Emulate Narendra Modi to attract investors, Nitish told

Emulate Narendra Modi to attract investors, Nitish told

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may have a strong antipathy for his Gujarat counterpart, but the country's apex trade body – Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) wants the JD (U) strongman to treat Narendra Modi as a role model if he is keen on substantial investment in Bihar.

“No doubt, Nitish has got an unprecedented mandate. But to make industrialists put in their money in Bihar, Nitish will have to draw some lessons from Modi, develop a new work culture and fine-tune the lackadaisical bureaucracy,” national Secretary General of ASSOCHAM, D S Rawat told Deccan Herald here on Sunday. Rawat was in Patna to congratulate Nitish on his landslide victory. To buttress his point, the apex trade body office-bearer cited the example of Narendra Modi, who invested 50 paise (sent a sms to Ratan Tata) and was successful in attracting an investment of more than Rs 1,500 crore for the Nano project at Sanand in Gujarat. “No matter how brute a majority you get, the most important thing is to change the mindset of sloth babus and develop a new work culture if you really want top honchos to invest in Bihar,” Rawat made a clean breast. To illustrate his point, Rawat cited the example of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “Till a few years back, MP was treated as one of the bimaru (sick) States. (Bi-ma-r-u actually refers to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh). But when we organised Investmart in MP, MoUs worth Rs 2.53 lakh crore were signed in just two days in September 2010,” revealed Rawat. This happened, he said, because Chouhan not only rolled out a red carpet for top industrialists, but also arranged three chartered flights for them and asked officers of Principal Secretary-level to receive them at the airport. “This way he sent a message that apart from land bank, his government was more than willing to help all those who were keen on investing in Madhya Pradesh,” said Rawat. But as a first step to invest in Bihar, the ASSOCHAM is planning to organise an Investmart in Patna in April 2011 where MoUs worth Rs 50,000 crore will be signed. “Later MoUs worth Rs 1,25,000 crore will be signed in 2013 and Rs 1,75,000 crore in the year 2015,” said Rawat.

SIT ‘findings’ put Modi in a tight spot

SIT ‘findings’ put Modi in a tight spot

Ahmedabad, February 3
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to look into Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's alleged role in the post-Godhra riots of 2002 is reported to have found that the Chief Minister had tried to water down the seriousness of the situation.

According to a news magazine that released details of the purported report of the Supreme Court-appointed SIT, Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and other places by saying that "every action has an equal and opposite reaction".

The magazine, Tehelka, in a press release said that Modi, according to the report, had placed two senior ministers Ashok Bhatt and IK Jadeja in the Ahmedabad city police control room and the Gujarat state police control room during the riots with 'no definite charter'.

The SIT report says it appears that the political affiliation of the advocates did weigh with the government for the appointment of public prosecutors.

The SIT, according to the magazine, has concluded that allegations, which have been found to be true can't be further investigated under the law.

The SIT has given its report in a sealed cover to the apex court.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Seetharam, while questioning the authenticity of the report carried by the magazine, said these are more like allegations rather than the finding of the SIT. She said the party feels complete justice will be done for Modi and for it in the matter.

On some of the points raised in the report, Seetharaman said the process of recruiting public prosecutors in Gujarat goes through a system where the District Magistrate and the Sessions Judge sit together and finalise a panel of names. The state government has nothing to do with this,

Clinton Endorses Immigration Initiative by South Asian

Clinton Endorses Immigration Initiative by South Asian Ex - President Clinton announced the Breakthrough initiative along with five others, at the closing plenary of the first day of the Clinton Global Initiative last month. The Breakthrough Initiative has a commitment to “reframe the immigration debate in the United States to demonstrate how fair policies that respect human rights can benefit all Americans,” according to organizers. The organization works for immigrant rights, and says that the entertainment industry in particular has been very reluctant to partner with them over the contentious issue. Organizers hope that that the recognition from the Clinton Global Initiative would correct the situation. The organization has a fund raiser slated for November 10 in New York.

Channel 13 will air a segment of Indian filmmaking in New York, the weekly half-hour program series New York Voices, on September 29 at 10:30 p.m. Opening with Tirlok Malik, a pioneer in Indian-American filmmaking in New York, the segment also features many other Indian-American filmmakers and actors – actress Pooja Kumar, actor Ranjit Chowdhry, DJ Rekha, producer Chander Malik – as well as media personalities including Sree Sreenivasan of SAJA. Scenes appear from many Indian-American movies such as Lonely In America, Little Magician, Arya, Flavors, Night With Henna, Hiding Divya and many others, including Bollywood movies with Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. About filmmaking and actors’ passions and pursuits in New York City, the show also includes The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli.

Padmini, popular actress of yesteryear, who was paired with well-known heroes of Indian cinema like Raj Kapoor and M G Ramachandran, died of cardiac arrest in Chennai on Sept. 24. The 74-year-old actress and dansuese is survived by a son, who lives in the United States. Born in Poojapura in Thiruvananthapuram on July 12, 1932, Padmini started learning dance at the early age of four, and joined the film industry in 1949. Giving up her film carrier after marriage with Dr. K. T. Ramachandran, she settled in the United States, where she started the famous Padmini School of Fine Arts in New Jersey in the basement of her home. Padmini began to perform in the classical tradition on the stage in the United States. After the death of her husband in 1981, she divided her time between New Jersey and Tamil Nadu until she returned a few months ago to live once again in her homeland. When she left the US, she left behind not only many dance teachers, whom she trained, but also a set of traditions, which have come to stay in the life of Indian Americans. Tamil film buffs adore her role as a dancer in Thillana Mohanambal, in which she starred alongside Sivaji Ganesan. Shortly before she passed away, she made a public appearance to participate in the film world felicitation to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. A versatile artist, Padmini had acted in about 250 Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. In Malayalam, her early hits included Snehaseema, Umminithanga, Adhyapika, Vivahitha and Kumara Sambhavam. She teamed up with Raj Kapoor in Bollywood to create big hits like Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai and Mera Naam Joker

Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran visited Washington DC on September 21 for wide ranging discussions on all aspects of bilateral relations, including the civil nuclear understanding. During his visit, Saran called on Rep. Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee; Senate Majority Leader William Frist, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Congressman Tom Lantos, Ranking Member of the House International Relations Committee, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph and Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Relations David McCormick. Saran also met Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and Counselor in the State Department Philip Zelikow in New York. Raksha Mantri Pranab Mukherjee was expected to meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later.

Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma announced his plan for an International Hindi Summit to be held next year in New York. The minister was addressing a group of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan members and members of the press on Sept 19. The minister was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. “India is finding its place in the world,” Sharma said in Hindi. “Some people think speaking Hindi is unfashionable. But respecting your mother tongue is very important.” Dr. Jayaraman, President of the Bhavan, called for the support of the community in making a success of the summit, which is likely to be held in July 2007.

New York Life Insurance Company unveiled a documentary on Sept. 15, which highlighted a recent trip to India by winners of an essay competition. The documentary captures the group’s visits with Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, and other government officials. New York Life Chairman and CEO Sy Sternberg honored the 15 winners of the essay contest. The winners visited Gujarat from July 20 to August 3. The trip was designed to teach the winners about the economy, education, culture, environment, culture, environment, and other aspects of daily life in India, to inspire them to stay connected to their culture, according to organizers. The documentary captures the impressions of the young winners, and enables viewers to see India through their eyes.

In honor of the festive season, starting at the end of September, Tilda Basmati Rice is being sold for a discounted price of $11.49 for a 15-lb bag, as opposed to $9.99 for a 10-lb bag. Tilda will be undertaking a new marketing campaign in South Asian media outlets to spread the word to the consumers about this offer. “Tilda Marketing, Inc is always looking for ways to give back to the comm unity,” said T. P. Mahesh, President Tilda, USA. “In India, we have set up many programs to give back to and the farmers who grow the rice. What better time than during the holiday season to express our gratitudeto our consumers in the US.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s 137th birth anniversary was celebrated by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Sept. 30 in New York. The community gathered to remember the Mahatma through discussions on strategies for peace among leaders of the community, and a ghazal and bhajan concert by Shailendra Bharathi.

To help encourage youths and parents to come out of the dowry menace, city-based web promoters NKG Online started a unique website www.idontwantdowry.com, for the first time in the country. This provides a forum for brides and grooms, who wish to marry without dowry. ‘‘We have several matrimonial websites offering marriage proposals based on caste, community, religion and region. Many proposals fall flat on the dowry issue, though it is not openly discussed. So we thought of starting a website exclusively on this issue,’’ said Satya Naresh, director of the website. He told ‘Express’ that this initiative was a blend of business and social work basically intended to create awareness. The registration is free and they can receive mails from other members. However, to send mails one has to pay a fee of Rs 500 for six months. The site was started on April 2 this year bring out the people from the fools paradise of dowry. Though the response was not encouraging initially, it is gradually improving. At present, there are over 2,850 profiles on the site. The quality of profiles are improving. People with higher educational qualifications are figuring. Though women are the worst sufferers of dowry menace, surprisingly many of them are not coming forward to register their names here. Two thirds of the profiles are from men. To take this initiative further, Naresh said they are proposing to conduct ‘Swayamvaram’ on October 15 at Ravindra Bharati, first of its kind. Here those who wish to marry without dowry will be invited to select their partners. “‘‘My mission is to carry the message to the rural people, who do not approach net services,’’ he said. There are only about four crore people having net connectivity in the country. He said he will be starting classified, first time on a website giving details of proposals, so that the people can directly contact the parties by phone or post. - Agencies

The newly crowned Miss Universe 2006, Zuleyka Rivera, was joined by designer Anand Jon, actress Michelle Rodriguez and designer Sanjana Jon, at the announcement of the IG International / AIDS Awareness Tour with Miss Universe, at the United Nations on Sept. 27. “Get Tested. It’s in Fashion” is the tagline for the AIDS Awareness Tour that uses fashion, entertainment and celebrity power to raise public awareness on AIDS, a growing epidemic in the developing world. A select group of international models will be joining Rivera and Sanjana Jon as they travel to several cities in India, visiting charities to spread the message of AIDS awareness.

DulhanExpo, a much-awaited bridal show, was held at the Long Island Hilton on Sept.24. The show, put together by Sumit and Shikha Arya, featured 80 vendors, fashion show, and several live shows. Visitors also enjoyed Sitar Retaurant’s buffet, free mehndi samples, free massages, fashion shows, performances by belly dancers, vocals by Saurabh Jain and Ritesh Rathod, tabla by Anand Patole, sitar by Anjana, and dhol by Madan Madi, saxophone by Ramesh Maraj and Masala Bhangra Fitness by Sarina Jain.

The lavish spending on Indian marriages is giving several states knotty thoughts. In a bid to cash-in on the marriage fervour, a host of states — spread across the length and breadth of India — are now offering to play wedding planners for wellheeled Indians and foreigners. Rajasthan tourism ministry has already initiated dialogue with a number of tour operators and hoteliers to promote the state as the ideal spot to say your nuptial vows. On offer — as the ideal spot for tieing the knot — are the scores of palaces dotting the state’s vast landscape. “Though the segment is very small right now, we feel it has a huge growth potential,” says Vinod Zutshi, secretary, Rajasthan tourism department. “After the publicity that we got with celebrities coming to Rajasthan for royal weddings, we felt this could be another area we can look at to earn more revenue.” adds Zutshi. According to rough industry estimates, the cost of organising such weddings starts from Rs 5 lakh. Industry insiders say the upper limit would depend on the place, arrangements and the number of people attending the event. “Ancient palaces, heritage hotels, colourful traditions and the shahi costumes are the main attractions,” says rajasthan tourism minister Usha Punia. “Cities like Jaipur and Udaipur, which have big palaces, heritage hotels, serve as perfect venues. Add to that camels, elephants and ethnic jewelleries, and they make Rajasthan a hot destination for royal weddings.” “What’s interesting is the fact that not only affluent Indians, but even a number of foreigners are now opting for such weddings,” Punia adds. If Rangilo Rajasthan is betting on its maharaja-style shadi, others like Uttaranchal and Goa are hardselling their natural beauty to woo the wedding party. “It’s a big segment and we are now exploring the idea on a larger scale,” says Satyen Nagwekar, marketing manager, Goa Tourism. “We have been noticing the trend for some time now. There are a number of people from Gujarat and Bengal coming to Goa to get married on the beaches,” adds Nagwekar. A growing population, especially from north India, is also flocking the hills — not on weekend getaways, but to get married. “There are also a number of foreigners who come to Haridwar, Risikesh and tie the knot in the ashrams there. We are studying the segment closely and see a lot of potential,” says Arun Srivastava, director (marketing), Uttaranchal Tourism. Event managers are also seeing big bucks in this new-found fad. “A lot of NRIs are coming to India to get married not only in Rajasthan but also in Goa because of its beaches, and Amba Valley which has perfect ambiance and infrastructure to its beauty,” says event manager Gurlein Manchanda. The wedding bells also mean big business for tour operators and hoteliers. “People who come for such royal weddings are big spenders, and we make special arrangements to meet all their needs,” says Bharat Hotels chairman Lalit Suri. Besides generating additional revenue for the travel industry, Suri says, such events help in spreading a good word in the global markets about India as a destination. - Agencies

Las Vegas ends late-night wedding license service Las Vegas bills itself as “the wedding capital of the world,” but late-night revelers who decide they want to tie the knot now must wait until morning. The county’s marriage-license office, as of Wednesday, will be closed between midnight and 8 a.m., when much of Las Vegas is still very much alive. “It’s one of the things Vegas is known for — you can gamble, get drunk and get married all in the middle of the night,” said Jay DeLeon, manager of the Graceland Wedding Chapel — where Elvis impersonators make special nuptial appearances. Probably the best known late-night marriage seeker was pop star Britney Spears, who shocked the world in 2004 when she married a childhood friend just before sunrise in Las Vegas. That union was quickly annulled. People can still get married around the clock at one of the city’s few all-night wedding chapels; it will just take a bit more planning to obtain the $55 license, said Cheryl Vernon, who supervises the marriage-services office in the county clerk’s depart ment. Vernon said the new office hours were not the result of a push to curb irresponsible life decisions, but simply because too few early-morning customers - - about 15-30 people — came in to justify a late-night shift. About 300 to 500 people seek licenses on a normal shift, she said. Last year the office issued 122,259 marriage licenses.Vernon said most late-night license seekers have been jet-lagged travelers lugging suitcases and trying to avoid daytime lines, rather than spontaneous celebrants. Still, there were notable exceptions. “Yes, we did have our few — like Britney (Spears). She came in at five in the morning,” Vernon

Narendra Modi offers help to police personnel of northeastern states

Narendra Modi offers help to police personnel of northeastern states

New Delhi, Feb 1 ANI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday offered help to police personnel of the northeastern states, as this would reinforce national integration. "Keeping national integration in mind, 100-100 police personnel from our northeast states such as Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are ready to come and serve in Gujarat for two years each, so we offer them all the facilities," Modi told reporters on the sidelines of the Chief Minister's conference on internal security here. "We have asked them to first send women police officers for two years, and we will take care of them. And then the rotation will create employment for them in their state. This will also act as step towards national integration and this is what I have offered the northeast states," he added. Modi also spoke about the black money stashed in foreign banks, and said the Central Government should follow the agenda that they have set for states by implementing it at first. "This is Indian government's own agenda note but when the media questions the federal government about Swiss bank, then they say that it is only a tax evasion case. The states are told that the money laundering issues should be dealt with serious actions," said Modi. "I understand and feel that the states are asked to follow these agendas; Indian government should also follow the agenda note when it comes to the issue of Swiss bank. And the government should try to accept the responsibility of bringing back the black money," he added. Modi further noted that India being an independent country should not have let German and Austria decide which states would be given weapons purchased from manufacturers in those countries. "States ask for weapons, explosives and India gives these to them by buying from other countries. But unfortunately, India, which is an independent country, writes such a letter to the states that Germany and Austria are two countries that will not supply weapons to some states because the police of those states misuse those weapons. And Indian government suggests that they should buy the weapons from Turkey key," he opined. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram addressed the conference and discussed a host of issues such as Maoists, separatist movement in Kashmir and insurgency in the northeast. ANI

Narendra Modi saddles up for key role at Centre

In the late 1960s, Narendra Modi used to help his brother run a tea-stall at the Gita Mandir bus stand in Ahmedabad, serving fresh buns and hot cups of tea. Among the regular clients were a bunch of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders who used to animatedly discuss political developments for hours at a stretch. Then in his late teens, the Sangh idealogy left a lasting impression on this youngster who was studying political science at that time.

He quit the tea stall to become a swayamsevak and later a full-time pracharak. Forty years later, Modi is emerging as the most potent brew to come out of the Sangh’s stables, with even stalwarts of India Inc fuelling his political ambition to look beyond the boundaries of Gujarat.

There was shock and surprise in January this year when Anil Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal, impressed by the fact that the Vibrant Gujarat investment summit had clocked pledges worth $250 billion in these depressed economic conditions, publicly endorsed this “future Prime Minister”.

Other second-rung Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, who are wary of the growing stature of the Gujarat chief minister, reacted with indignation. Modi was quick to declare that his only focus was to see L K Advani as the next prime minister. But then, many in the BJP see Modi’s emergence at the national level as the writing on the wall, given Advani’s advancing age and the absence of any other mass leader and master-strategist in their midst, especially after the demise of Pramod Mahajan.

Advani is right in a way. The BJP’s PM-candidate is no longer seen as the face of Hindutva, a plank the BJP was forced to shed in order to gain acceptability among allies in an era of coalition politics. At the same time, the BJP is keen to use Modi’s exceptional oratorial skills, organisational capacity and image as Hindutva’s poster-boy in other states.

That’s an image which came with his dubious handling of the Gujarat riots of 2002 and helped Modi to win two successive assembly elections in Gujarat — both with two-thirds majority. But he would like to be seen now as India Inc. sees him — as a man who has put the development of Gujarat on the fast track and has the potential of replicating it across the country.

While he steps up the ante on Islamic terror, conscious efforts have been made to shed the Hindu ‘hriday samrat’ tag, with a demolition spree against illegal temples in Gandhinagar and the recent appointment of Shabbir Khandwawala as head of Gujarat police.

It only helped his image make-over when Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary Ashok Singhal compared him with Mahmud Ghazni over the temple demolition move.

Add to that the huge participation of Muslim countries at the last Vibrant Gujarat meet, which surprised much of the western world which still treats Modi as a pariah.

The party has given Modi charge of the BJP’s election campaign in the entire western region, covering Maharashtra, Goa and the Union Territories. This means Modi will effectively have control of 78 constituencies, including seats which ally Shiv Sena will contest.

Party sources say state units from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and others are also desperately seeking election rallies by Modi who is expected to be a bigger crowd-puller than Advani who, in a recent interview, admitted that Modi was perhaps more popular than him.

“This is BJP’s time-tested formula of presenting a moderate and hardline face simultaneously. Modi is seeking the same role which Advani used to earlier play for Vajpayee as the star campaigner,” said a senior BJP leader.
Govindacharya, the former BJP leader who was thrown out by the party some years back for calling Atal Bihari Vajpayee “the BJP’s secular mask”, says: “His (Narendra Modi’s) time will come. It is just a matter of time.”

Well, everyone knows by now the role of the mask in Narendra Modi’s political career.