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Achievements of women in Aviation Sector

 Ministry of Civil Aviation, in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry (FICCI),today organized an event to acknowledge and felicitate the contribution of women and to celebrate Women’s Achievements in Indian Aviation sector.

The event was graced byUnion Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia asthe Chief Guest. Other dignitaries include Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Smt. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Smt. AshmitaSethi, Co-Chairman, FICCI Aviation Committee & Managing Director of Pratt & Whitney India and Smt. Radha Bhatia, President, Women in Aviation – India Chapter.The ceremony was also attended by the members of Women in Aviation International – India chapter, top dignitaries of MoCA, FICCI and representatives of airlines.

The Indian Civil Aviation sector has seen an increase in the participation of women. They are showing their mark in the airline industry and are pursuing careers as aircraft engineers, pilots, firefighters, ground crew, airport security etc registering their presence in the aviation industry.

Dwelling on the achievement of women in the sector, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation said “This is a landmark day to be remembered. The success of women in aviation is not confined to airports or airplanes but to a much larger ecosystem. 15% of our pilots in India are women which is 3 times more than the global average. But this 15% is not good enough as women have surpassed various odds and stereotypes and I firmly believe there must come a day in India that this 15% must reach 50% of our pilot strength in our country. For this to achieve, we must start from having easy access to STEM education to our young girls in their early education”.

The Minister further added “In next decade, the backbone of Indian infrastructure is going to be civil aviation which transports roughly 144 million people and have a growth potential double that of Indian Railways. Therefore, there is a need to train more pilots. For this, we have come out with a new FTO policy in which we are looking to setup 9 new FTOs in 5 new cities as this will help in reducing the outflow of foreign exchange in training our pilots abroad and unleashing another avenue for our women to participate much greater in civil aviation.”

20 women achievers who have played a significant role in the aviation sector, were felicitated during the event. (List in Annexure I)Apart from Felicitation ceremony, a book was also released titled “From Sarees to Strip – TrueStories of Commercial Women Pilots in India”authored by Manisha Puri depicting the ascendency of women in Indian Aviation.

 

 

Annexure-I

Ms. Neerja Sodhi

Manager Commercial (Retd.) Air India

Neerja has over 33 years of rich, diverse experience in various aspects of public relations, airline operations and management with Air India. Neerja has also spearheaded the Premium Care Unit at Delhi Airport

Capt. Kunjal Bhatt

Capt.Bhatt is the first woman ‘Head of Training’ at Indira Gandhi RashtriyaUranAkademi. She is currently the Chief Flying Instructor at IGRUA.

Ms. Shital Mahajan Rane

Shital Mahajan is a professional woman skydiver and Padmashri awardee 2011. Since 2012, Shital has represented India in Skydiving Championships around the world. Shital Mahajan is the first Indian woman to perform a parachute jump at the North Pole & the bottom of the world, South Pole in minus 37/38 degrees Celsius.

Dr. Sarita Ahlawat

Dr Sarita Ahlawat is the Co-Founder of Botlab Dynamics Pvt. Ltd. a Robotics start-up specializing in building drone swarm technology incubated at IIT Delhi. She is responsible for the swarm drone show at the Beating Retreat 2022.

Capt. Nivedita Bhasin (Retd.)

Capt. Nivedita Bhasin is India’s pioneer Woman Pilot of Indian Airlines (now Air India). Capt Nivedita Bhasin became the world’s youngest Woman Jet Commander, and the world’s first Woman Airline Pilot to fly the Dreamliner, Boeing 787. Recently, Capt. Nivedita Bhasin superannuated after a glorious Airline flying career that spanned more than 37 years. Nivedita is one of the founding members of the women in aviation India chapter.

Ms. Neelu Khatri

Neelu Khatri – Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Akasa Air. Akasa Air is scheduled to commence operations in the summer of 2022 . Prior to this, Ms.Khatri was the President of Honeywell Aerospace in India handling the defence, aerospace, aviation and space business.

Captain Anushree Varma

Chief of Flight Safety, Safety Manager, SpiceJet

Captain Varma literally grew up in SpiceJet to become one of the youngest Chief of Flight Safety professionals for a scheduled airline in the history of Indian Civil Aviation. She is a trainer on Boeing 737 aircraft and has headed the Pilot Recruitment Cell.

Flt. Lt. Shivangi Singh

Flt Lt Shivangi Singh was born on 24th July 1995, in Varanasi(Uttar Pradesh). She has done schooling from St. Josephs’ Convent School, B.Sc. (Phy and Maths) from Sunbeam College (Varansi). Shivangi has taken part in Republic Day Parade through NCC Air wing and had the privilege of representing my country as Youth Ambassador through Youth Exchange Program in Bangladesh. She joined IAF academy at Dundigal in Jul 2016. After doing basic military training and studying ground subjects related to aviation, she started flying Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II as part of stage-1 training, in Jan 2017. By the end of stage-1 training, she was shortlisted to join Fighter Stream of Indian Airforce. After successful completion of training, Shivangi got commissioned in Fighter Streams in Dec 2017. Afterwards she flew Basic Fighter Jet, Hawk Mk-132 and got posted to a Fighter Sqn in Feb, 2019 where she flew Mig-21 Bison and became the youngest fully Operational pilot in Mig-21 Bison. She currently flies Rafale.

Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney

She is the MD and Accountable Manager of Blue Dart Aviation, India’s only scheduled domestic cargo airline and longest serving private carrier. She has been actively associated with India’s airline industry for the past 52 years and with Blue Dart for 27 years.

Ritika Modi

Uniglobe Travel

Ritika as an entrepreneur, launched her own travel company – Mod Travels, in the early nineties PAN India, which today is a leading name in the Indian travel industry diaspora. She led it to confer as the Most Preferred Operator for Business Travel by CNBC Award in 2013. Under the leadership and able guidance of a travel veteran, UNIGLOBE in no time has expanded to 50+ locations across India and Bangladesh, with an annualized turnover of over INR 2,000+ Crores, making it the largest single-brand travel franchise network in the South Asia Region.

Mrs. Sophiya T V

Mrs. Sophiya Anil is a heavy equipment operator at Bird Worldwide Flight Services . She holds a heavy equipment driving license and operates the DBT/EBT and Ramp Vehicles.

Mrs. Bini T I

Bini T. I. is the General Manager, Civil Engineering, Cochin International Airport. She has been instrumental in the planning and construction of the airport from inception to full operational capability in 1999. She spearheaded the development of the New International and Domestic Terminals. She constituted a team of lady engineers to complete the runway re-carpeting in 2020.

Capt. Mayuri Deshmukh

Capt. Mayuri Deshmukh of Pawan Hans Ltd, has created history in India by becoming the country’s first female Off Shore Captain. Through organizations like Pawan Hans Ltd and ONGC Capt. Deshmukh fulfilled her dream of flying offshore.

Capt. Ashima Mendiratta

Capt Ashima Mendiratta is a passionate and dedicated helicopter pilot for Pawan Hans Ltd . She is the youngest female to become Pilot In Command in Indian Civil Aviation Industry on multi engine helicopters.

Capt. Neha Malhotra

Ms. Neha is one of the first few approved DGCA Drone Instructors. She has started a DGCA approved Remote Pilot Training Organization (Drone Academy) by the name of Ganpati Aviation Solutions LLP.

Ms. Kanika Tekriwal

Ms. Kanika Tekriwal, CEO & Co-Founder, JetSetGo, which currently manages and operates India’s largest private jet and helicopter fleet.

Lt. Commander Pushpa Pandey

Lt. Commander Pushpa Pandey is with Bangalore International Airport Limited, with experience in Air Traffic Control, Airspace redesignation, Airside Operations, Aircraft Safety and Emergency Response Planning. Prior to joining BIAL, she was working as Commissioned Officer in Indian Navy (2002-2023).

Ms. Kiranjeet Jain

Ms. Kiran Jain is an aviation management professional with over 25 years of experience in aviation, in both airports and airlines. Currently, Kiran is the Chief Operating Officer of Noida International Airport, one of the first woman COOs at an airport in India and is part of the founding members of the women in aviation India chapter.

Mrs. M. Sathiyavathy

Smt. M. Sathiyavathy who hails from Chennai, is a Post Graduate & gold medalist in Mathematics from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. She then joined the Indian Revenue Service in 1981 and thereafter the Indian Administrative Service in 1982. Ms.Sathiyavathy was the first and only female DGCA, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Ms. Parul Kulshreshtha

Head of GMR Aviation Academy.

Ms. ParulKulshreshtha is an awarded young leader with experience in Aviation, Air Cargo, Vaccine Logistics, Infrastructure, Aviation Education and Training. She is currently the Chief of GMR Aviation Academy. She is also currently the Chairman of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI), Hyderabad Chapter.

Lt. Cdr. Swati Bhandari

Lt. Cdr. Swati Bhandari is a commissioned Indian Navy Officer. She is fully qualified on P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance &Anti Submarine Warfare (LRMR-ASW) aircraft. She holds the highest CAT ‘A’ qualification and is also the youngest woman in India to be awarded Mission Controller and Captain of Aircraft clearance on P8I Aircraft.

Capt. Zoya Aggarwal:

Captain Zoya Agarwal is a Commander with Air India and the youngest woman to fly Boeing 777 in 2013. In 2021 Zoya led the historic Polar flight where she led an all-women’s crew across the North Pole over the longest route in the world creating World Aviation history. Zoya is a global spokesperson with UN women for generation equality. Zoya has given 11 Ted X and Ted Talks and has also been covered by platforms such as BBC, CNN, and Forbes etc.

Capt. Vandita Verma

Line Training Captain, Flight Operations, Indigo Airlines Capt. Vandita Verma, took the lead to be proactive and resourceful during the second wave of Covid and developed a website that provided extended support regarding RTPCR test, Plasma, Food for patients and family, setup of Home care unit and many more. This website validates the authenticity of such information from various sources before sharing with people who needed the most.

Ms Yasmin Ali

Lead Cabin Attendant, Inflight services, Indigo Airlines, Ms. Yasmin Ali is being felicitated for her courage, presence of mind and compassion she displayed during a road accident in which she also coordinated with the base and transport team and arranged for the casualty to be taken to a hospital while she reported to the base to operate this rescue flight she had willingly agreed to undertake.

Lucky Verrma Bhasker

Head-Airside Operations, DIAL

Started her career with Airport Authority of India and has successfully led several critical functions of Aviation business such as Airport Operations (Airside & Terminals), Hub development for Aviation Services, Course Developer & Business Development for GMR Aviation Academy. Her key achievements include first ISO certification of IGI Airport. She was also the core task force member during IC-814 hijack.

Bibiana Audreydas

Head Terminal Operations, GHIAL (RGIA)

Bibiana is a seasoned professional in the field of Quality Management, Customer Services and Operations. She has a diversified experience of around 30 years in hospitality, Tourism & Travel and aviation sector including airlines and airports. She was awarded ‘Woman Leader of the Year 2018’, by UBS Transformance.

Charulatha Pasupuleti

GM / Sr. Specialist, GHIAL (RGIA)

Charulatha, joined as GET and is currently working as GM. She is Technical Specialist in Airport Development Strategy and Design Management with Degree in Mechanical Engineering having rich expertise in design and assessment of Mechanical & Airport Systems, Aerodrome Master Planning, Operations & Terminal Planning, Capacity Planning. A core project management professional, who has spent 17 years in GMR Group. Charulatha has led various Airport Concession bids on behalf of GMR such as, Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, Male Mactan-Cebu International, Airport-Philippines, Mopa Airport, Kasteli Airport Crete – Greece, etc.

Gayathri Venkteshwaran

Jt. General Manager (Finance), AAI

Geeta Gauba

Deputy General Manager (Land Management), AAI

Jyoti Dhingra, Sr. Manager (Customer Engagement), Vistara

With Vistara since 2015 (inception phase)

COVID-19 outbreak disrupted airline operations and with that, the travel plans of thousands of our customers. Announcement of lockdown further added to the problem. She took up the challenge and was able to shift the contact center team, telephony system and technology to the homes of customer service agents within a day. Throughout Wave 1 and Wave 2 lockdown, contact center operations were running seamlessly.

 

***

 National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the aegis of the Department of Pharmaceuticals fixes the ceiling price of scheduled medicines as per provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. In case of non-scheduled medicines, a manufacturer is at liberty to fix the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) launched by it, but is not allowed to increase the MRP of such formulations by more than 10% per annum. NPPA has fixed ceiling prices of 886 scheduled formulations & 4 scheduled medical devices and fixed retail prices of 1,817 new drugs. In addition, it has fixed the ceiling price of Orthopedic Knee Implants under Para 19 of DPCO, 2013 in public interest. Moreover, under “Trade Margin Rationalisation” Approach, the NPPA has fixed Trade Margin of non-scheduled formulations of 42 select Anti-cancer medicines and recently during COVID-19 pandemic, regulated the prices of Oxygen Concentrators, Pulse Oximeter, Blood Pressure Monitoring Machine, Nebulizer, Digital Thermometer and Glucometer.

With an objective of making quality generic medicines available at affordable prices to all, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) has been launched by the Government wherein dedicated outlets are opened to provide quality generic medicines at cheaper rates to the citizens. Under the Scheme, till 28.02.2022, about 8,689 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) have been opened across the country, covering all districts of the country.  Jan Aushadhi Medicines are cheaper by 50 -90% of market prices of branded medicines. During the current financial year (till 28.02.2022), total sales of Rs. 814.21 cr. has been achieved, which has led to estimated savings of approximately Rs. 4,800 cr. to the citizens.

In order to attain self-reliance in the pharmaceutical sector, develop global champions and to retain the position of the country as ‘Pharmacy of the world’, the government has launched two Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates (DIs)/ Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) was launched with a total financial outlay of Rs. 6,940 crore.  Under the scheme, 49 applicants have already been approved. The other PLI Scheme for Pharmaceuticals has a total financial outlay of Rs. 15,000 crore. Under this scheme, 55 applicants have been selected. In addition, the department has launched a Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks with a total outlay of Rs. 3,000 cr wherein financial assistance is to be provided for creation of Common Infrastructure Facilities in 3 Bulk Drug Parks.


HELPING TO REDUCE TEACHER ABSENCES WITH ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS

 In 2019, over 900,000 K-12 teachers were absent from their classes for the whole school year.

This equates to 28 percent of teachers across the country who are chronically absent.

With the increased number of instructors quitting as a result of COVID 19, this figure is likely to be considerably higher.

Every school year, teachers’ absences reach a tipping point of 10 days, when they cross the line from tolerable to problematic chronic. Teachers are currently absent for an average of 11.8 days each year.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, 10 days of teacher absence might result in a considerable drop in student results.

The detrimental impact extends beyond children to their peers and the whole school community.

Students are more likely to observe poor accomplishment levels without consistency in class and high-quality education, increasing their chances of not graduating. Furthermore, when instructors are frequently absent, colleagues are compelled to work harder and take up the slack.

What are the Most Common Causes of Teacher Absence?

Timing, sick days, maternity breaks, personal days, professional development, colleagues’ attendance norms, and caring for children/elderly parents are all factors that impact teachers’ absence decisions.

Others blame the problem on a hostile or permissive school atmosphere. When instructors are unmotivated to go to school, they choose to skip class.

Stress and infections caused by dealing with young children who are prone to sickness are also considered occupational risks.

Absences due to COVID 19

And, as a result of COVID 19, many instructors have decided not to return to work this year. Educators have been applying for retirement or taking leaves of absence in droves in many states.

Some instructors are concerned that schools are not sufficiently devoted to ensuring social separation and that there is insufficient safety equipment for children and teachers.

Others have stated that one of the reasons for their absence was due to technological constraints and the pressure to capture lessons on video.

Teacher absences can be reduced using electronic health records.

To a large degree, schools may use technological solutions such as electronic health records to tackle these issues.

In schools, electronic health records (EHR) can aid in the monitoring of staff health and absence. They are capable of managing healthcare data and assisting in the improvement of care delivery. EHRs are especially important for keeping kids healthy and in school. It’s also a fact that when children in schools are healthy, so are their instructors.

Another advantage is that electronic health data might assist school nurses in analyzing absence trends that may indicate stress or other issues that teachers confront in the classroom. Once the underlying causes of absences have been discovered, school administrators may take the necessary actions to ensure that teachers are working in a safe and happy atmosphere.

Another advantage is that electronic health data might assist school nurses in analyzing absence trends that may indicate stress or other issues that teachers confront in the classroom. Once the underlying causes of absences have been discovered, school administrators may take the necessary actions to ensure that teachers are working in a safe and happy atmosphere.

Students suffer as a result of high teacher absenteeism. In addition, teachers who are frequently absent might cause their courses to stagnate, forcing colleagues to come in as substitutes. EduHealth, an electronic health record software programme, might be a critical investment in turning things around. EHRs ensure the safety of our children and schools. Teachers are safe and present when schools are safe.

How might electronic health records (EHRs) assist in the creation of mandated school health reports?

EHRs are real-time patient-centered health records that make health and medical information available to authorized users promptly and securely. The system includes a broader perspective of a patient’s care than just a record of medical and treatment history. It:

Is a book that keeps track of a patient’s medical history, diagnosis, prescriptions, treatment plans, vaccination dates, allergies, radiological pictures, and laboratory and test results.

Provides physicians with access to evidence-based tools for making decisions regarding a patient’s treatment.

Provider workflows are automated and streamlined.

An EHR system may create a variety of reports, and most systems make it simple for authorized users to enter a requirement and generate a report with only the information they need.

Forms containing student health data are frequently gathered in a school setting around the beginning of the school year, when students can submit a form indicating their health statuses. And the necessary data is extracted and compiled into a report.

While this procedure was previously conducted manually, it has proven to be time-consuming due to the number of steps involved.

How EduHealth assists schools in meeting their reporting obligations

To ensure the safety of children and employees in the school environment, meticulous reporting on student health and collaboration between schools, school districts, local health authorities, and state health administrations are essential. Because the reports generated by EHR systems are standardized, they may be coordinated.

Most common reports are included into EduHealth’s comprehensive reporting module, allowing authorized school health staff to easily assemble this data and send it to the appropriate authorities in a uniform format.

The EduHealth EHR’s standardization of reporting ensures that no information is overlooked. Health officials have accurate and up-to-date health information on kids and staff, allowing them to make critical choices on crucial health-related issues for school systems.


Metro Region Concept

 A metropolitan area (metropolis) is a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure and housing. A metro area usually comprises multiple jurisdictions and municipalities, neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts, states and even nations. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. Metropolitan areas include satellite cities, towns and intervening rural areas that are socioeconomically tied to the urban core, typically measured by commuting patterns. 

At first, the ‘metropolitan district’ was used in 1910 in the Census of Population carrying a central city of 50,000 or more population and all adjacent minor civil divisions having a population density of 150 or more persons per square mile. By 1940, the concept of the metropolitan district had lost favour because the possibilities of correlating local data with district data were limited. 

Besides this, the metropolitan district did not truly represent social and economic integration with the central city. Therefore, a new areal unit, the standard metropolitan area, came into vogue in 1949. It was defined as made up of counties instead of minor civil divisions. It was succeeded by the ‘Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area’ (SMSA).It is defined below as it existed in 1970. 

A contiguous county will be included in an SMSA if: 

(a) At least 75% of the resident labour force in the county is in non-agricultural labour sector 

(b) At least 30% of the employed workers living in the county work in the central county or counties of the area. 

A contiguous county which does not meet the foregoing requirements will be included in an SMSA if at least 75% of the resident labour force is non-agricultural and meets two of the following additional criteria of metropolitan character and one of the following criteria of integration. 

(i) Criteria of Metropolitan Character 

(a) At least 25% of the population is urban. 

(b) The county had an increase of at least 15% in total population during the period covered by the most recent two censuses. 

(c) The county has a population density of at least 50 persons per square mile. 

(ii) Criteria of Integration 

(a) A least 15% of the employed workers living in the county work in the central county or counties of the area, or 

(b) The number of people working in the county who live in the central county or counties of the area is equal to at least 15 per cent of the employed workers living in the county, or 

(c) The sum of the number of workers commuting to and from the central county or counties is equal to at least 20% of the employed workers living in the county.

As stated above it seems that metropolis is primarily a demographic concept. But this may be emphasized once again that metropolis is much more than an agglomeration. It possesses distinct character and functions which are not likely to be found either in agglomeration or in conurbation. In metropolitan cities each function has benefited from the conditions which brought about the other functions and has found reasons for developing there itself. 

There the powers of attraction make them bigger and bigger, and consequently enormity of their size increases their power of attraction. This is happening in Mumbai which has grown tremendously during 1901-1991 by 1000 times. Mumbai has simultaneously an international port, one of the biggest commercial marts, an important industrial node of the country and a cosmopolitan centre. After analyzing the conditions of this development, it may be observed that out of 300 cities with population over one million in the world (1991), more than 50% are sea ports. In reality, ports possess immense potentials to concentrate functions, because, on the one hand, they are by definition commercial places, and on the other, they attract manufacturing industries by the materials of all sorts which they receive from various parts of the country. 

Even in the days of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, and also, during the colonial times, the great commercial connections were then maritime links with the metropolis. The eastern and western sides of the Atlantic in Europe and America therefore, have great ports. Metropolitan cities acquire a sort of permanence and remain evergreen over time.

Metropolitan Cities in India 

The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 defines a metropolitan area in India as, an area having a population of ten lakhs or more, comprised in one or more districts and consisting of two or more municipalities or panchayats or other contiguous areas, specified by the Governor by public notification to be a Metropolitan area. 

In India, the Census Commission defines a metropolitan city as one having a population of over four million. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat and Nashik are those Indian cities that have over 4 million people. For these million plus cities the Census definition of an urban agglomeration requires that it should be a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining urban growths or two or more physically contiguous towns together with adjoining outgrowths. 

There are 53 urban agglomerations in India with a population of 1 million or more as of 2011 against 35 in 2001. As per the preliminary results of the Census 2011, released by the Registrar General of India, Greater Mumbai with a population of 18,414,288 continues to be India’s biggest city, followed by Delhi – 16,314,838 and Kolkata- 14,112,536. These three cities are India’s mega-cities with 10 million plus population. But, when we consider Urban Agglomeration as an extended city comprising built up area of central core and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area, we have a change at the top. Delhi NCR, with the inclusion of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad becomes the No.1 urban agglomeration with a population of 21,753,486, ahead of 20,748,395. 

As of 2011 census of India, there are 46 metropolitan cities in India and the top ten are, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat and Visakhapatnam.

REGULATION OF APP-BASED TAXI SERVICE PROVIDERS

 In pursuance of provisions under Section 36 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 and section 93 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has issued the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2020 on 27th November, 2020 and amendments therein on 8th December,2020. The Guidelines are available on the website of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (www.morth.nic.in ). It has been shared with States to take appropriate action for regulating taxi aggregators.

Abhilasha Toppo

Articles written by Abhilasha Toppo

 1. https://track2training.org/2022/01/17/online-education-and-work-from-home-have-we-arrived-in-virtual-world/

2. http://track2training.org/2022/01/17/national-educational-policy-2020/

3. http://track2training.org/2022/01/17/student-suicides-what-are-the-deep-rooted-problems/

4. http://track2training.org/2022/01/18/role-of-media-in-protecting-democratic-values-in-india-success-and-failure/

5. http://track2training.org/2022/01/19/aadhar-and-privacy/

6. http://track2training.org/2022/01/20/raising-legal-age-of-marriage-in-india/

7. http://track2training.org/2022/01/22/should-courts-declare-prostitution-legal-in-india/

8. http://track2training.org/2022/01/23/juvenile-justice-system-in-india/

9. http://track2training.org/2022/01/24/death-penalty-in-india/

10. http://track2training.org/2022/01/25/addiction-of-social-media/

11. http://track2training.org/2022/01/27/role-of-students-in-eradication-of-drugs/

12. http://track2training.org/2022/01/31/single-use-plastic-ban/

13. http://track2training.org/2022/01/31/ignorantia-juris-non-excusat/

14. http://track2training.org/2022/02/01/language-is-not-only-a-means-of-communication-but-also-a-tool-by-which-we-think/

15. http://track2training.org/2022/02/02/aatmnirbhar-bharat/

16. http://track2training.org/2022/02/07/kashi-vishwanath-corridor/

17. http://track2training.org/2022/02/08/feminism-and-women-empowerment/

18. http://track2training.org/2022/02/08/child-marriage-a-legal-view/

19. http://track2training.org/2022/02/09/impact-of-feminism-and-women-empowerment-on-indian-society/

20. http://track2training.org/2022/02/09/triple-talaq/

21. http://track2training.org/2022/02/13/impact-of-caste-dynamics-in-contemporary-india/

22. http://track2training.org/2022/02/13/electric-vehicles/

23. http://track2training.org/2022/02/14/pm-ayushman-bharat-health-infrastructure-mission/

24. http://track2training.org/2022/02/16/farm-bill-2020/

25. http://track2training.org/2022/02/16/uniform-civil-code/

26. http://track2training.org/2022/02/17/azadi-ka-amrit-mahotsav/

27. http://track2training.org/2022/02/22/__trashed/

28. http://track2training.org/2022/02/23/__trashed-2/

29. http://track2training.org/2022/02/26/the-indian-constitution-indian-republics-sacred-book/

30. http://track2training.org/2022/02/27/section-377/

 

Swarnajayanti fellow’s work to pave way for developing strategies to manage and treat attention disorders

 Prof. Sridharan Devarajan, currently an Associate Professor in the Centre for Neuroscience & Associate faculty in Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, is a recipient of the Swarnajayanti fellowship for the year 2021. He seeks to identify brain regions and neural mechanisms that mediate human attention, with potential applications in developing therapies for treating attention disorders.

The human brain has the remarkable ability to pay attention to important objects and locations in our world while ignoring irrelevant ones. Although attention has been studied behaviourally for many decades, we know very little about how attention works in the brain. Unexplored territories include— identifying brain regions that allow us to sustain attention on particular objects, brain regions that suppress irrelevant information, and brain processes that are disrupted in disorders of attention.

Along with his group, Prof. Sridharan is employing combinations of cutting-edge, non-invasive technologies. Including functional and diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI/dMRI), Electro-Encephalography (EEG), and Trans-Magnetic and Electrical Stimulation (TMS/TES) to both record and perturb human brain activity in a targeted manner.

In his recent work, Prof. Sridharan has identified how particular brain regions – both in the neocortex (outermost layer of the brain) as well as in the deeper midbrain – contribute to attention. His group has shown that human participants with asymmetric wiring between the midbrain and the cortical hemispheres also show marked asymmetries in the way they pay attention. In another recent study, they have shown that perturbing activity in a particular region in the neocortex (the parietal cortex) can affect participants’ ability to pay attention. To analyse and simulate how attention works in the brain, they also developed detailed mathematical and computational (deep learning) models of the neocortex and midbrain. This research has been published in various prestigious journals, including PLoS Computational Biology.

“While these studies from our group and others have hinted at the role of several brain regions in attention, very few have experimentally established these links directly. As part of the Swarnajayanti Fellowship, our lab will seek to understand “causal” mechanisms of attention in the brain. We will follow a three-pronged approach,” told Prof. Sridharan.

First, they will track changes in the structure, activity, and connectivity between specific brain regions (“neuroplasticity”) when participants are learning to paying attention. Measuring such neuroplastic changes in the brain may have key implications for testing the effectiveness of interventions for managing attention disorders, both in children and adults.

Second, they will develop brain-machine interface technologies that can be used to train participants to voluntarily control activity in attention-related brain regions (“neurofeedback”). They will then try to find out whether achieving such neurofeedback control improves participants’ attention abilities. This type of interface may be developed into a non-invasive tool for training attention capacities in healthy individuals, as well as in patients with attention disorders.

Third, they will perturb and image brain activity in real-time, with millisecond precision (“neurostimulation”), to identify the role of particular brain regions in attention. This technology may be adapted in clinical settings for targeting brain regions implicated in disorders of attention, such as attention deficit disorder (ADD).

All of the experiments will be carried out at the state-of-the-art JN Tata National MRI facility at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which houses a 3T (Siemens Prisma) MRI scanner with integrated MR-EEG and MR-TMS setups.

“Broadly, the research findings from this proposal will advance our fundamental understanding of key principles by which attention works in the human brain and may pave the way for developing rational strategies to manage and treat attention disorders,” added Prof. Sridharan.

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Publication link: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009322

Punaura Dham included under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism

 As per the request received from the State Government of Bihar, Ministry of Tourism has included Punaura Dham in the Ramayana circuit of Swadesh Darshan Scheme.  The destination of Punaura Dham has been recently included under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism. 

Details of the projects approved under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for the State of Bihar is given below:

  • Development of Thirthankar Circuit in Vaishali- Arrah- Masad- Patna- Rajgir- Pawapuri- Champapuri under Jain theme, approved in the year 2016-17 at the cost of Rs. 37.20 Cr.  A amount of Rs. 26.11 Cr. has been released till date.
  • Integrated Development of Spiritual Circuit at Sultanganj – Dharmshala – Deoghar under Spiritual theme, approved in the year 2016-17 at the cost of Rs. 44.76 Cr.  A amount of Rs. 42.52 Cr. has been released till date.
  • Development of Buddhist circuit – Construction of Convention Centre at Bodhgaya approved in the year 2016-17 at the cost of Rs. 98.73 Cr.  A amount of Rs. 93.22 Cr. has been released till date.
  • Development of Gandhi Circuit: Bhitiharwa – Chandrahia – Turkaulia under Rural theme approved in the year 2017-18 at the cost of Rs. 44.65 Cr.  An amount of Rs. 35.72 Cr. has been released till date.
  • Development of Pilgrimage Circuit in Mandar Hill & Ang Pradesh under Spiritual theme approved in the year 2017-18 at the cost of Rs. 47.53 crore. A amount of Rs. 38.02 Cr. has been released till date.

SCHEME FOR GOOD SAMARITAN

 The Ministry has launched the “Scheme for grant of Award to the Good Samaritan who has saved life of a victim of a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle by administering immediate assistance and rushing to Hospital/Trauma Care Centre within the Golden Hour of the accident to provide medical treatment” on 03.10.2021.  As per the Scheme Guidelines, the amount of award for each Good Samaritan would be Rs. 5,000/- per incident. The Scheme has been widely publicized through social media including PIB Note.

As per the information available with the Ministry, total number of road accidents in the country during the last three calendar years from 2018 to 2020 is given in the table below:

 

Year

Total Number of Road Accidents

(in numbers)

% change

2018

4,67,044

–

2019

4,49,002

-3.86

2020

3,66,138

-18.46

As may be seen, there is marginal decrease in the number of road accidents.

Based on the FIR data received from various States/UTs, the yearly analysis are done at Transport Research Wing of this Ministry. As per analysis of the reasons for road accidents, these mainly occur due to multiple causes such as over speeding, use of Mobile phone, drunken driving/consumption of alcohol / drug, overloaded Vehicle, vehicular condition, poor light condition, jumping red light, overtaking, neglect of civic bodies, weather condition, fault of driver, driving on wrong side, defect in road condition, defect in condition of motor vehicle, fault of cyclist, fault of pedestrian etc.  Further, based upon the various studies the Ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.

As part of operation and maintenance of the National Highways under National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), there is provision of Ambulances with paramedical staff / Emergency Medical team with Technician / Nurse which are stationed near the toll plazas.

 

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has formulated Rules regarding the rights of Good Samaritan vide notification dated 29.09.2020 (GSR 594(E) to motivate the general public to help the road accident victims in emergency situation. As per the notification, a Good Samaritan who has informed the police of any accident involving a motor vehicle, or who has transported a victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle to the hospital, shall not be subjected to any further requirements by the police or the hospital, and shall be permitted to leave immediately. Besides, this Ministry has also issued a scheme on 21.09.2021, namely “Scheme of Financial Assistance for Administering Road Safety Advocacy and Awards for the outstanding work done in the field of road safety” through which various NGOs and other organizations organize different road safety related activities including activities to motivate general public to help the road accident victims in emergency situation and awareness about it.


Incentives for Adoption of Renewable Energy

 Posted On: 03 FEB 2022 8:45PM by PIB Delhi

The Government has taken several steps to promote renewable energy in the country. These include :

  • permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route, 
  • waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025, 
  • declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022, 
  • setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land  and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play

basis, 

  • schemes such as Pradhan MantriKisanUrja Suraksha evamUtthaanMahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc,
  • laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power,
  • setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments,
  • Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects. 
  • Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.

The Ministry supports a scheme “Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme” through various research institutions and industry which is being implemented to enable indigenous technology development and manufacture for wide spread applications of new and renewable energy in an efficient and cost effective manner across the country.

The scheme encourages research and technology development proposals in collaboration with the industry and provides upto 100% financial support to Government/non-profit research organizations and upto 50-70% to Industry, Start-ups, Private Institutes, Entrepreneurs and Manufacturing units.

***

Establishent of Bio-Gas Plants

 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been supporting installation of biogas plants in the country through the following schemes:

 

    1. Small size biogas plants (1-25 m3 biogas per day) under New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme(NNBOMP)
    2. Medium size biogas plants (30-2500 m3 biogas per day) under the Biogas based Power Generation (Off-Grid) and Thermal Energy Applications Programme (BPGTP); and
    3. Large size biogas plants (above 2500 m3 biogas per day) biogas plants under Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agricultural Wastes/ Residues and Municipal Solid Waste (Waste to Energy Scheme).

 

These schemes were valid till 31.03.2021. Beyond 31.03.2021, the Bio-energy Programme of MNRE has been continued for the period of FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26 only to meet the already created liabilities and no new projects are to be sanctioned.

The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) which was being provided under the above schemes when they were being implemented was as follows:-

  1. Rs. 7500/- to Rs. 35,000/- per plant based on size of the plant in cubic meter under

NNBOMP; 

  1. Rs. 25,000 /- to Rs. 40,000 /- per kilowatt for power generation and Rs. 12,500 /- to Rs.

20,000/- per kilowatt equivalent for thermal applications under BPGTP; and 

  1. Rs 1.0 crore per 12000 m3 per day for biogas generation and Rs 4.0 Crore per 4800 Kg/day for Bio-CNG generation under Waste to Energy Scheme. 

Under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), Government of India is promoting the production of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as an alternative green transport fuel wherein Oil and Gas Marketing Companies (OGMCs) are procuring the produced CBG.

“Black Fungus” Epidemic ? Clone

“Black Fungus” or Mucormycosis is a disease that causes blackening or discoloration over the nose, blurred or double vision, chest pain, breathing difficulties, and coughing blood. This disease usually infects people with a weaker or subdued immune system. As the second wave of the deadly Covid-19 virus batters India, a new disease has caused a new burden on the already tensed healthcare system. ICMR has informed that black fungus is very vulnerable to people with diabetes and people who have recovered from severe covid-19 infection.

The black fungus has already infected a large number of people from thirteen states and the union territory of India, it has also killed a significant number of people. For now, the number of case stand at 7,250 and the death toll stands 219.

The central government has already asked four states and one union territory to declare black fungus an epidemic as these places continue to see exponential growth in no of infections.

The central government has said in a press conference that, in the normal course, our body’s immune system successfully fights such fungal infections. However, we know that COVID-19 affects our immune system. Moreover, the treatment of COVID-19 patients involves the intake of drugs like dexamethasone, which suppresses our immune system response.

Due to these factors, COVID-19 patients face a renewed risk of failing the battle against attacks mounted by organisms such as micromycetes. The government spokesperson also said that there is a risk for the covid patients who are undergoing oxygen therapy to catch this disease has it has a humidifier where this fungus can easily grow. ICMR has found that this disease is very uncommon in patients without diabetes and has said that recovery depends upon early diagnosis and treatment.

White Fungus another disease on rising?

 How to Treat Black Fungus?

According to the procedure suggested by ICMR, the infection can start with an infection of the skin, it can spread to other parts of the body. Treatment involves surgically removing all dead and infected tissue. In some patients, this may result in loss of the upper jaw or in some cases even the eye. Remedies can also include a 4-6 week course of anti-fungal treatment. As it affects various parts of the body, treatment requires a team of young biologists, internal medicine specialists, intensivist neurologists, ENT specialists, veterinarians, dentists, surgeons, and others.

ICMR also stressed Covid-19 patients with diabetes to take utmost care. It has also asked all the covid-19 recovered patient’s to not lower their guard and take high precautions.

ICMR has asked the doctors to give a controlled prescription of steroids and Covid-19 drugs like Tocilizumob, Itolizumab as these drugs are known to suppress immunity. Hospitals are strictly advised to keep hygienic and sanitary conditions all the time to keep the fungal infection away. Covid-19 patients on oxygen support in ICU with humidifiers are advised to ensure the water in the humidifier is kept clean and refilled regularly. Hospitals are advised to avoid wet surfaces where fungus can breed. Patients are advised to wash hands regularly and keep their body clean.

The press statement released by the government on “Black Fungus”.

PRICE INCREASE OF RAW MATERIALS

 The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) facilitates MSMEs to meet their raw material requirement by making arrangements with bulk manufacturers for procuring the materials and supplying the same to MSMEs. NSIC also provides financial assistance to MSMEs under their Raw Material Assistance (RMA) Scheme against bank guarantee for payment to the suppliers. The issue of regular increase in prices of raw materials specifically post-pandemic was regularly taken up by NSIC with the bulk producers. Further, the Government of India has taken several measures to deal with the issue of rise in raw materials including MSME sector, which include:

  1. To ensure enhanced production and availability of iron ore and steel, steps like reforms in mining and mineral policy early operationalization of forfeited working mines of Odisha by the State/Central PSUs and ramping up production and capacity utilization by steel producers have been taken by the Government.
  1. In Union Budget 2021-22, Customs Duty has been reduced uniformly to 7.5% on Semis, Flat and Long products of non-alloy, alloy and stainless steels. Further, Basic Custom Duty (BCD) on steel scrap has been exempted for a period up to 31st March, 2022. In addition to the above, ADD and CVD on certain steel products have also been revoked / temporarily revoked.
  1. To give relief to secondary and MSME sector steel industry engaged in Housing/construction sector, TMT bars below 8 mm have been exempted from the purview of the Quality Control Order, as these are primarily used for non-critical applications.
  1. Ministry of Steel has also issued clarifications to CPWD, MoRTH etc. that steel produced through various routes of production using iron ore, steel scrap and DRI should be treated at par if the steel produced conforms to the relevant BIS standards.