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Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express report on this.

Taking its ‘Campus connect programme’ a step ahead, Infosys BPO on Monday launched ‘Project Genesis’ here to train lecturers on BPO skills for raising the employability potential of students in the ITES sector.

The project has achieved a resounding success in states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and helped students not only gain employment in Infosys, but develop confidence in their abilities. Since its launch in October 2005, Infosys BPO has worked with more than 1,000 lecturers in 360 colleges in these states and trained more than 12,000 students.

The project would be extended to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu apart from Orissa this year.

Launching the programme, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urged Infosys BPO chairman Mohandas Pai, present on the occasion, to start a BPO unit in the State. “We are open to the idea but we would first seek to build a pool of skilled professionals in the State and test their skills before coming up with such a centre,” he said while talking to mediapersons later.

Pai also evinced keen interest for a second campus in the city with the provision of SEZ status. The existing campus, which clocked Rs 570 crore in export last fiscal, would soon touch its full capacity with 4,500 employees.

Project Genesis would train 300 teachers from both government and private colleges from across the State. It would focus mostly on imparting language enhancement techniques and analytical skills, key attributes for BPO industry. On completion of the fortnight-long programme, the teachers would groom the students. Each student would have to pass through three tests. The programme would be be held periodically.

Pai said, Infosys plans to recruit several thousand students from the State in the coming years and engage actively in strengthening academic collaboration with colleges. “We would also tie up with universities for systematic intervention in updating course curriculum.”

He announced that Infosys would be funding a chair in the upcoming IIIT campus here for computer science with a corpus fund of Rs 1 crore.

The Economic Times reports that Dhamara port is expected to be operational in 2010. Following are some excerpts from that report.

The first phase of construction of the Rs 2,400-crore Dhamra port project in Orissa, a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T, would be completed by March 2010, a company official said on Tuesday.

“We will complete the first phase of the port by 2010 which will be capable of handling 25 million tons of cargo,” Dhamra Port Company Ltd CEO Santosh K Mohapatra said here on the sidelines of a CII Logistics seminar. …

The port, which aims to serve industries in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, would initially deal with bulk cargo like coal, iron-ore and steel.

In the first phase, two berths would be constructed capable of handling 25 million tons cargo. The capacity could be scaled upto 85 million tons with a total of 13 berths.

The port, when completed, would be the deepest one in eastern India with an 18-metre draught capable of handling super size vessels with capacity of up to 1,80,000 tons.

A new railway track to Dhamra may be built for movement of cargo to the port. Of the proposed 62 km of railway track, land acquisition for 52 km of track has already been completed.

Telegraph also reports on it and mentions that Dhamara port may try to become an SEZ. Following are some excerpts from the Telegraph report.

The Dhamra port in Orissa is exploring the option of turning itself into a special economic zone (SEZ).

The 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is coming up on a 900-acre plot on the Orissa coast. Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) plans to develop two berths, at an investment of Rs 2,400 crore, to handle bulk cargo such as coal and iron ore.

Santosh K. Mohapatra, chief executive officer of the company, said contractors had been appointed and orders placed for the project.

“We hope to complete the first phase, capable of handling 25 million tonnes of cargo, by April 2010,” he said.

Asked if the company planned to seek SEZ status, he said such an idea was being considered. …

To begin with, the Dhamra port will handle raw materials for steel plants coming up in Kalinganagar and in nearby areas. Tata Steel itself is building a 6mt plant at Kalinganagar. “Later we may consider to have port-based industries there,” Mohapatra said.

Eventually the Dhamra port will be equipped to handle 85mt cargo capacity with 13 berths.

Tata Steel and L&T are contributing Rs 250 crore each as equity for the project, while the remaining Rs 1,900 crore will be raised as debt from eight banks led by IDBI.

The company will also build a 62km rail track from the port to Bhadrak, which will connect with the Howrah-Chennai trunk route. The company will require 2,200 acres for that, taking the total land requirement of the whole project to 3,100 acres.

Following is Sambada’s report on this.

The following is from a PIB release.

30 DRDAs in Orissa have been sanctioned grant-in-aid of Rs.34.23 crore as balance Payment of first instalment of Central Share of funds under Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana(SGSY) during the year 2007-2008 as per details given in the Annexure.

The amount should be utilized on the Programme as per approved guidelines of SGSY. The funding pattern will be 75:25 by the Centre and the State.

The State Government should release its share within one month of the date of release of the Central assistance.

Under SGSY, assistance is given to the poor family living below the poverty line for taking up self-employment. It actively promotes group approach by organising the rural poor into Self-Help Groups.

Telegraph, UK has a travel article on Orissa, with a focus on Puri.

Business Standard reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

The central government has offered Orissa Rs 10,000 crore for various power sector initiatives. The amount will be invested over a period of five years in rural, semi-urban and urban areas.

“The funds will be utilised for improving generation, distribution and transmission of power in Orissa,” A K Lakhina, chairman and managing director, Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), said.

Orissa has been facing difficulties in privatisation of the sector as private enterprises are unable to pursue rural electrification with vigour, he said.

He said, the Centre has utilised the services of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) for taking up rural electrification in Orissa.

While four projects have already been sanctioned for Nayagarh, Anugul ,Ganjam and Gajapati, projects in three more districts have received the Centre’s in principle approval. All the remaining districts of the state will be covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), he said.

There was a feeling that villages and hamlets with sub-300 populations would not be covered under RGGVY. Orissa, having many such hamlets, was apprehensive of the success of the programme in the state. Lakhina said, the Union government is aware of the issue and the limit may be reduced to cover villages and hamlets with population of 100.

It may be noted, the Orissa government had announced launching of ‘Biju Gramjyoti Yojana’ to provide electricity to the villages and rural hamlets having less than 300 population. It also made a budget allocation of Rs.50 crore during 2007-08 for this programme.

Interestingly, the Orissa government has sought assistance of about Rs. 600 crore from REC for improving transmission. REC will examine the proposal, Lakhina said.

On reducing the transmission and distribution losses, the REC chairman said he has requested Patnaik to undertake underground wiring in the state’s premier cities which could be expanded to other areas.

Samaja reports on this. Tathya.in also has an article on this. Following is from Samaja.

Pragativadi reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

… fisheries and animal resources development minister Golakh Nayak said …, the state would be in a position to export marine products in a large scale to foreign countries.

… he said that the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) will provide the technological assistance to the state government.

The technology would be used by way of implanting satellite radio receivers and Internet facilities in fishing boats and installing electronic display boards at fishing harbours for constant monitoring of vessel movement and fish counting.

The INCOIS is being provided with necessary support by the Space Application Centre, National Remote Sensing Agency, ISRO’s Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre (RSSC) and the Central Fishery Research Institute.

The technology would substantially reduce the search time and human effort in high seas by almost 70 percent, Nayak pointed out.

He said that with the ICT know-how, the marine fishery would use satellite images to identify the prospective areas of fish aggregation.

Later, the information would be given in local language of the respective area thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays during the fishing season.

At the same time, the information would be communicated to about 225 nodes along the entire coastline through telephone and fax, the minister informed.

It may be mentioned here that the maximum sustainable yield of marine fish in the state stands at 1.61 lakh tonne per annum.

Giving further plan details, the minister said that 20 electronic display boards would be set up at fishing harbours in the first phase for which the state government would bear 20 percent of the cost.

This apart, 10 Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) Boards would be installed while the ICT kiosks in these centres would be set up by the United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP), Nayak said.

It may be mentioned here that there are two PFZ boards installed at Nuagolabandha ICT Centre in Ganjam district and Balaramgadi ICT centre in Balasore district.

Odihsa.com and Tathya.in report that a delegate from Orissa is going for a roadshow in the Punjab-Haryana area to attract investors for medium and small enterprises. The team will be lead by Dr. Ashok Dalwai, the current industry secretary of Orissa.

Following is Dharitri’s report on this.

Following is ECOR’s press release (dated July 19 2007) on this.

East Coast Railway has increased its freight loading and passenger carrying during the first quarter of the current financial year i.e. from Apr ’07 to June’07 and earned Rs.1266.86 Crores in originating basis during this period which is Rs.179.68 crores more than the corresponding period of last year.

ECoR has loaded 21.81 million tonnes of freight by registering an increase of 8.88% more in loading than the corresponding period of last financial year and has earned Rs.1115.66 Crores from this by registering an increase of 16.04% more revenue as compared to last financial year.

On passenger front, ECoR has carried 14.49 million of passengers by registering an increase of 11.37% more than the corresponding period of last financial year and has earned Rs.131.48 Crores by registering an increase of 20.46% more than the previous year.

ECoR has earned total revenue of Rs.1266.86 Crores from the first quarter of the current financial year registering an increase of 16.52% from the last financial year.  It may be mentioned that, during the period of last financial year, ECoR earned Rs.1087.18 crores from passengers, freight, and other business operations.

New Indian Express reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

The Department for International Development (DFID) of UK has agreed in principle to provide Rs 228.6 crore (30.487 million pounds) to the Orissa Government for the public enterprises reform programme.

Out of this, 29.8 million pounds would be provided to the State Government in the form of financial assistance and 0.687 million pounds would be given under technical cooperation grant.
…
The budget provision under the State plan is meant for redundancy payment to the employees of the public sector undertakings (PSUs), 80 per cent of which is reimbursed by the DFID.

Since the start of the Orissa Public Enterprises Reform Programme (OPERP), the State Government has reimbursed Rs 240 crore from the closure of 11 enterprises and more than 32,000 workers have availed of VRS during the period. The State Government has set a target of restructuring four units and privatisation of two PSUs during the next financial year.

The units to be restructured are Orissa State Seeds Corporation, Orissa State Civil Supplies Corporation and Orissa Forest Development Corporation. Besides, the OSCARD bank, Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation of Orissa, Orissa Bridge and Construction Corporation, Orissa State Cashew Development Corporation, Orissa State Housing Board and Orissa Agro Industries Corporation will be restructured in later phases.

Independent studies are also being conducted to assess the post-reform outcome for Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation, Orissa State Finance Corporation and Orissa Construction Corporation.

There have been various news reports on this. Following are excerpts from a news report on this in Pioneer.

The Public Health and Engineering Department decided to supply water round the clock in the city soon, but every home having piped water supply would get a meter installed to determine the quantum of water used. The consumer would have to pay bills regularly according to the meter reading. In the first phase, the scheme would be implemented at Sahid Nagar on a pilot basis from August, according to PHED sources. The Japan Bank of International Cooperation would provide technical assistance for the scheme, which is expected to determine the quantity of water being wasted.

Earlier, the department used to supply water intermittently at fixed hours. PHED is supplying water to 60 per cent areas of the city. According to a survey, the water consumption per person in the city is nearly 135 litres. The city’s water requirement is 120 million litres, but the quantity of water supplied is quite higher at 212 million litres. …

Deepika Global reports on Paradeep Phosphates’ record production this year. Following are some excerpts.

The Paradeep Phosphate Limited (PPL) has registered a record of 13.18 lakh tonnes production in last fiscal and earned a net profit of Rs 109 crores while raising its income to Rs 2067.2 crore. … of the total production the DAP alone accounted for 8.2 lakh tonnes.

Among the intermediary products, Phosphoric Acid, he said was 2,80,300 tonnes, registering an increase of 8.6 per cent over the previous year.

Similarly, Sulphuric Acid registered an increase of 3.4 per cent in comparison to last year with 7,60,610 tonnes.

He said in addition to 13.10 lakh tonnes production, the PPL also sold 1,42,152 tonnes of imported Mauriate of Potash (MOP), 3,13,470 tonne of Gypsum and exported 31,000 tonne of fertiliser to Nepal.

Mr Nandrudikar claimed that the Navaratna Krushi Vikas Yojana implemented in Orissa and Chhatishgarh had been very successful in increasing the yield with the use of improve techniques of agriculture.

Besides improving the agricultural productivity, the PPL had also undertaken mushroom cultivation and tissue culture of bananas in four districts, two each in Orissa and Chhatisgarh, he added. …

He said the company had already invested Rs 140 crores in first year and another Rs 142 crores last year further adding that it had decided to invest another Rs 140 crore during the current fiscal.

Following is Samaja’s report on this.

Following is Samaja’s article on this.

New Indian Express has a report on this. Following are some excerpts.

The Centre will invite global tender through the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the preservation of the 13th century heritage Sun temple at Konark.
…
The Centre would release Rs 13 crore for the project as well as periphery development around the Sun temple.
…
the Centre has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the renovation and development of the State museum at Bhubaneswar. Besides, Rs 92 lakh has also been earmarked for construction of the open theatre, Kalamandal, here.
…
The ASI, NCF, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Indian Oil Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for five important monuments of India – Sun temple, Konark, Kanheri caves, Mumbai, Group of temples at Khajuraho, monuments at Hampi and Warangal Fort. The IOC has contributed Rs 25 crore for the project.

The coastal highway is proposed to run along the coast from Gopalpur to Digha. Tathya.in reports on attempts to revive the proposal.

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

Arun’s paper sculptures are flying off the walls thick and fast ever since he put them up at the Orissa Modern Art Gallery here. …

July 22 2007 Update: Thanks to the readers for the correction and the extra information connecting Aricent and Hughes.

Kalinga Times reports that Aricent, a global communication software company, will open a development center in Bhubaneswar. Following are some excerpts.

Global communications software company Aricent on Friday announced its decision to open a Development Centre in Bhubaneswar.

The company will also set up a Global Training Centre in the State.

Manoranjan Mohanty Mohapatra, president and chief operating officer of Aricent, made the announcements at a meeting with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

According to an official release issued by the Chief Minister’s Officer, the Development Centre of the company will have 1200 employees.

The Global Training Centre will have provision to impart training to 1000 students. Subsequently, the student strength in the centre will be increased to 3000 . …

A more detailed report on this is here.

People Daily online reports that a MOU was signed for improving tourism across multiple tourist desitinations in India and Malyasia.

Bhubaneswar was listed as one of the potential destinations for flight connectivity. This might in Future lead to International flights in Bhubaneswar airport.

Excerpts

“It was further decided that the designated airlines of both sides could operate any number of services to/from 18 tourist destinations in India: Patna, Lucknow, Guwahati, Gaya, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Khajuraho, Aurangabad, Goa, Jaipur, Port Blair, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram Kozhikode, Amritsar, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Tiruchirapalli.”