PM- Back to Delhi,

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh interacting with the on board media, on his way back to Delhi after Saudi Arabia visit on March 01,2010.

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Anand Sharma and the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad are also seen.
(Photo PIB No:CNR-30655)
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India to host 200 aerospace majors at Hyderabad show

Some 200 domestic and global players in the aerospace industry including big names such as Airbus, Boeing, Bell, Thales and Dassault are participating in the five-day India Aviation 2010 exposition here starting Wednesday.Hosted by the federal civil aviation ministry, France will be the partner country at the exposition, the second since 2008, which is expected to attract over 500 delegates from 17 countries.“This will be a show of the country’s aviation industry and the potential it holds for the future,” said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who is scheduled to inaugurate the exposition along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah.“The show will also act as a stimulus in providing the much needed business opportunity to the stakeholders in the industry to tide over the current recessionary times.”Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be the co-hosts for the event. The theme of the event India Aviation 2010 is ‘Expanding Horizons’.(thanks to way2online)

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Chidambaram holding a press conference,

The Union Home Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram holding a press conference to present the Report Card on the Ministry for the month of February, 2010, in New Delhi on March 02, 2010. The Union Home Secretary, Shri G.K. Pillai is also seen. (Photo by PIB No:CNR-30661)
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PM's address at the King Saud University

(PIB NEWS)I am greatly honoured to address this distinguished gathering at the prestigious King Saud University. I recall my days as a university professor very fondly not least because of the opportunity it gave me to interact with inspiring young minds. I wish to convey my deep appreciation to the King Saud University for conferring an Honorary Doctorate on me. I consider this as an exceptional honour bestowed on me by one of the premier centers of learning in the Arab world. The University has been in the forefront of building a knowledge society. Its contribution in promoting fundamental human values, academic freedom, learning and innovation has been second to none. The Arab world has a long intellectual and educational tradition. History tells us that the Arabs translated and preserved teachings from Greece, India and Persia. It is these texts that inspired a mass movement in the field of education during the 12th century which produced great Arab mathematicians, scientists and scholars. India’s links with Saudi Arabia and the region go back several millennia. There were regular intellectual exchanges in various fields of human study. These linkages influenced our traditions of learning. Over the years, however, these links weakened and we need to revive such exchanges. The confluence of Arab and Asian ideas and culture will help us to rediscover each other and in the process enrich human civilization. I am aware of the strong interest of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in the modernization of education infrastructure. We admire his vision for the development of human capital and for promoting a scientific temper among the youth while preserving cultural traditions. We have a similar vision for the development of education in our own country. Like Saudi Arabia, we too recognize the importance of education in social empowerment and progress. Almost 20% of the total expenditure of our current five year development Plan is earmarked for education. We are establishing 30 new Central Universities, of which half will be conceived as world-class institutions. We have laid equal emphasis on the development of our infrastructure for science and technology education. We have plans to build five more national institutes of science and more Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Information Technology. We are keen to build our human resources for the next generation. Every year India produces among the largest number of scientists and engineers in the world. We wish to expand India’s knowledge economy and to build world class facilities for research and cutting edge science in the country. I am happy that India and Saudi Arabia are seeking closer cooperation in the field of higher education. We signed a bilateral agreement for educational cooperation during the visit of His Majesty to India in 2006. Yesterday His Majesty and I signed the Riyadh Declaration. In this Declaration we have paid special emphasis on the increasing role and importance of youth in consolidating relations between our two countries. We also reaffirmed our common desire to forge greater cooperation in the areas of education, culture, information technology and frontier areas of science and technology. We would like to see greater number of students in our universities from Saudi Arabia. We are already receiving Saudi students under the prestigious “King Abdullah Scholarship Programme”. These kinds of programmes should be expanded and popularized. I am happy that the King Saud University has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with one of the most prestigious institutions in India, the Indian Institute of Science. I hope that this will inspire similar collaborations between other centres of excellence in both countries. I see many possibilities for cooperation in the area of human capital formation and skill development. We are both countries with young populations and our educational system should be geared to making every student employable. The knowledge economy offers many opportunities for creative young minds and we should collaborate in nurturing them. I once again thank you for conferring this honour on me. I am continually inspired by the creativity, energy and dynamism of the younger generation. I wish all the students gathered here today good luck and.continued success in the noble task of building this great country.

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Hyderabad Metro Rail to create 50,000 jobs

Hyderabad Metro Rail is expected to trigger mammoth economic activity in and around the city and provide employment to about 50,000 people, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said Monday.The chief minister, who reviewed the Rs.12,132-crore project at a meeting here, said it would provide employment for about 5,000 engineers and about 45,000 skilled and unskilled workers.He also hoped that with a requirement of about 26 lakh tonnes of cement, two lakh tonnes of steel and 58 lakh cubic metres of concrete, the project will help set up many ancillary industries and machinery manufacturing and servicing units around Hyderabad. This would give fillip to developmental activities in various parts of Telangana, he added.The Telangana region, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad, is currently witnessing movement for separate statehood.Noting that Hyderabad Metro Rail project is back on track, he asked the officials to speed up the process to finalise works with a firm deadline.All eight companies/consortia that filed pre-qualification bids have qualified to participate in financial bids which will be finalised in April.The new concessionaire is expected to be in place by May.The ground work for the project will be launched in November and most of the sections will be thrown open for public travel in four years, while the whole project is expected to be completed in five years.The companies/consortia qualified to participate in financial bids are: Transstroy-OJSC Transstroy (Russia)-CR18G (China)-BEML consortium; Reliance Infra-Reliance Infocomm consortium (ADAG); Lanco Infra-OHL Concesiones (Spain) consortium; Essar-Leighton (Australia)-Gayatri-VNR consortium; GMR Infra; GVK-Samsung (South Korea) consortium; Soma-Strabag AG (Austria) consortium and Larsen & Toubro.                       (thanks to way2online)
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