besides free accommodation and food. He asked Fatmi to seek reports from all DMs regarding the implementation of the scheme. "Speak to the CM and ask why various schemes of education are not being implemented despite provision of funds." Earlier, NIOS chairman N C Pant introduced the scheme and welcomed the guests.

UTI Pension Fund ropes in Bihar dairy farmers

Over 50,000 dairy farmers of the State Co-operative Milk Federation in Bihar are set to join UTI Mutual Fund’s Retirement Benefit Pension Fund, making the scheme a unique model that allows unorganised labour force to come under the pension bracket by contributing an amount as low as Rs 200 per month till the age of 55, reports Business Standard.

UK Sinha, chairman and managing director of UTI Asset Management Company, said the pension fund, originally designed as a tax-saving instrument, was revived to
bring in the unorganised workers under the pension ambit.

As milk farmers are expected to join the scheme soon, the fund house has also made reasonable progress with the Indian Farmers’ Fertilizers Co-operative Ltd (Iffco) for a similar tieup. About one-lakh farmers each from five districts in the country are expected to join by October. Currently, only 12% of the working class have a formal pension scheme and UTIMF zrgets the unorganised labourers. Sinha said UTIMF was confident of giving good returns on these savings, going by the scheme’s past records. The pension plan has given a return of 12.64% since its inception in 1993 and this should be compared with the returns of 8% under the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) or the other pension schemes. Over a working age tenure (from 18 years to 58 years), a 12% return would amount to a lumpsum amount of Rs 19.40 lakh while for a 10% return, the amount would shrink to Rs 11.10 lakh.

Justice N N Singh commission on Bhagalpur Riots gets extension

Patna, Aug 27: Bihar government today decided to extend the term of Justice N N Singh commission which was set to probe the cases of Bhagalpur riots of 1989 afresh in which over 1000 people had lost their lives. The NDA government after coming to power had constitututed the judicial commission asking it to probe the police laxity as well the role of other officials for failing to gather concrete evidences against the accused in at least 27 cases and submit its report within six months of its first hearing. Home secretary Afzal Amanullah told reporters that the government has decided in principle to extend the term of the commission as the commission was not provided with the office and employees in time to commence its inquiry. A proposal in this regard would be submitted to the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for getting the cabinet's clearance, home secretary said. "Now that the office and other requirements of the commission have been met, we expect that Justice (Retd) N N Singh will submit the report within six months after commission commence the hearing," Amanullah said. Meanwhile, the main accused Kameshwar Yadav of Bhagalpur riots has surrendered and many other witnesses who were not turning up in the court earlier have now approached the district administration and have expressed their willingness to record their statements before the commission, he said.

Govt to clamp down on corruption

PATNA: The Bihar government has planned crackdown on corruption in a big way. In the first phase, the state's 22 rich, corrupt and (in)famous people with political connections are to be trapped by a specially raised anti-corruption squad. The list of these influential people includes those who have amassed huge wealth through various means, including government contracts. The bigwigs in question are believed to be fountainheads of corruption, involved in scams and other forms of malfeasance. And chief minister Nitish Kumar appears to be serious this time. When he announced the plan to strike at corruption during his Independence Day speech he definitely had a long-term picture in mind. According to highly placed sources, the move to hire ex-CBI officials for the special squad is aimed at achieving that goal. The ex-CBI personnel were needed because the state vigilance bureau is not well-equipped to lay hands on mafia and contractors who have grown rich at the cost of the state exchequer. "First we will nail these people and then identify corrupt government servants," said a senior official. The government's proposal will first be approved by the state cabinet. Although the squad will work in tandem with the state vigilance bureau, the home department will also monitor its functioning. The sources said nearly 150 retired CBI personnel, mostly DSP and inspector-rank officials would be hired on contract basis for two years.

Students to plant 4.5 lakh saplings

PATNA: The Forest and Environment department has formally issued the 'Kishore Chetna Briksh Yojna' — an ambitious plan to plant 4.5 lakh saplings through school children in the next three years. The scheme is to be implemented in all the 38 districts of Bihar and the children from classes VI to X studying in schools affliated to ICSE, CBSE and Bihar School Examination Board. The schoolstudents will be paid Rs 100 every year for three years for nurturing the tree to above grazing height. The scheme was announced by CM Nitish Kumar during his Independence Day speech. According to the notification, the children are to fill up formats made available by the forest department to the school's principal. The saplings are to be planted on the school premises, adjoining places or on private land of the students. The saplings selected for plantation are mostly of fruits like mango, jamun, jackfruit, lichhi, mahua and amla apart from amaltash, pipal, pakar and guller — all long surviving trees. The school principals are expected to send detailed reports on the trees planted by students. The forest department will inspect the sites and after being satisfied that genuine plantation has been done, it will send the money to the school through bank draft. The idea of awarding prizes to students for the 'best three planations' has also been mooted. According to informed sources Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for the scheme in the current fiscal. There is also a strong possibility of students having a good academic background participating in the scheme being given financial assistance by the time they finish schooling.

Winds of Change in Bihar

So finally Lalu has been applauded as a great Manager by none other than IIM-A Director, Bakul H Dholakia. So does it means this augurs well for Bihar as one of it’s ex chief minister is rated as the best manager and the present Chief Minister has just been voted, second time in row, as the most preferred chief minister of an Indian State? I’m sure the citizens of state can’t ask for more.

Considering the realities of the state it would be fair to say that the people of the state actually need the best from all its leaders if at all it needs to catch up with the rest and make amends for the past.

One of the best things about Indian democracy is that it never fails to amuse you, the same holds true for our Politicians too. Laloo in general considered to be the most corrupt, inefficient, rustic and chief culprit for the backwardness of Bihar. People of Bihar have not been able to forget the ignominy and indictment afflicted by the 15 years of tyranny committed by Laloo and his folks. It’s too hard and difficult for them to forgive him for throes of being labeled as a state of Jungle raj and lawlessness.

Now suddenly we have a new Chief Minister who promises to revive the pristine glory of Bihar and we have new hope and aspiration. But does it also means Lalu has learnt his lessons and has risen from ashes in a new avatar? Is it the end of corrupt, inefficient and inept politicians from Bihar? The answer to this is not easy.

The state has some serious malaise which every administrator or politicians need to address. Be it the obnoxious politicians-criminal-bureaucracy connection, the caste driven politics, or even the lawlessness and crime perpetuated by high ups, all this has been responsible for the deep crisis which we face today.

To expect that any politician or leader will be able to extricate us from the excruciating vicious circle is little too optimistic. As an individual they may have great dreams and vision but as the leader of a party they also have some black sheep’s in their own pack. One of the serious challenges which I see for any govt in Bihar is too keep a check on the unsavory characters from different walks of Public life.

On the brighter side I see lot of positive action, vision and serious public efforts through various groups, forums to collectively work for a change. Be it people from Bihari origin or Non Resident Bihari’s every one is chipping in and the emotional connect has been revived and the cynicism has given way to optimism. Perceptions count a lot and our Chief Minister is also not leaving any stone unturned to make an impact wherever possible by statements like this "You know, Tata’s want to invest in Bihar,"

The CM said he is in receipt of a letter from Ratan Tata, saying he wanted to come to Bihar. "I have also written back to him saying he is most welcome Investment proposals worth about Rs 9,000 crore have been cleared by the NDA government, he said and added, "That is a record in itself". He said he is trying to serve Bihar to the best of his ability. "I am trying to write a new story for the state every day," he said. He, however, said that decisions taken by him are not final. "I respect suggestions made by others and my doors are open for people giving suggestions,".

His Govt. was also commended for "positive changes in law and order and development efforts" by British High Commissioner in India Sir Michael Arthur who promised greater assistance in certain key areas. "On the basis of our feedback from different sources, I can say that there are positive changes in Bihar on law and order.... We are impressed by the developmental efforts," Arthur told reporters after meeting the Chief Minister at the State Secretariat.

With Laloo winning accolades all over India and Nitish in Bihar who is also the ex-railways minister and has been credited for setting the track for railways revival it promises a bright future for the state. We can actually hope that a benchmark for future govt. is set in the days to come so that the people of Bihar can reap the fruits of a well administered state .

Thanks You Journalists to Put Good news on BIHAR

PATNA: Buoyed up by the functioning of the new dispensation, leading bankers and corporate executives are making a beeline to the state these days. The chief executive of Indian Bank met deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday and expressed willingness to expand the bank's base in the state. On Wednesday, the CEO of HSBC, Naina Lal Kidwai, the executive director of Central Bank, K Subbaraman, the chairman of the Union Bank of India and the president (inspection and audit) of the UTI Bank, Ranjan K Niyogi, were in Patna.

On Thursday, Ajai Chowdhary, the chairman of HCL, the oldest computer manufacturing company in the country, is expected to make a visit to the state capital.

The UTI Bank has already opened its second branch at Boring Road here. "We have four branches in Bihar. We will open a branch at Gaya soon. Eventually, we hope to open branches in all the districts of Bihar," Niyogi said and added that the bank plans to expand its base in the state.The officials of the UTI bank are quite happy about the bank's roaring business in Bhagalpur. "Open a branch, and it will trigger a stream of business," remarked a bank official. The changed political scenario seems to be wooing financial institutions to start operations in Bihar.

The recent dacoity of Rs 50 lakh in Patna outside a bank does not seem to have deterred the bankers the least... "At least, the police have recovered a part of the looted amount. A year back, it was simply unimaginable that the police would be able to retrieve the looted money," said another banker.

"In fact, the political leadership has reposed bankers' faith in the system. And that's why they are here," regional GM of Hudco Arun Kumar said. There has been a considerable rise in private parties seeking financial support from Hudco, he said, adding: "Our minimum budget for Bihar is Rs 200 crore. And we can go up to Rs 1,000 crore," he said.

There is an air of expectancy even in the insurance sector. "We expect an increase in business in the transport sector because of the lowering of road taxes by the new regime," said the chief regional manager of Oriental Insurance Company Limited. "We hope a few industries, particularly sugar mills, will come up in the state," he added. Incidentally, the state government has been critical of public banks for their reluctance to finance poverty eradication programmes and the agriculture sector. Though Patna has witnessed a virtual flooding of branches of private and international banks in the recent times, the government has been constantly pointing towards the large bank deposits made in Bihar every year — a whopping Rs 5,000 crore — with credit percentage being much lower. The performance of private banks in giving credit is virtually negligible. "Forty per cent of our deposits are used for credit purposes. A major chunk of the amount goes to the agriculture sector. "We will continue to focus on the agriculture sector and the small and medium scale industries in Bihar," senior vice-president of UTI Bank S K Mitra said.

Nitish CABINET meeting and OUTCOME

The state cabinet on Wednesday amended the Bihar Cinema and Bihar Entertainment Tax regulations, thereby allowing cinema hall owners to fix ticket rates and increase the seating capacity.

The state government also upgraded the rank of chowkidars to fourth grade employees with equal wages and facilities for them. Giving its assent to the rule, the cabinet fixed their salary in the range of Rs 2,500-3,200 and that of dafadars to Rs 2,610-3,540.

Ex-gratia for the civil defence personnel in accidental death, like encounter, has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh, at par with homeguard jawans.

To upgrade the district hospitals and primary health centres, the government has decided to accord all medical facilities to indoor patients. These hospitals will also be provided with ICU facilities, dentists and incinerators.

Six automated check-posts will be established at Karmnasha in Bhabhua and Jalalpur in Gopalganj for which the government has sanctioned Rs 21.21 crore.

For recommending the names for Padma awards, all the DMs have been asked to recommend the names of those who deserve the award in various fields from their respective districts. The names will be shortlisted here and then sent to the Union home ministry

Tatas wish to come to state, says Nitish

PATNA: After nine months in power as chief minister, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday sort of boasted of having brought about a complete change in the image of what was once the badland. "You know, Tatas want to invest in Bihar," he said. The CM said he is in receipt of a letter from Ratan Tata, saying he wanted to come to Bihar. "I have also written back to him saying he is most welcome," Nitish told media persons, attributing the change to his nine-month rule. Nitish went on. Investment proposals worth about Rs 9,000 crore have been cleared by the NDA government, he said and added, "That is a record in itself". He said he is trying to serve Bihar to the best of his ability. "I am trying to write a new story for the state every day," he said. He, however, said that decisions taken by him are not final. "I respect suggestions made by others and my doors are open for people giving suggestions," he said. The CM also took a dig at railway minister Lalu Prasad. "There are many other projects besides the one to connect Hathuwa and Bhatni (the track reportedly being laid to connect the native villages of Lalu and Rabri)," he said sarcastically and complained that work on all other rail projects in Bihar has stopped.

HSBC opens first branch in Bihar

Patna - Multinational bank Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) opened its first branch in this Bihar capital Wednesday.
The branch was jointly inaugurated by Britain’s High Commissioner to India Michael Arthur and Naina Lal Kidwai, the country head of HSBC India.
Kidwai said Bihar, particularly Patna, had enormous business potential. ‘We see interesting opportunities for HSBC in retail banking and financial services for small and mid-level corporate entities here,’ she said.

Govt to better academic scenario

PATNA: Human resources development minister Brishen Patel has said that regularisation of sessions in the universities of Bihar and enforcing an academic calendar are the top priority of his government. He has said that once the academic sessions in the state are regularised, the migration of students to other states will automatically end. "Several universities outside the state will close down," he joked while addressing a seminar on "Changing educational atmosphere of Bihar" on Tuesday. The seminar was organised by Arcade Business College. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the government is sensitive towards students who want a better academic atmosphere in the state. "The government wants the students to remain in the state and pursue their studies," he said. Modi expressed the hope that the students of Bihar will achieve great heights in the career they choose to opt for. "But wherever you are or whatever you become, always remember your home state and its people," he advised the students. He said that institutions like Arcade Business College have their relevance. "Major institutes take in brilliant students. But it is this kind of institutes which give even average students a chance to develop their mental faculties," he said.

The pro-VC of Magadh University, Dr Ram Prawesh Sharma, stressed the need for holding examinations in time as it is essential for improving the academic atmosphere on the university campuses. Speaking about his university, he said the results of the 2005 batch for graduation are to be published soon and the examinations for the 2006 batch would be held within two months. On this occasion, ADG Abhayanand gave tips to students for success in life. He said there are very few jobs available in the government sector. "But even for the jobs in the private sector, you must make yourself professionally sound," he said. Former Magadh University VC Dr Abhimanyu Singh recalled his tenure in the university and said he had to face many problems of students' absenteeism, holding examinations in time and ensuring timely payment of salaries to teachers. Other speakers told the audience, comprising mostly students, it is not important for students to study in big cities and that people hailing from smaller cities are also making it big in their career. The director of the institute, Ashish Kumar, said the migration of students from the state has dropped under the new regime. He also emphasised the need to encourage private investment in the education sector in Bihar.

NITISH Govt to streamline private schools

PATNA: Bihar is attempting to do what even the mighty metros haven't been able to pull off — streamline private schools and make them follow the rulebook. Already 50 schools in Bihar have entered into an agreement with the human resource development department which says this is just the beginning. According to the agreement, 25 per cent of the seats would be reserved for poor students, tution fees will not be arbitrarily hiked and at the time of admission, students who do not make it will be refunded registration fees. Besides, these schools have also agreed to admit students who live within a radius of five kilometers to promote the neighbourhood school concept. In return, the state government plans to recommend CBSE affiliation for these schools. As of now, these 50 schools either follow the ICSE board or Bihar School Education Board. Private schools in Delhi rarely have a policy on fees, reject and admit students at their own whim and under no circumstances refund registration money to unsuccessful students. Besides, almost all schools have their own buses to ferry students from as far as 20 kilometres. The situation is much the same in other metros. In Kolkata, barring the schools run by Christian organisations, no private school admits a student who cannot afford to pay full fees.

Human resource development commissioner M M Jha said, "At the moment, schools which are falling into step are the ones that need CBSE affiliation. We have decided to recommend affiliation to only those schools which agree to adhere to our rules." He said soon the government will work out ways of getting existing CBSE schools in Bihar to follow basic rules. He said, "We have discussed the matter with the CBSE chairman. As of now, there is no law to regulate existing private CBSE schools. We have also drawn his attention to the recommendations made by the Bihar Vidhan Sabha Committee in 2001 which said private schools were not following the CBSE norms." Jha said these rules were meant to boost the common school system in Bihar. "We want the concept of neighbourhood schools to come up. All children in a particular locality would have access to a school and even those who cannot pay would be welcomed to study there." He said the neighbourhood school system was prevalent in many developed countries and China. "By reserving free seats, poor students would be able to have access to quality education alongside children from wealthy families. This equitable treatment will enable children from varying backgrounds to grow up into adjusting, responsible adults," he said. An official said, "Right to Education became a fundamental right in December 2002. According to its spirit, there should not be two sets of rights, one for poor students and another for rich students. Just the way all citizens go to the same kind of polling booth to cast their vote and the same police station to register a complaint, children irrespective of their financial background should have access to the same type of education."

UK's explores investments in Bihar

Patna: Britain's High Commissioner to India Michael Arthur will be visiting Bihar on a two-day official trip beginning Wednesday to explore investment opportunities in the state.
According to official sources, this is Arthur's first visit to Bihar after Nitish Kumar took charge as chief minister.
The high commissioner will also formally launch the operations of a branch of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) here Wednesday, said informed sources.
Arthur is scheduled to meet Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi apart from other ministers of the state administration.
The government is likely to present a profile of investment opportunities in the state before Arthur.