The Bangla Government has decided to replace all wooden bridges older than 30 years across the State with concrete ones, at a total cost of Rs 760 crore.
Six districts would be covered in the first phase – Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Bankura and Birbhum.
Of the 3,500 bridges tested, 1,000 were found to be 40 to 50 years old. In the first phase, covering the above-mentioned six districts, 380 of the 1,000 bridges would be concretised.
Source: Aajkaal
The State Government has decided to set up a fund for operations relating to transplantation of organs in the public healthcare system. With regular cases of organ transplantation surgeries taking place now, the government wants to keep an adequate flow of funds for these kinds of critical surgeries.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is very keen that life-giving transplantation operations do not get affected due to lack of money on the part of patients. There should not be any red-tapism related to the flow of funds.
Organ transplantation is picking up at a steady state in Bengal. The State Government is doing a lot of awareness work related to donations of organs. The police is doing a good job of creating green channels, that is, special-access routes with all signals green, not only within Kolkata but from one place in the State to another.
The longest-ever green channel till date was created recently when the liver and two kidneys of a brain-dead patient were transported over 170 km from Durgapur to Kolkata (SSKM Hospital).
Recently too, a heart transplant took place in Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, the first such instance in Bengal, the heart being extracted from a brain-dead patient. Cadaveric liver and kidneys transplants are taking place as well. There is a steady donation and transplantation of corneas too.
Source: The Statesman
The State Government’s Higher Education Department is inviting applications for the Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship (SVMCMS) for 2018-19 from meritorious students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Through the scholarship scheme, a monthly stipend is paid to students, the amount depending on the course they are applying for, the minimum amount being Rs 1,000 and the maximum amount being Rs 8,000.
Students need to apply online for the scheme through the SVMCMS website, the last date being November 30.
For any information, people can also call the toll-free number, 1800 102 8014.
The monthly scholarships are as follows:
Criteria for the scholarships:
A recent national-level study conducted jointly by researchers from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore and Shiv Nadar University has appreciated the role played by the Bangla Government’s Kanyashree Scheme in reducing a young woman’s chances of being subjected to domestic violence.
The study delves into the causal link between early marriage and exposure to domestic violence, and underlines the importance of policies to tackle child marriage by incentivising families to continue girls’ education and delay their marriage.
In this respect, schemes like Kanyashree Prakalpa have been found to be highly effective. Kanyashree uses economic (conditional cash transfer), social and awareness-building methods to sensitise communities on the benefits of delayed marriage.
The effectiveness of Kanyashree, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been endorsed time and again, at both the international and national levels. In 2017, the scheme has been awarded the United Nations Public Service Award in the category of ‘Reaching the Poorest and Most Vulnerable through Inclusive Services and Participation’.
It also won the following honours:
The State Government celebrates Kanyashree Dibas on August 14, as a day dedicated to the empowerment of the girl child. No other government in Bangla has done so much work for the girl child as the Trinamool Congress Government.
There was a time when the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) was known as an ‘intellectual’ event.
Mamata Banerjee changed things completely when she became chief minister. The mass leader that she was, she made KIFF an event for the masses but without compromising on quality. Varieties of films began to be shown – entertaining, middle-of-the-road, as well as of a higher order.
Mamata Banerjee brought the inauguration ceremony (which includes the inaugural film) to the Netaji Indoor Stadium – a 10,000-seater stadium.
Guests invited to the film festival acquired a much wider variety too. Popular film stars began to be invited, including to the inauguration and conclusion ceremonies. The participation of the local Tollywood film industry is now specially sought.
Another aspect of mass participation is ‘Parae Parae Cinema’ – wherein film shows are held on mobile vans in localities across Kolkata. It was introduced at the 2016 edition.
To increase and improve the quality of the participating films, a competition section was introduced. The Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award was originally given to the best film by a woman director. From 2018, the competition section has been opened to all. To add to the interest this year, two Bengali films have been included to the competition section for the best international film.
This year, people of not just Kolkata but surrounding places too would be able to enjoy the best of international cinema, as PVR Avani (Riverside Mall) In Howrah and PVR Diamond City (Diamond City Mall) in Dum Dum have been added to the list of cinemas participating in the film festival. The number of show venues has also been increased to 16 this year.
The number of films is also increasing year by year. The 24th edition has 170 films from about 70 countries.
Last but not the least is the aspect of food. Kolkata is synonymous with love for good food. Now, the Nandan-Rabindra Sadan complex hosts several stalls set by well-known restaurants and food chains during the duration of the festival, and they are invariably chock-a-block.
Kolkata International Film Festival is now truly a mass event. Every year now, people wait eagerly for November 10 and bid a sad goodbye on November 17, looking forward to another beautiful bouquet of films the next year.
Kali Puja (Deepavali) has brought with it a tide of good news for the State’s IT sector. On Saturday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared on her Facebook page that the Silicon Valley Hub project of Bengal has received overwhelming response from investors.
The State Government had launched the Silicon Valley Hub on August 13, 2018 to attract even more investment in IT, ITeS and ICT, and also to build a world-class ecosystem for cutting-edge technologies and innovation in Kolkata.
“In just 2 months, out of 100 acres of land earmarked for the Hub, 4 major global IT companies, among others, have applied to set up new investments on 74 acres already,” the CM wrote.
Reliance Jio wants 40 acres to set up a state-of-the-art centre for IT-enabled telecom, big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). TCS wants 20 acres in the Hub which will add another 15,000 IT professionals to their current workforce plan of 58,000 in Kolkata. Capgemini has asked for 10 acres to start cutting-edge IT business in Kolkata. Sanjiv Goenka will start with 4 acres for his IT company, Firstsource Solutions to conduct global operations from Kolkata.
“There are other innovative entrepreneurs who have also sought to join this ecosystem. In the meantime, Genpact of GE Capital of USA, is investing Rs 300 crore in a massive expansion,” the CM added.
“Encouraged by this quick and warm response, I am planning to add another 100 acres to the Silicon Valley Hub of Kolkata,” Mamata Banerjee announced.
To manage the forests of the district better, the State Forest Department has created a new forest division, Kalimpong Forest Division. The office has been set up in Kalimpong, and was inaugurated on November 1. It is being headed by a divisional forest officer (DFO).
Certain infrastructure of the Kalimpong Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) like the forest rest houses at Jaldhaka, Mongpong and Lava would be transferred to Kalimpong Forest Division.
A certain number of workers from the KDFC would also be transferred to Kalimpong Forest Division. Originally it had a sanctioned strength of 229. An additional 130 people have been employed. The district’s Soil Division, including its workers, has been absorbed by the newly-created forest division.
Source: Uttarbanga Sangbad
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today reached Cooch Behar for her district tours. She inaugurated the ‘Utsav’ auditorium in Cooch Behar. She also chaired the administrative review meeting for the district in the same auditorium. She took stock of the progress of the ongoing projects during the administrative review meeting.
On Tuesday, the Chief Minister will be addressing a public meeting during which she will be distributing different benefits among the residents of Cooch Behar. She will also be inaugurating some projects and also lay foundation stones of many more projects to ensure further development of the district. The benefits distribution programme has been organised at Rashmela Ground in Cooch Behar.
After her programme in Cooch Behar, she is scheduled to visit Dooars where she will chair the administrative review meetings for Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts.
Earlier today, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke at a business meet in Milan, Italy jointly organised by ASSOLOMBARDA, Italian Trade Commission, FICCI and the Bengal Government. It was attended by potential investors from Italy.
She spoke on the strengths of Bengal and on the synergies that Italy and Bengal can create in various sectors. At the business meet there were detailed discussions on the possibilities of investment from Italy in sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, design and innovation, ICT, leather, textiles, agro-processing, tourism and automobiles.
Here is what she said, while addressing the Italian investors:
Italy and Bengal are very similar in nature because Italy had their Renaissance in the 16th century and in Bengal too a Renaissance happened, in the 19th century. There is a big similarity. You have the art, the culture, the technology, the systems, the mechanisms, you have had so many renowned artists, and everybody says that Bengal is the cultural capital of the world. Bengal has produced so many renowned sons of the soil, like Tagore and and Netaji. You have so many experts from the fields of leather and technology. We respect all. We also love your foods, like pasta. We love your football too. Bengal is a land of football lovers, and we love Italian football too. Everybody is proud of Italy’s prowess in football.
I had come to Italy earlier, to the Vatican, on an invitation from them, in September 2016 when Mother Teresa received sainthood. Mother Teresa belongs to Kolkata. The Missionaries of Charity’s headquarters is there, and we maintain the best of relations with them.
You have so many industrial partners in India, about 600, and you have invested in Bengal too. We want to build up further on our relationship. Italian companies have invested in India in sectors like transportation, food processing, textiles, electronic equipment, leather technology, etc. The relation between Italy and Bengal can be scaled up. We are taking major steps in setting up design centres; Italy can be a major partner in that too.
Throughout history, Bengal has produced so many luminaries in so many fields. Now Bengal believes that Bengal means business. We have social commitment as well as commercial commitments. With respect to the former, we give free treatment to the downtrodden and we encourage empowerment of the girl child; we have policies to suit every stage of a person’s life – we give free saplings when a child is born, we provide money for cremation to the families which can’t afford it.
With respect to business, it is important to remember the strategic location of Bengal. It has historically been the centre of business; it is the gateway to South and South-East Asia – to Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur. This is why Bengal has a major role to play. Bengal serves as a major hub in the trade route to south-east Asian countries, to the landlocked nations of Nepal and Bhutan, and to north-east India too – the eight sister States. Bengal’s population is also very significant.
If you look at the GSDP growth rate, that is, gross state domestic product, for 2017-18, at constant price, it is 9.15 per cent, compared to a growth in GDP for India at 6.7 per cent. Bengal has a higher growth in every sector, from agriculture to industry to services.
Italy has great experience in various technical fields whereas Bengal has skilled manpower, an aspect in which we are number one in India. Bengal has talented manpower at a price which is cheaper than in other parts of India, and the world as well. Bengal leads in education and culture. In skilled manpower, the MSME sector and e-governance, we are number one in India. In ease of doing business too, we are number one.
We also believe in grassroots development. We believe that like two sisters, agriculture and industry must live together, and in both, Bengal is doing very good. We have a land policy and a ready land bank. We have power available for industry 24×7. We also have rural electricity connectivity. The number of man-days lost has come down from about 80 billion to zero. An industry-friendly policy is also there, so too an MSME policy, a textile policy, an IT policy, an agricultural policy and a tourism policy. We also have food security, a health-for-all policy in the form of Swasthya Sathi, housing policy for the poor, environment policy, environment-friendly transport system and provide education for the marginalised people.
Our beauty is that we all work together – all castes, creeds and communities. We do not differentiate on this count. We believe that humanity is like a family.
Bengal has a great potential in the leather industry. We have a leather hub. You, the Italians, are famous for your leather industry. So we can use your experience and you can transfer your technology for our growth. So let us all work together. Italy is great in technology and Bengal is great in steel and mining.
We invite Italian companies to invest in Bengal. If you have the vision, Bengal has the mission, if you have the action, Bengal has the reaction, if you have the technology, Bengal has the manpower. So if you want to compare, we are like twin sister states – India and Italy. I believe our Indian government, our embassy will give full support to Italian industry. We are like a family. You invest your money in Bengal, and in other regions of India too. India is like your sweet home.
The State Government is going to start a 10-storeyed trauma care centre (TCC) At SSKM Hospital. This would be the second such centre, after the one at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
It will cost Rs 20 crore to build and will start operating by the end of this year. The government has plans to build such TCCs at all the six teaching hospitals in Kolkata, where a large number of trauma patients are admitted every year.
The centre will have all arrangements for emergency operations for road and air accident cases of severe neuro-surgical and orthopaedic injuries.
There will be facilities for pre- and post-surgery treatment for severe head injury cases.
Source: The Statesman
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