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Fed up of SMS ads offering the latest in real estate or promising to reduce power bills or the size of your waist? For now, you have no option but to keep hitting the delete button on your mobile phone.

A regulatory dichotomy involving the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the department of telecommunications (DoT) is letting illegal advertisers trespass into consumers' mobile phones at will.

Trai says the penalties for violating laws against illegal telemarketing are not stringent enough to keep advertisers at bay. While DoT says it is "looking into the matter" of reinforcing Trai's powers, operators claim Trai is not even using whatever regulatory clout it has to check telemarketeers.

The regulator's unsolicited commercial communication norm makes it mandatory for every telemarketeer to register with DoT and upload its database of mobile phone numbers on www.ndncregistry.gov.in. An unregistered telemarketeer caught advertising will have its connection cancelled.

Trai also set up a National Do Not Call Registry (NDNCR) in 2007, allowing mobile phone users to request that their numbers be made unavailable to telemarketeers.

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Source: Live Mint By Deepti Bhaskaran and Ishita Russell Why you will have to live with SMS ads

 A new law to free thousands of acres of land locked up in the closed factories of West Bengal may fall short of state government expectations, after it emerged that a large part of the acreage it was eyeing is mortgaged with lenders.

When the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Bill, 2009, was passed less than two months ago, the government had estimated that as much as 254,000 acres could be freed from closed factories and tea gardens across the state.

A recent report by Webcon Ltd, a state government-owned consultancy, said 347 closed factories in Kolkata and its suburbs had at least 42,000 acres in their possession.

Closed food processing factories have 26,426 acres, and almost 6,000 acres is locked up in abandoned iron and steel and engineering factories, said the Webcon report reviewed by Mint.

The new law did not envisage that most closed factories in the state had mortgaged their fixed assets--such as land, plants and machinery--and that many of them owe money to workers. According to Webcon, the closed units it studied collectively owed Rs1,638 crore to their employees and Rs3,854 crore to lenders.

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Source: Live Mint By Romita Datta Law to free locked land may not meet expectations in West Bengal

Nine kilometres outside the West Bengal capital, the Green Mall is the brainchild of Dinesh Rawat, who started the project in 2002.

Spread over 25 acres, these botanical gardens are an oasis of all things flora.

Most scientists agree that growing trees and plants can curb global warming because they absorb carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.

Aspiring to play a role in the fight against climate change, Rawat decided to turn to Mother Nature herself.

Source: Thaindian.com Kolkata's Green Mall aims to reverse global warming

Named Kolkata Business Park', the mega project is planned to be set up on a 100-acre plot off EM Bypass, near Ruby Hospital. The authorities have started the process to reopen the project.

"We have initiated the sale process and will invite private companies for the project," said KMDA chief executive officer Vivek Bharadwaj. Officials are apprehensive that developers may not be willing to cough up much money for the land, as industry is still in recovery mode. However, going by previous sales of KMDA land, the authorities could expect to earn around Rs 2,000 crore from the sale of this 100-acre plot.

Officials said the process to auction the plot may not take place at one go. "It was earlier decided that the entire 100 acres will be sold at one go. But, with industry just recovering from the downturn, developers may not be in a position to buy it at one go. Thus, the sale process could be done in phases by auctioning 20 to 30 acres of land at a time," said an official.

According to plans, there would be several corporate building blocks and office space reserved for stockbrokers, financial consultancy houses, insurance companies and other related activities.

Officials said that they would prefer private developers who will rope in architects and experts of international repute for the business park, the first of its kind in the city. "The business park will be portrayed as a showpiece business hub for the city," said an official.

Minister of State for Tourism Kumari Selja made the announcement at an International Buddhist Heritage Conference in Nalanda in Bihar.

According to a tourism ministry official, any tourist, domestic or international, can call the helpline for information about a place he or she intends to visit.

"They can also call the number when in distress or in an emergency," she said.

Selja added: "In December 2009, the foreign tourist arrivals in India saw a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2008. The future looks bright. We expect buoyancy to return to the sector soon."

"The guidelines are in the final stages of preparation and a meeting will be held on the middle of February to speed up the process to finalise them," said KJ Nath, chairman of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation. Once prepared, the guidelines will be applicable for all gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and even municipalities to supply water within rural areas.

Nath said that the guideline could act as an early warning system that can help prevent water-borne diseases. "It would be a national guideline for all cities and rural areas," he said. The guidelines will outline what one should do to purify water before drinking it to make it free from arsenic or any other contamination before supplying to households.

A previous study sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) had pointed out that the standard of drinking water and sanitation in the rural areas of Bengal was not good enough to prevent water-borne diseases. Earlier studies had revealed that only about 35% of the rural population of the state was covered by around 1,000 piped water supply schemes. The rest 65% of population was covered by around 5,00,000 spot water sources like tube wells.

Several pockets in Baranagar, Panihati, Kamarhati, New Barrackpore and Barasat have turned vulnerable due to a steady depletion in water reserves, thanks to unrestricted withdrawal. The drop could be as much as 150 feet since 1997-98 when construction activities started rising in the belt.

Conducted by Saviours and Friends of Environment (Safe) a green NGO the survey reveals that potable water is now available only at a depth of 280 feet in the area. With construction activity being rampant along the belt, this could even trigger a building collapse, the study has warned.

Experts who took part in the survey said the drop in water level was serious enough to cause a major subsidence. "At this rate, a large portion of the ground would collapse within the next 15 years. We already have indications of an impending disaster. Mini collapses at places like Paroma Island and some other spots along the E M Bypass point to that," said geo-scientist Asit Chatterjee.

Source: Times of India Water Crisis Sparks Cave-In Fears Up North

'Pehla Kadam' is a small effort by Community Human Welfare Organization (CHWO), where underprivileged children from Joka and nearby regions will be treated with a day of fun and entertainment through various cultural performances atCarpe Diem.

"Through 'Pehla Kadam', we will introduce these children to the world of dance and music, to plays and mimes; and to give the children a stage to perform," an official said.

Pehla Kadam will take its first step this year, in association with IIM Calcutta during Carpe Diem '10.

To be held at the IIM-C's auditorium, those children will see performances from the campus band JBS Baroc and the college dramatics club.

"But the main attraction of the day would be skit played by the children from the 'Society for Protection of Children in India' (SPCI), an NGO for girls and group dance and mime presented by 'Behala Naboproyas', an NGO for the mentally challenged," he added.

The skit by the girls has already won the hearts of the organizers and the IIM-C's dramatic club members are helping them in their rehearsals.

There would also be performances by Sarang Sahane (Jal Tarang) & Bhuvan Atluri (Violin), second year students from IIM-C and from the cultural team of Pailan World School.

"We are losing fixed-line customers at an alarming rate. Though efforts are on to stem the erosion through attractive packages and clubbing of value-added services like Broadband and IPTV (internet protocol television), the downward spiral has persisted. It is a major cause for worry," said CalTel chief general manager A K Garg.

While ease of cellphones has made landlines redundant in nuclear families, competition from private operators, that have introduced wireless in local loop services, has also contributed to the decline in CalTel landlines, said sources.

The subscriber loss has also reflected in the company's revenues with earnings from landlines down from Rs 359 crore in April-December 2008 to Rs 306 crore in April-December 2009, a drop of 14.5%. Even revenue per user has dropped 10% to Rs 386.

Source: Times of India Landlines fast disappearing from Kolkata

The number of students applying for admission in engineering and medical colleges in the state has touched a record mark.

According to officials of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board, this year, the number of applicants appearing for the Joint Entrance Examination has increased to 1,21,000 -the highest ever recorded by the JEEB.

Board chairman Professor Siddhartha Datta said the reason so many students were keen to study in colleges of West Bengal was the transparency in the admission process.

He said this year, of the 1,21,000 applicants, 46,000 more than 30 per cent -were from Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Assam and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.

"Earlier, students from these states went to South India for an engineering degree. Now they know there are more opportunities in West Bengal," said Datta. "In 2008, the number of applicants for engineering and medical seats was only 78,000," added Datta.

Source: The Indian Express Record number of students apply in engineering, medical colleges

The state government refused to entertain the Railway Board's plea to part with 2.5 acres at Basanti colony on the grounds that the land belonged to the state government. After the fire incident, Mamata visited the area and claimed that the land on which the slum grew belonged to the Railways. She declared that the Railways would build a housing complex for the homeless on the site.

On January 25, senior railway official A K Harit wrote to the state government requesting it to vacate 2.5 acres at Basanti colony on which the Railways wanted to build the complex.

Ashok Bhattacharya, Minister for Urban Development, said: "The Railways can build housing complexes for its own employees but they cannot do so for the general people as such." He also alleged that Mamata was trying to violate the federal spirit.

"In a federal structure, the role of the state and the Central government is well carved out by the Constitution and the law. It is the state government and not the Railways which will build the housing complex for the victims at Basanti colony," said Bhattacharya.

A good proportion of H1-B visa holders -- about 50,000 -- had their visas issued in 2002 and 2003. Come 2009, most of these visas (which are work permits issued for a fixed period), with a validity of six years, expired. The number of H1-B visa holders who have applied for jobs in India is now said to be between 15,000 and 20,000.

"A good number of those who went to the US after 1999-2000 have started returning. US President Barack Obama's posture has probably been one of the triggers. The reluctance to renew H1-B visas has also led to people deciding to return," said Kris Laxmikant, CEO and chairman of recruitment agency Headhunters India.

Many of the returnees have been sticking around for up to three months, vainly trying to secure a job, in a bid to extend their US stay long enough. But, in an insipid job market, a good number failed to find jobs and were forced to return, HR executives said.

Source: Business-standard NRI Resumes Pile Up At Indian Human Resources (HR) Firms

According to railway ministry sources, Banerjee is in a hurry to start the train services she had announced in her Budget in July last year. In her Budget speech, she had announced as many as 57 new trains, including 14 Duronto (non-stop). Along with this, the railway minister had promised to extend the routes of 27 more trains.

As her next Budget is barely three weeks away, Banerjee needs to implement what she had announced earlier, before unveiling another set of new trains in the 2010-11 Budget, on February 24.

The list of new trains include two Duronto Express and a Shatabdi Express. The two Durontos will run on Lucknow-New Delhi and Allahabad-New Delhi routes. Banerjee will also inaugurate a Shatabdi Express, connecting Kanpur and New Delhi.

Source: Business-standard By Saubhadro Chatterji Mamata Banerjee To Start 19 New Trains On February 7

KMC now has the liberty to disconnect water supply to a housing estate if its residents don't pay water tax. The order came on a writ petition moved by residents of the housing estate, challenging KMC's action against non-payment of water tax by them.

In 2005, the residents had applied to KMC, seeking bulk supply of water. The civic body agreed to supply water in bulk at Rs 5 per kilolitre, the rate payable then. Though residents paid up initially, they later stopped meeting their water tax dues. By 2008, the combined water tax arrears of all residents of the estate had piled up to Rs 34 lakh. KMC then served notice on the residents. It warned that water supply to the housing estate would be disconnected if residents didn't pay up.

Residents moved Calcutta high court against the KMC notice. After hearing both sides, Justice Girish Chandra Gupta directed petitioners to pay Rs 9 lakh as the first instalment to clear their arrears. Residents paid it but stopped further payment.

In the course of hearing, KMC counsel Aloke Ghosh told the court that the residents' arrears had now piled up to Rs 46 lakh though residents claim the amount due by them is no more than Rs 22 lakh. The rate of bulk supply of water has also increased -- from Rs 5 to Rs 7 per kilolitre.

On Thursday, the court directed petitioners to immediately pay the amount. The court, on the other hand, allowed the civic body to take action if payment is not made.

The CBSE board is keen to implement the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system -- which is in line with the right to education bill's provision to introduce it in all schools -- from the 2011-12 session and is awaiting the HRD ministry's nod. A few days ago, the ministry had advised all schools to dump the archaic exam system.

In the CCE format, Class XI students must take four `formative' tests, which will be intensive in nature and based on a few chapters in a particular subject, and two `summative' tests that will cover half the lessons taught in class.

"We want to introduce a comprehensive assessment system till the candidates appear for their first and only board examination in class XII. The stress will be on internal assessment," a CBSE official said.

Source: Times Of India By Somdatta Basu CBSE may abolish Class XI exam