Briefly Region

Free SMS for farmers on weather a hit

Chandigarh: The free SMS service introduced by CCS Haryana Agricultural University,Hisar,to give weather information to the farmers on mobile phone has evoked good response from the farming community. About 7,000 farmers have already been associated with the university to take benefit from the scheme,a spokesman of the university said adding that the service was introduced in March 2011 under the ATMA scheme of agriculture department. The information regarding weather was provided to the farmers in Hindi through SMS and voice message were also given to the illiterate farmers,he added.

Dhumal inaugurates Hotel institute

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Thursday inaugurated the Hotel Management Institute at Salasi in Hamirpur district. Speaking at a function held on the campus,Dhumal said the institute will provide trained and skilled staff to boost the hospitality industry,besides providing employment to the youth. As many as 45 kanal land was provided to start this national-level institute,he added.

LIC faces uphill task in meeting targets

Shimla: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is facing an uphill task to meet its targets due to stiff regulatory changes mainly in the “unit linked insurance plans”. Sat Pal Bhanu,LIC Senior Divisional Manager,said: “Though the company has withstood market challenges like the entry of the private sector,we are still finding it difficult to meet the goals in certain areas.” Addressing mediapersons in Shimla on the LIC completing 55 years,Bhanu said that last year,the Shimla division had achieved Rs 613.43 crore First Premium Income (FPI) with 35,7159 policies. This year,the target was Rs 767 crore FPI with 41,7000 policies. However,till last month,the division could achieve only Rs 118.60 crore — only 16 per cent of the target. The LIC has formulated a strategy to meet the demands by increasing the number of agents.