NRI from Denmark will set Rs.750 million ($16 million) wireless park in Ranchi

Wireless park to be set up near Ranchi

Ranchi, August 4th, 2006
IANS

Jharkhand will soon establish a Rs.750 million ($16 million) wireless park - where companies like Nokia, Siemens and Motorola are expected to set up shop - in collaboration with an NRI.

The 20-acre park near Ormanjhi block, 25 km from here, is the brainchild of Ramji Prasad, a Denmark-based NRI. Prasad, who is a native of Ranchi, met chief minister Arjun Munda Thursday and presented a project report for the park, which would be the first of its kind in India.

Prasad is an alumnus of the Birla Institute of Technology-Mesra (BIT-Mesra) here.

‘The park will be inaugurated by February next year. We hope that land acquisition will be completed in one or two months,’ said Prasad.

‘We will extend all possible support to open the wireless park. The state government is dedicated to ensuring the development of the state and for that we should keep ourselves updated with latest technology,’ added Munda.

Munda has constituted a three-member committee to look into the establishment of the park. Its members include secretaries of the IT and Land and Revenue departments, besides the vice-chancellor of BIT- Mesra.

Chief Minister of Jharkhand

• Ranchi, July 28: Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda held talks with steel tycoon L N Mittal in London, where he assured the Mittal Steel chief of his government's help in setting up a project in the state

Arjun Munda (born January 5, 1968) is the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, a state of India. He first took that position on March 18, 2003 and held it until his resignation on March 2, 2005 which occurred after inconclusive state elections and the intervention of the state's governor, Syed Sibtey Razi. Ten days later, on March 12, 2005, however, Munda was reappointed chief minister, and won a vote of confidence in the state assembly on March 15, 2005, by a vote of 40 to 37.

With only 35 years behind him upon his appointment as Chief Minister, Arjun Munda was the youngest ever Indian to hold that post. His political career began in the 1980's as part of the Jharkhand movement, spearheaded by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. This movement sought to create a tribally-dominated state from the southern area of India's northern Bihar state. Munda's political clout grew due to his focus on helping tribals and other backwards. In 1995, he was elected to the Bihar state assembly, representing Kharswan. He retained that seat in 2000 and 2005 elections, but as of 2000, he was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Jharkhand was formed in 2000, with the BJP forming the first government under Babulal Marandi. Arjun Munda served as the Social Welfare Minister in his cabinet. In 2003, as the non-BJP Legislators supporting the government called for Marandi's replacement, it was Munda, viewed as a strong tribal leader, who was considered the best alternative. His second term, which began in March of 2005, has been likewise marked by the need of support for several independent Legislators.

Munda has served as the Chairman of: Rural Integrated Development Center (Gramya Sangrama Vikas Kendra) of Jamshedpur, the All Jharkhand Yoga Association, the Shaheed Smarak Smati of Kharswan, the Beenapari High School of Jamshedpur and the Jharkhand Deaf and Dumb Association.