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Helpline To Help Patna Voters Ahead Of Polls 
Preparations are on for the ensuing assembly election in the 14 constituencies of Patna district. Better than the national average of 60%, Patna boasts of 68% voter registration. The gender ratio is also quite impressive with 825 females registered per 1000 male voters.
There are altogether 34,77,078 voters in the district of whom 19,05,166 are males and 15,71,912 females. Around 1.53% of them would be the first-time voters. Naushad Yusuf, nodal officer for the preparation of electoral roll and election photo identity cards (EPICs) in the district, said the progress of work is being monitored on a daily basis. "We intend to complete the process of distribution of EPICs within a week," he told TOI on Monday. Till two days ago on Saturday, 3,47,400 EPICs were ready of which 2,70,886 have been distributed. The administration targets to prepare 7,67,774 before the ensuing assembly election, Yusuf said and added a special drive is also underway to enlist new voters and delete the names of those who have died or shifted to another place. Source: Times Of India By Pooja Kashyap, Helpline to help Patna voters ahead of polls Click On "Full Story" For More... (450 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 03:20:47 AM EST
Bihar Villagers To Get Smart Cards
In a major step to alleviate delays in wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday launched an "e-Shakti Financial Inclusion" scheme the first of its kind in the country.
The scheme aims at providing about three crore villagers with `e-Shakti' biometric smart cards, with the Central Bank of India acting as the nodal bank in issuing payments. The cards carry requisite information about the villagers including photo identification and will be operated on the e-Shakti smart card machine by using thumb impressions of the workers to generate payments for the requisite number of man-days. "E-Shakti is Bihar's initiative. Earlier, the worker had to wait for seven days to get his wages. Even then, villagers in remote areas had no access to banking services of any kind," said Mr. Kumar. The Bihar Government had formally launched the e-Shakti programme in February last year and established a call centre for receiving complaints from villagers pertaining to irregularities in the scheme. The government so far has distributed more than 13 lakh e-Shakti cards in 1,300 villages, while four lakh accounts have been opened in Patna district as part of the pilot project. With the dates for the Bihar Assembly polls to be announced soon, the occasion served to render political accounts as Mr. Kumar reiterated that "development had become a poll plank" in the State and that "the ruling government [the NDA alliance] had proved it". Source: The Hindu BY Shoumojit Banerjee Bihar villagers to get smart cards Click On "Full Story" For More.... (401 words in story) Full Story By akansha, Section NewsPosted on Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 01:14:58 AM EST
Bihar Water Resources Dept Launches e-Tendering
Bihar's Water Resources Department (WRD) has introduced e-Tendering facility to maintain transparency in award of contracts.
By akansha, Section News
"e-Tendering facility will not only bring transparency in disposal of tenders, but also minimise chances of violence and resistance at the time of submission of tender papers. Earlier, the tenders were done manually," WRD Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said. e-Tendering facility has come into effect from August 23. After introduction of this facility, people interested in tenders can submit the papers through e-mail. "There is no need to come to the office physically to fill up the forms and submit the required papers," Yadav pointed out. WRD Principal Secretary Ajay Naik said that the department would accept the proposals through this only when the tender amount exceeded Rs 25 lakh. "The new system will help the department check corrupt practices," he said. Earlier complaints of irregularities in the allotment of tenders to contractors were received by the Department. e-Tendering was launched with accepting a tender proposal of Rs 14.70 crore irrigation project on Dardha river in Jehanabad district. Source: igovernment.in Bihar Water Resources Dept launches e-Tendering Posted on Thu Aug 26, 2010 at 03:55:28 AM EST
Bihar Govt To Increase Haj Grant
Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that the state government would increase grant to the Haj Committee. He said that as the committee is doing praiseworthy work, the government, to make it more effective has decided to increase the grant.
Addressing the Haj conference here at Haj Bhawan, the chief minister said that the government has taken all possible measures to ensure that the pilgrims do not faces any difficulty during their pilgrimage. He said that previously some pilgrims had complained to the government about the difficulties faced by them, and he had taken up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Central government took notice of the complaints and solved their problems, the CM said. He also praised the State Haj Committee chairman Maulana Annisur Rehman Qasmi's efforts for addressing the problems of the Haj pilgrims and providing them more facilities. Nitish, however, said that despite an increase in the state's Haj quota, the number of pilgrims was less and hoped that with Qasmi's efforts more pilgrims from the state will embark on the sacred trip. Source: Times Of India Bihar govt to increase Haj grant Click On "Full Story" For More... (347 words in story) Full Story By Tiwari, Section NewsPosted on Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 03:09:00 AM EST
Bihar Govt Draws Rs 570 Crore For Diesel Subsidy For Farmers
The Bihar government today sanctioned withdrawal of Rs 570 crore from the contingency fund towards diesel subsidy for farmers as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sought more central funds and additional electricity from the central pool for tackling drought in the state.The state cabinet gave the nod to advance withdrawal of Rs 570 crore from the contingency fund for the subsidy for saving standing maize and paddy crops, official sources said.Kumar who had met the six-member central team that toured drought-affected districts yesterday, said the state was facing drought for the second successive year. "We want more central funds to generate jobs in the drought hit districts under MNREGA.
By ugesh sarkar, Section News
The chief minister said that without central assistance it would be difficult to fight drought.The central team which visited 16 of the 28 districts declared drought-hit by the state government found the situation grave, the sources said.The team was sent by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following a request by Kumar when he met him last week. Kumar had sought a financial package of Rs 5000 crore to tackle the problem. The team was informed of loss of 50 per cent kharif crop because of scanty rainfall.Magadh and Patna divisions were worst affected with the water table depleting. Source: ibnlive.in.com Bihar govt draws Rs 570 crore for diesel subsidy for farmers Posted on Sun Aug 15, 2010 at 11:44:04 PM EST
Bihar To Declare More Districts Drought-Hit
The Bihar government is likely to declare more districts of the state as drought-hit as over 30 percent rainfall deficit has severely affected paddy crop, an official said on Saturday. As many as 28 districts of Bihar were declared drought-hit about 10 days ago following scanty rainfall so far this
year. "The government is seriously considering declaring more districts drought-hit. It is under process. The final decision would be taken at the cabinet meeting in a day or two," Vayasji, the principal secretary of the disaster management department, said. The districts likely to be declared drought-hit are Katihar, Purnea, Kishanganj, Khagaria, West Champaran and Araria. The district magistrates of these districts have already sent their reports on the drought situation to the state government. "The government will hold a video-conferencing with district magistrates of four districts on drought situation Saturday," Vayasji said. An official in the Chief Minister's Office said the state government is set to take the decision after the central team visited the drought-hit areas and described the situation "grave and alarming". The central team visited over a dozen drought-hit districts of the state in the past three days. The team also met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and senior government officials. "The drought situation is alarming and a matter of serious concern," a member of the central team told IANS here after visiting Gaya, one of the 28 districts declared drought-affected. Source: hindustantimes.com Bihar to declare more districts drought-hit Click On "Full Story" For More.... (367 words in story) Full Story By akansha, Section NewsPosted on Sat Aug 14, 2010 at 03:00:17 AM EST
BSNL Comes Up With Spl Offers
The BSNL has come up with special offers on the occasion of Independence Day under Freedom Plan for its GSM mobile customers allowing freedom from recharge for one year for the voucher of Rs 110 purchased under the general plan, according to BSNL GM H S Dwivedi. The Rs 110 voucher will have Rs 100 talk time.
By Tiwari, Section News
Other offers include freedom to talk local, STD and SMS free from 11 pm of August 14 to 6 am of August 15, to GSM customers who can enjoy unlimited local and STD calls on BSNL network free of cost. On August 15, the local and STD calls on BSNL network will be charged at the rate of 20 paise per minute. In case any customer is using the plan where the call rate is less that 20 paise per minute, he will be allowed the lower tariff. Freedom of unlimited surfing will be allowed to the GSM customers through GPRS service on 2G mobile free of cost on August 15, 2010. Source: Times Of India BSNL comes up with spl offers Posted on Fri Aug 13, 2010 at 11:25:31 PM EST
CM Lays Stone For Police Academy At Rajgir
Chief ministerNitish Kumar on Friday said Nalanda is fast on the way to regain its old glory.
"An international university is coming up in Nalanda. And here I lay the stone of a Bihar Police Academy which will not only serve the purpose of training policemen but will prove an added attraction for tourists visiting Nalanda district,'' he said while addressing a gathering after laying the stone of the proposed academy at Rajgir. The presence of a police academy would create a sense of security among the tourists, including the foreigners, he said. The proposed campus would be Bihar's first green building as it would be built in accordance with the guidelines of GRIHA, a Union government institution. It will be eco-friendly with a zero-discharge system. Source: Times Of India CM Lays Stone For Police Academy At Rajgir Click On "Full Story" For More... (436 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Fri Aug 13, 2010 at 11:14:57 PM EST
Bihar To Extend IT Benefits To Agriculture Sector
The Bihar government is building state-of-the-art e-Kisan Bhawan at block level to extend benefits of Information Technology (IT) to the agriculture sector of the state.
By ugesh sarkar, Section News
Construction work of e-Kisan Bhawan is in progress in 324 blocks out of the total 534 blocks in the state, Agriculture minister Renu Kumari told PTI. She added that rest 210 blocks would be covered in 2011- 12 annual plan. To be equipped with genset and internet connection, the e-Kisan bhawan would act as a information and advisory centre for farmers, she said. It would also work as a soil testing lab, training centre, will provide weather information, among others, the minister said. Besides, these centres would also function as plant protection centres, Kumari said, adding farmers are excited to have the latest facilities at their door-steps. The target is to have sophisticated centres in each block headquarters by the end of 2011-12, she said. Launched in 2008-9 the programme is a pet project of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is making efforts to revolutionise agriculture, which employs three out of four people in the state, she said. The state government formulated a roadmap for agriculture and allied sectors in 2008 to ensure food security through increased productivity combined with profitability. Part of the services of these centres would be through public-private partnership mode and part directly financed, the minister added. Rs 25 lakh per centre is proposed to be the capital expenditure. Source: ibnlive.in.com Bihar to extend IT benefits to agri sector Posted on Thu Aug 12, 2010 at 11:36:44 PM EST
Bihar To Seek Rs 15,000-Crore Central Package For Drought
The Bihar government will seek a special financial package of Rs 15,000 crore from the Centre to tackle drought in 28 of the state's 38 districts.
Sources in the state's disaster management department said a report, which was being given final touches, seeking assistance of Rs 15,000 crore would be placed before the Centre. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to be in New Delhi on August 7 to press for the package under the provisions of the National Calamity Contingency Fund, the sources said. The government had on Tuesday declared 28 districts as drought-hit following deficient rainfall. Source: Economic Times Bihar to seek Rs 15,000-crore Central package for drought Click On "Full Story" For More... (262 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Thu Aug 05, 2010 at 11:47:45 PM EST
Bihar Declares 28 of 38 Districts Drought-Hit
The Bihar government today declared 28 out of 38 districts in the state as drought-hit following deficient rainfall. The cabinet presided over by Chief minister Nitish Kumar took a decision to this effect after making an intensive review of the situation in the state on reports received from district magistrates and other sources.
The Chief Minister told PTI that he would seek an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and seek a special package for Bihar under the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) guidelines. The state is facing drought for the second consecutive year. Last year 26 out of 38 districts were declared drought affected following deficient rains. Briefing newsmen after the cabinet meeting, Principal Secretary Cabinet and Coordination Department Afzal Amanullah and Principal Secretary Disaster Management Vyasji said on the basis of reports received by District Magistrates 28 districts recorded scant rainfall and had been declared drought hit. These drought-hit districts are - Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Arwal, Nalanda, Nawada, Patna, Bhojpur,Buxar, Rohtas, Kaimur, Munger, Sheikhpura, Akhisarai, Jamui, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Banka, Siwan, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Vaishali, East Champran, Madhubani, Samastipur and Darbhanga. The two secretaries said the government would take a decision about declaring the entire state drought-hit after a thorough review of the situation in the remaining ten districts which had received rainfall. Source: Hindustan Times Bihar declares 28 of 38 districts drought-hit Click On "Full Story" For More... (377 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Tue Aug 03, 2010 at 11:24:05 PM EST
Bihar Sees A Growing Tribe Of Rural Migrants
Even as the economy booms riding the wave of construction activity, the poor are moving out in greater numbers
 Siyaram Chauhan is the one who returned. He was rescued last month by the state government officials from a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich where he worked as a bonded labourer. Savaged by rigours of work, his body is dark and he is afflicted with constant cough and fever but when he talks about the days in Bahraich, Chauhan's eyes glint with hope, and apparent hunger. There were, he remembers, "piles of bricks to bake, even though it burnt hands" and "plenty of food". So when the season of brick kilns kicks in in October, Chauhan says he will venture out again. Like several others from the village, he is part of the rapidly growing tribe of migrants--while Bihar's capital Patna, 120km from Amipur, wakes up to return of the moneyed class and an economic boom riding the wave of massive construction activity, its rural poor, stricken with poverty and unemployment, have stepped up migrations from the state in bigger numbers than before.
IIPA's Girish Kumar talks about migration out of Bihar and what can be done to reduce it  Click On Image For Watch Video... A yet-to-be released study by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), one of the major social science research organizations in India, a draft copy of which was reviewed by Mint, and the first ever dedicated research on migration of the rural poor from Bihar, estimates the number of migrants at 5.2 million, much higher than the 3.5 million estimated by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2001. "Seventy-three per cent of both migrant and non-migrant households perceived an inclined trend in migration even in the last two to three years of the new government. With underdeveloped industrial base and largely subsistence agriculture combined with the recurrent flood and drought problems, social violence, caste enmity and above all, population pressure have created massive push forces, driving individuals out of home desperately in search of livelihood opportunities," says Girish Kumar who compiled the IIPA study with colleague Pranab Banerji. Click here to see a slideshow on the rural poor leaving Bihar in search of greener pastures Source: Live Mint By Pallavi Singh Bihar Sees A Growing Tribe Of Rural Migrants Click On "Full Story" For More... (1455 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Tue Aug 03, 2010 at 03:04:10 AM EST
Rlys To Introduce Booking Counters Under Scheme
Railways has decided to introduce 12 ticket booking counters under Jansadharan Ticket Booking Scheme at different places under Sonepur division of East Central Railway (ECR) from this month. These ticket counters would be given on contracts to only those who are 18-years-old and possess matric degree.
By ugesh sarkar, Section News
According to ECR CPRO Dilip Kumar, these ticket booking counters would be installed in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Khagaria and Begusarai districts to cater to the needs of the common people. Each person manning and selling railway tickets under this scheme would be given Re 1 as commission per ticket sold to passengers, he said, adding railways is keen to introduce this scheme in other divisions of the ECR. Trains extended: Two passenger trains Jhajha-Dibrugarh Town (5941-5942) and Delhi-Dibrugarh Town (4055-4056) running up to Dibrugarh Town, would now run up to Dibrugarh from October 28 this year. This decision has been taken at the Railway Board level. Besides, services of two other passenger trains Kiul-Jamalpur (826) and Gaya-Jamalpur (756) have been extended up to Sultanganj till August 26 to cope with the rush of Shrawani Mela, the CPRO said. Source: Times Of India Rlys to introduce booking counters under scheme Posted on Mon Aug 02, 2010 at 10:48:37 PM EST
New Castes In OBC List Get Cabinet Approval
The Union cabinet has approved the upgrading of the list of castes that fall under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Daman & Diu.
By ugesh sarkar, Section News
The upgrade includes a fresh list of castes for Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, which, although created in 2000, were still using the old list of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, respectively. For the remaining states and union territory of Daman & Diu, the approval involves the inclusion of some castes and amendment in the names of certain others. The lists of castes falling under the OBC category from various states constitute a " central list". The cabinet also approved the addition of the ' Adrakhi' caste of Bihar in the central list of OBCs. Source: India Today New castes in OBC list get Cabinet approval Posted on Fri Jul 30, 2010 at 12:50:14 AM EST
Help For Women Now At Toll-Free Number
Patna was the state's first district where a Helpline for women was opened and hundreds of women have benefited from it, said Patna DM Jitendra Kumar Sinha while launching a toll-free number of the Helpline (1800 3456 247) in its office at Indira Bhawan on Bailey Road on Monday.
The Helpline is being run since 1999 under the Mukhyamantri Nari Shakti Yojana. For two years, UNICEF supported it. Now, it is being run in all the 38 districts by the government. The toll-free number has been started in 22 districts. Admitting lack of adequate infrastructure facilities with the centre, the DM said at least two more vehicles have to be provided to the Helpline to ferry the aggrieved. Congratulating the team for its good work, he said 352 cases have been solved so far. "Problems were there earlier too but many incidents went unreported due to lack of awareness among women about their rights and, also, the absence of a platform for redressal of their grievances," he said. Source: Times Of India By Pooja Kashyap Help for women now at toll-free number Click On "Full Story" For More... (373 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 01:12:43 AM EST
State To Have Its Own Disaster Response Force
Bihar will be the first state in the country to have its own State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) with headquarters at Bihta. Being developed at a cost of Rs 43.5 crore, the SDRF would be in action during fire, earthquake, road and rail accidents, cyclone and terrorists' attack.
The SDRF would be manned by, in all, 1,157 persons, drawn particularly from Army and Navy, besides medical corps to attend to the needy in disaster situation. However, all of them would be enrolled in the SDRF on contractual basis. DG (civil defence) J K Khanna, who worked out structural modalities of the force, told TOI that it would have one commandant and four deputy commandant rank officers, besides eight assistant commandants, inspectors, SIs, constables and head constables. It would have 19 doctors as well. The force would have its own dog squad. He said that initially the SDRF would have six companies, each having three platoons which would be called teams. Source: Times Of India By Gyan Prakash State to have its own disaster response force Click On "Full Story" For More... (496 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Tue Jul 20, 2010 at 01:08:52 AM EST
Patna To Have Its Own Marine Drive
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has given its go ahead to a Rs 2,100 crore driveway project that will recreate Mumbai's Marine Drive along the river Ganga and will serve as an arterial road for the city.
The project will be dovetailed with the state's plan for at least two large bridges on the Ganga in the state. Patna has only one viaduct over the river at present to facilitate people to cross over but it often gets choked due to traffic. "This driveway will be built on the public-private partnership model. It will me more than just a fancy boulevard. Many firms have expressed interest in this project," said Bihar Road Construction Department Secretary Pratyay Amrit. "We have already conducted feasibility studies for the driveway. We are now in the process of preparing a detailed project report. Our estimate is it will cost around Rs.2,100 crore," Amrit told IANS. Source: Times Of India Patna to have its own Marine Drive Click On "Full Story" For More... (284 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 04:09:30 AM EST
Farmers Will Receive Subsidies On Diesel.....
धान का बिचड़ा बचाने की कवायद
By Tiwari, Section News
 भी बारिश नही होने की स्थिति में किसानों को धान का बिचड़ा बचाने के लिए डीजल पर सब्सिडी दिया गया था, लेकिन अधिकांश जिलों में किसानों को सब्सिडी का लाभ नही मिला था। बैठक में कृषि विभाग, आपदा प्रबंधन विभाग, जल संसाधन विभाग, खाद्य एवं आपूत्त्र्द्मि विभाग, ग्रामीण विकास विभाग, विद्युत विभाग, विद्युत बोर्ड, लोक स्वास्थ्य अभियंत्रण विभाग, ग्रामीण विकास विभाग के प्रधान सचिव उपस्थित थे। सूखे की स्थिति पर प्रत्येक मंगलवार को होगी समीक्षा बैठक
Source: Rashtriya Sahara किसानों को डीजल पर मिलेगी सब्सिडी Posted on Fri Jul 09, 2010 at 12:35:08 AM EST
HC Seeks Report On Remand Homes
The Patna High Court on Tuesday directed the social welfare department to submit report within six weeks about action taken to provide basic facilities and adequate infrastructure at all the aftercare and remand homes in the state.
Passing the order on a PIL of a lawyer, K M Joseph, a division bench,comprising Chief justice Rekha Manharlal Doshit and Justice S K Katriar, observed that the court did not need to make any specific directive to the department to do its own work of providing basic facilities and adequate infrastructure at all the homes. The court directed the department to run properly all the homes. Joseph submitted that the aftercare homes for women and remand homes for children lacked infrastructure and basic facilities and they were left uncared by the state government. Directive on roads: The same bench on Tuesday directed the district magistrate, Vaishali, to file reply to a PIL alleging irregularities in the works done for construction of roads and government buildings under Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana at Hajipur and adjoining areas. The order was passed on a PIL of Devanand Singh charging irregularities in the implementation of the Yojana in Vaishali district. Source: Times Of India HC seeks report on remand homes Click On "Full Story" For More... (403 words in story) Full Story By Tiwari, Section NewsPosted on Wed Jul 07, 2010 at 12:17:59 AM EST
Nitish's RTI Helpline Model Has Few Takers Despite Sonia's Push
Jaankari, a Bihar government scheme to help people file Right to Information applications through a call centre, had impressed Sonia Gandhi so much she asked Congress- ruled states to emulate it.
Two years after the UPA chairperson's appeal, no state, except Madhya Pradesh, has sought information on Jaankari -- launched by the Nitish Kumar government in 2007.  Bihar goes to polls in less than six months, with Nitish seeking a repeat mandate on the basis of his government's performance. So, the chances of Jaankari being replicated in the near future by other states appear all the more bleak. A study commissioned by the Governance Knowledge Centre, an initiative of the department of administrative reforms and public grievances ( DARPG), shows that the call centre model has been a success in Bihar. The " best practice" documentation, undertaken by the One World Foundation India, has identified " political will" as main reason for the success of the model. Source: Mail Today By Ashish Sinha Nitish's RTI helpline model has few takers despite Sonia's push Click On "Full Story" For More... (283 words in story) Full Story By ugesh sarkar, Section NewsPosted on Tue Jul 06, 2010 at 02:20:11 AM EST
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