AXN Channel Banned
It had come to the notice of the Central Government that some cable operators in the country through their Cable Television Networks are transmitting /re-transmitting a satellite channel namely “AXN” which is reportedly telecasting programmes such as ‘World’s Sexiest Advertisements’ that are against good taste or decency and are likely to adversely affect public morality. Therefore, the Central Government thinks it necessary to prohibit transmission or re-transmission of the said channel in the country. As such the Central Government in exercise of the power conferred by sub-section (2) of Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, has taken decision to prohibit the transmission/re-transmission of this channel on all platforms.
IITTM to start a new Campus at Noida
It is a multi-campus Institute functioning from its centers at Gwalior, Bhubaneswar, Goa and a new center being set up at Noida. The Minister of Tourism & Culture Smt. Ambika Soni will lay the foundation stone of the new campus at Sector-62, Noida on 18th January, 2007. IITTM has been a pioneer in the field of education, training, research and consultancy in the highly dynamic travel and tourism sector. The Institute has been designated as the International focal point of the Asia Pacific Educational and Training Institutes in Tourism (APETIT) with an objective of strengthening the quantitative and qualitative need for training, education and research in Asia-Pacific countries. The institute offers both post-graduate and under-graduate programmes in tourism and travel. The Institute also conducts short term Management Development Programme (MDP) on various aspects of tourism and travel apart from sponsored programmes for different states and central government and autonomous bodies. IITTM through its programmes, has upheld its objective in achieving excellence in developing human resources in tourism & travel & allied sectors.
Owing to the phenomenal growth of the tourism industry and the necessity for grooming world class manpower. Government of India has decided to set up another center of IITTM at Delhi/NCR. Five acres of land have been allotted in Noida and 14.52 crores have been sanctioned by Ministry of Tourism for the construction of the campus. Proposed courses to commence are:
Two Year Post Graduate Diploma in Tourism & Leisure Management
Management Development Programmes (MDPs), Capacity Building for Service Provider (CBSP) and other short term programmes on tourism travel and allied sectors like other centers.
Baba Ramdev’s claims to Cure HIV by Yoga
A section of the media has reported the claim made by Baba Ramdev that yoga can cure AIDS. He is also reported to have claimed that AIDS cannot be prevented by using condoms.
While Yoga and regular exercise certainly help people including those who are HIV positive to be healthier, it would be far-fetched to claim that a cure for AIDS will be found through yoga in the next couple of years. The reported statement may mislead the masses and undo the immense efforts that countless social activists, volunteers and organizations have rendered over the years to check the spread of the epidemic by promoting safe behavioural practices.
National AIDS Control Organization, through its partners, public and private sector organizations, NGOs/CBOs, faith based organizations, media and other stakeholders has been at the forefront of the battle against HIV/AIDS, promoting the ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful & using Condoms) strategy for HIV prevention. Condom is the only prophylaxis against the transmission of the virus apart from giving protection from STIs and unwanted pregnancies.
Further, the reported suggestion by Baba Ramdev to do away with sex education among youngsters will be a retrograde step. Sex education helps the new generation to gain knowledge on this vital aspect in a scientific manner, instead of relying on half-cooked and wrong information from peers and other sources. The demand of the time is to open up discussions on the issues of sex and sexuality and break the silence surrounding HIV/AIDS. Information and knowledge is the only way of saving the lives of our youths.
Banglore: 25% Annual Traffic Growth
It has been forecasted that annual air traffic growth in Bangalore upto the year 2011-12 would be about 25%. This information was given by Shri Praful Patel, Minister for Civil Aviation in the Parliament today.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has collected data on the international passenger traffic of Bangalore, International Airport , Karnataka. The growth of international passenger traffic at Bangalore Airport during 2004-05 and 2005-06 was 42% and 27% respectively.
Special Tourism Zones (STZs)
The Minister of Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni informed the Rajya Sabha today that no proposal has been drawn up to set up Special Tourism Zones (STZs), on the lines of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). In a written reply she said, Ministry of Tourism has formulated a scheme of Assistance for Large Revenue Generating projects for development of tourism infrastructure in public private partnerships and in partnerships with other Government /Semi-Government agencies.
Enquiry against Cos invovled in Share Scam
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has forwarded a list of some companies suggesting an examination based on the market performance of their shares during the period 1999-2001, with a view to ascertaining their involvement, if any, in the reported market
The names of the companies referred above are as under:-
i) Adani Exports Ltd.
ii) Aftek Infosys Ltd.
iii) Cadilla Healthcare Ltd.
iv) Digital Super Highway Pvt. Ltd.
v)Himachal Futuristic and Communications Ltd.
vi) Lupin Laboratory Ltd.
vii) Maars Software Ltd.
viii) Mascon Global Ltd.
ix) Nirma Ltd.
x) Padmalaya Telefilms Ltd.
xi) Padmini Technologies Ltd.
xii) Ranbaxy Labs Ltd./Vidyut Investments Ltd.
xiii) Zee Telefilms Ltd.
The involvement of the above companies in capital market manipulation as alleged is being ascertained.
This information was given by Shri Prem Chand Gupta, Minister of Company Affairs in reply to the question raised by Shri Tapan Kumar Sen and Shri Chittabrata Majumdar in Rajya Sabha today.
Ray of Hope in PPH and DCM Diseases
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Friday, December 15, 2006 — (Business Wire India) — Dr Shalin Thakore and Dr Himanshu Patel,the city based renowned cardiologist and embryologist respectively have ignited a ray of hope for PPH and DCM diseases by successfully implemented stem cell procedure.
Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) or unexplained pulmonary hypertension is a lung disorder in which the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery rises far above normal levels for no apparent reason. Pulmonary artery is a blood vessle that carries blood from the heart to the lung.The normal pulmonary artery pressure is less than 30 mmHg in patients with PPH the presuure is progressively putting a strain on the heart leading to fatigue, tiredness, difficulty in breathing, dizziness and swelling of the feet. The diagnosis of PPH is often delayed due to the slowly progressive and insidious onset of symptoms.
Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the condition, where the muscles of the heart become weak for no apparent reason, leading to an enlargement of the heart. Patients with DCM present with difficulty in breathing and tiredness.
Both diseases occur commonly in patients between the age of 20-40 years. The diseases are more common in females and also after pregnancy. As per American Heart Association and Pulmonary Hypertension Association, there is no such known cure for the diseases till date. The goal of the treatment was only to control symptoms.
The city based team of medical experts Dr Shalin Thakore and Dr Himanshu Patel carried out stem cell therapy in patient with incurable conditions. The first patient with PPH was admitted in critical condition with a pulmonary artery pressure of 160 mmHg.The stem cell therapy has never been reported for the treatment of this disease. The first patient with PPH underwent stem cell infusion in the pulmonary artery on 4th November,2006. Her improvement was miraculous. Within few days,she was taken off oxygen and her PA pressure decreased to 65 mmHg. She was discharged from the hospital 5 days after the procedure and she is now able to carry out her routine household activities.
Encouraged by the results of stem cells in patients with heart attacks, the same team of medical experts carried out this treatment on a 22 year old patient with DCM,who was admitted with severe breathlessness, low blood pressure and poor pumping function of the heart.(Normal is 55 % and above. In this case,lvef:4 %). The treatment was carried out on 28th November, 2006.The patient’s recovery was dramatic. After 15 days of the treatment her pumping function of the heart was improved to 15 %. Such amazing improvement has never been reported with any modality of the treatment anywhere in the world in both the conditions. Possible mechanisms for recovery are improvement in endothelial function and neoangiogenesis.
Renewable Energy Park at Bhubneshwar
The State Level Renewable Energy Park set up at Khandagiri foothills, Bhubaneswar with funding from Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Orissa Shri Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar yesterday.
The park covering an area of about 3 acres demonstrates most of the new working systems such as solar cooking, lighting, drying, water heating, gasifier, wind generator, biodiesel power, solar energy drier and models of small hydro power, wave energy, geothermal energy. An attractive and informative Interactive Media Center and conference hall/auditorium on solar passive architecture concept has been constructed to screen films and organizing meetings/conferences. An expenditue of over Rupees One crore has been incurred on the park.
While inaugurating the park, Hon’ble Chief Minister mentioned the renewable energy policy, biodiesel policy and renewable power purchase obligation by the state government . He mentioned the interest of private industries who were taking interest in renewable power development in the state.
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been supporting setting up of district and state level Renewable Energy Parks to create public awareness and education on renewable energy technologies & systems. It also provides funds for the park, remote village electrification and village energy security projects
On the occasion, Dr. N.P. Singh, Adviser, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy briefly mentioned the developments taken place in the area of renewable energy such as Solar Wind, Biomass, Small Hydro, etc and desired the accelerated use of renewable energy sources which were in plenty in the State of Orissa. Dr. Singh mentioned the 14 Renewable Energy Clubs sanctioned to engineering colleges and district level energy parks in the State of Orissa.
J P Batra is Chairman of UIC
Shri J.P. Batra, Chairman, Railway Board has been elected as Chairman of the International Union of Railways (UIC), a prestigious world-wide organization for international cooperation among railways and promotion of rail transport mode, headquartered in Paris, France.
For the past one year, the organization is gearing up for new challenges, in particular, railway liberalization, increasing competition from other modes, the growing economic constraints on railways together with the challenge of globalization of the transport market which creates new opportunities for railways. Shri Batra, who is also presently the Chairman of World Executive Council (WEC) of UIC, an executive body of Chief Executives from different geographical regions of the world and responsible for UIC activities at global level, had led the transformation of UIC to meet the aspirations of all its members across the globe.
The new UIC will focus on the development of intercontinental freight corridors (N.E.W. Corridor, etc.), cooperation within the Metre Gauge, Broad Gauge groups, etc., interactive seminars between customers (railways) and suppliers (world industry), projects in the field of training and strategic management i.e. creation of Inter Railway Strategic Management Institute (IRMSI).
He is the first non-European to be elected for the prestigious assignment. The organization founded in 1922, has 171 members including railways, rail operators, infrastructure managers, railway service providers, public transport companies, etc. spread over all five continents.
Major functions undertaken by UIC involve promoting technical cooperation between its members and maintaining the overall coherence of the railway system, notably at pan-European level, and achieving interoperability which is one of the keys for bolstering rail transport competitiveness. In this context, UIC is responsible for:
· Putting forward specifications and standards to standardization bodies;
· Acting as a technical platform to support the work of railway associations;
· Spearheading international rail cooperation projects which dovetail with its core technical tasks;
· Defining common provisions and recommendations intended for its members; and
· Concluding agreements with Intergovernmental organizations and other trade organizations responsible for transport matters or which cooperate with the railways.