Think India Foundation

JNNURM projects miss deadline in Indore

INDORE: With hardly three days left for the March 31, 2012 deadline on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme, Indore is yet to complete its 11 out of the 14 projects sanctioned under the scheme. Poor performance of local bodies- Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Indore Development Authority (IDA) has drawn flak from both Union and state governments in this regard.

As many as 10 IMC and 4 IDA projects were approved under the JNNURM for a total cost of Rs 1031.18 crore. Out of 10 projects, the IMC managed to complete only two-- Yeshwant Sagar Dam and Feeder Road projects. Two of its projects River Side Corridor and Slum Redevelopment and Rehabilation project did not even take off. IDA managed to complete only one project and gave up on MR 9 project before its completion. Two of its projects are under progress. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

MC representatives say no to house tax

CHANDIGARH: Public representatives of the municipal corporation have again come in the way of the house tax on residential property in the city. They have rejected the agenda item for inclusion in the monthly house meeting scheduled on Friday. This would stop grants of the around Rs 400-crore developmental project about which UT has already informed the authority.

Sources said officers of the civic body had brought in the agenda item on imposition of house tax on residential properties, but it was not approved for discussion. It was told that there was no necessity to impose any such tax. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

RTC small screen yet to rake in the moolah

HYDERABAD: It couldn’t get any better for bus commuters in the city.

370 JNNURM Express buses, operated by the city operations wing of the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), have been fitted with LCD television sets.

The initiative is seen as having immense potential to combine the opportunity of bringing in revenue through ads, with the experience of making city travel more passenger-friendly and less drab. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Slum-free diamond city still a distant dream

SURAT: The dream to make the diamond city slum-free will not happen anytime soon. Slum settlements have been a major cause for concern for urban planners of the city, which has the highest growth rate of over 13 per cent in the country.

Six lakh urban poor living in 1.15 lakh hutments in 406 slum settlements in the city need to be relocated by 2020 by Surat Municipal Corporation in the EWS houses constructed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM). Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Chennai leads Indian property boom

The Indian property market will see more investment from overseas this year as it still remains an attractive investment destination globally.

In a recent report, property broking and real estate consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle said the Indian property market is poised to attract about US$3 billion, almost double last year's US$1.6 billion, from overseas buyers this year. Read more

Source : business.asiaone.com

Despite power cuts, Chennai city residents seem kicked about Earth Hour

CHENNAI: Six cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore - are participating in the race to become the Earth Hour Champion.

(March 31 is being touted as a day of reckoning when the world will come together to observe Earth Hour.)

If every teardrop is a waterfall, as per what Chris Martin from Coldplay believes, then every little step should go on to make one big difference. With environmental awareness peaking among urban denizens, the need to take a step back, with respect to one's power requirements has now caught the attention of the mainstream consciousness. And tomorrow (March 31) is being touted as a day of reckoning when the world will come together to observe Earth Hour. The global movement involving a voluntary blackout to be carried out (at 8.30 pm IST) by everyone from educational and commercial establishments to residential colonies and beyond is garnering buzz from all quarters. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

MGNREGA under scanner in Jammu Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Though the phenomenon of trailing off whooping sums due to failure in expending in Jammu and Kashmir is not new, the Rural Development Department has taken a lead by leaving 26455 lakhs sanctioned under centrally sponsored MGNREGA   unspent during the current fiscal year which is at the verge of closure.  

Though lapsing the whooping sums by not spending on infrastructure development in key sectors in Jammu and Kashmir is not new, however, the difference between total funds allocated during 2011-12 under MGNREGA and the block-wise break-up of expenditure made till date shows that in all the twelve districts of Kashmir division including Leh and Kargil districts out of available 36607 lakhs made available during the year only 23279 lakhs have been expended, thereby leaving 13328 lakhs unspent. On the other hand, total funds made available for all the 10 districts of Jammu division during the same period was 41627 Lakhs out of  which only 28500 lakhs were expended leaving a whooping 13127  lakhs unspent.  Read more

Source : www.punjabnewsline.com

15% Families Without Electricity in J&K: Census

Only One Health Centre For 1991 Persons

Srinagar : Even in 21st century, nearly 15 percent of households in Jammu and Kashmir are living without electricity and 1.95 percent of them have no access even to kerosene lighting, revealed figures released here by the directorate of census operations on Wednesday.

“85.14 percent households are electrified, 9.69 percent use kerosene for lighting their houses while solar light is used only by 20,813 households while 1.95 percent households have no light,” Census Department Joint Director C S Sapru said while releasing the 2011 census data related to housing and household amenities in Jammu and Kashmir. Read more

Source : www.kashmirobserver.net

Luxury Towers Transform the Mumbai Skyline

MUMBAI — This city’s skyline is now dominated by twin towers that, at slightly more than 252 meters each, are the tallest structures in India and one of its most unusual developments.

The Imperial, with a total of 228 apartments, in July 2010.

Known as the Imperial, the residential skyscrapers of 60 stories each are a luxury project 10 years in the making. The project included the legally mandated rehousing of almost 12,000 slum dwellers, who now reside in 11 buildings constructed elsewhere on the 5.5 hectare, or 13.5-acre, site. Read more

Source : www.nytimes.com

Nandan Nilekani team pushes for online Aadhaar

New Delhi : Resident Identity Card (RIC), a key component of the ministry of home affair’s national population register (NPR) scheme, failed to get the financial approval after the Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the department of information technology (DIT) joined hands to push for ‘online’ usage of the Aadhaar number in the expenditure finance committee meeting on Thursday.

Time is crucial for the completion of the NPR scheme, which the government, keeping the 2014 elections in mind, wants to complete by mid-2013 to use it for a host of targeted developmental schemes like national rural employment guarantee and rashtriya swasthaya bima yojana (RSBY). Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Himachal set to get WB’s Rs 1,000-cr green loan

Chandigarh : Himachal Pradesh is set to get World Bank’s (WB) Rs 1,000-crore green development loan, which will help the state to become the country’s first carbon neutral state by 2020.

Making this announcement in the state Assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said: “The World Bank has agreed in principal to extend a loan to the state for undertaking carbon smart growth. The government has written to Centre for convening a joint meeting with the WB and state government for releasing the funds.” Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

Delhi's farmhouse areas will remain low density areas: Nath

New Delhi (PTI) : Certain areas in the national capital - which are called farmhouse lands - will remain low density areas, though the parameters of buildings at such places are yet to be decided, Urban Development minister Kamal Nath said today. "There has been a study which established that these areas cannot have high rise buildings, so that's why they can be country homes," Nath said. 

He, however, said a decision is yet to be taken as to "what should be the size, how much can we allow, should it be of one acre or two and a half acre?" "We are looking at whether it should be one acre, two and a half acre, its already decided that these cannot be high density areas, it cannot be, there is no water," he said. "These areas will have to remain low density areas," he said, adding the government was "against any demolition. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Delhi's farmhouse areas will remain low density areas: Nath

New Delhi (PTI) : Certain areas in the national capital - which are called farmhouse lands - will remain low density areas, though the parameters of buildings at such places are yet to be decided, Urban Development minister Kamal Nath said today. "There has been a study which established that these areas cannot have high rise buildings, so that's why they can be country homes," Nath said. 

He, however, said a decision is yet to be taken as to "what should be the size, how much can we allow, should it be of one acre or two and a half acre?" "We are looking at whether it should be one acre, two and a half acre, its already decided that these cannot be high density areas, it cannot be, there is no water," he said. "These areas will have to remain low density areas," he said, adding the government was "against any demolition. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

What does Daman have that Bihar doesn’t? Power

It’s summer. The mercury level is above 30 degree Celsius in most parts of the country. So, are you planning to buy the third Air Conditioner for your house? No one’s stopping you. You have the POWER.

But most of rural India doesn’t. While 99 percent of rural households in Union Territories like Lakshwadeep and Daman and Diu have electricity, in Bihar only 10 percent of rural households have electricity. The Census data of 2011 shows that in terms of electricity coverage, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the worst performers in the country. In a decade, the states could only add four to five percentage points in their electricity coverage. While Uttar Pradesh climbed from 19.9 percent in 2001 to 23.8 percent in 2011, Bihar’s electricity coverage rose from a mere 5.1 percent to 10.4 percent, reported Business Standard. Read more

Source : www.firstpost.com

The tax hole BBMP does not talk about

In ten years, especially during a time of massive real estate appreciation, Bengaluru’s administration did not raise property tax rates even once. India's national audit watchdog took issue.

BBMP's HSR Layout Ward Office in South Bangalore, not far from Silkboard. This is one of the satellite tax collection offices. Pic: Abhishek Angad

Bengaluru has lost out on hundreds of crores of rupees in property tax revenue, only because it did not verify tax declarations and did not raise tax rates in over a decade. This is as per an audit of BBMP for the years 2008-2010, by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). In a press release on March 28th, BBMP has sounded the gong for 2012-13 tax collections. Read more

Source : bangalore.citizenmatters.in

Poor protest against land sharing in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Three thousand families residing in economically weaker section (EWS) quarters located at Viveknagar are protesting against the recent government order to give away their allotted plot to a private company under a land sharing scheme.

The residents launched a protest meeting on Tuesday evening demanding for quashing of the order and rebuilding of their houses under various government schemes for the economically weaker sections. The affected families have been living in tin sheds on this land for over 18 years. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Diabetes snaring more of the young

Mumbai : Dr Kishore Pawar took all necessary precautions after he was diagnosed with diabetes. After all, the general physician knew better than to ignore this silent killer disease. But, he found that the precautions weren’t enough. The 39-year-old developed a rare complication — an embolism in the leg. And amputation was the only way to treat it.

Dr Tushar Rege, a consultant diabetic foot surgeon at SL Raheja Hospital who performed the surgery last week, says, “The leg turned pale and became lifeless after an artery was suddenly blocked. There was no way the leg could have been saved.” Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Rs 7000 crore worth land encroached in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Forest minister C P Yogeshwar made the startling revelation that the state government has unearthed land encroachment to the extent of 2,482 acres valued around Rs 7,000 crore in and around Bangalore Urban and Rural districts.

The minister informed the Legislative Council on Wednesday that the encroachment was allegedly made by several corporate companies, religious institutions, state government agencies and individuals. He detailed that the land, prior to its encroachment, was classified as reserved and minor forests by the forest department. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Eviction tussle in migrant haven

KOLKATA: When encroachers started trickling into the vast vacant land in Nonadanga, off EM Bypass, five years ago, the administration preferred to look the other way. Now, with more than 500 families firmly entrenched on this government land and turned it into a bustling locality, the government is planning to evict them. But it is going to be a very tough task.

The administration had a taste of it on Tuesday when a strong police team went to the slum in the morning to evict the encroachers but was forced to turn back, completely thwarted. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

61% urban population in WB use mobile phones

Kolkata: Altogether 43 per cent households in West Bengal use mobile phones, while for the urban population it is 61 per cent. Altogether 49 per cent households in the state have telephone with the percentage being 75 for urban population, WB census operation director Dipak Ghosh said while announcing the results of 2011 census with regard to housing, household amenities and assets. 

Ghosh said eight per cent households in the state have computers and laptops. 15 per cent urban household population have computers. Read more

Source : www.financialexpress.com

Car pooling just a click away in Vadodara

VADODARA: Whenever Vimal Solanki wants to travel from Ahmedabad to Vadodara, he just logs onto a website to find matching profile of some person who is travelling on the same route. Though Solanki has been using social several networking sites for staying connected with friends, he seldom knew that one of them would help him reduce his travelling expenditure by almost half every month. However, a website started by a Barodian that focuses on car pooling has helped him in saving lot of money and also make new friends.

With rapid industrialization and expanding urban areas, travelling costs of Gujaratis have shot up. Also, driving on congested roads is becoming increasingly difficult. To avoid the double trouble, Gujaratis are increasingly turning to vehicle pooling. Such is the demand for vehicle pooling that a city-based entrepreneur is coming up with another website that will not only help people in finding partners for car pooling but also offer chat and video updating facilities. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Firm’s sewage deal to be cancelled in Gurgaon

GURGAON: The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) is set to terminate the contract of the private firm engaged to do maintenance of the city's biggest sewage treatment plant (STP) at Dhanwapur village. HUDA's decision came after it came to light that the maintenance was below par.The city has two STPs under HUDA - Behrampur of 60 MLD capacity and Dhanwapur, 68 MLD capacity. TOI has done a series of news reports exposing the bad condition of the Berhampur STP which prompted the Haryana Pollution Board to take samples of the treated sewage. Now the inspection of Dhanwapur STP confirms how the crucial work of maintenance is left to the private contractor with no HUDA official checking the quality of work being done at the plants.Kumar admitted that the inspection was nothing short of an eye-opener. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Advanced ambulance service in Chandigarh city

CHANDIGARH: To save patients within the golden hour, UT administration has decided to introduce one of the best EMRI pattern ambulance services in the city. The decision has been taken by the UT health department after studying four states- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal, where the service has been operational successfully and can be availed by calling a dedicated number.

A total of 10 such ambulances would be launched in city in a phased manner, firstly for Advanced Life Support (ALS) and for Basic Life Support (BLS) in the second phase. These would be launched in addition to the existing ambulance service being provided by the Chandigarh administration. Medical superintendent-cum-joint principal Government Multi-speciality Hospital-16, Chandigarh, Dr Rajiv Vadehra, apprised the Punjab and Haryana high court of this information through an affidavit on Wednesday. The decision to introduce the EMRI ambulances has been sent to the higher authorities for necessary approval, he informed. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

West Bengal move on newspaper subscription in libraries draws flak

KOLKATA : The West Bengal government's move to restrict newspapers subscribed by State libraries and those sponsored or aided by the State to a specified list evoked strong reactions from across the political spectrum and civil society here on Wednesday, even as the State government ruled out the possibility of revoking the order.

The State's Minister for Mass Education Extension and Library Services Abdul Karim Chowdhury dug his heels in and told journalists: “There is no question of withdrawing it (the order on purchase of newspapers).” Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

What’s the price of education?

In a country where more than half the population lives below the poverty line, reformation in rules that govern education could bring tremendous growth

Walking down the street these days, it is a common sight to see little children struggle to carry heavy bags on their shoulders to school. Frantic parents walk out worriedly after meeting with teachers, asking if their child has performed well or if they might need extra tutoring. Read more

Source : www.deccanherald.com

Local water sources to get priority: Planning Commission member

PUNE: The 12th Five Year Plan will give priority to local water sources, regulating groundwater use, suggesting structural investment while planning major projects and recycling as well as curbing discharge of untreated water in water bodies, said planning commission member Mihir Shah.

He was speaking during the two-day national workshop on 'Overview and visioning of forum's work in the context of changing water sector discourse' organised by the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India and Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

More women benefit from India's solar electrification engineering

Women play a big role in our societies. Almost everything is done by women for example raising children,cooking and other duties, so to educate them is worth it and it is not wastage of money and time as claimed by some parties.

Some of women who benefited from solar electrification engineering programme in India

United Nations is among institutions that recognises importance of women and strives to empower and supports them. Last year, UN's women department sent six women from Mtwara and Lindi districts to India for solar electrification engineering training. The training was supported by the Ministry of Community Development Gender and Children in collaboration with UN women and ITEC scholarships from Indian government. Read more

Source : dailynews.co.tz 

Cancer risk highest in N-E- Big puzzle, say researchers at Toronto University

New Delhi : The risk of dying from cancer is highest in the Northeast and the lowest in Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, according to a new study described as the first to provide direct nationally-representative estimates of cancer deaths across the country.

The study by researchers at the Centre for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Indian institutions has shown large variations in cancer risk across the states, but suggests that the risk of dying from cancer declines with education. Read more

Source : www.telegraphindia.com

Watch your junk, it’s piling up

Mumbai : At 22, Dhwani Bafna, a student, has already accumulated an old DVD player, two mobile phones, a MP3 player and several CDs that she wants to throw away. While she junks the CDs in a dustbin, the electronic gadgets are just lying around.

The average Mumbaiite with several TVs,computers, mobile phones, iPods and tonnes of plastic bags and bottles accumulated over several shopping trips generates far more hazardous waste (See box: Know your hazardous waste) than he did a decade ago. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Schools awarded for their green efforts

New Delhi : An annual award ceremony to recognise the country’s “greenest” schools was held on Wednesday at the India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road. The awards are given by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) to institutes that have excelled in natural resources management under the Green Schools Programme (GSP) started in 2006. 

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the joint secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, BMS Rathore, gave away the awards to schools from across the country. CSE director general Sunita Narain was also at the event. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Mumbai to get first e-waste disposal unit at Bhiwandi

Mumbai : In the next ten days, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will zero in on the company that will construct and operate the city’s first electronic-waste disposal facility in Bhiwandi. “We are evaluating proposals of two bidders and will finalise the company in a week’s time. The facility will provide end to end solution as per e-waste rules,” said MR Shah, principal advisor, solid waste management, MMRDA. “Electrical and electronic items cannot be called waste because every component is recyclable and re-saleable.” 

The Rs 84 crore facility, managed by a public-private partnership, will be spread across four hectares. It will help recover most parts of the electronic items and only 2% of the hazardous waste will reach the landfill. The facility will separate, segregate and extract precious metal such as gold, silver and chromium. At present, Delhi is the only city in India where precious metals are recovered. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Early detection can prevent most cancers from turning deadly: report

Mumbai : Most cancers that kill Indians — oral cavity, breast, cervical — are preventable if detected at an early stage, said doctors who conducted the study on cancer-related deaths in India. The study was published in The Lancet on Wednesday. In 2010, 23% of cancer deaths among men were because of oral cavity cancers. Among women, 17% of the deaths were because of cervical cancer while breast cancer accounted for 10% of the deaths. 

“In the west, cancer in the internal organs like the stomach is higher. In India, cancer in the external organs like breast is higher. In such cases, early detection helps prevent deaths,” said Dr Rajesh Dikshit, associate professor, epidemiology, Tata Memorial Hospital, one of the main authors of the study. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Child population down in rural Rajasthan

JAIPUR: The provisional population figures up to the tehsil-level released by the directorate of census operations, Rajasthan, on Wednesday showed an overall decrease in the child population in the 0 to 6 years age group and a clear divide on the social issue between rural and urban areas.

The child population of both the boys and the girls in rural areas has decreased between 2001 and 2011, while the same for both sexes in the urban areas has increased. The total child population for 0-6 years age group for the state has declined at the rate of -1.37, even as the male population increased at the rate of 0.01. The rural areas - generally associated with low literacy rates and rampant social evils like female foeticide -recorded a decline rate of -4.70 for girls and -1.67 for boys from 2001 to 2011. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Alignment tangle affects work on Faridabad Metro

Faridabad : Construction on the Badarpur-Faridabad link of the Delhi Metro that began on Wednesday was brought to a halt for a couple of hours, allegedly at the behest of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials. Officials of the Delhi Metro  Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), including Metro chief Mangu Singh, participated at a bhoomi puja close to Mathura Road. The work went on without interruption till 6pm. 

However, trouble began when employees of a consulting agency hired by the NHAI and that of Mathura-based M/s Shoba Ram Sharma Contractors arrived at the spot and said work should be halted. They said they were acting on the orders of the NHAI project director, Mathura. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

20% reservation for EWS requires more thought, says real estate industry

The real estate industry is at loggerheads with the state government after a directive by the Urban Development Department to private developers that they reserve 20 per cent of plots and tenements for the economically weaker sections (EWS). The move is being opposed not only by individual developers but also by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) who are tagging the proposed policy as unworkable and not contemplated in totality. CREDAI has filed an objection with the Town Planning Department (TPD) arguing that Rajeev Awaas Yojna gave thought to all aspects of such housing creation.

“The department is at present hearing people with stake in real-estate industry and have filed objections. The hearing report will be submitted to the government for approval,” said Avinash Patil, deputy director, TPD. The government notice, issued in January, specifies that out of development on plots measuring 2,000 square metre and above, the developers should reserve 20 per cent of the area for the EWS category in the plot size of 30 to 50 square meters. In case the developer is building apartments on the same area, it has been directed that minimum of a 20 per cent of built-up area be reserved in the apartment size of 27.88 to 45 square meters. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

World Bank chief praises Odisha government

Bhubaneswar: Pledging to step up financial support for Odisha's sustainable development, World Bank on Wednesday hailed the state for achieving fiscal stability and poverty reduction.

World Bank president Robert B Zoellick said the state had taken significant steps to combat poverty and to ensure social justice.

In view of the needs to pursue sustainable and inclusive development, knowledge and financial support for Odisha would be stepped up, World Bank President Robert B Zoellick said in Bhubaneswar. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Cancers killing people in most productive age group

First nationally representative mortality survey

MUMBAI : Cancer has resulted in about six lakh deaths in India in 2010. And over 70 percent of these deaths occurred in the productive age between 30 and 69 years, said a nationally representative survey – “Cancer mortality in India”.

The three most common fatal cancers in men were oral, stomach and lung cancer, the survey said, and cervical breast and stomach in women, said Dr Rajesh Dikshit, Epidemiologist with the Tata Memorial Hospital, and one of the authors in the study. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

Rice husk, solar energy to solve power issues

New Delhi : If all goes well, rice husk and solar power — two very unlikely entities — will together provide rural India with a twin solution to its problems of power shortage and lack of storage for agriculture produce. What's more, the evolving system promises zero emission of pollutants as well.

The government's Solar Energy Centre has managed to make use of rice husk and solar power, which are both being wasted at present, to come up with a technological marvel that would prevent wastage of food grains in rural India. "Around one-third of the agriculture produce goes waste in the absence of adequate storage facilities," said SK Singh, director of the centre run by the ministry of new and renewable energy. "Our technology can help set up low-cost cold storages in rural India." Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

India pledges to end open-air pooping in 10 years

The New York Times reports that the number of households in India without access to a toilet has grown by 11% over the last decade, resulting a rise in what’s called “open defecation”—open-air pooping. Over 50% of India’s households are now without toilets, their residents instead going out in the open, with raw sewage piling up and creating dangerous, not to mention ultra-nasty, outdoor spaces.

The problem has prompted India’s Minister for Sanitation to address the problem and pledge an end to “open defecation” within the next decade, reports the Times. Read more

Source : www.deathandtaxesmag.com

Manipal University in expansion mode

To establish four new universities in India and one each in Sri Lanka and Africa

Manipal University has set itself a new task — to establish five large universities in India in the next five years. While the ones in Jaipur and Bangalore will take shape soon, the group is looking at setting up two more in the eastern and western regions of the country. That's a big leap from the two universities it has in India at present.

Manipal is also looking at increasing its global footprint. In addition to the three universities and two medical colleges abroad, it is planning to set up two more universities — one each in Sri Lanka and Africa. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Thousands of poor on starvation verge after Jharkhand govt cancels PDS licenses

Ranchi : At a time when the nation is contemplating legislation for food security, the Jharkhand government has issued an order that could leave thousands of poor families depending on public distribution system (PDS) for free food grains to fend for themselves.

Based on the orders issued by food and civil supplies secretary Rajbala Verma, the Ranchi district administration has already cancelled licenses to as many as 17 PDS dealers in urban areas without making any alternatives for the people for ration. These licenses were issued to the dealers on compassionate grounds in conformity to the Bihar Licensing Order 1984, which was adopted by the Jharkhand government, and a subsequent order issued in 2006 by the department. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Get on the Bangalore bus

Getting from one place to another in the cities and towns of India is no easy task. While the Delhi Metro has undoubtedly made a huge difference to commuters in the nation’s capital, public transport options in the form of bus or train services for residents of most cities of India remain not only limited but also unsafe, unclean and unreliable.

Bangalore Metropolitan Transportation Corporation (BMTC), an independent corporation carved out of the Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation (KSRTC) in 1997, stands out among the State Transport Undertakings in the country in providing an efficient and wide-ranging variety of bus services to suit the needs of different income groups in Bangalore. It does so while also making a profit. Prior to 1997, bus services in Bangalore were no different from the usual state of affairs elsewhere. The range of services was limited. The two divisions of KSRTC that were responsible for running bus services in the city typically made annual losses of around Rs 30 crore. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

Signal-free travel from NH-24

NOIDA: Traffic movement from Noida to NH-24 via sector 62 is soon going to be streamlined as the Noida Authority has planned to develop signal-free intersections where link roads meet the busy highway. According to this plan, the three junctions that connect Noida with the highway would be developed. The Authority has floated an expression of interest inviting bids from technical and architectural consultants for the development of these junctions.

The places where the Authority plans to develop signal-free intersections are at the T-junctions of sector 62 with NH-24 near Khoda, near Model Town Police Chowk and the junction of Chhijarsi village near Hindon river. "Given the high movement of traffic between Noida and Ghaziabad through the intersections with NH-24, it is necessary to develop these in such a manner to ensure seamless flow of vehicles," said chief project engineer of Noida Authority, Santram Singh. "We are preparing a conceptual plan for development of these junctions. Consultants have been invited for presentations on feasible plans at these junctions which might be in the form of flyovers, underpasses, etc," added Singh. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Is Pawar's 1,700cr power amnesty scheme illegal?

NAGPUR: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar may have earned accolades from treasury benches when he announced 1,700 crore amnesty scheme by state-run power company MSEDCL. However, power experts say this was a violation of Electricity Act 2003. They pointed out that MSEDCL had so far not taken permission from Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) for any such move.

R B Goenka of Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA) said that the schemes had to be vetted by MERC as the money lost in amnesty schemes would have to be paid by honest consumers. "Government's role would have been justified had it been compensating MSEDCL for the loss," he said. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Admission: IITs up ante against govt proposals

New Delhi : Students and faculties of IITs have opposed the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry’s proposal to change the format of IIT-JEE examination from 2013 and give 40% weightage to board examination marks. Sources said many IITs, including those in Kanpur, Delhi, Mumbai and Khargapur,have not supported the proposed changes in the current form. 

The All India IIT Faculty Federation has sent a letter to HRD minister Kapil Sibal and its copy to the Prime Minister’s Office stating that the academic issues, including the admission standards and process, were primarily the sole responsibility of the senates. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

It's elevated road vs Metro on SV Road and Link Road

Mumbai : MSRDC's Bandra-Dahisar elevated road corridor on SV Road and Link Road has the same alignment as that of MMRDA's Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro line 

Not the best laid plan: The MMRDA may also have to tear down portions of skywalks on SV Road for the Metro line II, particularly the one opposite Podar High School, Santacruz (West). Pics/Rane Ashish 

Through an apparent lack of planning or coordination, the MSRDC's proposed elevated Bandra-Dahisar road corridor on SV Road and Link Road may hit a roadblock as it clashes with the route of Metro line II on Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd (CBM), an MMRDA project. Further, the MMRDA might also have to demolish sections of skywalks on S V Road at Bandra (West), Santacruz (W) and Vile Parle (W) for the Metro corridor. Read more

Source : www.mid-day.com

Housing societies residents who park cars on roads face action

MUMBAI: Strict action will be taken against residents of cooperative housing societies who park vehicles on roads, home minister R R Patil said in the assembly on Tuesday.

He was replying to a debate on a calling attention motion moved by Prashant Thakur and Amin Patel (both Cong), on the issue of vehicles being parked illegally, especially those carrying inflammable material, resulting in mishaps. "Vehicles carrying inflammable material and parked on roads are a threat to residents. Nothing has been done despite repeated requests to the police to initiate action against owners and drivers of such vehicles ," Thakur said. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Cervical cancer killing Indian women

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in India with mortality being three times higher in rural areas than in urban areas, a study by the medical journal Lancet said Wednesday.

File photo.

"The study found that 17 percent of cancer deaths among women were due to cervical cancer, followed by 14 percent due to stomach cancer and 10 percent due to breast cancer. The study spanned across geographical and social variation in specific cancers, and the degree to which the cancers might be avoided by controlling their risk factors or causative agents," said Prabhat Jha, co-author of the study released in Mumbai said. Read more

Source : english.samaylive.com

Real estate promoters will be jailed if they mislead buyers

New Delhi : The Union ministry of housing & urban poverty alleviation has refused to dilute the penalties to be imposed on non-compliant promoters in the final version of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, despite industry opposition to the concept of sending the offender to jail.

PROPOSALS IN DRAFT LEGISLATION

* Punishment of up to 3 years in prison or/and penalty of up to 10% of the project cost for promoters willfully failing to comply with some key provisions

* Penalty of up to 5% of the project cost if a promoter gives false information to the buyer

* Refund for buyer along with interest if promoter fails to complete the project on time or give possession according to the agreement

* Promoter can’t accept more than 10% of apartment cost as advance payment or application fee without written agreement

* Mandatory registration of real estate projects and real estate agents with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority

* Within a year of the Act coming into effect, Real Estate Regulatory Authorities will have to be constituted in states and Union territories.

8 Setting up of Real Estate Appellate Tribunal

The latest draft legislation, expected to be taken up by the cabinet soon, has proposed up to three years jail or/and a penalty up to a tenth of the estimated cost of the real estate project in question for promoters willfully failing to comply with some key provisions. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority mooted in Kochi

KOCHI : A Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority would be constituted to integrate bus, train and boat services in the city, on the lines of the authority in Indore.

More passenger boats are to be introduced. Photo: H.Vibhu

This is because existing mass-transport systems are inadequate to meet the rising demand from commuters, neither are they people-friendly. Many places are not networked by public transport, despite having roads and navigable waterways in the vicinity. The city also needs a clear mobility plan which would work under a Traffic Regulation Committee, the Kochi Corporation's budget says. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com