- Gurgaon, September 21: Nalini Singh Siwach got her revenge and the first title this season as she clinched the Hero-DLF GCC event, the fifth leg on the Hero-WGAI Tour on Friday. Nalini, whose home course is the DLF Golf and Country overcame the nervousness of two double bogeys on the front nine and held her nerve in the closing stages with one birdie and five pars in the last six holes for a card of 75.Nalini totalled 217, four clear of Smriti Mehra (80) and Vani Kapoor (72), who were tied for second at 221.It was the season’s first win for Nalini, who is coached by Anitya Chand, also the coach for Vani. “It feels nice to finally win after coming close many times and it becomes even better because this is my home course,” said an elated Nalini, who was second last week. She was also third on two earlier occasions. For Vani it was her second runner-up finish and she has one win. In five events, there have been four winners, with only Smriti winning twice.With Smriti dropping from the top with a horrendous run of three bogeys followed by a quadruple bogey on the par-3 16th, Nalini just had to ensure she made no similar costly mistakes. Smriti ended with an 80 to be in a tie for second with Vani.Vani who had a stunning three-under 33 on the back nine had the best round on the final day. She could well have pushed Nalini a bit more but for a poor start and then another two bogeys on the back nine. She had six birdies, six bogeys and six pars in a roller-coaster of a round.She began badly going to three-over in first six holes, and she turned in three-over as she birdied the seventh and bogeyed ninth. But from tenth to 13th, she was on fire with four birdies in a row.At that stage she was only two behind Nalini, but bogeys on 15th and 17th ruined her charge and the birdie on 18th only helped her climb back to second to tie with Smriti.Nalini, starting one behind Smriti, bogeyed the second, but made up with a birdie on third to catch up with Smriti at that stage. But suddenly two back-to-back doubles saw her slip to four-over as Smriti, steady till then, for front nine was four shots in lead.On the back nine, Nalini was composed with a birdie on tenth and bogey on 12th and then she played a series of pars broken by a welcome birdie on 16th. Smriti meanwhile collapsed with three bogeys from 12th to 14th and then added to her woes with a triple bogey on par-3 16th, where she went into the water once and then missed a small putt.Neha Tripathi (74) was fourth at 227, while Saaniya Sharma (80) slipped to fifth at 229 and Meghna Bal (75) ended sixth at 232.The sixth leg will be held at Golden Greens in Gurgaon next week.
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On being asked about their donors under RTI, CPI provides information. All other national parties BJP, INC, NCP, BSP, CPM refuse saying they do not come under RTICIC to hear the complaint on 26th Sept after a year and half of filing of complaintPolitical parties behavior completely opposite to their stated position of trying to bring in transparencyNew Delhi: Sept 22, 2012: On being asked questions through RTI on their largest donors and the manner of these donations by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), all national political parties except for CPI declined to give the information. While CPI provided the information about their largest donors, their addresses, the mode of payment of these donations, etc., other parties either didn’t reply or simply said that they did not come under RTI.In a letter signed by their then general secretary Mr A B Bardhan, CPI said that it is a Public Authority as the organization is substantially financed directly or indirectly by government funds. It also said that they have an internal appellate authority in case we were not satisfied by the information received.INC (Indian National Congress) however returned the RTI letter along with the postal order. In a letter signed by Mr Motilal Vohra, it said that since AICC does not come under RTI, it was returning the letter along with the postal order fee.BJP did not even respond to the RTI application. Neither did BSP. NCP replied but said that it didn’t have enough man-power to provide the information asked for.CPI(M), also returned the RTI application along with the postal order. Through a letter singed by Mr Hari Singh Kang, Member Central Secretariat, CPI(M), it said that CPI(M) is not a public authority as per the provisions of RTI Act and hence under no obligation to provide the information.Making these replies the basis, ADR had filed a complaint with CIC in Mar 2011 to direct the political parties to give this information. This complaint has now come for hearing along with another complaint of Mr Subhash Agarwal, a RTI activist.ADR said in a statement that the leaders of all political parties publically maintain that they are committed to transparency and probity in the functioning of political parties. However when it comes to the implementation, their behavior is completely opposite. These replies bring to the fore the biggest farce that our democracy is plagued with – the opaque functioning of political parties with no space for engagement with the citizens and no willingness to open themselves to public scrutiny.Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch in 2008 had also won the CIC judgement making IT returns and contribution reports of political parties available in the public domain. Even at that time all political parties had opposed to part with this information. CIC had however directed the Income Tax authorities to make this information public as there was huge public interest in the information.It is common knowledge that the political parties get lot of benefits and facilities from various govt departments. As a recent report of ADR and National Election Watch showed, they have huge income and all of their income is tax exempt.Political parties get substantially financed by a very large amount by getting tax exemption on all their income. In addition all the major political parties have been also provided facilities for residential and official use by Directorate of Estates (DoE). They have been given offices and accommodations at prime locations like Akbar road, Raisina road, Chanakyapuri etc and are charged only a token of money as rent or dues. These facilities are not just provided to them at marginal rates but their maintenance, upgradation, modernization, renovation and construction is also done at state expense. A large amount of money is also spent by Election Commission of India on political parties for giving electoral rolls.Doordarshan and AIR also provide free broadcast facilities to the political parties. If closely seen, the money spent on that basis actually runs in crores. State funding is also given for publicity of political parties during elections.It is indeed very surprising that the political parties who at one end claim to work under transparent and people centric manner have flatly refused to work in such a fashion.ADR, had filed a complaint on 23rd March, 2011 with the CIC to get information from political parties. The hearing now is scheduled for 26th September. The letter from CIC also has also mentioned that the matter is serious and of wider implications. The case is thus going to be placed before full bench.Contact DetailsMedia and Journalist Helpline+91 80103 94248Email: adr@adrindia.orgAnil Bairwal,National CoordinatorNational Election Watch, andAssociation for Democratic Reforms011 4081 7601,+91 9999310100adr@adrIndia.org,Prof Jagdeep ChhokarIIM AhmedabadFounder Member National Election Watch, Association for DemocraticReforms+919999620944Prof Trilochan SastryIIM BangaloreFounder Member,National Election Watch,Association for Democratic Reforms+919448353285,State Co-ordinators: Association for Democratidc Reforms
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Heart devices will not hinder MRI tests anymore69 year old Ashok Trikha, first Indian implanted with the First ever MRI Compatible ICD at Fortis Escorts Heart InstituteNew Delhi, September 21, 2012 - ICDs (Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator) are for sure heart saving devices but at the same time they hinder life saving tests too. Being MRI prohibitive, they become cause of loss of life too, But not anymore. Biotronik has innovatively made such devices that will not be impacted in anyway by MRI scans, if need arise.BIOTRONIK’s new ProMRI® technology, which for the first time allows implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) and heart failure patients to undergo life-saving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, is really a life saving innovation.A team of doctors from Escorts led by Dr Anil Saxena, Associate Director & Clinical Head, Cardiac Pacing & Electrophysiology and Dr Aparna Jaswal, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Dept. of Cardiac Pacing & Electrophysiology, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute have implanted India’s first Lumax ProMRI® 640 ICD, in a 69 year old male patient.Mr. Ashok Trikha was brought to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute with symptoms of Sustained VT (continuous fast heart rate, a major cause for Sudden Cardiac death). Dr Anil Saxena and Dr Aparna Jaswal along with their team implanted India’s first Lumax ProMRI® 640 ICD. The patient is doing fine.“It is very important for patients to have access to MRI - the ‘gold standard’ for soft tissue imaging and critical for the diagnosis of conditions such as cancer and strokes,” commented Dr. Anil Saxena. “Patients with standard ICDs, CRT-Ds and CRT-Ps are currently denied access to MRI due to the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields produced by MRI but 50–75% of them will be indicated for an MR scan during the lifetime of their device.”“BIOTRONIK’s ProMRI® technology is groundbreaking,” informed Dr. Aparna Jaswal. “Physicians now have the opportunity to implant an advanced, high quality device that treats life-threatening arrhythmias - and also allows the use of MRI to diagnose serious comorbidities.”“Since 2003, Biotronik products have been in development with a long-term view that MR scans for patients with a cardiac device will be a market requirement in the future,” said Tushar Basu, Managing Director at BIOTRONIK India. “Today this has resulted in BIOTRONIK’s ability to deliver the world’s first and only MRI-approved ICDs, CRT-Ds and CRT-Ps, a true milestone in cardiac rhythm management therapy.”BIOTRONIK’s broad, technologically advanced ProMRI® product portfolio, which features the new Lumax 640 ProMRI® ICD and Evia ProMRI® HF-T pacemaker series, includes 3 ICDs, 2 pacemakers as well as a CRT-D (cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator) and a CRT-P (cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker) device and more than 16 compatible leads.
About BIOTRONIK GmbH & Co. KGAs one of the world’s leading cardiovascular medical device companies, with several million implanted devices, BIOTRONIK is represented in over 130 countries with its global workforce of more than 6,200 employees. Known for having its finger on the pulse of the medical community, BIOTRONIK assesses the challenges physicians face, and provides the best solutions for all phases of patient care, ranging from diagnosis to treatment to patient management. Quality, innovation and reliability define BIOTRONIK and its growing success, and deliver confidence and peace of mind to physicians and their patients worldwide. ( www.biotronik.com) -
Bollywood actress Hrishita Bhatt will soon be seen on STAR Plus⠼b>Lakhon Mein Ek. The talented actress who has shared the silver screens with most of the top notch Bollywood actors will be playing a very different role in the coming episode.Hrishita will support the role of a paralytic patient from Kolkata who gets the zeal to live again because of her husbandⳠhard work and efforts. When asked Hrishita about why she chose to play this role she said, 㗨en I came to know the story I was very touched with the love that the husband and wife had. This is very touching that someone has actually gone ahead and made the life of his soul mate so beautiful. Initially I was not ready to do this but Hadi Ali Abrar, the director of the episode convinced me to do this role. I am so glad that I am part of this story and also very happy that STAR Plus is bringing stories of such heroes out to everyone
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New Delhi, September 22, 2012:You must be aware that the health and wellness category is growing at a good pace. Consumers are increasingly becoming health conscious and are looking at options which are nutritious and tasty. The goodness of brown rice is undisputed and increasingly this category is poised to grow as there is enough awareness that has been created about the nutritional aspect of brown rice. Doctors, nutritionists and dieticians are now increasingly recommending brown rice as an excellent source of all-round nutrition. Keeping this mind, Best Foods has introduced new variety of Brown Rice.Best Foods Ltd, which is one of fastest growing and amongst the largest rice companies in India brings to you finest Basmati Brown rice of unmatched quality sourced straight from the foothills of Himalayas and other prime rice growing areas in India to add an aromatic experience with every spoonful of rice you take.After aggressive expansion in retail sector, Best Foods has launched a superior quality of Brown rice for the consumers. Brown rice also known as 'unpolished rice' & is brown in color. It is actually how all rice would look before it goes through the entire process of polishing. Every rice grain has an outer layer of a slightly stiff cover called the 'hull' or husk. Brown Rice is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. A single cup provides nearly ninety percent of the daily recommended dosage of manganese, which is needed for energy production. It is also an excellent source of (a) selenium, an antioxidant trace mineral linked to immune health and cancer prevention;(b) magnesium, which is necessary for bone health, muscle and nerve cell functioning, food metabolism, and the uptake of calcium and potassium; and (c) silica, an important mineral for bone health and slowing the aging process. Women who eat whole grains like brown rice tend not to gain weight. Brown rice minimizes colon cancer risk, lowers cholesterol level and provides significant cardiovascular benefits for post-menopausal women. It's a good source of fiber that reduces high cholesterol levels and prevents atherosclerosis and breast cancer." What's more Brown rice can remain in storage for six months under normal conditions.Speaking at the launch of premium range of Brown rice, Dr. Ritika Samaddar, Chief Nutritionist, Max Healthcare said that, “There are some proven reasons regarding the nutrition benefits of brown rice. The news that brown rice brings positive health benefits is fast spreading and people in many countries have started eating brown rice or at least, a combination of white rice and brown rice. The most important thing about brown rice is that it is rich in fiber which is present in the brown bran layer of the grains. The health benefits of a high fiber diet are being stressed by medical experts and this alone is a very good reason why you should eat brown rice instead of the regular white rice. Eating brown rice increases energy and mental stability, as this whole grain is an incredible source of B-complex vitamins. Both brown and white rice have similar calorie, carbohydrates and protein content but they differ greatly in nutritional content.” She further added, “The health benefits of high fiber content foods are numerous. It reduces the possibility of heart diseases, helps avoid abrupt spikes in sugar levels, helps digestion and reduces constipation etc. Some medical tests have indicated that the health benefits of brown rice could include controlling high blood pressure. Besides high fiber content, brown rice also contains other nutrients like, B vitamins, manganese, selenium and iron. By eating brown rice, you will also get the health benefits that such nutrients give the human body.”Dr. Aayushman Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Best Foods Ltd., remarked, “At Best Foods, we are driven by a single-minded philosophy of offering only the best to the consumers. Globally the demand for basmati rice has shown great upsurge both in international and domestic market. Best Foods Ltd. which had started its operations since 1998 is today a well-entrenched player in India. The key growth drivers are our quality, consistency and our ability to understand the consumer preferences”.Detailing out the retail strategy, Dr. Gupta elaborated, “With rise in disposable income, modern retail boom and demanding consumers, the rice sector has shown interesting developments – right from quality, packaging and placement. With a competitive scenario in this sector, Best Foods today offers the finest quality of rice with a world class packaging. At Best Foods, we treat rice as an experience meant to be savored. We dare to call ourselves the BEST because we will not accept and deliver anything short of that. Presently, Best brown basmati rice is available in over 100 outlets in Delhi/ NCR & other key cities across the country. We also have our own stand-alone 40 Best Health and wellness outlets at strategic points in Delhi and NCR where we retail our varieties of rice, honey, walnuts including nutritious brown rice. Best Brown rice is priced of Rs. 150/- onwards for a kilogram. “ -
Canada yet to ban export of deadly fiber to India but has been forced to list white asbestos as hazardous substance
India must stop procurement of asbestos from China, Canada, Russia, Zimbabwe & Kazakhstan
Ministries of Commerce and Rural Development must learn from Ministries of Labor, Chemicals, Environment, Health, Mines and Railways who are for phase out of asbestos
New Delhi, 18/9/2012: After Canadian government’s announcement that it will stop objecting to the listing of chrysotile asbestos (white asbestos) as a dangerous material under the U.N.’s Rotterdam Convention on exports of hazardous materials, Government of India and the State Governments are under an ethical and logical obligation, backed by indisputable scientific and medical evidence, to close down asbestos industry and stop the construction of asbestos plants in Bihar, Odisha and elsewhere in the country to protect the health of citizens, workers and their families. Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) and ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) welcome the Canadian announcement and encourages it to stop continued exports of Canadian asbestos to countries like India.
Canadian Industry Minister Christian Paradis announced that the Canadian government will no longer oppose global rules that restrict use and shipment of the substance and promised to invest up to $50 million to help the country's last remaining asbestos mining region, in Quebec's Eastern Townships, to diversify into other areas of activity. This movement towards asbestos free activity is a result of the political isolation being faced by the ruling Conservative Party which had previously blocked the chrysotile form of asbestos from being listed under the convention on three occasions, most recently at a summit in 2011 in Switzerland. The convention requires consensus of its members to list a substance; five other forms of asbestos are already listed as hazardous. The announcement was made on September 14, 2012.
This decision of the Canadian government after the meeting of John Baird, Foreign Minister of Canada with SM Krishna, Union Minister of External Affairs on September 12, 2012 assumes significance given the fact that it happened in the context of bilateral framework agreements like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and the Social Security Agreement besides agreements for mining etc. Earlier, it had emerged that Union Ministry of Commerce is unable to resist asbestos industry’s influence in public interest and desist from signing the "Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (CEPA) with Canada that allows the export of cancer causing Canadian asbestos to India. The New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada, the official Opposition party has revealed the efforts of Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper government to eliminate trade tariffs on exports of lethal Canadian asbestos to India. “It is a disgrace that the Harper government has opposed the global effort to ban this substance,” NDP said in a release dated December 5, 2011.
Disregarding the regressive influence of asbestos producers like Canada, China, Russia, Zimbabwe and Kazakhstan, Indian government should act to make South Asia and the India-Brazil- South Africa (IBSA) region countries asbestos free. Notably, South Africa has already banned asbestos and several States in Brazil too have banned it.
BANI and TWA recognize that Canadian government was forced by Quebec premier-elect Pauline Marois who has vowed to cancel a $58-million loan guarantee offered by the previous government to revive Canada’s only remaining asbestos mine which has created victims in the developing world countries.
Under the changed political situation, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who is scheduled to visit India in November 2012 has now agreed to join global consensus that considers asbestos as a hazardous substance. In any case in the last UN meeting of Rotterdam Convention after India disassociated itself from Canadian government, it was facing isolation and belittling its own stature among the comity of nations through its hypocrisy on asbestos.
It is about time Indian government banned the domestic uses of asbestos and invested in removal of asbestos from public buildings such as legislative buildings, hospitals, schools, homes and workplaces.
The global public opinion and the domestic opinion is against asbestos business creating a political compulsion for both in Canada and India to read the red signal for the end of the chrysotile business and for prohibiting its import and export.
Unsuspecting citizens and workers in India have been forced to work with this hazardous substance whose dangers have been kept hidden from them.
The next logical step for Canada is to provide household income to victims of Canadian asbestos in India because it continued to export in full knowledge that it is likely to cause incurable lung diseases. Central and State Governments in India are also under a legal obligation to ensure that both occupational and non-occupational victims of asbestos exposure get legal and medical remedy.
More than 50 countries have banned production, use, manufacture and trade of the hazardous mineral fiber, ASBESTOS. These countries are: Algeria, Czech Republic, Iceland, Malta, Seychelles, Argentina, Denmark, Ireland, Mozambique, Slovakia, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Estonia, Italy, New Caledonia, South Africa, Bahrain, Finland, Japan, Norway, Spain, Belgium, France, Jordan, Oman, Sweden, Brunei, Gabon, South Korea, Poland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Germany, Kuwait, Portugal, Turkey, Chile, Greece, Latvia, Qatar, United Kingdom, Croatia, Honduras, Lithuania, Romania, Uruguay, Cyprus, Hungary, Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia. All the 27 countries of European Union have banned it.
Meanwhile, villagers’ protest against asbestos factories in Bihar’s Bhojpur and Vaishali and Odisha’s Bargarh district is continuing seeking stoppage of asbestos factories.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI)-ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), Phone: +91-11-2651781, Fax: +91-11-26517814, Mb: 9818089660 Web: banasbestosindia.blogspot.com -
Adamant Central Govt. notifies lenient FDI in multi brand retail policy.Major deviations in FDI policy to benefit MNCsA careful study of the policy of the Government allowing FDI in Retail Trade notified on 20th September reveals the fact that the Government in order to provide more easy access to MNCs has diluted the conditions originally imposed in its policy earlier. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has strongly criticized the Government for such a step and considering the seriousness of the matter it has called an emergent meeting of its National Governing Council comprising of leaders of different States on 26th and 27th September at New Delhi to draw future countrywide agita tional strategy-informed CAIT Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal today in a press statement.CAIT National President Mr. B. C. Bhartia and Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal in a joint statement today informed that as per the policy announced on 20th September, the Govt. has allowed FDI in Multi Brand Retail Trade in all products but under disguise of fresh agriculture produce, it has permitted sale of grains and pulses in loose (unbranded) which is a major diversion from the earlier policy. This will directly attack the business of small Kirana Stores. This step has enough indication that the Government has a clear intention of allowing global players to do business in non- branded items also at a later stage.Both Mr. Bhartia and Mr. Khandelwal further said that the Govt. has permitted to open front end retail stores immediately but has given a time period of 3 years to develop backend infrastructure. Though Govt is making statements that development of backend infrastructure is first priority. Further, It is also not clear that whether these FDI’s will have to be owners of backend infrastructure or they will do it indirectly and claim that they have invested in it. Surprisingly establishment of cold storage and running of cold transport chain do not figure in list of backend infrastructure. Constantly the Government is referring to wastage of fruits and vegetables as a major issue and therefore seeking immediate requirement of Cold Storage but it appears that the same has been intentionally not referred to in the policy while defining backend infrastructure. It creates a major doubt on the intention of the Government.The policy also mention that at least 30% of value of procurement has to be done from small industries with investment not exceeding US$ 1 million. However, great relaxation has been given to MNCs to meet this requirement in total purchase of first five years and not year wise which means that MNCs will be at liberty to outsource even 100% procurement from anywhere over the globe even from the starting year of their operations and later on to meet the requirement of procurement of 30% from small industries In other wards it is not mandatory for MNCs to procure at least 30% from Indian small industries right from 1styear. Most surprisingly, the MNCs have been allowed to self-certify the conditions stipulated in the policy. There will not be any Government mechanism to regulate whether these companies are complying with the condition mentioned in notification. It is an open fact that global retail giants are known for flouting the laws. Thus whatever conditions have been stipulated in the policy will go redundant because of self-certification conditions. Interestingly such a facility of self-certification has not been given to any domestic company in any sector.The trade leaders further said that the Government has publicized that the retail outlets will be in cities with population of more than 10 lakhs. But in notification it is mentioned that MNCs can set up retail stores in the cities of their choice in such states which do not have population of 10 lakhs as per 2011 Census which means that MNCs will have a free hand to set up their retail stores anywhere in India.The trade leaders further said that in the backend infrastructure the policy has a mention of agriculture market produce infrastructure which is very dicey and needs to be defined.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For more information please contact CAIT, Secretary General, Mr. Praveen Khandelwal@9891015165, 9310199771
Saturday, September 22, 2012
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