Kolkata musicians perform in New York Wednesday, August 30, 2006 | AY
A fusion band from Kolkata has been invited by the MK Gandhi Institute of New York to perform at a peace programme on September 11. The band, Class Apart, comprises two members - Pandit Shantanu Bandhopadhaya, a classical vocalist and Neel Adhikary, a guitarist. The duo has been invited to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Memorial Hall to commemorate a day of peace and reconciliation. They will be doing Stop the War, an original composition and an adaptation of Raghupati Raghav based on raag Durbari.
West Bengal improves its tourism Wednesday, August 30, 2006 | AY
Speaking at a seminar on tourism in eastern India organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Buddhadeb said that West Bengal's position was very poor with only 7.6 lakh foreign tourists and 12.38 million domestic tourists visiting the state in 2004. Bhattacharjee spoke about tourism projects in the pipeline and said the state was trying to leverage traditional tourist spots like Shantiniketan and Bishnupur. Coastal tourism, eco tourism in the Sundarbans and health tourism were other focus areas. Three big hospitals coming up in Kalyani, Rajarhat and 24 Parganas were expected to boost medical tourism. The central business district and the Hugli riverfront were being developed as heritage sites in Kolkata. The principal secretary of the department of tourism of West Bengal, G D Gautama, said a budget of Rs 2.5 crore had been set aside for promotion of tourism in West Bengal.
Plea to introduce super fast train Thursday, August 24, 2006 | AY
Cooch Behar District Merchants Chamber of Commerce (CDMCC) has demanded introduction of Cooch Behar-Kolkata super fast train service, the one that would reach Sealdah from Cooch Behar within 12 hours. The proposed train should start its journey from New Cooch Behar at 8 a.m. and reach Sealdah at 8 p.m. everyday. Mr Baid said that the Union railway minister heard the demand passionately and assured him that he will consider the proposal after examining it carefully.
IISER to come up in Kolkata Tuesday, August 22, 2006 | AY
The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research or IISER at Kolkata is one of three government institutes being set up to give science education in the country a boost. They are being called the IITs for science. The last time such a premier institute was set up was in 1909, IISc in Bangalore. On offer is a five-year masters degree, not just in physics, chemistry or biology but in integrated sciences. Besides Kolkata, Pune and Chandigarh will also have IISERs, each with a budget of Rs 500 crore for the first five years.
Hrishitaa ina Bengali film Tuesday, August 22, 2006 | AY
Bollywood actor Hrishitaa Bhatt will be making her debut on the Bengali screen with Bidhataar Lekha, directed by Rajaa Mukerji. The film also stars Priyanshu Chatterjee and Jeet. The shooting of the film will begin from September in North Bengal.
Sameera Reddy plans her next bengali film Tuesday, August 22, 2006 | AY
Sameera Reddy's, Bengali movie 'Kaalpurush' has bagged the National award. Director Dasgupta was so impressed by Sameera’s performance in Kaalpurush that he has signed her for his next venture as well. This untitled film will be based on terrorism. Sameera will start shooting for this film from October.
Test on soft drinks being conducted Wednesday, August 9, 2006 | AY
Samples of soft-drinks have been collected from across the State by the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Health Department and are being sent to the National Test House for testing. The Kolkata civic health authorities have asked educational institutions, hospitals and public canteens to discourage the consumption of all aerated drinks until the testing is completed. The move follows reports of the presence of pesticide residue in soft drinks.
New tourism strategy Tuesday, August 8, 2006 | AY
Manabendra Mukherjee, minister in charge, tourism department, announced that West Bengal government is planning to woo private investors to the tourism sector. The government is also planning to appoint a consultancy firm which would attract investors and also do some PR work for the tourism department. As per the government plan, the tea gardens and the rich cultural heritage of the city would be highlighted. There was suggestion that if the goverment concentrates on promoting Bengal as the city of Mother Teresa and organised some cricket matches- both domestic and international then more Indian and foreign tourists will come to the city.
An e-tool that helps students in learning Monday, August 7, 2006 | AY
A revolutionary e-learning tool, that could help bridge the growing gap between skills availability and requirement is being introduced. The adaptive assessment and e-learning tool called LearnITy, which is keyed to global standards, has been developed by a team of researchers at Kolkata's Jadavpur University in collaboration with an American university. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is using it to support the project assessment of EDUSAT, India's satellite exclusively for education. Through LearnITy the student answers the questions online and gets to know within 10 minutes if he has achieved the level of knowledge required. If he fails, he can take the assistance of LearnITy to improve and take the test in two weeks or two months, whenever he feels he or she is ready.
Kolkata Port Trust to revalue real estate Monday, August 7, 2006 | AY
Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) would soon appoint a global consultant for revaluation of its land in Kolkata, Haldia and other areas. The port last revalued the land ten years back in 1996. Besides, land revaluation, KoPT is planning to acquire 2,500 acre land at near the Jellingham sandbank in the river, close to the in east Midnapore town on Nandigram, or dumping solid dredged from the river. KoPT had 4,576 acres in Kolkata, out of which around 3326 acre were within the municipal limits of Kolkata, Howrah and Budge Budge. KoPT is trying its best to improve income from real estate and the introduction of GIS and the revaluation is part of that effort.
Satyajit Ray launches his website Saturday, August 5, 2006 | AY
Satyajit Ray is not merely a pioneer of Bengali Cinema. He is an Institution in film making. The Ray Society, based in Kolkata is launching a website dedicated to the great master on August 26th in commemoration of the day Ray’s masterpiece ‘Pather Panchali’ was released 51 years ago. The visuals for the film will be provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, USA, which has been restoring and preserving prints of all the films made by Satyajit Rai in his 40 year illustrious career. Satyajit’s son Sandip Ray confirmed the news and said he was honoured to be a part of the Ray Society.
Digital signatures for e-filing Saturday, August 5, 2006 | AY
Companies would have to furnish digital signatures with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for e-filing under the MCA-21 programme of the government. Regional Director of Ministry of Company Affairs U C Nahta said e-filing of companies annual returns would be made mandatory from September 15 this year. MCA-21 is a part of the government's national e -governance plan by which companies would be able to file their documents through the electronic mode. This programme was being executed by the Ministry in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services based on the public private partnership model. West Bengal was the 19th registry where MCA-21 was launched. The next roll out would be made in Jammu but it was being delayed due to connectivity problem. The total cost incurred for implementing the programme was Rs 350 crore.
KMC seeks JU help to test soft drinks samples Saturday, August 5, 2006 | AY
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed that soft drinks manufactured by reputed companies contain pesticides in proportions that exceed the permitted level. The presence of around three pesticides was found to be 24 times higher than the level prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Two days after the discovery, KMC health department has decided to inspect the soft drinks marketed in the state.KMC along with the Food Technology Department of Jadavpur University, will conduct tests on the soft drinks brands available in the city. KMC do not possess the gaschromatography machine, the possession of which is necessary to confirm the presence of pesticides in soft drinks and empowers the authorities to take legal action based on its findings.
West Bengal reduces stamp duty to 6 pc Wednesday, August 2, 2006 | AY
The West Bengal Government has reduced the stamp duty from eight per cent to six per cent in Kolkata, Howrah and urban areas, besides six per cent to five per cent in rural areas with effect from tomorrow. An official release said that the stamp duty would now be six per cent of the market value for properties situated in areas to which Kolkata Improvement Act, 1911 or Howrah Improvement Act, 1956 extended. The stamp duty would also be fixed at six per cent of the market value for properties situated in areas of any Municipal Corporation or Municipality or a Notified Area, and five per cent of the market value for properties situated in areas other than the first two cases.
MCA-21 Launched In Kolkata Tuesday, August 1, 2006 | AY
India's largest e-governance initiative by Ministry of Company Affairs and a Mission Mode project under Government of India's National e-Governance Plan was launched in Kolkata. Kolkata now joins the elite group of 18 centers, wherein MCA 21 has already been successfully implemented, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Patna, Kanpur, Bangalore, Ahemdabad and Hyderabad. The MCA-21 program will bring about a service transformation in terms of ease of use and is slated to be a benchmark e-governance project in the country. The MCA-21 project aims to bring speed, transparency and efficiency in the delivery of the services rendered by the Ministry of Company Affairs to all the stakeholders through a set of pre-defined service levels.
