Month: August 2022

digital version of ODOP gift catalogue

 Union Minister of Commerce and Industry; Consumer Affairs; Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri. Piyush Goyal unveiled the digital version of the ODOP gift catalogue. The digital launch took place during the meeting with Export Promotion Councils and Industry Associations at Vanijya Bhawan on 5th August 2022.

The ODOP gift catalogue includes a wide range of products like Fragrances and Oils, Indian Spirits, Home Décor products, Fabrics, and Silks and Shawls.  HCIM highlighted the ways in which the ODOP gift catalogue is a step towards realizing the potential of all districts in India and will give global recognition to the country’s diverse indigenous products. Further, he urged all the line ministries, Industry Association, and Export Promotion Councils to utilize products from the catalogue for encouragement to designs and branding. He also recommended a conscious effort to be taken to include these treasures of India for corporate gifting. This will provide a tremendous boost to the local economy and will help promote the livelihood and sustenance of many farmers and artisans.

Minister highlighted that utilizing products from the catalogue will promote a brand image for local products in the international market, consequently boosting the Prime Minister’s vision of “Make in India” and “Make for World”. He also requested all the associations to share their feedback on each of these products to ensure continuous improvement so that the products can compete at a global level.

 

 

Video on ODOP Gift Catalogue

 

ODOP Background:

 

  • The ODOP Initiative is aimed at achieving the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country. 
  • The idea is to select, brand, and promote One Product from each District (One District – One Product) of the country for enabling holistic socio-economic growth across all regions.
  • The range of chosen products under ODOP, from all 761 districts of the country, spans multiple sectors, Ministries and Departments. 

 

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AD/KP

Medical Device Parks

 The Department implements the scheme “Promotion of Medical Devices Parks”, with a total financial outlay of Rs. 400 crore and the maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs. 100 crore. The tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025 and the selected Medical Device Park project will be implemented by a State Implementing Agency (SIA).  Under the scheme, Department of Pharmaceuticals has received proposals from 16 States/Union Territories.  The proposals were evaluated as per the criteria given in the scheme guidelines and final approval for financial assistance of Rs. 100 crore each has been given to the States of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.  There is no proposal to establish more medical device parks in the Country, under the scheme.

Further, the Department has provided grant-in-aid to the project of the Superconducting Magnet Testing, Validation and Integration Centre at AMTZ, Andhra Pradesh under the scheme “Assistance to Medical Device Industry for Development of Common Facility Centres”.

The Government of India has taken several measures to encourage domestic manufacturing of Pharmaceutical drugs including bulk drugs and medical devices to reduce import dependence. The Programmatic interventions to support Pharma and Medical Devices Industries are as follows;

  1. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates (DIs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in India, with a financial outlay of Rs. 6,940 crores and the tenure from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2029-30, provides for financial incentive for 41 identified products. A total of 51 applicants have been selected under the scheme.
  2. The Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Pharmaceuticals, with a financial outlay Rs. 15,000 crores and the tenure from FY 2020- 2021 to FY 2028-29, provides for financial incentive to 55 selected applicants for manufacturing of identified products under three categories for a period of six years, including five (5) industry applicants selected for In-vitro diagnostic medical devices.
  3. The Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks, with a financial outlay of Rs. 3,000 crores and the tenure from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-25, provides for financial assistance to three States for establishing Bulk Drug Parks. The proposals received are under evaluation.
  4. The Department has launched the scheme of Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI), with a financial outlay of Rs. 500 crores and the tenure from FY 2021-2022 to FY 2025-26 and this scheme has three components, to provide infrastructure support for pharma MSMEs in clusters and to address the issues of technology upgradation of individual pharma MSMEs.
  5. Under the scheme “Promotion of Medical Devices Parks”, final approval for financial assistance of Rs. 100 crore each, has been given to the States of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh for establishment of common facilities in their Medical Device Parks.
  6. Further, under the sub-scheme “Assistance to Medical Device Industry for Common Facility Centre”, grant-in-aid of ₹ 25 crore was provided to Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone Ltd. (AMTZ), Andhra Pradesh for establishment of Common Facility for Super conducting magnetic coil testing and research facility.
  7. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Promoting Domestic Manufacturing of Medical Devices, with a financial outlay of Rs.3,420 Cr and with the tenure from FY 2020-21 to FY 2027-28, provides for financial incentives to selected companies at the rate of 5% of incremental sales of medical devices manufactured in India and covered under the four Target segments of the scheme, for a period of five (5) years.  A total of 21 Applicants have been selected under the scheme.

The non-schematic interventions are as follows:

  1. In order to attract investments in this sector, the Government has allowed 100% foreign direct investments (FDI) in medical devices sector. Similarly, the Government has allowed 100% FDI in pharma sector for greenfield projects under automatic route. For the brownfield projects, upto 74%, FDI investments are allowed under automatic route and beyond 74% to 100%, FDI investments are allowed under government approval route.
  2. To redress the specific challenges of the MedTech Industry, in view of the diversity and multi-disciplinary nature of the sector, the institutional mechanism of Standing Forum of Medical Devices Associations, has been set up to deliberate on various issues with all the stakeholders including regulators.

Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices

 The Government has put in place a Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) for Pharmaceutical companies, which is in operation since 01.01.2015, to prevent unethical practices by the pharmaceutical companies. This code governs the conduct of pharmaceutical companies in their marketing practices, duly covering the various aspects such as medical representatives, textual and audio-visual promotional materials, samples, gifts, etc. Further, the code establishes relationship with healthcare professionals, wherein the provisions related to travel facilities, hospitality and cash or monetary grants to physicians or their families have been elaborated.

The code also details the mode of operation of the code, responsibilities of the Pharmaceutical Associations in constituting the Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (ECPMP) for handling the complaints and Apex Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (AECPMP) for review, procedure of lodging a complaint, procedure of handling of complaints by the Pharmaceutical Associations and various penalty provisions. 

The code has been adopted by the all the major associations of pharmaceutical companies and the Department on various instances has reviewed implementation of the code by the Pharmaceuticals associations.

The complaints of violation of the voluntary UCPMP by pharma companies which are perceived by the Department are forwarded to the concerned associations for taking necessary action.

The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 formed under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), provides for conduct for doctors and professional association of doctors in their relationship with pharmaceutical and allied health sector industry. Under this, any complaint of professional misconduct of a medical practitioner or professional is to be addressed by the respective State Medical Councils. 

Besides UCPMP, there exists sufficient and enforceable legal regime to counter, control and dis-incentivize the unethical marketing practices such as “Indian Medical Council Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002” under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, provisions available under the Income Tax Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, etc.

The Department has not received any representations in the recent past from civil societies and patents group to make the UCPMP code mandatory. Further, in the writ petition (Civil) No. (s).323/2021 filled by federation of the Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India & others against Union of India and others, the matter is under consideration of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

Financial assistance to develop Regional Agricultural Produces

 The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been incentivizing setting of food processing industries through Central sector umbrella scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and centrally sponsored scheme ‘PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme across all the country. Under scheme of creation of infrastructure for agro processing clusters, a component scheme of PMKSY, the scheme is aimed at development of modern infrastructure and common facilities to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach and also to create modern infrastructure for food processing closer to production areas and to provide integrated and complete preservation infrastructure facilitates from the farm gate to the consumer.

For One District One Product (ODOP), the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under Centrally Sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PM FME Scheme), in partnership with the States, provides financial, technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises. The scheme adopts ODOP approach to reap the benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has advised states for convergence of resources towards ODOP from ongoing centrally sponsored schemes such as Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) etc. Similar approach has been suggested to Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying for convergence of their schemes towards ODOP.

In addition, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (HCDP) had identified 55 clusters of selected high value horticulture crops and 12 clusters have already been launched in first phase.

Crop Insurance Schemes

 National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) is the only source of enrolment for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), on which farmer applications from various designated sources including banks/financial institutions are entered. Specific cut-off dates have been prescribed for enrolment of farmers, debit of premium, remittance of farmers’ premium to concerned insurance company and uploading of data of farmers on NCIP.  However, it was noticed that sometimes some banks/financial institutions in some States/Union Territories did not enter the data on NCIP, due to which some farmers could not be enrolled in time. In order to ameliorate against such instances, additional 15 days above the cut-off date for submission of proposal/application by farmers for enrolment have been provided to Banks/Financial Institutions for entry of individual farmer-wise data on the NCIP for enrolment and premium subsidy calculation purposes. However, as banks have to ensure that eligible loanee farmers are not deprived of any benefit under the Scheme due to errors/omissions/commissions of the concerned branch/ PACS, and in case of such errors, the concerned agencies shall have to make good of all such losses.     

MSP benefits and its concerns

 The NITI Aayog (erstwhile Planning Commission) has conducted a study entitled “Efficacy of Minimum Support Prices on farmers”, in 2016. The study has found, among other things, that MSP declared by the Government has encouraged 78% of the farmers covered under the study for adopting improved methods of farming such as high yielding varieties of seeds, organic manure, chemical fertilizer, pesticides and improved methods of harvesting etc.

Government extends price support for paddy and wheat through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Agencies. Under this policy, whatever food grains are offered by farmers within the stipulated period & conforming to the specifications prescribed by Government are purchased at MSP by the State Government agencies including FCI for Central Pool.

Additionally, Oilseeds, pulses and copra of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) are procured from registered farmers under Price Support Scheme of the Umbrella Scheme of Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), as per its prescribed guidelines.

The Union Budget for 2018-19 had announced the pre-determined principle to keep MSP at levels of one-and-half times of the cost of production. Accordingly, Government has increased the MSPs for all mandated Kharif (including wheat), Rabi and other commercial crops with a return of at least 50 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production from the agricultural year 2018-19.

Smart Farming

 Government is promoting adoption of smart farming methods through the use of technology and innovation in the agriculture sector in the country. Government is implementing a Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) which includes India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA), Farmers Database, Unified Farmers Service Interface (UFSI), Funding to the States on the new Technology (NeGPA), Revamping Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), Soil Health, Fertility and profile mapping. Under the NeGPA programme funding is given to State Governments for Digital Agriculture projects using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Internet of Things (IOT), Block chain etc. Adoption of drone technologies is being done. To promote smart farming, the Government promotes Startups in the Agriculture sector and nurtures agri-entrepreneurs. The Per Drop More Crop component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC) aims to increase water use efficiency at the farm level through micro irrigation technologies, i.e., drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. The GoI started eNAM (National Agriculture Market), an electronic trading portal which creates networks between the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis for the farmers.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) promotes innovation, extension and education in agriculture. A total of 1575 field crop varieties were released for different agricultural crops during 2014-21. During 2014-21, 91.43 crore agro-advisories were provided to farmers through mobiles. ICAR developed 187 mobiles apps on different farm and farmer related services during 2014-21. These ICAR apps are now integrated on one common platform called KISAAN. The Farmer FIRST (Farm, Innovations, Resources, Science and Technology) initiative was launched during this period by ICAR with enhanced farmers-scientists interface to move beyond production and productivity.

Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine

 The Government of India has established Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), as a subordinate office under Ministry of Ayush by merging Pharmacopoeia Commission of Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) and the two central laboratories namely Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM), Ghaziabad and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL) vide gazette dated 6th July, 2020).

 

The Commission is engaged in development of Pharmacopoial Standards for Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathic drugs.  Further, PCIM&H is also acting as Central Drug Testing cum Appellate Laboratory for Indian systems of Medicine & Homoeopathy.

 

After re-establishment, a total of 1483 samples of ASU&H drugs have been tested during 6th July, 2020 to till date and 03 Pharmacopoeial monographs along with  their formulary specifications for AYUSH Kwath related formulation has been published.  Apart from Pharmacopoeial Monographs, National Formulary for Unani Medicines, Part-IV (2nd Edition) comprising formulary specifications of 166 formulations have also be published.  

 

50 monographs of single drugs of Ayurveda along with 51 monographs of formulation of Ayurvedic drugs, 1 monograph of formulation of Siddha drug and 101 monographs of formulation of Unani drugs have been published during the last five years . 

 

However, since inception of PLIM & HPL (now PCIM&H w.e.f. 6th July 2020), a total number of 2199 quality standards on raw materials (Single Drugs of plant/animal/mineral/metal/ Chemical origin) used in ASU&H systems of medicines have been  published in various Pharmacopoeias and also 405 quality standards of ASU formulations also been published in respective pharmacopoeias.

 

As prescribed in Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945 made thereunder, enforcement of the legal provisions pertaining to Quality Control and issuance of drug license of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, is vested with the State drug Controllers/ State Licensing Authorities appointed by the concerned State/ Union Territory Government. Rule 158-B in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 provides the regulatory guidelines for issue of license to manufacture Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani medicines. It is mandatory for the manufacturers to adhere to the prescribed requirements for licensing of manufacturing units & medicines including proof of safety & effectiveness, compliance with the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as per Schedule T of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 and quality standards of drugs given in the respective pharmacopoeia.

 

As prescribed in Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945 made there under, enforcement of the legal provisions pertaining to Quality Control and issuance of drug license of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, is vested with the State drug Controllers/ State Licensing Authorities appointed by the concerned State/ Union Territory Government. As per the information received from States/ UTs, action taken by State drug Controllers/ State Licensing Authorities regarding production/sale of sub-standard Ayurvedic medicines/formulations  is as follows –

S. no.

Name of the State/UTs

Action taken
  1.  

Tamil Nadu

92 license suspended/ cancelled since 2017 to 2021
  1.  

Odisha

13 license of cancelled since 2017-18  to 2022-23
  1.  

Maharashtra

Since 2016-17 to 2022, 84 prosecution orders issued, 38 prosecutions filed and 46 are pending.

 

1. This Ministry has issued Gazette notification no. G.S.R 716 E for Amendment in the Drugs Rules, 1945 related to licensing process of ASU drugs on 01.10.2021. The amendments have been done with a view to reduce the compliance burden and facilitate ease of doing business. The process to grant license to manufacture Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) drugs has been made swift, paperless and more transparent the license application system through online e-aushadhi.gov.in portal. The license of the ASU drugs have been made perpetual i.e. with one time registration fee the license of the product will be valid lifetime with no further retention or renewal fees thereafter. The maximum time in granting the license to manufacture ASU drugs has been reduced from three months to two months.       

 

In addition to the above, for facilitating exports, Ministry of Ayush encourages following certifications of AYUSH products as per details below:-

•           Certification of Pharmaceutical Products (CoPP) as per WHO Guidelines for herbal products.

•           Quality Certifications Scheme implemented by the Quality Council of India (QCI) for grant of AYUSH Premium mark to Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani products on the basis of third party evaluation of quality in accordance with the status of compliance to international standards.           

 

(3.) Ministry of Ayush has implemented Central Sector Scheme AYUSH Oushadhi Gunvatta Evam Uttpadan Samvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY). The objectives of the Scheme are as under;

i. To enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports of traditional medicines and health promotion products under the initiative of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

ii. To facilitate adequate infrastructural & technological upgradation and institutional activities in public and private sector for standardization, quality manufacturing and analytical testing of Ayush drugs & materials.

 iii. To strengthen regulatory frameworks at Central and State level for effective quality control, safety monitoring and surveillance of misleading advertisements of Ayush drugs.

iv. To encourage building up synergies, collaborations and convergent approaches for promoting standards and quality of Ayush drugs & materials.

The components of the AYUSH OushadhiGunvattaEvamUttpadanSamvardhanYojana (AOGUSY) Scheme are as under;

A. Strengthening and up-gradation of Ayush Pharmacies and Drug Testing Laboratories to achieve higher standards.

B. Pharmaco vigilance of ASU&H drugs including surveillance of misleading advertisements.

C. Strengthening of Central and State regulatory frameworks including Technical Human Resource & Capacity Building programs for Ayush drugs.

 

D. Support for development of standards and accreditation/ certification of Ayush products & materials in collaboration with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Quality Control of India (QCI) and other relevant scientific institutions and industrial R&D centres.

Pan India Drive under ‘Operation Yatri Suraksha’ to enhance security of passengers

 Railway Protection Force (RPF) is an Armed Force of the Union under Ministry of Railways entrusted with the responsibility of security of railway property, passenger area and passengers. With the aim of improving the security of passengers travelling by Indian Railways, RPF has launched a Pan-India Operation under the code name “Operation Yatri Suraksha”. As part of this initiative, several steps are being taken to provide foolproof security to passengers i.e. Train Escorting, visible presence on stations, Surveillance through CCTV, Surveillance on active criminals, collection of intelligence about the criminals and action thereupon, identifying black spots and crime prone trains/sections and enhancing security thereat among others to formulate an actionable strategy to reduce crime against passengers. Regular coordination is being made with all the stake holders and joint action is planned to improve passenger security regularly.

In order to give an impetus to Operation Yatri Suraksha, a month long pan India drive was launched against criminals targeting passengers in July 2022 by RPF. During the drive, 365 suspects were nabbed by RPF personnel and were handed over to the concerned GRPs for legal action based on which 322 cases of Passenger Crime i.e. theft of Passenger Belongings, Drugging, Robbery, Chain Snatching etc. were detected.  Stolen property of passengers worth more than Rs. 1 Crore was recovered either from the possession of these criminals or in course of investigation of these offences.

RPF will continue its efforts to enhance security of passengers over Indian Railways in future too by launching drives, improving response, infusing technology and innovation in its working to enhance its response, effectiveness and reach and to realize its objective of SEWA HI SANKALP.

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Review Planning & Monitoring (RPM) meeting held with States and State Power Utilities

 The Review Planning & Monitoring (RPM) meeting with States and State Power Utilities was held on 05.08.2022 at New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy Sh. R. K. Singh in presence of Hon’ble Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar. Secretary (Power), Secretary (New & Renewable Energy) along with other senior officials from Ministry of Power, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Power Sector CPSEs and Power / Energy Departments of various States and State Power Utilities were present in the meeting.

The meeting deliberated on several issues of national importance in the Power Sector with underpinnings of Sectoral viability and Sustainability, building upon Hon’ble Prime Minister’s address on 30th July, 2022 on the occasion of Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya celebrations. These included liquidation of Government Department electricity dues and subsidy dues; progress on prepaid Smart metering in Government departments; establishing robust systems of Energy accounting and subsidy accounting and timely and advance payments thereof; timely fixation of regular and true-up tariffs; timely finalisation of Utility accounts; Progress of Feeder & DT metering; progress on Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS); and compliance in regard to Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022.

During the meeting, Hon’ble Union Minister launched the (i) 10th Integrated Rating of Power Distribution Utilities, (ii) 1st Consumer Service Rating of DISCOMs and (iii) Bharat eSmart Mobile Application (BeSMA).

Integrated  Rating  exercise  is  being  carried  out annually since 2012 with the aim of evaluating performance of utilities on a range of parameters covering financial sustainability, performance excellence and external environment and their ability to sustain improvements year over year. The methodology for the rating has been comprehensively reviewed and revised in the current rating exercise, which is the 10th one in the series. The rating now lays a higher emphasis on financial performance, while also assessing operational efficiencies and external ecosystem of DISCOMs. The rating will now be dynamic in nature based on triggers having impact on DISCOM financials. Private DISCOMs and State Power Departments have also been included for comprehensive sectoral coverage. The details can be been accessed at urjadrishti.com.

 

Taking forward the multiple reform measures centred around ensuring the best-in-class services to electricity consumers across the country, Hon’ble Union Minister also launched the first ever Consumer Service Rating of DISCOMs (CSRD) for the FY 2020-21. The report captures the current status of consumer services across various DISCOMs. It delves into key parameters of consumer services such as operational reliability, connection services, metering, billing and collection services, fault rectification and grievance redressal. The DISCOMs have been rated across various identified parameters on a seven-point scale. The intent is to enable sharing of best practices of top performing DISCOMs as well as to help other DISCOMs in identifying critical areas for enhancing performance. The report is available at recindia.nic.in.

As a step towards enhancing consumer empowerment, a free-to-use Mobile app for prepaid smart meters was also launched for the nationwide rollout of smart metering. This mobile App would build up on the data of the Smart meters and would provide essential information to consumers in regard to their usage and balance electricity remaining, both in terms of Units and Monetary terms. The App would enable consumers to access real time information pertaining to their electricity usage and receive alerts & notifications. The App provides multiple options and gateways like UPI, net banking, credit & debit card etc. for payment and recharge through Mobile phones with ease. This mobile app is aimed at achieving consumer delight by enabling them achieve a command over their electricity usage in almost real time, while also helping them in electricity usage as per their needs, altering consumption behaviour to achieve energy efficiency, as well as help them in lowering their bills. This App would be available to all the Distribution Utilities free of charge once they place a requirement to the Ministry of Power. While the App is amenable to a top level customisation as per specific Utility needs, O&M for 10 years would also be free for the DISCOMs. The mobile app is built on strong security measures and is adequately equipped to protect individual data.

 

These initiatives would pave the path towards an efficient and sustainable power distribution sector.

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What is Book Review

 A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly review.

Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books you’ve read. Whether you’ve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them.

If you’re stuck on what to say in a review, it can help to imagine you’re talking to someone who’s asking you whether they should read the book.

1. Start with a couple of sentences describing what the book is about

But without giving any spoilers or revealing plot twists! As a general rule, try to avoid writing in detail about anything that happens from about the middle of the book onwards. If the book is part of a series, it can be useful to mention this, and whether you think you’d need to have read other books in the series to enjoy this one.

2. Discuss what you particularly liked about the book

Focus on your thoughts and feelings about the story and the way it was told. You could try answering a couple of the following questions:

  • Who was your favourite character, and why?
  • Did the characters feel real to you?
  • Did the story keep you guessing?
  • What was your favourite part of the book, and why?
  • Were certain types of scene written particularly well – for example sad scenes, tense scenes, mysterious ones…?
  • Did the book make you laugh or cry?
  • Did the story grip you and keep you turning the pages?

3. Mention anything you disliked about the book

Talk about why you think it didn’t work for you. For example:

  • Did you wish the ending hadn’t been a cliffhanger because you found it frustrating?
  • Did you find it difficult to care about a main character, and could you work out why?
  • Was the story too scary for your liking, or did it focus on a theme you didn’t find interesting?

4. Round up your review

Summarise some of your thoughts on the book by suggesting the type of reader you’d recommend the book to. For example: younger readers, older readers, fans of relationship drama/mystery stories/comedy. Are there any books or series you would compare it to?

What is h-Index

 The h-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar.

The h index was proposed by J.E. Hirsch in 2005 and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.[i]  The h index is a quantitative metric based on analysis of publication data using publications and citations to provide “an estimate of the importance, significance, and broad impact of a scientist’s cumulative research contributions.”[ii]   According to Hirsch, the h index is defined as: “A scientist has index h if h of his or her Np papers have at least h citations each and the other (Np – h) papers have ≤h citations each.”

How Calculated: Number of papers (h) that have received at least h citations. 

As an example, an h index of 10 means that among all publications by one author, 10 of these publications have received at least 10 citations each.  

Hirsch argues that the h index is preferable to other single-number criteria, such as the total number of papers, the total number of citations and citations per paper. However, Hirsch includes several caveats:

  • A single number can never give more than a rough approximation to an individual’s multifaceted profile;
  • Other factors should be considered in combination in evaluating an individual;
  • There will be differences in typical h values in different fields, determined in part by the average number of references in a paper in the field, the average number of papers produced by each scientist in the field, and the size (number of scientists) of the field; and
  • For an author with a relatively low h that has a few seminal papers with extraordinarily high citation counts, the h index will not fully reflect that scientist’s accomplishments.[iii]
Hirsch stressed that the full career publications for an author should be used for the h index.

Since Hirsch introduced the h index in 2005, this measure of academic impact has garnered widespread interest as well as proposals for other indices based on analyses of publication data such as the g index, h (2) index, m quotient, r index, to name a few.

The h-index has already been used by major citation databases to evaluate the academic performance of individual scientists. Although effective and simple, the h-index suffers from some drawbacks that limit its use in accurately and fairly comparing the scientific output of different researchers. These drawbacks include information loss and low resolution: the former refers to the fact that in addition to h2 citations for papers in the h-core, excess citations are completely ignored, whereas the latter means that it is common for a group of researchers to have an identical h-index.

Several commonly used databases, such as Elsevier’s Scopus, Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science, and Google Scholar  provide h index values for authors.

Blogger Vs WordPress: Which Is Better For You?

 There are two big-name services in the world of blogging: Blogger vs WordPress. No matter where you go on the internet looking for advice, these two names are nearly impossible to avoid because they play such an important role within the online content community.

If you’re just starting out a new blog, or making some major changes to your current layout, you’ll most likely be faced with the decision to choose between Blogger vs WordPress. Both are stellar services that are going to make your life as a blogger much easier, but ultimately, your decision must come down to one. So don’t cross over, let’s walk this path together and ensure that you don’t get lost in the wonder world of web, looking for answers.

blogger vs wordpress

Before we start!

WordPress as you might have noticed, comes in two different flavors, wordpress.org and wordpress.com. Seemingly same, but practically, not. Like in Blogger vs WordPress, hosting at wordpress.com is like renting a corporate apartment where the corporate is responsible for maintenance and facilitation of your place. While hosting at wordpress.org is similar to buying your own apartment, where you are responsible for your place’s security, maintenance and many others.

So, wherever in this post you see the word ‘WordPress’; know that it refers to wordpress.org.

User-Friendliness

WordPress is a clear front-runner in the blogging and web design community in terms of how many people actually use the platform. The founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, provided eye-opening statistics that around 18.9% of the entire Internet runs on WordPress. Compared to a 2012 study done by Blogging.org, of all the actual blogs on the Internet, WordPress makes up 43%, Blogger 35%, and the remaining blogs are Tumblr or other less known services.

However, just because something is used more often than another, it doesn’t mean it’s easier to use. The problem with WordPress is that it wasn’t designed for beginners who just want to take up blogging as a side hobby. In order to set up your own WordPress blog, you have to have some previous knowledge of things like hosting, bandwidth, HTML and SEO practices. There are WordPress services out there that will help set up your site and get you online, but WordPress itself comes as a set of files that you are expected to download and configure to your own site.

Some hosting companies have made the idea of using WordPress a little bit easier with things like one-click downloads; but it’s still a pretty steep learning curve for new bloggers to overcome. You also have to deal with paying for the costs of hosting your site and acquiring the domain name. If you opt to use one of the many WordPress services instead of setting it up yourself, you’ll be stuck with a URL such as ‘yourwebsite.wordpress.com’, which takes away from the professional image you may be trying to portray.

Blogger is entirely based on Google and makes setting up a blog a breeze. With Blogger vs WordPress all you need to get started is to sign up for the service using your Google account, or make a new account like you would if you were setting up an email account. From there, Blogger takes responsibility for all your files, backing up the systems and the details associated with operating a content site like a database. Blogger is so much easier in terms of walking you through the steps, providing you with everything you need to be successful and it’s at little-to-no cost to you.

Design & Customizability

Hosting at WordPress means stepping into the Disney world. With hundreds of featured rich-customizable design templates, you would find yourself literally lost in the WordPress arena, ensuring that your site looks unique, catchy and simply marvelous to visitors. The wide array of WordPress templates include customized designs for nearly every walk of life including fashion, entertainment, music, health, kitchen, etc.

Blogger templates, some would say, are not responsive; but let me tell you a secret. With a little search online, you can find hundreds of free, highly customizable, responsive Blogger templates that you can easily integrate into your blog, so that you, and your site visitors stay in touch with your blog through their handsets. For WordPress, however, you don’t need to wander around. By default, it has rich and responsive native designs, making WordPress ideal for mobile bloggers.

Both platforms will allow you to make modifications to the theme and features of the site if you have experience or feel comfortable to use HTML and CSS. They also both provide helpful post areas for when you go to submit new content. These post areas will also include HTML and some basic functions to change the font style and the size of your text.

One design feature between the two that may tip the scale toward Blogger in the Blogger vs WordPress discussion is that Blogger is integrated with other Google services like Google Picasa. Picasa is a photo sharing site that will allow you to share all your personal photos, or the photos that you plan on using within your posts. These can then be accessed via the text editor when you are submitting content and can be easily included with the content.

Gadgets, Widgets & Plugins

Talking of plugins, WordPress provides you with thousands of easy to integrate plugins from security to multimedia, enabling you to add any feature or functionality in your site, in a couple easy steps. Users of this platform have submitted thousands of independent plugins that you can install for just about anything you would need, from SEO to E-commerce. There are so many interesting plugins available, that blog owners often make the mistake of cluttering their site with too many and distracting their readers from the content.

Blogger may not have as many plugins or widgets as WordPress, it does have enough to provide you with what you need. Blogger’s simplicity in many ways provides it with an edge over WordPress because you are able to focus most of your time in producing great content, instead of seeing how many bells and whistles you can add on the site.

The SEO Question

Not every person that starts a blog is looking to make money off the content; some people just like to write for the sake of writing. Whatever your goals are for starting the blog, search engine optimization – or SEO for short – is a key strategy in growing your readership, so others might enjoy what you have to share.

Over 1 quadrillion searches are performed via Google each year. The goal of most SEO producers is to implement strategies that can appease Google so that their content will be ranked higher up in search query results. Blogger is a service created by Google, so it’s obvious that they added their own formulas to the service to ensure that those blogs are doing what they need to do to be found.

Sticking to Blogger means Google would optimize your blog itself from a SEO perspective. All you need to do is check / uncheck a couple of options from your dashboard and Google will start crawling your site with just a click of a button. WordPress takes a hands-on approach that will require you to know a little bit more to modify your website design and content to meet these standards.

And the Blogger vs WordPress Winner Is…

In terms of Blogger vs WordPress, both services might be worth trying out, but ultimately Blogger comes out as a winner in all four categories discussed above. For new or returning bloggers, it is a fantastic service that makes it easy to focus on what you love, regardless of all the add-ons and fancy additions of WordPress. Blogger’s simplicity is perhaps one of it’s greatest advantages and provides bloggers of all experience levels a chance to succeed.

5 Importance of Internship

 Just having a good degree is no longer enough to secure that all-important graduate job offer in today’s world. Pertinent work experience is now just as valuable as your degree and exam results when it comes to building a successful career. As a result, internships have become an essential way to help candidates make themselves stand out. The importance of an internship has been shown in several recent surveys. According to NACE’s Class of 2019 Student Survey, “More than half of all graduating seniors who applied for a full-time job (53.2%) received at least one job offer. Within this group, 57.5% of students who had an internship and 43.7% of graduating seniors who did not have an internship received a job offer.” Not bad right? Let’s keep it going.

We will discuss everything you need to know about internships and determine why interning at a company is vital to career growth.

So, let’s get started!

The concept of an internship

You need the experience to get hands-on knowledge in your career field. In today’s labour market, employers rely heavily on resumes that demonstrate relevant work history, whether it is from actual job experience, volunteer work, or interning at a company.

An internship is an official program offered by organisations to help train and provide work experience to students and recent graduates. The concept of working as an intern began a long time ago but has drastically evolved over the years. Internships first started as a labourer who would take on young individuals and teach them their art or trade. In exchange for being taught a skill, the trainee would agree to work for the labourer for a specific time. Even then, the purpose of an internship or rather an apprenticeship was to gain new skills to be able to obtain future work.

In modern interning, an intern or trainee can work for an organisation for a specific amount of time. Interns can work for 1-12 months or longer, depending on the company and the industry. Internships are popular amongst graduate and undergraduate students who need to gain research or valuable work experience. Almost every sector and type of company, from a large multinational corporation to a small startup, now offers internships. Additionally, there has been a rise in remote/virtual internships – which is the ability to intern virtually for global companies. The vast number of internship opportunities available indicates the importance of an internship in today’s world.

How valuable is job experience?

Getting work experience is an essential aspect of starting your career as a young graduate. The earlier you start gaining experience for your CV, the better. Job experience is not just restricted to an office job with a large organisation. You can get an internship at a small company or get experience by freelancing. Any experience where you use skills that you can transfer to your future career is an excellent addition to your CV. It can help you demonstrate your commitment and capabilities to an employer while highlighting the skills that are both appropriate and transferable to the post you are applying for. An internship is one of the best ways to gain that all-important job experience.

Here are the top 5 reasons we think show the importance of an internship.

Internships provide exposure to the real world

Unfortunately, in today’s job market, passing exams with high scores and getting a degree doesn’t offer the much-needed work experience, you will need to succeed in a workspace.

By partaking in an internship, you will be able to gain real-life exposure, grow your knowledge and determine if you are in the right career field. Internships not only provide you with the first-hand experience in the real working world but also enable you to understand the career trajectory for your desired job title. You can learn how to apply the knowledge you have acquired during an internship to your future workplaces.

In addition to this, it is an excellent learning curve for young graduates and students while meeting new people and making connections in the professional world.

Internships give you a platform to establish critical networking connections

Networking is the exchange of information between individuals to form acquaintances and relationships to further their professional career. An internship is an experiential learning opportunity that offers an invaluable chance for students to network and build crucial professional connections before they even graduate.

For some students, it is a stepping-stone to bonus opportunities within the same organisation, including a full-time job. The more people you meet in the professional world with the same interest, the higher your chances to grow as a professional. You will get to know how these people work, what strategies they use to tackle a difficult situation, and how they get the job done. Different people have different skills. Meeting them and watching them work will help you understand how to work with different people and in various work environments. You can use their strategies and reinvent them for your circumstances.

Internships allow you to learn more about yourself

You may start as an intern in a specific field. But the more you explore it, the more you will discover about it. Every industry has its pros and cons. Working in a real-world environment will help you understand the depths of your field and will help you determine whether it is a career you wish to pursue in the future.

An internship will help you learn about your capabilities and ultimately encourage you to have a greater understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. It can be a challenging experience at times. Still, the benefits you gain from being pushed out of your comfort zone will help you tremendously in the future when you are presented with a difficult task or situation.

Internships equip you with more than just technical skills

When you are working as a professional for an organisation, business and technical knowledge are not the only things that the industry demands. You need people skills as well – because no matter how good you are, you won’t stand a chance of succeeding in any profession unless you develop a collaborative work ethic and learn to be a team player.

On top of that, you need to know how to work under pressure, and why deadlines matter. An internship gives you exposure to the challenges of a work environment and having experience of these situations will be useful to talk about in future interviews and show employers that you will be a good fit for their company.

Internships allow you to gain a competitive edge

Everyone knows that the job market is competitive, especially in the current climate. There may be hundreds of other candidates applying for the same role as you. As a result, you need a way to help give you a competitive edge and make yourself stand out. Internships can provide you with experience and the skills to help make employers notice you and as well as showing them that you would be a good fit for their company. It also shows that you are someone who has the drive and passion and has been motivated to acquire experience outside of just University.

What do the stats say?

There is plenty of research supporting the decisive role that interning at an organisation plays in a student’s life. According to the State of Millennial Hiring Report, US graduates who complete more than three internships are more likely to secure a full-time job.
More and more institutions are emphasising that students graduate with experience and also understanding the importance of an internship. According to the same report, 81.1% of graduates say that working as an intern has helped them significantly improve their career prospects.

In the UK, Sutton Trust’s 2018 report showed “Completing an internship was associated with higher salaries, for both middle and working-class students”. These studies all show the importance of an internship in today’s environment.

Going forward, there will be a lot more remote career opportunities opening up, and it could be a viable alternative to working from an office. It is worth considering in your career plan.

If a remote internship is not for you, don’t worry, there are still other ways you can make the most out of this time. You can perhaps learn new skills like programming or volunteer with a local charity; the worst thing you can do now is to do nothing and expect something to happen.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, internships play a crucial role in shaping one’s career. It not only helps undergraduates and graduates gain real exposure to working environments but also helps them develop the necessary skills required to stand out in a saturated job market. Now that you know the importance of an internship, it is time to find a course in your chosen industry.