Bhoodan Stats in GOO web site:

http://orissa.gov.in/revenue/bhoodan/bhoodan.html
Bhoodan Stats in GOO web site:

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Govt plans schools for sciences & arts Elite centres to teach dance and music

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Govt plans schools for sciences & arts Elite centres to teach dance and music

Entire PDS has collapsed - Supreme Court, India

Entire PDS has collapsed - Supreme Court
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Entire-PDS-has-collapsed-says-SC-panel/articleshow/5691292.cms

Corporate Social Responsibility guide lines of India

Corporate Social Responsibility Guide lines of India:
http://igovernment.in/site/india-may-make-csr-law-37213

The GOP's Dirty Health-Care Secret by Matthew Dallek

The GOP's Dirty Health-Care Secret
Republicans are screaming that Obamacare’s mandates are a “stunning assault on liberty,” as one put it. That’s ironic, since Richard Nixon, Bob Dole, and Bill Frist all embraced the idea.
by Matthew Dallek

Pratham Odisa - Network

SlNo. Zonal Phone Dist Block DC Name Phone
1 Mamata 9438411793 Jharsuguda Lakhanpur Ranjan Patra 9438090505
2 Sambalpur Bamra Arjun Nayak 9437983938
3 Khurda Begunia Pravbati Panda 9438300087
4 Anugul Chhendipada Ananta Nayak 9438410871
5 Deogarh Barkot Arjun Das 9439504915
6 Puri Brhmagiri Mimansita Routray 9338437536
7 Dhenkanal Bhuban Krushnachandra Jena 9937375519
8 Nayagarh Nuagaon Krushnachandra Nayak 9438174742
9 Himansu 9437852674 Baragarh Baragarh Santosh Das 9438205966
10 Sonepur Tarva Pramila Maharana 9438300076
11 Boudh Kantamal Subinath Bagarti 9777938271
12 Bolangir Bolangir Narendra Tripathy 9438761464
13 Nuapada Khariar Rangadhar Nayak 9438326131
14 Kalahandi Karlamunda Prahallad Padhan 9438688088
15 Nabarangpur Nabarangpur Gobardhan Barik 9438487292
16 Pravati 9437852670 Cuttack Salepur Dasarathi Das 9438580432
17 Jagatsinghpur Tirtol Pranab Rout 9438300091
18 Kendrapara Garadpur Sarada Das 9438580434
19 Bhadrak Basudevpur Manasini Behera 9438438087
20 Balasore Soro Santosini Das 9438548695
21 Jajpur Jajpur Susama Rath 9438424132
22 Kanchan 9437852672 Malkanagiri Malkanagiri Ranjit Prusti 9439240287
23 Gajapati Raygada Ramprasad Mohanty 9437659041
24 Koraput Similiguda Surendra Behera 9439169812
25 Ganjam Polsara Reena Sahoo 9437184789
26 Rayagada Kolnara Dillip Dash 9438300090
27 Ashok 9437277613 Mayurbhanj Thakurmunda Subharanjan Pattanayak 9438151666
28 9437011688 Kandhamal Tikabali Santosh Mishra 9437723752
29 Sundargarh Lathikata Saroj Kar 9438018647
30 Keonjhar Ghatagaon Suchitra Sen 9438023362

When Melinda Gates surprised UP villagers

When Melinda Gates surprised UP villagers:
March 24, 2010 23:55 IST
Tags: Melinda Gates, Bill Gates, Saksham, Uttar Pradesh, John Hopkins University

Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft [ Images ] boss Bill Gates [ Images ], took everyone by surprise when she showed up in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh [ Images ] on Wednesday.

Melinda, who flew down from United States only to visit Bhuli-Ghara-Rampur village in Shivgarh block of Rae Bareli district, about 120 km from Lucknow [ Images ], spent nearly half a day talking to local villagers, who had no clue about the status or identity of their surprise guest.

Co-chairperson of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, which is among the world's largest charitable trusts with assets to the tune of $35 billion, Melinda spent hours talking to young mothers and families involved in an anti-infant mortality programme run by 'Saksham' (an NGO) under John Hopkins University sponsorship.

Displaying all her humility, she did not hesitate to go from house to house, talking to both pregnant women and mothers with their newborn infants. The poverty-ridden atmosphere of the village or the humble dwelling units did not deter her from exchanging pleasantries with the locals.

Melinda even enjoyed participating in the traditional 'chati' ceremony of a new-born, when the infant and the mother get their first bath and are allowed to step out of their confinement, on the sixth day of birth.

"I am amazed at the keen interest she has shown in the project and I was also impressed by the loads of queries which she had in mind about infant mortality in India [ Images ]," Saksham head Vishwajit told rediff.com.

He said, "The Gates foundation learnt about our project through an article published on it in Lancet -- the internationally-acclaimed medical journal."

Melinda also called on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati [ Images ]. The two women held a 30-minute informal chat.

The foundation is known for rendering philanthropic service in the field of health and poverty in more than 100 countries across the globe. In developing countries, the foundation focuses its energies towards improving health and for combating hunger.
Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Kerala Panel Verdict: Coke Must Pay Damages of Rs. 200 crores

Kerala Panel Verdict: Coke Must Pay Damages of Rs. 200 crores:
http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2010/kerala_panel_verdict_coke_must.html

T N Ninan: Mamata's China tour

T N Ninan: Mamata's China tour Will Praful Patel please give Mamata Banerjee an air ticket to Beijing or Shanghai, so that she can then take connecting rail journeys in China?

T N Ninan / New Delhi March 6, 2010, 0:21 IST

Click here to visit SME Buzz

Will Praful Patel please give Mamata Banerjee a ticket on some airline to Beijing or Shanghai, so that she can then take connecting rail journeys to Guangzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, Nanjing, Xian, Taiyuan and other cities in China? All of them have been connected (or will soon be) by high-speed rail services that operate at 350 km to 400 km per hour — with some of them running at 98 per cent capacity in this busy travel season of the spring festival. Inter-city distances of about 1,000 km (comparable to Delhi-Mumbai) are covered in no more than three hours, rendering air services between these cities a poor second choice for most travellers. Such high-speed rail services extend over about 3,300 km of track, and the plans are to offer some 40 such inter-city train services (including a new Beijing-Shanghai link), stretching over a total of 13,000 km of track, by 2012 — almost twice the distance of India’s “golden quadrilateral”.

That’s not all that Ms Banerjee should see when in China. She should also take a look at how even non-high speed trains now run at 200 km an hour and more, while the best speed on Indian Railways has remained unchanged at about 130 km for four decades. Time was when the Indian rail system was bigger than China’s, but now Chinese rail carries four times as much freight as Indian rail does. The imbalance is about to get worse, because in 2009 China increased its investment in its railways by a staggering 80 per cent (to about Rs 400,000 crore — most of the increase being “stimulus” money from the government that was well spent — compare that with what India did on what it chooses to call its stimulus). Further increases in capital outlay are coming (Rs 550,000 crore in 2010). This is the contemporary equivalent of China’s building of a highway network in the 1990s.

Compare this with the poverty of thinking in Ms Banerjee’s railway Budget last month, the small-minded pandering to home-constituency sentiment, the strained financial resources, the repeated cancellation of contracts for a small project like modernising the New Delhi railway station, the effort to put down her predecessor’s record through a supposed “white paper”, the snail’s pace at which work is being planned for the freight corridors… and it becomes clear that what Ms Banerjee needs is to have her eyes opened to what a modern railway system can and should be.

Over there, they have used the best technologies from overseas and married that to local technical and manufacturing ability (some of the high-speed trains are being made in China), while Lalu Prasad as railway minister came last year to the final point of a decision to set up new facilities for making modern, high-powered, energy-efficient locomotives, and then cancelled the deal at the last minute.

The thing about a good, fast railway network is that it knits the country closer together, opens up the hinterland so that it is not just the coastal areas which get the bulk of industrial investment (as has been happening in both India and China), shrinks distances for logistics management and, therefore, allows greater economies of scale in manufacture, and in these days of climate change debate, offers a greener and more energy-efficient alternative to road and air travel. One hears that China is offering (or will soon offer) to build high-speed rail networks in India too, with significant cost advantages. Given the suspicion of that country’s intentions, this may not find any takers. But whether we make or buy, isn’t it time we stopped being frogs in the well?

Politics of being Ramdev - Indian Express March 21, 2010

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-politics-of-being-ramdev/593450/0

12-yr-old raped by neighbours, cousin since '08

12-yr-old raped by neighbours, cousin since '08

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/12-yr-old-raped-by-neighbours-cousin-since-08/articleshow/5714015.cms

Allow IIMs level ground before allowing foreign Universities - Director IIM Ahmedabad

http://www.livemint.com/2009/01/23155721/Remove-curbs-before-allowing-f.html?d=1

51 Votes for reconciliation in US Senate?

http://whipcongress.com/

Future of British Rails - High Speed Trains

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/01/allchange/

Whip US Congress - for Health Care

http://whipcongress.com/?source=bp

Swiss MP: Swiss government has declared that it will give official assistance to countries on the issue of tax evasions

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/switzerland-ready-to-help-india-on-black-money-issue/589649/

Will India take advantage of it?

Modi called for Special Task Force Questioning..

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gujarat-riots-ghost-comes-back-to-haunt-modi/589676/

ESIC ORISSA data

http://esicorissa.nic.in/esicataglance.html

Orissa Links analysis on Railways in Odisa

http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3202

Ranking of Engineering colleges in India

http://www.indiaeducation.net/Engineering/top_colleges/

Minority Scholarships: Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, Technical Education

http://www.indiaedunews.net/Today/Windfall_of_funds_for_minority_community_scholarships_10815/

Windfall of funds for minority community scholarships

March 02, 2010 | RSS | Tell a friend | Printable Version

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New Delhi: With the Ministry of Minority Affairs announcing funds for a windfall of scholarships for students belonging to the minority communities, it seems that the hand is extended right from the position that will provide a vantage point to them.

The ministry has announced funds allocation for three scholarships namely:

- 'Pre-matric Scholarship for Minorities', provided to students from the minority communities who fulfill the eligibility criteria for studies up to class X in schools recognized by an appropriate authority.

- 'Post-matric Scholarship for Minorities', provided to those students from the minority communitieswho fulfill the merit and means criteria for studies in class XI & XII levels including technical and vocational courses and to such eligible students for general courses at undergraduate and post- graduate levels - up to PhD - in schools/colleges/institutes/universities recognized by an appropriate authority.

- 'Merit-cum-means Scholarship for professional and technical courses of undergraduate and post-graduate level', provided to those students from the minority communities who fulfill the eligibility criteria of merit-cum- means for pursuing professional and technical courses at undergraduate and post- graduate levels in institutions recognized by an appropriate authority.

The 'Pre-matric Scholarship for Minorities' scheme of the ministry has been allocated a sum of Rs.400 crore in the central budget for the next financial year. During the current fiscal the scheme had been allocated Rs.176.99 crore. The proposed allocation is thus an increase of more than Rs.223 crore.

The central budget for 2010-11 has proposed to increase the allocation for 'Post-matric Scholarship for Minorities' scheme by Rs.101.71 crore. In the budget presented to the Parliament recently an amount of Rs.234.50 crore has been earmarked for this scheme, whereas during the current financial year 2009-10 the allocation is Rs.132.79 crore.

The central budget for 2010-11 has proposed to increase the allocation for 'merit-cum-Means Scholarship for professional and technical courses of undergraduate and post-graduate level'

While it has been proposed for the last scheme to increase the allocation by Rs.31.07 crore. In the budget presented to the Parliament recently an amount of Rs.119.82 crore has been earmarked for this scheme, whereas during the current financial year 2009-10 the allocation is Rs.88.75 crore. It is thus an increase of over 35% in the next fiscal.

Sajjan missing:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100226/jsp/nation/story_12154028.jsp

Sajjan missing

New Delhi, Feb. 25: Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, wanted in the 1984 Sikh riots case, is “missing”, according to the cop who is supposed to provide him protection round the clock. The claim, however, should come as a breather for the CBI, which came under fire from Delhi High Court for being unable to arrest Kumar and produce him in court. A missing persons report filed by the personal security officer (PSO) of Kumar claimed that the Congress leader, who has been staying away from court proceedings despite regular summons, has been “missing” for the past one week. The PSO, constable Ram Niroha, approached the security wing of Delhi police on February 19, saying he hadn’t been able to locate Kumar. Niroha was suspended for dereliction of duty, two days after a lower court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Kumar. What is surprising is that it is almost impossible for Delhi police not to know where Kumar is because, according to protocol, all VIPs who enjoy Z+ security cover are monitored round the clock by Delhi police and have at least seven to eight men guarding them all the time. The CBI has, however, told the lower court that agency sleuths raided Kumar’s house at least two-three times but could not arrest him as he couldn’t be located. The court said it was a “lame excuse” and severely reprimanded the agency a couple of days back. Sources said Kumar was very much in town and had been spotted at high-profile parties accompanied by his guards. Kumar’s lawyer had earlier told the lower court his client was not running away and was just exploring all statutory remedies available to him before approaching a higher court.