Tuesday 27 December 2011

The Architectural Heritage of Uttar Pradesh



Sunrise on the Ganges Ghat


Our Culture-Our Tradition……

            The State of Uttar Pradesh has seen the advent and fall of various empires in the course of its history. From the advent of Mugals till the departure of British, U.P. has seen it all. Nearly all the rulers who have ruled Uttar Pradesh in the course of history have left their marks in terms of architecture. Mugals, Nawabs of Oudh, Talukedars and British:- all of them have contributed to the architectural heritage of Uttar Pradesh. Due to their individual and collective contributions, Uttar Pradesh today boasts off some of the most marvelous monuments in entire world.

            Although, the architectural inheritance is visible in all the cities of the State and it is not possible to cover all of them in this blog, we present the pearls of architectural ornaments, mainly situated in 4 cities- Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi and Kushinagar. Every stone tells its story ………

            Talking of monuments we must start from the queen among all; The  Taj Mahal. U.P. has one of the 7 wonders of the world, in its lap.



Taj Mahal - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.


The sublime aesthetics of buildings inside the Agra Fort that stands proudly even after 400 years from the date of its constructions.





The naqqashi works that has been done in the buildings like Dewan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khas are marvelous.





Fatehpur Sikri, situated 50 kilometers off Agra, has another cluster of monuments. Buland Darwaza, the highest gateway in Asia. Salim Chisti mausoleum and Panch Mahal stand proudly in its premises.





The tomb of Akbar the Great at Sikandara is another major attraction around Agra.

For more Information click here Agra







Lucknow
, the capital of Uttar Pradesh and erstwhile Oudh, has many monuments worth appreciating. The most famous among the lot is Bada Imambada. This shrine has a special relevance for the Shiite Muslims in India. The chandeliers and other glassware that decorates the inner sanctum of this place are magnificent.
Bara Imambara

Hussainabad Clock Tower

The  Hussainabad Clock Tower is truly the finest structure of British architecture in India.


Rumi Darwaza
 The Rumi Darwaza that guards the entrance of old Hussainabad in Lucknow is another monument of magnificence.

Equally good are Chhota Imambada and Shah Najaf Imambara. These buildings were constructed under food for work programs initiated by the then Nawab of Oudh who wanted to help his subjects who were suffering from famine.

Chhota Imambada


Residency
Among the buildings of British era the most notable one is the Church complex of Sardhana that was constructed by Begum Shamru who was married to a British colonel. Equally important is 'The Residency' in Lucknow that used to be the residence cum office of the Resident General of Oudh.




La Martiniere College
La Martiniere College, Baradari, Turkish Gate and Dilkusha Khoti are some of the most famous monuments in Lucknow.

Baradari
Turkish Gate
Dilkusha Khoti


For more Information click here Lucknow


Monuments at Kushinagar - Buddhist Pilgrimage in Eastern Uttar Pradesh:

Buddha Stupa
Thai Temple

Japan Buddhist Temple

Japanese Temple
For more Information click here Kushinagar



Varanasi The land of Varanasi (Kashi) has been the ultimate pilgrimage spot for Hindus for ages. Often referred to as Benares, Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world. These few lines by Mark Twain say it all :


Vishwanath temple

"Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together". Ganges is said to have its origins in the tresses of Lord Shiva and in Varanasi. Some of the most important temples of Varanasi are Durga temple, Vishwanath temple, Sankat Mochan temple, Tulsi Manas temple and the Bharat Mata temple.




Monuments at Sarnath Varanasi
Dhamek Stupa

Chaukhandi Stupa

Gautam Budh's Statue at Mulagandha Kuti

Sarnath Museum
For more Information click here Varanasi
These are some of the most famous monuments of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from these major historical monuments, UP also has a number of minor monuments that lay scattered in every nook and corner of the state.

Amazing Heritage - Grand Experiences ……
Sumita Kamthan
Udyog Bandhu

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Recognition and Felicitation to discover talent in e- Governance in the State


Information Technology has brought revolutionary changes in all spheres worldwide. The Government of Uttar Pradesh considers it as an immensely important growth accelerator. Thus aiming quick delivery of state services in transparent manner, alienation of middle men, and faster mode of payment of various services being provided by the State Government Departments, e-Governance has emerged as a vital tool in the hands of both government and Public. Recognizing the need and importance of e-Governance, Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to promote by honoring the best service providers either in form of providing data base on their web sites or introducing innovative idea through e-Governance. In the modern era, internet has registered its existence even at village level and has made e-Governance more feasible. 

GoUP has launched e-Governance scheme in the state. GIS mapping, revenue collection are the shining examples of e-Governance. To further boost e-Governance, and also to explore its potentials, Uttar Pradesh Government for the first time has taken a step in recognizing and felicitation of unearthed talents in e- Governance in the state by holding a prize distribution ceremony on 7th December, 2011. The prizes were designed to give impetus to I.T Technology, e-Governance and web site. In this direction, three best services in the field of Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering, Innovative Technology usage and Best Government Web Site were categorized for the purpose of prize distribution.


Nagar Nigam, Kanpur was awarded in the category of "Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering" for implementation of "KMC Property Tax Management System using Geospatial Technology". Using Information and Communication (ICT) Technology, this GIS based application provides property tax assessment list, online calculation of property tax and online payment for the same in an easy and convenient manner. This has not only increased revenue realization but also brought transparency in the whole system. Mr. Raghvendra Vikram Singh, Commissioner and Ex-Commissioners Mr. P.K. Pandey and Mr. Rajeev Sharma of Kanpur Nagar Nigam and their team members were the main award recipients.


The initiative "Aarogyam - Doctor in Your Pocket" was jointly awarded to District Baghpat and J.P.Nagar in the category of "Innovative Technology Usage in e-Governance". Aarogyam, using latest IT and Communication Technology aims to provide healthcare services to citizens at their doorsteps, with special focus on mother and child, which has extremely benefitted the citizens. It was country's unique end to end community based digital health mapping covering target population i.e. children below 2 years and pregnant mothers in 2 U.P. districts utilizing phones (landline/mobile) as delivery mechanism. The major recipients of this award were Mr. Abhay, DM, J.P. Nagar and Mr. Prabhu Narain Singh, DM, Bagpat and Mr. Mayur Maheshwari and Mrs. Ritu Maheshwari, Ex. District Magistrate of Baghpat and J.P. Nagar districts.

In the "Best Government Website" category, Lucknow Development Authority was awarded for its website http://ldalucknow.co.in and the awards were given to Mr. Rajeev Agrawal, Vice Chairman, LDA and Ex-VC Mr. Mukesh Kumar Meshram along with his team members and their consultant. With the help of this web site, the allottees can get information on amount due and deposited possession status, registry and refund, etc. Broadly, information on new properties, lottery results for allotment, grievance management and redressal, tender publication and management, etc. are the other main information are also available on this website for the help of the citizen.

The award distribution ceremony was jointly organized by IT & Electronics department, Govt. of U.P. and Updesco and was presided over by Mr. V.N. Garg, Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC), Govt. of U.P. With an aim to encourage e-Governance in the State, Mr. V.N. Garg told that there is a tremendous scope of e-Governance not only in the state but in the country considering that India stands 119th rank in the world as per UN Survey. He also emphasized the need of paperless office through e-Patravali under e-Governance. The prizes were given by Mr. Anoop Mishra, Chief Secretary of the state. On the occasion Mr. Anoop Mishra said that e-Governance is the good way of communication and prize distribution is an encouragement to all working in the area. The programme also witnessed knowledge exchange amongst the participants by the motivational speeches rendered by Mr. Jivesh Nandan, Secretary Infomation Technology and Mr. Sudhir Kumar, MD UPdesco and other prize winners.

The first such initiative will automatically generate confidence amongst the citizens of state and such recognition will certainly improve the working climate for delivering the best service mechanism. Thus, Uttar Pradesh has again proved its sound track record besides FI race, Yamuna Expressway, Power Sector Reform and Nivesh Mitra and so on.

Kulbhushan Kapoor                                                                       Ravinder Singh
Udyog Bandhu                                                                                  UPDESCO

Friday 9 December 2011

“Nivesh Mitra” now extended to 27 more districts of Uttar Pradesh

Government of Uttar Pradesh has extended the outreach of “Nivesh Mitra”, its pioneering initiative of unique online platform for entrepreneurs, to 27 more districts of the state to facilitate entrepreneurs in setting up industries in the state.

Introduced in July, 2009, “Nivesh Mitra” was conceived as a simple, entrepreneur centric web application enabling prospective entrepreneurs to get online clearances/NOCs with ease and minimal ‘running around’ from various Government departments in 18 districts of the state. As an ongoing process, efforts were made to incorporate various new functionalities to make the application more and more user friendly. These new functionalities include online payment facility through which entrepreneurs can make payment towards fee online. The system is already operational with Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India shall follow suit soon. With all these additionalities, the refurbished Nivesh Mitra in its new avatar (https://udyogbandhu.com) was dedicated to public on 13th October, 2011.
Considering that the journey of “Nivesh Mitra” does not get confined to only in 18 districts, Government has taken a plunge in taking more districts on its board with a view to broaden its territory.  Now 27 districts have been added to its ambit (Government order). These districts are:

   1
Allahabad
  15
Mainpuri
2
Azamgarh
16
Mau
3
Badaun
17
Meerut
4
Bagpat
18
Mirzapur
5
Bahraich
19
Muzaffarnagar
6
Bareilly
20
Pilibhit
7
Bijnore
21
Pratapgarh
8
Bulandshahr
22
Raebareli
9
Ferozabad
23
Ramabai Nagar
(Kanpur Dehat)
10
Gorakhpur
24
Saharanpur
11
Hamirpur
25
Shahjahanpur
12
Hardoi
26
Sonbhadra
13
Jhansi
27
Varanasi
14
Kaushambi




With the addition of these districts, Nivesh Mitra is now functional in 45 districts of the state.
Nivesh Mitra will ensure continued value addition in the services rendered with transparency, accountability and swift responsiveness with a friendly and courteous approach in interactions with the esteemed customers.

The success of “Nivesh Mitra” has vitalized the state to set new targets that include broadening of its domain by continuous addition of new functionalities as are available with the well developed countries of the globe and facilitate them with the same amenities available in those advanced countries. The Government has concrete plan to further expand Nivesh Mitra soon to cover the entire state to ensure removal of unwarranted human interface completely and to make it as a robust dedicated helpline system and to act as a catalyst for entrepreneurs as an information hub.

Nivesh Mitra as a project is a giant leap towards future. It is a continuous process of reaching out to the entrepreneurs and investors. It’s a first step towards a journey of thousand miles! True to its name, it shall not only be an interface but a guiding collaborator that facilitates entrepreneurs and investors to leap towards a rich and fertile future.


K.S. Prasad
Project Director

Friday 25 November 2011

Glitter of Moradabad Brassware

Uttar Pradesh has pride of being the largest Brassware center in India due to having many copper and brass making establishments in and around Moradabad.  Brassware industry is a visible name on the world map. This city, being close to Delhi, has the distinct advantage of modern transportation facilities of IGI, New Delhi airport, Inland Container Depot (lCD), Moradabad and highways of 4 Lane, NH No. 24 as well as excellent railways connectivity.

Moradabad has a wide range of products from utensils to decorative items. These include 'Lotas', Tamrapatra (water pots), Panchapatra (ritual Plate), 'Simhasan' (seat for deity), Kanchanthal (Flower Plate) among others. These items are casted through an indigenous method called 'Para' that is precisely a mould casting without joints. Many other metal wares like brass, EPNS, iron, aluminum, etc., were introduced to the art industry of Moradabad. New technologies like electroplating, lacquering, powder coating, etc., have also found their way to the industry and set a new path to the brass industry.

The metal known as "SILLY" and "GULLY" used as raw material, is the mixture of Copper, Zink, Lead, etc. All these metals in a particular ratio, are mixed in a big pot called "GHARIA" and heated in a furnace for preparing mould for the different brass utensils. Molten metal is poured into these moulds, the utensils is then taken out for repair and refurbished with utmost care. These brass utensils are then polished. If needed, exotic designs are made on these polished utensils. These utensils are then ready to be sold in the domestic market and International market as well.


The attractive brass wares are exported to countries like USA, Britain, Canada, Germany and Middle East Asia. There are about 600 export units and 5000 industries in the district. Almost all the major retail chains like Walmart, IKEA, Target, etc., purchase brass products from Moradabad itself.

Export of Art Metal ware
 ( Rs. in Crores)


Year

Export from India

Export from U.P.

Percentage

2008-09

1790.27

960.81

53.66

2009-10

1877.64

1041.15

58.60

20010-11

2199.92

1207.73

54.89
Source: Export Promotion Council for Handicraft

The Government has provided favorable environment with improved infrastructural facilities to promote the Industrial activities at Moradabad like 24 hours Un-interrupted power supply, construction of By-pass, 4 lane Delhi-Moradabad Road etc. About 421.56 Acres of land has been acquired to develop SEZ for Export Oriented Units at Pakbara to Dingarpur Road. Special Economic Zone is functional with 469 plots, Incentives in form of Relaxation in stamp duty under Section 35 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 have been offered subject to certain conditions.

Infrastructure facilities such as development of green-belt to keep the area pollution free, boundary wall, internal development, security system, etc. are already in place.

Moradabad has all along been a hub of commercial activities and there is excellent prospect for every entrepreneur to establish his dream projects here.


(S. K. Singh)