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| Computer Literacy Compulsory For Headmasters: Computer literacy is now compulsory for those who want to become headmasters in Gujarat’s primary schools. Candidates who want to appear in the examinations for the Head Teacher Aptitude Test (HTAT) must have passed the qualifying examinations for computer knowledge in accordance with the Gujarat Civil Services Computer Competency Training and Examination Rules, 2006. The minimum educational qualification is a graduation degree in any discipline from a recognised university and a two-year certificate examination of primary teacher’s course. (02-02-2012) |
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| Gujarat’s Airports: Four new airports are proposed to be set up to handle mid-size airplanes in Gujarat, at Palitana, Ambaji, Dwarka and Ankleshwar. Gujarat currently has 17 airports, not counting the two at Daman and Diu. Incidentally, the state has the largest number of operational airports in India. (25-01-2012) |
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| Plastic Park At Sanand: The Gujarat government may allot 240 acres of land at the Sanand auto hub for members of the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA). About 150 kgs of plastic is used in the average finished car. AIPMA has about 2,500 members. Gujarat accounts for over 65 per cent of India’s total plastic production. (12-01-2012) |
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| Land Deals In Gujarat: A new Gujarat state revenue department government resolution (GR) has been issued to help regularise land deals made through a power of attorney (PoA). The procedure will enable a PoA holder to register the property in his or her name, subject to some formalities, if the original land owner has migrated or is no longer alive. Once the formalities have been completed and no objection is received from the original owner, the PoA holder will be registered with the government as the current occupant of the land. This move is designed to help the government to computerise all land deals in rural areas. It seems that over 40 per cent of all land deals have been struck through the PoA route. (12-01-2012) |
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| School Examinations: The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has fixed the examination dates. The Std 10 exams will be from March 6 to 19. The exams for Std 12 (General - Arts and Commerce) will be from March 6 to 19. 0will be from dates for the examinations for Std 10 and 12 as well the second-semester examinations for Std XI (science). The exams for Std 12 general (Arts and Commerce), Science and post-basic streams will be from March 5 to Mach 21. The vocational stream examinations will be from March 13 to 21. (06-01-2012) |
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| Panchayat Elections In Gujarat: Elections for 10,231 village panchayats in Gujarat will be held in the last week of December 2011. The term of these panchayats ends on December 31. There are 13,500 village panchayats in the state. Since the required number of electronic voting machines is not available, ballot papers will be used in the elections. Over 400,000 candidates may be in the fray for the posts of 100,000 panchayat members and sarpanchs. Over 60 percent of the state’s electorate may participate in the process. (30-11-2011) |
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| Shoot Your Films In Gujarat: The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. (TCGL) has set up a special cell to promote the state as a good location for film shooting. TCGL will offer some incentives to film producers: no charges for infrastructure facilities, free police security during shooting, access to tourism properties at concessional rates, etc. In return, the producers will have to give credit to the state and mention the names of the tourist spots where the shooting has been done. The tourist destinations identified for this purpose are Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Jamnagar and Bhuj. TCGL will help the producers to quickly obtain the necessary shooting permissions. (27-11-2011) |
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| Products Made By Prisoners: Inmates of the central jails in Ahmedabad and Baroda make a lot of products which are sold to customers outside the jails. The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad has now designed a marketing course for these inmates. The course will cover sale, distribution and management of factory products. Interpersonal skills will also be taught. The skills that the inmates acquire will help them to be gainfully occupied once they are released from prison. IIM will also help in branding and marketing the products (for instance, in the way that the products from New Delhi's Tihar Jail are marketed). (26-11-2011) |
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| World's Largest Clean-Energy Project: The world's largest clean-energy project to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is being planned by Ahmedabad based Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa). The organisation will give 200,000 energy-efficient stoves and solar lanterns to its members in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Sewa's self-employed women spend as much as 35% of their income on fuel alone, so they can benefit immensely through an alternative energy initiative. The three-year-long project, called ‘Hariyali', will receive financial assistance from International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. (24-11-2011) |
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| Closed Circuit Television Cameras For Police: Police departments in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Gandhinagar will soon install several hundred hi-tech PTZ CCTVs (pan-tilt-zoom closed circuit television cameras) in public places. This decision follows the recent terror alerts in Gujarat. The high-resolution CCTVs will be more sophisticated than the ones in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. They will be more expensive too, with each unit costing over Rs. 100,000. In Vadodara, 53 strategic locations have been identified on busy roads and traffic islands and in trouble-prone areas. The CCTVs will have an automatic vehicle number plate recognition system to trace and photograph the movement of suspect vehicles. (23-09-2011) |
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| E-Libraries In Courts: Courts in 225 talukas in Gujarat may soon have e-libraries to provide easy and cost-effective access to legal and judicial databases for the benefit of judges and advocates. This should help to improve the quality of judicial administration. The e-libraries will feature important law journals and books and major judgments of the Supreme Court and high courts. Access to the e-library will be free, but advocates will have to pay for printouts of judgments. (17-09-2011) |
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| More Relevant Education For Doctors: Come 2012 and medical education in India is likely to undergo a major change. The Medical Council of India (MCI) recently invited suggestions from the deans of several medical colleges. The medical curriculum has by and large remained unchanged the same since 1989. The revamp will take into account the latest medical advances, diseases and treatments. A brief foundation course for medical students was also suggested to provide an overview of hospital administration, medical economics and medical ethics. Other suggestions: first year MBBS to increase from 12 months to 14 months, and second and third year MBBS to be 20 months each; introduction of subjects such as telemedicine, bio-informatics and healthcare management. (15-09-2011) |
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| Gujarat’s Population Crosses 60 Million: Gujarat’s population touched 60.4 million in 2011. It grew 19.17 per cent between 2001 and 2011, 35.83 per cent growth in the urban areas and 9.23 per cent in the rural areas. Migration into Gujarat and intra-state migration from rural to urban areas (for jobs) seems to have caused this rural to urban shift. More rural areas are drifting to non-agricultural activities. In 153 towns, 75 per cent of the people who were formerly rural have changed to non-agricultural activities. (15-09-2011) |
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| Boat Ambulances In Gujarat: Boat Ambulances In Gujarat: GVK Emergency Management & Research Institute (EMRI) proposes to add boat ambulances to their fleet in Gujarat for the 108 emergency response services. This will help in quickly reaching victims in the state’s coastal areas. At present EMRI has 506 ambulances. The boat ambulances will be introduced in four to five coastal locations on an experimental basis. If the experiment is successful, then the plan will be carried forward. (12-09-2011) |
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| Urban Transport Helpline Numbers: India’s ministry of urban development is toying with the idea of introducing a common helpline number for travellers throughout the country to answer questions relating to bus routes, taxi tariffs, etc. The number will be similar to 100 for police and 139 for Indian railways. Two urban transport helpline numbers are planned: 15220 will be toll-free or at a nominal cost for basic services, and 15221 for value added services. This is still at the idea stage, and the eventual success of the plan will depend on how effectively different cities cooperate. (02-09-2011) |
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| Gujarati Film Industry: The Gujarati film industry recently crossed the figure of 1,000 films. The first Gujarati film, 'Narsinh Mehta', was released in 1932. The popularity of Bollywood (Hindi film industry) overpowers the world of Gollywood (Gujarati film industry). The directors of Gujarati films find it safer to cater to audiences in villages, and urban audiences thus stay away. Roughly, only 80 theatres screen Gujarati films in the state. Besides, the acting and other related talent is gravitating towards the greater attractions and glamour of Bollywood and the small screen (television serials). (29-08-2011) |
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| 108 Service Completes Four Years In Gujarat: The 108 services of Emergency Management & Research Institute (EMRI) started in Gujarat in August 2007. The service has completed four years. It now saves one life every 14 minutes. On an average, 2,250 emergencies are handled per day and an ambulance is dispatched every 42 seconds. Every hour, there is one child born in a 108 emergency vehicle. Post August 2007 there has been a 70 per cent improvement in infant mortality rate and mother mortality rate. It is claimed that in 99 cases out of 100 an emergency 108 call is answered after the first ring itself. It is further claimed that 125,000 lives have been saved in the state so far. Roughly 60 per cent of the patients are women while 40 per cent are men, and 69 per cent are from rural or semi-urban areas while 31 per cent are from cities. (28-08-2011) |
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| Encourage Farming Of Medicinal Herbs: The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has suggested to AYUSH (the department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy under the ministry of health and family welfare) that they may have something to learn from Chinese examples by introducing the farming of medicinal herbs and doing mass scientific validation of medicines. IIM’s suggestions were based on recommendations by managers, professors, doctors, researchers and field workers. Over 90 % of the medicinal herbs used to manufacture AYUSH medicines are procured form forests, while China has begun to farm these medicinal plants. IIM also suggested that incentives be offered to cultivators of medicinal plants, along with a buy-back policy. (25-06-2011) |
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| First Batch Graduates From Forensic Sciences University: The first batch of students has graduated from Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU) in Gandhinagar, India’s first such university. Already, more than half of those who have completed the two-year masters course in forensic and behavioural sciences have found jobs with companies in the areas of corporate espionage, data theft, adulteration, counterfeit drug prevention, ballistics testing and financial frauds. The employers include Zydus Cadila Pharmaceuticals, ICICI Lombard, Perkin Elmer (India), Forensic Science Laboratory (Goa), Claris Pharmaceuticals, Environment Pollution Control Board, Indian Air Force, etc. (25-06-2011) |
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| Mobile Number Portability: People in Gujarat have so far made the largest number – 834,000 in all – of mobile number portability (MNP) requests in India (to change their telecom service providers). As of April 30, 2011, 8.54 million users in the country had applied for MNP. The MNP service was started on January 20, 2011. The next three states are Rajasthan (710,000), Karnataka (663,000) and Tamil Nadu (641,000). The Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is a service that allows its customers to use the existing number while switching to another operator. (16-06-2011) |
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