Gujarat to connect 16,000 villages via broadband

25 Feb, 2008, 2016 hrs IST, IANS



GANDHINAGAR: After launching Jyotigram Yojana which aims at supplying electricity to all villages, Gujarat is planning another ambitious project to provide broadband links to its rural areas.

Presenting the 2008-09 state budget in the Vidhan Sabha(state assembly) Monday, Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala said the plan, first of its kind in the country, would provide broadband connections to 16,000 villages across the state.

This is the first budget of the Narendra Modi government after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the December 2007 assembly elections. The broadband connectivity will make all villages e-Gram-Vishwa-Gram and help villagers avail all advantages of information technology (IT), said Vala.

He said the state was also keen on improving its standing in the Human Development Index (HDI). According to him, the budget revolves around the concept of HDI as the UNDP study has said that Gujarat should play a greater role in improving the HDI.

"We have to increase rural prosperity through agriculture development, and increase employment opportunities. But our stress will be on providing common man with nutritious diet, pure drinking water, extension of quality education and extension of health facilities," he said.

The government has also decided to set up a Children's University in Gujarat, which again will be the first of its kind in India, Vala said. The project will take off as an institution called Bal Gokulam but will ultimately be transformed into a Children's University.

The state was already moving towards achieving a growth rate of 11.3 percent, a notch ahead of 11.2 percent indicated by the Planning Commission, the minister said.

Vala said the state had achieved an average growth rate of 10.4 in the last year against a target of 10.2 percent. For the 11th plan, a challenging target of 11.2 percent has been set.

He indicated that the annual plan outlay for 2008-09 will be Rs 190.3 billion ($4.7 billion) compared to Rs 160 billion approved for 2007-08, reflecting an increase of 18.93 percent.

Earlier, the opposition Congress staged a walkout from the Assembly minutes before the finance minister moved the budget. The Congress wanted special discussion on the Patan gang rape case and killing of a tribal in Sabarkantha district.

They sought adjournment motion but it was rejected by Speaker Ashok Bhatt. Protesting this, the Congress MLAs walked out shouting slogans against Modi.
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http://www.livemint.com/2008/03/21000424/Gujarat-set-for-big-gains-as-S.html

Ahmedabad: Gujarat is set to claim more than one-third of the country’s total value of exports from special economics zones (SEZ) in 2008-09 as more companies, including Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, prepare to start full-fledged operations from these regions during the year.

Exports from Gujarat’s special economic zones are projected to be worth Rs35,000 crore in fiscal 2009, or 35% of the Rs1 trillion in estimated exports from all SEZs in the country, said Ravi Saxena, development commissioner, Kandla Special Economic Zone, Gujarat. In the following year, the state’s SEZ exports are expected to double to more than Rs70,000 crore.

Containers at the Mumbai Port. Total exports from SEZs across the country are seen at Rs67,088 crore for fiscal 2008

This is a sharp climb from Gujarat’s current estimated share of nearly 20% of the country’s total SEZ export turnover. In the fiscal year ending March 2008, Gujarat’s SEZ exports are expected to reach Rs13,500 crore, while total exports from across the country are seen at Rs67,088 crore.

Much of the boost will come from the commissioning of the Reliance Infrastructure SEZ in Jamnagar, as it would account for nearly 40% of the exports from Gujarat’s SEZs.

“Reliance Infrastructure is likely to commission its refinery in September 2008, and as per the figures supplied to us by the company, its petroleum and petrochemical products would record exports of Rs14,080 crore in the financial year 2008-09 and Rs45,000 crore in 2009-10,” said an official in the ministry of commerce who did not want to be identified.

Reliance’s pharmaceutical division is likely to export products worth Rs29 crore from this SEZ in fiscal 2009-10, he added.

In addition to Reliance Infrastructure’s facility, Suzlon Infrastructure Ltd is launching an engineering and products SEZ at Vaghodia in Vadodara; Zydus Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, a pharmaceutical SEZ in Ahmedabad; Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd at Dahej; and E Complex Pvt. Ltd at Pipavav.

As per figures available with the commerce ministry, Essar Hazira SEZ Ltd hopes to achieve Rs2,500 crore in exports in 2008-09 and Rs5,100 crore in 2009-10. Suzlon Infrastructure is expecting Rs274 crore in exports from its SEZ and E Complex is projecting Rs432 crore, both in 2008-09.

With 8,625ha marked for SEZs, Gujarat accounts for 33% of the total notified area for such regions in India. Currently, Gujarat has four functional SEZs—Surat Apparel Park SEZ, the multiproduct Surat SEZ, Kandla SEZ and Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (MPSEZ).

SEZs are defined economic areas where the government gives tax and other fiscal incentives to companies in an effort to promote manufacturing and exports, encourage investment and create more jobs.
Currently, the Union government has approved 439 SEZs formally, while 138 regions have been given in-principle approval and 195 have been notified. Total exports from SEZs across the country reached Rs34,615 crore in 2006-07, up from Rs13,854 crore in 2003-04.