Three more Steel Plants to be set up in Orissa

Giving a huge boost to the steel sector, the Orissa government has signed three MoUs for setting up three new steel plants in the state. The total investment would be Rs 2,00,000 crore. The government has so far signed 49 MoUs for the establishment of steel units. Eleven of them are mega projects. They included Arcelor-Mittal, Posco, Jindal and Tata Steel. The CM Naveen Patnaik deserves the credit to take Orissa on the path of high growth and development, as all MoUs were signed in the past 6 years.

The companies that signed MoUs on Tuesday are Pradhan Steel and Power Private Limited, Atha Mines Private Limited and Tecton Ispat Private Limited. They would produce one million tonne of steel per annum.

Pradhan Steel has proposed to set up a 0.50 mtpa steel plant with an investment of Rs 606 crore at Dhurusia in Cuttack district. Atha Mines would set up a 0.25 mtpa capacity unit at an investment of Rs 291.60 crore at Tarkabeda in Dhenkanal district. Tecton Ispat would set up a 0.25 mtpa steel unit over 150 acre of land at an investment of Rs 227.13 crore at Tarkebeda in Dhenkanal district.

Eco Camps in Orissa will soon become a Reality

Orissa Tourism department is planning to launch the state's first Eco Camp at Ramachandi, which falls between Puri and Konark. Similar projects will be set up at Tampara (near Gopalpur) and Chilka. The projects are expected to take off during the first week of February 2008.

The eco camps will target the tourists who visit the above places during the Spring and Summer. The projects will begin on an experimental basis. The Tourism department has planned to offer promotional rates and packages for this season. Ramachandi Eco Camp will have 20 cottages with modern lodging facilities, high quality food and natural scenery. The proposed Eco Camp at Chilka will have water sports.

Orissa Tourism Development Corporation will handle the management of the Eco Camps in the initial phase. The OTDC is planning to promote the Eco Camps at the Travel Marts and the World Travel Market next year.

Centre to take decision on IIT and IIM in Orissa soon

Union Minister for HRD, Arjun Singh has assured Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik that the Centre would take a decision on setting up IIT and IIM in Orissa soon. Mr Patnaik reiterated Orissa's demand for the IIT and IIM in the wake of growing demand of higher professional education in the region.

The Orissa CM also demanded the setting up of a Central University in the KBK region in order to provide both traditional and modern education to youths in that area. While calling on the Union Urban Development Minister Mr S Jaipal Reddy, Naveen Patnaik sought more assistance in developing the urban infrastructure. The CM requested Mr Reddy to increase the allocation of funds to the state under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for the Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

KITT Chancellor Achyut Samant among top 15 Social Entrepreneurs

Achyut Samant, the Chancellor of KIIT University, has been placed among the top 15 social entrepreneurs of the world. The announcement was made by the executive director of the Social Edge-Skoll Foundation, USA.

On the basis of his ranking, Samant has been selected for a fellowship of USD 20,000 for a week program from August 19 to 31 in Santa Clara University. He would deliver lectures on various aspects of social entrepreneurship. Mr Samant is also the founder secretary of KIIT and KIIS.

Top 10 Engineering Colleges in Orissa

This article was written more than six months ago. The article had listed 10 Engineering Colleges in the state, but their listing is no longer relevant on today's date. To set the record straight, Orissa News Online has come up with another updated listing. Please visit the following link to read "The Top 20 Engineering Colleges in Orissa".

http://www.orissatimes.net/2008/06/top-20-engineering-colleges-in-orissa_29.html

We appreciate the feedback from our readers, students of the state and some eminent professors who helped us to undo our previous mistake and come up with the new article, which we believe is correct in the current scenario.

Canada exploring Investment Opportunities in Orissa

After Arcelor-Mittal and POSCO, it's now Canada's turn to explore invest opportunities in Orissa. Recently, Canada's High Commissioner to India, David Malone held talks with Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik in this regard. The duo met in Bhubaneswar. According to Malone, a number of Canadian companies are interested to invest in Orissa's mining sector.

Currently, at least 100 Canadian companies are doing business in India. But only five or six companies are active in Orissa. Malone urged the Chief Minister to extend cooperation so that more Canadian companies could invest money in the state.

POSCO Survey team forced to return

The much-touted land survey at the proposed POSCO site could not begin, as the villagers turned the surveyors away. At least 30 officials had gone to the area to begin the survey. But the villagers resisted, saying they want the core issues, including the amount of compensation, jobs for the displaced and alternative sources of livelihood to be resolved first.

The survey is putt off on hold. Villagers in Nuagaon and Noliasahi vociferously protested any survey and asked the survey team to convey their message to the concerned authorities.

Socio-Economic Survey begins at POSCO site

The Orissa government has begun the socio-economic survey at POSCO's proposed plant site in Jagatsinghpur district. However, it decided to skip Dhinkia village, which is considered as the hub of anti-POSCO movement. At least 12 teams have been formed to undertake the survey. Each team is comprised of five members. The surveyors will cover the households, livelihood of each family and other aspects under the socio-economic survey.

Ortel Server problem affects thousands of Internet users in Orissa

Orissa's leading ISP, Ortel Communications has come up with a unique new year gift for its customers. Just at the stroke of midnight on 31 December 2007, a large number of customers across the state found their Internet connectivity either limited or disconnected. At that time, the Ortel authorities termed it as a temporary problem and had expressed confidence that everything would be in place within 24 hours.

Things went from bad to worse, as from January 02, 2008, thousands of Ortel customers in Orissa are getting no Internet connectivity. When contacted, Ortel has expressed their inability to provide full Internet service, owing to a major breakdown in server connectivity. The problem still persists.

According to Ortel sources, the problem might take 2/3 more days to get rectified. That means, Ortel customers in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Paradip and other parts of the state, will have to wait until Sunday or Monday to get full Internet connectivity. What an irony! Such a big organization failed to foresee a problem that has badly affected individuals, small businesses and corporate sectors.

Although technical problems do occur suddenly, Ortel is accountable to netizens of Orissa, who always trusted its services and remained with the company through thick and thin. Unfortunately, Ortel big bosses have not yet made any formal announcements on TV or Newspapers with a regret for the inconvenience caused to people. It clearly showed their hegemonistic attitude.

In the absence of any regular broadband provider and due to the hassles of getting a connection from the state-owned BSNL, people have no option but to choose Ortel broadband despite the frequent Internet problems and worst customer service. Ortel authorities are taking advantage of this situation. It's surprising that nobody has dared to take them to consumer court yet. People are paying for a service they hardly get. This is not a one-off issue. Ortel and Internet problem have become synonymous with each other.

It's time the state government wake up and regulate the services offered by ISPs so that consumers do not face the music. The government must allow other ISPs such as Air Tel Broadband to create a base in the state.

Our state government talks about making the state a superpower on the IT map of the country. Will it be possible when organizations like Ortel kill the aspirations of the tech-savvy people? No IT revolution will be complete without the growth of Internet services. And, growth of Internet in Orissa is not possible if Ortel continues to be a dominating player. The government must either help Ortel to improve its services or allow others ISPs to operate in the state. Either one will come as a boon for the net savvy people of the state.