Gujarat to be showcased in Cannes Film Festival

Gujarat is all set to be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival. This will be the maiden attempt of the state tourism department to woo international filmmakers to the state. 

The Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) has decided to mark its presence through the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Cannes Film festival which is scheduled to begin from May 16. Sources said that the TCGL has already approached CII for the space. 

Atreyee Talapatra, director, CII, Delhi, confirmed that Gujarat has shown interest in highlighting its tourism potential at Cannes. "We have been hiring space for the Cannes Film Market and this time the theme was the shooting location of India. This is the ninth year that CII will have it presence in the festival. To show the Indian location, CII had approached several states and Gujarat had shown keen interest," She said, adding that CII is also coming up with a director of shooting location. 

This is the first time that Gujarat tourism will have its presence felt at the international festival. Earlier, during the producers meeting in Mumbai, Gujarat had made presentation of its location and the facilities it offers. 

The TCGL officer said that this would be the first time that TCGL will step out of Gujarat. Earlier, the department had gone global in various tourism magazines through Amitabh Bachchan advertisement, "Khushboo Gujarat ki." 

TCGL sets up special cell for films

 The TCGL has formed a special cell to woo and facilitate film producers for shooting in Gujarat. It has also announced that all permits required for shooting will be arranged by the special cell. 

A nodal officer has been appointed to oversee the facilities for all producers coming to the state. The cell will approach and convince film producers to come and shoot in Gujarat. 

This will indirectly showcase Gujarat to the country and world and boost tourism. The special cell will not only suggest locations, but will also ensure that the necessary permits including that from the Archaeological Survey of India are obtained. "If required, the TCGL will also make arrangement for police," said the TCGL officer. 

"The cell will facilitate the producers to not only choose location, but will also give them an ideal opportunity to shoot in the state," said Vipul Mitra, principal secretary, tourism. 

"The government is keen to attract film makers and this cell will just give permission without any hassle to the producers. The recent shooting of a south Indian film in Kutch was the example of the success of this cell," said another official. 

The official said that apart from the cell, the department has decided not to collect any charge for the infrastructure facilities and even offer TCGL properties at subsidized rate. Usually other states charge even for the police protection. 

"The only condition will be that that the producer will have to give courtesy to the state and even mention the places where the shooting had taken place," added the official.

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Kerala expecting huge overseas investment: Chandy

The Kerala government is expecting huge overseas investments in about 60 sectors including infrastructure, technology, education and healthcare, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Friday.

"We are expecting huge investment commitments" during the Sep 12-14 "Emerging Kerala 2012" global investor connect meet in Kochi, Chandy said after meeting top diplomats, including ambassadors and high commissioners, heads of trade missions and chiefs of international agencies here.

The chief minister was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues like Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty and officials at the meetings. Chandy said he had met the ambassadors of Canada, China and some Gulf countries to convince them to participate in the Kochi event.

"The meeting with ambassadors, high commissioners of select countries, trade missions and heads of multilateral agencies is the most appropriate forum to flag off such an important event," Chandy said at a news conference here.

Chandy said the government had identified almost 60 areas in which it would attract overseas investments.

The chief minister said his government had also identified core sectors for sustainable development of the state.

These include tourism, IT and IT-enabled services, healthcare, food and agro-processing, ports, ship building and logistics, energy, bio-technology, light engineering and automotive industries.

The government is also giving priority to development infrastructure, including roads, high-speed train, urban infrastructure and industrial parks and corridors.

Chandy said most of the projects will be developed on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, providing huge business opportunities to both overseas and domestic investors.

Kerala plans to develop the country's first high-speed rail corridor. Almost $20 billion investment will be required for the proposed corridor that will run from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore.

The state, which has a 600 km-long coast line, is developing an international container trans-shipment terminal at Kochi. Kerala is also developing natural gas pipeline infrastructure and airports in several cities.

Quoting a World Bank report, Chandy pointed out that Kerala was ranked second in India in terms of ease of doing business. Karnataka is ranked the most business-friendly state in the country.

Industry Minister Kunhalikutty said the state government was "keen to create an enabling environment for investors with proactive policy initiatives."

Kunhalikutty claimed that the state government was taking all possible efforts to facilitate investments.

The three-day event will be organised by the state government in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Nasscom.

Courtesy : New York Daily Times
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Tourism industry of Pakistan and India demanding Peace Park for 20 years

The Chief of Army of Pakistan, Gen. Kiyani, along with the President of Pakistan, during a visit to the Giyari sector on Wednesday, talked about the fact that Pakistan and India should withdraw forces from the Siachen Glacier. The recent avalanche that buried more than 139 Pakistani soldiers, has given a chance for army generals to think about the demand for peace. For years, critics have considered this war zone one of world's most pointless military deployments, where two developing nations are engaged in a costly standoff over an uninhabitable patch of mountain and ice.

Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said on Wednesday that Pakistan followed the doctrine of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, especially India. “We want peaceful co-existence with India as amicable neighbors; however, our desire should not be misconstrued as weakness," the COAS remarked.

Talking to media, after reviewing the search operation that is underway to unearth the 139 martyred troops in the Gayari sector who aer buried under tons of snow, the COAS said Pakistan was open to talks with India to de-militarize Siachen.

He said, "Both countries should sit together to resolve all the issues including Siachen." He said the reason why was the Pakistan Army was on the Siachen was not a secret to the world. “It [was] Indians who carried the war onto Siahcen, forcing us to get up there and stop them in their tracks; we only mounted a natural tactical response," Gen. Kayani said.

COAS also made it clear that the army was protecting the country's borders on Siachen. "We are only manning the border on this frigid outpost in the line of duty."

"Siachen consumes a mammoth amount of national exchequer, which must be diverted to the people of both countries respectively,” General Kayani said. The country's armed forces do not want more spending on defense due to disputes.

On the Gyari rescue operation, he said, "We are trying to reach the bodies of the martyrs with all we are worth in the face of inclement weather; no stone has been left unturned, we are not far from them now.”

The statement of the Pakistan Chief of Army has born a hope for the possibility that at last sanity may prevail and both countries may withdraw forces from Siachen Glacier and make it a Peace Park - a very old demand of peace lovers of both countries. Both countries lost more than 3,000 young soldiers and millions if not billions of US dollars on this pointless and some say useless war. Retired generals from both of the countries believe that the Siachen issue is one of the easiest to solve, but it is hostage to general mistrust and hard-liners on both sides who don't want to give up their claim on the territory.

The Siachen war is being considered an ego problem between the two armies, instead of a tactical or operational problem. The region is just east of the world's second-highest peak, K-2, which has killed far more than artillery fire, due to its temperatures as low as -60 C, vicious winds, and altitude sickness. Casualty figures have not been released by either military, because both are sending very young soldiers that they call “Green Soldiers,” because the environment and weather is so unfriendly, that only young boys can survive there.

Analysts say resolving Siachen should be possible before the much more difficult dispute over Kashmir is attempted. Because no one lives in the region and it is of no strategic value, a joint or even unilateral withdrawal from one side could break the logjam.

In a survey and interviews conducted by eTN to know the viewpoint of the general public, experts, academia, and former personnel of the Pakistan Army, it was understood that majority of all wish to complete demilitarization of the Siachen Glacier and make it a tourism spot and Peace Park to promote harmony in the region.

These people were of the view that that Indian development in the trade sector was marvelous and Pakistan needed to worry about its economy.

India could afford the boarding and lodging of its army at Siachen, but it was hard for Pakistan to sustain its presence in the region, and both countries should solve the issue, and the billions of US dollars being spent on the war should be directed towards people's prosperity.

Prof. Hassan Askari Rizvi, who is one of the most important experts of regional studies, was of the view that said deployment of troops at Siachen was wastage of money and resources. He said that the issue started in 1984, and later it became a matter of ego and pride for India and Pakistan. The professor said the ceasefire line was demarked and it ended exactly near Siachen, making the area a disputed territory.

He said India and Pakistan had signed two “understandings” - one in 1987 and the other in 2007 - in which relocation of troops was suggested but nothing happened afterwards. He said the armies of both countries should withdraw and make Siachen a culture spot, jointly organized by India and Pakistan. Rizvi said the people of the two countries and especially the social sector should pressure their governments to end the conflict that was consuming millions of rupees daily.

Courtesy  : http://www.eturbonews.com/28877/tourism-industry-pakistan-and-india-demanding-peace-park-20-year
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India eyes 10 mn tourists annually

Union Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai said the government wished to achieve the target of increasing the number of foreign tourists visiting India annually to 10 million.

Speaking at the fifth edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) on Sunday, Sahai said: “Currently, we have about 5.7 million foreign tourists visiting every year, and we want to have another 5 million tourists. We want to double that number in the current Five Year Plan.”

Seeking help from the hospitality industry to cater to the increased number of foreign tourists, the minister said: “We need at least 20 million hotel rooms to accommodate the tourists.”
Courtesy: Indian Express
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Tourism Sector to Generate 2.5 Crore Jobs During 12th Five Year Plan Says Subodh Kant

With the Ministry of tourism  targeting over 12 % growth rate in in-bound as well as domestic tourists, it has been projected that tourism sector will generate additional jobs of about 2.5 crore, both direct and indirect, during the 12th Fiver year Plan. This was stated by Union Minister for Tourism Shri Subodh Kant Sahai while presenting National Awards for excellence in hospitality education for the year 2010-11, here today. He said the direct employment in hospitality sector will also be substantial. Shri Sahai said Employment related to hospitality trades alone would be around 36 lakhs. The Minister informed the gathering that hospitality industry needs about 2 lakh trained persons every year but the supply is just about 18000 persons, which gets further reduced to about 12000 persons after adjusting an attrition of about 30 to 35 %.  Shri Sahai said, “As per our estimate, by the close of the Eleventh Plan, our efforts to expand the institutional infrastructure and broad-basing of hospitality education through Universities, Colleges, ITIs, Polytechnics and Schools is expected to increase the supply of trained persons in a major way.”

The Tourism Minister said  Central Government, on its part, has been actively trying to bridge the skilled manpower shortage by setting up more govt. sponsored IHMs and FCIs, broad-basing training & education through the aegis of   Universities, ITIs, Colleges, Polytechnics, PSUs, Schools etc., establishing short-term hospitality courses, upgrading the skills of existing as well as aspiring service providers through “Hunar Se Rozgaar” programme, skills testing & certification of the existing service providers. Shri Sahai said, “This will be a significant improvement but would still not be enough.  In any case, given the fact that the Industry engages about 5 million persons generating huge revenues, much of the efforts and resources for creating world class hospitality service will have to come from within the Industry.”

The Union Tourim Minister said the efforts of the Central Govt., though important, have to be necessarily supplementary and catalytic  and here, our IHMs and FCIs have to raise themselves to the level of Institutes of excellence to spur and stimulate similar efforts in the Private Sector. He said, “ I therefore urge the Institutes to make earnest effort to raise their standards so as to be acceptable internationally, to become model institutes.  The Ministry will always be there for you in its supportive role.”

Referring to the  encouraging trends in International and Domestic tourism Shri Subodh Kant Sahai said tourism is now being recognized as one of the key drivers of growth and employment generation in the country. He said the contribution of tourism to the GDP is estimated to be more than 9%.

The Minister referred to an independent study carried out by his Ministry  to identify major gaps that existed in terms of infrastructure and service delivery at major tourist destinations. He said this study concluded that, for both the foreign and domestic tourist, the lack of Hygiene and Sanitary conditions in and around monuments/ destinations, poor Solid Waste Management around the monuments/destinations and absence of hygienically maintained public amenities like Toilets were the key factors that were impeding our efforts to catapult India as a leading tourist destination. Shri Subodh Kant said,“Campaign Clean India” is aimed to undertake both sensitization and action at field level on bringing our tourism destinations and their surroundings to an acceptable level of cleanliness and hygiene. He said the objective is also to ensure that these levels are sustained through ownership and involvement of private and public sector stakeholders. Shri Sahai said, “The IHMs and FCIs are expected to play a leading role in setting standards of cleanliness in and around monuments for all other educational institutions to follow.”

            

Shri Subodh Kant said in order to preserve, propagate, research, document and patent the numerous hues of the Indian cuisines through an institutional mechanism, the Ministry of Tourism has already initiated steps for the setting up of the Indian Culinary Institute with six of its centres across the country.

            

The National Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Education (2010-11) were presented in three categories i.e. awards to the students, awards to  the teaching faculty and awards to the Institutes.

The awardees in the first category were the students who had excelled in academic performance during the year 2010-11. In all, 23 students were awarded.  Each winner received a medal, a certificate of academic excellence and a cash prize. The list of students who received the awards is given below:-

	Position	Program	Name	Institute
	First	M.Sc. Hospitality Administration 2009-11	MS. FARIDA ANJUM	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
2	First	M.Sc. Dietetics & Food Service Management 2009-11	MS. NIHARIKA SHUKLA	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
3	First	B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2008-11	ARJUN MUKUND	SRM Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
4	Second	B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2008-11	NARESH KUMAR H	SRM Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
5	Third	B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2008-11	SUBRAMANIAN SRIKANTH	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
6	First	3rd Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	ARJUN MUKUND	SRM Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
7	First	2nd Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	RAMANDEEP SINGH	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
8	First	1st Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	MS. SANA KHAN	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
9	Second	3rd Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration  2010-11	MITHUN PAUL	Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
10	Second	2nd Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	MS. YAMINI SINGH	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
11	Second	1st  Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	MS. DEBOLINA GHOSH	Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata
12	Third	3rd Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	NARESH KUMAR H	SRM Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
13	Third	2nd Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	MS. ADITI SABHARWAL	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi

14	Third	1st  Year of B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration 2010-11	MS. ZAINAB SHABBIR KHERALUWALA	Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
15	First	PG Diploma in Accommodation Operations & Management 2010-11	PATITAPABAN BEHERA	Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar
16	First	Diploma in Food  Production 2010-11	PRIYARANJAN MALIK	Food Craft Institute, Balangir
17	First	Diploma in Food & Beverage 2010-11	BIN JIA	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
18	First	Diploma in House Keeping Operation 2010-11	CHANDRA SEKHAR	State Institute of Hotel Management, Puducherry
19	First	Diploma in Front Office Operation 2010-11	SHRIKANT TRIVEDI	Food Craft Institute, Udaipur
20	First	Diploma in Bakery & Confectionery 2010-11	KANIKA CHANDNA	Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi
21	First	Craftsmanship Certificate Course in Food Production 2010-11	MOUSUMI PAUL	Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata
22	First	Craftsmanship Certificate Course in Food & Beverage 2010-11Service	SAMBIT K. TRIPATHY	Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar
23	First	Craftsmanship Certificate Course in Food & Beverage Service 2010-11	RAJU RUPSINGH CHAVAN	Institute of Hotel Management, Goa

In the Teachers category 10 awards were given. The Teachers were selected for the award on the basis of pre-determined objective evaluation parameters. The list of awardees is as follows:-

   

A.P.S. Jolly, Lecturer	IHM, Srinagar
R.K. Gupta, Sr. Lecturer	IHM, Pusa, Delhi
Nimisha Seth, Lecturer	IHM, Pusa, Delhi
Anita Sharma, Sr. Lecturer	IHM, Pusa, Delhi
A.K. Goyal, Lecturer	IHM, Pusa, Delhi
Ms.Balabynta Kharshing, Sr. Lecturer	IHM, Shillong
Tarun K. Bansal, Lecturer	IHM, Lucknow
Rajesh K. Singh, Lecturer	IHM, Lucknow
Ms. Ishrat Ara, Lecturer	IHM, Srinagar
Meenakshi Sumbly, Lecturer	IHM, Pusa, Delhi

Awards to the Institutes were given under the following categories:-

The Minister of State for Tourism Shri Sultan Ahmed, Senior officials of the Tourism Minister and eminent personalities of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry were also present during the ceremony.

	CATEGORY	BEST	SPECIAL AWARD
1	IHM - All Round Performance	IHM, Pusa, Delhi	IHM, Hyderabad
2	IHM - All Round Performance in North-East & J&K	IHM, Srinagar	-
3	FCI - All Round Performance	FCI, Balangir	-
4	Academic Performance	IHM, Pusa, Delhi	IHM, Chennai
5	Placement Performance	DIHM, Lajpat Nagar	IHM, Hyderabad
6	Operational Performance	IHM, Hyderabad	IHM, Shillong
7	Administrative Performance	IHM, Mumbai	CIHM, Chandigarh
8	Performance in Capacity Building of Service Providers	IHM, Srinagar	IHM, Hyderabad

Courtesy : PIB, Govt of India

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