___________

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Pioneer.

Ansupa, Orissa’s largest fresh water lake, 70 km from here, is set to be revived at a cost of Rs 6.41 crore. The Finance Commission is funding the first phase of the project, during which the lake’s silt load is being removed.

… Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said the State Government aimed at bringing back both aquatic life and tourists to Ansupa. An existing channel would be revived to facilitate entry of water and trees would be planted on the banks of the lake to check soil erosion, he said, adding that development of ecotourism was an integral part of the project.

The lake previously used to boast of a picture perfect setting between Saranda and Bishnupur hills on the outskirts of the sub-divisional town of Athgarh and was home to migratory birds in winter. It, however, suffered a slow death due to severe erosion around its catchment area, silting and proliferation of algae and hyacinth plants. The lake’s depth has now been reduced to 10 feet from the original 40 feet.

The revival project, being implemented by the District Rural Development Agency, Cuttack, under the Ansupa Area Development Scheme, aims at reopening of the Kabulanala channel on the lake’s south-east side, which used to link it with the Mahanadi till an embankment was constructed on the river a decade back. The floodwaters used to enter the lake from the south-eastern side through the channel and flush out the weeds through a stream, Hulhullanala, which runs into the Mahanadi on the south-western side.

The proposed opening of the channel would revive the natural process of de-weeding as the embankment stalled this natural process and the water entering into the lake could not get released. The heavy silting had set in due to the soil erosion from Saranda hill on the lake’s western side and Bishnupur hill on its north-eastern side due to deforestation. Besides, conversion of the silted area into paddy fields worsened the situation.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Indian Bank is set to open four more “Microsate” (a satellite branch for micro loans) branches across the country by the end of 2007, taking the total number to 12. These would come up in Bhubaneswar, New Delhi, Pune, and Bangalore.

The public sector bank was the first bank to introduce exclusive microcredit branches to provide credit to self-help groups (SHGs). It currently has eight exclusive microcredit branches, including the one opened in Chennai (second branch in the city) on Saturday.

According to MS Sundara Rajan, chairman and managing director, Indian Bank, so far 6,982 groups have been provided a credit of Rs 56.42 crore through Microsate branches, which also provide non-credit services like training, counselling and marketing besides catering to the credit needs of the urban poor.

“The bank has so far credit-linked over 2.30 lakh SHGs to the tune of Rs 1,545.48 crore. To meet the needs of the urban poor in Chennai, a Microsate branch was opened in May 2005 in Chetpet. The branch has so far covered over 101,000 families in Chennai. Consequently, six more branches were opened in Patna, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Nadiad (Ahmedabad), Kollam (Kerala) and Kolkata during the first half of the current fiscal 2007-08,” he said.

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 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.

Following are some excerpts from that article.

… Bhubaneswar already ranks very high on the software exports frontwith Rs 732 crore completed in 2006-07, Bhubaneswar was 9th in the pecking order among Indian cities. Says Vishal Dev, director, IT, government of Orissa, “Till last year, we were the largest city in the whole of Eastern India on software exports, before being overtaken by Kolkata.” And, now have ambitious plans to reach $1,000 mn in software exports by 2012.

t is also one of the few cities in the country that boasts of the presence of the Big Four of Indian software exports. While Infosys and Satyam have been present in the city for quite some time and have 3,000 and 1,000 people respectively, TCS, after starting last year, has recruited 300 people. Wipro, too, has started campus construction. Add to this, Genpact, IBM Daksh, and ICICI, which are starting their eastern region BPO hubs, and it becomes obvious why Bhubaneswar today commands respect as an IT/BPO destination. The picture would not be complete without mentioning the arrival of MindTree Consulting, Aricent, Contiloe Films as well as Perfectus, which plan a 5,000 seater IT/BPO unit.

The arrival of these leading players also indicates how Bhubaneswar has come of age on both infrastructure as well as manpower fronts. The city today boasts of four SEZs: the earliest one, the 350 acre Infocity is already full; the first phase of the DLF Infopark work is in progress, work is starting on an integrated IT park, known as Knowledge Park, while sanction has been given to the Mancheswara Industrial Estate (29 acres).

Manpower
Such little details prove that while the IT juggernaut is in motion, Bhubaneswar is totally conscious of the need to develop a social infrastructure conducive to fostering IT. That explains why the state ranks high in terms of providing manpower supply; that with forty-five engineering colleges and forty-three MCA colleges, it could do so, is a no-brainer. But, while earlier this supply was mainly migrating elsewhere, it is now getting populated in Bhubaneswar itself.

That fact that technical education is a major priority of the state government has definitely helped. While engineering colleges affiliated to nine of the universities in the state were earlier brought and standardized under the aegis of the Biju Patnaik University, the government is now setting up an IIIT, where it will start with an M Tech program in order to create a crop of new qualified faculty. Also on the anvil are plans to start NISER and a campus of IIT Kharagpur. The Vedanta Group and Sri Sri Ravishankara Vidya Mandir Trust are also setting up technical colleges in the city.

Others in the Game
While the larger companies in the city registered an overall growth of 58% in 2006-07, SMEs like JSS witnessed 120% growth. JSS Consultancy is a domestic BPO playerit handles Citibank for the entire eastern region, as well as other major clients like Tata Indicom, HSBC, Citi Financial, HDFC Standard Life, and Centurion Bank for Orissa.

Its not only about the local SMEs; domestic IT consumption is also on the rise in the city. Reasons are not too far to locate: while Orissa today boasts of steel plants like Jindal, Bhushan, and Neelachal, very soon it will also have Posco, Arcelor-Mittal, and Tata Steel, making it probably the global steel hub. Add to this, power plants like the Jindals and aluminum plants like NALCO, Hindalco, and Sterlite. Paradip Port and the airport in Bhubaneswar are being modernized while the East Coast HQ is finally coming up next month.

Rajesh Dora, MD, Printlink, one of Bhubaneswars largest resellers and SIs, agrees to this. He also informs that other than the steel sector, even the engineering colleges and institutions like OUAT and Institute of Physics are significant consumers of IT.

The Future Sunrise

The experts, too, have endorsed a bright future for Bhubaneswar. According to McKinsey, Orissas economy is poised to grow at 7.1% over the next 10-12 years, the highest in Eastern India. Morgan Stanley comments that Orissa shall emerge as a center for metals business in India and attract investments of up to $3040 bn over the next five years. Even if these predictions are partially met, the impact of IT would be enough to create waves in the Bay of Bengal. The CMIEs forecast that Orissa accounted for 15% of total investments in hand in the country in 2006, and the World Bank ranking Bhubaneswar 5th among cities in ease of doing business within India further endorses the seal of approval. An oft-neglected, but very crucial role in this IT growth of the city has been played by the government. While on the e-Governance front, the state has won awards for two consecutive years (for the Shishu locator program and the OCAC website), a proactive government with an urbane and suave CM at the helm has created a conducive environment for IT. The stability of the political regime too has helped. A confident Naveen Patnaik proudly proclaims, “Bhubaneswar, indeed, is the future sunrise of the IT industry.”

New Indian Express reports on this.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Focusing on the growing importance of Vani Vihar and Lingaraj Temple Halts as serving satellite stations to the main Bhubaneswar Station, East Coast Railway has provided improved amenities at the station for the benefit of commuters.

The halts have been improved with full length for stoppage of longest trains, improved waiting halls, granite benches, pipe water supply, decongested circulating areas and facelift to both the passenger halts. ECoR general manager SS Khurana, accompanied by other high railway officials, inspected these passenger halts on Saturday.

The largest works to be completed in the current financial year are foot over-bridge at Lingaraj halt, elevating passenger halt level from rail level to high level at Vani Vihar, extension of high-level platform at Lingaraj and providing an ATM counter at both halts.

New Indian express also reports on this with the headline: “Passenger halts to be upgraded to suburban stations.”

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

The Kalinga Stadium Yoga Kendra, which was started here at the instance of Swami Ramdev, celebrated its second anniversary on Saturday.

… Yoga, which has taken its birth in India, has now become popular worldwide encompassing all regions and religions.

Yoga guru Sudhansu Adhikari said that in the yoga centre people not only get relief from diseases but also learn the art of living in peace and harmony in society. In the coming days, he hoped, the yoga activities would not be limited to the posh areas of the city but would be extended even to the slums. Many chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes, insomnia and obesity are cured through yoga.

The kendra members narrated the benefits they have derived from practising yoga.

Following is an excerpt on this from the Pioneer.

The Jagannath Temple administration would develop a new state-of-the-art passenger bus terminal at an estimated cost of over Rs 100 crore on 42 acre of its own land located near the Samagara village on the outskirts of the town, said SC Mahapatra, the temple’s chief administrator at a Press meet on Thursday. Within six months the temporary bus stand operating at Talabania would be shifted to the new place. Primary infrastructure like fencing, provisions of basic amenities and security arrangements would be put on place before the scheduled shifting, Mahapatra said. A pilgrim shelter for 500 pilgrims would be constructed in the complex equipped with eateries and shopping centres. Two crore would be spent now for the purpose, said Mahapatra. Besides Rs 35 crore would be spent for the development of the existing parking place functioning at Jagannath Ballav alongside the Badadanda (Grand Road). NTPC would bear the cost of the development, he said. Among other things the temple plans to include resumption of temple kitchen and Ananda Bazaar (Mahaprasad selling and dinning place in the temple complex) reconstruction work after the Kartik Brata and installation of a donation collection box at the premises of Jaydev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.

We earlier wrote about this in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/?p=92  and http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/?p=69. Following is from a news report in New Indian Express.

As part of its major activity on the silver jubilee year, Chandaka Dampara Sancturay authorities have geared up on the eco-tourism front with more community involvement plans.

The sanctuary has seven tourist routes through which the nature lovers can have a glimpse of some of the 600 plant species, conduct floristic studies and watch the animals including elephants and leopards. The tourist routes of 20 and 30 km length are permitted with vehicles and guides so that the visitors can discover the charm of the wild world.

The routes touch places like Godibari, Kumarkhunti, Kheluachua, Mahuriabadi, Pitagadia, Deras, Ambilo, Saurabila, Mantu hilltop, Chandinimundia, Kuasara and Bhimakhal. But plans are on to develop five ‘nature trails’ in the sanctuary involving Deras bamboo hut-Chandinimundia and back, Deras- Gadhari-Jhumka and back, Jumka- Kheluachua-Dantaria foothills and back, Jhumka-Gadhari and Deras along the reservoir and Chulimundia-Bhimakhal-Kuasara and back, says DFO Akshaya Pattanaik. The trekking inside the sanctuary, including eco-walk, cycling and nature education trips for schoolchildren, would be taken up commercially this year. Also the WWF-India will help in getting literature on select species of flora and fauna of the sanctuary which would be supplied to the children free of cost, he added.

Watch towers with two suits each would be arranged at Kumarkhunti and Ambilo for the trekkers who want to stay put in the sanctuary to enjoy nature from close quarters. The watch towers at Kochilaberena, Mantu hilltop and Pitagadia are also being spruced up for the purpose, the DFO said.

All the eco-development activities are being executed with the active support of ‘‘Bhagabatipur- Manee Sahi Eco-Development Committee’’ at Deras. The ecodevelopment committee is also involved in keeping the environment of the sanctuary clean, especially at tourist spots and it would also get a share of the money earned through these eco-development activities so that the members can continue their good work, Pattnaik adds.

Besides, there are three revamped picnic points near Deras forest rest house which can be used for recreation, amusement and relaxation along with the nature education and to ease off stress in the lap of nature.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer, which mentions what Orissa has requested.

The House Committee of the State Legislative Assembly would soon submit a memorandum to the Union Ministry of Railways demanding Rs 1,000 crore in the Railway Budget for 2008-09. In this connection, a delegation lead by Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty would visit New Delhi on a possible date between November 10 to 17.

During their visit they would meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and submit the memorandum. The House Committee in its meeting on Monday approved the final draft of the memorandum. It may be noted that during 2006-07, the State demanded Rs 785 crore.

In its memorandum, the committee also recommends increase in allotment for ongoing projects, sanction of new railway lines, survey, and introduction of new trains, completion of sanctioned projects, electrification and doubling of lines.

For the expansion of Haridaspur-Paradeep (82 km) line, the committee demands Rs 150 crore to ensure expeditious completion of works. The Ministry of Railways has also been requested to allot Rs 100 crore for the Lanjigarh Road-Junagarha (56 km) line and ensure commissioning of the section between Lanjigarh to Bhawanipatna by December, 2008.

The Committee in its memorandum also demanded an allotment of Rs 100 crore for the Khurda Road-Bolangir (289 km) line and also of commissioning the section from 0-36 km.

On the Angul-Duburi-Sukinda road (90 km) project, the land acquisition process is yet to commence. The Ministry of Railways has been requested to allot Rs 50 crore for the project, the Committee said in its memorandum.

For the Talcher-Bimalagarh (154 km), the Committee demanded an allotment of Rs 50 crore for 2008-09. On the Daitari- Banspani Rail Link Project (155 km), the committee in its memorandum says the BG (Broad Gauge) rail link was commissioned in February,2007. However, residual works will have to be completed. The Ministry of Railways has been requested to allocate Rs 50 crore for this project. It also urged the Railway Ministry to take up gauge conversion works for Rupsa-Bangiriposi and Nuapada-Gunpur railway link.

In its memorandum, the committee also urged the Rail Ministry to start new lines connecting Jeypor-Malknagiri, Bargarha-Nuapda via Padamapur, conversion and extension of Nuapada-Gunupur BG raillink to Theruvali, Jaleswar-Digha, Puri-Konark, Talcher-Gopalpur, Rupsa-Bangiriposi to Gorumahisani, Badampahar to Keonjhar, Berhampur to Phulbani.

The Committee in its memorandum also urged the Ministry to take up survey works in Gopalpur-Rayagada, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road-Jajpur, Sambalpur-Berhampur, Bolangir-Nawapara, Bansapani to Bimalgarh, Lanjhigarha to Boudha via Charichhaka.

It also urged the Railway Ministry to take steps for doubling of the Sambalpur-Talcher BG Rail link, Daitari-Bansapani. The Ministry has also been requested to sanction electrification for Daitari-Banspani BG rail link, Haridaspur-Paradeep BG Rail link, Talcher- Sambalpur BG rail link and Sambalpur, Jharsuguda BG rail link.

I think Orissa is being very shortsighted in its requests. Let me elaborate on this. (See also http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/?p=529 and http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/?p=489 for more data points on this.)

1. The total IR budget in 2006-07 was 23,475 crores and in 2007-08 (1st year of 11th Five yr plan) total Ir budget was 31,000 crores. IR is planning to have a 251,000 crore budget for the 11th Five year plan.

2. In that context Orissa asked for 800 crores in 2006-07 and 830 crores in 2007-08.
The above news report says that we are asking 1000 crores for next year.

3. Based on (1), 220,000 crores will be the total IR budget for the next 4 years and next years budget would probably be 45,000-50,000 crores; almost double that of 2006-07. Thus we should at least ask for double of what we asked in 2006-07. I.e., we should ask for 1600 crores.

4. The Pioneer article has the laundry list of things that we want, and it adds up only to 1000 crores. So we have to be imaginative in what we ask. In this we must note that a big part of the 11th plan IR budget goes towards

(a) two freight corridors (neither passing through Orissa)

(b) high speed rail corridors (none passing through Orissa) and

(c) several metro rails (none in Orissa).
In addition we must note what can be sold to the PM and Rail M. (For example: Rail connectivity to KBK, adivasi areas and naxal areas can be sold if the CM makes a case for them. If every other metro area is going to have metro rail, we can at least sell commuter/sub-urban rail. Similarly, big rail stations like Vizag, which are not in the first list of world class stations, will try to be in the next list; so we must sell Rourkela to be in the next list of world class stations. etc.)
5. Hence, following are my suggestions that we should add:

(i) We should send a 1 year proposal as well as a 4-5 year proposal. The 4-5 year proposal will match the 11th five year plan. The 4-5 year proposal should mention clearly that by the end of year 4-5, the following lines should all be completed.
** Khurda-Balangir
** Gunupur-Theruvali
** Lanjigarh Rd – Bhawanipatna – Junagarh – Nabarangpur- Jeypore – Malkangiri – Bhadrachalam Rd (Andhra Pradesh)
** Talcher – Bimlagarh
** Bangiriposi -Gurumahishasini and/or Buramara-Chakulia.
** Badampahar-Keonjhar
in addition to the port connectivity lines of
** Haridaspur – Paradip
** Talcher – Sukinda Rd
** Bhadrakh Dhamara
and the tourism/education connectivity lines of
** Jaleswar – Digha
** Puri-Vedanta U – Konark

Its very important to get a commitment with respect to what should be done with respect to Orissa in the 11th plan.

(ii) We must ask for a rail factory, or two, possibly in PPP mode, to be established in a backward region of Orissa. (Last year they approved 2 in Bihar, one in Rae Bareli and one in Kerala)
(iii) Establishment of suburban-Rail infrastructure around Bhubaneswar with MEMUs and appropriate stations in the Bhubaneswar area to help the commuters without creating jams. The infrastructure is to encompass the following lines.

* Bhubaneswar-Khurda Rd – Puri – Vedanta U – Konark (Past Puri would be new)
* Bhubaneswar – Barang – Naraj-Dhenkanal (exists)
* Bhubaneswar-KhurdaRd – Khurda-Nayagarh (part of Khurda-Balangir)
* Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Paradeep (exists)
* Bhubaneswar-Khurda Rd – Balugaon-Berhampur (exists)
* Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Jajpur Rd-Bhadrakh (exists)
* Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Jakhapura-Daitari (exists)
* Bhubaneswar-Naraj-Salagaon (exists)
* Bhubaneswar-Khurda Rd – Khurda-Banki-Naraj (Khurda-Naraj will be new and will create a loop)

(iv) Include Rourkela in the next round of world class stations.
Finally, if the Orissa house is sending a delegation to the PM and Rail M; they should also visit the planning commission and ask for IIT and two central universities (KBK Central U and upgradation of Ravenshaw University.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

The modernisation works of the Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar will soon be completed. A new terminal will be set up to accommodate the rising air traffic. At one time, eight A-320 Airbuses can be parked in the airstrips. The terminal building is in the planning stage and will be given a formal shape soon, sources said. Rs 20 crore has been invested to give a new look to the airport.

Meanwhile, the runway of the Airport has been increased from 7,500 feet to 9,000 feet. The parking system of the airport will be increased two times of the existing capacity. It may be noted that the inflow of air passengers have been increased a number of times.

Following is an excerpt from a report in newkerala.com on this.

Indian Navy was planning to develop an air enclave at Bhubaneswar for its aircraft, Commodore MVS Kumar, Naval Officer in Charge of Orissa said here today.

The Commanding Officer of INS Chilika, while briefing the press on the Navy Week by INS Chilika, said the Navy had already approached the state government for five acre of land for the purpose and the Chief Minister had responded very positively.

In addition, a plan was also mooted to develop 20 acre of land lying at Paradeep to provide logistic support to naval ships, he said.

The Commanding Officer of INS Chilika said a week long sailing workshop-cum-Chilika Lake Mouth Sailing Expedition would be organised for youths from November 11 to 18 to promote adventure sports in the state.

The state department for Youth Affairs and Sports had selected 100 youths from all over the state to participate in the workshop.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

Bhubaneswar-Cuttack and neighbouring towns will be developed into a greater urban complex of international standards catering to the needs of 42 lakh people by 2030.

The final perspective plan to this effect was presented to chief minister Naveen Patnaik here today by a team from IIT, Kharagpur. B.K. Sengupta, heading the team, said the comprehensive development plan for Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Choudwar, Khurda and Jatni would be ready by August 2008.

Subsequently, development plans would be prepared for places like Rourkela, Puri, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Talcher-Angul, Kalinga Nagar and Jharsuguda industrial complex, said state urban development minister K.V. Singhdeo.

The final perspective plan has envisaged comprehensive development of a greater urban complex comprising twin cities of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack and three adjoining towns spread over 721sqkm at an estimated cost of Rs 34,000 crore.

The required funds would be mobilised through public-private partnership, central government and state government and community contribution, said the urban development minister.

While 11 special zones have been earmarked for extensive development, four have been identified for intensive development and three places (Old Bhubaneswar, Choudwar and Old Cuttack) having heritage value have been set aside for restricted development. Seven sensitive pockets have also been identified.

A patch of farmland on the east of the Kuakhai flowing near Bhubaneswar has also been earmarked for agriculture. The final perspective plan has dwelt on various aspects like transport, traffic decongestion, upgrade of road system, slum development and drainage. Construction of overhead bridges and bypass and the upgrade of road systems have also been planned.

Drainage and sewerage development has also been planned in the twin cities.

A solid waste management plant has been proposed in Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar-Cuttack would be made slum-free. The shanties would be removed and the dwellers would be resettled in planned rehabilitation colonies to be built by private builders on the Dharavi model in Mumbai.

Following is an excerpt from a Pioneer report on this.

The State Culture Department on Wednesday decided to construct a theatre hall and an auditorium here, said an official of the department. …

… Rabindra Mandap and Bhanja Kala Mandap are the two available platforms in the city to facilitate staging of dramas and theaters. …

Noteworthy that in 1988 theaters were being staged for five days in a week in the city and the revenue generated from it was shared between the Government and the theatre house. But, the trend came to a halt in 1992.

In order to revive the professional theatre houses like Utkal Rangamanch Trust, the State Government in1997 fixed the responsibility on Bhanja Kala Mandap.

Now, it has been possibly decided to construct a theatre hall in the premises of Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre. Once constructed, the hall would at a time accommodate 350 persons. It is proposed to be built on the architect fashion of Pruthwi theatre hall in Mumbai. The estimated cost of the proposed hall is Rs 3 crore.

Besides, an auditorium with the capacity of 1,000 seats would constructed at Sainik School and the estimated cost of the auditorium is Rs 12 crore. For this purpose four acres of land have been earmarked. It will be built in the line of Rabindra Mandap, said the officer.

TCS has a software development center in Bhubaneswar. Following is an excerpt from a report in livemint regarding TCS’s plan to establish a training center in Bhubaneswar.

TCS has a training centre for science graduates at Chennai, where it plans to increase capacity to be able to train 3,000 at a time. Besides, it plans to open four more centres at Assam, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar and Bhubaneswar to have an additional capacity of up to 5,000 at an investment of Rs400 crore.

“Scaling up to 30,000 at 10 centres is not a problem for us,” said S. Ramadorai, chief executive officer and managing director, TCS.

TCS, which reported Rs5,640 crore in revenues in the September quarter, spends 2% of its revenue on employee training.

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

Hotel Hindustan International Group announced its arrival in the city with HHI Bhubaneswar having 104 luxury rooms in four different categories, a spa, banquet, dedicated swimming pool and a lawn over a sprawling 11,000 sq ft.

The star hotel which promises to provide quality services is looking to tap the ever-growing business class travellers from across India and abroad. For a start, each room will have plasma TVs, Wi-Fi connectivity and toilets with four compartments besides other amenities.

The hotel, at Kharvela Nagar where once another such property stood, has seen an investment of Rs 50 crore and boasts of a total makeover.

It has a dedicated “kebab centre” called “Kebaabs Unlimited”, a 24-hour multi-cuisine restaurant “Flavours”, “The Lounge Bar” besides business centre facility. Underground, a party floor, will soon add to the charm. HHI Bhubaneswar is the group’s third unit …

Jaiswal said that the group was planning a beach resort at Puri and is in talks with the Orissa Government for this.

Following are excerpts from a report in the New Indian Express.

Bhubaneswar: … L V Prasad Eye Institute here on Wednesday opened three new specialised eye centres. They are ‘Centre for diabetic eye disease,’ ‘Centre for sight enhancement’ and ‘Eye trauma centre.’

… The ‘Centre for diabetic eye disease’ would play a critical role in attending to diabetic patients suffering from visual disability. It is estimated that about 5.7 million people in India alone suffer from ‘diabetic retinopathy.’

It is preventable and can be treated. All that a diabetic individual needs to do is consult a physician in such centre for annual retinal examination and early detection of diabetic retinopathy. Such a step would significantly reduce the risk of visual loss in diabetic individuals.

National Thermal Power Corporation has donated about Rs 2 crore for setting up the three centres. The ‘Centre for sight enhancement’, similarly, promises quality treatment for children suffering from low vision. Estimate suggests that about 2.70 lakh children in India suffer from this defect.

In fact, congenital conditions such as ‘hereditary macular degeneration,’ ‘congenital glaucoma’ and ‘congenital eye’ anomalies account for the majority of visual impairment seen in children.

With the opening of the ‘Eye trauma centre’, the hospital aims to provide a comprehensive one stop care to patients with eye injury. Over a period of time, the institute plans to extend this to a 24X7 service, as in most of the accident cases, one needs immediate treatment to salvage the vision.

On the occasion, L V Prasad Eye Institute director Dr T P Das said the institute is contemplating to set up a school for eye care professionals in the next five years.

The institute provides 25 percent of outpatient services and 40 percent surgeries free of cost.

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

Expanding its business portfolio, the Kolkata-based Saraf Group, promoters of Forum Mart shopping malls, has now decided to set up a titanium plant at Chhatrapur in Ganjam district.

The plant will be set up over 600 acres of land at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in collaboration with the Russian Government. Production is likely to start by 2009- end.

This was disclosed by Saraf Group chairman S M Shroff while talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday. He said the project had received approval of the State Government and an MoU would be signed soon. The company had already acquired 200 acres.

He also announced setting up of two more shopping malls in the State, buoyed by the success of Forum Mart here. Both the malls – to come up in the Capital city and in Berhampur, would also have four-screen multiplex. The projects are likely to be completed by 2009-end.