Wednesday, 6 June 2012


6 June 2012

Hong Kong Spotlight
Prime Location
The golden rule of real estate investment – location – is on the minds of astute vendors, who are choosing Hong Kong as the global launchpad of major overseas property developments.
Six Questions
Selling Football Fever
The world soccer federation, FIFA, was in Hong Kong recently to tap the city's licensing and retail expertise in marketing global sporting events. The Head of FIFA's Branding and Strategy, Ralph Straus, spelled out the type of partners FIFA seeks.


In Focus
French Chic
Hong Kong is attracting a slew of lifestyle brands from France, as companies respond to strong demand for French fashion in Asia particularly, China.
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Trader's Choice
Creative Learning
Helping children to succeed is the goal of a primary school set up in Hong Kong by American psychologist Jadis Blurton. The Harbour School offers an individualised and comprehensive education to serve students with unique needs.
 
Video
Emerging Ideas
Buyers from key emerging markets offered practical advice about reaching some of the world's fastest-growing economies at seminars held during the HKTDC Houseware Fair in April.
Calendar
18-24 July 
HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair 2012

20-22 July
Better Living Expo 2012

20-26 Sept 
Hong Kong Business Mission to Istanbul (Turkey), Warsaw and L'odz (Poland)

25-28 Sept 
Hong Kong Silver Market Related Business Mission to Tokyo

13 Sept
Legal Services Forum, Guangzhou

2-6 Oct
CEATEC Japan, Tokyo, Japan

20-25 Sept
Style Hong Kong Pavilion at Western China International Fair, Chengdu

30 Oct-1 Nov
AAPEX, Las Vegas

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HKTDC Showcase
HKTDC Food Expo
Tuck into the latest food trends by attending Hong Kong's signature event for the industry. It's happening in August.


News


  Chinese Mainland

Food and Drug Safety to Become Performance Indicators of Local Governments
China will attach importance to the tightening of quality safety oversight of key products...

Hong Kong

International Freight Forwarders Conference 2012 to be Held in Hong Kong
THE FNC Group's 8th International Freight Forwarders conference will be held in Hong Kong, 15-17 June...

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Saturday, 2 June 2012


Gandhinagar, 2nd June, 2012: Today, the Automobile national leader Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) signed a State Support Agreement (SSA) with the Govt of Gujarat for setting up their first Auto Vehicle manufacturing facility in Gujarat adding a new feather in the automobile industrial growth in Gujarat, in the presence Hon. Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
          MSIL will set up two units in two phases in the backward Taluka of Mandal-Becharaji Amadavad dristric in Gujarat.  The 1st unit (1st phase)  will be near the historical town of Becharaji and 2nd unit (2nd phase)  will come up at a location of around 25 Kms from Becharaji.
              Gujarat Chief Minister, while Welcoming Maruti Suzuki to Gujarat Said that Gujarat has emerged as a prominent Global hub in Automobile Sector. The Journey started with TATA Neno, Ford, Peugeout, and how Maruti has entered in Gujarat  which will strenghten the brand Gujarat as a Globly preferred  business location. Maruti’s Auto plant will serve for other Golbal market also.
              Manufacturing and  engineering sector in Gujarat contributes over 27% to state GSDP and contributes overall 9 % to the national engineering out put, Shri Narendra Modi Said and added that there were more than 30 engineering clusters and there are more clusters are emerging like. Sanand- Viramgam, Mandal-Becharaji, Halol-savli, Anjar, santhalpur will make Gujarat a Global Hab in engineering sector as a whole.
              Gujarat has focused on skill development of youth man power the capacity has gone up with 54 engineering, 106 Diploma Colleges over 82000 seats & 253 ITI Gujarat has formed prestigious PPP model of skill formation training with industries.
              Shri Narendra Modi Said that with in a year Gujarat is succeeded to emerge as an attractive Auto hub for world known auto Manufacchuring companies.
              Shri SHINZO NAKANISHI, M.D. (MSIL) thanked the whole hearted support of Government Of Gujarat and said that Gujarat and India are rapidly emerged as  best markets for Automobile. He said that the two combined plants of Gujarat & Hariyana will manufacture two million vehicles in a year. He also praisd the very high Qaulity of skill manpower & port facilities in Gujarat.
          The 1st phase of the plant is expected to be commissioned with a total anticipated investment of about Rs. 4000 crore. The 1st phase in its full capacity will roll out 7,50,000 vehicles per year. 
There will be more than 2000 direct employment in each phase and more than 10000 indirect employment in each phase.  With MSIL’s entry, the surrounding area will develop as a Manufacturing Zone.  The export capability of Gujarat will also be enhanced.
MSIL and Govt of Gujarat will work together to set up a State of the Art Automobile Research Institute to take the automobile industry in Gujarat to a much higher level.
With the industry of Maruti in Mandal region, there will be holistic development of the industry manifold with automotive and engineering industry in the backward area.

Friday, 1 June 2012

Delhi’s Homeless Still Await Adequate Living Conditions



Justice Delayed, Justice Denied:
Delhi’s Homeless Still Await Adequate Living Conditions

29 May 2012, New Delhi:  In a press conference organised by Shahri Adhikar Manch: Begharon Ke Saath (SAM:BKS) in the capital today, human rights activists and homeless citizens raised several issues of concern related to homelessness in Delhi.

Indu Prakash Singh, SAM:BKS member and technical advisor at Indo-Global Social Service Society, provided an overview of the situation of homelessness, including recent positive developments such as the President of India’s announcement of a National Programme for Urban Homelessness, the National Advisory Council’s recommendations for the homeless, and progressive orders from the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India. In spite of these developments, the Delhi government has failed to respond to the needs of the city’s over 150,000 homeless people. He said, “Despite announcing plans to improve living conditions in shelters, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has not taken appropriate action to date. This delayed response amounts to a gross violation of a bundle of human rights of the homeless whom we call CityMakers, as the city is built on their sweat, labour and subsidised services.” He mentioned the, “preposterous plan of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to amend Master Plan Delhi-2021 to reduce the number of homeless shelters from one per one lakh population to one per five lakh population. This would reduce the requirement of 160 permanent shelters in Delhi to 32 shelters and is in direct violation of court orders.”

Ashok Pandey from Beghar Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti, also a SAM:BKS member, described the grossly inadequate living conditions in the temporary shelters. Constructed for the winter, these tin shelters, which were like cold storage boxes have become virtual ovens in the summer and are largely uninhabitable. “There is still no drinking water, toilets or fans in any of the tent and tin shelters. Without electricity, how can any fans or lights be installed? The heat is unbearable, people cannot sleep at night. Our shelter in Kudusiya Ghat is infested with an army of mosquitoes. You can’t stand for a minute without being bitten. This is an acute health hazard for the homeless, especially for children who are most vulnerable,” he said. Ishwar Chand, another SAM:BKS member, added, “The absence of water and sanitation facilities poses acute problems for homeless women and children and threatens their security. Mobile health vans, despite High Court orders, do not visit most of the shelters.”

Abdul Shakeel, member of SAM:BKS and Haq, drew attention to the struggle of homeless citizens in Delhi for ration cards and adequate grain entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS), which they are consistently denied. Establishing their identity is a critical issue for the homeless. He stated that, “The failure of the state to provide the homeless with voter identity cards violates their right to political participation.” He highlighted the economic burden faced due to DUSIB’s consistent late payment to caretakers of shelters, many of whom are homeless citizens. He also spoke of recent forced evictions carried out by the Delhi government at Chilla Khadar and Baljeet Nagar, “which are resulting in more and more people becoming homeless in Delhi.”

Zubeida, a woman who was rendered homeless after being evicted from Viklang Basti before the Commonwealth Games, spoke about the acute problems that her family has had to face. “The government demolished our homes without any notice and did not provide us with any alternative housing or compensation. We are now forced to live on the streets without any shelter, basic services, privacy or security. We have no one to approach or no means to seek justice in this city. The city does not seem to care about the poor.”

SAM:BKS member and associate director of Housing and Land Rights Network, Shivani Chaudhry, stated that, “Both the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India have, in several interim orders, called for the construction of sufficient and adequate permanent shelters for the homeless. The High Court had asked the government for a long-term plan and called for permanent shelters to be set up by December 2010. A year and a half later, the government is still focusing on makeshift, dysfunctional temporary shelters, that too at a cost of Rs. 3,00,000 per shelter. We are extremely concerned about the attempts of the Delhi government to further marginalise the homeless by proposing plans to relocate them to the outskirts of the city in areas such as Kanjhawla and Narela. This would violate not just their right to housing but also their right to work/livelihood. The government’s repeated abrogation of its legal obligations to implement court orders and uphold the Constitution of India and international law, is disturbing.”  She further added that, “Providing shelters is just the first step in a continuum of housing rights; the ultimate goal of the government must be to provide low cost, adequate housing for the homeless.”

Amita Joseph, SAM:BKS member and director of Business and Community Foundation, regretted that despite the existence of a Joint Apex Advisory Committee (JAAC), a Mother NGO (MNGO) and positive orders from the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India, the condition of Delhi’s homeless has not improved significantly.  Shahri Adhikar Manch had submitted to the government a short-term plan (in February 2010) and a long-term plan (in September 2011), with human rights-based recommendations, but these do not seem to have been considered.

On behalf of SAM:BKS, Ms Joseph presented the following demands from the Government of Delhi:

-          Immediately improve temporary shelters to make them habitable, including providing electricity, fans, drinking water, toilets, healthcare, and mosquito repellants;
-          Establish an independent committee to monitor the functioning of all homeless shelters;
-          Conduct an audit into the expenditure of the government on temporary shelters, and provide information on the process of design selection and contractors, and details on exact spending;
-          Implement the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and High Court of Delhi, especially related to creating year-round, twenty-four hour permanent shelters (160 shelters as per the requirement of one shelter per one lakh population) and preparing a long-term plan for addressing homelessness in Delhi;
-          Make available vacant government buildings and unused premises for homeless shelters;
-          Withdraw the proposal of the DDA to amend the Master Plan Delhi-2021 to reduce the number of homeless shelters from one per one lakh population to one per five lakh population;
-          Conduct regular meetings of the Joint Apex Advisory Committee and implement its decisions; and,
-          Prevent forced evictions that violate the right to adequate housing and result in homelessness.

Speakers stressed their commitment to working constructively with all agencies in order to ensure that the human right to adequate housing of Delhi’s homeless is protected. Delhi has the opportunity to be a model for other cities across India with regard to providing services for the homeless and upholding their rights. It is, therefore, crucial for the government to adopt a positive rather than an adversarial approach and fulfill its national and international legal obligations.  



For more information, please contact:

Indu Prakash Singh (9911362925); Ashok Pandey (9716436605);
Bipin Rai (9999046469); Shivani Chaudhry (9818 205234)


Shahri Adhikar Manch: Begharon Ke Saath (SAM:BKS) is a Delhi-based collective of over 30 organizations and social movements, including homeless citizens. SAM:BKS works to promote and protect the rights of the homeless, as guaranteed by the Constitution of India and international human rights instruments, and to ultimately secure adequate housing for all homeless people. For more information, write to: shahriadhikarmanch@gmail.com.