downtoearth-subscribe

Gujarat

  • Industrial units get closure notice over pollution

    On January 24, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, gpcb, asked 15 polluting industrial units in Ankleshwar to close down. The regulatory body said the units violated environmental and pollution

  • GM's 3rd engine plant in India to cost $200m

    THEworld's largest car maker General Motors (GM) is set to shift gears in India. The company is now looking at investing over $200 million to set up a powertrain plant in India to manufacture engines and components which will reduce the vehicle costs. The powertrain facility is aimed at a lot more than just meeting the domestic demand as engines made at the proposed unit are expected to be used in GM's global brands. Powertrain facility will manufacture engine, transmission and drivetrain that power vehicles. "We have not decided on where to locate the plant or by when it would be operational. But we do know that investment would be in excess of $200 million,' said GM India president and MD Karl Slym. An announcement in this regard is expected soon. Mr Slym, however, did not divulge details on the type of engines or specifications of the engines that would be made in India. This could be GM's third plant in India after Halol (Gujarat) and the under-construction unit at Talegaon (near Pune). The move is aimed at gaining a competitive edge in the domestic market as the company aims to capture a 10% share of the passenger car market here. GM India registered a 68% growth in sales in 2007, selling 60,032 units as against 35,823 units during 2006. GM is also drawing up expansion plans at the Talegaon plant which is to start production by the year-end. It will have an initial production capacity of 1,40,000 units. According to Mr Slym, the second-phase of expansion at Talegaon will see the production capacity being raised to 3,00,000 units. "Expansion at Talegaon is a long-term plan. We don't have a timeframe for this. But once phase-II is over, our production capacity will be in excess of 3,50,000 units

  • We are adivasis, not vanvasis'

    This New Demand Is Being Thrown Up By Tribals Across Gujarat Don't call us vanvasis or forest dwellers. We are adivasis, the original dwellers of Gujarat, aborigines, who were pushed from the plains by more powerful outsiders from areas next to Sabarmati, Mahi or Tapi to the difficult mountainous terrains in the eastern belt. This is the new demand being thrown up by tribals across Gujarat. After the new Tribal Rights Act, which promises the adivasis the right to land in the forests they live in, this is going to be their new plank, as it makes them aware of their ethnic identity. Realizing the main loser in the process will be the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, which have coined the term

  • Letter from MOEF to Nirma Ltd on cement plant and captive power plant near village Padhiarka, Taluka Mahuva, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat dated 27 Feb, 2008 regarding Terms of Reference

    <p>Letter from MOEF to Nirma Ltd on cement plant and captive power plant near village Padhiarka, Taluka Mahuva, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat dated 27 Feb, 2008 regarding Terms of Reference.</p>

  • ONGC reconfigures proposed petrochem plant at Dahej

    State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Monday said it has reconfigured its proposed mega petrochemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat, bringing down the cost by Rs 1,100 crore to Rs 12,440 crore. The board of directors of ONGC, which met here on Monday, approved the revised configuration of Dahej Petrochemicals Project being implemented by the company's subsidiary ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPAL). The project was initially configured with a styrene butadiene rubber (SBR)

  • Forest dept may lose control over villages

    One reason why state forest department is badly upset with the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

  • Mehsanvi buffaloes to help AP farmers

    They are the black beauties of north Gujarat showing off their stout, well-groomed bodies to the buyers from down south. The Mehsanvi buffalo, which has been the mainstay of dairies of this region, is now being looked upon to resuscitate the crisis-ridden farmers of Andhra Pradesh (AP) among whom many have committed suicide. Under the schemes floated by the Centre and the AP government for these farmers, several government veterinary doctors accompanied by farmers, have come to this village to buy the Mehsanvi buffalo. Each of these buffaloes yield 12 litres of milk in a day. In the last two months alone, an estimated 1,500 Mehsanvi buffaloes have been sent to various villages in AP. There are two schemes for farmers in AP: one is the state government scheme for those families which are below the poverty line, the other is the prime minister's package for the families of farmers who committed suicide. "Under the PM's package, each affected family will be given two buffaloes. As part of this scheme, I am here with farmers to buy Mehsanvi buffaloes,'' says Dr I Balasundaram, a veterinary surgeon from Medak district of AP, adding that they also intend to develop a strong dairy industry. "This is the best business for rural folk because losses are minimised and over the years, it only grows,' says Balasundaram. Under these schemes, farmers are given buffaloes at 50 per cent subsidy and the rest on loan. Each buffalo costs Rs 30,000. Says Arvind Chaudhary, who mediates these deals and is also providing buffaloes to states other than AP, "On an average, a buffalo gives six litres of milk in the morning as well as in the evening.' Chairman of the Dudhsagar Dairy (Mehsana) Vipul Chaudhary says, "The best quality Mehsanvi buffalo is the one that gives a sustained income to the family and it does not demand much maintenance, which makes it popular.' Maleka Sankar Rao, farmer from Adilabad district, AP, feels that the state needs a strong dairy industry like Gujarat which can bail it out in the event of an agrarian crisis. Mehsanvi buffaloes find their way to crisis-ridden farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

  • Govt decides to introduce RTE Bill in Budget session

    WITH the current year dotted with elections, the UPA government has decided to introduce the Right to Education (RTE) Bill in the Budget session of Parliament. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who overrode the reservations expressed by a high-level group about the need for a Central legislation, would like the Bill to be introduced now. The ministry of human resource development (HRD) is in the process of preparing a Cabinet note, which is due to be taken up for consideration in the next two weeks. The Bill may find a mention in finance minister P Chidambaram's Budget speech too. A working committee headed by A K Rath, secretary, school education and literacy, HRD ministry, is finalising the draft of the legislation. The RTE will provide the blueprint for making systemic changes in the elementary education sector. The ministry is clear that the RTE is not another way to garner more funds for elementary education, but an opportunity to reform and rationalise the system. The promise of systemic reforms will also help to counter the growing lobby for the privatisation of school education. The private school lobby has consistently called for the opening up of the education sector, allowing "for-profit' organisations to play a role on the grounds that government schools can't provide quality education. A legislation geared to providing quality and norms for it would counter this move. Both issues of increased fiscal outlay and legal responsibility are being addressed. Many of the expenses of operationalising the RTE are being taken care of by the funding for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and teacher's education. A more realistic and lower expenditure bill is being arrived at by dovetailing the expenses of the Right to Education Bill, and the SSA and teachers' education. The fear of increased volume of public interest litigations (PIL) mandating the Centre to sanction and fund infrastructure far beyond its financial capability is being addressed by setting realistic targets for states to roll out the implementation of the Bill. For the enabling right to education, it has been a long and arduous journey. More than five years have gone since Parliament passed the 86th Constitutional Amendment giving every child between the age of 6 and 14 years the right to free and compulsory education (Article 21 A). However, Article 21 A could not be notified as the enabling legislation had not been enacted. Work on the RTE was started by the NDA government soon after Parliament passed the Constitutional Amendment Bill in December 2002. The first delay came when the NDA was voted out of power in May 2004. Work on the RTE was then taken up by the Kapil Sibal committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). The financial implications for the Sibal draft was worked out by the then National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA). As per these estimates, the government would require to spend a minimum of Rs 3,21,196 crore over six years to implement the legislation

  • Elecon may enter shipping, ports biz

    Plans Rs 40-cr resort in Gujarat Engineering products and services major Elecon Group has diversified into hospitality business and is looking at shipping, ports and SEZs as its next destinations. The NRI-rich Kheda district and adjoining areas in Charotar region of central Gujarat is all set to get its first luxurious resort with five-star facilities by mid-2008. The resort has been developed by Elecon in a 15-acre area at a cost of Rs 40 crore to tap the huge potential in hospitality business due to large number of non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) visiting their native places each year.

  • Vadodara girl selected for int'l climate contest

    Nidhi Patel of New Era Senior Secondary School has qualified as the finalist from west zone in the

  1. 1
  2. ...
  3. 501
  4. 502
  5. 503
  6. 504
  7. 505
  8. ...
  9. 579