Think India Foundation

Power cuts cool off due to wet weather

GURGAON: The number of power cuts is all set to come down. Thanks to cool weather outside, the demand for electricity has fallen by about 15% in past two days. 

The decline in power consumption has saved Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) nearly 20 lakh units per day. The officials say that the onset of monsoon has reduced the daily power consumption mainly in the urban areas. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Huda asks MCG to share revenue

Gurgaon : The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) is now following a 'professional' approach in dealing with civic agencies. It is trying to work out a revenue-sharing model with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG). Huda has asked MCG to focus only on areas coming under the latter's jurisdiction for outdoor advertisements. This is likely to bring in more revenue for the civic agency.

A tax department official in MCG confirmed that the civic agency has got a letter from Huda. It indeed restrains MCG from renting outdoor advertisement space in areas under Huda's control. According to the official, a tender of Rs 17 crore was given to an outsourcing agency to grant permission to advertisers for displaying ads at 13 locations. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Sector V water meet

Representatives from the Sector V industry’s forum, Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority and Webel will meet on Thursday to discuss water supply issues in the tech hub.

Webel issued a notice last week threatening to stop drawing ground water in Sector V from July 1. Read more

Source : telegraphindia.com

 

KIADB wants treated water, BWSSB falls short

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has sought treated water for construction purposes at a new industrial estate coming up near Doddaballapur. Despite having a tertiary treatment plant at Yelahanka, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Treatment Board (BWSSB) does not provide any water for project.

The KIADB needs 3 million litres (ML) of water immediately for construction as The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has specified that all large scale constructions have to use treated water to save ground water resources. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Buck up Karnataka babus, your work will be audited

Babina(UP) : Taking serious note of the lethargy in government offices, plans are on in the state to introduce yearly auditing.

S Suresh Kumar, minister for urban development, said on Wednesday, “Though the state government spends crores of rupees on the development of urban areas, programmes are implemented in a lethargic manner and public money goes down the drain. Action plans to implement the programmes efficiently have not been prepared. To better monitor the work of the officials, a new auditing system will be introduced.” Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Coping with unprecedented urbanisation in India

In the coming decade, Indian cities will grow exponentially. It is essential they are kept healthy.

Indian commuters move at a busy road in the old city area in New Delhi 

Photo : AAP

More by accident than design, India’s Five Year Plans are today well synchronised with its population census. The 12th Five-Year Plan is due to commence in 2012, a year after the population census of 2011 was conducted. Both the caste and poverty-line censuses are also to be conducted in the course of this year. A great deal of fresh, authoritative information will accordingly be available as India’s planners flesh out the prime minister’s directive to aim for growth in the range of 9 to 9.5 per cent over the 12th Five-Year Plan’s period, even while attempting to improve the distributive reach and ecological sustainability of this growth. Read more

Source : eastasiaforum.org

Ring road put on fast track

MYSORE: The growth of the mini-metro is being put on fast track with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) gearing up to build the eastern alignment of the Outer Ring Road(ORR). 

The entire 41-km ORR will be six-laned, which could spur the growth in its vicinity like it did towards the south-western parts of the city after the expressway was built. The construction of 9-km eastern link connecting the Bannur road junction to Nanjangud (Ooty) Road Junction will commence next month. "Of the 76 acres meant for the road, 60 acres is in our possession. The rest is government land," MUDA commissioner C G Betsurmath told The Times of India. Of the remaining 16 acres, 8 acres is attached to APMC. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

35% slum children in city underweight: Report

Mumbai : Only 40% of Mumbai’s slum children receive the benefits of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), leaving out close to a million children under the age of 6 years that are not covered by anganwadis, claims a report released on Wednesday. The ICDS, the Central government’s flagship project, was conceived to tackle malnutrition. Anganwadis are spaces created for children to come, have the mid-day meal and collect nutritional supplements. The report said, “There is very little, if any, coordination between the municipal health authorities and ICDS authorities.”

Thirty five per cent of children living in Mumbai’s slum are underweight, said Nourishing Our Future, a 66-page report by Dasra, a strategic philanthropy organisation based in Mumbai. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

'Allow govt bodies to carry out slum revamp'

Mumbai : Stating that the 70% mandatory consent for slum redevelopment under Slum Rehabilitation Authority is slowing down the process of redevelopment, builders’ body has proposed the state government an alternative to speed up the process and also create low cost housing. As per the proposal, sent by Builders’ Association of India (BAI), slum redevelopment projects should be implemented by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority or City and Industrial Development Corporation. BAI sent the suggestion to the state government for the second time this year. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Indian girls persuade parents they are too young for marriage

Theme : Early marriage: what is the right age for a girl to become a woman? sponsored by Plan UK

Marriage under 16 is illegal in India, but a national survey last year showed almost half of girls were younger when married. Local police turn a blind eye to what is a commonly accepted practice, especially in rural areas like Dibrugarh.

The UN considers child marriage a human rights violation that curtails a girl's education and can condemn her to a life of poverty. Adolescent childbirth is dangerous. UN figures show that girls under 15 are five times more likely to die in labour than those in their 20s, while the child of a teenage mother is less likely to survive till their first birthday. Read more

Source : guardian.co.uk

Hope at last for ‘dying’ water sources

Ranchi : Two Delhi-based agencies have agreed to act as consultants to save nine “dying” lakes and reservoirs, coming as a huge relief to the Arjun Munda government desperately trying to resurrect a Rs 67-crore plan to revive various water sources of Jharkhand.

                  Kanke dam in Ranchi

In its second attempt to get the plan going, the state urban development department has got favourable responses from Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited and Tetratec India Limited to clean up and develop water bodies under the Centre’s National Lake Conservation Programme (NLCP). Read more

Source : telegraphindia.com

Nationwide BPL survey begins

Agartala : A nationwide Socio-economic & caste census to identify people living Below Poverty Line (BPL) was today flagged off from Shankhola, a remote tribal hamlet in Tripura West district.Secretary of Ministry of Rural Development, B K Sinha inaugurated the census by lighting a lamp."Those names would be deleted from the list of BPL who own a vehicle or two-wheelers, pucca houses, land phone, fishing trawler, government employees having income above Rs 10,000 or holders of Kisan Credit Cards with Rs 50,000 or giving income tax," he said."It is an historical census. It would provide inputs that will help taking different programmes for the people of the country," Sinha said. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

CM's poser: Why can't we have roads like China?

PATNA: He knows that it may not be possible to replicate the developmental works of China in India, yet chief minister Nitish Kumar loudly wondered on Wednesday why India cannot have roads like those in China. 

Saying that he was highly impressed with the work culture in China, he said that every citizen – whether a labourer, farmer, construction worker or engineer – worked hard with commitment and completed the assigned work in the given time-frame. No wonder, China has emerged as the biggest economic power in the world. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Meghalaya Govt to roll out special buses soon

Shillong : The Meghalaya government has initiated steps to operate buses procured under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

After the January 25 cabinet meeting, another high-level meeting was held yesterday to speed up the deployment of buses at the earliest. Read more

Source : telegraphindia.com

 

Green pigeon stays as Maharashtra state bird

PUNE : The Forest Owlet, a critically endangered species, will not be the state bird. Instead, the green pigeon will continue to hold the pride of place.

A proposal tabled by the Bombay Natural History Society to give the honour to the Forest Owlet was unanimously rejected by the State Wildlife Board on Tuesday. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 

Extreme gender preference : Indian baby girls given sex change operations

Some young girls — as many as 300 — in the city of Indore have allegedly been surgically changed from girls to boys. The genitoplasty surgery, which runs a little over $3,000, has been performed on girls as young as 1 year old.

Can you even imagine subjecting a baby to an unnecessary sex change surgery for your own gain?

Image: Wikipedia

The state government in Madhya Pradesh is investigating the claims. The surgery involves doctors creating a male penis from the female sex organs. At the end, the girls are injected with male hormones. Read more

Source : blogs.babble.com

Jakkur’s wings clipped for trains, cars in Bangalore

Bangalore : The city is about to lose its prime basic flight training school, Government Flying Training School at Jakkur off Bellary Road, which is the stepping stone for aspiring commercial pilots.

The school is facing closure as a significant portion of its premises falls in the path of two major road projects that are proposed by the Karnataka government – the six-lane elevated highway (between Hebbal and Bengaluru International Airport) and the high-speed rail link (between MG Road and BIA). Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

High-speed AC trains from Delhi to nearby towns

To facilitate faster movement of commuters between the national capital and its adjoining towns, a corporation will be set up to run high-speed AC trains as part of the Regional Rapid Transit System for the National Capital Region.

   Photographs: Reuters 

"It will take 63 minutes to travel from Delhi to Meerut (90 km) and the travel time between Delhi and Panipat (109 km) will be 61 minutes once the RRTS project is implemented," urban development secretary Navin Kumar said after signing an MoU with four state governments involved in the project. Read more

Source : rediff.com

ITC to nurture 100,000 trees in Hyd

Chennai/ Hyderabad : As part of WOW (Wealth out of Waste), an initiative by cigarette-to-hospitality player ITC Limited in association with city-based Ramky Group, the former will be launching a campaign to nurture 100,000 trees by recycling 5,000 tonne of paper across the Hyderabad city and approaching citizens, students, corporate houses, business establishments to donate recyclables.

The campaign is part of the 1st anniversary of WOW, to be celebrated on July 1. The programme is operational in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Bhadrachalam, Coimbatore and Madurai. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Poor sanitary hygiene a matter of grave concern; Goonj makes affordable napkins

The disturbing revelations of a study, done by research company AC Nielsen along with NGO Plan India, highlight the dismal state of hygiene in the country. In a shocking revelation, it is found that only 12 per cent of over 335 million menstruating women in India use sanitary napkins. The study made known that more than 68 per cent women residing in rural India cannot afford sanitary napkins that are sold in the market. 

About 81 per cent of rural women, according the research, use cheap unsterilized clothes, sand, husk, and ash as alternatives to napkins. These alternatives can severely impact their health and reproductive ability. Read more

Source : causebecause.com

Himachal Pradesh CM lays foundation stone of Girls Hostel in University

Shimla: Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister performed foundation stone laying ceremony of Girls Hostel in Himachal Pradesh University, Summer Hill, here today, estimated to cost Rs. 4.36 crore would accommodate 132 girl students with one exclusive floor for car parking.

Chief Minister said that the new hostel would go a long way in facilitate the girl students and solve their accommodation problem. He said that the State Government was paying added attention towards creation of quality infrastructural basic amenities to the university students with a view to provide them congenial atmosphere to pursue their academic pursuits. He said that the State Government was providing free education to the girls upto university level. Read more

Source : indiaeducationdiary.in

India to get national knowledge network soon

New Delhi : In two years, a national knowledge network will come up and connect 31,000 colleges around the country and a student from any of these colleges would be able to pursue course from any other college, announced Kapil Sibal, union human resource development minister at CII Edu Summit 2011 organized here on Wednesday at CII (Northern Region), Headquarters.

Elaborating further, he said that the network would be followed in schools in some more years time. Every village would be connected through fiber optics in three years and wireless broadband would be accessible to every school. There would be 1,100 open source courses that anybody can persue free of cost, he said. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Why children in rural India don't go to school

Twenty-first-century India often resembles the Dickensian tale of two cities. For some, it is the best of times; for millions of others, living in the shadow of prosperity, survival is a daily struggle. The levels of inequality are staggering. While India's economy continues to soar, with the IMF projecting its growth rate to be 8.4% in 2011, West Bengal remains one of the poorest states in the country. Nearly 11% of families in West Bengal face starvation during several months of the year. Small wonder then that parents – who work as domestic servants, rickshaw drivers, hawkers on local trains and in other unskilled occupations – are keen to take their children out of education and send them to the Employment Exchange. Teenagers can be enrolled here with a certificate stating that they have been educated up to 14 years. These parents are often illiterate themselves. Read more

Source : guardian.co.uk 

Centre to carry out exercise to screen people for diabetes

New Delhi : Alarmed over rapid rise in the number of diabetes patient, the Centre plans to carry out a mammoth exercise of screening the entire adult population in a phased manner over a period of next five years.

As part of the planned exercise, the Union Health Ministry has launched an ambitious programme under which people will be screened for diabetes and hypertension in 100 select districts and 33 cities with more than 10 lakh population. Read more

Source : news.in.msn.com

Germans stir coffee culture - University that studied Vedas researches city landmark

Goettingen (Germany) : In this university town where scholars began studying the Panchatantra and the Vedas nearly 180 years ago, Bhaswati Bhattacharya is now exploring how the Indian Coffee House in Calcutta may have shaped the city’s social and cultural history.

Indian Coffee House: Something’s brewing

Bhattacharya is studying archives and memoirs, and seeking out long-time visitors to the coffee house on Calcutta’s College Street in what she says is the first formal effort ever to probe the institution through the lens of social history. Read more

Source : telegraphindia.com

Indian women most stressed in the world: Nielsen survey

NEW DELHI: In the most buoyant, confident and optimistic part of the world, life isn't exactly happy and stress-free for half its citizens. 

The latest study done by Nielsen reveals that Indian women are the most stressed in the world today. An overwhelming 87% of Indian women said they felt stressed most of the time, and 82% had no time to relax. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

IMT to open new campus at Hyderabad

The campus would be inaugurated by Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for HRD, IT & Communication, Government of India on July 2nd, 2011. The inaugural ceremony would be presided over by Mr. N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Mr. Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Urban Development, Government of India.

Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh -- Institute of Management Technology (IMT), a leading educational establishment is all set to foray into South India with its futuristic Hyderabad campus. Rated among the top 10 business schools in India, IMT currently has campuses in Ghaziabad, Nagpur and Dubai.

Hyderabad has emerged as a major destination for IT/ITES, Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Entertainment, Financial Services sectors and is also poised to witness growth in other sectors such as Semiconductor, Hardware, Gems & Jewellery, Apparel and Aerospace. The city therefore become the obvious choice when IMT decided to expand into South India with its new business school. Read more

Source : indiaprwire.com

Diabetes awareness campaign launched in Delhi slums

New Delhi : The union health ministry, the Delhi health department and other civic agencies Tuesday launched a joint campaign in the capital's slums to create awareness about diabetes and hypertension.

Speaking on the occasion, union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and cancer are major challenge for the world today. Read more

Source : mangalorean.com

Punjab government launches new scheme for cultivation and marketing of vegetables

AHMEDABAD: The Punjab government on Wednesday introduced a special 'vegetable initiative in urban cluster' scheme in order to encourage the farmers towards diversification. 

Punjab Agriculture Minister , Sucha Singh Langah said that state government has made all preparation to implement this special scheme to encourage farmers towards diversification. He said that at least 15 farmers could make a group, who would cultivate the crop on 20 hectares of land besides marketing. He said that Punjab government would provide a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh for the crop cultivation while 50% subsidy would also be given on the processing equipments with an aim to divert the attention of farmers towards cash crops. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

WSSO consultants for better sanitation system in Nagaland

Kohima : Having fully equipped with the basic knowledge and skills from the just concluded 3 weeks long orientation & capacity building training programme, the newly recruited Water & Sanitation Support Organization (WSSO) /District Water & Sanitation Mission (DWSM) consultants and chemists are all set to venture out for better management of water and sanitation system in the state.
The training, which started on June 7 and concluded here this evening at PHED conference hall, was specifically designed to build capacity of WWSO/DWSM consultants and chemists in response to the task of generating awareness on sustainable water and sanitation in the state. Read more

Source : morungexpress.com

Violent energy crisis looms: report

OTTAWA - Critical energy and water shortages combined with climate change could provoke wars within the next 15 years, warns a newly-released analysis by the Department of National Defence.

"Global reserves of crude oil could become problematic by 2025," wrote Maj. John Sheahan in a draft version of the report, Army 2040: First Look. "This implies that (barring the discovery of significant new reserves, and barring the adequate adoption of substitute fossil fuels or alternative fuel and energy sources) critical energy shortages will develop in the time frame of (and perhaps prior to) 2025." Read more

Source : timestranscript.canadaeast.com

Mayor does a u-turn on blanket plastic ban

HYDERABAD: Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy and GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu on Tuesday did a U turn on the proposed blanket ban on the usage of plastic carry bags under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits from July 1.

However, till the receipt of government orders, the ban will be imposed on manufacture, sale, usage of plastic carry bags up to 40 microns thickness. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

 

Speeding up heritage revival at Kochi

KOCHI: The historic glory of Mattanchery and Fort Kochi, the two landmarks of Kochi, will be preserved forever as the Kochi Corporation has taken immediate measures to implement the Fort Kochi-Mattanchery Heritage Conservation project. It will be implemented with the technical assistance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The project aims at making the heritage zones, Fort Kochi and Mattanchery, a well-preserved and well-managed urban site that is a safe, healthy and unique place to live and work in and to visit. It is included under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore. The state government had already decided to allocate Rs 15 crore for the project which is expected to be completed in September 2013. “A meeting will be convened in July to discuss the steps required for the implementation of the project. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Wiring trouble stretches wait for bus service in Ludhiana

LUDHIANA: The city bus service is in a tangle as the manufacturing companies have refused to make mini-buses with multiplex wiring, claiming they would have to import the system from Europe. Without the wiring, it would not be possible to install global positioning system in the buses. 

The service is being launched under Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission(JNNURM) and it is mandatory to install the GPS in the buses. Besides this, orders for other category of buses too are hanging fire. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Best brains seek to move out of Kolkata

KOLKATA: It's another kind of brain drain. By the time the admission process in the undergraduate colleges of the city is over - which will be around the middle of next month - some of the best students will have moved out of here to other states and even abroad. These are students who have scored between 80 and 90% marks in the plus-two exams and would have still failed to secure admission in the top colleges (read Presidency University, St Xavier's, Jadavpur University, Loreto College and Lady Brabourne College). 

Needless to say, the students in question belong to affluent families and come from the best schools of the city who feel that the city lacks campuses worth writing home about. While quite a few have secured admission in foreign universities, those that have not been able to do that are seeking admission in campuses in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Dug-up roads put brakes on traffic movement in Kanpur

KANPUR: Just two days are remaining for the deadline of JNNURM works to pass, but the task of road constructions and laying of sewer pipelines is far from complete. 

The recent showers have caused waterlogging on all the roads, turning them slippery and muddy. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Gurgaon civic body wants no fund diversion to Faridabad

NEW DELHI/GURGAON: In the past two years, the Haryana government has diverted Rs 150 crore from the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) to the Faridabad municipality despite the latter having received an assistance of Rs 2,300 crore under the centrally sponsored JNNURM scheme. Though the amount was diverted in the form of a loan, the newly elected MCG wants to stop the state from diverting the budget. 

The mayor Vimal Yadav and senior deputy mayor Yashpal Batra told TOI in New Delhi that this is one of the first issues they would deal with so that corporation's resources don't run dry. "Earlier, Rs 125 crore was released in two instalments. Days before the mayor election took place, the Faridabad municipality received Rs 25 crore. We want the amount meant for Gurgaon to not go out of the city since we have to undertake infrastructure development and augmentation work," the two leaders said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Stop-gap repairs leave RA Puram asking for more

CHENNAI: The residents of Canal Bank Road in RA Puram are unhappy with the city's civic administration. They face a host of problems, including sewage overflow, due to unfinished stormwater drain work in their area. 

"Sewage overflow from pipes damaged while the Corporation staff were digging up the road is turning into a major problem," said V Soundarajan of Canal Bank Road on Tuesday when there was an overflow of sewage for over ten hours before the corporation officials concerned reached the spot. "Some staff pumped out the stagnant sewage. They planned to use a gunny bag to plug the leak but it failed miserably," said a visibly annoyed Soundarajan. The problem, however, remains although the officials promised to return on Wednesday with cycle tubes to plug the leak. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ride a Mercedes-Benz totally free on BRTS corridor!

RAJKOT: Now, Rajkotians may get a free ride in Mercedes-Benz buses on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) corridor. Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has proposed that the trial runs be kept free of cost till the fare structure is formally okayed. 

Recently, RMC brought Mercedes-Benzs buses for a trial run on the BRTS corridor on the 150-ft Ring Road in the city. Initially, it thought of charging Rs 3 per passenger in the trial run, but this would involve paying taxes to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and issuing a notification, which is time consuming. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Nagpur Citizens Action committee claims corruption in Starbus contract

NAGPUR: The Citizens Action Committee against corruption, formed recently by people from various localities, have now joined hands and decided to expose various irregularities and corruption in the civic body.

To begin with, committee members under the leadership of Javed Shaikh, Arun Wankar, Trisharan Sahare and Raman Paigwar on Monday met additional commissioner Vishnupad Bute and handed over a memorandum alleging a major scam in handing over the city bus service to private operator Vansh Nimay Infraprojects Limited (VNIL). Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Narendra Modi to dedicate Ahmedabad’s first two-level flyover

 

Ahmedabad : Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi will open Ahmedabad’s first two-level fly over bridge at CTM cross roads on Narol-Naroda road on 29 June, Wednesday(5.45 pm). The flyover has been constructed under JnNURM.

Officials told DeshGujarat that Ahmedabad will become the first city in Gujarat to have a double split and cross flyover. An estimated Rs 42.93 crore have been spent to construct this flyover. Read more

Source : deshgujarat.com

Property tax reform can fund our cities

The poor state of finances of our cities is a source of major concern. On the one hand, the adequacy and quality of public services leaves a lot to be desired, and on the other hand, payment for these services and collection of local taxes falls far short of what is needed to cover the costs of delivery. This chicken-and-egg problem has got us into an apparently intractable situation. Bangalore’s property tax reform offers a ray of hope.

Property tax is the largest potential source of own revenue for municipal corporations and municipalities in India today, but its contribution to their revenues is small and inelastic. The property tax reform initiated by the Bangalore Mahanagar Palika (BMP) in 2000 and taken forward by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palika (BBMP) in 2008, has shown that property tax buoyancy can be gained by moving towards a system which allows revaluation of properties at specified time intervals. Revaluation enhances the base on which property tax is levied, and yields rising tax revenues. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Kudos to Delhi Municipal Corporation for facilitating online RTI applications

What the external affairs ministry has been unable to achieve in terms of facilitating Indians abroad on RTI—to make online RTI applications and also pay the fees online—the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has successfully introduced this facility 

Last week, I had written about how Indians living abroad are finding it difficult to file RTI applications to various government departments back in their home country, thanks to red tapism. I had highlighted how despite the Department of Posts (DoP) making arrangements with Axis Bank for online payments for overseas online RTI applications, the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are sitting on the issue and have yet to take a decision. (Read: "Indians living abroad keen to use RTI, but the government isn't making it easier") Read more

Source : moneylife.in

CM for practical strategies to spread literacy

Bhopal : The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has stressed on adopting practical strategies for realizing the goals of literacy mission. He said that the strategies should consider the social and rural settings and availability of rural womenfolk and farmers to ensure their quality participation in learning activities. The cooperation of elderly persons commanding respect in their respective communities must be sought, he added.

Chouhan was addressing the first meeting of general body of State Literacy Mission Authority here today. Minister for School Education Smt. Archana Chitnis, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Smt. Ranjana Baghel, Mayor Bhopal Smt. Krishna Gaur, Mayor Ujjain Rameshwar Akhand, Chief Secretary Avani Vaish were present. Read more

Source : centralchronicle.com

New terminal of Bhopal international airport opened for public

Bhopal : Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Vayalar Ravi today inaugurated the new terminal of the Raja Bhoj International Airport here, making Bhopal one of the few cities in the country to start operating international flights.

Speaking on the occasion, Ravi said that with the new airport terminal at the Raja Bhoj airport, the industrial development in Madhya Pradesh could go up as it will operate international flights, after Indore in the state. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Graduate to a global level

Lucknow : Education, in general, and school education in particular, is passing through an exciting, albeit, critical stage in India. The country is home to 16% of the world's total population and the impact of info-dynamics and globalisation has converted India into a vibrant emerging economy. There are profound changes everywhere and there is a radical transformation in the field of work and employment. These challenges have a direct impact on the schools and also on the education being provided to our 21st century learners.

Two news items, diametrically opposite to each other, need special mention. On one hand, today's global-based economy provides numerous opportunities unlike before and there is a strong perception that most of the opportunities world over would be grabbed by young graduates from India and China, provided we churn out graduates with quality. On the other side, there is a belief that 70% of our young graduates do not have employable skills. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Change master plan, Punjab told

CHANDIGARH: The visiting Union urban development ministry team took senior UT officials to task on Tuesday and directed the governments of Punjab and Haryana to change their respective master plans to be in sync with Chandigarh inter-state integrated plan for Tricity. 

However, the fresh deadline to prepare the integrated master plan has been extended to August 15 for the third time. Earlier, it was to be ready by March 31, 2011, and December 31, 2010. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Panel formed to prepare inter-state plan

Chandigarh: A three member committee was constituted today to work on the preparation of the inter-state regional plan for the development of Tricity. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Navin Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development. Apart from officials of the Administration, representatives of Punjab and Haryana were also present.

The committee would comprise of officials from the neighbouring states as well as Chandigarh. The inter-state regional plan is being prepared for the development of tricity with particular emphasis on the development of the periphery of Chandigarh. The haphazard growth in the periphery has been a matter of concern in the city. The plans of the neighbouring States will be studied. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

End of road for MPLADs in Bihar

New Delhi : Members of Parliament may not be able to take development works like their colleagues in rest of the country as the Central government has not agreed to the conditions sought by state chief minister Nitish Kumar to implement the scheme. The state will get Rs 280 crore every year for its 56 MPs once the union cabinet decides to enhance the fund from Rs two to five crore per Parliamentarian. There is Rs 251 crore unspent amount from the scheme for the state to utilise. Of the Rs 1,616 crore allocated to Bihar so far, the state has spent only Rs 1,391 crore.  

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had written to Union Statistics and Programme Implementation minister M S Gill in May this year saying that the state government will not be able to implement the scheme unless the Centre creates a dedicates implementation machinery or give 6% of the fund for implementing the scheme. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

UP has more labour force than Bihar, says survey

LUCKNOW: According to key employment and unemployment indicators for the state, Uttar Pradesh registered an unemployment rate of 19 per 1000 persons between July 2009 and June 2010. This has been revealed in a data released by the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation through its National Sample Survey Office. The data is based on information gathered during the 66th round of the national sample survey. The last such survey was held between July 2004 and June 2005. 

In UP, 8,933 households and 49,524 persons were surveyed for key employment and unemployment indicators. Across the country, trends that have been arrived at are based on a central sample of 1,00,957 households in urban and rural areas. The survey has defined lead indicators of Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), or the ratio of labour force to population, Workers Population Ratio (number of persons employed per 1000 persons), Proportion Unemployed and unemployment rate (ratio of unemployed to labour force. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com