Gujarat

Gujarat Tourism by Amitabh Bachan must see..

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Gujarat substantially expands area under organic farming


Availing a key horticulture promotion scheme of the government, Gujarat has made the most of it by substantially expanding its area under organic farming.
Under the organic component coverage as part of National Horticulture Mission (NHM), 2047 hectares has been reported across the country in 2010-11, with Gujarat alone accounted for 2000 hectares, an Agriculture Ministry's monthly review report said.
Chhattisgarh's share of coverage under organic farming was 45 hectare while the rest 2 hectare was in Kerala, the sources added.
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm.
It excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured fertilisers, pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides), plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, and
genetically modified organisms.
Gujarat has been front-runner in usage of funds under NHM scheme.
The NHM progress report for the last year reveal that the state's expenditure of the central fund under the head was 115%.
Against release of Rs 5,497 crore up to February 2011, Gujarat had spent a sum of Rs 6,351.30 crore, a surplus of Rs 854 crore, the report added.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Naduand Uttar Pradesh also saw impressive performance under the scheme.

Gujarat's Amul ranked No.1 Indian brand


The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)-owned Amul has been ranked the leading Indian brand in a study on Asia's top 1,000 brands. The study, by Campaign magazine published from Hong Kong and Singapore, has ranked Amul as the No 1 Indian brand for the third consecutive year. Amul is also ranked as the leading dairy brand, ahead of Asian rivals like Dutch Lady, Dumex and Magnolia.
The survey was conducted in Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Other Indian brands which find their way in the survey include Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher, Kishore Biyani's Big Bazaar, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and leading telecom services provider Airtel.
The survey was conducted by research firm TNS, across over 3,000 consumers in 10 countries, a statement released by GCMMF said.

Apart from butter and packaged and loose milk, Amul sells cheese, ice-cream, yogurt and desserts like shrikhand. GCMMF had announced last fortnight that its sales had crossed $2.2 billion (Rs 9,774 crore) in the 2010-11 fiscal.

$1.78 Billion to be Invested in Asia's Largest Solar Park (500 MW) in Gujarat


The government of the western state of Gujarat in India has announced the establishment of Asia's largest solar park that will provide 800 million units of power in two years when commissioned with a power production capacity of 500 MW.
The state-owned Gujarat Power Corporation is developing the solar park, which will cover 2,000 hectares of land, 1,000 hectares of which was government wasteland, in Charanka village near Santalpur in Patan district, northern Gujarat.
The companies like GMR and Lanco, will invest $1.78 billion in the proposed project and already received the allotment letter for the solar power generation under the Gujarat Solar Mission.
In the first phase of the operation, Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation will set up a power pooling station to collect the generated power from 150 solar power production companies that will generate around 176 MW. Out of the total allotted amount of $286 million, an amount of $78 million will be spent for the purchase of land and setting up of the power infrastructure and $139 million towards evacuation facilities. The project when completed will generate around 800 million units of power.
"We would have around 100 MW solar power capacity commissioned by the end of this year, as part of the 500 MW solar park project. Overall, we have allotted 274 MW capacity to companies. Around Rs 15 crore ($3.33 million) would go into setting up every MW of power," D J Pandian, principal secretary (energy) in the state government said.
he proposed project has received one time additional investment worth of 210 crore from the Central Planning Commission and received soft loans worth of $100 million from Asian Development Bank for smart grid infrastructure development.
Gujarat had announced a solar policy in January 2009 with an ambitious target of installing 1000 MW of solar power capacity by the end of 2012 and 3000 MW in the next five years. The state has already signed power purchase agreements of 934 MW.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Gujarat State villages moving towards urbanization: Census


 Gujarat's urbanization process is all set to offer major surprises. If the latest Census of India figures handed over to the Gujarat government last week are any guide, it is not just the big cities which are contributing towards massive urbanization of the state, which is already 42.6 per cent of 6.04 crore population in Gujarat, next only to Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
The rural areas, especially villages adjoining the industrial areas in the Golden Corridor from Vapi in South Gujarat to Mehsana in North Gujarat, as elsewhere, have shown a very sharp movement towards urbanization.
The figures show that as many as 153 villages with a population of 5,000 or above have qualified to become urban townships. "Identified as 'census towns' in the official jargon, these are the villages where 75 per cent of the population is dependent on non-agricultural activities", a senior Sachivalaya official told TOI, adding, "This is compared to just 73 villages with a population of 5,000 plus which fulfilled the 'census town' criterion in the 2001 Census. The expectation in the government is, the new revelation would add many of these to the list of Gujarat's statutory towns."


As many as 73 of these villages have 5,000 to 10,000 population, another 70 have a population between 10,000 to 20,000, and the rest of 10 have 20,000 plus living in each of them. Three dozen villages, currently ruled by panchayats, can immediately be converted into municipalities, as their population has achieved its basic criterion of 15,000 plus population. Top ten among them are Kotharia in Rajkot district, Bopal in Ahmedabad district, Madhapar and Mundra in Kutch district, Jhadeshwar, Gadkhol and Bholav in Bharuch district, and Sachin, Kadodara and Chalthan in Surat district.
Kotharia, whose population was 20,857 in 2001, today has 53,821 people living in it. Similarly, Bopal which had the population of 12,181 in 2001, today houses 34,030 people. Mundra village, next to which the Adani port and SEZ have already been established, currently has 20,329 people living in it, though in 2001 its population was 12,931. Most of these villages have more than doubled their population because of the urbanization process having overtaken them. "If one adds urban outgrowth around these towns, their population would be even higher", the official insisted.
Similarly, Census of India figures suggest that there are 10 towns which have already become very large municipalities and, if one adds their "urban outgrowth" into them, they can easily be turned into municipal corporations. These are Gandhidham, Nadiad, Anand, Morvi, Mehsana, Surendranagar, Navsari, Vareval, Bharuch and Vapi. The population of first four has already crossed 2 lakh. One can see the growth of these towns – Gandhidham's population stood at 1.51 lakh in 2001, but now it is 2.48 lakh. Vapi's population was 71,406 in 2001, but now it is 1.63 lakh.

Bachchan casts a spell on Gujarat’s tourism sector

The Gujarat government, with Amitabh Bachchan in tow, is inching towards its goal to prove to its critics that the land of Mahatma Gandhi, or rather Narendra Modi, can attract tourists even without the bubbly flowing freely in the dry state.


With the arrival of rains, the famous Gir wildlife sanctuary, the only abode of Asiatic lions, near Junagadh shut its doors on holidayers on June 16 for four months but tourism officials will not be twiddling their thumbs.
Egged on by the just-announced Rs1.5-billion Central aid for developing the state’s three tourist spots, hectic preparations are now on for the third visit of the Hindi film superstar next month to shoot for short films to promote tourism in Champaner, Pavagadh, Ambaji and Saputara, a picturesque hill station, where the department is also organising a four-week monsoon festival.
Bachchan, who first came to Somnath, Girnar, and Bhuj and then shot at Ahmedabad, Porbandar and Dwarka during his second trip, has not been charging any fee from the Modi government and has proved to be a boon for debt-ridden Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited.
Corporation bosses, indeed, admit that the tourist arrivals to Gujarat have increased by at least by 15 per cent after gripping television promos featuring the Bollywood legend were released last year.
Union Tourism Minister Subodhkant Sahai’s announcement last week to offer Rs500 million each for Dwarka (a pilgrim centre), Porbandar (Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace) and Bharuch’s Kabir Vad (a 300-year-old gigantic single banyan tree spread over 2.5 acres) has also administered a shot in the arm of the dormant tourism industry.
In order to bring in tourists to Gujarat, and to market its sight-seeing places, the state tourism department has also entered into a pact with Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab for inter-state tourism.
While Gujarat is desperate to woo tourists visiting Rajasthan, the neighbouring state is targeting the non-resident Gujaratis who return to their home towns in Gujarat during the winter.
While Gujarat wants foreign tourists from Rajasthan, it is trying to woo religious tourists from Punjab. And if Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra tourism department, too, tie up, Gujarat will be able to offer the entire western part of India to any tourist as one single destination.
The next in line is Goa, where Gujarat wants to promote its wildlife and religious tourism along with beach tourism on its 1,600-km coastline, the longest in the country.
According to Tourism Minister J N Vyas, his department has selected 16 ‘ill-equipped’ beaches, many of them virgin, for promoting ‘beach tourism’ with a view to attracting domestic and foreign tourists to the state.
A master plan has been prepared for each of these beaches, including levelling along a three-kilometre stretch of each beach, landscaping, benches, kiosks, toilets, lighting and caravan facilities, etc.
For a novel project, Rs60 million has been sanctioned by the Gujarat government to upgrade the Balasinor Dinosaur Fossil Park in Raioli, home to the one of the largest dinosaur fossils sites in the world and where you can touch dinosaur remains and hold a 65-million-year-old egg in your hands.
Aaliya Sultana Babi, the former princess of Balasinor and owner of a heritage hotel, is an enthusiastic promoter and protector of the dinosaur legacy and conducts tours to the site, in an effort to boost heritage tourism in the state.
Wankaner Palace’s Digvijay Singh, yet another family member of royal families of erstwhile princely states in Gujarat, also takes tourists on a memorable visit to the state’s 1935-built step-well in the middle of a river.
The 30-odd heritage hotel owners, not happy with the incentives being offered now, are meeting Modi on June 19 in the hope of receiving better sops for their eye-catching properties on the lines of ones given in Rajasthan.
Well, with ambitious plans for intra-state budget flights, 11 new airports, whale shark tourism, medical tourism was well as Sardar Patel tours and a Sufi circuit, Gujarat is sure to go places even without lifting the age-old liquor ban despite losing excise revenues worth Rs25 billion a year.
After all, following the promotional advertisments videographed with the Bollywood megastar Big B, the state has seen an increase in tourist flow by nearly 1.3 million in the five months ending December last what with the number of foreign tourists also shooting up by 65 per cent — from mere 84,442 in 2009 to 1,42,175 now.

Gujarat State second top destination for investments: Assocham


Karnataka has emerged as the preferred destination after Gujarat for industrial investments. The state has witnessed second highest amount of investment to the tune of Rs 9.1 lakh crore from 1,528 projects in the last decade, a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has revealed.
Gujarat has emerged as the top investment destination with an investment of Rs 13.35 lakh crore from 1,455 projects, the study said.

Releasing the findings of the study, here today, Dilip Modi, President, Assocham said, “In the post-recession economic recovery, Karnataka has been ranked on top with new projects worth Rs 4.7 lakh crore during March 2009 and December 2010, marking a 8.4 per cent increase on a quarterly basis. The state has Rs 7.4 lakh crore worth of investments or 7.1 per cent share of the total investments in the country.”

Out of the Rs 9.1 lakh crore of investments attracted by Karnataka, nearly 44 per cent are in the manufacturing sector followed by 22.4 per cent in services, 15 per cent in power and 14 per cent in real estate. The projects are in their different stages of implementation, the chamber said.
Investment flows into the manufacturing sector marked a 107.8 per cent jump in 2010 at Rs 3,99,682 crore by December 2010 compared to Rs 1,92,319 crore received as of December 2009. The investments in the services sector registered a healthy growth of 76.5 per cent at Rs 2,03,916 crore. Investments in real estate and irrigation sectors witnessed 30.2 per cent and 19.3 per cent growth at Rs 1,26,370 crore and Rs 31,452 crore respectively during the same period.
Some states have opted for fiscal incentives over developing infrastructure for attracting private capital. The efficacy of such fiscal incentives in promoting development is very limited but the resultant revenue foregone is significant.
The Assocham study said these incentives in the long term will not increase flow of private investments as investors go to states that have good infrastructure, flexile labour laws and transparent administrative rules.
“Karnataka must reduce the unproductive subsidies,” the study said.
Making some suggestions to the state government, Assocham called for special focus on micro, small and medium enterprises and capitalizing on the existing sectoral capacities. The state should promote industrial estates in backward regions in public private partnership mode by announcing special incentives.
“Power is a growth bottleneck in Karnataka. Both availability as well as the quality of available power is serious concerns. Major power projects are yet to see completion and commissioning in order to realize the actual benefits of these investments. It is essential to fix ‘definite time line’ for achieving financial closure and operationalisation of the projects,” the Assocham study said.

Amul Cafe the next big thing for Amul


After touching a figure of 6,000 parlours across India, Amul, a milk and milk products brand owned and marketed by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), is now betting on quick service restaurants called Amul Cafes. Tasting success with the two federation owned outlets of Amul Cafes at Ahmedabad, GCMMF is eying to spread the network of cafes across the country in the coming two years. Meanwhile, the country's leading dairy major has crossed the $2 billion mark (Rs 9774 crore) in turnover during 2010-11 fiscal.
Continuing its focus on retail operations, GCMMF plans to open at least 10 Amul Cafe outlets across the major cities of Gujarat within this year. Post that, the dairy major is setting its eye on pan-India expansion starting with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu among other markets. "Apart from Gujarat, we are coming up with one outlet in Bangalore shortly. We are working on our pan-India network expansion plan, and would decide on the plan of action within the next two months," said R S Sodhi, managing director, GCMMF.
He added that the investment per outlet is in the range of Rs 20-25 lakh. The federation now owns and operates two outlets in Ahmedabad, which have a turnover of Rs 1 lakh per day per outlet. Amul Cafe is a quick service restaurant concept spread over an area of 1,000 square feet and serves recipes like Amul Butter pavbhaji, Amul pizzas, Amul cheese burgers, sandwiches, ice cream, sundaes and milk shakes. "We have started serving dosas as well," Sodhi said.

Amul has added 1,000 new Amul Parlours during 2010-11, taking the total strength to 6,000 outlets. These parlours that retail the entire range of Amul products under one roof, have generated business of Rs 406 crore during the 2010-11 fiscal, growing by 37 per cent on a year-on-year basis. "The contribution of retailing operations in GCMMF’s business reached four per cent. The average throughput per parlour has also increased by 17 per cent," Parthibhai G Bhatol, chairman, GCMMF said. Amul is targeting a milestone of 10,000 Amul parlours by the end of March 2012.
He added that apart from conventional locations like residential and commercial areas, Amul Parlours are also coming up at educational institutions, railway stations, bus stands and other high traffic locations. "We have already created 160 parlours at railway stations and 177 parlours are operating at various centers of excellence. Our Amul Ice Cream Scooping Parlours continue to be popular among individuals and families for relishing value-added Ice cream in attractive ambience. More than 150 ice cream parlours were added during 2010-11, taking their total tally to 375," Bhatol said.
Meanwhile, the turnover of the apex body of dairy cooperatives has crossed the $2 billion (Rs 9774 crore) mark in 2010-11. During the year, GCMMF sales grew by 22.1 per cent to reach Rs 9774.27 crore from Rs 8005.36 crore in 2009-10.
Commenting on the performance, Bhatol noted that the organisation was able to achieve the first one billion dollar mark after 33 years of its operations, and it took just four more years to add another one billion dollar to its turnover. GCMMF has registered a compounded annual growth rate of 23 per cent in the last four years.
Amul has done well in most of the value-added consumer packs. While sales of Amul milk in pouches has grown by 34 per cent in value terms, Amul Butter has shown a value growth of 26 per cent, sales of Amul Processed Cheese has grown by 29 per cent. Amul's beverage range including Flavoured milk, Buttermilk and Lassee has shown a growth of 28 per cent in value terms over last year. Sales of Amul Masti Dahi grew by 39 per cent.
"With enhanced focus on fresh and fermented products, we launched Amul Probiotic Lassee in ready to drink cups, Amul Probiotic Buttermilk in PET bottles and flavoured yoghurt under the brand name Amul Flaavyo. In the infant milk food category, our brand Amulspray registered a value growth of 20 per cent and achieved the unique distinction of becoming a Rs 1000 crore mega-brand," Bhatol said.
In the dairy whitener segment, Amulya recorded a growth of 21 per cent.
In the milk-based dessert range, Amul re-launched Amul Gulab Jamuns with new round shape, registering a quantum growth of 53 per cent.


Gujarat company wipes away Wimbledon sweat


The iconic made-in-Gujarat Wimbledon towels are selling like hot cakes as the Grand Slam celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Welspun India Ltd (WIL), which manufactures Wimbledon's most popular souvenir at its plant in Vapi, exported over one lakh pieces this year — an increase of about 30% as compared to previous year.
The company is in the process of sending one more shipment to meet the growing demand. The limited edition towel would be the same one as used on court by the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. "This is for the first time organisers have demanded more towels midway through the tournament. We are in the process of sending the third shipment of 20,000 towels to meet fresh demand," Swapan Nath, director WIL.
Last year was the first time in the history of Wimbledon that towels were manufactured outside the UK. For over 35 years, the towels were supplied to All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), organisers of the championship, by a Manchester-based company, Christy. As Welspun group acquired Christy in 2006 and shifted manufacturing to its facilities at Anjar in Kutch and Vapi in Valsad, automatically towels are manufactured in South Gujarat.

Gujarat CM inaugurates newly-built complex of Banas dairy


Gujarat chief minister laid the foundation stone for the 100-tonne capacity milk powder plant of the Banas Dairy. Also a new complex of the Banas dairy constructed at the cost of Rs 110-crore was inaugrated on Tuesday.
While inaugurating the newly-built complex of Banas Dairy, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi expressed resolve to bring about an
economic revolution in the barren land of north Gujarat with the use of solar energy and the water of Narmada.
He congratulated those who are involved in the success of the Banas dairy and said the dairy's business has reached to Rs 22,000 crore from Rs 400 crore in last one decade due to the hard work of the three and a half lakh cattle keeping people of the district.
Criticising the centre he said that even though the state government has started constructing Narmada canals with the expense of Rs.9000-crore, the central government was not giving permission to put gates over the Sardar Sarovar dam from last two years even after the construction of the dam is over to its full height.

Amul to set up facilities in America & Europe


Gujarat Cooperative dairy giant Amul is aiming to expand its presence out of India. It is considering to open a processing facility in US and subsequently Europe market.
The representatives of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Limited that operates 65 year old Amul Dairy are likely to visit US next month to shape its ambitious plans to go international. The delegation will prepare a detailed report for costs and logistics.
Currently, apex marketing body of 13 district unions, including Kaira Union, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF) is exporting Amul and Sagar dairy products in middle east, Europe and US. "Considering presence of a million Indian families in US, we are anticipating market for at last 500 tonne of Ghee. Today, GCMMF exports only 500 tonne of ghee per annum.

New discovery in Kutch: Colour-producing microbes


A biocolour-producing bacterial strain has been found in the soil of the arid Banni region of Kutch district, which may find application in the dye-making industry.
For the first time this pigment-production employing halophilic bacterial culture has been found in saline soils of Banni, according to the researchers at the Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE).
Director-in-charge of GUIDE, Dr V Vijay Kumar, said.
“When the pigment (obtained from these bacteria) was used for dyeing cotton yarn, it showed a higher colour withstanding ability even when exposed to high temperature and light. It is an interesting indication about its potential for commercial application.”
Biologically produced colours are in a great demand, and these microorganisms can find application in various sectors, GUIDE scientists say.
A group of four researchers examined 30-35 bacterial strains from the soil samples from Banni area, and discovered two pigment-producing strains.
“Preliminary findings suggest that this discovery has a potential for commercial production of eco-friendly colours in the dye stuff industry,” said Dr K Karthikeyan, a scientist at GUIDE and a member of the research group.
“We are now planning to design a pilot scale set-up where potential of this organism can be tested at higher volumes, 100 litres or 1,000 litres, which are on industrial scale,” he said.
Researchers would also study toxicity level of the pigments, to see if they are safe enough to be used as food colours, Karthikeyan said.
“A lot of research is going on towards producing natural colours but nothing which can be used at an industrial scale has been found so far,” said Gujarat Dyestuff Manufacturers Association President, Shankerbhai Patel.
Banni grasslands, known for rich wildlife and biodiversity, are spread over area of about 3,847 square kilometres. They enjoy the status of `Reserve Forest’

over 9000 cusec water released from Narmada dam to save crops in Gujarat


The water level in Sardar Sarovar dam is decreasing rapidly. Within a span of only four days it has decreased 1 and a half meter.
With a fear that the paddy harvest will get spoilt due to delayed rain this monsoon, 9069 cusec water has been released in the main canal of Narmada in Gujarat. The water level at this time in the dam is 112.72 meters.
Presently the income of water from the Narmada upstream is only 38,260 cusec and the water level is 112.72 meters, which means the dam is empty by more than 9 meters. Also due to the decrement in water in the dam the power station which usually had the capacity of 1200 megawatt is now running with the capacity of only 200 megawatt.
If the level of water comes near 110.64 meter, it will create a situation in which the power station will totally shut down.

Gujarat Company to provide solution for Illegal mining to the Central Govt


They may not be on the same page politically but the UPA government, it seems, is looking towards opposition-ruled states for administrative best practices.
The mines ministry is pushing states to adopt a software developed by ncode, the IT arm of the Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Limited – promoted by the Gujarat government – to check rampant illegal mining and consequent loss of revenue. Some time ago, the HRD ministry decided to prepare a blueprint for states to adopt the BSP government's innovative IVRS-based mid-day meal tracking system in Uttar Pradesh.
A senior official of the mines ministry said: "The software effectively ensures that every truck that passes the main entry gate of the mine is weighed and the data gets directly transmitted to the government without any human interface or chance of fudging. This means that the mine owner will have to pay duty on that amount and there is no way he can undervalue the produce to cheat the government."

Wind power capacity grows 500% in six years in Gujarat


With 2,175 Mw, the state holds 15.36 per cent of India's total wind power generation capacity.
In what can be called as a quantum leap for Gujarat's renewable energy sector, the wind power generation capacities have seen a sharp increase since 2006 from 338 Megawatt (Mw) to 2175.5 Mw in 2011. The share of Gujarat in the country's total wind power generation capacities has jumped from mere 6.32 per cent in 2006 to a respectable 15.36 per cent in 2011.

While Gujarat has shown a growth of over 545 per cent in wind power capacities in past six years, the country's wind power generation capacities have grown by 165 per cent from 5341 Mw in 2006 to 14,158 Mw by March 2011.

"Gujarat has enormous potential for wind power generation. The average velocity of wind in the state is just less than seven meters per second, which is very much suitable for wind power generation. Besides this, the state has the longest coast-line in the country and a desert in Kutch. This makes land availability for the wind power projects," said Anil Kane, president, World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).
According to industry experts, wind velocity in the range of 6-7 meters per second is best suitable for the wind power generation. Winds blowing from Arabian sea and winds in desert area of Kutch are believed to be favouring wind energy sector.
Though the cost of generation is high for wind power projects, more and more players are setting up wind power generation units. "The initial investment is high at around Rs 6 crore per Mw but the environmental benefits accrued to the wind power generation are also high," said Kane adding that technological innovations would improve the wind power generation in the country.
Against the solar power, which requires very high initial investments, wind power is seen as most preferred green energy source in India. "Wind power constitutes about 70 per cent of India's total renewable energy generation. States like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are most promising to develop wind power units, especially due to their geographical locations," said K S Popli, director, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).
"Financing is also not a major concern now for the wind power projects. Although the returns from the wind power generation could be slightly lower compared to other conventional projects. Wind power gives stable energy compare to solar. We expect that this growth will continue for the wind power sector," Popli added.
The data provided by the Indian Wind Energy Association (IWEA) showed that Gujarat has shown impressive growth in the wind power generation capacities. Some of the leading states in wind power generation in India include Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
While Tamil Nadu held more than half of wind power generation capacities in India in 2006 with 54 per cent share, the share of Maharashtra stood at around 18.74 per cent. But now their share has been on a decline as Tamil Nadu holds about 41.7 per cent share and Maharashtra has about 16.32 per cent share to the country's total wind power generation capacities.
Meanwhile, a study by the Chennai-based research organisation, Center for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET) showed that India's gross potential for wind power generation stood at 48,561 Mw. Gujarat is believed to have a potential of 10,645 Mw, of which 2175.6 Mw of generation capacities have already been set up in the state

Gujarat to have one medical college in every district: Narendra Modi


The state government, on Sunday announced its plan of setting up one medical college in every district of the state.


“The government has focused on making available best medical services to the people as a part of which 15 new medical colleges will be set up,” CM Narendra Modi said. “About 2,115 seats in medical courses have been added in the last one decade. In 2001, there were only two medical colleges and 500 seats, but now it has increased manifold,” he said.


Modi made the announcement at the inaugural ceremony of a Rs 35 crore hospital, constructed in association with GIOSTAR Stem Cell Research Institute of USA. The hospital would offer stem cell transplantation therapy to the people. The state government has signed a MoU with GIOSTAR, USA, and has set up a special organisation with a view to free the tribal people of Gujarat suffering from genetic diseases like Sickle cell and Anaemia

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar like New York- New Jersey

Ahmedabad, Mar 2 (PTI) Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad will be developed as world-class twin cities in line with New York and New Jersey in the US, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said today.

He also expressed his resolve to transform the state capital Gandhinagar into a solar city. The CM was speaking after dedicating new buildings and development work to the public in Gandhinagar.

"Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad will soon be developed as twin cities and will be given a recognition which would be parallel to what is enjoyed by New York New Jersey."
He said Gandhinagar will soon get a global recognition due to various international activities planned there. Any ordinary family in the state capital would be able to produce electricity through solar energy on their terraces and also sell it to the state government, Modi said.

The CM also laid the foundation for a project for renovating the water supply pipelines in Gandhinagar.

Modi flagged of a `march for nature'' organised by the Gandhinagar unit of BJP. He called upon the people to make the state capital a ''green city''

Sunday, January 9, 2011

IIT alumni conclave as part of Vibrant Gujarat summit

Ahmedabad, Jan 9 (IANS) To give a thrust to the technological development of Gujarat, the state government, along with the 500-strong Pan-IIT Gujarat Alumni Association will be organising a conclave on technology and development here Monday.
'The IIT Conclave: Technology and Development in Gujarat' will present and discuss various issues such as addressing educational challenges for innovation and looking at alternate approaches to development in order to secure economic leadership for Gujarat in the 21st century.A few of the initiatives already taken by the alumni association and the state are also slated for discussion and announcement.
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will be signed between the Pan-IIT Gujarat Alumni Association and the Gujrat government in various areas including castor production, improving agri productivity using nanotechnology, urban waste management and skills development in the state.
The conclave will also have international participation and is designed to bring together renowned thought leaders and industrialists. Participants include IIT alumni like IIT Kharagpur alumnus Farrokh Mistree, now a professor at the University of Oklahoma, Sammy Haroon, managing director, The RBR Group; and Dr. Rafiq Dossani, executive director, South Asian Institute, Stanford University.
Pan-IIT Gujarat Alumni Association founder chairman Sunil Parekh, an IIT-Delhi alumnus, said that there were over 500 IIT alumni currently working in Gujarat.
These include the directors and heads of major Gujarat based universities and institutions, such as Pradyumna Vyas of the National Institute of Design (NID) and Samir Barua of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, more than 11 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials in the state government besides several who are working and managing special economic zones (SEZs), and public sector undertakings (PSUs).
State Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas is also an IIT Bombay alumnus

Vibrant Gujarat 2011, No state can match the speed.


Vibrant Gujarat

VIBRANT GUJARAT GLOBAL INVESTORS SUMMITS
The Mega Business Opportunity - January 12-13, 2011
The last four summits, being conducted biennially since 2003, have been a major success and has attracted investment proposals of over US $ 370 bn. On January 12-13, 2011 the immensely popular Vibrant Gujarat Summit is scheduled to take place at the Mahatma Mandir, in the State capital at Gandhinagar.Vibrant Gujarat 2011- the 5th Summit aims to facilitate investment alliances for the participating countries. The biennial Summit will be the ideal platform to discuss and deliberate business opportunities in the new age world.
The Summit, attended by leading global economies and a galaxy of international fora of business, policy makers, business and political delegations will host extensive B2B interactions, mega exhibition, sectoral seminars and conventions, will provide a very friendly ambience to the business community.
The 2011 Summit has got a major head start with pre summits and convergence at various national and international fora.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Indirect tax collections in Gujarat between April-November period stood at Rs 11,529 crore, showing a growth of 20 per cent

Indirect tax collections in Gujarat between April-November period stood at Rs 11,529 crore, showing a growth of 20 per cent as compared to the corresponding period a year ago. Gujarat comprising Ahmedabad and Vadodara zone has been allocated excise revenue collection target of Rs 18,510 crore for this fiscal by the Central Board of Excise and Customs. It ranks amongst top five tax paying states in the country. “The tax collection in first eight months of this fiscal stood at Rs 11,529 crore as compared to mop up of Rs 9,068 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, showing a rise of 20 per cent," Chief Commissioner Central Excise K K Singh said. The customs duty collections in the two zones during first eight months of this fiscal stood at Rs 766 crore as compared to Rs 440.23 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, showing a jump of over 74 per cent. A target of Rs 1,265 crore has been fixed as custom revenue collection for this fiscal by the central excise units. The buoyancy in service tax collection also prevailed, as the revenue collections for first eight months this fiscal rose by 40 per cent. PTI

23 students of Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya’s S K Patel Institute of Management and Computer Studies, Gandhinagar get great offers

The students of Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya’s S K Patel Institute of Management and Computer Studies, Gandhinagar have something more than the new year to celebrate. The final placements are on at the campus. And the excitement is palpable as big names like  Coca Cola India, HDFC Bank, Naukri.com were present on campus to recruit. This is the first time that such big companies have come for placements at the institute.

Twenty three students of the college have already landed their dream jobs. The ongoing placements saw Lucknow based Marketing Research company, Scope Services Private Limited offering the highest salary package of Rs 4.8 lakh, followed by first time recruiter Kotak Mahindra Bank, which is currently on campus and offering a package of Rs 4.5 lakh. The current average salary offered to the students so far is Rs 2.5 lakh.

“We are very excited with the industry response this year. Giants like Coca Cola India, HDFC Bank, Naukri.com, HDFC Insurance, ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Azure Knowledge, SBI Life, Karvy Stock Broking visited our campus for the first time. We are sure that our students will certainly perform very well,” said the institute’s director, Sonu Gupta.

The list of companies does not end here. Offering different profiles in sales, operations, equity analyst, human resource and IT, the other companies which visited the campus also include regular recruiters and also some more first-time recruiter’s. Axis Bank, Axis Mutual fund, Teckfreak Developers, Squad Technologies, Universal Hunt, ICFAI, International College of Financial Planning, Scope Services, Arihant Capitals, Nictech Pvt ltd, KGMS Stock Broking are few of the companies that have come to scout talent this year.

“Broking firms have always been our mass recruiter, and this year too we expect them to recruit maximum candidates. Compared to last year, there is a drastic improvement in this years placement offers in terms of profile and packages offered to our students.”, added Gupta.

Parth Vora, who bagged an offer from Coca Cola India, shared his excitement with Mirror. He said “Working with Coca Cola India will be like dream come true. My institute helped me in sharpening my leadership skills which has turned out to be a key factor in my final placements.”