OUR FORTHCOMING EVENTS (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER), 09

1. KOLKATA CHAPTER OPENING - 11th October
2. BANGLORE CHAPTER OPENING - Date to be finalised soon.
3. DELHI CHAPTER - Internal Meeting with the Diaspora at Delhi & NCR at 1st Oct., 09, Likely to be opened by PBD, 10
4. NE-USA CHAPTER - In association with BJANA, USA - Approval letter to be sent and List of Executive Committee members to be announced
5. S. KOREA Chapter - Headed by Bibhuti Bikramaditya, Chairman, Bihar Brains - Soon to be announced.
6. Mutual Partnership with Bihar Brains to be signed soon.
7. Proposal Invited from the NRBs for the SURAT, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, JAIPUR & MUMBAI CHAPTER.
8. Coordination in the Health Project of Indo-British Medical Association of Dr. Mahima Pandeya, UK at Ameya village, Gopalganj.
9. Coordination in the 'Psychiatry Camp' Project of Dr. Sanjay Kumar & Tina Malhotra, UK at Sheikhpura

Bihar Chief Minister Sri Nitish Kumar : Business Reformer of the Year (2008-09)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the Economic Times Business Reformer of the Year. The jury members were unanimous in their choice, giving Mr. Nitish Kumar’s performance a higher rating than Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit.

The national calamity in Bihar following the Kosi river changing its course highlights the state of affairs in Bihar, once rated as the best in administration. Since taking over as the state chief minister, Nitish Kumar has been trying to rebuild the system of governance that has virtually broken down. When he came to power in Bihar in 2005, it was heralded as the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the state. Nitish Kumar became the chief minister, with a promise to turn the state around. Three years on, Mr Kumar seems to be on track, although Bihar might take a while to show results.

Mr. Kumar wants to make Bihar a developed state by 2015. Bihar being primarily an agricultural state, Mr Kumar has been stressing on agro-based industries . He believes this will help in keeping land acquisition to a minimum. The government has identified agro-processing, handloom and textiles, handicrafts, pharmaceuticals and leather as areas with comparative advantage. The other areas where he has made a good start are employment generation and infrastructure development. He beat other states to put in place an employment-guarantee programme for agricultural labourers, which promises 80 days of work, in addition to the 100 days mandated by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. His government has adopted a new poverty measurement method, so that a bulk of the families living below the poverty line could be identified and have schemes targeted at them.

His goal to develop roads in Bihar has been tagged to a three-year timeline, by when he hopes to have Bihar rival the best road networks in India.

Even on the administrative front, there are several big tasks waiting for his attention. For almost 15 years, Bihar didn’t even have a proper budget. Mr Kumar has also identified promotion of investment opportunities as equally important. With poor infrastructure and the absence of long-term policies hindering private investment, he has kickstarted a series of legislative and administrative reforms. A new industrial policy was put in place in 2006, as was the Bihar Infrastructure Development Enabling Act. A new policy for the sugar processing sector — an important crop in the state — was also brought in. The new industrial policy makes land available at concessional rates and promises reimbursement of 80% of VAT deposited. And these initiatives seem to have paid off, with the government receiving proposals from a number of big sugar manufacturers. An industrial complex with sugar mills, ethanol and power generation plants has been cleared. Measures to revive the textile industry have also been pushed through. With the state relying almost entirely on the Centre for its power needs, Bihar plans to put up new thermal and hydel power plants.

Courtesy - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4931000.cms?flstry=1

Global recognition for Bihar's Husk Power Project

In my earlier post I mentioned about the Swadesh act of the NRI Biharis Gyanesh Pandeya and Manoj Sinha. The classic example of grass root innovation by Manoj Sinha was featured on NYT for his unique contribution of coming up with Husk power system for transforming rural power generation. Husk Power Systems won first place in 2008 in the University of Virginia business plan competition and the social innovation competition at the University of Texas, Austin.This model has been now won global recognition by beating more than 1,000 competitors from world over to bag the inaugural Global Business Plan Competition award.The award was sponsored by leading American venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco. India's Husk Power System would receive $250,000 (nearly Rs 1.20 crore) as investment from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level; thus giving it an opportunity to expand to other parts of the state."Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can't wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer," Draper Fisher Jurvetson MD Tim Draper said."Given Cisco's focus on emerging countries and the use of innovative technology to provide enhanced essential services, Cisco's investment in Husk Power Systems is a great way for us to accelerate these themes," added Hilton Romanski, Vice-President of corporate development for Cisco.The company, which the two venture capitals believe has the potential to change the face of rural areas, especially in the rice belt of Northern India, by converting rice husk into energy, was founded in 2007 by two University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Chip Ransler and Manoj Sinha.

Bihar Foundation's 'Global Meet' in January

TNN 29 August 2009, 05:05am IST
PATNA: The next global meet of Bihar Foundation, formed by the state government to attract investments from Bihari NRIs and those living outside the state, will be held in the last week of January, 2010. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.

The meeting also decided that a Bihar minister or a senior bureaucrat will interact with Bihari NRIs and those living outside their state through internet and will apprise them of the steps taken for development of the state. Suggestions would also be sought from them in this regard.

The meeting decided to open more chambers of the foundation outside Bihar and abroad. The chambers will be opened in Kolkata and Banaglore soon. There is a move to open chambers in Mumbai, Jaipur and Bhopal and also in the UK, the USA, Russia, Australia, Canada, Mauritius and Gulf countries.

Bihar Foundation Website Tender Notice