Tuesday, July 30, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: North Chennai residential market has potential for...

writingonblog uncensored: North Chennai residential market has potential for...:   C Shivakumar Chennai: North Chennai residential market has the potential for growth with improvement in connectivity and better in...

North Chennai residential market has potential for growth

 
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
North Chennai residential market has the potential for growth with improvement in connectivity and better infrastructure facilities, according to real estate experts.
A report by property portal indiaproperty.com feels that with improvement in connectivity and better infrastructure facilities in the future, one can expect an increase in demand for residential properties in North Chennai.
“The area would see steady growth in the future with stand alone houses giving way to low-rise apartment complexes,” the study predicted.
M Raghunathan, state secretary Builders Association of India, Tamil Nadu feels that North Chennai is an upcoming market. “With the prices going up in south Chennai due to demand from IT sector, it is now not affordable for an ordinary man to buy a property there. This could result in people focusing on North Chennai to live closer to the city,” he says.
Currently, the residential market in North Chennai constitutes of a small percentage of 15 per cent of the total under construction stock in Chennai.
Raghunathan says that lot of development projects are coming up in Madhavaram, Parambur, Ayanavaram and Kodingayur as the city’s connectivity is set to improve.
Interestingly, indiaproperty.com report states that the area sees maximum demand from traditional set of buyers who have lived in the area.
“The demand here comes from the public sector employees, railway workers and port employee who have worked and lived in the area throughout their lives. Having high percentage of middle class population under Rs 50 Lakh, it is the most proffered budget for residential properties,” he says.
Lack of job opportunities, poor access due to presence of railway track, water logging, inadequate fresh water supply, improper sewage lines are few of the reasons for restricted growth in the past.
“With improvement in connectivity and better infrastructure facilities in the future one can expect an increase in demand for residential properties in North Chennai. The area would see steady growth in the future with stand alone houses giving way to low-rise apartment complexes,” predicts the report.
Citing Perambur, the report said that being a low-lying area with poor access, the developers were not interested in Perambur earlier. But things have taken a different turn recently. Capital values in the area have appreciated by over 20 to 30 per cent in the past two years. “One of the common trends in the area is individual houses are getting converted into apartments having 20 – 25 units. Also some of the old mills have given way to huge vacant land parcels, giving way to big residential developments in the area, the report states.
 
Residential Property Rates in Major Residential Markets of North Chennai
MICRO MARKET        CAPITAL VALUE (INR psft)
Kolathur                        4000 – 5200
Tondiarpet                    4000 – 5500
Korattur                         5000 – 6500
Madhavaram                 3800 – 4500
Perambur                      5200 – 6500
Puzhal                          2500 – 4000

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro Water plans to automate filling stat...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro Water plans to automate filling stat...:   C Shivakumar Chennai: In a bid to cut down wastages and ensure supply of quality water to 67.27 lakh people in and around Chennai ...

Chennai Metro Water plans to automate filling stations to cut down on water wastage

 
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
In a bid to cut down wastages and ensure supply of quality water to 67.27 lakh people in and around Chennai City, Chennai Metro Water is planning for total automation of the water filling points located in 30 water distribution stations around the city.
 
Metro Water sources told Express that the board would provide total automation of filling points through computerized filling system where in it is ensured that all areas receive adequate quantity of water.
 
This will also this eliminate manual operation of valves and manual entry of all particulars and logs in the filling points, the sources said.
 
Interestingly, Kilapauk filling station is the first to get such facility. Talking about the features of the automated filling station, a Metro Water source said that the filling stations would be provided with pneumatically operated valves that are linked to a central cabin in the filling point.
 
The total control including switching it on and Off is vested with the filling point official and manual operation will be permitted only during emergency situation.
 
The filling station will have electromagnetic flow meters to ascertain the quantity of water filled in lorries through the filling points. The batch controller in the control cabin (filling point office) would regulate the pre-programmed quantity of water to be filled in the lorries.
 
Wireless controllers are provided to transfer the data for report generation, which can be assessed from any location through Web. Not only that gate pass and consumer authorization copies are also generated through computers as such eliminating manual entries besides minimizing the wastage of water. “This would ensure easy and effective monitoring of the timely delivery of water to public,” the source added.
 
The measure is also taken up as the tanker fleet of Metro Water grew to 3,894 to ensure supply of water. The filling points play a key role in water supply to far-flung areas. The whole operation is currently being done manually which put a huge strain on the manpower as well as delays supply of water.
 
Box:
--- Kilpauk is the oldest filling station in Chennai and has been functioning since 1914
--- It has seven filling units
--- It is being accessed by 42 lorries that make around 250 trips across city
--- The technology will ensure that a 9,000 litres tanker is filled within four minutes
 
Caption:
1.    Units of litres of waters being supplied from filling station to the tanker is being displayed
  1. Electromagnetic flow meters to ascertain the quantity of water filled in lorries through the filling points
  2. Kilpauk filling station is now fully automated

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of insti...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of insti...: Chennai: Income tax officials conducted raids on the premises of Meenakshi group of institutions located in 17 places including Chennai,...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of insti...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of insti...: Chennai: Income tax officials conducted raids on the premises of Meenakshi group of institutions located in 17 places including Chennai,...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of insti...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of insti...: Chennai: Income tax officials conducted raids on the premises of Meenakshi group of institutions located in 17 places including Chennai,...

Income Tax officials raid Meenakshi Group of institutions

Chennai:
Income tax officials conducted raids on the premises of Meenakshi group of institutions located in 17 places including Chennai, Kanchipuram and Puducherry.
 
The searches, which were conducted by 17 teams to verify the doubts over tax evasion by the group, began around 8 am on Tuesday and Income Tax sources said that it is likely to continue till Wednesday morning.
 
The raids were also carried out in the newly launched newspaper office besides various institutions across the city including their office in K K Nagar. Income Tax sources said that 14 places in Chennai were searched by officials.
 
The searches are being carried out in the wake of similar operations being conducted against Namakkal schools and SRM Group of companies last month besides Lion Dates Impex Pvt Ltd, Saravana Bhavan chain of hotels and Adyar Ananda Bhavan this month.

writingonblog uncensored: IIT Madras expert to submit report on cracks in he...

writingonblog uncensored: IIT Madras expert to submit report on cracks in he...: Chennai: Chennai Metro Rail has sought the opinion of Indian Institute of Technology expert after a 153-year-old CSI Tamil Wesley Church...

IIT Madras expert to submit report on cracks in heritage buildings

Chennai:
Chennai Metro Rail has sought the opinion of Indian Institute of Technology expert after a 153-year-old CSI Tamil Wesley Church in Broadway suffered cracks as a tunnel-boring machine of Chennai Metro Rail drilled between Mannadi and Madras High Court.

A senior metro rail official said that Chennai Metro Rail is going in for an impartial assessment of the cracks caused during the tunneling operations that happened around 2 am on Saturday when the TBM drilled about 50 metres in the stretch.A professor from structural engineering department Arun Menon will be submitting a report after assessing the damages.

Meanwhile, another Broadway church developed cracks. Officials said that more than 100-year-old Arcot Lutheran Church on Prakasam Salai in Broadway developed cracks as tunnel boring machine was drilling through the Mannadi-Madras High Court stretch.
 

This comes in the wake of Chennai Metro Rail officials assuring the CSI Wesley Tamil Aalayam church authorities that the repair works on the CSI Wesley Tamil Alayam may be completed in a week’s time.
Metro Rail officials said that the tunnel boring works would continue and ruled out any threats to the buildings. 

Meanwhile, Tamil Aalayam church officials confirmed that the IIT official inspected the site. “He was here for only 10 minutes along with senior metro rail officials,” a church official said. Interestingly, media was not allowed inside and the inspection was held behind the close doors.

Selena Sunita Mohanraj, a member of the church said that officials have yet to conduct the laser test. “We want the church to be restored besides it should be also strong enough to withstand time and tide as it had since the last 153 years,” she added.

Monday, July 29, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: 18 per cent of TN Income Tax target realised

writingonblog uncensored: 18 per cent of TN Income Tax target realised: Chennai: The target for tax collections from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry this financial year is Rs 45,877 crore and during the last four m...

18 per cent of TN Income Tax target realised


Chennai:
The target for tax collections from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry this financial year is Rs 45,877 crore and during the last four months the income tax department has collected an amount of Rs 8,136 crore which is 18 per cent of the target.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Income tax commissioners N Sankaran and P V Sekharan said that Income tax department was able to achieve 92 per cent of the set target last year.
“The target last financial year for Tamil Nadu was 40,528 crore and the income tax department was able to collect Rs 37,271 crore,” said Sankaran. Interestingly, during 2011-12, despite the economic slowdown, income tax department exceeded the target of Rs 33,041 crore and tax collections worth 34,586 crore were realised.
Even the net growth rate last financial year is only 7.76 per cent, which is nearly 10 per cent less than that of 18 per cent registered in 2011-12. Sankaran said that the number of tax payers till March 31, 2013 in the state were 23.93 lakh.
Sankaran also said that it is mandatory for salaried persons having total income upto Rs 5 lakh to file their returns this year. They can file it either physically or electronically. Last year it was against total income of Rs 10 lakh. The e-filing website address is incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
Earlier, 34 special counters for salaried assesses and two help desks and 30 counters for PAN verification was inaugurated by the chief commissioner of income tax Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry P R Shetty. These counters will be opened till July 31, the last date to file income tax returns. “Last year, about 1.1 lakh people filed their returns during the last three days of July and we expect more or less the same,” said Sankaran. He said the assesses can make use of paid service (Rs 250) of tax return preparers whose services are available at the old auditorium at Aayakar Bhavan for filing of income tax returns manually as well as for filing electronic returns. Tamil Nadu is ranked fourth among the states as per tax collections are concerned, Sankaran said.
Number of assessees on Record as on March 31
Company: 21,753
Individual: 20,85,972
Hindu Undivided Families: 87,842
Firms: 1,66,831
Trusts: 13,810
Others: 16,918
Total: 23,93,126

Sunday, July 28, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Could dedicated bus flyover be a solution to ease ...

writingonblog uncensored: Could dedicated bus flyover be a solution to ease ...: Chennai: As the residents near Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus are struggling with traffic snarls, experts are suggesting various ways inc...

Could dedicated bus flyover be a solution to ease congestion in Koyambedu?


Chennai:
As the residents near Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus are struggling with traffic snarls, experts are suggesting various ways including a flyover dedicated to buses in the region.
Delivering the R Thillainayagam Memorial Endowment lecture on "Bus dedicated flyover at CMBT’ organized by The Institution of Highway Transport (India) Chennai, Prof and former principal of P M R Institute of Technology D R Kiran suggested the need for a dedicated flyover for buses.
He said the flyover with entry from Koyambedu junction and exit towards Vadapalani junction could result in congestion free entry and exit for buses to moffusil bus terminus. He said this could also solve the entry and exit to CMBT.
“It is a regular exasperating experience to move near CMBT along Kaliamman Koil Street, the only link from Koyambedu to Arcot Road. The long row of outstation buses coming out of CMBT and trying to turn right cause a major bottleneck. A traffic jam rsulting for more than 30 minutes in this area is not uncommon, he said.
Sometimes police divert the buses during peak hours to proceed till the southern end of Koyambedu market and return. The extra distance in addition to the diversion along Koyambedu flyover adds an extra 2 kilometre for south bound buses which form 80 pc of total CMBT traffic.
“Besides causing delayed departures for long distance bus, millions of litres of fuel are burnt away every year due to this extra distance and traffic hold ups,” he said.
He suggested that if all buses are allowed to join the Inner Ring Road at the CMBT by providing flyovers dedicated to CMBT buses both outstation and metropolitan, the journey travel time, the traffic hold up time as well as the heavy consumption of fuel can be reduced.
Interestingly, his proposal for dedicated bus flyover comes in the wake of the Chennai Corporation planning a one kilometer flyover on Jawaharlal Nehru High Road (also known as 100 ft Road and Inner Ring Road). However, experts opined the proposal of Prof Kiran is worthwhile considering as it reduce the current detour of 2 km taken by the MBT buses to a mere 800 metres. With BRTS plan also taking shape, this plan could could cut costs as well ease congestion.

writingonblog uncensored: Shipping Ministry to set up maritime training acad...

writingonblog uncensored: Shipping Ministry to set up maritime training acad...: Chennai: The Union Shipping Minister on Saturday announced that Shipping Corporation of India would set up a maritime training academy a...

Shipping Ministry to set up maritime training academy in Thoothkudi

Chennai:
The Union Shipping Minister on Saturday announced that Shipping Corporation of India would set up a maritime training academy at Thoothkudi in collaboration with V O C Chidambaranar Port Trust.
 
Addressing a conference on investment opportunities in Thoothkudi organized by All India Chamber of commerce and Industry, Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan said that the Shipping Corporation of India with its experience of running the premier Maritime Training Institute at Powai in Mumbai would provide its expertise in selection of faculty, academic staff, instructors and setting up infrastructure for the academy.
 
This institute would cater to the requirements of students from southern districts of the state and provide quality maritime personnel to the country.
 
He said currently a blueprint is being prepared by the director general of shipping, Shipping Corporation of India and Indian Maritime University on the proposal. On the Outer Harbour Project in VOC Port, he said that the draft detailed project report is being prepared. The estimated project cost for the first phase is Rs 5241 crore for the creation of 43 million metric tonnes per annum. “It would be taken up in 2015 and completed in 2021,” the minister said.
 
He said with the support being provided by the Shipping Ministry and patronage extended by trade, VOC Port could emerge as a leading port in southern India catering to its vast hinterland and compete with ports like Colombo and Singapore.

Thoothkudi beckons Chennai investors

 
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
As Tamil Nadu government is targeting southern parts of the state for industrial development, the coastal city of Thoothkudi on Saturday launched a two-day roadshow to woo the investors in Chennai.
 
Talking to Express, former president of The All India Chamber of Commerce and Industries T Vel Shankar said that the concept of the roadshow is to make Thoothkudi the investment hub.
 
“We want to showcase Thoothkudi as the investment destination. He said with the growth in bigger cities like Chennai and Bangalore saturating, now the focus is on Tier-II cities like Thoothkudi which has a deep sea harbour and has been a power hub of the state. “Sixty per cent of state’s power is being generated from Tuticorin,” he said.
 
Interestingly, even the state government is aggressively planning for the Madurai-Thoothkudi-Tirunelveli industrial corridor which is expected to attract 1.90 lakh crore investment. Even the state finance secretary K Shanmugham at a financial conclave here has said that the Industries department is studying the detailed project report on Madurai-Tuticorin- Tirunelveli corridor submitted by the Mahindra Group.
 
Interestingly, the city is connected by airport, land as well as sea besides it also has Tamraiparani river fulfilling the drinking water needs of the residents.
President of All India Chamber of Commerce and Industries PSSK Raja Sankaralingam said that Tuticorin has a huge potential to emerge as industrial hub. “The area has vacant lands and is more suited for industries,” he said. Shankar said that the chambers in business chambers in Tuticorin along with the state government is planning to make Tuticorin a mini Singapore. “The city has all available infrastructure to be developed as the investment hub of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
 
The roadshow was inaugurated by founder CEO of Coastal Energy Private Ltd Ahmed Buhari, who is also the chairman of Tuticorin Development Board, which comprises of leaders of various business chambers and traders associations.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Rains trickle in hopes of good monsoon in Chennai

writingonblog uncensored: Rains trickle in hopes of good monsoon in Chennai: Chennai: Water has been trickling into reservoirs following rains this week. As a result, Metro water officials are pinning their hopes...

Rains trickle in hopes of good monsoon in Chennai

Chennai:
Water has been trickling into reservoirs following rains this week. As a result, Metro water officials are pinning their hopes on a good monsoon to ensure total piped supply of water for the city.
“The rains in the last couple of days have reversed the trend of declining levels of water in reservoir. Although the flow of water into the reservoir is not that substantial, it is a welcome trend,” a Metro Water official said.
The rains have added nearly 400 to 500 cusecs of water and with the overcast sky, Metro Water officials are positive that things will improve. Chembarambakkam has received nearly 219 cusecs of water while other reservoirs got some additional water due to the rains, Metro Water sources said.
With the storage levels around 1,138 million cubic feet of water, Chennai Metro Water is not taking things easy. It still has its contingency plans on to ensure that the city’s residents don’t go thirsty. “We are currently plying 3,894 lorries to ensure that residents don’t go thirsty,” the source said.
Metro water officials said that currently they’re also hoping for a substantial supply, as the Krishna water trickles in. The supply of Krishna water had been plagued by problems since the beginning of the month due to leakages in Kandaleru-Poondi canal at Ubbalamadugu in Andhra Pradesh.
With Andhra Pradesh government’s Irrigation and Command Area Development Department officials relaying the concrete, there is hope that Water Resources Department officials won’t face any further headache. Currently, Poondi reservoir is getting around 170 cusecs of water.
“Although the quantum of release from Kandaleru Reservoir may be high, the water is also used by other people, and there is also evaporation to contend with, so the supply will be reduced slightly,” Metro Water sources said.
Currently, the city has about 1.1 tmc feet of water of which 0.8tmc feet is dead storage. As such the city only has 0.3 tmc feet of water to cater to Chennai’s thirst before the arrival of the North-East monsoon.

writingonblog uncensored: Indian Ports dependence on foreign dredging Cos to...

writingonblog uncensored: Indian Ports dependence on foreign dredging Cos to...: Chennai India’s dependence on foreign dredging giants is likely to decrease soon with the Union Shipping Ministry setting up an ambitiou...

writingonblog uncensored: TN sugarcane production to dwindle by 20 to 25pc

writingonblog uncensored: TN sugarcane production to dwindle by 20 to 25pc: Chennai: Sugarcane production in Tamil Nadu is likely to decline by 20 to 25 per cent next year and sugar mill owners are preparing str...

Indian Ports dependence on foreign dredging Cos to decline: Vasan


Chennai
India’s dependence on foreign dredging giants is likely to decrease soon with the Union Shipping Ministry setting up an ambitious target of procuring state-of-the-art dredgers to meet the dredging needs of Indian ports.
Dedicating the second Trailer Suction Hopper Dredger to the nation here on Friday, Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan said with the new additions Dredging Corporation of India will continue to play a major role in meeting the dredging requirements in future and will be able to take over 80 per cent of the annual maintenance dredging works of Indian ports.
Interestingly, the procurement of dredgers comes in the wake of Shipping Ministry trying to ensure that draft at Indian ports commensurate with global standards. “Most of the Indian ports have drafts of 13 to 14 metres and plans are to make it up to 18 metres,” said Vasan. Drafts is nothing but depth of water at different tide levels so ships entering the port do not hit bottom.
The government’s Maritime Agenda 2010-2020 envisages enhancing the draft in all major ports because globally size of ship has increased which requires deep drafts.
The first dredger of the three new Trailer Suction Hopper Dredgers from Holland was dedicated to the nation on December 22. Interestingly, it was after 12 years DCI had purchased a dredger to aid its aging fleet. The third dredger is likely to be delivered by Holland on February 2014, Vasan said.
He also said that the Dredging Corporation of India has further CAPEX plans for about Rs 1,972 crore in the 12th plan including placing orders for two more 9,000 cubic metre capacity dredgers. 
Chairman and managing director of Dredging Corporation of India captain D K Mohanty said the now with the addition of the new fleet, DCI can phase out the old dredgers, which are above 35 years old. “We have already phased out one dredger and are on the verge of phasing out other,” he said.
The Memorandum of understanding for the first two dredgers was signed on February 2010 with IHC Merwede, Netherlands and the third one was signed on 2011. The total cost of the three dredgers is worth 1,570 crore.

TN sugarcane production to dwindle by 20 to 25pc

Chennai:
Sugarcane production in Tamil Nadu is likely to decline by 20 to 25 per cent next year and sugar mill owners are preparing strategies to tide over the lean period.

On one hand the prices of sugarcane is rising while on the other hand, the prices of sugar is fixed. This is bleeding the sugar mills, the sugar mill owners said during the 43rd Annual Convention of The South India Sugarcane and Sugar Technologists’ Association

Delivering the inaugural address at the event, A Vellayan, executive chairman of Murugappa group, said that the mills are still banking on only one variety of sugarcane and recommended varieties of sugarcane farming.

He said that per hectare cultivation in India is quite low when compared to other sugarcane producing nations like Brazil and Australia. He said that the need is to improve soil health while citing the example of China, which uses nearly 50 per cent organic fertilizers.

He also highlighted various challenges the farmers are facing including decreasing water table and shortage of labour. He suggested drip irrigation besides mechanized farming to cut short the dependence on farm labourers.

Vellayan also said the need of the hour for sugarmill owners is to diversify from traditional production and generate more revenue streams. He said the aspiration of India changed, lifestyle changed but sugar mills are not coming up with any new products.

Vice chairman and managing director of Sakthi Sugars M Manickam said that the cane prices can’t be controlled as the cost of cultivation is going up. He also said that suagr mills are directly linked to farmers and the government has to protect the farmers by giving them commensurate prices for their produce.

Ram V Tyagarajan, chairman and managing director of Arooran Sugars, said that the sugar industry is struggling globally. He said the next year is going to be a major challenge for sugar industry in Tamil Nadu as the sugarcane production is likely to fall by 20 to 25 per cent.  He predicted that the growth would be normal only in the year 2014-15.

Interestingly, his comments come in the wake of data compiled by the Union agriculture ministry showed that the sowing area under sugarcane fell to 4.07 million hectare as on May compared to 4.57 million hectare area in the corresponding period last year. Lesser sowing is likely to affect India’s cane productivity followed by the proportionate decline in the country’s sugar output.


Box:
Rajshree Sugars owner felicitated
Chennai:
Chairman and managing director of Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Rajshree Pathy was honoured by South Indian Sugarcane and Sugar Technologists’ Association for getting the Padma Shree Award.

Speaking on the occasion, she said the award recognizes entreprenuership in small cities like Coimbatore and hoped it this will also stand as an inspiration for women in all walks of life.

Friday, July 26, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: TN actively considering plan to set up a financial...

writingonblog uncensored: TN actively considering plan to set up a financial...: Chennai: The plan to set up a financial city near Chennai got a boost with the state finance secretary K Shanmugam stating that Tami...

TN actively considering plan to set up a financial city: TN Finance secy



Chennai:
The plan to set up a financial city near Chennai got a boost with the state finance secretary K Shanmugam stating that Tamil Nadu government is actively considering the proposal.
Speaking on the sidelines of Federation Sector Conclave organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Hindustan Chamber of Commerce, he told Express that the proposal is being actively considered.
This also comes in the wake of business chambers urging the state government to set up a financial city as it would turn the city into a hub of financial world besides accelerate the realization of Vision 2023.
R Subramanian, president of Hindustan Chamber of Commerce said that Chennai is the hub of activity and best for financial development. He said that government should come forward to create a financial city as it could then serve as a link for global financial markets between Singapore and Hong Kong. He also developed the need to create a township for the financial city that could serve as a offshore facility for the financial city.

writingonblog uncensored: Weak currency, stagnant growth hits southern state...

writingonblog uncensored: Weak currency, stagnant growth hits southern state...: Chennai: A weak currency and stagnant growth has hit south Indian states, which spearheaded the industrial growth and socio-economic dev...

Weak currency, stagnant growth hits southern states: TN finance minister

Chennai:
A weak currency and stagnant growth has hit south Indian states, which spearheaded the industrial growth and socio-economic development, according to Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Paneerselvam.

Delivering the inaugural address during a Financial Sector Conclave organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Hindustan Chamber of Commerce here on Thursday, Paneerselvam assured industrialists and bankers that Tamil Nadu government is taking all steps to stimulate economic growth in Tamil Nadu against all odds.

Stating that Tamil Nadu Vision 2023 document envisages an investment of Rs 15 lakh crore in Tamil Nadu infrastructure, he said only higher investments in infrastructure and spending by government can counter the economic slowdown and boost private sector investments.

Urging the private sector to participate in state’s growth story, he said, “In this difficult economic situation, I look forward to sustained funding from banks to industries and infrastructure projects.”

He said that the state has been facing difficult power supply situation due to inadequate investments made by previous government. “Now the chief minister has taken steps to improve this situation by signing long-term power purchase agreements for 1200 MW and new generation capacity to the extent of 4,191 mega watt will be added before March 2014,” he added.

He also urged the industries and trade associations to take part in State Skill Development Mission to help build a skilled workforce.

R Rafeeque Ahmed, chairman of FICCI, Tamil Nadu State Council, R Subramanian, president of Hindustan Chamber of Commerce and P Murari, adviser to FICCI president and former secretary to Indian President also spoke on the occasion.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Internet could boost SMEs revenue and profits, say...

writingonblog uncensored: Internet could boost SMEs revenue and profits, say...: Chennai: Internet could be a game changer for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as it could help boost SME’s revenue and profits by mo...

Internet could boost SMEs revenue and profits, says FICCI-Google study

Chennai:
Internet could be a game changer for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India as it could help boost SME’s revenue and profits, according to a survey.
The study done by FICCI in partnership with Google revealed that on an average, an SME adopting the Internet is able to grow its customer base by 7 percent and generate employment growth by 4 per cent.
The report, compiled and presented by Nathan Associates, showed that SMEs, who use the web, fare much better than those that do not. On an average, web-enabled SMEs boasted revenues 51pc higher, 49pc more profit, and customer bases 7pc broader than their offline-only counterparts.
The study said that Internet can be a great equalizer for SMEs, providing them with access to new markets, more customers and visibility so as to unleash their potential.
The survey of 951 small and medium enterprises in various industrial and geographical clusters across India shows that SMEs that use the Internet, 69 per cent experienced an increase in customers, and 63 per cent an increase in geographic reach and 44 per cent saw an increase in firm employment.
Controlling for factors such as an SME’s investment in plant and machinery, the age, sex and education of personnel, and ownership type, the study found that using the Internet for business operations increased the SME’s revenue by 51 percent and profits by 49 percent.

The perceived benefits of using the Internet are significant: 64 percent of respondents reported an increase in sales due to Internet use, 65 percent an increase in profits, 69 percent an increase in customers, 63 percent in geographic reach and, 44 percent in employment.

writingonblog uncensored: Educomp Solutions partners with HCL Infosystems fo...

writingonblog uncensored: Educomp Solutions partners with HCL Infosystems fo...: New Delhi: HCL Infosystems Ltd, India’s Premier Services and ICT Systems Integration, Distribution and Hardware Company and Educomp Soluti...

Educomp Solutions partners with HCL Infosystems for its Life Cycle Services

New Delhi: HCL Infosystems Ltd, India’s Premier Services and ICT Systems Integration, Distribution and Hardware Company and Educomp Solutions Ltd., India’s largest education company have announced their business collaboration partnership.
As per the agreement, HCL Infosystems will provide life cycle services for existing and new Educomp classrooms across India. This will include providing break-fix support and field repair services along with managing new installations of Educomp Classrooms. The service and support to Educomp classrooms would be provided by HCL Infosystems through a nation-wide network of field engineers, regional repair centres and a centralized repair factory.
Another aspect to the engagement between HCLI and Educomp is HCL Learning, the education and learning division of HCL Infosystems Ltd., sourcing Educomp’s state-of-the-art smartclass Digital Teaching Systems (DTS) boards for its own IT Solutions for educational institutions.

Educomp Smartclass reaches close to 15,000 schools and seven million students. HCL Infosystems had earlier announced the creation of HCL Learning as a separate subsidiary which is presently under process of being formed. HCL Learning will continue to focus on growing its business of providing high quality IT solutions and content to the Indian Education segment.  HCL Learning currently has over 12000 classrooms, over 60 career development centres and offers High Quality Content as well as innovative products such as DigiSchool and Xcelerate.

Success in institutionalising leadership development key to PSU banks growth says study


Mumbai: 
Success in institutionalising leadership development is likely to emerge as a possible game changer for the Public Sector Banks in India, says a FICCI-KPMG Report launched at the Banking Conclave 2013 in Kolkata today.
 The business landscape of Public Sector Banks has made a rapid shift in the last few years. Changes in the regulatory framework, rising customer expectations, shift in the employee demography and changes in technology have emerged as key drivers of change for the Public Sector Banks.
The Public Sector Banks are gearing up to meet demands from expansion, optimize resources, increase their presence across the value chain, renew focus on R&D and innovation, create a  better performance culture and service customer demands effectively. The FICCI-KPMG research  assessed 1375 leaders from across PSUs (top three levels of management below MD) to identify their existing proficiency across the leadership competencies. The average proficiency across competencies demonstrated by the leaders assessed was found to be 2.91 on scale of 5. The six leadership competencies - stakeholder leadership (3.11), customer leadership (2.74), operational leadership (2.97), talent leadership (2.95), change leadership (2.78), strategic leadership (2.88) are based on KPMG’s ongoing research in the PSU sector over the years. 

The scale is operationalised across three dimensions – depth of expertise, breadth of impact and complexity of situations.

According to Nishchae Suri, partner and head ofPeople and Change Practice, KPMG in India, “Organization capabilities serve as the DNA for stakeholder value creation. Leadership competencies are a key ingredient of organisational capability and are essential in driving success through processes, technology, structure and the workforce."
Attracting, hiring, developing and retaining the best available talent and nurturing them to become the future leaders is a critical factor, which will pave the way for the Indian banking industry to achieve a world class level. Existing ways of leadership development in our PSUs need to be aligned and strengthened. A dynamic business environment and competition from the private sector demands that PSU banks adopt cutting edge learning interventions. Such game changing initiatives will structurally support PSU banks develop a leadership pipeline competent to meet their short term and long term needs.

writingonblog uncensored: Commerce Ministry to study the relevance of SEZ in...

writingonblog uncensored: Commerce Ministry to study the relevance of SEZ in...: Chennai: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) will be reviewing the special economic zones (SEZ) in ...

Commerce Ministry to study the relevance of SEZ in Tamil Nadu


Chennai:
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) will be reviewing the special economic zones (SEZ) in the state as part of the nation-wide study to understand the impact of the SEZ policy as well as find if SEZs have met the economic objectives for which the programme was rolled out.

Addressing a meeting of Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) here on Wednesday, Director of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry Sanjeet Singh said that the ministry has entrusted the responsibility of conducting the nationwide study to ICRIER to make suitable policy recommendations on SEZ.

The study will cover Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and West Bengal,

“The purpose of the study is to understand the impact of existing special economic zone policy besides it will try to address the common perception among people about SEZs,” he said.

Currently, the government has approved 577 Special Economic Zones of which 389 are being notified and 170 are operational. Surprisingly, 219 are yet to become operational.

ICRIER external consultant Subhobroto Ray during a presentation highlighted that Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat have highest number of SEZs. “We will be conducting a primary survey besides drafting questionnaires targeting six to seven states as well as six to seven sectors,” she said.

We will be focusing on land reforms. Including acquistion, infrastructure, job creation, labour relations and governance. “The study will also look into the state’s overall industrial strategy besides its perspective on SEZ.

Interestingly, this also comes in the wake of government coming out with new guidelines on relaxation of land availability in setting up a SEZ. “In view of the acute difficulties in aggregating large tracts of uncultivable land, the government has decided to reduce the Minimum Land Area Requirement by half. For Multi-product SEZ from 1000 hectares to 500 hectares and for Sector-specific SEZ from existing 100 hectares to 50 hectares,” said Singh.

He also said that IT exports constitute a very significant part of India’s exports and IT SEZs have a major contribution in it. In a bid to give a fillip to employment and growth in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the government has done away with present requirement of 10 hectares of minimum land area for setting up an IT or ITES Special Economic Zone. Now Only the minimum built up area criteria would be required to be met by the SEZ developer, he said.

Exports from IT SEZs during financial year 2012-13 have exceeded Rs. 1.40 lakh crore registering a growth of over 70 per cent over the previous year exports.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: The wonder that was Radio!

writingonblog uncensored: The wonder that was Radio!: Chennai: It was a celebration of eighty-six years since electricity crackled through the capacitors and amplifiers of Indian Broadcas...

The wonder that was Radio!


Chennai:
It was a celebration of eighty-six years since electricity crackled through the capacitors and amplifiers of Indian Broadcasting Company’s Bombay transmitter station on July 23, 1927 bringing to life the first radio station in Bombay.

Tributes poured in highlighting the glorious era of Radio when it was the sole medium of entertainment before the advent of television at a function here.

Addressing a gathering here on the occasion to mark the anniversary, former Supreme Court Judge S Mohan walked down the memory lane highlighting how it was the only mode of entertainment for all the classes and also an effective communication tool.

He said that radio has provided a platform for many aspiring youngsters wanting to earn name and fame. He also highlighted how the death of Mahatma Gandhi was broken through the radio. Mohan said that radio would surpass all the competition.

During the occasion a platinum jubilee special postal cover was also released. Interestingly, it was Merwin Alexander, post master general, Chennai region who highlighted how both postal department and All India Radio are slowly losing their relevance. “We both had a glorious past but uncertain future,” he said.

He said that both the departments are trying to catch up with the evolving technologies with innovation in their services. S K Aggarwal, additional director general of All India Radio said that AIR is going in for digitization in a big way.  “We have adopted Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) standard for transmitters. This will help in improving reception, quality and providing multiple programmes on a single frequency. He said that All India Radio Chennai is proud to be one of the first stations to have Digital MW transmitter. The old transmitter has been replaced with new 20 kW DRM transmitter and the replacement of other transmitters are on the anvil, he added.

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax searches conducted in 40 outlets of Sar...

writingonblog uncensored: Income Tax searches conducted in 40 outlets of Sar...: Chennai: Income Tax (I-T) officials conducted simultaneous raids at over 40 premises of the Hotel Saravana Bhavan and Adyar Ananda Bhavan ...

Income Tax searches conducted in 40 outlets of Saravana Bhavan chain of hotels, Adyar Ananda Bhavan

Chennai:
Income Tax (I-T) officials conducted simultaneous raids at over 40 premises of the Hotel Saravana Bhavan and Adyar Ananda Bhavan groups on Tuesday to check tax evasion.

Income Tax department sources told Express the searches were carried out in 40 premises across the country. “We have doubts that there may be tax evasion by these two groups. We have 40 teams conducting searches in Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country to verify it,” a source said.

The raids come in the wake of recent inspections on the premises of some schools in Namakkal and the SRM Group of companies last month and the Lion Dates Impex Pvt Ltd last week.

Sources in the know said the searches began at around 8 am. A total of 20 teams of I-T sleuths conducted raids in Chennai, while another 10 teams operated in other parts of the State.

As many as 10 outlets each of Saravana Bhavan and Adyar Ananda Bhavan were raided in Chennai. The sleuths carried out search operations in Tirunelveli, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchy and other places in the State.

A 33-member team raided Saravana Bhavan owner P Rajagopal’s property in his native place of Punnai Nagar near Nazreth in Thoothukudi district. Rajagopal reportedly owned a lodge, restaurant, farmhouse and a temple called Vana Tirupathi in the coastal town.

Ten teams operated outside the State to verify tax evasion of these two groups in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Vijayawada, an I-T source told Express. However, the I-T officials refused to divulge information regarding seizure of documents and unaccounted cash, if any, during the raids.

“A detailed hand-out will be issued by the department by Wednesday afternoon,” a senior I-T official said.

Hotel Saravana Bhavan, founded in 1981 by P Rajagopal, has emerged the largest vegetarian restaurant chain in the city offering south Indian cuisine. The group has outlets in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and in the Gulf.

Adyar Ananda Bhavan Sweets and Snacks was founded by K S Thirupathi Raja in Chennai more than three decades ago. It had opened branches in Kancheepuram, Erode, Madurai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Tirupur. It has a presence in Karnataka, Delhi and Puducherry.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Campus hiring for IT sector to undergo change

writingonblog uncensored: Campus hiring for IT sector to undergo change: Chennai: NASSCOM on Tuesday said that the campus hiring for IT graduates in the country is set to undergo a change and it will be ...

Campus hiring for IT sector to undergo change





Chennai: NASSCOM on Tuesday said that the campus hiring for IT graduates in the country is set to undergo a change and it will be based more on soft skills and domain based specialisation.

Addressing a press conference here, NASSCOM president Som Mittal and senior vice president Sangeeta Gupta, said, “The campus hiring would not be the same as earlier, due to uncertainty in the IT sector.”

Mittal said that currently the hiring will happen in two phases -- September to October and in May to July. “In the first phase, it will happen in the seventh semester and the other will happen once the student graduates from the institute, he said.

His statement comes in the wake of a drop in campus hiring in the IT sector, which is reeling due to economic downturn. Sangeeta said that the campus hiring by major companies has come down substantially. “In 2011, top IT companies were hiring 60 to 70 per cent from the campuses. This has substantially dropped to 40 per cent,” she said.

Mittal said that the industry will continue to hire but at a slower rate. He said that 2013 is expected to see just in-time hiring, with more focus on domain specialists as well as those possessing soft skills.

“This will also pose a bigger challenge to nearly 13 lakh students who are graduating from colleges this year," he said.

He said that the future demands for skills would include mobile application, cloud virtualisation, platform engineering besides the need for data scientists.
He said that the colleges to attract IT firms have to create students with industry-ready skills, besides strengthen foundation skills and define occupational standards for entry-level jobs.

He also said that the 60 per cent of the present day workforce are Gen Y, who prefer easy going work environment, rapid job promotion and work-life balance, mobility and social media device usage.

Mittal also highlighted the growing the growing gender inclusivity.    Of the 3.1 million workforce of the industry, 30 per cent comprise of women, of which 15 to 20 per cent are at managerial level and above, he said.

IT sector is set to grow 12 to 14 per cent presently, he said, adding that the growth would be reviewed after October this year.

Commenting on the US new immigration bill, he said, "There is a shortage in the US corporations and we are filling in those. If the bill is passed, US corporations would stand to lose more than the Indian companies. And this would also impact the US economy."

He also said that NASSCOM has also set a target of providing one to 1.5 per cent jobs for differently-abled individuals.

Monday, July 22, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Language institutes wooing corporates with tailor-...

writingonblog uncensored: Language institutes wooing corporates with tailor-...: Chennai: As the world is shrinking with the advent of new communication technologies, corporates in India are tapping the expertise of ...

Language institutes wooing corporates with tailor-made courses

Chennai:
As the world is shrinking with the advent of new communication technologies, corporates in India are tapping the expertise of English language institutes to enhance the communication skills of their employees to meet global requirements.
Head Examination Service  (South India) of British Council Keshav Sreedharan says there is a huge demand from corporates for developing the communication skills of their employees. “Indians are capable and intelligent. But when it comes to communication, most of the Indian workforce is in a level below the required communication skills globally,” he says.
Firms like Williams Lea, a UK-based global BPO company focusing on delivering business information and high-end marketing services in both print and digital formats, offer in-house training programmes for their employees.
Its Human Resources Director Aarthi Rajaraman says, “The Williams Lea Academy provides a framework for developing people capabilities. One of the key areas we focus on at all levels, from entry to leadership, is effective communication. For entry-level employees, there is a 90-hour program called English Express, which aims at improving their communication skills in English. For first time managers, there are workshops on team communications and for leaders we have interventions to help them hone their communication skills.”
Interestingly, many of the English-coaching institutes are structuring the courses as per the need of their clients “The courses vary as per the needs of the industry be it the BPO, banks or educational institutes,” says Sreedharan.
British Council’s Corporate Training services provides a comprehensive portfolio of training solutions to help businessmen achieve and sustain a competitive edge. “We have internationally qualified training team with extensive experience of designing and delivering business and skills training across India,” he says.
Firms like Stanchart, HSBC and Ford Motors have been utilising the expertise of British Council in improving their employees’ communication skills. British Council is also conducting tests to assess the abilities and the skills of the employees. Sreedharan says British Council is offering Aptis, a business-to-business English assessment service, to organisations to test the skills of the workforce.
“Aptis is a flexible and adaptable English test for adults, which can be used to assess one’s ability in all four skills — speaking, listening, reading and writing. It can also be customised to test one or more specific skills, which allows organisations to test the skills relevant to their needs. The content of Aptis can be adapted to suit a specific profession and customised for specific cultural contexts,” he adds.
Not just British Council, many other institutes such as Pearson, Cambridge are also vying to have a share in the pie worth millions of dollars.
Industry sources say that the demand for testing and assessment of English language skills is estimated to be more than $2 million in South India.
And what is more, corporate firms are now allotting an average two per cent of their budget on enhancing the skills of the workforce.
British Council has also tied up with governments to enhance the skills of the teachers. Paul sellers, British Council Director, South India, says that the institute has been training corporation school teachers. “We have collaborated with the Chief Minister’s office as well to facilitate scholars to go to United Kingdom to study for a semester in a British institute,” he says.

writingonblog uncensored: Builders likely to pay current guideline value for...

writingonblog uncensored: Builders likely to pay current guideline value for...: Chennai: Builders are likely to pay the current guideline value for converting buildings housing IT offices for non-IT purpose. This c...

Builders likely to pay current guideline value for converting IT buildings for non-IT purposes

Chennai:
Builders are likely to pay the current guideline value for converting buildings housing IT offices for non-IT purpose.
This comes in the wake of the recent authority meeting, where Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) decided to put forth the suggestion by finance department, which wanted builders to pay the current guideline value for calculating premium FSI charges.
In a previous authority meeting, CMDA had passed a resolution where in it had offered the builders the then guideline value to convert the IT buildings for non-IT purposes.
The IT buildings were constructed due to incentives given by State government, which include increased Floor Space Index at 3.75.  It is believed more than five million square feet of commercial space in IT buildings remain unoccupied following a slump in the IT sector.
A CMDA official told Express that after the earlier resolution was passed, the joint secretary of Finance had suggested adoption of current guideline value for calculating the applicable premium FSI charges instead of guideline value prevailing at the time of obtaining planning permission.
“The authority has forwarded the earlier resolution to the government along with the suggestion received from the Finance Department,” said the official.
Builders feel that if the government fixes present guideline value to convert IT buildings, it will have few takers. “The present guideline value is too high. It will be too costly for the builder to convert it for non-IT purposes,” said M Raghunathan, state secretary, Builders Association of India, TN.
He said fixing the present guideline value to convert IT buildings would have few takers as the cost of conversion will increase manifold.
V N Devadoss, chairman of VGN Group, said the present guideline value is too harsh on developers. He said different parameters could  be adopted rather than fixing the current guideline value.

British Council vying to help CBSE assess English skills of students


Chennai:
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is planning to engage an agency to assess the English speaking and listening skills of its students at secondary and senior secondary levels.
Industry sources told Express that the British Council is also vying for this opportunity by positioning its products particularly Aptis to meet the CBSE’s needs.
The assessment of speaking and listening skills of students is to ensure that these skills are correspondingly acquired during the transaction of English language curriculum in classes. Sources said that CBSE has the responsibility of assessing scholastic, co-scholastic and achievement levels of students of more than 13,500 schools affiliated to it. There has been a longstanding view that  CBSE must focus on assessing speaking and listening skills for qualification and summative assessments as much as for formative assessment.
Industry sources said tenders have already been floated in this regard. However, British Council officials refused to divulge details.
Aptis is an innovative assessment tool, designed to help organisations and institutions identify standards of English and select staff or students with the right skills. Aptis is used to benchmark English language levels of employees, potential employees, students or teachers. Developed by testing experts, Aptis is the regarded as being among the smarter methods to evaluate reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in English, a industry source said

writingonblog uncensored: Everstone Group invests INR 200 crore in Hinduja L...

writingonblog uncensored: Everstone Group invests INR 200 crore in Hinduja L...: Chennai: Everstone, a leading India and South East Asia private equity investor, has signed an agreement to invest INR 200 crore for an un...

Everstone Group invests INR 200 crore in Hinduja Leyland Finance

Chennai:
Everstone, a leading India and South East Asia private equity investor, has signed an agreement to invest INR 200 crore for an undisclosed stake in the NBFC Hinduja Leyland Finance (HLF), a commercial vehicle (CV) financing arm of the Hinduja Group.

The Chennai headquartered NBFC is jointly owned by Ashok Leyland and other entities of the Hinduja Group. Led by Mr S Nagarajan, who had previously spearheaded Ashok Leyland Finance and IndusInd Bank, HLF today, is one of the leading financiers of commercial vehicles with current assets under management in excess of INR 4,000 crore.

Atul Kapur, Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Everstone Group said, “We are excited to partner with the Hinduja Group who have built a very attractive and professionally managed business in a sector where they have a track record ofsuccess.”

R Seshasayee, Chairman of HLF added further, “I am happy that in Everstone, we found a partner who shares the same vision as the promoters for the growth and development of HLF, as a significant and profitable player in NBFC space.”

writingonblog uncensored: Rs 300 crore property acquired by TN govt five dec...

writingonblog uncensored: Rs 300 crore property acquired by TN govt five dec...: C Shivakumar Chennai: The state government is set to lose a prime property worth more than Rs 300 crore to the landowners from whom ...

Rs 300 crore property acquired by TN govt five decades ago to be reconveyed at Rs 33,947


C Shivakumar
Chennai:
The state government is set to lose a prime property worth more than Rs 300 crore to the landowners from whom it acquired five decades ago at a price of Rs 33,947 due to inaction on its part to build a training institute for Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department.

Official sources said the 1.62 acres of land, which was acquired by Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department in 1961 during the era of then chief minister K Kamraj for construction of a Training Institute, near Raj Bhavan on taluk office road, is set to be reconveyed to the legal heirs of Manali Ramakrishna Mudaliar for Rs 33,947, the price which it paid for acquisition in 1961, following a High Court directive on August 2012.

Sources said the government wanted to build a Cooperative Training Institute to train its employees. During that time, the project was likely to be put in backburner due to lack of allotment of funds. Sources said that the land was to be transferred to the highways department, which owns a package of land that was also acquired during that period to set up a Highways Research Institute.

For five decades the government slept over the acquired land not putting to use for what purpose it was acquired for. It received a jolt when the legal heirs of the then owner approached the court seeking reconveyance of the land in November 2006 as per section 48-B of the Land Acquisition Act. As per the law the land should be used for the purpose for which it was acquired by the government or the government should be satisfied that the land is not used for any public purpose and then only the land should be reconveyed.

Sources say the land has a Highways Engineers Association Building besides a test drive track of highways department. Interestingly, the case was weakly defended by the officials.

The then Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department Secretary, District Collector and Tahsildar filed a counter, devoid of facts that could have convinced the court against reconveyance. And what was more surprising was that the State Government based their contention over a Government Order that the land was transferred from cooperation department to highways department.

It was later found out that the GO was for recognition of Highways Engineers Association rather than transferring the land from Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department to Highways Department.

Official sources feel that the amendment brought in 1996 to the Land Acquisition Act for reconveyance should be studied afresh and the estate officers of all the government departments should be strictly instructed to take an inventory of all the properties because the land prices are steeply rising. Is it not the duty of the officers to protect the government land?

Meanwhile, former high court judge K Chandru said that reconveyance of land is not permissible and it is only for the state to decide whethet it wants to reconvey the land or not. Citing Supreme Court judgement, in the Tamil Nadu Housing Board versus L Chandrasekaran (2010) where 513.52 acres of land in Saidapet Taluk was acquired for Ambattur neighbourhood scheme by the government, Chandru said the apex court observed that government cannot be compelled to reconvey the land acquired for public purpose to its original owner and it can utilise the land for any other public purpose. 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

More than 10 lakh Chennaites enrol for Aadhar

C Shivakumar
Chennai:
As more than 10 lakh people in the city have enrolled for Aadhaar, a unique identification project, the Census directorate has allayed the fears of Chennaites and said nobody will be left off the project.
Although still 31 lakh people have to be covered by September, Joint Director of Directorate of Census Operations (Tamil Nadu) M R V Krishna Rao said that the department is trying to reach 70 to 75 per cent of the 41 lakh people by September.
“But then one should not panic. Permanent centers would be opened at Zonal offices of Chennai Corporation from October and people can go to the corporation office and register themselves,” he said.
Interestingly, as per the directorate of Census, the newly added areas are not included in Chennai Corporation under the Aadhar project. “The people living in the new areas will be covered by the districts to which they were aligned to earlier,” he said.
Interestingly, the state already has 20 lakh Aadhar cards issued by the Unique Identication Authority of India.  The whole process was stopped as the state was keen to have it done through National Population Registry, he says.
So what will happen to those who already have the Aadhar cards issued by UID. “They are valid cards but then the data has to be updated in National Population Registry (NPR). These card holders have to contact the operators to link their Aadhar card to the NPR,” said Rao.
But the biggest challenge is to bring those who were not registered during the Census survey conducted in June or July 2010. Since they don’t have the acknowledgement form, they are ineligible for enrolment. But Rao says they still can enroll themselves. “All you have to do is go to your corporation zonal office and ask for the form. The details are also in the Chennai Corporation website. Those who can fill the forms themselves can hand it over to office after filling it and for those who are unable to fill, the Corporation zonal officers would help in filling up the form,” he said.
Interestingly, during the survey conducted in 2010, a total of 1.83 crore households were registered. The forms were scanned at Census directorate’s center. The images were then given to Bharat Electronics Limited. They were categorized as per the districts and circulated to six to seven data centers in the state.
“These are data which will be in the screen of the operator while taking in the biometric data,” he said. Now while enrolling for the Aadhar card, the operator will correct the information like the spelling of the names as well as change address in case of change of the ward.
Interestingly, the other big issue is people are not aware of when the process to enroll for Aadhar card starts in their ward. Rao says that it is decided by the Corporation zonal office. “We are not going in for massive awareness as we don’t have adequate manpower to handle such a crowd,” he said.
Interestingly, a day before the enrolment process starts, corporation officials will be providing a KYR (Know Your Resident) form. After filling in the form, they have to bring it along with the acknowldgement card provided during the Census operation in 2010 for the enrolment process that includes capturing of biometric data.
The KYR forms seeks data about you Pan Card, Ration card, Passport number etc. But these are optional. After the data is being stored in the system, the applicant has 92 hours to correct any information which he has provided to the operator. Interestingly, the operator won’t be of any help to change the data. “It is only the supervisor of the center, who could make the changes. After 92 hours, no changes could be made in the data,” Rao said.
Once the data is complied, then after de-duplication process, a 12 digit Aadhar number will be generated. The number will be stored in a centralized database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric information – photograph, ten fingerprints and iris – of each individual. The random number generated will be devoid of any classification based on caste, creed, religion and geography.

After this the process of issuance of Aadhar card will start. First the data will be verified by the local registrars in corporation office and the police department. “They have to certify the data after which the card will be generated,” said Rao.
The card is easily verifiable online and is unique and robust enough to eliminate the large number of duplicate and fake identities in government and private databases.
The card will help address the rigged state elections and widespread embezzlement that affects subsidies and poverty alleviation programs such as NREGA. It will also address illegal immigration into India.

Friday, July 19, 2013