MEGA JOB FAIR PM’S MESSAGE FOR ... - Gujarat Information · GUJARAT TOWARDS FAST-TRACK DEVELOPMENT GUJARA MEGA JOB FAIR PM’S MESSAGE FOR WOMEN PANCH MAHOTSAV . Dear Readers,

VOL-VII • ISSUE-2 • APRIL 2017 | [email protected]

BUDGET BUDGET 2017-182017-18

`25000cr.

EDUCATION

`8800cr.

HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE

`2000cr.

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT

`11500cr.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

& URBAN HOUSING

`8100cr.ENERGY &

PETROCHEMICALS

GUJARAT TOWARDS FAST-TRACK DEVELOPMENT


MEGA JOB FAIR PM’S MESSAGE FOR WOMEN PANCH MAHOTSAV

Dear Readers,

Gujarat has embarked upon a journey of fast track development where dedicated efforts and strong-will of the government are the fuel and all round development of the state is the destination. Keeping this goal in mind we have announced the new State Budget for the financial year 2017-18. This Budget is in accordance with Gujarat's long standing tradition of development till the last mile. This Budget is pro-poor and pro farmers, who are the lifeline of our economy. At the same time, the Budget is modern, welfare and growth oriented in keeping with the needs of the economy currently. The Budget has benefits for all sections of the society.

This March, we observed International Women's Day in the august presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gujarat is a progressive state and doesn't consider development of women as just emancipation of a weaker section of the society. It is more about celebrating women, their strengths and achievements and encouraging them to prosper with the dedicated support of the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself addressed the women of Gujarat and congratulated them for their exemplary contribution in ‘Swachha Bharat Abhiyan’. He recognised that women are the flag-bearers of change in society and that the goal towards a clean India will be realised through the leadership of women.

In the past quarter following the mega event Vibrant Gujarat, the state has seen many development activities in digitalisation of economy, infrastructure creation and creating new opportunities for youth, women, tribals, rural and urban citizens alike.

I hope you enjoy reading about these flagship programmes of the state government in this issue of the Gujarat.

Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat...

Chief Editor A. J. Shah

Co-editor Arvind Patel

Managing Editor Pulak Trivedi

Dy. Chief Editor R. R. Turi

Team ‘the GUJARAT’ Seema Dave Shraddha Gidwani

Design & Layout Crayon Creative & Media Agencywww.crayonadvt.com

DistributionJayesh DaveMukundan K. P.

LETTERS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO Directorate of Information First Floor, Block no. 19, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India- 382010

All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this publication's contents, in whole or in part, without written permission, is prohibited. the Gujarat does not necessarily agree with the views of the writers/contributors.

Publisher Shri A. J. Shah and Printer Manager, Government Photo Litho Press, Ahmedabad on Behalf of Owner Directorate of Information, Govt. of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Printed At Government Photo Litho Press, Ahmedabad Published From 19/1, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar (Gujarat) : April, 2017Editor Shri A. J. Shah

E-mail: [email protected]

VOL-VII • ISSUE-2 • APRIL, 2017An English Quarterly Magazine

CM’S MESSAGE

VIJAY RUPANI CHIEF MINISTER, GUJARAT

Yuva Swavalamban Yojana: Assistance worth 1100 cr

Higher Education: assistance to 45,000 students

Secondary schools: free textbooks to 21,03,000 students

Tablets provided to 3,50,000 students at a cost of Rs. 1000

Employment: Job fairs organised to benefit 3,00,000 youths

Start-up policy: Rs. 19 cr towards self employment opportunities

Art and culture: allocation of 10 cr for state-level art and culture extravaganza

Sports and recreation: 10,000 rural gyms planned

DEDICATED GOVERNMENT FOR

DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUTH

Dear Readers,

Gujarat has embarked upon a journey of fast track development where dedicated efforts and strong-will of the government are the fuel and all round development of the state is the destination. Keeping this goal in mind we have announced the new State Budget for the financial year 2017-18. This Budget is in accordance with Gujarat's long standing tradition of development till the last mile. This Budget is pro-poor and pro farmers, who are the lifeline of our economy. At the same time, the Budget is modern, welfare and growth oriented in keeping with the needs of the economy currently. The Budget has benefits for all sections of the society.

This March, we observed International Women's Day in the august presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gujarat is a progressive state and doesn't consider development of women as just emancipation of a weaker section of the society. It is more about celebrating women, their strengths and achievements and encouraging them to prosper with the dedicated support of the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself addressed the women of Gujarat and congratulated them for their exemplary contribution in ‘Swachha Bharat Abhiyan’. He recognised that women are the flag-bearers of change in society and that the goal towards a clean India will be realised through the leadership of women.

In the past quarter following the mega event Vibrant Gujarat, the state has seen many development activities in digitalisation of economy, infrastructure creation and creating new opportunities for youth, women, tribals, rural and urban citizens alike.

I hope you enjoy reading about these flagship programmes of the state government in this issue of the Gujarat.

Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat...

Chief Editor A. J. Shah

Co-editor Arvind Patel

Managing Editor Pulak Trivedi

Dy. Chief Editor R. R. Turi

Team ‘the GUJARAT’ Seema Dave Shraddha Gidwani

Design & Layout Crayon Creative & Media Agencywww.crayonadvt.com

DistributionJayesh DaveMukundan K. P.

LETTERS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO Directorate of Information First Floor, Block no. 19, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India- 382010

All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this publication's contents, in whole or in part, without written permission, is prohibited. the Gujarat does not necessarily agree with the views of the writers/contributors.

Publisher Shri A. J. Shah and Printer Manager, Government Photo Litho Press, Ahmedabad on Behalf of Owner Directorate of Information, Govt. of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Printed At Government Photo Litho Press, Ahmedabad Published From 19/1, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar (Gujarat) : April, 2017Editor Shri A. J. Shah

E-mail: [email protected]

VOL-VII • ISSUE-2 • APRIL, 2017An English Quarterly Magazine

CM’S MESSAGE

VIJAY RUPANI CHIEF MINISTER, GUJARAT

Yuva Swavalamban Yojana: Assistance worth 1100 cr

Higher Education: assistance to 45,000 students

Secondary schools: free textbooks to 21,03,000 students

Tablets provided to 3,50,000 students at a cost of Rs. 1000

Employment: Job fairs organised to benefit 3,00,000 youths

Start-up policy: Rs. 19 cr towards self employment opportunities

Art and culture: allocation of 10 cr for state-level art and culture extravaganza

Sports and recreation: 10,000 rural gyms planned

DEDICATED GOVERNMENT FOR

DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUTH

03 GUJARAT THIS QUARTER

06 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

PRIME MINISTER IN GUJARAT:

TOWARDS A SAFE, EMPOWERED AND EQUAL SOCIETY

Success Story: Ramilaben

HIGH-WAY TO I-WAY

BHARUCH CASHLESS AND DIGITALLY INTEGRATED TOWNSHIP

MEGA JOB FAIR

PESA ACT

OPaL PLANT

STUDENT STARTUP AND INNOVATION POLICY

32 IN CONVERSATION

GANPATSINH VASAVA

GUJARAT THIS QUARTER

“If there is one city in the entire country which singularly contributes to national economy it is Surat,” PM Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented all those who contributed to unbelievable development and facelift of the Surat city over the last 25 years, and gave the credit to their vision and exemplary efforts.

PM Modi who began his two-day whirlwind tour of Gujarat from Surat this afternoon said that if there is one city in the entire country which could singularly contribute to the national economy on its own strengths it is undoubtedly Surat.

Speaking at his grand reception at the Surat airport, he complimented Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his team for their efforts for declaring towns Open Defecation Free (ODF) as part of the national cleanliness campaign. At the national level, he said, necessary infrastructure has been created in nearly 500 towns to make them ODF, while this number of such villages runs into lakhs.

PM Modi also spoke on the Central Government’s move to remove the perpetual shortage of doctors and teachers in medical colleges by reversing the restriction on postgraduate seats in

med ica l co l l eges . Near ly 4 ,000 postgraduate seats were added in one year, and at this rate 40,000 to one lakh doctors could be produced in the country in a few years

CM distributes 55 orders of ULC charter to beneficiaries in Ahmedabad city

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani attended a programme which was organized by Ahmedabad District Administration to authorize land occupancy under urban land ceiling act. He briefed about his historic decision to provide 33 lakh 80 thousand sq. meter

land out of 1 crore 49 lakh sq. meter land to poor - deprived persons in six cities of the state on behalf of state revenue department under ULC act. On the occasion he said that we are committed to fulfill the dream of each citizen of the state to build their dream home.

According to CM Rupani, the state government is committed to providing food and home to poor and middle class labour families of the state. The government has given them livelihood t h r o u g h i n d u s t r y - b u s i n e s s – employment and now has given them home by providing spare land of the city under urban land ceiling act. Under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfill the mantra of ‘collective efforts – inclusive growth’ the State Government will lead the nation in distribution of ULC land occupancy by providing dream home to each citizen within year 2022. The poor families with unofficial occupancy of land were unable to sleep as the tension of demolition, but now with occupancy charter of home they will have sound sleep.

He briefed people and gave details about current year budget to provide loan assistance worth Rs. 4,84,000 for housing construction to middle class – poor families. He reaffirmed the mantra of

20COVER STORYGUJARAT TOWARDS FAST-TRACK DEVELOPMENT

BUDGET 2017-18

36 IN FOCUS

PM IN SOMNATH

CELEBRATING THE KING OF SEASONS :

VASANTOTSAV

PANCH MAHOTSAV A CELEBRATION OF

HERITAGE

A BRIGHT-LIT PATH FOR TOURISM IN GUJARAT

TOWARDS HEALTH, PROSPERITY AND

AWARENESS

44 VISIONARIES

CHIMANBHAI SAPARIYA

48 UPCOMING EVENTS

INDEX QUICK BITES

2 | the GUJARAT • April, 2017 April, 2017 • the GUJARAT | 3

03 GUJARAT THIS QUARTER

06 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES


TOWARDS A SAFE, EMPOWERED AND EQUAL SOCIETY

Success Story: Ramilaben

HIGH-WAY TO I-WAY

BHARUCH CASHLESS AND DIGITALLY INTEGRATED TOWNSHIP

MEGA JOB FAIR

PESA ACT

OPaL PLANT


32 IN CONVERSATION

GANPATSINH VASAVA

GUJARAT THIS QUARTER

“If there is one city in the entire country which singularly contributes to national economy it is Surat,” PM Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented all those who contributed to unbelievable development and facelift of the Surat city over the last 25 years, and gave the credit to their vision and exemplary efforts.

PM Modi who began his two-day whirlwind tour of Gujarat from Surat this afternoon said that if there is one city in the entire country which could singularly contribute to the national economy on its own strengths it is undoubtedly Surat.

Speaking at his grand reception at the Surat airport, he complimented Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his team for their efforts for declaring towns Open Defecation Free (ODF) as part of the national cleanliness campaign. At the national level, he said, necessary infrastructure has been created in nearly 500 towns to make them ODF, while this number of such villages runs into lakhs.

PM Modi also spoke on the Central Government’s move to remove the perpetual shortage of doctors and teachers in medical colleges by reversing the restriction on postgraduate seats in

med ica l co l l eges . Near ly 4 ,000 postgraduate seats were added in one year, and at this rate 40,000 to one lakh doctors could be produced in the country in a few years

CM distributes 55 orders of ULC charter to beneficiaries in Ahmedabad city

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani attended a programme which was organized by Ahmedabad District Administration to authorize land occupancy under urban land ceiling act. He briefed about his historic decision to provide 33 lakh 80 thousand sq. meter

land out of 1 crore 49 lakh sq. meter land to poor - deprived persons in six cities of the state on behalf of state revenue department under ULC act. On the occasion he said that we are committed to fulfill the dream of each citizen of the state to build their dream home.

According to CM Rupani, the state government is committed to providing food and home to poor and middle class labour families of the state. The government has given them livelihood t h r o u g h i n d u s t r y - b u s i n e s s – employment and now has given them home by providing spare land of the city under urban land ceiling act. Under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfill the mantra of ‘collective efforts – inclusive growth’ the State Government will lead the nation in distribution of ULC land occupancy by providing dream home to each citizen within year 2022. The poor families with unofficial occupancy of land were unable to sleep as the tension of demolition, but now with occupancy charter of home they will have sound sleep.

He briefed people and gave details about current year budget to provide loan assistance worth Rs. 4,84,000 for housing construction to middle class – poor families. He reaffirmed the mantra of

20COVER STORYGUJARAT TOWARDS FAST-TRACK DEVELOPMENT

BUDGET 2017-18

36 IN FOCUS

PM IN SOMNATH


VASANTOTSAV

PANCH MAHOTSAV A CELEBRATION OF

HERITAGE

A BRIGHT-LIT PATH FOR TOURISM IN GUJARAT

TOWARDS HEALTH, PROSPERITY AND

AWARENESS

44 VISIONARIES

CHIMANBHAI SAPARIYA

48 UPCOMING EVENTS

INDEX QUICK BITES


‘Har Haath Ko Kaam – Kaam Ka Sahi Daam’ by giving meals at just Rs. 10 within upcoming days to the labour families of Gujarat.

It is worth to mention here that 3,802 a p p l i c a t i o n s w e r e r e c e i v e d i n Ahmedabad to get occupancy charter under urban land ceiling act. Out of them CM Rupani distributed the charter orders to 55 people and 203 people have been given intimation orders. As a result of the historic decision 124 societies, 30 flats and 130 chawls will get recognition as per the rules of this act.

After BSE, GIFT city now welcomes the MCX

“We are grateful to the Government of Gujarat, and appreciative of GIFT City's continuous support for helping us participate and contribute in our own way, in fulfilling the larger vision of our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, of creating a vibrant financial services centre in India. This, therefore, is an opportunity for us to not just diversify our risk and strengthen our competencies, but also participate in India's growth story”

- Mr. Saurabh Chandra, Chairman, MCX

According to Ajay Pandey, MD and Group CEO of GIFT City, the presence of

MCX is a testament to the state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and world-class amenities of GIFT City that have been designed in line with other reputed global financial hubs. GIFT City has one of India's largest Tier IV data centre, high quality cloud services and competitive cost of operations. In the coming days, we hope to see more such premier institutions making GIFT City their home, which will only strengthen its credential as India's first successful Global Financial Hub”

Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani inaugurated the new office of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), at GIFT City, Gandhinagar on 31st January, 2017. This inauguration comes as a prompt move following the MoU between MCX and the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) Company Ltd. during the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit with an intent to expand the exchange's operations in terms of Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR), training & education and technology (Software Development and Information Technology Operations). During the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, MCX expressed its intention to invest over Rs 30 crore and develop employee strength of over 100 at this office over the next few years.

During his inaugural address, CM Rupani expressed confidence that Gujarat is definitely the Manufacturing Hub of the country and it will soon emerge as the new financial hub of the country. He mentioned that it was the vision of our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat to set up the GIFT city and develop it as the centre of all financial activity of the country. With the inauguration of the MCX at GIFT city, shortly after setting up of BSE, this vision has moved yet another step closer towards realization.

Shri Rupani took great pride in announcing that with the entry of BSE and MCX into GIFT city, forward trading is bound to get a huge impetus. He also took this opportunity to invite overseas firms to set up their offices at GIFT city. He said with complete conviction that GIFT city will soon house the complete range of financial services like share trading, commodity exchange, BPOs, KPOs, nationalized banks and provide employment to about 10 lakh youths.

The MCX setup, spread over 22,600 sq ft, will house its Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) centre and a training and education facility. The purpose of the BC Plan is to prepare MCX in the event of extended service outages caused by factors beyond control

(e.g. natural disasters, man-made events) and to restore services to the widest extent possible in a minimum time frame. MCX has plans to set up its in-house software development division for data analytics, internal automation, ancillary applications and value addition services to its members.

The training and education facility will conduct training programmes and impart knowledge for the enhancement of skills and capabilities of students and working professionals, desirous of making a career in commodity market. Since the GIFT City is bound to emerge as a large and vibrant hub of finance, encompassing all of its various market segments: commodities, equity, foreign exchange and fixed income, the training facility can help create capacity in the trading community from India and abroad.

MCX is also looking at a possible future expansion of the facility, including the possibility of setting up a training campus.

State Government to develop 10 state-of- the art bus terminals at a cost of Rs. 913 cores

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of an iconic and a modern bus terminal at Bharuch on Tuesday, the 7th March, 2017 which is going to be built under the PPP model at a cost of Rs. 92.69 crores.

Ten state of the art bus terminals will be developed under the PPP model by the State Transport Corporation at a cost of Rs. 913 crores which will be incurred by the state government. In addition, 1600 new buses will be introduced by the

G.S.R.T.C for the innermost areas of the state which will benefit an approximate o f 8 3 , 0 0 0 t r a v e l e r s d a i l y. T h e government has allocated a fund of Rs. 410 crores for the same.

CM addresses people through BISAG and appeals to increase Green-cover in the state on world forest day.

In the occasion of World Forest Day, Chief Minister of Gujarat appealed to one and all to combat the issue of Global Warming by planting more and more trees. He said that trees, forest, water, animals and humans and various other forms of life are attached to one another by the spirit of 'Vasudeva Kutumbakam'. He further added that it is the need of the hour that the social, economic and the environmental aspect of life, along with energy consumption, work together in sync for a sustainable future.

CM inaugurates 31st Gujarat Science

Congress

The 31st Gujarat Science Congress was

organised at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum

Universi ty(PDPU) on the 4th of

February, 2017. The Chief Minister of

Gujarat, Vijay Rupani inaugurated the 2-

day event jointly organised by Gujarat

Science Academy, Gujarat Energy

Research and Management Institute

(GERMI), PDPU and Institute of

Seismological Research (ISR).

At the event, Shri Rupani expressed his

keenness to formulate a new policy of

science and technology for the state

which would aim to provide a suitable

global platform in the field of science and

technology to the youth of the state. This

would be in line with the vision of our

Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra

Modi and the Niti Aayog.

Shri Rupani also encouraged the

students to take up careers in science and

felicitated best teachers and professors

rendering quality education in the field of

science, mathematics, biology, physics

and space science.

Free Wi-Fi service for Rajkot BRTS

passengers

The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay

Rupani launched free Wi-Fi service on

the buses plying under the Bus Rapid

Transit System (BRTS) in Rajkot, on the

11th of February, 2017. Acording to the

CM, 15 thousand passengers of Rajkot

will be benefited from it.

This is an initiative of the Rajkot

Municipal Corporation and the Wi-Fi

facility has been made available on 18

bus shelters from the day of the

inauguration. This service will allow

every passenger to use Wi-Fi service for

10 minutes at the speed of 10mbps.

The Rajkot BRTS pilot blue corridor

has been designed to cover a distance of

10.70 km, from Gandal Chokdi to

Madhapar Chowk. The corridor provides

for service lanes, cycle zones, pedestrian

ways, motor vehicle lane and BRTS bus

lane along with 18 shelters. These 18

shelters have been equipped with CCTV

camera, smooth travelling facility for

Divyangs, Paytm, smart ticketing etc.•

QUICK BITES QUICK BITES


‘Har Haath Ko Kaam – Kaam Ka Sahi Daam’ by giving meals at just Rs. 10 within upcoming days to the labour families of Gujarat.

It is worth to mention here that 3,802 a p p l i c a t i o n s w e r e r e c e i v e d i n Ahmedabad to get occupancy charter under urban land ceiling act. Out of them CM Rupani distributed the charter orders to 55 people and 203 people have been given intimation orders. As a result of the historic decision 124 societies, 30 flats and 130 chawls will get recognition as per the rules of this act.

After BSE, GIFT city now welcomes the MCX

“We are grateful to the Government of Gujarat, and appreciative of GIFT City's continuous support for helping us participate and contribute in our own way, in fulfilling the larger vision of our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, of creating a vibrant financial services centre in India. This, therefore, is an opportunity for us to not just diversify our risk and strengthen our competencies, but also participate in India's growth story”

- Mr. Saurabh Chandra, Chairman, MCX

According to Ajay Pandey, MD and Group CEO of GIFT City, the presence of

MCX is a testament to the state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and world-class amenities of GIFT City that have been designed in line with other reputed global financial hubs. GIFT City has one of India's largest Tier IV data centre, high quality cloud services and competitive cost of operations. In the coming days, we hope to see more such premier institutions making GIFT City their home, which will only strengthen its credential as India's first successful Global Financial Hub”

Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani inaugurated the new office of Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), at GIFT City, Gandhinagar on 31st January, 2017. This inauguration comes as a prompt move following the MoU between MCX and the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) Company Ltd. during the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit with an intent to expand the exchange's operations in terms of Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR), training & education and technology (Software Development and Information Technology Operations). During the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, MCX expressed its intention to invest over Rs 30 crore and develop employee strength of over 100 at this office over the next few years.

During his inaugural address, CM Rupani expressed confidence that Gujarat is definitely the Manufacturing Hub of the country and it will soon emerge as the new financial hub of the country. He mentioned that it was the vision of our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat to set up the GIFT city and develop it as the centre of all financial activity of the country. With the inauguration of the MCX at GIFT city, shortly after setting up of BSE, this vision has moved yet another step closer towards realization.

Shri Rupani took great pride in announcing that with the entry of BSE and MCX into GIFT city, forward trading is bound to get a huge impetus. He also took this opportunity to invite overseas firms to set up their offices at GIFT city. He said with complete conviction that GIFT city will soon house the complete range of financial services like share trading, commodity exchange, BPOs, KPOs, nationalized banks and provide employment to about 10 lakh youths.

The MCX setup, spread over 22,600 sq ft, will house its Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) centre and a training and education facility. The purpose of the BC Plan is to prepare MCX in the event of extended service outages caused by factors beyond control

(e.g. natural disasters, man-made events) and to restore services to the widest extent possible in a minimum time frame. MCX has plans to set up its in-house software development division for data analytics, internal automation, ancillary applications and value addition services to its members.

The training and education facility will conduct training programmes and impart knowledge for the enhancement of skills and capabilities of students and working professionals, desirous of making a career in commodity market. Since the GIFT City is bound to emerge as a large and vibrant hub of finance, encompassing all of its various market segments: commodities, equity, foreign exchange and fixed income, the training facility can help create capacity in the trading community from India and abroad.

MCX is also looking at a possible future expansion of the facility, including the possibility of setting up a training campus.

State Government to develop 10 state-of- the art bus terminals at a cost of Rs. 913 cores

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of an iconic and a modern bus terminal at Bharuch on Tuesday, the 7th March, 2017 which is going to be built under the PPP model at a cost of Rs. 92.69 crores.

Ten state of the art bus terminals will be developed under the PPP model by the State Transport Corporation at a cost of Rs. 913 crores which will be incurred by the state government. In addition, 1600 new buses will be introduced by the

G.S.R.T.C for the innermost areas of the state which will benefit an approximate o f 8 3 , 0 0 0 t r a v e l e r s d a i l y. T h e government has allocated a fund of Rs. 410 crores for the same.

CM addresses people through BISAG and appeals to increase Green-cover in the state on world forest day.

In the occasion of World Forest Day, Chief Minister of Gujarat appealed to one and all to combat the issue of Global Warming by planting more and more trees. He said that trees, forest, water, animals and humans and various other forms of life are attached to one another by the spirit of 'Vasudeva Kutumbakam'. He further added that it is the need of the hour that the social, economic and the environmental aspect of life, along with energy consumption, work together in sync for a sustainable future.

CM inaugurates 31st Gujarat Science

Congress

The 31st Gujarat Science Congress was

organised at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum

Universi ty(PDPU) on the 4th of

February, 2017. The Chief Minister of

Gujarat, Vijay Rupani inaugurated the 2-

day event jointly organised by Gujarat

Science Academy, Gujarat Energy

Research and Management Institute

(GERMI), PDPU and Institute of

Seismological Research (ISR).

At the event, Shri Rupani expressed his

keenness to formulate a new policy of

science and technology for the state

which would aim to provide a suitable

global platform in the field of science and

technology to the youth of the state. This

would be in line with the vision of our

Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra

Modi and the Niti Aayog.

Shri Rupani also encouraged the

students to take up careers in science and

felicitated best teachers and professors

rendering quality education in the field of

science, mathematics, biology, physics

and space science.

Free Wi-Fi service for Rajkot BRTS

passengers

The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay

Rupani launched free Wi-Fi service on

the buses plying under the Bus Rapid

Transit System (BRTS) in Rajkot, on the

11th of February, 2017. Acording to the

CM, 15 thousand passengers of Rajkot

will be benefited from it.

This is an initiative of the Rajkot

Municipal Corporation and the Wi-Fi

facility has been made available on 18

bus shelters from the day of the

inauguration. This service will allow

every passenger to use Wi-Fi service for

10 minutes at the speed of 10mbps.

The Rajkot BRTS pilot blue corridor

has been designed to cover a distance of

10.70 km, from Gandal Chokdi to

Madhapar Chowk. The corridor provides

for service lanes, cycle zones, pedestrian

ways, motor vehicle lane and BRTS bus

lane along with 18 shelters. These 18

shelters have been equipped with CCTV

camera, smooth travelling facility for

Divyangs, Paytm, smart ticketing etc.•

QUICK BITES QUICK BITES


Gujarat has made a strong identity in the entire world for being a state that is dedicated

to inclusive development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and dedication has helped Gujarat achieve this success. It is always an inspiring occasion when the Prime Minister visits Gujarat and addresses the nation from the capital city.

Women's day in 2017 became one such grand occasion for Gujarat when the Prime Minister visited the state and addressed the nation from Mahatma Mandir. His message for making cleanliness a part of our innate nature and na t iona l i den t i t y was me t w i th enthusiasm and filled the people with motivation to ensure Gujarat yet again successfully achieves this goal.

Addressing the national level ‘Swachh

Shakti-2017’ conference of women sarpanches of the country to mark the International Women's Day at Mahatma Mandir, he said that last two years' efforts under the Swachh Bharat Mission has increased the number of toilets in India from 42% to 62%.

He urged the women sarpanch to work relentlessly to ensure this number increases sharply by the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019 during the next 18 months. This would put an end to the unhygienic, unsanitary and undignified act of open defecation. He wished this conference, being held in the auditorium Mahatma Mandir in the state capital Gandhinagar-both named after Mahatma Gandhi- carries special significance.

Lauding the natural characteristics of womenfolk of discharging their duty with greater dedication than men, he said the villages having women sarpanches

should ensure there should be no female foeticide. He asked them to take up 'Beti Bachao; Beti Padhao' (Save Girl Child and Educate Girl Child) as a social-national campaign.

PM Modi sa id women make a significant part of population and if they take active interest, the country's development is certain. There is need to r e m o v e g e n d e r i m b a l a n c e i n demography. He spoke about daughters who don't marry to care for her aging parents and sons sending their parents to 'Vriddhashram (senior citizens' dorms) to shirk off their duty. He recalled that this year sportswomen brought glory to India in the Olympic Games . Female candidates also performed better than males in competitive examinations.

He said that Rs. two lakh-crore are proposed to send directly to villages after 14th Finance Commission to ensure they become self-reliant, with urban facilities

in such technologically upgraded model villages. He said that 70,000 out of 2.50-lakh village panchayats have been connected with optical fibre cables, linking schools and panchayat ghars.

Referring to sarpanches demand for payment of their salary through the treasury since they represent the government, he said a meeting would be convened shortly to discuss the issue. The villages need complete overhaul, linking t h e m t o n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t , celebrating birthdays of villagers settled elsewhere, felicitating elders, planting trees, converting garbage into gold to achieve a culture of cleanliness. Quoting World Bank report that Rs.7,000 is to be spent by a poor family for diseases due to filth, he said the money if saved could be spent on development works. The sarpanches should feel proud to ensure complete vaccination, primary school education. He recited a Hindi translation of Rabindranath Tagore's poem to drive home his point for restoring natural beauty of the villages.

The Prime Minister presented the 'Swachh Shakti Puraskars to ten women c h a m p i o n s o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f International Women's Day. They are Uttara Takur (Chhema village in

Chhattisgarh), Nilam Kumar (SHG, Haryana), Asha Putri (Rajasthan), Manju Maurya (Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh), Sumitra Kumari (Assam) Shivani Dakoch (Shalvari, West Bengal), Akamma Harwal, SHG, Kannada), Ramilaben Gamit (Taparwada village, Tapi district, Gujarat), and Sushila Kurkutte (Palghar, Maharashtra).

Gujarat's Swati Paradkar of Lijjat Papad, social worker Maltiben Joitaram Chaudhary, swimming champion Mana Patel, table tennis champion Shaini Gomes were felicitated on the occasion.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the son of the soil re-launching the Swachh Bharat Mission as a mass campaign on the International Women's Day to take it to all corners of India from this land of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Morarji Desai. He exuded confidence that the campaign would result in realising Mahatma Gandhi's dream of Gram Swaraj. He felt pride in Gujarat leading the country to free the womenfolk from the shame and insult of open defecation.

According to CM Rupani, Gujarat didn't believe in women's development a l o n e b u t a l s o i n w o m e n - l e d

development. The Gujarat Government has implemented 33% reservation for women in government service including police force, as well as in local self-government organizations. Gujarat is leading save the girl child; educate the girl child, freeing tuition fee in medical colleges for girls, empowerment of women in all-women co-operative societies. Gujarat has built 26 lakh toilets, having declared 25 districts cent per cent open defecation free. Gujarat is Number One in the number of open defecation free gram panchayats, reflecting a model o f p e o p l e ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n . H e complimented the women champions.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also spoke on the occasion.

Union Water Resources Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the number of villages free from open defecation has risen to 1,17,000 villages. The Centre is committed and keen to take the cleanliness criteria from present 61.58% to 100%.

Gujarat former Chief Minis ter Anandiben Patel lauded Prime Minister's relentless efforts as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, initiating a number of women-centric campaigns, for 13 years to make it a Model State.•

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES


A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR WOMEN'S DAYby Shraddha Gidwani


Gujarat has made a strong identity in the entire world for being a state that is dedicated

to inclusive development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and dedication has helped Gujarat achieve this success. It is always an inspiring occasion when the Prime Minister visits Gujarat and addresses the nation from the capital city.

Women's day in 2017 became one such grand occasion for Gujarat when the Prime Minister visited the state and addressed the nation from Mahatma Mandir. His message for making cleanliness a part of our innate nature and na t iona l i den t i t y was me t w i th enthusiasm and filled the people with motivation to ensure Gujarat yet again successfully achieves this goal.

Addressing the national level ‘Swachh

Shakti-2017’ conference of women sarpanches of the country to mark the International Women's Day at Mahatma Mandir, he said that last two years' efforts under the Swachh Bharat Mission has increased the number of toilets in India from 42% to 62%.

He urged the women sarpanch to work relentlessly to ensure this number increases sharply by the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019 during the next 18 months. This would put an end to the unhygienic, unsanitary and undignified act of open defecation. He wished this conference, being held in the auditorium Mahatma Mandir in the state capital Gandhinagar-both named after Mahatma Gandhi- carries special significance.

Lauding the natural characteristics of womenfolk of discharging their duty with greater dedication than men, he said the villages having women sarpanches

should ensure there should be no female foeticide. He asked them to take up 'Beti Bachao; Beti Padhao' (Save Girl Child and Educate Girl Child) as a social-national campaign.

PM Modi sa id women make a significant part of population and if they take active interest, the country's development is certain. There is need to r e m o v e g e n d e r i m b a l a n c e i n demography. He spoke about daughters who don't marry to care for her aging parents and sons sending their parents to 'Vriddhashram (senior citizens' dorms) to shirk off their duty. He recalled that this year sportswomen brought glory to India in the Olympic Games . Female candidates also performed better than males in competitive examinations.

He said that Rs. two lakh-crore are proposed to send directly to villages after 14th Finance Commission to ensure they become self-reliant, with urban facilities

in such technologically upgraded model villages. He said that 70,000 out of 2.50-lakh village panchayats have been connected with optical fibre cables, linking schools and panchayat ghars.

Referring to sarpanches demand for payment of their salary through the treasury since they represent the government, he said a meeting would be convened shortly to discuss the issue. The villages need complete overhaul, linking t h e m t o n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t , celebrating birthdays of villagers settled elsewhere, felicitating elders, planting trees, converting garbage into gold to achieve a culture of cleanliness. Quoting World Bank report that Rs.7,000 is to be spent by a poor family for diseases due to filth, he said the money if saved could be spent on development works. The sarpanches should feel proud to ensure complete vaccination, primary school education. He recited a Hindi translation of Rabindranath Tagore's poem to drive home his point for restoring natural beauty of the villages.

The Prime Minister presented the 'Swachh Shakti Puraskars to ten women c h a m p i o n s o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f International Women's Day. They are Uttara Takur (Chhema village in

Chhattisgarh), Nilam Kumar (SHG, Haryana), Asha Putri (Rajasthan), Manju Maurya (Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh), Sumitra Kumari (Assam) Shivani Dakoch (Shalvari, West Bengal), Akamma Harwal, SHG, Kannada), Ramilaben Gamit (Taparwada village, Tapi district, Gujarat), and Sushila Kurkutte (Palghar, Maharashtra).

Gujarat's Swati Paradkar of Lijjat Papad, social worker Maltiben Joitaram Chaudhary, swimming champion Mana Patel, table tennis champion Shaini Gomes were felicitated on the occasion.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the son of the soil re-launching the Swachh Bharat Mission as a mass campaign on the International Women's Day to take it to all corners of India from this land of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Morarji Desai. He exuded confidence that the campaign would result in realising Mahatma Gandhi's dream of Gram Swaraj. He felt pride in Gujarat leading the country to free the womenfolk from the shame and insult of open defecation.

According to CM Rupani, Gujarat didn't believe in women's development a l o n e b u t a l s o i n w o m e n - l e d

development. The Gujarat Government has implemented 33% reservation for women in government service including police force, as well as in local self-government organizations. Gujarat is leading save the girl child; educate the girl child, freeing tuition fee in medical colleges for girls, empowerment of women in all-women co-operative societies. Gujarat has built 26 lakh toilets, having declared 25 districts cent per cent open defecation free. Gujarat is Number One in the number of open defecation free gram panchayats, reflecting a model o f p e o p l e ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n . H e complimented the women champions.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also spoke on the occasion.

Union Water Resources Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the number of villages free from open defecation has risen to 1,17,000 villages. The Centre is committed and keen to take the cleanliness criteria from present 61.58% to 100%.

Gujarat former Chief Minis ter Anandiben Patel lauded Prime Minister's relentless efforts as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, initiating a number of women-centric campaigns, for 13 years to make it a Model State.•



A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR WOMEN'S DAYby Shraddha Gidwani


OF


A SAFE, EMPOWERED AND EQUAL SOCIETY

Women Empowerment is one of the prime goals in the e i g h t M i l l e n n i u m

Development Goals. This underscores t he f ac t t ha t t he founda t ion o f development of a nat ion l ies in empowering the women. In order to achieve the status of a developed country, each and every state of India needs to transform its colossal women force into effective human resource and this is possible only through the empowerment of women.

Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to building stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families, and communities and the nation as a whole.

The state of Gujarat has been a leader in

their effort to emancipate women, ensure

equal opportunity and maintain a safe

environment for women to prosper.

Gujarat is one of the few states in the

country to have a dedicated system of

g o v e r n a n c e , p l a n n i n g a n d

implementation in this area. Various

campaigns such as Abhayam 181, Nari

A d a l a t a n d I n t e g r a t e d D a i r y

Development Programme have been

successful in lifting the status of the

women in all aspects of life. Apart from

that, reservations for women in the Police

Department and Panchayats have also

been very instrumental in the same. These

days we also find more women as bus

ticket collectors, driving vans for school

children, showing able leadership

qualities as Sarpanch of the villages and

Police officers etc.

Abhayam:

The GVK EMRI in association with

Government of Gujarat launched a

dedicated helpline called the ‘Abhayam-

181’ for all the women in the state on 4th

February, 2014. The helpline, launched in

collaboration with the home and women

and child welfare departments, had been

synchronized with the existing "1091 -

Gujarat Police Helpline" and other

women-oriented services. Initially, the

project had been launched on a pilot basis

in Ahmedabad, Surat and Gandhinagar.

The programme had been implemented

state wide on 5th March, 2015 covering

all the districts of the state.

This initiative by the State Government

was one of its kinds towards Women

E m p o w e r m e n t w h i c h h a s b e e n

instrumental in adding value to the life of

the common people. The programme has

a 24x7 helpline number, 181, which can

be accessible through any mobile or

landline. It is not just used for distress

calls but also for the purpose of

counseling, guidance and various other

situations which are likely to cause harm

to women. Since its inception, this

noteworthy initiative has been effective

in uplifting the status of women in the

state and thereby boosting their overall

personality and confidence. This

programme has been like a blessing for

women across the country. It is not a

state-specific initiative and helps the

women in need from other states as well.

Recently, a ten year old girl child in

Vadodara was rescued from distress by

the team of Abhayam. She was being

forced into child labour by her father and

even faced physical abuse from him upon

not being able to carry out street sales.

The accused father was reported to the

police and the girl child was freed from

her agony.

Numerous other examples can be sited

to talk about the successful output of this

programme which is gaining a full-

fledged momentum day by day thereby

helping the women in an overall growth

and development in the various aspects of

their personal and professional life.

IDDP: Integrated Dairy Development

Programme

One of the major aims of this program

is to transform dairying into a dynamic

income generating enterprise for the BPL

tribal household families so that they no

longer have to do petty jobs here and there

and can earn enough to feed their family

and contribute to the GDP of the state and

the nation as a whole. The Tribal

Development Department envisaged the

income of the BPL families in order to

bring them out of poverty permanently.

The IDDP started in 2007 and covered 12

districts of the state namely:

Ÿ Banaskantha (Danta, Amirgadh)

Ÿ S a b a r k a n t h a ( K h e d b r a h m a ,

Vijaynagar, Poshina)

Ÿ Panchmahal (Ghoghamba)

Ÿ Dahod (Devgadbariya, Zalod, Dahod,

Fatepura, Limkheda, Dhanpur,

Garbada)

Ÿ Vadodara (Kawant, Chhotaudepur,

Naswadi, JetpurPavi, Tilakwada)

Ÿ Narmada (Dediyapada, Saagbara,

Nandod, Tilakwada)

Ÿ Bharuch (Wal iya , Jhagad iya ,

Netrang)

Ÿ Surat (Mandvi, Mahua, Umarpada,

Mangrol, Bardoli)

Ÿ Tapi (Valod, Vyara, Uchhal, Nizar,

Songadh)

Ÿ Navsari (Vansda, Chikhali)

Ÿ Valsad (Kaprada, Dharampur,

Umargam, Pardi)

Ÿ Dangs (Ahwa, Subir, Waghai)

Ÿ Araval l i (Bhi loda , Meghara j ,

Modasa)

Ÿ Mahisagar (Santrampur, Kadana)

This project is being implemented by

seven district cooperative unions of the

state. Apart from milch cattle, complete

packages of support inputs are also

provided to the beneficiaries under this

project. The participatory groups can

also avail loan facility so that they do not

have to reach out to other expansive

sources of credit which might lead to their

exploitation and get them in a debt trap.

Moreover, the government is also

laying an equal emphasis on training and

awareness generation in order to ensure

that the participants use and follow the

latest scientific practices in order to

maximise the i r mi lk y ie ld . The

administration has developed a 'Gain to

all' strategy as an integral part of this

project which ensures that the economic

conditions of the participating families

improve and the dairy co-operatives also

gain through better infrastructure and

increased milk availability at no extra

cost. For the primitive tribal groups,

IDDP has reached out to 2,895 families in

Songadh and Mandvi tribal sub-plan

areas through a special project cost of Rs.

34.08cr. wherein they received high

quality exotic cattle for optimum yields.

Nari Adalat:

In order to safeguard the women and

their rights and uplift the status of women

in the social, economic and educational

sector, the Nari Adalat had been started in

2012-13 in the state of Gujarat. Since its

inception, the project has spread to 248

talukas of the state and 22 Municipal

corporations and city corporations; the

total establishment being 270 in the state.

This scheme started because the

government realised that it is of prime

importance to ensure the growth of

women and to take care of their safety in

the state. Also, in a patriarchal system,

they wanted to give women a platform

wherein they can freely express their

concerns and issues which can be paid

attention to for a quicker solution of the

same. These services are being provided

to the women without any financial costs

involved. 'Nari Sammelans' are being

organised at the taluka level through the

help of the district level panchayats in

order to make the women aware about

their rights and give them the much

needed support in order to improve their

condition. A total of 153 Nari Sammelans

have been organised till January 2017.

Gender Budget – 2017 :

A total of Rs. 56,491.89 crores has been

allocated to the Women and Child

Development for the year 2017-18. There

has been a 15% increase in the monthly

remuneration for the Aanganwadi

Workers and the government will bear an

addi t ional cost of Rs.65 crores .

Provisions for improvement in health and

nutrition status of 5, 52,800 pregnant and

lactating women have been made through

financial assistance of Rs. 6000 at the

time of child birth under Matrutva

Sahayog Yojana. Moreover, provision of

milk for 13 lakh children and women of

102 blocks of 20 districts under the

Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana have been

done. Apart from that , the State

Government has ensured a life insurance

cover of Rs . 50 ,000 for 93 ,259

Aanganwadi workers and helpers.•

by Team ‘the GUJARAT’


OF


A SAFE, EMPOWERED AND EQUAL SOCIETY

Women Empowerment is one of the prime goals in the e i g h t M i l l e n n i u m

Development Goals. This underscores t he f ac t t ha t t he founda t ion o f development of a nat ion l ies in empowering the women. In order to achieve the status of a developed country, each and every state of India needs to transform its colossal women force into effective human resource and this is possible only through the empowerment of women.

Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to building stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families, and communities and the nation as a whole.

The state of Gujarat has been a leader in

their effort to emancipate women, ensure

equal opportunity and maintain a safe

environment for women to prosper.

Gujarat is one of the few states in the

country to have a dedicated system of

g o v e r n a n c e , p l a n n i n g a n d

implementation in this area. Various

campaigns such as Abhayam 181, Nari

A d a l a t a n d I n t e g r a t e d D a i r y

Development Programme have been

successful in lifting the status of the

women in all aspects of life. Apart from

that, reservations for women in the Police

Department and Panchayats have also

been very instrumental in the same. These

days we also find more women as bus

ticket collectors, driving vans for school

children, showing able leadership

qualities as Sarpanch of the villages and

Police officers etc.

Abhayam:

The GVK EMRI in association with

Government of Gujarat launched a

dedicated helpline called the ‘Abhayam-

181’ for all the women in the state on 4th

February, 2014. The helpline, launched in

collaboration with the home and women

and child welfare departments, had been

synchronized with the existing "1091 -

Gujarat Police Helpline" and other

women-oriented services. Initially, the

project had been launched on a pilot basis

in Ahmedabad, Surat and Gandhinagar.

The programme had been implemented

state wide on 5th March, 2015 covering

all the districts of the state.

This initiative by the State Government

was one of its kinds towards Women

E m p o w e r m e n t w h i c h h a s b e e n

instrumental in adding value to the life of

the common people. The programme has

a 24x7 helpline number, 181, which can

be accessible through any mobile or

landline. It is not just used for distress

calls but also for the purpose of

counseling, guidance and various other

situations which are likely to cause harm

to women. Since its inception, this

noteworthy initiative has been effective

in uplifting the status of women in the

state and thereby boosting their overall

personality and confidence. This

programme has been like a blessing for

women across the country. It is not a

state-specific initiative and helps the

women in need from other states as well.

Recently, a ten year old girl child in

Vadodara was rescued from distress by

the team of Abhayam. She was being

forced into child labour by her father and

even faced physical abuse from him upon

not being able to carry out street sales.

The accused father was reported to the

police and the girl child was freed from

her agony.

Numerous other examples can be sited

to talk about the successful output of this

programme which is gaining a full-

fledged momentum day by day thereby

helping the women in an overall growth

and development in the various aspects of

their personal and professional life.

IDDP: Integrated Dairy Development

Programme

One of the major aims of this program

is to transform dairying into a dynamic

income generating enterprise for the BPL

tribal household families so that they no

longer have to do petty jobs here and there

and can earn enough to feed their family

and contribute to the GDP of the state and

the nation as a whole. The Tribal

Development Department envisaged the

income of the BPL families in order to

bring them out of poverty permanently.

The IDDP started in 2007 and covered 12

districts of the state namely:

Ÿ Banaskantha (Danta, Amirgadh)

Ÿ S a b a r k a n t h a ( K h e d b r a h m a ,

Vijaynagar, Poshina)

Ÿ Panchmahal (Ghoghamba)

Ÿ Dahod (Devgadbariya, Zalod, Dahod,

Fatepura, Limkheda, Dhanpur,

Garbada)

Ÿ Vadodara (Kawant, Chhotaudepur,

Naswadi, JetpurPavi, Tilakwada)

Ÿ Narmada (Dediyapada, Saagbara,

Nandod, Tilakwada)

Ÿ Bharuch (Wal iya , Jhagad iya ,

Netrang)

Ÿ Surat (Mandvi, Mahua, Umarpada,

Mangrol, Bardoli)

Ÿ Tapi (Valod, Vyara, Uchhal, Nizar,

Songadh)

Ÿ Navsari (Vansda, Chikhali)

Ÿ Valsad (Kaprada, Dharampur,

Umargam, Pardi)

Ÿ Dangs (Ahwa, Subir, Waghai)

Ÿ Araval l i (Bhi loda , Meghara j ,

Modasa)

Ÿ Mahisagar (Santrampur, Kadana)

This project is being implemented by

seven district cooperative unions of the

state. Apart from milch cattle, complete

packages of support inputs are also

provided to the beneficiaries under this

project. The participatory groups can

also avail loan facility so that they do not

have to reach out to other expansive

sources of credit which might lead to their

exploitation and get them in a debt trap.

Moreover, the government is also

laying an equal emphasis on training and

awareness generation in order to ensure

that the participants use and follow the

latest scientific practices in order to

maximise the i r mi lk y ie ld . The

administration has developed a 'Gain to

all' strategy as an integral part of this

project which ensures that the economic

conditions of the participating families

improve and the dairy co-operatives also

gain through better infrastructure and

increased milk availability at no extra

cost. For the primitive tribal groups,

IDDP has reached out to 2,895 families in

Songadh and Mandvi tribal sub-plan

areas through a special project cost of Rs.

34.08cr. wherein they received high

quality exotic cattle for optimum yields.

Nari Adalat:

In order to safeguard the women and

their rights and uplift the status of women

in the social, economic and educational

sector, the Nari Adalat had been started in

2012-13 in the state of Gujarat. Since its

inception, the project has spread to 248

talukas of the state and 22 Municipal

corporations and city corporations; the

total establishment being 270 in the state.

This scheme started because the

government realised that it is of prime

importance to ensure the growth of

women and to take care of their safety in

the state. Also, in a patriarchal system,

they wanted to give women a platform

wherein they can freely express their

concerns and issues which can be paid

attention to for a quicker solution of the

same. These services are being provided

to the women without any financial costs

involved. 'Nari Sammelans' are being

organised at the taluka level through the

help of the district level panchayats in

order to make the women aware about

their rights and give them the much

needed support in order to improve their

condition. A total of 153 Nari Sammelans

have been organised till January 2017.

Gender Budget – 2017 :

A total of Rs. 56,491.89 crores has been

allocated to the Women and Child

Development for the year 2017-18. There

has been a 15% increase in the monthly

remuneration for the Aanganwadi

Workers and the government will bear an

addi t ional cost of Rs.65 crores .

Provisions for improvement in health and

nutrition status of 5, 52,800 pregnant and

lactating women have been made through

financial assistance of Rs. 6000 at the

time of child birth under Matrutva

Sahayog Yojana. Moreover, provision of

milk for 13 lakh children and women of

102 blocks of 20 districts under the

Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana have been

done. Apart from that , the State

Government has ensured a life insurance

cover of Rs . 50 ,000 for 93 ,259

Aanganwadi workers and helpers.•



Gujarat is known as the leader in

developmental activities as

t h e s t a t e f o c u s e s o n

development in all spheres. Gujarat is

popular as the most industry-friendly

state owing to many factors including

r e sou rces , e l ec t r i c i t y, po l i c i e s ,

manpower, and transportation.

Taking this development journey

forward, Prime Minister of India

Narendra Modi, on his visit to Gujarat,

dedicated extra dosed four lane bridge

over river Narmada to nation in Bharuch

today. The bridge has been created with a

cost of Rs. 379 crore located on the

Ahmedabad – Mumbai national highway

and over river Narmada passing through

Bharuch. He also inaugurated the iconic

Bharuch bus port. The bus port will be

created on PPP basis in 21453 sq. mt.

area.

PM Modi expressed the commitment

of the Government towards development

o f t h e s t a t e a n d s a i d t h a t t h e

determination of India to become super-

power will be fulfilled through highway

to I-way. "My government has performed

progressive work in infrastructural

facilities through sustainable networks of

railway and roads. Now it is my vision to

provide world class facility to 2.50 lakh

rural areas of the nation by connecting

them with I-way of information

technology. As a part of this we already

have established I-way network in 68000

villages. Such important projects gives

new momentum in the development story

of the nation and state as well," he added.

The PM mentioned the all round

development of Sagarmala Project for the

coastal areas of nation and Bharanmala

Project for comprehensive development

of roads and with combination of both of

them to carve a port lead development

and said that as a result of integrated

network of the roads, cases of accidents

may reduce considerably.

Describing the ground breaking of Bus

stand as a step towards the development

of common man Mr. Modi said,

infrastructural facilities will reach to the

poorest person is the only aim of the

Government. In this context he clarified

that their Government policy aims to

provide houses to each and every person

till year 2022.

Lauding the slogan of “Narmade,

Sarvade” PM Modi said that for the

development of the nation Dream, Desire

and Ability is must. He expressed his

delight to dedicate the project to

transform the ancient city of Bharuch for

the well being of the people. During the

election campaign in Uttar Pradesh,

people were showing monument of

development work. Dahej is not only the

ornament of Bharuch but also of the

nation.

Narendra Modi said that if your vision

and intention are pure and perfect then

you can reach success. He even expressed

plan of the Central Government to

convert about eight State Highways in to

National Highways.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani

termed the inauguration of Bharuch

Narmada Bridge and Opal Plant

inauguration as Triveni Sangam. He

expressed pleasure in the extra dosed

bridge built at the expense of Rs. 380

crore.

He also said that Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has fulfilled the desire of

bringing Narmada water to Kutch-

Saurashtra by permitting to install gates

on Narmada Dam in just 17 days. Gates of

Narmada Dam will be installed before

monsoon; this will realise the dream of

6.5 Gujaratis to see Narmada Dam full of

water.

CM Rupani said that the Prime

Minister has also cleared the way for

growth of Ankleshwar-Panoli and also

created new opportunities for new

industries and employment. Narendra

Modi-led Union Government has taken

many farmer-oriented decisions like

approval of groundnut oil export,

purchase of tur dal on MSP and efficient

prices to cotton growing farmers. Jetty is

also available for pilgrims coming for

Narmada Maiya Parikrma, he added.•

This is an inspiring journey of a

de termined woman who

decided to change the scenario

of her village. She made her village open

defecation free in spite of huge

geographical challenges, she is a great

fighter who proved that nothing is

impossible to achieve with strong

willpower.

Ramilaben is the secretary of Neha

Sakhi Mandal (Self Help Group) of

village Taparwada which is 60 km. from

the district headquarter of Tapi. Major

communities in this village are Scheduled

Caste and Scheduled Tribe, they are

depended on agriculture and cattle

keeping for their living.

Ramilaben changed the destiny of not

only her own village but nine surrounding

villages too. Along with her husband

Raisinhbhai Gamit who is a postman by

profession, she intervened in many social

development activities in her area. She is

the chairperson for village security

committee, and helps the police

department to curb bootlegging in her

village. She is supporting Forest

Department in conserving environment.

She makes many efforts to empower the

women of her village, she guided them to

join micro-finance activities and fulfill

their basic needs. These women saved

Rs. 1,00,000 and availing loans for their

children’s education, cattle rearing and

other livelihood activities.

When Ramilaben was oriented by

Taluka Panchayat about the impact of

open defecation practices, she decided to

make her village open defecation free.

Due to hilly terrain the main challenge

was the transportation and construction

materials and availability of trained

mason. She encouraged her self help

g roup members to t ake up th i s

challenging task for the sake of their

dignity and the safe future of their

children.

Her group started Rural Sanitation

Mart, transported the materials from

nearby town to village by themselves and

supplied the materials to beneficiaries.

The group also facilitated the mason

training for village women and group

members, who constructed toilets in

mission mode. For specially abled and

single women beneficiaries, they also

o ffe red Shramdaan . Th i s g roup

cons t ruc ted 312 to i l e t s i n n ine

surrounding villages, and proved that

there is no force equal to the strength of a

determined woman.

Her passion didn't stop here, she

decided to encourage the women of entire

Gujarat. Hence she shared her experience

with all rural women through SETCOM.

Now these women are planning to start an

RO plant to supply safe drinking water in

their village and earn for their families.

Unruffled in the face of hardship,

Ramilaben is a picture of grit and

determination. •


HIGH-WAY TO I-WAY:

TOWARDS A MODERN, NEW AGE GUJARAT

“Determination of India to become super-power will be

fulfilled through high-way to I-way: Needs dreams, desire and

ability for development of nation”

- Narendra Modi

Name : Ramilaben R. GamitDistrict : TapiTaluka : SonagarhVillage : TaparwadaStakeholder/s : Ramilaben R. Gamit,

SHG Member, Neha Sakhi Mandal

THERE IS NO FORCE LIKE

THE STRENGTH OF A DETERMINED WOMAN….

by Rahul Patel

by Surabhi Bose

Ramilaben and her group members are constructing toilet.


Gujarat is known as the leader in

developmental activities as

t h e s t a t e f o c u s e s o n

development in all spheres. Gujarat is

popular as the most industry-friendly

state owing to many factors including

r e sou rces , e l ec t r i c i t y, po l i c i e s ,

manpower, and transportation.

Taking this development journey

forward, Prime Minister of India

Narendra Modi, on his visit to Gujarat,

dedicated extra dosed four lane bridge

over river Narmada to nation in Bharuch

today. The bridge has been created with a

cost of Rs. 379 crore located on the

Ahmedabad – Mumbai national highway

and over river Narmada passing through

Bharuch. He also inaugurated the iconic

Bharuch bus port. The bus port will be

created on PPP basis in 21453 sq. mt.

area.

PM Modi expressed the commitment

of the Government towards development

o f t h e s t a t e a n d s a i d t h a t t h e

determination of India to become super-

power will be fulfilled through highway

to I-way. "My government has performed

progressive work in infrastructural

facilities through sustainable networks of

railway and roads. Now it is my vision to

provide world class facility to 2.50 lakh

rural areas of the nation by connecting

them with I-way of information

technology. As a part of this we already

have established I-way network in 68000

villages. Such important projects gives

new momentum in the development story

of the nation and state as well," he added.

The PM mentioned the all round

development of Sagarmala Project for the

coastal areas of nation and Bharanmala

Project for comprehensive development

of roads and with combination of both of

them to carve a port lead development

and said that as a result of integrated

network of the roads, cases of accidents

may reduce considerably.

Describing the ground breaking of Bus

stand as a step towards the development

of common man Mr. Modi said,

infrastructural facilities will reach to the

poorest person is the only aim of the

Government. In this context he clarified

that their Government policy aims to

provide houses to each and every person

till year 2022.

Lauding the slogan of “Narmade,

Sarvade” PM Modi said that for the

development of the nation Dream, Desire

and Ability is must. He expressed his

delight to dedicate the project to

transform the ancient city of Bharuch for

the well being of the people. During the

election campaign in Uttar Pradesh,

people were showing monument of

development work. Dahej is not only the

ornament of Bharuch but also of the

nation.

Narendra Modi said that if your vision

and intention are pure and perfect then

you can reach success. He even expressed

plan of the Central Government to

convert about eight State Highways in to

National Highways.


termed the inauguration of Bharuch

Narmada Bridge and Opal Plant

inauguration as Triveni Sangam. He

expressed pleasure in the extra dosed

bridge built at the expense of Rs. 380

crore.

He also said that Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has fulfilled the desire of

bringing Narmada water to Kutch-

Saurashtra by permitting to install gates

on Narmada Dam in just 17 days. Gates of

Narmada Dam will be installed before

monsoon; this will realise the dream of

6.5 Gujaratis to see Narmada Dam full of

water.

CM Rupani said that the Prime

Minister has also cleared the way for

growth of Ankleshwar-Panoli and also

created new opportunities for new

industries and employment. Narendra

Modi-led Union Government has taken

many farmer-oriented decisions like

approval of groundnut oil export,

purchase of tur dal on MSP and efficient

prices to cotton growing farmers. Jetty is

also available for pilgrims coming for

Narmada Maiya Parikrma, he added.•

This is an inspiring journey of a

de termined woman who

decided to change the scenario

of her village. She made her village open

defecation free in spite of huge

geographical challenges, she is a great

fighter who proved that nothing is

impossible to achieve with strong

willpower.

Ramilaben is the secretary of Neha

Sakhi Mandal (Self Help Group) of

village Taparwada which is 60 km. from

the district headquarter of Tapi. Major

communities in this village are Scheduled

Caste and Scheduled Tribe, they are

depended on agriculture and cattle

keeping for their living.

Ramilaben changed the destiny of not

only her own village but nine surrounding

villages too. Along with her husband

Raisinhbhai Gamit who is a postman by

profession, she intervened in many social

development activities in her area. She is

the chairperson for village security

committee, and helps the police

department to curb bootlegging in her

village. She is supporting Forest

Department in conserving environment.

She makes many efforts to empower the

women of her village, she guided them to

join micro-finance activities and fulfill

their basic needs. These women saved

Rs. 1,00,000 and availing loans for their

children’s education, cattle rearing and

other livelihood activities.

When Ramilaben was oriented by

Taluka Panchayat about the impact of

open defecation practices, she decided to

make her village open defecation free.

Due to hilly terrain the main challenge

was the transportation and construction

materials and availability of trained

mason. She encouraged her self help

g roup members to t ake up th i s

challenging task for the sake of their

dignity and the safe future of their

children.

Her group started Rural Sanitation

Mart, transported the materials from

nearby town to village by themselves and

supplied the materials to beneficiaries.

The group also facilitated the mason

training for village women and group

members, who constructed toilets in

mission mode. For specially abled and

single women beneficiaries, they also

o ffe red Shramdaan . Th i s g roup

cons t ruc ted 312 to i l e t s i n n ine

surrounding villages, and proved that

there is no force equal to the strength of a

determined woman.

Her passion didn't stop here, she

decided to encourage the women of entire

Gujarat. Hence she shared her experience

with all rural women through SETCOM.

Now these women are planning to start an

RO plant to supply safe drinking water in

their village and earn for their families.

Unruffled in the face of hardship,

Ramilaben is a picture of grit and

determination. •


HIGH-WAY TO I-WAY:

TOWARDS A MODERN, NEW AGE GUJARAT

“Determination of India to become super-power will be

fulfilled through high-way to I-way: Needs dreams, desire and

ability for development of nation”

- Narendra Modi

Name : Ramilaben R. GamitDistrict : TapiTaluka : SonagarhVillage : TaparwadaStakeholder/s : Ramilaben R. Gamit,

SHG Member, Neha Sakhi Mandal

THERE IS NO FORCE LIKE

THE STRENGTH OF A DETERMINED WOMAN….

by Rahul Patel

by Surabhi Bose

Ramilaben and her group members are constructing toilet.


In the last few years, Gujarat has been the guiding light for the rest of the country in implementing e-

governance policies. For the State government, the driving force behind many of its successful initiatives has been the twin ideas of 'Good governance through e-governance' and 'Minimum government, Maximum Governance'. Through this pol icy the Gujarat Government managed to achieve significant firsts, such as connecting the 32 villages of the Khedbrahma taluka with high-speed internet connectivity, and making the entire district of Modasa Wi-fi enabled. The Government's policies also led to the creation of the first fully digital village of Akodara, in the district of Himmatnagar.

On February 13, 2017, the Gujarat Narmada Va l ley Fer t i l i ze r s and Chemicals Limited (GNFC), took its digital infrastructure to the next level by announcing the launch of India's first 100% Cashless Township at Bharuch. GNFC is a joint sector enterprise promoted by the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd and was setup in Bharuch, in 1976. The township was formally launched by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani

and present alongside him was Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya.

This integrated township has a population of 5000, and a floating population of 10,000 every day. It also includes facilities such as a large Shopping centre, restaurants, eateries, schools and colleges, hospital, stadium and guest houses. All transactions in the town are carried out through cashless means, for example Paan Shops, laundry shops and cycle repair shops, carry out transactions through PoS (Point of Sale) machines. These shops also utilise e-wallet services such as BHIM, UPI, SBI buddy, etc. It is also worth noting that even during the construction of the township, trucks carrying raw material

and taking back finished products like fertilizers and chemicals, were mandated by GNFC to use post fast/debit cards for payment of Toll Tax.

In recognition of this achievement, the NITI Ayog has decided to adopt the GNFC's model in other parts of the country. NITI Ayog has decided that a massive campaign shall be launched from March 1, 2017 for 2 months to make the integrated Townships of oil refineries, m a j o r i n d u s t r i e s , c a n t o n m e n t s , paramilitary forces and fertilizer companies totalling over 1,000 with a population of a few Crores to go 100% cashless.

In addition, CM Rupani has stated that following the success of the GNFC model, the Gujarat Government will now begin work on adopting its model in 180 other townships across the state. These will be townships with a population of 5 lakhs, 35 are located within the Bharuch district. The Chief Minister also congratulated the GNFC management, as well as the continuous co-operation and hard work of the township's residents particularly its women and its small business units, in order to achieve 100% cashless transactions. CM Rupani stated that it would serve as a source of pride and inspiration for both Gujarat and the nation as a whole. •

Gujarat has been known for the

entrepreneurial spirit of the

local people and enthusiasm

to rise as the best. This has made Gujarat a

na t iona l leader in job crea t ion .

Organisation of mega investment

promotional events like the Vibrant

Gujarat Global Summit by the State

Government and presence of a wide

network of Employment Exchanges all

over the state to facilitate job-seekers has

enabled the state to achieve this success.

Taking another step towards further

consolidating its position, the Gujarat

Government organised a Mega Job Fair at

12 clusters across the state from 11th to

17th February, 2017.

The decision to organise the Mega Job

Fair was taken at a high- level meeting of

Labour and Employment Department

which was chaired by the Chief Minister

of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani. The meeting

was also attended by the Deputy Chief

Minister, Nitin Patel. Outlining the shape

of the Mega Job Fair during the meeting,

CM Rupani said that State Cabinet

Ministers and higher authorities will be

present at the Job Fairs organised to

ensure employment of local youth

through a transparent system. He added

that the State Government will provide

employment opportunities in industrial

clusters and also in GIDC to youth

through the job fair. According to the

latest employment exchange figures,

Gujarat provided the maximum number

(86%) of jobs in the country followed by

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The state

also leads in providing employment to

Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes

(ST) and women. Gujarat has a wide

network of 48 employment exchanges

present in each district with special

exchanges at eight universities, five for

SC/ST and two for women.

As a result of the state government's

efforts in the past three years alone, more

than 13 lakh unemployed people got

employed through Jobs Fairs and

exchanges. These include 1.08 lakh SC,

78,000 ST, 2.86 lakh OBC candidates and

1.69 lakh women candidates.

The recent Job Fair this month received

an overwhelming response from both the

job seekers and employers. As many as

2184 employers registered at the Job Fair

to seek prospective employees for

1,43,942 vacancies. These included

many renowned Indian and multinational

companies as well as various government

d e p a r t m e n t s , G I D C a n d s o m e

educational institutions.

Major Employers were L.&T., Lee,

Ford India Ltd., Suzuki Motor Gujarat

Pvt Ltd, Honda Motors, Tata Motors,

Vodafone, Pepsi Co India Holdings Pvt

Ltd, Adani Power Ltd., Essar Power,

Reliance Industries, Welspun India Ltd.,

Arvind Mills, Sanghi cement, Ambuja

Cement, Eureka Forbes Ltd., Torrent

Power, Tata Chemicals, Sintex Pvt Ltd

and Aegis Limited.

The fair attempted to ensure that all the

participating employers find their

required manpower and about 85% of the

local youth desirous of employment are

covered. This was successfully achieved

as 1,09,520 youth, 88,503 male and

2 1 , 0 1 7 f e m a l e , w e r e p r o v i d e d

employment during the Mega Fair. A fair

proportion of the employed youth

belonged to SC/ST and social ly

backward sections of the society. Among

these 144 Divyangs were also provided

employment.

Around 56,742 candidates have been

selected in manufacturing sector, 52,778

in Service sector and 5,555 candidates

have been selected as Apprentice in

Municipalities, public enterprises

/industrial and commercial units.

The Mega Job Fair was organised in a

phased manner at 12 locations across the

s ta te cover ing 33 d is t r ic ts . The

government made sure that the fair was

conducted in a hassle free manner and

that no inconvenience was faced by the

participants. ST bus coupon, local bus

service and food packet were arranged by

the State Government. CM of Gujarat,

Vijay Rupani suggested at the meeting

preceding the Job Fa i r tha t the

employment portal should be used for

r e g i s t r a t i o n o f y o u t h s e e k i n g

employment. The CM also suggested that

Gujarat can set a model for the entire

country by providing employment to

youth by integrating data of private,

s e m i - g o v e r n m e n t , P S U s a n d

employment exchanges. •


MEGA JOB FAIR:

EMPLOYMENT FOR ALLGUJARAT WELCOMES

FIRST FULLY CASHLESS AND DIGITALLY INTEGRATED TOWNSHIP AT BHARUCH by Team ‘the GUJARAT’

by Lenin Samuel


In the last few years, Gujarat has been the guiding light for the rest of the country in implementing e-

governance policies. For the State government, the driving force behind many of its successful initiatives has been the twin ideas of 'Good governance through e-governance' and 'Minimum government, Maximum Governance'. Through this pol icy the Gujarat Government managed to achieve significant firsts, such as connecting the 32 villages of the Khedbrahma taluka with high-speed internet connectivity, and making the entire district of Modasa Wi-fi enabled. The Government's policies also led to the creation of the first fully digital village of Akodara, in the district of Himmatnagar.

On February 13, 2017, the Gujarat Narmada Va l ley Fer t i l i ze r s and Chemicals Limited (GNFC), took its digital infrastructure to the next level by announcing the launch of India's first 100% Cashless Township at Bharuch. GNFC is a joint sector enterprise promoted by the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd and was setup in Bharuch, in 1976. The township was formally launched by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani

and present alongside him was Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya.

This integrated township has a population of 5000, and a floating population of 10,000 every day. It also includes facilities such as a large Shopping centre, restaurants, eateries, schools and colleges, hospital, stadium and guest houses. All transactions in the town are carried out through cashless means, for example Paan Shops, laundry shops and cycle repair shops, carry out transactions through PoS (Point of Sale) machines. These shops also utilise e-wallet services such as BHIM, UPI, SBI buddy, etc. It is also worth noting that even during the construction of the township, trucks carrying raw material

and taking back finished products like fertilizers and chemicals, were mandated by GNFC to use post fast/debit cards for payment of Toll Tax.

In recognition of this achievement, the NITI Ayog has decided to adopt the GNFC's model in other parts of the country. NITI Ayog has decided that a massive campaign shall be launched from March 1, 2017 for 2 months to make the integrated Townships of oil refineries, m a j o r i n d u s t r i e s , c a n t o n m e n t s , paramilitary forces and fertilizer companies totalling over 1,000 with a population of a few Crores to go 100% cashless.

In addition, CM Rupani has stated that following the success of the GNFC model, the Gujarat Government will now begin work on adopting its model in 180 other townships across the state. These will be townships with a population of 5 lakhs, 35 are located within the Bharuch district. The Chief Minister also congratulated the GNFC management, as well as the continuous co-operation and hard work of the township's residents particularly its women and its small business units, in order to achieve 100% cashless transactions. CM Rupani stated that it would serve as a source of pride and inspiration for both Gujarat and the nation as a whole. •

Gujarat has been known for the

entrepreneurial spirit of the

local people and enthusiasm

to rise as the best. This has made Gujarat a

na t iona l leader in job c rea t ion .

Organisation of mega investment

promotional events like the Vibrant

Gujarat Global Summit by the State

Government and presence of a wide

network of Employment Exchanges all

over the state to facilitate job-seekers has

enabled the state to achieve this success.

Taking another step towards further

consolidating its position, the Gujarat

Government organised a Mega Job Fair at

12 clusters across the state from 11th to

17th February, 2017.

The decision to organise the Mega Job

Fair was taken at a high- level meeting of

Labour and Employment Department

which was chaired by the Chief Minister

of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani. The meeting

was also attended by the Deputy Chief

Minister, Nitin Patel. Outlining the shape

of the Mega Job Fair during the meeting,

CM Rupani said that State Cabinet

Ministers and higher authorities will be

present at the Job Fairs organised to

ensure employment of local youth

through a transparent system. He added

that the State Government will provide

employment opportunities in industrial

clusters and also in GIDC to youth

through the job fair. According to the

latest employment exchange figures,

Gujarat provided the maximum number

(86%) of jobs in the country followed by

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The state

also leads in providing employment to

Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes

(ST) and women. Gujarat has a wide

network of 48 employment exchanges

present in each district with special

exchanges at eight universities, five for

SC/ST and two for women.

As a result of the state government's

efforts in the past three years alone, more

than 13 lakh unemployed people got

employed through Jobs Fairs and

exchanges. These include 1.08 lakh SC,

78,000 ST, 2.86 lakh OBC candidates and

1.69 lakh women candidates.

The recent Job Fair this month received

an overwhelming response from both the

job seekers and employers. As many as

2184 employers registered at the Job Fair

to seek prospective employees for

1,43,942 vacancies. These included

many renowned Indian and multinational

companies as well as various government

d e p a r t m e n t s , G I D C a n d s o m e

educational institutions.

Major Employers were L.&T., Lee,

Ford India Ltd., Suzuki Motor Gujarat

Pvt Ltd, Honda Motors, Tata Motors,

Vodafone, Pepsi Co India Holdings Pvt

Ltd, Adani Power Ltd., Essar Power,

Reliance Industries, Welspun India Ltd.,

Arvind Mills, Sanghi cement, Ambuja

Cement, Eureka Forbes Ltd., Torrent

Power, Tata Chemicals, Sintex Pvt Ltd

and Aegis Limited.

The fair attempted to ensure that all the

participating employers find their

required manpower and about 85% of the

local youth desirous of employment are

covered. This was successfully achieved

as 1,09,520 youth, 88,503 male and

2 1 , 0 1 7 f e m a l e , w e r e p r o v i d e d

employment during the Mega Fair. A fair

proportion of the employed youth

belonged to SC/ST and social ly

backward sections of the society. Among

these 144 Divyangs were also provided

employment.

Around 56,742 candidates have been

selected in manufacturing sector, 52,778

in Service sector and 5,555 candidates

have been selected as Apprentice in

Municipalities, public enterprises

/industrial and commercial units.

The Mega Job Fair was organised in a

phased manner at 12 locations across the

s ta te cover ing 33 d is t r ic ts . The

government made sure that the fair was

conducted in a hassle free manner and

that no inconvenience was faced by the

participants. ST bus coupon, local bus

service and food packet were arranged by

the State Government. CM of Gujarat,

Vijay Rupani suggested at the meeting

preceding the Job Fa i r tha t the

employment portal should be used for

r e g i s t r a t i o n o f y o u t h s e e k i n g

employment. The CM also suggested that

Gujarat can set a model for the entire

country by providing employment to

youth by integrating data of private,

s e m i - g o v e r n m e n t , P S U s a n d

employment exchanges. •


MEGA JOB FAIR:

EMPLOYMENT FOR ALLGUJARAT WELCOMES

FIRST FULLY CASHLESS AND DIGITALLY INTEGRATED TOWNSHIP AT BHARUCH by Team ‘the GUJARAT’

by Lenin Samuel


Gujarat has stood as an inspiring role model for development till the last mile. Ensuring that

all the sections of the society receive equal benefits, be it in the remotest areas of the state, has been the focus of the government initiatives in Gujarat.

A major focus area of the Gujarat government has been the empowerment and overall development of its tribal populace. On January 19, 2017, the State Government took a major step in this direction, through implementation of Rule-2017 of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. During the Van and Vanbandhu Kalyan Mela held at Chhota Udepur, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the implementation of the act in 4,503 gram sabhas under 2,584 vi l lage panchayats , to cover 50 predominantly tribal talukas across 8 districts of the state.

The Panchayats (Extens ion to Scheduled Areas) Act or PESA was enacted in 1996 by the Government of India, to ensure self-governance for tribals through traditional Gram Sabhas for people living in Scheduled Areas of India.

Under the PESA act, the tribal communities were given significant benefits. This included allowing the Gram Sabhas to safeguard and preserve the customs, traditions and cultural identity of the people within the regions. But most significantly, through the act, the Government, attempted to provide greater control to tribal communities over resources, particularly minor forest produce a significant source of income for tribal communities. Despite the benefits of the act, it was identified that some changes in the Act were necessary to implement the provisions of PESA within the various states. A particular source of contention was the provision

providing control over minor forest produce, which remained under state control.

Through the implementation of Rule-2017, Gujarat becomes amongst the first to have changed this scenario. Through the new rule, tribal people living in forest areas will now have control over any minor forest produce and minor minerals, providing them with a source of income, to develop the region. Through this new provision, Gram Sabhas within tribal areas would be able to fix loan interests and thus eliminate the authority that the money-lenders have within these regions. The government will also provide separate security forces for them and be able to lease quarries to them.

Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani is a strong believer in sensitivity as a pillar for good governance. In a span of less than a year as the Chief Minister he won the hearts of many as a sensitive and progressive leader. With the best interest

of the tribal population, he announced the implementation of the new PESA Act. In his address, CM Rupani stated, “The forest and its products are synonymous with the life of the tribal. This new initiative will herald a golden age for tribal development within the state, and prove to be the sunrise for the tribal people.”

During the event, the Chief Minister proposed various development initiatives for tribal regions including starting a medical colleges within the regions, with a hope that doctors, engineers and scientists from tribal regions would be able to contribute to the development of the state.

Gujarat has laid a strong foundation of inclusive development in the past decade and a half under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The state has undertaken numerous initiatives in the past for the upliftment of its tribal populace. One of the most significant is the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY), also known as the Chief Minister's 10 point programme. Launched in 2007, under the "Inclusive Development" vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the programme had 10 key focus areas which included the following:-

Employment

This initiative aimed to double the income of tribal families, with special f o c u s o n m i g r a n t f a m i l i e s a n d particularly vulnerable tribal groups by providing employment to 5 lakh families.

Education

The programme aimed at access to quality education for every eligible tribal child and increased emphasis on higher education.

Economic Development

The vision behind this initiative was to double the income of all tribal families including migrant tribal families and particularly vulnerable tribal groups, and facilitate economic growth in villages by providing basic facilities such as roads and energy network.

Health

The Government has identified 3 key areas to improve. These include providing accessibility of medical services, combating endemic diseases and reducing the level of malnutrition.

Housing

Providing housing facilities for all tribal communities has been most significant initiative of the state. Housing development initiative is undertaken in collaboration with Tribal development depar tmen t , Rura l deve lopment department and Panchayat department.

Drinking Water

Providing water supply, which is the most basic necessity, to the doorstep of every tribal household has been the focus of the state.

Irrigation

Agriculture is the only livelihood for a majority of tribals. In this scenario it becomes important for the state to facilitate the tribal farmers in their needs. It was identified that improving irrigation facilities will significantly improve their conditions.

Universal Electrification

Gujarat has been steadfast in providing quality power supply to all tribal areas for accelerated socio-economic development of tribal communities.

All-Weather Road Connectivity

With a vision to provide connectivity to all villages by all-weather roads, and improve the quality of life in tribal areas, in terms of quick access to health services, better education, social services, the state government launched this programme.

Urban Development

The state government aimed to develop tribal towns as growth engines to augment the income of tribal farmers.

Vanbandhu kalyan Yojana is focused on the integrated, holistic and inclusive development of tribal communities in areas related to livelihood, education, health, housing, drinking water, irrigation and access to basic facilities. Since its inception, this initiative has achieved doubled the income of 8 Lakh tribal families, against a target of 5 lakh families.

It has also reduced the literacy gap between Scheduled tribes population and the rest of the State from 21.4% in 2001 to 15.5% in 2011. The initiative has provided market for traditional products through Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs). Screening for sickle-cell anaemia was conducted amongst 83.73 Lakh Tribal people and annual health check-up was conducted for 76.99 Lakh people.

The state provided housing for 4.5 Lakh people and safe drinking water facilities for 100% tribal households through this scheme. Availability of tap water has also been increased from 3.9% in 2001 to 56% (8.5 Lakh families) households.

Gujarat has inspired the Nation at large with the vision of development and the pace of progress in the state. Today, vanbandhu kalyan Yojana has been included as a Central Sector Scheme in the Annual Plan of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.•


PESA Act: Gujarat changes the scenario of Tribal empowerment

by Jenny Mansuria


Gujarat has stood as an inspiring role model for development till the last mile. Ensuring that

all the sections of the society receive equal benefits, be it in the remotest areas of the state, has been the focus of the government initiatives in Gujarat.

A major focus area of the Gujarat government has been the empowerment and overall development of its tribal populace. On January 19, 2017, the State Government took a major step in this direction, through implementation of Rule-2017 of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. During the Van and Vanbandhu Kalyan Mela held at Chhota Udepur, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the implementation of the act in 4,503 gram sabhas under 2,584 vi l lage panchayats , to cover 50 predominantly tribal talukas across 8 districts of the state.

The Panchayats (Extens ion to Scheduled Areas) Act or PESA was enacted in 1996 by the Government of India, to ensure self-governance for tribals through traditional Gram Sabhas for people living in Scheduled Areas of India.

Under the PESA act, the tribal communities were given significant benefits. This included allowing the Gram Sabhas to safeguard and preserve the customs, traditions and cultural identity of the people within the regions. But most significantly, through the act, the Government, attempted to provide greater control to tribal communities over resources, particularly minor forest produce a significant source of income for tribal communities. Despite the benefits of the act, it was identified that some changes in the Act were necessary to implement the provisions of PESA within the various states. A particular source of contention was the provision

providing control over minor forest produce, which remained under state control.

Through the implementation of Rule-2017, Gujarat becomes amongst the first to have changed this scenario. Through the new rule, tribal people living in forest areas will now have control over any minor forest produce and minor minerals, providing them with a source of income, to develop the region. Through this new provision, Gram Sabhas within tribal areas would be able to fix loan interests and thus eliminate the authority that the money-lenders have within these regions. The government will also provide separate security forces for them and be able to lease quarries to them.

Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani is a strong believer in sensitivity as a pillar for good governance. In a span of less than a year as the Chief Minister he won the hearts of many as a sensitive and progressive leader. With the best interest

of the tribal population, he announced the implementation of the new PESA Act. In his address, CM Rupani stated, “The forest and its products are synonymous with the life of the tribal. This new initiative will herald a golden age for tribal development within the state, and prove to be the sunrise for the tribal people.”

During the event, the Chief Minister proposed various development initiatives for tribal regions including starting a medical colleges within the regions, with a hope that doctors, engineers and scientists from tribal regions would be able to contribute to the development of the state.

Gujarat has laid a strong foundation of inclusive development in the past decade and a half under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The state has undertaken numerous initiatives in the past for the upliftment of its tribal populace. One of the most significant is the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY), also known as the Chief Minister's 10 point programme. Launched in 2007, under the "Inclusive Development" vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the programme had 10 key focus areas which included the following:-

Employment

This initiative aimed to double the income of tribal families, with special f o c u s o n m i g r a n t f a m i l i e s a n d particularly vulnerable tribal groups by providing employment to 5 lakh families.

Education

The programme aimed at access to quality education for every eligible tribal child and increased emphasis on higher education.

Economic Development

The vision behind this initiative was to double the income of all tribal families including migrant tribal families and particularly vulnerable tribal groups, and facilitate economic growth in villages by providing basic facilities such as roads and energy network.

Health

The Government has identified 3 key areas to improve. These include providing accessibility of medical services, combating endemic diseases and reducing the level of malnutrition.

Housing

Providing housing facilities for all tribal communities has been most significant initiative of the state. Housing development initiative is undertaken in collaboration with Tribal development depar tmen t , Rura l deve lopment department and Panchayat department.

Drinking Water

Providing water supply, which is the most basic necessity, to the doorstep of every tribal household has been the focus of the state.

Irrigation

Agriculture is the only livelihood for a majority of tribals. In this scenario it becomes important for the state to facilitate the tribal farmers in their needs. It was identified that improving irrigation facilities will significantly improve their conditions.

Universal Electrification

Gujarat has been steadfast in providing quality power supply to all tribal areas for accelerated socio-economic development of tribal communities.

All-Weather Road Connectivity

With a vision to provide connectivity to all villages by all-weather roads, and improve the quality of life in tribal areas, in terms of quick access to health services, better education, social services, the state government launched this programme.

Urban Development

The state government aimed to develop tribal towns as growth engines to augment the income of tribal farmers.

Vanbandhu kalyan Yojana is focused on the integrated, holistic and inclusive development of tribal communities in areas related to livelihood, education, health, housing, drinking water, irrigation and access to basic facilities. Since its inception, this initiative has achieved doubled the income of 8 Lakh tribal families, against a target of 5 lakh families.

It has also reduced the literacy gap between Scheduled tribes population and the rest of the State from 21.4% in 2001 to 15.5% in 2011. The initiative has provided market for traditional products through Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs). Screening for sickle-cell anaemia was conducted amongst 83.73 Lakh Tribal people and annual health check-up was conducted for 76.99 Lakh people.

The state provided housing for 4.5 Lakh people and safe drinking water facilities for 100% tribal households through this scheme. Availability of tap water has also been increased from 3.9% in 2001 to 56% (8.5 Lakh families) households.

Gujarat has inspired the Nation at large with the vision of development and the pace of progress in the state. Today, vanbandhu kalyan Yojana has been included as a Central Sector Scheme in the Annual Plan of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.•


PESA Act: Gujarat changes the scenario of Tribal empowerment

by Jenny Mansuria


Gujarat takes pride in being the

forerunner in developmental

activities in all spheres.

Gujarat has set a benchmark for others to

look up to, owing to the visionary

approach of the state government.

A new feather in the cap for Gujarat's

development saga is the ONGC Petro

addi t ions Limi ted (OPaL) Plant

inaugurated in Bharuch. Prime Minister

of India Narendra Modi dedicated South

Asia’s biggest OPaL Plant to the nation

from Dahej of Bharuch District. He said

that this plant has emerged and earned the

important place in SEZs of the world and

has created employment opportunities

for lakhs of youth residing across India.

This is the biggest success in the history

of India ever, he added.

PM Modi visited and observed the

whole plant from its control room

accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister

Vijay Rupani, Union Minister of Road

Transport and Highways and Shipping

Mr. Nitinbhai Gadkari, Union Minister of

State for Chemical and Fertilizer

Ministry Mr. Mansukhbhai Mandaviya

and officials of OPaL and ONGC. PM

Modi said that Dahej is as similar as a

small India itself and it gave an

opportunity to the people staying across

the nation.

Addressing to the investors at Dahej

PM Modi said that the entrepreneurship

of Gujaratis is being involved across the

globe and the nation as well. Dahej got an

o p p o r t u n i t y t o c o n v e r t t h e

entrepreneurship in to the result. Today

Dahej bags top-most position in 50 SEZs

of the world. Along with big bang debut

in industrial development of India, Dahej

b e c a m e t h e b i g g e s t c e n t e r i n

petrochemical sector across the world, he

added.

PM Modi said that the country’s

initiation in industrial sector has earned

remarkable fame. OPaL Plant of Dahej,

with Rs. 27,000 crore investments will

make important contribution to plastic

medical sector. PCPIR - Dahej has

established global identity in the field of

Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical

investments. It is leading in to providing

employment to 1.25 lakh youths. Dahej

SEZ has attracted investment worth Rs.

40,000 crore and has capability to create

eight lakh employment opportunities.

Describing the organised development

for the first time in the nation, Mr. Modi

said that as per World Bank report, India

will be positioned in the top three

economic countries within 2018. India

was on 54th rank in year 2014 and has

come forward to 35th rank in year 2016.

He appreciated about “Make In India”

and said that India has become sixth

manufacturing country in the world and is

considered as fast developing country.

Gujarat state has flexible environment

and infrastructure facility for industrial

development. More than 400 projects

worth Rs. 8 lakh crore investments have

been aligned. While Railway, Port sector

will have Rs. 1 lakh crore projects. A

scheme of Kandla Development port is

being crafted. The Solar Project in

Gujarat is an example of new dimension,

he added.

Mentioning about huge investment in

Dahej, PM Modi said that Indian polymer

sector consumes 10 kg against world’s

average consumption of 32 kg. With the

development of Smart Cities the usage of

polymer will be increased. Contribution

of polymers in infrastructure, housing,

packaging, irrigation, automotive,

healthcare etc sectors will be significant.

OPaL’s partnership with Make In India

mission is 13% till 2018. Growth rate of

Petrochemical sector of India will rise by

12 to 15%.

N a r e n d r a M o d i s a i d t h a t t h e

Government has made amendment in

1948 Factory Act for class associated

with Industrial sector. A unique ID will be

given so that difficulty of getting

contribution will be redressed. Countries

across the world have welcomed the

decision of demonetization and the GDP

rate of India has risen. World Bank CEO

hailed the decision as a bold decision,

whose results will surely be positive, he

added.

The Prime Minister said that in the field

of industrial sector with the usage of new

technologies and development the

industrial atmosphere of Dahej has

become Eco- Friendly.


said that Gujarat is leading in the field of

petrochemical. Dahej plant was initiated

by Prime Minister while he was Chief

Minister of Gujarat. Today Gujarat has

received fame in PCPIR field by

dedicating it to Industrial sector. It is the

first chemical plant with excellent

infrastructure facilities. Along with Make

In India, Gujarat will participate with a

vision of ‘Make In Gujarat’ for the

development of the nation. In year 2009-

10 OPaL has contributed 10 Million Tons,

in year 2016 it was 15 Million Tons. The

contribution of OPaL will be significant

in the development of smart city, he

added.

On the occasion, Chief Secretary Dr. J.

N. Singh, Managing Director of OPaL

Avinash Joshi, Chief Operating Officer of

OPaL Someya Chakravarti and investors

in huge numbers were remained present.•


OPaL PLANT: leading India to the top of the worldby Manas Mukul Yadav


Gujarat takes pride in being the

forerunner in developmental

activities in all spheres.

Gujarat has set a benchmark for others to

look up to, owing to the visionary

approach of the state government.

A new feather in the cap for Gujarat's

development saga is the ONGC Petro

addi t ions Limi ted (OPaL) Plant

inaugurated in Bharuch. Prime Minister

of India Narendra Modi dedicated South

Asia’s biggest OPaL Plant to the nation

from Dahej of Bharuch District. He said

that this plant has emerged and earned the

important place in SEZs of the world and

has created employment opportunities

for lakhs of youth residing across India.

This is the biggest success in the history

of India ever, he added.

PM Modi visited and observed the

whole plant from its control room

accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister

Vijay Rupani, Union Minister of Road

Transport and Highways and Shipping

Mr. Nitinbhai Gadkari, Union Minister of

State for Chemical and Fertilizer

Ministry Mr. Mansukhbhai Mandaviya

and officials of OPaL and ONGC. PM

Modi said that Dahej is as similar as a

small India itself and it gave an

opportunity to the people staying across

the nation.

Addressing to the investors at Dahej

PM Modi said that the entrepreneurship

of Gujaratis is being involved across the

globe and the nation as well. Dahej got an

o p p o r t u n i t y t o c o n v e r t t h e

entrepreneurship in to the result. Today

Dahej bags top-most position in 50 SEZs

of the world. Along with big bang debut

in industrial development of India, Dahej

b e c a m e t h e b i g g e s t c e n t e r i n

petrochemical sector across the world, he

added.

PM Modi said that the country’s

initiation in industrial sector has earned

remarkable fame. OPaL Plant of Dahej,

with Rs. 27,000 crore investments will

make important contribution to plastic

medical sector. PCPIR - Dahej has

established global identity in the field of

Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical

investments. It is leading in to providing

employment to 1.25 lakh youths. Dahej

SEZ has attracted investment worth Rs.

40,000 crore and has capability to create

eight lakh employment opportunities.

Describing the organised development

for the first time in the nation, Mr. Modi

said that as per World Bank report, India

will be positioned in the top three

economic countries within 2018. India

was on 54th rank in year 2014 and has

come forward to 35th rank in year 2016.

He appreciated about “Make In India”

and said that India has become sixth

manufacturing country in the world and is

considered as fast developing country.

Gujarat state has flexible environment

and infrastructure facility for industrial

development. More than 400 projects

worth Rs. 8 lakh crore investments have

been aligned. While Railway, Port sector

will have Rs. 1 lakh crore projects. A

scheme of Kandla Development port is

being crafted. The Solar Project in

Gujarat is an example of new dimension,

he added.

Mentioning about huge investment in

Dahej, PM Modi said that Indian polymer

sector consumes 10 kg against world’s

average consumption of 32 kg. With the

development of Smart Cities the usage of

polymer will be increased. Contribution

of polymers in infrastructure, housing,

packaging, irrigation, automotive,

healthcare etc sectors will be significant.

OPaL’s partnership with Make In India

mission is 13% till 2018. Growth rate of

Petrochemical sector of India will rise by

12 to 15%.

N a r e n d r a M o d i s a i d t h a t t h e

Government has made amendment in

1948 Factory Act for class associated

with Industrial sector. A unique ID will be

given so that difficulty of getting

contribution will be redressed. Countries

across the world have welcomed the

decision of demonetization and the GDP

rate of India has risen. World Bank CEO

hailed the decision as a bold decision,

whose results will surely be positive, he

added.

The Prime Minister said that in the field

of industrial sector with the usage of new

technologies and development the

industrial atmosphere of Dahej has

become Eco- Friendly.


said that Gujarat is leading in the field of

petrochemical. Dahej plant was initiated

by Prime Minister while he was Chief

Minister of Gujarat. Today Gujarat has

received fame in PCPIR field by

dedicating it to Industrial sector. It is the

first chemical plant with excellent

infrastructure facilities. Along with Make

In India, Gujarat will participate with a

vision of ‘Make In Gujarat’ for the

development of the nation. In year 2009-

10 OPaL has contributed 10 Million Tons,

in year 2016 it was 15 Million Tons. The

contribution of OPaL will be significant

in the development of smart city, he

added.

On the occasion, Chief Secretary Dr. J.

N. Singh, Managing Director of OPaL

Avinash Joshi, Chief Operating Officer of

OPaL Someya Chakravarti and investors

in huge numbers were remained present.•


OPaL PLANT: leading India to the top of the worldby Manas Mukul Yadav


By 2020, the Indian population

will contribute about 28% to

the world's youth. This is a

huge opportunity for the country to

accelerate its growth journey provided

conducive environment is created and

adequate opportunities are generated for

its youth to flourish. Providing impetus to

Research and Deve lopment and

Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways

of empowering the youth.

The Government of Gujarat realised

that, the State, being the growth engine of

the country, cannot afford to neglect these

very essential sectors if India has to

achieve its true growth potential.

Keeping this in mind, the Gujarat

G o v e r n m e n t v e r y t h o u g h t f u l l y

formulated a set of policies which would

provide tremendous boost to these sectors

and equip the youth to successfully face

the challenges of the future.

In January 2015, the state government

introduced the Gujarat Startup Policy as a

part of its Industrial Policy. It also

initiated a startup policy for IT sector

research under IT policy of Science and

Technology Department of the state in

June, 2016.

Continuing its efforts for empowering

the youth, Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay

Rupani recently launched Student Start-

Up and Innovation Policy (SSIP) booklet

at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar to

inculcate industrial entrepreneurship

among the students pursuing higher

education.

The main goals of SSIP include

nurturing 1% of the graduates into job

creators and creating awareness about

innovation and pre-incubation among

students pursuing higher studies by

establishing facilities like fabrication

labs, common working space and design

labs . The pol icy wi l l provide a

t echno log ica l p l a t fo rm th rough

educational programmes, conferences

and seminars and MOOC-Massive Open-

Online Courses. The state will also make

available common resource centers,

permissions and credit for implementing

the innovations. Arrangements will be

made to promote the ideas of the

students from Proof of Concept (PoC) to

Minimum Viable Prototype under pre-

incubational support.

Around 14 lakhs students of more

than 60 universities and 800 plus higher

education institutes will have a scope to

participate under this policy. The State

Government will also establish a fund of

Rs. 200 crores for the next five years.

The Government is committed towards

introducing 500 student startups, 1,000

IPR patent filing in State Universities

and providing innovation support to

1000 students and pre-incubation support

to 200 educational institutions in the next

five years.

This announcement will provide

headway to students of all disciplines to

develop research activities and youth

entrepreneurship and in turn take India a

step closer to achieving its development

goals.

Objective

Ÿ Innovation Culture Building

Ÿ Qualitative Improvement in the

conventional education system.

Ÿ To create conducive environment to

inculcate creative thinking and

problem solving attitude amongst

students.

Ÿ Pre-incubation support

Ÿ To convert ideas of students from

Proof of Concept (PoC) up to

Minimum Viable Prototype (MVP).

Ÿ To create support system for Patent

filing.

Goals

Ÿ To create environment for creative

and innovative thinking.

Ÿ To convert at least 1% graduates into

job creators.

Ÿ Harness 500 student start-ups in the

next 5 years.

Ÿ To file at least 1000 patents from

universities in the state every year.

Ÿ To Support at least 1000 student-led

innovations per year.

Ÿ To build capacity for at least 200

educational institutes in the state in

the next five years to have a robust

pre-incubation support.

Major Activities

Ÿ To promote Innovation and Pre-

Incubation awareness amongst

students of Higher education.

Ÿ To encourage the s tudents to

undertake innovative projects related

to Society, Industries and community

instead of conventional academic

projects.

Ÿ To facilitate guidance and evaluation

of the projects by the experts at

institute level and also provide

platform for commercialisation of

such projects.

Ÿ To award and provide support for

approval and publication of the

research work.

Ÿ To develop high-tech facilities like

Fab Lab, Common Working Space,

Design labs, etc. at higher educational

institutions.

Ÿ To provide technology platform

through academic programmes,

seminars, workshop/Massive Open

Online Course (MOOC).

Ÿ To develop State Level Common

Resource Cen t re and Dig i t a l

Platform.•



by Arvind Patel


By 2020, the Indian population

will contribute about 28% to

the world's youth. This is a

huge opportunity for the country to

accelerate its growth journey provided

conducive environment is created and

adequate opportunities are generated for

its youth to flourish. Providing impetus to

Research and Deve lopment and

Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways

of empowering the youth.

The Government of Gujarat realised

that, the State, being the growth engine of

the country, cannot afford to neglect these

very essential sectors if India has to

achieve its true growth potential.

Keeping this in mind, the Gujarat

G o v e r n m e n t v e r y t h o u g h t f u l l y

formulated a set of policies which would

provide tremendous boost to these sectors

and equip the youth to successfully face

the challenges of the future.

In January 2015, the state government

introduced the Gujarat Startup Policy as a

part of its Industrial Policy. It also

initiated a startup policy for IT sector

research under IT policy of Science and

Technology Department of the state in

June, 2016.

Continuing its efforts for empowering

the youth, Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay

Rupani recently launched Student Start-

Up and Innovation Policy (SSIP) booklet

at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar to

inculcate industrial entrepreneurship

among the students pursuing higher

education.

The main goals of SSIP include

nurturing 1% of the graduates into job

creators and creating awareness about

innovation and pre-incubation among

students pursuing higher studies by

establishing facilities like fabrication

labs, common working space and design

labs . The pol icy wi l l provide a

t echno log ica l p l a t fo rm th rough

educational programmes, conferences

and seminars and MOOC-Massive Open-

Online Courses. The state will also make

available common resource centers,

permissions and credit for implementing

the innovations. Arrangements will be

made to promote the ideas of the

students from Proof of Concept (PoC) to

Minimum Viable Prototype under pre-

incubational support.

Around 14 lakhs students of more

than 60 universities and 800 plus higher

education institutes will have a scope to

participate under this policy. The State

Government will also establish a fund of

Rs. 200 crores for the next five years.

The Government is committed towards

introducing 500 student startups, 1,000

IPR patent filing in State Universities

and providing innovation support to

1000 students and pre-incubation support

to 200 educational institutions in the next

five years.

This announcement will provide

headway to students of all disciplines to

develop research activities and youth

entrepreneurship and in turn take India a

step closer to achieving its development

goals.

Objective

Ÿ Innovation Culture Building

Ÿ Qualitative Improvement in the

conventional education system.

Ÿ To create conducive environment to

inculcate creative thinking and

problem solving attitude amongst

students.

Ÿ Pre-incubation support

Ÿ To convert ideas of students from

Proof of Concept (PoC) up to

Minimum Viable Prototype (MVP).

Ÿ To create support system for Patent

filing.

Goals

Ÿ To create environment for creative

and innovative thinking.

Ÿ To convert at least 1% graduates into

job creators.

Ÿ Harness 500 student start-ups in the

next 5 years.

Ÿ To file at least 1000 patents from

universities in the state every year.

Ÿ To Support at least 1000 student-led

innovations per year.

Ÿ To build capacity for at least 200

educational institutes in the state in

the next five years to have a robust

pre-incubation support.

Major Activities

Ÿ To promote Innovation and Pre-

Incubation awareness amongst

students of Higher education.

Ÿ To encourage the s tudents to

undertake innovative projects related

to Society, Industries and community

instead of conventional academic

projects.

Ÿ To facilitate guidance and evaluation

of the projects by the experts at

institute level and also provide

platform for commercialisation of

such projects.

Ÿ To award and provide support for

approval and publication of the

research work.

Ÿ To develop high-tech facilities like

Fab Lab, Common Working Space,

Design labs, etc. at higher educational

institutions.

Ÿ To provide technology platform

through academic programmes,

seminars, workshop/Massive Open

Online Course (MOOC).

Ÿ To develop State Level Common

Resource Cen t re and Dig i t a l

Platform.•



by Arvind Patel


COVER STORY COVER STORY

BUDGET 2017-18

ujarat is popularly known as the model

Gstate, an inspiration for the entire nation for its dedicated efforts towards

inclusive development. On February 21, 2017, Gujarat came up with the Budget for the financial year 2017-18, the first under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. The Budget, presented by Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel, is the perfect example of the progressive, decisive, sensitive and transparent governance that the Chief Minister stands for.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Vijay Rupani called it a balanced budget, which had addressed the issues of all sections of society and provided aid to all regions of the state. It is for this reason that the central theme of this year's budget has been in the words of Deputy CM Nitin Patel, to “Optimize inclusive development of human resources and trunk infrastructure through effective and transparent implementation.”

The budget outlay for 2017-18 stands at Rs. 1,72,179.24 Crore which is Rs.20,327.31 Crore higher than the outlay for the budget of previous year. Demonetization was one of the most revolutionary decisions taken by the Central government in the previous year. Despite fears that this would reduce the state's revenue, Gujarat's revenue has actually increased in the past year, particularly from VAT (Value Added Tax), as more tax payers have come under the tax net. VAT Income for Gujarat from November 2015 to January 2016 was Rs.10,198 Crore. After the announcement of demonetization, on November 8, VAT income from November 2016 to January 2017 was Rs.12,424 Crore, an increase of 21.83%.

`8812.66cr.

ROADS & BUILDINGS

`11500cr.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

& URBAN HOUSING `25000cr.

EDUCATION

`8800cr.


`2000cr.

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT

`6400cr.

AGRICULTURE &COOPERATION

`6700cr.PANCHAYAT, RURAL HOUSING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

`3799.86cr.

INDUSTRIES & MINES

`8100cr.

ENERGY &PETROCHEMICALS

`1650cr.

LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

`98.38cr.

CLIMATE CHANGE

`3000cr.

REVENUE

by Bharat Gariwala




BUDGET 2017-18

ujarat is popularly known as the model

Gstate, an inspiration for the entire nation for its dedicated efforts towards

inclusive development. On February 21, 2017, Gujarat came up with the Budget for the financial year 2017-18, the first under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. The Budget, presented by Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel, is the perfect example of the progressive, decisive, sensitive and transparent governance that the Chief Minister stands for.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Vijay Rupani called it a balanced budget, which had addressed the issues of all sections of society and provided aid to all regions of the state. It is for this reason that the central theme of this year's budget has been in the words of Deputy CM Nitin Patel, to “Optimize inclusive development of human resources and trunk infrastructure through effective and transparent implementation.”

The budget outlay for 2017-18 stands at Rs. 1,72,179.24 Crore which is Rs.20,327.31 Crore higher than the outlay for the budget of previous year. Demonetization was one of the most revolutionary decisions taken by the Central government in the previous year. Despite fears that this would reduce the state's revenue, Gujarat's revenue has actually increased in the past year, particularly from VAT (Value Added Tax), as more tax payers have come under the tax net. VAT Income for Gujarat from November 2015 to January 2016 was Rs.10,198 Crore. After the announcement of demonetization, on November 8, VAT income from November 2016 to January 2017 was Rs.12,424 Crore, an increase of 21.83%.

`8812.66cr.

ROADS & BUILDINGS

`11500cr.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

& URBAN HOUSING `25000cr.

EDUCATION

`8800cr.


`2000cr.

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT

`6400cr.

AGRICULTURE &COOPERATION

`6700cr.PANCHAYAT, RURAL HOUSING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

`3799.86cr.

INDUSTRIES & MINES

`8100cr.

ENERGY &PETROCHEMICALS

`1650cr.

LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

`98.38cr.

CLIMATE CHANGE

`3000cr.

REVENUE

by Bharat Gariwala



he Government is making Tsincere efforts to improve educational standards further

both in terms of coverage and quality. The impact on primary education has been exemplary and determined efforts are being made to take it forward to higher levels of education, for which budgetary provision of Rs 25000 Crore is made, which is Rs 1185 Crore higher than previous year.

Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojna :Ÿ This scheme will benefit about

82,08,000 students and Rs 1,100 Crore is allocated for providing the following benefits:

Ÿ Free text books and assistance for uniform to all 60,60,000 students of primary school

Ÿ Free text books to all 21,03,000 students of secondary and higher secondary schools

Ÿ Financial support for tuition fees, mess and hostel facilities to all 45,000 students of higher education.

Ÿ In addition to 50% assistance in tuition fees under Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana, female students of self financed medical colleges will get 50% assistance in tuition fees from Kanya Kelvani Nidhi, making medical education free for female students

Ÿ Tablets for students: About 3,50,000 students passing this year's 12th board exams and taking admission in colleges and polytechnics will be provided with tablets at the token

price of just Rs. 1,000, for which an allocation of Rs. 200 Crore has been made.

Digischool initiative: A total of Rs 261 Crore is allocated for

p r o m o t i n g I n f o r m a t i o n a n d Communication Technology (ICT) based education at all levels of education. Some such initiatives are:Ÿ 84,000 students of 2400 from 7th and

8th standard in 1200 primary schools will have access to smart classes through computers, smart interactive boards, IR camera, projector and digital pen. From this list, students of 100 schools will be given tablets and the students in remaining schools will be given tablets through CSR.

Ÿ E-learning based second level smart schools with internet connectivity will be set up for primary, secondary and higher secondary schools.

Ÿ Digital Education Learning (DEL) lab will be set up in additional 37 colleges to conduct on-line exams and set up language learning centers.

Ÿ Improving quality of all levels of education

Ÿ Rs 440 Crore has been allocated for improving quality of all levels of education. Some initiatives under this are:

Ÿ 7,44,152 girl students of class 9–12 will be provided free education in 5374 GIA schools.

Ÿ To make primary education more interesting, personalised to the student's taste and pace, teaching and learning aids in 25000 Prajna schools

for 22 lakh students and for Class 1-4 will be provided.

Ÿ Primary education will be provided to 1,46,000 students in private schools under RTE Act.

Ÿ New schools will be opened in tribal and far-fetched regions of the state

Ÿ 7233 visiting teachers for teaching Math and Science in secondary and higher secondary schools will be engaged.

Ÿ I n t e r e s t s u b v e n t i o n d u r i n g moratorium period on education loan for availing higher education in foreign Universities

Ÿ E d u c a t i o n a l I n f r a s t r u c t u r e Improvement

Ÿ Rs 900 Crore has been allocated for construction of quality education infrastructure like:

Ÿ 6500 new primary school rooms under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan

Ÿ Four mobile science laboratories that will benefit about 3,60,000 students.

Ÿ Construction of new government schools and colleges

Special IncentivesŸ Rs 166 Cr. has been allocated for

sections of the society that require special incentives for education like:

Ÿ Parents and guardians of 5.75 lakh girl students of primary schools in 14 tribal districts will be provided with grains under “Anna Triveni” scheme.

Ÿ 4,81,642 students of primary schools in 26 developing talukas of 12 districts will be provided with flavored milk for 200 days in a year.

The Gujarat government has

been one of India's leading

s ta tes in terms of t r ibal

development, particularly through

schemes such as Vanbandhu Kalyan

Yojana (VKY). The reason for its success

has been the focus on the integrated,

holistic and inclusive development of

tribal communities in sectors related to

livelihood, education, health, housing,

drinking water, irrigation and access to

basic facilities. VKY today has been

adopted as a Central Sector scheme, in the

Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

For the 2017-18 budget, the Gujarat

Government has allocated Rs. 2000 Cr. to

Tribal Developement, over Rs.220 Cr.

higher than last year. In addition, the

Government has also made a provision of

Rs.12,560 Cr. for the Van Bandhu Kalyan

Yojana, representing an increase of

Rs.1,465 Cr. from last year.

In this budget, the Gujarat government

has focused on empowering the tribal

population and bringing them to the

mainstream. For this purpose, they have

focused on education, and in the budget,

the Government has allocated a total of

Rs. 990 Cr. for some of the following

initiatives:-

Ÿ Establishing a Tribal University in

Narmada.

Ÿ Rs. 139 Cr. to be allocated to provide

pre-metric scholarships to 15 Lakh

students. Rs.231 Cr. allocated to

provide post metric scholarships to 2

Lakh students.

Ÿ Buildings for 50 Grant-in-aid Ashram

Shalas will be constructed.

Ÿ Rs. 7.30 Cr. will be allocated to cover

1200 bright students under talent pool

scheme.

Ÿ 4 New hostels will be constructed at

Zalod, Umarpada and Vankal.

Ÿ The Gujarat Government understands

that the health issues faced by tribals

are unique. To address this, under the

Doodh Sanjivani Yojana, 3 blocks of

Garudeshwar, Bodeli and Dolvan

have been added to the existing 49

blocks. The scheme, which caters to

12 lakh students, has been allocated

Rs.116 Cr. under the new budget.

Ÿ The Gujarat Government has also

made further interventions through

the following initiatives:-

Ÿ Allocation of Rs.15 Cr. to provide

assistance for patients suffering from

T.B, cancer, leprosy and sickle cell

anaemia.

Ÿ Provision of Rs.75 Cr. for providing

self employment to tribal youth.


EDUCATIONTRIBAL

DEVELOPMENT


he Government is making Tsincere efforts to improve educational standards further

both in terms of coverage and quality. The impact on primary education has been exemplary and determined efforts are being made to take it forward to higher levels of education, for which budgetary provision of Rs 25000 Crore is made, which is Rs 1185 Crore higher than previous year.

Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojna :Ÿ This scheme will benefit about

82,08,000 students and Rs 1,100 Crore is allocated for providing the following benefits:

Ÿ Free text books and assistance for uniform to all 60,60,000 students of primary school

Ÿ Free text books to all 21,03,000 students of secondary and higher secondary schools

Ÿ Financial support for tuition fees, mess and hostel facilities to all 45,000 students of higher education.

Ÿ In addition to 50% assistance in tuition fees under Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana, female students of self financed medical colleges will get 50% assistance in tuition fees from Kanya Kelvani Nidhi, making medical education free for female students

Ÿ Tablets for students: About 3,50,000 students passing this year's 12th board exams and taking admission in colleges and polytechnics will be provided with tablets at the token

price of just Rs. 1,000, for which an allocation of Rs. 200 Crore has been made.

Digischool initiative: A total of Rs 261 Crore is allocated for

p r o m o t i n g I n f o r m a t i o n a n d Communication Technology (ICT) based education at all levels of education. Some such initiatives are:Ÿ 84,000 students of 2400 from 7th and

8th standard in 1200 primary schools will have access to smart classes through computers, smart interactive boards, IR camera, projector and digital pen. From this list, students of 100 schools will be given tablets and the students in remaining schools will be given tablets through CSR.

Ÿ E-learning based second level smart schools with internet connectivity will be set up for primary, secondary and higher secondary schools.

Ÿ Digital Education Learning (DEL) lab will be set up in additional 37 colleges to conduct on-line exams and set up language learning centers.

Ÿ Improving quality of all levels of education

Ÿ Rs 440 Crore has been allocated for improving quality of all levels of education. Some initiatives under this are:

Ÿ 7,44,152 girl students of class 9–12 will be provided free education in 5374 GIA schools.

Ÿ To make primary education more interesting, personalised to the student's taste and pace, teaching and learning aids in 25000 Prajna schools

for 22 lakh students and for Class 1-4 will be provided.

Ÿ Primary education will be provided to 1,46,000 students in private schools under RTE Act.

Ÿ New schools will be opened in tribal and far-fetched regions of the state

Ÿ 7233 visiting teachers for teaching Math and Science in secondary and higher secondary schools will be engaged.

Ÿ I n t e r e s t s u b v e n t i o n d u r i n g moratorium period on education loan for availing higher education in foreign Universities

Ÿ E d u c a t i o n a l I n f r a s t r u c t u r e Improvement

Ÿ Rs 900 Crore has been allocated for construction of quality education infrastructure like:

Ÿ 6500 new primary school rooms under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan

Ÿ Four mobile science laboratories that will benefit about 3,60,000 students.

Ÿ Construction of new government schools and colleges

Special IncentivesŸ Rs 166 Cr. has been allocated for

sections of the society that require special incentives for education like:

Ÿ Parents and guardians of 5.75 lakh girl students of primary schools in 14 tribal districts will be provided with grains under “Anna Triveni” scheme.

Ÿ 4,81,642 students of primary schools in 26 developing talukas of 12 districts will be provided with flavored milk for 200 days in a year.

The Gujarat government has

been one of India's leading

s ta tes in terms of t r ibal

development, particularly through

schemes such as Vanbandhu Kalyan

Yojana (VKY). The reason for its success

has been the focus on the integrated,

holistic and inclusive development of

tribal communities in sectors related to

livelihood, education, health, housing,

drinking water, irrigation and access to

basic facilities. VKY today has been

adopted as a Central Sector scheme, in the

Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

For the 2017-18 budget, the Gujarat

Government has allocated Rs. 2000 Cr. to

Tribal Developement, over Rs.220 Cr.

higher than last year. In addition, the

Government has also made a provision of

Rs.12,560 Cr. for the Van Bandhu Kalyan

Yojana, representing an increase of

Rs.1,465 Cr. from last year.

In this budget, the Gujarat government

has focused on empowering the tribal

population and bringing them to the

mainstream. For this purpose, they have

focused on education, and in the budget,

the Government has allocated a total of

Rs. 990 Cr. for some of the following

initiatives:-

Ÿ Establishing a Tribal University in

Narmada.

Ÿ Rs. 139 Cr. to be allocated to provide

pre-metric scholarships to 15 Lakh

students. Rs.231 Cr. allocated to

provide post metric scholarships to 2

Lakh students.

Ÿ Buildings for 50 Grant-in-aid Ashram

Shalas will be constructed.

Ÿ Rs. 7.30 Cr. will be allocated to cover

1200 bright students under talent pool

scheme.

Ÿ 4 New hostels will be constructed at

Zalod, Umarpada and Vankal.

Ÿ The Gujarat Government understands

that the health issues faced by tribals

are unique. To address this, under the

Doodh Sanjivani Yojana, 3 blocks of

Garudeshwar, Bodeli and Dolvan

have been added to the existing 49

blocks. The scheme, which caters to

12 lakh students, has been allocated

Rs.116 Cr. under the new budget.

Ÿ The Gujarat Government has also

made further interventions through

the following initiatives:-

Ÿ Allocation of Rs.15 Cr. to provide

assistance for patients suffering from

T.B, cancer, leprosy and sickle cell

anaemia.

Ÿ Provision of Rs.75 Cr. for providing

self employment to tribal youth.


EDUCATIONTRIBAL

DEVELOPMENT


aintaining its commitment Mt o w a r d s w o m e n empowerment, the Gujarat

Government p resen ted a four th consecutive Gender Budget. This budget was allocated Rs. 56,491.89 Crore representing an increase of Rs.5907.31 Crore from last year's budget.

For the nutrition and general well being of women and children, the budget has made a provision of Rs.2800 Crore, which represents an increase of Rs.185 Crore.

Some of the major provisions in the budgets include the following:-

Ÿ 1 5 % i n c r e a s e i n m o n t h l y

remuneration for Anganwadi and Tedaghar workers, as well as mini Anganwadi workers. Anganwadi Workers will now get- Rs.5500, Te d a g h a r - R s . 2 8 0 0 a n d M i n i Aanganwadi-Rs.3200 monthly. Government will bear an additional cost of Rs. 65 Crore.

Ÿ Provision for improvement in health and nutrition status of 5,52,800 pregnant and lactating mothers in the state of Gujarat through financial assistance of Rs.6000, at the time of child birth under Matrutva Sahyog Yojana.

Ÿ Provision of milk for 13 lakh children and mothers of 102 blocks of 20

districts under Doodh Sanjeevani Scheme.

Ÿ Provision for one full meal at Aanganwadi centers of 5 districts on pilot basis to benefit 27,555 pregnant and lactating mothers under spot feeding scheme.

Ÿ Provision for life insurance cover of Rs.50,000 for 93259 Aanganwadi workers and helpers.

Ÿ P r o v i s i o n f o r f e m a l e p o l i c e mitra/volunteers in 1041 village panchayats of 2 districts for acting as a link between society and police to prevent domestic violence, child marriage and dowry related violence

In the last decade and half, the Gujarat Government's aim has focused on holistic development of

all aspects of its health delivery system. From the time a person is born, till they reach old-age, the Gujarat Government, has focused on putting institutional mechanisms in place to develop its health system and provide the best possible services to its citizens. In the current budget, the Government has made an allocation of Rs. 8800 Crore.

Ÿ For Maternal and Child Care, the budget allocation this year has been Rs.119.15 Crore, and it has focused on some of the following initiatives:-

Ÿ To make blood supply available during obstetric emergencies and

trauma care, nine new blood banks at district hospitals and 41 new blood storage units at sub-district hospitals will be set up.

Ÿ Under Chiranjeevi Yojana, services of private gynaecologists will be provided to pregnant and lactating mothers of BPL, SC and ST families.

Ÿ To reduce Infant Mortality Rate in high priority area due to low birth weight, paediatric treatment and special care has been made available.

Ÿ Services of private paediatrician are made available for new born babies under Bal Sakha scheme.

Ÿ Due to the constant challenge faced

by the onset of vector borne diseases like malaria and dengue, the Gujarat Government has taken up the challenge of “eliminating vector borne disease” from Gujarat by 2022. Measures include, intense measures o f v e c t o r c o n t r o l , e x t e n s i v e screening, close monitoring, early diagnosis and treatment and public awareness campaigns. A provision of Rs. 102 Crore has been made available for this campaign.

Ÿ The budget has increased the coverage of the MA Amrutam and MA Vatsalya scheme by raising its annual family income limit from Rs. 1.20 Lakh to Rs. 1.50 Lakh. Furthermore, the government has expanded the scope of the ailments it covers, also adding neurological ailments and additional oncology procedures. Allocation under the Budget 2017 for this scheme is

Rs. 500 Crore.

With regard to medical services and medical education, the budget has made the following allocations:-

Ÿ For upgradation and modernization of civil hospital of Ahmedabad, Rs.129 Crore has been provided for installing state of the art equipment and appointing medical staff.

Ÿ To strengthen Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute and Ophthalmology Institute at Ahmedabad, Rs. 80 Crore

has been provided.

Ÿ For providing free treatment to BPL and lower income families at cancer, kidney and cardiac public institutions, Rs.40 Crore has been provided.

Ÿ Rs. 100 Crore has been provided for setting up a paediatric cardiac services centre at U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology, Ahmedabad.


WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT



aintaining its commitment Mt o w a r d s w o m e n empowerment, the Gujarat

Government p resen ted a four th consecutive Gender Budget. This budget was allocated Rs. 56,491.89 Crore representing an increase of Rs.5907.31 Crore from last year's budget.

For the nutrition and general well being of women and children, the budget has made a provision of Rs.2800 Crore, which represents an increase of Rs.185 Crore.

Some of the major provisions in the budgets include the following:-

Ÿ 1 5 % i n c r e a s e i n m o n t h l y

remuneration for Anganwadi and Tedaghar workers, as well as mini Anganwadi workers. Anganwadi Workers will now get- Rs.5500, Te d a g h a r - R s . 2 8 0 0 a n d M i n i Aanganwadi-Rs.3200 monthly. Government will bear an additional cost of Rs. 65 Crore.

Ÿ Provision for improvement in health and nutrition status of 5,52,800 pregnant and lactating mothers in the state of Gujarat through financial assistance of Rs.6000, at the time of child birth under Matrutva Sahyog Yojana.

Ÿ Provision of milk for 13 lakh children and mothers of 102 blocks of 20

districts under Doodh Sanjeevani Scheme.

Ÿ Provision for one full meal at Aanganwadi centers of 5 districts on pilot basis to benefit 27,555 pregnant and lactating mothers under spot feeding scheme.

Ÿ Provision for life insurance cover of Rs.50,000 for 93259 Aanganwadi workers and helpers.

Ÿ P r o v i s i o n f o r f e m a l e p o l i c e mitra/volunteers in 1041 village panchayats of 2 districts for acting as a link between society and police to prevent domestic violence, child marriage and dowry related violence

In the last decade and half, the Gujarat Government's aim has focused on holistic development of

all aspects of its health delivery system. From the time a person is born, till they reach old-age, the Gujarat Government, has focused on putting institutional mechanisms in place to develop its health system and provide the best possible services to its citizens. In the current budget, the Government has made an allocation of Rs. 8800 Crore.

Ÿ For Maternal and Child Care, the budget allocation this year has been Rs.119.15 Crore, and it has focused on some of the following initiatives:-

Ÿ To make blood supply available during obstetric emergencies and

trauma care, nine new blood banks at district hospitals and 41 new blood storage units at sub-district hospitals will be set up.

Ÿ Under Chiranjeevi Yojana, services of private gynaecologists will be provided to pregnant and lactating mothers of BPL, SC and ST families.

Ÿ To reduce Infant Mortality Rate in high priority area due to low birth weight, paediatric treatment and special care has been made available.

Ÿ Services of private paediatrician are made available for new born babies under Bal Sakha scheme.

Ÿ Due to the constant challenge faced

by the onset of vector borne diseases like malaria and dengue, the Gujarat Government has taken up the challenge of “eliminating vector borne disease” from Gujarat by 2022. Measures include, intense measures o f v e c t o r c o n t r o l , e x t e n s i v e screening, close monitoring, early diagnosis and treatment and public awareness campaigns. A provision of Rs. 102 Crore has been made available for this campaign.

Ÿ The budget has increased the coverage of the MA Amrutam and MA Vatsalya scheme by raising its annual family income limit from Rs. 1.20 Lakh to Rs. 1.50 Lakh. Furthermore, the government has expanded the scope of the ailments it covers, also adding neurological ailments and additional oncology procedures. Allocation under the Budget 2017 for this scheme is

Rs. 500 Crore.

With regard to medical services and medical education, the budget has made the following allocations:-

Ÿ For upgradation and modernization of civil hospital of Ahmedabad, Rs.129 Crore has been provided for installing state of the art equipment and appointing medical staff.

Ÿ To strengthen Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute and Ophthalmology Institute at Ahmedabad, Rs. 80 Crore

has been provided.

Ÿ For providing free treatment to BPL and lower income families at cancer, kidney and cardiac public institutions, Rs.40 Crore has been provided.

Ÿ Rs. 100 Crore has been provided for setting up a paediatric cardiac services centre at U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology, Ahmedabad.


WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT



In a stark contrast to other states in India, Gujarat is one of the few states in India that is power surplus. Thanks to the power sector reforms carried out by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his tenure as Chief Minister, Gujarat is now able to provide 24/7 power to both its rural and urban populace.

In the current budget, the government has made a provision of Rs.8100 Crore, representing an increase of Rs.300 Crore from the previous budget. Gujarat's current power generation capacity stands at 25,256 MW. The Government proposes to increase this by 2540 MW, by

2020.

The following are the major provisions of the budget for the energy sector:-

Guja ra t Government has been providing on an average one lakh agricultural power connections annually for the last 3 years. This year a provision of Rs.2000 Crore has been made for 1,25,000 agricultural connections.

Gu ja ra t Gove rnmen t p rov ides subsidised power to farmers to reduce

cost of agricultural inputs. Current allocation is Rs.4011 Crore. Rs.400 Crore has been allocated for free power to water works of all village panchayats.

Rs.2592 Crore has been allocated to setup 2716 circuit kilometres of new power transmissions lines and 100 new power substations.

Assistance provided to 4,500 farmers f o r i n s t a l l i n g s o l a r p u m p s e t s . Furthermore, 12000 Solar PV Systems will be installed under "Solar Home Lighting Scheme". Rs. 181 Crore has been allocated for both these initiatives.

In 2017-18, about 130,000 household

PNG connections will be given and 50 CNG stations will be established by Gujarat Gas Ltd.

Th e B u d g e t h a s mad e an allocation of Rs.6400 Crore for Agriculture, Cooperation and

allied activities, representing an increase of Rs. 608 Crore from last year. In recognition of the Gujarat Government's eternal commitment to the welfare of the f a r m e r s , t h e “ A g r i c u l t u r e a n d Cooperation Department” has been renamed the “Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare Department”.

Gujarat 's policy with regard to agriculture has always focused on making every step of the agricultural process more efficient. Its policy of ensuring an efficient process from the time the crop is sown, till the time the product reaches the consumer's plate, has ensured rich dividends for the state.

In this regard, the Gujarat government has made provisions for each step of the farming process. With regard to agricultural finance, infrastructure and risk management, the budget has some of the following important provisions:-

Increase in scope of Micro-irrigation scheme, which has immensely benefitted farmers. State assistance increased from 50% to 70% for SC farmers and 75% to 85% for ST farmers. Rs. 313 Crore has been allocated for this purpose for 1,70,515 hectares of land benefitting 1,00,000 farmers.

Ÿ Rs. 80 Crore has been allocated to link cooperative credit structure with core banking system and provide RuPay debit card to farmers.

Ÿ Price stability fund has been setup to ensure minimum support price for cereals, pulses and vegetables.

Ÿ Government provides 3% interest subvention on timely repayment of c rop loans and 2% in teres t

subvention for crop loans obtained under rural cooperative credit set up. As a result, about 14 lakh farmers get crop loan merely at 1% interest, for which Rs. 500 Crore has been allocated.

Ÿ Rs.365 Crore has been allocated for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

T h e G u j a r a t g o v e r n m e n t h a s introduced the following measures in the budget, with regard to farm inputs and farm mechanisation, for which Rs.418

Crore has been allocated. Some of the most important measures include 60,000 hand tool kits for small, marginal and SC, ST farmers and support for farm mechanisation, farm inputs, training and demonstration to 1,57,500 farmers under various schemes.

Ÿ Assistance for planting material needed for horticulture has been enhanced from 50% to 90%, to promote diversification and high value horticulture.

Ÿ Support given to 24,000 farmers to purchase tractors.

Ÿ The budget has allocated Rs.92 Crore for the marketing of agricultural produce. Some of the most important initiatives include the following:-

Ÿ 2,40,000 MT Storage capacity for agricultural produce will be added by constructing 50 godowns at APMCs (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) and 1000 godowns at Primary Agricultural Credit Society,

this year.

Ÿ e-National Agricultural Market facilities for on-line auction will be made available in 60 additional APMCs which will connect 100 APMCs and bring more buyers and sellers onto this platform.

Ÿ Assistance for facilities like auction shed, internal roads, weighbridge, sale cum demonstration center will be provided to APMCs.

Ÿ For the animal husbandry sector, the

Gujarat government has made the following allocations for the dairy sector:-

Ÿ Village level dairy milk cooperatives will be provided assistance for 375 auto milk collection system, 125 bulk coolers, 225 Doodh Ghars and 325 e q u i p m e n t s t o c h e c k m i l k adulteration. Beneficiaries will be assisted for insurance premium of 2400 cattle and procurement of cattle feed for 10000 pregnant cattle.

Ÿ Rs. 20 Crore has been allocated for a s s i s t ance to 6 d i s t r i c t mi lk cooperative unions for area specific mineral mixture plants and 2 unions for setting up cattle feed plants.

Ÿ To promote organic agriculture, the Gujarat government has allocated Rs.82 Crore in the budget and will be setting up an Organic Agriculture University.


AGRICULTURE &CO-OPERATION

ENERGY


In a stark contrast to other states in India, Gujarat is one of the few states in India that is power surplus. Thanks to the power sector reforms carried out by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his tenure as Chief Minister, Gujarat is now able to provide 24/7 power to both its rural and urban populace.

In the current budget, the government has made a provision of Rs.8100 Crore, representing an increase of Rs.300 Crore from the previous budget. Gujarat's current power generation capacity stands at 25,256 MW. The Government proposes to increase this by 2540 MW, by

2020.

The following are the major provisions of the budget for the energy sector:-

Guja ra t Government has been providing on an average one lakh agricultural power connections annually for the last 3 years. This year a provision of Rs.2000 Crore has been made for 1,25,000 agricultural connections.

Gu ja ra t Gove rnmen t p rov ides subsidised power to farmers to reduce

cost of agricultural inputs. Current allocation is Rs.4011 Crore. Rs.400 Crore has been allocated for free power to water works of all village panchayats.

Rs.2592 Crore has been allocated to setup 2716 circuit kilometres of new power transmissions lines and 100 new power substations.

Assistance provided to 4,500 farmers f o r i n s t a l l i n g s o l a r p u m p s e t s . Furthermore, 12000 Solar PV Systems will be installed under "Solar Home Lighting Scheme". Rs. 181 Crore has been allocated for both these initiatives.

In 2017-18, about 130,000 household

PNG connections will be given and 50 CNG stations will be established by Gujarat Gas Ltd.

Th e B u d g e t h a s mad e an allocation of Rs.6400 Crore for Agriculture, Cooperation and

allied activities, representing an increase of Rs. 608 Crore from last year. In recognition of the Gujarat Government's eternal commitment to the welfare of the f a r m e r s , t h e “ A g r i c u l t u r e a n d Cooperation Department” has been renamed the “Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare Department”.

Gujarat 's policy with regard to agriculture has always focused on making every step of the agricultural process more efficient. Its policy of ensuring an efficient process from the time the crop is sown, till the time the product reaches the consumer's plate, has ensured rich dividends for the state.

In this regard, the Gujarat government has made provisions for each step of the farming process. With regard to agricultural finance, infrastructure and risk management, the budget has some of the following important provisions:-

Increase in scope of Micro-irrigation scheme, which has immensely benefitted farmers. State assistance increased from 50% to 70% for SC farmers and 75% to 85% for ST farmers. Rs. 313 Crore has been allocated for this purpose for 1,70,515 hectares of land benefitting 1,00,000 farmers.

Ÿ Rs. 80 Crore has been allocated to link cooperative credit structure with core banking system and provide RuPay debit card to farmers.

Ÿ Price stability fund has been setup to ensure minimum support price for cereals, pulses and vegetables.

Ÿ Government provides 3% interest subvention on timely repayment of c rop loans and 2% in teres t

subvention for crop loans obtained under rural cooperative credit set up. As a result, about 14 lakh farmers get crop loan merely at 1% interest, for which Rs. 500 Crore has been allocated.

Ÿ Rs.365 Crore has been allocated for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

T h e G u j a r a t g o v e r n m e n t h a s introduced the following measures in the budget, with regard to farm inputs and farm mechanisation, for which Rs.418

Crore has been allocated. Some of the most important measures include 60,000 hand tool kits for small, marginal and SC, ST farmers and support for farm mechanisation, farm inputs, training and demonstration to 1,57,500 farmers under various schemes.

Ÿ Assistance for planting material needed for horticulture has been enhanced from 50% to 90%, to promote diversification and high value horticulture.

Ÿ Support given to 24,000 farmers to purchase tractors.

Ÿ The budget has allocated Rs.92 Crore for the marketing of agricultural produce. Some of the most important initiatives include the following:-

Ÿ 2,40,000 MT Storage capacity for agricultural produce will be added by constructing 50 godowns at APMCs (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) and 1000 godowns at Primary Agricultural Credit Society,

this year.

Ÿ e-National Agricultural Market facilities for on-line auction will be made available in 60 additional APMCs which will connect 100 APMCs and bring more buyers and sellers onto this platform.

Ÿ Assistance for facilities like auction shed, internal roads, weighbridge, sale cum demonstration center will be provided to APMCs.

Ÿ For the animal husbandry sector, the

Gujarat government has made the following allocations for the dairy sector:-

Ÿ Village level dairy milk cooperatives will be provided assistance for 375 auto milk collection system, 125 bulk coolers, 225 Doodh Ghars and 325 e q u i p m e n t s t o c h e c k m i l k adulteration. Beneficiaries will be assisted for insurance premium of 2400 cattle and procurement of cattle feed for 10000 pregnant cattle.

Ÿ Rs. 20 Crore has been allocated for a s s i s t ance to 6 d i s t r i c t mi lk cooperative unions for area specific mineral mixture plants and 2 unions for setting up cattle feed plants.

Ÿ To promote organic agriculture, the Gujarat government has allocated Rs.82 Crore in the budget and will be setting up an Organic Agriculture University.


AGRICULTURE &CO-OPERATION

ENERGY


The Gujarat Government has undertaken numerous schemes in the last few years to identify

and nurture talented youth, particularly in

sports. One of the most successful schemes in this regard has been the Khel Mahakumbh. Created in 2010, this grand sporting event has seen 7 editions and has been highly successful in not only identifying talent, but also in developing Gujarat's sports infrastructure, from the village to the state level.

This year's budget has made an allocation of Rs.600 Crore for Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, and it is worth noting that Deputy CM Patel has proposed organizing a state level Kala Maha Kumbh, and has allocated Rs. 10 Crore to it.

The budget has also made provision of

Rs. 118 Crore for the following initiatives:-

Ÿ Training and sensitization of PT Teachers of more than 1000 schools under School Spor t s Contac t programme.

Ÿ Construction of hostel for 400 residents at Swarnim Gujarat Sports University.

Ÿ Jyotirmay Ambubhai Purani Awards and equipments for renowned wrestlers dedicated to Akhada.

Ÿ Increase financial assistance support being provided by Government for grant-in-aid libraries by 50%, with a provision of Rs.3.81 Crore.

While the state wins accolades for its thriving industrial sector, its achievements on

the rural development front is equally impressive. In the last decade and a half, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the Gujarat government has not only managed to attract investment and industries, but has been instrumental in improving the condition of its rural population.

In the current budget, the Gujarat government has allocated Rs.6700 crores for rural development. An important scheme started by Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister, was to provide modern civic amenities to larger villages, particularly those located in Taluka headquarters, in order to serve a large population base. The scheme was known as 'Rurban' and had projects concerning underground drainage, water supply, internal water distribution, internal roads, electricity and solid and liquid waste management. The Gujarat government has allocated over Rs.54 Crore for this project.

In a bid to promote the state's rich rural heritage, and to conserve the ethos of rural life, Rs. 100 crores has been set aside to transform 100 handpicked villages into “Vrindavan Gram”. The government will also launch a smart

village scheme, to assess selected villages on the basis of 15 socio- economic parameters. One village in each of 247 Talukas and 49 backward Ta l u k a s w i l l b e c o v e r e d . T h e Government has allocated Rs.100 Crore for this scheme.

Under the “Swachh Bharat Gramin Miss ion” 5 lakh to i le t s wi l l be constructed in 2017-18. Projects concerning solid and liquid waste management will also be undertaken, for which Rs. 825 crore has been allocated.

Under the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana”, 1.10 lakh houses will be constructed, and the sum allotted to provide support has been increased from Rs. 75,000 per house to Rs. 1,20,000 per house. Provision of Rs.1373 crore has been made for the year 2017-18.

Rs. 380 crore has been allocated for generating employment of 340 lakh man days covering 6.1 lakh families under “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme”.


SPORTS, YOUTH & CULTURAL

ACTIVITIES

RURALDEVELOPMENT


The Gujarat Government has undertaken numerous schemes in the last few years to identify

and nurture talented youth, particularly in

sports. One of the most successful schemes in this regard has been the Khel Mahakumbh. Created in 2010, this grand sporting event has seen 7 editions and has been highly successful in not only identifying talent, but also in developing Gujarat's sports infrastructure, from the village to the state level.

This year's budget has made an allocation of Rs.600 Crore for Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, and it is worth noting that Deputy CM Patel has proposed organizing a state level Kala Maha Kumbh, and has allocated Rs. 10 Crore to it.

The budget has also made provision of

Rs. 118 Crore for the following initiatives:-

Ÿ Training and sensitization of PT Teachers of more than 1000 schools under School Spor t s Contac t programme.

Ÿ Construction of hostel for 400 residents at Swarnim Gujarat Sports University.

Ÿ Jyotirmay Ambubhai Purani Awards and equipments for renowned wrestlers dedicated to Akhada.

Ÿ Increase financial assistance support being provided by Government for grant-in-aid libraries by 50%, with a provision of Rs.3.81 Crore.

While the state wins accolades for its thriving industrial sector, its achievements on

the rural development front is equally impressive. In the last decade and a half, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the Gujarat government has not only managed to attract investment and industries, but has been instrumental in improving the condition of its rural population.

In the current budget, the Gujarat government has allocated Rs.6700 crores for rural development. An important scheme started by Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister, was to provide modern civic amenities to larger villages, particularly those located in Taluka headquarters, in order to serve a large population base. The scheme was known as 'Rurban' and had projects concerning underground drainage, water supply, internal water distribution, internal roads, electricity and solid and liquid waste management. The Gujarat government has allocated over Rs.54 Crore for this project.

In a bid to promote the state's rich rural heritage, and to conserve the ethos of rural life, Rs. 100 crores has been set aside to transform 100 handpicked villages into “Vrindavan Gram”. The government will also launch a smart

village scheme, to assess selected villages on the basis of 15 socio- economic parameters. One village in each of 247 Talukas and 49 backward Ta l u k a s w i l l b e c o v e r e d . T h e Government has allocated Rs.100 Crore for this scheme.

Under the “Swachh Bharat Gramin Miss ion” 5 lakh to i le t s wi l l be constructed in 2017-18. Projects concerning solid and liquid waste management will also be undertaken, for which Rs. 825 crore has been allocated.

Under the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana”, 1.10 lakh houses will be constructed, and the sum allotted to provide support has been increased from Rs. 75,000 per house to Rs. 1,20,000 per house. Provision of Rs.1373 crore has been made for the year 2017-18.

Rs. 380 crore has been allocated for generating employment of 340 lakh man days covering 6.1 lakh families under “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme”.


SPORTS, YOUTH & CULTURAL

ACTIVITIES

RURALDEVELOPMENT


either having a perennial river Nnor a significant underground

source of water, Guarat has

the been a severely water- strapped state.

In such c i r cums tances , Gu ja ra t

Government has managed to marshal its

limited water resources admirably.

In this Budget it has allocated Rs. 3010

crore, to ensure that drinking water taps

are made available to all of its citizens.

Rs. 234 Crore has been allocated to D-

network water supply schemes to provide

Narmada water to 156 villages of Upleta,

Jam Kandorna, Dhoraji and Jetpur blocks

and 5 towns of Bhayavadar, Jetpur,

dhoraji, Jam Kandorna and Upleta.

Water Resources- Out of 125 Lakh

hectares of cultivable land, only 38 lakh

hectares were irrigated in 2000. In 2016,

it has increased to 62 lakh hectares, for

which Rs. 5745 Crore has been allocated

for expanding present irrigation network.

Lift Irrigation for Tribal Areas- To

provide lift irrigation for 24,300 hectares

of land in tribal areas of Surat district and

10,000 hectares of land in Dahod and

Mahisagar districts, four lift irrigation

schemes with a total project cost of

Rs.1974 Crore were launched by PM

Modi in September 2016. An additional

Rs.438 Crore has been added by the

budget to this programme.

An amount of Rs.84 Crore has been

allocated to irrigate 16,800 hectares by

strengthening the existing canal networks

of Ukai, Kakrapar, Kadana and other

dams. Fur thermore , the Gujara t

government has provided Rs.106 Crore,

which will benefit 8,500 hectares through

participatory irrigation. It will also

benefit 2300 hectares of land through

deepening of check dams and ponds. 700

hectares will be benefitted by river, canal

and tube well based lift irrigation and

1600 hectares will be benefitted by

pressurised irrigation network (PINS).

Phase 1 of SAUNI Yojana is almost

complete, which will see 13 Reservoirs

filled with water and 60,000 hectares of

land benefitting. Phase 2 of construction

has also begun and the dams known as

Aaji – 1, Demi – 1, Lalpari, Bhimdad and

Ankadi dams will be filled up in 2017-18.

To fill up 63 dams in 10 districts, that will

ultimately benefit over 194,000 hectares

of land, the Gujarat government has

allocated Rs.1698 Crore.

As the ‘Sujalam Safalam’ scheme has

proven beneficial to farmers of north and

central Gujarat, the scheme will be

further enhanced, to cover 3000 hectares

of Gandhinagar and 14,700 hectares of

Mehsana in five lift irrigation schemes.

This includes- Piyaj to Unad, Dhadhusan

to Red Lakshmipura, Bhasariya to

Sametra, Kherva to Visnagar, at a cost of


Rs.1063 Crore, out of which Rs.210

Crore has been provided in 2017-18.

Sardar Sarovar yojna

A s s t a t e d p r e v i o u s l y, d e s p i t e

possessing India's longest coastline,

Gujarat is one of the hottest and driest

states in India. One of the few freshwater

sources it has access to - is the Narmada

River, and to increase the water

availability given by this river, the

Gujarat government has embarked one of

India's most ambitious hydroelectric

multi-purpose dam. In the current budget,

the Gujarat government has allocated

Rs.5100 crore, representing an increase

of Rs.782 crores from last year.

This year, 15,500 Km long underground

pipelines that provide irrigation to 6.17

lakh hectares of agricultural land, were

completed in Phase 1. In addition to this,

the Gujarat government will increase the

canal network by 12,500 km in 51

Talukas and provide irrigation to

additional 4 lakh hectares, for which Rs.

1620 Crore has been allocated. Rs.791

Crore has been allocated for the sub canal

distribution of Vallabhipur, Gadhsisa and

Kutch branch canal, which will irrigate

1.6 lakh hectares of land.

The Gujarat government has signed an

Memorandum of Understanding with

NABARD for setting up solar power

plants and small electricity generation

units on canals, which will be completed

in 2017-18 and will produce a total of 110

MW of e lec t r ic i ty. The Gujara t

government has allocated a total of

Rs.332 crores for this.

This budget exemplifies Chief Minister

Vi j a y R u p a n i ' s p h i l o s o p h y o f

p r o g r e s s i v e n e s s , d e c i s i v e n e s s ,

transparency and sensitivity for good

governance. It also upholds Gujarat's long

s t and ing t r a d i t i o n o f i n c l u s i v e

development where the state aims to

ensure the best of development activities

and works towards its reach till the last

mile.

Inclusive Growth for All:

Budget 2017-18The 2017-18 Budget was in the words of

CM Rupani a 'Balanced and Complete

Budget', as it has managed to extend the

benefits of the state's growth to every

stratum of society. Regardless of whether

they were farmers, industrialists, rural

poor, urban poor, tribals, youth etc, the

budget catered to the needs of everyone

and left no one behind. As Gujarat

continues on its path of development, by

opening new avenues of growth for its

populace, it has ensured that it future

development will be greater than ever

before.

WATER


either having a perennial river Nnor a significant underground

source of water, Guarat has

the been a severely water- strapped state.

In such c i r cums tances , Gu ja ra t

Government has managed to marshal its

limited water resources admirably.

In this Budget it has allocated Rs. 3010

crore, to ensure that drinking water taps

are made available to all of its citizens.

Rs. 234 Crore has been allocated to D-

network water supply schemes to provide

Narmada water to 156 villages of Upleta,

Jam Kandorna, Dhoraji and Jetpur blocks

and 5 towns of Bhayavadar, Jetpur,

dhoraji, Jam Kandorna and Upleta.

Water Resources- Out of 125 Lakh

hectares of cultivable land, only 38 lakh

hectares were irrigated in 2000. In 2016,

it has increased to 62 lakh hectares, for

which Rs. 5745 Crore has been allocated

for expanding present irrigation network.

Lift Irrigation for Tribal Areas- To

provide lift irrigation for 24,300 hectares

of land in tribal areas of Surat district and

10,000 hectares of land in Dahod and

Mahisagar districts, four lift irrigation

schemes with a total project cost of

Rs.1974 Crore were launched by PM

Modi in September 2016. An additional

Rs.438 Crore has been added by the

budget to this programme.

An amount of Rs.84 Crore has been

allocated to irrigate 16,800 hectares by

strengthening the existing canal networks

of Ukai, Kakrapar, Kadana and other

dams. Fur thermore , the Gujara t

government has provided Rs.106 Crore,

which will benefit 8,500 hectares through

participatory irrigation. It will also

benefit 2300 hectares of land through

deepening of check dams and ponds. 700

hectares will be benefitted by river, canal

and tube well based lift irrigation and

1600 hectares will be benefitted by

pressurised irrigation network (PINS).

Phase 1 of SAUNI Yojana is almost

complete, which will see 13 Reservoirs

filled with water and 60,000 hectares of

land benefitting. Phase 2 of construction

has also begun and the dams known as

Aaji – 1, Demi – 1, Lalpari, Bhimdad and

Ankadi dams will be filled up in 2017-18.

To fill up 63 dams in 10 districts, that will

ultimately benefit over 194,000 hectares

of land, the Gujarat government has

allocated Rs.1698 Crore.

As the ‘Sujalam Safalam’ scheme has

proven beneficial to farmers of north and

central Gujarat, the scheme will be

further enhanced, to cover 3000 hectares

of Gandhinagar and 14,700 hectares of

Mehsana in five lift irrigation schemes.

This includes- Piyaj to Unad, Dhadhusan

to Red Lakshmipura, Bhasariya to

Sametra, Kherva to Visnagar, at a cost of


Rs.1063 Crore, out of which Rs.210

Crore has been provided in 2017-18.

Sardar Sarovar yojna

A s s t a t e d p r e v i o u s l y, d e s p i t e

possessing India's longest coastline,

Gujarat is one of the hottest and driest

states in India. One of the few freshwater

sources it has access to - is the Narmada

River, and to increase the water

availability given by this river, the

Gujarat government has embarked one of

India's most ambitious hydroelectric

multi-purpose dam. In the current budget,

the Gujarat government has allocated

Rs.5100 crore, representing an increase

of Rs.782 crores from last year.

This year, 15,500 Km long underground

pipelines that provide irrigation to 6.17

lakh hectares of agricultural land, were

completed in Phase 1. In addition to this,

the Gujarat government will increase the

canal network by 12,500 km in 51

Talukas and provide irrigation to

additional 4 lakh hectares, for which Rs.

1620 Crore has been allocated. Rs.791

Crore has been allocated for the sub canal

distribution of Vallabhipur, Gadhsisa and

Kutch branch canal, which will irrigate

1.6 lakh hectares of land.

The Gujarat government has signed an

Memorandum of Understanding with

NABARD for setting up solar power

plants and small electricity generation

units on canals, which will be completed

in 2017-18 and will produce a total of 110

MW of e lec t r ic i ty. The Gujara t

government has allocated a total of

Rs.332 crores for this.

This budget exemplifies Chief Minister

Vi j a y R u p a n i ' s p h i l o s o p h y o f

p r o g r e s s i v e n e s s , d e c i s i v e n e s s ,

transparency and sensitivity for good

governance. It also upholds Gujarat's long

s t and ing t r a d i t i o n o f i n c l u s i v e

development where the state aims to

ensure the best of development activities

and works towards its reach till the last

mile.

Inclusive Growth for All:

Budget 2017-18The 2017-18 Budget was in the words of

CM Rupani a 'Balanced and Complete

Budget', as it has managed to extend the

benefits of the state's growth to every

stratum of society. Regardless of whether

they were farmers, industrialists, rural

poor, urban poor, tribals, youth etc, the

budget catered to the needs of everyone

and left no one behind. As Gujarat

continues on its path of development, by

opening new avenues of growth for its

populace, it has ensured that it future

development will be greater than ever

before.

WATER


How do you start your day? What do you do to keep yourself healthy?

Since I am involved in public service, I find it extremely difficult to find time for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But at the same time it is important to spend some time everyday to take care of one's health and fitness. I wake up at 6 am every day to go for a walk or a jog followed by some yoga. I also routinely pray for half an hour every day. I take fruits, coconut water and milk for breakfast. Post breakfast, by around 8 am, I spend time with my visitors. When I am at my village, I start

my day an hour earlier as I need to start meeting the visitors by 7 am.

You have been in public life for years now. How do you manage to take out time for your family?

My life and my priorities are such that after being engaged in public welfare work since such a long time, I feel like the entire state is my family. I treat all the 6.5 crore people of Gujarat as my family. But there are a few people in everyone's life who play a special role in one's success. Parents, spouse and children are an inseparable part of one's life. I'm able to spare very little time with them but this is obvious since I am involved with public

s e r v i c e , a n d m y f a m i l y completely understands that.

Most of my time is spent in attending Government and party events and t o u r i n g v a r i o u s regions. I'm more often than not unable to a t t e n d m y f a m i l y f u n c t i o n s . I a m extremely grateful to my family who has immensely supported me despite my lack of time for them. They are t h e s o u r c e o f m y internal strength.

What are your hobbies?

I have been brought up in Vadi village in Surat where Kabaddi is very popular. This influenced my love for the sport. We have also worked very hard to maintain the culture of Kabaddi in rural regions. Kabaddi tournaments have been organized in my village regularly for the past 27 years where more than a lakh spectators visit from the entire South Gujarat. The tournament is always held on the New Year's Day. 27 years ago, my elder brother, Amarsingh Vasava, had organised the first Kabaddi tournament in our village and we have ever since been taking this tradition forward. We had requested the government to allocate land for organizing the tournament, which has been granted. We have even paid the premium for the allocated land. Teams from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat participate in the tournament which goes on for 2 days. In addition to Kabaddi, almost all other kinds of sports events of south Gujarat are also organized at this venue.

How was your childhood?

I've had to struggle a lot during my childhood. I studied at a kacchi paathshala from class 1-5 and attended class 6 under the trees. The village also had water issue. Wells were dug up for extracting drinking water. There were no roads in the village. There wasn't even a hospital or a college anywhere close to my village. I feel that it is only because of this struggle that today I have the opportunity to address such issues for the entire state.

How was your journey from your humble background to S t . Xavier's college?

Up till class 7, I studied at the village itself while I studied class 8 at Jankhava village, 5 km from my village. From class 9-12, I

studied at Maharaja Rajendra Vidyalaya in Rajpipla. Then I came to Ahmedabad to study at St. Xavier's.

How did you enter the world of politics?

Initially I wasn't sure if I wanted to enter politics. But in college, I had amicable relationship with all my peers and this is what encouraged me to participate in college elections which I managed to win. As my brother, Amarsinh Vasava was in the police department as the Superintendent of Police, my family had an intense spirit of national service. Because of this, we had a desire to either join the army or the police. Post College, I even used to work at our farm with my father. But perhaps I was predestined to tread the path of public service and hence have come this far.

Who is your role model?

I consider Swami Vivekanand as my role model. I have learnt a lot from his life. I am also quite influenced by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and have had the honor of working with him for many years. In the initial 7 years of being an MLA, I didn't have any big responsibilities. But I was extremely fortunate to be selected as the speaker of the Vidhan Sabha by Shri Modi ji. For the first time in the state, a tribal MLA was chosen as the speaker of Vidhan Sabha. I have learnt a lot from Modi ji including how to bring about development, maintain communal harmony, make the state a role model for others, percolate the benefits of development to the bottom of the pyramid and make Gujarat the growth engine of India.

What inspired you to take up the cause of the tribal community?

I have always felt that it is my duty and responsibility as a Dalit public servant, to help in the development of the Dalit community. While I am always ready to serve my community, I also feel honoured to be in a position that enables me to serve all the citizens. For any tribal leader dedicated to serve the country, the greatest source of inspiration can be derived from the tribal people who fought for independence.

Even without the official records to

substantiate their contributions, no one can deny the role that India's tribal community played in the freedom struggle. Before Independence, over 1,500 tribals martyred in the district of Mangarh, against the British. To bring this enormous contribution of the tribal community to the attention of the rest of the country, Narendra Modi undertook an investigation in his capacity as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. His investigation unearthed some historic documents which brought the incident to light.

Similarly, it is also worth noting that the Tribal kings of Dang never allowed the British to enter their region, which is a source of pride for us. During the revolution of 1857, the Kings of Mewasi from Central Gujarat provided assistance to Rani Lakshmibai. When the Mughals attacked Somnath, the King at the time was Hamir Singh Gohil. A tribal community by the name of Vegdo came to his aid during this time, and laid down their lives for the safety of their state.

There are many such tales of sacrifice and heroism from the tribal community. These stories only reinforce the fact that India's tribals played a crucial role in building our current society, and now it is time we take them forward. When all members of Indian society are able to walk together as one, only then can we be truly considered as the world leader. It is my dream that the people who comprise India's tribal community achieve new milestones in the field of education, arts, sports, politics and other fields. As a mass leader, I will forever be ready to work towards bringing the tribal community forward.

However, I feel that despite the progress we have all made as a nation since independence, it is necessary to understand the reason why the Tribal people in India have been left behind. G o v e r n m e n t s f o r m e d a f t e r independence, gave little importance towards the development of tribals. As a result, compared to the rest of society, the development of tribals in India was severely underdeveloped. With time, the allocations in the budget were increased from Rs.75 Crore, to Rs.150 Crore, and finally Rs.350 Crore. To help develop the 90 Lakh plus tribal community spread from Ambaji to Umargam, was almost impossible.

Even before Shri Narendra Modi came to power as Chief Minister, he would tour all the tribal districts from Ambaji to Umargam, and thus he was well versed with the troubles faced by these districts. When Shri Narendra Modi became Chief Minister, then under Rule 44 of the Vidhan Sabha, he introduced the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana.

Today, in tribal areas, citizens have access to RCC roads; tribals have access to wells for drinking water, for tribal students 'Pucca' student buildings have been constructed and solutions are being found for the problem of malnutrition in these areas. In the old days, there was no Science College in the tribal areas. Shri Narendra Modi was the first to establish a Science College in a tribal district. The tribal districts are also being benefited through access to 108 ambulances. Many tribal students are also studying in Eklavaya schools as well.

Fo r t he c i t i z ens o f t he t r i ba l community, our government is fully committed and is working hard towards its eventual upliftment. I believe, that a time will come, when our tribal society will manage to transform itself into a more modern society, and then our nation will be strengthened far greater than it ever has before.

How was your journey from being a popular local leader to a senior Minister in the government?

I entered politics at a very young age. Even my party showed confidence in me at that young age. My political career started when I was studying at the St. Xavier's college in Ahmedabad where I stood for the election of the college representative. I was influenced by the p h i l o s o p h y o f t h e R a s h t r y a Swayamsevak Sangh. I became an MLA for the first in 2002 and was re-elected in 2007. I worked for the ST Morcha during this period and have twice been the chairman of the Committee on Scheduled Tribe in the Legislative Assembly. It was a huge honor for me to have been the youngest speaker of the Vidhan Sabha during 2011-12. Till now, I have discharged all my responsibilities with complete honesty and dedication and will continue to work with the same commitment in the future as well. Hailing

IN CONVERSATION WITH IN CONVERSATION WITH

GANPATSINH VASAVAMINISTER OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT,

TOURISM AND FOREST by Pulak Trivedi

April, 2017 • the GUJARAT | 33

How do you start your day? What do you do to keep yourself healthy?

Since I am involved in public service, I find it extremely difficult to find time for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But at the same time it is important to spend some time everyday to take care of one's health and fitness. I wake up at 6 am every day to go for a walk or a jog followed by some yoga. I also routinely pray for half an hour every day. I take fruits, coconut water and milk for breakfast. Post breakfast, by around 8 am, I spend time with my visitors. When I am at my village, I start

my day an hour earlier as I need to start meeting the visitors by 7 am.

You have been in public life for years now. How do you manage to take out time for your family?

My life and my priorities are such that after being engaged in public welfare work since such a long time, I feel like the entire state is my family. I treat all the 6.5 crore people of Gujarat as my family. But there are a few people in everyone's life who play a special role in one's success. Parents, spouse and children are an inseparable part of one's life. I'm able to spare very little time with them but this is obvious since I am involved with public

s e r v i c e , a n d m y f a m i l y completely understands that.

Most of my time is spent in attending Government and party events and t o u r i n g v a r i o u s regions. I'm more often than not unable to a t t e n d m y f a m i l y f u n c t i o n s . I a m extremely grateful to my family who has immensely supported me despite my lack of time for them. They are t h e s o u r c e o f m y internal strength.

What are your hobbies?

I have been brought up in Vadi village in Surat where Kabaddi is very popular. This influenced my love for the sport. We have also worked very hard to maintain the culture of Kabaddi in rural regions. Kabaddi tournaments have been organized in my village regularly for the past 27 years where more than a lakh spectators visit from the entire South Gujarat. The tournament is always held on the New Year's Day. 27 years ago, my elder brother, Amarsingh Vasava, had organised the first Kabaddi tournament in our village and we have ever since been taking this tradition forward. We had requested the government to allocate land for organizing the tournament, which has been granted. We have even paid the premium for the allocated land. Teams from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat participate in the tournament which goes on for 2 days. In addition to Kabaddi, almost all other kinds of sports events of south Gujarat are also organized at this venue.

How was your childhood?

I've had to struggle a lot during my childhood. I studied at a kacchi paathshala from class 1-5 and attended class 6 under the trees. The village also had water issue. Wells were dug up for extracting drinking water. There were no roads in the village. There wasn't even a hospital or a college anywhere close to my village. I feel that it is only because of this struggle that today I have the opportunity to address such issues for the entire state.

How was your journey from your humble background to S t . Xavier's college?

Up till class 7, I studied at the village itself while I studied class 8 at Jankhava village, 5 km from my village. From class 9-12, I

studied at Maharaja Rajendra Vidyalaya in Rajpipla. Then I came to Ahmedabad to study at St. Xavier's.

How did you enter the world of politics?

Initially I wasn't sure if I wanted to enter politics. But in college, I had amicable relationship with all my peers and this is what encouraged me to participate in college elections which I managed to win. As my brother, Amarsinh Vasava was in the police department as the Superintendent of Police, my family had an intense spirit of national service. Because of this, we had a desire to either join the army or the police. Post College, I even used to work at our farm with my father. But perhaps I was predestined to tread the path of public service and hence have come this far.

Who is your role model?

I consider Swami Vivekanand as my role model. I have learnt a lot from his life. I am also quite influenced by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and have had the honor of working with him for many years. In the initial 7 years of being an MLA, I didn't have any big responsibilities. But I was extremely fortunate to be selected as the speaker of the Vidhan Sabha by Shri Modi ji. For the first time in the state, a tribal MLA was chosen as the speaker of Vidhan Sabha. I have learnt a lot from Modi ji including how to bring about development, maintain communal harmony, make the state a role model for others, percolate the benefits of development to the bottom of the pyramid and make Gujarat the growth engine of India.

What inspired you to take up the cause of the tribal community?

I have always felt that it is my duty and responsibility as a Dalit public servant, to help in the development of the Dalit community. While I am always ready to serve my community, I also feel honoured to be in a position that enables me to serve all the citizens. For any tribal leader dedicated to serve the country, the greatest source of inspiration can be derived from the tribal people who fought for independence.

Even without the official records to

substantiate their contributions, no one can deny the role that India's tribal community played in the freedom struggle. Before Independence, over 1,500 tribals martyred in the district of Mangarh, against the British. To bring this enormous contribution of the tribal community to the attention of the rest of the country, Narendra Modi undertook an investigation in his capacity as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. His investigation unearthed some historic documents which brought the incident to light.

Similarly, it is also worth noting that the Tribal kings of Dang never allowed the British to enter their region, which is a source of pride for us. During the revolution of 1857, the Kings of Mewasi from Central Gujarat provided assistance to Rani Lakshmibai. When the Mughals attacked Somnath, the King at the time was Hamir Singh Gohil. A tribal community by the name of Vegdo came to his aid during this time, and laid down their lives for the safety of their state.

There are many such tales of sacrifice and heroism from the tribal community. These stories only reinforce the fact that India's tribals played a crucial role in building our current society, and now it is time we take them forward. When all members of Indian society are able to walk together as one, only then can we be truly considered as the world leader. It is my dream that the people who comprise India's tribal community achieve new milestones in the field of education, arts, sports, politics and other fields. As a mass leader, I will forever be ready to work towards bringing the tribal community forward.

However, I feel that despite the progress we have all made as a nation since independence, it is necessary to understand the reason why the Tribal people in India have been left behind. G o v e r n m e n t s f o r m e d a f t e r independence, gave little importance towards the development of tribals. As a result, compared to the rest of society, the development of tribals in India was severely underdeveloped. With time, the allocations in the budget were increased from Rs.75 Crore, to Rs.150 Crore, and finally Rs.350 Crore. To help develop the 90 Lakh plus tribal community spread from Ambaji to Umargam, was almost impossible.

Even before Shri Narendra Modi came to power as Chief Minister, he would tour all the tribal districts from Ambaji to Umargam, and thus he was well versed with the troubles faced by these districts. When Shri Narendra Modi became Chief Minister, then under Rule 44 of the Vidhan Sabha, he introduced the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana.

Today, in tribal areas, citizens have access to RCC roads; tribals have access to wells for drinking water, for tribal students 'Pucca' student buildings have been constructed and solutions are being found for the problem of malnutrition in these areas. In the old days, there was no Science College in the tribal areas. Shri Narendra Modi was the first to establish a Science College in a tribal district. The tribal districts are also being benefited through access to 108 ambulances. Many tribal students are also studying in Eklavaya schools as well.

Fo r t he c i t i z ens o f t he t r i ba l community, our government is fully committed and is working hard towards its eventual upliftment. I believe, that a time will come, when our tribal society will manage to transform itself into a more modern society, and then our nation will be strengthened far greater than it ever has before.

How was your journey from being a popular local leader to a senior Minister in the government?

I entered politics at a very young age. Even my party showed confidence in me at that young age. My political career started when I was studying at the St. Xavier's college in Ahmedabad where I stood for the election of the college representative. I was influenced by the p h i l o s o p h y o f t h e R a s h t r y a Swayamsevak Sangh. I became an MLA for the first in 2002 and was re-elected in 2007. I worked for the ST Morcha during this period and have twice been the chairman of the Committee on Scheduled Tribe in the Legislative Assembly. It was a huge honor for me to have been the youngest speaker of the Vidhan Sabha during 2011-12. Till now, I have discharged all my responsibilities with complete honesty and dedication and will continue to work with the same commitment in the future as well. Hailing


GANPATSINH VASAVAMINISTER OF TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT,

TOURISM AND FOREST by Pulak Trivedi

April, 2017 • the GUJARAT | 33

from Dalit community, I believe that it is my additional responsibility to help the c o m m u n i t y i n t e g r a t e w i t h t h e mainstream in today's modern era. In the past 15 years, our government has tirelessly worked for the upliftment of the Dalits and will continue to do so in the future as well.

In the last decade, what kind of qualitative changes has the tribal community seen?

For the development of tribals, the Gujarat government has undertaken programmes to find employment for them. In the last few years, there has also been a remarkable growth in the field of education. This has resulted in the youth gett ing jobs in both private and government sectors. With the opening of P r imary, Secondary and Sen io r Secondary schools in the villages, more children are getting the chance to study. Students today are now able to qualify for jobs under the general quota and not just the tribal quota.

A p a r t f r o m t h i s , t h e G u j a r a t government has undertaken numerous policies in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry, which has benefited the tribal community immensely and given them a steadier source of income. Today, in the tribal district of Dang, the tribal community earns a good profit from the growing of cashew nuts. In the district of Valsad, vegetables are being grown and in the district of Tapi 'Bhindi' or lady fingers are being grown in abundance and are being exported abroad. In the district of Dahod, flowers are being grown and in the district of Dang, farmers are also cultivating the 'Mallika' mango tree. Through the cultivation of this tree, the tribals have earned a profit of Rs.10 Crore.

Many tribal students are also taking advantage of the programmes being offered by the government, to study. Earlier, over 50% of the medical seats, reserved for tribals, would go empty; but now th rough the e ffo r t s o f t he government, all of these seats have been filled by talented students from the tribal districts.

How will various schemes for the tribal help them brighten their future?

The Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijaybhai Rupani has always been concerned about the welfare of the tribals, whether it is discussed in the BJP meetings or government's cabinet meetings. For example: A decision has been made to give optimum wages to the teachers of Eklavya schools. Initially, there were no provisions for meal facilities in 'Dry Hostels' meant for students belonging to the tribal areas. Shri Vijaybhai Rupani has now decided to make provisions for food in these hostels as well. Apart from this, 41 hostels that used to operate on lease have now been a l located land by the government. The state government has made a provision for providing separate wards in the hospitals of Ahmedabad, Surat, Valsad for treating the tribals suffering from Sickle cell anaemia, which is a very common ailment in their community. Apart from this, the government also provides them financial assistance every month. Under the recently launched PESA Act, i.e. Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas, more and more tribals are given the benefits of various government schemes falling under the same. For example: complete rights will be given to them for the ownership of minor forest products. They can even assimilate the secondary forest products and sell them. In the same manner, various minor minerals such as sand and precious stones are found in abundance in the tribal areas. The lease agreement for such minerals will now be given only to people belonging to the tribal community. Previously, a heavy rate of interest on the principal amount was being charged from them which led to their exploitation. This will now come to an end due to the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f P E S A a c t . T h e management of village ponds, which was initially done by the government, will now be done by the tribal community. Restrictions have been laid on the contractors now. Initially, they used to hire people from villages by luring them for city jobs and exploited them. The contractor will now have to inform the Village Panchayat first before taking any worker which will lead their security. I

believe, even a leader hailing from the tribal region could not have done better justice to the tribal people, the way Hon'ble Chief Minister Vijaybhai Rupani has taken pro-tribal decisions. These decisions will ultimately bear fruits in the days to come.

What is your government's future roadmap for tribal development?

The state government has recently decided to implement the PESA act i.e Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas and to ensure that it reaches to each and every person of the tribal community. We have decided to carry out “Gaurav Yatra” for tribal development. We will commence this from the temple of Goddess Unai in the district of Navsari. This journey will cover each tribal area of the state, from Ambaji to Umargaon. We will make people aware about the schemes initiated by the government for the welfare of the tribals. We will inform them about the PESA act which will help them know their rights better and enable them to reap full benefits of the government schemes. And I have a lot of faith in the fact that this “Gaurav Yatra” will enlighten a lot of tribal people.

Gujarat has come up as a popular tourist hub for travellers from around the world. What are your views on the aspect of tourism in Gujarat?

Shri Narendrabhai Modi gave much importance to developing tourism during his tenure as the Chief Minister. The tourism budget used to be very small previously and it has now increased to Rs. 450 crores. Gujarat is blessed with natural scenery and we are utilizing this optimally. The state has country's largest coastline of 1600 kms. Shri Narendrabhai has given the White Desert of Kutch a unique identity. People from all over the world come to see the White Desert now. We take a lot of pride in having the only abode of Asiatic Lions in the world. Talking about the aspect of tourism in spiritual and historic terms, we have places l ike Somnath, Nageshvar, Dwarka, Ambaji, Saputara and Dakor. Apart from this, Gujarat is also a home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Rani-ki-Vav from Patan and Champaner-Pavagadh Archaelogical Park. An

important aspect that I would like to add here is the fact that it is very necessary for a state to have peace and security in order to attract tourists from across the world. And everyone is aware about Gujarat's atmosphere in this regard. The festival of Navratri, from Gujarat, is famous throughout the world. People from across the globe visit the state to celebrate this festival. The state has 24/7 electricity facility which has led to an 18% rise in the tourist flow in the last three years.

You will find a new face of tourism with the introduction of Tribal Tourism, Eco-tourism, Buddhist Circuit, Sant Nagri and Medical Tourism in the near future. The state government, in addition to this, has introduced a Tourism Policy in order to encourage and promote tourism. The tourism sector has been given the status of industry under this new policy. This decision by the state government has given a new direction to the tourism industry. Successful campaigns like “Khushboo Gujarat ki,” “Kutch nai dekha toh kuch nai dekha,” “Kuch din toh guzariye Gujarat mai” etc. have given a new face to the tourism industry of Gujarat. I think that the tourism sector of the state will be a mirror to the religious, economical, social and historical beauty in the days to come.

Which is your favorite tourist place?

I have traveled to a lot of tourist places abroad. However, I feel that our country is the best when we talk about tourism. The Himalayas, specially, are very dear to me. They are not only important in terms of natural beauty but also in terms of religion and spirituality. Our ancestors have meditated there. Apart from that, I also admire and enjoy the tourist places in Gujarat whether they are from the aspect of scenic beauty or religious and spiritual importance.

What is your message to the youth of the state being a young leader?

Compared to all other countries of the world, India has the maximum number of youth. Our country has an approximate of 65% of its population under the age of 35. Our youth is endowed with a lot of talent. It is the need of the hour to develop good character along with good education. The education acquired should not just help during exams but also help learn the lessons of life too. Sincere and dedicated people earn fruits of their work. Therefore, one must move ahead with a set of goals and ambitions in life. The youth should take along the underprivileged sections as well so that they are not left behind. They should also take care of their family and society and work for them as well. In addition to all this, it is very important that the youth have in them, the spirit of patriotism.

Rapid Fire Round

Ÿ Favourite color: Saffron

Ÿ Most admired musician: Kalyanji-Anandi

Ÿ Favourite song: any song by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh

Ÿ Favourite book: social harmony by Narendra Modi and Integral Humanism by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay

Ÿ Favourite actor: Manoj Kumar and Raj Kapoor

Ÿ Favourite writer: Shri Gunwantbhai Shah

Ÿ Favourite food: Nagli' and 'Rotla'

Ÿ Favorite outfit: Indian outfits•



from Dalit community, I believe that it is my additional responsibility to help the c o m m u n i t y i n t e g r a t e w i t h t h e mainstream in today's modern era. In the past 15 years, our government has tirelessly worked for the upliftment of the Dalits and will continue to do so in the future as well.

In the last decade, what kind of qualitative changes has the tribal community seen?

For the development of tribals, the Gujarat government has undertaken programmes to find employment for them. In the last few years, there has also been a remarkable growth in the field of education. This has resulted in the youth gett ing jobs in both private and government sectors. With the opening of P r imary, Secondary and Sen io r Secondary schools in the villages, more children are getting the chance to study. Students today are now able to qualify for jobs under the general quota and not just the tribal quota.

A p a r t f r o m t h i s , t h e G u j a r a t government has undertaken numerous policies in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry, which has benefited the tribal community immensely and given them a steadier source of income. Today, in the tribal district of Dang, the tribal community earns a good profit from the growing of cashew nuts. In the district of Valsad, vegetables are being grown and in the district of Tapi 'Bhindi' or lady fingers are being grown in abundance and are being exported abroad. In the district of Dahod, flowers are being grown and in the district of Dang, farmers are also cultivating the 'Mallika' mango tree. Through the cultivation of this tree, the tribals have earned a profit of Rs.10 Crore.

Many tribal students are also taking advantage of the programmes being offered by the government, to study. Earlier, over 50% of the medical seats, reserved for tribals, would go empty; but now th rough the e ffo r t s o f t he government, all of these seats have been filled by talented students from the tribal districts.

How will various schemes for the tribal help them brighten their future?

The Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijaybhai Rupani has always been concerned about the welfare of the tribals, whether it is discussed in the BJP meetings or government's cabinet meetings. For example: A decision has been made to give optimum wages to the teachers of Eklavya schools. Initially, there were no provisions for meal facilities in 'Dry Hostels' meant for students belonging to the tribal areas. Shri Vijaybhai Rupani has now decided to make provisions for food in these hostels as well. Apart from this, 41 hostels that used to operate on lease have now been a l located land by the government. The state government has made a provision for providing separate wards in the hospitals of Ahmedabad, Surat, Valsad for treating the tribals suffering from Sickle cell anaemia, which is a very common ailment in their community. Apart from this, the government also provides them financial assistance every month. Under the recently launched PESA Act, i.e. Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas, more and more tribals are given the benefits of various government schemes falling under the same. For example: complete rights will be given to them for the ownership of minor forest products. They can even assimilate the secondary forest products and sell them. In the same manner, various minor minerals such as sand and precious stones are found in abundance in the tribal areas. The lease agreement for such minerals will now be given only to people belonging to the tribal community. Previously, a heavy rate of interest on the principal amount was being charged from them which led to their exploitation. This will now come to an end due to the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f P E S A a c t . T h e management of village ponds, which was initially done by the government, will now be done by the tribal community. Restrictions have been laid on the contractors now. Initially, they used to hire people from villages by luring them for city jobs and exploited them. The contractor will now have to inform the Village Panchayat first before taking any worker which will lead their security. I

believe, even a leader hailing from the tribal region could not have done better justice to the tribal people, the way Hon'ble Chief Minister Vijaybhai Rupani has taken pro-tribal decisions. These decisions will ultimately bear fruits in the days to come.

What is your government's future roadmap for tribal development?

The state government has recently decided to implement the PESA act i.e Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas and to ensure that it reaches to each and every person of the tribal community. We have decided to carry out “Gaurav Yatra” for tribal development. We will commence this from the temple of Goddess Unai in the district of Navsari. This journey will cover each tribal area of the state, from Ambaji to Umargaon. We will make people aware about the schemes initiated by the government for the welfare of the tribals. We will inform them about the PESA act which will help them know their rights better and enable them to reap full benefits of the government schemes. And I have a lot of faith in the fact that this “Gaurav Yatra” will enlighten a lot of tribal people.

Gujarat has come up as a popular tourist hub for travellers from around the world. What are your views on the aspect of tourism in Gujarat?

Shri Narendrabhai Modi gave much importance to developing tourism during his tenure as the Chief Minister. The tourism budget used to be very small previously and it has now increased to Rs. 450 crores. Gujarat is blessed with natural scenery and we are utilizing this optimally. The state has country's largest coastline of 1600 kms. Shri Narendrabhai has given the White Desert of Kutch a unique identity. People from all over the world come to see the White Desert now. We take a lot of pride in having the only abode of Asiatic Lions in the world. Talking about the aspect of tourism in spiritual and historic terms, we have places l ike Somnath, Nageshvar, Dwarka, Ambaji, Saputara and Dakor. Apart from this, Gujarat is also a home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Rani-ki-Vav from Patan and Champaner-Pavagadh Archaelogical Park. An

important aspect that I would like to add here is the fact that it is very necessary for a state to have peace and security in order to attract tourists from across the world. And everyone is aware about Gujarat's atmosphere in this regard. The festival of Navratri, from Gujarat, is famous throughout the world. People from across the globe visit the state to celebrate this festival. The state has 24/7 electricity facility which has led to an 18% rise in the tourist flow in the last three years.

You will find a new face of tourism with the introduction of Tribal Tourism, Eco-tourism, Buddhist Circuit, Sant Nagri and Medical Tourism in the near future. The state government, in addition to this, has introduced a Tourism Policy in order to encourage and promote tourism. The tourism sector has been given the status of industry under this new policy. This decision by the state government has given a new direction to the tourism industry. Successful campaigns like “Khushboo Gujarat ki,” “Kutch nai dekha toh kuch nai dekha,” “Kuch din toh guzariye Gujarat mai” etc. have given a new face to the tourism industry of Gujarat. I think that the tourism sector of the state will be a mirror to the religious, economical, social and historical beauty in the days to come.

Which is your favorite tourist place?

I have traveled to a lot of tourist places abroad. However, I feel that our country is the best when we talk about tourism. The Himalayas, specially, are very dear to me. They are not only important in terms of natural beauty but also in terms of religion and spirituality. Our ancestors have meditated there. Apart from that, I also admire and enjoy the tourist places in Gujarat whether they are from the aspect of scenic beauty or religious and spiritual importance.

What is your message to the youth of the state being a young leader?

Compared to all other countries of the world, India has the maximum number of youth. Our country has an approximate of 65% of its population under the age of 35. Our youth is endowed with a lot of talent. It is the need of the hour to develop good character along with good education. The education acquired should not just help during exams but also help learn the lessons of life too. Sincere and dedicated people earn fruits of their work. Therefore, one must move ahead with a set of goals and ambitions in life. The youth should take along the underprivileged sections as well so that they are not left behind. They should also take care of their family and society and work for them as well. In addition to all this, it is very important that the youth have in them, the spirit of patriotism.

Rapid Fire Round

Ÿ Favourite color: Saffron

Ÿ Most admired musician: Kalyanji-Anandi

Ÿ Favourite song: any song by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh

Ÿ Favourite book: social harmony by Narendra Modi and Integral Humanism by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay

Ÿ Favourite actor: Manoj Kumar and Raj Kapoor

Ÿ Favourite writer: Shri Gunwantbhai Shah

Ÿ Favourite food: Nagli' and 'Rotla'

Ÿ Favorite outfit: Indian outfits•



IN FOCUS IN FOCUS

Sanctity and serenity of SomnathA pilgrimage place in Gujarat where

humble heads bow and great

hands fold in reverence of Lord Somnath


IN FOCUS IN FOCUS

Sanctity and serenity of SomnathA pilgrimage place in Gujarat where

humble heads bow and great

hands fold in reverence of Lord Somnath


IN FOCUS IN FOCUS


VASANTOTSAV

he season of spring is considered to Tbe the king of all seasons. It is a pleasant change from the long chilly

winter nights to a season of grand celebrations for farmers as it is the harvesting period for them.

Vasant or spring season is metaphoric with resurrection, rebirth and renewal. The long winter nights give way to longer days prompting flora and fauna to spring back to life, signifying the beginning of better times.

Gandhinagar has a rich cultural heritage. The beauty of its culture is depicted through its fairs, festivals, performing arts, food and craftsmanship. People from all over the world visit here to be a part of its cultural events. They take back home unique souvenirs including artefacts and traditional attires.

Vasantotsav is a celebration of spring season for ten days in the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. This spring festival is organized every year in the month of February at the place Sanskrutikunj. It is located at the bank of river Sabarmati over twelve hector landscaped land. It has a fantastically landscaped main stage with unique and natural slops and streets.

Everyday between 2.00 pm to 10.00 pm the place remains open for visitors during these ten days. Thousands of people visit throughout the day till late evening.

Performers come from all around the country including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim, Nagaland, Uttaranchal, Punjab, and almost every state of India to showcase their tradition and culture through folk dance and folk songs.

This year’s programme started with the mesmerising ‘Krishnaleela’ performed by deaf and dumb children of Bhavnagar. ' Bihoo' dance of Assam, Ladakh's 'Zebro', 'Pungdhol' of Manipur, Chattisgadh's 'Panthi' dance 'Chandi' of Sikkim, 'Bhapangvadan' of Rajasthan, 'Lavani' of Maharastra, Goa's 'Dakhani' ,'Bhangda' of Panjab and 'Mayur' dance of Utterpradesh performed by 260 artists were truly enchanting. Moreover ‘Raas-Garba’ of Gujarat and tribal dance were also worth seeing. As many as 200 trible artists performed 'Mevasi' dance of Vadodara, holy dance of Sabarkantha, 'Jagazavera' dance of Banaskantha, 'Phadiya' dance of Dangs, 'Talwar' dance of Dahod, and 'Siddidhamal' dance of Bharuch with traditional outfits.

Vasant Mahotsav is a festival where Indian culture is showcased outstandingly by unique live cultural shows. In addition, there are trade shows of handicraft, jewellery stalls and food shops for the visitors where they can enjoy delicious dishes.•

by Seema Dave


IN FOCUS IN FOCUS


VASANTOTSAV

he season of spring is considered to Tbe the king of all seasons. It is a pleasant change from the long chilly

winter nights to a season of grand celebrations for farmers as it is the harvesting period for them.

Vasant or spring season is metaphoric with resurrection, rebirth and renewal. The long winter nights give way to longer days prompting flora and fauna to spring back to life, signifying the beginning of better times.

Gandhinagar has a rich cultural heritage. The beauty of its culture is depicted through its fairs, festivals, performing arts, food and craftsmanship. People from all over the world visit here to be a part of its cultural events. They take back home unique souvenirs including artefacts and traditional attires.

Vasantotsav is a celebration of spring season for ten days in the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. This spring festival is organized every year in the month of February at the place Sanskrutikunj. It is located at the bank of river Sabarmati over twelve hector landscaped land. It has a fantastically landscaped main stage with unique and natural slops and streets.

Everyday between 2.00 pm to 10.00 pm the place remains open for visitors during these ten days. Thousands of people visit throughout the day till late evening.

Performers come from all around the country including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim, Nagaland, Uttaranchal, Punjab, and almost every state of India to showcase their tradition and culture through folk dance and folk songs.

This year’s programme started with the mesmerising ‘Krishnaleela’ performed by deaf and dumb children of Bhavnagar. ' Bihoo' dance of Assam, Ladakh's 'Zebro', 'Pungdhol' of Manipur, Chattisgadh's 'Panthi' dance 'Chandi' of Sikkim, 'Bhapangvadan' of Rajasthan, 'Lavani' of Maharastra, Goa's 'Dakhani' ,'Bhangda' of Panjab and 'Mayur' dance of Utterpradesh performed by 260 artists were truly enchanting. Moreover ‘Raas-Garba’ of Gujarat and tribal dance were also worth seeing. As many as 200 trible artists performed 'Mevasi' dance of Vadodara, holy dance of Sabarkantha, 'Jagazavera' dance of Banaskantha, 'Phadiya' dance of Dangs, 'Talwar' dance of Dahod, and 'Siddidhamal' dance of Bharuch with traditional outfits.

Vasant Mahotsav is a festival where Indian culture is showcased outstandingly by unique live cultural shows. In addition, there are trade shows of handicraft, jewellery stalls and food shops for the visitors where they can enjoy delicious dishes.•

by Seema Dave


anchamahal district of Gujarat is known all over Pthe globe for the world heritage site “Champaner” city.

Vanraj Chavda founded city Champaner in the 8th century in fond memory of his General Champraj and later became a seat of power of Khichi Chauhan. Later in 14th Century Sultan Muhammad attacked the city and made it his capital. He shifted his crown seat from Ahmedabad to Champaner and remained a power centre of Gujarat for a long while.

Consisting of beautiful fusion of Hindu and Muslim Architecture, preserving hindu style of construction with Muslim ethos, there are monuments like mosques, temples, granaries, tombs, wells, walls, and terraces.

At Champaner today, you can find the site of the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site in 2004.

The famous Dhrupad musician Brijnath Mishra also popularly known as Baiju Bawra was court musician of the Sultanate and lived in the Champaner.

Pavagadh is another attraction of the Panchmahal district. It is a beautiful hillock of south Aravalli range, standing grandiloquent in the plain. It consists of five plateaus.

Pavagadh is regarded as a popular place of pilgrimage. Legend is that the highest Plateau Kalikamata is a place where right toe of Sati Parvati had fallen and since then has become a place of Shakti worship. It is also believed to be a revered place as it was abode of Rajarshi Vishwamitra and Pavagarh hill was God's bestowal to Sage Vishwamitra to protect his famous cow Kamdhenu.

Deep blue sky with white clouds on enticing lush green hills, misty waterfall, it not only mesmerises people with its natural beauty but leaves them in awe with its rich biodiversity. It is place of ethereal beauty and tranquility. At dusk, when sun light fades with chirping of birds in dense forest of foothills, clinking of bells and euphony of Aarti of Goddess Kali from atop induces to eternal bliss.

Panch mahotsav is an initiative of the district to invite tourists to enjoy the taste of culture and indulge in thrilling and exciting activites through the festival. The activities include a heritage walk to explore the beauty and appreciate the world renounced heritage site. It also includes a pilgrimage tour to the temple of the goddess. Since panchmahal is endowed with natural scenic beauty, a nature trail is also an attraction of the tourist festival. The travel enthusiasts can indulge in adventure sports too, which are organised here during the festival. Apart from that, the festival offers photography workshops, amusement area, craft markets, flea market, food courts and a grand cultural evening. There is a tent city organised here for the tourists to enjoy the local flavour and blend in with the cultural hues of the Panch Mahotsav. •

PANCH MAHOTSAV

A CELEBRATION OFHERITAGE

IN FOCUS IN FOCUS



anchamahal district of Gujarat is known all over Pthe globe for the world heritage site “Champaner” city.

Vanraj Chavda founded city Champaner in the 8th century in fond memory of his General Champraj and later became a seat of power of Khichi Chauhan. Later in 14th Century Sultan Muhammad attacked the city and made it his capital. He shifted his crown seat from Ahmedabad to Champaner and remained a power centre of Gujarat for a long while.

Consisting of beautiful fusion of Hindu and Muslim Architecture, preserving hindu style of construction with Muslim ethos, there are monuments like mosques, temples, granaries, tombs, wells, walls, and terraces.

At Champaner today, you can find the site of the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site in 2004.

The famous Dhrupad musician Brijnath Mishra also popularly known as Baiju Bawra was court musician of the Sultanate and lived in the Champaner.

Pavagadh is another attraction of the Panchmahal district. It is a beautiful hillock of south Aravalli range, standing grandiloquent in the plain. It consists of five plateaus.

Pavagadh is regarded as a popular place of pilgrimage. Legend is that the highest Plateau Kalikamata is a place where right toe of Sati Parvati had fallen and since then has become a place of Shakti worship. It is also believed to be a revered place as it was abode of Rajarshi Vishwamitra and Pavagarh hill was God's bestowal to Sage Vishwamitra to protect his famous cow Kamdhenu.

Deep blue sky with white clouds on enticing lush green hills, misty waterfall, it not only mesmerises people with its natural beauty but leaves them in awe with its rich biodiversity. It is place of ethereal beauty and tranquility. At dusk, when sun light fades with chirping of birds in dense forest of foothills, clinking of bells and euphony of Aarti of Goddess Kali from atop induces to eternal bliss.

Panch mahotsav is an initiative of the district to invite tourists to enjoy the taste of culture and indulge in thrilling and exciting activites through the festival. The activities include a heritage walk to explore the beauty and appreciate the world renounced heritage site. It also includes a pilgrimage tour to the temple of the goddess. Since panchmahal is endowed with natural scenic beauty, a nature trail is also an attraction of the tourist festival. The travel enthusiasts can indulge in adventure sports too, which are organised here during the festival. Apart from that, the festival offers photography workshops, amusement area, craft markets, flea market, food courts and a grand cultural evening. There is a tent city organised here for the tourists to enjoy the local flavour and blend in with the cultural hues of the Panch Mahotsav. •

PANCH MAHOTSAV

A CELEBRATION OFHERITAGE

IN FOCUS IN FOCUS



A t h r e e - d a y N a t i o n a l Conference on tourism, sports, culture and youth affairs,

organized by the Ministries of Tourism, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports in cooperation with the Government of Gujarat was held at the White Desert of Kutch, Dhordo from the 20th to the 22nd January, 2017. The aim of this conference was to bring these 4 state level departments under one umbrella so that they can work together for better outputs, under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister.

It is fitting that the conference was hosted by Gujarat considering the amount of effort that the Gujarat Government has put into developing the state's tourism and sports infrastructure and preserving and promoting its culture. The events organized by the Gujarat government during the Rann Utsav, Monsoon and Kite Festivals at many locations across the state, the Navratri Celebrations etc. draw thousands of tourists to it every year. The government also organized one of the largest celebrations of sports in the country, the 'Khel Mahakumbh' which provides impetus to sports loving youth to pursue their passion.

The conference began with an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who briefed the attendees via video uplink. In his address, PM Modi stressed on the importance of Indian culture, values,

tourism and the youth which can shape world trends. He also mentioned that it is the need of the hour to first know what is in our homes than knowing what lies with the neighbor, in reference to the rich tourism spots, traditions and culture that India is endowed with. States should promote more cultural exchange amongst its youth.

Referring to the development of Kutch as a tourist region, after the earthquake, PM Modi spoke on the need for Indian states to become more tourist-friendly. They could do this by providing world-class tourist infrastructure, which would cater to the needs of domestic and international tourists.

Speaking on the strength of the cultural wisdom in Gujarat, as well as its tourism and sports sectors, CM Rupani talked about how Gujarat had been developed as a major destination under PM Modi's tenure as Chief Minister. He also spoke on the growth of the local handicraft industry and the increase in artisans, due to the increase in tourist inflow.

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Vijay Goel lauded the approach of the Prime Minister for making India a global icon in Tourism, Culture and Sports. He stated that the Government of India will launch a special and dedicated sports portal which will highlight the achievements of various talented people who have gained recognition in the field.

Union Minister for Tourism, Mr. Mahesh Sharma mentioned that this conference will provide new platform for

mutual interaction between various states that will lead to a holistic development of the country. ‘India is ranked 13th in World Tourism Index and contributes 10.71 % in world tourism growth’, he added.

A set of national priorities were identified (in the sessions where India's image as a sports playing nations was d i scussed) inc lud ing p lay f i e ld development , na t iona l coaching development framework, national sports talent hunt portal, national sports talent development program, promotion of hubs of sports excellence in select universities (10), creation of domain expertise in sports science and sports technology and a time bound action plan was formulated in order to plan for vision 2028 to make India a leading nation in the area of sports.

T h i s h i g h l e v e l d i a l o g u e a n d d i s c u s s i o n , b e t w e e n v a r i o u s representatives from the states and the Centre, focused on key areas like encouraging and promoting Rural Tourism, Tribal Odyssey, the local fairs and festivals, inter-state sharing of India's culture, tourism and sports heritage and many other applied areas of opportunities along with a proper roadmap for the same.

The discussion and the outcomes of the three day-conference indeed matched with the vision of the Prime Minister and the long lasting effects of the same will be seen in the days to come upon successful implementation of the same.•

In the past few months, two theme b a s e d m a r a t h o n s a n d o n e cyclothon were organized in the

state of Gujarat in order to promote an active life style and generate public awareness on various social issues. The Government of Gujarat has been extremely supportive of such innovative initiatives and was actively involved with their successful organization. This is evident from the eagerness shown by Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat, to assure his presence at all the 3 events to encourage the citizens despite his busy schedule and exigent event timings.

Cyclothon Ahmedabad – 2017

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani flagged-off Cyclothon Ahmedabad–2017 on 29th January, 2017 and cheered thousands of cyclists at Sabarmati

riverfront. He encouraged the citizens to turn towards cycling as it is one of the best exercises for physical fitness which also helps conserve the environment and ease traffic problems.

Rajkot Marathon Run for Smart City, Cleanliness and Traffic Control

The city of Rajkot hosted the marathon run for smart city, cleanliness and traffic control on 5th february, 2017. The event was flagged off by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani from the Racecourse Ground who lauded

the people of Rajkot as the guiding spirit for r ising to the occasion in all circumstances and challenges.

The regular marathons were held for 41km, 21km and 11km, besides that for physically challenged (divyang), senior citizens and even cancer and hemophilia patients. A record 63,594 people

participated in the Marathon which was the highest number for India and second highest for Asia.

Vadodara International Marathon-2017

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel flagged off the ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPaL) Vadodara International Marathon-2017 to boost the Swachh Bharat, Digital India and Cashless India campaigns from Navalakhi Ground in Va d o d a r a . O v e r 7 2 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e participated in the marathon. A separate run was also organized for the physically challenged. Speaking on the occasion, CM Vijay Rupani expressed hope that there would be one lakh participants for next year 's marathon. He lauded Vadodara city's initiative to take innovative decisions and launch innovative events.•

TOWARDS HEALTH, PROSPERITY AND AWARENESS

A BRIGHT-LIT PATH FOR

TOURISM IN GUJARAT

IN FOCUS IN FOCUS




A t h r e e - d a y N a t i o n a l Conference on tourism, sports, culture and youth affairs,

organized by the Ministries of Tourism, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports in cooperation with the Government of Gujarat was held at the White Desert of Kutch, Dhordo from the 20th to the 22nd January, 2017. The aim of this conference was to bring these 4 state level departments under one umbrella so that they can work together for better outputs, under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister.

It is fitting that the conference was hosted by Gujarat considering the amount of effort that the Gujarat Government has put into developing the state's tourism and sports infrastructure and preserving and promoting its culture. The events organized by the Gujarat government during the Rann Utsav, Monsoon and Kite Festivals at many locations across the state, the Navratri Celebrations etc. draw thousands of tourists to it every year. The government also organized one of the largest celebrations of sports in the country, the 'Khel Mahakumbh' which provides impetus to sports loving youth to pursue their passion.

The conference began with an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who briefed the attendees via video uplink. In his address, PM Modi stressed on the importance of Indian culture, values,

tourism and the youth which can shape world trends. He also mentioned that it is the need of the hour to first know what is in our homes than knowing what lies with the neighbor, in reference to the rich tourism spots, traditions and culture that India is endowed with. States should promote more cultural exchange amongst its youth.

Referring to the development of Kutch as a tourist region, after the earthquake, PM Modi spoke on the need for Indian states to become more tourist-friendly. They could do this by providing world-class tourist infrastructure, which would cater to the needs of domestic and international tourists.

Speaking on the strength of the cultural wisdom in Gujarat, as well as its tourism and sports sectors, CM Rupani talked about how Gujarat had been developed as a major destination under PM Modi's tenure as Chief Minister. He also spoke on the growth of the local handicraft industry and the increase in artisans, due to the increase in tourist inflow.

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Vijay Goel lauded the approach of the Prime Minister for making India a global icon in Tourism, Culture and Sports. He stated that the Government of India will launch a special and dedicated sports portal which will highlight the achievements of various talented people who have gained recognition in the field.

Union Minister for Tourism, Mr. Mahesh Sharma mentioned that this conference will provide new platform for

mutual interaction between various states that will lead to a holistic development of the country. ‘India is ranked 13th in World Tourism Index and contributes 10.71 % in world tourism growth’, he added.

A set of national priorities were identified (in the sessions where India's image as a sports playing nations was d i scussed) inc lud ing p lay f i e ld development , na t iona l coaching development framework, national sports talent hunt portal, national sports talent development program, promotion of hubs of sports excellence in select universities (10), creation of domain expertise in sports science and sports technology and a time bound action plan was formulated in order to plan for vision 2028 to make India a leading nation in the area of sports.

T h i s h i g h l e v e l d i a l o g u e a n d d i s c u s s i o n , b e t w e e n v a r i o u s representatives from the states and the Centre, focused on key areas like encouraging and promoting Rural Tourism, Tribal Odyssey, the local fairs and festivals, inter-state sharing of India's culture, tourism and sports heritage and many other applied areas of opportunities along with a proper roadmap for the same.

The discussion and the outcomes of the three day-conference indeed matched with the vision of the Prime Minister and the long lasting effects of the same will be seen in the days to come upon successful implementation of the same.•

In the past few months, two theme b a s e d m a r a t h o n s a n d o n e cyclothon were organized in the

state of Gujarat in order to promote an active life style and generate public awareness on various social issues. The Government of Gujarat has been extremely supportive of such innovative initiatives and was actively involved with their successful organization. This is evident from the eagerness shown by Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat, to assure his presence at all the 3 events to encourage the citizens despite his busy schedule and exigent event timings.

Cyclothon Ahmedabad – 2017

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani flagged-off Cyclothon Ahmedabad–2017 on 29th January, 2017 and cheered thousands of cyclists at Sabarmati

riverfront. He encouraged the citizens to turn towards cycling as it is one of the best exercises for physical fitness which also helps conserve the environment and ease traffic problems.

Rajkot Marathon Run for Smart City, Cleanliness and Traffic Control

The city of Rajkot hosted the marathon run for smart city, cleanliness and traffic control on 5th february, 2017. The event was flagged off by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani from the Racecourse Ground who lauded

the people of Rajkot as the guiding spirit for r ising to the occasion in all circumstances and challenges.

The regular marathons were held for 41km, 21km and 11km, besides that for physically challenged (divyang), senior citizens and even cancer and hemophilia patients. A record 63,594 people

participated in the Marathon which was the highest number for India and second highest for Asia.

Vadodara International Marathon-2017

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel flagged off the ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPaL) Vadodara International Marathon-2017 to boost the Swachh Bharat, Digital India and Cashless India campaigns from Navalakhi Ground in Va d o d a r a . O v e r 7 2 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e participated in the marathon. A separate run was also organized for the physically challenged. Speaking on the occasion, CM Vijay Rupani expressed hope that there would be one lakh participants for next year 's marathon. He lauded Vadodara city's initiative to take innovative decisions and launch innovative events.•

TOWARDS HEALTH, PROSPERITY AND AWARENESS

A BRIGHT-LIT PATH FOR

TOURISM IN GUJARAT

IN FOCUS IN FOCUS




Chimanbhai Sapariya was born

into a family of farmers and

has been involved in both

agriculture and business. This is a unique

combination of interests and a strategic

combination. He has been interested in

both fields. In fact, in some ways they are

both complementary to one another and

cannot be separated.

The Agriculture Minister has come

from a humble beginning, being attached

to the field of agriculture since childhood,

but it is when he was in college that he

actually engaged himself in farming with

all his effort.

Farming is a vocation that apart from

bread and butter, gives him a sense of joy

and peace and it helps re-establish a

connection with the roots. In his opinion,

farming also teaches us to love our land,

and it also cultivates, within us, the love

for our country. A child who grew up to

love his land so, a youth who grew to

respect his vocation so, is the Agriculture

Minister of the state today. It is an

inspiring story of how a man of passion

today serves his state as a visionary

Minister working relentlessly towards

the best interest of farmers.

His family was engaged in the business

of farming. During his time as a farmer,

his father used modern methods of

farming to grow papaya and sugarcane.

He had an image of a progressive farmer,

in his community. When growing

sugarcane, he only selected the best

breeds of sugarcane, which were likely to

get the highest yields for use.

During his years in secondary school

and college, when he was engaged in

farming, his family usually designated

him with the task of collecting the most

useful tools and necessary implements

that would be utilized for farming, for

their business. This is why, he says

confidently, that both business and

farming are close to his heart.

The life of a public servant surely keeps

one very busy and on the move.

Maintaining a routine which balances

public service and personal time becomes

very difficult. The dedicated public

servant Chimanbhai Sapariya finds

himself in the same boat. His daily

routine usually does not leave him with

much time to either do Yoga or any

Pranayam of any form. He considers his

work to be his greatest religion and this is

reflected in his life as well. Every day, he

begins his day with a wish to do as much

as he can for every single citizen of

Gujarat. He is a people's man and this is

reflected in his attitude while dealing

with the citizens. A noteworthy aspect of

his life is that he never misses a phone

call. He is the most approachable leader

one can come across and always has time

to keep in touch with his beloved citizens.

Chimanbhai is a simpleton from the

town of Jam Jodhpur. Till day, he is

known as a fun loving and adventurous

friend among the people of his town.

When he was studying in secondary

school, there were very few two-wheelers

or four-wheelers in their neighbourhood.

At that time, it was his desire to own a

Bullet motorcycle. He wanted the

motorcycle so badly, that he made a bet

with two of his closest friends on a plain

piece of paper, as to which one of them

would be the first to buy a Bullet. This

was around, 1974-75 and it was one of his

happiest moments when he managed to

buy a Bullet for himself. After this his

adventurous side didn't let him stay put,

he travelled a lot with his Bullet

motorcycle. At that time, their house also

had a tractor. Whenever they needed

spare parts for the tractor, which at that

time weren't available in Rajkot, he was

comfortable enough to t ravel to

Ahmedabad on the bike.

Chimanbhai is an ardent patriot. He

considers Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as

his role model. He believes in his

ideology and has strived to follow it all

his life. Since Secondary school, he has

been attached to the views of Shyama

Prasad. He has also been deeply affected

by the thoughts and ideas of Sardar

Vallabhai Patel, who was also the son of a

farmer.

Among these great leaders and

ideologists of the nation, he has also been

deeply influenced by the working style of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When he was elected as an MLA in

1995, he was given the chance to work

under the leadership of Keshubhai Patel.

After this, in the leadership of Narendra

Modi, then CM of Gujarat, he was given

the charge of Road and Building.During

that time, he observed Narendra Modi's

work ethic first hand. With regard to

development, he always worked with

passion and dedication. Whenever he was

given any work, he ensured that it was

finished on time. The art of facing

consistent challenges and hardships and

winning despite all odds, that is an art that

only Narendra Modi has mastered.

From a background of agriculture and

business, it is quite interesting to know

how he decided to enter politics. He

vividly recalls the incident that triggered

his entry to politics. It was between 1977-

78, in the districts of Bhayavadar, Upleta,

Jam Jodhpur and Dhoraji, that there was a

huge surplus in the output of onions. That

year, farmers were getting very low

prices for their onions they were selling.

Because of the low prices in the market,

the government at the centre bought

onions at a price of Rs.8. At that time,

farmers were not receiving the help they

should have received from officials of

various government co-operatives, due to

wh ich the p rob lems go t worse .

Chimanbhai's family also cultivated

onions on over 16 acres of land but were

only able to sell the stock to NAFED

(National Agricultural Cooperative

Marketing Federation of India). He was

constantly in touch with the officials of

various co-operatives for over 30 days to

find a solution but we was unable to find a

way. Seeing this grave injustice done to

the farmers, he was disappointed and

distressed and it affected his conscience

a t a p e r s o n a l l e v e l . T h e r e w a s

considerable resentment against the

Government at the centre at the time. He

turned his own opposition against the

government's policies into a life

dedicated to public service and swore that

he would spend the rest of his life serving

the people to the best of his abilities.

He did not enter politics as his own

ambition, but instead was driven into it by

the will of the people of Gujarat. He won

his first election in Sahakari Mandali, in

order to represent the farmers. This was

the beginning of his political career. The

CHIMANBHAI SAPARIYAby P. M. Trivedi

VISIONARIES VISIONARIES


Chimanbhai Sapariya was born

into a family of farmers and

has been involved in both

agriculture and business. This is a unique

combination of interests and a strategic

combination. He has been interested in

both fields. In fact, in some ways they are

both complementary to one another and

cannot be separated.

The Agriculture Minister has come

from a humble beginning, being attached

to the field of agriculture since childhood,

but it is when he was in college that he

actually engaged himself in farming with

all his effort.

Farming is a vocation that apart from

bread and butter, gives him a sense of joy

and peace and it helps re-establish a

connection with the roots. In his opinion,

farming also teaches us to love our land,

and it also cultivates, within us, the love

for our country. A child who grew up to

love his land so, a youth who grew to

respect his vocation so, is the Agriculture

Minister of the state today. It is an

inspiring story of how a man of passion

today serves his state as a visionary

Minister working relentlessly towards

the best interest of farmers.

His family was engaged in the business

of farming. During his time as a farmer,

his father used modern methods of

farming to grow papaya and sugarcane.

He had an image of a progressive farmer,

in his community. When growing

sugarcane, he only selected the best

breeds of sugarcane, which were likely to

get the highest yields for use.

During his years in secondary school

and college, when he was engaged in

farming, his family usually designated

him with the task of collecting the most

useful tools and necessary implements

that would be utilized for farming, for

their business. This is why, he says

confidently, that both business and

farming are close to his heart.

The life of a public servant surely keeps

one very busy and on the move.

Maintaining a routine which balances

public service and personal time becomes

very difficult. The dedicated public

servant Chimanbhai Sapariya finds

himself in the same boat. His daily

routine usually does not leave him with

much time to either do Yoga or any

Pranayam of any form. He considers his

work to be his greatest religion and this is

reflected in his life as well. Every day, he

begins his day with a wish to do as much

as he can for every single citizen of

Gujarat. He is a people's man and this is

reflected in his attitude while dealing

with the citizens. A noteworthy aspect of

his life is that he never misses a phone

call. He is the most approachable leader

one can come across and always has time

to keep in touch with his beloved citizens.

Chimanbhai is a simpleton from the

town of Jam Jodhpur. Till day, he is

known as a fun loving and adventurous

friend among the people of his town.

When he was studying in secondary

school, there were very few two-wheelers

or four-wheelers in their neighbourhood.

At that time, it was his desire to own a

Bullet motorcycle. He wanted the

motorcycle so badly, that he made a bet

with two of his closest friends on a plain

piece of paper, as to which one of them

would be the first to buy a Bullet. This

was around, 1974-75 and it was one of his

happiest moments when he managed to

buy a Bullet for himself. After this his

adventurous side didn't let him stay put,

he travelled a lot with his Bullet

motorcycle. At that time, their house also

had a tractor. Whenever they needed

spare parts for the tractor, which at that

time weren't available in Rajkot, he was

comfortable enough to t ravel to

Ahmedabad on the bike.

Chimanbhai is an ardent patriot. He

considers Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as

his role model. He believes in his

ideology and has strived to follow it all

his life. Since Secondary school, he has

been attached to the views of Shyama

Prasad. He has also been deeply affected

by the thoughts and ideas of Sardar

Vallabhai Patel, who was also the son of a

farmer.

Among these great leaders and

ideologists of the nation, he has also been

deeply influenced by the working style of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When he was elected as an MLA in

1995, he was given the chance to work

under the leadership of Keshubhai Patel.

After this, in the leadership of Narendra

Modi, then CM of Gujarat, he was given

the charge of Road and Building.During

that time, he observed Narendra Modi's

work ethic first hand. With regard to

development, he always worked with

passion and dedication. Whenever he was

given any work, he ensured that it was

finished on time. The art of facing

consistent challenges and hardships and

winning despite all odds, that is an art that

only Narendra Modi has mastered.

From a background of agriculture and

business, it is quite interesting to know

how he decided to enter politics. He

vividly recalls the incident that triggered

his entry to politics. It was between 1977-

78, in the districts of Bhayavadar, Upleta,

Jam Jodhpur and Dhoraji, that there was a

huge surplus in the output of onions. That

year, farmers were getting very low

prices for their onions they were selling.

Because of the low prices in the market,

the government at the centre bought

onions at a price of Rs.8. At that time,

farmers were not receiving the help they

should have received from officials of

various government co-operatives, due to

wh ich the p rob lems go t worse .

Chimanbhai's family also cultivated

onions on over 16 acres of land but were

only able to sell the stock to NAFED

(National Agricultural Cooperative

Marketing Federation of India). He was

constantly in touch with the officials of

various co-operatives for over 30 days to

find a solution but we was unable to find a

way. Seeing this grave injustice done to

the farmers, he was disappointed and

distressed and it affected his conscience

a t a p e r s o n a l l e v e l . T h e r e w a s

considerable resentment against the

Government at the centre at the time. He

turned his own opposition against the

government's policies into a life

dedicated to public service and swore that

he would spend the rest of his life serving

the people to the best of his abilities.

He did not enter politics as his own

ambition, but instead was driven into it by

the will of the people of Gujarat. He won

his first election in Sahakari Mandali, in

order to represent the farmers. This was

the beginning of his political career. The

CHIMANBHAI SAPARIYAby P. M. Trivedi



first political post of his career was that of

the Chairman of the Seva Sahakari

Mandali. Following this, he was elected

to run the municipality of Jam Jodhpur.

He has travelled to countries like Japan,

Germany and the U.S and learned of the

various different types of agricultural

techniques utilized there. Many of these

experiences have influenced Gujarat's

Agricultural Policy 2016. In various

parts of the world, new agricultural

techniques are constantly being created.

Today, in the more developed parts of the

world, modern techniques such as drip

irrigation, green house, net house and

utilizing high quality seeds are being

utilized. All these were taken as

i n s p i r a t i o n w h i l e c r e a t i n g t h e

Agricultural Policy 2016. His aim was to

give farmers maximum benefits, at the

least possible expenditure.

The state government has taken

agriculture of Gujarat to a new height by

giving it a modern form. Time and

patience is required to change any

tradition. The agricultural techniques are

age old in our country. Farmers don't

receive the best output due to the

changing environment and climate.

Recognizing this, PM Narendra Modi

l aunched severa l commendable

initiatives, plans and campaigns to

transform the traditional agricultural

techniques into modern agriculture. In

2005, he started the agricultural festival

Krishi Mahotsav to provide the

agricultural sector with a new medium of

revenue generation and doubling the

farmers' income. Under this campaign,

farmers are also being made aware about

the modern technology by sending

agronomists to the villages. Narendra

Modi discussed with agricultural

scientists, the option of chemical

fertilizer. The scientists suggested that

required amount of fertilizer should be

used after getting the soil tested. Thus, he

decided to provide soil health card to the

farmers. Under this programme, farmers

are being conveyed information about the

amount of fertilizers to be used post the

soil testing. Soil health cards not only cut

the farmers' expenses, but also helped

prevent damage to the soil from chemical

fertilizers. Apart from this, the state also

organises “Krishi Melas” – agricultural

fa i r s , where in they provide the

information pertaining to the various

modern techniques of agriculture to the

farmers.

Similarly, new seeds as well as

advanced techniques that are being

researched at agricultural universities are

also provided to the farmers through

agricultural fairs and the farmers are

yielding more production and gaining

higher profits at a lower price. Today, the

state has achieved double-digit growth

rate in the agrarian sector.

Agriculture is a sector which is deeply

and closely connected with the common

man. Availability of grains, fruits and

vegetables at an affordable price is the

pursuit of the government. For this, the

government has created a direct market

by eliminating the middlemen between

the vegetables and fruits producers and

customers. The agriculture department

has made a provision for farmers to come

to school premises on holidays to put up

their sales. Doing so, the customers will

get varieties of vegetables and fruits at the

specified place at very fair prices. This

initiative has received a good response.

People are happy with this and the

farmers are also getting a reasonable

price.

The Government of Gujarat has always

adopted various types of schemes/

strategies to encourage the farmers.

Taking this forward, we decided under

the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna that

the farmers will need to pay only 2%

premium in place of the earlier 5%

premium for the annual commercial and

annual horticulture crop for the Kharif

season and the remaining 3% will be paid

by the state government. All the farmers

of Gujarat are extremely content with this

decision of the government. The

insurance claim worth Rs 1795 crore for

the year 2015 has already been paid to

3.61 lakh farmers. Earlier, due to

accidental damage of crops young

farmers were abandoning agriculture to

seek other livelihood options. But, now

the decision taken by the government has

provided them with a sense of security

against the possibility of a bad crop. The

Gujarat Government has always stood by

their side. The government is fully

committed to the development of farmers

and will continually work to improve the

state of Gujarat in the agricultural sector,

this is the conviction with which

Chimanbhai Sapariya addresses all the

farmers of the state.

Chimanbhai also holds the portfolio of

energy. His dedication and passion to

serve the people with the best has

reflected in the growth in energy sector

too. The Government of Gujarat has

taken a revolutionary decision to provide

another electricity connection to the

farmers in addition to the existing one.

The farmers of the state are very happy

with this. Being the Minister of

Agriculture and Energy, he considered

that it is his moral obligation to overcome

the problems of the farmers. They had

received multiple complaints from the

farmers that they were unable to provide

proper irrigation to their crops due to

erratic rainfall. For instance, Kutch and

Saurashtra are water scarce areas.

Though the big farmers have even 15

horsepower motor connections, they are

unable to make an optimum use of this

motor just because of the scarcity of

water in the well. This forces them to drill

bore wells and install additional 7.5 HP

motors. But earlier one could run only a

single motor per connection and as a

result the electricity officers penalized

the farmers for the electricity theft. They

had received complaints from many

farmers that in-spite of paying their

electricity bills on time, they have to pay

the penalties. So, they resolved this

problem by providing the farmers with an

arrangement to run two motors on a

single connection, and the farmers are

happy to get this relief. Under this

policy, if a farmer has a survey number of

more than 8 acre of land, then it is

adjudicated that he can operate two

motors on a single electrical connection.

It has been decided in consultation with

senior officials of Agriculture department

a n d p r o f e s s o r s o f A g r i c u l t u r e

Universities that it will be necessary to

have more than 8 acres of land for the

second connection. This revolutionary

decision will bring a radical change in

Gujarat's agriculture and the lives of the

farmers in the future.

The Government of Gujarat was the

best performer under the Ujala Yojna of

the central government . Gujarat

demonstrated excellent implementation

of many other schemes launched by the

central government. Ujala Yojna was

conceptualized by PM Narendra Modi.

When he was the chief minister of

Gujarat, he concentrated on the energy

saving and as a result, today the state of

Gujarat has become a power surplus. A

massive push is being delivered through

the Ujala Yojana. The LED bulbs which

earlier cost Rs 300-350, are now being

made available at merely Rs 70. Serious

effort is being made to create awareness

regarding power saving among the

citizens. The people of the country have

enthusiastically welcomed the schemes

and drives launched by the PM. Thus the

credit for the success of Ujala Yojna also

goes to the Public.

Talking about Gujarat, the State has

created a strong identity in electrification.

This is the reason why the Ujala Yojana of

PM Narendra Modi was heart i ly

welcomed by Gujarat and prompt results

followed. Gujarat government has

provided LED bulbs at mere Rs. 65. In all,

3 .1 Crore LED bulbs have been

distributed across Gujarat till date. One

can imagine the amount of electricity

being saved as a result of this. Recently at

the Kisan Sammelan on the 25th of

January, 20 volt tube lights were

distributed among the farmers. These

tube lights cost approximately 700-800

rupees in the market but the government

is making them available at just Rs 210.

Similarly the commonly available fans

consume 80-90 volts and cost Rs 1800-

1900, but the Gujarat Government is

providing fans for Rs 1110 that consume

only 50 volts. These are some of the ways

in which the state is working to

conserving electricity.

Gujarat is now using LED streetlights

in its Corporations and Municipal

Corporations. Gujarat is well known for

its innovative ideas. This is what makes it

a role model for other states. Street lights,

although consume a lot of electricity, are

indispensable. Hence it is important to

make them energy efficient. Use of LED

streetlight is one of the best ways to

achieve this efficiency as against using

the 200- 250 volt light bulbs. For this

purpose, the state has distributed LED

streetlights in 8 Municipal Corporations

and 152 Municipalities of the state. If

India is to become a power surplus nation,

a lot of such power conservation

initiatives will have to be implemented.

In spite of problems like water scarcity,

Gujarat is a power surplus state. This is no

less than a miracle. This miracle is a

testament to the determined governance

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He

has proved that development is possible

despite limited resources. Gujarat used to

produce about 6 to 6.5 thousand

megawatt of electricity in 1995 through

the use of coal, lignite, hydro and

naphtha. To ensure availability of

electricity to farmers across the state, he

adopted the idea of power planning. As a

result of timely implementation of this

plan, Gujarat has emerged as a power

surplus state. Today, the state generates

25,256 MW of electricity through both

conventional and unconventional means

while its demand stands at mere 15,000-

15,500 MW. Gujarat will remain power

surplus even if its annual consumption

grows by 6% till 2022.•



first political post of his career was that of

the Chairman of the Seva Sahakari

Mandali. Following this, he was elected

to run the municipality of Jam Jodhpur.

He has travelled to countries like Japan,

Germany and the U.S and learned of the

various different types of agricultural

techniques utilized there. Many of these

experiences have influenced Gujarat's

Agricultural Policy 2016. In various

parts of the world, new agricultural

techniques are constantly being created.

Today, in the more developed parts of the

world, modern techniques such as drip

irrigation, green house, net house and

utilizing high quality seeds are being

utilized. All these were taken as

i n s p i r a t i o n w h i l e c r e a t i n g t h e

Agricultural Policy 2016. His aim was to

give farmers maximum benefits, at the

least possible expenditure.

The state government has taken

agriculture of Gujarat to a new height by

giving it a modern form. Time and

patience is required to change any

tradition. The agricultural techniques are

age old in our country. Farmers don't

receive the best output due to the

changing environment and climate.

Recognizing this, PM Narendra Modi

l aunched severa l commendable

initiatives, plans and campaigns to

transform the traditional agricultural

techniques into modern agriculture. In

2005, he started the agricultural festival

Krishi Mahotsav to provide the

agricultural sector with a new medium of

revenue generation and doubling the

farmers' income. Under this campaign,

farmers are also being made aware about

the modern technology by sending

agronomists to the villages. Narendra

Modi discussed with agricultural

scientists, the option of chemical

fertilizer. The scientists suggested that

required amount of fertilizer should be

used after getting the soil tested. Thus, he

decided to provide soil health card to the

farmers. Under this programme, farmers

are being conveyed information about the

amount of fertilizers to be used post the

soil testing. Soil health cards not only cut

the farmers' expenses, but also helped

prevent damage to the soil from chemical

fertilizers. Apart from this, the state also

organises “Krishi Melas” – agricultural

fa i r s , where in they provide the

information pertaining to the various

modern techniques of agriculture to the

farmers.

Similarly, new seeds as well as

advanced techniques that are being

researched at agricultural universities are

also provided to the farmers through

agricultural fairs and the farmers are

yielding more production and gaining

higher profits at a lower price. Today, the

state has achieved double-digit growth

rate in the agrarian sector.

Agriculture is a sector which is deeply

and closely connected with the common

man. Availability of grains, fruits and

vegetables at an affordable price is the

pursuit of the government. For this, the

government has created a direct market

by eliminating the middlemen between

the vegetables and fruits producers and

customers. The agriculture department

has made a provision for farmers to come

to school premises on holidays to put up

their sales. Doing so, the customers will

get varieties of vegetables and fruits at the

specified place at very fair prices. This

initiative has received a good response.

People are happy with this and the

farmers are also getting a reasonable

price.

The Government of Gujarat has always

adopted various types of schemes/

strategies to encourage the farmers.

Taking this forward, we decided under

the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna that

the farmers will need to pay only 2%

premium in place of the earlier 5%

premium for the annual commercial and

annual horticulture crop for the Kharif

season and the remaining 3% will be paid

by the state government. All the farmers

of Gujarat are extremely content with this

decision of the government. The

insurance claim worth Rs 1795 crore for

the year 2015 has already been paid to

3.61 lakh farmers. Earlier, due to

accidental damage of crops young

farmers were abandoning agriculture to

seek other livelihood options. But, now

the decision taken by the government has

provided them with a sense of security

against the possibility of a bad crop. The

Gujarat Government has always stood by

their side. The government is fully

committed to the development of farmers

and will continually work to improve the

state of Gujarat in the agricultural sector,

this is the conviction with which

Chimanbhai Sapariya addresses all the

farmers of the state.

Chimanbhai also holds the portfolio of

energy. His dedication and passion to

serve the people with the best has

reflected in the growth in energy sector

too. The Government of Gujarat has

taken a revolutionary decision to provide

another electricity connection to the

farmers in addition to the existing one.

The farmers of the state are very happy

with this. Being the Minister of

Agriculture and Energy, he considered

that it is his moral obligation to overcome

the problems of the farmers. They had

received multiple complaints from the

farmers that they were unable to provide

proper irrigation to their crops due to

erratic rainfall. For instance, Kutch and

Saurashtra are water scarce areas.

Though the big farmers have even 15

horsepower motor connections, they are

unable to make an optimum use of this

motor just because of the scarcity of

water in the well. This forces them to drill

bore wells and install additional 7.5 HP

motors. But earlier one could run only a

single motor per connection and as a

result the electricity officers penalized

the farmers for the electricity theft. They

had received complaints from many

farmers that in-spite of paying their

electricity bills on time, they have to pay

the penalties. So, they resolved this

problem by providing the farmers with an

arrangement to run two motors on a

single connection, and the farmers are

happy to get this relief. Under this

policy, if a farmer has a survey number of

more than 8 acre of land, then it is

adjudicated that he can operate two

motors on a single electrical connection.

It has been decided in consultation with

senior officials of Agriculture department

a n d p r o f e s s o r s o f A g r i c u l t u r e

Universities that it will be necessary to

have more than 8 acres of land for the

second connection. This revolutionary

decision will bring a radical change in

Gujarat's agriculture and the lives of the

farmers in the future.

The Government of Gujarat was the

best performer under the Ujala Yojna of

the central government . Gujarat

demonstrated excellent implementation

of many other schemes launched by the

central government. Ujala Yojna was

conceptualized by PM Narendra Modi.

When he was the chief minister of

Gujarat, he concentrated on the energy

saving and as a result, today the state of

Gujarat has become a power surplus. A

massive push is being delivered through

the Ujala Yojana. The LED bulbs which

earlier cost Rs 300-350, are now being

made available at merely Rs 70. Serious

effort is being made to create awareness

regarding power saving among the

citizens. The people of the country have

enthusiastically welcomed the schemes

and drives launched by the PM. Thus the

credit for the success of Ujala Yojna also

goes to the Public.

Talking about Gujarat, the State has

created a strong identity in electrification.

This is the reason why the Ujala Yojana of

PM Narendra Modi was heart i ly

welcomed by Gujarat and prompt results

followed. Gujarat government has

provided LED bulbs at mere Rs. 65. In all,

3 .1 Crore LED bulbs have been

distributed across Gujarat till date. One

can imagine the amount of electricity

being saved as a result of this. Recently at

the Kisan Sammelan on the 25th of

January, 20 volt tube lights were

distributed among the farmers. These

tube lights cost approximately 700-800

rupees in the market but the government

is making them available at just Rs 210.

Similarly the commonly available fans

consume 80-90 volts and cost Rs 1800-

1900, but the Gujarat Government is

providing fans for Rs 1110 that consume

only 50 volts. These are some of the ways

in which the state is working to

conserving electricity.

Gujarat is now using LED streetlights

in its Corporations and Municipal

Corporations. Gujarat is well known for

its innovative ideas. This is what makes it

a role model for other states. Street lights,

although consume a lot of electricity, are

indispensable. Hence it is important to

make them energy efficient. Use of LED

streetlight is one of the best ways to

achieve this efficiency as against using

the 200- 250 volt light bulbs. For this

purpose, the state has distributed LED

streetlights in 8 Municipal Corporations

and 152 Municipalities of the state. If

India is to become a power surplus nation,

a lot of such power conservation

initiatives will have to be implemented.

In spite of problems like water scarcity,

Gujarat is a power surplus state. This is no

less than a miracle. This miracle is a

testament to the determined governance

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He

has proved that development is possible

despite limited resources. Gujarat used to

produce about 6 to 6.5 thousand

megawatt of electricity in 1995 through

the use of coal, lignite, hydro and

naphtha. To ensure availability of

electricity to farmers across the state, he

adopted the idea of power planning. As a

result of timely implementation of this

plan, Gujarat has emerged as a power

surplus state. Today, the state generates

25,256 MW of electricity through both

conventional and unconventional means

while its demand stands at mere 15,000-

15,500 MW. Gujarat will remain power

surplus even if its annual consumption

grows by 6% till 2022.•



UPCOMING EVENTS

Shala PraveshotsavThe programme will involve the efforts of the

Chief Minis ter, Cabinet , Par l iamentry

Secretaries, society leaders, Government office

bearers, IAS officers, officials of Indian Police

Services and Forest Services, District and State

level class-1 officers (2307 'karmayogis' in total)

who are allotted 15 different villages to carry out

various activities. They push up people's

participation in making primary education more

quality and result oriented, and to keep up with

Gujarat's goal of 100% enrolment.

Krishi MahotsavMoving towards the second green revolution, the State

aimed to double the income of farmers in five years. This

was the idea behind the introduction of Krushi Mahotsav

in Gujarat by the State Government as an innovative

approach in agriculture. Many good results have been

obtained through this after the month long period of Krishi

Mahotsav.

Agriculture Scientists and officers provide guidance to

farmers about scientific farming, organic farming, farm

mechanisation, micro irrigation, crop value addition and

agriculture related information as well as provide

knowledge of government scheme. in additions, they

provide free kit distribution to small farmers during Krishi

Mahotsav.

Gujarat Foundation DayGujarat celebrates May 1st as the foundation day,

the day in which Gujarat was formed as a state

parted from Maharashtra. It was the day on which

Gujarat earned its identity as a state of people

speaking Gujarati language with numerous rich

and varied dialects.

The state celebrates this day with vigour each year

as a grand state-level function at various districts

every year and not just the state capital. This year,

Gujarat Gaurav Day will be celebrated in

Ahmedabad district in presence of Chief Minister

Vijay Rupani.

THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF AN EQUAL,

EMPOWERED AND PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY

48 | the GUJARAT • April, 2017

UPCOMING EVENTS

Shala PraveshotsavThe programme will involve the efforts of the

Chief Minis ter, Cabinet , Par l iamentry

Secretaries, society leaders, Government office

bearers, IAS officers, officials of Indian Police

Services and Forest Services, District and State

level class-1 officers (2307 'karmayogis' in total)

who are allotted 15 different villages to carry out

various activities. They push up people's

participation in making primary education more

quality and result oriented, and to keep up with

Gujarat's goal of 100% enrolment.

Krishi MahotsavMoving towards the second green revolution, the State

aimed to double the income of farmers in five years. This

was the idea behind the introduction of Krushi Mahotsav

in Gujarat by the State Government as an innovative

approach in agriculture. Many good results have been

obtained through this after the month long period of Krishi

Mahotsav.

Agriculture Scientists and officers provide guidance to

farmers about scientific farming, organic farming, farm

mechanisation, micro irrigation, crop value addition and

agriculture related information as well as provide

knowledge of government scheme. in additions, they

provide free kit distribution to small farmers during Krishi

Mahotsav.

Gujarat Foundation DayGujarat celebrates May 1st as the foundation day,

the day in which Gujarat was formed as a state

parted from Maharashtra. It was the day on which

Gujarat earned its identity as a state of people

speaking Gujarati language with numerous rich

and varied dialects.

The state celebrates this day with vigour each year

as a grand state-level function at various districts

every year and not just the state capital. This year,

Gujarat Gaurav Day will be celebrated in

Ahmedabad district in presence of Chief Minister

Vijay Rupani.

THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF AN EQUAL,

EMPOWERED AND PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY

48 | the GUJARAT • April, 2017

To,

R.N.I. No. GUJENG/2011/45951Book packet containing printed books onlyDirectorate of Information Block No. 19/1, Dr. Jivraj Mehta BhavanGandhinagar-382010

Visit: http://www.gujaratinformation.net

www.facebook.com/gujaratinformation.official

www.twitter.com/infogujarat

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