FOOD PROCESSING: THE KEY TO GROWTH

For an agrarian economy, food processing has been found to be the key for economic growth. Food has one of the highest economic multipliers of any industry. The food industry is one of the world’s largest employers. For every job in the food sector, many additional jobs are created for retailers, suppliers and other business partners.

Globally, food is one of the first industries to develop scale and importance, whereas in Bihar, it is still negligible. Food processing industry is of enormous significance to Bihar’s development because of the vital linkages and synergies that it can bring about in state’s industrial and agriculture sector. Fast growth in the food processing sector and progressive improvement in the value addition chain are also of great importance for achieving favorable terms of trade for Bihar agriculture. Food Processing transforms agricultural raw materials into safe, convenient, delicious and nutritious products for consumers.

It is a diverse industry that ranges from small and medium enterprises to major multi-national companies. It also helps in reducing wastage and spoilage. The Vision Document 2015 for India estimates the losses due to non–processing to be as high as 35 per cent. In case of Bihar, a research carried out by Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU) estimates the post-harvest losses in case of fruits varies from 15–25 per cent in banana to 30–50 per cent in papaya and in case of vegetables it varies from 17–27 per cent in cabbage to 41–47 per cent in cauliflower. Just the arrest of the losses in fruit and vegetables in the state through processing and post-harvest management will result in an increase in income of Rs 2,000 crore to the economy. The loss in cereal is estimated at Rs 4,500 crore.

Creating the necessary infrastructure for post-harvest handling and food processing will directly increase the farm gate prices, rural income and increased employment. Food processing industries will help in establishing technology linkages, marketing channels besides reducing wastages. Growth of food industry has direct benefits on the lives of farmers and rural workers.

“It is estimated that the incomes of farmers and rural workers increase by an average of 100 to 200 per cent due to establishment of food processing project in a region. Yields increase by 50 to 250 per cent. The potential for employment is high"----- (CII–Mckinsey FAIDA Report)

Bihar already has a few agricultural commodities to cater to niche markets. For a gainful utilization of the existing potential, infrastructure creation and institutional development holds the key.

A decrease in post-harvest losses by just one per cent will result in value addition of Rs 80 crore
to the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) by food grains and about Rs 120 crore by the fruit and vegetable sector. Thus, the total value addition to the state GSDP simply by minimising losses to 2 per cent in food grains and 15 per cent in Fruits and Vegetables would lead to a value addition in the GSDP by approximately Rs 2000 crore.

The multiplier effect of investment in food processing industry on employment generation is 2.5 times more than in any other industrial sector. Even within food processing industry, the employment intensity is significantly higher in the unorganised sector as compared to the organized sector for the same level of investment. For every Rs 10 million of investment, 1,050 jobs are created in the unorganised sector against 140 jobs in the organized sector.

Processing, in spite of all the constraints in the state, has a few success stories to show the path for the food processing industry. The Bihar state Cooperative Milk Producer’s Federation (COMFED) is one example and the ‘makhana’ industry is another along with litchi. In fact, COMFED is one of the few success stories of organized milk processing within India. COMFED’s success is based on integrated vertical and horizontal linkages across the supply chain of milk. It provides all the elements of supply chain intervention to its members—up gradation of milk production technology (including milch animals varietal and productivity enhancements), animal health, efficient procurement, storage and processing (using appropriate and latest technology), market linkage etc. COMFED procures 5.75 lakh litres of milk per day through milk unions—the milk procurement has increased by about 8 times from 1991–92 to 2005–06. It processes about nine per cent of the milk processed in the state.

JATROPHA PLANTATION

Forestry Wasteland

Jatropha

Introduction

NABARD, as an apex institution with regard to policy, planning and operation in the field of agriculture and rural credit, is actively involved in extending credit support for renewable energy development in rural areas along with other financial institutions. Development of wastelands through energy plantations, biodiesel crops / tree borne oilseeds is identified as a thrust area for which NABARD is extending 100% refinance to banks at concessional rate of interest.

Among the many species, which can yield oil as a source of energy in the form of biodiesel, Jatropha curcas has been found most suitable due to its various favourable attributes like hardy nature, short gestation period, high oil recovery and quality of oil, etc. It can be planted on degraded lands through Joint Forest Management (JFM), farmer’s field boundaries, fallow lands and as agro forestry crop.

Description

Jatropha curcas belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and is thus closely related to other important cultivated plants like rubber, castor etc. It is believed to be a native of South America and Africa but later spread to other continents of the world by the Portuguese settlers. The Arabs have been using this plant for medicinal purpose. Today it is found in almost all the tropical and sub tropical regions of the world.
There are more than 200 names for it all over the world, which indicates its significance to man, and the various possibilities of its use. In India, Jatropha curcas is found in almost all the states and is generally grown as a live fence for protection of agricultural fields from damage by livestock as it is not eaten by cattle or goat.
BOTANICAL FEATURES
It is a small tree or shrub with smooth gray bark, which exudes a whitish colored, water, latex when cut. Normally, it grows between three and five meters in height, but can attain a height of up to eight or ten meters under favourable conditions.

Leaves
It has large green to pale-green leaves, alternate to sub-opposite, three-to-five lobed with spiral phyllotaxis.
Flowers
The petiole length ranges between 6-23 mm. The inflorescence is formed in the leaf axil. Flowers are formed terminally, individually, with female flower usually slightly larger and occur in the hot seasons. In conditions where continuous growth occurs, an unbalance of pistillate or staminate flower production results in a higher number of female flowers.

Fruits
Fruits are produced in winter when the shrub is leafless, or it may produce several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperatures are sufficiently high. Each inflorescence yields a bunch of approximately 10 or more ovoid fruits.

A three, bi-valved cocci is formed after the seeds mature.

Seeds
The seeds become mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow, after two to four months from fertilization. The blackish, thin shelled seeds are oblong and resemble small castor seeds.

Ecological Requirements
Jatropha curcas grows almost anywhere- even on gravely, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive on the poorest stony soil. It can grow even in the crevices of rocks.

The leaves shed during the winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from shed leaves enhances earthworm activity in the soil around the root-zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil.
Regarding climate, Jatropha curcas is found in the tropics and subtropics and likes heat, although it does well even in lower temperatures and can withstand a light frost. Its water requirement is extremely low and it can stand long periods of drought by shedding most of its leaves to reduce transpiration loss. Jatropha is also suitable for preventing soil erosion and shifting of sand dunes.

Cultivation practices
It can be easily propagated on massive scale by direct seeding as well as planting stem cuttings. Hot and humid weather is preferred for good germination of seed. Plants bear fruits in the beginning of winter. Approximately 5-6 kgs. of seed is adequate to raise one hectare of plantation. The spacing maintained is about 2m x 2m and for high density planting 2m x 1m distance can be recommended.
Seeds or cuttings can be directly planted in the main field. Some times the seedlings are grown in poly bags and then transplanted in the main field. The land should be ploughed once or twice depending upon the nature of soil. In direct planting system the seed/cuttings should be planted in the main field with onset of monsoon at a spacing indicated above. Apart from organic manure, mixtures, fertilizers containing NPK should be applied near the planting hole. To keep the land free from weeds in the initial stage, 3-4 hand weedings are necessary; it does not require supplementary irrigation. However, the approximate yield of 1200 kg seed per hectare may be obtained from irrigated plantations in comparison to 750 kg seed (per hectare) from rainfed plantations. This is expected from 3rd year onwards. The economic life of the plant is about 35-40 years. Jatropha oil is extracted by hydraulic press method after grinding and steaming of the seed.

Unit cost
The cost of cultivation of Jatropha curcas in one hectare at an espacement of 3m X 2m i.e., 1666 plants per ha has been worked out at Rs.25,826/- per ha. (unirrigated condition). The details of various items of expenditure are viz. land preparation, digging of pits, plant and material, manure and fertilizer, inter culture, watering and plant protection etc. The unit cost break up of Jatropha curcas is as follows:

UNIT COST OF Jatropha curcas CULTIVATION IN ONE HECTARE WASTELAND(seedling)
ESPACEMENT: 3 M x 2 M AVG. WAGE RATE: Rs.80/MD
NO.OF TREES/HA.: 1666 CASUALTY REPLACEMENT:10 %
SURVIVAL/HA.: 1500 Nos.


YIELD AND INCOME PER HECTARE OF JATROPHA CULTIVATION ON WASTELANDS
Figure-1
Economics of Jatropha cultivation in one Hectare of wasteland

Figure-2
Commercial uses of the Plant

The increasing gap between demand and supply of fuel wood leads to fast depletion of forest cover. There is need to search for alternative source of energy derived from non-wood sources. For this purpose high density plantation of Jatropha, as an energy crop, may provide energy on regular basis annually for a period of 40-45 years without replanting, unlike other fuel wood crops. With suitable technology, jatropha could possibly be used as furnace fuel to facilitate electricity generation in a decentralized manner and at a lower cost as compared to the existing power generation system, which requires massive infrastructure for distribution of power.

Besides the above, the following additional benefits can also be expected:

a) Jatropha oil is a potential substitute for diesel providing the country cheap and renewable source of energy for transport & power and can effect sizeable savings on foreign exchange.
b)Jatropha oil has a very high saponification value and is being extensively used for soap making, lubricants and candles. The protein content in Jatropha oil cake may be used as a raw material for plastic and synthetic fibre.
c) Jatropha plant has high medicinal value. The latex of Jatropha curcas contains an alkaloid known as Jatrophine, which is used in medicines.
d) Jatropha oil cake is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and can be used as organic manure.
e)Revegetation of barren and denuded hills with Jatropha plants combats environmental pollution.

Thus, owing to its multiple uses, simple and cost effective technology, with or without irrigation makes it promising and profitable agro forestry crop ensuring optimum utilisation of land and manpower. It is a crop with low capital investment, short gestation period, long productive period and unlimited employment potential in rural areas.

Yield & Economics
The plant starts giving yield from the third year onwards and the benefits increase over the years and stabilizes in the 8th year. In the financial analysis with the above parameters of the investment cost & yields, the BCR & IRR works out to 1.19 & 19.41% respectively.

Repayment of Loan
A moratorium of four years for repayment of principal and two years for payment of interest may be allowed.

Beneficiaries Contribution / Margin Money / Down Payment
The beneficiaries may contribute towards down payment ranging from 5 to 25% depending upon their category, i.e., small and other farmers in accordance with NABARD’s norms. Beneficiary’s own labour can also be taken as his contribution towards the margin money requirement.

Quantum of Refinance
The loans extended by the banks to individual farmers and / or groups of individuals such as co-operatives under Wasteland development projects are eligible for refinance from NABARD to the extent of 100% of Bank loan.

Rate of Interest
The rate of interest on refinance from NABARD will be as per the circulars issued by NABARD from time to time. The rate of interest to be charged to the ultimate borrowers would be decided by the financing banks. However for working out the financial viability and bankability of the model project we have assumed the rate of interest as 12%.

Success Story 1 : Naukari .com

Sanjeev Bikhchandani is a classic story of spotting an opportunity and chasing it with guts, determination, lots of hard work and a little bit of luck. Naukri.com (the company is listed as Info Edge India Ltd on the Bombay Stock Exchange) is India's number one job portal at a time when there is a serious scarcity of employable people in just about every sector of business and industry.

It is also an extremely successful dot-com, having weathered the 2000 meltdown. How much better can it get? Naukri's CEO spoke to MoneyLIFE editors Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu about the road he took and its various turning points.

Shall we start with a little bit about your background and your upbringing? When and how did you decide to be an entrepreneur?

There are no business people in my family. My father is a doctor and he was in the government from 1950 to 1983. So we were brought up in government colonies. I studied at St. Columbus School in Delhi, so did my brother. There was no business background in the family, no great financial acumen or anything.

My brother went to IIT, Kanpur, then IIM Ahmedabad and then did his PhD from Stanford. It was forgone in our family that one would do engineering or become a doctor -- the standard middle class aspirations of parents in government service. So I dutifully prepared for IIT entrance, took the exams and qualified.

Then two or three things happened. My rank wasn't great. I wouldn't have got the top three or four departments.

Secondly, I went for a medical test and found out I was colour-blind -- partially. Thirdly, it was a five-year course. So, I decided it was a better option to go to Delhi University and study economics.

Meanwhile, my brother had passed from IIM and he told me not to do an MBA right away because it is useless unless you work for a while. Then Lintas came to college for hiring in 1985. I joined as an Executive Trainee and worked in advertising for three years.

Lintas was hiring graduates those days?

They were hiring MBAs as Management Trainees who would be given a one-year training and graduates would be given two years of training and they would be equalized after three years or so. We were actually the first batch of graduate hires.

For a year I was in Delhi then I was transferred to Mumbai. I then wrote the CAT and went off to IIM Ahmedabad. Typically, in an ad agency you have this thing about meeting clients and then wanting to be on the other side of the table since an Ad Agency executive is typically at the lower end of the food chain. So I decided I want to be on the other side and in Marketing. I got a job at HMM, which is now Glaxo SmithKline.

I was in brand management, handling Horlicks. I was there for a year and a half. But all along, ever since I was in school, I was pretty clear that I was going to do my MBA, I was going to work for a few years and then start my company. This was there since I was 12 or 13.

Were you clear even in those days what was involved in running a company?

No clue! But I knew that I didn't want to join government service, after my father's experience, because in government, you are financially very badly off if you are honest. There was no way I was going to be dishonest, because those were not the values we were brought up with.

Since I wanted independence, it had to be in a business. This was my dream, a distant goal till I passed out of college and joined Lintas. By then I had decided that I would work for 2-3 years and then start out on my own. So I worked at HMM, came back to Delhi and within a year-and-a-half I quit.

I started a company called Info Edge. That is still the name of my company, Naukri is the brand. I started it with a partner and we soon set up two companies, one was for salary surveys and one was a database of trademarks on which we were doing searches.

In October 1990, we were operating from the servants' quarters above the garage at home and were paying my father Rs 800 as monthly rent.

What form of searches were you doing?

They were trade mark searches. We launched a salary survey in Info Edge and with the money we made from that, my partner had another idea.

He said the trade mark registry in Bombay has a library where you can see pending trade mark applications. The government takes five years to approve or reject a trade mark application so if you thought of a brand name today, you apply for it, launch it in six months and five years later if the government rejects your application you are dead, especially if somebody else is already using it before you.

People used to hire a law firm which sent out people to do a manual check in the library and assess whether the trade mark is likely to be accepted or rejected. This library is opened to public inspection. So we sent in 20 college students to note down all information filed under pharmaceuticals in all 134 classes.

We dumped this data in a computer and we wrote software to search it. We then began to call pharma companies -- there were 5,000 of them -- saying if you are making a trade mark application talk to us. For Rs 350 we give you a printed search report. This was a massive hit.


How did you deliver this?

Sanjeev Bikhchandani - CEO, Naukri.com

We put the information in a computer. There were no online database searches then. So we said, you tell us what you need, we do a search, prepare a report and send it to you by courier. In 1993 my partner and I decided to go our separate ways.

I kept the salary survey company Info Edge and since the trademark thing was his idea he kept that. I moved back to the servants' quarters and started afresh. Over the next three years I kept costs low and made some money.

How did the survey work?

We used to do entry level salary surveys -- what companies are offering MBAs and engineers at the entry level. We would do a report and send it to maybe a 100 companies. It was not customised. It was a standard survey sold at Rs 5,000 to maybe 100-200 companies. As the price went up we sold at may be Rs 10,000. We used to speak to students who got offers usually from top ten engineering colleges. It worked well.

Where did you get the idea?

When I was in HMM we didn't have offices with partitions like we do today. It was an open hall where you could see, hear and speak to everyone. I noticed that when an office copy of Business India came in, everybody used to read it from back to front. It had 35 to 40 pages of appointment ads in every issue.

At that time Business India was the No.1 medium for appointment ads for managers. And people would openly talk about jobs that were available or slipping out of their hands. They discussed opportunities. Nobody was applying, nobody wanted to leave because they were in a comfortable MNC job with good brands, good pay packages etc., but they used to talk about it.

From these conversations I figured that even if you are not looking for a job, you look at a job. You are constantly looking for a new benchmark and checking if you are missing out on anything.

Also, every week 2-3 head-hunters would call offering jobs. There must have been 100 headhunters out there and each of them probably had four to five clients. These jobs were never advertised because we never saw them in Business India or elsewhere. I figured, what is appearing in the newspapers is the tip of the iceberg. There is a massive market below the surface, highly fragmented and scattered across HR Departments and placement consultants.

If somebody could aggregate it, it would be a powerful product where you could somehow make money. I knew this by 1990. When you are trying to become an entrepreneur there are a thousand ideas -- this was one of them.

Where would your money come from, in a model like this?

I had no clue. This was only an idea and I knew something would come out of it but I didn't know how. It was just one of a thousand ideas -- file and forget kind of thing. By then I had quit my job.

The Department of Telecom had put an ad on the front page of a newspaper saying it was looking for private information providers to launch a video text service, like the one in Paris. They would put up a server. . . I didn't even know what a server was those days. . . and there would be terminals in 45 telephone exchanges and 50 other public places from where information can be accessed for a fee.

They said, we want people who will own and maintain the databases and will not charge us anything; but when the user pays we will do a revenue split. I spoke to my former partner and said let's make a proposal where we get jobs from the company head hunters free of cost and put them here and charge 50 bucks per search, so Rs 25 will be DoT's and Rs 25 will be ours. He agreed we put in an application, were short-listed and they called us.

We found that around 30 to 40 people had turned up, some wanting to put up tenders, others planning something else. So they said, fine, we have plenty of proposals so now we can move to the next stage and get into details. We got a plan ready, produced documentation and end user schemes with classifications for every industry type.

That was in 1991, before the Internet came to India. They approved our proposal and said they will get back to us on implementation. But the project was cancelled. So we had this concept ready in 1991-92 and didn't know what to do with it.

But by then I was charged up on the idea and wanted to try it out. We tried franchise models, couriered floppies, etc. We kept getting data but whatever we tried it didn't look like it would work. It was too cumbersome. Meanwhile, I and my partner had parted. This idea came along with me while he kept the trademark thing.

In October 1996 I attended the IT Asia exhibition in Delhi which is held every year. Usually at IT Asia they have one pavilion with 100 or more tiny stalls where one always found a lot of interesting things. I saw one stall with www written on it. So I asked this guy what it meant, he said it was the World Wide Web. I asked him what that meant and he said it was the Internet and explained it to me.

At that time there was no TCP/IP access, only black and white monitors on which he gave me a demo. He was a retailer, reselling VSNL e-mail accounts. I said I don't want e-mail, show me the Internet. So he took me to a site called Yahoo!, showed me how to search, browse, check other sites -- there was lot of information.

I asked him how many users are there in India. He said 14,000. So I said, 'Wow!' I told him I don't want an e-mail account but I want to set up a Web site, show me how to do it. He said I can't help you there because there you need a server and all servers are in the US.

My brother is a professor at the UCLA business school, so I rang him up and told him I wanted to start a Web site. I told him to help me hire a server, but didn't have the money and said I would pay him later. We were really struggling financially those days because in 1996, if you recall, there was a recession. He said, no problem, I will pay for it and you pay me when you can.

You didn't ever regret having moved out of a cushy MNC job and the long struggle?

I struggled for 10. . . no, 13 years. I had moved out of the MNC job rather early. My salary was Rs 80,000 per annum. This was decent in 1990 but I was not giving up a Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) job to come to a zero rupee salary. In those days you could not buy a car for three to four years even after you passed from IIM Ahmedabad.

I had a two-wheeler. I had not seen the higher salaries so I didn't miss it. What happened over the years when I was struggling is that my friends changed because they were doing different things. They used to go on foreign holidays, visit hotels and bars, which I simply could not afford. Over time, of course, I have re- established contacts.

Were the adjustments easier because of your family background?

Well, for the first three years, my wife was in Nestle and the company couldn't pay me. The next two years, the company could pay me and my wife was still in Nestle so we were okay. She quit in 1995 and around 1996 I became the Consulting Editor of The Pioneer's career supplement called Avenues. That gave me a monthly cheque; we were not well-off but we got by.

By that time my reference group had changed, so I was not seeing what my batch mates were getting. In 2000 when we got venture capital from ICICI, I had been through the second round of not taking salary for three years -- 1997 to 2000. That was tough.

During that time my wife was not working, so I had to do a second job. I got up at 6.00 in the morning, dropped her to the bus stop, was in the office by 7.00, worked till 12.00 then would go to The Pioneer come back and work till midnight again. This went on for three years.

That was tough, but the thing about doing your own business is that you are probably very happy even though you are not making money, for the simple reason that you are in control of your life and priorities and that is important to me.

Was there the fear factor -- wondering how long you would have to keep struggling?

I got over the fear factor in the first two years. I realised that for an entrepreneur the real risk is often a lot less than the perceived risk before you jump. You learn to cope, to manage -- you find your cushions and buffers.

But sure, you have to be willing to say that I won't have a fashionable lifestyle, I am okay not buying a big car or owning a house. And it is easy if it is early in your career. So, in 1997 my brother paid for the server and I gave him 5% in the company. At $25 a month he got a good deal for the server.

I went to another friend who is a very good programmer and I told him about my idea to start a Web site. I gave him the old file and I asked him to do the programming. Since I didn't have the money I gave him a 7% share in the company. He was a freelancer working from home.

Then there was another friend, a year junior to me, called Saroja. She was also doing an independent consulting project. I told her that I am doing a second job in the afternoons and will she be interested in coming in for six hours a day. I offered 9% in the company and she agreed. Then we had some data entry guys and support staff from our other regular business.

We went to the Central News Agency and brought back some 29 newspapers with appointment ads. We built the structure of the database and told them to input the jobs. We got a thousand jobs, then I took a floppy to my techie friend and told him here is the menu and the navigation we want and he built the Web site -- Naukri -- in one week.

We launched on April 2, 1997. It was a very rudimentary site. If you look at it today it was really embarrassing. For the first six months I did not have an Internet connection.

But a good thing happened to us then. We were the first site that was targeting Indians in India. All others like rediff.com, Khoj and Samachar were all targeting Indians in the US. At around that time, journalists in India had begun to write about Internet and were looking for Indian examples to talk about.

So we began to get massive coverage. In the first year itself we had two fat files of press coverage and that really helped us. Because we got coverage without trying, we also got traffic. Our contact strategy was very good -- we would always allow you to log on free. Because we were sure that with 14000 people accessing the Net, we had a small base of users and we had to get people to keep coming back.

So where did your revenue come from?

We were doing salary surveys still remember? In year one in Naukri we did Rs 2.35 lakh (Rs 235,000) of business and 80% of the jobs were free. In year two our figures jumped to Rs 18 lakh (Rs 1.8 million) and that is when I realised that we had a serious business possibility here, although I was not able to pay myself a salary.

The company was, quite frankly very very stretched even though we broke even. What I did was to shut other parts of the business and all workstations and people were working on Naukri.

The next year, turnover jumped to Rs 36 lakh (Rs 3.6 million) and we made Rs 1.8 lakh profit, but that was because I did not take a salary. I was now clear that I would grow to make Rs 50 to 60 lakh (Rs 5-6 million) and then the profit could be around Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) and I could even take home Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000). In 1999-2000 we did Rs 36 lakh, but by October we were sure we would go to Rs 40-50 lakh.

So we were very optimistic and thought we will do well after 10 years of struggle. Then, around May-June 1999, we began to get phone calls from people saying 'we want to invest in your company, why not take money from us'? We found it surprising, but I said we don't need your money, we are going to break even and are concentrating on profits next year, so please go away.

Then we learnt that funded competition was coming in and the game was going to change. Suddenly, I realised, you cannot be a Rs 50 lakh Web site and make a 10 lakh net profit; you will have to be a Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) Web site and make a Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) net profit -- that is the only way you will survive or else you will die, because the game is going to change.

Sure enough, Jobs Ahead was launched on the India-Pakistan Sharjah Cricket tournament. We didn't know what the budget was but somebody told us it 'it is twice your turnover.'

That is when we called back the venture capitalists and said look we have changed our minds. So they said, sure thing, write your business plan. So we went back to them, the terms sheets were signed and due diligence done and April 8, 2000 we signed the agreement and they cut their first cheque.

We got lucky. If we had taken the money six months earlier we would have spent it foolishly. The market melted down around that time. We were the last or second last dot-com in India to get funded. By March the meltdown had started but people did not officially acknowledge it till September-October. They kept saying it is a technical correction. We got the money on April 8th and we just put it in fixed deposit.

We had done business for three years and we knew how tough it was surviving on the Net so when the market crashed we knew it was a real crash. We knew of it six months back because we were in the business so I told ICICI that this is a real crash, we have to build the business slowly.

ICICI, to their credit, never ever asked us for revised valuation and did nothold back subsequent tranches.

Was this only for you or for everybody else?

For us. For whatever reason -- I don't know what their thinking was and why us, but the fact is they gave us the final cheque at the same valuation a year and a half after April 8th.

We began to invest in servers, technology, people, products, sales offices and we began to focus on growing the business -- not just by spending but through better products and a feet-on-the-street approach. Around this time the IT meltdown began. This was in November 2000.

Then 9/11 happened and although we continued to grow, we were very scared. There was a time when we had only two years of money left. And then slowly the revenues caught up. We made two years of losses and then we broke even and made a one crore profit.

Going forward, we see there has to be solid emphasis on product and technology so in the last two years we have invested a lot in these and will continue to do so. We need a lot of innovations and scaleable technologies because funny things happen when traffic suddenly goes up. It is easy to run a Web site when there is low traffic but you are really tested when traffic goes up.

Does your application still perform and your service still deliver? You don't realise that until you face the problem. We have invested a lot in scaleable technologies, in new products and features and in bringing mobile and Internet together as well as voice and SMS.

In our scheme of things, the first priority is the product, the next is the brand -- we spend a lot of money on advertising both online and offline. The third is the sales force and sales network in order to sell. We have 400 sales people all over thecountry so we can reach many more companies and service them better.

Where are you vis-?-vis your competition?

There are two publicly available sources of checking who is bigger. One is Alexa.com where you can check out the traffic of various sites. The other is a paid site called Matrix. As per Alexa we got over 75% to 80% share of job traffic in India and according to Matrix we got between 60% to 65%.

In terms of revenue share -- we roughly estimate that we have around 55% of the market. But the metrics we really look at is how many CVs we are adding everyday, how many applications are going daily from our Web site? On all these metrics we have no competitive data but we estimate we are ahead by 30% to 40%.

How are you advantaged or disadvantaged vis- vis well known brands such as Times which is also in this business now?

Times of India obviously is a big company with a huge print presence and they are able to support their online presence through print. However, so far we have not been challenged in our market share or traffic share.

I think with online media a lot depends on your product instincts and qualities. How fast is the site? How many CVs do I get? How many finds do I get? We are in a situation where it is very easy for the customer to evaluate competitive offerings because you can measure how many responses you get and how many you hire.

But what about your original insight that people look at Business India from the end, even though they are not really looking for a job. Are you able to give that window shopping experience?

Yes, some people are looking for jobs, some people are just looking around. While you can browse through the site we do have an issue about the window shopping experience for passive job seekers. We recognise that.

A newspaper goes into the house for some other reason and you see jobs there. You don't have to make a separate effort. What we are able to do with technology is that if you register your resume with Naukri, the headhunters will call you.

But newspapers have a massive reach within the city on a given day. So if you are doing a walk-in interview, thousands will be walking in, after reading a newspaper ad. But then the Net is not expensive and will deliver results over a week, ten days or two weeks and it will deliver the results from all over the country.

So, it is not as if the Net will replace print, it's just some of the stuff which is going into print will rather be on the web. Besides, employees can themselves search nearly 2 lakh (200,000) job listings -- they can search, they can browse, they can set job alerts -- there are a lot of things the Net can do that print cannot.

Do you expect Jeevan Sathi and 99 acres to be successful as well?

As of now, Naukri accounts for over 80% of my turnover. Jeevan Saathi and 99 acres are plays for the future. If you look at our strategy there is a pattern. We started with Naukri -- a classified listings kind of business, a database search kind of business.

The market structures of the other two are very similar. There is big market in print, there is a segment which is run by consultants, there is an intermediary in the market -- a placement consultant, there is a job seeker, there is a final employer. We are creating a platform. Our job is to enable a handshake and we are charging for the prospect of enabling a handshake. Jeevansathi.com is similar. There is a large print market, there are two parties who frequently use the services of marriage brokers.

So again there are similar players. It is the same in real estate. So we have actually gone after markets which are very similar in structure and are financially viable in print and hence not risky. So we expect to do well, but don't know how well.


Jeevansathi is the No. 3 matrimonial site in the country; when we bought it in September 2004 it was distant No. 3 and now we have narrowed the gap substantially and I think we should be No. 2 in the not too distant future. For 99 acres, there was nobody else of any significance so we launched in August 2005 and we are No. 1 already.

What is your special input in 99 acres? Why have other property sites not done well?

I don't know. May be they were too early in 1999-2000, may be their strategy was different from ours, maybe they were not neutral platforms, may be they did not aggregate enough content. We have 55,000 listings on our site right now and have a whole tele-calling team which calls up brokers asking for listings on the phone and give them free trials. So it is a question of intuition also.

The basic funda is the Naukri funda -- we have got the most jobs so we get the most traffic, we get the most traffic so we get the most response, we get the most response so we get the most clients, we get the most clients so we get the most jobs -- it is a virtuous circle like in any other media market. It is the same in newspapers and the same in Jeevan Sathi or 99 acres.

Looking back, what advise would you have for young entrepreneurs with your mindset?

I would say that frequently the perceived risk is lower than the real risk but nevertheless you should understand the risk and try to reduce it.

It is a myth that entrepreneurs are not risk averse. I must be the most risk averse person I have met in my life. I am really scared of risks. The point is to keep de-risking at every opportunity. So first, I did not quit my job until after I got married knowing there is income in the house. I began to teach on weekends.

If I had been single, or my wife was not working -- in fact she was the fist angel investor -- it would have been a lot more difficult. I may not have done it. These were all de-risking strategies. When you start out you don't know where youare going to end up

When we launched Naukri and you had asked me what is your vision I would say there was no vision. All I thought was, if I get a thousand companies to pay me Rs 500 a month to list a job and this would be every month I can do a Rs 60 lakh (Rs 6 million) turnover in three years time I will multiply the turnover of the company five times, that was the opportunity I felt.

Somewhere down the way this dot-com thing happened, then venture capital happened, the meltdown happened and if somebody had told me that I would do a Rs 84 crore (Rs 840 million) turnover five years from now I would say he was joking. Our projection to ICICI in our business plan was Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) for this year. So a lot of things are also unpredictable.

What do you see happening in the business in future?

I think there is lot of growth left in the company, there is more business that we can do. I think that there is a lot of improvement to do in product and technology to make it a world class company.

I don't see us diversifying significantly outside the Internet, at least as of now. We are not evaluating a fourth portal. The reason is we want to at least make sure that Jeevan Saathi breaks even and makes a profit. If we were only in Naukri and Quadrangle -- the recruitment part of business -- our pre-tax profit would be about Rs 28 crore (Rs 280 million) just last year.

So we don't want to spread ourselves too thin, particularly from the management point of view. In our business, the constraint to growth is not money but execution and leadership.

The original Source of this SUCCESS STORY is Rediff News.....

The Bihar Way : Abhay Jha

When I was planning to come back for giving my time and utilizing my skills for development of Bihar, I was thinking that I will have to struggle a lot for awakening the people here. Not only me but lots of successful person who are outside India and Bihar are thinking in the same manner. But after reading the discussions of various groups I came to know that we were totally wrong and thousands of Bihari are thinking and contributing ahead of me for the development of Bihar. Especially I would like to thanks Mr. Arvind Pandey (IPS: 1988 batch), Dr. Ravi, Mr. Nitin Chandra, Mrs. Madhavi Singh Dubey and many others for their on going contribution.

As we know that no one wants to start big projects in Bihar, no one desire to do big investment in Bihar. So what is the solution…? This is a big question..!!!!!

Dr. Ravi is contributing by adopting Amul Way and he will be successful I am sure for that. It is true that we were badly in need of Organization who can follow Amul Way for developing life standard of masses, and we got many e.g. Sudha Dairy, Mr. Kaushlendra (IIMA, student who is selling Vegetable by making Societies in Nalanda), Dr. Ravi (using Microfinance) and others.
But for development of Bihar is it enough..? Do we need some more concepts… some more Way for faster development …..?

Yes I think we Need Reliance Way and Warren buffet way too ….!!!!We need to form an Investment Company or Private equity company in Bihar which can invest in big projects, can start closed Sugar factory, Can establish fertilizer plant, can start wind Power projects and many more big projects. We have skilled manpower among us but Individually we do not have Sufficient fund………..BUT WE CAN FORM A PUBLIC COMPANY COLLECTIVELY BY CONTRIBUTING SMALL AMOUNT EACH OF US (MAY BE Rs 500, 1000, 2000,…..,100000….) AND SELECTING SUITABLE PERSONNEL AMONG US. Each of us will be owner of the company.

We need to follow Buffet way. I believe all of us or most of us know the name of Warren Buffet, the founder of BRK (Berkshire Hathaway Inc.), the richest man on the earth. Buffet, inhabitants of Omaha, USA, started the business by making several partnership firms each of having partners less than 100 (as hedge funds are prohibited by law, not to accept fund from more than 100 persons). Buffet was brilliant in analyzing company, economy and was good decision maker (still he is). By the combined fund of approx $100000 he started investing in several companies and Now after 40 years this is $ 180 billion (Approx. Rs 7,74,00,000 Lacs) company and every resident of Omaha who were with Buffet became owner of more than $100 million (Rs 400 crore).

We can also follow the same approach together we can make a pool of money…register a company…start exploring the opportunity in Bihar and start investing in new and continuing projects. These activities will create employment opportunity in Bihar, faster development of the state and certainly will give more returns to the shareholders (every one who will contribute in the company will get shares in the ratio of their contribution) of the company. I assure minimum 20 % p.a return on investment (ROI) which is far more than what all of us are getting from FD, PO and other investment vehicle. Every major decisions of the company will be taken by the board of directors. BOD will be selected by all of us, by voting.

As I said in my previous discussion…our plan as Buffet way…as condition of USA and India is very different so we can apply this concept in our own way …..We can name it………..

THE BIHAR WAY!!!!!!

At first we will form a Public company….we will make various subsidiary of that for different projects…….I have various Idea regarding this … I am giving an example hereunder…
In Bihar we have very fertile land which is the biggest asset in the world, because these days world is facing shortage of food commodities and it will worsen year after year due to simple principle of economics….demand of agro products is increasing day by day but Supply have limited potential (and we all know that scarcity always create opportunity…do u see any opportunity here…?). But what we are lacking … lack of capital, Uneducated farmers, Lack of advance technology….etc…so I am looking a very big opportunity here…..!!!! We will create a land bank. We will borrow land (on lease) from farmers or we will make them our partner (shareholder according to their land contribution)…we will survey the domestic market as well as International market…produce the same and will sell under our own created brand name…. ..

I have lots of feasible Ideas like this but discussing all these things are not enough we all have to come together to do this…….I am ready for this…..I can arrange few hundreds Acre of land and few lacs of rupees for this project…. Now all of you have to decide how you can contribute …when you are planning to come together……

LET’S COME TOGETHER TO MAKE OUR DREAM TRUE…TO MAKE BIHAR THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK…TO SHOW THE WORLD POWER OF SELFLESS UNITY… TO SHOW THE WORLD A NEW WAY …THE BIHAR WAY

Warm Regards
Let’s DREAM, DISCUSS and DO together

Wind Power Mills

Please use following link for project report on Wind Power Mill:

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Animal Husbandry 1

Please find Project Reports on Animal Husbandry businesses in undermentioned website

Web Address: http://www.esnips.com/web/LetsReconstructBiharAH1

Business Included :

Dairy Farming

Milk Cooling Units

Feed Processing Plant

Milk Collection Center

Milk Processing

Bio Gas

We have posted Bio Gas Project Report. Please down load it from following site

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Medicinal & Aromatic Plant

Please use the under mentioned link for follwing project Reports :

Aloevera

Ashwagandha

Patchouli

High Density Amla

Annota

Medicinal Plants

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Biotechnology

1. Introduction
The success of Horticulture development hinges on selection of desired types of plants and their multiplications. Selection of desired types is based on evaluation of the quantitative and qualitative performance of plants and also in some cases their aesthetic appeal. Over the years, the horticulturists have developed various techniques for selection of desired types of plants and their multiplication. Recently interesting developments have taken place in the field of plant multiplication which involves culture of cells or tissues in laboratory.

Traditionally, horticultural plants are multiplied by means of seeds (sexual propagation) or organs other than seeds (asexual or vegetative propagation). These organs are usually stems, leaves or roots. Though multiplication by seeds is the cheapest method, it suffers form certain disadvantages. Plants raised from seeds may not repeat good performance of mother plants. Many horticultural plants take a long time to produce seeds/fruits and many of them do not produce viable seeds or desired quality of seeds. Plants propagated vegetatively do not suffer from these disadvantages. However, vegetative propagation is rather a slow, time and space consuming process. Besides, it is usually infected with latent diseases. Some plants are also not amenable to vegetative method of propagation, for example, coconut, papaya, oil palm, clove etc.
Therefore, scientists started a quest for an alternative method of plant propagation which could overcome the disadvantages of both the methods described above. After many trials and errors in the sixties, plant propagation by tissue culture method, which could overcome disadvantages of propagation by seeds or vegetative organs, was found commercially successful in the case of orchids. Subsequently, the method has been perfected for many other plants . The method (also known as micro-propagation) involves the culture of whole organism from cells or tissues or plant parts in glass (in vitro) on a defined medium under germ free conditions (sterile or aseptic), whereas conventional method of vegetative propagation (macro-propagation) involves culture of parts into whole organisms in natural conditions (in vitro).

2. Major advantages of Tissue-Culture :

A large number of true to the type plants could be propagated within a short time and space and that too throughout the year. For example, it may be possible to propagate 2-4 lakhs of Tissue Cultured Plants (TCP) from a single bush of rose against 10 to 15 plants by vegetative means. Also, it may take about 2-4 months to produce healthy planting materials by tissue culture means, whereas a minimum of 6-8 months is required for most species by the latest method of vegetative propagation.

Tissue-culture could be a useful way of circumventing or eliminating disease which can accrue in stock plants.
TCPs may have increased branching and flowering, greater vigour and higher yield, mainly due to the possibility of elimination of diseases.
The method may succeed to propagate plants where seeds or vegetative propagation is not possible or difficult or undesirable.
The method saves space and energy. For example, 2500m2 of heated green house can be replaced by a climatised room of 10m2
The flexibility of nurseries can be improved. As the capital investment on mother plants is reduced to almost zero, it may be easier to adapt to changing conditions. Additionally, a better programming of the production is possible, because of the greater plant uniformity and the availability in the mass at any time.
Tissue culture can be utilised for breeding new varieties, preservation of germplasm and in vitro synthesis of metabolites.

3. Commercial prospect

Propagation by tissue-culture offers good commercial prospect in ornamental plants, vegetables and also fruit plants, where value of the products is high. The technique has reportedly been successful in more than 100 species of plants. It has been estimated that more than 350 million TCPs are being produced annually through tissue culture.
In India there are at least ten commercial organisations, which have developed technical competence for tissue culture with or without foreign tie-ups. The present installed capacity is about 50 million TCPs and the export is of the order of Rs. 5 crores. The working group appointed by the Ministry of Commerce has proposed an export target of Rs. 30 crores i.e. about 60 million TCPs over a five year period as against the present production of 8-10 million TCPs. Tissue culture method of propagation is highly labour intensive, 55-60% of the cost is on account of labour. India's potential for export of tissue culture plants is rated very high because of abundant and cheap labour.

The domestic market for TCPs, though nascent at present, is likely to develop, since tissue culture method of propagation can multiply an elite plant very rapidly. It is well known that one of the major constraints of horticultural development in our country is inadequate availability of quality planting materials. The demand of planting materials for major fruit crops has been estimated to be of the order of Rs. 175.4 crores during the Eighth Plan period.
It may not be possible to meet this requirement by conventional nurseries. It would, therefore, be desirable to encourage commercial tissue culture labs to supplement the production of planting material by conventional means.

4. Tissue-Culture Technology

The details of technology In the last.

5. Objective of Tissue-Culture Project

The primary objective of tissue culture projects could be propagation of large quantity of good quality planting materials from elite mother plants within a short period of time and space.

6. Requirements of Tissue-Culture Projects
In line with the technology and objective of tissue cultural propagation, various facilities may also be required for such projects which are indicated below:

6.1 Land:
It is required to set up laboratory, mother plant unit, green house and office. Space may also be required for installing tube well / dug well and parking of vehicles.

6.2 Source of technology:
It would be evident from the general outline of the technology, given in the Annexure- O that propagation by tissue culture is much more sophisticated than other types of plant propagation; A tie-up with reputed laboratories, Indian or foreign, could be helpful. However, if well qualified and experienced staff are recruited, it may be possible to set up such units without any tie-up.

6.3 Mother Plants:
Mother Plants would serve as source of tissues (explant). Their performance should be tested before use as source of explant.
In case of tie-up with well established laboratories, explants from tested mother plants could be available free of cost. Otherwise, collection, maintenance and testing of superior mother plants would be necessary.

6.4 Laboratory:
A tissue-culture laboratory generally comprises of media preparation room, media store room, inoculation room, growth room, culture transfer room, sterilization area, washing area, etc. The floor plan should be designed to promote maximum efficiency. The design should facilitate maintenance of optimum temperature, humidity, illumination and ventilation. Inside air of laboratory should be free from dust particles .

6.5 Culture Media:
The medium in which plant tissue grows is made up of various salts (containing all the major and micro elements essential for growth of plants), vitamins, sugars (usually sucrose) and growth regulators at appropriate concentration. Of the various constituents of the medium, the concentration of growth regulators is critical. The plant growth is virtually controlled by the ratio between two groups of growth regulators. Cytokinin group favours shoot growth, whereas auxin group favours root growth. The ratio varies between species and even between varieties within a specie.

Sugar is the source of energy since tissues and shoots, while in the laboratory do not normally photosynthesize. Other nutrients perform their usual structural, functional and catalytic role. The agar is added to solidify the medium. Commercial tissue culture received major boost with the development of an improved medium in early sixties by Murashige and Skoog (Annexure B).

6.6 Equipments:
Propagation by tissue-culture needs a good number of laboratory equipments. The various equipments and their functions are outlined below:
i) Autoclave:
Sterilisation of all glass apparatus and culture media can be accomplished by means of steam generated in the autoclave.
ii) Analytical/Top Pan balances:
For accurate measurement of various constituents of culture media, these balances would be required. Top pan balance is used for measuring larger quantities, while analytical balance is used for measuring smaller quantities.
iii) pH meter:
It is used for measuring and adjusting hydrogen ion concentration of the culture media or solution. Hydrogen ion concentration needs to be maintained accurately for achieving optimum growth of plants.
iv) Laminar Air-flow cabinets:
In these cabinets shoots developed on explants are separated from clusters and transferred to fresh medium under sterile condition. Inoculation can also be done here.
v) Distillation sets:
Water to be used for preparation of culture media should be free from all impurities and salts. This can be accomplished by double distillation of water.
vi) Computer System:
Computerisation of laboratory in the following aspects would be helpful. Production Planning Time scheduling of Sub-culturing. Quality control of plantlets. Growth room status. Material requirement. Market planning.
vii) Air Conditioners with Stabilizers:
Maintenance of desired temperatures in growth room, inoculation room/culture transfer room would be possible by air conditioning these areas.
viii) Microscopes:
a) Stereo Microscope : This would enable dissecting out small size meristem from shoot tips by removing the protective covers of leaf primodia.
b) Compound microscope : This enables detection of bacteria and fungi in culture and plant tissues.
ix) Bottle Washing Unit:
Since a large number of bottles or vessels in which plants will be grown are required to be washed repeatedly before use, an automatic bottle washing unit would be helpful.
x) Media Cooking Unit:
Culture media, which contains all the essential nutrients, sugar and agar, needs to be cooked before use. A media cooking unit for a large scale commercial unit is, therefore, desirable.
xi) Growth room racks:
These hold the culture bottles in trays. They are mobile over a set of rails in order to maximise utilisation of space.
xii) Trays:
Supporting structure for culture bottles/vessels.
xiii) Hatches :
Pass through boxes used as gateway between clean area and semi-clean area for exchanging materials.
xiv) Tube lights:
Fluorescent tube lights are mounted on the bottoms of the shelves so that culture bottles containing explants/growing tissues receive requisite intensity of lights.
xv) Dissecting Kits :
These are necessary for separation of shoots and preparation of micro cuttings. Apart from the above, equipments such as refrigerator, rotary shakers, a stand by Genset, fire extinguisher, oven, air filters and furniture would be necessary. The office should have facilities such as Fax Machines, Telephone, Typewriters,Computers etc.

6.7 Green House
In tissue-cultural propagation, green house may be required primarily for the undernoted reasons: To raise and maintain mother plants so that growth of organs suitable for tissue culture is maximum particularly in case of ornamentals. To harden the plantlets gradually in natural environment. Green house will enable the control over light intensity and humidity, which is necessary for hardening of plants. However in case of 100% export- oriented projects, it may be possible to export the plantlets directly from the laboratory without subjecting them to hardening.

6.8 Electricity:
As it would be evident form the preceding paragraphs, no tissue-culture laboratory can operate without electricity. It is required for the following purpose: To illuminate tissues and shoots while they are in laboratory. To operate various equipments and facilities, which include air conditioners.

6.9 Water:
The various purposes for which water is essential are indicated below: Water for growing mother plants, hardening of plantlets, washing, canteen, toilets, etc. Distilled water for preparation of culture media and reagents.

6.10 Raw materials:
Raw materials required for tissue-culture project, apart from explant, are various constituents of culture media. These have already been discussed under paragraphs 4, 6.3 and 6.5.

6.11 Skilled Manpower:

Tissue-culture is a highly skilled operation. It would, therefore, be essential that laboratory and green house workers are well qualified and experienced in the technology. Their training in well established commercial laboratories would be helpful.
All the requirements of tissue-culture projects, mentioned above could be made available from local resources.

7. Location
Tissue culture project for export may be located near to Airports. The site should be well connected with roads. Assured source of water and supply of electricity to the site are essential.

8. Unit Size.

The size of tissue-culture project could be expressed in terms of the capacity of production of tissue-cultured plants (TCPs). The projects so far set up in our county with assistance from financial institutions have production capacities, which vary from 1 million to 20 million TCPs per year. The size envisaged in the present model is 1.25 million TCPs per year. It has been estimated that, to produce 1.25 million TCPs, a laboratory of 5000 sq. ft. would be required. A green house facility of 5000 sq. ft. for maintenance of mother plants and hardening tissue cultured plants would be helpful.

9. Estimated Cost.
The estimated cost for production of 1.25 million plants is placed on the top.

The recurring expenditure of only 1st year may be capitalised. Thus, the total cost may amount to Rs. 73.35 lakhs.
The estimated cost does not include cost of land. For 100% export-oriented units, land cost, may be included in the above estimate depending on merit of each case subject to a limit.
However, it may be noted that above estimates are subject to actual drawings and rate analysis by competent architects for all civil structures and quotations from accredited dealers for all equipments, furniture, etc.

10. Projected Benefit.
Of the total production of 12,50,000 TCPs, about 10,00,000 TCPs (80%) may be expected to be of exportable quality.
According to a research report of the University of Georgia, U.S.A., published in 1988, the price of TCPs in U. S. A. varied as under:
Stage III -- US$ 0.16 - 0.30/unit depending on species.
Stage IV -- US$ 0.29 - 0.40 " " "
Stage V -- US$ 0.39 - 0.69 " " "
Therefore, a net average price of Rs. 5.00/unit (net of expenses abroad on transport, commission, etc.) may be considered as reasonable.
The setting up of laboratory and other facilities and standardisation of the tissue-culture protocol may take about one year. However, 20,000 TCPs may be produced in the 1st and 2nd year for distribution as free samples.
Therefore, no income has been projected in the 1st year.

11. Market Development
The commercial prospect of tissue culture has been mentioned under paragraph 3. Presently, export-oriented units in tissue-culture enter into buy back arrangements with foreign collaborators. Under these arrangements high cost equipments are imported and high fees are paid on know-how even though these are locally available. The buy-back is available only for a limited period of 2-3 years.
In the present model it has been assumed that the beneficiaries will develop their overseas markets by visits, publicity, distribution of free samples, etc. Since all materials, equipments and know-how are locally available, it might be possible to produce high quality TCPs at a comparatively low cost.

12. Financial Viability
Financial analysis based on Discounted Cash Flow Technique indicates that the project is financially viable, as would be evident from the following data:
NPW at 15% DF -- Rs. 41.98 lakhs
BCR " " -- Rs. 1.21 lakhs
IRR " " -- 27%

13. Financial Assistance
The tissue-culture export-oriented projects are eligible for refinance support by NABARD. Banks may provide loan for the activity provided the scheme is technically feasible and financially viable.

14. Terms of Financial Assistance
14.1 Nature of Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries under the project could be qualified professional entrepreneurs/sole proprietary concerns/partnership firms/public and private limited companies/co-operatives.
14.2 Margin Money
The entrepreneurs should meet 25% of the project cost out of their own resources. However, NABARD could consider selectively, provision of margin money assistance on soft terms as per the guidelines, vide circular No. DPD. 67/92-93 (Ref:No.3708/NFS. 85/92-93) dated 27 February 1993.
14.3 Interest Rate
Interest rate will be as indicated by RBI / NABARD from time to time. The current rate of interest of the ultimate beneficiary is 15% p.a. for the size of loan exceeding Rs. 2 lakhs. However, the repayment programme has been worked out at 17% interest to take care of interest tax and other charges.
14.4 Quantum of Refinance
In view of priority attached to export, NABARD would provide refinance to the extent of 90 per cent of the loan for all 100% EOPs.
14.5 Security
Banks may obtain such security as per RBI norms.

15. Repayment
The interest payment will start from 2nd year and the repayment of principal from the 4th year. The entire loan with interest may be repayable over a period of 8 years. (Annexure N).

Note: 1) Interest in the I year is paid on the III year since one year grace period for payment of interest
2) Grace period for repayment of principal is 3 years

Annexure
Tissue culture technology
Tissue culture technology is based on the theory of totipotency i.e. the ability of a single cell to develop into whole organism. The major components of the technology include choice of explant (excised part of plant), growing of explant on a defined medium in glass vessel (in vitro), elimination and or prevention of diseases, providing appropriate cultural environment and transfer of plantlets from glass vessel to natural environment (hardening). All these constitute protocol for tissue culture. It varies from species to species and variety to variety within the same species. However, it can be standardised through trial and error and ultimately it should be repeatable and reliable

1 Stages of Tissue Culture
The stages involved in propagation by tissue culture are dividend into five. A general account of these stages is outlined below.
a Choice of explant
Explants could be shoot tips (meristem), nodal buds, sections from internodes, leaves, roots, centres of bulbs, corms or rhizomes, or other organs. The choice depends on the species to be multiplied and the method of shoot multiplication to be followed. Activity growing (shoot tips), juvenile (seedlings) or rejuvenated (suckers) tissues are preferred.
The commercial tissue culture labs commonly use tips of apical or lateral shoots, which contain meristems. Meristems are made up of cells dividing actively in an organised manner. They are about 0.1 mm in diameter and 0.25 - 0.30 mm. in length. However, explants should be chosen from typical, healthy, disease free, well tested mother plants cultivated under conditions which reduce contamination and promote growth of tissues to be cultured. If necessary explants may be subjected to virus testing and elimination. The selection of mother plants is very important for commercial success of tissue culture propagation.
The quantity of explant required for propagation by tissue culture is very small. For example, 2 mm. thick petiole sections from African violet (a flowering herb) could yield 20,000 plantlets per petiole (basal portion of leaf). Foreign/local collaborators with established business may agree to supply explant free of cost.
b. Establishment of Germfree (aseptic/sterile) culture
Excised part of plant is surfaced sterilised and transferred to sterile nutrient medium contained in glass vessel. On an average, about 50 cc. nutrient medium may be added per glass vessel. The cultures are maintained in growth rooms. If there is no infection and tissue isolated from mother plants survive in the artifical environment, initiation of new growth will take place after a week or so. Thus, germ-free culture is established.
c. Production of shoots/propagules
Once growth is initiated by induction of meristematic centres, buds develop into shoots by multiplication of cells. There are three types of multiplication systems for production of shoots.
i) Multiplication by axillary shoots
In this case shoots are produced from excised shoot tips or nodes. Hormones (cytokinins) are used to induce multiple branching. This is the most common method followed in commercial units. However, the rate of multiplication is low. Still it is preferred, because axillary shoots are likely to be gentically stable and the chances of production of types unlike mothers are less.
ii) Multiplication by adventitious shoots
Explants such as sections of leaves, internodes or roots can produce directly adventitious shoots or other organs. This system has higher multiplication rate, but lesser genetic stability than axillary system.
iii) Multiplication by somatic embryos (embryoids)
Embryos are usually formed by the union of male and female reproductive cells (zygotic embryo) which ultimately can develop into a young plant. Embryo - like structures can also be produced from somatic cells. Somatic embryos are independent bipolar structures and are not attached to the tissues of origin. They also can develop to form young plants like zygotic embryos. Somatic embryos may be produced directly from explants such as sections of leaves, internodes or roots on solid culture medium.
The formation of young - plants mentioned under (a) and (b) above, or formation of somatic embryos, mentioned in the preceding para, directly on excised plant parts occurs only in certain species.
The most common form of regeneration of plants occurs indirectly from callus. Callus is a mass of undifferentiated dividing cells often formed in tissues cultured in vitro. Callus may give rise either to adventitious shoots, which develop into plantlets, or somatic embryos, which develop into seedlings. Callus is formed even naturally in response to wound.
The formation of callus can be induced by selecting proper tissue and culture medium. This system has the highest multiplication rate and produce complete tiny plants. One gram of explants can produce one lakh somatic embryos. Dormancy can be induced in them or they can be transformed into synthetic seeds. However, callus is genetically unstable or plants arising from it may be unlike mother plants. Such plants are known as off-types. They occur more frequently in callus culture and adventitious shoot culture as compared to axillary shoot culture. Off-types are undesirable in commercial propagation. Regeneration of shoots or intact plants by any one of the multiplication systems described above is influenced by many factors, such as composition of medium (specially concentration of growth regulators), type o tissue, genotpye, ploidy level, etc.
Normally, multiplication cycle i.e., the period from incubation of plant parts on medium to formation of shoots varies from 3 to 6 weeks. However, the process is recycled many times by sub-culturing in order to obtain required multiplication rates. After completion of a cycle, shoots are cut separately and transferred to fresh medium. Cutting is done manually by using dissecting tools in laminar flow cabinets, where the air is clean to prevent any contamination. Once the shoots are placed on fresh medium, they are transferred back to the growth rooms. Thus, it may be possible to multiply the shoots 3 to 10 times per cycle of 3 to 6 weeks duration.
d. Preparation of micro-cuttings for establishment in the natural environment.
Young axillary or adventitious shoots are finally separated form clusters (micro cutting) for initiation and development of roots. After separation, they are transferred individually to a medium containing rooting hormone (auxin) and continued to be maintained in the growth rooms until the roots are formed. It may also be possible to transfer the micro cuttings directly to soil or compost in humid green house for root formation. Somatic embryo's may directly develop into seedlings.
e. Establishment in the natural environment
The most critical stage of the propagation by tissue culture is the establishment of the plantlets into the soil. The steps involved are as under
- washing of media from plantlets,
- transfer of plantlets to compost/soil in high humid green house,
- gradual decrease in humidity from 100% to normal over 3-4 weeks,
- and gradual increase in light intensity.
Plantlets during their growth in laboratory do not photo synthesise and their control of water balance is very weak. They use sugar contained in medium as source of energy. They exist like bacteria (heterotrophy). They need to be converted to more plant like existence (autotrophy) i.e., they should be in a position to utilise carbon-di-oxide from the air and solar energy for their food requirement. This acclimatization on the harsh real environment, outside artifical laboratory milieu takes place gradually.
2. Culture environment
Environment conditions in the growth room which influence cell multiplication are light, day length and temperature. In tissue culture, light is required for synthesis of green pigment (chlorophyll) and development of organs. The range of light intensities appropriate for culture room varies from 1000 to 5000 lux. Requirement of day length would be in the range of 16-18 hours. Temperature requirement varies from 200 - 300 C depending on species of plants. Tropical plants may require higher temperature than temperature plants.
3. Prevention of contamination
Prevention of contamination in tissue culture is extremely important for commercial success of the unit. The entire production can go waste if the culture is contaminated. Sugar rich culture medium, excised plant tissue and culture environment are all conducive to the growth of pathogens. Therefore, it is essential that all operations are conducted in sterile or aseptic conditions. Various stages involved in prevention of contamination are outlined below:- Mother plants should be grown under conditions which do not promote diseases. Explants should be free of disease. Meristem is usually free from disease. Surface sterilisation of explants in solutions of sodium or calcium hypochlorite is necessary. Heat or treatment with certain chemicals may eradicate latent viruses. All equipments and culture media are sterilised by autoclaving at 15 lb/sq. inch pressure at 1200 C for 15 minutes. The laboratory should be cleaned with disinfectants. Workers should wash their hands and feet with disinfectants before entering the laboratory. They should put on sterilised clothes. Double distilled water should be used for washing explant and preparation of culture medium. UV lamps assist in sterilisation of laminar flow cabinets, hatches and instruments. Air handling units are employed for growth rooms, and culture transfer rooms in order to avoid cross contamination between different areas of operation inside the clean area. The sterile condition is obtained in laminar air flow cabinets as they are provided with special type of international standard HEPA filters. These filters remove all the dust particles of above 0.3 micron present in the air.

DISCLAIMER
"The techno-economic parameters including cost, economics, repayment schedule and other terms & conditions are only indicative. While formulating or submitting the projects to NABARD, the entrepreneurs/banks should revise their projects according to the specific situation obtaining in project areas. The rates of interest charged to ultimate borrowers, rate of interest on refinance charged to participating banks by NABARD, quantum of refinance, etc. wherever mentioned, are as applicable at the time of preparation of the model schemes and as such, the latest position in this regard can be ascertained from the circulars/guidelines issued by NABARD from time to time. Further the financial viability and bankability of the scheme may have to be reworked taking in to account the present tax structures and other levies wherever applicable".

Mango Cultivation

Mango (Mangifera indica) is the leading fruit crop of India and considered to be the king of fruits. Besides delicious taste, excellent flavour and attractive fragrance, it is rich in vitamin A&C. The tree is hardy in nature and requires comparatively low maintenance costs.

Mango occupies 22% of the total under fruits comprising of 1.2 million hectares, with a total production of 11 million tonnes. Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are having the largest area under mango each with around 25% of the total area followed by Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Mango fruit is utilised at all stages of its development both in its immature and mature state. Raw fruits are used for making chutney, pickles and juices. The ripe fruits besides being used for desert are also utilised for preparing several products like squashes, syrups, nectars, jams and jellies. The mango kernel also contains 8-10 percent good quality fat which can be used for soap and also as a substitute for cola in confectionery.

Fresh mangoes and mango pulp are the important items of agri-exports from India. India's main export destinations for mango are UAE, Kuwait and other Middle East countries with a limited quantity being shipped to European market. Although, India is the largest mango producing country, accounting about 60% of world production, the export of fresh fruit is limited to Alphonso and Dashehari varieties. India's share in the world mango market is about 15 percent. Mango accounts for 40 percent of the total fruit exports from the country. There is good scope for increasing the area and productivity of mango in the country.

Climate :
Mango can be grown under both tropical and sub-tropical climate from sea level to 1400 m altitude, provided there is no high humidity, rain or frost during the flowering period. Places with good rainfall and dry summer are ideal for mango cultivation. It is better to avoid areas with winds and cyclones which may cause flower and fruit shedding and breaking of branches.

Soil :
Mango comes up on a wide range of soils from alluvial to laterite provided they are deep (minimum 6') and well drained. It prefers slightly acidic soils (pH 5.5 to 7.5)
Varieties :


Though there are nearly 1000 varieties of mango in India, only following varieties are grown in different states : Alphonso, Bangalora, Banganpalli, Bombai, Bombay Green, Dashehari, Fazli, Fernandin, Himsagar, Kesar, Kishen Bhog,Langra, Mankhurd, Mulgoa, Neelam, Samarbehist, Chausa, Suvarnarekha, Vanaraj and Zardalu.

Recently some mango hybrids have been released for cultivation by different institutes / universities. A brief introduction to such varieties is presented below :

Mallika - It is a cross between Neelam and Dashehari. Fruits are medium sized cadmium coloured with good quality, reported to be a regular bearer.

Amrapali - It is a cross between Dashehari and Neelam. It is a dwarf vigorous type with regular and late bearing variety. It yields on an average 16 t/ha and about 1600 plants can be accommodated in one hectare.

Mangeera : It is a cross between Rumani and Neelam. It is a semi vigorous type with a regular bearing habit. Fruits are medium sized with light yellow coloured skin, firm and fibreless flesh and sweet to taste.

Ratna : It is a cross between Neelam and Alphonso. It is a regular bearer and free from spongy tissue. Fruits are medium sized with excellent quality. Flesh is firm and fibreless, deep orange in colour with high TSS (19-21 Brix).

Arka Aruna : It is a hybrid between Banganapalli and Alphonso with regular bearing habit and dwarf in stature. About 400 plants can be accommodated per hectare. Fruits are large sized (500-700 gm) with attractive skin colour. Pulp is fibreless, sweet to taste (20-22 Brix). Pulp percentage is 73 and the fruits are free from spongy tissue.

Arka Puneet : It is a regular and prolific bearing hybrid of the cross between Alphonso and the Banganapalli. Fruits are medium sized (220-250 gm) with attractive skin colour, having red blush. Pulp is free from fibre, pulp percentage being 70 percent. Fruits are sweet to taste (20-22 Brix) with good keeping quality and free from spongy tissue. It is a good variety for processing also.

Arka Anmol : It is a semi-vigorous plant type from the cross between Alphonso and Janardhan Pasand. It is also a regular bearing and free from spongy tissues. Fruits ripen to uniform yellow colour. Keeping quality of the fruit is very good and it is suitable for export. It has got excellent sugar and acid blend and fruits weigh on an average about 300 g Pulp is orange in colour.

Propagation :
Farmers should always get vegetatively propagated, true to type plants from recognised nurseries. Inarching, veneer grafting, side grafting and epicotyl grafting are the popular methods of propagation in mango.

Planting : Land should be prepared by deep ploughing followed by harrowing and levelling with a gentle slope for good drainage. Spacing varies from 10 m x 10 m, in the dry zones where growth is less, to 12 m x 12 m, in heavy rainfall areas and rich soils where abundant vegetative growth occurs. New dwarf hybrids like Amrapali can be planted at closer spacing. Pits are filled with original soil mixed with 20-25 kg well rotten FYM, 2.5 kg single super phosphate and 1 kg muriate of potash.

One year old healthy, straight growing grafts from reliable sources can be planted at the centre of pits along with the ball of the earth intact during rainy season in such a way that the roots are not expanded and the graft union is above the ground level. Plants should be irrigated immediately after planting. In the initial one or two years, it is advisable to provide some shade to the young plants and also stake to make them grow straight.

Training and pruning :
About one meter from the base on the main trunk should be kept free from branching and the main stem can be allowed thereafter spaced at 20-25 cm apart in such a way that they grow in different directions. Branches which cross over/rub each other may be removed at pencil thickness.

Fertiliser Application :
In general, 170 gm urea, 110 gm single super phosphate and 115 gm muriate of potash per plant per year of the age from first to tenth year and thereafter 1.7 kg, 1.1 kg, and 1.15 kg respectively of these fertilisers per plant per year can be applied in two equal split doses (June-July and October). Foliar spray of 3% urea is recommended before flowering in sandy areas.

Irrigation :
Young plants are watered frequently for proper estalbishment. In case of grown up trees, irrigation at 10 to 15 days interval from fruit set to maturity is beneficial for improving yield. However, irrigation is not recommended for 2-3 months prior to flowering as it is likely to promote vegetative growth at the expense of flowering.

Inter cropping :
Inter crops such as vegetables, legumes, short duration and dwarf fruit crops like papaya, guava, peach, plum, etc. depending on the agro-climatic factors of the region can be grown. The water and nutrient requirements of the inter crops must be met separately.

Plant Protection :
Mango is prone to damages by a large number of pests, diseases and disorders. The recommended control measures for most important and common among them are briefed below :

Mango hopper : Two sprays (at panicles emergency and at pea size of fruits) of carbaryl (0.15%), monocrotophos (0.04%) or phosphamidan (0.05).
Mealy bug : Ploughing inter spaces in November and dusting 2% methyl parathion @200 g per tree near the trunk and fixing 20 cm wide 400 gauge polythene strips around the trunk with grease applied on the lower edge in January as prophylactic measures and two sprays of monocrotophos (0.04%) at 15 days interval as control are needed.
Powdery mildew : Two to three sprays of wettable sulphur (0.2%) or Kerathane (0.1%) at 10-15 days interval.
Anthracrose : Two sprays of Baristin (0.1%) at fortnight interval.
Malformation : One spray of 200 ppm NAA in October followed by deblossoming at bud burst stage in December - January.
Fruit drop : Regular irrigation during fruit development, timely and effective control of pests and diseases and spraying 20 ppm NAA at pea size of fruits.

Harvesting and yield :
Graft plants start bearing at the age of 3 - 4 years (10-20 fruits) to give optimum crop from 10-15th year which continues to increase upto the age of 40 years under good management.

Post Harvest Management :

Storage : Shelf life of mangoes being short (2 to 3 weeks) they are cooled as soon as possible to storage temperatue of 13 degree Celcius. A few varieties can withstand storage temperature of 10 degree Celcius. Steps involved in post harvest handling include preparation, grading, washing, drying, waxing, packing, pre-cooling, palletisation and transportation.

Packaging : Mangoes are generally packed in corrugated fibre board boxes 40 cm x 30 cm x 20cm in size. Fruits are packed in single layer 8 to 20 fruits per carton. The boxes should have sufficient number of air holes (about 8% of the surface area) to allow good ventillation.
Financial institutions have also formulated mango financing schemes in potential areas for expansion of area under mango. Individual mango development schemes with farm infrastructure facilities like well, pumpset, fencing and drip irrigation system etc. have also been considered.

Farm model for financing one hectare mango orchard is furnished in the Annexure I.

Unit Cost : The unit cost varies from state to state. The cost presented here is indicative only. The enterpreneurs and the bankers are requested to consult our Regional Offices for the latest information in this regard. The unit cost estimated for this model scheme is Rs.34400/- per ha capitalised upto the fifth year. The break-up deatails are given above.

Financial Analysis : Results of financial analysis are indicated below :

NPV at 15% DF : Rs.59058 (+)
IRR : 25.59%
Margin Money : The margin money assumed in this model scheme is 5% of the total financial outlay.
Interest Rate : Interest rate may be decided by the banks as per the guidelines of RBI.
Security : Banks may charge such security as permissible under RBI guidelines.
Repayment : The bank loan with interest is repayable within 14 years with 7 years grace period.

Cost and Income from Mango Cultivation (Rs. per ha)
Spacing : 10m x 10m
Plant population : 100
Given abovemost under headind Estimated Cost

Repayment Schedule (Mango Cultivation)
Total Financial Outlay(Rs) 34400
Margin money @ 5% of TFO((Rs.) 1720
Bank Loan(Rs.) 32680
(Amount in Rs.)


Repayment period is 14 years including 7 years grace period

Let's Think Why....?

Let’s Think …. Bihar gives most talented and intellectual people to the country and the world, But Bihar is not one of the most developed and Respected state in the country….?

Let’s Think …. Bihar gives maximum number of Engineers ,Managers, Doctors ,Politicians and other professionals, But Bihar is not giving any big entrepreneur to the world….?

Let’s Think …. Bihar has one of the best fertile lands in the world, But Bihar is not maximum producer of crops and grains even in the country….?

Let’s Think …. Bihar has enormous capacity to produce Hydro-Power, But Bihar is one of the least electricity producing and consuming state in the country….?

Let’s Think …. Bihari are building Roads, dams and other infrastructure projects, But Bihar is lacking all basic infrastructure….?

Let’s Think …. Bihari are insulted everywhere but maximum educated and uneducated Bihari are going outside for the job….?

Let’s Think …. Bihar gave Gautama Buddha and Bihar has a very glorious history, but today Bihar is considered as one of the most notorious states for Crime corruption and poverty….?
Let’s think every related issue seriously, let’s ask some questions from us…. will other people from outside Bihar will come to Bihar and solve these problems …?

Let’s realize our responsibility for the place where we born and brought up….

Let’s think what we can do for the Economical and Social development of Bihar…..

Let’s Imagine, Discuss and work together…. to Reconstruct Bihar, to Bring back its past Glory, to make Bihar an Ideal place to live and work…Let’s take Small step for the big change …..

DEVELOP BIHAR….DEVELOP BHARAT