5 Stories for Today
(1) Litti chokha, bhelpuri to wow the world
(2) Gujarat needs to retain talent for growth of IT sector: CII
(3) Nitish's caste design: is JD(U) preparing for a possible split with BJP?
(4) RTE: Schools yet to apply for NOC
(5) iPhone 5S, cheaper iPhone to go the Lumia way: Report
(1) Litti chokha, bhelpuri to wow the world
Ashok Shah, who has been selling litti chokha at Income Tax office in Patna, will be showcasing the lip-smacking Bihari dish somewhere near Merlion in Singapore in the coming few days. In a first-of-its-kind for any street food vendor from India, Shah, as part of an eight-member team of street vendors, would rub shoulders with over 40 other street food masters from 32 countries at the World Street Food Congress in Singapore.
Shah, whose special dish enabled him to win the award of the “best-seller stall” at the recently held Street Food Festival in New Delhi, was more than happy on Friday to talk about his enthusiastic plans for his first ever trip abroad. Besides litti chokha my stall at the Singapore food festival will also offer the special garlic-soaked mutton rice.”
While Narayanswami – a resident of Dharwad in Karnataka – will sell his speciality ‘Chicken-65’ with steamed rice, Gulab Singh – a street vendor who puts his stall near India Gate – will make his presence felt with bhel puri, batata puri and wada pav.
The food congress, which starts from May 31, is being organised by the Singapore Tourism Board and Makansutra, a Singapore-based street food promotion company, which asked the National Association of Street Vendors of India to send a delegation to the world-famous street food festival with the best Indian street culinary items.
The ecstatic street food vendors, who would be leaving Delhi for Singapore, shared their experiences about how they journeyed over the years coping with the adversities created by the municipal bodies, police personnel and health department officials.
Bhaskar, a resident of Mysore, who will showcase his specialities – tamarind and lemon rice and chicken garlic – at the street food conference, said: “We have the acumen and brilliance to develop ourselves as successful street food entrepreneurs. The only barrier is the unfortunate lack of support from the government side.”
Bhaskar’s views were echoed by the national coordinator of NASVI Arbind Singh who talked in detail about how hard the existentialist struggle had been for the street food vendors, who do not have any legal status in the country yet. He argued that in the absence of the legitimacy of their profession, the street vendors find themselves easy prey for the municipal authorities and police personnel who harass them. The Central legislation to regulate and protect the street vendors’ right to vend in public spaces, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012, is still pending in the Parliament.
“We at NASVI believe that nothing represents the rich tapestry of India’s multi-cultural fabric better than the street foods. Though the street food culture pervades across the world, the Asian street food is considered the best in the world. India, however, lags behind several South-East Asian countries. Our cities trail behind in the race because there is no support from formal institutions to improve the street food enterprises,” Mr. Singh lamented.
Source: The Hindu
(2) Gujarat needs to retain talent for growth of IT sector: CII
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat needs to retain its talent for the growth of Information Technology sector in the state, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president and Infosys executive co-chairman S Gopalakrishnan on Friday said.
"Gujarat needs to retain its talent of the IT sector for the overall growth of this sector in the state," he said here during an interaction with the media.
He also added that "it's not that every state can have excellent growth in each and every sector of the economy. Every state has their own strengths".
"If you look at the agriculture sector in Gujarat, it has achieved around 10 per cent rate of growth for past ten years. This is fabulous. But to increase the growth rate of state gross domestic product (SGDP), Gujarat could also look at the IT sector," Gopalakrishnan said.
CII had contemplated a task group in the state for the Service and IT industry and will work on ways to achieve higher growth rate in these sectors, he said.
Gopalakrishnan, who was in the state for an interactive meet of CII members, also had a meeting with Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
CII discussed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) issue with Modi, he said. "It has been a top priority of CII to play an active role in creating the right atmosphere for the implementation of GST. I cannot divulge what transpired in our meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister. But we are discussing the issue," he said.
About CII's road-map for 2013-14, he said, "Our agenda is to accelerate economic ( GDP) growth to 6-6.5 per cent this year and to take it to 8.5-9 per cent as quickly as possible."
"The drivers for growth would be reforms and governance, inclusive growth and affirmative action, innovation, entrepreneurship and growth of MSMEs and transformation of sectors."
Source: The Economic times
(3) Nitish's caste design: is JD(U) preparing for a possible split with BJP?
The friend-turned-foe has turned again. He is a friend now.The fast-changing equation between Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and the estranged JD(U) MP from Munger, Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lallan’ Singh, has all the elements of a melodrama.
The two friends, estranged towards the end of 2009, have surprised political circles by setting out together on a yatra to Lakhisarai and Munger districts on Wednesday. But there’s more to it: Cold calculations before the 2014 general elections.
The JD(U) is preparing for the 2014 polls very seriously. Kumar’s making new friends and getting the estranged ones back, as he may have to decide to go it alone if Gujarat CM Narendra Modi is declared the NDA’s PM candidate.
So, he now desperately needs former state JD(U) chief Lallan, an influential Bhumihar leader from central Bihar, as he is an efficient “behind-the-scenes” poll manager — a rare quality in high demand, especially in Bihar.
The differences between the two were superficial on the surface — Kumar brought in and mentored Koeri leader Upendra Kushwaha, who later supported former chief minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi’s “personal attacks” against both Kumar and Lallan just before the 2009 general elections.
Lallan became a staunch critic of Kumar’s style of functioning and even canvassed for some Congress candidates during the 2010 assembly elections. He was suspended, but was allowed to remain a JD(U) MP from Munger.
On Wednesday, a beaming Kumar announced at a meeting: “People who move away come back again. Life’s journey goes like that... Our differences are over.” A day before, he said he had never spoken against Lallan in public.
Lallan reciprocated, saying his friendship with Kumar was “never strained” and they “remained in touch” all these years. “In public life, he is a man of integrity.”
Besides having Lallan back on board, it will be essential for Kumar to forge a strong and winnable caste equation. After coming to power in November 2005, he roped in the support of different castes, especially those opposed to Lalu Prasad’s Muslim-Yadav combine, which accounts for 27% of votes.
For instance, he brought in a major section of the upper castes, non-Yadav backward castes such as the Kurmis and Koeris, extremely backward castes, backward Muslims and 22 of the 23 scheduled castes. Only the Paswans, also called the Dusadhs, are still resisting his charm.
If the NDA split happens and ally BJP becomes a rival, Kumar will need some tall upper caste leaders — from the Brahmins, Thakurs, Bhumihars and Kayasthas — to attack the BJP’s traditional support base.
The BJP helped the NDA win 32 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2009 and 206 out of 243 seats in the 2010 assembly polls by getting the Banias — the trading community belonging to the non-Yadav backward caste — and a huge portion of the 13% upper caste votes on board.
But what could Lallan’s reasons be? Various surveys on the outcome of the 2014 elections have suggested that Kumar is all set to play a crucial role in forming the next government at the Centre. Lallan wants to be with the winner.
Source: Hindustan times
(4) RTE: Schools yet to apply for NOC
NAGPUR: Every school, regardless of the board it is affiliated to, has to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from the local education office as per the directives of Right To Education Act (RTE). Without a NOC, the school effectively becomes 'illegal' as it is functioning in contravention of RTE laws.
The process had started last year but till date many schools have not applied to the local education office. Someshwar Netam, RTE's district in charge, said, "Schools need to ensure that they comply with the norms and obtain the NOC from my office else they will get in legal trouble from next session. The law clearly says that schools cannot function without obtaining NOC."
While Netam did not have the figures available, he said "quite a few schools are yet to complete the process". On the other hand, there are schools that have applied but not yet got the NOC as they have failed to meet requisite norms. Netam said, "Schools need to have basic infrastructure such as toilets and boundary wall as per RTE and we have notified the schools concerned of their specific deficiencies. We can still give them a provisional NOC if they guarantee that the missing infrastructure will be ready within a specified time frame."
Once a school is granted NOC it has to be renewed every three years from the same office. A similar rule was already in place for CBSE-affiliated schools but was never adhered to because of a turf war between the two. CBSE schools never went to the local education department for obtaining NOC as many felt it was an unnecessary infringement in their domain. But now with RTE coming into effect no school has a choice and many top schools in the city like Bhavan's have obtained NOC.
Source: The Times of India
(5) iPhone 5S, cheaper iPhone to go the Lumia way: Report
NEW DELHI: Apple, it seems, may be taking a leaf out of Nokia's book when it comes to colour options for its upcoming iPhone. Japanese blog Macotakara has reported that Apple will go for multiple colour options for its allegedly upcoming cheaper iPhone and iPhone 5S.
The report cites two sources who give different colour options for the cheaper iPhone. While one source says that the device will come in navy, gold orange, white, and gray colours, the other mentions white, pink, green, blue, and yellow orange as likely hues.
Macotakara's sources also said that cheaper iPhone will be up for field test in June with about 1,000 units. The blog also says that the device will go into full-fledged production from July through September. It is rumoured that the handset will be priced between $300 and $400 and have casing made of plastic polycarbonate.
Coming to iPhone 5S, the blog says that this device will come in green and gold colour, along with the standard white and black options. Other upcoming features revealed include dual-LED flash and altered shape of the microphone.
Currently, iPod touch is the only Apple handheld device to come in five colours.
When Nokia Lumia 920 was launched last year, the Finnish manufacturer had released a video making fun of the bland iPhone 5 that comes in two hues, as compared to five colours of Lumia 920.
Source: The Times of India