IITF 2011 : Partner State

Jharkhand - the land of limitless opportunities

Jharkhand emerged on the Indian map on November 15, 2000 as the 28th state of Indian Republic. Spread over an area worth 74,677 square km, major chunk of the land area in the newly created state comes under rural zone. That is to say, Jharkhand resides in villages with about 77.8 per cent of the state population living in rural areas.

Located in the eastern part of the country with its borders touching those of Bihar on the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh on the west, Orissa on the south and Bengal on the east, Jharkhand as its names spells is the land of forests nestled by the nature, whose very sons of soil i.e. tribals form 26.3 per cent of the total state population that is around 32 million (Census 2011).

Rich cultural heritage of the state gives Jharkhand a unique space. Even as Hindi is the state language, Jharkhand has a distinct linguistic bouquet, from which come the notes of music, when people open their mouths to communicate. The bouquet is richer with the languages belonging to three major language families – the Munda comprising Santhali, Mundari, Ho, Kharia, Bhumij and Kurmali, the Dravidian consisting of Oraon (Kurukh), Korwa, and Paharia (Malto) and the Indo-Aryan including Maithili, Magahi, Nagpuri, Sadri, Khortha, Hindi, Bengali and Oriya.

Ranchi that has earned the sobriquet of being Shimla of eastern Indian came to be the state capital of Jharkhand post its inception in 2000. Nonetheless Ranchi that is also the industrial hill city was the summer capital of the united Bihar.

The state that has been at the back of raising industries across the country has some major industrial corridors in the cities and towns including Chaibasa, Ramgarh, Patratu, Giridih, Koderma and Hazaribagh.

It bears a recall that the Tata Steel (earlier Tata Iron & Steel Company) saw the light of the day as the first steel plant of India about 100 years back. There hasn’t been any looking back. Steel majors such as Electro Steel, Jindal Steel & Power, Arcellor Mittal, Bhushan Steel & Power, Essar Steel and others have lined up their ventures. They are in the process of installing their plants.

It should be noted that the state of Jharkhand contributes about 40 per cent of the total mineral resources of the country. Another ray of hope after mineral resources is our forests resources. Endowed with dry/wet deciduous forest, the state has the distinction of having over 29 per cent forest and woodlands cover – one of the highest in India.

Even though the state has a diversity of forests, ‘sal’ is the major tree species. The forests play vital role in the rural economy. In fact, the state’s economy and population revolve round the rural economy. Lac and tasar (silk) are produced in a major way in Jharkhand. Basking in the bounties of this sector, the state exports Organic Tasar Silk to different foreign countries including Turkey and Germany. Organic Silk Certification has been obtained from One Cert Asia – an International Organisation.

What is more, the state of Jharkhand ranks first in the production of coal, mica, kynite and copper in the country. Thanks to the centres of excellence like National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), MECON, Ranchi, CMPDI, CMRI, Xavier Labour Relation Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, Indian Institute of Coal management (IICM), Ranchi, Indian Institute of Management (ISM), Dhanbad, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi, Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi, the state of Jharkhand finds itself at par with those states that draw the flow of students from other parts of the country.

As the state adds on the centres of excellence to hone the human resources, it also has the distinction of having seen the growth of industries like Bokaro Steel Plant, Heavy Engineering Corporation, DVC, Central Coalfields Ltd., UCIL, Tata Timken, Tata Cummins and others on its rich soil. Needless to say that Jharkhand has been the favoured destination for investment for corporate/companies. At present, the proposed investment in steel, power and cement sectors through 54 MOUs has mounted to the tune of around Rs. 2,71,456 crores.

A sturdy infrastructure particularly the wide network of roads to facilitate hassle free, quick, safe, secure and efficient movement of people, raw materials and finished goods is but a necessity. And the state of Jharkhand has ambitious plans to augment and lengthen its existing network of 1844.07 kms of National Highways and 6889 kms of State Highways and other roads along with bridges, flyovers, by passes. New road links and other related infrastructure are also on the anvil.

The State’s extensive and well developed railway system already provides vital links to important locations across the country. Moreover, the state proposes to work hand-in-hand with Indian railway authorities in its bid to establish newer, faster railway links that connect Jharkhand better. Other plans in the pipeline include Inland Container Depot of Tatanagar to facilitate export, high speed freight transportation and passenger train services as well as augmented services at goods stations.

Post the birth of Jharkhand, the Ranchi Airport has emerged as a major air corridor on the Indian air map. The airport is well connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Patna with several flights in a day. The State has already initiated a plan to upgrade the Airport to international status, start air taxi/air cargo services between major towns/cities/industrial centers in the state. An Air-Cargo Complex at Ranchi to support Export-Oriented-Industrial growth is all set to come up at the earliest.

Communication is vital to growth and development. Jharkhand is behind no state when it comes to fast and hassle-free communication. Today all districts in Jharkhand are connected to the main network by reliable media, STD and ISD facilities. Six Internet nodes are already operational in the state. Local dialing access to internet is available in all district headquarters. Ranchi has already been upgraded to ‘A’ category Internet mode. Connectivity to all district headquarters with capital city through Optical Fiber cable media also finds entry on the communication menu.

When it comes to sports, the state of Jharkhand lags behind no other with hockey, football and cricket being popular games with the people of Jharkhand. The state is proud of its galaxy of brilliant players. Jaipal Singh, a former Indian hockey captain will continue to inspire the budding hockey players. In cricket, Indian Cricket Team continues to dominate the international cricket itinerary under the stewardship of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Jharkhand lad.

Back to nature, Jharkhand takes you to a fantasy land; where nature is a benevolent queen; where the woods are lovely dark, green and deep; where the sky is an azure blue; where the hill streams bubble like a young Adivasi’s laughter; a place where you can hear the sounds of silence and actually taste the elegance of nature.

Yes, Jharkhand is your short-cut to a dream land - a place of ecstasy, unspoiled by man or time. Just being there is good for the body and soul. Be it tribal tourism, mines tourism, rural tourism, eco tourism or adventure tourism, the state has a beaming avenue of tourism.

Deoghar - the district that stands for abode of gods - has an ancient temple of Baba Baidyanath - one of the most famous religious places in the country. Another religious stop is Parasnath, where one can visit to one of the oldest Jain Temple. Yet another religious spot is Rajrappa, where small temple of Chhinamastika draws flow of people from across the country. The old temple with its unique architectural design is known for its Tantrik importance.

Under the young and energetic leadership of Arjun Munda, the chief minister, Jharkhand is taking longer strides. Jharkhand – the land of limitless opportunities – has already paved way for the best investment destination and looks forward to giving development a new meaning and a bigger dimension.

West Bengal

West Bengal a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth most populous.[3] It is also the seventh most populous sub-national entity in the world.[3] West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP.[4] It is bordered by the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh and the states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam and has an area of 34,267 sq mi (88,752 sq km); the capital is Kolkata (Calcutta).

The culture of West Bengal is an Indian Culture which has its roots in the Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. People of West Bengal share their cultural heritage with the neighbouring Bangladesh (erstwhile known as East Bengal). West Bengal has a long tradition of popular literature, music and drama largely based on Bengali folklore and Hindu epics and Puranas. This culture evolved during the last millennium. During the 19th century, Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta), the modern capital of West Bengal, was the centre place of the cultural rejuvenation movement known as the Bengal Renaissance as well as the Hindu reform movements. In the early 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore, the first Nobel laureate from Bengal became the most important figure of Bengali culture. At the same time, cinema became one of the integral part of this culture.

Rice and fish are traditional favourite foods, leading to a saying in Bengali, machhe bhate bangali, that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali".[107] Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes hilsa preparations, a favorite among Bengalis. There are numerous ways of cooking fish depending on the texture, size, fat content and the bones. Sweets occupy an important place in the diet of Bengalis and at their social ceremonies. It is an ancient custom among both Hindu and Muslim Bengalis to distribute sweets during festivities. The confectionery industry has flourished because of its close association with social and religious ceremonies. Competition and changing tastes have helped to create many new sweets. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including Rôshogolla, Chômchôm, Kalojam and several kinds of sondesh.