Gujarati News: September 2006

Tallest hotel in Ahmedabad
Saturday, September 30, 2006 | AY

The plans of Shree Raj Tours and Travels for setting up a 42-storey hotel, India’s tallest, in Ahmedabad, are taking shape. The promoters have initiated talks with leading international players like Accor and its Novo Hotel, Four Seasons, Shelton and Sheraton, for construction, design and management of the Rs 350-crore project. This will be tallest hotel, taller than the existing 39-storey hotel in Mumbai. The first 20 storeys will house facilities including shopping centres, the largest spa and conventional centre in the country and other facilities. The remaining floors will have about 500 rooms. Shree Raj Tours and Travels reported a turnover of Rs 200 crore last financial year and expects to push this up to Rs 300 crore this fiscal.

IIM-A implements quota
Saturday, September 30, 2006 | AY

The Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad on Friday approved a plan envisaging additional seats and faculty in order to expand in the next three years. The central government has asked them to prepare a detailed project report on how will IIM-A expand its facility to implement 27 per cent OBC reservation within the stipulated three-year's time. The facilities include additional seats, infrastructure faculty and other resources. IIM-A would soon be appealing to Gujarat government to provide around 40 acres of land to build the new infrastructure. They will also ask for one time grant of around Rs 80 crore from the central government to build the necessary facilities.

TCS Gujarat SEZ to start soon
Saturday, September 30, 2006 | AY

The 20-acre Special Economic Zone being developed by the IT behemoth Tata Consultancy Services in Gandhinagar district will start functioning in about 18 months from now and emerge as a showcase for information technology destination in India. The company is, at present, working to develop one-lakh square meters in two blocks located just opposite InfoCity near the State Capital. This facility would be 2,200-seater and work for applications development, software, Information Technology and IT-enabled Services (ITeS).

Satellite channel for students
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 | AY

Gujarat government will launch ‘Vande Gujarat’, a satellite television channel for students of class VI to class X. The channel will be launched during the next week. Educational programmes will be on various subjects such as science and mathematics will be aired on the channel. Students will also be able to interact with the experts through phone in programmes. The channel will be launched by BISAG (Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics), Department of Science and Technology. The channel has got the nod from chief minister Narendra Modi.

Folk dance forms to promote tourism
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 | AY

The colourful garba and dandiya raas, traditional folk dances that symbolise navaratri in Gujarat, have become a platform to promote the State as a tourist destination. Recently a mega cultural event involving over 660 artists including from foreign countries displayed their dance form. The festival was preceded by a seminar titled `Shakti' at Ahmedabad in which Sudha Murthy, wife of Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys, addressed a gathering of bureaucrats and women journalists. A village tourism model that will showcase its culture and arts is on the anvil. This will allow artisans to promote their craft and earn a profit without losing out to middlemen. The `Vibrant Gujarat' summit held in 2003, 2005 and 2007 will focus on the resident Gujarati population but the 2006 and 2008 summit will be devoted to the non-resident Gujaratis.

Garba can boost Gujarat tourism
Monday, September 25, 2006 | AY

Garba, the world's longest devotional dance, can effectively become the focal point to promote tourism in the State. Hailing the Gujarati spirit of entrepreneurship, the festival would lighten people's troubles and usher in success, hope and happiness for them. About 100 artistes from across the world, including Israel, Indonesia, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka as well as from states of Chhattisgarh, Aasam, Manipur, Kerala, Haryana, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal and Mizoram will take part in the festival.

'Vanilla Royale' released by Amul
Monday, September 25, 2006 | AY

The Rs 3,700 crore Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the products of 2.9 million milk producers of Gujarat under the brand name Amul, has launched a new flavour of ice creams 'Vanilla Royale'. GCMMF had taken this initiative to help 1,500 vanilla farmers of Kochi who are engaged in procuring and processing quality natural vanilla as per international standards. With this launch, Amul has become the first Indian brand to use natural vanilla in ice-cream. Amul's Vanilla Royale is available in a 500 ml paper cup priced at Rs 45 across the country.

Bomb-threat on Rajdhani Express
Sunday, September 24, 2006 | AY

Bomb disposal squads and police have rushed to the Kalupur railway station near Ahmedabad following an anonymous call saying a bomb was planted in the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express this evening. The train, which was scheduled to leave from the station at 1730 hours has been delayed by an hour as officials are inspecting the coaches for any suspicious objects.

Essar Oil's first crude consignment in Gujarat
Saturday, September 23, 2006 | AY

Essar Oil Ltd, (EOL) on Friday received its first crude cargo of one million barrel at the Vadinar port in Gujarat. The crude is Saharan blend, which is suitable for refining in Essar Oil's refinery. The company is also is reported to have contracted second cargo from Vitol, which is expected to arrive towards the end of this month from West Asia. Both cargos are of sweet crude. This is a major milestone in the commissioning of its refinery project.

Cyclone warning in Gujarat
Saturday, September 23, 2006 | AY

A warning has been sounded along the coastal areas of Gujarat following the development of a cyclonic circulation about 400 km southwest of Porbandar in the Arabian Sea. Fishermen and people living in the coastal areas have been warned and village panchayats and municipalities alerted. Meteorological department officials said cyclonic circulation is moving in north direction.

Amendment to Gujarat Anti-Conversion Act passed
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 | AY

The Gujarat assembly on Tuesday passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill (Amendment) Bill, 2006, as the Narendra Modi government courted controversy by clubbing Jains and Buddhists with Hindus, in the same manner as Shias and Sunnis come under Islam and Protestants and Catholics under Christianity. Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the Bill, said Jainism and Buddhism were construed as parts of Hinduism and that persons of these denominations do not need to take an official permission to convert to Hinduism and vice-versa.

Welspun-Gujarat wins orders worth Rs 700cr
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 | AY

Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren has bagged orders worth Rs 700 crore ($152 million) for the supply of pipes for oil and gas applications. The LSAW and spiral pipe orders have been bagged largely from the US (Rs 450 crore) and Iran (Rs 200 crore). The new orders take Welspun's current pending order book position to around Rs 1,800 crore.

Gujarat media club launched
Monday, September 18, 2006 | AY

Gujarat Media Club, a club of journalists associated with all forms of media has been launched. This is the first press club in the country which has been registered under the Indian Companies Act as a not for profit organization. Generally clubs elsewhere are registered either as a trust or a cooperative society. The idea is to have a club to provide journalists better resources for their professional work, aspirant journalists to have a place to get better idea of the profession and to help veteran journalists since there is no social security concept in the media. The club has also launched its website which will be developed as a full fledged channel for different activities. Members will have access to its database.

Three institutes await UGC nod
Sunday, September 17, 2006 | AY

Three institutes in the State are likely to get the status of deemed universities if a Gujarat Government proposal, currently being fine-tuned, is okayed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The three institutes, of which two are based in Ahmedabad, are LD College of Engineering, Morbi College of Engineering and the Ahmedabad Education Society. The State Education Department will shortly send a proposal to the UGC seeking deemed university status to the two technical institutions—LD College of Engineering, Ahmedabad and Morbi Engineering College. Also, the department is mulling over clubbing together all existing government engineering colleges in the state under one deemed university.

IIM (A) eagerly waiting for Lalu
Sunday, September 17, 2006 | AY

Management students in India's top business school will now learn the secret of Lalu Yadav's success, as the Railway Minister gets ready to don professor's role at IIM (Ahmedabad). Students of the Post Graduate Programme in management for Executives (PGPX) are finalising the list of questions they plan to shoot at Lalu. Apart from this classroom discussion with about a 100 students, Lalu will deliver a public lecture as part of IIM (A) annual lecture series.

Cong to bring in no-confidence motion
Sunday, September 17, 2006 | AY

The Opposition Congress would bring in a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat when the two-day monsoon session of the State Assembly gets underway on September 18. The government has failed miserably in tackling the recent floods in Surat and other parts of south and central Gujarat. It has also failed in countering the spread of diseases like Chikungunya and Leptospirosis, which have infected many people across the state.

Mystery virus a threat to the state
Saturday, September 16, 2006 | AY

Team from National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday to review the increasing number of chikun gunia-like mysterious viral fever cases being reported in city. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials sent samples of 11 patients suffering from the unidentified viral fever to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing. This fever has sent alarm bells ringing in the medical fraternity as it rapidly leads to nervous system complications, mostly fatal, especially in the elderly people. Afflicted with this particular virus, the patients first complained of chikun gunia-like symptoms namely fever, muscle and joint pain but within days, developed rashes, low platelets, kidney complications, suffered from nervous system complications and finally had to be put on ventilator.

Notice to government on unqualified teachers
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 | AY

Gujarat High Court has issued notices to the state education secretary and Director of Primary Education seeking their views on a survey report that more than half of teachers in schools were not qualified. Most of the schools don’t follow norms regarding the payment of salary and teachers were being paid salaries ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000.It was also contended that the entire sector was plagued with rampant corruption as government officials who are entrusted with the task of inspecting and checking the records of the recognised schools were not doing their jobs. Another contention was that schools charged high fees but did not employ qualified teachers and did not pay them salaries as per the law.. The petition has also sought direction from the court to enforce the regulation regarding payment of salary as per the statutory provisions.

Kutch carnival to attract tourists
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 | AY

Aiming to attract tourists to the desert district of Kutch, the Gujarat government will next month organise a carnival that will feature folk artists playing music and performing dances on the streets. The one-day Kutch Carnival, to be held Oct 7 in the Kutch headquarters Bhuj, will be yet another addition to the festivities the government has planned for 2006 - declared the Tourism Year in Gujarat. The carnival, part of the three-day, government-sponsored Sharadotsav in Kutch, will display local dances, mainly Garba, besides performance of musical troupes of different communities from the heterogeneous district.

Online tutions doing good business
Monday, September 11, 2006 | AY

The concept of online tutoring entered India about three years ago thanks to the growing demand of English, maths and science teachers in the US. But it’s only now that Gujarat has got a taste of this web-based interactive teaching method. Private companies have entered this arena and signed up 400 tutors in Gujarat alone to provide online tutoring. The teacher only needs to be a graduate with good English communication skills. There are a handful of tests that he has to pass to become an online tutor. To top it, he can make up to Rs 60,000 a month. The software is based on Web 2.0 AJAX technology to create a learning system called the Lesson Board.

Gujarat tops in eye donation
Sunday, September 10, 2006 | AY

Despite several campaigns to promote eye donation, only 20,000 eyes are collected every year throughout the country, of which Gujarat accounts for around 6,000. Infrastructure is a problem as there are only 400 eye banks in the whole country and just ten in Gujarat, with five of them in Ahmedabad alone. Talking about the high rate of eye donations in Gujarat, Dr Nagpal of the Ahmedabad Retina Foundation said Gujaratis are known for their benevolence.

VHP founder member K K Shastri dies
Sunday, September 10, 2006 | AY

The only surviving founder member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),Keshavram Kashiram Shastri, today died at his residence. The veteran leader was a well-known scholar and had written about 240 different books and 1,500 essays, most of which were in Gujarati, Hindi and Sanskrit. He also held several posts in educational institutions in the State including being an associate professor for both Gujarati and Sanskrit at B D Women's College in the 1960s.

CSMCRI approached to develop bio-diesel powered cars
Saturday, September 9, 2006 | AY

Global and Indian automobile giants like General Motors and Hindustan Motors have evinced keen interest in a bio-diesel developed by a research institute in Bhavnagar (Gujarat) which could help power their future cars after the fuel was successfully tried on two of Mercedes Benz' models. After the Mercedes completed 6,000 kms of trial run on 100 per cent bio-diesel in 2004, excitement about this alternative fuel built up around the world. The trial runs of Mercedes cars showed that the CSMCRI's bio-diesel did not require any engine modification and can smoothly power any vehicle. The scientist said that the cars that run on pure bio-diesel emit 70 per cent less hydrocarbon, 80 per cent less particulate matter and sulphur as compared to the polluting fossil fuels. Bio-diesel is also a natural lubricant for the car engines and is safer than the conventional diesel because of the difference in their flash point. The flash-point of diesel is 50 degrees and that of bio-diesel is 170 degrees which means ordinary diesel runs the risk of catching fire in 50 degrees heat.

Tourism in Gujarat on an upswing
Saturday, September 9, 2006 | AY

Gujarat is witnessing an upswing in the tourism sector, which has already seen arrival of 25,000 foreign tourists in the State in the first half of 2006, being promoted as 'Tourism Year'. In the first six months 2006, 25,000 foreign tourists have already visited the State as compared to 4,650 in 2004-05. Gujarat Tourism Minister said that there was a 25 per cent increase in the number of NRIs visiting Gujarat as compared to 2004-05 and the figure for domestic tourists rose by 32 per cent in the same period. The Government was expecting a large number of tourists during the popular 'Navratri Mahotsav' expected to be held from September 23 to October 1 in Gandhingar.

Brand Amul chosen to sell co-op milk in Gujarat
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 | AY

The long-standing differences between the producer unions of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) over selling milk under a single brand in the state were ironed out at a meeting of its board members. Amul, the “Taste of India”, will be the only brand to be sold by all 13 producer unions from October 1. Switching to only one brand will help producer unions save on marketing expenses. The turnover of the producer unions, represented by 2.9 million farmers in 13 districts of Gujarat, is Rs 5,500 crore. On a stand-alone basis, the federation’s turnover is Rs 3,700 crore. While the GCMMF markets 2.5 million litres of milk a day all over India, the other co-operatives sell 1.1 million litres, using their respective brand names.

Gujarati version of popular book launched
Tuesday, September 5, 2006 | AY

The first Gujarati version of the popular book of Dr. Arun Vakil was launched. Five editions of the English version Gateway to America have been brought out since it was first published in 1983. He said that the book was a kind of a compendium not only for going to USA but also about living there. Special sections on making a living and moving round in the US have been added in this book. He said that with one fifth of NRIs in the US being Gujarati, the book would be a great help to the relatives of these people and growing number of aspirants who are lesser conversant with English.

Great Indian Bustard nests in Gujarat
Monday, September 4, 2006 | AY

Sighting of nests of the endangered Great Indian Bustard in Kutch forest region of Gujarat recently has given a ray of hope for the birds' declining number in the state. Nests of the majestic bird were spotted recently, after a full year at two places in Nalia region of the Great Indian Bustard sanctuary, which is a two km grassland area. According to official figures there are only 200 of these majestic birds remaining in the world of which 45 are in Gujarat and this makes the nest sightings even more crucial.

Ahmedabad’s first ever aircraft base
Monday, September 4, 2006 | AY

Air Deccan opens Ahmedabad airport’s maiden aircraft base. Ahmedabad will be the airline’s 8th base and first in the state of Gujarat. The existing 7 bases of the airline being in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and the most recently added , Trivandrum. An airline base usually consists of aircrafts being deployed at the station with all the engineering and operational support for the airlines, including engineering & maintenance staff, pilots, cabin crews among others. Establishing this base in Ahmedabad, the airline would provide more job opportunities in the city and also become a hub for its scheduled flights. Air Deccan plans to deploy a brand new Airbus A320, which has been recently delivered and has a passenger capacity of 180. The flights begin from Ahmedabad as its operating base on 2nd November 2006.

Compulsory recitation of Vande Mataram
Saturday, September 2, 2006 | AY

The BJP government in Gujarat has made the recitation of Vande Mataram compulsory on the conclusion of the centenary year of the national song on September 7. Some minority leaders in the State earlier had raised objections about singing Vande Mataram, which they believed was against the tenets of Islam and had demanded that at least Muslim students be spared. The circular signed by the Deputy Secretary in the general administration department, G.L. Patel, has asked the staff of all government offices, municipal corporations, municipalities, state-owned boards and corporations, district, taluk and village panchayats, government schools and other aided institutions to render the national song jointly at 11 a.m. on September 7.