Mishra's work builds on the legacy of his grandfather, who opened a TB sanatorium in 1951. To date, the 100-bed facility has treated more than 80,000 people.

"In 1950, my grandfather left the luxuries of the United States for one of the poorest areas in India because he had this vision 50 years ago of eradicating tuberculosis," said Mishra. "But TB is still a problem. It is inspiring to me to see all his work and to try to complete his vision."

More than 400 million people in India are infected with TB, according to public health estimates. "That's more than the population of the United States," noted Mishra.

Mishra's grandfather, Muneshwar Pathak, was a physician working at a hospital in New York City when he heeded the call from the newly independent India for medical doctors. He left his adopted country and returned to India, where he settled in his hometown of Dehri, Bihar, and dedicated his life to public service.

The Jagjivan Sanatorium evolved from a modest five-bed facility to a full-fledged hospital with a laboratory and x-ray facilities. After medical breakthroughs allowed patients to return home without fear of infecting loved ones, the sanatorium's focus shifted to outpatient treatment. Pathak died three years ago at the age of 95, and the sanatorium needs revitalization, according to his grandson.

"We want to provide excellent care to the weaker members of our society and to those who cannot afford treatment," said Mishra, who was educated in India, England, and California. His goal is to take his TB-prevention campaign to every community within a 50-mile radius of the sanatorium and to treat up to 10,000 patients.

"We must treat those who suffer and prevent further infection if we hope to realize my grandfather's vision of eradication," said Mishra.

Mishra will use the scholarship funds to establish the Dr. Muneshwar Pathak Memorial Foundation for Rural Development, a nonprofit organization that will host a fundraising concert of world music at UCSC next spring. A student in UCSC's dual B.A./M.S. program, Mishra will earn a bachelor's degree in economics in June and will return to campus in September to start work toward his master's degree.

It is heartening to note that after a very long time Bihar had a proper Budget on time this year. Mr Prasad used to be content with a vote-on-account till July. Not just that: the Budget was devoted to allocations to schemes that have been approved, which means spending on them can begin right away. He has done many other things in the Budget, which ought to yield results.

Shiksha Verma, the Lohia Nagar Mount Carmel High School 10th grader who stood second in the ALL INDIA RANKING, says that had made the entire state very proud and her parents must be commended for instilling the right attitude in her.

Shiksha, who received 97% in the ICSE exams, is the top scorer in Bihar and only second in the entire nation. A humble Shiksha said she would love to pursue a career in computer engineering as 'it has a lot of scope to shine'.

State Science and Technology Minister Dr. Anil Kumar, while addressing a seminar on 'Environment Science and India' at the NIT campus in Patna, said the software park in Patna would soon be constructed ushering the state into a new era of Information and Technology.The state government has already made available 25 acres of land for the construction of software park in Patna that would rival similar facilities in other parts of the country.Dr. Kumar further said that within a short period of one year, over a dozen engineering colleges would be opened thus bringing an end to the mass exodus of students to similar colleges elsewhere in the nation.

In a bid to move ahead with e-governance, the state has proposed to constitute a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with the clear-cut objective of bringing about Information Technology (IT) transformation in the state. The SPV would constitute a tripartite joint venture of state-owned Beltron, Tata Consultancy Services and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) at the estimated cost of Rs. 380 million. The SPV would prepare a comprehensive special package for e-governance. Besides, separate e-governance packages would be created for different departments by the joint venture partners, based on the specific requirements of each.According to a state official, apart from preparing software and strategy, the SPV would raise funds for the development and spread of e-governance, and develop information technology infrastructure.

He however, said this was the preliminary stage of the talks and officials from the state government and NASSCOM will sit and discuss the matter further in details."We will provide all the basic infrastructure required for this. They should select the place first where they want to work, and then we will develop that place according to their needs. They were talking about the international university Nalanda, they will get what whatever facilities are required there,"
said Nitish.

Another news, UNICEF assisted by the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) has decided to launch a massive campaign to make over four lakh girls literate in one month. UNICEF sources told that the BEPC together with UNICEF would launch a massive campaign next month to teach both out-of-school girls and academically weak girls studying in schools. "The campaign will use the accelerated learning strategy developed by Pratham, an NGO", sources said.

Am I really contributing something to the welfare of the group?

What is the relevance of the group in terms of making a significant change?

Is it like just another Bihari group on the web?

After almost 11 months of the group being in existence I would think that I’ve been able to achieve a lot in what I’d set out to achieve …When I started out world wide web had no BLOG DEDICTED TO BIHAR.I still recall the early days when people used to send 10-12 mails everyday asking how long do you think the good news from Bihar will keep coming.

People from all over the world love to know more about Bihar, the culture, tradition and the people.

But some of the other positives I look at is the way in which new pride is being associated of being a Bihari…Let’s not expect too much too soon it’ll be a long drawn process which will require lots of efforts and brainstorming before we can finally make some ground level changes but I’m sure and highly optimistic about the future of the group and our State.

Without taking names I would say that each one of you have given immense contribution in brining the group together. Some of you may not be replying to each and every post but I know for sure that a smile must be appearing on your faces while reading the posts on the group. I think those particular moments when we’ll smile and get an essence and feel of being a Bihari is the group’s biggest achievement.

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The Nitish Kumar administration is set to enter into a tie-up with Jamshedpur’s XLRI School of Management in a bid to boost the image of the state machinery.

Under the programme that is expected to start in July, the premier business school will impart training to thousands of state employees cutting across categories.

Additional chief secretary of Bihar A.K. Choudhary told The Telegraph that the NDA government was serious about changing work culture in the various state departments. “We are tying up with XLRI, which will impart training to our employees from the secretariat to collectorates in all the districts. This is an initiative by chief minister Nitish Kumar himself,” Choudhary said at the local circuit house here.

Choudhary today held talks with senior XLRI officials to finalise the nitty-gritty of the training programme. The meetings were held with the faculty members of the management development programme (MDP) and the institute’s director, Father N. Casimir Raj.

The programme envisages tips on quality of leadership, attitude and behavioural change, group activities and development of a people-friendly approach.

The XLRI director appeared ready for the challenge. “It is an excellent opportunity for the institute as well…. We are working with the Bihar government in a bid to help it develop the state’s human resource,” he said, adding that the course, which will be conducted in the steel city, will start in July.

Sources pointed out that MDP coordinator E.M. Rao will oversee the project, which will feature targeted course content and modules prepared with the help of experts.

A senior government official in Patna said: “Much needs to be done to improve the image of the government, which has gone down in public memory over the past decade.”

The journey continues from Guyana, where ship records are secured from the National Archives, to the ports of Calcutta, India, where the 19th Century East India Company ships carried human cargo out. From Calcutta, the filmmaker journeys into the land of her ancestors in Bihar, India, where massive crowds await the sight of a returned daughter.

The new Bihar government has announced an incentive package for establishment and expansion of sugar units. "After Uttar Pradesh, Bihar will be the new growth zone for sugar industry," said O P Dhanuka, the chairman and managing director of Riga Sugar.The company has a 3,500 ton crushing per day (TCD) capacity sugar mill at Sitamarhi in Bihar and is planning to expand the capacity to 5,000 TCD in the next year in order to become one of the biggest sugar mills in the state.

The single-window State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has already received Detailed Project Reports (DPR) from Rajshree in this regard. The company proposes to set up two integrated sugar complexes by investing a total of Rs 480 crore in two Bihar districts: Rs 242 crore for the East Champaran project and Rs 238 crore for the one in Madhubani.

Early next week, the company will file a DPR for another project in Muzaffarpur district. Apart from the three new mills, Rajshree has also applied for revival of three state-owned mills, now shut, in Madhubani, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.

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