Rs 26000 crore investment in MSME and Textile sector: WB CM

Rs 26000 crore investment in MSME and Textile sector: WB CM

Posted on May 30, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that her government had initiated a plan to invest over Rs 26,000 crore for the development of MSME and Textile sector.

She also said that a separate textile policy of state was being formulated by the government.

Replying to a question in the state Assembly, Banerjee said that under the plan MSME projects would be set up in joint ventures or through PPP model creating employment opportunities for six lakh people in the state.

The state government had earlier generated employment of 4.56 lakh people in the MSME sector in the last four years.

With this initiative there would be a massive improvement in the MSME sector and definitely the units like handloom, hosiery, zari and many other units, she said.

Replying to a supplementary, Banerjee said that since 2006 the previous Left-led regime had been able to set up only 49 MSME clusters with an investment of Rs 16,764 crore, but in the last four years her government set up 180 MSME units covering many districts with an investment of Rs 55,740 crore.

Describing development as a continuing process, the chief minister said that the state government has established synergies and offered comprehensive package to the investors in the MSME and textile sector.

With the setting up of new textile policy, the sector would also improve much faster. The state government is committed to promote MSMEs in the state by creating a sustainable financial ecosystem for the sector.

Considering the rapid growth of MSMEs in the state, the MSME & Textiles Department has already launched a Rs 200-crore Venture Capital Fund.

Replying to another supplementary, Ms Banerjee said that many more MSME clusters would come up in the state covering several districts to boost the sector.

Image courtesy: Anirban Mukhopadhyay

WB Govt committed to improve transport infrastructure: Mamata Baneerjee

Posted on May 30, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said her government was committed to improve the entire transport infrastructure in the state.

Replying to a question in the state Assembly, Ms Banerjee said already several steps have been taken to improve the sector, but many more measures would be taken in the years to come to facilitate passengers.

Stating that the entire transport system had been thrown out of gear during the erstwhile Left Front regime, Ms Banerjee said her government has increased the number of buses, taxis and other modes of transport, besides removing hurdles for good administration in the sector.

A high power administrative committee has also been appointed to look after development in the sector.

Regretting that the Centre has curtailed many of its projects like Mid-Day Meal, housing for urban poor, ICDS and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana etc, Ms Banerjee said her government was trying to take up various development schemes on its own for the betterment of the people.

Replying to another question, Ms Banerjee said so far her government has issued land pattas to three lakh families in the state, while it would be given to 30,000 more families soon.

These pattas include community land patta, forest land patta and agricultural land patta, she said adding beneficiaries were selected on the basis of socio-economic class census.

Warning system being installed for the safety of fishermen in Bengal

Posted on May 30, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Distress Alert Transmitters (DAT) are being installed on trawlers so that fishermen can alert the authorities of any danger at sea. Till now about 1000 such DAT have been installed, another 1500 such will be installed soon. This information was provided by the Minister of Fisheries Chandranath Singh during Question Hour in the Assembly on Thursday.

He also added that as on April 30, 2015, 17516 fishermen have been handed bio-metric ID cards near the Sunderbans whereas a total of 1,48,971 bio-metric ID cards have been distributed all over the state.

The minister also announced that in case a fisherman dies due to an attack by pirates, the family of the diseased will be given Rs 2 lakh.

Chandranath Singh also said that 10,583 fishing nets have been e-registered already. He also mentioned that the fishermen are given Rs 600 per month when it is off season for fishing as financial assistance.

A pension scheme has also been started for fishermen. The minister admitted that there is an issue with the fishing permit issued by the forest department.

WB CM keen on stringent act to prevent chit fund malpractices

Posted on May 30, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that her government was keen on framing a stringent act to prevent malpractices by chit fund companies and protect interests of the people in the state.

In her suo motu reply during Question Hour, the Chief Minister said that the West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill, 2013, which was passed in the House by her government had received assent from President Pranab Mukherjee.

She, however, said that her government was not happy with a communication received through Raj Bhavan, referring to a condition for its implementation enshrined in a similar act in Tamil Nadu.

The provision in the anti-chit fund Act in Tamil Nadu said the offenders in such cases could be released on bail after paying fines, which, Banerjee said, would never be allowed in West Bengal.

The state government brought this Bill to enact a stringent legislation and thus strong punishment like life imprisonment was included in the bill.

The CM said that the state government had written to the Centre urging that at least the provisions of strong punishment, which was in the bill, should be restored, otherwise offenders in such financial crimes would get an escape route. She said that the state government was waiting for the reply from the Centre.

The Chief Minister also noted that if required, the state government was even ready to bring an ordinance on the issue in consultation with the Opposition in the House.

Finance Minister Amit Mitra elaborated the process, in the House, under which the bill had been passed till it received the President’s assent.

The next course of action on the Bill would be finalised following a discussion in the Business Advisory Committee meeting.

New horizon in Women, Child Development and Social Welfare under Trinamool

Posted on May 29, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Government under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken numerous new and rightful measures to execute developmental works in the proper way.

The erstwhile Women, Child Welfare and Social Welfare Department was separated and two new departments were created during 2013-14 and Women & Social Welfare Department and Child Development Department came into being.

Division of Departments for better administration

While the internationally acclaimed Kanyashree was kept with the Women & Social Welfare Department, Under Child Development Department, projects like Sishu Sathi, Child Nutrition, Prevention of Low Child Sex Ratio, State Plan of Action Children projects and other such schemes were included.

Poor infrastructure in health prior to 2011

During the Left rule, the infrastructure of health facilities in West Bengal reached the lowest mark among all the States. While the neighboring State of Odisa had 1700 hospitals, the number was 400 in West Bengal. Incidentally, the population is West Bengal is twice as much as Odisa. In order to revive the infrastructure, the present Government needs to work seamlessly for at least 10 years.

Huge upliftment of health facilities under Trinamool

Till October 2014, the present Government could start 43 Sick New Born Care Units (SNCU) which numbered to 6 before 2011. 258 Sick New Born Stabilization Units (SNSU) have been set up, which before 2011 numbered to 95. Besides, 561 New Born Care Units are now functioning, majority of these created by the present Government.

During 2014-15, 140 Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care Units, 541 Basic Emergency Obstetric Care Units have started, 12 Mother & Child Hubs are getting ready and 40 Super specialty Hospitals will be ready by 2015-16. 20 out of the 41 Critical Care units are to be soon completed

Focus on Child treatment and Development

The present Government has laid emphasis on treatment and development of children in the State. The State started the landmark Sishu Sathi project for free treatment of heart disease among children. It also started the Nutrition Rehabilitation project for malnourished children which has now has 31 centres and also the much acclaimed Madhur Sneha Human Milk Bank. Prevention of Low Child Sex Ratio, State Plan of Action Children projects and other such schemes are also running successfully.

Women and Social Welfare

Kanyashree, the brainchild of Ms Mamata Banerjee is now internationally acclaimed. Even the Central Government has now copied the project to start a new one. Till January 2015, 22 lakh girls have registered to Kanyashree which gives them allowance to carry on their studies and side by side stops early marriages of girls and lowers the chances of human trafficking.

Besides Kanyashrre, the Anganwadi projects have shown tremendous growth with 35,926 centres set up till January 2015. The West Bengal CM has started a monthly allowance for the Anganwadi workers. 13 lakh women are now enlisted with the Sabala project.

Figures show it all

In the last year of the past Left Government, in 2010-11, the panned expenditure in Women,Child Development and Social Welfare Department was Rs 715.30 crores, while in 2014- 15 the revised budget allocation moved by Trinamool was Rs 3170.07 crores, the amount increased by 4.43 times.

In the 2014-15 Budget (revised), the allotment for Child Development alone was Rs 2520.04 crores.

WB CM institutes ‘Work from Home’ for officers during holidays

Posted on May 29, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The West Bengal Government issued an order to set up a “camp office” at the residence of secretaries or the heads of all the 68 departments. Following the corporate structure of Work from Home, the State has now set another example of progress of work culture in the State.

It has been decided that a camp/residential office will be set up for the secretaries/heads of the department of the state government to enable the officers to devote more time and attention to official work before and after the office hours and even on holidays. The directive has been sent to the respective officers.

The directive is part of a drive by the West Bengal Chief Minister to clear the backlog in projects and schemes in the districts.

The order dated May 20 is the brainchild of the personnel and administrative reforms department, which reports to the Chief Minister. It said two attendants would be deployed in the residential offices and facilities like a computer, a printer and an Internet connection would be provided by the department concerned.

The order, an attempt to change the work culture will be helpful in a number of ways. Except a few secretaries like the chief secretary, the home secretary and the disaster management secretary, the others remain unavailable after office hours. The chief minister wants to change this culture.

A number of things have been promised to poor people and the minority communities and much work is still left. The department secretaries now will have to take the responsibility to complete the projects on time.

The West Bengal Chief Minister had made it clear that department heads should shoulder the maximum responsibilities.

Trinamool accounts transparent, nothing to hide: Derek O’Brien

Posted on May 28, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Statement by the Chief National Spokesperson of the party and leader of the All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien:

28 May, 2015 | 1:00 PM

“Harassment continues. Lots of pesky questions on Trinamool accounts. Big parties & leaders amass billions, little guys get the questions. Before questioning us, question yourselves and your daylight dacoity to fund your multi-billion dollar election campaign. Trinamool accounts are transparent, nothing to hide.”

New Sports Policy for Bengal passed by State Cabinet

Posted on May 28, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The West Bengal Cabinet passed the new Sports Policy 2015 for overall development of sports infrastructure and welfare of sports persons in the state.

State Youth Welfare Minister Mr Aroop Biswas, who also looks after Ministry of Sports, said that the policy would help improve existing sports infrastructure and install the latest state-of-the-art sports infrastructure in the state.

Spirit of sportsmanship

The policy would also provide cash incentives, awards and employment opportunities to outstanding sports persons, Mr Biswas said, adding it would also strengthen infrastructure in educational institutions including universities.

“The new Sports Policy will create a culture of sports by imbibing higher moral and ethical values and spirit of sportsmanship raising the level of desire to excel among the youth of the state,” the Minister said.

Provision has been made in the policy to encourage adventure sports in the state. Steps were there to bring about transparency in the working of the State Sports Associations, he said.

Recognising talent

A policy like this was a long-felt need to encourage involvement of private and corporate entities in the development of sports infrastructure, training and conduct of sports competitions leading to broadbasing of sports in the state, the Minister said.

Finally, the policy would recognise talent in sports and reward young women and men, who achieve excellence in sports, he added. For this, the Minister said, steps had been taken to reconstitute District Sports Councils and the Sub-divisional Sports Councils with a wider participation of sports bodies.

He also said that the State Government would set up a State Sports Institute to enable the sports persons to undergo certificate and diploma courses in different areas related to sports.

Promoting excellence

To promote excellence in international and national competitions, the sports department would set up residential academies in different disciplines like Table Tennis, Archery, Badminton, Volley Ball, Athletics, Gymnastics and Swimming immediately. “We have already set up a residential Football academy in the state,” the Minister said.

The Minister further said that the State Government would financially support individual sportspersons from the state who qualify for the Olympic, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, World Cup and similar level of continental competitions to the extent it remained uncovered from any other source.

The sports department would also create a data bank for sportspersons in the state, the Minister said adding each sub-division would have a stadium.

WB CM inaugurates a bouquet of projects from Baruipur

Posted on May 28, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee chaired an administrative review meeting today for the South 24 Parganas district at Baruipur. She held the meeting at the newly constructed KMDA auditorium at Baruipur New Town. The meeting comprised of all the elected representatives and administrative officials.

Inauguration of healthcare projects

The Chief Minister inaugurated a number of projects from the programme through remote control. Among these are:

Critical Care Units at Rampurhat District Hospital, Kanthi Sub-divisional Hospital, Durgapur Sub-divisional Hospital, Kolkata National Medical College & Hospital,

Dialysis Unit at Suri District Hospital,

Digital X-ray service at Kolkata National Medical College & Hospital, Tamluk District Hospital, NRS Medical College & Hospital, Kharagpur Sub-divisional Hospital, Bidyasagar State General Hospital, Kolkata and SN Pundit Hospital, Kolkata,

Blood bank at Canning Sub-divisional Hospital,

CITI Scan Unit at Uluberia Sub-divisional Hospital.

Inauguration of Santragachhi Bus Terminus

Apart from the healthcare projects, the Chief Minister inaugurated through remote control the Kolkata Central Bust Terminus at Santragachhi. This 12.38 acre bus terminus has the capacity of stationing 169 buses, 100 other vehicles, 85 two wheelers.

For the time being, this bus terminus will give the service of 71 CTC buses, 29 CSTC buses, 24 WBSTC buses and 35 private buses.

The bus terminus offers all modern facilities like passenger waiting room, three lavatories, ticket counter and information centre, canteen, shopping centre, passenger shed among many others.

WB CM to confer Tarana-e-Hind on poet Iqbal

Posted on May 28, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will felicitate Waleed Iqbal, the grandson of famous poet Allama Iqbal, at a three-day international literary festival organised by State’s Urdu Academy from May 29.

Known for his poem Saare Jahan Se Achcha , also referred as Tarana-e-Hind, Muhammad Iqbal, or Allama Iqbal, is considered one of an important poets of the pre-Independent India.

Ms Banerjee, the chairman of the West Bengal Urdu Academy, is very fond of the poem Saare Jahan se Achcha. She will confer Tarana-e-Hind award on the poet’s grandson.

“The West Bengal Urdu Academy is making all efforts to make the event a success. The event will also help in the spread of Urdu language in the State,” Md. Nadimul Haque, Trinamool Congress MP to Rajya Sabha, said.

A section of the library of the West Bengal Urdu Academy will be dedicated to literature of Iqbal during the festival starting May 29.