26/11: India expects Pak to act fast Mar 18, 2009
In yet another strange, if not downright silly, question, Pakistan also asked India about what it described as links between diamond merchants in Surat and Hindus in Pakistan. According to Pakistan, the Malegaon blasts may have been sponsored by some of these diamond merchants. (India Times, India)
Poll fever masks India's gloom Mar 18, 2009
The diamond trade in the Surat district of Gujarat, western India, is a classic case study. Export orders from their largest clients, the US, have fallen to an all-time low. (Asia Times Online)
Sketching the face of terror Mar 15, 2009
Adds Surat artist and software-developer Tamal Roy, "We have such few good police artists that it's easier and probably simpler to develop moderate resemblances using software.". Text. (India Times, India)
Jobs: ‘There is no survival' Mar 10, 2009
In Surat, the heart of India's gems and jewellery industry, where 70 per cent of the world's diamond-polishing takes place, at least 200,000 people have lost jobs since October ... Already, school enrolment in Surat is said to be down by nearly half. (Globe and Mail)
Surat woes: Diamond jobs not forever Mar 9, 2009
SURAT: For Jaysukhbhai Patel, a job cutting diamonds in the western Indian city of Surat was the ticket to a better life for him and his family of four ... The woes of Surat reflect a wider downturn for India's export sector, which accounts for a fifth of Asia's third largest economy ... Surat is the heart of the industry, built on the skills of its craftsmen, its cheap migrant labour and its legendary entrepreneurial spirit. (India Times)
Diamond sector may sparkle again Mar 7, 2009
According to Surat Diamond Association president CP Vanani, If banks will lend money against polished diamonds, it will solve the liquidity problem of the industry, he said ... The recommendation to set up an education fund will help the workers to pay the school fees of children, said Babubhai Jirawala, president of Surat diamond workers association. (India Times)
Training for gems a priority: Mehul Choksi of Gitanjali Gems Mar 1, 2009
Says Choksi, with proper training we can also move out of the small five or six clusters such as Surat to areas throughout the country. This will enable us to grow bigger and not just restrict ourselves to five to seven per cent of the world trade. (India Times)
Torrent India No. 1 among private power distributors Feb 28, 2009
TPL, which has a generation capacity of 1600 MW, presently distributes power in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat and Bhiwandi. Apart from entering UP, it will also start distributing power in Dahej, Gujarat. (India Times, India -- Intl Business)
IM man confession puts ATS in a spot Feb 28, 2009
The crime branch, while investigating the cars stolen from Navi Mumbai which were used in the 2008 blasts in Ahmedabad and planting of bombs in Surat, arrested Sadiq and 20 others last September. DGP A N Roy had then said that Sadiqs claims were part of an al-Qaida ploy to mislead investigators. (India Times, India)
File: Govt unveils policy to push exports; $200bn target set Feb 27, 2009
While Srinagar will have a new office of the DGFT, Bhilwara in Rajasthan and Surat in Gujarat have been recognized as towns of Export Excellence for textiles and diamonds respectively. The government has also allowed export of blood samples without license after obtaining no objection certificate from the Director General of Health Services (DGHS). (India Times, India)
Confessions! Feb 22, 2009
"I knew all along my marriage would be a traditionally arranged affair. Ours being a typically Gujarati family, marriages were more of business deals and I knew my life too would follow the same path. I remember receiving a call from my mother while I was a graduate student in London informing me that my wedding had been fixed to a family friend's daughter from Surat. Initially I protested saying that we should at least meet once, but my mother scoffed at my request saying, 'What will you know... (India Times, India)
Chargesheet against IM terrorists today Feb 17, 2009
MUMBAI: Mumbai Police will on Tuesday file chargesheet against 21 alleged members of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) for hatching the conspiracy to set off blasts in various cities including Delhi, Bangalore and Surat ... The terror group is alleged to have carried out blasts across the country since 2006 including the 2008 serial blasts in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Surat. (India Times, India)
Kareenas dedication made her 'size zero': Rujuta Diwekar Feb 17, 2009
My sister, Ankita, too kicked a high paying job post IIM to start a school in Surat. Today Fountain Head is the first IB school in Surat. (Zee News)
Hepatitis D claims 12 lives in Modassa Feb 16, 2009
PALANPUR: Health department officials have swung into action in Modassa town, where 12 persons have died and 35 fallen ill due to the deadly hepatitis D virus since a week. Officials raided premises of 10 private medical practitioners and initiated a process of filing an FIR against one doctor, who was not using disposable syringes and not even sterilising them. (Times of India)
Manmohan is PM candidate: Rahul Feb 15, 2009
Surat: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the prime ministerial candidate of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday. "I have answered this question so many times in the past. Manmohan Singh is the prime minister (candidate) from the Congress and the UPA," Gandhi told reporters in reply to a query. (Sify.com, India)
Modi govt only for the rich: Rahul Feb 15, 2009
SURAT: On Valentine's Day, he glittered brighter than the diamonds Surat is known for. And, though he proclaimed he doesn't believe in V-Day celebrations, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi won many hearts during his visit to Surat, mingling with polishers who lost their jobs in the slump. (India Times, India -- Community News)
RBI sets up task force for diamond industry Feb 13, 2009
Thousands of small diamond cutting and polishing units are located in and around Surat. One lakh jobs lost. (Hindu Business Line)
Rahul Gandhi to visit Surat, Valsad on Feb 14 Feb 11, 2009
SURAT: Congress leader and All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi will visit Surat and Daman during a day-long trip to south Gujarat on February 14. Gandhi's first stop will be at Varachha, where he would meet diamond workers and later visit families of those who committed suicide due to financial hardship, sources in Congress city unit said. (Times of India)
Local Weather Feb 8, 2009
Melbourne, FL 32935 Last Updated: 02/08/09 07:15:32 EDT. C) Relative Humidity: 89% Barometer: 30. (Florida Today)
Netherlands supports Indias stand on WTO Feb 7, 2009
Mr. Heemskerk will visit Delhi, Pune and Mumbai during his visit and some members of the delegation would to go Bhavnagar, Surat and Bangalore. Printer friendly Send this article to Friends by. (Hindu)
When Stars Moonlight Mar 30, 2008
A leading show organiser says that Lara Dutta and Arjun Rampal were paid over Rs 20 lakh by a prominent Mumbai businessman to party with heiress Paris Hilton; Amisha Patel is said to make at least Rs 15-20 lakh from every appearance, doesn't matter if it is in Surat or San Francisco; Malaika Arora Khan is red hot in the concert circuit in Dubai and Australia; and Dia Mirza and Aarti Chhabria are booked for a slew of stage shows, averaging between Rs 7-10 lakh per show. It is impossible to... (India Times, India)
RBI lets 2 Singapore banks open account in India Mar 26, 2008
DBS received the approval to open eight new branches - Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Moradabad, Nasik, Pune, Salem and Surat. With this, DBS has 10 branches in the country. (Economic Times)
SBI gets nod to open 25 branches in Singapore Mar 26, 2008
The branches will be opened in Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Moradabad, Nasik, Pune, Salem and Surat, it said. Get personalised news stories on mobile. (India Times, India -- Intl Business)
Indian wine drinkers turn to Australia Mar 24, 2008
Indage said, however, that wine had a long history in India, and early European visitors to the courts of the Mughal emperors in the 16th and 17th centuries had tasted wines from Hyderabad, Surat and Maharashtra. Under 19th century British influence, vineyards were established in Kashmir and Baramati in Maharahstra. (NEWS.com.au)
HIV prevalence rate among MSM in city a big worry Mar 21, 2008
According to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)s HIV sentinel surveillance and HIV estimation- 2006 urban areas like Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Kolkata have recorded a very high HIV prevalence among MSM.. Dr R R Gangakhedkar from National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) too pointed out that there was a high percentage of gays among married men. (Expressindia.com)
Exam system drives kids to suicide Mar 17, 2008
A Class XII student from Surat hanged herself from the fan and yet another threw herself before a moving train in Allahabad. And a Class X student killed herself in Avulavaripalem village in Andhra Pradesh days before the board exam, after her principal made her stand outside the classroom for three hours for not paying the school fee. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Readers' mandate: Sack Gill, Save Hockey Mar 16, 2008
R K Rao in Dubai, J P Sharma from New Delhi, P K Kulkarni (Ahmedabad), Nikhil from Boston, Rocky from the US, Arvind in Mumbai and Jitendra Desai (Surat) agreed. Sports enthusiast Bashishth Narayan Verma from Delhi recalled the glorious days when India were the indisputable world champions. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Uproar in Lok Sabha over attack on North Indians Mar 3, 2008
BJP member Harin Pathak wanted Prasad to make a statement on the accident in which 18 people were run over by a train in Udhana area near Surat on the night of February 27-28. As Pathak was supported by his party colleagues in raising the matter, JD(U) and RJD members vociferously demanded that the government should come out with a statement on the attacks on non-Maharashtrians in Mumbai. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Indian train hits crowd on tracks Feb 29, 2008
The victims were hit by the train as they walked in the dark on the tracks near Surat in Gujarat state. Their bodies were spotted by the driver of another train, police said. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Train crushes 16, including 2 children, in western India Feb 28, 2008
The accident took place late Wednesday night near the city of Surat in Gujarat state, railway police officer H.M. Patel told The Associated Press. The bodies of the victims, who had disembarked at Surat and were walking along the rail tracks, were spotted by the driver of another train, Patel added. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
India hotspot for new infectious diseases: Report Feb 23, 2008
Other zooneses in India include incidences of Japanese encephalitis in UP, the Surat plague, leptospirosis and more common infections such as rabies and anthrax. Worldwide, the study found that disease emergences have roughly quadrupled over the past 50 years. (Times of India)
Scientists: India risks new epidemics Feb 22, 2008
Other zoonoses in India include incidences of Japanese encephalitis in UP, the Surat plague, leptospirosis and more common infections such as rabies and anthrax. Of special concern are zoonoses such as bird flu, incidences of which have risen worldwide. (Xinhuanet, China)
A hoax call to catch missed train Feb 16, 2008
MUMBAI: He missed his train to Surat at Bandra terminus and then decided to make a hoax call to cause a delay so he could board it ... The police then arrested him on the spot before the train proceeded on its journey to Surat ... Prajapati told the police he was on his way to Surat to attend a family function. (India Times, India)
Asias tigers eye nuclear future Feb 15, 2008
Possible coastal sites are still being identified in the southern provinces of Ranong, Chumpon and Surat Thani. The country was visited in September 2007 by IAEA officials to advise a preparatory committee on the feasibility of nuclear power. (Asia Times Online)
India's flawed diamond dream Feb 5, 2008
Then they outsourced the cutting and polishing business to India - the cost of labor was 80% lower back home; the finishing work went to family-owned businesses in Mumbai and the Gujarat port city of Surat ... Surat meanwhile emerged as the center of the diamond cutting and polishing business, to the point that 92% of the worlds diamonds are now cut and polished there and the 800,000 workers involved earned India $11 billion in exports last year ... The impact on orders has been felt in the... (Asia Times Online)
Man helps widow, dies of severe burns Jan 17, 2008
SURAT: Keshav Prasad Vishwakarma, 35, paid with his life on Wednesday for trying to stop his drunk neighbours from teasing a widow. He was declared dead at the New Civil Hospital on Wednesday due to severe burns on his body. (Times of India)
Bigadda eyes 10 million users by 2010; to foray into mobile space Jan 10, 2008
The Bigadda user base in Indias top 20 cities account for 50 per cent of users, while 40 per cent of the users come from Tier II towns like Tuticorin, Bhilai, Amritsar, Guwahati, Surat, Nasik, etc. The site gets nearly 10 per cent of its users from countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan as well as from Indians in Dubai, the US and the UK.. (exchange4media.com)
Surat AIDS workers go gay-hunting Jan 7, 2008
SURAT: Guess what hundreds of social workers in the field of HIV, AIDS awareness in the city are working on these days ... While most of the non-government organisations have wrapped up their on-going projects citing funds crunch, those who have been permitted to continue their projects are now looking for gays since the trend of injecting drug is not prevalent in Surat ... Earlier, Surat Municipal Corporation's, STD Care had already cited serious repercussions of avoiding migrants in NACP-III... (India Times, India)
Modi loyalists get key jobs Jan 5, 2008
Narottam Patel, who as irrigation minister had messed up Surat floods in 2006, has been handed panchayats, rural housing, food and civil supplies and consumer affairs. A surprising choice was of Ramanlal Vora, who inherits the coveted education portfolio from Anandiben. (Times of India)
Hour-by-hour forecast Jan 3, 2008
Melbourne, FL 32935 Last Updated: 01/03/08 07:15:48 EDT. C) Relative Humidity: 55% Visability: 10 miles (16 km). (Florida Today)
Suspension of train service to Pak hits tourists hard Dec 31, 2007
Abdulgani Abdul Rashid Munshi and nine members of his family including women and children from Hyderabad, Pakistan, were on a short visit to Bharuch, Surat and other places for meeting their family members and relatives staying there. Before expiry of their visa on December 28 last, Munshi family reached Jodhpur in Rajasthan for catching the Khokhrapar-Munabab train to go back to Pakistan. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Raina: Gujarat Elections Dec 27, 2007
What working class culture Gujarat has had around the Ahmedabad mills and Surat conglomerates were over time to suffer two decimating onslaughts: one from the steady work over long years by organizations such as the VHP seeking to transform the class orientation of mill workers into a communal consciousness, with the aim of pitching worker against worker rather than workers against employers; and, two, since 1990, from the market-driven privatization thrust of neo-liberal economic reforms ...... (Zmag.org)
Will Rajnath re-induct Modi in top panel? Dec 27, 2007
It has won handsomely in Surat, the constituency of Kanshiram Rana who had been predicting winds of change in Gujarat. Saurashtra, where Keshubhai was supposed to have some clout, also voted BJP.. (India Times, India -- Community News)
HIV infections rising in low-prevalence areas Dec 24, 2007
A local member of the Gujarat chapter of patient group, the Indian Network of Positive People (INPP), claims as many as 70 new HIV-infected cases emerge every month in Surat, a migration hub due to its textile and diamond polishing industries, alone ... Ganjam and Koraput districts in Orissa; Ganganagar, Jhalawar, Jodhpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan; and Kolkata, Malda, North and South Parganas in West Bengal, besides Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, have been identified by local affiliates of INPP... (Livemint)
Readerspeak: Modi is the King of Gujarat Dec 24, 2007
The prosperity that has come to Gujarat in his tenure is seen everywhere, not just in cities like Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar but also in villages. 99% world class metalled roads, 24 hour electricity in each and every home in Gujarat, the Narmada project, by which the problem of drinking water was solved in most remote places. (India Times, India)
Celebration mood grips BJP, workers distribute sweets Dec 23, 2007
Party activists were taking out rallies in Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara to ex 00004000 press their happiness over the excellent performance of BJP in the assembly elections. Meanwhile, as the counting progressed, Modi sent SMSes claiming he was the "CM and will be CM forever". (India Times, India -- Community News)
Gujarat investor hungry for more IPOs Dec 20, 2007
Shah says that apart from Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, smaller cities and towns like Bharuch, Anand, Kheda, Umreth, Kadi, Kalol and Bhuj, are witnessing a surge in number of IPO applications. Atul Choksi of Kunvarji Finstock says, "With quality IPOs making a debut on bourses with a substantial premium to their issue price, there is no wonder that Gujarat investor are lapping it up.". (India Times, India -- Intl Business)
Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar: Re Dec 19, 2007
I did not visit the diamond-cutting areas around Surat. But my Economic Times colleagues went there, and found no unemployment arising out of a strong rupee. (India Times)
Howls of protest at UKs new visa rules Dec 19, 2007
I would like my relatives to come from Surat for the marriage but I cant afford to shell out so much money for the bonds, she said. The proposals are aimed, claims the government at those who deliberately overstay or work illegally in the UK. Liam Byrne, Immigration Minister defended the proposals arguing that they were nothing sinister and they were simply updating the visa system which is 35 years out of date. (Daily News & Analysis)
Readerspeak: Sania Mirza should come forward and apologize Dec 13, 2007
Nitin Kinger, Surat, says: People always act strangely where celebrities are concerned with the matter they should grow up now. However it was a responsibility of the director not celeb who is doing the ad. (India Times, India)
India's Voters Torn Over Politician Dec 12, 2007
"He wants power and for that he will do anything," says Dhirubhai Gajera, one of the BJP rebels, who spent a recent Saturday afternoon campaigning for his seat in Surat, a city of some 4 million people ... That's rubbish, says Atul Shah, a BJP member from the neighboring state of Maharashtra, who was in Surat to support his Gujarat colleagues in the days before the first round of voting on Tuesday Dec. 11 ... "Gujarat is a model state and Modi has proved himself 10 out of 10." Pravin Naik, head... (Time.com)
41 per cent of Internet users are from ''smaller'' townsnews Dec 12, 2007
The cities covered by the survey included Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Patna, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Surat, Nagpur, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Durg, Vishakhapatnam, Trichy, Bellary, Panipat, Trisshur and Jalgaon covering 65,000 households. Town Class Definitions:Top 8 Metros: The top 8 cities in India in terms of population. (domain-B)
Complete weather forecast Dec 7, 2007
Jackson, MS 39201 Last Updated: 12/07/07 07:45:24 EDT. C) Relative Humidity: 74% Barometer: 30. (The Clarion-Ledger)
EC likely to look into Modi's remark on Sohrabuddin Dec 6, 2007
Commission is understood to have received the report from the Surat Collector late on Wednesday night and might consider it, sources said. Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy said yesterday in Surat that the poll panel would take a decision on the speech of the Chief Minister after it received the report from the Surat Collector. (India Times, India -- Community News)
Market smells blood money on Street Dec 6, 2007
According to media reports, some months ago, raw diamonds from the strife-stricken Angola are smuggled into Surat by African mercenaries for money. Over 25% of Surats total diamond business, around Rs 14,000 crore, may well be blood diamonds, the report said. (India Times)
Gujarat counsel in Sohrab case quits Dec 6, 2007
"The case is in the Supreme Court and one should not attempt to take political advantage of a matter that is sub judice," said Sunil Bhukanwala, Surat Congress president. Social activist Teesta Setalvad, too, jumped into the ring shooting off a letter to EC complaining that the Gujarat CM was "inciting communal passions before the elections". (India Times, India)
Child labour may hit exports Dec 4, 2007
The EPCs have been asked to prepare a perspective plan for abolition of child labour in specific areas of geographical concentration like Varanasi, Bhadohi and Mirzapur for carpets, Jalandhar for sports items and Surat and Bhavnagar for gems and jewellery. Special focus would be on issues arising out of employment of children, specially belonging to migrant communities and those subjected to trafficking, suggests the plan. (India Times, India)
Gold rush to India's Gujarat Nov 27, 2007
In 1992, the city of Surat - the center of India's diamond cutting and polishing industry - was hit by a plague epidemic. Then in January 2001, an earthquake measuring 7. (Asia Times Online)
NRI seats fees not used for subsidy Nov 26, 2007
AHMEDABAD: Since its inception, neither medical nor physiotherapy educational institutions run by Ahmedabad and Surat Municipal Corporations, have offered scholarships to destitute students, from the NRI quota seats' income generation ... Similarly, in case of the Surat Municipal Corporation medical college though seats were increased from eight NRI in 2005-06 to 15 the following year, none of the Rs 1. (India Times, India)
GLOBAL: Randolph Kent on urbanisation and "humanitarian futures" Nov 22, 2007
Recent highway networks leading to India's textile city of Surat have not reduced the slums, but they have provided opportunities where temporary urban workers can relieve urban pressures by returning to their village homes. In the Philippines, considerable efforts have been made to encourage manufacturing and service industries to locate outside Manila. (AlertNet)
Readerspeak: English is a necessary evil Nov 19, 2007
Letters to the Editor. Kannan Sivaraman, Muscat, says: I can't agree with the writer. (India Times, India)
Gartner Predicts Rough Road for IPTV Nov 18, 2007
Without a mass-market Broadband usage in place, the IPTV subscriber base will struggle to exceed 1 million in the next four years (Techtree.com)
India's 'blood' diamondtrade under fire Nov 14, 2007
According to reports, blood diamonds are being smuggled into the city of Surat, where they are cut and polished, then sold to respectable firms which go on to easing these illegal stones into the legitimate diamond supply chain. Surat is the center of the world's diamond cutting and polishing industry ... According to media reports, a sizeable number of rough diamonds entering Surat for cutting and polishing might in fact be blood diamonds. (Asia Times Online)
New spam hits IT, ITeS firms Nov 12, 2007
In fact, 4% PCs in Bhopal are bot-infected, while Surat, Noida and Pune have 1% of bot-infected computers. Mumbai with 33% and Delhi with 25% lead this category. (India Times, India -- Intl Business)
Bots in hunt for newer prey Nov 3, 2007
The latest Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) by Symantec states that besides the metros, cities like Bhopal, Surat, Hyderabad, Pune and Noida also figure in the top 10 bot-infected cities list ... Mumbai at 33 per cent incidence tops the bot-infected city list, followed by New Delhi at 25 per cent, Chennai with 17 per cent and Bangalore at 13 per cent. Tier-II locations are now also a target of bot-networks with Bhopal at 4 per cent, and Hyderabad, Surat, Pune and Noida at 1 per cent each.... (Business Standard)
