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Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

for Pramod Bhasin, the Capital city of Orissa is emerging as an important location for the outsourcing industry.

The President and CEO of the global leader in Business Services and Technology Solutions, Genpact has pinned high hopes on Bhubaneswar as there is strong infrastructure, good talent and tremendous government backing.

Mr.Bhasin was speaking on the occasion of ground breaking ceremony for the upcoming Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 21 November.

Graduates having command over English have fair chance of getting into Genpact, said Mr.Bhasin.

Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik laid foundation stone for the SEZ.

Spread over 12.145 acres, the commissioning of this SEZ facility will provide 5,00,000 square feet office space to provide seat for over 4000 employees.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

Spread over an area of 12.145 acres, the commissioning of the SEZ facility will take place in three phases between 2009 and 2011. It will provide 5,00, 000 square feet for 4,000 employees of Genpact. The development of such facility in Bhubaneswar will make it the 7th city in operation for Genpact in India.

Genpact, which has been ranked No. 1 on the 2007 list of top 15 ITeS-BPO companies in the country by NASSCOM, has recently been rated among the top three BPO employers for 2007 in Dataquest-IDC E-Sat (Employee Satisfaction) survey.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the New Indian Express.

After successful completion of first-phase land acquisition for the SEZ, preparations are on to start the second phase. In the first phase, 250 acres, including 48 acres of government land, have been acquired.

Another 250 acres would be acquired in the second phase likely to start by this year-end. M/s Saraf Agencies Pvt ltd, a Kolkota-based firm, will set up the SEZ with Russian collaboration.

The firm has been pursuing this project for the past 10 years because of the high mineral content in beach sand along the coastline.

However, the agitation against the proposed mega steel plant by Tisco delayed the decision of the firm. The firm has also started its efforts to search partners to set up its proposed titanium dioxide plant near Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Ltd near Chatrapur.

The plant will facilitate setting up of the SEZ. The company has signed an MoU with two Russian state-run agencies for the proposed SEZ that will process titanium from ilmenite ore.

The MoU was signed during the visit of Russian president Vladimir Putin to India and the project will entail an investment of $250 million (around Rs.1200 crore).

The two Russian entities that will take part in the project are Vnesheconombank or the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs and JSC Technochim Holding, which is a St. Petersburg-based public sector undertaking.

During recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Russia, the Russian premier Viktor Zubkov informed that his country is ready to actively participate in development of the SEZ as part of the efforts to boost bilateral economic ties.

While the Russian firms will have a 55 percent stake in the project, there will be financial participation from them.

They will provide the technology to process titanium from ilmenite ore. The Indian government plans to use this project to set off part of the debt in the rupee-rouble account and will, therefore, invest $125 million in the SEZ.

Saraf Agencies will pump Rs 175 crore into the project and the remaining amount will be raised as loan. The company received an in-principle approval for the SEZ on August 23 last year. The ilmenite ore will be provided by OSCOM.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… The tsunami travel time atlas, published by IIT, Kharagpur, has identified Orissa coast to be prone to tsunami, said state disaster management minister Manmohan Samal.

… 328 villages situated within 1.5km of the coastline in six coastal districts have been identified as tsunami-prone, said the minister.

While 63 villages of Balasore district have been identified as tsunami-prone, 41 villages in neighbouring Bhadrak district have been enlisted as vulnerable.

Similarly, 64 sea-side villages of Kendrapara district, 28 coastal villages of Jagatsinghpur district, 88 villages of Puri and 44 villages of Ganjam district have been identified as prone to tsunami.

…Giving details of National Tsunami Early Warning System, the expert said Orissa was covered under the network.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik  …  We have identified tsunami-prone villages and habitations and are taking steps to increase awareness of the general public on tsunami safety tips,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) had organised a workshop on October 30-31 to train the trainers on tsunami. Around 30 high school teachers teaching and science were sensitised.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer on this.

The Forum stated that the land requirement of South-Korean steel maker Posco India Ltd has 4,004 acres, including around 3,566 acres of Government land, for their proposed 12 million ton steel plant at Paradip; based on all weather port, SEZ status as well as Finex process for production process. On the other hand, MSIL had shown a total requirement of 8,750 acres, including 4, 469.79 acres of Government land, for their 12 million ton proposed steel complex at Patna in Keonjhar district. Dastur and Co is yet to submit the post- DPR.

Former Wing Commander Kiran Sankar Behera and Sudershan Pattnaik of KCF pointed out the contrast between the land requirements shown by Essar, JSPL, Sterlite (Vedanta Group) and Uttam Galva for their proposed steel complexes at Paradip, Angul and Sadar Sub-division of Keonjhar district and that of Posco.

For instance, Uttam Galva Steel Limited (UGSL) had shown a land requirement of 2,130 acres for their 3-million-tonne projects like Vedanta, Essar and Jindal whose complexes are to come up at Keonjhar, Paradip and Angul.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy asked the MSIL Group to release their land requirement.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed sources informed that Dastur and Co had submitted a detailed tech-economic feasibility study, in which the exact requirements of land for steel, sponge and pig iron per metric tonne were clearly mentioned, in accordance with the standards fixed by the State Government, a few months back.

Observers maintained that in the present day production process employs high technology, mostly latest Chinese technology. For cost-effective and qualitative management, the best option is to have very less amount of land for keeping daily inventory and for waste disposal at the proposed site. This will prove time friendly for both the State and the companies.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Though the State Government has not been successful so far to acquire lands for mega industries like Posco and Arcelor- Mittal, it has been able to acquire lands for the upcoming Dhamra Port. The Port will cater to demands of the industries coming up in the Kalinga Nagar area in Jajpur district.

… Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal said the Government had so far acquired 2,033.47 acres of land from three tehsils for Dhamra port. Under Chandbali tehsil, Government has acquired 954.74 acres of land. It has also acquired 564.64 acres of land in Tihiri and 517.27 acres in Bhadrak tehsil. 1,510 people have already got the compensation for giving their land for the port. Another, 683 people will get compensation.

The Port Authority has so far given Rs 56 crore to the district administration for the purpose of giving compensation against land acquisition.

A PIB on this is at http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32803.

Following are excerpts from a report on this in Business Standard.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco), the largest producer and exporter of aluminium in the country, plans to set up an aluminium park at Angul to boost consumption of the metal within the state.

Most of the aluminium produced by the public sector blue chip company, at present, is either exported or sold outside the state for further value addition. Out of the average 30,000 tonnes of aluminium produced per month by Nalco’s smelter at Angul, 28,000 tonnes are dispatched outside the state, with only 2,000 tonnes being consumed in the state.

The proposed aluminium park is expected to increase the metal consumption within the state to at least 20,000 tonnes per month, says CR Pradhan, chairman and managing director of Nalco.

He said both national and international aluminium players would be invited to set up downstream units in the proposed park to facilitate more metal sales within the state. Nalco has approached the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (IIDCO) to acquire about 1,000 acres to be handed over to it for the purpose.

Meanwhile, Nalco’s plan to set up a second smelter plant along with a captive power plant in Orissa depends on the company being allotted additional bauxite mines and coal block for the project. …

Allaying all apprehensions regarding delay in the ongoing expansion project of Nalco, both at Angul and Damanjodi facilities, he said they would be completed within stipulated time.

Following is an excerpt on this from a report in Pioneer.

The Vedanta group has been entrusted by the Beach Development Committee to illuminate the city beach. In wake of failure of Government and NGOs to provide weather sustainable lights in the five kilometre stretch of beach along the city’s coast even after spending about Rs 1 crore, the committee had requested the Vedanta University project officials to take up the work. At the Saturday meeting of the committee, the officials of Vedanta had agreed to the proposal.

Following is an excerpt from a New Indian Express report on this.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced creation of a welfare fund that would cover 56,000 weavers of the State under health insurance scheme.

At a function organised on completion of 50 years of Boyanika, a State handloom weavers cooperative society here, the Chief Minister said a handloom and handicraft museum will be opened at Ekamra Haat.

The Government will provide Rs 40 crore during the 11th Plan period for development of handloom sector.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

“We have received a proposal from Navayuga group for a 12 MTPA capacity unit,” state secretary, steel and mines, U P Singh told TOI on Monday, confirming the development. Official sources disclosed that the Navayuga group is interested to set up a port-based steel facility, preferably at Astaranga in Puri district.

Chairman of Navayuga Engineering Company Limited ((NECL) C V Rao had earlier this year made a presentation before chief minister Naveen Patnaik about the groups plans to develop a port at Astaranga on a build-own-operate-share-transfer (BOOST) basis with an investment of Rs 6000 crore. But the company’s sudden keenness to make a foray into the booming steel sector, that too in a big way, has come as a surprise to many.

The group’s proposal for developing a port is in the final stages of getting approval, but the state government is yet to examine its application for setting up a mega steel plant, pointed out an official.

The land and water requirements as well as raw material linkage have to be studied. The proposal will be placed before the Single Window Clearance Authority headed by the chief secretary before a decision is taken, the official added.

The company had earlier requested the state government for 5000 acres of land for its port complex and other projects, including a 1320 (2 x 660) mega watt captive power plant, fly ash brick unit and desalinization facility.

The group had also suggested the government for construction of a 50-km railway link between Khurda Road to Astaranga via Sakhigopal at an investment of Rs 400 crore through the public-private-partnership mode, sources said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

Global steel leader Arcelor-Mittal, which proposes to set up a 12 mtpa plant in Orissa, on Friday said it will harvest rain water and use technology that consumes least quantity of ‘H2O’ to reduce pressure on the natural resource.

"We are consulting international experts in the field on how to meet the challenges ahead", member of Arcelor-Mittal’s group management board Malay Mukherjee told reporters, admitting water was a major problem for industries in Orissa.

… Replying to queries, Mukherjee said the steel major was aware of the recent development where farmers in western Orissa had strongly opposed the government’s decision to supply water from Hirakud reservoir to industries.

"We too do not want to take a farmer’s share of water. Therefore, the company has planned to make its own arrangement in the plant premises", he said, adding that water harvesting was one of the key options the company would like to exercise.

However, a permanent solution would be using technology that requires least water for steel making and research was on for recycling the water in order to minimise the requirement.

Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.

Expressing satisfaction over the project’s progress, Mukherjee said the detailed project report (DPR) will be completed by June 2008. Though the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package of the company has been finalised, it will be made public after transfer of land.

A high-level team from the company had finalised Patna tehsil as the site of the plant. Out of the 16, land acquisition is going ahead in 15 villages.

The company will soon open district office at Keonjhar. An ITI will be set up to train the youth of the area. Mobile health vans will also be pressed into service, he added.

The following is from http://203.94.240.226/iaschedule/iaschedule.xls.

The following is from http://www.flykingfisher.com/schedule.asp?tab=3.

KOLKATA TO

The following is from http://www.airdeccan.net/data/flightinfo/from_bhubaneshwar.html.

Bhubaneswar to

Bangalore to

Delhi to

Hyderabad to

Kolkata to

Mumbai to

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard on this.

Arcelor-Mittal’s proposed Rs 40,000 crore, 12 million tonne per annum greenfield steel project in Orissa has made headway with the start of the land survey at the proposed site in Patna tehsil in the Keonjher district.

While the company has launched the survey in 16 villages in the area, it has completed the process in four villages. The company has also submitted a land acquisition plan to the state government.

Meanwhile, though the company has finalised a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) plan for the project-affected people, it is waiting for the land clearance from the state authorities to submit it to the government.

“We have our R & R proposal ready. Once the state government gives clearance of land, we will submit the proposal”, said Malay Mukherjee, member, group management board, Arcelor-Mittal.

Talking to mediapersons after a meeting on the progress of the project chaired by Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Mukherjee said about 70% of the detailed project report (DPR) work for the Keonjhar plant is complete. The report is expected to be finalised by June 2008, he added.

M N Dastur & Company is preparing the DPR. The scope of the DPR, among other things, includes captive mining facilities, captive power supply, water supply and other infrastructure facilities like effluent disposal, environment and township for the company�s employees. …

While the company has got a coal block along with five other companies in Rampia and dipside Rampia, it is exploring the possibility of forging partnership with a mining company to source iron ore till it is allotted captive mines. It has recently applied for a joint partnership with the state- owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) in this regard. …

While the total reserves in Rampia and dipside Rampia is estimated at about 600 million tonne, Arcelor-Mittal is expected to get about 85 million tonne.

Mukherjee said a 10-member team of Arcelor-Mittal is now finalising the technical specifications of the steel plant.

From Nov 17th Indigo starts flights connecting BBSR to Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. We wrote about this in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/?p=818. Current reports mention plans beyond that. Following is an excerpt from a report on this in Tathya.in.

The airline is going to introduce new connectivity from Bhubaneswar to Mumbai & Kolkata in December and to Chennai in January 2008.

The current schedule is at http://book.goindigo.in/skylights/cgi-bin/skylights.cgi?module=c3&page=DESTINATIONSNEW.

The current schedule is:

6E 252 Bhubaneshwar Delhi 7:10 PM 9:20 PM Daily
6E 251 Delhi Bhubaneshwar 8:55 AM 11:00 AM Daily

6E 251 Bhubaneshwar Hyderabad 11:35 AM 12:55 PM Daily
6E 252 Hyderabad Bhubaneshwar 5:20 PM 6:40 PM Daily

6E 251 Bhubaneshwar Bangalore 11:35 AM 2:45 PM Daily Hyderabad
6E 252 Bangalore Bhubaneshwar 3:30 PM 6:40 PM Daily Hyderabad

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer on this.

The State Government has decided on setting up of a Rs 120-crore sugar factory in the private sector in Koraput. With the availability of water from river Indravati and its tributaries, the sugarcane cultivation has been a big success in the blocks of Borrigumma, Kotpad and Jeypore in Koraput district and Nandahandi, Tentulikhunti, Nabarangpur and Kosagumuda blocks in Nabarangpur district. The cane is grown in about 8,000 hectares of land in the two districts per annum and over 3,000 trucks of sugarcane are produced. As there is no sugar factory in the region, farmers depend on the sugar factory at Balangir to sell their produce. Now, a sugar factory project, to be set up near Aunli in Koraput district by Indravati Sugar Company, has been cleared by the Government. The factory is expected to come up by the next crop season.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Business Standard.

ICICI Group’s eastern regional hub for back office operations, coming up at Chandaka industrial estate in Bhubaneswar, will be commissioned in 2009. This is one of the four regional hubs planned by the group.

“We expect the first phase to be commissioned in the next 18 to 24 months,  and, hopefully, the hub will be commissioned by the summer of  2009,” K V Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer, ICICI Bank, said.

Talking to newsmen after the bhoomi pooja (ground breaking ceremony) for the proposed hub, Kamath said the second phase is scheduled to be commissioned a year later if every thing goes right.

He said the hub will have a built-up area of 1.25-1.5 million square feet in the first phase, and will accommodate about 15,000 people.

The group had earlier signed an MoU with Utkal University and KITT for offering skill-enabling and vocational courses in the domain of banking, finance and insurance.

Kamath said about 10,000-12,500 people will be employed in the Bhubaneswar hub in phases.