Gujarati News: April 2007

Test flight touches down in Surat
Monday, April 30, 2007 | AY

After the inaugural flight of A-319 jet from Surat to Delhi, which was supposed to be on May 1, was grounded, the airbus of the Indian touched down at the Surat airport at 11 am on Sunday, making it the first commercial passenger aircraft to land in Surat. This test flight, which had no passengers on board but Airports Authority of India officials and a flight crew, primarily aimed at testing radar and landing systems at airport. The ongoing construction activity on runway and at the passenger terminal was temporarily suspended for facilitating landing and take off. Normal construction work and work on the runway lights will resume from Monday after the Director General of Civil Aviation instructed that the airport needs to be completed by May 6.

Gujarat mangoes reach USA
Sunday, April 29, 2007 | AY

Americans will finally get a taste of the famous Indian Alphonso mangoes after a gap of 18-years, as the first batch of the fruit is ready to be shipped to the US following necessary regulatory clearances. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) received a green signal for the export of the mangoes last night. The initial consignment primarily consists of mangoes from orchards in Gujarat and Maharashtra. There is no import duty on mangoes exported to the US. Demand for mangoes in the US is strong, with a market size estimated at about 25,000 tonnes.

Love is Blind gets best Gujarati film
Saturday, April 28, 2007 | AY

Gujarat government adjudges Gujarati film "Love is Blind" as the best film of 2005-06. The film has also got eight other awards. Sejal Sarju has been adjudged as the second best film. Sejal Sarju has got six awards in all. Love is Blind has got awards : Best Director- Vipul Sharma, best playback singer- Shaan, Best Music Director- Kardam Thakar, Best Photography- Darshan Dave, Best script- Moolraj Rajda, Best Dialogue- Moolraj Rajda, Best Sound Recordist-Hetendra Ghosh and special Acting Jhalak Thakkar and Mayur Vakani.

Govt hospitals take E-asy route with HMIS
Thursday, April 26, 2007 | AY

After successfully implementing a pilot project in Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, the Government now plans to introduce the computerised Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) in all 25 district-level hospitals along with six major hospitals across Gujarat. The networking and infrastructure work under HMIS is almost complete in as many as 11 other government-run hospitals including Vadodara’s Jamnabai Hospital and also in the Rajkot, Nadiad and Sola hospitals. After going hi-tech under HMIS, all these government-run hospitals will be connected with the State Health Commissionerate and the Secretariat in Gandhinagar. The various software modules prepared under the system relate to hospital administration, patients’ medical history data, number of indoor/outdoor patients registered daily, laboratory tests, accounting and billing of drug purchases and inventory, patients’ complaints and their redressal, blood bank, trauma/nursing care, biomedical waste management, human resources, linen management and medical equipment maintenance. HIMS has been developed by data Consultancy Services (TCS) on Microsoft.NET technology with SQL Server as the data store, with its software being Menu-driven.

Gujarat on a drive to check falling sex ratio
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 | AY

With Gujarat earning the dubious distinction of having the fourth lowest sex ratio in India, the state government has resorted to stringent measures to check female infanticide. Doctors will now have to certify that the medical waste being disposed off by their hospitals, does not contain traces of aborted female foetuses. Health department officials will conduct random checks of the daily trash being discarded by hospitals. Professional agencies, clearing the medical waste, will also be told to ‘keep their eyes open’. Health Minister Ashok Bhatt told a meeting of top law and medical experts that doctors prescribing abortion tablets, had been asked to maintain a register to keep an account of every tablet and patient under their treatment to check misuse of the drug and other similar injections for medical termination of pregnancy. The authorities had received several complaints that a tablet that actually costs Rs10 to Rs15 was being sold for Rs200 by unregistered chemists.

'Eating out revolution' causing heartburn epidemic
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 | AY

A latest study has found that 71 per cent of the adult population in major Indian cities suffers from heartburn. The study was conducted by Health Care Welfare Society (HCWS) in eight cities — Ahmedabad, the four metros, Lucknow, Bhopal and Hyderabad. While 10 per cent blamed spicy pizzas and curries to be the major culprits, stress (7 per cent), lack of sleep (6 per cent) and long working hours (9 per cent) were pointed out to be the other factors amplifying incidents of heartburn. Characterised by a burning sensation in the chest, heartburn occurs when the stomach acids come in contact with the oesophagus. The survey said heartburn is becoming the single most important factor behind the rise in gastro oesophageal reflux disease.

NDDB to help in reviving Kutch Diary
Monday, April 23, 2007 | AY

The Kutch dairy, which had closed down after the 2001 earthquake, is being revived by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). However, on the other hand, famous breed of Banni buffaloes, the major source of milk in Kutch region, is disappearing rapidly. Concerned about the conservation of this indigenous breed of Gujarat NDDB will take up the conservation project of Banni buffaloes at a later stage. Revival of Kutch and Saurashtra’s seven co-operatives was handed over to the NDDB by the state government after these co-operatives suffered a major setback because of the earthquake in 2001. Buffaloes of the Banni region are famous for their high milk yield and its capability to survive in the hard climate of the desert region. These buffaloes yield 15-20 litres of milk per day and are priced anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000 per buffalo. These buffaloes survive on Prosopis juliflora locally known as Gando Bawal. The state government has ordered that these weeds be burnt as it harms the agriculture land. So the buffaloes do not get the green fodder.

Ahmedabad will be world’s best city by 2020
Sunday, April 22, 2007 | AY

State Urban Development Minister I K Jadeja, who performed bhoomipujan ceremony for the first phase of the Rs 250 crore storm water drainage line in Amraiwadi area, said that by year 2020, Ahmedabad would become the best city in the world. He said that this would be made possible with the creation of modern infrastructure. The Minister claimed that the advanced planning on the part of the State Government during the Urban Development Year 2005, proved to be a major facilitator in submitting project proposals under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which led to Ahmedabad getting highest amount cleared for its projects. On this occasion, Mayor Amit Shah said that capital projects worth Rs 1,300 crore are being implemented in the city for the past 15 months, of which 13 projects of road paving costing Rs 80 crore and 12 under pass projects costing Rs 180 crore were going on in full swing.

IIM Ahmedabad defers admissions indefinitely
Saturday, April 21, 2007 | AY

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad announced that the release of admission list has been postponed till further order. The six IIM in the country on April 12 decided to go ahead with the admissions despite the Central Government order to halt the process. He had said that all the six IIMs would release the list as per the normal quota. Admissions to the seats which are to be increased to accommodate the OBC students would be kept in abeyance. They would be filled after the order of the Central Government or the Supreme Court. But the admission process would be completed by June 30.

Indian Pitta bird in Gujarat forest
Thursday, April 19, 2007 | AY

With the onset of the scorching summer, the forests of Gujarat will soon reverberate with melodious tunes of a colourful stocky bird, the Indian Pitta. The colourful bird, which breeds in the Himalayas and north east India and during winters in south India and Sri Lanka, will start coming to the forests of Gujarat by the end of April or the first week of May. The Indian Pitta, whose zoological name is "Pitta Brachyura", is a stunning, brightly coloured bird having a buff crown, thick black eye strip and white throat and neck. The upper parts are green, with a blue tail and the lower part buff, with bright red on the lower belly. The chirp of these birds can generally be heard in the morning and in the dusk. Because of the timings of their calls, these birds are also called as six-o-clock birds in Tamil.

Gujarat govt to set up hospitals on jail premises
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 | AY

The Gujarat government has decided to set up full-fledged hospitals on the premises of the state’s seven major jails. The move came in view of the growing number of incidents in which convicts escaped on way to hospitals. A special fund of Rs11 million is being allocated to pay salaries to 66 doctors and paramedical staff in these hospitals. The state administration was rapped by the high court recently in a case in which a jail inmate had escaped from a government hospital while the policemen on duty were sitting outside his ward. Among other measures being planned by the home department, a jammer system to deactivate cell phones will be fitted in all jails to block misuse of mobiles smuggled into the prisons.

10 maternity homes blacklisted
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 | AY

Ten maternity hospitals in Rajkot are under state government scanner for an abnormally low sex ratio of less than 600 girls delivered per thousand boys. Rajkot is the first city where the government has completed the hospitalwise sex-ratio from birth registration figures between 1996-2006 to find out wh e t h e r sex determination was used to aid female foeticide. The sex ratio of other hospitals ranges from 700-900 girls per thousand boys. Here, it has been found that government maternity homes have high sex-ratio ranging between 8 0 0 - 9 5 0 while the private hospitals have a little less. There are certain hospitals, however, where the sex ratio has plummeted significantly in the past years.

Welspun Gujarat bags orders worth Rs 1089cr
Monday, April 16, 2007 | AY

Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Limited the flagship company of the U.S.$ 1 billion Welspun Group of India, has bagged pipeline orders worth Rs. 1089 Crores (USD 250 mn.) from prestigious companies in North and South America for the supply of line pipes in India and Overseas. These projects are to be executed for both LSAW and HSAW Pipes. These orders take Welspun's current pending order book position to approximately Rs. 4000 crores, including the orders executed in the last quarter of FY 07.

SAIL to provide consultancy for Rs 100cr power plants
Sunday, April 15, 2007 | AY

SAIL has bagged the order for providing consultancy services for two Power Plants of Messrs Gujarat NRE Coke Limited (GNCL) to be set up at a cost of around Rs. 100 crores. These power plants will be set up at Dharwad, Karnataka and Bhachau, Gujarat and will be commissioned within 24 months. Sailcon, the consultancy division of SAIL will provide design, engineering and consultancy services towards setting up these two plants with total capacity of 30-MW. GNCL is India's largest non-captive manufacturer of met coke, with operating coking coal mines in Australia. SAILCON of SAIL, is the single-window provider of design, engineering, technical, management and training consultancy and services in iron & steel and related areas.

Gurukul Online Learning Solutions
Saturday, April 14, 2007 | AY

Gurukul Online Learning Solutions today launched jobs and careers centre in Ahmedabad. Announcing this CEO of Gurukul Shailesh Mehta said that this is to provide offline assistance to the people taking up professional skill development courses of the online learning centre. in Vadodara, Surat, Anand, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, Surendranagar and Mehsana.

Gandhidham school begins new chapter
Thursday, April 12, 2007 | AY

Gandhidham-based Kakubhai Parikh Education Society has signed up with non-profit organisation, Global Indian Foundation, Singapore, under which a CBSE school run by KPE society in Gandhidham will switch to a new system of teaching set by the Foundation from April 5. The school will also be renamed Global Indian International School (GIIS), Gandhidham. The school will follow the NCLB (No child left behind) motto. In a period of 40 minutes, 15 minutes will be reserved for feedback from students. The classrooms will be subject-wise rather than standard-wise. This means, instead of the teachers moving from classroom to classroom, the students will now move from classroom to classroom. GIIS, Gandhidham, would have compulsory speech and drama classes which will be conducted by teachers from India and abroad.

Guj Tourism Corporation to sell properties, land
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 | AY

The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) has decided to sell properties, including resorts and parcels of land owned by it. TCGL Chairman Kamlesh Patel said this is being done as a part of re-organisation of the company, which was approved by the state government through two resolutions, one on March 9, 1994 and other on July 10, 2006. The built-up properties intended for sale are Palace Beach Resort and Veraval Tourist Bungalow (both in Junagadh district), Hotel Sumenu at Palitana (Bhavnagar), Tourist Complete Valthan (Surat) Dwarka Guest House at Dwarka (Jamnagar) and Vafeteria located at sector-28, Gandhinagar.

Shampoo your hair with buttermilk
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 | AY

Gujarat's third largest dairy, Sabar Dairy is coming up with a shampoo prepared from buttermilk and a carbonated whey drink for youngsters. The dairy officials say that apart from giving your hair the radiant look, the buttermilk shampoo will also have a high protein value. Managing director of Sabar Dairy, Mayur Vyas, adds they started research and development for the shampoo after they realised that much of the buttermilk churned out in the dairy was sour and not fit for human consumption. At present, shelf life of the shampoo is 20 days and they want to increase it to one year before introducing it in market.

Gujarat asks Centre to return 208 mw
Monday, April 9, 2007 | AY

The Gujarat government on Sunday said the closure of some central power units had led to a shortage of electricity in the state and asked the Centre to return 208 mw, which it had diverted to Maharashtra. State minister for energy and petrochemicals Saurabh Dalal said the power situation in the state was affected due to the closure of some of the central units. Under such circumstances, the Centre should give back 208 mw to Gujarat, which was diverted to Maharashtra a few months ago, after it faced power crisis. Sources at Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, the state power distribution company, said there was a gap of 2,500 mw between demand and supply.

`Project Lion' at Gir sanctuary
Sunday, April 8, 2007 | AY

The Gujarat Government announced "Project Lion" for the protection and preservation of the big cats. Announcing the project, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who visited, the administrative headquarters of the Gir sanctuary, said the State Government would earmark Rs. 40 crore for the long-term preservation and protection of the lions. It would appoint immediately at least 300 more "vanmitras," (friends of forests), the nomenclature he coined for the beat guards, to keep constant vigil. He urged the Centre to sanction funds for the protection of the endangered species in Gir on the lines of the "Project Tiger." An autonomous body, "Gujarat State Lion Conservation Society," would be formed to implement the project and also help draw up plans for long-term protection of lions and the sanctuary through people's participation.

Gujarat to develop Navlakhi Port
Saturday, April 7, 2007 | AY

To facilitate the export of salt developed by 'Agariyas' or salt pan workers in Gujarat, the state government is planning to develop the Navlakhi Port near little Rann of Kutch. This port will also save the huge transportation costs involved in exporting the salt produced here. The Chief Minister said his government was serious about improving the lives over a lakh Agariyas living in the coastal areas of Kutch and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat. Modi said the government would be conducting three and six month courses in industrial training institutes where the Agariya youths will be trained in latest technology which will help in improving the quality of salt.

Heritage tourism drive
Thursday, April 5, 2007 | AY

In its attempt to promote heritage tourism and attract more domestic as well as foreign tourists to Gujarat, the government has come out with a special “Heritage Tourism Incentive Package — 2007” scheme under which private parties will be encouraged to convert historical properties like palaces, forts and havelis into heritage hotels. Under the incentive package worked out by the State Industries Department, prospective developers, who want to convert heritage properties built before 1950 into hotels, will be exempted from paying electricity duty and luxury tax for five years, and also from the payment of stamp duty on land purchase. To avail these incentives, a heritage hotel must have minimum of 10 well-furnished rooms - 50 % of them with air conditioned facilities. The other facilities, the prospective developers would have to provide in heritage hotels, include attached bathrooms in all the hotel rooms, parking slots, restaurants and dining rooms for tourists, communication and information gadgets like fax machines, internet and TV and security arrangements for tourists.

First non-stop Ahmedabad-London flight
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 | AY

The first ever direct flight from the city to London took off with 226 passengers on board. The Jet Airways flight 9W 125 took off from the Sardar Patel international airport Ahmedabad, on Tuesday afternoon. This is a special aircraft which has been configured for international operations with 30 seats in premier class and 196 in economy class with in-flight entertainment. The passengers were also thrilled at the prospect of having an option to eat Gujarati cuisine during their flight to London.

CM Modi lays foundation of Rs 200-crore Kotambi plant
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 | AY

Gujarat will be the hub for producing energy through technology transfer in India, said Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He was speaking while laying the foundation stone of France-based company Areva T&D’s second power transformer plant at Kotambi village in Waghodia taluka of Vadodara district. The company aims at facilitating efficient transmission of electricity to industrial customers. The plant will start working from December 2008. Modi said that the Central government has not made any provision for generation of energy through the technology transformers.

Links between ancient Indian and Roman civilisations
Monday, April 2, 2007 | AY

Scientists from India's National Institute of Oceanography have found artefacts near Dwarka island, off the coast of west Indian state Gujarat, indicating links between ancient Indian and Roman civilisations. During excavation, they found artefacts dating back 37 500 BC which indicate that India's maritime history is much older and Indians used to travel by sea even before Vasco da Gama touched Indian shores. The institute's marine archaeology department considered the find to be a milestone in marine history. Scientists studying millennial shoreline changes on the western coast of India, in Gujarat's Gulf of Kutch, have also discovered several stone anchors dating back 2000 years.

IIM-Ahmedabad rules out OBC quota
Sunday, April 1, 2007 | AY

The prestigious Indian Institute of Management of Ahmedabad on Saturday decided not to take any decision on the 27 percent quota for the Other Backward Caste (OBC) students in admission to the post graduate management courses. The Board of Governors of the institute that met today decided to do away with quota for the present session if the apex court's stay is not vacated within two weeks time. The apex court on Thursday had called on the Government to provide more accurate data on numbers and the educational status of targeted lower caste groups -- labeled as "Other Backward Classes" (OBCs) before moving ahead with new quotas.