HimVani
SHIMLA: The Timber Merchant Association has decided to boycott auctions at all state forest corporation depots. They have been demanding that VAT be paid once a year. According to the state policy, value added tax (VAT) is to be paid each time the timber is sold. The excise and taxation department had earlier given [...]

HimVani 
DHARAMSALA:Himachal Pradesh will soon have a Disaster Management Authority under the chairmanship of the chief minister. Other major decisions taken by the government:

By: Vividhaditya
By foreign hands thy humble grave adorned;
By strangers honoured, and by strangers mourned.
- Alexander Pope
Ironically, neither are the strangers honouring, nor are the strangers mourning. Nearly 42 cemeteries - estimated by London-based British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA) - mostly of the British era in the state are in pathetic condition and [...]

HimVani
SHIMLA: Raise a toast to Himachali enterprise. Kangra-Palam Bailey, Palam Queen, Bailey Queen, Thumbsar Breeze, High Speed Special… which one would you prefer?  The Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology, Palampur, has taken a giant leap in making an effort to diversify tea products, of which the above-mentioned names are a testimony. The tea-based wine and [...]

By: D D Sharma

The self-help-group of Pilhori panchayat alongside heaps of Bhabher grass (Pic: D D Sharma)
Need based micro-planning and people’s participation has brought a new ray of hope to the natives of Pilhori and Bharog-Baneri panchyats, one of the remotest area of Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. While the former is making good use [...]

HimVani
NEW DELHI: A three-day conference on social consciousness in Himalayan tradition was organised here from December 15 to 17, during the 10th International India conference of the Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES), in a tie-up with the University of Delhi, South Campus.
The conference received an enthusiastic response from scholars of Sanskrit studies and Indian studies. [...]

HimVani
 
DHARAMSALA: The state government on Tuesday decided to remove unqualified teachers appointed by parent teachers’ associations (PTA). The process for appointing teachers through the Subordinate Selection Board is ALREADY under way, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said during the Vidhan Sabha session in Dharamsala.
 

Photo and copyright: Lalit Kumar

Tourists enjoy a cultural programme, under the Taka Benches, on The Ridge, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, organised by Activity Zone, an event organising company on Christmas, December 25, 2006. Popular Pahari singers Kuldeep Sharma and Surender enthralled the tourists with Pahari-Himachali songs. Poorna Shiva and Seema Thakur kept the tourists happy with [...]

HimVani
SHIMLA: Reports that there have been no helicopter flights to the tribal areas of Himachal for the last few days is no good news for people residing in those areas, and also for the state’s just-surviving tourism industry. Imagine being stranded in a far-off cold mountain without food or other provision. Who would want to [...]

HimVani
SHIMLA: The recent announcement by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to have a centre of excellence (higher education) in every district is indeed a very bold statement. Now how this dream is materialised would depend a lot on the vision and foresightedness of his policy planners.