___________

The following article from Samaja explains why people in Orissa (and India) do not believe companies’ promises. If what the article says is true it is shameful on the part of Tatas to behave that way.

From a PIB. (In general, the more the power consumption, the more developed a state/country is and the more industrialized the state/country is. With the conservation movement, this may change though. )

STATEWISE GROSS ANNUAL PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE YEAR 2005-06 (UTILITIES & NON-UTILITIES)

Name of the	Per Capita Consumption*
State /U.T.s	of  Electricity  (kWh)
Haryana	1090.39
Himachal Pradesh	765.86
Jammu & Kashmir	711.01
Punjab	1436.79
Rajasthan	572.20
Uttar Pradesh	311.82
Uttarakhand	654.84
Chandigarh	1553.96
Delhi	1766.94
Sub-Total(NR)	602.56
Gujarat	1283.77
Madhya Pradesh	580.34
Chhattisgarh	685.81
Maharashtra	934.43
Goa	1970.08
Daman & Diu	8300.12
D. & N Haveli	11567.67
Sub-Total(WR)	916.28
Andhra Pradesh	723.10
Karnataka	720.43
Kerala	424.13
Tamil Nadu	976.81
Lakshadweep	368.29
Pondicherry	2509.25
Sub-Total(SR)	757.79
Bihar	85.86
Jharkhand	548.74
Orissa	633.93
West Bengal	380.61
A.& N. Islands	407.77
Sikkim	429.81
Sub-Total(ER)	332.21
Assam	170.65
Manipur	215.21
Meghalaya	517.54
Nagaland	179.34
Tripura	190.62
Arunachal Pradesh	297.66
Mizoram	250.15
Sub-Total(NER)	201.44
Total (All India)	631.41
Note :  * As per UN methodology :Per Capita Consumption equal to gross

The per capita consumption of electricity in some  developed countries as calculated by the International Energy Agency for the year 2004 is as  given below:

Source: International Energy Agency publication “ Key word Energy Statistics, 2006”.                             

Following are excerpts from a PIB.

The bidding process has been completed in respect of the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) in Mundra and Sasan. In the case of Mundra, M/s. Tata Power Ltd. and in the case of Sasan, M/s. Reliance Power Ltd. have been selected as the project developers.

In addition to the above, the bidding process has been initiated in respect of the UMPPs at Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaiya (Jharkhand). Commencement of the bidding process in respect of the remaining five locations is contingent upon the requisite clearances from the State Governments. The Ministry of Power has taken up with the concerned State Governments to provide the requisite clearances/examine the feasibility of alternate sites for development of the Ultra Mega Power Projects in their respective States.

This information was given by Union Power Minister Shri Sushilkumar Shinde in the Rajya Sabha today.

The Ministry of Power had launched an initiative for the development of coal based UMPPs, each of about 4000 MW capacity. These projects are being developed on a Build, Own and Operate basis, and the project developer is selected through a tariff based competitive bidding process. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in consultation with the States had identified the following nine locations for these UMPPs:

(i) Sasan in Madhya Pradesh ; (ii) Mundra in Gujarat (iii) Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh (iv) Akaltara in Chhattisgarh (v) Tadri in Karnataka (vi) Girye in Maharashtra (vii) Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu (viii) Sundergarh District in Orissa; and (ix) Tilaiya in Jharkhand.

Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express report.

‘Kendera geeta’ is on the verge of extinction. This art form was once quite vibrant in Western Orissa districts.

Kendera geeta involves a particular group of people who sing devotional songs accompanied by a very simple-looking musical instrument. They visit door to door and seek alms to sustain themselves. Kendera has some similarity with violin.

There is a head made of dry coconut shell. A bunch of hair from horse’s tail is used as strings for the instrument.

The Naths have made kendera singing a profession and been carrying on with it as a family tradition. Naths migrated from Angul at different points of time to Nathpada of Dadar Nuapali and Parmanpur village of this district.

Interest in Kendera Geeta is gradually waning and now there is hardly any youth taking to the art form. The new generation considers carrying the crude instrument and seeking alms below their dignity. …

If this art is to be saved, it has to divorce itself from seeking alms.

Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express report.

Implementation of the first phase projects of the integrated water resources development of Mahanadi basin are likely to start next year.

While the total project cost has been estimated at Rs 3,493 crore, the prioritised projects to be taken up in the first phase will cost around Rs 1,200 crore.

The State Government has submitted a proposal on the proposed project to the World Bank for funding.

A World Bank Identification Mission which visited the State from August 8 to 15 has advised the State Government to take up the proposed basin development plan in a phased manner.

The major components of the Mahanadi basin development plan include five new irrigation projects on Brutanga, Dhauragoth, Upper Lanth, Ong and Ib rivers, rehabilitation and improvement of 13 major and medium irrigation schemes, and six mega lift schemes at Mundali, Banpur, Padmabati, Baiideswar and Upper Indravati.

Improvement of drainage development in eight doabs under Mahanadi basin and flood control below Naraj are the other components.

The project also includes development of new minor irrigation schemes in the basin, basin planning and environmental action plan, formation of river basin organisation, institutional strengthening and capacity building of Pani Panchayats and support for allied activities such as agriculture and horticulture, Water Resources Secretary Aurobinda Behera said.

… The study should also cover the sustainability of the project, it said .

The Mahanadi basin has a catchment area of over 1.41 lakh sq km covering Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra besides Orissa. Over 23 lakh hectares of forest land falls under the catchment area.

Following is Dharitri’s report on this.

<ananta@sansad.nic.in>, <bmahtab@sansad.nic.in>, <deobk@sansad.nic.in>, <dharmendra@deogarhorissa.com>, <jualoram@sansad.nic.in>, <makswain@sansad.nic.in>, <mayfair@sansad.nic.in>, <pmajhi@sansad.nic.in>, <pyarimohan@yahoo.co.uk>, <pyarimohanap@sansad.nic.in>, <rknayak@sansad.nic.in>, <rn.pany@sansad.nic.in>, <surendra@sansad.nic.in>, “BJ Panda” <office.bjpanda@gmail.com>, “jual oram” <jualoram@hotmail.com>, “Tathagata Satpathy” <tatzaudi@yahoo.com>

Tathya.in has a biography of Orissa’s new Governor, Mr. M. C. Bhandare from Maharashtra.

Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express article.

The State Government has targeted to complete 1,000 piped water supply projects under the ‘Jaldhara’ initiative to provide safe drinking water in the current financial year.

The ‘Jaldhara’ initiative is a major shift from hand pump tube-wells to pipe water supply scheme to ensure sustainable drinking water supply in rural areas. …

The Minister said 1,797 pipe water supply projects were proposed for 2007-08 out of which 1,153 projects have been completed and 28 more projects are under construction.

It is also proposed to construct overhead reservoir for all the piped water supply projects to ensure uninterrupted supply and improved services to rural people. With the availability of Rs 294 cr for accelerated rural water supply projects, the Government had proposed to cover 6,381 habitations in the current fiscal and by July-end 2,431 habitations have been covered.

The Minister said all the habitations having a population of more than 100 will be covered under Jaldhara.

Following are some excerpts from a PTI report in Economic Times.

Setting at rest speculation on the fate of its Rs 52,000 crore steel project, South Korean giant Posco has decided to begin construction work on the 12 million tonne plant in Orissa by October.

“We will begin construction work of our 12 MT project in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district by October on whatever land we have acquired so far,” Posco India Chairman and Managing Director Soung Sik Cho said. …

“We believe things have undergone a sea-change during the last few months. People are clearly convinced that they will benefit from the project. Now they have a better understanding of the entire situation,” he reasoned.

Posco was also enthused after the union government gave environmental approval to the project. Moreover, the Naveen Patnaik government in Orissa has been asked by the Centre to take the mega investment process forward.

“Actually things are now looking much brighter. We have also received the official nod for our captive port project at Jatadhari, which has also encouraged us,” Cho pointed out.

The Korean steel giant has decided to begin construction work initially on 400 acres of non-forest land, and then on the revenue land to be given to it by the Orissa government.

“Now the only issue remains to be resolved is granting captive iron ore mines to us. But here also I believe things are moving in the right direction,” Cho said.

Telegraph has a nice short traveogue on it contributed by Kalyan Mukherjee. Following are some excerpts.

Digha is by far the most popular beach in the area. Finding even a modest accommodation there, especially on a weekend, can be difficult. While just a hop away, in the neighbouring state, Talsari is relatively tourist-free, and consequently, pollution-free.

The road from New Digha, which is south of Digha, towards Orissa meanders through casuarinas standing on both sides like sentries. The trees make a hissing sound as the sea breeze blows through them.

Generally, only men on bicycles can be seen on the 15-km drive along a very, very bad road. Most parts of it are devoid of a surface.

After crossing the state border, we reached a village where the newly painted and repaired Chandaneswar temple is located. …

The first impression of Talsari is unlikely to blow you away. You may wonder what’s there to see except a few country boats, roving fishermen and casuarina coves. But the serene villages and tall palm trees will grow on you.

The cashew trees sway in the breeze welcoming the visitors. In February, red and orange flowers appear on the plants. The cashew kernel hangs outside the fruit, which is also edible.

You will find only sand dunes on the beach — no heckling hotelier, no screaming hawker, no bargaining tourist. There are a handful of small hotels and a Panthasala run by the Orissa government.

The beach is quite flat and the waves are small and playful. The estuary of the river Subarnarekha can be seen in the distance. The crests of the waves glow as darkness descends. The full moon rose gradually the night we were there and the beach turned a dreamscape.

Following is from Tathya.in.

… the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) the Government of Orissa appointed 1975 batch IAS Arun Kumar Samantray Commissioner Commercial Taxes as its President.

For the first time an IAS officer of Principal Secretary rank has been appointed in BSE on August 18.

1983 batch IAS Aditya Prasad Padhi,Resident Commissioner at New Delhi is appointed as Commissioner, Commercial Taxes in his place.

Mr.Padhi known as an honest and hard working officer will have a mandate to collect at least Rs.6000 crore of taxes.

1976 batch IAS Hawa Singh Chahar, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department is appointed as Principal Secretary Forests & Environment.

1979 batch IAS Dr. Hrusikesh Panda, Principal Secretary, Forests & Environment is appointed as Principal Secretary, Fisheries & ARD.

He is also appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, OMFED.

1981 batch IAS Ashok Kumar Tripathy Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Higher Education is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Labour & Employment.

1985 batch IAS Gagan Kumar Dhal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GRIDCO is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary,Agriculture.

1988 batch IAS C.J. Venugopal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Fisheries & ARD is appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GRIDCO and OPTCL.

1989 batch IAS Ms. C.T.M. Suguna, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division), Berhampur is appointed as Special Secretary to Government, Rural Development.

1991 batch IAS Satyabrata Sahu, Special Secretary to Government, Water Resources is appointed as Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division), Berhampur

1990 batch IAS Gautam Kumar Das, Special Secretary Higher Education is appointed as Special Secretary, Textiles and Handloom Department.

1991 batch IAS Vijay Arora, Special Secretary, Industries and Director, Technical Education and Training is appointed as Special Secretary , Planning & Coordination

1991 batch IAS Sailendra Narayan Sarangi, Special Secretary, Steel & Mines is appointed as Special Secretary, Industries

He is also appointed as Director, Technical Education and Training.

1991 batch IAS Rahas Bihari Nayak, Special Secretary, Planning & Coordination is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary Higher Education.

1993 batch IAS Surendra Kumar, Director, Fisheries,is appointed as Additional Secretary , Water Resources.

1993 batch IAS Bibhu Prasad Mishra,Additional Secretary Higher Education Department is appointed as Director, ST & SC Development.

1994 batch IAS Narayan Prasad Das, Director, ST & SC Development is appointed as Director, Sports & Youth Services.

1995 batch IAS Bishnupada Sethi, Director, Veterinary Services and Animal Husbandry is given additional charge of Director, Fisheries.

1998 batch IAS Vishal Gagan, Director, Sports & Youth Services is appointed as Joint Secretary , Energy.

For a list of Orissa Cadre (non-promotee) IAS officers one can visit the site http://persmin.nic.in/CivilList/AsOnToday/MasterQryCL.asp and query appropriately. The executive record of each of the non-promotee IAS officer can be queried at http://persmin.nic.in/ersheet/ProcessQryERS.asp.

A couple of days earlier the Mass Education minister Mr. Bishnu Das resigned. For now, that department is under the charge of the CM.

A business standard article on monsoon tourism talks about Goa, Kerala and Orissa. Following is what it says about Orissa.

The monsoon at one of the most underestimated destinations in India, Orissa, is a surprise. The destination is wonderful, but unfortunately it’s just not sold very well yet. You can get a three night, four day Bhubaneswar and Puri package from Thomas Cook for Rs 12,950 onwards per couple, not including the airfare.

The trip includes visits to Khandagiri, Dhaulagiri and Udaygiri in Bhubaneswar as well as many temples, including the world-famous Lingaraj and the Mukteshwar temples. You would also be taken to Kalijai island, about three hours from Bhubaneswar, and then, on the way to Puri, you can check out the applique work at Pipli village.

Puri is famous for the Jagannath Puri temple, with its fabulous annual procession. Close to Puri is an interesting artisans’ village called Raghurajpur. The village is famous for Patta Chitra work (paintings on palm leaves). In Orissa you get an opportunity to view dolphins in the Chilka Lake. After you are through with the Sun Temple at Konark, don’t forget to pick a few Sambhalpuri sarees.

Following are excerpts from a report in newpostindia.com on this:

… Talking on the prospects of shopping tourism, Soni said initially the government had identified four places across India – Noida, Hyderabad, Aurangabad and Bhubaneswar – to develop as shopping tourism destinations.

‘This new concept of shopping tourism will help local artisans get a good market for selling their traditional artefacts. Subsequently, it will create tremendous amount of job opportunities in different rural pockets and will also promote the cultural heritage of our country. The union ministry is also looking at some other places, including West Bengal, to develop as shopping tourism destinations,’ she said. …

This PTI report in Hindu elaborates on one point.

Noida in Uttar Pradesh with world-class facilities, Shilpagram near Hyderabad, permanent art and crafts fair at Bhubaneswar and another at Aurangabad near Ajanta-Ellora in Maharashtra are the shopping tourism destinations coming up.

Following are excerpts from a report in New Indian Express.

Granite resources abound in State, but the potential is untapped due to lack of promotion and absence of a clear-cut policy.

Orissa has about 20 different colours of granite. Out of the five most-attractive (recognised) colour granite of the world, four are available in Orissa, lavender blue in Berhampur, ikon brown in Paralakhemundi, sweat green in Titilagarh and black in Jeypore vicinity.

In Berhampur, Nayagarh, Paralakhemundi and Balangir, granites of international standard are abundantly available.

Skilled labourers too abundantly available in Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Balasore districts.

As Rajasthan is best known for its marble industry, Orissa can carve a niche for itself in granite sector if a little care is taken by the Government to streamline it, analysts feel.

The existing granite industries in Orissa should be assured by the Steel and Mines department to get the raw materials sufficiently on priority basis. At present, the mine owners, mostly outsiders, are supplying only mining wastes.

Since Orissa’s colour granite is very attractive, the granite processing units in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are taking all quality raw blocks and selling that in the market after processing. In the absence of market linkage for finished products Orissa is losing out on revenue and scope for generating employment.

Traders have demanded that Government … open a granite park/growth centre in Berhampur. The rate of royalty on decorative stone block/granite stone block should be increased to Rs 1500 from the existing Rs 700 on the inter-state sales transactions. …

As per Indiantelevesion.com two new AIR stations will be coming up in Soro (Balasore Dist) and Rairangpur (Mayurbhanj Dist) and 2 more FM stations will be coming up in Orissa.

Excerpts from http://eastcoastrailway.gov.in/custom/press_release/index.php.

INDIAN RAILWAYS PLAY VITAL ROLE IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY : KHURANA

Bhubaneswar, August 16, 2007

“Indian Railways since its beginning in 1853, has always played a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of the country and has been truly the life line of the nation” stated Shri Surendra Singh Khurana, General Manager, East Coast Railway, …

… East Coast Railway is no exception and since its inception in 2003, has been a major factor in the socio-economic development of the three states which it serves. We have 2521.30 route kms. of track that criss-cross the three states of the country on which more than 245 trains ply daily, carrying more than 1.5 lakh passengers and hauling nearly 0.23 million tones of freight. With only 4% of the track of Indian Railways, we cater for about 12% of total loading of Indian railway and about 7% of total earning of IR.

Appreciating the encouraging performance of East Coast Railway, Shri Khurana said “As far as revenue loading is concerned, we have loaded 29.49 MT upto July ’07 as compared to 26.87 MT done last year with a growth of 9.75%. In originating passengers, we have carried 19.46 million passengers as compared to 17.01 millions carried last year with an improvement of 14.42 %. Our originating passenger earnings to the end of July’07 have been Rs. 17.91 crores which is 20.17% higher than last year’s achievement. Similarly our originating goods earnings to the end of July ’07 has been Rs. 1524.92 crores which is 17.96% more as compared the last year’s achievement. The year 2007-08 has been declared as the Cleanliness Year by the Hon’ble MR. For proper maintenance of stations, a detailed procedure with pinpointed responsibility of the various officials has already been formulated. Adequate powers have been delegated to the DRMs, PHoDs and other officials connected with various cleanliness activities. Special campaigns are being launched to ensure cleanliness and hygiene at station premises, in passenger trains, railway lines, waiting rooms etc”.

Highlighting the various Passenger Amenity works in ECoR General Manager Shri Khurana told “Total 58 PRS locations are already functioning on East Coast Railway. One more PRS will be commissioned shortly at Jajpur town. UTSs have already been commissioned at 23 stations. Further, UTSs at 187 stations have been sanctioned during 2007-08. MoU with various banks have been signed for setting up of 47 ATMs at various stations over East Coast Railway. IVRS facilities are already available at 13 locations and are at various stages of progress at 09 locations.

Shri Khurana also stated that “During 2007-08, new project of doubling between Titlagarh-Raipur has been sanctioned. Similarly survey for Sambalpur-Talcher doubling and Khurda Road doubling has been sanctioned in 2007-08 budget. Railway Electrification works on branch lines of Cuttack-Paradeep and Talcher Colliery sidings will be commissioned during this year”.

INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE

Bhubaneswar, August 15, 2007

–more–

Some of the earlier news reports on national waterways in Orissa are linked from this site. Following is the latest development, as reported in an Indian Express article. Excerpts:

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has shown the green signal to two new national waterways in West Bengal-Orissa and Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu even as it called for an integrated transport policy and an institutional framework for inland water transport. … The other waterway—Talcher-Dhamra stretch of the Brahmni-Kharsua-Dhamra Rivers, Goenkhali-Charbatia stretch of the East Coast canal, Charbatia-Dhamra stretch of Matai River and Mahandai delta rivers between Mangalgadi and Paradip is also up for the national waterway status. Around 18.07 million tonnes of inland water transport traffic is expected to be carried out on the proposed waterway after its full development in eight years time. The traffic is expected to be handled at four terminals—Talcher, Nasirabd, Balasore and Rajnagar and the major cargoes are coal, fertiliser, cement, iron ore, agricultural and industrial products. The Standing Committee, however, has recommended the Government to prepare the road map for an integrated transport policy to include inland water transport, coastal shipping, civil aviation, road transport & highways for enabling better inter-connectivity amongst multiple modes of transport. The Committee has also called for provision of an institutional framework for development of IWT sector so as to increase capacity of IWT agencies, increased cost recovery and commercialisation of IWT industries. In case of the West Bengal-Orissa waterway, the Committee has suggested that another terminal be developed at Geonkhali in West Bengal to enable better traffic handling. It was also noted by the panel that there’s need to develop an action plan to address the growing demand of repair and service facilities of IWT vessels.

The final step for the bill would be to getting approval in both houses of the parliament.

Following up on the standing committee’s recommendation it may be appropriate to establish an airport near Jenapur-Kabatabandha as the ECOR Howrah-Chennai Railway line and NH 200 (Chandikhol-Sukinda-Talcher) intersects the national waterway at that point; NH 5A (Chandikhol-Paradip), NH 5 (Panikoili-Chandikhol) and NH 215 (Panikoili-Keonjhar) are close by; Haridaspur – Paradeep railway line will start very near to that point; Jakhapura-Banspani line also starts close to that point and that airport will serve the greater Kalinga Nagar area where multiple steel plants and other plants are coming up. Going further on that, the Orissa government is supposed to have made a master plan for Kalinga nagar. Following is an excerpt from a year old report (May 28, 2006) in Steelguru on that. (See also this New Indian Express report)

Orissa government has decided to prepare a master plan for Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district. South Africa based Lea Associates will prepare the master plan in collaboration with School of Planning and Architect, New Delhi and the Centre for Environment and Planning. The master plan will be completed by July. Kalinga Nagar Industrial Area will be developed for a population of over 10 lakh keeping an eye on 2025 and will be extended to 177 square kilometers. As per the draft, the KNIA will be extended to 134 villages. So far 112 villages have been included in the industrial area. About 1 million hectare land will be acquired by the Government in a phased manner for the development of the area. According to the draft plan, 68 square kilometer out of the total area will be reserved for town planning. About 89 square kilometer will be earmarked for industrial units while 20 square kilometer will be reserved for development of different infrastructure including bus stand, hotels, schools and hospital. Decision has also been taken to set up Kalinga Nagar Development Authority.

Following are excerpts from a Newkerala report.

Seven players from Orissa will participate in the national senior women football training camp scheduled to be held at Neyvelli in Tamil Nadu from September 10.

The players selected for the training were– Prasanti Pradhan, Alochana Senapati, Gayatri Mallick, Gitanjali Khuntia, Sukumati Lagori, Sasmita Mallick and Pinki Bomphal Magar.

Orissa State Women’s Football Association General Secretary Sahadev Rout said while four of them had already played for the country, Prasanti (Goalkeeper), Gayatri (Half) and Lagori (Forward) were new faces.

Note that in the 33rd National Games Womens’ football championship, held earlier in this year, Orissa was the champion. But later in the year it lost in the semifinals of the 15th women’s national football championship. In recent years Orissa’s Sradhanjali Samantray has captained India’s national women’s football team.

Orissa also sends significant members to the Indian national women’s as well as men’s hockey teams. Orissa’s Jyoti Sunita Kullu (bio), who got an Arjuna award earlier this year, has captained the Indian national women’s hockey team. A recent team was captained by Binita Toppo of Orissa and had three other members from Orissa in Suniti Kispotta, Poonam Toppo and Binita Xess. The current women’s hockey probables 18 has the following six players from Orissa: Poonam Toppo, Nilima Kujur, Binita Toppo, Mukta Barla, Binita Xess and Subhadra Pradhan.

Dilip Tirkey has captained the Indian national men’s hockey team and Prabodh Tirkey is the current captain. The current team of eighteen consists of the following Orissa palyers: Dilip Tirkey, William Xalco, Prabodh Tirkey (captain) and Ignace Tirkey. Orissa Steelers, captained by Dilip Tirkey, won the 2007 Premier Hockey League championship in 2007.

Following are excerpts from an Economic Times report.

Siemens Ltd on Friday said it has bagged an order from Jindal Stainless (JSL) to carry out installation related work for latter’s greenfield plant in Orissa.

The company has bagged the order along with Siemens VAI, a division of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), Siemens Ltd said in a communique to the BSE. However, it did not divulge any financial details.

“It (the order) was bagged on the basis of our ability to come up with a fully integrated solution and our track record in executing project in the metals sector,” Siemens Ltd Executive Vice-President (Industrial Services and Solutions Division) N Sivasubramanian said.

As per the contract, Siemens would undertake plant layout for the hot-strip mill and equip it with latest tools. Production is scheduled to start in 2009.

JSL already has an operating plant at Hisar in Haryana and the new plant would be set up at Kainganagar Durubi Duburi in Orissa as part of its expansion plans.

Siemens would also provide customer training, monitor installation of all the components and systems as well as commission the installation, including fine adjustment of the technological models and control systems. The plant would be designed to produce 1.6 million tons of stainless steel strips in the first phase, Siemens added.

The plan for this was mentioned earlier. Following are excerpts from an Economic Times report.

Visa Steel on Friday inked a joint venture agreement with China’s Baosteel Trading and VISA Comtrade of Switzerland for setting up a 1 lakh tonne-per-annum ferro chrome plant in Orissa at a capital outlay of Rs 260 crore.

The JV company, VISA BAO, will be a subsidiary of VISA Steel which will hold a 51% stake. Baosteel Trading and VISA Comtrade will hold 35% and 14% stakes, respectively.  …

Pioneer reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday inaugurated an Urban Haat near the Sun Temple here. He said the Haat would act as a bridge between the handicraft industry and the tourists in the State as it aims to facilitate sale of handicraft products. …

The Urban Haat has been built over an area of four acres of land by the Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) at a cost of Rs 2.67 crore. It consists of 40 shops, an open-air theatre hall and two exhibition halls.

It primarily aims at marketing handicrafts made of cane and bamboo, appliqués, patta chitra and wooden products.