___________

Thanks to reader Jitu for the pointers.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indiainfoline.com.

Nikon India, the 100% subsidiary of Nikon Corporation the leaders in imaging technology has started Nikon Collection Centre (NCC), an initiative taken by Nikon India to cater to the wider base of Nikon customers by floating Camera Collection Points across locations, especially the non metro areas.

… The collection centres would act as main contact point for collection of any Nikon Imaging Products ( D-SLR’s, COOLPIX Compact cameras, NIKKOR lenses and accessories) that shall be sent for repair to the nearest Service Facility Centre for necessary correction by NCC. Once repaired, the product will be sent back to NCC from where customer can collect his product. 

 

Under the plan for the business year 2010-2011, Nikon has already started the services in Bhopal, Noida & Mangalore. Going forward Nikon plans to start the services in Siliguri, Dehradun, Kanpur, Nagpur, Mysore and Tiruanantpuram within this month and Dhampur, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Varanasi, Shimla, Aitsar, Jammu, Agra, Coimbatore, Vishakapatnam and Rajkot taking the total to 20 by the end of this financial year.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindustantimes.com.

IBM has chalked out plans to expand its business development processes to smaller cities in the country over the next couple of years. The company plans to spread its footprint to 45 cities of India. At present, a large part of the company’s business comes from the metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

“Business activities of small and medium business enterprises are increasing at a fast pace in smaller cities of the country and it is logical for us to expand our footprint across the country,” said Nipun Mehrotra, vice president, general business, IBM India and South Asia. He said with the growth of Indian economy, the small and medium enterprises would flourish and opportunities would increasingly come up in cities such as Ranchi, Ludhiana, Tirupur and Jharsuguda, among others.

Following is from http://eylex.co.in/Pages/Sambalpur.aspx. The mall in Sambalpur is promoted by K.K. Homes (a local Developer of Sambalpur) and will have a three screen multiplex with 800 seats. Its target Operational date is March 2011.

Following is the picture from http://eylex.co.in/Pages/Jharsugda.aspx.

Following are excerpts from a report in Business Standard.

"The Government of India has announced a major policy initiative to offer Viability Gap Finding (VGF) for providing road and rail connectivity to the minor ports. As per this policy, the Government of India will bear 50 per cent of the cost for the road and rail infrastructure, the state government will provide 30 per cent while the remaining 20 per cent will be borne by the port developers”, G K Dhal, principal secretary (commerce & transport) said.

For the proposed port at Bichitrapur in Balasore district, the road connectivity would be between Jaleshwar and Bichitrapur while the rail connectivity would be from Digha to Bichitrapur.Similarly, for the port proposed at Subarnarekha mouth, also in Balasore district, the road connectivity is proposed between Basta and Choumukha whereas the rail connectivity would be from Haldipada to Choumukha.

The road connectivity for the Dhamara port in Bhadrak district has been envisaged from Jamujhadi on NH-5 to the port site. The rail link is being developed between Bhadrak and Dhamara.

… "The Orissa government has also proposed an industrial corridor on the Meramandali-Angul-Talcher-Chhendipada belt linking the coal mines, power plants and steel plants. Rail India Technical & Economic Services (Rites), the consultancy arm of Indian Railways, has submitted a draft feasibility report in this regard which is under the scrutiny of the state government. The Orissa government intends to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the purpose. This common corridor will be co-habited by multiple players and can be financed by participative funding”, he added.

Update: A DNA report the next day has this to say:

The favourable stand taken by the expert appraisal committee (EAC) on the POSCO steel plant in Orissa does not ensure an automatic green signal to the project, environment minister Jairam Ramesh has said.

… EAC’s positive recommendations are seen as a precursor to the ministry’s clearance for a project. Set up under the environment impact assessment notification of 2006, the committee assesses a range of issues related to a proposed project and recommends whether or not to grant approval to it. The ministry generally goes by its recommendation.

Ramesh clarified that a final decision on POSCO would be taken only after two weeks. The response has again put the fate of India’s biggest foreign direct investment project in doubt.

Following is from a report in DNA.

After running into several hurdles, the Rs51,000-crore POSCO steel plant project in Orissa has finally received the green signal from environment minister Jairam Ramesh. The decision comes as a big relief for the Indian industry which has been under tremendous pressure due to objections raised by the ministry over environment issues.

The steel project, being promoted by South Korean steel major POSCO in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa, is the biggest foreign investment in the country. It was put on hold after the ministry cited violations of environment and forest laws by the company. The decision of the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the ministry followed several public hearings and meetings with officials of POSCO India limited and the state government.

The EAC, however, has imposed tough conditions — running into 80 clauses — on the promoters. The most important of these is that at least 5% of the total cost of the project should be earmarked for corporate social responsibility. This means, POSCO will need to set aside at least Rs2,000 crore for this purpose only.

The committee also announced the resettlement and rehabilitation policy for tribals and fishermen to be affected by the project. Of 4,004 acres of the project area, 3,566 acres is revenue forest land. The company has acquired nearly 100 acres for resettlement of 418 families. The compensation for betel vine growers has been doubled and fishermen would get Rs2,00,000 per acre of prawn pond. Earlier, there was no compensation norm for fishermen.

The committee agreed that the plant area of 4,000 acres is compact for a 12 MTPA integrated steel plant with a captive power generation capacity and a port. It said construction of the port and development of greenery within the plant on 1,000 acres (25% of plant area) should commence simultaneously with the plant’s construction and be completed within eight years.

The project proposes establishing an integrated steel plant which will have an initial capacity of four MTPA and final capacity of 12 MTPA. It will have a captive port and a power plant of 400 MW. The EAC agreed with the seasonal basis on which the clearance was recommended in 2007 but insisted that on the basis of comprehensive environment impact assessment (EIA) report placed before it, aspects set out in subsequent paragraphs of these minutes must be revisited during the implementation of the project and conformity to norms verified and reported to the ministry.

The promoters have been asked to take steps to check vehicular pollution during transportation of raw material and finished products as well as dust emission during loading and unloading.

Raw material shall be stacked at earmarked sites in sheds/stockyards with wind breakers/shields and secure of fire hazard.

Following is from Dharitri.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hospitality Biz India.

… All the resorts are expected to be operational within the next 30 months. Swosti Group currently operates Hotel Swosti and Swosti Premium in Bhubaneswar and Swosti Palm Resort in Gopalpur-on–sea (Ganjam district).

Speaking with Hospitality Biz, J K Mohanty, Chairman, Swosti Group said, “Rural Tourism is a big source of employment for the rural youth. Looking at the potential of Rural Tourism, Swosti Group plans to open resorts in rural areas around Chilka Lake, Satapada and Puri in Orissa. Targeted to corporates as well as high-end Indian and foreign tourists, these projects will have villas, spas, entertainment activities, cruising service along with convention facilities. Eminent consultants and architects are involved in planning and designing of these projects, which are likely to come up in next two years.”

Swosti Chandan Spa Retreat, which is likely to come up in Puri, will have 106-rooms (including eight suites). “However, we are awaiting an approval from the Coastal Regulatory Zone authorities for the Puri property,” informed Mohanty. The resort near Chilka Lake, which is Asia’s largest brackish water lake famous for migratory birds and dolphins, will have 72 cottages. The resort will have spa, health club, gymnasium, restaurants, conference facilities and a landscape spread across nine acres of land. The luxury resort in Satapada will have 43 rooms. …

Following is an excerpt from a report in pharmabiz.com.

The Hyderabad-based Global Hospitals Group, one of the fastest growing super specialty care and multi-organ transplantation hospitals in India, is lined up to open three new hospitals in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar respectively by April next year. It is also planning to open one in Delhi

In a major expansion move in its 12-year old history, the group, which already has its presence in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore, will make a total investment of Rs.700 crore in the upcoming hospitals in Bhubaneswar Mumbai and Kolkata. The Mumbai facility will have a bed capacity of 400 beds, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata 300 each. … All the upcoming facilities will have a special focus on organ transplantation. It will also have facilities for latest technologies such as stem cell therapy. At present the group has strength of total 500 doctors in the existing hospitals in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

In a telephonic conversation with Chronicle Pharmabiz, Dr Ravindranath, CMD, Global Hospitals Group, said, "The new hospitals in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar will be ready by next April. We have already raised funds for the same and construction work is in progress."

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

Taiwan-based NuLight Corporation plans to invest $200 million (around Rs 900 crore) on setting up a light emitting diode (LED) manufacturing unit in the state. The unit will manufacture LED street lamps and household bulbs.

“Initially, we will invest $10 million and later scale it up to $900 million on the LED manufacturing unit in the state. Orissa as well as India has a vast market for LED street lamps and household bulbs. It will be cost-effective and energy-efficient”, S S Lin, chairman of NuLight Corporation said at a press meet held on the occasion of ‘Invest Bhubaneswar-Orissa Symposium’.

The company also intends to set up an R&D (Research and Development) centre in the state on LED systems. Lin claimed that LED lighting systems can bring down power consumption by 70-80 per cent.

Daniel Lin, director, NuLight Corporation said, “We also have plans to build a green township in the state but details have not been finalized.”

Following is a excerpt from a report in Orissadiary.

Another senior functionary from Nulight Corporation said that his company is exploring the possibilities to invest and transfer technology to make Bhubaneswar a green city. “We are talking with Indian players to work together on this project.” he said.

This is wonderful news for several reasons. The Odisha government should help in speedy establishment of this and not make any hype about it. The reason this is wonderful is:

• Taiwan is a country of business owners.
• Taiwan invests a huge amount in China and other asian countries.
• Taiwan is a leader in electronics manufacturing and is earning names in semiconductor manufacturing.
• While there are IT hubs, auto hubs, etc. in India, India still does not have an electronic hub. So if Odisha plays it right it could go from one Taiwaneese electronics company to many and distinguish itself. It needs to be vigilant on the environmental aspects from day 1.

To read more about Taiwan check out this article in moneyweek. Following is an excerpt.

Taiwanese companies such as semiconductor foundry TSMC design and make many of the most advanced components that go into modern electronics. And increasingly, firms such as HTC, Acer and Asus are taking the next step up the value chain and establishing themselves as consumer brands in their own right.

The following is from a slideshow in rediff.

The slideshow in rediff has the following to say about Odisha.

Its capital is Bhubaneswar. Orissa has abundant natural resources and a large coastline.

It contains a fifth of India’s coal, a quarter of its iron ore, a third of its bauxite reserves and most of the chromite.

It receives unprecedented investments in steel, aluminium, power, refineries and ports. India’s topmost IT consulting firms, including Mahindra Satyam, Tata Consultancy Services, MindTree Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Infosys have large branches in Orissa.

Following is an excerpt from a report in bizodisha.com.

Rushab Ship International Consultant is in talks with the Odisha government to introduce a passenger-cum-cargo cruise from Puri to Kolkatta in next three to six months with an investment of Rs 100 crore.

Addressing on the second day of the Invest Bhubaneswar, Rashmikant Kamdar, president, Rushab Ship International Consultant said, “We are having one or two vessels for this purpose. We are in talks with the state government and expect to finalise the deal soon.”

The  cruise can be used for multi purpose for ferrying passengers and cargo. There will be entertainment facility also for the passenger, he said.

Kamdar said that we are also planning  to have ship breaking place in Odisha. Odia labourers are working as ship breakers in Alang in Gujarat. “They can be employed in the ship breaking place in Odisha”, he said.

The web page of this company is http://www.rushabship.com/index.php. Its current address is given as Edison, NJ.

Address
Rushab Ship Consultant, Inc.
43 Jonathan Drive
Edison, New Jersey 08820
USA

Following is an excerpt from a report in orissadiary.com.

As per the Assocham Investment Meter (AIM) assessment report for corporate investments across states and sectors, total investment plans of India Inc. increased significantly from Rs. 7,971,464 crore in 2009 to Rs. 10,097,472 crore during the period of April-September, 2010. Among the 20 major states Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa carved out a majority share of 13.2 per cent, 11.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively.

… Among the top investment attracting states, Gujarat remains on the top registering the highest share of 13.2 per cent in domestic investment plans during the period of April-September, 2010. The state witnessed Rs. 1,330,743 crore worth of capex plans which are 17.3 per cent higher as compared to the total investment realized in the state during the past year. Also, the state attracted majority of investment plans in the power, manufacturing and services sectors.

Similarly, Maharashtra stood at second position registering growth of 19.3 per cent (Y-o-Y) and 13.2 per cent share of the total investments made during April-September 2010-11. The state attracted whopping investments plans of Rs. 1,154,197 crore during the said period. The Services and Real Estate were the prominent among the sectors that attracted majority share of the investments.

The availability of rich mineral resources such as coal and iron ore along with cheap availability of manpower helped Orissa to rank amongst the top three states in attracting corporate investments.

The state was ranked third on investment radar with total planned investments stood at Rs. 1,134,716 crore during the H1 period of FY’11. The state recorded a hike of about 20.0 per cent in overall investments over the previous year. Among the sectors Manufacturing and Power companies have received the major proportion of the investments.

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh stood at fourth and fifth position by attracting investment plans worth Rs. 915,060 crore and Rs. 866,776 crore respectively during in H1 of 2010.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The new routes on which the bus service started are KIIT to Uttara, Phulanakhara to Nuagaon and Sai temple to Khandagiri. People have been demanding bus service on these routes for the last two months. The chairman of Dream Team Sahara (DTS), Nishikant Mishra said six buses will ply on each of the new routes. The number of buses plying on the routes would be raised to 10 later, he said.

The city bus service had so far been operational on just two routes —Nandan Kanan to Airport and Dumuduma to VSS Nagar. Officials said the buses would start plying on another route — Master Catneen to Khurda — by the end of this year.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Orissadiary.

217 Puri-Palasa passenger which is leaving Puri at 07.50a.m and arriving Palasa at 03.25p.m will leave Palasa at 04.30p.m and will arrive at Paralakhemundi at 06.45p.m in the extended portion. In the return direction, 218 Paralakhemundi-Puri Passenger will leave Paralakhemundi at 07.45a.m and will arrive at Puri at 09.05p.m.

This train will stop at Pundi, Rauthpuram, Naupada, Tekkali, Pedasana, Temburu, Ganguvada, and Pathapatnam between Palasa and Paralakhemundi. The timings of 217/218 Puri-Paralakhemundi-Puri passenger will remain unchanged between Puri & Palasa. The train will run as a special train on the flagging off day of the extended portion and the regular run will be from Puri w.e.f 19th December and from Paralakhemundi w.e.f 20th Dec’2010.

…

8447 Bhubaneswar-Koraput Hirakhand Express, which is leaving Bhubaneswar at 07.35p.m and arriving Koraput at 09.45a.m on the next day, will leave Koraput at 10.05a.m and will arrive at Jagadalpur at 12.40p.m in the extended portion. In the return direction, 8448 Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will leave Jagadalpur at 03.30p.m and will arrive at Bhubaneswar at 08.25a.m on the next day.

This train will stop at Jeypore and Jagadalpur in the extended portion. The timings of 8447/8448 Bhubaneswar-Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will remain unchanged between Bhubaneswar and Koraput. The train will run as a special train on the day of flagging off of the extended portion and the regular run will be from Bhubaneswar on 18th December and from Jagadalpur from 19th Dec’2010.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

After stopping bauxite mining in Orissa the government now finds itself in a bind on the issue of rehabilitation in Lanjigarh. Corporate-backed developmental activities in the tribal region, one of the most backward places in the country, have come to a standstill following the environment ministry’s ban on mining.

The Anil Agarwal-controlled Sterlite Industries had been ordered by the Supreme Court in August 2008 to spend about 5% of its profit for development activity at Lanjigarh.

Since the environment ministry in August 2010 had barred mining, the rehabilitation package which includes about Rs 10 crore of annual development activity including the building of roads, schools and hospitals, has now been stopped.

"If disbursement from the development fund were to continue, it would imply approval of mining which would be contrary to the ministry’s order," said one person directly involved in the developmental work. On August 30, 2010, the ministry of environment and forests issued a notice barring bauxite mining in Niyamgiri on grounds of violation of environmental norms.

According to the same person quoted earlier, if the government asks Sterlite to stop developmental activity it would amount to contempt of court as it would go against the Supreme Court directive.

"Under our order we suggested rehabilitation package under which Sterlite Industries is required to deposit 5% of annual profits before tax and interest from Lanjigarh project or Rs 10 crore per annum whichever is higher," said the Supreme Court order. "The said project covers both mining and refining. The amount is required to be deposited by Sterlite Industries every year commencing from April 1, 2007. For the above reasons, we hereby grant clearance to the forest diversion proposal," read the order dated August 8, 2008.

… Among the projects which have been left uncertain include a Rs 3 crore hospital and a Rs 1.8 crore tribal school upgradation in the Lanjigarh block.

I hope the central government will consider paying this lost amount of 10 crores/year for developmental activities in that area.

(We welcome reviews of this restaurant.)

Following is an excerpt from gujaratmoney.com.

… in the GSDP(Gross State Domestic Product) growth projected by the country’s apex finance panel-13th Finance Commission for next five years(from 2010-11 to 2014-15) in the country after Goa(in the first position) and Orissa(2nd position).

The panel has projected that Gujarat’s GSDP will grow in next five years at average 12.46%(projection based on the base year 2007-08) while the highest growth has been projected for Goa(13.06%) and Orisssa(12.63%). While others states to grow at 12% plus are Haryana(12.30%) and Chattisgarh(12.28%). The other states which are projected to grow at 11% plus are Jharkhand(11.5%), Assam(11.32%) and Meghalaya(11.9%).

States with 10% plus growth projections are Karnatka(10.53%), Rajasthan(10.33%), Kerala and Himachal Pradesh(10.30%), Jammu & Kashmir(10.25%), Uttrakhand(10.17%) West Bengal(10.04%) and Andhra Pradesh(10.03%). Maharashtra, Taminadu and others state are expected to grow at 9% or below that.

Though projections have been made for Gujarat in top three GSDP growth states but the incremental growth(year to year improvement) rate has been projected as one of the lowest. For the same period incremental growth of Gujarat has been projected at 2.04% while for Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh its has been projected at 4.57, 4.46, 4.47, 4.24, 4.20 and UP 4.01% respectively.

One needs to worry about the negative impact of the anti-growth and anti-Odisha agenda of the prince of Congress and the environment ministry. The PM is a saving grace; but if the prince takes over then Odisha as well as India are doomed.

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68211.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Government of Orissa to set up a Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) in Paradeep. This is the fourth PCPIR which has been approved after PCPIRs in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal.

A total investment of about ` 277,734 crore is expected in the Orissa Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (OPCPIR), which includes a committed investment of ` 29,777 crore. The proposal envisages development of physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, air links, ports, water supply, power etc. at a cost of ` 13,634 crore. The PCPIR policy prescribes that infrastructure will be created/upgraded through Public Private Partnerships to the extent possible and Central Government will provide the necessary Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Accordingly, Government of Orissa (GoO) has sought support from Government of India involving a commitment  of 716 crore on account of VGF funding for one port and three road-related projects.

The total employment generation from the OPCPIR is expected to be about 6.48 lakh persons comprising direct employment to 2.27 lakh persons.

The PCPIR policy is a window to ensure the adoption of a holistic approach to the development of global scale industrial clusters in the petroleum, chemical and petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment friendly manner. The idea is to ensure the setting up of industrial estates in a planned manner with a view to achieve synergies and for value added manufacturing, research and development.

The Government of Orissa proposes to set up a PCPIR at Paradeep extending over parts of Kujang and Ersama blocks of Jagatsinghpur district and Mahakalpada and Marsaghai blocks of Kendrapara district.

The State Government proposes to implement the Orissa Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (OPCPIR) under the Orissa Development Authorities Act, 1982, which is an existing State law. The State Government proposes to constitute the Greater Orissa Paradeep Development Authority as the authority in charge of the development of the Paradeep PCPIR.

The delineated region has a strong industrial base with major processing activities at present including Paradeep Phosphates Ltd., IFFCO’s Fertiliser Plant, Essar Steel Plant, Goa Carbons (Paradeep Carbons Ltd), Paradeep Port etc.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) has been identified as the Anchor Tenant for the Orissa PCPIR. IOCL signed a MoU with GoO in 2004 for setting up a 15 MMTPA grassroot refinery at Paradeep in the first phase at a cost of ` 29,777 crore. The Refinery is likely to be commissioned by March 2012 and should be fully stabilized by November 2012. The Refinery will have a Crude and vacuum Distillation Unit, a Hydrocracking Unit, a Delayed Coker Unit and other secondary processing facilities. It will also have an Integrated Gassification Combined Cycle Plant for production of steam, power and hydrogen from petroleum coke for captive use in the refinery at the cost of about ` 935 crores. A petrochemical complex will be set up at a later date depending on the market conditions.

A Preliminary Environment Assessment Report (EIA) has been conducted. The State Government will carry out a detailed EIA as per the EIA notification.

****

VBA/SH/LV

Earlier some news papers had reported that with the Cairn’s deal and the upcoming IPO of Sterlite Anil Agarwal may become the richest Indian and among the 5 richest in the world. Considering his interest in Odisha (for now in Kalahandi, Jharsuguda and Puri) it is important to know about what he has in mind. An interview is a better medium than articles and propaganda pieces. So here is an excerpt from his interview to CNBC as given in moneycontrol.com.

Q: Let me talk about the other controversy that you are currently dealing with and that is with your Lanjigarh refinery where the ministry of environment or the center has said that you violated environmental norms, you did not have appropriate clearances before you went ahead and actually began construction and your expansion there. You have of course refuted all of these allegations, you have responded to the government showcause notice to you. There was a committee that actually setup, and the committee also said that you flouted the environment norms. is it the end of the road as far as your Lanjigarh expansion plans are concerns? Are you feeling more confident? Have you spoken with Jairam Ramesh? Do you intend speaking with Jairam Ramesh to present your case?

A: Let’s look at the overall picture. This is a story of aluminium. We are in a natural position to produce aluminum which is green metal which is required for human development on a day to day basis. China produces 22 million tonne of aluminium against the 1.5 million tonne that we produce.

In seeing that Rs 45,000 crore has already been invested in the aluminium sector and we are producing aluminium and we are running this plant very well. Now to produce aluminium we need bauxite. That’s a fundamental (requirement) to have bauxite. India has one of the finest and huge reserves of bauxite, of which Orissa has largest bauxite and Lanjigarh area has the largest bauxite and that’s why we setup the plant there.

The intention is that we have already invested the money. At the moment we are buying the bauxite from outside and running the plant which is not natural. We have complied with all the rules. Why would somebody go to Kalahandi and invest USD 2 billion. It’s the most backward area of India. We have gone there and invested on the presumption because here is the bauxite and here development will take place. Lanjigarh and Kalahandi have a different face today.

Q: But the tribal community that is currently based there in the Niyamgiri Hills believes that they don’t want Vedanta, they don’t want your refinery, they don’t want you to mine there. And you’ve had NGO after NGO, you’ve had the Church of England, you have had Bianca Jagger, you have had the Center for Science and Environment, you have had of course the government appointed committee saying that you are in violation of environmental norms. The Center for Science and Environment has gone as far as to say that Vedanta and Anil Agarwal are history sheeters when it comes to environmental violation?

A: You must know that I have used this word not a blade of grass has been moved. What are you talking about violating the norms? Not a blade of grass has been moved on that and that mine isn’t on our name. We were supposed to get the clearance, with the joint venture or the Orissa government was supposed to do and before that this came up. Sometimes I believe that there are vested interests.

Q: You believe this is because of vested interest?

A: I’m just saying because how long India will stop? We have to produce aluminium which is required for our day to day development because thousands of industries are to be developed on the basis of aluminium.

Q: But at the cost of destroying the environment, at the cost of displacing the tribal community that is based there because that’s the allegation?

A: One thing I can tell you as Anil Agarwal, I will never flout. I am more sensitive about our people, our Adivasi people than anybody else. I am more sensitive. Orissa is only bauxite – bauxite – bauxite. We all are working together; we are looking forward to get the bauxite to run our plant.

Q: Is this politics at play? Let me ask you directly do you feel that this is politics at play, that you have gotten caught between the politics of the BJP, the BJD and the Congress party. Rahul Gandhi visited the Niyamgiri region, visited Lanjigarh and said that I am your sipahi in Delhi, I am the tribal community’s sipahi in Delhi. Do you believe that you have gotten caught between the politics of the Congress, the BJP and the BJD?

A: I can tell you that Rahul Gandhi was very clear that he is not against development. He was definitely and we all are with him as far as tribals are concerned. We will make sure that whatever the government policy is and whatever the government wants for the tribal, as far as we are concerned we are not going to touch anything unless it has been completely settled down. But Orissa has huge Bauxite. What you are talking about is may be quarter percent of what they have.

Q: You can shift the location you are saying. That if indeed you were not get clearance as far as mining in this region is concerned you would look at other regions?

A: Because there is only Bauxite. Huge employment will be created; we need aluminium and the 25 years can you believe after Nalco there is no mining which has opened.

Q: Are you going to talk to the Congress, have you reached out to the Congress party? There seems to be a perception that there is some sort of trouble when it comes to the Congress and its relationship with Anil Agarwal, is that a true perception?

A: I don’t have to believe because everything has been done. What you are seeing what has not happened. What you are not seeing is what has happened. We have invested almost USD 20 billion in India, created huge employment, paying huge income tax. There is no reason to believe that government is not with us. Otherwise they will never do it.

But when the question comes of tribals we are with them. When it comes to Cairn Energy I am giving them enough, if there is anything which we can do to take the country into the next level. So if you look at our credentials, we have worked with the government all the time and we have got all our clearances for our power plant, for our aluminum plant.

Q: Jairam Ramesh doesn’t seem to think so?

A: He has given 50 clearances to us, except these two clearances. I am just thinking 40–50 clearance must have come through him.

Q: So what is the problem with these two clearances you think because you continue to believe that you have done everything as far as getting the environmental clearances are concerned, that you have not flouted any norms, why do you believe that we have reached this point where you have been asked not to construct further, not to expand further, there is a status quo as far as your plans for Lanjigarh are concerned?

A: We are in democratic country, we are not in China. When something is there somebody has to address and we all are addressing jointly because my agenda is not different than the government’s. We live in a democratic country and we have to take our society with us.

If you look at it, aluminium is very important metal and we have to make sure that a couple of million tonne of aluminium is added to our country.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to undertake 14 projects on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode involving an expenditure of Rs 6,218.02 crore.

A total of 46 projects, to be taken up on the PPP mode, are under the consideration of the state government, A U Singhdeo, minister for Planning & Coordination said in the state assembly.

… The Infocity-II project, one of the major PPP projects, being planned over 600 acres of land at Janla on the outskirts of the city, has gathered some steam after being marred by inordinate delay.

As part of its commitment to expedite this project, the state government has set in motion the process to prepare Request for Qualification (RFQ) for this project.

"An empowered committee of the state industries department has been asked to oversee the bidding process of the Infocity-II project. The RFQ is currently being prepared. The land acquisition for the project has been already completed and environment clearance has been obtained. The state government has also submitted an application to the Government of India for Special Economic zone (SEZ) notification for the project,” the minister said.

The other notable projects in the information technology sector taken up on the PPP mode are Mindspace IT Park involving a cost of Rs 480 crore, the DLF Infopark project entailing an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore and an IT & Corporate Tower being taken up at Chandrasekharpur at a cost of Rs 140 crore.

In the tourism sector, the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) has approved the revised Request for Proposal (RFP) for selecting the master developer for the Shmauka beach tourism project being taken up at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore on around 3,000 acres of land at Sipasarubali near Puri.

In the road transport sector, the High Level Clearance Authority of the state government has approved a proposal to seek Viability Gap Fund (VGF) assistance for the four-laning of the Sambalpur-Rourkela road involving a cost of Rs 1,483 crore.

For the Koira-Tensa-Lahunipara road in Keonjhar district, involving an implementation cost of Rs 392.2 crore, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has submitted a draft preliminary report. This project needs 38 per cent VGF as per the toll rates of National Highways Authority of India Ltd (NHAI).

Meanwhile, feasibility study is underway for three other road projects- Shaukati-Dubuna road in Keonjhar district, Tensa-Barsuan-Lahunipara road in Sundergarh district and Chorada-Duburi road in Dhenkanal  Jajpur.

Following is an excerpt from http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=22808.

As announced in the last Railway Budget, Ministry of Railways has decided to introduce three new trains in East Coast Railway jurisdiction. Puri-Howrah-Puri daily Duronto Express will be introduced from 7th December 2010; Sambalpur-Howrah-Sambalpur weekly Express from 10th December & Puri-Digha-Puri weekly express will be introduced from 11th December 2010.
 
2278 Puri-Horah Duronto Super Fast Express will leave Puri at 06.45a.m and will arrive at Howrah at 01.45p.m. In the return direction, 2277 Howrah-Puri Duronto Super Fast Express will leave Howrah at 02.25p.m and will arrive at Puri at 09.40p.m. This train has One AC Chair Car, 11 Second Class Chair Car and Two Guard vans having no intermediate stoppage.
 
2586 Sambalpur-Howrah weekly Super Fast express via Angul & Bhadrak will leave Sambalpur at 07.55p.m. on Fridays and will arrive at Howrah at 07.05a.m. on the next days. Similarly, in the return direction, 2585 Howrah-Sambalpur weekly Super Fast express via Bhadrak and Angul will leave Howrah at 08.55p.m on Saturdays and will arrive at Sambalpur at 08.10a.m. on the following days. This train has One AC-2 tier, One AC-3 tier, Six Sleeper Classes, Six General Second Class Coaches and Two Guard cum Luggage vans in its composition having stoppages at Rairakhol, Boinda, Angul, Talcher Road, Dhenkanal, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur between Sambalpur and Howrah.
 
2580 Puri-Digha weekly Super Fast express will leave Puri at 11.35p.m on Saturdays and will arrive at Digha at 09.30a.m on the next days. In the return direction, 2579 Digha Puri weekly Super Fast express will leave Digha at 05.15p.m. on Sundays and will arrive Puri at 03.20a.m. on the following days. This train has One AC-2 tier, One AC-3 tier, Eight Sleeper Classes, Six General Second Class Coaches and Two Guard cum Luggage vans in its composition having stoppages at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kharagpur, Panskura, Tamluk and Kanthi between Puri & Digha. But presently this train will have One AC-2 tier, One AC-3 tier, Five Sleeper Classes, Three General Second Class Coaches and Two Guard cum Luggage vans in its composition.

I am expecting the Sambalpur-Howrah via Angul weekly express to be made daily in the coming years as it newly connects Sambalpur, Angul,Talcher and Dhenkanal to Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur and Angul,Talcher and Dhenkanal to Howrah.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The on-going developmental work at the Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar, which aims to upgrade the airport as an International airport, is likely to be completed by November, 2011.

The expansion work, being implemented by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), envisages construction of new domestic terminal building complex with all modern amenities, which includes two aerobridges at a cost of Rs 145.54 crore.

On completion of these works, the final capacity of the Bhubaneswar airport would be 970 domestic passengers and 348 international passengers during peak hours as per IMG norms, says Union minister of state for civil aviation, Praful Patel.

Funds earmarked for construction of new terminal building and extension of apron was Rs 160.45 crore. Out of this, Rs 24.59 crore has been spent by September, this year, Patel said in response to a query from Rajya Sabha MP, Renubala Pradhan.

The average number of passengers handled by the Bhubaneswar airport daily varies from 2500 to 3150. The average daily passengers handled by the airport was 2637 in April, 2506 in May, 3150 in June, 2657 in July, 2848 in August and 2517 in September this year.

Patel said, the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) operates daily flights in Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi and Mumbai-Raipur-Bhubanswar-Mumabi sectors and five flights per week in Chennai-Bhubaneswar-Chennai sector.

Similarly, the Jet Airways operates daily flights in Kolkata-Bhubaneswar-Kolkata sector, while Kingfisher Airlines operates Mumbai-Bhubaneswar-Mumbai and Bangalore-Bhubaneswar-Bangalore and Kolkata-Bhubaneswar-Kolkata sector (twice daily) flights.

Indigo operates Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi (twice daily) and Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad flights.