Bihar Diary

Emotions flow as Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar visits Bihar village

2012-01-11T17:23:00.000+05:30

Persad Bissessar's ancestors migrated from Bihar to the Caribbean islands in the 19th century. She was in India to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas or diaspora meet in Jaipur, but did not lose the opportunity to return to her roots in Bihar.

Subodh Gupta the man from Bihar in conversation

2012-01-11T11:35:00.001+05:30

Garuda's number increased 4-fold in Bihar

2011-11-17T12:09:00.000+05:30

The mythical Garuda is staging a comeback – only this time in reality. Four years after these endangered birds of the stork family started nesting and breeding in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, their number has increased four-fold – from 78 to over 300.

“A fourfold increase is not only a positive development but a matter of celebration,” said Arvind Mishra, coordinator in Bihar and Jharkhand for the Indian Birds Conservation Network who conducted a latest survey on the species.

“In 2007, only 78 Garudas were counted in the district,” Mishra said over phone from Bhagalpur, 200 km from here, adding that now the birds are over 300 in number.

According to Mishra, it is a result of the conservation drive started by environmentalists and bird lovers with the help of local villagers. “We have created awareness among local people about their conservation and protection.”

In Indian mythology, Garuda is considered the ‘vahan’ or carrier of god Vishnu.

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2011-11-14T14:26:00.001+05:30

Two IITians, Shashank Kumar and Manish Kumar, sowing change in Bihar's farmlands

2011-11-03T20:18:00.000+05:30

The Economic Times
"Farmers face a plenty of problems. What is shocking is that they face labour and water shortage and still grow wheat and paddy.

"We are offering a 360-degree solution. Based on the soil condition and farmer profile, crop selection is done. We ensure right input availability, training, trouble shooting and marketing," said Shashank.

"For our pilot project, we suggested rajma instead of wheat and fortunately it brought 100 percent profits. Then word spread and in one year you can find our footprints in seven other districts in Bihar."

Farms n Farmers also works in Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Purnea, Banka, Rohtas and Patna with over 1,000 farmers.

"Our survey revealed what the buyer wants. If he wants potato, then what kind of potatoes is he looking for and for which variety will he pay the maximum price - so we select the crop accordingly," Shashank said.

Govt to observe Gandhi's Bihar visit centenary

2011-10-02T21:33:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
Bihar was only five when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi first visited the state. That was in April 1917. Now as the state is going to celebrate its centenary year next March, the state government has decided to observe centenary of Gandhi's visit to the state. However, the series of celebrations will start from the 2012 itself.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has suggested to the Bihar Gandhi Sangrahalaya to prepare a blueprint to mark the 100 years of Gandhi's Champaran visit which will fall in 2017, but the celebration will start from the 95th year which will happen to be 100 years of the separate entity of Bihar.

Gandhi landed in Patna en route Champaran on April 10, 1917, and stayed in Bihar travelling different districts and villages till August 17, 1917. "It was the period when he experimented his Satyagraha in Champaran against the British indigo planters for their tyranny," said Sangrahalaya secretary Razi Ahmad.

Bihar became so favourite to Gandhi that in 30 years from 1917 to 1947, he visited the state no less than 20 times staying for longer periods. August 8, 1947, a week prior to the official declaration of Independence, was the last day of his stay in Bihar after which he never came here.

Acknowledging Bihar's importance in his life, Gandhi wrote, "It was Bihar that made me know the whole of India. No one knew me earlier. I had almost become a Negro after staying in Africa for twenty long years. Then I came to Champaran and the entire country woke up. Earlier, I did not even know the location of Champaran, but when I arrived here I felt as if I had known the people of Bihar for centuries and they too seemed to know me."

Ahmad said, "However, when he visited Bihar in March 1947, after a gap of almost seven years, Gandhi was very sad and heartbroken due to the communal riots in Bihar. He felt that the state from where he started his non-violent movement almost forgot the concept of Satyagraha." What made him terribly disturbed were the reports that allegedly the perpetrators of the crime were his followers or the Congressmen.

In his post prayer address at Lawns (Gandhi Maidan) on March 5, 1947, he said, "This Bihar of ours has today committed a heinous crime. The atrocities perpetrated on a handful of Muslims have no parallel, so say the Muslims, in the annals of history. I too have read some history. I know that the world has witnessed greater brutality by man on man. But it is no use repeating them here. Is it manliness to return barbarism for barbarism?"

Gandhi lashed out at the Congressmen saying, "At present, I have no evidence to say that Congressmen have committed these crimes. Tomorrow I may have to admit so. I must, however, say that Bihar has sullied the fair name of India."

10.5 lakh Class IX, X students to teach 1.2 crore illiterate people in Bihar

2011-09-26T12:28:00.000+05:30

The Economic TimesIn a bid to eradicate illiteracy in Bihar, the state government has decided to rope in 10.5 lakh class IX and X students to educate 1.2 crore adult illiterate people in Bihar.

The plan will be executed under a five-month literacy campaign 'Sakshar Bharat Yojana' to be launched from November 11 next, according to an HRD official.

The World Bank, in its 2009 report, has ranked Patna as the second best city after New Delhi to start business in India

2011-09-12T21:26:00.000+05:30

16-day Pitra-Paksh begins today; till Sep27

2011-09-12T21:12:00.003+05:30

A chance for all those who want to pay obeisance to their departed elders and ancestors. According to Hindu beliefs many people face problems in their daily lives as they are not aware of this and don't remember their loved ones who's no more. Till September 27, 2011 during the daily prayers one should at least remember once their elders.

Death for freedom: remembering Baikunth Sukul

2011-08-18T16:07:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : Arts / Magazine : Death for freedom

In the dark days of the colonial rule, many revolutionaries came like shooting stars, flashed and vanished. J.N. Sinha writes about one of them — a martyr, Baikunth Sukul.

It is a mid-summer morning. May 14, 1934. Central Jail at Gaya in Bihar. A hush-hush commotion is disturbing the eerie silence inside the jail. In the shadow of the twilight, jail authorities gather near the hanging scaffold. Soon a young man is led to the gallows. He is heavily chained and escorted by armed guards. He is in his 20s, handsome and bubbling with enthusiasm. Hands tied behind his back, he stands poised and composed. The hangman puts the noose around his neck. But when he tries to cover his face with a black cap, the young man objects, ‘ I am not afraid of death. I am happy to die for my motherland!' He shouts Bharat Mata ki Jai, Bande Mataram! The magistrate nods, and with a clank of sound, another son of India becomes a martyr.

The jail complex is agog with a seething commotion; a crowd gathers outside its boundary wall. And just a morning-walk-away, the sacred peepal tree at Bodh Gaya is whispering enigmatically, but the Master — the Buddha — is long dead to teach the savage a lesson in love and compassion!

This episode is not public knowledge, nor do many know who this martyr was. In the dark days of the colonial rule, revolutionaries like him came as shooting stars, flashed and vanished. The hero of this episode, Baikunth Sukul, is one of them.

Life sketch
Baikunth Sukul was born on May 15, 1907, at village Jalalpur, P.S. Lalganj in Muzaffarpur (now Vaishali) district of Bihar. Son of a farmer, he taught at a lower primary school. He was initiated into the Congress movement, along with his wife Radhika Devi, by noted revolutionaries like Kishori Prasan Singh and Basawan Singh. He took active part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 and was imprisoned in the Patna jail.

The Bengal Anushilan Samiti was active in Bihar around this time. One of its members, Phanindra Nath Ghose, started, in 1925, a new organisation named Hindustani Seva Dal at Betia in Champaran. Baikunth joined it and carried activities from Hajipur. This organisation had not been declared illegal until then. Soon, Sukul came in contact with the members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA), led in Bihar by Phanindra Ghose and Jogendra Sukul, and became a very active revolutionary. HSRA had been started in 1928, after the amalgamation of the provincial revolutionary parties in the Punjab, UP and Bihar, with the object of driving the British out of the country with armed revolution. The youth from the Congress were instantly lured to it.

On the occasion of the formation of the HSRA, Phanindra Ghose and Man Mohan Banerjee had been invited to represent Bihar, and Ghose was made one of the seven members of its Central Committee that included Bhagat Singh, Sukhdeo and Chandra Shekhar Azad. Ghose was also placed in charge of the Army in Bihar, and Bhagat Singh and B.K. Sinha were to act as links.

The revolutionaries in Bihar responded very enthusiastically. Apart from continuing attacks on the British and their supporters, they looted government establishments and resorted to dacoities for raising funds and arms for carrying out the activities of their Army. Bhagat Singh also visited Bihar in this connection. Here, intense revolutionary activities went on in Muzaffarpur, Saran, Champaran, Patna and other districts. Its network had reached up to the village level, and participation of women was an important feature. Famous revolutionary Jogendra Sukul was from Baikunth.

Turn of events
Unfortunately for the revolutionary cause, developments took an unexpected turn. Ghose turned approver in the Lahore Conspiracy Case. The members of the Republican Army felt that in comparison to other approvers, the evidence of Ghose was much more responsible for the execution of the three revolutionaries. He was approver in several other cases, too. So, a plan to kill him was hatched by his fellow revolutionaries at the Gandhi Ashram at Hazipur, and Baikunth Sukul was selected to carry out the task.

As planned, Baikunth, along with Chandrama Singh, made a fatal attack on Phanindra Nath and his friend Ganesh Prasad Gupta on November 9, 1932, inside the Mina Bazar at Betia. It was a daredevil operation carried out in the presence of the constable deputed by the government to guard Ghose after he had turned approver. Ghose did not name anyone in his dying declaration and died on November 17, 1932, and his friend three days later on the 20{+t}{+h}.

Incidentally, while escaping from the scene of occurrence, the duo failed to take back their belongings kept a little away. This provided the police with clues to track them down. A washerman's mark on their clothes led it to Darbhanga Medical School. The investigation that followed confirmed that Ghose had been attacked by Baikunth and Chandrama. The Bihar Government offered a reward for their arrest. Chandrama was arrested in Kanpur on January 5, 1933. Sukul was arrested on July 6, 1933, on the Sonepur side of the bridge over Gandak River at Sonepur- Hajipur. He sustained injuries in the scuffle with the police but remained totally unfazed, and shouted revolutionary slogans.

Then comes the end
The accused were put on trial in the Court of the Sessions Judge at Muzaffarpur, but the trial was held inside a faraway jail at Motihari. Sukul realised that the British would not let him live, but he was not afraid of that; rather he appeared to celebrate his imminent death for the nation. Since he was not interested in protecting himself before the law, the British took advantage of the situation to prove him guilty. In February 1934, Sukul was convicted and sentenced to death; Singh was acquitted. When informed of his conviction, Sukul said: “I am ready”; and when he was being taken away, he shouted “Inkilab Zindabad!”

Subsequently, the Patna High Court confirmed the judgement of the Sessions Court. Accordingly, Baikunth Sukul was hanged to death in the Gaya Central Jail on May 14, 1934, just a day before his 28th birthday. He left behind a young wife without any issue. She spent a lonely life for the next 70 years and died in 2004. An eyewitness account by one of his fellow prisoners and a noted revolutionary, Bibhuti Bhushan Das Gupta, states that Sukul was in a state of unusual exuberance before his execution. In fact, he gained bodyweight since he was condemned to the cell. As if celebrating his ultimate sacrifice on his last night, he sang, in chorus with other prisoners, Tagore's song on death and Ram Prasad Bismil's Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil men hai... .

And when he was being led to the gallows, he was heard singing: Haasi haasi parab phaansi/ Maan dekhabe Bharatbaasi/ Biday de maan phire aasi!

(Laughing I would go to the gallows/ O Mother, people of India will see/ Bid me farewell Mother, I shall come again!)

(Help received from Shri N.K. Shukla, IRS, and author of The Trial of Baikunth Sukul (1999), is thankfully acknowledged.)

The author is Associate Professor of History at the University of Delhi. Email: jnsinha@rediffmail.com

Remembering Khudiram Bose

2011-08-18T15:48:00.002+05:30

Bihar Times
Seven villagers from Khudiram Bose's native Bahuvaini village in Bengal's Midnapore district attended his martyrdom day function in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, where he was hanged by the British Aug 11, 1908.

Bose was born Dec 3, 1889 in Bahuvaini village. He was one of the youngest revolutionaries in the early Indian independence movement and sent to the gallows when he was just 19.

Disillusioned with the British following the partition of Bengal, Bose joined Jugantar - a party of revolutionary activists. He and Prafulla Chaki were sent to Muzaffarpur to assassinate Douglas Kingsford, magistrate of Calcutta Presidency and later the magistrate of Muzaffarpur.

On April 13, 1908, assisted by Chaki, Bose threw a bomb at a carriage that was supposed to be carrying Kingsford, but unfortunately, instead of the British official, two women travelling in the carriage were killed.

Chaki was caught after the attack but shot himself. Bose was arrested a day later and fearlessly confessed that he had thrown the bomb to punish the British. He was sentenced to death and hanged.

Bihar likely to reap bumper paddy crop

2011-08-11T06:43:00.000+05:30

Alum to destroy arsenic in potable water in Bihar

2011-08-11T06:39:00.000+05:30

Bihar Times

Dr Mohan Mishra, former Professor of Medicine at Darbhanga Medical College Hospital, has identified alum, commonly known as phitkiri, as a purifier that could remove arsenic content from ground water almost completely and make it fit for drinking. Dr Mishra’s research study is available on ResearchGate, a US websiste, where scientists from all over the world post their findings and research works. The research outcome is particularly significant as Mishra had followed international paratmeter of the permissible limit of arsenic presence, that is, .01 mg litre to establish the purity of water.

He however cautioned that one should adopt this technic only after getting the water tested at reliable lab before and after purification.

science drama team of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Shastrinagar, won the 2nd prize at the zonal-level contest held at BITM Kolkata

2011-07-31T09:56:00.002+05:30

The Times of IndiaThe team will now represent the eastern zone at the national science drama contest to be organized by National Council of Science Museums at Visveswaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore in September.

Super 30 founder Anand is among 5 speakers at an international humanitarian training programme at Pattaya, Thailand from August 1 to 7.

2011-07-31T09:50:00.003+05:30

Jobs for graduates of MA in development studies of the Central University of Bihar (CUB)

2011-07-23T12:04:00.002+05:30

A Buddhist monk of Republic of Korea, Venerable Jung Woo meets Nitish

2011-07-23T11:50:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
The monk talked about the under construction Buddha Memorial Park in the city and said it is well built and will attract the visitors and Buddhist pilgrims. The CM told him that this park was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama last year and relics belonging to Lord Buddha brought from six countries have been preserved there, besides the sapling of the sacred Buddhi tree brought from Sri Lanka has also been planted there.

A Patna-based neuro physician, Dr Prasoon Kumar, was awarded Bharat Jyoti Award by the India International Friendship Society, New Delhi

2011-07-23T11:46:00.001+05:30

Bihar villagers adopt rainwater harvesting to access safe water

2011-07-23T11:34:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
As many as 5,000 rural households in Bihar's Khagaria district have adopted rainwater harvesting as an approach to access safe water during the on-going monsoon. These communities are mostly from the flood prone areas (largely relief oriented) and have invested their own resources to access safe water.

'Chal Padh Kuchh Ban', a fortnightly Hindi-English newspaper revolutionizing primary education in Bihar

2011-07-23T11:19:00.003+05:30

The Times of India
Chal Padh Kuchh Ban (Go study, be something) has become a fortnightly fix for 67, 218 schools across Bihar. The eight-page Hindi-English newspaper, with a print run of 16.80 lakh, is revolutionizing education for children of class I to V, and has become a supplementary reader on language, mathematics and environmental science. The lure of seeing one's name and letters to the editor's column – students contribute liberally – completes the feel of the newspaper.

Started on a trial basis in 2010-11 in 10 districts for 18,881 schools, CPKB became so popular that this year it has been introduced in all districts of Bihar. Each school gets 25 copies (five copies for each class from I to V) and for each special training centres five copies each are distributed.

Best Mango Grower award for Sudhanshu Kumar of Samastipur, Bihar

2011-06-27T20:17:00.001+05:30

Bihar Times
Sudhanshu Kumar, a History graduate from Delhi University and a native of Nayanagar village of Samastipur district has been awarded Best Mango Grower Award by the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) in association with Society for Development of Sub-tropical Horticulture (SDSH) at the ongoing Global Conference on Mango in Lucknow.

Bihar has made a mark under Nitish: US official

2011-06-18T20:08:00.000+05:30

Husk Power Systems of Bihar wins intl award for clean energy

2011-06-18T19:51:00.004+05:30

The Times of India
Husk Power Systems (a rural electrification company in Bihar which generates electricity through the gasification of rice husk)have won this year's International Ashden award for sustainable energy. The prestigious award was given at an official ceremony in London last Thursday.

Shell Foundation's support has helped the fledgling company to refine its business model and apply entrepreneurial thinking to India's huge energy deficit areas. This partnership has now resulted in the creation of over 60 gasification plants – providing over 1.5 lakh households with access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity.

HPS aim to serve more than 5,000 villages, save 750,000 tons of CO2, create 7,000 local jobs and generate savings of US$50 million in cash for 5 million people (by replacing kerosene and diesel with renewable energy) by 2014.

Gyanesh Pandey, CEO of HPS told TOI, "Winning the Ashden awards is a big achievement for Husk Power Systems. Almost a third of India's population have no access to electricity and the role of energy is vital in catalysing the economic development in India".

"HPS is now scaling rapidly with a goal of reaching over 2,000 plants by 2014. We have adopted a new business model to expand effectively and efficiently, and this international recognition will certainly be a source of inspiration for everyone who is – and will be – involved," Pandey said.

Sanjeev Kumar, a Vaishali farmer, gets award

2011-06-12T07:26:00.001+05:30

The Times of India
Bihar's vegetable seed grower Sanjeev Kumar was conferred Udyan Ratna Award by Lt. Amit Singh Foundation at Dehradun in Uttarakhand on the occasion of Swadesh Prem Jagriti Sangosthi on May 30. Kumar, hailing from village Chakwara in Vaishali district, was awarded for innovation and outstanding contribution in adoption and dissemination of technology leading to development of horticulture and rural prosperity.

Phulwarisharif based REPL in Mauritius

2011-06-12T06:56:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
Renovision Exports (Pvt) Limited (REPL), a homeopathic products-manufacturing company based in Federal Colony, Phulwarisharif near Patna.

REPL proprietor Ashfaq Rehman said 20 to 25 of the company's 230 products have international presence. Rehman, who recently accompanied President Pratibha Patil on a visit to Mauritius, earned accolades for his work in the field of homeopathy. He said the Mauritius prime minister appreciated the fact that someone form Patna had for the first time come to Mauritius, intending to make investments.

Police helplines a big success in Bihar

2011-06-12T06:49:00.001+05:30

If your complaints fail to get registered at a police station, you can lodge your complaint on the Helpline number 9470001389.

The women police Helpline (number 9470001390), which was also launched by the Patna SSP on March 1, has performed equally well as indicated by the number of cases solved

Lack of proper marketing hits litchi traders

2011-06-12T06:25:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
Compared to last year's production of only 1.50 lakh tones in Bihar, favourable climatic conditions have led to a production of about 3.50 lakh tones of litchi in the state this year, including 80,000 tonnes in Muzaffarpur district. Last year, growers had received a good price of Rs 10 per kg in orchards.

It is true the aroma, scent and sweetness of Muzaffarpur's Shahi litchi is matchless in the world, but its short season of only 20 to 25 days in a year is not worth it deserves.

The government of India washed its hands off by setting up a National Research Centre for Litchi here.

New meditation centre for Buddhism in Vaishali

2011-06-12T06:18:00.001+05:30

The Times of India
A new meditation centre of Buddhism will soon come up in Vaishali, about 50 km north across Ganga, where Bihar government has decided to make an exclusive museum with relics associated with lord Buddha. The exact place where this museum with stupa will be built is Raja Vishal ka Garh and be called Buddha Darshan museum. The art and culture department has already acquired 2.5 acores of land for the purpose.

Aryabhat Knowledge University (AKU) has initiated the process of granting affiliation to various technical institutions

2011-06-12T06:09:00.000+05:30

Sinha library in Patna (since 1924) a victim of neglect

2011-06-12T05:54:00.003+05:30

The Times of IndiaSinha library, a living memory of late Sachchidanand Sinha, the first president of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Indian Constitution, has a treasure of rarest of rare books. But they are now decaying due to official neglect and apathy.

It was declared open on February 9, 1924 in the presence of Sir Henry Wheeler, the then governor of Bihar and Orissa.

Once a favourite place of dignitaries like Nehru, S Radhakrishnan, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, CV Raman, Hugh McPherson, John Sargent, the library has more than 1.8 lakh books, but all in a poor shape.

This library has Sinha's collection of 10,000 rare books, besides some invaluable collection of newspapers like Harijan, published by Mahatma Gandhi from 1933 to 1948, Indian People, Bihari, Bihar Times, Criterion, Searchlight, Leader, Aryavarta, Weekly Hindustan and Indian Nation. Old copies of Manu Smriti, Sacred Book of the East - edited by F Max Muller, Koran, Buddhist Suttas, a copy of the original Indian constitution, and Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru are also available there.

Nasa acclaim for BIT-Patna techies

2011-06-11T07:18:00.001+05:30

The Times of India

Budding techies from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Patna, have shown their mettle at Lunabotics Mining Competition organized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), USA at Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently.

The 80-kg robot, indigenously developed by a nine-member team of BIT-Patna, was the only entry from India. Its robot tracking system, Caterpillar Track, was adjudged the best among 36 participants from 13 countries across the globe.

Imran Zahid from Bihar has played the lead role of Muntadhar Al Zaidi in Mahesh Bhatt's play 'The Last Salute'

2011-06-11T07:10:00.002+05:30

Bihar jumps to second spot in I-T growth rate

2011-06-11T07:05:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
Bihar has grabbed the second position in the country in terms of percentage growth rate in income-tax collection. In the financial year 2010-2011, the growth rate has been 26.9%. It has been a commendable feat as compared to last fiscal when Bihar stood fifth with 19.8% growth rate.

Tourism along the state’s Buddhist circuit is changing its image

2011-06-10T07:35:00.000+05:30

Livemint
As a tourist destination, Bihar has plenty going for it. There’s history—the world’s most sacred Buddhist sites cover its northern edge, and a thread of vast empires and local kingdoms runs back thousands of years. There’s also no scarcity of fiercely vibrant local culture, from Madhubani paintings to Bhojpuri cinema.

A 1977 batch IPS officer of Bihar, Arun Choudhary, has been made special DG, CISF

2011-06-10T07:31:00.001+05:30

Bihar government approved an industrial promotion policy for the next five years incorporating a slew of incentives to woo private investment

2011-06-10T07:24:00.000+05:30

Kolkata-based Keventer Group is developing a Food Park in Bhagalpur in Bihar, in partnership with the Future Group, at a total investment of 200 crore

2011-06-10T07:17:00.003+05:30

Why does Bihar matter?

2011-06-02T15:15:00.002+05:30

UK magazine brings out special issue on Bihar

The Bihar government has come out with a massive scheme to increase the Bihar's forest/tree cover area from 9.89 percent to 15 percent in five years.

2011-06-01T15:40:00.000+05:30

Bihar board exam toppers

2011-06-01T10:05:00.000+05:30

The Times of India
The CM also felicitated Kundan Kumar, who scored 460/500 in the Bihar board exam to become topper along with Shalini Yadav of Khagaul this year. A student of Janata High School-Sitamarhi, Kundan was given a cheque for Rs 15,000 and a laptop. "It's so overwhelming to know that students from humble background are coming out with flying colours," the CM said and reiterated the government's decision to constitute a 'Baal Parishad' (children's council), comprising of matric toppers and second toppers of the last five years, to give advice to the government on how to better our education system.

People of Muzaffarpur waiting for you Nitishji

2011-05-30T12:52:00.000+05:30

पुल तैयार, उद्घाटन करें श्रीमान्

Saving Bihar girls

2011-05-30T12:36:00.000+05:30

BBC News
According to preliminary data released by the 2011 census, Vaishali has the worst child sex ratio in the state, with 894 girls for every 1,000 boys aged 0-6. Patna is second from bottom with 899.

At 933, the state's child sex ratio is still better than the national average of 914, but it's dropped a long way from the than 981 which the state registered 30 years ago.

This has sent the alarm bells ringing in the administration.

HPCL likely to start sugar production in Lauria and Sugauli by end of this year. The company has invested close to Rs 620 crores in Bihar.

2011-05-28T18:58:00.000+05:30

Business Standard
बिहार में साल के अंत तक चीनी उत्पादन शुरू करेगी एचपीसीएल

International Seminar on Bio-agriculture 22-24 June, Patna

2011-05-28T18:50:00.000+05:30

Food Processing boost up in Bihar- Nestle & Mother Dairy likely to invest

2011-05-28T18:41:00.002+05:30

Mamata’s Biswas owes his political rise to Lalu, but differently

2011-05-26T10:41:00.000+05:30

While 24 of 30 students made it to the IITs from Anand Kumar’s Super 30, his one-time friend and now competitor, former IPS officer Abhayanand, had to settle for a little less. Thirty-four of Abhayanand’s 91 students have made it to the tech hubs.

2011-05-26T10:26:00.000+05:30

IIT Result 2011: 24 of Bihar's Super 30 crack IIT-JEE this year

2011-05-26T10:25:00.000+05:30

Economic Times
"It is again a good news that this year, 24 out of the 30 students made it to the IIT-JEE. In the last three years, all 30 from Super 30 had qualified. This takes the total number of Super 30 students who have qualified for the IIT-JEE in the last nine years to 236," the institute's founder and director Anand Kumar told IANS Wednesday.

He added that the changed pattern of the exam this year could be a reason why his entire batch could not bag the coveted IIT seats.

The successful candidates include the wards of a roadside vendor, mobile mechanic, private marginal farmer, a truck driver and a class four government employee.

Bhagalpur at Cannes

2011-05-17T11:46:00.001+05:30

The Indian Express

MUMBAI-BASED designer Shaahid Amir presented his "Terra Mater (Mother Earth)" collection at the Cannes Fashion Nites, during the ongoing 64th Cannes Film Festival. The show was held at Villa Oxygene, the official Cannes Fashion Nites venue.Transparent muslins, Bhagalpur tapestry work, crinkled cottons and satins created a global-Indian statement.

He is the only Indian designer who has been invited until date to showcase his collection at the Cannes 2011.

Sanjay Jha among highest paid CEOs in US: Report

2011-05-10T17:19:00.000+05:30

The Economic Times
PepsiCo's India-born chief Indra Nooyi and Motorola Mobility's Sanjay Jha are among the highest paid CEOs in the US, according to new estimates that say salaries and bonuses for chief executives running 350 major companies surged 11 per cent to USD 9.3 million in 2010.

Jha's total direct compensation was USD 11.92 million. His 2010 salary was USD 9 lakh dollars and he earned annual incentives of USD 1 million and about USD 10 million in stock option and restricted stock grants.

Neurology meet on May 8

2011-05-07T12:47:00.000+05:30

The Times of India
PATNA: Eminent neurologists from different parts of the country would attend Neurology-Update, 2011, to be held here on May 8. It is being organized under the joint banner of Indian Epilepsy Association (Bihar chapter) and Department of Neurology, IGIMS, Patna

Patna Durbar

2011-05-07T12:19:00.000+05:30

Business Standard
Three days in a month, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar opens the doors of his house to anybody who has a problem.

What is true is that it gives Kumar a feel of what is troubling the people. “Kumar has got ideas about several of his popular acts in the state from these meetings,” says an aide. “The Bihar Anti-Graft Act, Right to Service Bill, and Land Reform Tribunal Bill have evolved right here.” These meetings were also where Kumar realised that many people in the state didn’t have fixed addresses — migrant workers who lived wherever their jobs took them. At what address could such people be reached for redress? “If one of them has to get a job, where should we send his appointment letter?” says Kumar. He has thus initiated an exercise to put together a record of all such people in Bihar.

It is held on the first, second and third Monday of every month, except when the state legislature is in assembly. So far, Kumar has met 130,000 people under this programme.

Nothing to beat spicy chokha & hot littis

2011-05-02T16:33:00.000+05:30

India Today
Foodies across the country and elsewhere are rediscovering a delicacy that has been part of Bihar's traditional cuisine for centuries: litti-chokha. It is one food item which has Bihari written all over it. In recent years, this spicy combo of low-cost, highly nutritious food has caught the fancy of people everywhere.

Patna doctor for UN meet

2011-04-27T19:05:00.002+05:30

The Times of India
Noted physician and medical director, Public Awareness for Healthful Approach for Living ( PAHAL), Dr Diwakar Tejaswi has been invited to attend the United Nations General Assembly`s high-level meet on HIV/AIDS scheduled to take place on June 8 and 10 at UN headquarters, New York. This is a rare achievement by a young doctor from Bihar.

Bihar, the first state to constitute an 'agriculture cabinet' to improve the agrarian sector

2011-04-27T18:59:00.002+05:30

Bihar Times
The chief minister's agriculture advisor Mangala Rai, former director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), is a special invitee to this cabinet. He presented his research-based project to develop agriculture in Bihar at the meeting.

The new 'cabinet' is headed by the chief minister and constitutes ministers of 18 departments, including water resources, irrigation, energy, rural works, sugarcane industry, animal husbandry and disaster management.

Bihar government has given highest priority to the agriculture sector and increased its budgetary allocation from Rs.25 crore to almost Rs.844 crore in 2011-12.

Shambhavi Das, a class VIII student of Notre Dame Academy Patna, got the first prize at the International English Olympiad.

2011-04-22T14:01:00.000+05:30

Patna boy Rahul gets NASA award

2011-04-22T13:58:00.000+05:30

The Times of India
Rahul Bhardwaj, a Patna-based boy, has become the first recipient of Humans in Space Symposium Youth Art Competition, NASA-Johnson Space Center Award. Having appeared in Plus two examination from DAV Public School, BSEB Colony this year, he was identified as one of the winners in the `art' category.

Rahul's entry was adjudged the winner from amongst 550 art entries. The announcement of winners was done on April 11 at the Humans in Space symposium opening ceremony.

Hindi film "Dear Friend Hitler", which is to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival next month is the result of efforts of three Patnaites

2011-04-22T11:10:00.002+05:30

PM's Award for Bihar secretary

2011-04-21T11:52:00.001+05:30

The Indian ExpressPratyaya Amrit, Secretary, Bihar’s Road Construction Department received the ‘PM’s excellence award in the field of public administration’ on the occasion of Civil Services Day.

The PM’s award acknowledges the work done in reviving the Bihar Pul Raj Nirman Nigam (BRPNN, once a decrepit PSU, now a profit-making corporation poised to extend its footprint outside Bihar to other states. When Pratyaya took over in 2006, the Nigam was not only loss-making, it was also under liquidation. The previous government had decided to wind it up.

The BRPNN’s turnaround is irrefutable: In June 2009, the corporation posted a net profit of Rs 60 crore; and the turnover had climbed from Rs 40 crore to 758 crore. “Today, it has crossed 1,000 crore,” Pratyaya says.

Permanent IIT campus at Bihta

2011-04-21T11:48:00.000+05:30

The Indian ExpressSibal laid the foundation stone of a permanent IIT campus at Bihta, 30 km from Patna. IIT, Patna, which started from a temporary campus in 2008, will have its own building and a 500-acre campus at Bihta in three years.

Anand Kumar of Super-30 fame in Italy's 'Focus'

2011-04-21T11:42:00.000+05:30

The Times of IndiaBihar's maths wizard Anand Kumar, whose Super-30 initiative has seen hundreds of poor students cracking IITJEE over the years, has made it to the list of world's extraordinary personalities, prepared by European magazine 'Focus'. 'Focus' is published by Italy's biggest publishing house Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.

Corruption watchdog hails Bihar

2011-04-21T11:41:00.000+05:30

Bihar has the best system since it is linked to information technology, which helps in monitoring appeals. There are also provisions like online RTI and seizure of property of errant officials- Transparency International

Patna boys bring laurels in Optics, Robotics and Medicine

2011-04-18T13:41:00.002+05:30

The Times of India reports:
Patna boy Saikat Guha,son of Aryabhat Knowledge University vice-chancellor S N Guha, along with his team members, has envisaged a theory which could lead to incredibly powerful radar systems as well as advancements in telescopes and other technologies that use light.

Quite recently, a group of students from BIT Mesra, Patna campus, led by Peetak Mitra, was selected to take part in the NASA Lunabotics Mining Competition, one of the world's most challenging robotics competition. This event is to take place at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, this year. They have made a lunar excavator that can go on the moon and excavate lunar soil.

Yet another Patna boy, Sunny Mahajan, achieved a commendable feat in the medical world by making valuable contributions to the human brain mapping. He presented his research finding at the 16th annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), held in Barcelona, Spain, in June last year.

Bihar roads better than in many parts of Europe: EU MPs

2011-04-16T21:42:00.000+05:30

Census 2011: Rohtas tops in literacy rate, Purnea occupies bottom position

2011-04-16T21:19:00.000+05:30

Though Bihar's population growth rate has dipped by 3.45 per cent to 25.07 per cent in 2011 from 28.62 per cent a decade ago the state’s population has reached 10.38 crores mark. Notwithstanding the decline in the growth rate the density of the state has increased from 881 to 1102 in the last 10 years.

CPI leader Prabhu Narayan Rai dead

2011-04-16T18:06:00.002+05:30

Senior Communist Party of India leader, freedom-fighter and Marxist ideologue Prabhu Narayan Rai died after protracted illness at his native village at Gauripur in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Saturday

Bihar government to float tenders for new power units

2011-04-16T18:01:00.000+05:30

Back Home to Bihar- reverse brain drain!

2011-02-27T14:15:00.003+05:30

The Sunday Express: Das and his dream set off on a new journey. In 2001, with his savings of “a few thousand rupees”, he started his software development firm, Isoft, from a cyber cafe in Bharat Nagar, a run-down south Delhi locality. Isoft today has 40 clients across India, UAE and Australia, and 150 employees in its offices in Delhi, Dubai and Sydney.Das, for instance, is setting up an engineering college, two schools and a hospital in Mirdaul, Forbesganj. The foundation stone for his Rs. 110-crore engineering college, Moti Babu Institute of Technology, was laid last year on a 14-acre land he bought from the government for Rs. 60 crore.

Bihar Foundation, a state government initiative set up in January 2008 to get people settled outside the state to invest in Bihar, has 1.5 lakh members across 11 chapters in India, US, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, South Korea and Australia.

Chandrakant Singh, a researcher at General Motors in Bangalore, has set up a primary school, Chaitanya Gurukul Public School, on 13 acres at Chamanpura, his village in Gopalganj district. Construction on the residential school began in 2009 and its first session took off last year with 500 students.

Omer Hejazeen, an entrepreneur who runs a media production company in Dubai and hails from Biridipur village in Darbhanga district, has got the architectural layout ready for his Haji Omer Yasin Asim Memorial Institute of Technology, an engineering college spread across 49 acres in his village.

Then, there’s Bibhuti Bikramaditya, who is setting up an ‘Advanced Electronics Lab’ in Patna. Bikramaditya, who hails from Janipur village in Sitamarhi district and who worked as a project manager in nSystech, Seoul, for seven years, returned to Patna in 2010 to set up his company, Tekbrains, which develops hardware solutions. The lab he plans to set up in Patna has been approved by the Union Ministry of IT and Communications and will be operational next month. It has 30 computers and plans to enrol 60 students who will be awarded diplomas in electronics system design, in association with DOEACC.

Bihar will enter the 100th year of its existence on March 22 with much fanfare

2011-02-27T14:07:00.000+05:30

Global design competition for Nalanda university

2011-02-27T13:58:00.002+05:30

Bihar Times: As the historic Nalanda University is set to be rebuilt, Vice Chancellor Gopa Sabharwal said Monday that a global design competition for the building's architecture will be announced in three to four months.

Talking to reporters in Delhi at a press conference, the newly appointed vice chancellor said that the new university will be built on an area of 446 acres, 10 km from the site of the ancient university of Nalanda in Bihar.

The Nalanda University Bill was passed by the parliament during the monsoon session in August 2010 and a notification for its creation was issued in November.

The course include Buddhist studies, philosophy and comparative religions, historical studies, international relations and peace studies, business management in relation to public policy and development studies, languages and literature and ecology and environmental studies.

Talking about the courses, Nalanda mentor group chairman and nobel laureate Amartya Sen said that the courses like Buddhist philosophy and religious studies aimed at connecting the modern university to its historic past when Nalanda was the centre of learning that attracted students from all over the world.

"We got $7 million from Singapore, $1 million from China, Australia is funding a chair, while Laos has given $50,000," Sabharwal said.

Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo said that the aim was to create a university to facilitate exchange of ideas.

"It will be a place where human beings gather and each contribute to development of others," Yeo said.

My success will encourage youth in Bihar: Designer Govind Singh

2011-02-27T13:36:00.001+05:30

Bihar Times: Govind Kumar Singh, who is from Bihar, was voted the top upcoming Indian fashion designer 2011 by Cotton Council International (CCI), and he feels his success story will inspire youngster in his home state to join the fashion fraternity.

Singh, who hails from the flood-prone Supaul district, told IANS over telephone Friday that it was a big moment for him as well as his home state.

Over 400 IAS,IPS officials furnish asset details in Bihar

2011-02-27T13:29:00.001+05:30

Facing the prospect of their salaries being withheld due to non-declaration of assets, government employees in Bihar , including over 400 IAS and IPS officers, have furnished their details ahead of the February 28 deadline, officials said today. More in The Economic Times

Bihar-UTI BPL scheme for girl child meets with huge success

2011-02-13T16:06:00.000+05:30

The Bihar government-promoted 'Mukhya Mantri Kanya Suraksha Yojana' has met with a huge success with the state receiving 9.28 lakh applications from BPL families. Under this scheme, the Bihar government donates Rs 2,000 each on the birth of the first two baby girls in BPL families.

Samastipur born Father of Polypathy and Cardiac Wizard Dr Shreenivas dies at 91

2010-11-14T11:00:00.001+05:30

Private road firms now investing in Bihar

2010-11-14T10:34:00.001+05:30

The Times of India

"A Hyderabad-based firm will construct a bridge across Ganga river at the cost of Rs 1,600 crore. This is the first public private partner partnership (PPP) project in our state. It will be constructed 50 km downstream from Patna. It will reduce traffic congestion in the capital. This project has opened flood gates of private investment in our state and many firms are evincing interest."

Vinod Dua's Anti-Bihari Rants - An Open Letter

2010-10-31T07:42:00.000+05:30

Chairman of Amrapali group , Anil Kumar Sharma who is from Bihar, said on the group's foray into the hospitality sector

2010-10-31T06:46:00.002+05:30

Battleground Bihar

2010-10-30T06:45:00.000+05:30

Bihar and Beyond

2010-10-27T14:01:00.001+05:30

Bihar grew at an annual rate of 3.5% from 1999 to 2004. From 2004, its average growth rate rose to 11.35%. In 2004-05, the state's per capita income was Rs 8,307. By 2008-09, it had risen to Rs 13,959. Plan expenditure, which denotes development activities and assets creation, went up from an average Rs 4,689 crore every year till 2006-07 to an average of Rs 14,800 crore every year from 2007.

Read more: Bihar and Beyond - The Times of India

List of candidates for Oct. 28 assembly elections

2010-10-26T12:52:00.000+05:30

'2nd term to banta hai boss'

2010-10-26T12:45:00.000+05:30

With a population of over 13 lakh even after the bifurcation of Bihar in November 2000, Bengalis are still a force to reckon with in the state

2010-10-26T12:43:00.000+05:30

Bihar has become the biggest per capita jewellery market for branded products

2010-10-26T12:41:00.000+05:30

Arrow vs lantern for Vaishali seat

2010-10-26T12:31:00.000+05:30

Gen Next's wishlist for Bihar

2010-10-26T12:26:00.002+05:30

List of candidates for Oct 24 Bihar elections

2010-10-23T14:03:00.003+05:30

Campaign for an energy revolution in Bihar

2010-10-02T23:32:00.000+05:30

List of candidates for Bihar Assembly elections

2010-10-02T18:31:00.002+05:30

A large chunk of the Maoists are reported to have moved from Bengal to Bihar ahead of the assembly polls but the Bengal government has refused to let go of the CRPF units deployed in Jangalmahal

2010-09-18T07:08:00.000+05:30

Read more: State refuses to release troops for Bihar polls - The Times of India

Second protective embankment plugged after the turbulent Gandak river breached it near Semaria village in Gopalganj district

2010-09-18T07:01:00.000+05:30

Diesel subsidy for 38 districts in Bihar

2010-09-18T06:58:00.000+05:30

The Central government on Sep 17 announced diesel subsidy for farmers using diesel pumps to irrigate their farms in the drought-affected states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to save the kharif crop. Farmers in 38 districts of Bihar will get a subsidy of Rs 500 per hectare. The entire subsidy will cost the government Rs 500 crore. Read more in The Indian Express

The Asian Development Bank will lend $300 million to upgrade about 356 kilometers of highways in Bihar

2010-09-16T13:54:00.000+05:30

Dengue cases rise in Bihar

2010-09-14T23:12:00.000+05:30

American Utility AES Offers $1.7 Billion to Build Thermal Power Plant in Bhagalpur in Bihar

2010-09-14T22:30:00.000+05:30

Now a 'Rancho' school comes up in Bihar

2010-09-13T17:48:00.002+05:30

Bihar Times reports, A school for the poor in Bihar, inspired by Rancho's iconic school in Bollywood blockbuster "3 Idiots", has been opened by a scientist to teach complex science theories through games and interactive workshops.

Sudhir Kumar, a scientist working in the biotechnology laboratory of the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Pune, has set up a school in his native village of Mirzapur Chand in Bihar's Begusarai district, about 110 km from Patna.

"Besides formal education up to Class 6, explanation of complex theories of science through fun and interactive workshops conducted by a panel of scientists will be part of the school's curriculum," Sudhir Kumar, an assistant professor at IIIT-Pune, told IANS.

The school, which opened on Sep 05, 2010, has a staggered fee structure -- free of cost for the poor and different slabs for children with different economic backgrounds.

Pitra Paksh or Shraddh (Remembering our forefathers) mela at Gaya Bihar from Sep23-Oct 07

2010-09-12T07:21:00.000+05:30

This year Pitra Paksh or Shraddh will start on September 23 to October 07, 2010. It begins on Bhadrapada Shukla Purnima to Ashwin Krishna Amavasya and in the said period one can offer Pindadan to help attain MOKSHA to the souls of our great elders. Pitripaksh Mela, which is organized every year, during fifteen days of Ashwin (Sep-Oct) starts from the day of Anant Chaturdashi of Bhadra Suklapaksh, according to the Hindi Calendar.

This year Anant Chaturdashi falls on September 22, 2010.

The fifteen days of the dark half of the Hindu month of Ashwin (September-October) is known as Pitri Paksh. Hindus offer Tillanjali (water with black sesame seeds) in the name of their departed ancestors during these fifteen days. They also perform Paarnava Sradha on the tithi or lunar day which their Pitri departed from the physical body.

If you're going through bad patches in life then this is the time to remember your elders and seek blessings. It calls for a 11-day simple ritual.

Patna-born prodigy Tathagat Avtar Tulsi, 22, becomes Professor at IIT Bombay

2010-07-13T17:57:00.000+05:30

He completed high school at the age of 9, had a B.Sc at 10, an M.Sc in Physics at 12, and a PhD in Quantum Computing from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, at 21. In 2003, Time named him among the world’s seven most gifted youngsters. Now, at age 22, Patna-born prodigy Tathagat Avtar Tulsi has become possibly the youngest assistant professor at IIT. Read in The Indian Express

Bihar surges to become nation’s fastest growing cement market

2010-06-01T10:12:00.000+05:30

Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha of Bihar took over as Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

2010-05-31T18:05:00.001+05:30

Super 30 success continues- (meet some aluminis)

2010-05-31T16:58:00.002+05:30