Gujarati News: November 2005

Qualification of teachers under a dispute
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 | AY

Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) claim that they have a list of teachers, they say there is a need to update the list. The move came after the university had to face an embarrassing situation recently following a delay in engineering reassessment results. The need for review of the appointments of teachers in individual affiliated colleges was felt after university officials suspected that many of the colleges do not have adequately qualified teachers. There were 2,104 applications for reassessment this year as compared to 233 last year. Nearly 950 first and second year students had failed the exam. University administration also points out the exact cause of the delay. Most of the teachers in the selffinanced colleges are appointed on ad-hoc basis and have very few permanent staff. These instructors are not eligible to check papers leave alone the reassessment process. The committee would look into whether the colleges are meeting the standards like those set by the Medical Council of India, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council of Teachers' Education.

VAT implemented in the state
Tuesday, November 29, 2005 | AY

State's Industry Minister Anilbhai Patel has said that the Gujarat government is ready for implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the state. Formal decision on VAT implementation would be taken in consonance with the BJP ruled states in the country. Port and gas-based growth would be the future development pattern of Gujarat, the minister said. The state has 41 ports and most of them are privatised. The 2000-km-long gas pipeline will ensure cheap supply of gas to the industries and the people of the state. The state has a target of producing 17,477 MW power by 2010 from 8,797 MW now and also plans to develop sector specific industrial estates, he added.

NRG's asked by Modi to do a good deed
Monday, November 28, 2005 | AY

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has asked the non resident gujratis especially the the Kutchis who are spread all over the world to sponsor at least one family from their place of residence to visit the State which celebrates the Tourism Year in 2006. The Chief Minister said one Gujarati family living below the poverty line (BPL) could be uplifted economically if one NRG family sponsored a tourist family in Gujarat for a week. Mr Modi claimed that Kutch had surpassed in investments made anywhere in India during the last five years.

No more rotten fruits
Sunday, November 27, 2005 | AY

A team of six students who won a master plan contest as part of ‘Confluence 2005’, a four-day international business meet at IIM-Ahmedabad, suggested a new technology called controlled atmosphere (CA) for the long-term storage of fruits, especially apples. Respiration in fruits and vegetables continues after harvesting, which leads to deterioration and subsequently reduced storage life. Refrigeration only freezes the produce and does not keep it in its original state. The combination of CA (a decrease in oxygen, an increase in carbon dioxide) and temperature reduction considerably decreases respiratory activity. The CA storage does not improve fruit quality, but it can slow down the loss of quality after harvesting for period up to a year. The practice that is commonly used for cold storage can keep fruits upto the period of 12 to 14 weeks, but the new technology will increase the period upto 40 weeks. One of the objective of the master plan was to make farmers aware about the technology which can benefit them. The team won US $6,000 for their master plan.

Parzania
Sunday, November 27, 2005 | AY

''Parzania'', a film starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika as a Parsi couple trapped in the Gujarat riots will be premiered tomorrow at the 36th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the special screenings section. Sectarian violence is a universal theme. This film is pro-humanity. It shows that violence kills not just one person but the entire family. Besides, it is neutral to have a Parsi family as the protagonist. Speaking about the film, the director Rahul Dholakia said ''Parzania'', though it is the story of one family, shows a community's loss in communal violence like the one in Gujarat recently.

Renowned gynaecologist gets the IMA award
Saturday, November 26, 2005 | AY

Noted gynaecologist Dr Mukesh Bavishi, has been awarded the prestigious Dr Damyanti K Ganatra Rotating Trophy by the IMA, for the year 2004-05 in the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology. The trophy was presented to him at the 57th Annual Medical Conference of the IMA (Gujarat State Branch) held recently in Navsari. He had shot into fame when he created a world record in gynaec surgery by performing 50 hysterectomies in 16 hours on a single day. He had devised three 'stitchless' surgeries for women, sparing any cut on the abdomen and hence any scar. All three surgeries are just 20-minute procedures and the patient can go home the same day.

Ranji play disrupted
Saturday, November 26, 2005 | AY

Rain disrupted the second day today of the tie between Tamil Nadu and Gujarat in the Elite Group A Ranji Trophy as play was called off without a ball being bowled at the India Cements ground here. Thanks to tireless efforts by the groundsmen, it was made match-fit and umpires Balwant Sharma and Alok Bhattacharya decided to start play at 1100 hrs. At the close of the first day yesterday, Gujarat was struggling at 110 for four with Mukund Parmat (15, batting) and Bhavik Thakkar (20, batting) holding the fort after they were reduced to 72 for four, thanks to a three-wicket haul by offie Aashih Kapoor.

Reassesment delay for ENGG students
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 | AY

Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU), has agreed to hold supplementary exams for those engineering students who pass after the reassessment process. To be precise, vice-chancellor Kothari said that there were exactly 2,104 cases this year of which close to 951 had failed the exam. The number is significant as compared to last year when the total reassessment applications received were just 233. Student leaders of National Students Union of India and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad have been assured of a date for the exams once the reassessment results are out. Besides VNSGU administration also clarified that the delay in declaration of the results was because the current engineering exams were advanced by a month when compared to last year.

GACL has made a credible effort
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 | AY

GACL(Gujarat Alkalies and Chemical Company), the largest producer of caustic soda in the country, as a result of their effort to introduce less polluting fuels at its four projects, thus reducing the green house gas emissions, has made them credible to get carbon trading credit. The company expects about 1.3 million certified emission reduction (CER) credits, which it plans to sell in the international market for a sum worth Rs 60-70 crore. They switched of fuel from Naphtha to natural gas in the captive power plant, changed from natural gas to hydrogen in CCU-II plants located at its Dahej complex and energy efficient and fuel switching measures in the caustic soda and sodium cyanide plants located at Baroda complex of the company. These measures would bring local environmental benefits for the nearby villagers and also improve health conditions for GHG workers and the neighbouring community in the coming years.

A rare book of Gandhi released
Monday, November 21, 2005 | AY

An audio-book on 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth', autobiography of Mahtma Gandhi, was released by actress Nandita Das at Sabarmati Ashram here last night. The book containing an audio CD features Shekhar Kapoor as Gandhi and Nandita Das as narrator. She said the whole idea of making the audiobook was to enhance the experience of a book with voice, music and sound. Ms Das later handed over a copy of the audio-book to Navjivan Trust Chairman Biharibhai Shah. The book was produced by Charkha audio books, the publishers of A P J Abdul Kalam's autobiography 'Wings of Fire.

MphasiS Ahmedabad BPO centre begins
Sunday, November 20, 2005 | AY

MphasiS, IT solutions provider, began operations at its new business process outsourcing (BPO) facility here. MphasiS now has a geographical presence across the country including in Bangalore, Mangalore, Noida and Pune as well as a facility in Tijuana in Mexico. With a starting strength of 350 employees, the city-based centre would grow up to 3,000 employees eventually. MphasiS has over the years recognised the business case for developing and strengthening BPO service offerings. Ahmedabad facility will be dedicated to customer service delivery for their domestic business.

Love is Blind
Saturday, November 19, 2005 | AY

This Friday, Love is Blind, will hit multiplexes across the State. ‘Love is Blind’ will be released in Mumbai 15 days later and by next month, it will be shown overseas for Non-Resident Gujaratis. Director Vipul Sharma says that their target audience is the multiplex crowd, that’s why they have given it an English name. The film has Sonali Kulkarni (of Dil Chahta Hai fame) and Sandeep Patel, brother of Dewang Patel, in lead roles. The cinematography has been done by Darshan Dave, who was the cameraman in the Oscar-nominated film Bhavni Bhavai (1980). Set in Ahmedabad, the musical love story is about two people, played by Patel and Kulkarni, whose interest in art brings them together. This movie is the first directorial venture for Sharma who has done dramatics from Gujarat University. Made on a budget of around Rs 1.26 crore and completed in 27 days, Love is Blind has been shot at various locales in the State and in Mumbai.

S Kumar's new project in Gujarat
Saturday, November 19, 2005 | AY

The Rs 860-crore textile and apparel company, S Kumars is planning to invest Rs 130 crore to set up a plant for manufacturing high-value cotton fibre, in Vapi, Gujarat. The company is expected to appoint Franz Martin Haemmerle, an Austrian cotton technocrat, chief executive officer of the unit. All the products will be exported to markets in the developed countries including the US and Europe. The unit is also outsourcing its designer head and is going to have an European to head its marketing in the continent. This will be S Kumars’ fifth strategic business unit after the ones for home textiles, ready-to-wear, consumer textiles and worsted suitings. The new plant’s high-end products will have a price tag of $100 to $300 per shirt. An ‘average’ shirt in the international market costs about $30. The new plant is part of S Kumars’ Rs 400-crore plans spread over five years.

24-hour helpline by NGO
Thursday, November 17, 2005 | AY

Mahila Vikas Gruh (MVG), an NGO will soon launch a 24-hour helpline. The helpline will enable women facing harassment in family to seek advice from MVG volunteers over telephone. Set up in 1937, MVG is working for the welfare of women from places like Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Patan and Morbi, besides Ahmedabad. But when the helpline is put in place, the NGO would be able to take complaints from needy women from all over the State. Besides the helpline, the NGO will put in place volunteers in different districts, who can rush to the needy and provide help. Till now, it has formed more than 70 groups across the State. The groups consist of social workers who will be responsible to reach the victim at the earliest. They will counsel the victim and will take necessary action that includes registering of complaint or taking the victim to the nearest MVG centre. The NGO will also organise a workshop where the volunteers will be trained in how to deal with such cases.

Effort laid down for a cleaner Ahmedabad
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 | AY

The development of the Sabarmati riverfront will help this principal city of Gujarat acquire a cleaner environment and open up more space in the heart of Ahmedabad. The filling and construction on the banks of the river, which bisects the city, has been a disputed issue since the concept was mooted two decades ago. The Sabarmati River Front Development Project (SRFD), formed by the municipal corporation, oversees construction on an 11.5-km stretch on both banks of the river along the city. The character of the city is determined by its skyline. The riverfront development project will give Ahmedabad an opportunity to have a new skyline. Rs.2.12 billion had already been spent on the Rs.12 billion project.

Disaster Management Authority of the state applauded
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 | AY

Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), today praised the model developed by Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) for meeting natural and man made disasters in the State. The former Army Chief said the 2001 Kutch earthquake experience of the GSDMA will help other States in developing disaster management systems. Mr Modi emphasised on setting up well equipped communications system for timely and adequate help and safety measures in time of crisis. He said the Centre should try to study the model 'Owners' driven reconstruction' developed by the Gujarat Government.

Cricket schools in Gujarat
Monday, November 14, 2005 | AY

Former opening batsman and Gujarat Cricket Association chief coach Aunshuman Gaekwad has announced setting up Aunshuman Gaekwad Schools of Cricket (AGSC) in the state. These AGSC centres will groom budding cricketers into mature (players) with total focus on three primary aspects - fitness, skill and discipline - necessary for any sports. The centres will be equipped with highly trained coaches from level 1 to 3 as per coaching standards of the BCCI. Besides this, regular visits by physios and trainers will maintain the highest standards at these centres.

German dictator out of Gujarat textbooks
Sunday, November 13, 2005 | AY

The glorification of Adolf Hitler in Class IX social science textbooks in Gujarat schools, where the German dictator was called a 'nationalist' and a 'socialist' has come to an end with a circular of the education department stating that the ten-page chapter in “Present Currents of World History” now “ceases to be a part of the syllabus”. The letter was written by Gujarat’s Higher Secondary Board secretary to all concerned. The withdrawal was declared a day after Israel's consul general Daniel Zohar Zonshire, who was on a visit to the state, indicated in Vadodara that he would write to the Gujarat government protesting against the glorification of Hitler.

Correction of error made textbooks
Saturday, November 12, 2005 | AY

The Gujarat government has appointed a new committee headed by a senior Central School representative stationed in Gandhinagar to revise all the English medium textbooks from class 8 to 12. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan assistant commissioner Sathyamurthy and a group of Central School teachers will be looking into errors related to content, grammar and concept. New textbooks will be available by February 2006. The problem of errors in content and grammar arose because all the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks have to be first translated into Gujarati with necessary modifications, taking into account the local milieu, and then retranslated into English.

Audio piracy in Gujarat increasing
Saturday, November 12, 2005 | AY

Gujarat is one of the few states which does not have a single prosecution in piracy of audio cassettes and CDs. Supercop Julio Ribeiro made a presentation on curbing piracy, before Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying that it could kill the Indian music industry, as it did in neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Three important points were being put forward for consideration. Firstly, it was suggested to the chief minister that an amendment should be introduced in the Pasa and offenders of audio piracy should also be included. Secondly, a special audio video piracy cell should be created in each district and instructions issued to all commissioners and superintendents of police to undertake raids under the Copyright Act, to check piracy. Thirdly, to focus on areas where manufacturers of duplicate cassettes and CDs are present. There are about 500 cases of piracy which are pending in Gujarat.

Thanks to technology small towns enjoy fresh films
Saturday, November 12, 2005 | AY

Movie buffs in small towns of Gujarat need no longer envy their metro counterparts when it comes to watching freshly-released movies. Exhibiters in Gujarat are now tying up with a Mumbai-based company for telecasting films as soon as they are released in Mumbai. The simultaneous release would be possible using the digital satellite transmission method. This will do away with the traditional celluloid films whose reels are physically distributed to theatres across the country. Digital technology is set to put celluloid in the cans of film history. The film would be downloded by the exhibitor, after which he would be able to telecast it. In Gujarat, eight cinema hall owners have tied up with UFO company of Mumbai to utilise satellite techonology. Of the eight, five were in Saurashtra region. Reliance Infocomm, Zee telefilms, and three more companies are slated to offer digital satellite technology.

Alternative energy can boom India's economy
Tuesday, November 8, 2005 | AY

India has the largest deposit of coal that cannot be mined. If the technology to make gas out of coal, implemented successfully, India will surpass China in economic boom in the next ten years. According to media reports, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (NSI:ONGC), India's largest oil and gas producer, on Thursday signed an agreement with world's largest coal producer Coal India Ltd for gasification of unminable coal reserves in the country. The 50:50 collaboration will use technology from Russia's Skochinksy Institute of Mining to convert underground coal into methane gas that can be used as fuel in industries, for supplementing availability of domestic natural gas. Even if 5 per cent of coal reserves in Gujarat was converted into gas, it would yield 200 million standard cubic meters per day of gas for 25 years. However, such a gas would contain only 24 per cent methane as compared to 98 per cent in natural gas. It would also have only 10-30 per cent of the calorific value of natural gas.

Prevention of female foeticide
Monday, November 7, 2005 | AY

Realising that the country may be heading for a "deep crisis" due to female foeticide, government has decided to set up surveillance cells and carry out sting operations to prevent the misuse of ultrasound technology for detecting the sex of the unborn child. Stating that female foeticide had emerged as a serious issue, despite the existence of Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques Act (PNDT), there had not been any significant change in the scenario. Thus, government is setting up surveillance cells. Initially these will be set up in five states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab. As part of the drive to strengthen implemenation of PNDT Act, sting operations would be carried out. Stating that declining sex ration was not just a health and medical issue, he said it was a social issue and all community and religious leaders should take part in the fight against the menace.

Mudra gets IOC facility
Monday, November 7, 2005 | AY

IOC, with a 54 million-tonne refining capacity, will set up a four-million-barrel storage and crude blending facility at Mundra in Gujarat. The Mundra facility would store 4 million barrels of crude oil and would be commissioned by April next year. The company will blend various varieties of crude there and then transport it to its refineries. About 60 per cent of crude oil being used in India is sour crude but the desulphurisation capacity is not sufficient. Apart from the flexibility advantage, the capability to handle sour varieties also provides a company with cost-advantage since sweet crude is more expensive. IOC processes about 35-40 varieties of crude oil. It is upgrading its refineries in order to enable them to handle all types of crude, particularly of the heavy and sour varieties. The difference in price of sweet and sour crude has risen to as much as $12 a barrel from being a low of few cents some years back.

WorldSpace available in Ahmedabad
Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY

WorldSpace Satellite Radio, one of the world leaders in satellite-based digital radio services, today announced subscription availability in Ahmedabad, India. Ahmedabad is the seventh largest city in India with a population of nearly four million, including over two million consumers who fall into WorldSpace's targeted listener base. The launch represents WorldSpace's eighth city
serviced in India, resulting in market distribution available to more than 50 million people across that country, including nearly 29 million from the top three economic segments. This market entry also adds 42 stores into WorldSpace's retail points of presence.

New drugs for malaria introduced
Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY

The Government has decided to introduce a new combination drug for chloroquine-resistant malaria in areas where the parasite has started showing resistance to the commonly used drug. The new drug combines sulfadoxine pyremethamine (SP) and artesunate. It will be introduced this year. The World Health Organisation has also recommended use of combination therapy, chloroquine-resistant malaria has been encountered in 19 states which include those in the north-east, Orissa, parts of Maharasthra, Gujarat, Chhatisgarh, and Andhra Pardesh. The new combination therapy would be given as a three-day course. The therapy is effective against both "vivax" and "falciparum" (when brain is affected) malaria. The new therapy was not likely to give rise to drug resistance in the parasite as the combination drug acts on multiple targets.

Goal keeper in trouble
Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY

Gujarat goal-keeper George Mathew was shown red card and barred from playing two matches when he hit referee C Krishnan for showing a yellow card in a Santhosh Trophy football match. In the dying minutes of the Gujarat-Tamil Nadu match, the referee showed yellow card to Mathew for intentionally possessing the ball and wasting time. The angry goalkeeper hit the referee and walked out, which prompted the referee to show red card. R Prabhakara Reddy (Andhra), George Mathew (Gujarat) and Silon Syngkren (Meghalaya) were shown the red cards after five matches in the tournament.

Gujarat gets ready for fifth one-day international
Wednesday, November 2, 2005 | AY

The Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) is also making all arrangements for the fifth one-day international on November 6 to be played at the Motera Stadium on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, the state's principal city. Security arrangements have also been put in place,and according to informed sources, at least 1300 security personnel are on standby for doing duty during the match. The Indian and Sri Lankan teams will arrive in Ahmedabad on November 4. The National Selectors are also expected in the city to select the team for the sixth and seventh matches to be played at Rajkot and Vadodara. The GCA has also taken the precaution of insuring the fifth one dayer with Rs.3 crore as public liability and Rs.10 lakh insurance for each Sri Lankan player.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looks after the insurance of Indian players.

Muslims in Godhra mistrust the police
Tuesday, November 1, 2005 | AY

Muslims in Godhra presented a memorandum to the Panchmahals Collector seeking a transfer of investigation of the Friday night blast to some other agency including the CBI. The memorandum alleged that police was not listening to some eye-witness accounts and were instead investigating in a one-sided manner. The memorandum condemned the incident in strong words, terming it an attempt by anti-nationals to disturb the fragile communal peace in the country. The community leaders attributed their mistrust in police to the statements that were made immediately after the blast connecting it to earlier incidents of post-Godhra riot bombs in Delol, Melol and other places.