New Delhi, 8 February, 2012

15th National Awards of e-Governance 2011-12 are declared today by Government of India’s Department of Information Technology and Department of Administrative reforms and public grievances.The state of Gujarat has won two awards in two different categories.

In Outstanding performance in citizen-centric service delivery category, Gujarat government’s E-Mamta project has won silver award. E-Mamta is mother and child tracking application under state health rural mission, department of Health and family welfare, Government of Gujarat.

The state has also won Bronze award in Innovative use of technology in e-governance category. The state has secured this award for integrated geo-spatial ICT solution for scientific planning and monitoring of MGNREGS works in Gujarat, MGNREGS, Commissionerate of rural development, department of rural development, Government of Gujarat.

The awards will be presented in the valedictory session of the 15th national conference on 10th February, 2012 at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

New Delhi, 7 February 2012

The Supreme Court of India today ordered that SpeakAsia will have to return money to its investors.

On a plea filed by a group of more than 100 investors of Speak Asia last year for recovering their monty, the Supreme Court bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Verma today directed SpeakAsia to deposit before it the amount payable to investors and concerned authorities. SC asked the mediator, appointed by it earlier, to ascertain the exact amount which is payable by Speak Asia to the investors and other authorities and directed the company to deposit the same within two weeks after that.

Singapore-based firm SpeakAsia is accused of duping investors to the tune of Rs 1,300 crore.

New Delhi, 7 February 2012

Indian Railways has taken a decision to increase the advance reservation period from existing 90 days to 120 days. The new decision will be effective from March 10 after Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) make necessary changes in the software for this purpose.

This means, now one can book his train ticket 120 days before the journey.So the passenger will be able to plan his journey four months in advance.

However advance reservation rules for certain short distance trains for which the advance reservation period is 15 days will remain unchanged.

Also there will be no change in case of the limit of 360 days for foreign tourists.

Ahmedabad, 5 February, 2012

Gujarat Government today in a statement said it would sell state government stock securities worth Rs 1,500 crore with a holding period of 10 years to fund development programmes and schemes included in the annual development plan (ADP) for 2011-2012.

The auction of the stock securities will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 7, Additional Secretary to the Gujarat Finance Department, Manish Verma, said.

In recent years, the state’s public debt has mounted to Rs 1,13,125 crore as on 31 March, 2011, which the government says is being utilised for “developmental activities and in creation of productive assets”.

Besides the staggering liability, the state government has also extended guarantees on behalf of the state-owned entities and various statutory bodies.

With stringent financial and administrative measures, the government has reduced its outstanding guarantees from Rs 19,001 crore at the end of 2002-03 to Rs 8,824 crore as on March 31, 2011, the release added.

The state government in 1999-2000 had constituted a consolidated sinking fund (CSF) for redemption of the debt raised from the open market borrowings, the hand out said, adding the balance in CSF stood at Rs 5,922 crore as on March 31, 2011.

Surat, 5 February 2012

Kyunki Sas bhi kabhi bahu thi and Bigg boss season five fame actor Amar Upadhyay (Mihir Virani) has been asked to appear before the court in Surat on February 28th in connection with case of cheating.

A Surat based trader has alleged that Mumbai based actor Amar Upadhyay cheated him which resulted in a lose of Rs 15 lakh to him. After the local police submitted its investigation report to court, Amar Upadhyay has been ordered to appear before the court in Surat on February 28th.

Surat’s Sumul dairy road based Aaradhana sales agency owner Dharamchand Udaylal Shah had taken distributorship of Amar Upadhyay’s company Mihir Virani multitude private limited. Amar Upadhyay had taken Rs 15 lakh from Dharamchand, awarding him rights to appoint distributors in different states.

Aoon after the payment, when Dharamchand tried to contact Amar Upadhyay, he was out of reach. On one side, Dharamchand’s repeated attempts didn’t yield any result, on the other side Amar Upadhyay changed his address and mobile numbers.

After he failed in his repeated efforts to meet Amar Upadhyay, Dharamchand submitted an application in Mahidharpura police station complaining cheating of Rs 15 lakh. As police was lethargic in taking his complain seriously, Dharamchand later went to court citing non-cooperation of police. After the court ordered to investigate into Dharamchand’s complain, Mahidharpura police started investigation and took a statement of Dharamchand Shah. However police failed to have a statement of Amar Upadhyay. Finally the court has summoned Amar Upadhyay on February 28th.It is to see whether Upadhyay turns up to the court or not.

New Delhi, 4 February 2012

In a move to further make Train Reservation Ticketing System passenger friendly, the Ministry of Railways has decided to permit Short Messaging Service (SMS) sent by its PSU, Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) containing vital details as an instrument on par with the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS). This has come into effect from 1st February, 2012.

The mandatory features of the authorized SMS are (a) SMS sent by IRCTC/Railways will be considered for this purpose and (b) The SMS would contain all the vital ticket details like PNR, Train Number, Date of Journey, Class, Name & Number of Passengers, Coach & Seat Number and Fare paid. (c) Also if feasible, the SMS will accommodate the names of all passengers booked on the e-ticket, otherwise maximum number of passengers.

Earlier the Railways has decided to treat the screen shot of the e-ticket displayed through laptops/palmtops/mobile phones referred to as virtual reservation Message (VRM) and the Mobile Reservation Message (MRM) for tickets booked on mobile phones combined with valid photo-id in original, as an instrument on par with the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS), even for tickets booked through the IRCTC website. Now the SMS sent by IRCTC will also be accepted.

The authorized SMS containing all the aforementioned vital details when displayed through laptops/palmtops/mobile phones combined with valid photo-id in original shall be treated as an instrument on par with the ERS.

The ERS/SMS/VRM/MRM along with (i) confirmed/RAC reservation, (ii) Valid ID-proof and (iii) Appearance of name of the passengers on the chart, will be the components of a valid authority to travel.

The list of valid proofs of identity to be produced in original during the course of on-board and off-board checking are as under:

 Voter Photo identity card issued by Election Commission of India.

 Passport

 PAN card issued by Income Tax Department

 Driving Licence issued by RTO

 Photo identity card having serial number issued by Central/State Government.

 Student Identity Card with photograph issued by recognized School/College for their students.

 Nationalized Bank Passbook with photograph

 Credit Cards issued by Banks with laminated photograph

 Unique Identification Card “Aadhaar”

The SMS will also have to be displayed during the course of On-board/Off-board checking. If the passenger fails to produce/display this SMS due to any eventuality (loss, discharged mobile/laptop etc.) but has the prescribed proof of identity, a penalty of Rs. 50/- per ticket as applicable to such cases will be levied. The ticket checking staff On board/Off board will give EFT for the same.

Ahmedabad, 4 February 2012

If you are planning to visit Saurashtra, you may like to add one more place in your itinerary. That is Chorwad, just 40 km away from Somnath, on way to Madhavpur, Porbandar or Dwarka in north.

A simple, yet very well designed memorial dedicated to India’s entrepreneurship icon and Reliance Group founder late Shri Dhirubhai Ambani was on Friday declared open for common visitors.

A person who conceived the memorial project, and personally took interest in its completion smt Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani unveiled the memorial in presence of her daughters and RIL Group President and Rajya Sabha MP Shri Parimal Nathwani.

The memorial has a museum displaying life and works of late Shri Dhirubhai Ambani, who grew up in Chorwad. The museum has an auditorium that will screen a documentary film on Dhirubhai. The memorial features a pictorial gallery in two sections;One for family pictures, and the other for Shri Dhirubhai’s life time activities and achievements.

On this occasion, smt Kokilaben said, “We are in process to develop this memorial as tourist destination in Gujarat. As Dhirubhai has been an idol for so many young Indians, this memorial will encourage those people to pursue their dreams. We will represent the state tourism department to promote Dhirubhai Memorial as tourist destination in Gujarat.”

Shri Parimal Nathwani, group president corporate affairs, RIL said, “We will send information and details about memorial to tour managers.”

He added that the memorial has a range of merchandise souvenir products like key chains, pens, t-shirts, shoulder bags and caps among others with mark of Shri Dhirubhai Ambani.

Entry fee of Rs 2 has been fixed for each visitor.

Ahmedabad, 3 February 2012

On Shri Subramanian Swamy’s plea, the Supreme Court of India on Thursday ordered that 122 telecoms licenses issued under a scandal-tainted 2008 sale be revoked.

The ruling applies to 122 licenses held by eight operators but potentially affects fewer than 5 percent of users all over India.

If we focus on Gujarat, the names of five companies whose licenses are revoked are following as per the 2008 titles;

Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Volga Properties Pvt Ltd.
Shyam Telelink Ltd.
Loop Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.

Today Datacom Solutions Pvt Ltd is known as Videocon Telecommunications Ltd.

Volga Properties Pvt Ltd is Unitech Wireless (West) Pvt. Ltd which runs Uninor service in Gujarat in a joint venture with Telenor of Norway.

Shyam Telelink Ltd has become Sistema Shyam TeleServices and runs MTS service in Gujarat.

Loop Telecom Pvt. Ltd is still Loop Telecom Ltd.

Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd is Etisalat DB.

In nutshell, the customers of MTS, Uninor, Videocon and Etisalat DB in Gujarat will have to change their operator within four months through number portability service or any other method. The Supreme Court has in its verdict permitted affected licensee operators to operate for four months. Among these operators, the highest customers are with Uninor, while others have token presence.

Full list of 122 canceled licenses are presented here:

1. Jammu & Kashmir – Tata Teleservices ltd.
2. Assam – Tata Teleservices Ltd.
3. North East – Tata Teleservices Ltd.
4. Assam – Idea Cellular Ltd.
5. Punjab – Idea Cellular Ltd.
6. Karnataka – Idea Cellular Ltd.
7. Jammu & Kashmir – Idea Cellular Ltd.
8. North East – Idea Cellular Ltd.
9. Kolkata – Idea Cellular Ltd.
10. West Bengal – Idea Cellular Ltd.
11. Orissa – Idea Cellular Ltd.
12. Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) – Idea Cellular Ltd.
13. Delhi – Spice Communications Ltd.
14. Andhra Pradesh – Spice Communications Ltd.
15. Haryana – Spice Communications Ltd.
16. Maharashtra – Spice Communications Ltd.
17. Andhra Pradesh – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
18. Gujarat – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
19. Haryana – Swan Telecom Nt. Ltd.
20. Karnataka – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
21. Kerala – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
22. Maharashtra – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
23. Punjab – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
24. Rajasthan – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
25. Tamil Nadu (including – Chennai) – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
26. Uttar Pradesh (East) – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
27. Uttar Pradesh (West) – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
28. Delhi – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
29. Mumbai – Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
30. Orissa – S Tel Ltd.
31. Assam – S Tel Ltd.
32. Jammu & Kashmir – S Tel Ltd.
33. North East – S Tel Ltd.
34. Bihar – S Tel Ltd.
35. Himachal Pradesh – S Tel Ltd.
36. Andhra Pradesh – Datacom Solutions Pvt, Ltd.
37. Assam – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
38. Bihar – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
39. Gujarat – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
40. Haryana – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
41. Himachal Pradesh – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
42. Jammu & Kashmir – Datacom Solutions Pvt, Ltd.
43. Karnataka – Datacom Solutions Pvt, Ltd.
44. Kerala – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
45. Kolkata – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
46. Madhya Pradesh – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
47. Maharashtra – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
48. North East – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
49. Orissa – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
50. Rajasthan – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd..
51. Tamilnadu (including Chennai) – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
52. Uttar Pradesh (East) – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
53. Uttar Pradesh (West) – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
54. West Bengal – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
55. Delhi – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
56. Mumba i – Datacom Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
57. Bihar – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
58. Gujarat – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
59. Himachal Pradesh – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
60. Kerala – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
61. Kolkata – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
62. Punjab – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
63. Rajasthan – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
64. Uttar Pradesh (East) – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
65. Uttar Pradesh (West) – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
66. West Bengal – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
67. Andhra Pradesh – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
68. Delhi – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
69. Haryana – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
70. Karnataka – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
71. Maharashtra – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
72. Orissa – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
73. Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
74. Assam – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
75. Jammu & Kashmir – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
76. Madhya Pradesh – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
77. North East – Loop Telecom Private Ltd.
78. Bihar – Allianz Infratech (P) Ltd.
79. Haryana – Adonis Projects Pvt. Ltd.
80. Madhya Pradesh – Allianz lnfratech (P) Ltd.
81. Himachal Pradesh – Adonis Projects Pvt. Ltd.
82. Punjab – Adonis Projects Pvt. Ltd.
83. Rajasthan – Adonis Projects Pvt. Ltd.
84. Uttar Pradesh (West) – Adonis Projects Pvt. Ltd.
85. Andhra Pradesh – Aska Projects Ltd.
86. Kerala – Aska Projects Ltd.
87. Bihar – Nahan Properties Pvt. Ltd.
88. Uttar Pradesh (East.) – Nahan Properties Pvt. Ltd.
89. Gujarat – Volga Properties Pvt ltd.
90. Madhya Pradesh – Volga Properties Pvt Ltd.
91. Maharashtra – Volga Properties Pvt Ltd.
92. Jammu & Kashmir – Adonis Projects Pvt. Ltd.
93. Karnataka – Aska Projects Ltd.
94. Kolkata – Azure Properties Ltd.
95. Delhi – Hudson Properties Ltd.
96. Assam – Nahan Properties Pvt. Ltd.
97. North East – Nahan Properties Pvt. Ltd.
98. Orissa – Nahan Properties Pvt. Ltd.
99. West Bengal – Nahan Properties Pvt. Ltd.
100. Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) Unitech Builders & Estates Pvt. Ltd..
101. Mumbai – Unitech Infrastructures Pvt. Ltd.
102. Madhya Pradesh – Shyam Telelink Limited
103. Mumbai – Shyam Telelink Limited
104. Bihar – Shyam Telelink Limited
105. Gujarat – Shyam Telelink Limited
106. Himachal Pradesh – Shyani Telelink Limited
107. Kerala – Shyam Telelink Limited
108. Kolkata – Shyam Telelink Limited
109. Punjab – Shyam Telelink Limited
110. Uttar Pradesh (East) – Shyam Telelink Limited
111. Uttar Pradesh (West) – Shyam Telelink Limited
112. West Bengal – Shyam Telelink Limited
113. Andhra Pradesh – Shyam Telelink Limited
114. Delhi – Shyam Telelink Limited
115. Haryana – Shyam Telelink Limited
116. Karnataka – Shyam Telelink Limited
117. Maharashtra – Shyam Telelink Limited
118. Orissa – Shyam Telelink Limited
119. Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) – Shyam Telelink Limited
120. Assam – Shyam Telelink Limited.
121. Jammu & Kashmir – Shyam Telelink limited
122. North East – Shyam Telelink limited

Ahmedabad, 2 February 2012

Two good news in last two days for Gujarat, and especially for Ahmedabad.

First one published in DNA yesterday saying that PSA Peugeot Citroen is shifting its India headquarter from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The headquarter office will be in newly developed Prahladnagar area next to SG Highway. The office will have 150 staff members. Peugeot has already announced to set up its car manufacturing plant at Sanand.

And read on the second headline on second day. The Times of India report says that Swiss compnay Nstle SA’s Indian subsidiary Nestle India has finalized to invest Rs 100 crore in two phases to set up a snacks and confectionery plant in Bol village, next to Sanand in Gujarat.

Last year you read that Colgate Palmolive has decided to set up a greenfield facility at an upcoming industrial estate in Sanand near here with an estimated investment of Rs 200 crore. Colgate’s this plant will also come up in Bol village at the upcoming GIDC industrial estate. Colgate has been allotted 1,00,000 sq meters of land.

The government has also given nod to the projects of Hitachi, Tbea, Corning, Allied Minerals and Bosch in Sanand belt. Tbea is Chinese company which will set up a transformer manufacturing unit with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, while Japanese consumer electronics company Hitachi Limited and Gandhinagar based Hi-Rel will set up variable frequency drive medium voltage application plant for power sector. American firm Allied Mineral Product Incorporation is coming up with monolithic refractory plant with an estimated investment of Rs 100c rore. Here mineral product useful for cement, steel and foundry industry will be manufactured. Bosch has planned to invest Rs 275 crore for its plant.

Why this rush at Sanand

-This rush is thanks to assured availability of land. It is the government that is buying land from the farmers in villages around Sanand. So the industry has to contact only the government for requirement of land to set up its plant. The government has already acquired huge land in this area to set up GIDC(Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) industrial township. So the easy land availability is one reason for this rush.

-The other reason is proximity to Ahmedabad. Sanand’s industrial belt is less than half an hour distance from the boundary of Ahmedabad.

-Infrastructure wise Gujarat is is best position. The state is power surplus unlike many other states where power shortage is big issue for existing industries. The road connecting Sanand to Ahmedabad on southern direction and Kandla port in north is excellent. The widening work of this highway is going on speedily.

-The government is solidly backing the industry. For any industry wanting to set up a new plant in Gujarat, the entry gate is in Gandhinagar. There’s a top-down approach. And once you are through in Gandhinagar, the hierarchy at bottom level would not dare to disturb you, or delay you. The state is very sure about the types of industries it wants. If you fit in that criteria, the state provides excellent facilitation.

-Law and order situation is fantastic. Thanks to proximity to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, the industries feel safer here.

Sanand’s proximity to Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad, 1 February 2012

Shri Dhirubhai Ambani’s memorial in Chorwad will be thrown open to public from February 3 in the presence of family matriarch Kokilaben Ambani and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) group President Parimal Nathwani according to a report.

The memorial is the same place where the founder of Reliance Group lived his childhood. It has three sections, comprising a picture gallery, the old residence of the legendary industrialist and an auditorium for screening a short film on Dhirubhai’s life to visitors.

The memorial was inaugurated on Dhirubhai’s 80th birth anniversary December 28 by Ambani family’s spiritual guru Ramesh Bhai Oza in presence of Mukesh and Neeta Ambani, Anil and Teena Ambani, their family and daughters of late Shri Dhirubhai Ambani.

By Tejash Modi, 1 February 2012

The citizens of Surat today received two good gifts in the area of aviation. First the much awaited Spice Jet flight took off today connecting the city of Surat with Mumbai, Delhi and Mangalore. Second good news is that the DGCA has approved night landing facility at Surat airport. This makes night landing possible at Surat airport.

Private air operator Spice Jet today operated its first flight from Surat at 8.05 am, the time when 189-seater Boeing 737 aircraft from Delhi landed at Surat airport. The plane left Surat airport for Mumbai at 8.35 am. It arrived back at Surat at 3.20 pm from Mangalore via Mumbai and departed for Delhi at 4.00 pm

BJP and Congress workers were present in large number at the airport. Members of Facebook club who fought online battle for better air connectivity to Surat were also present here. They offered chocolate, fafda, locha-khaman and other Surti varieties of food to welcome the first flight. Some members of this club were wearing ‘I love Surat’ caps. Spice Jet’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director were also present on this occasion. A cake cutting ceremony was held to mark the maiden flight.

The flight schedule:

-Flight SG 151 will leave Delhi at 6.25 am and will arrive at Surat airport at 8.05 am.
-After 25 minute halt it will leave for Mumbai at 8.35 am and will reach Mumbai at 9.20 am after 45 minute flight.
-After over one hour halt at Mumbai, it will leave for Mangalore at 10.25 am, and reach there at 11.55 am.
-From Mangalore, flight SG 152 will leave for Mumbai at 12.25 am and arrive at Mumbai airport at 13.55.
-At 14.35 it will leave Mumbai and arrive at Surat airport at 15.20.
-From Surat, the flight will leave for Delhi at 16.05 and reach Delhi at 17.45.