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Feb 16, 2007

Jharkhand to boost tussar silk with sari brands

By IANS, Ranchi, Feb 15 - Jharkhand is planning to introduce two varieties of special silk saris in the market to promote large-scale production of tussar.

The two varieties, Anjana and Swarnarekha, are likely to hit the markets in May, said K.K Dutta, managing director of Jharkhand Silk Textile and Handicraft Corporation Limited -.

The saris will be a joint venture of JSTHCL and the Kharsawa Development Board. Tussar silk, procured from a fully-matured worm, is cultivated on a large-scale in Kharsawa district of Kuchai locality.

'The saris will be like Baluchari saris of Bankura district of West Bengal. The tribal people are being involved in the production of Anjana and Swarnarekha saris,' said Dutta Wednesday.

The saris will also come with traditional prints depicting tribal dances, and tribal musical instruments, reflecting the state's culture. The market price of each sari would be around Rs.2,500-3,500.

The state produces around 100 metric tonnes of silk.

The Central Silk Board is providing financial aid to Jharkhand to increase its silk production. In the next five years, the board is to provide more than Rs.3 billion to boost silk production in the state.

http://www.rxpgnews.com/business/Jharkhand-to-boost-tussar-silk-with-sari-brands_15712.shtml

Caste stick missed in girl rape

Patna, Feb. 15: Bhojpur police was involved in a faux pas yesterday when it did not bring two minority community boys under the purview of the SC/ST Act.

Police had arrested the two boys for rape and murder of a teenaged Scheduled Caste girl of Kaurandihri in Piro subdivision, 80 km from here. An SC woman was also booked for murder of the Class VI girl.

The police, however, did not include a section of the SC/ST Act, purportedly because of their ignorance of law. The inclusion of the act would have made the offence a non-bailable one.

A 14-year-old SC girl was gangraped and murdered at Kaurandihri village late Tuesday night. The victim's body was recovered from a field yesterday morning.

The local police said the girl had gone to meet Kula Devi, a relative of hers, in the same village on Tuesday evening.

Kula Devi, who had taken Rs 500 from three boys, handed over the girl to them. The boys, in their early twenties, took her behind a brick kiln near the village, raped and murdered her by slitting the throat.

Piro deputy superintendent of police N.K. Choudhary said: "We have arrested Devi, Mohammed Ansari and Mohammad Sohrab."

The police are looking for Mohammad Khalid, the third accused.

Choudhary said despite Kula Devi having a history of working as a pimp, the girl had failed to see through her "nefarious intentions".

The police, however, gave an unconvincing logic behind not registering the case under the SC/ST Act.

The officer said: "As Kula Devi, the mastermind of the crime, was also a Scheduled Caste, the SC/ST Act was not applicable."

When asked about the other three not belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Choudhary could not give a tenable explanation. Bhojpur SP Umesh Kumar was not available for comment.

M.P. Gupta, a lawyer of Patna High Court, said: "Bhojpur police should have included the SC/ST Act against them."

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070216/asp/jamshedpur/story_7398026.asp#

59 per cent women victim of domestic violence in Bihar: Survey

violence against women has seen a steady rise over the last few years in Bihar.
Harassment by a spouse - which often precedes more serious crimes, including murder - rose to 59 per cent in 2005-06 from 47 per cent in 1999.

According to the latest National Family and Health Survey (NHFS), 2005-06, overall 59 per cent married women were subjected to violence either by husbands or his family.

Domestic violence against married women was more prevalent in urban areas where the percentage stood at 62.2.

In rural areas, the percentage stood at 58.5 per cent.

Report says that younger women were at greater risk, especially those aged between 25 and 34.

According to the survey report, reasons for wife beating are, negligence of house and children, leaving home without husband's permission, disrespect for in-laws and lack of interest in cooking food.

Women who are childless are also victims of domestic violence. However, the proportion of domestic violence declined with the improved standard in the living condition of women, the report said.

Women in the low socio-economic level were more exposed to beating by their husbands, the report said.

According to the analysts, improving the status of women especially through education will help in reducing domestic violence.

Interestingly, in Bihar, 46.3 per cent of women are involved in making decisions regarding health care.

While a lower proportion of them are involved in decisions regarding purchasing jewellery. 43 per cent make decisions regarding household matters, and 44 per cent about staying with parents or siblings.

Only 28 per cent of women in Bihar do work other than housework and six of 10 such women work for cash. Forty-nine per cent of women in urban areas, who work, decide independently on how to spend the money they earn, the report said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1929048,000900030002.htm

West Bengal gets first two-wheeler plant

Kolkata, Feb. 16 (PTI): Global Automobiles Private Limited, a joint venture between Xenitis Group and China's Guangzhou Motors Company, on Thursday started production at its plant, the first two-wheeler manufacturing facility in West Bengal.

Global Automobiles Chairman, Santanu Ghosh, told reporters at the inaugural function here yesterday that Rs 300 crore was invested for setting up the plant. It will have an initial capacity to make 30,000 two-wheelers a month.

In the initial phase, the project located in Hooghly district, will provide direct employment to 1,000 people. Ghosh said the firm's two-wheelers will be commercially available in the market from March 1.

Global Automobiles will target rural and semi-urban markets of the country.

Guangzhou is China's fourth largest automobile company and also makes four-wheelers, trucks and buses. The managing director of the Chinese firm, Liao Zhi Hong, said all cooperation would be extended for making the project a success.

Global has tied up with Indian Oil and Ceat to supply lubricating oil and tyres.

The company will launch three two-wheelers in the 100 cc, 125 cc and 150 cc categories.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Industry Minister, Nirupam Sen, were present on the occasion.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/485200702160950.htm

Orissa to set up venture capital fund for IT firms

Taking a leaf out of Karnataka, Orissa is exploring the possibility of setting up a Venture Capital Fund (VCF) for small and medium IT enterprises in the state.

This is in line with plans to set up a National Venture Capital Fund (NVCF) for IT SMEs, which is currently pending with the Planning Commission.

The Karnataka government has already set up a VCF with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with a corpus of Rs 15 crore to promote the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI). Known as the country's silicon valley, Karnataka is the first state to accept the NVCF proposal and has become a role model for other states.

Currently, Orissa STPI has a catalogue of 100 registered IT/ITeS companies, of which only five per cent are in the big league and the remaining are IT SMEs. State STPI officials said they were aware of the NVCF formation proposal and are already making efforts to establish a state venture capital fund (SVCF).

A highly placed official said, "We are talking to the Orissa government, especially the IT department, on the possibility of setting up a SVCF. This would benefit the 95 per cent IT SMEs operating out of the state."

Senior officials said matters on those lines are currently being explored into. According to STPI estimates, Orissa's software exports stand at Rs 465 crore and officials are confident that with the surge in IT companies, the exports would cross Rs 650 crore.

Interestingly, 85 per cent of Orissa's software export earnings are from Infosys and Satyam - both long time players. Of late, TCS, Wipro, MindTree and Hexawire are also planning forays into the state. According to STPI estimates, Rs 1000 crore has been invested in the IT/ITeS sector in the state.

India's software exports are pegged at Rs 1,08,000 crore, of which Karnataka alone contributes Rs 37,000 crore followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. West Bengal and Orissa are in the eigth and ninth positions respectively.

STPI officials are working closely with their counterparts in Karnataka to work out the SVCF model with assistance from the Orissa government. The SIDBI model would work depending on which bank or financial institution the state government would tie up with. The corpus would be determined after detailed discussions.

A STPI official said, "Things are at a nebulous stage. We are trying hard to make things work out soon." The STPI has requested the Orissa government for three acres to set up technological incubators, which would facilitate IT SMEs. It would be an one umbrella facility with rooms, space common voice and other ready-to-use facilities.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=274865&leftnm=8&subLeft=0&chkFlg =

Orissa's villages await basic amenities, employment

It is election time in Orissa and CNBC-TV18 takes stock of the region.

Welcome to Nabrangpur in Southern Orissa, the dense forests of which are home to many animals and varied Oriya tribes. It is one of the 1000 tribal villages in the district. The village is a 1000 years old and is still waiting for power - this, despite being right on the Highway and barely 12 kilometres away from the district headquarters.

There are about a 1000 small tribal villages in this district comprising about 10 lakh of rural people.

A few kilometres ahead comes the next district - Kalahandi. Here too the situation is the same. Hundreds of villages here are still waiting for basic amenities like water, power, and education.

Many of these villages are covered under the state's Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme - which provides employment to at least one member of each family for a 100 days in a year. And those employed are to be paid about Rs 75. But villagers who have been employed under this scheme say they have never been employed for a hundred days in a year. They claim that they are paid Rs 30-40 a day, for employment under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

The state is planning electrification for many of these villages over the next two years. But until that plan sees the light of day- villages like this one will continue to wait for someone to light up their homes and their lives.

Call it 'Bharat' or the 'other India', the neglect of villages such as these are pointed out time and again, but it remains to be seen whether the lawmakers of this country will do anything other than use it as an election issue .

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/currentaffairs/electiontimeorissanabrangpur
southernorissa/orissasvillages/market/stocks/article/267465

Transparency Counter Militancy and Militant Activities

Chattisgarh saw continued militant IED activity with a powerful explosion in Jharaghati, Narayanpur, and Bastar which killed 7 police personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Armed Force (SAF) on 16 January. The police patrol party was on foot as well as on motor cycles when the Naxalite activated the IED.

In another encounter in Chattisgarh in the dense forests of Timarpur in Bastar district the CRPF tracked down and killed three Maoists while two more were killed in another encounter in the same area. The Timarpur forest area located 520 kms south of Raipur is considered to be infested with Maoists.

In an encounter, in Andhra Pradesh (AP), the AP police stumbled on a Naxal hide out in Kotapalli forest in Khammam district on the AP Chattisgarh border. Two Naxalite were killed on the spot. Khamman district has also seen a large number of surrenders of Naxalite with over 23 militants surrendering over the past few weeks. Andhra Pradesh has seen a number of counter terrorist successes over the years as the state police have gained an upper hand through effective employment of surveillance and patrolling as well as creation of a special force, the Greyhound. The Greyhound has specialized in tracking and apprehending terrorists particularly in the forested areas of the state. However the AP Chattisgarh-Maharashtra and Orissa border areas continue to be a major hide out for the Naxalite over the years.

In the counter terrorism campaign the use of Army dogs in Naxal affected areas of Chattisgarh and Jharkhand is being planned in the near future. Some dogs were inducted in the area and a team from Chattisgarh police is being trained at the Remount and Veterinary School in Meerut. The dogs will be used for sniffing explosives and weapons in Naxal areas. The proficiency of Army dogs in this task was indicated by two dogs being awarded Chief of Army Staff's commendation badges for counter terror missions in Kashmir. (Indian Express, 20 January 2007).

Large scale felling of trees to the tune of 75,000 was reported in Chattisgarh on the road from Sukma to Dornapal and Konta to Bijapur, allegedly to avoid providing cover to Naxalite who attempt to ambush vehicle convoys moving on the roads. Indiscriminate felling of trees has come up for wide spread condemnation by environmentalists and appears to be the first such reported instance as such a measure has not been taken in other insurgency infested areas including Kashmir and the North East.

The institutionalized support network of the Maoists was evident with an arms supplier, apprehended from Khammam district in AP during the month. Arms reportedly from Nepal were being smuggled in vehicles when it was apprehended in Nagpur in December. Subsequent interrogation led to the arrest of the individual from Khammam. (Indian Express report 2 January 2007). The reach of Naxalite in Madhya Pradesh was also evident with apprehension of five suspected militants from the Satnami Nagar area of Bhopal, the state capital during the month. A number of weapons parts and literature was secured from the area. These personnel were reported from Andhra and had been working in Bhopal for some time. The apprehension also led to recovery of large quantum of arms and subversive material.

Madhya Pradesh has very low level of Naxal militancy with only Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori districts identified as Naxal affected. Sidhi district bordering Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh is also proposed to be denoted as Naxal affected. The number of incidents in Madhya Pradesh is also reported to be of minor nature since 1990 at approximately 390. (Indian Express report 13 January 2007).

Surrender of Terrorists

Surrender of Naxals in Chattisgarh was mired in controversy during the month with the state police having announced surrender of 79 militants retracting 19 names who had minor charges which could not be proved. (Indian Express, 15 January 2007). There were allegations that the police had deliberately enhanced the numbers to claim more surrendered Naxalite. Some members of the BJP, the ruling party in the state had claimed that these were not hard core militants and were in fact workers of the state unit as well as ordinary farmers. (Hindustan Times 9 January 2006).

The wheel of Naxalism in Chattisgarh seems to have turned a full circle. While surrender is one strategy which is generally used to provide militants who are willing to give up the path of violence back into the main stream, frequently the same is used as a ploy by the security forces to add numbers to the overall campaign. There were many instances in Kashmir, when even the Army considered as the most credible counter militant force in India alleged to have manipulated surrenders and later had to retract. In the instant case, judicial custody was granted to only 43 of the 79 surrendered indicating a clear inflation of 36 by the police.

Citigroup Advisory

Citigroup, a global financial services company indicated that Maoist challenge would be one of the key factors which will determine India's growth paradigm in the coming years. The adverse impact of Maoist activities spread in 165 districts, 14 states and 40 percent of the geographic area with 35 percent of the population in India will be greatly felt in some of the key states where industrialization is taking place such as Orissa and Chattisgarh. Orissa is of particular concern as the state has over 33 percent of India's mineral reserves and large number of projects including multi nationals as Vedanta and Posco are in the line up for development in the state. Chattisgarh is also a mineral rich area with Rs 13000 Crore ($ 2.95 billon) planned in investment in the state. The movement will as per the Report impact on overall investment in the country.

http://desicritics.org/2007/02/14/001602.php

Naxalites take to folklore to propagate ideology among tribals

New Delhi, Feb 16: Naxalites in tribal-dominated states like Chhattisgarh are using folklore and street plays to propagate their ideas among the locals.

Though violence remains their forte in pressurising the 'adivasis' to adopt to their ideology, the Naxals are now adopting new methods to influence their targets, according to a research conducted by Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, an NGO active in Naxalites-hit areas.

As 'adivasis' love folklore, music and theatre, ultras are using this new strategy in remote areas which have almost negligible access to modern means of communications and information such as radio and television.

The study group in its report "Development and Integral Security in Chhattisgarh: Impact of Naxalite Movement' has noted that this 'weakness' is exploited by the Naxalities who have a well chalked out strategy to influence tribals.

If in Andhra Pradesh, a popular singer going by the name of Gadar uses his ballads to instigate people against the government, Naxalities hold a 'people's court' in Chhattisgarh to draw the tribals to their ideologies.

The report notes, "in a typical language Gadar would begin with a popular folk song and then without changing the tune begin to exhort people to revolt against the government." In Chhattisgarh, the technique is slightly different.

Before holding a 'people's court' the Naxals organise a street play. In this they use the real names of officials and show the 'adivasis' punishing the enemy, says the report.

The naxal commander comes on the scene and carries out the wish of the 'adivasis.' And since, these shows are quite popular, they help in building the mood of the gathering. Concerned over the way the simple and impressionable minds are being brainwashed, the state government has realised the need for strengthening communication and information system.

Radio can be used effectively and intelligently to communicate with the adivasis to counter the Naxals' strategy, suggests the report.

"New radio stations should be established by the state government and programmes be produced and aired in local languages," it says.

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=354516&sid=NAT&ssid=

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