Strategic alliance for SEZs in Bihar

Patna, Aug 03: Bihar government and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS) have entered into a strategic alliance for development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state to promote industrial and trade growth. Chief Secretary G S Kang and ILFS representative D K Mittal signed the MoU for creating the Special Economic Zones. The projects involve development of two product-specific SEZs and one multi-product SEZ. "This will lead to significant investment and employment potential in the state," Kang told a press conference. The locations would be identified through site analysis to be undertaken jointly by the state government and ILFS, he said while expressing firm commitment for development of infrastructure of world-class SEZs for the accelerated industrial development of the state. "The alliance is unique and both state government and ILFS will share business development risk in line with the partnership approach," he said. Speaking on the occasion, Mittal said the ILFS would bring core competencies into the forefront and development of SEZs was a priority at the national and state level and the public private partnership approach appeared most appropriate for implementation.

Decrease in crime boosts state's industrial scene

PATNA: With the Bihar police hitting back at criminals with a vengeance in recent times, the state may shed the 'wild west'-tag for long attached to its name, earlier rather than later. For, the stray incidents of kidnapping and loot notwithstanding, the state police's latest effort to take criminals head-on is slowly, but surely, changing Bihar's industrial atmosphere which could pitchfork it as a investor-friendly state in the not too distant future. During the RJD regime a large number of traders had migrated to other states due to extortion by criminals and poor law and order situation. And the police headquarters here announces the good news of another kidnapper or murderer convicted almost every day. For the first time SPs have been asked to prepare a list of "10 most wanted criminals" in their district and nab them. In fact, the results are beginning to manifest itself in trade and commerce. Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi today boasts about the 105 investment proposals in the state which till a year ago was notorious for migration of the business class. "We have already cleared several proposals. The proposals in setting up sugar mills will alone account for investment to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore," he says. The hue and cry raised by Opposition parties over the alleged failure of Nitish Kumar government on law and order front notwithstanding, comparative statistics of crime during the Nitish Raj and the previous regime suggest a substantial improvement in the situation. Both the RJD and Congress have repeatedly come out with statistics to show that there had been alarming increase in incidents of crime during the NDA regime. Both the parties claim to have compiled the data on the basis of newspaper reports. However, the NDA government says not only has the crime graph has gone down, but more criminals have been prosecuted during its rule.

From January to June this year, 151 criminals have been convicted for kidnapping alone — a number them have been awarded life imprisonment in 48 different cases. Moreover, the number of encounters between the police and criminals have increased resulting in the arrest of more criminals during the NDA rule compared to the previous regime. Statistics compiled by the police headquarters between October 2005 to March 2006 show that 1,623 murders took place in the state d as compared to 1,751 murders recorded in the corresponding period the previous year. Moreover, the number of kidnappings recorded between October 2005 to March 2006 was 1,111, a substantial drop from 1,456 such cases recorded in the corresponding period the previous year. There has also been a drop in the number of rape cases — from 577 to 457. Even cases of dacoity, loot, thefts and bank heist have shown a downward trend during the Nitish Kumar rule. The new regime also claims that 64,519 criminals had been arrested during the NDA regime so far against 62,009 arrested during the previous regime. The NDA government claims to have seized 1,653 arms as against 1,505 during RJD rule. The police also claims that this became possible due to 'will power' shown by the people to fight criminals. In the month of June alone 111 criminals were awarded life imprisonment, while 34 were awarded sentence of more than 10 years. Another 346 criminals were awarded less than 10 years imprisonment. In the month of May this year, 105 criminals were awarded life termwhile 49 others were awarded rigorous imprisonment of 10 years

Lalu flags off Garib Nawaz Express

KISHANGANJ: Railway minister Lalu Prasad has set at rest all speculations about any possibility of privatisation of the Indian railways. The railway minister claimed that while the Indian Railways have earned a whopping Rs 13,500 crore profit in last year, its profit is expected to touchthe Rs 20,000-crore mark this fiscal. Pointing out that the Indian Railways is the only profit-making railway organisation in the world, lau said henceforth its new thrust area would be passenger safety and security. Lalu, who flagged off the weekly Kishanganj-Ajmer Garib Nawaz Express here on Sunday, also announced a slew of measures including revamp of decrepit railway bridges and strengthening of tracks, on the occasion. Talking to the media, he indicated that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) strength will be increased by 40,000 additional personnel from its present strength of 60,000 to tackle both crime in trains and terror. "All metropolitan stations will be equipped with close-circuit TV cameras and control rooms," he said adding that a move is no to bar non-passengers from platforms. "Sniffer dogs will scan the main stations," he said. The railway minister, bowing to the request of senior party colleague and junior Union minister Taslimuddin, conceded to the demand for stoppage of three trains — the weekly Guwahati-Amritsar Express, the weekly Guwahati-New Delhi Sampark Express and bi-weekly NJP-Sealdah — at Kishanganj.

He also directed the N F Railway GM to ensure expeditious survey of two new lines between Kishanganj and Jalalgarh and Jogbani-Galgalia and construction of washing PIT line at Kishanganj. He said frequency of Garib Nawaz Express could be increased depending on the volume of traffic and added more new trains could originate from Kishanganj once the PIT line was completed. Taslimuddin, who presided over the function, blamed the bureaucrats for the poor implementaiton of the sanctioned schemes in Kishanganj and charged them with playing into the hands of "railway mafia". Taking potshots at his political detractor and Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, Lalu reminded him of his assertion to reverse the process of mass exodus of farm workers form Bihar. In this context he recalled the famous Hindi film song "Jo wada kiya nibhana parega (you will have to fulfil what you promised)" or else "mujhe aana parega (I will have to come back)." NF Railway GM A K Sonalka, in his welcome address, said Kishanganj was one of 24 stations adopted for modernisation and so far Rs 14 crore was earmarked for this. RJD MLA Akhtar-ul-Iman said introduction of Garib Nawaz Express will further cement Hindu-Muslim unity, as both Ajmer and Kishanganj were symbols of communal amity.

Girl students raise awareness about breastfeeding

PATNA: Tinned milk powder is inferior in comparison to breast milk. To spread awareness about it, more than 700 girl students from five city-based schools formed a human chain near Maurya Lok on Monday morning. Students, carrying posters and banners, drew the attention of passers by. They spread the social message, which was the main purpose of the programme, said Geeta Jain, chairperson of Adhar, a cooperative formed for empowering women. The programme was jointly organised by Inner Wheel of Pataliputra, Unicef and ICDS. Girls were informed about the importance of breast milk and it had no alternative for a child upto six months. The milk immunises the new born, shielding them from various kinds of disease, said Jain, who is also a teacher. She said the programme was organised on the eve of the Breastfeeding Week which will begin on Tuesday to spread awareness about Infant Milk Substitute Act. Under the Act, there is a total ban on the promotion of tinned milk powder through media, said Jain, adding that multinational companies were trying to promote powder milk. But, with the Act coming into effect, there is a blanket ban on such advertisements. Members of Inner Wheel Club said their organisation has been trying to remove the wrong notions about breastfeeding as it is a boon for any child. The club, as a part of the Breastfeeding Week, would be organising an interactive seminar on August 5 for the students of Magadh Mahila College.

Congrats Dr C P Thakur & Dr T K Jha : A Small Charity Takes Lead in Fighting a Disease

Readers can remember the meeting of Dr C P Thakur , Dr T K Jha (Muzaffarpur based brilliant Physician ) and Dr Prabhat Kumar met Sri Bill Gates on Mr Gates last visit in INDIA to get his support in fighting KALAZAAR across the globe .

Now Read this complete Story from NEW YORK TIMEs

PATNA, India — The drug that could have cured Munia Devi through a series of cheap injections was identified decades ago but then died in the research pipeline because there was no profit in it.

Dr. C. P. Thakur, a former Indian health minister, and Dr. Victoria Hale, co-founder of OneWorld Health, at a clinic in Patna, India.

So Mrs. Devi lay limp in a hospital bed here recently, her spleen and liver bulging from under her rib cage as a bilious yellow liquid dripped into her thin arm. The treatment she was receiving can be toxic, and it costs $500. But it was her best hope to cure black fever, a disease known locally as kala azar, which kills an estimated half-million people worldwide each year, almost all of them poor like Mrs. Devi.
Soon, however, all that may change. A small charity based in San Francisco has conducted the medical trials needed to prove that the drug is safe and effective. Now it is on the verge of getting final approval from the Indian government. A course of treatment with the drug is expected to cost just $10, and experts say it could virtually eliminate the disease.
If approval is granted as expected this fall, it will be the first time a charity has succeeded in ushering a drug to market.
This novel way of helping people whose needs have not been met by for-profit pharmaceutical companies is gaining traction. Several partnerships are working to develop drugs to fight neglected diseases, underwritten by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Doctors Without Borders and other groups. Another nonprofit agency, the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, is searching for a means to prevent tuberculosis.
For its first project, the San Francisco charity, the Institute for OneWorld Health, focused on reclaiming the all but abandoned drug, paromomycin, which research found promising in the 1960’s.
That was the easy part. Its hurdles lay elsewhere. The Internal Revenue Service at first denied the charity nonprofit status, concerned that it looked too much like a for-profit enterprise. The World Health Organization, which controlled the drug, was reluctant to hand over the data needed for further development. And OneWorld Health had to set up clinical trials matching United States and European standards in one of the poorest parts of the world.
Nor was it obvious where the money would come from. The idea of a nonprofit drug company struck many as folly when Dr. Victoria Hale, a former Genentech executive and Food and Drug Administration official, founded OneWorld Health in 2001. So Dr. Hale and her husband started the project using their own money, though they have since won support from the Gates foundation, among others.
“My colleagues and mentors in the pharmaceuticals industry told me it was a wild idea, that it would never work out, that I was jeopardizing my reputation,” Dr. Hale said. “I started this organization knowing our first project had to be a winner or we wouldn’t survive.”
An Ambitious Goal
Dr. Hale hopes to stamp out black fever eventually, a goal that many doctors regard as impossible. “The last disease we truly eradicated was smallpox,” she said. “There’s no urgency to eradicating diseases anymore. Why not?”
Black fever is the second-largest parasitic killer in the world after malaria. It is spread by sand flies, and Banthu, the squalid village about an hour’s drive from here that Mrs. Devi calls home, is an ideal breeding ground for them.
The flies multiply in the cow dung that Mrs. Devi uses as fuel for cooking. They relish the sap in the banana groves and bamboo stands, and they thrive in the thatch used to make the tiny houses. Flies that have bitten infected humans transmit the disease when they bite another person. Smaller than mosquitoes, they can pass through most netting.
Roughly 90 percent of black fever cases worldwide are found here in Bihar State in India and in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and northeastern Brazil.
Mrs. Devi’s daughter was the first in the family to contract the disease, and she died from it. Then Mrs. Devi’s youngest son, Rajesh, got it, and she brought him to the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Science here, where he was treated and recovered. Now she, too, is receiving treatment.
It is at the Rajendra Institute, a government research facility, that OneWorld Health set up one of the trials needed to make paromomycin widely available.
Many Early Battles
Dr. Hale first set her sights on the drug after she attended a conference in Belgium in 1999, where Dr. Shyam Sundar, an expert on black fever, was railing against the world’s failure to fight the disease.
“The tragedy, maybe even the crime, is that we have known that this drug is an effective treatment for kala azar since the 1960’s,” said Dr. Sundar, whose free clinic in Muzaffarpur was also a site for a trial by OneWorld Health. “We could do something, but we were choosing not to.”
After visiting Dr. Sundar’s clinic in 2000, Dr. Hale, who was doing consulting work at the time, hired a law firm to help her get the tax exemption necessary to create a nonprofit drug company. The I.R.S. turned her down three times over 10 months, suspicious that her plan was a scheme by the drug industry to shelter profits. The tax agency challenged her to find an example of an existing charity that mirrored a for-profit business.

“It took me five days, and then at dinner, it hit me: N.P.R. and public television,” she said. “They look an awful lot like for-profit radio and television, but they serve a different audience with programs that their for-profit counterparts don’t provide because they can’t profit from them.”
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The disease, the second-biggest parasitic killer in the world, is transmitted by and flies, which are smaller than mosquitoes and can pass through most netting. Two weeks later, OneWorld Health received I.R.S. approval and set out to tackle black fever.

The immediate challenge was financing. For a time, OneWorld Health survived on the largesse of Dr. Hale and her husband, Dr. Ahvie Herskowitz. They put up $100,000, signed a $315,000 promissory note, used the ground floor of their house as offices, and worked without pay for two years.
The Gates foundation, which at the time was primarily underwriting vaccines and other preventive strategies, eventually offered a grant of $4.2 million that grew to $47.2 million for the development of paromomycin. Dr. Hale also got help from others, including the Skoll Foundation, which has provided financing to underwrite salaries for new senior executives.
An Abandoned Drug
An initial, formal test of paromomycin, an antibiotic sold in some countries as an oral treatment for diarrhea and as a topical treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes lesions, was done in the late 1980’s in Africa, two decades after it was identified as a simple, cheap, effective cure for black fever.
Through a series of company mergers it was consigned to the corporate shelf and forgotten, ending up with the World Health Organization, which lacked the money to develop it beyond the Phase II clinical trials.
But negotiations with the World Health Organization to hand over the data that would allow OneWorld Health to organize the Phase III clinical trials necessary for regulatory approval dragged on for almost two years. At the time, the W.H.O was developing another drug for black fever with Zentaris, a large pharmaceutical company, and the Indian government. That drug, miltefosine, has the advantage of being an oral treatment, while paromomycin is administered by injection.
But miltefosine, an anticancer drug, also has drawbacks. In trials, it caused gastrointestinal problems in one-third of the patients. And patients must be strictly supervised to ensure that they take the full 21-day course of treatment and that women of child-bearing age are using birth control. By contrast, paromomycin has shown almost no side effects in trials.
With a price of $100 to $200 a treatment, miltefosine is out of reach for most patients and government purchasing programs.
Dr. T. K. Jha, a specialist in black fever who oversaw one of the OneWorld Health trials, said the W.H.O. wanted to make sure miltefosine made it onto the market before handing over its data on paromomycin. “Commerce got in the way,” Dr. Jha said.
But Dr. Robert G. Ridley, director of the W.H.O.’s special program for research and training in tropical diseases, disputed that. Dr. Ridley wrote in an e-mail message that the “time lag” had to do with getting financing from the Gates foundation and the process of negotiating an agreement with OneWorld Health.
The subject of the commercial aspects of drugs is a difficult one for OneWorld Health, which is careful to avoid criticism of its for-profit cousins, as well as competition with them.
“We look a lot like each other,” Dr. Herskowitz said. “But we fill a gap pharma companies cannot because they have to make a profit.”
But given the choice of paying more than $100 for Zentaris’s miltefosine or $10 for paromomycin, governments and most patients will no doubt choose the cheaper drug.
OneWorld Health does not intend to gain income from the drug. It has given a license to Gland Pharma, an Indian drug company that has agreed to manufacture the drug and sell it at cost when it is approved. But Dr. Hale can foresee a time when, say, a drug OneWorld Health hopes to develop to treat childhood diarrhea could be sold to travelers by a for-profit drug maker in exchange for royalties that would help sustain her organization’s charitable work.
Still More Difficulties
Approval of paromomycin will not end OneWorld Health’s challenges. Distribution looms as the next hurdle.
In Patepur, a somewhat more prosperous village than Mrs. Devi’s, Dr. Syed Misbah Hassan, a clinical research coordinator for OneWorld Health, diagnosed kala azar in one boy after another.
Dilip Manjhi, who is about 15, lay listless on a string bed as Dr. Hassan examined his abdomen for the telltale signs of the disease, a swollen spleen and liver. Dilip’s spleen extended eight centimeters below his rib cage and was rock hard. His liver protruded three centimeters below his ribs.
Getting paromomycin to remote villages like Patepur at the end of pothole-pocked roads will be difficult. Dr. Hale is trying to enlist a British nonprofit group, Riders for Health, to help. The group uses motorcycles to connect poor people to medical services. In Zimbabwe, for instance, it has taken pregnant women in need of Caesarean sections to hospitals.
“My thinking,” Dr. Hale said, “is that we could equip a motorcycle with a cooler to transport the drug and equip the driver to give the injections and maintain records.”
But first, the Bihar State government and India’s central government must create a system that encompasses diagnosing the disease, buying and administering the drug, keeping records and spraying to reduce the sand fly population.
Some experts wonder whether the government has the will to create such a system, when hundreds of thousands of Indian children die each year of measles, which can be prevented with a 15-cent vaccine. But Dr. C. P. Thakur, a former Indian health minister who oversaw a OneWorld Health trial of paromomycin, noted that black fever was one of five insect-borne diseases the Indian government had pledged to eliminate.
India has also signed an agreement with the governments of Nepal and Bangladesh to eradicate the disease, and the Bihar State government has shown a willingness to work with OneWorld Health.
“The government will be the biggest challenge,” Dr. Thakur said. “But I believe the opportunities to end this disease have never been better, and also that the government’s will has never been stronger.”

Now, get quick justice in Bihar!

Believe it or not, a sessions court in 'lawless' Bihar's Rohtas district has set the record for the shortest judicial proceeding in India, by delivering a judgement after two days.
According to a report, Justice Arun Kumar Srivastava began hearing the case on July 25 and awarded the two accused in the case prison terms of seven years each on July 27.
The judge only asked the doctor to confirm whether a girl had been raped. On receiving confirmation, he asked the police whether the persons arrested were involved in the incident, heard the victim's story and pronounced the verdict.
The speed with which the judgement was delivered is unprecedented in India as the Government only last week disclosed in Parliament that over 58,000 cases of rape were pending in various trial courts across the country at the end of last year.
In June last year, a Jodhpur court sentenced the rapists of a German tourist within 20 days of the crime. This year, in April, a Jaipur court sentenced a rapist of a German student within a week.

Bihar for NRI meet to woo investments

Patna, July 29 (IANS) Bihar is planning to invite non-resident Indians (NRIs) for a meeting here aimed at attracting investments in the state.
Sources in Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's office said a proposal to hold the meet in December or early next year was under consideration.
"It is aimed at facilitating development and changing the face of the state," Health Minister Chandra Mohan Rai said Saturday.
Rai, who returned from Britain Friday, said he had invited NRI doctors, especially those from Bihar, for the proposed meet.
Last month, Modi, who made a trip to Britain, Italy and Canada to market Bihar as a favourable investment destination, proposed to form an NRI cell to invite and facilitate investments.
The cell will provide right information to NRIs and help speed up passage of investment proposals through a 'single-window clearance system'.
The government also plans to set up a corpus fund with contributions from NRIs for development. "The idea of a corpus fund was mooted by NRIs, who asked me to create it at the earliest so that they could contribute to it," said Modi.
Two months ago, Bihar Chief Secretary G.S. Kang said Indians in the US were keen to invest in the state's hospitality, IT and health sectors.
Kang, who headed a team of officials to the US, said: "We have received over half a dozen proposals and will study them."
Bihar is keen to attract foreign investment in agriculture, health, IT, tourism and infrastructure sectors.
The government has long been trying to promote the state - often seen as one of the most lawless states in India and having the highest percentage of population living below the poverty line - as a favourable investment destination.

Jharkhand government agrees to pay dues of Bihar government

Patna, July 27: The Jharkhand government has agreed to pay the dues of Bihar government employees on account of pension and and other terminal benefits that accrued to them and to the bonds raised by different public sector undertakings for which the Bihar government had stood gurantee for the undivided state.

After having a discussion with his counterpart in Jharkhand, M K Mandal, over distribution of assets and liabilities between the two states, Bihar Chief Secretary G S Kang told reporters here that the Jharkhand government had agreed to pay Rs 850 crore to Bihar out of which Rs 629 crore had been earmarked for clearing the pension dues of the employees.

The rest would be paid for clearing the dues of bonds of PSU's for which the Bihar government has stood guranttee prior to division of the state in 2000.

The Chief Secretary said that as regards adjustments of liabilites on account of pension and other terminal benefits a meeting was covnevened the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 23,2005 and it was agreed that since the total dues payable by Jharkhand to Bihar was mounting, it was agreed by all that jharkhand may immediately pay the current dues and the arrears in the ratio of 3:1 until a final decision was taken by the union government.

On adjustments of liabilities regarding state government guranteed bonds of the Bihar State Financial Corporation of the undivided Bihar, the Jharkhand government was directed by the MHA to riemburse Rs 30.24 crore and 88.18 crore respectively to the government of Bihar.

The MHA directive is yet to be implemented.



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Bajrang Bali to GQ’s rescue in Bihar

SASARAM-BARACHATTI,Mounted on the front of an earthmoving machine working on a bridge across the Sone, part of the Delhi-Kolkata Golden Quadrilateral, is a small idol of Lord Hanuman.

The stretch was considered particularly problematic, and after delays caused by design failure and the like, engineers seeking to meet the new December 2006 deadline have sought divine intervention.

“In all work we need God’s blessings,” says project manager Jay Shankar of ATL Constructions, which is working on the bridge. “The failure was due to design fault. But with Lord Hanuman’s blessings, we are moving ahead smoothly. Now, less than a kilometre of the bridge remains.”

Last week, the Centre had blamed Bihar’s law-and-order situation for non-completion of a 40 km stretch of the Delhi-Kolkata section of the Golden Quadrilateral in Bihar. The 3 km bridge forms part of this problem stretch.

But although security is cause for concern, engineers say the real cause of delay was faulty design: the piling method, by which the bridge was initially meant to be constructed, failed. Then, a return to the old-fashioned “well method” was proposed. But for one-and-a-half years there was no progress.

The locals, however, were sure that the wrath of Lord Hanuman was responsible. They advised the engineers to seek his blessings to bridge the turbulent Sone.

The engineers of ATL Construction, which has been contracted for the work, accepted. They have mounted a Lord Hanuman image on the main machine. After work is completed, they plan to install it on the river bank in a temple they will construct. “Ab Bajrang Bali sab sankat door karengey (Now, Lord Hanuman will solve all problems),” says an elderly labourer.

There are two problem stretches. The first, the 30-km IV-C section from Sasaram to Dehri-on-Sone, has seen delay due to the number of bridges it has: apart from the bridge across Sone, there are eight small and mid-size bridges, besides a 20 km Sasaram bypass. About 75 per cent work has been completed now.

About law and order, resident engineer R V Shakhadev of Lee International South Asia Pvt Ltd, a consultant for the stretch, says: “Some contractors have faced kidnap threats. But for us it has not been a problem. Work is proceeding smoothly and will be completed by November.”

The other problem stretch is the 12 km from Sherghati to Dhobi, on the Aurangabad-Barachatti V-A section. Here, too, law and order problems are not apparent, for in the last six months no police station has received kidnap cases or those of ransom demands.

“Today the police will save me. What will happen tomorrow?” asks an engineer from Orissa. But locals have another take: they say that construction companies are blaming Bihar, with its notoriety for law and order problems, for their own failures in execution.

“Look the law and order situation is the same for everybody. When many companies have finished their work why are only some lagging behind?” asks Pankaj Singh, who runs Sone Breeze Hotel in Dehri.

Perhaps they all need to invoke Lord Hanuman.

Sweet news for Bihar, more sugar units on way

In what is certain to be sweet music to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s ears, three sugar majors have made proposals to set up sugar units in investment-starved Bihar. This follows the clearance of two sugar complexes to be set up by south Indian company Rajshree Sugars, which is now interested in setting up a third unit in the state.
Besides Rajshree Sugars, Dhampur Sugar and India Glycol have a submitted Detailed Project Reports (DPR) before the single-window State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) to set up greenfield sugar complexes. With this, the number of proposals for setting up sugar mills has gone up to five, said Sugar Cane Development Minister Nitish Mishra.

The biggest proposal is that of India Glycol, a major chemical company in the country. It has given a Rs 550-crore proposal for a 10,000 TCD (tonnes crushed per day) sugar complex in Ekma block of Saran district. This so far is the largest proposal received by the state. The second largest is by Dhampur Sugar, the north Indian sugar major. It has submitted a proposal for a 5,000 TCD sugar plant worth Rs 200 crore in Udakishanganj area of backward Madhepura district. It will be a greenfield project along with a bio-composed plant.

The third DPR has come from Rajshree Sugars, which desires to set up a third greenfield sugar complex in Paroo block of Muzaffarpur district worth Rs 142 crore and with a crushing capacity of 5,000 TCD. The state Cabinet has already cleared the two earlier proposals by the company for setting up sugar mills in East Champaran and Madhubani districts.

Mishra said that apart from these several other companies have shown keen interest in making a foray into Bihar after the change of regime and the attractive sugar policy offered by the Nitish government.

Government Proposes Two New Bridges on Ganga in Bihar

The Nitish government, on Thursday, in an attempt to ease some burden on the dilapidated Gandhi Setu, commonly known as Ganga Bridge, has mooted the idea of having two more bridges on the holy river and has directed the concerned officials to come up with an initial report.

The two new proposed bridges are to be built between Chhapra-Ara and Bakhtiarpur-Mahnar, state Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav said.

Talking to the reporters on Thursday, Yadav said that problems with the Gandhi Setu were just too many. "By the time one crisis is taken care of, another one pops up. As as result of this, traffic on the bridge continues to be a nightmare for the commuters," he said.

"The only way to have a long-term solution is to close the bridge for some time until a complete repair job is carried out," the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

Yadav further said that repair work on National Highways passing through Bihar would begin within a month. "Punitive actions have been initiated against three contractors responsible for maintaining the highways while the contract has been given to new contractors," he said.

The minister further said that the state would be spending over Rs. 3,500 crore on the upgrade of state and National Highways totaling more than 6,000 kilometers.

Earlier, Yadav, along with Urban Development Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, laid the foundation stone of a pedestrian bridge outside Patna Junction.

PATNA based BPO is coloring HOLLYWOOD Films last 10 years

Dear Readers ,

I can remember 1998 when i returned back on PATNA streets after a short JOB trial in Silicon Valley of INDI , BANGALORE with a hope to start my own enterprise at our MOTHER LAND and i started My Own Software Development Centre with a name "L'Avenir Info-tech" to cater local market . During these actions , i recruited some Guys and gals and come to KNOW that PATNA is already having a centre to COLOR old classical movies of HOLLYWOOD . That centre was quite famous among young IT profesionals and it was named "DYNEX" . Even at that time they had 200 staffs and had have EXPANSION plans . That DYNEX used to be run by a California Based IT Professionals which was a ray of hope to Private Institutes PRODUCT "IT Workers" to have atleast a JOB in PATNA . Even in those time , DYNEX was having plan to expand its centre from PATLIPUTRA COLONY to HAJIPUR and MUZAFFARPUR .

Today , i read a News related to that CENTRE but still ONLY 200 Staffs . I guess , STATE SPONSERED "GOONDA RAAJ" in BIHAR was one of the BIGGEST FACTOR to limit the activities of DYNEX .

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20060727-9999-1b27legend.html

I saluate that SON of BIHAR , who being capable HELPED within his limits to BIHAR .

BIHAR : The Road Ahead

Having spent over 200 sleepless nights since they came to power and promised to create a "new Bihar", Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi have realised that it's easier said than done. But they have not lost hope. Says Nitish, "We started from a big zero. There was no governance. Even Cabinet meetings were not held for months. Now I am taking post-facto (Cabinet) decisions." Modi admits, "This might not have happened if Lalu had continued as the chief minister. Rabri Devi just did not understand what governance meant. She simply messed up everything." Clearly, the government is not only performing the task it has assigned to itself but is also clearing the mess it believes was left behind by the Lalu-Rabri combine.
These are only "teething troubles", insists Nitish. He spends the day in the secretariat with officials and burns the midnight oil alone in his massive Anne Marg bungalow, drawing up plans for a "better tomorrow" with a notebook on his table and a huge plasma TV on the wall facing his revolving chair. He has already turned the chief minister's residence into a hi-tech complex. Gone are the cow sheds in the backyard where Lalu's Jersey cows, buffaloes and horses used to live in luxury. They will soon be replaced by halls for a Janta Durbar. The famous outhouse from where Lalu used to hold court will be turned into a conference room with video-conferencing facilities.
The Nitish government is also giving the Secretariat a new look in tune with his corporate style. The chambers of the chief minister, deputy chief minister, ministers and top bureaucrats have been refurbished and their old Ambassador cars are being replaced with spanking new Scorpios. Both Nitish and Modi firmly believe that the "first impression is the last impression" and they have investors to impress. No wonder paan stains have disappeared from walls and staircases.
It was social justice for Lalu. For Nitish, the only invigorating thing is development. "Social justice does not mean hollow vote bank politics. It should mean politics of economics," Modi asserts. Nitish adds: "A lot is being done. What can I do if you don't see it? I work for 12-13 hours a day. The entire state machinery is trying hard to bring Bihar back on track."

LALU'S LEGACY
Two-thirds of the posts of engineers are lying vacant along with the posts of chief engineers and superintendents.
Seventy per cent of engineers are facing vigilance enquiries; two-thirds are involved in the bitumen scam and can't be promoted to fill senior level posts.
Ninety per cent of contractors have migrated to other states due to lawlessness in Bihar. No bids have been received for building of roads. The state does not even have a hot-mixing plant.
About 50 per cent of block development officers' posts are vacant, while the chairman of the Public Service Commission is in jail on corruption charges.

Nitish Kumar can go on explaining his mission in a tone varying from hope to despair: "We spent the first six months giving shape to a system that had been erased in the past in a systematic manner. Even on the law and order front we have made a mark. Our tough stand has sent shivers down the spines of the criminals and dons. The government adopted a very simple approach that worked-instead of clubbing all the sections of the Indian Penal Code and Criminal Penal Code together, the administration picked up offences committed under the Arms' Act and trials began leading to quick convictions. Under the Arms' Act, sentences range from three to seven years. Since in most of the cases the criminals had used arms, the Arms' Act cases were initiated first. Once the criminals were in jail under one Act, other offences like kidnapping, dacoity and robberies were taken up and tried."
The government, according to the chief minister, has successfully smashed the parallel economy and 'goonda banks' controlled by the mafia and kidnappers. Even Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was shocked to know about 'goonda banks' that were flourishing because nationalised banks were not lending. "A bank is not a bank if it does not provide loans to the needy," he said in Patna recently.
Nitish talks of another path-breaking experiment to control law and order. The police force was understaffed, ill-equipped and ill-trained, so the government hired over 5,000 retired army men, gave them uniforms and weapons and deployed them in sensitive pockets. "Recruitment, training and induction of new police personnel will take a minimum of two years while the law and order situation demands immediate attention. It's not only our priority but also a prerequisite for development and investment." The result is obvious. The recent 10-phase panchayat polls did not, for the first time, see much of violence. While the 2001 polls had witnessed 1,409 violent incidents and killing of 90 people, this time there were only 52 incidents and 16 fatalities.
On its very first day, the Nitish Government had promised that construction of roads and bridges would start immediately with the help of unused state and central funds. Asked if the chief minister had forgotten his promise, he confides, "One cannot realise the problems. It's easier to blame this government than to understand the kind of teething troubles we are facing. Two-thirds of the posts of engineers are vacant, the posts of chief engineers and superintendent engineers in many departments are vacant, and there are no engineers even to prepare project reports. These posts are filled through promotions, but 70 per cent of the engineers are facing vigilance inquiries and about two-thirds of them are involved in the bitumen scam (1996-97 era). They can't be promoted. Engineers can't be imported either. Due to lack of economic activity and lawlessness in the past 15 years, over 90 per cent of big contractors have migrated to other states. Despite repeated tender notices no bids have been received for building of roads. Bihar does not even have hot-mixing plants. But we have found a way out-all development work in a district are being clubbed together to attract outside contractors, hot-mixing plants are being purchased and will be leased to contractors to start work. About 50 per cent of the posts of block development officers, who are responsible for development at the village level, were vacant while the chairman of the Public Service Commission was in jail on corruption charges."
This is the Lalu legacy of ruin. The change is slow, but visible. The 12th Finance Commission has sanctioned Rs 13,000 crore per year (Rs 65,000 crore in all) for five years for development work, the highest allocation among all states. Rs 300 crore extra per year will be spent on creating infrastructure in health and education. To make Bihar a modern state, an administrative reforms commission and investment and infrastructure boards have been set up. The state planning board, which was dormant for years, has been revived. A Birla Institute of Technology and a National Law College are being opened in the state. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is personally interested in reviving the glory of Nalanda, the seat of learning in ancient days. In a bid to end agrarian unrest and help landless peasants, there will soon be a Bihar Land Reforms Commission.
What worries this government the most is the absence of good officers. Says Modi, "If we could get just 40 good young and active IAS officers to be posted as district magistrates and a dozen good hardworking senior officers to man important departments as secretaries, things would automatically brighten up." Unmindful of the criticism, Nitish and Modi live with hope: "Bihar can't be rebuilt in a day." And the people still have faith in the new power couple of the state.

Bihar Calling…

Gone are the days when only those who failed to make it in Bollywood shifted to regional cinema. It is no longer ‘degrading’ to be a part of regional cinema as far as our Bollywood stars are concerned. Regional cinema, and specifically Bhojpuri cinema is big today and everyone wants to be a part of it. The market is huge and only expanding by the day. Amitabh Bachchan made big news when he agreed to be a part of Ganga, a Bhojpuri film. That’s not all. The film even has Hema Malini playing his wife. The film is being directed by Deepak Sawant, Bachchan’s make-up man. Good relations take one a long way in the film industry. And it was probably Bachchan’s long association with Sawant that made him give the green signal for the project. This is also the film which saw Nagma playing a significant role. Ajay Devgan did a movie named Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke along with Bhojpuri superstar, Manoj Tiwari. This movie also starred Rani Mukherjee’s cousin, Sharbani Mukherjee. For Sharbani, this choice came after a spate of unsuccessful Bollywood films like Mitti, Ansh, Aanch, etc. Actor-director Sachin Pilgaonkar who off lately impressed all with his dancing moves in Nach Baliye, too had featured in a hugely successful Bhojpuri film Nadiya Ke Paar way back in 1982. The Hindi remake of this film went out to be a blockbuster hit which we know as Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. Nagma sure seems to have found her calling in Bhojpuri cinema after experimenting with Hindi and South Indian films. She also featured in a film named Ab To Ban Ja Sajanwa Hamaar, along with Ravi Kissen, one of Bihar’s biggest stars. That’s not the only Bollywood connection that this film had. It was produced by the legendary Dilip Kumar and wife, Saira Banu. With such stalwarts turning to Bhojpuri cinema, it must have surely opened doors for the others. The original disco dancer of Bollywood, Mithun Chakraborthy, too tried his hand in this cinema. It was a film named Coolie which also starred Meghna Naidu, apart from Mithun. Not too many know that Ravi Kissen himself had started his acting career in Bollywood. Roles in films like Army, Kudrat and Udhar Ki Zindagi didn’t exactly get him anywhere in Bollywood. However, after a very successful stint in Bhojpuri films, he was once again seen in the Bollywood flick, Phir Hera Pheri. A considerable number of Bollywood actors have shifted loyalties after they failed to make it big in the Hindi film industry. Bhagyashree had a dream debut with Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyaar Kiya. While her co-star Salman, went on to become a superstar, her career left a lot to be desired. Maybe that’s the reason why she recently made her Bhojpuri film debut with a film called Uthaile Ghungta Chand Dekhle, opposite Ravi Kissen. Another actress, Priya Gill, started off in Bollywood with ABCL’s Tere Mere Sapne. At that time, she showed a lot of promise. Unfortunately, her career didn’t take off. The last Hindi film she was seen in was J.P.Dutta’s LOC Kargil. She has now decided to try her luck in regional cinema and is shooting for a Bhojpuri film titled Piya Tohe Se Naina Lage. Says Govinda’s nephew, Vinay Anand who’s Bhojpuri film Kangana Khanke Piya Ke Angna released just last week, “I have done Hindi films like Lo Main Aa Gaya, Angaar – The Fire and Aamdani Athani Kharcha Rupaiyya. However, I was going through a phase wherein only one Hindi film of mine was releasing in a year or so. One should go where the business is! There is a complete craze for Bhojpuri films in Bihar. Even, if the theatre capacity is 1000, more than 1500 people will turn up to watch the film. So I decided to try my hands at Bhojpuri films. And why only Bhojpuri? I am even open to Tamil films!” We all remember Rahul Roy, who won many a hearts with his first performance, in Aashiqui. But somehow, he never managed to live up to the great expectations after his first film. He was smart enough to explore other options with a Bhojpuri film called Gazab Bhaeel Rama. Actor Ayub Khan also made the shift with Chhaila Babu. Others who went the Bhojpuri way include celebrated choreographer Saroj Khan, who directed Dil Deewana Tohar Hua and singer Udit Narayan who produced Kab Hoyibe Gauna Hamaar and Kab Kahbaw Tu I Love You. Regional cinema and specifically Bhojpuri cinema is a very lucrative option, these days. For Bollywood stars, it is all about exploring a new territory. The money is good, as well. Stars are put up on a pedestal and are treated as demi-Gods. Vinay Anand adds, “Apart from the big banners, a lot of Hindi films face problems for their release. Bollywood films need an all-India release which sometimes proves to be a tough task. It becomes difficult to find distributors all over the country. However, in case of Bhojpuri films, finding distributors is easy. It’s not a very big investment, but the returns are guaranteed”. Having worked in Hindi as well as Bhojpuri films, Anand says that there is no difference as such in the styles of working. “A lot of talented technicians are turning to this cinema. For instance, Thomax Xavier was the cinematographer for my film, Chacha Bhatija. An average Bhojpuri film requires only 20 days of shooting from me. And that’s because people are more conscious because the returns are guaranteed.” And if you’re wondering how much these films pay, it’s the same market price you would get in a Hindi film. Over the past couple of years, the Bhojpuri film industry has grown by leaps and bounds. People are realizing the importance of this industry today. As Jackie Shroff rightfully said, “When Bhojpuri films run in Bihar, no one even looks at Bollywood!” Need we say more?

SPs in Bihar to prepare list of most wanted in each district

Patna, July 25: Ordering the police to get cracking on criminals, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked the police superintendents of all the districts to prepare a list of ten dreaded criminals and find out their links, especially with those who fund them. IG (Headquarters) Anil Sinha told today that the Chief Minister gave this directive at a high-level meeting of top state officials here. We have sent a clear directive to the SPs to ask the officers in-charge of all police stations in their respective districts to prepare a list of ten criminals involved in heinous crime, he said. The Chief Minister, while reviewing the law and order situation at a meeting yesterday and today, asked the District Magistrates to identify the most backward and Naxal-affected areas and implement development and welfare schemes. He also mentioned about the good work being done by the special auxiliary police (SAP) and said he had received praise from different quarters over the constitution of sap. A separate unit of SAP is to be formed for disaster management, Sinha said.

Lalu Prasad to be study subject at IIM

Ahmedabad - Railway Minister Lalu Prasad will be studied at the premier Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIMA) for his ’street-smart attitude’ and ‘corporate perspective’ that helped in scripting the success story of Indian Railways.
Management students at Harvard University learnt last month of the changes in railway operations brought about by Lalu Prasad, resulting in greater profits for the ministry in the last one year.
IIMA professor G. Raghuraman, a keen researcher of the Indian rail network, made his presentation at Harvard. Now his case study is being given final touches before being introduced at IIMA.
Raghuraman says Lalu Prasad has given a ‘pleasantly surprising’ boost to enhancing the income and capacity of Indian Railways.
‘Lalu has given a fresh air to the railway department. The minister and (his officer on special duty) have brought in a corporate perspective to the highly departmentalised set-up,’ Raghuraman told IANS.
The expert is all praise for the fast-paced initiatives and innovative ideas of the minister and his aide to utilize optimally the assets of the railways.
‘The increase in net profit was brought about by implementing changes in freight, which accounts for more than 70 percent of total business,’ he said.
Raghuraman, known as ‘Rail Raghu’ among students, has been studying Indian Railways and transportation for three decades.
‘The minister’s street-smart attitude has resulted in this benefit,’ he said. ‘Nobody in the history of the department has initiated changes in such fast pace.’
But what will the management trainees learn?
‘Obviously this is not something new for them. But this study of mine is the first holistic one. I plan to present the case before them,’ said Raghuraman.
The students are expected to raise questions and seek answers regarding the plans implemented and changes initiated by the railway ministry.
While stressing that Indian Railways still needs several changes to become more efficient, Raghuraman is not very optimistic of the progress continuing once the duo of Lalu Prasad and aide Sudheer Kumar move out.
Why is Lalu Prasad, otherwise known for his 15-year mismanagement of Bihar, so keen to improve the railways?
‘I think he must have taken the present task as an opportunity to prove his abilities and improve his image,’ mused the professor.

Nitish tells babus to call commoners aap

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday asked the bureaucrats to be polite while addressing commoners and work to weed out corruption and bring complete transparency in poor-oriented work.
Talking to reporters after reviewing the law and order situation and development at a high-level meeting with top state officials, district magistrates and superintendents of police, Kumar said officials had been asked to be polite while dealing with the common man.
"Give them respect. Instead of calling them tum, you call them aap with full respect," he said.
Chief Minister said effective steps would be taken to strengthen the information and intelligence gathering.
The District Magistrates and police superintendents should work in close coordination and, if required, they should meet each other at their official houses on alternate days to review the law and order situation in their respective districts.
Kumar asked the officials to weed out corruption in public distribution system (PDS) and to ensure complete transparency in all the poor-oriented schemes, including Annpurna Yojana an Antyodaya Yojana.
Transparency was a must in allotment of houses under Indira Awas Yojana and selection of beneficiaries of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, he said.
Chief Secretary G S Kang, Director General of Police Ashish Ranjan Sinha, IG (headquarters) Anil Sinha, besides secretaries of all the departments, Zonal IGs, range DIGs, District Magistrates and Police Superintendents participated in the meeting.

CM announces panel for common school system

Sri Saibal Gupta , Sec , ADRI (extreme left ) along with CM

PATNA: CM Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced the formation of a commission for common school system in the state. The commission will have a tenure of ten years. Delivering the valedictory lecture at a workshop on 'Common School System and Right to education', Nitish promised uniform and quality education to all without any segmentation on socio-economic grounds. The workshop was organised by Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI). Participating at the workshop, HRD minister Brishen Patel said although in right to education existed in India, right to equality for quality education was sadly missing. Participating in the workshop, HRD commissioner M M Jha said "progressive forces" working in the field of education had welcomed the provision in the common minimum programme (CMP) for allocation of 6 per cent of GDP on education. Jha said the government revived and established as many as seven Advisory Board of Education (CABE) panels to make reforms of import. "The most important among them was making right to education, a fundamental right under Article 21A of the Constitution," he said. The CABE panels finalised a draft Bill in June 2005. "However, the Bill overlooked the measures for a common school system which was a commitment made in the 1986 education policy," Jha said. Former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey, who presided over the workshop, said the present parallel layers of education for different sections of society had resulted in two-thirds of the nation's children getting poor quality of education. "It is very clear that the Centre is trying to absolve itself of its responsibility by claiming that it is allocating sufficient funds through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan," he said. He emphasised that commercialisation of education had to be stopped as it was dividing the entire nation on "good" and "bad" quality education. ADRI member secretary Saibal Gupta, while addressing the workshop, said India thrived on the philosophy of "Vasudeva Kutumbakum" where peace goes hand-in-hand with development. "In such a scenario, quality education to all is a must in order to carve out a niche in the global market," Gupta said.

DEMAND OF NISC-IISER IN BIHAR by Bihar Brains

History is witness of glorious fame of our state "Bihar" for its legendary university of Nalanda and Vikramshila which was built by ancient rulers of India. The University had once accounted for glorifying India as the best center for pursuing academic in the whole world. Students and Research scholars from all parts of Globe were privileged to have studied in the said university.Now with span of times, Bihar has lost its glorious past. Because of the wrong govt policy and their attitude towards education, education system in Bihar has been collapsed. Presently there is no educational institution which can acclaim to be significant what to say of global standard even of national standard. As a result, Students and scholars are reluctantly forced to migrate from Bihar to out of state and abroad.The rate of Research and Development in almost every field are zero and it has become long distant dream for the youngsters, local research scientists to have good R&D institutes, engineering /medical /management etc colleges so as they could implement their ideas into reality.At Present, Bihar lacks everything. With a view to change in political scenario, a ray of hope has blush that Bihar now should have an Institute of National level and international level that can give remembrances of both ancient universities.In order to Build Bihar a Hub for research and development and center for formal and non formal education, BiharBrains started a campaign. The demand of NISC (National Institute of Science) and IISER (Indian Institute of Science education and Research) is one of the recent initiatives taken by us. We do believe that the objectives of the NISC and IISER (announced by UGC) perfectly matches the requirements and Bihar is the fit case for the establishment of such a high profile institute.To this direction, Dr. Rajkishore Prashad, member of BiharBrains, wrote first direct letter to Hon'ble president, PM, the chief minister of Bihar and others (mentioned in letter) on 13 August, 2004. He again wrote letters to all of them in the month of Jan 2006 and drawn attention to have such R&D Institutes in Bihar. He also let the group know this matter and requested to go further. In March 2006, hon'ble president while addressing joint session of legislatures of Bihar stressed the same in his 10 points prescription for the development of Bihar. Subsequently a four member delegation of Bihar Brains (led by Sri Bibhuti Bikramaditya) have met the Hon'ble Minister of Science and Technology Govt of Bihar on 30th March 2006 and submitted memorandum to the minister with a proposal for establishing National Institute of Science (NISC) and Indian Institute for Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bihar. Shri Anil Kumar, Minister of Science and Technology had assured all possible assistance from the Govt and suggested us to give report on Why Bihar Needs such R&D Institution and have to figure out the possible area of R&D for the proposed NISC/IISER. On the basis of the report, Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of Bihar may start further talk to Ministry of HRD, Govt of India. To comply with the demand, a 52 member core committee has been formed by BiharBrains. A notification to this effect has been released to all members and first meeting has already been organized at Dept of Physics, Patna Univ on May 10, 06 and fruitful discussion was held. The said committee will give its report in total three meetings to the Dept of science & Technology, Govt of Bihar. On the basis of the report on Why Bihar needs such R&D institution and in which field Research and development center can be established, Bihar govt will move to the central govt (HRD Ministry) for the further talk.Request: Though we have already started movement for this, we need help from all quarters. All citizens of India particularly from the state of Bihar are requested to joinhands with us and give necessary inputs and guidance for the noble cause. Give your service in making Bihar a developed state of Indian Union.Chronology of events for the Demand of NISC-IISER in Bihar· August 13, 2004: First direct letter by Dr. Rajkishore Prasad, on 13th August 2004 to hon'ble president, then chief minister of Bihar and all other mentioned in letter for the establishment of National Institute of Science (NISc). He also initiated discussion on the same in Bihar Brain on 24th Jan, 2006.Click to see letter
· In NDA led central government stepped down and matter of NISc became pending. On 28.09.2005 UPA led government announced to open Indian Institute of Science for Education and Research (IISER) at Pune and Kolkata. · Jan 28, 06: Direct letter by Dr. Rajkishore Prasad, JSPS research fellow at Japan to the newly elected chief minister of Bihar and forwarded copy to all others addressed in the letter. Copy of the letter was also forwarded to BiharBrains. Click to see letter· Feb.09, 2006 same letter was posted by Rajkishore Prasad (from Tokyo, Japan) to hon'ble PM, India· March 15, 2006: There has been confusion over the issue of NISc and IISER. So proposal for IISER was also added in the above letter and resent on March 15, 2006 to hon'ble President, PM, CM Bihar and all other mentioned in the letter. Copy of the same was sent to Mr. Bibhuti for meeting with Hon'ble minister of S&T, Bihar Govt.,Patna.Click to see letter· March 23,06: Formal request for the meeting to Minister S &T was sent by Mr. Bibhuti Bikramaditya, Chairman, BiharBrains to discuss on the following agenda -- Demand for NISC/IISER in Bihar -- Role of NRIs in the development of BiharA indirect call from minister was accepted and decided to meet on March 29,06 Click here to see request letter to Minister, Science & Technology· March 28, 2006: Hon'ble President stressed need of IIScER and IIT for Bihar while addressing joint session of legislatures of Bihar.· March 30,06: Meeting with Minister Science & Technology, Govt of Bihar with a team led by Mr. Bibhuti Bikramaditya comprising Prof BK Sharma, Prof RK Sihna, Prof UNL Mathur for the Demand of NISC /IISER in Bihar and role of NRIS in the development of Bihar. The memorandum was submitted in support of NISC /IISER in Bihar. In the meeting serious discussions were held on the various aspects of establishing NISC /IISER and other research institutes in Bihar. · A memorandum BBSC/Gov/02/06-07 was given in the meeting. Resolution of the meeting: 1. BB will form core committee for the demand of NISC/IISER in Bihar. The committee will give its report in one month time. 2. BB will Organize seminar for creating environment in Bihar for the investors in the month of Nov,06 in association with the Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of Bihar. BB will invite NRIs /CEOs of MNCs/Academicians in the same event and take ideas from them.Click here to see news report Click here to see Press release by BiharBrainsClick here to see memorandum to Minister· April 2, 2006: Dr. Rajkishore Prasad, Research fellow, Japan, talked with Hon'ble minister S &T, Dr. Kapil Sibal making demand of NISc/IISER for Bihar. Hon'ble minister replied in affirmative while commenting poor condition of existing educational environment in Bihar· May 4, 06: A 52 member Core committee (32 from the state of Bihar and 19 from other parts of the world) was formed by BiharBrains . A notification for the First meet of the Core committee was sent to all members. Dr SP Verma, EX-HOD,Physics, Patna Science College was given the responsibility to act as the coordinator of the Core committee.Click here to see notification for the first meeting of the core committee Click here to see Letter to Minister Science & Technology, Govt of Bihar· May 10,06: Meeting of the First core committee members held at the PG Dept of physics, Patna University, Patna Click here to see MOM report· May 25, 06: Second meeting of the core committee held at at the ISC Lecture theatre , Dept of Physics, Patna Science college.Click here to see MOM reportImportant News links on NISC-IISER :A. NISC : A new Initiatives by University Grand Commission,UGC Click here to See UGC Project details Click here to see UGC 10th planB. Orrissa campaign for the demand of NISC-IISER in Biharhttp://iiser.blogspot.com/C. http://www.scholarshipsinindia.com/ndian_institute_of_science_education_and_research.htmlD. http://www.hindu.com/2003/10/27/stories/2003102707110400.htmE. http://www.nasscom.org/artdisplay.asp?Art_id=4714F. http://www.techno-preneur.net/new-timeis/News-section/news-2005/create.htm G. http://www.rxpgnews.com/medicalnews/healthcare/india/article_2713.shtmlH. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060108/main7.htmI. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051029/asp/calcutta/story_5412063.aspJ. http://164.100.24.208/lsq14/quest.asp?qref=20489K. http://www.ugc.ac.in/new_initiatives/newnis.html

Fiscal sops thrust of Bihar's new industrial policy

Patna, July 21(IANS) The industrial policy of Bihar unveiled Friday offers more fiscal sops than ever to attract domestic and overseas investment in one of India's most backward states and proposes many industrial parks and zones to push economic growth and employment.

The thrust of the new policy is to be industry and investments friendly towards industry and investments and create an environment conducive for businesses so that industrialisation and employment can be speeded up, officials said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's eight-month government finally unveiled the policy that has fiscal incentives for potential investors looking at projects in Bihar as also for those willing to expand and modernise sick industrial units.

The policy - effective April 1 this year - gives reimbursement of tax paid under value-added tax regime, fiscal benefits at both pre- and post-production stages of manufacturing products and sops for setting up captive power units.

According to the new policy, the state government will set up a special economic zone (SEZ) to push growth, and encourage the establishment of agro export zones, food parks and a jute park to promote its cultivation in flood prone areas.

The policy proposes a one-time 100 percent rebate in stamp and registration duty for land in industrial areas as also for units that are being set up outside the earmarked industrial estates.

It also allows reimbursement for the amount paid under value added tax of up to 80 percent for 10 years for all the new units. Industrial units would also get a capital subsidy of 50 percent for setting up a captive power plant.

A proposal has also been made for a fund to be established for reviving sick industrial units in the state.