Thursday 28 February 2013

Inmates of Alipore Correctional Home to stage an English play


Inmates of Alipore Correctional Home presented the trailer of 'Begum Sumroo' an English play which is 

scheduled to be staged on 9th March at G.D.Birla Sabhagar. This is the first English play to be staged by 
the inmates of any correctional home ever in India.
Inmates have been training since last two months under Rohit Pombra, artistic director of Stagecraft 
renowned English language theatre group of Kolkata. In total 25 inmates are participating in the play of 
which four are women, of the 21 men, 20 are from Alipore Correctional Home and one from Presidency 
Jail.
IG Correctional Homes, Ranvir Kumar who was present on the event said "The way they picked English 
pronunciation is outstanding and they are completely ready for the show". He also said that other groups of 
inmates are rehearsing for another play 'Ashoka' and also a martial arts dance that will be staged soon.
He further said, "They might have fallen out of place may be because of certain reasons; they should be 
given an opportunity to understand that life has a meaning and that they are still useful to the society. We as 
correctional officers have duty to provide them the opportunity to integrate them into the societies and we 
expect and realise that the society at large is ready to accept them."

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Capitalising Public Sector Banks


The Government has decided that the disinvestment proceeds with effect from the fiscal year 2013-14 will be credited to the existing “public account” under the head National Investment Fund (NIF) and will be used for subscribing to the shares being issued by the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) including Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Public Sector Insurance Companies (PSICs), on rights basis so as to ensure 51% ownership of the Government is not diluted; and for recapitalisation of PSBs and PSICs.

TRAI directs MSOs to implement Subscriber Management Systems in DAS areas


TRAI has issued Directions to multi system operators (MSOs) and their linked local cable operators (LCOs), providing cable TV services in the notified Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) areas, covered under the first phase of implementation of DAS, regarding implementation of Subscriber Management Systems. DAS is being implemented across the country in a phased manner, with the first phase from 1st Nov. 2012 and the fourth and final phase completing by 31st Dec 2014. 
As per the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations of TRAI, applicable for DAS areas, MSOs are required to establish a Subscriber Management System wherein all the details of the subscribers alongwith their choice of services (i.e. channels, bouquets etc.) are required to be maintained. This would bring in addressability and consequently, complete transparency in the whole system. This system enables the subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly and also facilitates the MSOs to effectively manage their accounting and billing of the services rendered. 
It has come to the notice of TRAI that this feature has not been implemented effectively by many MSOs. Also in many of the cases LCOs have not provided the completed subscriber application forms to their linked MSOs. Thus, the real benefits of digitization are not reaching to the subscribers. TRAI has directed all the registered MSOs and their linked LCOs to ensure, in accordance with their mutually agreed roles, that the Subscriber Management System is made fully operational, as envisaged in the QoS regulations of TRAI.

Probe reveals: Battery in ANA Boeing 787 were improperly wired

Source:AP

Japan’s transport ministry said that a probe into the overheating of the lithium-ion battery in All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 revealed it to be improperly wired. The Transport Safety Board said in a report that the battery of the aircraft's auxiliary power unit was incorrectly connected to the main battery that overheated, although a protective valve would have prevented power from the APU from doing damage. Flickering of the plane's tail and wing lights after it landed and the fact the main battery was switched off led the investigators to conclude there was an abnormal current traveling from the APU due to miswiring. The agency said that more analysis was needed to determine what caused the main battery to overheat and emit the smoke that prompted the January 16 emergency landing of the ANA domestic flight and the worldwide grounding of Boeing 787 jets. They said they are consulting Boeing about the issue. The Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in other countries grounded 787 fleets because of the ANA incident which followed a battery fire earlier in January in a 787 parked in Boston. The 787, dubbed the Dreamliner by Boeing, is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter weight, charge faster and contain more energy than conventional batteries similar in size. However, the batteries also are more prone to overheating and catching fire.

Kenya: Presidential candidates face off for final time before elections


Kenya's presidential candidates have faced off for a final time ahead of elections on March 4, with more than 14 million citizens registered to vote.The debate on Monday focused mainly on education and health care. The current president Mwai Kibaki is not seeking re-election.The top two contenders, who stood neck-and-neck in run-up polls, are Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta, the deputy premier who is also the son of Kenya's first president as an independent nation. It will be the first election since a disputed contest five years ago that sparked weeks of inter-tribal violence, reports Aljazeera.
The reports further said, Kenyatta, one of the country's richest men and a leader of the dominant Kikuyu tribe, chose to run for president despite facing trial at the International Criminal Court over allegations that he orchestrated revenge attacks against Odinga's supporters after losing the 2007 election. He faces charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution, over the violence that that left 1,200 dead. There are fears that violence may return again in this election season, says an Aljazeera report. 

Xi Jinping : Duty to pursue "peaceful means" with Taiwan


China's incoming leader has said the Chinese mainland will continue to pursue the peaceful development of relations with Taiwan during his term as president. Xi Jinping in a meeting with former Taiwanese premier Lien Chan, called it the duty of the new Chinese leadership to pursue "peaceful means" in its reunification efforts with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. "Safeguarding the interests of our Taiwan compatriots and expanding their well-being is the mainland's oft-repeated pledge and solemn promise of the new leaders of China's Communist Party central committee," Xi said, reported Aljazeera quoting China's Xinhua news agency.
In a separate statement, Lien said the 18 agreements signed with Taiwan in the past four years were a break from turmoil in relations, but he added that "core issues" were unresolved. For years, the strait between the communist mainland and the democratic island, a key US ally in the region, was seen as one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the communists, led by Mao Zedong, defeated the Kuomintang, forcing Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist alliance to flee to the island at the end of a bloody civil war in 1949. Beijing has not renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, says Aljazeera reports.

Prez:ISRO enjoys tremendous trust amongst countrymen


President, Pranab Mukherjee while addressing the scientists and engineers at the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV – C 20/SARAL Mission in Sriharikota, said that ISRO enjoys tremendous trust amongst our countrymen. This faith and confidence puts the onus back on the organization to raise the bar of its performance, scale greater heights and explore newer frontiers. For India to occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations, we must promote innovation and technological advancement. ISRO should be in the forefront of such a movement. He also said relevant uses of technology that meet country’s development goals are imperative to address the demands of population and that our endeavour must be to lower the cost of access to space through greater innovation and drive towards technology refinement. 

BHEL to set its MEMU manufacturing. facility in Rajasthan


A MOU was signed between Indian Railways and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for setting up of Greenfield MEMU coaches manufacturing facility by BHEL at Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Member Electrical Railway Board, Kul Bhushan, and CMD, BHEL, B. P. Rao signed the document in presence of Minister of Railways, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Praful Patel.
Main Line Electric Multiple Unit Trains, popularly known as MEMU trains, a mode of rapid transit system, have higher passenger carrying capacity and higher average speed as compared to conventional loco hauled passenger trains and to cater to non-suburban passengers, residing in small towns and villages surrounding urban and industrial centers. These rakes are now being manufactured with toilet facilities to take care of passenger needs. MEMU trains increase the line capacity utilization, and therefore are more suitable for running on high traffic density routes. 
These MEMU trains have gained rapid popularity over the years. Currently, there are about 160 MEMU services running. There are demands pouring in from all over the country for more MEMU trains. The demand for these coaches will further increase as Indian Railways have plans to electrify approximately 15000 route kilometer during the next 10 years, it is expected that the requirement of MEMU coaches will grow to nearly 9000 coaches by then. Setting up of factory for conventional MEMU coaches will go a long way in meeting this demand. The proposed facility for production of MEMU coaches will be set up by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) at Bhilwara in the State of Rajasthan. The entire cost will be borne by BHEL. Government of Rajasthan will provide land to Railways, for setting up the project. In order to make the project viable, Ministry of Railways will give Assured Off- Take orders to BHEL. 

Monday 25 February 2013

Raul Castro to step down in 2018


Cuban President, Raul Castro has announced that he would step down from power in 2018, when his second term as president is set to end. During a nationally televised speech at the end of a session of the country's National Assembly, Castro made it clear that 'this will be his last term'. The announcement came shortly after lawmakers re-elected Castro to a second five-year term, CNN reports. According to the report, Castro also announced on Sunday that Esteban Lazo Hernandez, 68, would assume the role of president of the National Assembly.

Rahul to meet North-east Pradesh Congress leaders today


Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to hold second part of the deliberations with the Northeast Pradesh Congress Chiefs as they couldn’t attend the first part of the consultations, which was held 10 days earlier due to assembly polls in three states of the region. The meetings are significant in backdrop of forthcoming assembly election in nine states including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

Sunday 24 February 2013

Chasing targets in office won’t help, lend your hand in building nation


EDITORIAL:

(This is not a news item)

Recently in nationwide 48 hour bandh called by eleven trade unions, there were different responses in different states. While in some cases efforts were made by the supporters to ensure that bandh be maintained, in others government tried its best to foil it making an ego issue out of it. This has now become a routine on any bandh day.
But a serious question that arises is, why general public is not supporting bandhs even when the agenda very closely relates to them, is it that there is some kind of disconnect between the leaders and the public.
In last bandh, management and even the employees of IT and outsourcing industry were found boasting their attendance, people who work in this industry are mostly young, educated and completely disassociated with any politics and so with any bandhs, but increasing prices of petrol, diesel, food etc. also affects them if not now, then in future. Just chasing targets in office won’t help, they have to come forward and participate in nation building. And the political parties should also ensure that more and more people from these sectors get actively involved with the mass. Also the political parties must study and find out newer techniques and tactics to ensure that mass willingly participate in bandhs without fear without force as the old tactics and techniques have gone obsolete in new socio-political environment.

Saturday 23 February 2013

Indian Railways goes clean & hygenic

Indian Railway is set to provide clean and hygienic services as it undertakes schemes like ‘Intensive mechanized cleaning’ in maintenance depots, ‘On Board House-Keeping Services (OBHS)’ for cleaning of coaches on run and cleaning attention to trains during their stoppage at ‘Clean Train Stations’ etc. Mechanized cleaning, rag picking and garbage disposal contracts are being awarded for ensuring cleaning of stations including platforms. More and more toilets are being brought under ‘pay & use’ scheme. Besides, regular inspections are conducted at various levels to monitor cleanliness in the coaches and at stations.

Northern Coalfield Ltd. bags CSR award


Coal India Limited subsidiary Northern Coalfields Limited bags “50 Most Caring Companies of India” award in the World Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) congress 2013 held in Mumbai on February 18, 2013 on world’s CSR Day. 
NCL’s Director (Personnel) Ms Shanti Lata Sahoo received the award on behalf of the company consisting of a trophy and a citation. The award was conferred on NCL for its good corporate citizenship and company’s endeavors to promote partnership between the Business and Social Welfare Sectors
The World CSR Congress brings over 130 countries under one roof to unite the best and celebrate leadership in building a better society and making better world. The theme of Congress was “Possible to Do Well by Doing Good”. 

Watershed Development Programs to check soil errosion


Statistical data available with Indian Council of Agricultural Research pertaining to 2010 says that, out of total geographical area of 328.73 million hectare, about 120.40 million hectare is affected by various kind of land degradation across the country.
Ministry of Agriculture is implementing various watershed development programmes across the country to conserve top soil and prevent soil erosion and land degradation like National Watershed Development Project for Rain fed Areas, Soil Conservation in Catchments of River Valley Project and Flood Prone River and Reclamation and Development of Alkali & Acid Soils.
Soil formation and its erosion is a natural phenomenon occurring simultaneously. Such soil erosion leads to land degradation in upper reaches of the river system, whereas when deposited at various locations of river systems, it may increase the soil fertility.

Afghan election officials being trained at Indian facility

A batch of election officials from Afghanistan has commenced training at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), the training and resource centre of the Election Commission of India (ECI).  The special two-week course titled “Capacity Development for Election Management” has been designed for senior officials of Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan.  The course has been organized with support from Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.  This is the latest in the series of ECI’s initiatives to share experience, skills and expertise with its counterparts in the South Asian Region.  ECI is currently the Chair of the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia.
 Addressing the delegates on the first day of two-week training programme, Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr. V. S. Sampath told the Afghanistan officials that Election Commission of India considers them as Master Trainers who could, in turn, train other Trainers at the district / assembly level ahead of elections in their country next year. He mentioned that the Commission would like to see that even the last field-level election official in Afghanistan derives benefit from the knowledge gained by the participants during this training programme. 

ICC's 6th Environment Partnership Summit held in Calcutta

The city hosted 6th Environment Partnership Summit on 21-22 February at the Hayaat Regency, which focused on Green Economy as a road map for sustainable industrial development. The summit was organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce where a host of issues were discussed, such as importance of alternative energy, technology transfer, indigenous development of technology, policy development just to name a few. Minister -In-Charge of Dept. of Environment, West Bengal, Dr. Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, while addressing the gathering said, "Green economy is only way to go ahead with sustainable economy." He said that West Bengal has abundant renewable energy sources, especially solar energy and asked the corporate houses to step forward with green projects assuring them full support from his department. Chairman of WPCB, Prof. Binay K Datta said "not much of electronic wastes are dismantled and processed in our state, infact there are not enough units throughout the country which can dismantle and extract valuables from e-wastes." Now attention is being paid on the issue and two units are coming up in the state, he added. He also mentioned about the inefficient recycling process being carried out by the unorganised sector. ICC President, Dr. Rajeev Singh suggested, "we need to do environmental risk profiling of West Bengal and look at various kind of risks which Bengal has, whether in terms of sea level rising, pollution of water in Ganges, change in climate, what impact it can have on crops, whether there is a need to change its cropping pattern" He further said that ICC will be happy to be involved in such a study, which will be benefiting the sate in long run.

Private Companies to run buses in Calcutta roads

Transport Minister, Madan Mitra today formally announced that buses on route no 14 will be started again from Monday. He said that Mayor and Industry Minister will inaugurate the bus from Behala. The buses on route no 14 used to run between Behala and Esplanade.
The Minister also said that for the first time in history of Calcutta private companies will be running bus services. Though currently some buses are plying in a joint venture between private players and the state but this will be the first time that private operators will run the buses. Initially non-ac four buses will ply between Dakshineshwar and Amta from Monday as a pilot project and then gradually the number of buses will be increased to numbers as high as 200 by May. The mister said that the buses will have better services like push back seats, mineral water and better lighting.

     

Realty Expo 2013


Minister of Sports and Transports, Madan Mitra inaugurated The Realty Expo 2013 which is being held at Milan Mela Grounds and organised by CREDAI Bengal. The exhibition covers three halls where 58 stalls have been setup by different realty developers mainly from the city, but there are a few who have come from outside and even from different state.
Welcoming CREDAI Madan said, within a few years they have changed the face of city with their projects. Minister also said that the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Area has increased and it needs to be extended further.
Jhimli Dasmunshi of BCT Infrastructure LLP said that in the exhibition potential customers are detailed about the projects and if desired they also conduct site visits.
Fashion Designer, Agnimitra Paul said, home is the first impression and people judge you by your home, and an exhibition of this kind saves a lot of time and is a wonderful idea providing everything under one roof and also the stalls are designed very creatively.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Civil Aviation Authority to replace overloaded and under-staffed DGCA


The Minister for Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh today said that Civil Aviation Authority, (CAA) will soon replace the overloaded and under-staffed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which faces procedural and structural problems. Addressing a press conference, the Minister said that the Bill for creation of the Authority is likely to be introduced in the second part of the Budget session of Parliament. CAA, headed by a chairman, with Director-General and seven to nine members supporting him all of them being appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a selection committee, would take over the responsibilities of the DGCA in areas like air safety, airspace regulation, setting aviation standards, licensing of airlines, pilots, air traffic controllers and consumer protection.
The main functions and powers of the proposed CAA will be to regulate civil aviation safety and provide for the better management of civil aviation through safety oversight of air transport operators, airport operators, air navigation service operators and providers of civil aviation services. It will also issue licenses, certificates, permits, approvals etc. required to be issued under the Aircraft Act, 1934 and Aircraft Rules. Besides, it will also provide environment regulations for airports, airlines and other civil aviation activities and protect interest of the consumers. 
Having the financial and operational autonomy to take expeditious decisions, CAA will have power and authority to call for information including financial information and conduct investigations, power to issue directions, power of seizure, power to punish any person, operator, company or a Government Department, if they fail to comply with its orders or directions and the punishment will be in the form of fine as prescribed under the rules.
The Authority shall have full financial autonomy and shall have a separate fund, the “Civil Aviation Authority of India Fund” which will be used for all expenses of the authority in connection with the discharge of its functions including salaries etc. The Authority will be a self-funding entity duly authorized by the Government and will have power to fix and collect fees and charges for all functions, duties and services required to be performed by the Authority. Authority may levy charges for safety oversight functions of the air navigation services, safety fee from the passengers for safety oversight functions and safety fee for surveillance inspection of air transport operators etc. with the prior permission of the Government. It is proposed to create this fund by collecting fee from air navigation service providers and passengers in additional to the budgetary support given by the Government. 
The minister said that currently DGCA has limited delegation of financial powers and is incapable to make adequate structural changes to meet the demands of a dynamic Civil Aviation sector.This necessitates replacement of DGCA with CAA which will have more administrative and financial power to deal with the fast changing domestic and global aviation scenario. 

First NTPC project in Jharkhand

NTPC is going to set up environment friendly super-critical, North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Plant (NKSTPP) in the vicinity of Tandwa town, district Chatra in Jharkhand after the Cabinet Committee on Investment cleared the proposal of the Ministry of Power.Execution of the project would lead to generation of 1980 MW of power.Safeguards according to the recommendation of the Chaturvedi Committee and accepted by the Group of Ministers (GoM) under the chairmanship of Finance Minister will apply to the project. This is the first project of NTPC in Jharkhand which will benefit the state and people of Jharkhand where about 26 percent of the population is tribal which will generate power for about 35 years of plant life.

PM expects fruitful session


Prime Minister says, this session of Parliament is going to transact the important financial business before the house and hopes productive, constructive debate on many national problems faced by our country which will lead to solve them.” I have said this before and I repeat it again. Parliament is a forum for discussion, for dialogue, and all parties have an obligation to ensure that Parliament runs smoothly,” he said. He is expecting a fruitful session where political parties will join hands to find constructive solutions to the formidable challenges facing our nation.

Quality and Capacity, Bengal's Priority


The State Government is giving priority on the quality and capacity development of  Small Scale Industrial Units by implementing various schemes and is also taking initiatives for market development of product manufactured by them. The Government is setting up urban haats and rural haats in prominent district towns and in every sub-division respectively to promote trade, one haats has already been set-up at Durgapur and work is in progress in Siliguri, while others are coming up at Salt Lake, Shanti Niketan, and Kalna. Minister of Micro and Small Scale Enterprises, Textiles, Land and Land Reforms, Swapan Debnath said that the saying, export acts as an engine of economic growth is very much true in case of economic growth and development in India. West Bengal deserves a special mention in export of garments, handicraft, handloom, engineering goods, and leather products. Furthermore he said," We have 256 units in West Bengal exporting apparel products valued at about Rs.1000 crore annually annual export of handicraft from West Bengal is about Rs. 500 crore, while export of jute diversified products from the state is more than 100 crore per annum."
While speaking at Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry BNCCI), the minister also asked the members to think about exporting rice barn, which has very high nutritional value and patali gur which was appreciated by all. He also said that when properly packaged they can fetch high prices in urban markets and also help the small farmers who produce it.

Monday 18 February 2013

We don't have magic lamp in our hand: Madan Mitra


In a bid to improve transport condition in Calcutta, State Government is coming up with various new measures. In order to reduce traffic jams, the minister said, transport ministry has plans to bring tramlines closer to the footpath. High mast lights are being set up to ensure better illumination on road, while CCTV cameras are already in place. It is also keen on setting up more flyovers with multiple way outs and not just single exit points. The state government is also seriously considering about increasing its share of public transport vehicles which currently accounts to merely 8-9 per cent of the entire public transport vehicles.
"At least we need 30 per cent road spaces in a state, earlier it was 6 per cent and now after encroachment it is reduced to 4 per cent and we have to manage fifty lakh carriers every day with only 4 per cent available roadways, which we have received from the previous government. We don’t have magic lamps in our hand that within a span of 18 months every thing will be changed," said Madan Mitra. 
Road accidents are far less in Kolkata in comparison to other parts of the city said transport minister, Madan Mitra. He further said that the Government is very strict regarding overtaking and rash driving for both private as well as commercial vehicles, which are major cause of road accidents, in and around the city, in fact in the entire state. "I strongly feel throughout Bengal so long there will be commission system in private buses overtaking and rash driving cannot be avoided" he said while speaking about the prevailing commission system in private transport, he further added that Government is also providing counseling sessions along with yoga and meditation classes for drivers and helpers to help them cope with stress.

Sunday 17 February 2013

Industry welcomes Companies Bill, 2011


Companies Bill, 2012 which was passed in Lok Sabha on 18th December last year, requires that every company having net worth of rupees five hundred crore or more, or turnover of rupees one thousand crore or more, or a net profit of rupees five crore or more, during any financial year shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board consisting of three or more directors, out of which at least one director shall be an independent director and the Board of every company to ensure that the company spends, in every financial year, at least two per cent of the average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. If the company fails to spend such amount, the Board shall, in its report specify the reasons for not spending the amount. Though not mandated by the Act, but the companies are expected to spend on CSR near the place of their business, the areas where the funds may be spent are specified, AIDS, food, education being a few of them.
Timir Baran Chatterjee, Sr. Ex. Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Legal, DIC India ltd., welcomes the bill as “a lot of attention is given on governance and many irrelevant provisions have been deleted” will take care of new business scenario, he said while speaking at a “Workshop on the New Companies Bill, 2011” organized by Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI). Sri Amit Kumar Sen, President of BNCCI in his welcoming speech said, “For the first time, the role and responsibilities of the Directors as well as the key Managerial Persons have been clearly defined leaving no scope for ambiguity. Similarly roles and responsibilities of the auditors have been increased tremendously in the proposed Act.” Hoping that the forthcoming Act will live upto the best global practices, he is apprehensive that, “so much power has been given to the administration bypassing the judiciary, that the same may cause aberration in the future.” Chatterjee said that the bill has spelt out the “basic function of the Directors, though it doesn’t define the functions of CFO .“ He also appreciated the removal of section 297 which restricts the sale, purchase or supply of any goods, material or services between companies where a director of the company or his relative, a firm in which such a director or relative is a partner, any other partner in such a firm, or a private company of which the director is a member or director.

We need to go back to 9% growth :Anand Sharma


Sharma says that “we need to go back to 9% growth. Once things improve, we need to have double digit growth and sustain it for at least two and half decade. This is important from the point of view of sustained growth and social needs of providing jobs to a young population.” He was optimistic about India's growth story and said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. 

India determined to rationalise and simplify FDI procedures: Anand Sharma:

The Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles, Anand Sharma, while delivering his keynote address at the India Business Meet in Dubai today told the investors and businessmen about India's determination to rationalize and simplify the FDI procedure. He outlined the recent policy initiatives in that direction like Invest India, e-biz, FDI reforms and asked investors to take full advantage of these initiatives. “I share your concern in delay in clearances. We are working seriously in that direction. The first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Investment examined projects in the oil and gas and decisions will be taken in 30 days flat,” said Sharma. 

Keeping in mind the immense possibility of the economic engagement between the two countries, Sharma also announced the establishment of a High-Level Task Force, co-chaired by Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nehayan and himself “to develop avenues of catalysing greater investments on both sides.” “I am leading a strong delegation for the first meeting of the task force from India to take the cooperation to a new level”, said Shri Sharma. He also welcomed the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds to invest in the Indian economy. 

Sharma also said that the growing synergies between the businesses of both India and United Arab Emirates and the welcoming investment climate have encouraged the private sector to enhance their engagement to a higher level. Sharma added that the two economies have the advantage of geography enabling them to become natural partners. “Our economies are also defined by complementary strengths. It is these complementary strengths, which we must build upon as two people bound by ties of history to write a new essay of economic partnership in the 21st century,” stressed Sharma. 

Inefficient financial system cannot rescue people out of poverty

Any inefficient financial system cannot rescue people out of poverty because it will be passing on its increased cost burden to the people, said RBI, Deputy Governor, K.C.Chakrabarty. "Indian financial system including the micro finance is more tyrant than the money lenders because their operating cost is one of the highest." he said, while addressing "Conference on Corporate Governance in Micro Finance" organized by Indian Chamber of Commerce in the city, he further said, "that the moment you say there should not be margin cap, you are asking that I (organisation) should be allowed to be more inefficient." Specially referring to the micro finance sector Mr. Chakarbarty said, "Your corporate governance standard should be of much more higher standard because you are providing finance to the most vulnerable section of the society without any security." Furthermore he said, role of good corporate governance "is to ensure that inefficient, fraudulent, tyrant elements do not come into the system," if these elements penetrate into the system then crisis is inevitable, added Chakrabarty. He said, good governance lays more emphasis on viability and protection of customer rather than squeezing him to extract profits, as practiced in western countries.

ESIC goes online

Employees' State Insurance Corporation is now digitalized and employers can get themselves and their employees registered online and also pay their contribution over the internet, announced ESIC, Additional Commissioner and Regional Director,G.C.Jena at an interactive session organized by Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry(BNCCI). "All over India there are 790 centers of ESIC covering 1.54 crore employees of the organized sector and total number of beneficiaries are 6.02 crores," he said. The insured employees unlike earlier can now avail the ESI benefits throughout India. He also said that that apart from their own hospitals they have now also tied up with super-specialty hospitals throughout India. Mr. Jena said that they are keen on setting up more dispensaries. While replying to the queries of the members from the chamber he said that the employers do not need to pay the contribution for those employees who are posted in the non ESI implemented zones, however they can pay the contribution for all
the employees posted in different ESI zones from one location. In those organizations where there are 50-60 employees who are yet to get permanent 'Pehchan Card', the ESIC on the organization’s request may set up separate camps for the purpose. He also said that the rate of inspections will decrease and an inspector can at
most ask for records for five years.

Power vested in admin bypassing judiciary may cause aberration: A.K.Sen


Companies Bill, 2012 which was passed in Lok Sabha on 18th December last year, requires that every company having net worth of rupees five hundred crore or more, or turnover of rupees one thousand crore or more, or a net profit of rupees five crore or more, during any financial year shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board consisting of three or more directors, out of which at least one director shall be an independent director and the Board of every company to ensure that the company spends, in every financial year, at least two per cent of the average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. If the company fails to spend such amount, the Board shall, in its report specify the reasons for not spending the amount. Though not mandated by the Act, but the companies are expected to spend on CSR near the place of their business, the areas where the funds may be spent are specified, AIDS, food, education being a few of them.
Timir Baran Chatterjee, Sr. Ex. Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Legal, DIC India ltd., welcomes the bill as “a lot of attention is given on governance and many irrelevant provisions have been deleted” will take care of new business scenario, he said while speaking at a “Workshop on the New Companies Bill, 2011” organized by Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI). Sri Amit Kumar Sen, President of BNCCI in his welcoming speech said, “For the first time, the role and responsibilities of the Directors as well as the key Managerial Persons have been clearly defined leaving no scope for ambiguity. Similarly roles and responsibilities of the auditors have been increased tremendously in the proposed Act.” Hoping that the forthcoming Act will live upto the best global practices, he is apprehensive that, “so much power has been given to the administration bypassing the judiciary, that the same may cause aberration in the future.” Chatterjee said that the bill has spelt out the “basic function of the Directors, though it doesn’t define the functions of CFO .“ He also appreciated the removal of section 297 which restricts the sale, purchase or supply of any goods, material or services between companies where a director of the company or his relative, a firm in which such a director or relative is a partner, any other partner in such a firm, or a private company of which the director is a member or director.

V-Day Eve in Calcutta


Florists and gift shops are busy catering to the vast needs of love birds in the city of joy. Where money no more remains a limiting factor for love, the shopkeepers are struggling hard to meet the mid-night delivery deadline, as everyone wishes to wish first. Ranjeet Singh Gandhi, who owns three shops in New Market says "Valentine's day market ushered greatly after the release of Shahrukh Khan starrer film Mohabbatein,and even today Mohabbatein leaves and red roses top the list. There is literally no limit for most of the customers; even the non-earning college students are willing to spend Rs 1000-2000 for their love." Madhu Saha, distributor of Archies who is in the trade since last 25 years and owns shops at multiple locations says that, Valentine's Day market has developed significantly in last 8-10years, there is almost two fold expansion in market in last 4 years. He said, "Though there are cards in range of Rs.55-795, customers are not keen in buying lower end cards." He added, "Mostly people give chocolates, coffee-mugs and Teddy bears.
"Most of the flowers are brought from Howrah and Bangalore, some of them even being imported from Bangkok. Orchids and lilies are next preferences after roses, says Ranjeet. He further said, "Proportion of married to unmarried customers is nearly the same this year, more over there is also a significant increase in number of elderly customers." This Valantine's has also been good for the people working at the florist shops as Ranjeet says where they normally employ four people for Rs. 300 a day, now they have 12 people working at Rs.1000 a day. The shops are also earning in the range of fifty thousand to a lakh rupees a day where on a general day they earn around 5000 rupees.

Surveys Being Carried On 312 Km :Kolkata Metro


Kolkata Metro is set to phase out its 18 rakes which belong to 1984 batch, with newer air conditioned ones and also install 23 additional escalators in the stations. Kolkata Metro, which serves 6 - 6.5 lakh and nearly 4 lakh people on weekdays and in the weekends respectively with its existing fleet of 29 rakes. Kolkata
Metro, General Manager, Radhey Shyam said that it is the cheapest metro, though he said that there may be a rise in fare as the matter is under consideration of Railway Board, which takes all fair relating decisions pertaining to Kolkata Metro; he further stated that the operating ratio (percentage of operating expenses to revenue) is high and increment is necessary atleast to reach a 'no-profit, no-loss' stage. He also said that Kolkata Metro is going to have an integrated security system worth Rs 20 crores very soon along with Smart Card Recharging Kiosks, three such kiosks are already installed. Kolkata Metro currently operates on a 25 kilometres stretch between Dumdum and Kavi Subhash, which is going to extend to 87.83 kilometers and surveys are going on 312 kilometers of land which are intended to connect the suburbs with the city. Talking about the glitches in current extension projects he said that it is not moving due to the land encroachments and the state government is looking into the matter

Trams can operate at 25kmph: Shantilal Jain


Calcutta Tram Company, Chairman, Shantilal Jain while speaking in a seminar organised by Bengal National Chamber Of Commerce and Industries announced that trams will again be plying from Tollygunge to Mominpur and Tollygunge to Ballygunge after remaining out of service for seven years. The trams will
operate on Tollygunge-Mominpur route from coming Bengali new year, while Tollygunge-Ballygunge route is expected to be operational by Durga Puja. CTC will soon be inducting around 100 buses to operate in the city roads, and surveys are being carried on for reserved tramways in Salt Lake, Bantala, and New Town.
Mr. Jain said that trams don't cause traffic jams, the actual culprit is the faulty traffic system and that provided a dedicated path, they can operate at a speed as high as 25kmph, he also reminded that earlier trams had a reserved path along with platforms. An airconditioned, single body tram is going to join the existing fleet by March which will be operated on contract basis for the time being. A tram exhibiting pictures of Swami Vivekanand will be running for a month from Wednessday. The Chairman said that there
are numerous plans to develop CTC, like renovation of Esplanade Tram Depot, laying of tram tracks along the banks of Ganges to ensure pollution free traffic, induction of Cafetaria and Banquet trams for commercial purposes are just to name a few. He said that CTC won't be selling any of its land to raise money rather it will be looking for new avenues and alternate sources of revenue