Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar Govt to open logistic infrastructure support industry

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:29 PM PDT

PATNA: A logistic support infrastructure industry will come up at Bihta in Patna district in place of a closed sugar mill. This was announced by deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi in the state assembly on Monday while intervening during the question hour.

Sugarcane minister Awadhesh Prasad Kushwaha while replying to a question of Bhai Birendra (RJD) said that the government was prepared to re-open the closed sugar mill, but nobody showed interest and did not come up for bidding.

The questioner and other members objected to giving the land to some industrial house for opening non-agri factory saying it would hurt the interest of the farmers who were growing sugarcane. Leader of Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui (RJD) wanted to know what type of industry was to be opened at Bihta.

Get growth and development stories of Bihar daily to your inbox

Bihar students to get e-scholarship now

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 07:32 AM PDT

PATNA: The Bihar government on Saturday introduced an innovative scheme of providing scholarship to college students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), EBC and backward classes through e Z-Pay card. Bihar is second state after Andhra Pradesh to introduce this scheme.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar handed over the cards to some of the beneficiaries at a function here. In the first phase, 2.50 lakh students are being provided this ATM card for which the government has made agreement with the SBI. The students were in a jubilant mood and they experimented with their ATM cards at a specially set up ATM unit at Samwad where the function was held.

The CM said through the scheme, the monthly scholarship will be deposited in the account of each beneficiary and the students would be able to draw the money from ATMs by using their cards. This will rescue them from unnecessary harassment and save their time running from one place to another.

“This is a post-matric scheme and later it will be extended to school students too,” Nitish announced. He said the stipend had been raised three times and may be increased further in future. The aim of the scholarship is that the students should continue with their higher education and should not drop out due to financial restrain.

The CM, however, said he did not have good experience with the banks who initially had not cooperated with opening of account for school girls who were being paid money for purchasing uniform and bicycle. He said he rejected the idea of giving stitched uniform and bicycle to them as it could lead to scams. That was why he decided to give cash to the students for the purpose.

He advised the students to utilize the money properly and continue with their education, but he did not discourage them from indulging in some fun and frolic though.

SC, ST, EBC and backward classes welfare department secretary Ravi Parmar said 2.50 lakh beneficiaries had been provided with e Z-Pay card in the first phase. In the second phase, Parmar said, students from Class VII would be included in the scheme and then about a million students belonging to the group would get this pre-paid card which has a 10-year validity. The beneficiaries need not open bank account.

He said presently the students were getting monthly stipend between Rs 300 and 700 depending on their class and stream; likewise students of Class XI and XII were getting Rs 300 while students of technical education get Rs 700 per month. This card could be used at any of 23,000 SBI ATMs, he added.

“We will also include the beneficiaries of Mukhya Mantri Chhatra Vriti Yojna under this scheme. The students of SC, ST, EBC and backward classes get Rs 10,000 on passing matric exam with first division. This time the incentive will also be paid through cards,” Parmar said.

Earlier, minister of SC, ST welfare Jitan Ram Manjhi and minister of EBC and backward classes welfare Hari Prasad Sah thanked the CM for introducing the scheme saying it will encourage the students from poor and backward sections of society.

 

 

Get growth and development stories of Bihar daily to your inbox

Railways keen to launch phone booking

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 04:17 AM PDT

PATNA: Railway ticket booking through cellphones is picking up fast these days, particularly in the metros. On an average about 800 to 1,000 tickets are being booked through cellphones daily in the metros.

Cellphone savvy people, particularly from metropolitan cities, have been using this new system without any hassle. The new system has almost ended travails of the long wait in the queue to procure railway computerized journey tickets. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC ) Ltd has taken the lead in introducing this system.

According to a Railway Board official, the newly developed ultra modrn system has not been introduced in Bihar and adjoining states. The railways is keen to create awareness about this new facility among passengers of the East Central Railway (ECR). he said.

Under this system, people booking railway tickets, however, need to have Java-enabled handsets to access internet services. This facility will enable people to book their journey tickets in advance. Delivery of the tickets could be had through couriers. But those having their own mail ID could get the booked tickets online also, sources said.

Since the use of cellphone has become common these days, people would find it convenient to book their journey tickets well in advance even from remote places. Besides, they could also seek information related to berth availability and journey plan through cellphones. The IRCTC has provided the facility of using credit cards and cash cards for booking tickets through cellphones, a Board official said.

According to sources, the IRCTC had introduced this system way back in 2003. But it could not click due to some technical reasons. Earlier, this system was brought into service through cellphones on voice mail and SMS only. But, it could not evoke good response from passengers using cellphones. Thus, the railways has decided to introduce the new system based on Java-enabled handsets as well as on all those sets having internet facilities, sources said.

A Board official admitted that the railways seems to be keen to ensure availability of railway journey tickets at doorsteps of the people across the country without charging any additional cost. The Board had approved this new cell system in December last year after getting mandatory clearance from the RBI, he said.

Get growth and development stories of Bihar daily to your inbox

Bihar to have Mobile trauma centres soon

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 12:15 AM PDT

PATNA: Concerned over growing road accidents and rising percentage of mortality across the state, state health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Sunday announced the government would set-up mobile trauma centres along national and state highways soon.

The health minister was speaking after inaugurating “Trauma Symposium 2011″ here, organized by the Bihar branch of Central Zone of Indian Orthopaedic Association (CZIOA).

“Bihar government is concerned at the rising mortality rates in road accidents and we are working to increase the chances of saving lives. Currently, six trauma centres are in the final phase of being set up in the state. They will be dedicated to the people soon,” Choubey informed 300 and odd surgeons who have come as delegates from across the country to participate in the symposium.

The health minister also announced that the government would open trauma centres at primary health centres. “We have to make sure that better orthopaedic treatment reaches every person in the state. To achieve this objective, trauma centres are needed in remotest parts of the state,” he said.

“The government plans to pursue this objective in parallel with improving existing machinery to improve orthopaedic treatment system further,” the minister said.

The day-long symposium witnessed exchange of ideas, and sharing of knowledge and experience among reputed orthopaedic surgeons. More than 50 stalls of artificial limbs and medicines were put up by different companies.

Proudly elaborating the improvement in medicare in Bihar, Choubey told the delegates: “The government’s aim is not only to make available quality medicare facilities but also to keep pace with rapid technological developments in the field of medicine to provide medical facilities of the highest order.”

The minister also spoke about the success of various ambitious schemes of his department. “About 32 lakh patients were treated under a month-long campaign, “Gram Swasthya Chetna Yatra”. Health camps were organised at 10,500 places in 38 districts under this scheme,” he added.

Principal secretary, health, Bihar, Amarjeet Sinha said the government has prepared a “Nayee Peedhi Swasth Guarantee Karyakram” programme, wherein comprehensive health check-up of young boys and girls would be done and health cards given to them. The scheme would cover boys below 14 years of age and girls below 18 years of age.

Vice-chancellor, LNMU University, Darbhanga, S P Singh, who was the guest of honour, also underlined the need of increasing the network of trauma centres in the state.

Head of orthopaedic department, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Dr Arjun Singh, felicitated the guests on the occasion. A vote of thanks was proposed by the CZIOA organizing secretary, Dr Amulya Kumar Singh.

 

 

Get growth and development stories of Bihar daily to your inbox

Super-30 founder to speak in Dubai

Posted: 29 Mar 2011 08:16 PM PDT

Patna: Bihar’s maths wizard Anand Kumar, founder of “Super-30″, a free coaching institute which has helped many unprivileged children clear the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination, is set to motivate students during a four-day mega education conference in the UAE.

Kumar, who will share the platform with former British premier Tony Blair, Nobel laureate Albert Fert and other global greats, has been invited by the UAE’s Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, which is organising a four-day mega conference titled “Education Without Borders”, which starts today.

Around 3,700 students from 129 countries from across the globe will attend the function and benefit from the lectures of the dignitaries invited to the conference. The opening ceremony will be held at the Burj Khalifa, with an adventurous show of Alain Robert, dubbed the French Spiderman.

Kumar will speak about his childhood struggle and the evolution of “Super-30″ — an initiative he launched which has helped hundreds of talented students from the unprivileged and poor classes to gain admission into the highly competitive IITs through his free coaching and constant motivation. He will highlight how education can be the biggest tool of social change.

“The prime objective of the conference is to inspire a commitment to use education and technology to design solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” Kumar said yesterday, expressing his happiness over being invited to the conference. “It endeavours to engage students and experts from around the world in an active dialogue.”

Ironically, Kumar’s very own life has been full of struggles and “Super-30″ had its genesis in his own childhood struggles, which ultimately saw him reject an offer to study in the UK’s Cambridge University owing to financial constraints after the sudden demise of his father. To make ends meet and continue hos studies, his mother prepared snacks which Kumar sold door to door.

In 1994, Kumar formed the Ramanujam School of Mathematics to help poor children study further and in 2002, he started the “Super-30″ institute, with free food, free stay and free coaching for 30 poor, talented students selected though rigorous tests.

In the past eight years, the novel initiative of the mathematician has helped a total of 212 students clear the IIT entrance tests while in the last three years, all the 30 students in the annual intake of the centre have made it to the IITs, inviting world-wide acclaim.

“Super-30″, was recently featured by Time magazine as the “best school in Asia”

 

Get growth and development stories of Bihar daily to your inbox
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)